Weekend Guide 19.3.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

Barcelona against Real Madrid? Definitely not!
BabaGol’s weekend recap offers you some real and rare football, which will make you doubt what you have in mind about the beautiful game. We will take a trip to the Pacific with the race for the title in Tahiti, we will be with another disputed region in the former Soviet Union, and we’ll visit the Sheikhs of Saudi Arabia. Vamos!

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Sunday, 0630, Pirae – Tefana (Tahiti Ligue 1)
Let's start our weekly tour at the island of Tahiti. This weekend, it is the last match day of the league and Pirae and Tefana will be the main event.

Tefana is leading the table with 35 points, and Pirae are just two points behind, as both teams are fighting for the title. Pirae are the current champions. After last year's title, the team has reached the semifinals of the OFC Champions League and was eliminated by Auckland City. Their Manager is Samuel Garcia, local former player who made 19 caps for the national team and spent his first years as a coach in Indonesia. The biggest name of Pirae is Raimana Li Fung Kuee, the league’s top scorer this season with 30 goals. Other players that should be noticed are Naea Bennett, who plays for the team since 2002, and Marama Vahirua, who played 15 years in French top divisions, before he signed at his hometown club.

If Tefana will win the title, it will be their only fourth title. Their manager, Sébastien Labayen, is a former Tefana player who was part of the winning squad in their last two national titles. The team has more players which were part of their successes. Among them you could find Steevy Chong Hue, who scored the winning goal in 2012 OFC Nations Cup final, Jonathan Tehau, who scored the only goal of Tahiti in the 2013 Confederation Cup, and Alvin Tehau, who was one of the key players of the U-20 national team during the World Cup in 2009.

You are in one of the most beautiful places in the world, now it's the time to enjoy some football.

Sunday, 1200, FC Tskhinvali – Dinamo Batumi (Georgian Umaglesi Liga)
Last week we were in Donetsk, and now we will be in another city that is the center of conflict with Russia – Tskhinvali, Georgia. The city is located in the disputed region of South Ossetia. Since the war in South Ossetia in 2008, Tskhinvali plays their home matches in the capital, Tbilisi. The situation doesn’t seem to change soon, as Russia signed a new pact that almost completes the annexation of the region. FC Tskhinvali is currently ranked in the 5th place, 5 points from a Europa League spot. The war in South Ossetia made the club to dissolve and re-establish the team under a new name, as the old one was considered as a Russian name – Spartaki Tskhinvali. Their manager, Kakhaber Kacharava, made a long journey as a player in the lower leagues of Germany, but still had an impressive record. In the squad you can find Giorgi Ivanishvili, who played for five years in Switzerland and came back to Georgia last year, Revaz Kemoklidze, 36 years old player who played for his tenth team in Georgia, and Giorgi Nadiradze, the U-21 Georgia national team goalkeeper.

Dinamo Batumi is one of the biggest sensations of the season. They are just two points behind the leaders, Dinamo Tbilisi, and they feel that winning the title for their first time, is possible. Dinamo Batumi spent last season in the second division and they have no home stadium, because there is no stadium in Batumi that meet the league requirements. Their leading players are Amiran Mujiri, who played in Israel, Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, Teimuraz Shonia, who played in the last four years in Tskhinvali, and Irakli Chirikashvili, who came from the Swiss team Neuchâtel Xamax last season and was one of the key players of the club’s promotion.

Two teams with no home ground, but with big hope for the later stages of the season, that’s exactly what we call a top match.

Sunday, 1855, Al-Nassr – Al-Ahli (Saudi Professional League)
The hot climate of Saudi Arabia is almost here, it means the Saudi league is now at its last and decisive phase. Matchday no. 20 will be the one who could determine who will be the champions, as there are 6 matches left, the head-to-head battle of the two leaders, Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli will be the highlight of the day.

Al-Nassr is the reigning champion. The most successful team in the history of the Saudi league with 15 domestic titles, made great runs in the Asian tournaments, such as winning the Asian Cup Winners Cup title in 1998. This season they want to complete their second consecutive title, as they are leading the table with 48 points and a record of 15 wins, 3 draws and a single defeat. One of the biggest names t in the team is actually the goalkeeping coach, the legendary Colombian goalkeeper, René Higuita, who is part of the team since 2012. Pay attention to Fabián Estoyanoff, who played in Spain and Greece, Adrian Mierzejewski, who was key player in Trabzonspor in the last four years, Hussein Al Sulaimani, who played for the Saudi national team in three World Cups (1998, 2002 and 2006), and Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, the team top scorer with 15 goals in 17 matches.

Al-Ahli could be disappointed if they will fail to win the title. They are in the 2nd place, 5 points from Al-Nassr, but they didn't lose this season (12 wins and 7 draws). The team didn't won the title since 1984, when their manager was the Brazilian Telê Santana. This season they already won the Saudi Crown Prince Cup title, winning 2:1 against Al-Hilal. The top players are Mohamed Abdel-Shafy, who won the African Cup of Nations in 2010 with Egypt, Osama Hawsawi, who made 107 appearances for the Saudi national team, and Omar Al Soma, a Syrian player who scored 18 goals in 17 matches what makes him the league top scorer.

A team who won the title for many times, the other already forgot their last one. This match is a jackpot. No doubt.

Weekend Guide 12.3.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

The weekend is here, and this time we really have some great football for you. Really. We will be with two teams competing for a historical title in Mexico; we will watch fireworks and crazy fans in Chile and be in a sad derby game in Eastern Europe. So, take off your sunglasses, this is football time!

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Saturday, 0430, Club Tijuana – Veracruz (Liga MX)
The opening matchday of the MLS was played last week, but for some real let’s cross the border south, to Tijuana. On Saturday, the two league leader teams, Club Tijuana and Veracruz, will face each other for a direct battle for the title.

Club Tijuana is dominating the Clausura table after 9 matches. With only one defeat this season, they seem like the real deal, but we must remember that there are playoffs after the regular season. The manager, Daniel Guzmán, reached the finals of the Copa América as a player in 1993, and as a coach, he already won one title with Santos Laguna in 2008. The biggest names are Juan Arango, who arrived after a long time in Mallorca and Borussia Mönchengladbach, Dayro Moreno, the team’s top scorer and former Copa Libertadores winner with Once Caldas in 2004. The Argentinian Alfredo Moreno, who is playing in Mexico since 2003, is also an interesting name.

Veracruz started their season with a magnificent record. The team didn't lose any of their matches, by now. They are in 2nd place, one point behind Tijuana. With these results, the team hopes to win its first title since 1950. The Chilean manager, Carlos Reinoso, has an outstanding experience, as he is coaching in Mexico since 1981. The top players are the Spaniard Juan Ángel Albín, who played in Spain and Romania, Édgar Andrade, who won the U-17 World Cup in 2005 with Mexico, and Daniel Villalva, who was the youngest player ever to play for the Argentine side River Plate.

While both  teams aim for a rare title, the question is - which one could win and get closer to it?

Saturday, 2000, Universidad de Chile – Colo Colo (Chilean Primera División)
On Saturday, the Chilean Super Clásico will take part as Universidad de Chile will face Colo Colo. The humongous crowds of both the team are anxious for the game, as they know that this match is usually in favor of the home team. On the last 16 matches, the away team won only twice (both are Colo Colo’s).

Universidad de Chile was established as the representative team of the University of Chile in Santiago, but since the 80's team and the university are two separated entities. Today, a private business group named ‘Azul-Azul’ is the owner of the team, but the university allows them to use the institutions’ symbols and logo. The team represents the upper-middle class people of Santiago. This season they are struggling, as they’re ranked in the 13th place and won only once out of five ‘home’ matches. The main players are José Rojas, who made 325 league appearances for the team since 2003, Johnny Herrera, who already won 7 domestic titles with the team, and Leandro Benegas, who arrived to the team in last December and already scored 5 goals in 9 games.

Colo Colo is the most successful and popular team in Chie. They've won 30 league title and they have the biggest number of fans in Chile – approximately 12 million fans. As a popular team, they are usually recognized with the lower class people of the city, a fact that can explain why they have such big rivalry with the ‘university team’ fans. It is first job as a manager for Héctor Tapia, who already won a Clausura title in 2014. His team is ranked on 2nd place, just 2 points behind Cobresal. Colo Colo have some Chilean superstars like Jean Beausejour, who played in the last 4 years in England, Humberto Suazo, who capped 60 times for the national team, and Jaime Valdés, who played for 14 years in Italy.

We don't need to repeat ourselves once again about South American rivalries, just watch and listen to this crowd.

Sunday, 1600, Shakhtar Donetsk – Olimpik Donetsk (Ukrainian Premier League)
A Derby is the moment that every club football fan is waiting for. This is when friends become enemies, just because they are the fans of different teams. In Donetsk, no one matters the derby on Sunday. Since April 2014, the city is part of the crisis in Ukraine, divided between pro-Russians and pro-Ukrainians, and even the newly built stadium, the Donbass Arena, have been damaged several times by the bombings. Due to the fragile climate, the game will take part in Lviv, 1033 kilometers (642 miles) from Donetsk.

Shakhtar Donetsk is one of the two biggest clubs in Ukraine. They are the reigning champions in the past five years, especially thanks to Rinat Akhmetov, the owner of the club who is ranked 201st in the Forbes' World's Billionaires list. With all the difficulties of the conflict, Shakhtar is now seven points away from the leaders Dynamo Kyiv. The club has 13 Brazilian players on the first team. The two most notable are Luiz Adriano, who scored 9 goals in 6 matches this season in the UEFA Champions League, and Douglas Costa, who showing great skills and ability since arriving at the club. Darijo Srna, who played 418 official matches for the club and Vyacheslav Shevchuk, who played for the Ukrainian national team in 2006 World Cup are also respectable figures. In addition, the club holds a list of young Ukrainian talents in the academy.

Olimpik Donetsk is the Ukrainian Premier League sensation. The team established in 2001 in order to develop the local talents of the city, and most of their players are club’s academy alumnus. Surprisingly, last year they promoted to the Ukranian Premier League, and now ranked on the 6th place, just 2 points from Europa League qualifying spot. The manager, Roman Sanzhar, who is responsible for the promotion, knows Olimpik well as he played in the team for 8 years. Keep your eyes on Maksym Drachenko, a Shakhtar's academy product, Volodymyr Lysenko, who capped for all youth national teams of Ukraine, and Sheriff Isa, who was a part for the Nigerian winning squad of 2007 U-17 World Cup. Another interesting story is Vladyslav Helzin, who except from being a player in the team; he is also the chairman of the club and the deputy of Donetsk Regional Council. The guy is certainly talented!

While the bad news is flooding Donetsk each day, the players will try to forget everything for 90 minutes, in order to make the people of Donetsk just a little bit happy.

Weekend Guide 26.2.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

The BabaGol weekend recap is here again, with all the matches you should watch and follow this weekend. You can be sure, they will be better than any matches you've planned to watch.
This time we will visit a hot Balkan derby, another crazy race for the title in a controversial Arab country and finally, we will travel all the way to South America for literally the ‘highest’ football rivalry in the world. Are you ready?

(All the times are in CET)

Saturday, 14:00, KF Tirana – Partizani (Albanian Superliga)

The Albanian league is not one of the best leagues in the Balkans, but it is still very popular among the locals, with thousands of people attending each game.

One of the major clashes in the country is the capital’s derby, KF Tirana against Partizani. Both teams need to gain points for the title race, as they want to put an end to Skënderbeu Korçë’s dynsty, who have won the last four consecutive titles.

KF Tirana is one of the oldest and most successful teams in Albanian football with 25 championships, 17 cups and an impressive record in continental competitions. At the moment, the club is ranked in 2nd place, one point behind the leaders. The coach is Gugash Magani, who was a well known player and who played until the age of 40, but as a coach, he has failed to win anything yet.

The players who are trying to lead the team to a first title since 2009 are Debatik Curri, who returned to his home nation after 9 years in the Ukraine and Turkey, Gjergji Muzaka, who was a part of last season’s title win for Skënderbeu, Ervin Bulku, who has played for the national team 56 times, and Selemani Ndikumana, the star of the Burundi national team.

While some KF Tirana players still remember their last title, there are Partizani players who weren’t even born when their club last won the championship back in 1993. This season they have great chance to make it, as they are in 4th place, just 4 points from top of the table.

The coach, Shpëtim Duro, was the coach who led Skënderbeu to their first title in 2011. Look out for Nderim Nexhipi, a Macedonian-Albanian player who has played in Germany and Belgium, Idriz Batha, one of the wonder kids of Albanian football, and Endrit Vrapi, who has returned to Partizani after playing for 7 Albanian teams in 12 years. Another interesting face is the Serbian player Stevan Račić, one of the leading scorers in the team, who despite the complex relations between the nations, preferred to play in Albania with Partizani, rather than in other ex-Yugoslav leagues.

This rivalry also involves a conflict between the two sets of fans. Partizani is known as ‘The People´s Team’, who identify with the famous Albanian Liberation Army and has a strong Ultras group that is famous all over the Balkans. KF Tirana fans are usually middle-class Tiranians, with more of a local orientation and less national identification.

The big rivalries of the Balkans are fights about football and social conflicts, only this time the teams will also be fighting for the Albanian title.

*Important Comment: Due to security and administration issues, on Friday 27.2.15 at 14:30, both clubs decided to delay the match to 12.3.15, in order to be able and host fans of both sides and create a better atmosphere in Albania’s most important match. Well, at least you enjoyed some good early pre-game information. BabaGol will update you before the game is 'really'  played.

Saturday, 17:15, Al Sadd – Lekhwiya (Qatar Stars League)
In one of our last recaps, we checked out the leagues in Bahrain and Morocco. Now we will keep on tracking an Arabic scenario, in one of the world´s most controversial football countries, Qatar. Eight games are left until the end of the season, and Lekhwiya wants to win its fourth title in 5 years, while Al Sadd, the most decorated team in the country, wants to clinch another title. Al Sadd's season looks great so far. They finished in 3rd place last season, failed to qualify from their Asian Champions League group stage by single point and now they lead the table with just one defeat all season. The manager, Hussein Amotta, is the man who led Al Sadd to their last title in 2013. He also won the title with the club as a player in 2000.

Like every team in Qatar, Al Sadd has some players who have tasted the highest levels of football. Brazilian striker Grafite, one of the superstars in the German side, Wolfsburg, who were German champions in 2009, and Nadir Belhadj, who played for Algeria in the 2010 World Cup, are both familiar faces. There is also some Qatari talent like Khalfan Ibrahim, the club’s all-time leading scorer, Abdelkarim Hassan, who 4 years ago broke the record of the youngest player in the Asian Champions League, and Hassan Al Haidos, the Qatari footballer of the year in 2014. Lekhwiya won the titlelast year and are aiming for a repeat this year. This season they are ranked in second place, one point behind Al Sadd. The major reason for their success is their owner, Sheikh Abdullah al Thani. Being the owner of Málaga CF, he makes sure that money is not problem. Michael Laudrup is the manager and he has some big names such as Vladimír Weiss, who arrived last season from Olympiacos, Chico Flores, who came from Swansea, and Tunisian international, Youssef Msakni. Sebastián Soria, the Uruguayan who won 101 caps for the Qatari National Team, also plays there and some interesting local names, such as Ismaeel Mohammed and Khalid Muftah, are also key players for club and country.
With the questions surrounding the 2022 World Cup saga, it should be interesting to watch the Qatari League and try to understand what the local scene looks like. Or is it all about the money? The answer is out there somewhere.

Besides, our previous matches from the Arab world were definitely played at a high level and fast tempo, full of emotions and intervals. Would you dare to miss another match like that?

Sunday, 21:00, Bolívar – The Strongest (Liga de Fútbol Profesional Boliviano)
Hold your breath. It's not because you are suffering from altitude by standing in the highest football stadium in the world, it's because of our next match, El Clásico Paceño, the La Paz. Two of Bolivia’s biggest teams will meet on Sunday for a match that could turn the Bolivian League season upside down.

Bolívar are the current champions of Bolivia and the current league leaders, with 19 points from 8 matches. Unfortunately, they tasted their first defeat in the last game, which means they are in shaky form before the decisive match. The manager is Xabier Azkargorta, a Spaniard who was the manager of the Bolivian national team in the 1994 World Cup. Look out for Juan Carlos Arce, who has 44 caps for the national team, Carlos Tenorio, who was part of the Ecuador squad for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and Juanmi Callejón, the twin brother of Napoli player, José Callejón, and the team’s leading scorer this season.

The Strongest, which is a bit of a weird name for a football club, is the oldest team in Bolivia. They got their name in 1908, after their founders decided to call the team "The Strongest" and not just "The Strong", which was their original name. The team is ranked in 2nd place, 5 points behind Bolívar, but they have played two matches less than the leaders, so there is a chance to turn things around if they win the derby.

The players that should stand out are Pablo Escobar, a Paraguayan-born Bolivian player who has scored 87 goals in the last 4 season, Daniel Vaca, a 36 year-old veteran goalkeeper and Maximiliano Bajter, a Uruguayan player who has also played in Mexico and Norway.

This is one of the top rivalries in South America and only one team can get the 3 points. It could be a big step closer to the title for Bolívar, or The Strongest might close the gap. Stay tuned!

Weekend Guide 19.2.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

Football travellers, prepare your passports, we are about to take our weekly flight around the globe. This week we will check out the race for the title in Morocco, the Malaysian scene and, of course, the real reason to go back to Brazil. And no, it's not the Carnival. Fasten your seat belts, here we go!

(All the times are in CET)

Friday, 20:00, Wydad Casablanca – Kawkab Marrakech (Moroccan Botola)
Last week we saw some very close races for the titles, but nothing compared to the Moroccan Leauge. A league with only 16 teams, is always tight, and in Morocco, even more so. After 19 games, there is a difference of only 6 points between the first place and the eighth place. On Friday, the top two teams, Wydad Casablanca and Kawkab Marrakech play each other with both teams on 33 points.

The league leaders, Wydad Casablanca, could have won the title easily, as they have been in 1st place in the league since the sixth matchday of the season. Their results are far from impressive, as they have won just 8 matches since the beginning of the season. Their fans, who are known as one of the world's craziest audiences, demand immediate success.

In order to be in the race for the title, Wydad appointed a very experienced coach, the legendary Welshman, John Toshack. In the squad there are Moroccan players who grew up in Europe such as Kamal Chafni, who made 200 appearances in the French league, Fouad Idabdelhay, who played in the youth teams at NAC Breda and who also played for the Holland U-21 team, and Naïm Aarab, who has played in Belgium and Greece. More local key players include Mohamed Berrabeh, the current captain who was part of the last Wydad team that won the title, and Abdelatif Noussir, who played for the winning squad of the Moroccan U-23 team in the continental championship.

Kawkab Marrakech are often a surprising team. Their return to the top division last year saw them finish in 4th place. This season, the current manager Hicham Dmii, who has already led Kawkab to promotion, wants to be the manager who will lead the team to their first title since 1992. The team’s top players are Luis Jefferson Escher, a Brazilian has who played in Morocco since 2008, Ismaïl Koucham, who was part of the Raja Casablanca squad at the 2013 Club World Cup, Khaled Sekkat, who won two national titles with Wydad, and Soufiane Alloudi, who has 17 caps for the Moroccan national team.

In such a close table, every win could be decisive for the title. Which team will win and get one step ahead in the title race?

Saturday, 13:45, Selangor – Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysian Super League)
When a new season begins, you can always feel the excitement. Usually, after two weeks, you don’t usually find any optimists among the teams which  finished in the 1st and 2nd places the season before. This is the exact situation in Malaysia right now.

The champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim, have only 3 points and they are   5th in the league, while the runner ups, Selangor, have just 1 point and are in 10th place. As it’s the third matchday of the season,  it is still too early to analyse, but both team needs the victory badly, in order to improve on their bad starts.

Selangor are considered to be the greatest team in Malaysian football history. Since the establishment of the league in 1984, they have won 6 championships, along with 32 domestic cups. They even qualified for Asian Champions Cup final in 1967. The current manager, Mehmet Durakovic from Australia, is a former  Selangor player and even won the Malaysian cup three times with the club as a player. The key players of the team are Mohd Hamsani Ahmad, who has played 36 matches for the Malaysian national team, Abdul Hadi Yahya, who was the leauge’s top scorer in 2011 with 20 goals in 26 matches, and Andik Vermansyah, a 23 year-old talent who is believed to be the best paid Indonesian athlete (his salary is 150,000 dollar per year, according to the local media).

Johor Darul Ta'zim produced a huge sensation last season and now they want to win the title again. As well as their poor performance in the local competition, they were also eliminated in the AFC Champions League qualifiers, so they will play in the AFC Cup group stage. Their Croatian coach, Bojan Hodak, is well-travelled in East Asia, as he has already trained teams from China and Cambodia and he has won two Malaysian league titles. The leading players are Luciano Figueroa, the top scorer and gold medalist from the 2004 Olympics with Argentina, Mohd Amri Yahyah, who moved to the team after 13 years at Selangor, and Mohd Safee Mohd Sali, who has played 67 times for the national team. After such a bad start to the season for both clubs, they will do anything to get the victory.
Expect some real attacking play in this one.

Sunday, 22:30, Coritiba - Atlético Paranaense (Campeonato Paranaense)
These days, it is the Carnival season in Brazil. While the samba rhythm  passionately decorates the Brazilian streets, we will travel to another emotional state league.  In the state of Paraná, where the local league is one of the oldest in Brazil, it is the 101st edition of the championship. After the surprising title win by Londrina lastseason, the two major teams in the state, Coritiba and Atlético Paranaense, will try to get back on the horse and win the title back. This match is an extra-hot derby match in the city of Curitiba and it also has a nickname, Atlé-Tiba.

Coritiba was one of the first teams to be formed in Brazil. The team was established by group of German immigrants in 1909, and since then it has become one of the strongest team in Paraná, with 37 titles in the state league. Coritiba plays in the top division, the Brasileirão, and last year they finished in 14th place. The coach, Marquinhos Santos, has already won the state title with Coritiba in 2013, and is not only trying to win his second title with the team, but also his third consecutive state title, after winning the Campeonato Baiano with Bahia in 2014. Notable players include Leandro Almeida, the former Dynamo Kyiev player, Rosinei, who won the Copa Libertadores title with Atlético Mineiro in 2013, Keirrison, who Barcelona once thought of as one of its wonder kids, and Negueba, who won the 2011 U-20 World Cup with Brazil.

Their opponents are Atlético Paranaense, and it's really hard to say which team is better. Atlético have won just 22 state titles, but they have spent more seasons in the Brasileirão, finishing in 8th place last year. For the coach, Claudinei Oliveira it’s his fourth season in the league since 2013. Look out for Wéverton, who is considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the league, Lucas Olaza, who was part of Uruguay’s 2013 U-20 World Cup finalists, and Cléo, who has returned to Brazil after grand tour in Portugal, Serbia, China and Japan.

There are people who think that Brazilian state league games are just a preparation for the Brasileirão, but this game is going to be hot and the stadium in Curitiba will be on fire.

Weekend Guide 12.2.15

One weekend, three games, Worldwide. All the information.

A new weekend is here, and with it comes a new recap. This time, we will take a look at one of the tightest leagues in the world right now, a great Latino clash and we will return to Australia to find out if they’ve got over their hangovers from the Asian Cup celebrations. Let's go!

(All the times hours are in CET)

Saturday, 15:05, Al-Riffa – East Riffa (Bahraini Premier League)
Reigning champions always want to repeat their success. Al-Riffa, the current champions of Bahrain, is no different, but it looks like it’s going to be extra-tough this season. This season, the league in Bahrain is so close that the gap between 1st place and 5th place is just 2 points. On Saturday, it will be Al-Riffa’s chance to make this gap bigger, as  take on their local rivals, East Riffa.

Al-Riffa won the title for the 11th time last year and they are still improving. The team was established by Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the current prime minister of Bahrain, and the chairman is Abdulla bin Khalid Al Khalifa, another member of the royal family. This season, Al-Riffa is in 2nd place, with the same points as the leaders, Muharraq. The team’s key players are Abdallah Deeb, who is currently one of the top Jordanian players, Abdulla Shallal, a 22 year-old who is considered to be one of the hottest prospects in Bahraini football, and Rodrigo Possebon, an Italian-Brazilian player who was part of the Manchester United youth system and who also made 3 appearances in the Premier League.

East Riffa is not as big as Al-Riffa, but they have made impressive progress in recent years. Last season, they won the cup and the domestic super cup against Al-Riffa. It was a huge surprise, as East Riffa was in the second division last year.

This season they are ranked in 5th place, just two points behind the leaders and this match is their chance to create another sensation.

The main players are Mladen Jovanovic, with 10 years’ experience in Gulf football, Faisal Bodahoom, the current team’s top scorer and Séïdath Tchomogo, who has played 45 times for the national team of Benin.

As the league is so close, every win could get a team one step nearer  to the title, and what could be better to move further up the table than winninga derby? Nothing my friends, nothing at all.

Saturday, 23:00, Comunicaciones – Antigua (Liga Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala)
Golden beaches and amazing nature are the main characteristics of Guatemala. Unfortunately, the football is less successful, but like every country in Latin America, whether the football is good or bad, the matches are full of passion. This weekend, the league leaders, Comunicaciones, will try to get closer to another title in a home match against Antigua.

Comunicaciones is a famous club in Guatemala. The club was established in 1949 and adopted by the ministry of communication, which is the origin for their name. In the Apertura, they won the title after defeating Municipal in the final. This title was their 29th title in their history and their 5th consecutive title.

The top players in the team are Rolando Blackburn, who has played 15 times for the national team of Panama and Juan José Paredes, the best goalkeeper in Guatemala three years in a row. Paolo Suárez, the elder brother of Uruguayan international Luis, is also part of the team after eight years in El Salvador.

The other side, Antigua, is much smaller club. Being They are regularly promoted and relegated, most recently in a very weird way. This season, they purchased the place of another club, Heredia, in the league. In the Apertura, they were eliminated in the quarter-finals and they are now in 3rd place, 5 points behind Comunicaciones. The biggest name in the team is Fredy Thompson, one of the best players in Guatemalan football’s history with 90 caps for the national team, Roberto Peña, a Colombian who used to play in El Slavador, and Juan Valenzuela, who was the team’s top scorer in the Apertura.

It looks like it’s going to be another title for Comunicaciones, but Antigua has a great chance to catch them up, so this should be a fascinating one.

Sunday, 07:00, Adelaide United – Perth Glory (Australian A-League)
Now the Asian Cup celebrations have come to an end, it’s time to get back to reality. Two-thirds of the A-League regular season is complete and every win could be decisive for the play-off spots. In the case of Adelaide United and Perth Glory, it will be a bit different. The two will probably play in the play-offs, but have to try to finish in the top two, as these places automatically qualify teams for the semi-finals.

Recent seasons haven’t been so good for Adelaide United. Since the 2009 finals, Adelaide United only qualified for the play-offs three times and haven’t reached the semi-finals. This season, they’re doing it differently. The team is ranked in 3rd place, with a hope of winning the title.
The coach is Josep Gombau from Spain, who has two championship titles in Hong Kong and who has already led Adelaide United to  domestic cup a win last year. Look out for Isaías Sanchez and Sergio Cirio, two Spaniards who played under Gombau in the Barcelona youth teams. Other key players are Eugene Galekovic, the current captain, Bruce Djite, who has played in Turkey and China, and Awer Mabil, a 19 year-old from South Sudan, who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and is now considered as the most promising player in Australian football.

Perth Glory never was one of the biggest teams in the A-League. In the last 9 seasons, they’ve only qualified for the play-offs three times and they have been eliminated in the quarter-finals twice. Something is different at Perth this season, as they are the league leaders and have only lost three times in the last 16 matches. The leading players are Andy Keogh, the team’s top scorer last season, Danny Vuković, a great goalkeeper who was part of the 2008 championship-winning team of Central Coast Mariners,  and Richard Garcia, who played for Hull City for 5 years.

The Australian people have fallen in love with football (even though they call it soccer) and every match has a great atmosphere. This is our chance to check out this new passion, in one of the most important matches of the season.