FIFA CONFEDERATION CUP 2009

FIFA CONFEDERATION CUP - 2009

Republic of South Africa is all set to stage FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP,2009 from 14th-28th June which is a dress rehersal of FIFA WORLD CUP next year.

Eight Continental Champions will take on each other for the battle for supremacy.Asian Champions Iraq is the Dark Horse of this year’s competition.This team has surprised everybody when they won the 2007 AFC ASIAN CUP.Newzeland,the Champions from Oceania will be missing Captain Ryan Nelson.

five times World Champions as well as defending Champion Brazil would be looking to regain their supremacy.World Champions Italy has regrouped well under their Golden man Marcello Lippi.African Cup of Nation Champions Egypt are also looking pretty good ahead of this competition.USA,the North American Champions is perhaps an underdog of this tournament.As they are struggling to hold on to a proper form.

European Champions Spain are the raging bull of this tournament.They have the best team in the business and their FIFA ranking says it all.

So come 14th May, Republic of South Africa will be hit by football fever and so don’t miss it guys its gonna be one hell of an competition.

TEAMS PREVIEW - Abhishek Bhattacharyya

With just a year left for the FIFA WORLD CUP 2010,Republic of South Africa is all set to stage FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP,2009 from 14th-28th June which is a dress rehersal leading to the FIFA WORLD CUP next year.

Eight Continental Champions will take on each other for the battle for supremacy.There is no doubt that whoever wins this competition will get a motivational boost ahead of their Worldcup preparation.

Host nation South Africa have to play cautiously as they will be missing the likes of Benni Mccarthy.The Blackburn Striker is not even included in the squad which is marred by player unrest.Everton’s Steve Pienaar will be a key player for Coach Tele Santana and the Bafana Bafana outfit.

Asian Champions Iraq is the Dark Horse of this year’s competition.This team has surprised everybody when they won the 2007 AFC ASIAN CUP. They will be heavily relying on their Captain fantastic Younis Mahmoud and coach Bora Mulitinovic’s strategy.

New zeland ,the Champions from Oceania will be missing Captain Ryan Nelson. Herbert Nelson’s outfit have to heavily rely on the goal-scoring techniques of Shane Smeltz.

Former World Champions Brazil would be looking to regain their supremacy as Dunga and his boys are high on form and would be banking on the likes on Kaka and Robinho as great things are expected from them.

World Champions Italy has regrouped well under their Golden man Marcello Lippi. Gianluigi Buffon is their guardian angel as lot depends on him.They will be heavily missing Gattusso.Rossi and Iaquanita will be the Azurri’s mens with the midas touch.Andrea Pirlo is the playmaker for his side but one must not forget that the Italians are blesses with a player called Luca toni who can make a difference.

African Cup of Nation Champions Egypt are also looking pretty good ahead of this competition.The striking force of Mohd.Zidan and Aboutrika would be a lethal weapon for them.BPL players like Mido and Zaki will be interesting to watch.

USA ,the North American Champions is perhaps an underdog of this tournament.As they are struggling to hold on to a proper form.Ther messiah will be Landon Donovan and if he get things right then everything will go right for them.Everton’s Goalkeeper Tim Howard will also have to play a key role if the team wants to do well in this competition.

European Champions Spain are the raging bull of this tournament.They have the best team in the business and their FIFA ranking says it all.Their striking duo of Torres and Villa is deadly for any opposition.The midfeild needs special mention as Xavi is in his numero uno form and not to forget the likes of Andreas Iniesta who not only send Barca to the UCL finals but also played a huge part for winning the cup and Marcos Senna also cant be missed out.Sergio Ramos,Carles Puyol will also play a huge role at the back and how can one forget Saint Casillas.

So come 14th May, Republic of South Africa will be hit by football fever and so don’t miss it guys its gonna be one hell of an competition.

PAST WINNER

Germany :: 2005 :: BRAZIL

France :: 2003 :: FRANCE

Korea/Japan :: 2001 :: FRANCE

Mexico :: 1999 :: MEXICO

Saudi Arabia :: 1997 :: BRAZIL

Saudi Arabia :: 1995 :: DENMARK

Saudi Arabia :: 1992 :: ARGENTINA

TABLE - GROUP 'A'

Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Spain	3	3	0	0	8	0	+8	9
South Africa	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
Iraq	3	0	2	1	0	1	-1	2
New Zealand	3	0	1	2	0	7	-7	1

TABLE - GROUP 'B'

Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	3	0	0	10	3	+7	9
USA	3	1	0	2	4	6	-2	3
Italy	3	1	0	2	3	5	-2	3
Egypt	3	1	0	2	4	7	-3	3

fixture (14th June - 28th June 2009 )

GROUP LEAGUE -

14 .06 :: South Africa 0 - 0 Iraq

14 .06 :: New Zealand 0 - 5 Spain
ESP :Torres 6',14',17', Fabregas 24' , David Villa 48'

15 .06 :: Brazil 4 - 3 Egypt
BRZ: Kaka 5', 90' (pen), Faviano 11', Juan 37'
EGP : Zidan 9', 55', Shawky 54',

15 .06 :: USA 1 - 3 Italy
USA : L.Donovan 41' ( P) :: ITA : G.Rossi 58', 90', D.Rossi 72'

17 .06 : Spain 1 - 0 Iraq
Spain: David Villa 55'

17 .06 : South Africa 2 - 0 New Zealand
SA: B.Parkar 21',52'

18 .06 : USA 0 - 3 Brazil
BRZ: F.Melo 7', Robinho 18', D.Maicon 62'

18 .06 : Egypt 1 - 0 Italy
EGP: M. Hommos 40'

20 .06 : Iraq 0 - 0 New Zealand

20 .06 : Spain 2 - 0 South Africa
ESP: D.Villa 52', L. Llorente 72'

21 .06 : Italy 0 - 3 Brazil

BRZ: Luis Faviano 37', 43', A. Dossena (o.g.)45'

21.06 : Egypt 0 - 3 USA

USA: C. Davies 21',M. Bradley 63', C. Dempsey 84'

SEMI FINAL
24 .06 : Spain 0 - 2 USA
USA : Altidore 27', Dampsey 74'

25 .06 : South Africa 0 - 1 Brazil
BRZ : D.Alvea 83'

3rd/4th PLACE
28 .06 : Spain 2 - 2, 3 - 2(aet) South Africa
(ESP) : D, Guiza 88', 89', Xavi Alonso 107'
(RSA) : K.Mphela 73', 90'

FINAL
28.06 USA 2 - 3 Brazil
USA: Clint Dempsey 10', Donovan 27'
BRZ : Luis Faviano 46', 74' Lucia 84'

NEW ZELAND ( FIFA RANKING - 82 )

Goalkeepers: Mark Paston (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Glen Moss (Melbourne Victory, Australia), James Bannatyne (Petone, New Zealand)

Defenders: Aaron Scott (Waitakere Utd., New Zealand), Tony Lochhead (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Ben Sigmund (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Ivan Vicelich (Auckland City, New Zealand),Andy Boyens (New York Red Bulls, US), Steven Old (Kilmarnock, Scotland), Dave Mulligan (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand)

Midfielders: Duncan Oughton - (Columbus Crew, US), Simon Elliott (San Jose Earthquakes, US), Tim Brown (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Leo Bertos (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Andy Barron (Petone, New Zealand), Jeremy Christie (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand), Chris James (Tampere Utd., Finland)

Strikers: Shane Smeltz (Gold Coast United, Australia), Chris Killen (Celtic, Scotland), Jeremy Brockie (North Queensland Fury, Australia), Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion, England), Kris Bright (Panserraikos, Greece), Jarrod Smith (Seattle Sounders, US)

IRAQ (FIFA RANKING - 77 )

Goalkeepers: Mohammed Kasid (Al-Zawraa), Nour Sabri (Talaba), Uday Talib (Duhok)

Defenders: Basim Abbas (Talaba), Muayad Khalid (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya), Isam Yaseen (Duhok), Samir Saeed (Arbil), Farid Majeed (Talaba), Salam Shaker (Al-Khor, Qatar), Ali Hussein Rahema (Al-Wakra, Qatar), Mohammed Ali Karim (Al-Jazeera, UAE);Dara Mohammed Habeeb (Arbil)

Midfielders: Halgurd Mulla Mohammed (Sulaymaniya), Mahdi Karim (Al-Khor, Qatar), Nashat Akram (FC Twente, Holland), Hawar Mulla Mohammed (Anorthosis Famagusta, Cyprus), Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail (Sepahan Isfahan, Iran), Salih Sadir (Al-Ahed, Lebanon)

Strikers: Karrar Jassim (Al-Wakra, Qatar), Emad Mohammed (Sepahan Isfahan, Iran), Alaa Abdul-Zahra (Al-Khor, Qatar), Younis Mahmoud (Al-Gharafa, Qatar), Luai Salah (Al-Wahda, UAE)

SOUTH AFRICA (FIFA RANKING - 72 )

Goalkeepers: Brian Baloyi (Mamelodi Sundowns), Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany) Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)

Defenders: Siboniso Gaxa, Matthew Booth (both Sundowns), Morgan Gould, Bongani Khumalo (both SuperSport United), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, United Kingdom), Bryce Moon (Panathinaikos, Greece), Innocent Mdledle (Orlando Pirates), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel)

Midfielders: Steven Pienaar (Everton, United Kingdom), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Chiefs), Elrio van Heerden (Blackburn Rovers, United Kingdom), Teko Modise, Benson Mhlongo (both Pirates), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia), Lance Davids (SuperSport United), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Golden Arrows)

Strikers: Terror Fanteni (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Katlego Mashego (Pirates), Bernard Parker (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia) and Katlego Mphela (Sundowns)

SPAIN (FIFA RANKING - 1 )

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Diego Lopez (Villarreal)

Defenders: Raul Albiol (Valencia), Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool ), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, (Liverpool), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), David Silva (Valencia), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Albert Riera (Liverpool)

Strikers: Daniel Guiza (Fenerbahce), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia)

ITALY - ( FIFA RANKING - 4)

Goalkeepers: Marco Amelia (Palermo), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray)

Defenders: Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Nicola Legrottaglie (Juventus), Andrea Dossena (Liverpool), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), Fabio Grosso (Lyon), Davide Santon (Inter), Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan)

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria)

Strikers: Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal), Luca Toni (Bayern Munich)

BRAZIL (FIFA RANKING - 5)

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Gomes (Tottenham), Vitor (Gremio)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Andre Santos (Corinthians), Kleber (Internacional), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Alex (Chelsea), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica)

Midfielders: Elano (Manchester City), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Ricardo Kaka (AC Milan), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Anderson (Manchester United), Ramires (Cruzeiro)

Strikers: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Robinho (Manchester City), Nilmar (Internacional)

USA (FIFA RANKING - 14)

Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Luis Robles (Kaiserslautern)

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Danny Califf (Midtjylland ), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), José Francisco Torres (Pachuca)

Strikers: Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Charlie Davies (Hammarby), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

EGYPT (FIFA RANKING - 40 )

Goalkeepers: Essam El-Hadary (Sion), Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed (Zamalek), Mohamed Sobhi (Ismaily), Al-Hani Soliman (Ittihad)

Defenders: Hani Saied and Mahmoud Fathalla (Zamalek), Wael Gomaa and Sayed Moawad (Ahly), Ahmed Saied (Harras Hodoud), Sherif Abdul-Fadil (Ismaily), Ahmed Al-Muhammadi (ENPPI)

Midfielders: Ahmed Samir Farag (Ismaily), Mohamed Aboutrika, Ahmed Fathi and Ahmed Hassan (Ahly), Hazem Emam (Zamalek), Mohamed Shawki (Middlesbrough), Hosni Abd-Rabou (Ahli Dubai), Ahmed Khairi and Mohamed Hommos (Ismaily), Abdul-Aziz Tawfik (ENPPI), Ahmed Eid (Harras Hodoud)

Strikers: Mohamed Zidan (Borussia Dortmund), Mohamed Mohsen Abou-Greisha (Ismaily), Ahmed Raouf (ENPPI), Ahmed Abdul-Ghani (Harras Hodoud), Ihab Al-Masri (Arab Contractors), Amr Zaki (Zamalek)

PRIZE MONEY

Winner - 3.75 M Dollers || Runners - 3.25 m Dollers
3rd Place - 2.75 M Dollers || 4th Place - 2.25 M Dollers
Other 4 Teams - 1.4 M Dollers Each

MATCH REPORT OF THE FINAL BETWEEN USA - BRAZIL