A football education is not complete without a visit to the magnificent
Westfalenstadion in the heartland of industrial Germany.
Garett Bolles Broncos Jersey . Anyone who
graduates this test does so with a smile on their face. Borussia Dortmund has
that effect on people. The club is to football lovers, what Christmas is to
children; leaving you with a warm feeling, full of stories about something that
is done right. It happened to me at the World Cup with my wife in 2006 and this
past week English journalists, in town for Arsenals visit to Borussia Dortmund
in the Champions League, typed at great lengths about their love for the club.
Dortmund is everyones second team wrote John Cross of the Daily Mirror who was
clearly enamoured by the surroundings. He wasnt alone. Arsenal, though, were not
in town for a sightseeing trip. The great aspect of sport remains its
unpredictability. Arsenals performance in Dortmund on Wednesday flipped the
script and made them the main characters in a fascinating subplot, known as
Group F of this seasons Champions League campaign. No English club had ever won
in Dortmund before Aaron Ramsey headed in Arsenals winning goal in front of
their travelling fans, who up until then had played the part of non-speaking
extras inside a theatre dominated by a chorus of passionate, singing bees. It
gave the Gunners a sensational 1-0 victory, their 14th win in their last 15 away
games in all competitions dating back to their last win in Germany, when they
defeated the soon-to-be European Champions Bayern Munich in March. Yes, in 2013,
a club still searching for respect in its homeland has beaten both teams who
made the Champions League final, at home. Their last win in Germany ended their
Champions League journey for another year; its latest win opened up a whole host
of possibilities. Not only did it place Arsene Wengers men in pole position to
qualify for the knockout stages for the 14th year in a row it also means they
have a great shot at winning the group, something they have accomplished just
twice in the last five years. No team has felt the importance of this more than
Arsenal in recent years. "Perhaps, we have been very unlucky with our
opponents," said Wenger earlier this season on their failures in Europes top
competition. It is true the last 16 has often presented them with a tough
opponent, including eventual winners Barcelona in 2011 and Bayern Munich last
season, but it is equally true that Arsenal have blown crucial opportunities to
win their group and avoid such a difficult draw. For those in England struggling
to believe in Arsenal, Wednesdays victory showed glimpses of another side to the
Gunners, a much more mature display to their game, full of belief in themselves
even when they were against the ropes. Dortmund, who had scored in 59 of their
last 60 home games heading in, dominated much of the games best chances but
rarely threatened the centre-back core of Laurent Koscielny, again excellent in
the Champions League, and Per Mertesacker. Aside from a torrid fifteen minute
spell at the start of the second half, Wengers men, crucially, seemed in control
of their emotions, if not the game. They had learned to keep things tight and
remain content with the score level, something they struggled with at home to
Dortmund last month. Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky, creators so used to coming
inside to work and combine with Olivier Giroud, stayed wide and tracked their
opponents. Their football intelligence shone. Dortmund wanted to stretch the
game and Arsenal played them at their own game even if some of their key men
struggled at times. Mesut Ozil and Giroud couldnt combine as they like to while
Mikel Arteta, desperate for a partner to help him be the guardian of the gates,
at times seemed to struggle with the flow of the game but such scenarios,
against a team who had won all eight of their home matches this season, will
surely have been anticipated. Few teams in the world transition as well as
Dortmund, who explode in numbers the moment they turn over the ball, and on
another night Arteta, as the principal holder in midfield, could have been
exposed but Arsenal withstood the pressure and still found a moment to shine
themselves. Rosicky, a poster child for a former Dortmund team of debt and
disarray, played a superb one-two with Ramsey before unleashing Ozil on the
right. The German, whose presence has done so much to install a new belief in
Arsenal, crossed a ball in dangerously that wasnt dealt with by Dortmunds
defence, allowing Ramsey to continue a dream season by heading home. Suddenly
Arsenal found themselves, much like many before them, smiling inside the iconic
Westfalenstadion. On Wednesday night they board a plane back to a land where
many still wait for their match at Manchester United on Sunday to see if they
are for real. They neednt bother. The facts are clear. Win, lose or draw on
Sunday, Arsenal are still a far superior side to the one that played for the
majority of last season and are finally a team that is looking like one that is
coached properly. Whether or not that makes them title contenders remains
unclear and only the future will declare the verdict. What was declared on
Wednesday was people need to find a middle ground when analyzing this club. How
they match up against Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City over 38
games is irrelevant in November. Right now, Arsenal are playing a level of
football their high-paying fans expect and those searching to see what they will
do come May are losing sight of special performances and it doesnt get much
better than a win at the Westfalenstadion.
Demarcus Walker Youth Jersey . Acclaimed by
world football leaders but held in contempt by many football fans. Blatter
should arrive at the Itaquerao stadium in Sao Paulo to watch host Brazil play
Croatia confident that this tournament -- his fifth as president -- wont be his
last leading the worlds favourite sport.
Jake Butt Womens Jersey . Richard Jefferson
scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had
seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this
season.Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Antoine Roussel and Jamie Benn scored 16
seconds apart in the third period as the Dallas Stars downed the Washington
Capitals, 5-4, on Saturday. Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Erik Cole each posted
a goal and an assist for the Stars, who had lost five of six coming into the
game. Kari Lehtonen turned aside 28 shots in the win. Nicklas Backstrom, Alex
Ovechkin, Eric Fehr and Andre Burakovsky all lit the lamp for the Capitals, who
have dropped their past two. Justin Peters allowed all five goals on 26 shots.
Washington had trailed 3-0, but scored twice in the second period and tied the
game just 21 seconds into the third when Ovechkin switched to the forehand on a
breakaway and snapped it in for his 25th of the year. The Stars, though, took
the lead back three minutes later, as a John Klingberg wrister from the right
wing was tipped to the left side by Ryan Garbutt. Roussel was there to snap it
in for a 4-3 lead. Just 16 seconds later, Benn gave the Stars some breathing
room after Seguins pass from the right wing missed its intended target and went
to the left wing where Benn wrister it home. Washington had all kinds of chances
from there, but Lehtonen turned them all aside until Backstrom scored with 3:26
to play to make it a one-goal game. Ovechkin brought the puck back to the top of
the left circle annd used a backdoor pass to get it to the low right side where
Backstrom one-timed it in for his 14th of the season.
Chad Kelly Broncos Jersey. The Caps pulled
Peters from the net for an extra attacker late, but the Stars kept them from
getting set up to hold on for the victory. Dallas scored on the power play just
2:26 in as Spezza sent a backhand pass from the right boards to the slot where
Seguin was all alone for an easy goal and a 1-0 lead. It was 2-0 after Jyrki
Jokipakka threw a shot on net from the high slot that Cole tipped in with 1:42
left in the first. The Stars took a 3-0 lead at 4:13 of the second, as a rush
play was finished when Cole passed it from the right wing to the slot and Spezza
slapped it home. Washington, though, scored the next two goals to make it a
one-goal game and got it started at 5:30 of the second on a 2-on-1 break that
Fehr finished off for his 14th of the year. The Caps made it a 3-2 game with
just under four minutes to play in the second as Burakovskys wrister from the
slot beat Lehtonen to the glove. Game Notes Dallas plays in Chicago on Sunday
... Washington returns home to face Edmonton on Tuesday ... Dallas was 1-for-5
on the power play, while Washington finished the game 0-for-3 ... Jokipakka, who
was recalled from Texas of the AHL earlier on Saturday, had two assists.
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