Dutchman Guus Hiddink led his young Russian team to a memorable 3-1 win in the Euro 2008 tournament on Saturday over his Dutch compatriots.
They are the men who will reap the plaudits and milk the applause — the goal poachers who can grab glory for their nation in an instant. And they will deserve the adulation if they can rise above the increasingly defensive fare of the modern international game and the fear of losing, which hung heavy over the finals of both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Fernando Torres has established a reputation as vaunted as his own country, Spain, in terms of footballing ability, but like his homeland, equally pressing on his shoulders is the lack of a major title. The 24-year-old is just the latest in a long line of top strikers from Spain to go into battle in search of a senior international title.
Manchester United clinched their 17th English championship on Sunday by beating Wigan 2-0 in a nail-biting finale to the most thrilling Premier League title battle in years. Pushed to the wire by Chelsea, United claimed the 10th title of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign by two points after their rivals were held to a 1-1 draw by Bolton in their final match.
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/ 15 February 2008
There is little doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is the Premier League’s greatest entertainer. Cesc Fabregas, Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres are his only rivals for flair and, with 27 goals already this season, Ronaldo is way ahead in the striking stakes, never mind all the counterattacks, dribbles and step-overs he also provides.
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/ 29 November 2007
Didier Drogba scored twice in the opening 20 minutes as Chelsea stormed into the knockout stages of the European Champions League with a 4-0 triumph at Norway’s Rosenborg Trondheim. Drogba gave Chelsea an early cushion, with Alex and Joe Cole grabbing the other goals as Chelsea clinched first place in group B.
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/ 1 November 2007
Real Madrid hit four goals in a devastating first-half spell as they stormed to a 5-1 away win over Valencia at the Mestalla on Wednesday. A second-minute strike from Raul, a Ruud van Nistelrooy double and a superb shot from defender Sergio Ramos put Bernd Schuster’s side 4-0 up after just 37 minutes while Robinho added a classy fifth midway through the second half.
AC Milan and Liverpool were upset in the Champions League on Wednesday, and Chelsea won 2-1 at Valencia with a late goal from Didier Drogba. Defending champion Milan lost at Celtic 2-1 after a 90th-minute goal from Scott McDonald. After the goal, a fan ran onto the field and made contact with Milan goalkeeper Dida.
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/ 19 September 2007
AC Milan opened the defence of their Champions League title with a 2-1 win over Benfica on Tuesday, while Chelsea and 10-man Liverpool had to settle for 1-1 draws. Nearly four months after beating Liverpool to win their seventh European Cup, Andrea Pirlo scored one goal and set up the other.