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20.09.2019 13:09
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Melbourne Victory have pledged to take the fight to reigning Italian champions Juventus.The MCG on Saturday night hosts the first of three International Champions Cup matches when the biggest clubs in Australia and Italy meet.Its an occasion only half-baked. The MCG will have more empty seats than occupied ones, and theres little on the line.Juventus has left 13 senior internationals behind after a taxing campaign and this will be Victorys first match of a specially lengthened pre-season to fit in the fixture.But while the occasion doesnt have superstar power or silverware, the match itself promises to be fascinating.Juventus second XI would handily account for other Serie A rivals, and is being led by perhaps their best player in Paulo Dybala.Dybala, 22, is being touted as the heir to countryman Argentinian Leo Messis place in the national side after a stellar season where he topped the Juventus scoring charts.Muscat, who played for Victory against Juventus on their last visit to Melbourne in 2007, said he didnt want his side of be overawed.We want to go out there and have a go, he said.Make no mistake, its an opportunity for us as well.For the individuals ... us as a club, our nation as well to make sure we can compete at this stage.Muscat said he would give starting debuts to new signings Mitch Austin and James Donachie.Donachie will partner Nick Ansell in defence, with Spanish recruit Alan Baro likely to start on the bench.Everyone will get some game time. Its unrealistic at this point in the pre-season to expect players to play 70, 80, 90 minutes, he said.Alan got here a little bit after (Mitch and James) ... hes not up at the same level as those two conditionally.Muscat said his biggest challenge would be to ensure his players didnt push themselves beyond their boundaries so early in pre-season.Its going to be difficult to hold the boys back, he said.Were playing against some very good individuals and a very good team.Wholesale Custom Jerseys . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Wholesale Custom Jerseys Authentic . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. http://www.jerseyscustom.us/custom-arizona-cardinals-jerseys/ . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Custom Jerseys From China . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Custom Dallas Cowboys Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead.The second half of the season begins with showdown games in the SEC West and the Big Ten West. Then theres the ACC Coastal, in which Miami-Virginia Tech once might have been an elimination game. But since four Coastal teams have one?conference loss and Miami has two, this race will probably?continue until we run out of games. That should be fun. And with Darrell Hazell gone, which coach is now on the clock? If Im Steve Addazio at Boston College, and Im in Year 4, and Ive lost 11 consecutive ACC games, and Im at home in bad weather against Syracuse, I might want to win this game a little more than normal.1. Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin told me his No. 6 Aggies will still have a real chance in the SEC West, regardless of the result?Saturday at No. 1 Alabama. Weve got a lot of football to play, Sumlin said. You never know in this league whats going to happen. Sumlin is confident in part because of the infectious attitude of his quarterback, Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight. This is a pretty mature team, Sumlin said. And Trevors had a lot to do with that, offensively. I think just how he approaches every day. But weve also got a lot of guys who have played a lot of football.2. Judging by the numbers beyond the rankings, Alabama will face its toughest test Saturday, when the Aggies come to Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Aggies and the Tide rank 1-2 in the SEC in total offense and rushing offense. According to ESPN Stats & Info research, both offenses are much more effective running the ball because of the zone read. Knight is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation at running out of the zone read. Tide freshman Jalen Hurts has two 100-yard rushing games this season. Hes the first quarterback in Nick Sabans 10 seasons to have even one.3. You would think Syracuse head coach Dino Babers would want to capitalize on the firehose of positive feedback he has received for the video of his postgame speech and call-and-response in the Orange locker room after the 31-17 upset of Virginia Tech. At his Monday news conference, however, Babers said, Thats probably like the only glimpse youre going to get of us in the locker room. I dont like sharing family things. I understand the reticence; Ive been around head coaches. And I know that what happened Saturday in the locker room doesnt happen every week. But with that kind of connection to his players, Baber ought to have a camera around every day.4. The selection of Auburnn kicker Daniel Carlson over Arizona State record-setter Zane Gonzalez for the ESPN.ddddddddddddcom Midseason All-America team didnt sit well with Sun Devil fans, not to mention a colleague or two of mine. Gonzalez has made 19 of 20 field goals; Carlson, 13 of 14. I gave the nod to Carlson because of his impact on a struggling Auburn offense. Carlson scored 49 points in the first four games -- the same amount as the rest of the team. He accounted for all 18 points in the 18-13 victory over LSU,?and he recorded 20 points, including a 20-yard run on a fake field goal, in the 51-14 defeat of Arkansas State.5. One reason the Big Ten is so much better this season: ball security. Of the 24 teams in the FBS that have lost no more than two fumbles, six of them are in the Big Ten. Iowa has lost one; Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State and Indiana each have lost two. At the other end of the spectrum, Oklahoma State (6), Oklahoma (7) and Kansas (10) have combined to lose 23 fumbles. The other seven teams in the Big 12 have lost only 22. The Jayhawks are a young offense. The Cowboys and the Sooners dont have that excuse.6. West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen, appearing on the Championship Drive podcast Wednesday, said senior quarterback Skyler Howard epitomizes why the No. 12 Mountaineers are 5-0. Howard, a Fort Worth native, walked on at Riverside (California) City College and came to West Virginia because it was the only offer he received. We took a chance on him, Holgorzen said. He came in and was excited about the Big 12 just because he could go back and try to do his best against all those teams that overlooked him. He wants to try to prove everybody wrong every single day he wakes up.7. Stanford sophomore defensive end Solomon Thomas seems to be specializing in the final play of games. He returned a fumble 42 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the Cardinals 22-13 defeat of UCLA. Last Saturday, with the Cardinal leading Notre Dame 17-10, and the Irish staring down 4th-and-10 on the Stanford 14, Thomas forced the fumble that Irish left tackle Mike McGlinchey fell on near the line of scrimmage. Thomas, like Christian McCaffrey, is the rare Stanford junior to be named team captain. Thomas game-ending big plays have made him Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week twice. ' ' ' |
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