Ronaldhino Look A Likes

Who looks like Ronaldinho?

To kick off our new football look-a-likes section we've started with perhaps the World's most recogniseable footballer at the moment - Ronaldinho.
Our Football Chat columnist Piranhafish recently stated that he thought Ronaldinho had more than a passing resemblance to "the tall girl out of Saved By The Bell who went on to play the pole dancer in some hyped up soft porn flick that I can't remember the name of".

This started us thinking, and yes there is a resemblance to her, (although I know which one I'd rather wake up next to). So, in the interests of modern science we've decided to put the latest photo technology to the test to get a definitive look-a-like.

We took the photo's to our lab at Football England H.Q. and allowed our boffins to experiment with the two pictures. We got a decidedly disturbing outcome.
When we took the photo of Ronaldinho with the ball on his back and merged it with the other one we got Charles Laughton as the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Do you think anyone else looks like Ronaldinho? Perhaps your mate does, or the barmaid at your local boozer.
Perhaps you know someone who looks like another footballer?
If you want to send us your ideas or pictures please drop us an email and we'll share it with the world.

Ronaldo picks Messi as Golden Ball favorite

Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo thinks Barcelona striker Lionel Messi could succeed him as the best player in Europe by winning the Golden Ball award.

The Portugal winger, who joined Madrid from Manchester United during the offseason, said Tuesday in an interview with France Football magazine that Barcelona players have the best chances to win the prestigious trophy this year.

“Messi is the favorite,” Ronaldo said. “Why not him? If he wins it, it will be well deserved.”

Six players from Spanish and European champion Barcelona are chasing the Golden Ball, whose list of nominations was released last week and included Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta, Yaya Toure and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ronaldo has also been selected. The winner will be announced on Dec. 1.

“The favorite is a player from Barcelona,” Ronaldo said. “To win a trophy like this, you need to have won collective trophies, a league title, the Champions League. That’s why many players from Barcelona could win it.”

Restricted to players in Europe, the Golden Ball winner is decided by an annual poll of soccer journalists compiled by the magazine.

Ronaldo also admitted that Barcelona was better than Real Madrid.

“But why? Because they are playing together for several seasons,” the Portugal winger said. “Not just for two months like us. We respect Barcelona but let’s wait until the end (of the season).”

Soccer-Barca nursing strikers to fitness for Rubin visit

Strike outs

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Henry out, Ibrahimovic a doubt for Barca

* Russians worried over fitness of striker Bukharov By Mark Elkington

MADRID, Oct 19 (Reuters) - European champions Barcelona have injury worries up front for their Champions League Group F match at home to Rubin Kazan on Tuesday.

A busy round of World Cup qualifiers last week caused France’s Thierry Henry to be ruled out with a thigh strain, while Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw in Valencia with a bruised knee.

“We spoke with the doctors and thought it best to be cautious (with Ibrahimovic),” Barca coach Pep Guardiola said after Saturday’s La Liga clash.

He was in a lot of pain. We’ll have to see if we can get him back for Tuesday.”

Ibrahimovic trained apart from the squad on Sunday, along with Seydou Keita, Eric Abidal and Pedro who all finished the bruising encounter in Valencia with knocks.

Lionel Messi completed the full 90 minutes in the Mestalla despite having played two emotionally draining qualifiers with Argentina last week and looked well below par.

“It is normal that sometimes you have off days,” midfielder Keita said of Messi on Sunday. “The team weren’t at their best either (against Valencia), but he remains one of our best players.”

NOTHING TO LOSE

The Spanish league leaders have Bojan Krkic back after injury and Guardiola could draft him in to the attack if Ibrahimovic is not fit in time.

Barca also top their Champions League group with four points from two games, and host a Rubin Kazan side who will have been lifted after claiming their first point in Europe’s elite club competition last time out.

The Russians held Italian giants Inter Milan to a 1-1 draw in Kazan last month and coach Kurban Berdyev was confident this result would help his side.

“We are playing Barcelona, the best team in the world, so we have nothing to lose and a lot to gain from the match,” he was was quoted as telling local media.

Berdyev rested a number of key players for their 2-1 league win over struggling FC Khimki on Saturday, but suffered a scare when Russia striker Alexander Bukharov left the pitch after just three minutes with a leg injury.

“Thank God his leg is not broken and I hope he’ll be ready in time for Barcelona,” Berdyev said.

South African midfielder Macbeth Sibaya is suspended.

Probable teams:

Barcelona: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Xavi, Seydou Keita, Yaya Toure; Pedro, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta.

Rubin Kazan: Sergei Ryzhikov; Cesar Navas, Roman Sharonov, Cristian Ansaldi, Lasha Salukvadze; Alexander Ryazantsev, Sergei Semak, Christian Noboa, Gokdeniz Karadeniz; Alejandro Dominguez, Alexander Bukharo

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El Mansura	vs.	El Ahly
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Man City boss plays down Robinho`s Barca talk

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes insists Robinho still has a future at Eastlands despite the Brazil forward’s reported admission that he would love to join Barcelona.

Robinho is currently sidelined with an ankle injury but he fuelled speculation of a January move to the Nou Camp when he was quoted this week saying that it would be a dream to play for Barca.

It is not the first time Robinho has been linked with a move since joining City from Real Madrid in 2008.

But Hughes said on Friday: “There is always speculation and noise surrounding Robinho. That has been the case since he came to the club.

“He is a great guy. We are not in the process of taking outstanding players out of the team.

“We want to complement the outstanding players at the club. We are looking to build, not dismantle.”

Hughes also revealed Robinho could make his comeback in the League Cup match against Scunthorpe in two weeks.

“The only frustration he has at the moment is that he is not fit and well,” Hughes said.

“I hope that will be resolved in the next week to 10 days, and he will be back on the pitch.”

Wenger slams Ridgewell over Walcott injury

Arsene Wenger has slammed Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell for the tackle which left Arsenal winger Theo Walcott nursing a potentially serious knee injury.

Walcott was forced off before half-time in the Gunners’ 3-1 win over City at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday following a hefty tackle from Ridgewell.

The England international was left in a crumpled heap after the defender crashed into him, winning the ball but also crunching into the back of his legs.

Walcott played on for another 20 minutes before being withdrawn and will undergo a scan on Sunday to determine the extent of the injury.

Wenger has ruled out the possibility of cruciate ligament damage but fears Walcott might have twisted his medial ligaments, which would rule him out of Tuesday’s Champions League game with AZ Alkmaar and could leave him facing several weeks on the sidelines.

“He has a bruised knee and it’s swollen,” Wenger said. “It’s difficult to assess and know whether it is a twisted medial ligament or just a kick. He said he was unstable when he was running which is not good news.

“We will assess on Sunday morning when he will have a scan – if it’s just a kick then he should he available for Tuesday, if it’s a twist then he won’t be. I believe, personally, he will not be available for Tuesday, at least.

“It was a cut-through tackle, without any restriction. It was meant to impress. It looked quick and hard from outside – I don’t know if he didn’t want to play the ball.”

The incident was a grim echo of the last occasion these sides met, when Arsenal striker Eduardo suffered a compound fracture of his leg following a tackle by Martin Taylor.

That said, the implications for Walcott should not be nearly as severe as they were for the Croatia striker, and Birmingham manager Alex McLeish was justified in pointing out that the referee, Lee Probert, did not even see fit to award a free-kick for Ridgewell’s tackle.

Arsenal’s sensitivities were doubtless heightened by the memory of what happened after that infamous meeting with Birmingham in 2008, when their title challenge imploded.

But Wenger was understandably heartened by his side stretching their winning streak to seven games in all competitions.

The north Londoners were in control from the 16th minute, Robin van Persie collecting Alex Song’s pass and whipping a shot into the far corner, and when Abou Diaby doubled the advantage moments later, Birmingham appeared set for a long day.

But they were handed an unexpected lifeline when Vito Mannone, the young Italian goalkeeper, inexplicably flapped at a high ball and Lee Bowyer volleyed in.

Wenger was unimpressed with both that error, hinting afterwards that Manuel Almunia could win back his starting place against Alkmaar.

The killer blow was finally applied in the 84th minute, when Andrey Arshavin curled in a low shot following a swift counter-attack.

“We were cruising and in control at two goals,” he said. “We were wondering who would score the third but we started making mistakes. We didn’t have the same fluency, control or pace in the second half.”

McLeish issued a warning to his own side after this latest defeat, suggesting that they could be running out of chances to impress before the opening of the winter transfer window.

“We need to find that cutting edge and we are looking for our match winners to play consistently well,” said the Scot, who is expected to be handed 40 million pounds to spend by City’s new owner Carson Yeung.

United back at the top

Nothing without him?

Could it actually be that we are going to have a tight Premier League season at the top and at the bottom?

Nervy

Manchester United returned to the top with a really nervy win overBolton. After taking a two goal lead they switched off and Bolton laid siege on their goal and very nearly took a point. However, the champions picked up three points.

Meanwhile, Chelsea took the lead at top four wannabees Aston Villa through the enigma that is Didier Drogba but then threw it away and lost 2-1.

Two man

Liverpool lost at Sunderland when Darren Bent’s shot was deflected in off a beach ball thrown onto the pitch by a Liverpool fan. That really is some sort of own goal. Are Liverpool a two man team and not able to play if Gerrard and Torres are missing?

The final member of the big four did get a comfortable win. Arsenal saw off Birmingham 3-1 despite not playing anywhere near their fluent best.

Misery

The other top four wannabees Tottenham heaped more misery on bottom club Portsmouth. In a highly charged game both teams had a player sent off but Tottenham eased to a 2-1 win.

If Manchester City win at Wigan today they will knock Arsenal out of the top four and will join Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United. Liverpool have slipped to eighth place and are behind Sunderland and Aston Villa.

Trouble

At the bottom, Portsmouth are clearly in trouble but the likes of Wolves got a draw at Everton and Bolton nearly shocked Manchester United.

Whilst it may well turn out to be a four horse race at the top and the bottom of the Premier League in the end, at the moment it looks absolutely wide open and that has to be a really good thing.

Thrilled

At this stage I would think Manchester United are absolutely thrilled to be top after playing really quite poorly in many of their games. Chelsea will be a little concerned after two away defeats in a row. Arsenal will be feeling pretty confident as they have done well apart from two pretty unfortunate defeats in Manchester, or ‘accidents’ as Arsene Wenger called them. Liverpool are in mid-table and have lost four games already. That’s twice as many as they lost in the whole of last season.

Manchester City and Tottenham and maybe Aston Villa, will think they have a real chance of breaking the top four’s monopoly. As a neutral, I think that’s great.

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Aston Villa vs Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League

Argentina qualifies for World Cup with 1-0 win

Argentina made it to next year’s World Cup. Barely.

Mario Bolatti scored amid a goalmouth scramble in the 84th minute, and coach Diego Maradona’s Albiceleste beat Uruguay 1-0 Wednesday night to earn the fourth and final automatic berth from South America.

Uruguay's Martin Caceres r… AP - Oct 14, 10:12 pm EDT

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Maradona repeatedly used profane language to lash out at his critics at the post-match news conference and said Argentina media had treated him “like garbage.” He credited the win to support he received from fans.

“Thanks to my players, today I was consecrated as a coach,” he said defiantly. “We are in the World Cup with full honors.”

Brazil (9-2-7) finished first in South America with 34 points, one ahead of Chile and Paraguay (10-5-3), which had earlier clinched the first three berths from South America.

Argentina (8-6-4), which would have missed its first World Cup since 1970 if it had lost, wound up fourth with 28 points and will go to the tournament for the 10th straight time.

“There’s nothing to celebrate. From Grondona on down, it’s all bad,” forward Juan Sebastian Veron said, a reference to Argentina Football Association president Julio Grondona. “There’s no reason to sweep things under the carpet. We’ve got to huddle and do a lot of talking.”

Uruguay (6-6-6) finished fifth with 24 points and will meet Costa Rica, the No. 4 team from North and Central America and the Caribbean, in a playoff next month for another berth. The first leg is at Costa Rica on Nov. 14, and Uruguay hosts the second leg four days later.

Argentina scored just after Uruguay defender Martin Caceres tripped Veron just outside the penalty area and was ejected for his second yellow card.

Caceres covered his head with his jersey as he was sent off. From the ensuing free kick, Lionel Messi and Veron smoothly set up Bolatti, who entered just four minutes earlier. Bolatti beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera with a low shot.

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