Pick of the week
Saturday 7 November 2009
e-mail
Print
Digg
Save
Photos/Wallpapers »
AIK Solna hold their nerve, Hugo Lloris breaks Liverpool FC hearts and Francesco Totti's novel way of lifting the pressure at AS Roma works a treat as uefa.com takes its pick of the stories this week.
Team: AIK Solna
The Swedish title went down to the wire with AIK coming out on top in the battle of the top two last Sunday. Needing a point to seal their first Allsvenskan crown since 1998, AIK were trailing IFK Göteborg 1-0 at the break, but rallied in the second half to win through goals from from Antônio Flávio and Daniel Tjernström. Asked by a reporter why his game improved so much after the break, winger Martin Kayongo-Mutumba, replied: "I saw at half-time that I had got some text messages on my phone. My mates were saying: 'You're the worst player out there!' I realised I had to raise my game. I thought to myself: 'All of Sweden is watching this match. It's time to start the show!'" Thankfully for his sake he did, having had "AIK 2009 champions" tattooed across his chest two days before the game.
Player: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyonnais)
The 22-year-old kept a clean sheet in Lyon's 1-0 win at derby rivals AS Saint-Etienne on Saturday and was at his best again on Wednesday to lead Les Gones to a 1-1 draw against Liverpool FC that clinched their place in the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. Lloris saved brilliantly from Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin in the first half, then denied Lucas with a stunning reflex stop after the break. It took a sensational Ryan Babel strike to find a way past the France No1, but 'super Hugo' found his heroics were not in vain when Lisandro hit a last-minute equaliser. "Hugo just keeps on getting better," midfielder Ederson said.
Goal: Sergio Agüero (Club Atlético de Madrid)
The Agentinian international is having a quiet season by his own high standards, but if Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Chelsea FC is anything to go by, things could soon be looking up for struggling Atlético. John Terry's attempted clearance fell to the feet of the 21-year-old substitute who, without letting the ball touch the ground, lashed an unstoppable volley past Petr Čech. As if to prove that was no fluke, he followed up with a brilliant last-minute free-kick to earn his side a share of the points. Click to watch.
Dark horses: SC Braga
Those who believed Portugal's unheralded leaders would drop off the pace as winter approached have been forced to think again. Unlikely upstarts Braga were expected to be taken down a peg by high-flying SL Benfica last Saturday, but instead beat the Lisbon giants 2-0 and have now dropped just two points in nine games in their quest for a first Portuguese title. "It will be very hard to maintain this level, but I can promise we'll do everything to keep up the good work," said midfielder Hugo Viana, whose seventh-minute free-kick set Braga on the way to victory.
Champions: FC Pyunik and SK Liepājas Metalurgs
AIK were not the only side celebrating a title triumph last weekend. Pyunik claimed their ninth straight Armenian crown while Metalurgs won the Latvian title for the second time with a game to spare. Bohemian FC were also celebrating last weekend after effectively retaining the Irish title for the first time after beating Sligo Rovers FC 3-1.
Comeback kings: SSC Napoli
Since replacing Roberto Donadoni as coach, Walter Mazzarri has engineered a remarkable run of results for Napoli who have picked up ten points from a possible 12 in the past month. Most astonishing is the manner in which those points have come, with Napoli scoring a succession of late goals to see off some illustrious rivals. They had struck last-gasp winners against Bologna FC and ACF Fiorentina before recovering from 2-0 down to draw with AC Milan on 28 October thanks to two 90th-minute strikes. They went one better last Saturday, overcoming another two-goal deficit to beat a stunned Juventus 3-2, a loss their coach Ciro Ferrara described as "a punch in the face, a very painful one".
Less is more: SK Slavia Praha
Napoli's achievements look like child's play compared to fearless Slavia's feats against Valencia CF on Thursday. Bottom of their UEFA Europa League group, 2-0 down and reduced to ten men with eleven minutes remaining, the outlook was none too rosy for Karel Jarolím's men. Petr Janda and Peter Grajciar had other ideas, however, as both plundered late efforts to earn a gloom-lifting 2-2 draw. Two hours later, CFR 1907 Cluj almost eclipsed that against Slavia's arch-rivals AC Sparta Praha when they made light of their own two-man deficit to equalise a minute into added time – only for Bony Wilfried to restore the Czech side's advantage with a dramatic winner four minutes later.
Quote: Serban Dacian Varga (FC Unirea Urziceni)
"I always speak with my mother before matches. She means everything to me but she is never really satisfied with how I play. She never gives tactical advice but what she does give, and this means everything to me, is morale and a good mood."
The 25-year-old played a key role in helping Unirea win their first title last season, scored his club's first UEFA Champions League goal and has broken into Romania's national team this year – yet one person still expects more.
Joker: Francesco Totti
When the going gets tough, some get going while others, such as AS Roma captain Francesco Totti, phone in radio talk shows. A renowned practical joker, Totti attempted to ease the pressure on his beleaguered team this week by phoning in a local station pretending to be a Giallorossi fan. "Every time I watch Roma play, I get emotional," he said, before the presenter recognised his voice. Totti is not new to the comedy circuit. In 2003, he released a book of jokes about himself and published a second in 2004, raising more than €300,000 for UNICEF. His favourite? "Totti's library burned to the ground; it had two books in it. A desperate Totti remarked: 'I hadn't finished colouring in the second one!'" For the record, Totti had the last laugh as his Roma side beat Fulham FC 2-1 in the UEFA Europa League.
What was the highlight of your footballing week? Click below to let us know.
©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.
