DHL Delivers Manchester United’s Champ19ns Trophy Tour to Mumbai
DHL delivered Manchester United’s Champ19ns Trophy Tour to Mumbai for a special event with employees and customers.
The DHL Champ19ns Trophy Tour event in Mumbai included a football clinic with two Manchester United Legends Denis Irwin and Quinton Fortune with children of the Magic Bus Foundation and the DHL football team.
This is the first time the club has toured India with the trophy, and is part of a global tour which will visit 27 Asian and African destinations, covering over 48,000 miles. Malcolm Monteiro, SVP & Area Director, South Asia, DHL Express said: “DHL and Manchester United are two strong brands recognized globally and the partnership is between two organizations that have similar characteristics at their core such as teamwork, passion, speed and can-do-spirit.” Read more
Warrior Sports and Liverpool Football Club Announced Partnership
Warrior Sports Inc. and Liverpool Football Club announced a deal which sees Warrior become the Club’s Official Kit Supplier. The deal, which will come into play from June 1st 2012, will see Warrior create the Liverpool FC home, away and third kits, as well as their training wear for the next six years.
Owned by Boston based New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., the move represents the starting point in Warrior Sports’ global football journey partnering with one of the biggest club sides in the history of world football. Warrior Sports recognises the heritage of Liverpool FC and has employed industry experts in design, development, marketing and implementation to ensure that the brand has the best people on hand to support the Partnership.
Richard Wright, General Manager for Warrior Sports, comments: “At Warrior Sports we pride ourselves on high performance and an incredible desire to win. Our Partnership with Liverpool FC, a football institution and recognised brand name across the world, is the perfect fit. Warrior Sports has ventured into football to bring our knowledge of making top level product to a new playing field. We are not the sort of brand that is going to keep our head down. We are here to shake up the world of football and our Partnership with one of the most successful club teams of all time is just the start.” Read more
Teresa Noyola Receives Honda Sports Award for Soccer
Stanford University’s Teresa Noyola, whose playmaking prowess and ball-handling excellence helped lead her team to the 2011 national championship, has won the Honda Sports Award for soccer. Her selection by the Collegiate Women Sports Award Program recognizes Noyola as the country’s top female player in her sport.
The senior midfielder scored the game-winning goal — a powerful header on a pass from teammate Cami Levin — in Stanford’s 1-0 victory over Duke University at the College Cup. Noyola earned first-team All-American honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, becoming only the second Stanford player to receive three consecutive first-team honors. Stanford finished the season undefeated, and Noyola’s squad amassed a four-year record of 95-4-4. Noyola had 15 assists for the year and 60 in her college career, the second highest in Stanford history behind Christen Press.
“This is a very prestigious award,” said Noyola. “I’m surprised but excited to be able to represent Stanford. We play a ball possession game that ultimately wears down teams. In previous final fours we weren’t able to show what we do all season. This time we were able to keep playing our game. We knew we were a good team and it’s great to be recognized for our hard work.”
A math and computational science major, Noyola was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. “My parents both attended graduate school at Stanford and they taught me what it takes in terms of time management,” said Noyola, whose father’s consulting company is based in Mexico. She attended Palo Alto High School and played for the Mountain View-Los Altos Mercury youth team. She was the Gatorade National Player of the Year and California Player of the Year in 2008 and two-time Parade National Player of the Year. She competes for the Mexican national team on the squad attempting to qualify for the London Olympic Games.
The Honda Sports Award is presented annually to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports. As a Honda prize recipient, Noyola becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious Honda Cup. Noyola was chosen by a vote of coaches from 1,000 NCAA member schools. Finalists included Lindsay Taylor (Stanford), and Maya Hayes (Penn State).
Atletico de Madrid vs. Rennes UEFA Europa League preview
Atletico de Madrid will look to secure first place in UEFA Europa League Group I against a Stade Rennais side already resigned to elimination.
Second-placed Udinese Calcio are two points behind Atlético, but can only overtake the Liga side if they win at home against Celtic FC and Rennes secure an unlikely victory in the Spanish capital.
Rennes were held to a 1-1 home draw when the sides met on matchday two, with Victor Montano’s deflected 56th-minute effort cancelled out late on by a strike from Atletico substitute Juanfran (86).
Atletico‘s record in 11 games against French sides is W5 D5 L1 (W4 D1 L0 in Madrid). That sole defeat was a 4-2 loss at RC Lens in the UEFA Cup fourth round second leg on 9 March 2000 after a 2-2 draw in Spain. Read more
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Athletic Club Bilbao UEFA Europa League preview
Paris Saint-Germain take on Athletic Club on the final day needing things to go their way if they are to join their opponents in progressing from UEFA Europa League Group F.
The Bilbao side are already through as group winners, but to join them, PSG must get a better result than FC Salzburg manage at eliminated ŠK Slovan Bratislava, with the Austrian side boasting a better head-to-head record in the event that the sides finish level on points.
Athletic were without a win in the Liga when they met PSG for the first time on matchday two, but they put their domestic woes behind them to win 2-0. First-half goals from Igor Gabilondo (20) and Markel Susaeta (45) were enough to see off a PSG side whose task was made even harder when Mohamed Sissoko was sent off after the break. Read more
Inter Milano vs. CSKA Moskva Champions League preview
The table shows they are in last place in Group B but CSKA Moskva can still qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. To do that, they must win at Inter Milano – already assured of finishing first in the section – while hoping for a draw between LOSC Lille Metropole and Trabzonspor.
A 2-0 defeat at home to Lille two weeks ago left the Moscow club up against it. Inter’s run of three successive victories came to a halt with a 1-1 draw in Turkey the same night, although the point was still enough to secure progress – and first place.
In the reverse fixture on 27 September a late winner from substitute Mauro Zarate settled a thrilling five-goal contest in Inter’s favour. For the second game in succession, CSKA had recovered from two goals down, Alan Dzagoev’s free-kick and Vágner Love drawing them level after Lúcio and Giampaolo Pazzini had set the pace for the visitors. Zarate then secured victory in new coach Claudio Ranieri’s first European game at the helm.
It was a splendid way for the Nerazzurri to recover from the shock of losing at home to debutants Trabzonspor on matchday one. After winning in Moscow the 2010 UEFA Champions League winners recorded successive victories against Lille, 1-0 away and 2-1 at home. Read more
Genk vs. Bayer 04 Leverkusen Champions League preview
A third successive home win on matchday five sent Bayer 04 Leverkusen through to the UEFA Champions League last 16 for the first time in seven years. Their final challenge at this stage is to finish as Group E winners and they will be hopeful of picking up their first away points at bottom side KRC Genk.
The German team owe their position to the win against Chelsea FC last time out when Manuel Friedrich scored in added time after Eren Derdiyok had wiped out Didier Drogba’s opener.
On the same night Genk slipped to a 7-0 reverse at Valencia CF and, though the Belgian outfit are certain to finish fourth, they will be seeking a first victory to end their European campaign on a high.
The matchday two meeting between these teams – their first competitive encounter – ended 2-0 to Leverkusen, with Lars Bender’s first goal in European competition putting the German side on their way. Substitute Michael Ballack then struck in added time to secure the points. Read more