Ajax

An article on Swedish players in Holland and Germany. By freelance sports writer Ben Sibley.

The Dutch Eredivisie, along with the German Bundesliga, witnesses an influx of Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian footballers year after year. The trend is long established, the most well-known example being Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s move from Malmö to Ajax Amsterdam in the spring of 2001.

The sheer amount of players who have followed in Zlatan’s footsteps highlight the vast difference between coincidence and trend; there is no doubt Scandinavian players and their agents recognise the Dutch Eredivisie as the perfect stepping stone for their careers.

Further along the career path of such players, the German Bundesliga comes into play; perhaps the most notable recent example being Marcus Berg’s move from FC Groningen to SV Hamburg last month.

Similar to the Eredivisie offering a step up in class from the Nordic leagues, the Bundesliga offers a step up from Holland; far from being a hollow claim, Fifa rank the German premier division as the fifth best in Europe, with Holland languishing down in ninth. Those who make an impression in the Eredivisie following a move from Scandinavia alert Bundesliga clubs who have utilised this relationship between the two leagues to great effect.

Of course there are those who make the move to Europe with a Dutch club and swiftly return to Sweden, Finland or Norway after failing to make the grade. Additionally, there are those who move directly to the Bundesliga, along with others who take the plunge straight into the Premiership, La Liga or Serie A. However, there is no doubting the trend we are focusing on this week.

After directly following Ibrahimovic from Malmö to Ajax Amsterdam, Markus Rosenberg has established himself as a consistent goalscorer in the German Bundesliga with Werder Bremen. Following a productive spell on loan at Halmstad in 2004, Rosenberg returned to Malmö, ending up top scorer in that year’s Royal League.

After being alerted to his performances in the competition, Ajax paid €5.3m to take him to Amsterdam at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. He immediately began to repay Danny Blind’s faith in him by scoring on his debut against (ironically) Brondby in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

However, as the season progressed, Blind’s preference for a 4-3-3 system saw Rosenberg pushed out of position to the left side of attack. After failing to make an impact in the new formation and the arrival of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Heerenveen, he began the following season as second choice striker. However, Werder Bremen had seen enough of him to warrant making him their first purchase of the 2007 January transfer window.

Those who had witnessed Rosenberg’s performances in the Eredivisie had no doubt of his ability to step up to the higher level of German football. Two years on, Rosenberg has bagged 29 goals in 73 first-team appearances; a figure that would no doubt be significantly higher had Bremen sustained their impressive form from of recent years in the 2008-09 season. 

Thus far, Rosenberg can be considered a success story of the Sweden-Holland-Germany route taken by many others.

As mentioned, Marcus Berg is the latest player to follow the path of his contemporaries; after moving from FC Groningen to Hamburg last month, much is expected of the striker who lit up the European U21 Championships on his way to winning the Player of the Tournament accolade earlier this summer.

Following an impressive strike rate of 21 goals in 53 games for IFK Göteborg, FC Groningen took Berg to Holland for the 2007-08 season.

Berg settled immediately  and finished the season with 15 goals in 25 league games, drawing interest from both PSV and Ajax. However, Berg stayed loyal to the team who gave him a chance at European football and propelled them to a sixth place finish the following season. With 17 goals in 31 games added to his debut season haul, the speculation began.

As many as 20 clubs across Europe coveted Berg, with the greatest interest from Premier League and Budesliga clubs. After underlining his talent at the U21 Championships, Hamburg won the race for his signature. Although one cannot be sure whether or not English interest in Berg had any legitimacy, it should be considered as no coincidence he has followed Rosenberg to the Bundesliga.

We now wait to see if he can make the second step up, as many have done before him.

Occasionally, an extremely promising player will make the decision to bypass this well-trodden route through Western Europe. One such player attracting great interest this summer is Berg’s ex-teammate, Andreas Granqvist. After impressing European scouts visiting Helsingborg’s Olympiastadion, he and his agent decided upon a move to Wigan Athletic in June 2007.

Taking on the Premier League straight out of Swedish football, Granqvist lasted only nine months in England before rejoining Helsingborg for two months of the 2008 season. Then Wigan manager Steve Bruce made a false point of suggesting an experience away from English football would do Andreas’ career the world of good.

“He has a big future here, but a bit of experience of playing somewhere else can only benefit him”. A statement hollowed out by his willingness to let Granqvist rejoin the team he left less than a year before.

Having seen the same potential in the Swedish defender as Bruce had, FC Groningen paid £600,000 in July 2008 to bolster their defence ahead of a season full of promise following Marcus Berg’s explosive arrival a year earlier.

The 2008-09 season proved to be the season in which Granqvist announced his delayed arrival in Europe. Adapting immediately to the attacking nature of the Eredivisie, he stood out among the otherwise poor defending witnessed every week by Dutch football players, fans, and pundits alike. As if to cement his burgeoning reputation, Granqvist took it upon himself to score one of the goals of the season seen anywhere in Europe.

This summer has seen the return of the speculation that surrounded him before he took the English bypass. His preferred destination? The German Bundesliga. After hearing of interest from Hamburg, Schalke and Wolfsburg to name but three, Granqvist admitted, “If I get the opportunity to play in a bigger league, like in Germany, I would obviously like that.”

Having taken a wrong turn to Wigan, Granqvist is now firmly, and impressively, back on the established route.

Egypt 3 - Rwanda 0 (2010 World Cup qualifier, July 5, 2009) Mohammed Abutrika headed the Pharaohs into a 65th minute lead and Abed Rabbu added the second from the spot in the 75th minute. The Egyptians sealed the match with a brilliant third in the last minute when a free-flowing move from front to back was finished by Mohammed Abutrika.

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Al Ahly 0 - Galatasaray 1 (Friendly, July 5, 2009) A penalty from Baris Ozbek just after the half hour was the difference between the two teams.

Ajax 3 - Ajax Cape Town 2 (Friendly, July 5, 2009) Dario Cvitanich gave the home side the lead midway through the first half, before Siem de Jong and Darko Bodul added further goals for the Amsterdammers. Sifiso Vilakazi’s late brace, including one from the spot, gave the South Africans a faint hope of claiming a draw.

Bayer Leverkusen 3 - WAC Casablanca 3 (Friendly, July 5, 2009) The Moroccans took a 2-1 lead into the break before Theofanis Gekas headed Bayer level from a Kroos cross. Aaish Faouzi put WAC back into the lead in the 72nd minute but Gekas soon popped up to equalise once more.

Club Brugge 0 - Roeselare 2 (Friendly, July 4, 2009) After being thumped 5-nil in their first friendly of the summer, Club Brugge slipped to yet another defeat courtesy of second half goals from Vadim Dotsenko and a lovely curling effort from teenager Jessy Lebsir.

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Nagoya Grampus Eight 2 - Gamba Osaka 1 (J-League, July 5, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) Gamba started brightly as Leandro burst through the middle to fire the visitors into an 8th minute lead. Nagoya levelled just before the break after Davi won and converted a penalty, and Nagoya’s turnaround was complete in the last minute as an appalling mistake for the Gamba keeper saw the shotstopper pass the ball to home forward Yuki Maki who had the simple job of slotting the winner into the empty net.

Kawasaki Frontale 1 - Kashima Antlers 1 (J-League, July 5, 2009) Ten minutes before the break Kashima defender Atsuto Uchida was sent off for handling Hiroyuki Taniguchi’s goal-bound header, with Brazilian Juninho calmly slotting home the resultant penalty. Shinzo Koroki equalised in the 64th minute when he took a perfect pass from Marquinhos and slid the ball home from a narrow angle.

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Rosenborg 2 - LovHam 0 (NM Cupen, July 5, 2009) Second half goals from Kjell Rune Sellin and Didier Konan handed Rosenborg the fourth round victory in the cup.

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Bodo/Glimt 2 - Molde 4 (Tippeligaen, July 5, 2009) Thiago Martins gave the hosts a 13th minute lead, but that was soon wiped out as Pape Pate Diouf and then Mame Biram Diouf put Molde in the driving seat. Back came Bodo through an Anders Konradsen’s strike, before further goals from Magne Hoseth and Rune Ertsas gave Molde the points.

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Djurgardens IF 2 - Helsingborg 1 (Allsvenskan, July 5, 2009) Djurgarden moved out of the relegation zone by edging Helsingborg, Patrik Haginge and Sebastian Rajalakso scored for the hosts while Rasmus Jonsson pulled a goal back for the visitors.

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Gimnasia La Plata 2 - Gimnasia J 0 (Clausura, July 5, 2009)

San Martin 2 - Lanus 3 (Clausura, July 5, 2009)

If the rumour mill is to be believed (which it usually isn’t), Arsene Wenger appears to have made his first forage into the transfer market this summer.

The Professor reported to be ready to splash out £10 million on Ajax defender Thomas Vermaelen.

The 23-year-old Belgian centre-back developed through the ranks at Ajax, with Marco van Basten having employed Vermaelen as one of his defensive linchpins in the Amsterdammers’ rearguard in the season that just finished. Last term Vermaelen chalked up 40 games, chipping in five goals, as well as amassing eight yellow cards and one red card during the campaign.

Without a doubt, the North Londoners need reinforcements at the back. William Gallas and Kolo Toure make a formidable center back pairing, but a recurring problem throughout the last term was the constant unavailability of one of the defenders from one match to another. Short of their first-choice defenders, Arsenal’s back line was severely weakened as a lack of strength in depth at the back was brought very much into focus.

Mikel Silvestre and Johan Djourou simply are not up to the task.

So is Thomas Vermaelen the solution? Good in the air, strong in the tackle and dangerous from set-plays, there is much to admire about Vermaelen. But, with that said, question-marks remain that the defender is far from the finished article. Accordingly Wenger is somewhat putting all his eggs in one basket, assuming that Vermaelen will be the main defender recruited over the summer.

Ajax collectively experienced a poor season, conceding 41 goals in 34 matches. Very few players at Ajax, save for Luis Suarez, can be proud of the season that just was, and with that Vermaelen is said to have underperformed. Some have gone so far as to label the defender as simply ordinary.

Video evidence of Thomas Vermaelen can be seen here.

The NCAA is a fine institution which gives so much to US sportsmen and women but in the world of 'Football' it is failing America, badly.

It is my view that the US system is not set up to produce world beaters and great players, but only average and harsh maybe but mediocre players. Let me explain my thinking behind this statement.

The American system is based on the collegiate programs that whilst providing a group of well-rounded and well-educated players is not helping to produce the best 'soccer' players that the US can produce.

The University system does not have the best coaches to teach the players the skills needed to make them the best they can be. It also doesn't have experienced players for the freshmen and juniors to learn from.

If you have a young boy who is fantastically talented at soccer and he wants to be the best in the world, where should he go and learn?

With the best in the world, you would say. That would mean that he would need to go to one of the European academies or one of the Brazilian soccer schools, not to Duke, UNC or Where-ever University.

The education an American would get at a US University in soccer is second-rate by comparison. The overall education is arguably second to none but from a soccer stand point it is not the best.

Don't get me wrong, some of the programs are excellent and some of the coaches are marvelous, but are they the same level of excellence as Ajax of Amsterdam's Academy? Or Manchester United's Academy? I think not.

You only have to look at Freddy Adu (I know he didn't go to college), who as a kid had the chance to learn form the best in Europe but chose to play for D.C. United in Washington. Hardly the best place to get your soccer education, is it?

Another barrier against the US Collegiate system is the age. American boys spend four years in college. The most important years in developing your skills in an artificial arena where all they learn is how to play against other college kids.

Ah, but you say it works in "Football' (American Football to everyone else) and Basketball.

Yes, it does, but as the main proponents of those sports, it is a level playing field. All (the vast majority) will have gone through the collegiate system so they gain nothing nor lose anything.

Until the US get young and gifted players to forgo the US Collegiate system and go straight to the best programs in the world, i.e. the top football clubs, they will produce players who are just not good enough to be world beaters.

Ajax vs Marseille, UEFA Cup 4th round second-leg, March 18, 2009

Two of the great names of European football meet at the Amsterdam Arena on Wednesday night, with Marseille looking in confident mood to finish what they started when they beat the Dutch club 2-1 last week.

It has been a tough season for Ajax. Marco van Basten had watched his side under perform for the majority of the Eredivisie season, never in touching distance of runaway leaders AZ Alkmaar and constantly looking a relic of their former past glories.

The pressure refuses to let up, as Wednesday poses severe selection headaches for the Amsterdammers. Rasmus Lindgren, Jan Vertonghen and Gabri have all been ruled out due to injury, while defensive duo Gregory van der Wiel and Thomas Vermaelen are unavailable due to suspension. Under-manned at the back and in midfield, Ajax will be looking to forwards Luis Suarez and Dario Cvitanich to lead the way up top, both strikers having got on the score sheet during Saturday’s 3-0 defeat of De Graafschap.

In contrast to Ajax’s stuttering season, things are beginning to rev up for Marseille. Erik Gerets watched his side win in Paris with a huge confidence-boosting 3-1 defeat of PSG over the weekend, which saw OM close the gap on Lyon to just one point in Ligue 1’s most exciting season for years.

And the Frenchmen have more reason to be upbeat ahead of their UEFA Cup tie. Their recent form is excellent, unbeaten in six matches, of which four were wins. And their important attacking duo of Mamadou Niang and Hatem Ben Arfa (six goals each so far this season) should both return refreshed to the first team having been given a rest over the weekend.

It is not all doom and gloom for Ajax though. First off, they can feel secure in the knowledge that no French team has ever won the UEFA Cup. Second, they can be buoyed by the fact that they only narrowly lost the first leg despite being down to 10-men for the whole of the second half. And lastly, while Ajax’s season can now be geared towards winning the UEFA Cup as their only realistic source of silverware, Marseille’s focus may be slightly distracted by their title showdown back home.

Ajax’s slew of absentees makes it unlikely that the hosts will be able to keep a clean sheet and the score draw looks favourable.

101gg predicts: Ajax 1 - Marseille 1 (11/2) & Luis Suarez to score first (5/1)

Full match odds can be seen here.

Ajax 2 - Volendam 1 (Eredivisie, Feb. 22, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) Ajax fell behind at home to Volendam when van Basten’s defence was once again torn open and Gerson Sheotahul arrived on the scene to stroke home the opener. Luis Suarez equalised for Ajax with a header following a set-play. Thomas Vermaelen won the game for Ajax 15 minutes from time.

Sparta 1 - Twente 2 (Eredivisie, Feb. 22, 2009) Sander van Gessel turned home a Eljero Elia left wing cross into his own net to give Twente the lead at Sparta.

De Graafschap 0 - Feyenoord 2 (Eredivisie, Feb. 22, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) Feyenoord took a 54th-minute lead when Karim El Ahmadi carried the ball upfield unopposed and scored from the edge of the box. Forgotten man Jon Dahl Tomasson wrapped up the win with a second in injury time after De Graafschap gave away the ball in midfield.

Utrecht 0 - NEC 2 (Eredivisie, Feb. 22, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) Utrecht’s goalie Michel Vorm was completely at fault for NEC’s 77th-minute opener, the keeper failing to stop a simple shot from Youssef El-Akchaoui before Joel Tshibamba added a second minutes later.

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Academica 3 - Maritimo 1 (Superliga, Feb. 22, 2009)

Amadora 1 - Nacional 0 (Superliga, Feb. 22, 2009) Jardel bagged the only goal of the game.

Naval 1 - Braga 2 (Superliga, Feb. 22, 2009) Renteria pounced on a Joao Pereira long ball and headed it past Peiser to give Braga the lead. Naval levelled in the 83rd minute when Marinho smashed a Dudu cross to the back of the Braga net. But just when it seemed that Naval would walk away with a point, Joao Pereira picked up a loose ball inside the Naval area and tucked it away to snatch victory.

Vitoria Guimaraes 0 - Trofense 1 (Superliga, Feb. 22, 2009) Trofense pulled themselves out of the relegation zone thanks to Charles Chad’s 76th-minute winner.

Rio Ave 1 - Vitoria Setubal 0 (Superliga, Feb. 21, 2009)

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Galatasaray 2 - Kocaelispor 5 (Super Lig, Feb. 22, 2009) Gulleri was the hero for Kocaelispor, bagging four goals.

Sivasspor 1 - Eskisehirspor 0 (Super Lig, Feb. 22, 2009) Yannick Kamanan scored the only goal after seven minutes.

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Anderlecht 4 - Standard Liege 2 (Jupiler League, Feb. 22, 2009) Standard got off to a good start after Wilfried Dalmat scored inside 60 seconds but Mbark Boussoufa equalised shortly before the break. Liege restored the lead through Dieumerci Mbokani four minutes after the interval but again Boussoufa equalised, this time on the hour. (Both Mbark Boussoufa goals can be seen here.) Marcin Wasilewski put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot before Tom de Sutter sewed up the big win with the fourth.

Racing Genk 1 - Mouscron 1 (Jupiler League, Feb. 20, 2009) Ouali’s neat opener for the visitors was cancelled out by Nemec’s 28th-minute equaliser.

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Ergotelis 1 - Olympiakos 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 22, 2009) Koutsianikoulis broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute, receiving a cross in the Olympiakos area and dribbling past a defender before unleashing a low drive into the net.

Asteras 0 - AEK Athens 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 22, 2009) AEK Athens visited Asteras and needed a late goal to earn three points; Daniel Majstorovic scored the winner with just four minutes to go.

Larisa 1 - Aris  1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 22, 2009)

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Hajduk Split 2 - Dinamo Zagreb 0 (1. HNL, Feb. 22, 2009)

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FC Salzburg 2 - Rapid Vienna 1 (T-Mobile Bundesliga, Feb. 22, 2009) All the goals arrived in the first half, Tchoyi and Janko putting the hosts two-up before Boskovic replied for Rapid.

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Young Boys 4 - FC Aarau 0 (Swiss Super League, Feb. 21, 2009) Marco Schneuwly and Seydou Doumbia both bagged a brace.

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Maccabi Petah Tikva 1 - Hapoel Tel Aviv 1 (Ligat ha’Al, Feb. 21, 2009)

Ajax took a smash-and-grab win from their trip to Florence with a goal from Kennedy Bakircioglu giving Marco van Basten’s side a 1-0 win over last year’s semi-finalists Fiorentina. It had been one-way traffic for much of the night at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, but Bakircioglu’s 60th-minute strike against the run of play showed the home side the way to goal.

The Viola were unable to respond and missed a hatful of chances to leave them a mountain to climb in Holland next week.

Marko Arnautovic’s first-half strike earned Ajax’s Eredivisie rivals FC Twente a first-leg victory over an off-colour Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.

The Austria forward tapped home from close range in the 22nd minute to end Twente’s record of eight successive away defeats in UEFA competition, putting them in the driving seat for qualification for the last 16.

OM have won their last two Ligue one matches, against Bordeaux and Monaco, but they were disappointing in this one and face an uphill battle to overturn the deficit in Holland in the second leg next Thursday.

Lech Poznan came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw in the home leg of their tie with Udinese. Striker Fabio Quagliarella opened the scoring early in the second half before an own goal from Lech defender Manuel Arboleda gave the visitors a 2-0 lead five minutes later.

However, Udinese were left stunned as the Poles pulled level in the last 10 minutes. Lech forward Hernan Rengifo reduced the deficit in the 81st minute before Arboleda made amends for his defensive miscue to nod in the equalizer six minutes from time.

Eredivisie

Vitesse Arnhem 4 - Ajax 1 (Eredivisie, Feb. 8, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) Lasse Nilsson opened for Vitesse after seven minutes with the Ajax defence hopelessly all at sea. Marco Van Basten’s boys equalised on the quarter-hour mark through Luis Suarez. But just before the break, Dalibor Stevanovic restored Vitesse’s advantage with a lovely curler and Lasse Nilsson’s slid in to add the third on the halftime whistle. Ricky van Wolfswinkel completed the Ajax demolition with a fourth in the 68th minute after more useless defending for the visitors. Can van Basten hold onto his job?

Utrecht 3 - Den Haag 1 (Eredivisie, Feb. 8, 2009) Csaba Horvath put the visitors in front, but Robbert Zwinkels’ dismissal proved the turning point in the match. Gregoor van Dijk levelled matters from the penalty spot with Ali Boussaboun and Sander Keller netting second half efforts.

Volendam 3 - PSV 5 (Eredivisie, Feb. 8, 2009) PSV raced into a two-goal lead thanks to efforts from Ola Toivonen and Jeremie Brechet. Volendam struck back with two goals in the space of six minutes from Gerson Sheotahul (penalty) and Paul de Lange restoring parity. Back came PSV, moving 4-2 in front with goals either side of halftime from Edison Mendez. Toivonen and Jack Tuyp were given their marching orders, before Otman Bakkal added a fifth for PSV and Rowin van Zaanen scored an even later consolation.

De Graafschap 2 - Twente 2 (Eredivisie, Feb. 8, 2009) Blaise NKufo opened the scoring for Twente but Stephan Keller and Luuk de Jong turned the match in the hosts’ favour. NKufo’s 83rd minute penalty ensured a point for Steve McClaren’s men.

Feyenoord 0 - Groningen 0 (Eredivisie, Feb. 8, 2009) Feyenoord battled to a goalless draw against Groningen despite the 42nd minute sending off of Norichio Nieveld.

Portuguese Superliga

Porto 1 - Benfica 1 (Superliga, Feb. 8, 2009) Hassan Yebda gave Benfica the lead with a powerful header from a corner by Jose Antonio Reyes on the stroke of halftime. But a second half penalty from Lucho Gonzalez salvaged a point for Porto.

Sporting Lisbon 2 - Braga 3 (Superliga, Feb. 8, 2009) Braga’s Albert Meyong Ze broke the deadlock in the 59th minute when he scored his seventh goal of the season following a goalmouth scramble. Sporting levelled 10 minutes later through Derlei only for the visitors then stunned the hosts with two goals in three minutes. Wason Renteria fired home in the 81st, with Marcio Mossoro heading Braga’s third. Marat Izmailov’s shot reduced the deficit in injury time for Sporting, who are now winless in three games.

Vitoria Guimaraes 2 - Maritimo 1 (Superliga, Feb. 8, 2009)

Jupiler League

Anderlecht 3 - Mons 2 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009) Mons had a great start at Anderlecht, Moussa Gueye scored the opener on 14 minutes and Cedric Collet doubled the advantage on the half hour. Victor Bernandez got one back just before the break and Tom de Sutter equalised for the hosts in the 69th. Roland Juhasz ended a thrilling contest claiming the winner with 10 minutes to go.

Dender 0 - Club Brugge 2 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009) Club Brugge stole the points with two last-minute goals. Daniel Chavez finally broke the deadlock in the 89th minute before the Peruvian added a second goal a minute later.

Tubize 1 - Mechelen 5 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009) Quinton Fortune made a miserable debut for Tubize as he was sent off in mauling at the hands of Mechelen.

Gent 2 - Mouscron 0 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009)

Genk 1 - Zulte-Waregem 2 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009)

Roeselare 2 - Germinal Beerschot 2 (Jupiler League, Feb. 7, 2009)

Turkish Super Lig

Buyuksehir 2 - Fenerbahce 0 (Super Lig, Feb. 8, 2009) Iskender Alin put Istanbul ahead after only five minutes and Razundara Tjikuzu doubled the advantage with 10 minutes to go. The hosts were already down a man as Mahmut Tekdemir was sent off just before the break. In the dying minutes, Tjikuzu and Fener’s Gokhan Gonul were dismissed as well.

Greek Super League

Panathinaikos 3 - PAOK 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 8, 2009) Vintra’s brace and a third from Mantzios did the damage in just nine second half minutes.

Larissa 1 - AEK Athens 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 8, 2009) Both goals arrived in the last two minutes of the match. Fotakis’ 89th minute opener was cancelled out by Djebbour.

Skoda Xanthi 4 - Levadiakos 0 (Greek Super League, Feb. 8, 2009) Pappas opened for Xanthi before Dosek claimed a hat-trick.

Ergotelis 0 - Iraklis 1 (Greek Super League, Feb. 8, 2009) A wonderful overhead volley from Papasterianos settled the match.

Cypriot First Division

Atromitos 3 - Apollon 6 (Cypriot First Division, Feb. 8, 2009) Kimoto hit a hat trick for the hosts while Risso (2), Pinilla, Merkis, Maragkos and Masmanidis scored for Apollon.

Anorthosis 1 - Paralimni 0 (Cypriot First Division, Feb. 8, 2009)

Holland

Groningen 1—Ajax 0 (Eredivisie, Jan. 25, 2009) Ajax lost ground on leaders AZ, Danny Holla beating Maarten Stekelenburg with a low shot from 20 yards in the 39th minute.

Heracles 1—FC Twente 2 (Eredivisie, Jan. 25, 2009) Steve McClaren’s FC Twente moved to within a point of Ajax. Kenneth Perez and Marko Arnautovic put Twente ahead, and Heracles could only manage a late consolation through Ricky van den Bergh.

Volendam 0—Den Haag 1 (Eredivisie, Jan. 25, 2009) Bottom-of-the-table Volendam suffered a third straight loss as Danny Buys struck the only goal of the game for Den Haag.

Utrecht 3—Sparta 3 (Eredivisie, Jan. 25, 2009) Kevin Strootman put Sparta ahead on seven minutes, but the home side turned the game on its head through Michael Silberbauer and Cedric van der Gun. Sparta restored parity via Joey Godee and then Loic Loval made it 3-2 before Rydell Poepon ensured both teams had to settle for a point.

Feyenoord 1—Willem II 1 (Eredivisie, Jan. 24, 2009) Willem II looked to have earned a valuable away win at Feyenoord thanks to a 51st minute Jens Janse goal. But Andwele Slory rescued a point for the home team with an equaliser right at the death.

Heerenveen 2—Roda 0 (Eredivisie, Jan. 24, 2009) Heerenveen stay in fourth after recording their third league win on the bounce courtesy of a 40th-minute opener by Roy Beerens and Danijel Pranjic’s 54th-minute penalty.

Belgium

Westerlo 0—Standard Liege 1 (Jupiler League, Jan. 25, 2009) Standard moved two points clear at the top thanks to De Camargo’s goal with just six minutes from time.

Turkey

Fenerbahce 0—Trabzonspor 0 (Super Lig, Jan. 25, 2009) Fener missed out on their chance to return to the top of the table.

Greece

AEK Athens 3—Panionios 0 (Greek Super League, Jan. 25, 2009) Goals from Blanco and Edinho in the first half, and Scocco after the break gave AEK the points.

Asteras Tripolis 2—Levadiakos 0 (Greek Super League, Jan. 25, 2009) Filomeno scored after the half-hour mark and then on the hour itself to seal victory for the hosts.

Thrasyvoulos 1—Xanthi Skoda 1 (Greek Super League, Jan. 25, 2009) Martorell’s opener was cancelled out by Poy.

Panthrakikos 1—Iraklis 0 (Greek Super League, Jan. 25, 2009) Riera’s fourth minute goal settled the match.

Larisa 1—Panserraikos 1 (Greek Super League, Jan. 25, 2009) Larisa looked to have the game sown up after Zurawski’s 18th-minute strike, but a last-gasp equaliser from Konstantinidis made it a point apiece.

Cyprus

Apollon 7—Alki 1 (Cypriot First Division, Jan. 25, 2009)

NEC Nijmegen 2 - Ajax 4 (Eredivisie, January 18, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) After a goalless first half (highlights here) Ajax took the lead away at NEC when Miralem Sulejmani’s free-kick evaded everyone to nestle in the net. But NEC quickly levelled, Ramon Zomer heading the hosts level. (Sulejmani & Zomer’s goals here.) Sulejmani then put Ajax ahead only for El-Akchaoui to smash a ball into the near post for 2-2. Ajax lost Dario Cvitanich for a second bookable offense with 20 minutes remaining but they had enough in the locker to win the match with late goals from Fernandez and Gabri.

Volendam 0 - AZ Alkmaar 2 (Eredivisie, January 18, 2009) (Longer highlights here.) AZ remain three points clear at the top of the table after beating bottom side Volendam, the goals scored in either half from Ari and David Mendes da Silva.

Roda 1 - PSV 1 (Eredivisie, January 18, 2009) After a goalless first half where PSV had the better chances (highlights here) the visitors took the lead through a Tim Simmons penalty. But the lead only lasted 60 seconds as Willem Janssen quickly drew Roda level.

Sparta Rotterdam 1 - Groningen 1 (Eredivisie, January 18, 2009) Koen van de Laak gave Groningen the lead just after the break but Joey Godee rescued a point for the home side.

De Graafschap 1 - Willem II 0 (Eredivisie, January 17, 2009) On-loan Chelsea forward Ben Sahar netted De Graafschap’s first goal in more than 300 minutes of football to claim a crucial win, curling a glorious shot into the top corner.

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Sporting Lisbon 5- Pacos Ferreira 1 (Carlsberg Cup, January 18, 2009) Sporting had to wait until the end of the first half to score, and when the goal arrived it looked to play out in slow motion as Liedson steered the ball past an unbalanced keeper. Liedson slid in the second on the restart, but Cristiano replied for Pacos. Back came Sporting, Marat Izmailov scoring a 30-yard stunner for the hosts, before Vukcevic and Liedson (hat-trick) sealed the win.

Vitoria Guimaraes 3 - Olhanense 0 (Carlsberg Cup, January 18, 2009)

Maritimo 1 - Rio Ave 2 (Carlsberg Cup, January 18, 2009)

Vitoria Setubal 1 - Nacional 0 (Carlsberg Cup, January 18, 2009)

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Club Brugge 3 - KV Mechelen 0 (Jupiler League, January 17, 2009) Brugge’s victory was made that much easier by Mechelen having three players sent off in the match. Mununga was the first to depart after 27 minutes and the hosts quickly capitalised when Ronald Vargas opened the scoring. Antolin Alcaraz doubled just after the hour mark and a frantic finish saw Biset and Vrancken both dismissed with Simaeys netting the third.

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Fenerbahce 3 - Eskisehirspor 0 (Turkish Cup, January 18, 2009) Alex de Souza, Davide de Souza and Roberto Carlos found the net for Fener.

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Panathinaikos 4 - Aris 0 (Greek Super League, January 18, 2009) Karagounis put the hosts ahead with a penalty in the 47th minute, and he then stretched the lead to 2-0 with a powerful shot from outside the area in the 56th minute. Ninis crossed to Rukavina for the third and Cleyton scored from close range to complete the rout.

Xanthi Skoda 1 - Larisa 1 (Greek Super League, January 18, 2009) Larisa captain Nikos Dabizas put through his own net before Iglesias latched onto a route-one ball to draw the visitors level.

OFI Crete 2 - Panionios 0 (Greek Super League, January 18, 2009) Goals from Simic and Popovic (a 30-yard screamer) earned the hosts victory.

PAOK Saloniki 2 - Panthrakikos 0 (Greek Super League, January 18, 2009) Muslimovic and Vieirinha scored in each half for PAOK.

***

Hapoel Tel Aviv 2 - Ashdod SC 0 (Ligat ha’Al, January 17, 2009) The hosts took the lead six minutes from time when Shai Abutbul whacked the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box after being set up by Gili Vermuth. Vermuth had a huge hand in the second, too, riding a couple of challenges before squaring it to Samuel Yeboah to knock the ball into the roof of the net.