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Evening Ticker: 2010 Match Against Poverty highlights, ACN update and more

ZidanefigoReuters

By AVI CREDITOR

For the seventh time, French legend Zinedine Zidane and Brazilian icon Ronaldo put together their annual star-studded exhibition/fundraiser, the Match Against Poverty, which took place Monday in front of more than 51,000 spectators at the Estadio da Luz (not to be confused with RBNY draft pick Austin da Luz) in Lisbon, Portugal.

This year's format pitted a team of Zidane All-Stars (including Zidane, Luis Figo, Thierry Henry, Kaka, Fabien Barthez, Pavel Nedved, Patrick Kluivert, Dani Alves, Rafael Marquez and Edgar Davids) against a team of Benfica legends (including Fabrizio Miccoli, Nuno Gomes and Rui Costa). No, Marco Materazzi did not participate.

All proceeds are being donated to the relief effort in Haiti. To make a donation, visit www.slbenfica.pt. Or text "HAITI" to 90999 and donate $10 through the American Red Cross.

Goals for the Zidane All-Stars were scored by Kaka, Robert Pires and Baichung Bhutia. Nuno Gomes (2) and Eder Luis tallied goals for Benfica in the 3-3 draw, where the score mattered about as much as the pattern of the pitch.

On to the highlights:

In other Monday evening news:

SEMIFINALS SET IN AFRICA

Extra-time goals from Mohamed Gedo and Ahmed Hassan propelled cup-holders Egypt past Cameroon, 3-1, and into the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations.

In the other quarterfinal, Nigeria outlasted upstart Zambia in penalties (5-4) after a scoreless 120 minutes, with Vincent Enyeama's score from the spot being the difference. Thomas Nyirenda had the only miss for Zambia.

Egypt and Algeria will face off in a heated semifinal (remember, Algeria kept Egypt out of the World Cup), and Nigeria and Ghana will square off for the other spot in the final. Both games will be played Thursday in Angola.

ROONEY PLANS TO STAY PUT

Manchester United may be in financial straits, but selling Wayne Rooney doesn't figure to be part of the solution.

Rooney, the English Premier League's leading scorer with 19 goals, said that he plans to remain at Old Trafford despite reported speculation that Barcelona and Real Madrid are interested in acquiring the services of the 24-year-old English international.

ROBINHO TO SANTOS?

Manchester City forward Robinho has grown unhappy at Eastlands and is reportedly close to joining Brazilian side Santos FC on a six-month loan. Robinho, who played for Santos before joining Real Madrid in 2005, scored for City in the team's 4-2 FA Cup victory over Scunthorpe over the weekend.

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What did you think of the Match Against Poverty? Expect emotions to bubble over in the Egypt-Algeria ACN semifinal? Think Rooney is really staying put? Giddy at the possibility of Robinho playing for Santos at Red Bull Arena on March 20?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Uh… chill the F out. I’m South Asian. I love Baichung Bhutia. I know he’s Indian. I just think it’s funny when to see someone who looks so East Asian chattering on in Hindi. I never said he wasn’t Indian.

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  2. the only thing i can say about is that you are an idiot…………..

    INDIA is a vast country……with varied landscapes………….

    and Bhutia is from a remote village of Indias north eastern state sikkim………..which is situated at the foothills of the HIMALAYAS………..

    so baichung is totalyy INDIAN ……. got any doubt……………mail me mikairoy@yahoo.co.in

    Bhutia is Indias pride…………..long live east bengal………..bhutia plays for east bengal…..INDIA………….the team that defeated BEC TERO SASANA………in LG CUP…………….held in jakarta

    so see what this….bhutia………mountain scorpion has to offer………..

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  3. Hail Baichung Bhutia….our Indian captain. He was such tremendous in those days..wow he is here with super heroes of soccer! We Indians love u Baichung. People might be surprised being Indian u have mongoloid face….but as we North East Indians are always East asian feature one unlike other Indian bros and sis.

    Thaks a lot. Hav seen u in Goal for Africa tooo!

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  4. Santos FC has a league game scheduled for March 21st, the day after the game against RBNY. Any word on whether they will reschedule that game? Or will they just send their reserves to NY?

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  5. Was this shown on TV? Sooooooooo upset I missed it! Davids and Nedved are two of my all-time favorites!! Was excited at the prospect, a few years ago, of Davids coming to MLS..

    Anyone know where I can watch this game? If a site has it downloaded? Thanks!

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  6. He has said in many interviews that he wishes he never said he would retire after the World Cup and that if he hadn’t said that he would still be playing. However he is a man of his word and refuses to go back. Maybe a self-induced stint of exile for his headbutt?

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  7. Hum the last goal wasn’t Robert Pires… it was Christophe Dugary. Nice to see Zidane play. Where is Onyewu’s condition at ?

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  8. Bhutia is actually a Sikkimese from the Indian State of Sikkim which used to be an independent nation till 1970s.Majority of Sikkimese are Nepali and Tibetan in origin.

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  9. im gonna have to say no way. pretty sure he’s happy with what he’s done as a player, aka win every possible trophy a player can win.

    Seriously, Serie A, La Liga, scored arguably the greatest goal ever to win the Champions League, Euro 2000, the World Cup(in which he scored twice in the final), FIFA world player of the year (x3). I just highly doubt that the guy has much burning desire to get himself back in tip top shape to get kicked around by Marquez and Mascherano this summer.

    and yeah, the fact that he kills it in charity matches shouldnt come as a surprise. the guy is the greatest player of his generation, no kidding he looks sick next to jean sony, baichung bhutia, and joseph peterson.

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  10. I don’t honestly think he is committed to the game anymore (as a player — he seems to enjoy working for Real Madrid). He loves to play the games but he was not all that dedicated to training in his last few years (cue the Allen Iverson “Practice” news conference). Seemed like he gave up with Real Madrid in his last two seasons, which is in part why his play at the 2006 World Cup was such a pleasant surprise.

    Anyone know where I can get a copy of the France v. Brazil game from the 2006 WC? One of my all-time favorite Zidane performances.

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  11. Any chance Zidane comes out of retirement for WC? He’s been lighting up charity matches (yes, I realize how ridiculous that statement sounds) for the last few years & by all accounts he’s still got it.

    Let’s be honest, I think the WC is a flat out game changer as far as decision making for these guys. Once that tournament rolls around players tend to start acting different than normal.

    Personally I’ve always wondered if he was thinking of a grand finale cup return.

    Seriously, let’s think about it:
    1)Too competitive for last fiasco to NOT bother him
    2)France didn’t exactly light up qualifying
    3)He’s still good

    I’m just sayin….

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  12. Nice touch by Cardozo (i think) to wear a shirt that said “Fuerza Cabanas” in front of the cameras. I hope he fully recovers. It is a blow to America fans, Paraguayans and the soccer world in general

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  13. Couple of things about the Match against Poverty:

    1. Great occasion; very good cause

    2. Zidane has still got it.

    3. Chalana’s weak shot was probably the loudest I’ve heard a crowd cheer in a while.

    4.Magnusson(sp) trying to pass and falling flat on his back was probably the hardest I’ve laughed in a while.

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  14. In games like these….who is responsible for the player’s insurance? If Kaka got hurt…does Real have to pay the player’s wages and medical costs while the player is injured? I know a lot has been made of players getting injured on national team duty (especially by Wenger), but what are the formalities for charity matches?

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  15. what happened to the Onyewu update Ives?

    (SBI-I mentioned some stuff on Twitter but a full update will come on SBI on Tuesday.)

    Reply

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