Spanning the Globe: The Weekend Rundown

By: Bob | April 16th, 2007

The game is played just about everywhere in the world. This is perhaps the busiest time of the year with just about every league in action. If our brains were wired to allow us to watch all the games at the same time we might be able to keep track of it all. Instead, we must simply try our best to process it all through a random weekend recap.

Germany – The top four teams in the Bundesliga all won for the second week in the row to make this race tighter than tight. Schalke 04, looking for their first title in the modern Bundesliga era, dismantled bottom dwellers Mainz 3-0. The team they might fear the most is Werder Bremen now that Miroslav Klose is back on form finding the net. His goal helped to spark his team to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich still is hanging on thanks to a 2-1 victory over Bayern Leverkusen. Five matches left in the season and your guess is as good as mine who will lift the trophy.

Top 4: Schalke 59pts, Werder Bremen 57, VfB Stuttgart 55, Bayern Munich 53

Netherlands – There are two more matches left in the Dutch Eredivisie and the league championship is yet to be decided. League leaders PSV Eindhoven halted their recent slide by beating Twente Enschede 2-0 on Saturday. The pressure is still on PSV, however, with AZ Alkmaar beating Vitesse Arnhem 1-0. Ajax is also right there after their 2-0 win against NAC Breda. Just about the only traditional Dutch power out of things is Feyenoord who are in sixth place.

Top 4: PSV Eindhoven 71pts, AZ Alkmaar 69, Ajax 69, Twente Enschede 62

Spain – It took a last second own goal by one of their former players, Fernando Navarro, for Barcelona to defeat Real Mallorca 1-0 on Sunday. The win, combined with Sevilla’s 2-0 loss against Valencia, stretches Barca’s lead to four points. They also increased their lead over Real Madrid, who lost to Racing Santander. Eight games remain in the La Liga season.

Top 4: Barcelona 59pts, Sevilla 55, Real Madrid 54, Valencia 53

Argentina – The oddest scene of the weekend for me was seeing the former track star Carl Lewis in the stands of the Boca Juniors-River Plate game. At least he didn’t sing the national anthem. Nor did he climb the perimeter fence as is the odd custom for many Boca fans. As for the match, it was another hard fought Superclasico that ended in a 1-1 draw. Boca scored in the first minute but River Plate were able to get the equalizer four minutes into the second half. League leaders San Lorenzo got back on the winning track by beating Gimnasia-La Plata 1-0.

Top 3: San Lorenzo 25pts, Boca Juniors 23, Estudiantes 19

United States – They had to wait an extra week to join in all the MLS reindeer games and the Kansas City Wizards did nothing to disappoint their fans. The Wizards went on the road and defeated DC United 4-2, the second straight loss for United. The New England Revolution also had tons of fun beating up on Toronto FC 4-0 behind a brace from Taylor Twellman. More from MLS weekend at the MLS Offside.

England – It has become a familiar enough story by now. Manchester United put the hurting on an opponent, while Chelsea wait until the last minute to just get by. The two have both advanced to the FA Cup final following Man U’s 4-1 hammering of Watford and Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn in extra time. The possibility of these teams meeting in both the FA Cup and Champions League finals seems very real. There is also their end of the season league clash as well. On the other end of things, Sheffield United beat West Ham in a relegation battle, while Arsenal beat Bolton to buoy their chances for fourth place. Special shout out to Sunderland in the Championship who haven’t lost in league play in 2007.

Top 4: Manchester United 78pts, Chelsea 75, Liverpool 61, Arsenal 59

Romania – Baring a late season swoon, Dinamo Bucharest will be the pride of Romania this season. They are 10 points clear at the top of the table following their 2-1 win over Arges Pitesti. The surprise team this season is second place CFR Cluj. They put a hurting on UTA Arad 5-0 on Saturday. The other surprise is the disappointment that is Steaua Bucharest. The defending champions fell to fourth place after losing to Gloria 2-0. How they lost to Gloria is beyond me, but she might be a very talented player. Who knows.

Top 4: Dinamo Bucharest 65pts, CFR Cluj 55, Rapid Bucharest 50, Steaua Bucharest 47

Israel – Three cheers for Bnei Sakhnin, a team made up of Israeli-Arab players. They have been promoted to the Premier League for the second time in their history. Made up of local Arab and Jewish players, Bnei Sakhnin have become a huge favorite for Arabs living in Israel.

Japan – Defending J-League champions Urawa Red Diamonds beat the up and comers from Kashiwa Reysol 2-0 to take over first place in the league. For those scoring at home, goals by Washington (the Brazilian not the president) and Shinji Ono (the former Feyenoord midfielder, no relation to Yoko) were the difference.

Top 3: Urawa 14pts, Kashiwa 12, Gamba Osaka 12

Qatar – Ladies and gentlemen, your 2006-07 Qatar champions are Al-Sadd. They won the title despite losing to Al-Rayyan 1-0 on Sunday.

Score of the weekend: In Macedona, Vardar defeated Vlazrimi 10-0.