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/ 20 May 2008

Goal merchants set sights on Euro glory

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.

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/ 30 April 2008

Scholes strike sends United into Moscow final

A stunning goal from Paul Scholes gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Barcelona on Tuesday to set up an all-English Champions League final against either Liverpool or Chelsea in Moscow next month. Scholes was suspended for United’s epic victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 final, and Ferguson had already said he would play in the final if they qualified.

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/ 2 April 2008

United, Barca move towards semifinal clash

Manchester United beat Roma 2-0 away and Barcelona won 1-0 at Schalke in their Champions League quarterfinal, first-leg matches on Tuesday to take big steps towards a semifinal showdown. Goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney either side of half-time gave United victory at the Stadio Olimpico as the English champions continued to torment Roma.

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/ 15 February 2008

Black mark for racism reform

Another week, another chance to gauge how our fine governing bodies are combating racism, with everyone’s favourite test case still England’s 2004 friendly against Spain in Madrid. Yet what’s often overlooked is that it was world soccer governing body Fifa that imposed the paltry £44 750 fine on the Spanish FA for the racist chanting.

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/ 18 October 2007

Greece, Czechs and Romania book Euro 2008 places

European champions Greece, Czech Republic and Romania will join Germany in the European Championship finals next year after qualifying on Wednesday. It was Thierry Henry who grabbed the limelight on a busy night, however, scoring twice against Lithuania to break Michel Platini’s record of 41 goals for France and propel them to the top of qualifying Group B.

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/ 5 October 2007

Wenger’s desire to keep changing

Arsène Wenger may be going for a fourth Premier League title, but he continues to rethink and revise his methods. ”Success is paralysing,” says the Frenchman. ”If you don’t change anything, three years later you are suddenly not successful and you don’t know why. You want to repeat quality but also to improve quality, so you have to change.