Chippa United is a club that needs no introduction. A club that has history of achievements and a club that does not lack controversy. Chippa gained popularity when it played in the Vodacom League, topped the Western Cape Province and won the Vodacom Promotional Championships after a play off. They were promoted to the National First Division and then to the Premier Soccer League after a tense show down with Santos for a prime spot in the PSL.

Since its promotion to the PSL, several managers have been fired and players dropped and signed. With eight games to go in the premiership, Chippa United is facing a race against time to stay in the PSL and survive its first top flight soccer season. The relegation ghost which has taken Santos and Vasco Da Gama back to the National First Division now haunts Chippa United and Ajax Cape Town.

The real contest this season is not the fight for PSL glory but rather the battle to stay in the league. Relegation is a sore point for Cape Town fans, and it was just a few seasons ago that Ajax CT almost won the PSL. And now relegation is breathing down their necks. Chippa United has proven that goals win games, not managers. Managers manage and motivate. Team spirit, hard work, fitness and team understanding lead to goals, which in turn win games, thus adding points to the log.

If only this equation was as simple to implement. Somewhere it has gone wrong for Chippa United. Managerial problems, player attitudes and the pressure of the top league has taken its toll on the PSL debutants.

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Above: English football assistant referee Sian Massey

Female referees seem to be a rare commodity. The life, love and passion in soccer have always been attributed to men. The calls to “Mr Ref”, “Mr Linesman”, have become the norm and yet no-one has questioned the development of female referees. Where have all the former female soccer players gone?

Ladies soccer has thrived in the last ten years, with the Ladies Absa League and Ladies Sasol League feeding the South African women’s national teams in every age group. It still remains questionable as to why there are so few female soccer referees.

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With all eyes watching to see what Pep Guardiola pulls out of his hat when he ascends onto Bayern Munich in July after agreeing to a 19 million euros per year deal for three years, I shudder to think whether he can mimic the successes achieved at Barcelona.

Guardiola has lived many dreams. He was part of the Barcelona Dream Team that won the European Cup for the first time under Johan Cruyff. He succeeded Frank Rijkaard as Barcelona coach in 2008. In his first season at the Camp Nou, he won the treble with Barcelona, namely, the La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League. He made history by becoming the youngest manager to win the UEFA Champions League. (more…)

O Roberto, why?

Goodbye Roberto. Thanks for bringing your sultry Italian looks and your beautiful football to the normally dull Chelsea side.

I am afraid 4 league games without a win and probably (but not definitely) being knocked out of Europe was too much for Roman Abramovich and his many Rubles.

So, what can we make of Di Matteo’s dismissal after last night’s 3-0 trouncing by the Old Lady Juventus? Well, harsh would be an understatement, despite their quite rocky recent form, Chelsea probably were playing the best football of any club in England this season. In fact, had it not been for some decidedly iffy calls against Manchester United a few weeks ago, they might still be sitting pretty at the top of the league.

What this does show us is the lack of faith the owner had in the former West Brom manager. Despite the fact that he won them their first European crown last season, one always got the feeling that the re-signing of Di Matteo was more due to the lack of other options as opposed to true faith in the manager. It is no secret that the Blues have been sniffing around former Barca boss Pep Gaurdiola for months and perhaps Roberto was always working on borrowed time.

So the question is, why fire him now? After all,  Gaurdiola has stated on numerous occasions that he wants to take a year off to “find himself” in New York City – the reason they weren’t able to nab him in the summer. If you plan on waiting for him (which seems to be the general consensus), is it really wise to bring an interim manager in now? What is this person – likely to be Rafa “facts” Benitez – going to be able to do in less than a season? Who would want this job knowing that Senor Pep is waiting to take your place next year? And is there really anyone better out there? (Sorry Rafa)

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Last night, Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, with 51,000 excited fans played host to English Premier Football team Manchester United for their friendly against local PSL team AmaZulu.

The match is the first of two friendlies arranged for Manchester United to play in South Africa’s against local teams. The next game against Ajax is scheduled for Saturday 21 July at Cape Town Stadium. In what was a tight match, Manchester United came out victorious with a final result of 1 – 0 at the final whistle.

Federico Macheda was the hero of the moment when he collected a pass from Dimitar Berbatov and drilled home a low right-footed effort beyond AmaZulu goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini.

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To represent the handover from one host to another for the FIFA World Cup from South Africa to Brazil, the two countries will play each other in a friendly match.

South Africa who hosted the World Cup last in 2010, will be travelling to Sao Paulo in Brazil where the next World Cup will be taking place in 2014. The announcement of the confirmation of the match that will take place on 7 September is as a result of six months of planning.

“We are honoured to be playing Brazil in their backyard as they seldom play friendly matches at home. To us this is a big coup considering it will probably be the first official match for the new Bafana Coach whom we will announce at the end of this month,” said SA Football Association (Safa) CEO Dr Robin Petersen.

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Arsenal FC player and Cameroon international midfielder, Alexandra Song was attacked by young football fans along a commercial avenue in the country’s capital, Yaounde on Tuesday.

The incident occurred while Song was returning from a training session.

According to an eyewitness the angry fans attacked the 24-year-old, blaming him for Cameroon’s loss against Libya in a match that took place in Tunisia. The Sunday match that saw Libya take a 2-1 victory was a qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup that will be taking place in Brazil.

Cameroon were toppled from the top spot of Group I after losing their second game to Libya, seeing them placed third with three points behind Libya.

The attack has been condemned by Roger Milla’s Citizens Committee for the Revamping of Cameroonian Football. The association also called on the government to act immediately and arrest all those involved.

Source: Goal.com