Mohun Bagan suffered a setback to their title hopes as they were beaten by old rivals Salgaokar SC. Sueoka Ryuji helped Bagan getting an early lead when he scored from a header in the 13th minute. Coach Karim Bencharifa kept Zenith Mashangva beside NS Manju as a defender in the starting XI. Zenith sent a long through from the right into the box that found Sueoka who headed the ball into the goal (1-0)

Later Ekene Ikenwa replaced injured Avneet Singh Shergill. With this change Salgaokar started building on moves that put the rival defense with Manju, donning the jersey for the first time in the season, under pressure constantly. In the 44th minute Milagres Gonsalves shot a long through into the box that found Keita Mandjou who chest-trapped the ball , got past Manju and pushed the ball past Shilton’s right side (1-1). At the lemon break the score levelled 1-1! At the 47th minute Francis Fernandes moved up on the right flank, got past Bagan defenders and went for a final pass to Keita Mandjou who missed the ball and Ekene Ikenwa tapped in to the goal (1-2)! Coach Karim made couple of changes as Masih replaced Manju and Snehasish replaced Ishfaq. Bagan almost found the equalizer in the 52nd minute when Barreto got a pass from Ishfaq and his header was foiled by Luciano Sabrosa. Luciano did well to consolidate Salgaokar defense and Bagan failed to score the equalizer. Bagan got an opportunity to ride onto the top position in the League table but this loss kept them at bay! Goals : MB : Sueoka Ryuji SSC: Keita Mandjou, and Ekene Ikenwa Yellow Card : Ishfaq Ahmed (MB), Rocus Lamare ( SSC) Team : Shilton, Surkumar, Manju (Masih), Zenith, Biswajit (Tomba), James, Marcos, Kulothungan, Ishfaq(Snehasish), Sueoka, Barreto

So many optimism before the game, so many positive comments on our players coming of age. And yes, team Mohun Bagan did what it does best – wins 2-1 against Mahindra United. Karim Bencharifa’s men came from a goal down in what was a pulsating first leg tie between the country’s best bets for the iLeague this year. The visitors equalized from a Marcos goal and later had a comfortable win with Sueoka scoring the winner. Bagan is now having 20 points from 11 matches, same as Mahindra United. Mahindra (+13) retains the top spot and Bagan(+10) might have to wait couple of rounds to place itself at the top.

  Bagan was in an attacking mood right from the word GO. In the 2nd minute Bagan earned a free kick. Marcos took the shot. But Subhasish was alert and collected the ball well.

The post Uttarayan – and Barreto gives a nice gift to the Mohun Bagan supporters. It came two days late as the scoreline reads Air India 0 : Mohun Bagan 5.

 It was an unforgettable outcome on an afternoon the Mariners produced a great performance in absence of a list of players namely Sangram, Deepak, Manju, mohanraj, Masih and Chidi. James was out soon as well.

In the 47th minute Bagan earned a corner as Harpreet headed a ball out. Marcos took the coner – Ishfaq header was saved by Arnab and Barreto got the ball. He made no mistake in pacing it into the goal(2-0)

In the 58th minute Sueoka got a ball and gets into the box from the right flank. He was close to the near post and his minus found Kulothungan. Kulo placed the ball to the far post and Barreto makes sure he does not get into the line (3-0)

In the 62nd minute Bagan earned another corner. Marcos took the shot and another outstanding Ishfaq header found Barreto and Barreto header went past S. James who tried to save the ball with his hand (4-0).

In the 69th minute Azim was in the central part of the ground and his through found Barreto who got into the box, been chased by two Airmen and Arnab, the custodian. Barreto tried to push the ball past Arnab but somehow Arnab managed to hold it with his legs. Barreto snatched the ball from Arnab and from almost Zero Degree placed it inside the box(5-0)

In the 73rd minute Nabeel hit Shilton and earned a booking.

In the 79th minute Banco replaced Barreto. In 86th minute Santa Kumar replaced Ishfaq.

In the 89th minute Santa made a brilliant move from left flank. His cross found Branco who failed to control the ball.

Team : Shilton, Surkumar, Sagram, Azim, Biswajit, James(Tomba), Marcos, Kulothungan, Ishfaq(Santa), Barreto(Branco), Sueoka

Mohun Bagan fans will be anxiously awaiting further news after Chidi have been forced to withdraw from the game against Air India.

 The Nigerian striker was seriously injured in the team’s practice today. He had already made an impact in the season, scoring goals in almost every match he played for Bagan. Chidi is unlikely to be fit for Bagan’s week-end fixture against Air India, and it now remains to be seen whether he will be able to take part in Bagan’s next match against Mahindra United on 21st January ’10.

Mohun Bagan fails to move up from the fifth spot in the iLeague despite having a lead in second half of the match against Churchill Brothers on Friday. Mohun bagan kicked off at around 2:32pm IST at Barasat Stadium today. but in the second minute it was churtchill that went for a positive move. From a counter attack Marocs and Chidi exchanged the ball and tried to break Churchill defense. But Masih goofed up and the day’s first attempt went for a toss.

With billions of dollars in illegal soccer bets exchanged every year and allegations of match-fixing rife, the punters are often at the losing end whereas the bookmakers are having the last laugh.
The mafias and underground syndicates are often behind the fixing of soccer matches.

The mafias and underground syndicates are often behind the fixing of soccer matches.

FIFA, the governing body of world soccer, decided that it had to act to protect the game from corruption after being shaken by recent match-fixing scandals in Germany, Italy and Brazil.

Since Asian World Cup qualifying campaign started, the fixed match issue has gained more urgency. Gambling is widespread in Asia and Asian leagues have been battling match-fixing for years.

In early year 2008, Interpol announced the results of a crackdown on illegal soccer gambling across Asia. Interpol’s secretary general, Ronald Noble, told a conference in Singapore that the authorities had shut down 272 underground gambling dens handling $650 million in illegal bets. Feldner said, "The gray market in Asia – this is a big problem."

Unlike individual sports, team sports like soccer are more difficult to fix.

"There are 22 players, 4 officials, 2 coaching staffs, substitutes – that’s a high number of people you have to get at to fix a game," said Herren, the FIFA spokesman. "Plus, the more people you try to bribe, the more chances you have of being exposed."

But the more people you bribe, the more chances you have of the outcome you want.

William Gaillard, a spokesman for UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, said: "One person is not enough – you need to bribe three or four at least. The games we have doubts about are never the big games – those are too expensive to fix. What are you going to offer a player who makes €4 million a year? It’s always lower division games, maybe where two clubs have already qualified, a game that’s not televised."

As we all know, it is easier to lose a game than to win it. Hence, goalies and defenders are the more obvious targets to bribe when you fixed a match.

Late bets, heavy bets, late and heavy underdog bets; high or low scoring; surprising draws; wide swings in the quality of play; odd or inexplicable referee calls – all of these can prompt monitors to take a closer look at a match.

FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, has often pointed to referees as a possible weak link because they are the lowest-paid people on the field. FIFA has a monitoring system that evaluates referees’ performances and removes those prone to error, said Herren, the FIFA spokesman, but "not even the best ref is protected from making a blunder."

At the 2006 World Cup, security guards were posted outside the referees’ hotel, no direct outside calls to their rooms were allowed, and FIFA doubled their tournament pay to $40,000. Herren expects refs to earn even more at the next World Cup.

 

(Source : http://www.soccerpunter.com/soccer_fixed_match.php)

 

 

Sahitya Academy award winner and eminent sports journalist, Moti Nandi, passed away at a city nursing home on Sunday. He was suffering from multiple-organ failure and was admitted to the nursing home on December 23. The former president of the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club was 79, and is survived by wife and three daughters.

Nandi was honoured with the Sahitya Academy Award for Bengali novel Sada Kham in 1991. As sports editor of the Ananda Bazar Patrika, Nandi changed the face of Bengali sports journalism. His sports-related fiction writing, reflecting his experience about the trials and tribulations of sportspersons, however, made him a household name.

But, people adored him mostly for his sensitive portrayal of an aspiring sports person, who faced all sorts of obstacles on the path of her rise, in the book ‘Koni’ which was made into a successful film. Another book ‘Stopper’ was also made into a film and serialised in television.

The leading characters Striker, Nanida Not Out and Jeeban Ananta touched the hearts of people like never before. He had also covered the 1980 Moscow and 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

                                                                                        May his soul rest in peace.

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