Weekend Watch: Get Caught Up

By: Daryl | January 11th, 2008

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Those stubborn Germans are still refusing to fussball spielen, claiming it’s too cold outside for that sort of thing. But the Italians and the Dutch are a little tougher. So Serie A returns with the debut of The Duck while the Eredivisie brings us a mouth-watering top of the table clash. Meanwhile in England and Spain there are some big money signings hoping to debut, and hoping to prove they were worth the money.

Saturday:

Feyenoord Rotterdam vs PSV Eindhoven: Top spot in the Dutch Eredivise is up for grabs when these two meet. PSV are currently top, but the two teams are level on 36 points. Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their earlier season encounter, when PSV crushed his team 4-0.

Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur: It’s a London derby (working class “Norf Lahndan” versus poshy posh “West Learndon”) so worth 90 minutes of your time anyway. But this could also see the debut of new Chelsea toy Nicolas Anelka, who very recently completed his £15m transfer from Bolton.

Lyon vs Toulouse: The second half of Ligue 1 gets going this weekend. Just like last January, OL are top as the season recommences. Unlike last year they have just a four point lead instead of fourteen. “This year, we don’t have a joker,” says much admired superstar striker Karim Benzema. They also don’t have Sydney Govou (injured) Fred (dropped ahead of a likely move to PSG) and Abdul Kader Keita (African Cup of Nations.)

Interliga Finals: In back to back games at the Home Depot Center in California, four Mexican teams will compete for two spots in the Copa Libertadores. San Luis take on Atlas, while America take on Cruz Azul, with both the winners getting to enter the famous South American tournament. We might even get another look at Cruz Azul’s 14-year-old Martin Galvan.

Sunday:

AC Milan vs Napoli Brazilian wonderkid Alexandre Pato is already, if you believe the hype, the best player in the history of the world ever. But now he’s all properly registered and raring to go and could make his Milan debut at the San Siro, where he’s promised to score at least one, maybe two goals. No pressure then Alex.

Dempo Goa vs Sporting Clube de Goa: The fledgling I-League is back in action in India after a 10 day break. Top of the table Dempo will be hoping to maintain their proud unbeaten record against mid-table Sporting Clube de Goa, in one of the league’s many many many Goan derbies.

Atlético Madrid vs Valencia: Valencia’s new 18 million euro signing Ever Banega is in the squad for this game, after the 19 year old Argentinian completed his switch form Boca Juniors. Banega has a beautiful range of passing, but may have moved to Europe a little too soon. Not his own fault, Boca needed to sell to fund Juan Roman Riquelme’s wage packet, but we’ll get an indication of whether he’s capable of rescuing Valencia’s dead dog of a season this weekend.