Messi Magic Mesmerises Fans, Argentina Beat Venezuela 1-0/sportztouch

Kolkata, Sep 2: Lionel Messi weaved his magic though without scoring as he played full 90 minutes to enthrall the football-crazy fans in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Venezuela in a FIFA international friendly at Yuba Bharati Krirangan here today.
The 120,000 capacity stadium did not see a packed house, a common sight during the local Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal derby but it had enough Messi elements for a real treat for the nearly 75,000 spectators at the venue and many more on television across the country and abroad.
Messi sparkled throughout the match, though Venezuela kept the Argentines under pressure.
It was in the second half, a 67th minute goal by Nicolas Otamendi from a Messi corner that sealed the issue for the Argentines.
The Argentine approach was more restrained in the first half as new coach Alejandro Sabella, in his maiden appearance at the helm of affairs for the Albicelestes, gave more stress on the ball possession and passing.
They dominated the midfield, with some magical Messi footwork but failed to translate into goals as the final pass or the shot was lacking.But the spectators had a lifetime of a treat with some real Messi moments.
Early into the start, the spectators were left mesmerized by a clever Messi footwork off a foul at the top of the box but the FC Barcelona talisman could only found the wall from his powerful left-footer in the fourth minute. 
Five minutes later, Argentina got the first real chance but the Real Madrid medio Agnel D’Maria nearly put it in the goal before an alert Venezuela defender averted the danger. It also had the Messi element in it as the little genius nearly had it through Di Maria but only in vain.
There were some real Venezuela sparks as well but their inexperience showed with some wasted efforts.
In the 16th minute, Jose Salomon Rondon wasted a golden chance inside the box as he failed to connect a fine pass from the wide without even testing Argentina goalkeeper Romer.
In the 34th minute, Venezuela had a real possibility as Feltscher nearly put them up with a solo effort from the right side of the box.
Messi’s second real chance came in the 29th minute, in fact it was a better one. It was a grounder that went straight to the goalkeeper.
Messi kept squatted, regretting what went wrong. But the spectators knew there is more to come as cheers of ‘Messi...  Messi...” reverberated in the stands.
A little earlier, Messi stole the ball from Amorebieta in the box before a little dash towards the middle, but his low shot was stopped calmly by Romo.
Messi played for the full 90 minutes to enthrall the crowd though the football-crazy spectators could not see a goal from the world’s current best footballer.
The teams:
Argentina: Sergio Romero, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Luis Gonzalez (Jose Sosa, 69th), Javier Mascherano, Ricardo Alvarez (Javier Pastore, 61st), Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain (Sergio Aguero 73rd), Angel Di Maria.
Venezuela: Rafael Romo, Fernando Amorebieta (Andres Tunez 85th), Roborto Rosales, Oswaldo Vizcarrondo, Gabriel Chicero, Cesar Gonzalez, Tomas Rincon, Angel Flores, Frank Feltscher (Yohandry Orozco, 70th), Nicolas Fedor, Jose Salomon Rondon. PTI

Rooney leads England romp as Bulgaria routed sports world

Sofia, Sept 3: A resurgent WayneRooney scored twice as new-look England edged closer to Euro 2012 qualificationwith a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Bulgaria on Friday. Rooney, building on his scintillating early seasonform for Manchester United, struck in the 21st and 45th minutes after Englandhad taken the lead through Bolton defender Gary Cahill at the Vasil LevskiStadium. The victory leaves Fabio Capello's men firmly incontrol at the top of Group G, with only next Tuesday's game against Wales atWembley and a trip to second-placed Montenegro next month remaining. But the defeat spelt the end of Bulgaria's slenderchances of qualification and piles the pressure on German coach LotharMatthaus, whose reign has been marred by reports of player mutinies. England captain John Terry told Sky Sports:"It was a really good night. "We were hoping for a good start andcertainly got that.
"Some of the football we played was the bestfor a long time. We're very pleased with that." Bulgaria, who had been beaten 4-0 by England inthe corresponding fixture at Wembley last year, proved every bit as toothlessas their home record -- zero goals in two previous matches -- suggested. Capello had sprung a surprise in his startingline-up, omitting Frank Lampard for the first time in four years after choosingto partner Scott Parker and Gareth Barry in central midfield ahead of the backfour. England's 4-2-3-1 formation, with Liverpool'sStewart Downing and Arsenal's Theo Walcott either side of Ashley Young behindRooney, proved too much for Bulgaria who were soon buckling under the superiormovement of the visitors. After a scrappy opening, England took the lead on13 minutes through Cahill, preferred at centre-half by Capello despite strongclaims to a debut cap for Manchester United's promising teenager Phil Jones. A corner from Young was cleared only as far asBarry, whose pass picked out Cahill in space leaving the defender free to pokehome beyond advancing Bulgaria goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov. After 21 minutes the match was effectively settledas a contest when Rooney punished abysmal marking by the Bulgarian defence tohead home a Downing corner for his 27th international goal. A dismal night for Bulgaria got even worse midwaythrough the half, when sections of the home support subjected England debutantChris Smalling to racist chants as the Manchester United defender receivedtreatment for an injury. It was the first salvo of repeated racist abuse ofEngland players by a small pocket of the home crowd, raising the prospect ofpossible disciplinary action from European football's governing body UEFA. England produced the best possible riposte on thestroke of half-time however when Rooney grabbed his second of the night to makeit 3-0. Parker broke up a Bulgarian attack with a braveheaded block, and the ball fell to Walcott who went on a surging run upfieldbefore releasing Young on the edge of the area. Young then picked out Rooney at the far post forthe simplest of tap-ins to leave England in control, with Bulgaria reduced to acouple of long-range potshots from Bolton's Martin Petrov which failed totrouble Joe Hart. England were equally comfortable after the break,and Downing hit the woodwork on 55 minutes with a header across the face ofgoal after a cross from Walcott.