Cristiano Ronaldo punishes Portsmouth

Another day, another double. Cristiano Ronaldo repeated Sunday’s fireworks against Tottenham Hotspur with two more splendid strikes against Portsmouth here. Ronaldo now has 27 for the term, and even Sir Alex Ferguson admits that such a rising tally “invites comparisons with George Best”, who became Manchester United’s highest-scoring winger with 32 in the glorious 1967-68 season.

“I don’t want to put pressure on the lad,” wrote Ferguson in the programme about Ronaldo, “except to say that he seems to thrive on expectation and the targets people set him. Considering he is scoring at the rate of almost a goal a game, I certainly won’t be betting against him joining Best in the record books.” Like Best, Ronaldo is doing it in thrilling fashion.

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Liverpool supporters are to launch an ambitious plan to buy the football club from its American owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks. The ‘Share Liverpool FC’ Group will present a plan to organise the buy-out by 100,000 fans later today.

The ‘Share Liverpool FC’ Group hopes to raise £500 million, from the 100,000 fans each paying £5,000 for one share in the club in a ‘Barcelona FC-style’ member share scheme to purchase the club and build a new stadium.

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Please note the following changes to the GOL Live Games Schedule for January 26 – February 1, 2008: 

1.                  An additional Coppa Italia match has been added on Tuesday, January 29 at 3:00 PM. This will be a LIVE event between Roma and Sampdoria.

2.                  An additional Coppa Italia match has been added on Wednesday, January 30 at 11:40 AM. This will be a LIVE event between Fiorentina and Lazio.

3.                  The Coppa Italia match scheduled on Wednesday, January 30 is now confirmed between Juventus and Inter. This match will be LIVE at 3:00 PM. This time slot was previously scheduled as a Copa Del Rey event.

4.                  The Copa Del Rey match scheduled on Wednesday, January 30 is now confirmed between Atl. Madrid and Valencia . This will be a DELAYED event, airing at 5:00 PM. This time slot was previously scheduled as a Coppa Italia event.

5.                  The Copa Del Rey match scheduled on Thursday, January 31 is now confirmed between Ath. Bilbao and Racing. This match will be LIVE at 2:00 PM.

6.                  An additional Coppa Del Rey match has been added on Thursday, January 31 at 4:00 PM. This will be a LIVE event between Barcelona and Villarreal. This time slot was previously scheduled as a Coppa Italia event.

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Spanish language broadcaster ESPN Deportes acquired the US TV rights for the 2010 South American World Cup Qualifying tournament from SCP Worldwide.

Under the agreement, ESPN Deportes will air previews and highlights as well as a total of 70 games - 14 of which will be live. ESPN Deportes will produce, distribute and assist SCP in marketing the property in the US. The deal also features an extensive package of Friendly matches in 2008 and 2009 designed to showcase South American teams.

Lino Garcia, general manager of ESPN Deportes, said: “This deal underscores ESPN Deportes’ commitment to soccer fans in the U.S. The World Cup is the pinnacle of soccer competition and we’re delighted to be able to offer comprehensive coverage of teams from South America as they face off to represent their countries in this magnificent event”.

The following Internet Streaming broadcasts are available to view the African Cup of Nation for you:

• Ghana 2008 TV - The official tournament video site.
• Jump TV - Is partnering with Ghana 2008 TV to deliver the streams.
• TeleSud - Is partnering with Ghana 2008 TV to deliver the streams.

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The 26th edition of the African Cup of Nations will be hosted in Ghana this year, from January 20 through to February 10, 2008. View the African Cup of Nations TV schedule here:

Don’t miss the African Cup of Nations - Ghana 2008. All Matches are availble for you to watch

Watch all the matches live on Ghana2008.TV

GHANA 2008 - GROUP PHASE PASS *LiveSoccerTV.com recommended
Access to all the group phase matches of the ACN 2008. This pass does not give access to the finals phase (quarter, semi, final).The price for the finals phase will be $14.99
Price: $29.99 USD - Start Watching

GHANA 2008 - MATCH PASS *LiveSoccerTV.com recommended
24-hour access to a chosen match of ACN 2008.
Price: $5.99 USD - Start Watching

GHANA 2008 - HIGHLIGHTS PASS * LiveSoccerTV.com recommended
Access to the highlights of all the ACN 2008 matches
Price: $1.99 USD - Start Watching

Expect Ghana to see off competition from Morocco, Guinea and Namibia

Guardian Unlimited - Paul Doyle

Like Hillary Clinton’s mouth in virtually every photo published during all the Primaries palaver, the 26th African Cup of Nations is wide open. The rising standard across the continent means that as many as 10 teams will travel to the tournament with a reasonable chance of claiming the trophy. Ghana, however, are justifiably the slight favourites.

On 11 previous occasions the competition has been won by the home nation, including two of the three times Ghana has hosted it. More than the raucous support, however, the Black Stars’ most valuable asset is a lavishly gifted squad. Their defence is decent and strikers efficient, but their prime marvel is their midfield.

Michael Essien is given more liberty than he finds at Chelsea and as a result is even more dynamic and dominant for his country than his club. The feisty Sulley Muntari and tricky Laryea Kingston will likely raid down the flanks. But formidable as that trio can be, Ghana’s hopes of being crowned champions will depend to a large extent on how they cope with the cruel loss of injured captain Stephen Appiah, a playmaker of rare ingenuity and force. You can never gauge too much from friendlies, but it is nevertheless worrying for the Black Stars that, with Appiah, they demolished the likes of Nigeria and Togo and exuded class in an unlucky 1-0 defeat to Brazil, and then in September, without Appiah, they contrived to lose 5-0 to Saudi Arabia. OK, so it was only two days after a comfortable win over Morocco, but still: 5-0! To Saudi Arabia!

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Ivory Coast start as favourites, but Mali could be the side to exploit their defensive frailties

Guardian Unlimited - Paul Doyle

Poor old Benin. For only the second time in their history the Squirrels scramble into the finals and what happens? They get thrown to the lions - or, to be more precise, to the Elephants and Eagles. They will surely be ravaged. Which isn’t to say Benin are dross, simply that the three other teams are among the most fearsome on the continent, bristling with power and pace and, most of all, some of the planet’s most deadly strikers.

The Ivory Coast’s artillery is particularly awesome. Having scored in a friendly on Sunday to mark his return from injury, Didier Drogba is certain to start, and he could be partnered by any of the following: his Chelsea team-mate Salomon Kalou, Werder Bremen’s Boubacar Sanogo (seven goals in 12 Bundesliga matches this season), Lens speedster Aruna Dindane, wriggly Nice nuisance Bakary Koné or Sevilla’s Arouna Koné. In midfield, Yaya Touré and Didier Zokora offer a sturdy platform, while Lyon’s record signing, Abdelkader Keita, can be expected to forget his glum club form and dazzle down the flanks.

Why can Keita be expected to forget his glum club form? Because that’s what Ivorians do when with their country. With the possible exception of hosts Ghana, no team at the tournament will be more driven than the Ivorians, who are intent on lifting the trophy not merely for sporting reasons but also to help heal their homeland, which for the last decade has been riven by ethnic strife. “The team is incredibly united, it’s like a big family,” says Reading defender Emerse Faé. “We’re all friends, regardless of religion or ethnic group. We’re proud to represent the Ivory Coast and feel we have a responsibility to show the world that it’s not a racist country, and to show our own people the power of togetherness.”

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Egypt, the defending champions, are poor travellers and may well struggle against a physical Cameroon side

Guardian Unlimited - Paul Doyle

Holders Egypt made ridiculously hard work of an elementary qualifying group and, as often, struggled on their travels. Failing to win in Mauritania, Burundi and Botswana does not augur well for their defence of their crown, nor do the injuries to Mido and Mohamed Barakat, both of whom were instrumental in their success two years ago.

Barakat’s absence will be particularly punitive, what with him being one of the mainstays of the side’s midfield. The Pharoahs’ primary playmaker, however, is fit and ready: Barakat’s Al Ahly team-mate, Mohamed Aboutraika, thrives in the hole just behind the useful front pair of Emad Moteab and Mohamed Zidan. Like Ahmed Hassan, the right-winger who’s still sprightly at 32, Aboutraika scores almost as many as he creates, canny running and expert long-range shooting being specialities.

The Pharoahs’ traditional discomfort south of the Sahara should, in theory, be aggravated by the ferocity of their first opponents. Cameroon, Africa’s great grinders, still lust for vengeance after Egypt earned a surprise 1-1 draw in Yaoundé to deprive them of a place at the 2006 World Cup. “We want to try to make it up to our people after missing out on the World Cup and going out in the quarter-finals of the last ACN,” said centre-back André Bikey. But the fact is that Cameroonian football is at its lowest point in a generation and, for once, their fans don’t think The Lions are indomitable.

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Irrepressible Marseille striker Mamadou Niang should shoot Senegal to the quarter-finals at least, but South Africa look set to struggle

Guardian Unlimited - Paul Doyle

Unlike, say, most gatherings of football journalists, this is a well balanced group. Any two teams could progress. Ominously for the hosts of the 2010 World Cup, South Africa look the least likely to do so. The SAFA may have forked out a fortune to hire Carlos Alberto Parreira but so far the Brazilian has done little to suggest he’s about to reverse the Bafana Bafana’s steady downward slide.

South Africa famously won the African Cup of Nations in their first ever appearance at it, in 1996. They were beaten finalists two years later and continued to regress by one step at every subsequent edition, hitting rock bottom in 2006 when they departed after the first round having mustered neither a point nor a goal. They made it to Ghana by dint of being one of three best runners-up during qualifiers, squeezing in behind Zambia. On a recent visit to South Africa, even Sepp Blatter called on the Bafana to “wake up”.

With his focus firmly on the World Cup, Parreira has plumped for a young squad. That’s not the reason he omitted Benni McCarthy, though - failure to resolve a long-running barney between the striker and officialdom is to blame for that. In McCarthy’s absence, responsibility for scoring goals will fall to 32-year-old Sibusiso Zuma, whose decline from promising talent to increasingly ineffective shell has mirrored the Bafana as a whole. South African goals have been scarce and Parreira’s gamble is that one or more of 20-year-old Excellent Walaza, 22-year-old Lerato Chabangu and 23-year-old Thenbinkosi “Terror” Fanteni will, unlike Zuma, fulfil their potential. Walaza is the most likely to start alongside Zuma if the manager opts to deploy two up front, though that’s far from certain, as in the build-up he’s swung from 4-4-2 to 4-5-1.

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