Presidential D-day
* Hosts Australia ended the UAE's fairytale run by winning 2-0 in their Asian Cup semifinal in Newcastle, NSW. Trent Sainsbsury and Jason Davidson sent the Socceroos into a mouth-watering final against South Korea on Saturday in Sydney.
* Today is deadline day in the FIFA Presidential application process. Candidates must have the support of five national associations and have been active in the game for the past two years. The applicants so far are:
- Sepp Blatter
- Jerome Champagne
- Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein
- David Ginola
- Michael Van Praag
- Luis Figo
* Barcelona reached the semi-final of the Copa del Rey defeating Atletico Madrid 3-2 away last night, winning 4-2 on aggregate. The most astonishing moment of a dramatic night was when Atletico's Turkish midfielder Arda Turan threw his boot at the linesman and was shown only a yellow card, one of a dozen (and two reds) handed out at the Manzares.
* Tottenham will play Chelsea in England's League Cup Final on the 1st of March after overcoming Sheffield United 3-2 on aggregate last night. Chelsea beat Liverpool 1-0 the night before.
This all-London cup final should be a fiery affair. The two are old, if not bitter foes of course. Here's Spurs taking on the Blues 85 years ago.
* FIFA have all but confirmed the Qatar World Cup will not take place in the summer. General Secretary Jerome Valcke told French radio the choice was now between the start and end of 2022
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile