2024
WCC R32 Results
Both legs of WCC R32 is completed successfully and now we have 16 winners ready to fight for the glory. Here the updated results :
WCC R32 Leg 1 result :
| Match 1 | São Paulo FC (0) | vs | Bayer Leverkusen (1) |
| Match 2 | Barcelona (4) | vs | Valencia CF (0) |
| Match 3 | Manchester United (0) | vs | SC Internacional (2) |
| Match 4 | Hertha BSC (1) | vs | RSC Anderlecht (3) |
| Match 5 | Torino (2) | vs | Olympiacos (1) |
| Match 6 | West Bromwich Albion (2) | vs | West Ham United (0) |
| Match 7 | FC Koln (0) | vs | Atlético Madrid (3) |
| Match 8 | SL Benfica (0) | vs | Borussia Dortmund (0) |
| Match 9 | Hamburger SV (0) | vs | Swansea City (1) |
| Match 10 | FC Basel (0) | vs | Juventus (0) |
| Match 11 | Málaga CF (2) | vs | Dinamo Zagreb (1) |
| Match 12 | Sporting CP (1) | vs | Celta Vigo (1) |
| Match 13 | AS Monaco (1) | vs | Internazionale (4) |
| Match 14 | Everton (1) | vs | FC Porto (2) |
| Match 15 | Chelsea (1) | vs | Hellas Verona (1) |
| Match 16 | Manchester City (2) | vs | Arsenal (2) |
WCC R32 Leg 2 result :
| Match 1 | Bayer Leverkusen (1) | vs | São Paulo FC (0) |
| Match 2 | Valencia CF (0) | vs | Barcelona (4) |
| Match 3 | SC Internacional (2) | vs | Manchester United (1) |
| Match 4 | RSC Anderlecht (2) | vs | Hertha BSC (0) |
| Match 5 | Olympiacos (1) | vs | Torino (3) |
| Match 6 | West Ham United (1) | vs | West Bromwich Albion (2) |
| Match 7 | Atlético Madrid (0) | vs | FC Koln (1) |
| Match 8 | Borussia Dortmund (2) | vs | SL Benfica (0) |
| Match 9 | Swansea City (2) | vs | Hamburger SV (0) |
| Match 10 | Juventus (1) | vs | FC Basel (1) |
| Match 11 | Dinamo Zagreb (1) | vs | Málaga CF (2) |
| Match 12 | Celta Vigo (1) | vs | Sporting CP (2) |
| Match 13 | Internazionale (2) | vs | AS Monaco (1) |
| Match 14 | FC Porto (0) | vs | Everton (1) |
| Match 15 | Hellas Verona (1) | vs | Chelsea (2) |
| Match 16 | Arsenal (3) | vs | Manchester City (1) |
Aggregate results and winners of R32 :
| São Paulo FC (0) | vs | Bayer Leverkusen (2) |
| Barcelona (8) | vs | Valencia CF (0) |
| Manchester United (1) | vs | SC Internacional (4) |
| Hertha BSC (1) | vs | RSC Anderlecht (5) |
| Torino (5) | vs | Olympiacos (2) |
| West Bromwich Albion (4) | vs | West Ham United (1) |
| FC Koln (1) | vs | Atlético Madrid (3) |
| SL Benfica (0) | vs | Borussia Dortmund (2) |
| Hamburger SV (0) | vs | Swansea City (3) |
| FC Basel (1) | vs | Juventus (1) |
| Málaga CF (4) | vs | Dinamo Zagreb (2) |
| Sporting CP (3) | vs | Celta Vigo (2) |
| AS Monaco (2) | vs | Internazionale (6) |
| Everton (2) | vs | FC Porto (2) |
| Chelsea (3) | vs | Hellas Verona (2) |
| Manchester City (3) | vs | Arsenal (5) |
Koln vs Atletico Madrid is forfeited as Koln failed to organise the fixture. Atletico Madrid is declared winner of the game and winner of R32 and qualifies to next round.
Congratulations to winners and commiserations to the losers). The draw for next round will be conducted after WCS R32 games are done and fixtures will be updated soon after that. We thank all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful. Thank you and good luck.
MANCHESTER UNITED APPOINTS THARANIDHARAN AS MANAGER
The hot news around the corner is that Mr. Niall Taylor has left the Manchester United manager citing the pressure of the job and personal commitments as the reasons to call it an end. The huge speculations were spread about who will fill this hot spot. Some big names were linked but it was Mr. Tharanidharan, native of India but Mancunian by heart, given the nod to lead this great club.
Tharani, coming from a small town in India, didn’t have glittering career as professional footballer. Infact, college football was the best he did. He was not gifted with football skills to make it big. But his love for the game pushed him to continue doing something else in the most beloved sport and that’s how he took on managerial position 12 years ago. Fast forward, he is now the manager of Manchester United. It’ll befitting to say he has achieved his life’s purpose and destiny.
Journey in Top 100 started in 2022, when he joined Real Sociedad in Top 120. After proving his potential in non-league level, he was given a job at Athletic Bilbao in Div 5 in Top 100. After 1 and half seasons and over-achieving all the expectations in Div 5, he became the hot candidate for top jobs in the town. He could have joined any top club but he understood it’ll be too early and undeserving, so took on a challenge at then fellow Div 5 club Stuttgart – a club filled with potential but never able to break into top half of the table consistently.
Tharani, grateful to work done by Mark Scott, did some tweaks to ratings and tactics. Boom. He achieved two consecutive promotions and brought Stuttgart to Div 3. Currently they were expected to fight relegation battle instead they are in mid table spot. He publicly declared Stuttgart will be his last and only club he will manage at Top 100 unless Manchester United board comes knocking at his door. Out of nowhere, his dream came true and after learning the trade, he felt it’s the right time to jump ship and lead his dream club to top where it belongs and bring back the glory days to Old Trafford.
Tharani in his first interview as Man Utd manager :
I’ve spoken before about how I’ve prepared more or less my whole adult life, to be a manager somewhere and I have always been stupid enough or naive enough or daft enough to dream about this job.
I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t looking forward to it and if I didn’t believe in the club and in the potential. I feel, and I hope, that I can do this job justice, that’s the first thing I asked myself when I got the call.
It’s truly an honour. I think everyone knows, and I’ve spoken about it in the last few months, that this is the dream job for any football-interested man, especially anyone who has been involved with Man United. Being given the opportunity now to move the club forward, with all the potential there is, it’s fantastic.
I understand the mood has been down as we are fighting relegation. This is not us. We don’t belong here. It can’t be done overnight. It’s a long tiring process and we have to roll-up the sleeves, do the dirty work and get the work done. But first thing we just want to get the players enjoying football. I’m looking forward to seeing the supporters and bring the happiness and cheer in their face.
I’ve seen the last few games and I observed some players not performing up-to the expectations. But it’s alright. Everyone will get a chance. Everyone starts with a clean slate. You’ve got to start somewhere. We’re in a results business and we want to win games. That’s our main focus.
Squad depth and quality are also a concern, which will be attended on priority keeping Man Utd DNA philosophy in mind. That’s all for now. I’d like to be man of action rather than man of words.
We wish Tharanidharan a good luck in his new adventure and hope Manchester United reach greater heights.
WCS Round of 32
Hello everyone, welcome to first round (i.e. R32) of World Club Shield (WCS) tournament. Started with 100 teams, now we have second top 32 teams competing for WCS trophy. As mentioned already, from here on till semi final, these round of games will be 2-legged knock out games (1 home, 1 away) and the winners will be decided on aggregate score and FET (if needed). Qualified 32 teams list is available in our recent post WCC-WCS Qualifier 4 results.
Through random draw, we finalized the fixtures for WCS R32. First leg to be played on 13th March and second leg will be played on 27th March.
The fixture schedule for 1st leg (13th March) are :
| Match 1 | FC Augsburg | vs | Galatasaray SK |
| Match 2 | Standard Liège | vs | Real Madrid |
| Match 3 | Genoa CFC | vs | Riverplate |
| Match 4 | Lille OSC | vs | Girondins Bordeaux |
| Match 5 | Sunderland | vs | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Match 6 | AC Milan | vs | Udinese Calcio |
| Match 7 | Leicester City | vs | FC Schalke 04 |
| Match 8 | Aston Villa | vs | Liverpool |
| Match 9 | Flamengo | vs | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Match 10 | Levante | vs | Santos FC |
| Match 11 | Bayern München | vs | Crystal Palace |
| Match 12 | Ajax | vs | Celtic |
| Match 13 | Southampton | vs | Stoke City |
| Match 14 | Fenerbahçe SK | vs | Independiente |
| Match 15 | Club Brugge KV | vs | SS Lazio |
| Match 16 | RCD Espanyol | vs | Sampdoria |
The fixture schedule for 2nd leg (27th March) are :
| Match 1 | Galatasaray SK | vs | FC Augsburg |
| Match 2 | Real Madrid | vs | Standard Liège |
| Match 3 | Riverplate | vs | Genoa CFC |
| Match 4 | Girondins Bordeaux | vs | Lille OSC |
| Match 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | vs | Sunderland |
| Match 6 | Udinese Calcio | vs | AC Milan |
| Match 7 | FC Schalke 04 | vs | Leicester City |
| Match 8 | Liverpool | vs | Aston Villa |
| Match 9 | Paris Saint-Germain | vs | Flamengo |
| Match 10 | Santos FC | vs | Levante |
| Match 11 | Crystal Palace | vs | Bayern München |
| Match 12 | Celtic | vs | Ajax |
| Match 13 | Stoke City | vs | Southampton |
| Match 14 | Independiente | vs | Fenerbahçe SK |
| Match 15 | SS Lazio | vs | Club Brugge KV |
| Match 16 | Sampdoria | vs | RCD Espanyol |
We thank in advance all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful. Thank you and good luck.
WCC Round of 32
Hello everyone, welcome to first round (i.e. R32) of World Club Cup (WCC) tournament. Started with 100 teams, now we have top 32 teams competing for WCC trophy. As mentioned already, from here on till semi final, these round of games will be 2-legged knock out games (1 home, 1 away) and the winners will be decided on aggregate score and FET (if needed). Qualified 32 teams list is available in our recent post WCC-WCS Qualifier 4 results.
Through random draw, we finalized the fixtures for WCC R32. First leg to be played on 6th March and second leg will be played on 20th March.
The fixture schedule for 1st leg (6th March) are :
| Match 1 | São Paulo FC | vs | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Match 2 | Barcelona | vs | Valencia CF |
| Match 3 | Manchester United | vs | SC Internacional |
| Match 4 | Hertha BSC | vs | RSC Anderlecht |
| Match 5 | Torino | vs | Olympiaco |
| Match 6 | West Bromwich Albion | vs | West Ham United |
| Match 7 | FC Koln | vs | Atlético Madrid |
| Match 8 | SL Benfica | vs | Borussia Dortmund |
| Match 9 | Hamburger SV | vs | Swansea City |
| Match 10 | FC Basel | vs | Juventu |
| Match 11 | Málaga CF | vs | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Match 12 | Sporting CP | vs | Celta Vigo |
| Match 13 | AS Monaco | vs | Internazionale |
| Match 14 | Everton | vs | FC Porto |
| Match 15 | Chelsea | vs | Hellas Verona |
| Match 16 | Manchester City | vs | Arsenal |
The fixture schedule for 2nd leg (20th March) are :
| Match 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | vs | São Paulo FC |
| Match 2 | Valencia CF | vs | Barcelona |
| Match 3 | SC Internacional | vs | Manchester United |
| Match 4 | RSC Anderlecht | vs | Hertha BSC |
| Match 5 | Olympiaco | vs | Torino |
| Match 6 | West Ham United | vs | West Bromwich Albion |
| Match 7 | Atlético Madrid | vs | FC Koln |
| Match 8 | Borussia Dortmund | vs | SL Benfica |
| Match 9 | Swansea City | vs | Hamburger SV |
| Match 10 | Juventu | vs | FC Basel |
| Match 11 | Dinamo Zagreb | vs | Málaga CF |
| Match 12 | Celta Vigo | vs | Sporting CP |
| Match 13 | Internazionale | vs | AS Monaco |
| Match 14 | FC Porto | vs | Everton |
| Match 15 | Hellas Verona | vs | Chelsea |
| Match 16 | Arsenal | vs | Manchester City |
We thank in advance all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful. Thank you and good luck.
WCC – WCS QUALIFIERS 4 RESULTS
WCC – WCS Qualifier 4 has been successfully completed and now we are ready for important part of the tournament. Winners of Qualifier 4 (32 teams) will advance to Club World Cup Round of 32 and Losers of Qualifier 4 (32 teams) will advance to Club World Shield Round of 32. From here on, all the rounds will be double legged knock out format and winners will be decided on aggregate score. In case of a draw, traditional FET rules come in to play.
Below are the 32 teams qualified for World Club Cup (WCC) :
| Atlético Madrid | Manchester United | Chelsea | Dinamo Zagreb |
| Swansea City | Celta Vigo | Olympiacos | São Paulo FC |
| SL Benfica | Hamburger SV | Borussia Dortmund | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Hellas Verona | Málaga CF | Barcelona | AS Monaco |
| SC Internacional | Arsenal | Manchester City | FC Koln |
| Internazionale | RSC Anderlecht | Torino | Valencia CF |
| West Bromwich Albion | FC Basel | Juventus | Sporting CP |
| Everton | West Ham United | FC Porto | Hertha BSC |
Below are the 32 teams qualified for World Club Shield (WCS) :
| FC Augsburg | Genoa CFC | Flamengo | Club Brugge KV |
| RCD Espanyol | Sampdoria | Lille OSC | Stoke City |
| Standard Liège | Crystal Palace | Ajax | Bayern München |
| Liverpool | FC Schalke 04 | Girondins Bordeaux | AC Milan |
| SS Lazio | Southampton | Udinese Calcio | Levante |
| Galatasaray SK | Paris Saint-Germain | Real Madrid | Sunderland |
| Fenerbahçe SK | Aston Villa | Tottenham Hotspur | Leicester City |
| Santos FC | Celtic | Independiente | Riverplate |
We thank all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful so far and we expect the same in future as well. The fixture list and fixture date will be announced in subsequent posts. Thanks and good luck.
Defying the odds
Espanyol arrived back in Spain this morning after another memorable night in Turin, as they beat one of the title favourites Juventus 2-1. The Italian Giants were the second big scalp in 5 games, as Espanyol had previously beaten former Champions Verona.
Espanyol are the lowest ranked side in Division 1 by some margin, however their explosive start to the season sees them joint top scorers with 13 goals across the 5 divisions, though defensively they have let in 10.
"We are under no illusions how difficult it's going to be to finish anywhere better than bottom. We've got the promotion bounce right now, where we are putting away our chances and to have 11 points at this stage is minor miracle. What we lack in ratings we have tried to offset in depth and I really can't be any happier by the surprise start. We've 33 games to try and get another 30 points now to give us a chance of staying up. Division 1 is an unforgiving place, where you can easily go on a losing run of 7-8 games and get pulled into a rut. There is a number of 6 pointers to come this season against teams which are closer to our position. Wins against the likes of Juventus and Verona are bonus points which you don't expect , but they have certainly helped towards a solid start to the season. History has shown that winning 25% of your games in division 1 is not usually enough to keep you up. West Bromley last season took points in nearly 50% of their games but still went down with 42 points. This makes life extremely tough for us and we are not getting carried away with the start. Its take each game as it comes , pray that injuries and suspensions don't de-rail the team and see where we are after 10 games, 20 games , 30 games etc. "
WCC - WCS QUALIFIERS 4
WCC - WCS Qualifier 3 has been successfully completed and now we are ready for next and final round of qualifiers. Just like previous round, this round will also be 1-legged round and winners (32 teams) will advance to World Club Cup Round of 32 and losers (32 teams) will advance to World Club Shield Round of 32. Here are the 14 winners from Qualifier 3 : (Congratulations to winners and commiserations to the losers).
| Ajax | Málaga CF |
| FC Basel | SS Lazio |
| Sampdoria | AS Monaco |
| Club Brugge KV | Torino |
| Girondins Bordeaux | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Crystal Palace | Santos FC |
| Southampton | Olympiacos |
And now we have 50 teams which got bye into the Qualifier 4 and 14 teams from previous 3 rounds which totals to 64 teams. Through random draw, we finalized the fixtures of Qualifier 4 and winners will qualify for World Club Cup and losers will play World Club Shield. This round of games will be played on 21st February. 32 games to be arranged in 1 week. It's a difficult task (but not impossible) and let's try to get it arranged all games. The fixture schedule are :
| Match 1 | FC Augsburg | vs | Atlético Madrid |
| Match 2 | RCD Espanyol | vs | Swansea City |
| Match 3 | Standard Liège | vs | SL Benfica |
| Match 4 | Hellas Verona | vs | Liverpool |
| Match 5 | SS Lazio | vs | SC Internacional |
| Match 6 | Galatasaray SK | vs | Internazionale |
| Match 7 | Fenerbahçe SK | vs | West Bromwich Albion |
| Match 8 | Everton | vs | Santos FC |
| Match 9 | Manchester United | vs | Genoa CFC |
| Match 10 | Celta Vigo | vs | Sampdoria |
| Match 11 | Crystal Palace | vs | Hamburger SV |
| Match 12 | FC Schalke 04 | vs | Málaga CF |
| Match 13 | Arsenal | vs | Southampton |
| Match 14 | RSC Anderlecht | vs | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Match 15 | Aston Villa | vs | FC Basel |
| Match 16 | Celtic | vs | West Ham United |
| Match 17 | Flamengo | vs | Chelsea |
| Match 18 | Olympiacos | vs | Lille OSC |
| Match 19 | Ajax | vs | Borussia Dortmund |
| Match 20 | Girondins Bordeaux | vs | Barcelona |
| Match 21 | Manchester City | vs | Udinese Calcio |
| Match 22 | Real Madrid | vs | Torino |
| Match 23 | Juventus | vs | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Match 24 | FC Porto | vs | Independiente |
| Match 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | vs | Club Brugge KV |
| Match 26 | Stoke City | vs | São Paulo FC |
| Match 27 | Bayer Leverkusen | vs | Bayern München |
| Match 28 | AS Monaco | vs | AC Milan |
| Match 29 | Levante | vs | FC Koln |
| Match 30 | Valencia CF | vs | Sunderland |
| Match 31 | Leicester City | vs | Sporting CP |
| Match 32 | Riverplate | vs | Hertha BSC |
We thank in advance all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful. Thank you and good luck.
WCC - WCS QUALIFIERS 3
WCC - WCS Qualifier 2 has been successfully completed and now we are ready for next round of fixtures. Just like previous round, this round will also be 1-leg knock out game and winners will advance to next round of qualifiers. Here are the winners from Qualifier 2 : (Congratulations to winners and commiserations to the losers)
| Rubin Kazan | AS Roma |
| SS Lazio | Sampdoria |
| Athletic Club | Olympique Marseille |
| Ajax | VfL Wolfsburg |
| Sevilla | Mönchengladbach |
| FC Basel | Olympique Lyonnais |
Here are the teams which got bye into Qualifier 3 :
| Crystal Palace | Santos FC |
| Southampton | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
| Málaga CF | Olympiacos |
| Tottenham Hotspur | AZ Alkmaar |
| Cruzeiro | VfB Stuttgart |
| AS Monaco | Club Brugge KV |
| Torino | Girondins Bordeaux |
| Werder Bremen | CSKA Moskva |
Through random draw, we finalized the fixtures of Qualifier 3 and winners will qualify for next round. This round of games will be played on 14th February. The fixture schedule are :
| Qualifier 3 | |||
| Game 1 | Ajax | vs | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk |
| Game 2 | Rubin Kazan | vs | FC Basel |
| Game 3 | Sampdoria | vs | CSKA Moskva |
| Game 4 | Olympique Marseille | vs | Club Brugge KV |
| Game 5 | Mönchengladbach | vs | Girondins Bordeaux |
| Game 6 | Crystal Palace | vs | AZ Alkmaar |
| Game 7 | Olympique Lyonnais | vs | Southampton |
| Game 8 | Málaga CF | vs | AS Roma |
| Game 9 | Cruzeiro | vs | SS Lazio |
| Game 10 | Athletic Club | vs | AS Monaco |
| Game 11 | Torino | vs | Sevilla |
| Game 12 | Werder Bremen | vs | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Game 13 | Santos FC | vs | VfB Stuttgart |
| Game 14 | Olympiacos | vs | VfL Wolfsburg |
We thank in advance all the participating managers for their kind co-operation and their support in making this tournament successful. Thank you and good luck.
Samp report conspiracy - Admin against Super Samp!
Super Samp manager Beddows' side have started Season 22 like the Japanese bullet train - YET the authorities seem to be against them.,,,
PRIOR to game 1 - 1 player suspended from last season
GAME 1 - Nicolas Jackson sent off for two yellow cards - AWAY to Marsden? Which Samp win 2-1? Coincidence?
GAME 2 - Another red for two yellows - Admin trying to thwart little old Super Samp?
GAME 3 - Straight red for Nmecha - the destroyer of Marsden and two injuries picked up as Sunderland play dirty? Surely too much this?
BEDDOWS: "We will go to the authorities but expect very little - especially as we effectively relegated CSKA Texas and Chris Meida last season - we will fight on but it is clearly a battle that ultimately we will lose!"
Youth Cup Groups
I did the draw live on Facebook, but I can't see a way to download the video to upload here. Sorry. Mind you, it's 30 minutes long, so maybe for the best.
This is how it all turned out. (Colours refer to the pots the teams were in - Pot 1 Orange, Pot 2 yellow, Pot 3 green, Pot 4 blue.)

All fixtures are on Challonge, and as you can see below, if it's easier.
Link to the old UI for arranging fixtures further ahead than the new UI allows.


