<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0">
	<channel>
		<title>ESPNFC.com - espnfcunited</title>
		<link>http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited</link>
		<description>ESPNFC.com presents espnfcunited</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright><![CDATA[Copyright &copy; ESPN Internet Ventures]]></copyright>
		<image>
			<url>http://a.espncdn.com/prod/assets/espnfc/fc-euro-2012-black-noball.png</url>
			<width>110</width>
			<height>110</height>
		</image>		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Waiting for good news on tension-filled final day]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 17 May 2013 20:31:02 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Miguel Delaney]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5777]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Andre Villas-Boas says he'll know from the noise of the crowd; Arsene Wenger from the reaction of his staff.  Both managers, however, claim that they'll be completely concentrating on what their own teams are doing rather than listening for the score at the other end of the country. They at least know what they have to do. Arsenal must win at Newcastle to make sure of a Champions League place while Tottenham Hotspur must beat Sunderland to fully exploit any error, with neither side able to let any external information affect them.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5777]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Atletico's joy in Real's back yard]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 17 May 2013 17:04:37 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Dermot Ledwith]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5771]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[MADRID -- To be an Atletico Madrid fan has to be one of the most difficult tasks for a football supporter. It's a big club with huge support and a proud and famous history to enjoy, but they've suffered mightily in recent years at the hands of their richer and better connected neighbours up the road.  It has been 17 years since Atletico last celebrated a Copa del Rey win; though they were the team to support in 1996 as they completed the double, they've since been completely overshadowed by a moneyed Real Madrid.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5771]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[For once, Brazil has strength in defense]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Fri, 17 May 2013 01:00:51 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Fernando Duarte]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5748]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[In the past few weeks, pundits have debated if the three of them can play together and how to combine their qualities for the good of the Selecao. But none of these jigsaw pieces was called Neymar or Lucas Moura.  Instead, one of the hot topics involves the best way to deploy star center backs Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Dante in the same team. The dilemma represents a golden moment for Brazilian defenders, unfairly maligned for years as the reason for Brazil's disappointments.  The Silva-Luiz-Dante trio is far from an isolated case, either.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5748]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Fear of derby despair driving Atletico in Copa final]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 16 May 2013 18:43:18 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Graham Hunter]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5754]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[ It has been about a century, perhaps two, since Atletico beat Real Madrid; the Copa del Rey final is in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium; and the bookmakers don't give a fig for Los Colchoneros' chances of victory Friday evening -- but it was Jose Mourinho, not Diego Simeone, who hid from the media Thursday in the Spanish capital.  And if, against the odds, Los Rojiblancos were to win the Cup final on "enemy territory," just as they famously did back in 1992, it would leave Simeone with as many trophies -- three -- in 17 months as the once "Special One" did with three years, and hundreds of millions of extra expenditure, at Madrid.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5754]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[David Beckham: A national treasure on and off the field]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Thu, 16 May 2013 09:39:41 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Kevin Palmer]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5728]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[When I was first afforded the chance to interview a 21-year-old David Beckham back in 1996, the superstar who would later emerge was still lurking inside a boyish figure who was excited at the prospect of playing in his first FA Cup final.  My role writing the official programme for Manchester United's Wembley showpiece with Liverpool presented me with a chance to conduct one of the first major interviews Beckham had granted, and his nervousness was evident as he offered me his hand ahead of our chat.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5728]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Cruel, cruel game - what now for Benfica?]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 May 2013 15:39:33 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Tom Kundert]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5714]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Forget Guttmann's curse. When Benfica fans wipe away their tears they will no doubt reflect on the curse of the 92nd minute. On Saturday the Eagles all but lost the Portuguese championship they had looked set to win for months, when FC Porto's Kelvin scored in the second minute of injury time. On Wednesday night, in the Europa League final against Chelsea, after displaying plenty of typically stylish football and outplaying the pre-match favourites for large sections of the game, Branislav Ivanovic's header dictated another brutally cruel 2-1 defeat.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5714]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Rafa's controlled style the key to Europa triumph]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 May 2013 14:35:02 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Miguel Delaney]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5700]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[On one side, deep trauma. On the other, a triumphant sense of vindication.  Those emotions will feel even further apart because this Europa League final came so close to going in the opposite direction. But even so, there was a sense of inevitability to Chelsea's 2-1 win over Benfica on Wednesday.  The Stamford Bridge side kept up their remarkable record in finals, while interim manager Rafa Benitez underlined his overachievement in European ties. To add an emotional resonance to the result, as well as the sense that it could have been scripted, Branislav Ivanovic went a long way toward making up for missing last year's Champions League final by scoring the luscious last-minute winner.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5700]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Brazil's squad better suited for 2018, not 2014]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 May 2013 09:14:26 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Paulo Vinicius Coelho]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5695]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Host country Brazil has taken a surprisingly youthful approach to its 23-man squad for June's Confederations Cup.  For a start, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari didn't call upon Kaka or Ronaldinho, former FIFA Players of the Year, leaving 21-year-old star Neymar without any veteran guidance in attack.   In doing so, Scolari amplified the talent gap between Kaka and Neymar's footballing generations. Sought by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, it's clear at Neymar is Brazil's most important player right now.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5695]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Playoffs, not goal difference, should be the answer]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Wed, 15 May 2013 05:56:25 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Gabriele Marcotti]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5684]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[The bookmakers give it less than a 1 percent chance -- 0.96 percent, to be precise, if my math is correct -- and so it's extremely unlikely that we'll see Chelsea and Everton draw 0-0 and Arsenal win 2-1 at Newcastle.  But if it does come to pass, the Premier League has confirmed that third place in the league will be decided by a playoff (most likely one game at a neutral venue) that will somehow be squeezed into the calendar. (And that won't be easy since Chelsea are scheduled to fly to the United States on Sunday night to play two friendlies against Manchester City on May 23 and May 25).]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5684]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Silver lining within Benitez's grasp]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 14 May 2013 13:02:36 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[John Brewin]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5670]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[When Rafael Benitez grasped the most poisonous nettle he possibly could, his insistence that he only wanted to coach a club that might win trophies met with bemusement. Why did he feel so entitled? Why this club? Why take a job in which the occupational hazard is abuse in his own workplace? Trophies were the given reason, and he's still sticking to it.  Perhaps it is his pronunciation of the word itself: "Trough-ease." He almost spits the world out. "It is always important for me to win trophies and do well," he says on the eve of his fourth European final as a manager.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5670]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Jesus looks to resurrect Benfica in Europa final]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Tue, 14 May 2013 03:55:04 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Tom Kundert]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5660]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Moments after FC Porto's last-gasp winner had hit the net on Saturday night to all but snatch the Portuguese championship from Benfica's grasp, TV replays showed Aguias coach Jorge Jesus' reaction: an immediate, spontaneous and dramatic fall to his knees with head bowed. It was an iconic image that could come to symbolise Benfica's season. Or will it?  Conventional wisdom suggests Benfica, who were previously unbeaten in the Liga and had led the way for months, would be floored by seeing a season's work unravel in extraordinary fashion in the last instants of a match that constituted their last difficult obstacle to lifting the title.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5660]]></guid>
		</item>
		<item>
			<title><![CDATA[Emirates set for gung ho showdown]]></title>
			<pubDate><![CDATA[Mon, 13 May 2013 23:29:49 PDT]]></pubDate>
			<author><![CDATA[Miguel Delaney]]></author>
			<link><![CDATA[http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/5657]]></link>
			<description><![CDATA[Arsene Wenger, rather curiously, can't remember ever relegating another Premier League side. Then again, should the worst happen to Wigan Athletic at the Emirates on Tuesday, the Arsenal manager won't necessarily feel like the executioner.  "You look at you and they look at themselves," Wenger said on the eve of the game. "We do not send them down if we beat them -- it is the whole season that sends you down."  In other words, it isn't the inches of the single night that it comes down to, but the long yards of the last few months.]]></description>
			<guid isPermalink="false"><![CDATA[5657]]></guid>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>