Weekend Guide 30.4.2016

Only one month is left. This is the money time of the season, and this weekend we’re off to Australia’s final match than to meet the new champions of Chile, and finally, to enjoy a passionate derby from Lebanon. Yallah, Vamos, let’s go!

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Amateur (Like these goalkeepers)

What? Adelaide United – Western Sydney Wanderers (Australian A-League)

When? Sunday, 0800

Where? Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

Why? The final match is here. Just 90 decisive minutes, and we will know which team will win its first-ever title. Adelaide United were the regular-season champions, one point ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers. Both teams previously lost twice in the finals – Adelaide in 2007 and 2009, Western Sydney in 2013 and 2014.

Key Players: He was born in the US, has an Ivorian father and a Togolese mother and he represented Australia, so there is no surprise that

Bruce Djite, Adelaide’s forward, is his team leader. Meanwhile, Romeo Castelen, the Dutchman of Western Sydney, is the semi-finals hero.

A Real Drama: Western Sydney Wanderers qualified after a heroic semifinal match, just watch it!

Professional (like this goal)

What? O'Higgins – Universidad de Concepción (Chilean Campeonato Nacional)

When? Saturday, 2100

Where? Estadio El Teniente, Rancagua

Why? O'Higgins is one step from its second title ever. Before the last match of the season, O'Higgins are on top with two points ahead of Universidad Católica. Universidad de Concepción is trying to improve before the playoff, in order to get a Copa Sudamericana spot.

Key Players: The main player of O'Higgins is Pablo Calandria, who scored 16 goals in this season and played in France, Spain and Argentina. Gabriel Vargas is the guy to watch in Universidad de Concepción, as he is one of the club’s biggest players with 102 league goals, what also makes him the club all-time top scorer.

The Leader: O'Higgins named after Bernardo O'Higgins, who was one of the Chilean independence leaders in the 19th century.

World Class (like this goal)

What? Nejmeh – Safa (Lebanese Premier League)

When? Saturday, 1430

Where? Bourj Hammoud Stadium, Beirut

Why? 9 points are left and the race for the Lebanese title is close to its end. The leaders are Safa with 46 points, while the reigning champions Al Ahed are in 2nd place with 45 points and Nejmeh are on 3rd with 41 points. Hot! Besides being a title match, this is also one of Beirut derbies, so we have also the city prestige on the line. Extra Hot!

Key Players: Nejmeh have one of the biggest Lebanese football stars, Abbas Atwi, who plays for the team since 1997 and he is the most capped player for Lebanon national team. Safa have a great defense and that's thanks to Mohamed Zein Tahan, one of the most dominant players in his club’s recent successful runs.

Foreign in the Middle East: The Romanian manager of Nejmeh, Valeriu Tița, previously was the manager of Safa. He spent time also in the Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria, where he managed the national team and won the AFC Cup with Al Ittihad Aleppo.

Weekend Guide 22.4.2016

Hurry up, you really wouldn't like to miss the new Weekend Guide. An Argentine hot derby in La Plata, past champions meets future champions in Kazakhstan and a crazy race for the post-season games in Panama.

(All the hours are in CET local time)

Amateur (Like these fans)

What? Gimnasia La Plata – Estudiantes (Argentine Primera División)

When? Sunday, 0145

Where? Estadio Juan Carmelo Zerillo, La Plata

Why? The weird system of two groups providing us with an interesting season so far, and this week we have a super match - the Clásico Platense. With 5 games left, Gimansia are in 6th place of group A, but they are just 4 points behind the leaders, Godoy Cruz. Meanwhile, Estudiantes are 2nd in group B, 3 points behind Lanús.

Key Players: Gimnasia's Lucas Licht, the former left back of Getafe, making his historic 10th season for his home team. Gastón Fernández came back to Estudiantes after two years in MLS and he’s doing well with 4 goals and 4 assists this season.

The Forest: Gimnasia stadium is nicknamed El Bosque, which means "The Forest", because it is located in a city park by the same name.

Professional (like this goal)

What? Irtysh Pavlodar – FC Astana (Kazakhstan Premier League)

When? Saturday, 1400

Where? Central Stadium, Pavlodar

Why? FC Astana, with two consecutive titles and a Champions League journey, start its journey for another title. Their opponents, Irtysh Pavlodar, was the biggest team in Kazakhstan during the 90's and now want to restore its big days, with 2 points less than FC Astana.

Key Players: Irtysh Pavlodar's Gerogian striker,Gogita Gogua, played for years in his home nation and in Russia and now opens his first year in Kazakhstan with 3 goals in 6 matches. Don't miss FC Astana captain, Tanat Nusserbayev, who play for his team since 2011 and have 24 caps for Kazakhstan national team.

The Other Continent: Before Astana’s Champions League campaign, Irtysh Pavlodar had one of the greatest achievements of a Kazakh team in a continental level, when they reached the Asian Cup Winners' Cup semi finals in 2001.

World Class (like this shoot)

What? Tauro - Árabe Unido

When? Saturday, 0400

Where? Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City

Why? Three matches left to the end of the Clausura regular season and the situation is crazy. 6 points only, this is the difference between the 2nd and the last place, as the top 4 teams will qualify to the semi finals. Among these teams, Árabe Unido, the Apertura champions, are now in 4th place, while Tauro are 7th.

Key Players: Tauro have Jan Carlos Vargas, the talented 21 years old defender that have great role in the team defense. With the shirt numbered 99, Árabe Unido's striker Armando Polo is one of the best scorers in the league with 14 goals.

The Brothers: In Panama, there are two managers with legendary brothers - Tauro's Jorge Dely Valdés, the brother of Armando, and Atlético Chiriquí's Javier Wanchope, the brother of Paulo.

Weekend Guide 15.4.2016

The clock is ticking and the end of the season is near, so every match is decisive.

Our Weekend Guide presents you two teams who fight against relegation in Qatar, a race for the title in Armenia and Baba's favourites from Brazil will play their match of the season.

(All hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like this fight)

What? Al-Wakra – Qatar SC (Qatar Stars League)

When? Friday, 17:15

Where? Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al-Wakra

Why? The final game in the Qatari league and everyone is trying to escape the relegation spot. A draw will be enough for Al-Wakra, who is ranked in 11th place, 3 points above Qatar SC. Qatar SC are one step from a first ever relegation.

Key Players: Al-Wakra’s main player will be Sebastián Sáez, the Argentine striker who scored 16 goals this season. The experienced Algerian Rafik Halliche will try to help Qatar SC to avoid the relegation.

Score More: Another great race will be for the season top scorer as Rodrigo Tabata of Al-Rayyan and Abderrazeak Hamdallah of Al-Jaish are tied with 20 goals each. Top notch.

Professional (like this goal)

What? Alashkert – Pyunik (Armenian Premier League)

When? Saturday, 14:00

Where? Alashkert Stadium, Yerevan

Why? After winning 12 of the last 15 Armenian titles, Pyunik are close to lose their title. In Saturday, they travel to Alashkert, the aspiring league leaders who dream about a historic title.

Key Players: Mihran Manasyan was the league’s top scorer two years ago, and while taking Alashkert for glory, he leads the scorers’ table once again with 14 goals. Homegrown player, 23-year-old Taron Voskanyan, will lead Pyunik as he plays for the senior team since 2010.

Non-League Football: Alashkert’s story is amazing. The club was dissolved in 1999, played in regional tournament a few years ago and registered again to the league only in 2012.

World Class (like that goalkeeper)

What? Bangú – Flamengo (Campeonato Carioca)

When? Sunday, 21:00

Where? Estádio de Moça Bonita, Rio de Janeiro

Why? Bangú, BabaGol's favorite in Brazil, will try to clinch a spot in the Brazilian national Serie D. In order to do that, they need to beat Flamengo, one of the top clubs in Brazil - who wants to qualify to the Carioca semifinals.

Key Players: Bangú have the tournament’s top scorer, Almir, who previously played in Botafogo and Atletico Mineiro, even spending a few years in Korea and Kuwait. Among the veteran players of Flamengo it's nice to see a big name like Juan, the former Brazil international player with 82 caps, who played in Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma.

Our Team: Why are Bangu Baba’s favorites? That's easy, just read it.

Weekend Guide 1.4.2016

After the international break, the Weekend Guide is back on track. This week we’ll watch two of Japan’s best teams, Zimbabwe’s underdog champions, and a race for the title in Barbados.

(All the hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like these scenes)

What? Kawasaki Frontale – Kashima Antlers (Japanese J.1 League)

When? Saturday, 08:00

Where? Todoroki Athletics Stadium, Kawasaki

Why? The double-stage system of the Japanese league results in each team dreaming about a title. After four games, Kawasaki Frontale leads with 10 points and Kashima Antlers are in the 3rd place with 9 points.

Key Players: Kawasaki’s leading player is Kengo Nakamura, the veteran captain that plays for the team since 2003 and made 392 league appearances for the club. In Kashima Antlers you should look for Mu Kanazaki, who already scored three goals since the beginning of the season.

Race for the Record: Hiroshima Sanfrecce's Hisato Sato and Kawasaki Frontale's Yoshito Okubo are both trying to be the all-time league top scorers. Both scored 158 so far.

Professional (like this goal)

What? Chicken Inn FC – Dynamos (Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League)

When? Saturday, 14:00

Where? Luveve Stadium, Bulawayo

Why? The new season in Zimbabwe is here and the champions Chicken Inn wants to defend their title. Last season they won their first ever title, after finished 4 points above Dynamos, the 22-times Zimbabwean champions and their opponents for Saturday’s match.

Key Players: One of Chicken Inn leaders is Edmore Chirambadare, who scored 11 goals last season. Dynamo’s main player is Rodreck Mutuma that rejoins his youth team after a short period in South Africa.

No World Cup for You: Zimbabwe was the only team that was expelled from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. It was due to their failure to pay to their former coach, José Claudinei.

World Class (like this shot)

What? BDF – UWI Blackbirds (Barbados Premier League)

When? Sunday, 22:00

Where? Wildey Astro Turf, Bridgetown

Why? The race to the title in Barbados is getting closer to its end. BDF and UWI Blackbirds, alongside with Paradise FC, are in a three-way race and only one will win it. BDF are the league leaders and UWI Blackbirds are only 2 points behind.

Key Players: BDF have the league’s top scorer, Shaquille Stewart, who scored 11 goals this season and he is one of the leading players in Barbados. Keep your eyes also on Ramon Manning, the only representative of UWI in the current national team squad.

Make It Shorter: What do team acronyms stand for? BDF are Barbados Defence Forces, and UWI are University of West Indies. So the question is who will be the champions – the soldiers or the students?

Weekend Guide 11.3.2016

It's the middle of March. In some leagues, you can hear the final whistle right across the corner. For others, this signals the kick-off whistle.

In this Weekend Guide you’ll see both – a top match from Albania, another interesting visit to the CAF Champions League and the first match of the Turkmen league.

(All the hours are in CET)

Amateur (Like this penalty)

What? Partizani – Skënderbeu (Albanian Superliga)

When? Monday, 19:00

Where? Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana

Why? Everyone can feel the tension as we are getting closer to the end of the season and there’s a match for the title. Skënderbeu, the Albanian champions since 2011, will travel as the league leaders to Tirana. There they will play against Partizani, who are in 2nd place with five points less.

Key Players: In Partizani, the main player will be Xhevahir Sukaj, who played in Iran in the past three years and scored 12 goals this season. From the other side, Skënderbeu will focus on Hamdi Salihi, who played in Austria, USA and China and now he´s the league’s top scorer with 21 goals.

Support of the Fans: Partizani's Arbnor Fejzullahu got his first call up to the national team in an interesting way. He was invited to a training camp for diaspora Albanian players after a recommendation by Jetmir Salihu, a member of the national team fan club.

Professional (like this goal)

What? APR – Young Africans (CAF Champions League)

When? Saturday, 14:30

Where? Amahoro Stadium, Kigali

Why? It always great to see two minor teams facing each other, knowing that one of them will progress to the next stage in a continental tournament. APR, the champions of Rwanda, will try to pass through the first stage for the first time since 2004. The Tanzanian champions, Young Africans, recall their history with two appearances in the Champions Cup quarter finals in 1969 and 1970.

Key Players: Watch for APR's Abdul Rwatubyaye, the main player of his club that scored decisive hat-trick in the previous round. In Young Africans you can find Nizar Khalfan, former Vancouver Whitecaps player with 43 international caps for Tanzania.

Transnational Legend: One of the biggest names in the history of Young African was born in Burundi, played for short time in Tanzania and was part of DR Congo national team. Yes, we're talking about Shabani Nonda.

World Class (like this goal)

What? Altyn Asyr – Balkan (Turkmenistan Yokari Liga)

When? Saturday, 11:00

Where? Ashgabat Stadium, Ashgabat

Why? It’s a new season in Turkmenistan and the biggest match-up of the league is here. Altyn Asyr, the champions of the two previous seasons will try to win their third title in a row. Balkan were the runner-ups, but they wish to be much closer than a 24 point gap like in the previous season.

Key Players: Ahmet Ataýew, Altyn Asyr midfielder and the national team captain, was last season league MVP, so he definitely will be a guy to watch for. Balkan's Ýagmyrmyrat Annamyradow is one of the veteran players in the league and was part of Balkan winning squad in the 2013 AFC President's Cup.

The Key to Success: Ýazguly Hojageldyýew, the Altyn Asyr manager, led Turkmenistan national team to their biggest achievement, finalists of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2010 and 2012.