Thunderball

News Bits (7/2 Part 3)
8. Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton has confessed that
  he has yet to receive any bids for the ownership of the club
  and dismissed any suggestions that an asking price has been set
  at Anfield.

9. The Greek Football Federation have confirmed Fernando Santos
  is to succeed Rahhagel as national team coach.
  Note -- National team rebuilding work must start now as
  Euro2012 Qualify Round starts in Sep 2010.

10. Hull have confirmed Brazilian star Geovanni is set to leave
  the club next week.
    Geovanni is believed to be in talks with Greek duo Panathinaikos
  and AEK Athens about a move.

11. Hull C defender Nick Barmby has agreed to a coaching role
  at the club, but will continue playing for the club.
    He will work under new manager Nigel Pearson.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Results of WC QF games played last night (7/2).
Holland 2-1 Brazil  (HT 0-1)
Scorer -- (Hol) F.Melo 53' (og); W.Sneijder 68'.
  (Bra) Robinho 10'.
Yellow Card --
(Hol) J.Heitinga 14'; N.d.Jong 64'; Ooijer 76'.
(Bra) M.Bastos 37'.
Red Card -- (Bra) F.Melo 73'.
    ------------------------
Uruguay * 1-1 Ghana  (HT 0-1)  (pk 4-2)
Note -- Uruguay won on penalty kicks.
Scorer -- (Uru) D.Forlan 75'.
  (Gha) Muntari 45'.

Yellow Card --
(Uru) Fucile 20'; Arevalo 48'; Perez 60'.
(Gha) Pantsil  54'; Sarpei 77'; Mensah 93'.
Red Card -- L.Suarez 120'.

Pnealty kicks takers --
(Uru) Forlan (ok); M.Victorino (ok); A.Scotti (ok); M.Pereira (x);
   S.Abreu.
(Gha) A.Gyan (ok); S.Appiah (ok); J.Mensah (x); P.Adiyiah (x).
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

News Bits (7/2)
1. Chelsea have completed the signing of Yossi Benayoun
  from Liverpool on a 3-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

2. Sunderland have announced their third signing
of the summer with Egyptian internation Ahmed Al-Muhammadi
joining the club on a season-long loan deal.

3. Man C have confirmed the signing of Barcelona midfielder
Yaya Toure on a 5-year deal.
  City have paid Barcelona around GBP27.5Mil for
  the Ivory Coast international.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

News Bits (7/3 Part 2)
4. Andorra's FC Santa Coloma have been handed a 3-0 forfeit loss
  after their home UEFA Champ Lg qualifier against Birkirkara FC
  was postponed due to an unplayable pitch.

5. Former Danish international Michael Landrup has been appointed
  the new coach of RCD Mallorca (Spain) after accepting a two-year
  deal as successor to Gregorio Manzano.

6. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed he has held talks
  with Joe Cole about a move to White Hart Lane.
     Cole is a free agent following the expiration of his contract
  at Chelsea.

7. Celtic have confirmed the signing of S.Korea full-back Cha Da-Ri
  on a two-year deal although a work permit is still required
  for the transfer to be formalised.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Results of WC QF games played yesterday (7/3)
Argentina 0-4 Germany  (HT 0-1)
Scorer -- (Ger) T.Muller 3'; Klose 68', 89'; Friedrich 74'.

Yellow Card --
(Arg) Ottamendi 11'; Mascherano 80'.
(Ger) T.Mueller 35'.
  (Note -- This is T.Muler second yellow card. He will miss
  the Semi-Final game against Spain.)
    ----------------------------
Paraguay 0-1 Spain  (HT 0-0)
Scorer -- (Esp) X.Alonso 62'-pen (x); D.Villa 82'.
  (Par0 O.Cardozo 59'-pen (x).
  Note --  (x) = the player missed the penalty (or it is saved).

Yellow Card --
(Par) V.Caceres 59'; C.Morel 71'; J.Santana 88'.
(Esp) G.Pique 57'; S.Busquets 64'.
    ------------------
Semi-Final Fixtures
7/6 (6 Jul)  Uruguay vs Holland  (HK Time 7/7 0230Hr)
7/7 (7 Jul)  Germany vs Spain    (HK Time 7/8 0230Hr)
   --- End of Update --

Thunderball

News Bits (7/4)
1. Kayserispor manager Shota Arveladze has admitted defeat
  in his bid to sign Kris Boyd.

2. Blackpool ae considering a surprise move for former
  Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt.
   Butt is currently considering his options after leaving
  Newcastle at the end of last season following expiration
  of his contract.

3. Man C boss Roberto Mancini has confirmed his admiration
  of Lazio defender Aleksandar Kolarov amid speculation
  of a bid.

4. Newcastle are planning a shock move for Everton starlet
  Dan Gosling.
   Everton risk losing highly-rated midfielder Gosling
  on a free transfer following a contract wrangle.
    It is understood the Premier League have been asked
  to make a ruling after the England U21 prospect
  was not given a new contract offer in writing
  under a deadline date.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

News Bits (7/4 Part 2)
5. The Italian football federation (FIGC) has limited
  the number of non-EU players Italina club can sign to
  one per season.
    The move, which comes in the wake of the Italian
  national team's disappointing World Cup campaign,
  has been met with widespread disapproval among clubs.

6. Australian Mark Bresciano claims he has agreed a deal
  to join Lazio.
    Bresciano is available on a free transfer after leaving
  Palermo at the end of last season.

7. Turkey international Halil Altintop has joined  
  Euntracht Frankfurt on a two-year deal.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

England League Cup (CIS Cup) Round 1 was drawn
a few weeks ago.
Note --
1. Premier League clubs will join in at Round 2.
2. Round 1 ties will be played in the week beginning 8/9/2010
  (9 Aug 2010).
3. This is a partial listing. Only list those invovling
  Championship League clubs.
4. This is one-off games. If it is drawn at Full Time, Extra Time
  will be played.  If it is still a draw after Extra Time, the tie
  will be decided by Penalty Kicks.

Round 1
Aldershot vs Watford
Bradford vs Notts Forest
Cardiff vs Burton
Chesterfield vs Middlesboro
Crewe vs Derby
Doncaster vs Accrington
Hartlepool vs Sheff Utd
Morecambe vs Coventry
Norwich vs Gillingham
QPR vs Port Vale
Southend vs Bristol C
Stevenge vs Portsmouth
Stockport vs Preston
Swansea vs barnet
Swindon vs Leyton
Torquay vs Reading
Wycome vs Millwall
Yeovil vs Crystal P
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

News Bits (7/5)
1. The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has confirmed
  that Dunga has been dismissed.

2. Palermo director of sport Walter Sabatini cliams defender
  Simon Kjaer is close to reaching agreement with Wolfsburg.

3. Parma have completed the signing of Bulgaria striker
  Vasleri Bojinov from Man C.
  Bojinov spent last season on loan to Parma.

4. Schalke boss Felix Magath has confirmed the club is
  in talks with R.Madrid legend Raul.

5. Chelsea have expressed interest in bringing Brazilian
  midfielder Ramires to Stamford Bridge, according to
  the player's agent.
   --- End of Update ---

Thunderball

Results of games played yesterday (7/4).
1. Norway Super League
Haugesund 4-2 Start  (HT 2-0)
Honefoss 1-1 Stromsgodset  (HT 0-1)
Kongsvinger 0-3 Brann  (HT 0-2)
Tromso 0-1 Aalesund  (HT 0-1)
Viking 3-1 Odd  (HT 0-0)
Lillestrom 1-4 Valerenga  (HT 0-0)

2. Swedish Cup
Mjallby 4-1 Malmo  (HT 1-0)
GAIS 0-0 Bromma *  (HT 0-0)  (pk 3-4)

3. Finland Premier League
Jaro 0-1 KuPS
Honka 4-2 Haka
MyPa 3-2 Inter Turku
TPS 0-1 HJK

3. Slovakia Super Cup
Zilina * 1-1 Slovan Bratislava  (HT 0-0)  (pk 4-2)

4. Ukraine Super Cup
Sh Donetsk 7-1 Tavriya

5. Russia Premier league
Zenit 2-1 Anji
  --- End of Update ---