Weekend Guide 23.4.15

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

We are getting closer to the end of April and for some leagues, the real action starts now. As usual, in our recap, we will check out great excitement and atmospheres in three lucrative matches. We will make another visit to Azerbaijan, we will be at the Eternal Derby of Serbia, and to finish off, we have a tight race for the title in Venezuela. Here we go!

(All times hours are in CET local time)

Saturday, 16:00, Qarabağ - Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan Premier League)
As the stories about Azerbaijan, corruption and football are well-known and in the open, let's take a look at the Azeri domestic league. This weekend, the leading teams, Qarabağ and Neftchi Baku, will clash in a decisive match. Both of the teams have also qualified for the Azeri cup final, and will meet once again for another title.
Qarabağ is one of the teams who play in Baku, but it wasn't really up to them. Previously, the team had played in Agdam, but fighting in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Azeri-Armenian border made the town a dangerous ghost city.  The team has been playing in Baku for over 20 years. They are getting closer to another title, leading the table by 10 points with five games left. The club is having a great season, as they also only missed out on a Europa League last 32 spot to Inter because of a refereeing mistake. Look out for Reynaldo, the club's top scorer with 9 league goals, another Brazilian, Richard Almeida, who is also a talented figure, Muarem Muarem, the Macedonian midfielder who scored the decisive goal in the Europa League play-offs against Twente, and Leroy George, who was one of the leading players in last season Qarabağ's squad. Two more interesting faces are Vüqar Nadirov, who became the second player in the club’s history to make 200 league appearances, and Ansi Agolli, the veteran Albanian who previously played in Switzerland, Finland and Ukraine.

Neftchi Baku is one of the richest teams in Azerbaijan. For decades, the team was associated with oil workers of the lower-middle classes, until the rich state-owned oil company, SOCAR, became its main sponsor. After 3 consecutive titles, Neftchi failed to win the title last year, and now they are trying to keep their Europa League spot, as they’re currently in 3rd place. The big stars of the team are Nicolás Canales, who has returned to Neftchi after one season in his homeland Chile, Flavinho, a dominant Brazilian in the squad, and Ernest Nfor, a Cameroonian striker who arrived in Azerbaijan after 8 seasons in Belgium.

With the hopes for further development in Azeri football, without corruption or human rights violations, both teams will be part of great fight in the country’s top flight football.

Saturday, 18:00, Crvena Zvezda – Partizan Belgrade (Serbian Superliga)
One of the highlights of the season is the clash between the two biggest rivals in the league, and when the title is on the line, it's even bigger. On Saturday, the Eternal Derby (Večiti derbi) will be played in Belgrade.

Crvena Zvezda, known also as Red Star Belgrade, was the dominant team in Yugoslav football until 1992. 19 championships, four out of the last five titles in the former Yugoslavia, historical Champions Cup and Intercontinental titles in 1991, were all part of the club’s glorious trophy cabinet. Since Yugoslavia's breakup, Crvena Zvezda has failed to retain its past success, but they still manage to win the title from time to time, as they managed to do last term. This season, they are ranked in 2nd place, five points from Partizan. The leading players of the team are Predrag Rajković, who was part of the Serbia U-19 European Championships winning squad in 2013, Darko Lazović, who after 6 years will leave Crvena Zvezda for Genoa at the end of the season, and Savo Pavićević, who has played 39 times for the Montenegro national team.
Partizan Belgrade, the team who has won 25 domestic titles, want to do it once again. Since Yugoslavia was torn apart, they have become the dominant side in Serbia, with six titles out of the past eight. This year, they are close to doing it once again. A victory on Saturday would increase the gap to eight points with six games left to play. The key players of the team are Saša Ilić, a 37 year-old player who returned 5 years ago after a long  tour of Spain, Turkey and Austria, Branko Ilić, who has 58 caps for the Slovenia national team, and Nikola Drinčić, who scored the winning goal in the teams' last meeting.

Groups of fans from both clubs were involved in the Balkan wars during the nineties, and that is a huge part of this rivalry. We can write more and more about this match, but let us leave the stage for these fans – Crvena Zvezda's Delije (The Studs) and Partizan's Grobari (The Gravediggers). That’s just priceless.

Sunday, 22:00, Deportivo Táchira – Zamora (Venezuelan Primera División)
It's the final days of the Venezuelan Clausura, and three teams are still in contention for first place. In Venezuela, the Apertura and Clausura champions meet at the end of the season for a two-legged final, and the winner is crowned as champions. After Trujillanos’ Apertura title, it's the chance for Deportivo Táchira and Zamora to win the Clausura title.

Deportivo Táchira is one of the most successful teams in Venezuela: they have won seven domestic titles and they are the most represented Venezuelan team in the Copa Libertadores, with 18 appearances. They are ranked in 2nd place, one point behind the leaders, Caracas, but have played one match less. Their main players are the striker Gelmin Rivas, who has scored 38 league goals in 67 games since he arrived at the club, the midfielder César González, who has 56 caps for the Venezuela national team, the striker Yohandry Orozco, who came back to Venezuela after two years at Wolfsburg, and the defender Jorge Alberto Rojas, who won four league titles, the first back in 2001.
Zamora is one of the most improved teams in Venezuela. They were established in 2002, made their Primera Division debut in 2006, and they have been  champions of Venezuela for the past two seasons. The team's success came mainly thanks to Adelis Chávez, a former local bank vice-president and the brother of the former president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez. This season they are in 3rd place, two points from the top. There are a few talented youngsters in the squad such as Jhon Murillo, a 19-year old striker who scored on his  first and only appearance for the national team, and Yeferson Soteldo, a 17 year-old midfielder who is in his debut season for the senior team, but there are also some veteran players who have been playing for Zamora for years, like defender Moisés Galezo and midfielder José Torres.

A three-way race for the first place with two matches left. The 2nd and 3rd teams are fighting for the same spot. The stress levels are high, but only one team will come out on top and continue its path to the title.

Weekend Guide 17.4.15

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

During the mid-week we all saw the 0:0 draw between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, in what was a great chance to take a nap. In order to put things right, BabaGol is taking you to three matches that have a bit more than that match. For a bit of European football we will go to Moldova, for a taste of the Champions League we’ll sail to Oceania and for a hot derby we will ride our camels to Jordan. It’s time to wake up!

(All times are in CET local time)

Friday, 15:00, Dacia Chișinău – Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldovan Divizia Națională)
On Friday, the two biggest clubs of Moldova will play each other. When Dacia Chișinău and Sheriff Tiraspol are about to meet it is more than a simple football rivalry. This match is the clash between Chișinău, the capital of Moldova, and Tiraspol, the capital of separatist Transistria.

Dacia Chișinău became the strongest team in the city 10 years ago, after their city rivals, Zimbru, didn't manage to repeat their achievements from the early days of Moldovan football. They usually finish in the top places of the league, but apart from one title in 2013, they fail against the eternal champions of the league, Sheriff Tiraspol. This season they are in 2nd place, just 1 point behind the surprise leader, Milsami Orhei. The leading players are David Siradze, the veteran Georgian player who has played in Germany, Jaba Dvali, another Gerogian who has won titles in his home nation and Azerbaijan, and Petru Leucă, the team’s leading scorer with 6 goals.

The story of Sheriff Tiraspol is much more complicated. Tiraspol is the capital of Transistria, a region with a Slavic majority, unlike the rest of Moldova, where there is a Romanian majority. Transistria claims independence, but is still not recognized by any nation. The club’s name is derived from the Sheriff Company, which was formed by Victor Gușan, the club’s president. As well as the team, their holdings include a TV station, a chain of petrol stations, many factories and some small companies. It's also claimed that the company  actually governs Transistria, being run mafia-style, and is used to launder money. The team have won the last 13 out of 14 titles, and this season they are in 3rd place, on equal points with Dacia, but behind them due to their head-to-head results. Look out for Ricardinho, the league’s top scorer with 16 goals, Vadim Paireli, who is an under-21 national starlet, and Juninho Potiguar, who joined the team last season and has already scored 17 goals in 29 matches.

This game is a  ‘once in a lifetime’ chance for a title for Dacia. Can they do it? Or will it be another one for Sheriff?

Saturday, 09:00, Amicale – Auckland City (OFC Champions League)
BabaGol is returning to one of its favourite clubs, our friends from Vanuatu, Amicale FC. The OFC Champions League group stage is played in a neutral venue in Suva, Fiji. The three group winners, along with the best runner-ups, will qualify for the semi-finals. The decisive match for Amicale will once again be against the New Zealand and Oceania Champions, Auckland City.

After the  disaster of Cyclone Pam, Amicale will try to give the people of Vanuatu something to be happy about. Amicale won their first two matches against local teams Suva and Western United from the Solomon Islands, and want to qualify for the next stage and go one step further than last year and win the title. In the domestic league, they have won 5 consecutive titles and they are well on the way to the 6th. Look out for Osea Vakatalesau, who scored 2 goals in the tournament, Alphonse Bongnaim, who has played 11 times for Vanuatu national team, and Rijat Shala, a Swiss-Kosovan player who was one of the biggest stars of the U-21 team in 2006, but since then has played in Albania and the lower divisions in Italy.

Auckland City started the tournament in the same way. They also won twice in their first two matches, but a better goal difference put them in the top spot of the group, so a draw will be enough for qualification. They have won the title for the past 4 seasons and their semi-final appearance in FIFA Club World Cup makes them keen to win it once again. Their key players are Ivan Vicelich, who has won 88 caps for the New Zealand national team, Iván Carril, who arrived in January and has already scored 4 goals in 6 league matches, David Browne, a 19 year-old hot prospect from Papua New Guinea, and Marko Đorđević, who won the last season’s Vanuatu championship with Amicale.

Even though the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals are being played again in this week, trust me – the repeat of last season OFC Champions League final will be much more exciting.

Sunday, 18:00, Al Faisaly – Al Wehdat (Jordan Premier League)
Big Arab rivalries always produce great matches and for this very reason, we are going to Jordan. Sunday's "Derby of Jordan" which is being played in the capital Amman, has some strong nationalist characteristics. We already talked about the rivalry between Jordan and Palestine, which is also the main issue of this game. Al Faisaly represents the local  nationalist Jordanians, while Al Wehdat represents the Palestinian refugees.

Al Faisaly is the strongest club in Jordanian football history. They have won 32 championships, 17 cups and two AFC Cups. This season, the team is far from being one of the greatest in the club’s history. With four wins and nine draws, they are in 8th place, just 5 points above the relegation spots. In addition, they have scored just 10 goals and have the worst attack in the league. The coach is Mohamed Azima, a retired Egyptian player who played in Germany for years. The team's main players are Hani Al Taiar, a key player in the U-17 Syrian national team’s appearance at the 2007 U-17 World Cup, Jean Michel N'Lend, who arrived at the club after 3 years with Al Shorta in Iraq, Baha' Abdel-Rahman, who has played 72 times for Jordan national team, and Mohammad Shatnawi, one of the greatest goalkeepers in Jordan.

Al Wehdat has always been behind Al Faisaly, but they have made a lot of progress in recent seasons. Last season they won their 13th title and this season they are close to winning another one, as they lead by 7 points with 4 matches left. The team is based in Amman New Camp, known locally as Wehdat, which was established in 1955 for Palestinian refugees and today is one of the biggest refugee camps in Jordan, with 51,000 registered refugees. The coach, Abdullah Abu Zema, was an Al Wehdat player for 12 years. The biggest names in the team are Amer Shafi, the most capped player in the Jordan national team’s history with 110 caps, Abdelatif Bahdari, who was born in Gaza and plays for the Palestine national team, and Mahmoud Za'tara, a Jordanian-Palestinian who is considered to be one of the biggest hopes of Jordanian football.

Like in our previous visits to the Middle East, you can feel the passion in this match. Nationalism, local prestige and title aspirations. You just couldn't ask for more, could you? 

Weekend Guide 9.4.15

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

Another weekend is here, and you know exactly where you’ll can find the most interesting matches. That’s right, at the BabaGol Weekend recap! This week we will visit a match for the title in Kuwait, we will meet a few familiar faces in China and  enjoy an Afro-Brazilian football experience in Angola. Let´s dance!

(All times are in CET local time)

Friday, 19:55, Al Kuwait – Al Arabi (Kuwaiti Premier League)
This is the ‘money time’ of the season in Kuwait. The match between Al Kuwait and Al Arabi, two teams with serious  title aspirations, is going to be a decisive one as Al Arabi is top of the table, 5 points ahead of Al Kuwait. Al Kuwait has a glorious history including 11 national championships and ten national cups. Moreover, they have won three AFC Cup titles, the second-tier continental competition in Asia. This year they are once again playing in the AFC Cup, as they are close to qualifying for the round of 16 for the 7th consecutive season.
Keep your eyes on the Brazilian Rogerinho, who has been playing for the team since 2008 and who won the AFC Foreign Player of the Year award in 2012, Waleed Ali, who played 103 matches for Kuwait national team, and Abdulhadi Khamis, the team's top scorer this season, with 7 goals.
Al Arabi are aiming to win their first title since 2002. They have already won the Kuwaiti Cup this year, winning 4:2 against the same Al Kuwait team. They currently have 16 national championships, and winning the title this season means that they will become the most crowned team in the country. Their key players are Firas Al-Khatib, a Syrian player who has scored 16 league goals this season, Mahmoud Dashti, a 22 year-old local talent, Ahmed Hayel who, as well as being one of the club’s greatest scorers, was part of a bizzare moment in the last Asian Cup.

You can feel the pressure and the stress in the closing stages of the league. Which team will come good and win the championship?

Sunday, 11:00, Shanghai SIPG – Beijing Guoan (Chinese Super League)
With the arrival of big money and big stars, it is clear that the Chinese league is developing significantly. Matchday 5 will be played this weekend, and we have a clash between Shanghai SIPG and the league leaders, Beijing Guoan, who haven't lost a game yet.

A few years ago, Shanghai SIPG were known as Shanghai Dongya, an average second division team. In 2013, the team signed a $40m sponsorship deal with the Shanghai International Port Group and the team immediately became one of the strongest teams in China. Last term they finished in 5th place, missing out on the Champions League spot by goal difference and now they aspire to win the title, currently ranked 2nd with 10 points. Shanghai appointed a world class manager, the Swede Sven-Göran Eriksson. Among the big names in the squad you can find another Swede, Tobias Hysén, who played 34 times for his national team, Argentine Darío Conca, who came back to China after one season with Fluminense, and Sun Xiang, who has played in the Netherlands and Austria. Beijing Guoan has quite a tradition in the Chinese top flight. Even though they have only won one championship, they usually finish in the league’s top places and play in the AFC Champions League regularly. It is tight at the top, with Shanghai leading the table with 10 points thanks to a better goal difference. Beijing Guoan also have a foreign manager, the veteran Spanish coach Gregorio Manzano, who won the Coach of the Year award in China last year. Look out for Dejan Damjanović, who arrived in China after 6 tremendous seasons in South Korea, Yang Zhi, the China national team’s goalkeeper and Shao Jiayi, who played in Germany for 9 years.

Chinese football is making big progress every day. A high-tempo match from the Super League will give you a feel for it.

Sunday, 16:00, Recreativo de Libolo – Petro de Luanda (Angola Girabola)
Imagine a mix of Portuguese and Brazilian football on the one hand, and African football on the other hand. The combination of both will be our welcome greeting to football in Angola, a former Portuguese colony in Africa. On Sunday, Recreativo de Libolo and Petro de Luanda will face each other in a match between two completely different sides of the local scene.

Recreativo de Libolo was formed in 1942, then was dissolved, but then reformed in 2006. This new era for the team is led by the new president, Rui Campos, who has taken the club to new heights. They were promoted for the first time to the Girabola, and in 2011 won their first championship, which was part of a dynasty of three titles in four seasons. Their manager, Sébastien Desabre, has been in Africa for a while and previously managed teams in the Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Tunisia. The main players of the team are Rudy, who has played in Belgium and Spain, Fredy, who played in the national youth team of Portugal as a youngster and now plays for the senior team of Angola, and Jusly Boukama-Kaya, who arrived in Angola after two seasons in Cameroon.
Petro de Luanda is the biggest team in the history of Angolan football. They have won 15 championships, which makes them the club with the most  titles in the country. Their players always play a big part in the national team. They’re still part of the league’s top flight, but they have failed to win another title since 2009. Their manager, Alexandre Grasseli, is a Brazilian who has managed youth teams in Brazil and is now starting out as a senior team head coach. The stars of the team are Lamá, the team’s goalkeeper since 1999 who was also part of the national squad at the 2006 World Cup, Mabululu, the team's top scorer, and Filhão, a 19 year-old hot prospect of Angolan football who has already played abroad in the South African league.

Africa, Brazil and Portugal all on one pitch, I think that this is going to be a special football experience, just like we all love.

Weekend Guide 3.4.15

Every weekend, Three games, All the information.

Another week is over and as always, it´s time to prepare for some great football. This week, we will visit Palestine for the first time and take a closer look at the exciting Hebron derby, we will be in Mexico once again to try to understand the unusual system of the league. In addition, we will check out the development of Kazakhi football. Are you ready? Then let’s go!

(All times are in CET local time)

Friday, 18:00, Shabab Al-Khalil – Ahli Al-Khalil (West Bank Premier League)
Last January, we met the Palestinian national team waving the flag and displaying national pride at the 2015 Asian Cup. Three months later, we’re visiting the West Bank’s league and the amazing atmosphere of the local crowd at Hussein bin Ali stadium, in the Al-Khalil derby, or in English, Hebron. 

Shabab Al-Khalil is one of the biggest clubs in Palestine. They have won several championships and cups, and their last trophy was the Palestinian Cup in 2013. They are also one of the richest clubs in the league thanks to their chairman, Khadr Qawasmi, a local businessman. The coach is Andrzej Wiśniewski, a Pole who was the Palestinian National Team´s coach in 2002, and who has been the manager of Shabab since 2010. He will be absent from this particular match from unknown reasons. Watch out for striker Fahed Attal, the all-time leading top scorer of the Palestinian national team with 14 international goals, midfielder Mohannad Fanon, who is considered as one of the biggest hopes of Palestinian football, and striker Mohammed Al-Karaki, who played with the national team during last week´s U-23 Asian Championships qualifiers.

Ahli Al-Khalil is a much smaller club, but it has had some impressive results in recent years. Since they were promoted to the West Bank Premier League in 2012, they have become an important club in the competition. This season they reached new heights when they qualified for the Palestinian Cup semi-finals. The club also has a foreign coach, the Italian Stefano Cusin, who was Walter Zenga’s assistant manager at several Middle Eastern clubs. The main players are Ahmed Maher, who has played 11 times for the national team and was part of the Asian Cup squad, Khaldon Elhalman, the leading scorer of the team, Fadi Dweik, the veteran captain, and Wael Merasat, one of the biggest names to have joined the league from Israel.

A high profile derby in the Middle East is something not that you don’t want to miss. Let´s hope for a good game and atmosphere, like in the previous round.

Many thanks to Mahmoud Abu Obeid from “Koora Palestine” for the information for this piece.

Sunday, 01:00, Puebla – Toluca (Liga MX)

A few weeks ago, we visited Mexico for a great clash for the top play-off spots. Now things get a bit complicated. As explained, the top eight teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the play-offs, but there is an exception – the team who will be relegated at the end of the season is one of the top eight, their spot will be passed to the 9th placed team. Relegation is decided by the average of points per game over the last three seasons and just one team is relegated.

This long introduction is about Puebla. After a few bad years near the bottom of the league, Puebla has a chance to qualify for the play-offs for the first time since the 2009 Apertura. Puebla is in the last place of the relegation ranking, which means that they won't make this history, even though they are ranked in the 8th place. One of the heroes of Mexican football, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, is 42 and he is one of the team´stars. He plays alongside Luis Noriega, who played during Puebla's last title win in 2006, and Matías Alustiza, the club´s leading scorer who was the Copa Libertadores joint top scorer in 2012 with Neymar.

Toluca wants to clinch their playoff spot. As they ranked in the 9th place, they still can qualify even from this place, but they will try to improve their positions. The race for the playoffs is close, and there is difference of just 4 points between them and the 4th place. Toluca's manager, José Cardozo, a club legend, has an impressive record as a player in the team – Four championships, CONCACAF Champions' Cup and he is the all-time top scorer of the club. Another Paraguyan, Paulo da Silva, who already played for 6 years in Toluca, left the team for playing in Sunderland and Zaragoza, returned to the team in 2013. Watch out for Víctor Montaño, who played for a decade in France, and Marco Bueno, who won the World Cup with the U-17 team of Mexico.

Weird rules and system, an opponent that want to win, and Puebla that have two options for that match – playoff spot or relegation spot. By BabaGol and Yossport’s standards, this game is a must.

Sunday, 12:00, FC Astana – Aktobe (Kazakhstan Premier League)

Since Kazakhstan left AFC and joined UEFA in 2002, the Kazakhs try to be a genuine part of the European football. The national team is still far from this goal, but the local clubs are making great development. On Sunday, two of these clubs will meet, FC Astana and Aktobe.

FC Astana is a newly formed team with a lot of money. The team is part from an organization called Astana Presidential Sports Club, who includes also a basketball and ice hockey teams, and even a pro road cycling team. The manager of the team is Stanimir Stoilov, who reached the Champions League’s group stage and UEFA Cup quarterfinals with Levski Sofia. Last year, he led Astana for its first title in history. This season, after 4 games they lead the table and hope to win it once again. The key players are Roger Cañas, the Colombian who scored 3 league goals until now, Ulan Konysbayev, who made 23 appearances in Kazakhstan national team, and Foxi Kéthévoama, who was the league’s top scorer last season.

Their rivals, Aktobe, have experienced many successful moments in the past few seasons. Since 2005, they always finished in the top three, and won five championships. Now, they’re ranked 5th, four points from Astana, but they haven't lost yet. The team managed by Vladimir Gazzaev, the son of one of the biggest managers in the Russian football, Valery Gazzaev. Keep your eyes on Yuri Logvinenko, the player who made the most league appearances for Aktobe, Marcos Pizzelli, a Brazilian player who settled in Armenia and played 39 times for their national team, and Sergey Khizhnichenko, 23 years old young talent who came back after one season in the Polish league.

The Kazakh football is constantly develop and improve. Watching a great match from its domestic league will be worth it.

Weekend Guide 26.3.15

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

The big leagues of Europe are in a break, but BabaGol never stops. This weekend we will be with an old-fashioned derby in Kolkata, with the Australian league to check the big changes in the game over there, and we could not miss the international clashes, so we have an exotic one. Let's go!

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Saturday, 1200, Mohun Bagan – East Bengal (Indian I-League)
With all the respect to the ISL, we prefer the original football, where players play for their clubs and people, and not for their bucks. On Saturday, the I-League will provide us an extremely hot match, the derby of Kolkata. Mohun Bagan, the league leaders, will face their local rivals, East Bengal who are placed in the 5th place with 5 points behind.

Mohun Bagan, established in 1899, is one of the oldest clubs in Asia. Historically, the team represented the Western areas of Bengal region, and the fans of the team were known as the rich people of the region. Last season, Mohun Bagan had troubles and almost relegated, but now they came back to the top places of the table, wishing for first title since 2009. This season had extraordinary opening for the club with record of 5 wins and 3 draws. The biggest names of the team are Kingshuk Debnath, who led Atletico de Kolkata to the ISL title, Katsumi Yusa, Japanese foreign player that even played a season in Paraguay, and Pierre Boya, who made long trip in Europe while playing in Serbia, France, Romania and Austria.

East Bengal is the complete opposite of its municipal rival. The team was founded as a response to the rich people club, Mohun Bagan. Like their name, they represent the poor Eastern parts of Bengal region, including a small part of Bangladesh. With only one defeat, East Bengal wants to make another step to its first title since 2004. They finished as the runner-ups in three out of the four previous seasons. Pay attention to Ranti Martins, who scored 12 goals in eight league games, Milan Susak, a Croatian-Australian player who played also in Serbia and Germany, and Deepak Mondal, who capped 62 times for the Indian national team.

This derby is everything for true football lovers, a clash between tradition and money to hard-day workers and low class people. Time for a revolution?

Sunday, 0600, Wellington Pheonix – FC Sydney (Australian A-League)
It's amazing how quickly things can change in football. Few weeks ago, Adelaide United and Perth Glory were here as league leaders, but now they are part from a close race in the top of the league. In case you forgot, the two top teams will qualify automatically to the playoff’ semifinals, while the next four teams will play in the quarterfinals. On Sunday, Wellington Phoenix and FC Sydney will play for the semifinals spots.

Wellington Pheonix is the guest franchise at A-League, as they are basedfrom New Zealand. The team didn't qualified to the playoffs since 2012, and in the past two seasons they even finished in the bottom of the table. The Phoenix are the current league leader with 42 points, and they want to increase the gap in order to confirm their semifinals spot. By the way, this weekend their reserve team will play in the New Zealand league playoffs, which means that the team can win playoff’s promotion simultaneously in two different nations. The top players of the team are Nathan Burns, the team top scorer with 13 league goals, Roy Krishna, Fiji international player who played in New Zealand during previous seasons, and Roly Bonevacia, 23, a Dutch youngster who played in Ajax youth teams.

While Wellington is leading the table, FC Sydney is in the race for the 2nd place. They are on 3rd place with 38 points, same as the 2nd and the 4th places, and one point ahead of the 5th place. As a team from New Zealand, Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify to the AFC Champions League, so 2nd place will also guarantee a spot for next season's Champions League group stage. The team will missed few of its stars such as Saša Ognenovski, who is injured, and Marc Janko, who will play with his national team in Austria, but still they have some  good players. The Serbian duo, Nikola Petković, who played in Germany and Turkey, and Miloš Dimitrijević, who played in France, Shane Smeltz, who played 51 times for New Zealand national team, and Ivan Necevski, who was the goalkeeper in Sydney's last title.

Every week the ladder is changing, the battle for each playoff spot is getting harder. There is no doubt. This match will be intense and decisive.

Monday, 0300, Honduras – French Guiana (CONCACAF Gold Cup Play-offs)
While the lower-ranked teams of CONCACAF will play their first qualifiers for 2018 World Cup, two teams will play for the last spot in the 2015 Gold Cup, which will took place this summer. The 5th placed team in the Copa Centroamericana, Honduras, will play against the 5th ranked team in the Caribbean Cup, French Guiana. French Guiana’s victory 3:1 in the first leg was a complete sensation, so Honduras needs to win their home match.

Honduras is one of the best teams in CONCACAF. They qualified for the last two World Cups, and in four out of the last five Gold Cups, they finished in the 3rd place. Now, before they start their road to the third consecutive World Cup, they will try to qualify once again, to the continental championships. Their newly appointed coach is Jorge Luis Pinto, the Colombian who led Costa Rica to the quarterfinals in the last World Cup. The key players of the team are Noel Valladares, who made 126 appearances for the national team, Maynor Figueroa, who plays for Hull City, Emilio Izaguirre, who plays for Celtic, and the talented hot prospect Andy Najar from Anderlecht.

On the other hand, French Guiana will try to make a history, and qualify for the first time to the competition. The national football association is a full member of CONCACAF, but they will not play in the World Cup qualifiers, as they are not FIFA members. Don't forget that French Guiana is a French Oversea Department, and the local football association is kind of a local branch of the French association. The squad is mainly composed by players who play in the domestic league, but there are some players who play in France such as Ludovic Ball from Lens, Donovan Léon from Auxerrre, Sloan Privat from Caen and Simon Falette from Brest.

A team with a major experience against a tiny team with big expectations, and both will play for the last spot. Should be a tough one!