UEFA Cup 08/09: Arios Depor..

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AaB advance past Deportivo in style

Thursday 26 February 2009

Aalborg BK had a comfortable night in Spain as they secured the biggest aggregate win of the UEFA Cup Round of 32 to earn a last-16 tie against Manchester City FC.

Swift turnaround

Having beaten RC Deportivo La Coruña 3-0 in the first leg in Denmark, AaB put the contest beyond their hosts before the break tonight as Luton Shelton swiftly replied to Sergio González's 38th-minute opener, and then Andreas Johansson and Thomas Enevoldsen scored in first-half added time.

AaB will now attempt to do what Danish rivals FC Midtjylland and FC København could not achieve in this season's UEFA Cup, and oust City over two legs on 12 and 18/19 March.

Shelton denied

Deportivo were responsible for some of the most memorable European comebacks of recent years, most famously against AC Milan in the 2003/04 UEFA Champions League, yet it seemed their task would get even harder when Shelton broke through but after he rounded home goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia, Diego Colotto made a saving tackle.

After that warning, Depor moved forward and Omar Bravo, a ninth-minute substitute for Rodolfo Bodipo, had a goal disallowed for offside although Sergio did break the deadlock with a long-range shot.

AaB through

However, Deportivo's joy soon turned to despair. Three minutes later Anders Due's cross was flicked on and headed in by Shelton. Due, scorer of two first-leg goals, also created AaB's second, setting up Johansson in similar style, and moments after that Enevoldsen volleyed in after Shelton's effort was parried by Aranzubia.

Deportivo's hope was gone and despite pushing forward in the second half, their campaign ended with substitute Pablo Álvarez receiving an injury-time red card after two bookings.

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Uefa Cup 2008/09: Deportivo diikat di Poland

Jaringan awal yang dihasilkan oleh Diego Colotto pada minit kedua perlawanan belum cukup bagi memastikan kemenangan. Kelebihan jaringan tersebut telah dipadamkan oleh lawan sebelum tamat separuh masa pertama dan akhirnya berkesudahan dengan seri.

Keputusan ini cukup memeritkan kerana Deportivo perlu menang pada perlawanan terakhir menentang kelab dari Perancis, Nancy yang kini mengutip jumlah mata yang sama dalam kumpulan H begi melayakkan diri ke peringkat kalah mati.

Valeron mengemudi jentera tengah Depor

Kehadiran Juan Carlos Valeron selaku kapten pasukan masih belum mampu menghasilkan aksi yang mantap ketika bertandang di Poland ini.

Apa yang pasti kini, CSKA Moskva satu-satunya kelab dari kempulan ini yang layak ke peringkat kalah mati dan dua lagi tempat bakal direbut oleh 3 pasukan iaitu Nancy, Lech dan Deportivo la Coruna.

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http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/

05 Dec 2008

Not a good game for Deportivo, but at least the Galician squad returns from Poland with a point inside the pocket. Everything seemed in favour thanks to a quick goal of Colotto, but Lotina’s squad fell down as Lech started to push strongly.

Now everything will be decided in the last matchday of the group.

BEFORE THE GAME

Coach Miguel Angel Lotina sent the expected squad with Piscu at the right-back position, Colotto joining Lopo at the centre of the defence, De Guzmán and Sergio returning to midfield and with the trio Guardado-Valerón-Cristian playing behind Mista in attack.

At Lech Poznan, coach Franciszek Smuda surprised leaving his main goalscorer, Robert Lewandowski, sited on the bench. Instead Rafal Murawski was playing alongside Hernán Rengifo in attack. The temperature on this pitch, one of the feared things for the game, was around 2 degrees C, but there was a strong cold wind at the hour of the match (21 KM/H).

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FIRST HALF

It was previously appointed that Lech Poznan scored three quick goals during its four previous presentations at home during the present edition of the UEFA Cup. But this time it was Depor who took an early lead in the scoresheet. It was during the first approximation of the Galicians and as it has happened in recent times, it came after a stationary play.

It was during a corner-kick and after a great play of Valerón. Guardado took the shot and sent the cross to the area, both Albert Lopo and Diego Colotto, were inside the box waiting for the ball, it was the Catalan who connected the ball first to make a small deviation that Colotto found to sent a shot to the bottom-left corner of Turina. It’s the third goal of the ex-Atlas on the season, the first one after the two crucial goals conquered against Brann.

The goal hurried up the things at Lech, the home team started to push strongly up front and soon they enjoyed of two attempts to score. The first one during a free-kick that Stilic sent to the barrier, and one minute later as Colombian Arboleda missed the target during a corner-kick taken by Djurdjevic.

After the initial response from the Polish team, Depor had a couple of occasions, first with Mista whit a shot contained by keeper Turina (17’). Four minutes later De Guzmán sent the ball over the crossbar after receiving a pass from Guardado. And the Mexican winger was the next one to enjoy of a good opportunity, it was during a free-kick at the edge of the area that he sent wide (24’).

At Depor, Sergio and Valerón were making a good job organizing the game of the visitors, while De Guzmán was very active stealing the ball and obstructing the game of the rivals. But the most important player at Lotina’s squad was Andrés Guardado, always dangerous with his moves and passes. The problem was that all the weight of Depor’s attacks was resting at his side, this because Cristian wasn’t appearing at the right. At minute 30, Guardado appeared again to send a long pass to Mista, but the ex-Valencia couldn’t capitalise the occasion as he didn’t reach the ball.

One of the best opportunities for Lech came at minute 33, Peruvian Rengifo assisted Stilic and the midfielder from Bosnia and Herzegovina fired from close-range, however his shot went over the crossbar (33’). Two minutes later Aranzubia had to come out in order to catch a ball after a play in which Wilk surpassed Filipe and Colotto.

And the sector defended by Filipe and Colotto was the side that cost the equaliser to Depor, Arboleda made the play as he entered to the area from the left to drill a pass to the path of Hernán Rengifo, then the Peruvian just had to push the ball in. The goal just increased the pressure of Lech and they were even close to score more goals before half-time.

Lech had two clear chances within the final minutes of the first part: First with an attempt from Stilic, but Aranzubia made the save (44’). In the next play Rengifo was near to score again, but his crossed shot just passed near the far post. Depor reached the pause with a sensation of relief. It had the game on its hands after scoring an early goal, but the attacks of Lech were a headache to Depor’s defence, because the back zone was constantly surpassed by the velocity of the home attacks.

SECOND HALF

The actions didn’t change too much for the second part as Depor started holding at the back zone, Lech Poznan continued creating troubles to Deportivo’s defence though the Poles didn’t create any clear chance within the first twenty minutes. Instead the first approximation was for the Galicians as Cristian had an attempt to score from the left, in the end Turina made the save (52’). The Catalan never appeared in the first part, but in the second he had a couple of good interventions.

Depor’s midfield was losing the battle and Lech continued dominating the game, but without creating any chance against Aranzubia, just a wide shot of Stilic at minute 58. Then Lotina decided to replace Mista with Riki. The ex-Valencia made a new dreadful presentation as he never seemed dangerous at Depor’s attacking zone.

After a period of calmness within the first twenty minutes, the opportunities started to arrive, mainly for the local team. The first clear opportunity was for Lech, it was a close-range shot sent by Wilk and that Aranzubia saved after an error of Sergio (65’). Two minutes before Wilk had an attempt to score in an action that was cleared by Filipe.

In the next play, Sergio had a good chance to score the second goal for Depor after receiving a pass from Valerón, but instead of firing on target when he was alone against Turina, the Catalan preferred to make a pass to Riki who wasn’t able to connect the ball (66’). One minute later Aranzubia appeared again to save Depor as the Basque keeper deflected to corner a free-kick of Stilic.

The second modification ordered by Lotina was the entry of Angel Lafita for Guardado, a move made in order to rest the Mexican for the upcoming liga clash with Malaga. Neither Lafita nor Riki changed the things for Depor and Lech continued having the initiative. A new clear opportunity for the home team came at minute 72 as Arboleda found a dead ball inside the area, but his final shot went near the post.

Ten minutes before the end, Joan Verdú replaced Valerón. El Flaco made a nice presentation as he was constantly illuminating the attacks of the visitors.

Curiously, home coach Franciszek Smuda just used one substitution as he sent Robert Lewandowski to the pitch. He replaced Peszko in the formation. With just ten minutes over the grass, Lewandowski never had a chance to score though Lech continued pushing strongly.

However it was Deportivo who had the last big opportunity of the game, it was a play started with Cristian in which Sergio had a blocked shot and later the header of Lafita hit a rival, in the end Cristian sent the ball out (85’). The match ended with Stilic heading the ball wide (90+2’).

AFTER THE GAME

Poor game of Deportivo. The Galicians had everything in favour as they took an early lead that was certifying the pass to the next round, but later Lech started to push strongly leaded by the attempts from Semir Stilic. Depor’s defense looked insecure as Colotto, Piscu and Filipe were surpassed in several occasions, and only the lack of aim of the home team plus the saves of Aranzubia avoided the defeat. In attack Valerón and Guardado were the best men for Deportivo.
In the other game of group H, CSKA Moscow defeated Nancy in France with a hat-trick of Vagner Love (4-3). Now the Russians have secured the first place in the group, while the other two places will be decided in the final matchday. Depor is tied with Nancy in the second place (two points above Lech). The French side has a better goal average (+2 against 0 for Depor). Therefore a draw will automatically qualify Nancy, while Depor will only pass in this scenario if Lotina’s squad is able to score two goals and Lech only wins by a 1-0 score.

Anyhow the best thing for Depor is to defeat Nancy in the last matchday and clinch the second spot in the group (December 17). For the moment the squad is returning to La Coruña in order to host Malaga CF on Sunday (17h00 CET)

MATCH STATISTICS

Lech Poznan: Turina - Wojtkowiak, Tanevski, Arboleda, Djurdjevic – Peszko (Lewandowski 80’), Semir Stilic, Bandorwski, Wilk - Murawski, Rengifo.

Deportivo: Aranzubía - Adrián López ‘Piscu’, Colotto, Lopo, Filipe - Sergio, De Guzmán - Cristian, Valerón (Verdú 78’), Guardado (Lafita 71’) – Mista (Riki 59’)

Goals: 0-1: (2’) Colotto, 1-1: (41’) Rengifo

Referee: Craig Thomson (SCO). He showed yellow card to Stilic (60’)

Venue: Miejski Stadium (20,000)

Other statistics:

Ball possession (50% - 50%);

Total shots (14 - 7);

Shots on target (6 - 3);

Saves by the keepers (2 - 4);

Corner-kicks (9 - 3);

Offsides (3 - 1);

Fouls committed (7 - 12).

La Liga 2008/09: Depor menang lagi!!

1hb Disember 2008

Sekali lagi Deportivo merakamkan kemenangan walaupun persembahan yang dipamerkan kurang menyekat.

Jaringan Juan Verdu (dalam gambar) pada minit ke-74 sudah cukup bagi mengubati kegagalan beliau menyempurnakan sepakan penalti lima minit sebelum itu.

Kemenangan ini sekaligus mengekalkan kedudukan Deportivo di tangga ketujuh, berkongsi mata dengan pasukan Athletico Madrid.

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www.deportivo-la-coruna.com

01 Dec 2008

Deportivo prolongs its good moment on the season as it clinched it second away victory in la liga.

It was poor game in which both teams did nothing in the first part, but things were defined in the second half as Negredo was sent off and as Verdú missed a penalty and later scored the winning goal for Lotina’s squad.

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BEFORE THE GAME

No surprises in the lineups presented by both coaches, Lotina was keeping the 4-2-3-1 system used on the season with Joan Verdú, Angel Lafita and Andrés Guardado as the main references in attack, this time they were joined by Mista.

At Almeria, coach Arconada was trusting in Alvaro Negredo while he allowed the comeback of Albert Crusat, winger that was attacking by the side of Manuel Pablo.

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FIRST HALF

As it usually happens when Depor plays away from home, Lotina’s squad was looking pretty harmless in attack.

Joan Verdú was carrying with the weight of Depor’s game, always trying to move the ball behind the defensive line of the rival. However, Depor was not able to make a shot on target in the entire first part.

The problem was that the connection with Lafita and Guardado was not working, while Mista was lost on the pitch, as a demonstration of this is to mention the fact that the ex-Valencia was caught in offside just seconds after the kick-off, it was during a long pass of Antonio Tomás.

But a similar thing was occurring at the other side of the pitch, because Negredo, Piatti and Crusat weren’t appearing and Depor’s defence was also enjoying of a pleasant night. The home side was only able to make a shot on target throughout the game. With those arguments is possible to realise how poor was the game, especially during the first half.

The whole offensive proposition made by Deportivo during the first half can be resumed in three wide shots, the first one made by Mista after a pass of Lafita (6’), the second of Antonio Tomás after a pass of Verdú (16’), and the last one taken by Mista after a counterattack (41’).

The best collective play of Deportivo occurred at minute 26, it was a series of passes between Guardado, Verdú and Lafita, but this last one missed to connect with Mista and the ball ended in the arms of Diego Alvés. It also seemed dangerous a cross of Guardado that Alvés intercepted (34’)

At Almeria, things were not too good, Negredo was not finding any opportunity mainly because Depor’s defensive line was really focused. Like the case with Deportivo, the home team just had three attempts to score during the first half.

The first one at minute 6, it was a wide shot of Crusat after a pass from Negredo, the second was a shot of Negredo after a pass of Ortiz, and it also ended out. The last one was the lonely shot on target made by both teams in the first part, it occurred at minute 39 and it was made by Juan Manuel Ortiz, but Aranzubia stopped the ball without any problem.

It was one of the most boring first halves on this season, the connection up front was simply inexistent and Depor didn’t have any occasion against Alvés. At least the defensive zone was working as Almeria was also out of the game.

SECOND HALF

The excitement was bigger in the second part, though the level of the game continued to be poor. Depor had its first occasion in the game at minute 49, it was combination on the left between Mista and Lafita that ended with the Aragonian firing on target, the ball hit the body of Alvés and then Lafita had a second chance, but his final shot went over the crossbar.

Just one minute later, Alvaro Negredo was sent off for elbowing Lopo in the head after both players were fighting for the ball, the true is that the call of referee Iturralde González was polemic, because it seemed that it wasn’t intentional. The exit of the only attacker at Almeria facilitated the things to Depor, though the home team tried to maintain the initiative in the game.

However what changed the game were the modifications made by both coaches. Gonzalo Arconada decided to be conservator as he replaced Juan Manuel Ortiz with Juanma, a modification that was putting more contention in midfield.

Meanwhile Lotina was replacing the striker at his formation, this after Riki entered for Mista. The modification refreshed the offensive line at Depor as the Madrilenian was more active and participative.

Actually it was Riki who created the play that ended in the penalty for Depor (68’). The ex-Getafe started the play at the border of the area, he passed the ball to Verdú who returned the ball to Riki when he was entering to the box by the left wing, then Carlos García tackled the Madrilenian when he was near to send a cross to the box.

Referee Iturralde González called the penalty and Joan Verdú took the shot, but the Catalan missed the chance as the ball hit the crossbar and then went to the ground before ending cleared by a defender.

It seemed that Depor was missing the big chance to take the three points, but Joan Verdú came back five minutes later to claim for redemption as he scored the winning goal for Depor.

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The play was again started by Riki who had the ball at the centre, he assisted Guardado on the right wing, then the Mexican tried to send a cross to the box, but the ball hit a rival and Riki fought for it, somehow he managed to make a pass to Guardado who entered to the area by the right side to drill the ball to the penalty spot, Verdú was there to fire on target, Carlos Garcia contained the shot with his chest, but Verdú collected the dead ball to score the goal from close range.

The goal broke the game and gave more confidence to Deportivo, actually the Galician team had two clear chances to increase the score within the final minutes, while the goal killed an Almeria who didn’t have the way to respond. Lotina made his final substitutions allowing the entry of Cristian for Lafita and De Guzmán for Antonio Tomás.

Riki, who was the ‘revulsive’ during second half, was the one who enjoyed of the final two occasions, first with a drilling shot that went close to the left post of Alvés after a solo-play made by the Madrilenian (88’) and later after he missed to connect the ball when he was alone against Almeria’s keeper (90+1’).

AFTER THE GAME

Important victory for a Deportivo that didn’t shine but that took advantage of its opportunity, Joan Verdú missed a penalty but he came back five minutes later to score the winning goal for his team.

The work in defence was also pretty good and Lotina’s side added its 7th clean sheet in 13 liga games, something remarkable as no one else at Primera División has achieved that mark.

The result is leaving Deportivo in the 7th spot, tied in points with Atlético Madrid who defeated Racing Santander (4-1). On the next weekend Depor will host Malaga FC at the Riazor (17h00), another important game against a direct rival that’s also trying to reach the European places.

But before that, Depor travels to Poland in order to face Lech Poznan (Thursday 20h45), match that could mean the pass to the next round in the UEFA Cup.

MATCH STATISTICS

Almería: Diego Alves - Bruno, Carlos García, Pellerano, Mané - Juanito (Corona 77’), Julio Álvarez - José Ortiz (Juanma Ortiz 57’), Piatti (Natalio 75’), Crusat - Negredo.

Deportivo: Aranzubia - Manuel Pablo, Lopo, Zé Castro, Filipe - Juan Rodríguez, Antonio Tomás (De Guzmán 85’) - Lafita (Cristian 78’), Verdú, Guardado - Mista (Riki 62’).

Goal: 0-1: (74’) Verdú.

Referee: Iturralde González. He showed yellow card to Lopo (16’), Lafita (47’), Crusat (51’), Mista (58’), Carlos García (60’), Antonio Tomás (77’), Pellerano (87’) and Riki (88’). Negredo was sent off with a direct red card (51’)

Venue: Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos (9,776)

Other statistics: Ball possession (46% - 54%);

Total shots (5 - 13);

Shots on target (1 - 4);

Saves by the keepers (2 - 0);

Corner-kicks (6 - 1);

Offsides (2 - 5);

Fouls committed (13 - 17);

Accuracy in the passes (87.20% - 85.06%)

La Liga 2008/09: Depor biso semulaa!!

24hb November 2008

Setelah gagal merakamkan kemenangan dalam beberapa perlawanan terakhir, The Super Depor akhirnya dapat mengubat sedikit kekecewaan peminatnya dengan kemenangan 3-1 ke atas lawan mereka.

Walaupun menghadapi lawan yang tidaklah sehebat mana pun, tetapi tiga mata yang dipungut sudah cukup untuk memastikan penguasaan di tangga ketujuh dalam Liga Sepanyol musim ini.

Jumlah mata yang sama dengan pasukan yang dibarisi pemain-pemain ternama seperti Athletico Madrid sudah cukup untuk menggambarkan betapa seriusnya Deportivo bagi mencabar perebutan tempat teratas liga negara ini.

La Liga 2008/09: Depor 'kena' lagi sekali!

27 Oct 2008

Nightmare week for Deportivo. Lotina’s squad wasn’t able to pass little Racing seven days ago, it was crushed by CSKA in Moscow and now humiliated at the Riazor by Sporting, club that was the worst defence at Primera División but that achieved a clean sheet at Depor’s territory. The Galician team was terrible in this game, it wasted its chanced and fell down against a Sporting that knew how to take advantage of the opportunity.

BEFORE THE GAME

Coach Miguel Angel Lotina sent the expected lineup with Angel Lafita performing as the playmaker, also with Pablo Alvarez and Andrés Guardado on the wings, and with Riki as the reference in attack. Manuel Pablo also started the game despite the fears of Lotina about his physical condition.

The surprises were at the side of Sporting. Coach Manolo Preciado rested his top goal scorer, Mate Bilic, and allowed the entrance of David Barral while Neru continued in the centre of the defence. Another surprise was to see Luis Morán covering the right wing despite he was not fit enough due to a thigh injury. 4,000 fans of Sporting were at the Riazor, something remarkable since only 18,000 local fans were supporting Depor.

FIRST HALF

Maybe this has been the most weird game in recent times judging by how the things started. And it’s that Deportivo have enough chances to take the lead in the score within the first twenty minutes, more in concrete five opportunities that were all wasted by Lotina’s squad. The first one just seconds after the kick-off as Riki sent out a cross of Filipe that was previously deflected by a rival.

But Sporting sent his first warning at minute 8, Diego Castro made a great play on the right and he assisted Michel, but the final shot went out. Just a first look of what the Galician striker would do later. After this play, the other four chances of Deportivo occurred. At the 12th minute, Diego Colotto headed a corner-kick from Sergio, keeper Cuellar was defeated but captain Rafael Sastre was in the right place as he cleared the ball in the goal line.

Two minutes later Angel Lafita had his chance after a pass of Pablo Álvarez, the Aragonian was alone in the area, but his shot was deflected by a defender and went to a corner-kick. Then it was time for Andrés Guardado, at minute 15 the Mexican had an attempt to score after a pass of Riki, but his shot was stopped by Cuellar.

And the must clear opportunity for Depor occurred five minutes later, again with Guardado as the main protagonist. The ex-Atlas found the ball in the area after a big error of Sastre, the same defender that saved Sporting minutes before, but despite been alone against the keeper, the Mexican missed the opportunity as his shot went over the crossbar. As it usually occurs in the cruel world of football when a team misses so much chances, the visitors scored their first goal in the next play.

David Barral sent a shot that Aranzubia barely deflected, the ball was left in front of the Basque keeper and the same Barral tried to reach the rebound but he was pulled first by Albert Lopo. Referee Teixeira Vitienes called the penalty. Barral himself came to score his second goal on the season beating Aranzubia with a shot that went into the centre of the goal.

And just as it happened in Moscow, when Depor allowed two goals in a matter of three minutes after a good start, Sporting Gijón replied with a deadly counterattack that showed the miseries at Deportivo. And it was the same David Barral who started the play, the Cádiz-born player run all over the right wing after a his team mates intercepted a bad pass of Lopo, then he sent a drilling and perfect cross that found Carmelo González alone in the penalty spot, Lopo tried to clear the ball but the Catalan didn’t reach it, instead the Canarian beat Aranzubia just pushing the ball in. And as it happened against CSKA, Depor was now facing a rival that was playing with deadly counterattacks against the fragility of its defensive zone.

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Then things became worse with the pass of the minutes. Pablo Álvarez, who was doubtful all over the week due a hamstring string, was replaced by Juan Carlos Valerón at minute 37. It isn’t clear if it was a tactical change or a modification caused because the ex-Sporting was not feeling fine. The true is that Lotina used the change trying to solve the mess on the pitch. Valerón became the playmaker at the squad and Lafita passed to cover the right wing. But the shock became bigger one minute before half-time as Diego Colotto saw a direct red card after a doubtful foul over Barral. The Argentinean was the last man, but it’s also true that Barral was also committing a foul.

It was an incredible scene at the Riazor. During the first minutes it seemed that Depor had all in favour in order to take a comfortable victory, but instead it was losing by two goals after the first forty five minutes, and to make things worse it was now forced to search the comeback with only ten men on the pitch. Curiously, of the four home matches of Depor in the current liga season, this is the third time in which Lotina’s squad suffers an expulsion.

SECOND HALF

The smell of the defeat was everywhere at the Riazor. A squad that had barely scored on this season was now forced to conquer two goals in 45 minutes and with only ten men on the pitch. Lotina tried to recompose the scheme as he kept playing with the same men in attack and with only three defenders at the back, something that opened the holes to Sporting. That’s why the visitors were the better side during the second half. Always insisting with the deadly duo Luis Morán-Diego Castro on the wings and with Barral waiting at the centre.

The second half started with Juan Carlos Valerón falling inside the penalty box after he was trying to receive a pass from Riki, but referee Teixeira Vitienes didn’t have the guts to call the penalty. At minute 60, Guardado had an attempt to score as he sent a shot from mid-distance, but his final effort went directly to the hands of Cuellar. These couple of plays represents the only chances of Depor within the first 20 minutes in the second part, just a demonstration of how terrible was Depor playing.

Sporting Gijón was feeling more comfortable with the pass of time, and the true is that they had enough chances to score more goals, but Daniel Aranzubia appeared with three important saves. First miraculously saving a short-distance effort from Diego Castro after a corner-kick (62’). Later it was a one-to-one play against Luis Morán (67’). And finally a direct free-kick of Diego Castro (71’).

It was clear that Depor was broke. Lotina tried to refresh the things with the entrances of Mista and Juan Rodríguez replacing Riki and Sergio, but things continued the same. The Galician team was lost in attack and its defensive line was imprecise, starting with Albert Lopo, player that again had a terrible night as he was involved in the two goals of the Asturians.

At minute 68, Depor finally had a chance to reduce the distance in the scoresheet through a shot of Guardado after a pass of Valerón, but again the ball went directly to the hands of Cuellar. Five minute after this action, Aranzubia appeared again to make an important save, once again against a direct free-kick of Diego Castro.

It was now clear that Depor would not achieve the comeback, the squad was broke in two and the lack of ideas was evident. At least the players were trying to score a goal. At minute 76, Lafita sent a dangerous shot that passed inches away from the post, and four minutes later the referee disallowed a goal of Mista after an offside.

But the holes left in the defensive sector were bigger enough to allow a new goal from the visitors. First Aranzubia stopped a header of Bilic, who entered replacing Carmelo some minutes before. And then it came, it was a masterpiece from Sporting. A great play of Camacho ended with the goal of Diego Castro, Michel had the ball in the left corner and passed it to Camacho in the centre, then Depor was trying to use the offside trap, but the drilling pass of Camacho beat the trick and left Castro alone against Aranzubia, the Pontevedra-born player just had to drill the ball to the right side of Aranzubia. There was no time for more as Depor’s fans left the Riazor defeated and as the 4,000 visiting fans were dancing at the stands.

AFTER THE GAME

A new 0-3 score for Deportivo, the second in just three days. It was an unbelievable match, Depor had the chances to define the things since the start, but the lack of goals is now killing the team as Lotina’s players wasted all the occasions just to end the first half with a disadvantage of two goals and with one less man. The second half was just a complement in which Depor was only a shadow against an ordered Sporting.

This is Depor’s first home defeat of the season and the first one in five months, the previous one was the 0-2 against Villarreal in the closing match of the past liga campaign. The result leaves Depor in a complicate situation, with just nine points and now only three points above the salvation. To make things worse, the squad has now to face two away games in the next seven days (Elche in Copa and Betis in liga).

MATCH STATISTICS

Deportivo: Aranzubia - Manuel Pablo, Lopo, Colotto, Filipe Luis - Sergio (Juan Rodríguez 72’), De Guzmán - Pablo Álvarez (Valerón 37’), Lafita, Guardado - Riki (Mista 72’).

Sporting Gijón: Cuellar - Sastre, Gerard, Neru, Canella - Camacho, Míchel - Luis Morán, Carmelo (Bilic 66’), Diego Castro (Omar 87’) - David Barral (Matabuena 80’).

Goals: 0-1: (22’) Barral (penalty), 0-2: (26’) Carmelo, 0-3: (84’) Diego Castro.

Referee: Teixeira Vitienes. He showed yellow card to Neru (36’), Camacho (40’), Aranzubia (43’), Lopo (71’) and Míchel (72’). Colotto was sent off (43’)

Venue: Riazor (22,000)

Uefa Cup 2008/09: Deportivo belum cukup bersedia

Harapan untuk bangkit di kejohanan peringkat Eropah agak malap buat kelab kesayangan apabila dibelasah oleh wakil kelab Rusia di gelanggan lawan kelmarin.

Namun begitu, diharapkan The Galicians dapat mengembalikan semangat mereka bagi memastikan tempat ke peringkat kalah mati.

Apa yang pasti, mereka perlu menumbangkan tiga kelab lain termasuk Feyenoord (Belanda) dan Nancy (Perancis).

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deportivo-la-coruna.com

24 Oct 2008

New setback for Deportivo playing away from the Riazor during a European competition. The resume is quite simple: CSKA knew how to take advantage of its chances while the Galicians wasted their opportunities.

Lotina’s team played well during the first 35 minutes, but the rest was a catastrophe. As it happened at Valencia, the defensive line was a mess and only Aranzubia avoided a biggest humiliation.

BEFORE THE GAME

Coach Miguel Angel Lotina sent the expected starting squad with only one novelty: the continuity of Manuel Pablo at the right-back position. The Canarian was highly motivated for the match and Lotina decided to keep him in the squad. The main news at the formation was the presence of Cristian, player that was making his European debut as a starter.

Pablo Alvarez and Angel Lafita were left out of the final 18-list of players since both were slightly injured and since Lotina preferred to reserved them for la liga. At CSKA, coach Valery Gazzaev trusted in the combination Zhirkov-Dzagoev-Vágner Love in attack. The novelty in the starting eleven was to see Bosnian international Elvir Rahimic sited on the bench. His place was taken by Lithuanian Deividas Semberas.

FIRST HALF

The actions started with the Russians enjoying of two straight corners, the second one was taken by Dzagoev and it was headed inside the box by Vasili Berezutski, but Aranzubia was there to stop his effort (3’). Deportivo responded one minute later through a free-kick taken by Filipe, the ball was sent to the path of Valerón, but the Canarian could only smash the ball into the body of Akinfeev though he was alone at the right side of the Russian area. An action that could have changed the development of the game.

During the first minutes Deportivo seemed comfortable playing over the artificial surface at the Luzhniki stadium, Lotina’s squad was moving the ball with criterion and without abusing of the long passes. At the 6th minute Guardado tested from long-distance, but his effort went over the crossbar. However, the pretty picture turned into a nightmare as Depor allowed two goals in just three minutes.

The first goal occurred after a foul of De Guzmán over Semberas at the edge of the penalty area, 18-year-old Alan Dzagoev fired a 25-metres rocket that went directly to the top-left corner. Aranzubia didn’t have a chance. And the second goal came after Vagner Love easily surpassed Lopo in a divided action, then the Brazilian assisted Dzagoev from the left and the Russian attacker doubled the advantage for his team with a close-range finish. With both goals, youngster Dzagoev took his tally to eight within the last seven official matches.

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Despite the early setback, Deportivo didn’t lose the calmness and continued practicing its combinative game. The Galicians were dominating the match and came close to reduce the distances in two occasions. The first one was a solo-play of Cristian in which the Catalan eluded Akinfeev and sent a volley that was near to enter into the goal, but Vasili Berezutski saved his team over the goal line (16’)

The second chance was a great play of Valerón that ended with an assist to Andrés Guardado, the Mexican released a volley that passed near to the post (18’). It was clear that Deportivo was now commanding the game against a CSKA that was hoping to increase its lead with one of its deadly counterattacks. The Galicians continued insisting, mainly searching for Omar Bravo with high crosses coming from Filipe and Cristian, but the Russian defensive line was clearing all the danger.

Depor’s next chance came at the 30th minute, once again the action was started by Valerón. El Flaco made a good pass to Cristian who was at the edge of the area, near to the left side, but his final shot went wide. The response from CSKA came one minute later, Lopo committed a foul over Dzagoev. In the resulting free-kick, Aranzubia had to act twice in order to stop the efforts of Dzagoev and Zhirkov.

Little by little, Deportivo was losing the pace and the calmness that it was trying to transmit, the Galicians spent the last minutes taking corner-kicks and sending crosses that were always cancelled by the rival’s defensive line. The true is that Lotina’s Depor started to play the game just after CSKA scored its two goals and after the Russians decided to lock themselves in their area.

At least the offensive line seemed to be working with a Valerón that was giving good passes and with the six shots made by the Galicians in this part, though in the last minutes the squad lost the concentration as it started to abuse of the aerial game. More worrying was the performance in defence, because Vagner Love and Dzagoev were always unstoppable forces for Zé Castro, Lopo and Manuel Pablo.

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SECOND HALF

The final 45 minutes were a new nightmare for Lotina’s team. CSKA was now having the ball possession and the initiative. However the first warning was made by Depor at minute 51, it was a counterattack after a free-kick of Zhirkov that Omar Bravo couldn’t resolve. It was just a mirage, because the Russians took control of the actions and started to push strongly for the third goal.

The first chance for them was a great play of Yuri Zhirkov that almost ends in goal, again Lopo failed in contention and the winger was able to send a shot, but the ball went wide.
Then Daniel Aranzubia made two new crucial interventions, this time saving Depor from the efforts of Krasic (55’) and Vágner Love (57’). Depor was at the mercy of CSKA during the second half and the Basque keeper was the only thing preventing a bigger defeat for the Galicians.

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And the inevitable thing occurred at the 61st minute. CSKA conquered the third goal of the night as Vagner Love scored from close range and after a cross from Milos Krasic that was headed first across the goal by Ignashevich. Game over for Deportivo.

Then Lotina decided to replace De Guzmán with Sergio, a desperate move trying to awake a dead midfield. Gazzaev responded replacing Dzagóev with Brazilian Ramón. The first shot on target for Depor during the second half came until minute 67, Guardado took a corner-kick and Zé Castro, who was there searching for the header, found the rebound and fired directly to the hands of Akinfeev.

Sergio’s entranced wasn’t a real impact for the Galician squad, as it happened in the last minutes of the first half, Deportivo continued insisting with worthless crosses that weren’t causing any trouble to the local players. Despite the score, Lotina didn’t want to change the strategy, he preferred to keep playing with one striker as Mista entered for Omar Bravo, the Mexican remains scoreless in official matches though it should be appointed he didn’t have any clear opportunity in this game.

Depor’s best chance in the second half came at minute 76 as Sergio hit the post with mid-distance shot. But the desired reaction never occurred and the Galicians seemed defeated, actually it was what Lotina transmitted from the bench after the Basque manager decided to replace Filipe with Adrián López ‘Piscu’. With this modification, the coach was trying to rest Filipe for the upcoming matches. Piscu covered his position and Manuel Pablo continued on the right.

Lotina also ordered an exchange between Guardado and Cristian, the Catalan was now covering the left wing and the Mexican did the same on the right. But this move didn’t have any effect in the result as Depor continued lost on the pitch, always sending crosses that never met a friendly receiver. The last two chances for Depor came in the last minutes. First with Sergio taking a free-kick that went over the crossbar (89’) and later with a header from Mista that was saved by Akinfeev though referee Alon Yefet whistled an offside.

AFTER THE GAME

Another terrible performance for Deportivo playing away from home. The rival’s trainer, Valery Gazzaev, was hailing the defensive solidity of the Galicians, but that solidity never showed up in Moscow. Zé Castro and especially Lopo were humiliated by Dzagóev, while Manuel Pablo spent hard times trying to stop the powerful moves of Vagner Love. Only the six saves made by Aranzubia prevented a bigger defeat.

At least Depor’s chances in this tournament seem intact since the Galicians still have to play three more games in the group.

In the other game of the day, AS Nancy-Lorraine defeated Feyenoord Rotterdam at home (3-0). Deportivo will rest in matchday 02 and will host Feyenoord at the Riazor until matchday 03, crucial game according to Thursday’s results.. But before that, Lotina’s team will face Sporting Gijón in liga (Sunday, 17h00 at the Riazor ) and the first-leg in copa against Elche (Wednesday, 21h00 at the Martínez Valero)

MATCH STATISTICS

CSKA Moscow: Akinfeev – Aleksei Berezutski, Ignashévich, Vasili Berezutski, Grigoriev - Krasic, Semberas, Aldonin (Rahimic 73’), Zhirkov (Schennikov 87’) - Vágner Love, Dzagóev (Ramón 65’).

Deportivo: Aranzubia - Manuel Pablo, Ze Castro, Lopo, Filipe Luis (Piscu 79’) – De Guzmán (Sergio 64’), Antonio Tomás - Cristian, Valerón, Guardado - Omar Bravo (Mista 72’).

Goals: 1-0: (9’) Dzagoev, 2-0: (12’) Dzagoev, 3-0: (61’) Vagner Love

Referee: Alon Yefet (ISR). He showed yellow card to Grigoriev (34’), Semberas (44’), Lopo (72’), Aldonin (73’), Piscu (84’) and Vasili Berezutski (88’).

Venue: Luzhniki stadium (20,000).

Other statistics:

Ball possession (53% - 47%);

Total shots (10 - 10);

Shots on target (7 - 5);

Saves by the keeper (5– 6);

Corner-kicks (7 – 8);

Offsides (1 – 4);

Fouls committed (14 – 13).

Uefa Cup 2008/09: Deportivo in Group H

http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/

Competition News

CALENDAR DEFINED IN THE UEFA CUP

08 Oct 2008

The draw for the group stage in the UEFA Cup was made on Tuesday. Deportivo was put in group H and will have to face PFC CSKA Moskva (Russia), Feyenoord (The Netherlands) , AS Nancy-Lorraine (France) and KKS Lech Poznan (Poland). Depor starts the round on October 23 visiting CSKA at the Luzhniki Stadium.

Tough group for Deportivo in the UEFA draw, but the true is that things could be worse as the Galician team could meet AC Milan in the way out. In the end the Italian giants were sent to another group.

The group stage round only consists of four matches, two will be played at the Riazor while the other two will take place outside home. The draw determined that Deportivo will have to pay a visit to PFC CSKA Moskva and to KKS Lech Poznan. It will be the first time in which Depor plays a European game in both Russia and Poland. Meanwhile Feyenoord and AS Nancy-Lorraine will have to visit the Riazor. The three best clubs in the group will advance to the next round.

Coach Miguel Angel Lotina talked after the draw and gave his opinion about the challenges of Depor in this competition “We should be content with the group we have. In the beginning the stronger side seems to be CSKA, that’s because they were in the first pot and also because they are second in their league, competition that’s very advanced at the time.

Feyenoord and Nancy are a little relegated in their leagues. In the other side Lech Poznan is fourth. These are very good teams, they have a pretty name but we can match them. We shouldn’t complain about it. Makaay is at Feyenoord and the brother of de Guzmán too, that will make pretty the competition.”

Later it was Juan Carlos Valerón who analysed the things for Deportivo “We knew the groups will be like this, with three teams very equaled and with other one in a little worse situation, we will see what happens. I consider CSKA and Feyenoord as two very good teams. They are historical and it’s always difficult to play against them. We have other two rivals and we must face them.”

Finally Julian De Guzmán, who didn’t travel to Canada for injury reasons, talked about the confrontation against his brother Jonathan “We have big chances of achieving the qualification. I already talked with my brother about the possibility of being in the same pitch. I prefer to face him at the Riazor. I hope he will be able to reach the next round too. He’s really strong and can score goals. I am his teacher and he is my pupil. He has a great future.”

The groups after the draw:

Depor starts the group stage visiting CSKA at the Luzhniki Stadium and ends hosting Nancy at the Riazor. The Calendar of matches in UEFA is:

Matchday 01: 23-Oct-08 CSKA - Deportivo
Matchday 02: 06-Nov-08 Rest
Matchday 03: 27-Nov-08 Deportivo - Feyenoord
Matchday 04: 04-Dec-08 Lech Poznan - Deportivo
Matchday 05: 17-Dec-08 Deportivo - Nancy

For further information on the rivals in this group, please visit;

http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/n-news.php?cid=1609&ctg=4&pg=1

La Liga 2008/09: Important win for Depor

www.deportivo-la-coruna.com

06 Oct 2008

A single stationary play was enough to conquer the second victory in la liga for Deportivo. Lotina’s side made a decent first half and had a couple of chances to define the game, but in the second part Numancia pushed and the big effort done against Brann left Depor against the ropes. At least the defensive zone was solid this time and Lafita’s goal earned three important points for the Galicians.

BEFORE THE GAME

Lotina surprised with the appearance of Angel Lafita as the playmaker in the formation. Neither Verdú nor Valerón were starters and the Aragonian was responsible for the creation of game at Lotina’s team. Pablo Alvarez appeared as the right winger and Colotto made his debut in Primera División covering the absence of Zé Castro.

Manuel Pablo was also reappearing after surpassing the injury that left him out of action for a couple of months. In Numancia, coach Kresic was presenting the expecting formation, with Felipe Guréndez covering the suspended Juan Carlos Moreno.

FIRST HALF

The things started slowly at the Riazor. Everybody were fearing the physical and mental effort done in the past Thursday’s game would affect the squad, something that seemed like a reality during the first ten minutes of game, but the true is that neither Numancia did anything against Aranzubia’s goal, at least during the first twenty minutes.

Depor’s only approximation within the first ten minutes was a cross from Pablo Álvarez that Lafita controlled near the box, but he wasn’t able to find Juan Rodríguez and the danger was cleared. Suddenly, the goal of Deportivo arrived after a foul of Juanra over Felipe Luis on the left wing.

Sergio took the free-kick and he sent a cross to the box that Ángel Lafita headed when he was almost backwards the goal, his high header turned into a volley that entered near the far post, Juan Pablo could only saw how the ball was entering into his goal. That would be Depor’s only shot on target in the entire game.

It was exactly what Deportivo needed: an early advantage in order to face the rest of the match with more calmness, something missed in the previous home game with RCD Mallorca. The goal didn’t awake Numancia since the team from Soria continued locked in midfield. The first approximation from the visitors was a mid-distance shot of Brit that went over the crossbar (18’).

One minute before this action, Pablo Álvarez had to leave the pitch injured, his place was taken by Riki. Curiously the Madrilenian attacker was whistled by the Riazor when he entered to the pitch, a sign of reprobation coming from the fans after been sent off in the game with Brann Bergen. The modification sent Guardado to the right wing while Riki was now occupying the left side.

Since Numancia was not doing anything in order to tie the game, it was Deportivo who pushed for the second goal, and all the danger was coming in set-pieces. The Galicians had three clear chances to score in a matter of three minutes. First Guardado took a free-kick that Riki found in the box, but his final shot went high (20’). One minute later the second opportunity arrived as Guardado made a run on the right wing that ended with a cross into Omar Bravo’s path, but visiting goalkeeper Juan Pablo was able to clear the danger into a corner.

In the next play Omar Bravo found the corner-kick of Guardado inside the box, but the Mexican couldn’t sent a shot on target and the danger was cleared by Numancia’s defensive zone. These were the best moments of Depor in the game.

The first and only clear chance for Numancia in the first half came at minute 23. Lopo pushed Barkero on the left side and Mario took a free-kick, the midfielder sent a pass to the centre and Nagoré sent a shot on target that Aranzubia saved. The next fifteen minutes were very calmed for both goalkeepers, Numancia was trying but its players weren’t able to surpass the wall of Deportivo, while the Galicians were reserving strengths.

At minute 37 the home fans reclaimed a possible penalty after Filipe was pushed inside the area, but referee Álvarez Izquierdo didn’t whistle anything. At minute 42 Sergio had a new attempt to score, the Catalan stole a ball in midfield and later sent a drilling shot that went out. The first half ended with a great play of Guardado, he made a great run on the right wing and passed the ball to Riki who sent a cross to the box that didn’t find a receiver.

It was a decent first half of Depor, the Galician team didn’t present the same intensity than in the past game with Brann, but the defensive line was focused and didn’t allow any chance to the visitors. The key was the early goal of Lafita, something that gave confidence and calmness to a squad that hadn’t won since the opening game in liga.

SECOND HALF

Sergio Kresic sent Del Pino to the pitch in order to replace Mario, Del Pino was one of the alternatives tested by the Croatian manager in order to replace the absence of Moreno. With this move Kresic was trying to give more strength to his attack, especially on the right wing.

However the second part started with a great chance for Deportivo. Just one minute after the pause, Riki had the opportunity to define the game after he made a solo-play that left him alone against Juan Pablo, but his final effort was deflected by the keeper.

Then the best moments of Numancia arrived, at minute 53 the visitors were near to equalise the score during a counterattack after a free-kick taken by Sergio. It was a fast play in which Barkero assisted Bellvis inside the box, but Aranzubia made the save. One minute later Lotina decided to move the striking zone sending Mista to the pitch in order to replace Omar Bravo, the Mexican didn’t have a good game this time.

It seemed that Numancia was now decided to make an effort in order to conquer the equaliser, but then Depor had a double chance at minute 59. First Lafita sent a cross from the left that was cleared by a defender, then Sergio found the ball near the penalty zone, but his shot went out. At minute 67 Kresic replaced Bellvis with Juan Quero and the modification proved to be a right move as the Madrilenian winger started to give a lot of troubles to Manuel Pablo with his velocity.

The best of the chances generated by Quero occurred at minute 73 as he assisted Brit who later sent a dangerous cross to Del Pino’s path, but his right-foot effort went out. Then Lotina decided to refresh the playmaking function sending Verdú to replace Angel Lafita. The Aragonian was definitely the best man in the home team, not only for the goal but because he was constantly creating danger against the rival.

After Del Pino’s chance, Deportivo responded two minutes later with a long-distance shot of Guardado that went out. Then Numancia had a new opportunity with Gorka Brit firing from mid-distance, but once again Aranzubia was there to make the save.

Between minutes 50 and 77, Numancia gave a lot of problems to Deportivo, especially after Juan Quero entered to the game, the visitors were pushing for the equaliser while the Galicians were holding at the back waiting for a chance to define the game. But Numancia released the pressure for the final ten minutes and Depor had a couple of chances to score the second goal. At minute 79 Mista headed out a good cross from Riki. Five minutes later Verdú sent a wide shot after a personal manoeuvre.

At minute 85, Numancia had its last chance as Depor lost a ball in midfield, but the shot of Brit, after the pass of Barkero, went out. The last opportunity for Depor came three minutes before the end, it was an acrobatic shot of Guardado after a cross from Verdú coming from the right side, but the effort of the Mexican winger went out. The game ended with a Deportivo that was holding at the back against a Numancia that didn’t find the ideas to open a well placed defensive line.

AFTER THE GAME

Important win for Deportivo that allows Lotina’s side to reach the ninth place in the table, the Galician side didn’t present the same intensity of Thursday’s game in UEFA, and once again the squad presented the same lack of aim that caused the goalless game with Mallorca, but at least this time Lafita was able to find a ball in the box that meant an early advantage for Depor.

Curiously and despite that Depor generated a lot of occasions in the game, the header of Lafita was the lonely shot on target made by Depor in the entire game.

Lotina’s team had enough chances to define the game in the first half and it ended suffering in the second part as Numancia pushed strongly during 20 minutes, but the defensive sector made a good job and achieved a new clean sheet at the Riazor.

La Liga reaches now a pause as a long list of World Cup qualifiers will take place during the next week and a half. The competition restarts in two weeks as Deportivo will pay a visit to one of its favourite stadiums: El Sardinero in order to face Racing Santander (October 19).

MATCH STATISTICS

Deportivo: Aranzubía - Manuel Pablo, Lopo, Colotto, Filipe Luis - Sergio, Juan Rodríguez - Pablo Álvarez (Riki 16’), Lafita (Verdú 71’), Guardado - Omar Bravo (Mista 52’).

Numancia: Juan Pablo - Juanra, Palacios, Boris, Cisma - Nagore, Felipe Guréndez (Goiria 61’) - Mario (Del Pino 46’), Barkero, Bellvis (Quero 67’) - Brit.

Goal: 1-0, (13’) Lafita.

Referee: Álvarez Izquierdo. He showed yellow card to Cisma (23’), Palacios (31’) Lopo (43’), Del Pino (63’) and Colotto (66’).

Venue: Riazor (14,000)

Other statistics:

Ball possession (47% - 53%);

Total shots (13 - 10);

Shots on target (1 - 3);

Saves by the keeper (0 – 2);

Corner-kicks (4 – 4);

Offsides (1 – 3);

Fouls (25 – 15);

Accuracy of passes (80.85% - 83.53%)

Uefa Cup 2008/09: Deportivo ke peringkat kumpulan

Aku tidak tidur sepanjang malam hari raya ketiga kerana bertemu sahabat-sahabat lama di warung dalam kampung. Dalam masa yang sama, aku masih berkesempatan melayari internet bagi mengikuti perkembangan bolasepak peringkat kelayakan Piala UEFA yang membabitkan Deportivo la Coruna.

Diego Colotto selepas menjaringkan gol kedua

Walaupun ketinggalan 2-0 pada pusingan pertama di tempat lawan, namun kehadiran Diego Colotto dalam barisan pertahanan akhirnya dapat menghadiahkan dua jaringan yang membawa perlawanan ini ke masa tambahan dan seterusnya ke penentuan sepakan penalti.

Dengan persempbahan mantap penjaga gol, Aranzubia, akhirnya Deportivo menang penalti 3-2 dan layak ke peringkat kumpulan.


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www.deportivo-la-coruna.com



03 Oct 2008

Extraordinary performance of a Deportivo that battled against a shy Brann and also against the referee. Because the Galicians played for ninety minutes with ten men on the pitch after Riki was sent off early in the first half. Colotto emerged as one of the heroes as he scored the two goals that took the game to extra-times and then to the penalty shoot-out, instance in which Aranzubia was the hero stopping three penalties.


BEFORE THE GAME

Lotina thought really carefully the lineup for the game, so much that he tested several alternatives between Tuesday and Wednesday, the last change he made was to put Antonio Tomás alongside Sergio in midfield just when everybody was expecting for Verdú.

In defence Colotto got his second chance as he took the place of Zé Castro, while in attack the Basque manager trusted in Omar Bravo for the striker position and in Riki for the left wing. As it was expected Valerón appeared as the playmaker on the formation and Lafita as the right winger. Since the list of called players was composed by 19 men, one player was left out of the bench, and it was Cristian who stayed out.

In Brann, defender Ólafur Orn Bjarnason was recovered from his ankle sprain and he started in the centre of the defence. In attack the selected couple was Huseklepp-Bjornsson while the main surprise was that captain Eirik Bakke was sited on the bench. His place in midfield was taken by Gylfi Einarsson.

The stadium was not full (12,000 spectators) despite the call made by the players and by a big part of the peñas. The temperature was cold and it stopped raining just minutes before the kick-off.


FIRST HALF



The Galicians knew they needed a big score in order to pass the round, therefore they started to push since the beginning. The first approximation of the home team was a cross of Riki from the left wing, but his effort went to the hands of keeper Kenneth Udjus (2’). Two minutes later Valerón started to appear as a wonderful pass from the Canarian almost reached Omar Bravo, but the visitors cleared the danger.

The game was settled since the kick-off, Depor had the initiative while Brann was waiting in its area for a defining counterattack and trusting in Huseklepp’s velocity. At minute 5 the visitors had their first chance with a long ball to Bjornsson, but Aranzubia arrived first and contained the ball. In the next play Depor wasted a good occasion after a pass of Riki to Lafita, the Aragonian entered to the box but he couldn’t drill the ball between Brann’s defensive line.

Depor’s next chance came with a free-kick at the right side, Valerón didn’t send the cross to the box, instead he searched for Lafita at the entrance of the penalty area. The final shot of the ex-Zaragoza winger went over the crossbar (14’). The Norwegians survived the first fifteen minutes, something considered as very important in order to achieve the pass to the group stage, but the true is that its defensive line seemed pretty weak each time the Galicians approached the area.

And Deportivo conquered the important first goal at minute 18, curiously all started with a counterattack for the Galicians. Brann took a corner-kick and Depor replied with a fast play that ended with a corner favorable to the locals, Sergio took the shot and his cross was headed by Diego Colotto who scored the goal tough he was pulled by a rival inside the box. It was a good way to correct the Argentinean’s error in the penalty of the first-leg.

It seemed that Brann was at the mercy of Depor, but then Czech referee Pavel Kralovec appeared to complicate the things for the Galicians, because he sent off Riki with two yellow cards shown in a matter of two minutes. First the Madrilenian was cautioned for not following the directions of the referee (27’), two minutes later he was sent off after scoring a goal with the hand tough it seemed he lost the balance when he jumped for the ball. Kralovec shouldn’t be criticised for this call, however he allowed the violence from the visitors during the second half, meaning he wasn’t equal judging the actions from both sides.

Now Lotina’s team was forced to search for two more goals with only ten men on the pitch, Riazor claimed against Pavel Kralovec and the match reached a pause that was benefiting Brann. The following opportunity for the locals arrived until minute 38 after Lopo headed out a cross from Sergio. Two minutes later Omar Bravo scored a goal that was invalidated for an offside. Since the visitors weren’t attacking, Filipe started to perform more as a left winger and he was the one responsible of the crosses from that sector.

The last chance of the first half was for Brann, actually it was its first clear one on the game. A corner kick of Bjarnason almost complicated Aranzubia, but luckily the play didn’t end in goal. The impulse of Depor within the first half an hour was lost after Riki was sent off, the players were more busy discussing with the referee, while the fans were protesting all the actions of Pavel Kralovec, something that was just helping Brann in the task of surviving the Riazor.

The key in these 45 minutes was that Brann was doing nothing in midfield, Austin, Moen and Einarsson were disappeared, reason why Antonio Tomás and Sergio were having a pleasant night.


SECOND HALF

Coach Mons Ivar Mjelde knew he needed more physical presence in midfield, therefore he sent Eirik Bakke to the pitch replacing Gylfi Einarsson, curiously the captain of the Norwegians was booked just seconds later after a tough tackle in midfield. Things didn’t change in the second part, Deportivo continued having the initiative while Brann was patiently holding at the back zone.

In the meantime, the public continued protesting the work of Pavel Kralovec, the Riazor claimed for penalty in two different actions, first for a foul over Lafita (50’) and then for a cross of Filipe that hit the hand of a defender (52’), but the Czech referee didn’t whistle anything. At minute 56 Lotina ordered the first modification as Mista replaced Omar Bravo in attack.

Then the pressure of the Galicians continued over a Brann that was locked up in its penalty area. At minute 56 a free-kick of Lafita was deflected to corner-kick, in the next play Colotto was near to double the advantage for Depor but his shot hit a defender, in this play a new penalty was reclaimed as the ball hit again the hand of a Brann’s defender, but no call was made. And the Norwegians had the chance they were looking for with a counterattack as Bjornsson shot on target after a fast play, but Aranzubia saved Depor.

The game earned intensity with every approximation from Depor, at minute 60 Mista was close to score, but he was offside when he received the pass of Lafita. Then Lotina decided to put Guardado over the grass, the Mexican replaced Valerón. It wasn’t the nigh for El Mago who barely appeared throughout the match. Guardado was now basing his game on the right wing with Lafita attacking by the right. The next chance for Depor was a header of Mista that went close to the post.

Karadas entered for Bjornsson as Brann was now more close to the qualification thanks to its defensive tactic, but Depor pushed forward as Guardado was close to score with a direct free-kick that went to a corner, but Udjus made a brilliant save sending the ball to a corner, in the next play Lopo ended bleeding from the mouth after a collision with a rival. Then Lotina made his last modification sending Verdú for Antonio Tomás, and the Catalan participated in the next play to help Depor to conquer the needed second goal.

And it was again Diego Colotto the one that appeared in the corner-kick, this time heading the cross of Filipe after Brann's defence deflected the corner of Verdú. The Argentinean headed the cross in the far post and defeated Udjus who couldn't react due the heavy traffic in the zone. Wit the aggregate score now equalised, Deportivo released the pressure as it started to search for the deciding goal with more calmness, meanwhile Brann continued locked in its area. Lafita (84’) and Verdú (87’) had attempts to score but they missed their occasions. The second chance for the visitors in the second half was a long ball that Aranzubia almost miss. The final opportunity was for Mista after a set-piece strategy, but the ex-Valencia missed the pass from Sergio by inches.


EXTRA TIMES

Deportivo continued dominating the ball, but this time the attacks were more paused, mainly because players like Filipe and Lafita were exhausted after have been running throughout the match. The situation gave more alternatives to Brann who now started to enjoy of more chances, its biggest one came at minute 97 with a fortunate play for Aranzubia. It was a deadly cross of Bakke that passed over the Basque keeper, then it hit the far post and the rebound hit the keeper before going to corner-kick (97’). The luck was at the side of the home team.

The Galicians replied with a cross of Guardado searching for Mista, but the striker was offside (101’), two minutes later Guardado took a free-kick in a dangerous zone, but his cross to the box didn’t find a receiver. The second extra time started with a new disallowed goal for Depor, the fourth in the night, this time because Mista was offside.

The exciting game saw in the regular ninety minutes turned into boredom during the extra-times, mainly because both sides were tired and also because the teams were not giving anything for free, Depor was more cautious and Brann continued disconnected in attack. The final chance for the Galicians came at minute 118 with a mid-distance shot of Lafita, effort that was easily contained by Udjus. Then the match reached the penalty shoot-out.


PENALTY SHOOT-OUT



And if the hero in the normal time was Diego Colotto, this time it was Daniel Aranzubia who leaded Deportivo with three key saves during the penalty shoot-out. He stopped the attempts of Petter Vaagan Moen, Eirik Bakke and the final one of Erlend Hanstveit. At Depor only Mista failed as Sergio, Guardado and Verdú capitalised their chances.


AFTER THE GAMES

Suffered victory for a Deportivo that had to play for 90 minutes with ten men on the pitch. Brann was a scared team that barely gave problems to Lotina’s men, but the Galicians had to make a great effort in order to pass the eliminatory and reach the group stage, the draw for this round will take place on the next Tuesday.

The work of referee Pavel Kralovec was protested by the fans and by Depor’s players, this because he sent off Riki too early in the game and since he disallowed four goals for the home team, however it must be appointed the referee was right in those decisions and that Riki himself is the one to blame for his own exit.

But this explanation doesn’t saves the Czech referee, because he should left Brann with ten men after a couple of hard tackles over Filipe, Guardado and Lafita, besides he didn’t have the courage to call three clear penalties inside of Brann’s area, something that would decided the game earlier. Now Deportivo waits for Numancia in la liga, match that should help to recover the course in the local competition (Sunday 17h00, CET).


MATCH STATISTICS

Deportivo: Aranzubia - Piscu, Colotto, Lopo, Filipe - Sergio, Antonio Tomás (Verdú 75’) – Lafita, Valerón (Guardado 62’), Riki – Omar Bravo (Mista 55’).

Brann: Udjus - Dahl, Bjarnason, Sigurdsson, Hanstveit - Solli, Austin, Einarsson (Bakke 46’), Moen – Huseklepp (Saevarsson 81’), Bjornsson (Karadas 70’).

Goals: 1-0: (18’) Colotto, 2-0: (76’) Colotto.

Penalty shoot-out: 0-1: Bjarnason, 1-1: Sergio, 1-1: Moen missed, 1-1: Mista missed, 1-1: Bakke missed, 2-1: Guardado, 2-2: Austin, 3-2: Verdú, 3-2: Hanstveit missed.

Referee: Pavel Kralovec (CZE). He showed yellow card to Solli (32’), Bjornsson (68’), Udjus (71’), Saevarsson (104’), Moen (108’) and Mista (109’). Riki was sent off (29’)

Venue: Riazor (12,000).

La Liga 2008/09: Depor 'karam' di Mestalla

Mestalla Stadium

29hb September 2008

Walaupun mendahului seawal minit ke-12, namun kehebatan jentera serangan Valencia amat sukar untuk dibendung dengan dibarisi oleh David Villa, Fernando Morientes, Joachim dan Mata.

Jelas sekali Skuad Galician ini amat memerlukan pemain inspirasi di barisan pertahanan seperti Nourudine Naybet, Donato dan Mauro Silva pada masa lalu.

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http://www.deportivo-la-coruna.com/

REVIEW: VALENCIA 4 – DEPORTIVO 2 (LIGA)

29 Sep 2008

A disappointing Deportivo wasn’t able to stop Valencia’s machinery, especially during the second half, part in which the Galicians leaked three goals. Like it happened in the game with Villarreal, Lotina’s scheme only worked for the first half an hour, time in which his team dominated the actions and even took the lead in the score. But three assists from Mata plus two goals of Villa showed the sadness of this Deportivo.

BEFORE THE GAME

Lotina sent to the pitch the expected 4-2-3-1 formation, with Juan Rodríguez and Antonio Tomás in midfield, and with Mista returning to the starting eleven trying to break the lack of goals at Deportivo. In Valencia Unai Emery was trusting in the combination between Mata, David Villa, Joaquín and Morientes.

FIRST HALF

All eyes were on Mata and Villa, players that were representing the 75% of the goals scored by Valencia on this liga season, but the true is that neither of these two men touched the ball within the first fifteen minutes, the cause was the strategy of Depor, a squad that was ordered and that was moving the ball with fast and short passes, that’s how Valencia didn’t have a chance against Aranzubia within the first thirteen minutes. The order was the main characteristic of Lotina’s Depor, because everybody was helping in the defensive tasks, especially Pablo Alvarez, player that was highly involved helping Laure to control Mata.

Actually it was Depor who was creating more danger over Renan’s goal. At minute 3, Guardado sent a cross from the left that nobody in Valencia could clear, the ball reached Mista in the far post, but the striker couldn’t control it and when he did it, there was no angle to send a shot. Three minutes later Guardado was again searching for Mista with a long ball, but Renan arrived first.

Then the reward for the initial effort came at the 11th minute, a long ball of Verdú to the right corner was run by Pablo Alvarez until the end, then he faced Emliano Moretti and sent a cross that hit the defender first, then the ball hit the ground and when Renan tried to cleared it, instead the Brazilian pushed the ball in.

The goal didn’t awake Valencia as Deportivo continued dominating the actions with its short passes and its anticipation over the movements of the rival. The first approximation of Valencia came until minute 13, it was a ball lost in attack by Depor that ended with a long-distance drilling shot from Joaquín, and the ball went wide. But Depor continued insisting, Zé Castro couldn’t head a corner of Guardado (15’) and later a cross from Pablo Alvarez was cleared by Valencia’s defenders (16’).

At minute 20, it seemed the game would change, because a double action for the locals almost ends with the equalising goal. The first action was a drilling cross from Joaquín that Villa found inside the box, his shot was blocked by Aranzubia and then Morientes fouled the keeper. The second opportunity was a new cross from Joaquín that Mata found in the entrance of the area, but his final shot was too high.

Despite this double opportunity, Deportivo continued dominating the game, without creating danger against Renan, but neither suffering any dangerous attack from the Valencian squad. But things changed at minute 35 as Emery’s squad achieved the equaliser. A new cross from Joaquín, this time a high one, was found by Juan Manuel Mata in the far post as Aranzubia couldn’t clear the ball first, the resulting header went to the back of the net passing between Zé Castro, Laure and Morientes.

The goal didn’t cause the expected ‘avalanche’ of Valencia over Deportivo, but the Galicians lost the concentration since that moment, suddenly the order was gone and neither Antonio Tomás nor Verdú were appearing in order to put the pause in midfield. However the attacks of Valencia weren’t occurring, it was until the final four minutes when the locals started to push forward searching for the second goal.

And the occasions created by Valencia were caused by the own mistakes committed by Depor’s players. At minute 41, an error of Laure when the youngster was clearing a ball inside the box almost end in goal, but the shot of Joaquín was deflected to a corner. Two minutes later Verdú lost a ball in the border of the area, Mata made a quick pass to Villa, but the final drilling shot from El Guaje went just centimeters away from the left post of Aranzubia.

The first half resulted to be an entertaining show between a Deportivo that struck first and that controlled the actions in the first half an hour, but a later reaction from Valencia equalised the game and even put Emery’s squad close to the victory. The whole Depor’s’ squad seemed focused, tough in the final minutes the first signs of tireness appeared.

SECOND HALF

If the first part was a lesson of order by Depor, the second was a disaster. Because Lotina’s squad was a soulless team that didn’t know how to defend and neither how to attack a rival that searched the victory since the beginning. Just four minutes after the pause, David Villa appeared to capitalise a new ball lost by Depor in attack, but the hero in the play was Mata, because the youngster was the one that put the long pass to his team mate, Villa just had to elude Zé Castro and beat Aranzubia with a drilling shot that hit the leg of the keeper first.

The order at Deportivo was gone, and everything was now reduced to witness attack after attack by the local team. A minute 52 Valencia was close to score again as a new cross from Joaquín didn’t find a receiver inside the box. With Verdú and Antonio Tomás disappeared, the only way in which Depor was able to create danger was with set-pieces, that’s how the Galicians had their first chance in the second part. It was a free-kick that Verdú sent to the box and that Zé Castro couldn’t connect in the near post (53’). Four minutes later it was Guardado who was close to score with a direct-free kick that Renan saved in his left post.

But it was Valencia who was having the best occasions. At minute 59, Mata, definitely the best player in the home team, sent a new cross that Albelda found in the border of the area, his final shot was saved by Aranzubia. The resulting corner-kick was also near to enter as Edú headed a ball that passed near to the right post. The third goal of Valencia seemed a matter of time.

Lotina saw that his team was broke in two pieces, that’s why he decided to make a double substitution with thirty minutes remaining in the clock; he sent Omar Bravo and Lafita to the pitch while Mista and Antonio Tomás left the game. The double move meant a tactical chance as Verdú delayed his position on the field and as Lafita started to perform as playmaker. But the modification didn’t work and Deportivo continued to be a ghost over the grass.

Actually it was Valencia who scored again nine minutes later, once again the play was started by Mata on the left wing as Deportivo lost a new ball in midfield, the drilling cross of Mata was found by Joaquín inside the box, the ex-Betis just had to push the ball in passing it through the legs of Aranzubia. It was over for Deportivo. Lotina’s men were laying defeated, running without knowing where. It was the part of the game in which Valencia enjoyed the most as its strikers started to have several chances to increase the lead.

At minute 73, Lotina made the final modification sending Riki for Guardado, with this modification Riki took the right wing, Pablo Álvarez the playmaking function and Lafita the left wing. But it was too late as the will of the players disappeared since a while ago. The only chance for Riki was a wide free-kick at minute 76.

Valencia even increased the humiliation with a fourth goal; once again the last pass was coming from Mata. The play started with a long ball of Manuel Fernandes, who replaced Edú twenty minutes before, later Mata controlled it and drilled it to the far post, David Villa just arrived to push the ball in. With these two goals, Villa is the current Pichichi in la liga with six goals in five matches and it also meant the ninth goal of El Guaje against Depor.

At least the Galicians were able to clean a little bit the humiliation with a new goal. And it was a strange one. Pablo Alvarez won a ball in midfield, but it was immediately fouled, referee Pérez Lasa allowed to continue the play as Lafita received the ball tough his assistant was lifting the flag. The situation created confusing in Valencia’s defensive sector, because Albelda thought the referee would whistle and did nothing to stop a Angel Lafita that faced Renan in a one-to-one action. The Aragonian scored the goal in a coal way: drilling the ball under the body of the Brazilian keeper.

Lafita even had the chance to score the third goal for Depor a couple of minutes later, but his shot inside the box was deflected to corner. But it was Valencia the side that had the last chance of the night, and it was the endless nightmare of Deportivo who created the occasion: Juan Manuel Mata. He put a new golden pass that left Joaquín alone against Aranzubia, the winger eluded the keeper but Laure arrived and cleared the danger in the last second.

AFTER THE GAME

Deportivo showed two different faces in the game, the best one in the first part as Lotina’s side controlled the actions and even took the lead in the score. But the strategy of Lotina only lasted half an hour, just as it occurred at Villarreal. The worst face of Depor was seen during the second half, period of time in which the squad was totally surpassed and humiliated by a Valencia that continues to be the leader of Primera División.

Deportivo still living in mid-table in la liga, now Lotina’s squad will try to achieve the comeback in the UEFA cup series with SK Brann Bergen, the Galicians need at least a two-goal victory in order to reach the extra time. Maybe the only good news in the game with Valencia is that the squad found the goal after four official matches scoreless. The most worrying thing is without doubt the passive face showed in the second half, an image of impotence.

MATCH STATISTICS

Valencia: Renan - Miguel, Albiol, Alexis, Moretti - Joaquín, Albelda, Edu (Manuel Fernandes 63’), Mata - Villa (Angulo 82’), Morientes (Vicente 68’).

Deportivo: Aranzubia - Laure, Lopo, Ze Castro, Filipe - Juan Rodríguez, Antonio Tomás (Omar Bravo 60’) - Pablo Álvarez, Verdú, Guardado (Riki 72’) - Mista (Lafita 60’).

Goals: 0-1: (11’) Moretti (O.G.), 1-1: (34’) Mata, 2-1: (49’)Villa, 3-1: (68’) Joaquín, 4-1: (82’)Villa. 4-2: (85’) Lafita.

Referee: Pérez Lasa. He showed yellow card to Filipe (24’), Laure (74’), Moretti (85’) and Albelda (85’).

Venue: Mestalla (45,000)

Other statistics:

Ball possession (56% - 44%);

Total shots (24 - 7);

Shots on target (9 - 3);

Saves by the keeper (0 – 3);

Corner-kicks (5 – 9);

Offsides (2 – 0);

Fouls (11 – 16);

.

Accuracy of passes (88.12% - 84.12%)