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Tag: uefa cup

  • Atletico Madrid Star Suarez Suffers Head Injury

    Last season, La Liga participants Atletico Madrid surprised many when they were able to defeat crosstown rivals Real Madrid to win the UEFA Champions League championship. One of the key components on that championship team was midfielder Mario Suarez, known for his ability to hold the center line and stop offensive attacks. Following a friendly against Wolfsburg in Germany yesterday, however, Suarez may not be competing with Atletico again for quite some time.

    At the 20 minute mark in Sunday’s match, Suarez was inadvertently hit with either an elbow or a hip by teammate Cristian Ansaldi as he was challenging Wolfsburg’s Ivica Olic for a header. While the action was innocent, the result was anything but, with Suarez being knocked out and carted off the field before play resumed.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMnNnvA4J3g

    Fortunately, however, Atletico’s phrasing of the injury appears to have been worse than the injury itself.

    Following a CT Scan, Suarez was released from the hospital. Suarez tweeted from his hospital bed to ensure all of his fans and followers that everything was fine:

    While Suarez’s head injury may not have been as traumatic as first imagined, no one knows when he will be able to return to play. For a team that is looking to repeat as league champions, such a loss to the defense could be devastating.

    Luckily, Atletico Madrid already bolstered its defense by signing right back Jesus Gamez from Malaga late last week. Any stress on the defense could also be lessened soon as Atletico is looking to close out a deal for Mexican star and Club America striker Raúl Jiménez by Wednesday.

    The deal, if finalized, would be worth €11 million. As of now, all signs point to go as both squads are on the same page with the transfer: “Effectively, last Thursday or Friday an offer arrived from Atlético Madrid for Raúl Jiménez. We don’t usually speak about offers for contracted players until they’re official. Right now, the club has received the offer. Over the weekend, we’ve spoken with his agent and his father, who both think the offer is good, so the player may go. This still needs to be evaluated, but if both parties are fully satisfied, he’ll go,” stated sporting director of Club America, Ricardo Peláez.

    Atletico has little time to prepare with their changes as the club holds its first match of the new season on August 25 against Rayo Vallecano.

    Image via Twitter

  • Euro 2012: Germany To Hand Greece a Beating

    This match seems like a no-brainer, Germany has not trailed in a competitive match in two years, and it is unlikely Greece will be the first to do it. They will attempt to keep their defense back and attempt to stifle the German onsught for as long as they can, countering when an opportunity presents itself. To win they will likely have to deny the Germans a single goal and hope that a counter for them is successful, making the first goal in this match extremely crucial for their side. Expect Germany to do what Germany does best and punish the Grecians with physical strength in an onslaught of arial assaults.

    Kick-Off 2:45 PM EST

    Could this headline be more German? – “Be happy dear Greeks, the defeat on Friday is a gift. Against Jogi Loew, no rescue fund will help you.” Headline from German newspaper Bild.

    Greece captain Giorgios Karagounis is serving a one game suspension for picking up his second yellow card against Russia. He will most likely be replaced by AEK Athens Midfielder Grigoris Makos or PAOK’s Giorgos Fotakis. German Midfielder Lars Bender could be back against Greece after missing the game against Denmark because of a similar suspension. However Lars Bender could keep his position after scoring during his single game tenure.

    SB Nation:

    Lines: Germany, -1.5 (-105). Greece, +1.5 (-115).

    Odds: Germany, -375. Greece, +950. Draw, +450.

    Over/Under: Over 2.5, -110. Under 2.5, -110.

    MATCH FACTS

    from BBC Sport

    Head-to-head
    -Germany (including West Germany) are unbeaten in eight previous games against Greece, winning five. The only previous meeting at a European Championship was a group match that finished 0-0 in 1980. That result took the Germans through to the final, where they beat Belgium.

    -The most recent games came in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup. Germany won 2-0 in Hamburg in Sep 2000 and 4-2 in Athens in March 2001; Miroslav Klose is the only survivor from the last meeting – he scored in that match.

    Germany
    -The Germans have taken the lead in all three matches at Euro 2012, plus each of their 10 qualifiers, going on to win all of those games. They have not fallen behind in a competitive game since the third-place play-off against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup (when they won 3-2 after trailing 2-1).

    -Joachim Loew’s side have won their last 14 competitive games (includes third-place play-off against Uruguay).

    -The average age of the starting XI against Denmark was 25 years and 107 days – Germany’s youngest ever line-up at a European Championship.

    -Germany (including West Germany) have never lost a European Championship quarter-final. They beat Portugal 3-2 at Euro 2008 and Croatia 2-1 at Euro 96. They also defeated England (1972) and Spain (1976) back in the days when quarter-finals were played over two legs prior to the finals.

    Greece
    -The Greeks have scored just one goal in each of their past eight matches.

    -In their three previous European Championships tournaments to date, Greece have either finished bottom of their group or won the competition outright (as they did in 2004). Therefore they have won all three of their previous knock-out games at the tournament.

    -Greece have never contested a penalty shoot-out at a tournament. They have missed their last three penalties – Giorgios Karagounis failed to convert a spot-kick against Poland in their opening game, and Giorgos Samaras and Kostas Katsouranis did likewise against Armenia on 31 May.

    -Against Russia, Greece equalled the tournament record for most shots blocked (12), matching England’s tally against Portugal in 2004 and against France in 2012.