MAJOR UPSET MARKS BUNDESLIGA’S RETURN TO PHL TV

The Bundelisga (German Pro Division One League) made a grand return to Philippine TV via TV5’s AKTV on IBC13 with a big win by the visiting Borussia Monchengladbach over the star-studded and heavily favored FC Bayern Munich, 1-0. What made the coverage doubly interesting was the superb job of Filipino commentator Jason Webb in bringing the play-by-play of the season opening match. Bayern Munich, bolstered by the recent acquisition of big time players in Manuel Neuer and Jerome Boateng, dominated the action almost 70 percent of the match but Monchengladbach did not wasted chances in their very few opportunities, when Igor de Camargo scored on an incredible header in the 62nd minute off two Bayern defenders to shock the jampacked crowd at Allianz Stadium. Bayern tried desperately to save a point by playing more aggressively in the final 30 minutes but to no avail. Bundesliga was televised originally in the early 1980’s by government station PTV-4 and most recently by Solar Sports. But this is the very first time that Filipino commentators took charge in covering the game. Webb was joined by Azkals team captain Aly Borromeo in the local TV panel.

WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE JULY 2011 ISSUE

I finally got my copy of the 114-pages, July 2011 issue of the world’s most prestigious football magazine, WORLD SOCCER through the my sister, who just arrived from a vacation in Hong Kong. The cover of the said issue is Manchester United’s fast rising Mexican striker Javier Hernandez plus other exciting and interesting features on the Latest Summer Transfers, Match Fixing (The Scandals at the Heart of Football), Names to Watch from the Euro Under-21s, Michael Ballack, Club Focus on Brazilian powerhouse Santos and the great team of FC Barcelona in 1992. Must read and can’t miss are regular sections such as The World This Month, Player Biography, Tactics, Face to Face, Club Focus, Talent Scout, Spotlight, Insider, Of the Best, The Great Teams and the ever-popular Dispatches (exclusive reports from worldwide network of correspondents). Sad to say, World Soccer Magazine is no longer available in the Philippines since 2009.

SPAIN STILL NUMBER ONE IN LATEST FIFA RANKINGS

2010 FIFA World Cup champions Spain and runner-ups, the Netherlands, continue to lord it over at number one and two spots, respectively, in the latest rankings released last July 27. Like the two World Cup finalists, Germany is still ranked third while South America powerhouse Brazil moved a notch higher from their previous slot of fifth to rank fourth over-all. From 18th place, Uruguay jumped to fifth place. Rounding up the top ten with their previous ranking in parenthesis are: England (4), Portugal (7), 2006 World Cup winners Italy (6), Croatia (8) and two-time World Cup titlist Argentina (10). The only Asian countries in the top 50 are the co-hosts of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Japan, which dropped from 13th to 16th place and South Korea, which plummeted from 26th to 28 ranked. The Philippine Azkals dropped further to 162 (159). In the top 50 countries, the biggest climbers were Peru, from 49th to 25th place and Venezuela from 69th to 40th spot. With the ongoing World Cup qualifiers, expect more dramatic changes in the world rankings next month.

FOOTBALL TREAT FOR FILIPINO FANS

Filipino football diehards will be in for a huge 2011-12 football season on TV as the fast emerging sports network TV5’s AKTV on IBC 13 will bring in big number of matches from the English Premier League (EPL) and Bundesliga (German Pro League) beginning August 8. This will be in addition to the regular broadcast of EPL matches on ESPN StarSports and the UEFA Champions League on Balls Channel. Kicking off the Bundesliga coverage on AKTV will be the match between popular club Bayern Munich and Borussia Modchengladbach on August 8 at 9 pm. EPL opens on AKTV with the Liverpool vs. Sunderland match on August 14 also at 9 pm. A total of 13 matches will be covered by AKTV for the month of August. Herewith is AKTV on IBC 13’s complete schedule of matches for the month of August, according to Espiya Sports Network:

August 8: 9PM-11PM Bayern Munich vs Borussia Modchengladbach

August 14: 9PM-11PM Liverpool vs Sunderland

August 15: 8PM-10PM VfB Stuttgart vs FC Schalke 04

August 16: 8PM-10 PM Newcastle United vs Arsenal

August 17: 7PM-9PM Wolfsburg vs FC Bayern Munich

August 21: 9Pm-11PM Arsenal vs Liverpool

August 22: 8PM-10PM Borussia Modchengladbach vs VfB Stuttgart

August 23: 8PM-10PM Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur

August 24: 7PM-9PM FC Bayern Munich vs Hamburger SV

August 28: 9PM-11PM Chelsea vs Norwich City

August 29 6PM-8PM Kaiserslautern vs FC Bayern Munich

August 30: 6PM-8PM Bayer 04 Leverkeusen vs Borussia Dortmund

(same day) 8PM-10PM Manchester United vs Arsenal