Coming off their euphoric victory over bitter rivals Vitesse, N.E.C. continued its ascendancy with a composite 2-0 triumph over ADO at Goffertstadion. With the result, Alex Pastoor’s side lodge their fourth successive victory in league and cup competition and find themselves in a two-way tie for tenth with Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie at the conclusion of match day nineteen.

With a single change from last week’s winning line-up, twenty-one year old centre-back Pavel Čmovš for Rens van Eijden, N.E.C. went on the attack from the opening whistle. Eight minutes into the contest Género Zeefuik played through Lasse Schøne and the Danish international quickly set the ball past ADO goalkeeper Gino Coutinho for the one-goal advantage. Only nine-minutes later the margin was doubled as Gábor Horváth was adjudged a penalty for bringing down Género Zeefuik in area to which Lasse Schøne dutifully drove the ball in from the spot. Though ADO were in clear advantage of ball possession, their efforts lacking venom and following a last ditch challenge culled Lasse Schøne’s chance for a third goal the match went to the break with N.E.C comfortably in front 2-0.

Coming out after the break the complexion of the evening had decidedly turned as N.E.C. turned its focus to cull the visitor’s hopes and claim the victory. Maintaining a well disciplined stance, the hosts did well to limit chances and true to form, when called upon veteran ‘keeper Gábor Babos could not be beaten. At the seventy-second minute, Mr. Pastoor summoned John Goossens for Leroy George, with Melvin Platje entering for Género Zeefuik quickly thereafter as the hosts maintained a resolute defensive stance. The final stages saw ADO continue to pry for an opening but after Ryan Koolwijk made way for Rémy Amieux and five minutes of added time the final whistle sounded with N.E.C. laying claim to the 2-0 victory.

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In an impressive display, Spartak opened its effort in the Copa del Sol tournament with a 4-2 (2-2) penalty shoot victory over Swedish side IFK Göteborg.

Set in the beautiful Spanish coastal retreat of Benidorm, Valeriy Karpin’s men showed promise from the opening whistle with Aiden McGeady a constant menace on the left. Barely two minutes into the contest the Republic of Ireland narrowly missed connecting with Welliton with a teasing cross that went for naught. While general play was holstered firmly box to box thereafter, the Red-Whites were clearly the more likely to break the deadlock until being shocked six minutes past the half-hour. Coming via a deft side foot flick on from a corner, Tobias Hysén delivered a booming volley past Andriy Dykan for the one goal advantage. Spartak immediately went on the attack with Aiden McGeady applying the petrol with a quick assault on the left. With the ball moving from Welliton at the top of the box to Artem Dzyuba on the right, the twenty-three year-old striker saw his low effort intended for the bottom left corner stopped before the Brazilian sniper sent the rebound into the net. The Red-Whites continued to pressure to the lead but had to be satisfied with a 1-1 deadlock at the break.

At the re-start play continued with neither side able to make headway and a minute shy of the hour Mr. Karpin summoned Emmanuel Emenike for Welliton. Following a close miss from in an Göteborg advance, Philip Haglund powerfully headed a corner from the right into the net to restore the Swedish club’s advantage. Responding to the challenge once again, Spartak’s cagey and high work rate created a turnover as Stefan Selaković’s poorly weight pass intended for the ‘keeper was latched onto be Emmanuel Emenike and after a deft manoeuvre he deposited the leveller into the net. In the final quarter-hour Jano Ananidze entered for Demy de Zeeuw along with Aleksandr Zotov for Artem Dzyuba shortly thereafter but after both sides failed to connect on noteworthy chances the match went to penalty shoot-out.

Stepping up to the spot first Sergei Parshivlyuk saw his effort stopped before Andriy Dykan rose to the occasion to deny Tobias Hysén. In quick succession, Aiden McGeady and Jano Ananidze both notched their efforts, along with their counterparts before Marcos Rojo dispatched the ball to the top right corner of the net to provide Spartak the advantage. Andriy Dykan then managed to heroically paw away Hjörtur Logi Valgarðsson’s effort and with victory in sight Ari strode the spot and lashed the ball into the left corner.

Spartak Moscow returns to play in the Copa del Sol tournament on 1 February to face Norwegian side Rosenborg BK.

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With Spartak Moscow ready to begin play in the Copa del Sol in advance of re-start of the extended Russian football season, the club has scored an enormous coup with the addition of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov from Everton.

No stranger to Red-Whites faithful, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov rose to fame at Lokomotiv displaying mercurial pace on the attack and a passion for the goal. After five superb years for the Railwayman, earning the captains armband in 2007, he made the shift to English Premier League side Everton for a free reportedly in the range of £8.9m.

Earning forty-five caps for Russia as a fixture in the line-up, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov will join Spartak following his medical and finalising of terms and signing of the contract.

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Courtesy of hard fought 3-1 extra-time victory over Le Havre at the Stade Vélodrome, Olympique de Marseille advanced to the round of sixteen of the Coupe de France to face minnows Bourg-Péronnas.

Le Havre, trapped in the mid-table of Ligue 2, entered the contest with hopes of an upset and within six minutes shocked the Marseillais as Ryan Mendes out-raced Stéphane Mbia for a long ball on the right before drilling the ball past l’OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda. The perfect start for the Normandy side narrowly missed being undone but efforts from Loïc Rémy and Alou Diarra were halted by ‘keeper Johnny Placide and the visitors took the one-goal advantage to the break.

Play continued to be tight until Didier Deschamps men notched the leveller four minutes past the hour as Morgan Amalfitano surged on the right before delivering a long cross to the back post that Brandão out leapt the ‘keeper to nod into the net. With the match square Le Havre dug its boots in but squandered two quality chances, first with Steve Mandanda denying Ryan Mendes and then with five minutes in regulation time remaining Alexandre Bonnet sending an effort wide from close range despite a wide open goal beckoning.

Extra time proved to be the visitors undoing as fifteen minutes in Morgan Amalfitano drilled a booming effort from twenty-five metres to the top left corner of the net past the stranded ‘keeper. Still Le Havre kept up pace to equalizer and after seeing Steve Mandanda once again rise to the occasion, Johnny Placide race forward for a last gasp corner. The Haitian ‘keeper did well to head the ball but after being blocked Mathieu Valbuena led a long counter on the left led before crossing to Loïc Rémy in the box. Turning on a defended with Johnny Placide racing back into position the talented twenty-fire year old attacker sent the ball to the bottom left corner to seal Olympique de Marseille’s 3-1 victory.

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N.E.C. kicked off the second-half of the Eredivisie campaign with superb 1-0 victory over rivals Vitesse at the GelreDome in another chapter of the heated “De Gelderse” Derby. The result pushes the Nijmegen side eight well above the relegation zone and revitalises hope for a top half of the table finish and potential berth on the European stage.

Following a difficult opening half of the year that saw his side seem to run out of synch, yet show flashes of fine pedigree, N.E.C. manager Alex Pastoor knew Sunday’s derby could prove to be the launching ground for their resurgence. Yet with a victory drought in Arnhem that stretched some forty-two years the task would require not only passion ever so typical of the bitter rivalry but masterful tactical plan. From the victory over VVV prior to the break Mr. Pastoor called upon Krisztián Vadócz and the mercurial Leroy George for John Goossens and Abdisalam Ibrahim and summoned his charges with disciplined plan to patiently absorb pressure and wait for a countering opportunity. After an appropriate tribute for Vitesse legend Theo Bos grappling with the throes of cancer, the early stages saw chances sparse though the midfield battle embodied the spirit of contest with no ball left unchallenged. Following a probing effort from Marcus Pedersen that was dutifully stopped by N.E.C. number one Gábor Babos and Nick van der Velden teasing the goal with a close miss the match went to the break deadlocked.

At the restart, Vitesse showed purpose and direction as they launched forward but as N.E.C. orchestrated their tactical plan to perfection with any notable effort snuffed out by Gábor Babos. Six minutes shy of the hour the N.E.C. tactician called upon Nathaniël Will for Zoltán Szélesi and after the Nijmegen goalkeeper denied Alexander Büttner and Jan-Arie van der Heijden it was time for Leroy George to step up to centre stage. Coming with a quarter-hour remaining in regulation a corner from the right saw Vitesse goalkeeper Piet Velthuizen make two top notch stops before the rebound came to Leroy George where he promptly lashed the ball to the right side of the net. In dire need of the leveller the hosts launched forward but once again Gábor Babos proved to be their undoing with yeoman’s work. At the eighty-first minute Rémy Amieux entered for the goal scorer with Navarone Foor coming Nick Van der Velden shortly thereafter as N.E.C. continued its drive towards victory. Though Rémy Amieux narrowly missed adding to the margin, N.E.C. was resolute in defending and after four minutes of added-time the final whistle sounded with the winless drought put to rest.

Jumping over the barriers to throw his shirt to the faithful, Leroy George was then joined by his team-mates in a moment that not only speaks well of N.E.C.’s hopes for the second-half of the campaign but the state of football in Eredivisie.

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In the most ironic of tales, Marco Reus provided his future employers in Dortmund a boost in their effort to defend their title as the twenty-two year old virtuoso lead Borussia Mönchengladbach to a 3-1 victory over visiting Bayern München in the opening contest of the Bundesliga’s rückrunde. With the result, Die Fohlen pull one point off Bayern at top of the table Bayern but with BVB lurking close a victory against Hamburger SV could see a two-way tie for first place.

In front of their adoring fans at Borussia Park Stadion, Lucien Favre’s men entered the evening after enjoying the best opening half of the campaign for Gladback in thirty-five years. However with the young Marco Reus on his way to BVB at the end of the campaign following a £14.5m deal completed this 4 January, the Fohlen need to both continue their hunt for a European berth but see to a well planned reinvestment of said funds.

With Bayern the consensus favourite Borussia had its evening cut out for them but after a tense start with both sides prying for an opening, Manuel Neuer’s shambolic blunder was an ominous step of things to come for the visitors. Borussia, never shy of work-rate under the guise of Mr. Favre, showed volition in pursuit of every loose ball and in what should have been a routine clearance the Bayern ‘keeper, who was well out of the goal, sent the ball to Marco Reus who wasted no time to volley into the right corner of the net from thirty-plus metres. As has been the case so often, Borussia’s young goalkeeper gem Marc-André ter Stegen was in mint form with a delectable stop on Mario Gómez and followed up later to deny Arjen Robben. Four minutes shy of the break, Bayern’s blundering way provided the catalyst for a doubling of the score as Arjen Robben was dispossessed of the ball midfield and after making a meal out of contact watched Mike Hanke deliver a perfect diagonal provision to Patrick Herrmann on the left, who subsequently scored to opposite bottom corner.

With chances sparse, Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes called upon the highly promising Vienna native David Alaba for Anatoliy Tymoschuk three minutes shy of the hour but the visitor’s advances were showing little venom in the final third. Buttoning down play with the two goal margin, Borussia showed the composure of a well heeled unit, comfortably absorbing pressure and waiting patiently for the right moment to launch a counter. Latching onto a long ball on the left channel with eighteen minutes remaining in regulation, Marco Reus cut back away from Holger Badstuber before weighting a perfect provision through from Patrick Hermann who then navigated around the sprawled ‘keeper and tucking into the near corner. At the seventy-sixth minute Bastian Schweinsteiger added a meagre consolation goal for Bayern after a poorly cleared ball allowed him a chance from close range but other that that the remaining time allowed Marco Reus and Patrick Hermann to bow out to the adoring fans as Borussia Mönchengladbach claimed a 3-1 victory over Bayern München.

The much rumoured move of John Goossens from N.E.C. was confirmed as Feyenoord revealed late Monday that he will join the Rotterdam side 1 June with a four year contract once passing the standard medical examination.

A well known target of English Premier League side Swansea City, the talented twenty-three year old midfielder nixed the offer to stay at Nijmegen where his contract expires this summer. Since moving from Ajax in February 2009 John Goosens has shown flashes of brilliance, guile in the attack with precision ability in set-pieces and touch to find the goal as evidenced in his magnificent performance leading N.E.C. past VVV Venlo this past 17 December.

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Olympique de Marseille’s steady climb up the table continued as l’OM returned from the Christmas break to celebrate a 2-0 victory over defending champions Lille Métropole at Stade Vélodrome in match day twenty of the Ligue 1 campaign. With the result l’OM pulls to sixth in the table, a modest nine points off league leader Paris Saint Germain and far removed from the side that was winless until week seven.

Coming off successive victory in the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue this past week in tune-up, l’OM knew they would face a mighty test against the defending champions who were intent on keeping pace with front runners PSG. The opening mix showed a decided tight tone with both sides willing to press forward but having little bite in the final third. Following a series of inconsequential low probability efforts the match began to open up midway of the half with Mathieu Valbuena serving up Loïc Rémy with a perfect through ball only to see the young striker thwarted by Lille ‘keeper Mickaël Landreau. Though l’OM continued to look the more likely of the two to break the deadlock, play was lacking in the final third and the contest went to the break scoreless.

After the re-start, the general theme changed little with Les Phocéens showing volition with flanking assaults only to be met by a curmudgeonly Lille defending wall. However a minute past the hour l’OM struck the right chord with a sumptuous development of play on the right flank between Lucho González and Mathieu Valbuena. Accepting the ball from the former Porto play-maker, Mathieu Valbuena cut sharply into the right side of the area before sending the perfect cross to the back post that Loïc Remy nodded in from six metres. With the Marseillais faithful in full song, Didier Deschamps’ men looked strong but needed a brilliant stop by goalkeeper Steve Mandanda on Eden Hazard after the Belgium virtuoso manoeuvred to point plank range. Lille’s opportunities to level were sparse and with seven minutes remaining in regulation time Loïc Remy drove the nail into the coffin of the visitors as he raced onto an errant ball well outside the area to the right, shifted past Mickaël Landreau and sent a low rolling effort to the left corner of the net for the two goal advantage. With the evening effectively fait accompli Olympique de Marseille killed off Lille’s advances and following five minutes of added-time lay claim to the 2-0 victory.

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Torino halted their three game slump and found its winning charm with a 2-1 victory over Ascoli at Stadio Olimpico in week twenty-two of the Serie B campaign. With the result Torino stands at the top of the table as they look to realise their goal of returning to the top flight of Italian football.

Coming off a nil draw with Albinoleffe that saw them finish with nine men on the pitch and without a victory in the three most recent contests, Torino manager Giampiero Ventura made four changes to his line-up with Ferdinando Coppola between the woodwork for Davide Morello, along with Valerio Di Cesare, Giuseppe De Feudis and Migjen Basha for Kamil Glik, Manuel Iori and Simone Verdi. After a close range effort from Rolando Bianchi was foiled, Il Toro grabbed the one-goal advantage just past the eighteenth minute via some brilliant work by Mirco Antenucci. Latching onto the ball on the edge of the area on the left the twenty-seven year-old old attacker turned to his right before sending a crisp side footed dart to the bottom far corner of the net. The visitors wasted little time in levelling the contest as nine minutes later Papa Waigo nodded an corner from the right onto the path of Matteo Ciofani who quickly lifted it to the roof of the net. Now level Torino quickly mounted a charge but after an effort from the skipper, Rolando Bianchi, drifted wide helplessly left of the woodwork the match went the break even.

With the contest deadlocked the Torino tactician called upon Uruguayan international Juan Surraco for Alen Stevanović at the sixty-third minute and it was not long before the hosts restored their advantage Coming sixty-sixth minute, Mirco Antenucci accepted the ball on the right edge of the area before cutting down the channel away from Siniša Anđelković and Maurizio Peccarisi and firing the winning margin from an acute angle twelve metres out. Up by one, Torino was in clear control with Ascoli rarely advancing and in the final ten minutes Alessandro Sgrigna and Danilo D`Ambrosio were summoned in for Mirko Antenucci and Giuseppe Vives as the looked to secure the result. Torino’s defending proved resolute and as the final whistle sounded they claimed to the 2-1 victory.

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Athletes are rarely provided the luxury of going “home”. The double-edged sword of an athlete’s life is in their youth they are convinced of brighter pastures far and away and only until the sun begins to set on their career do they pang for the warmth of home. Some will realize it sooner than others, some not until sport is just a memory and a tale to be shared at the corner stool and still others simply never are accorded the chance.

In a magical moment none will forget Thierry Henry returned home and with the faithful of Emirates Stadium in full song, the legendary striker provided Arsenal the winning margin in a 1-0 FA Cup victory over Leeds.

A shining star in north London for eight years before departing in 2007 for Barcelona, the likelihood of Thierry Henry return to Arsenal seemed impossible only a short time ago. His best days well behind him the thirty-four year-old striker answered the call of Gunners illustrious manager Arsène Wenger with the club suffering through injury woes and quickly arrived on a two-month loan from the MLS’ Red Bulls.

Attempting to deflect any impact he may upon the pitch, the striker suggested his role more as a veteran leader and a positive influence on the training grounds. Respectfully, few would have suspected his storybook return but then again, just as few would doubt that magic of Thierry Henry would not have another chapter to be written for the Gunner faithful.

With the contest deadlocked and Leeds looking strong in their effort to force a replay at Elland Road, Mr. Wenger called upon the aging legend eight minutes past the hour to set Emirates abuzz. With each touch his name sang out and ten minutes after trotting onto the pitch he latched onto Alex Song’s through ball on the left side of the area and channelled the past with a perfectly placed right-footed strike to the opposite corner of the net. Arms outstretched the triumphant hero raced towards Arsène Wenger for an emotional hug as the magical moment cascaded throughout the stadium. Though Leeds had fought amiably throughout the evening they were unable to spoil the moment as Arsenal claimed the 1-0 victory in Thierry Henry’s magical return home.

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