Wimbledon Finals : Its R Fed Vs A Rod!

Andy Roddick has more than one thing to settle with the 14 time Grand Slam Champion. Federer has dismantled the American No.1 countless number of times. Federer holds a head-head record of 18-2 against Roddick. Will all these play a role in the Wimbledon Finals? Well We are not sure

Federer has won the past two matches against Roddick in Grand Slams- The AO 09 and US OPEN 07 and has already defeated him in two previous Wimbledon Finals at 04 and 05. Still Roddick is one of the most feared force in the world of Tennis.

Roddick's game depends heavily on his huge first serve. Players like Nadal and Federer are too good to guess the direction and speed of Roddick's serve so its never really a competition. Thats why Roger has this amazing record against Roddick.

What Roddick has to do is elevate his game to a high where Federer will find it new and difficult. These two old horses have met each other so many times that they know what the other will do. Although Federer is too good to be at any Situation its just a all or nothing game for Roddick. He has nothing to lose but Federer does have something. Roddick have to make use of that Scenario.

He will have support from the Crowd- The Murray and Rafa supporters will e cheering for him. If he mounts on a little pressure and puts Federer trailing who knows what will happen?

Still The chances are very slim for Federer losing. If Federer losses today we can openly announce that A Rod has arrived! Countless number of Americans are praying for a Miracle but The Swiss Genius is too good for any prayer! Lets see What happens! Read more!

Womens Finals : Its Venus vs Serena yet again!

Women's Semi Finals had two very contrasting games the one where the two time defending champion Venus Williams cruised past Russia's Dinara Safina 6-1 6-0 without any kind of resistance showed by the world no.1.

The next one was a treat to watch the younger William sister faced of Russian No.2 Elena Dementieva. Elena who has been in the bettter of touches was looking to make it to her first Wimbledon Finals.

Serena reached her fifth final with a 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 8-6 win over Elena Dementieva where she saved a match point in the longest women's semi-final in the tournament's history.

Dementieva had a match point seeing Williams approaching the net, the Russian went cross-court, rather than down the line, and the American gleefully accepted her opportunity with a simple saving backhand.

"That's my only regret. I should have taken more of a risk by going down the line," said the 27-year-old Dementieva.

Venus, who beat Serena in the 2008 final, will be playing in her eighth Wimbledon title match.

"It's my eighth final here and it's a dream to be able to have the opportunity to hold the trophy again" said Venus.

The Williams sisters have 17 majors between them.

"Venus is just too good on grass," admitted Safina who will remain the world number one regardless of the outcome of Saturday's final.

Sorry Elena!

With Williams approaching the net, the Russian went cross-court, rather than down the line, and the American gleefully accepted her opportunity with a simple saving backhand.

"That's my only regret. I should have taken more of a risk by going down the line," said the 27-year-old Dementieva.

Dementieva defied predictions of a one-sided encounter by breaking the American in the first game although Williams hit straight back.

The Russian bravely fought off three break points in the eighth game before going on to dominate the tie-break despite a nervous double fault on the first of three set points.

Williams, stung by the Russian's all-out assault, broke straightaway in the second set and was quickly 2-0 ahead. But Dementieva refused to yield and broke back to love in the sixth game for 3-3.

Williams, bidding to reach a fifth Wimbledon final, fought off two break points in the eighth game, but nipped ahead on a break to 6-5 when the American successfully challenged a ball which had been called good by the linesman.

Dementieva wasted four break points in the 12th game and was made to pay when Williams sent down a 12th ace to level the contest.

The Russian blonde broke a weary-looking Williams to lead 3-1 in the decider, but handed the advantage straight back with a tense service game.

Williams, with the experience of having won 10 Grand Slam titles in her career, saved a match point in the 10th game with a backhand volley.

The 2002 and 2003 champion capitalised on her escape by breaking to lead 7-6 and took the match when Dementieva pushed a return wide.

Read more!

Roger, Murray and other top seeds off to fourth round at SW 19

A easy first ween at the all England Club will mean that Roger Federer has the opportunity to break Pete Sampras's record f 15 Grand Slams. Roger began his first match in the center court in the absence of the Top seed Rafael Nadal.

He walked up in a military attire after all thats what Wimbledon for Federer is all about. He cruised past the fist two matches in straight sets then in the third round he had to struggle a bit against German's Philip Kohlschribber winning it in four sets.

Roger is looking for his 6th Wimbledon title and the only thing that is supposed to stand in his way is Britain's very own Andy Murray. Murray now the second seed too got through his fourth round with ease.

Roger faces Soderling !

Now a interesting fourth round game for Roger, against the man who he won his French open crown, Yup thats right Robin Soderling. Now Soderling said "No one can defeat me 11 times in a row" Well..We certainly hope that becomes true but its Roger Federer my god! It would be a big upset if Roger fails to go the quarter Finals.

Other top seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick too got to their respective fourth round games. The upsets were Juan Martin Del potro, semi finalist at RG , Fernando Gonzalez and Nikolay Davydenko.

In the women's draw two time defending champion and tournament favourite Venus Williams and her sister Serena, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina too progressed for their respective fourth round games while Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic did not. Read more!

Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon

Nadal should have made the toughest decision of his life. Pulling out of the most prestigious even of the world. So the Men's draw will not have a defending Champion this year.

Nadal withdrew from the grass-court Grand Slam tournament Friday, three days before it begins, becoming only the second men’s champion in 35 years to decline to defend his Wimbledon title.

He announced his withdrawal about 2 1/2 hours after losing to 18th-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka in an exhibition match on grass at Hurlingham Club in south London. He earlier lost to Lleyton Hewitt.

“When I start a tournament like Wimbledon, it is to try to win,” the No. 1-ranked Nadal said, “and my feeling right now is I’m not ready to play to win.”

Aside from the physical issues, Nadal spoke Friday about the mental toll the injury has taken. This is, after all, a player whose rise to the upper echelon of tennis was built in part on his ability to race around a court and track down shots.

“One of the big problems is, when I am playing, I’m thinking more about the knees than about the game. So that’s very difficult to play well like this, no?” the six-time major champion said.

By pulling out after Friday morning’s draw, Nadal forced organizers to shuffle the men’s bracket. No. 5-seeded Juan Martin del Potro was moved from a potential semifinal against No. 2 Federer on the bottom half of the field into Nadal’s old spot in the top half. And No. 17 James Blake switched from the top half to the bottom half in del Potro’s old spot—and a possible semifinal against Federer.

It also means that No. 6 Andy Roddick, a two-time Wimbledon runner-up, now could face del Potro—rather than Nadal—in the quarterfinals. The other potential men’s quarterfinals are Federer vs. No. 7 Fernando Verdasco; No. 3 Andy Murray vs. No. 7 Gilles Simon; and Blake vs. No. 4 Novak Djokovic.

Now the door is even wider for Roger to get his 15th Grandslam and possible become the new world no.1! Read more!

Recap- Federer wins Roland Garros !!

Hey Friends, Im really sorry that I couldn't update about the events which took place for the past 2 months or so due to my personal reasons... So a Quick Update on what has happened.

Tennis:

Yeah Yeah Yeah! Federer has done it at last! 3 Finals and 3 humiliating defeats on the hads of his Nemesis Nadal!. He defeated Robin Soderling 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 to make a mark in history!

The tennis gods brewed up a storm around Roland Garros on Sunday afternoon as they prepared to welcome a new member into their midst. Roger Federer repelled the rain, thunder, and a certain Robin Soderling to take his rightful place among the immortals of the game.

He went past Soderling 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 to make a mark in history!

In the women's draw Svetlana Kuznetsova of russia defeated her compatriot Dinara Safina, the world No.1 to grab her second grand slam. And the world No.1 Still remains without a Grandslam!

The Men's doubles was won by Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy and A. Medina Garrigues
Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain won their second consecutive Doubles title while Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan won the mixed doubles crown!

French open began with nothing to speak about. Everyone was so sure about the Men's draw. Nadal was clearly everyone's favorite even Federer's!.

Would you have expected Rafa Nadal to exit Roland Garros on the 4th round? No ! But it happened! Robin Soderling of Sweden shocked the whole world by defeating the 4-Time defendind champion Rafa in 4 sets. The same day 4th seeded Novak Djokovic went out of the tournament. The next day Federer faced his 4th round opponent Tommy Hass and things got worse! Haas took the first two sets. Federer was in backfoot then suddenly things got back to the way it was supposed to be. Federer won in 5 sets. Then Murray lost in his Quarter Finals but Fed defeated Gael Monfils easily.

In the other side of the draw The Giant Killer Robin Soderling was on fire! He was dismissing everything thrown at him. Roger Federer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez progressed to the semi-finals!

The day of Semi Finals saw one of the best Matches of all time. Robin Soderling VS Fernando Gonzalez. It was really heroic by Soderling as he just edged Gonzalez 6-3 7-5 5-7, 4-6 6-4. And at last he showed some emotions! Federer had a tough time with Del Potro. It was once again a five setter. He held on to win 3-6 7-6(2) 2-6 6-1 6-4

Its Sunday, June 7, 2009 it could see a great history or one of the greatest upsets! Federer VS Soderling, the man who defeated his greatness Rafa Nadal!

The tennis gods brewed up a storm around Roland Garros on Sunday afternoon as they prepared to welcome a new member into their midst. Roger Federer repelled the rain, thunder, and a certain Robin Soderling to take his rightful place among the immortals of the game.

He went past Soderling 6-1 7-6(1) 6-4 to make a mark in history!

Soderling said in the presentation ceremony " Roger, you taught me how to play tennis" and that shows a character! We look forward to see you Soderling! Read more!

Captain Tsubasa - Sport Anime

Our Xtra Sport Special Editor Amrit Mishra publishes yet another Anime Series

Captain Tsubasa is a popular long running Japanese manga, anime, and video game series, originally created by Yoichi Takahashi in 1981. The series mainly revolves around the sport of Football (soccer).

The story focuses on the adventures of a Japanese youth football team and its football captain Tsubasa Ozora ,whose name literally translates to "Big Sky Wings". The series is characterized by dynamic football moves, often stylish and implausible.

The plot focuses on Tsubasa's relationship with his friends, rivalry with his opponents, training, competition, and the action and outcome of each football match. All of the versions of the Captain Tsubasa anime series has been broadcast by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across its original network in Japan and later across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions. It has also been broadcast across several other regions over the world, including South America, Europe and the Middle East. The success of the series also spurred several Nintendo Super Famicom video game adaptations. Enoki Films holds the United States license to Captain Tsubasa, under the title Flash Kicker. U can watch Animax if u have satellite connections like Tata Sky, Airtel, etc Storyline [edit] Captain Tsubasa Tsubasa Ozora is a young Japanese Elementary school student who is deeply in love with football and dreams of one day winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan. He lives together with his mother in Japan, while his father is a seafaring captain who travels around the world. Tsubasa Ozora is known as the Soccer no Moshigo which translates as "heaven-sent child of soccer". When he was only barely a year old, he was almost run over by a rushing bus while playing with a football (soccer ball). However, Tsubasa had held the ball in front of him which served as a cushion for most of the impact. The force of the bump blew him away, but he was able to right himself over again with the ball. Hence, Tsubasa Ozora's motto of

"The ball is my friend". Ever since he was little, he always went out with a football. His mother now having concluded that he was indeed born only to play football. At a very young age, Tsubasa Ozora already has amazing speed, stamina, dribbling skills and shotpower, astounding anyone who sees him play. At the beginning of the story, both of them move to the city of Nankatsu, a town well-known for their talented high school football teams, and where Tsubasa meets Ryou Ishizaki, a football-loving young student who often sneaks out from his mother's public bathrooms and chores in order to play football, Sanae (also known as Anego), a young enthusiastic girl who also loves football and helps cheer the Nankatsu High team on, and Genzo Wakabayashi, a highly talented young goalkeeper whom he soon challenges to a game in Nankatsu's annual Sports Festival. He also meets Roberto Hongo, one of the best Brazilian football players, who is a friend of Tsubasa's father, and who arrives in Japan and starts living with Tsubasa and his mother. Roberto becomes a mentor to Tsubasa and helps him to harness his football skills, convincing him to join Nankatsu Elementary and its fledgling high school football team, which Roberto coaches later as he passes his techniques onto Tsubasa. Tsubasa also meets Taro Misaki, who has travelled around Japan due to his father's job and soon joins Nankatsu, and the two become the best of friends in both the pitch and real life, forming a partnership soon to be renowned as the "Golden Duo" or "dynamic duo" of Nankatsu. Soon Tsubasa and his Nankatsu team start taking on the best of high school football, meeting such talented players as Kojiro Hyuga, Ken Wakashimazu, Jun Misugi, Hikaru Matsuyama, and many others. His Nankatsu squad wins numerous youth national championships, and wins the U-16 World Championships for Japan, before leaving the country to play in Brazil. [edit] Captain Tsubasa World Youth Tsubasa leaves Japan for Brazil, and starts playing, with his mentor Roberto as the manager, for São Paulo[2] (F.C. Brancos in the anime[3]) , in Brazil's premier professional league, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, winning the final against Flamengo (F.C. Domingos in the anime), 4-3. While in Brazil, Tsubasa gets to meet several talented Brazilian players, such as his teammate and roommate Pepe, who comes from humble backgrounds to become one of the primary playmakers in the squad along with Tsubasa, and Flamengo playmaker Carlos Santana, a prodigious talent. Enthusiastic football-loving youngster Shingo Aoi, whom Tsubasa once played against while in the high school national championships, leaves Japan to play football in Italy, where he hopes to play for a major Italian professional team. After arriving in Italy, however, Shingo gets tricked by a man who gives him fraudulent promises of getting him selected for an Italian team, but after Shingo is taken to a badly-furnished field, the man runs away, stealing all his money in the process. Shingo realizes that he is swindled, and tries hard to get his money back, doing such jobs as shoeshining, and his enthusiastic attitude catches the eye of one of the coaches of one of the local teams, Inter Milan, who sign him to play for their squad as an attacking midfielder. The Japan's youth side plays the first phase of AFC Youth Championship without Taro Misaki, Makoto Soda, Jito, Nitta, the Tachibana brothers and Kojiro Hyuga. After Tsubasa, Wakabayashi and Shingo join the team, it defeats Thailand 5-4 after being 4-1 down at one stage. In the second phase Japan beats Uzbekistan 8-1, China 6-3 and Saudi Arabia 4-1. In the semifinals Japan beats Iraq 3-0. The Japanese win the Asia Youth title beating South Korea 2-0 and qualifying for the FIFA World Youth Championship. In the first phase Japan defeats Mexico 2-1, Uruguay 6-5 and Italy 4-0. In the quarterfinals, they beat Sweden 1-0 and Netherlands 1-0 in the semifinal.


The Japanese win in the "Great Final" the World Youth Championship, defeating Brazil 3-2 after extra time with Tsubasa scoring a hat-trick and the golden goal despite the fact that Brazil used a new player at the extra time called Natureza, who became the second person to score a goal on Wakabayashi from outside the goal area. Tsubasa moves from São Paulo to FC Barcelona[4](FC Catalunya in the anime) , in the Spanish La Liga, after the end of the FIFA World Youth Championship final, taking his childhood friend and now wife, Sanae. He asked her out before moving to Brazil, and the couple maintained a long-distance relationship before he proposed to her after the World Youth Championship. [edit] Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002 While Tsubasa moves from São Paulo (Brancos in the anime) to FC Barcelona[5](FC Catalunya in the anime) , Kojiro Hyuga is bought by Juventus (F.C. Piemonte in the anime). Tsubasa plays very well in training, displaying all his skills, but the Dutch coach Van Saal (Edward in the anime) demotes him to FC Barcelona B,[5] the reserve team that plays in the second division, because Tsubasa and Rivaul (inspired by Rivaldo) cannot play together.[6] Meanwhile, Kojiro Hyuga plays for his first game for F.C. Juventus (F.C. Piemonte in the anime) against Parma in the Italian Serie A, but does not score because of his physical imbalance. Juventus coach Carlo Monetti replaces him with David Trezeguet (David Tresaga in the anime), who scores the winning goal as Juventus beat Parma 1-0. In Germany, Genzo Wakabayashi and his Bundesliga team, Hamburger SV (Grunwald / Gurenbald in the anime version), play against Bayern Munich (Routburg in the anime version), led by Karl Heinz Schneider. Wakabayashi makes several saves but he makes two mistakes, allowing Bayern to win 2-1. In Spain the liga championship begins and the match between Barcelona (led by Rivaul) and Valencia (San Jose in the anime) (who have just bought Tsubasa's old rival Carlos Santana) ends 2-2. Tsubasa watches the match from the tribune (in the anime version Tsubasa plays as a substitute the match and scores a goal). In the 2nd stage of the Japanese J. League, Júbilo Iwata, led by Misaki, Gon Nakayama (inspired to real player Masashi Nakayama), Ishizaki and Urabe, defeats the Urawa Red Diamonds led by Igawa and Sawada 2-1. In others J.League matches, F.C. Tokyo led by Misugi draws 1-1 with Consadole Sapporo led by Matsuyama. [7] In Italy Hyuga and Aoi are bought respectively by Reggiana and Albese. In Spain, Tsubasa plays three matches with FC Barcelona B and he records 12 goals and 11 assists in three matches. Tsubasa is inserted in the Barcelona lineup because of an injury to his rival Rivaul and the disastrous results of the Barça (one point in four matches), and plays the Súper Clásico against Real Madrid, who have just bought his old rival Natureza. Tsubasa ends the match with three goals and three assists and Barcelona wins 6-5. [edit] Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002 - Go For 2006 This is the epilogue of Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002. It is composed by 5 chapters. This manga follows Kojiro Hyuga and Shingo Aoi in Italy. In this manga Kojiro Hyuga plays in AC Reggiana while Shingo Aoi plays in Albese. Kojiro Hyuga makes a hard training and he makes his debut scoring a hat-trick. [8] [edit] Captain Tsubasa Golden 23 While Tsubasa plays for Barcelona against Real Valladolid, recording a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win, the 23 players of Japan's U-22 national team ("The Golden 23") are convoked to play two friendly matches against Denmark and Nigeria. Two futsal players, Kazami and Furukawa, join the national team and display great skills, scoring two goals in a training match. Meanwhile, the Japan U-20 side led by Takeshi Sawada win the AFC Youth Championship, defeating South Korea 6-5 on penalty kicks in the final. In Brazil, Minato Gamo, the former coach of the U-20 national team, tries unsuccessfully to convince Soga, a Japanese player who plays in Vasco da Gama, to join the national team. Tsubasa's wife Sanae informs him that she is pregnant. In Japan the match with Denmark begins. At the end of the match Japan-Denmark Japan defeats Denmark 4-2 (scorers: Misaki (J), Haas (D), Nitta (J), Nitta (J), Matsuyama (J), Haas (D)). In Germany Hamburger SV plays a Bundesliga match and Genzo Wakabayashi isn't in the line up because of the bad relationship with the coach Zeeman. In January probably Hamburg will sell him to another team. A lot of teams want buy Wakabayashi such us ACF Fiorentina, A.S. Roma, Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Minato Gamo meanwhile wants to convince Igawa, a player who can play in all the roles (Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, Forward), to join the national team. In Spain FC Barcelona plays a liga match against Real Betis and Tsubasa scores two goals and makes an assist for Rikaar. In Japan Genzo Wakabayashi joins the national team. The match Japan-Nigeria begins and Nigeria plays very well. It has two champions Ochado (that plays in Paris SG) and Bobang (that plays with Shingo Aoi in Albese). After some minutes from the beginning of the match Nigeria has the first great opportunity to score the first goal in the match with a penalty kick but the Japanese goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi saves in corner kick. Wakabayashi saves another shot and makes an assist for Ken Wakashimazu who scores a goal with a overhead kick. However Nigeria scores two goals with Bobang and Ochado. Nigeria at the end of the first half is winning 2-1. Meanwhile Minato Gamo convinces Gakuto Igawa to join the national team. The second half begins, the Japan attacks and during the injury time Misaki scores the equalizing goal. The match ends 2-2. In Spain Barcelona wins 3-2 the match against Valencia led by Carlos Santana In Japan,the match Japan-Paraguay begins, at the end Japan defeats Paraguay 3-0(scorers: Gakuto with his Bullet Shoot, Wakashimazu with a Jumping Head, Nitta with a Running Volley Shoot). In Spain, Barcelona plays against Athletico Madrid, this team is very good and Fersio Torres quickly scores a goal.But Barcelona replies quickly and Tsubasa scores a goal with his famous Overhead Kick and an another goal with a Twin Shoot Tsubasa-Rivaul. The Asia qualifications begins and Japan beats Malaysia (6-0 for the first match and 5-0 for the return match), Thailand (2-0 for the first match, 3-0 for the return match), and Bahrain (score unknown for the first match and 5-0 for the return match) and qualifies to the third round. In the third round Japan beats Vietnam 5-0, draws against Saudi Arabia 1-1 and loses against Australia 3-1. Standings after Day 3 (of 6): Australia 9; Japan and Saudi Arabia 4; Vietnam 0. Only the first classified is admitted to Olympic Games. In the Day 4, Japan defeats Saudi Arabia 2-0. Unfortunately, Australia defeats Vietnam 5-0. In Day 5, Japan defeats Vietnam 4-0 and Australia draws against Saudi Arabia 1-1. Standings after Day 5 (of 6): Australia 13; Japan 10; Saudi Arabia 5; Vietnam 0. In the last day Japan plays against Australia. If Japan defeat Australia 3-0, 4-1, 5-2, 6-3 etc. qualifies to Olympic Games. If Japan wins 3-1, 4-2, 5-3 etc. plays a playoff against Australia. The match against Australia begins and Japan scores the first goal of the match with Tachibana brothers's skylub hurricane; unfortunately Tachibana brothers gets injured and are substituted by Wakashimazu and Nitta. Nitta scores another goal. Japan tries to score the third goal but unfortunately all their shots hit the bar or are saved by the goal keeper. In the second half Australia scores the goal of 2-1 but Japan reacts and scores two goals (scorers: Igawa and Misaki). Japan wins 4-1 and qualifies to Olympic Games. The manga continues running up to date. Characters Japanese Players Tsubasa Ozora (大空　翼 Ōzora Tsubasa?) • Date of birth: 28th July • National team jersey number: #10 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Soccer Genius, Field Samurai • Tsubasa, the title character, is a boy whose was destined to become a born football player. His name translates to “Big Sky Wings”. His love and dedication towards the game is truly great. With his cheerful and positive personality, he overcomes many hardships in his quest to become a world-class star player. He made many friends every where he goes; even some ill-tempered players are fascinated by his friendliness. All his shots were powerful and his techniques are unique and were difficult to follow. • Main Techniques: Drive Shoot, Flying Drive Shoot, Skywing Shoot o Other Techniques (some of them he learnt while playing with others: Barcelona Roulette (In Barça team), Heel Lift, Golden Combi (with Taro Misaki), Golden Trio (with Taro Misaki and Shingo Aoi), Sky Dive Shot, Overhead Kick (from Roberto), Drive Pass, Flying Drive Pass, Twin Shoot (with Taro), Drive Tiger Twin Shot (with Hyuga), Chokkaku Feint (from Shingo), Green Cut Pass(From Misaki),Back Spin Pass, Counter Arrow Shoot, Foul Inducing Dribble, Gamnen Block (from Ishisaki),Back Flip and acrobatics (from Dias), Sorachû Soccer Tachibana kyô (from Tachibana Bros.), Jumping Pass,Rolling Overhead Kick (from Santana), Santana Turn (from Santana), Skylab Defense (from Tachibana Bros.), Rivaul Turn (from Rivaul) Genzo Wakabayashi • Date of birth: 7th December • National team jersey number: #1 • Position: Goalkeeper • Nickname: SGGK (Super Great Goalkeeper) • Genzo Wakabayashi is an extroardinary goalkeeper who can catch almost anything thrown at him. Not many shots can come past Genzo. A charismatic guy, Genzo is also loyal to his friends and he is firm with his decisions. Genzo always keeps his feelings to himself and people close to him as seen in Shin Captain Tsubasa, when he's willingly criticize his teammates' performance in order to make them realize that football in Europe is different than what they play in Japan. His actions caused a lot of Japanese players to dislike him and Genzo only told Tsubasa his true intentions. From early childhood, he has aimed to be the best goalkeeper in the world. He tended to be selfish, and brag about his skills before he met and played a couple of games against Tsubasa. After his match against Tsubasa, he has learned to enjoy the game with his other teammates. • Special Techniques: Straight Defense and Upper Defense Kojiro Hyuga • Date of birth: 17th August • National team jersey number: #9 • Position: Forward • Nickname: Tiger Striker • To help his family, Kojiro Hyuga wants to be a professional player, an ace striker. His devotion to football and his persistence to shoot the goal is outstanding. He was both Tsubasa’s and Genzo’s top rival. A great guy, Hyuga is not only strong, he is also tough but at the same time caring. Can be a bit impulsive at times, though. He was once famous because of his roughness and many players were scared of him. But, Hyuga is actually a kind boy who cares about his family and friends. In the World Youth series, Hyuga was one of the 7 players to be excluded from the Japanese National team after they lost 3 group matches with Real Japan 7 (R.J.7). Determined to get back into the team, Hyuga developed a new shot, the Raijuu shot, a shot which is a bit similar to Tsubasa's Drive Shoot, except that Hyuga's Raijuu Shot is a ground shot that will curve upward, unlike Tsubasa's Drive Shooter which will go up then curve downward. • Special Techniques: Chokusenteki (Straight line) Dribble, Tiger Shot, Neo-Tiger Shot, Raiju Shoot, Overhead Kick and Toho Golden Combi Taro Misaki • Date of birth: 5th May • National team jersey number: #11 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Field Artist • He came to Nankatsu a few days after Tsubasa, whom he becomes his best friend. Taro moves from one place to another, following his father who works as a traveling artist. Before he met Tsubasa at Nankatsu, he played with Hyuga, Takeshi and Ken at Meiwa and with Matsuyama at Furano. Taro is sweet, kind and loyal to his friends. He is also sensitive to everybody’s feelings. Taro is a tender-hearted boy who is always smiling. But don’t underestimate him because he is as skilful as Tsubasa. Taro is also one of the 7 members to be excluded from the Japanese National Team after they lost to R.J.7 in 3 group matches in the Captain Tsubasa J series. The Boomerang Shot and the Boomerang Pass was something Taro developed after he was excluded from the Japanese Team. • Special Techniques: Boomerang Shoot, Green Cut Pass and Golden Combi Jun Misugi • Date of birth: 23rd June • National team jersey number: #14 • Position: Defender / Part-time coach • Nickname: Field no Kikoshi (Field Prince), Ace of Glass • Jun Misugi is easily one of Japan’s best players. Unfortunately his failing heart condition forces him to play for only a short time almost every game. During Japan's match against Argentina, Japan's coach silently thought to himself that Jun would have been Japan's top player(even better than Tsubasa) if it wasn't for his current heart injury; indeed, Jun scored Japan's final goal in that match. He completely recovered in the World Youth Series though. Jun is strong-willed and dedicated besides being kind and clever. Jun can read the opposing team’s formation and tactics even when he is not playing on the field; not to mention his ability on how to control his opponent’s movements. • Special Techniques: Drive shoot, Overhead Kick and Off-side strategy Hikaru Matsuyama • Date of birth: 21st June • National team jersey number: #12 • Position: Sweeper (defending midfielder) • Nickname: Wild Eagle • Hikaru Matsuyama is one of the best defenders in the world. He can intercept many passes and shots from the opposing team. Matsuyama is selfless and he is a smart leader. But he can be very reserved sometimes. Matsuyama is well-known for his great ball control and accuracy. It was stated in an episode of Captain Tsubasa that he is considered to have the best footwork among the Japanese players. Any team would be very lucky to have him as a defender. His trademark shot called Eagle Shot or Arawashishot(Wild Eagle Shot), a powerful ground shot. In the Captain Tsubasa original series, it is said that Matsuyama's Arawashi Shot was inspired when he watched a group of girls playing volleyball with the Furano team manager and later his girlfriend, Yoshiko Fujisawa. However, in the Road to 2002 / Road to Dream series, the Arawashi Shot was something Matsuyama thought up himself to defeat Tsubasa and Nankatsu FC. • Special Techniques: Eagle shoot, Eagle tackle, Avalanche strategy Shingo Aoi • Date of birth: 12th March • National team jersey number: #20 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Prince of the Sun, Green light,Midfield's Dynamo • Excellent player who debuted in the series in the World Youth saga, previous number 12 of Nakahara FC and later went to train to Italy but previous to that he received three coins from Tsubasa that Aoi keeps as luck charms. He played in FC Inter Milan and became friends with Gino Hernandez, and he developed a grude against Gentile. After two years of training in that team, he was called to go back to the Japanese Youth Team to play against Thailand. He left Inter to go to play for a Serie C1 team, Albese. He's very fast and has excellent techniques, even becoming friends with Tsubasa and Misaki to made a "Golden Trio". • Special Techniques: Overhead Kick, Chokkaku Feint, Chokkaku Tornedo Feint, Golden Trio(With Tsubasa and Misaki), Chokomaka Defense(One-Shot All Stars), Hinotama Press(One-Shot All Stars), Shinkansen Shoot, Twin Shoot, Heikaku Feint, Fake Chokkaku Feint, Chokkaku Dribble, Matanuki Shoot, Matanuki Rovesciata, Various Angle Feint. Makoto Soda • Date of birth: 10th July • National team jersey number: #7 • Position: Defender • Nickname: Ace Killer, Kamisori Fighter • Makoto Soda is a fearsome defender who knows how to injure people with tackles without the referee's knowledge. He is quite fast and he tends to put effects on his balls when he passes or shoots. A bit like Hyuga and Napoleon, he is an impulsive person and can get into a fight with someone. His various techniques include Kamisori Shoot, Kamisori pass and Kamisori tackle. • Special Techniques: Kamisori Shoot, Kamisori Centering and Kamisori Tackle Shun Nitta • Date of birth: 22nd March • National team jersey number: #18 • Position: Forward • Nickname: Speed Star, Falcon Fighter • Shun Nitta is one of the youngest player in Japan. But he is the fastest runner there. Being a forward in Japan national team, Nitta has an incredible speed. It is said that he can run 100 metres in 11 seconds or less. Nitta is very kind and he respected all the players on the team. Although he is a bit arrogant and impulsive at first, Nitta can be considered as one of the most talented forward in Japan. • Special Techniques: Falcon Shoot, Jumping Falcon Volley Shoot, Running Falcon Shoot and Left Falcon Shoot Ken Wakashimazu • Date of birth: 29th December • National team jersey number: #17 • Position: Goalkeeper, Forward • Nickname: SGKK (Super Great Karate Keeper) • Ken Wakashimazu is one of Japan’s top goalkeepers. He used to be a karate fighter before becoming a goalkeeper. Known as the“ Karate Keeper ”, Ken uses his karate skills and speed to his advantage as a goalkeeper. A cool guy, Ken is faithful to his best friends, which are Hyuga and Takeshi. He is a bit conceited at first, though. Ken is calm and can read one team’s tactics very quickly. However, he always gets competitive with Genzo in seeing who is a better goalkeeper. In the new Golden-23 series he becomes a forward and scores a goal in a friendly match against Nigeria. • Special Techniques: Shuto Defense & Sankaku geri defense Overhead Kick Ryo Ishizaki • Date of birth: 1st April • National team jersey number: 4 • Position: Defender • Nickname: Monkey • Ishizaki Ryo is Tsubasa's best friend since the story's very beginning. Though Ishizaki's soccer techniques are far from Tsubasa's level, his strong will and relentless personality has won himself a position in the national team. A demonstration of this is shown during World Youth Cup Finals when Ishizaki was knocked out-cold by blocking an extremely powerful shot at close distance with his face. • Special Techniques: Face Block Defense Takeshi Sawada • Date of birth: 2nd January • National team jersey number: 15 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Star of Next Generation, Extension of Golden Age Masao Tachibana • Date of birth: 6th October • National team jersey number: 2 • Position: Mid-fielder, Defender • Nickname: Air Monkey • Special Techniques: Aerial Soccer, Skylab Hurricane (with Kazuo or Jito) Kazuo Tachibana • Date of birth: 6th October • National team jersey number: 3 • Position: Mid-fielder, Defender • Nickname: Air Monkey • Special Techniques: Aerial Soccer, Skylab Hurricane (with Masao or Jito) Hiroshi Jito • Date of birth: 29th April • National team jersey number: 5 • Position: Defender • Nickname: Giant • Jito is a huge player. Because of this he always guards the other team's tallest player, as in the World Youth series he had to defend China's tallest member, Hi Sho, despite lack of jumping power, and Saudi Arabia's Vulcan, who is 210 cm. At first, he was a terrifying rival for Tsubasa. In the Shin Captain Tsubasa series, he scored a goal for the Hirado Football team by blowing Morisaki into the net with the ball. Tsubasa repaid him by doing the same, getting Jito in the net with his Drive Shoot. • Special Techniques: Hirado Combi (with Sano), Skylab Hurricane (with Tachibana twins) Mitsuru Sano • Date of birth: 2nd August • National team jersey number: 16 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Field Acrobat • Sano is a brilliant Midfielder. He and Jito form the Hirado Combi. He keeps the ball very skillfully from opposing players. His ball keeping ability can only be edged by Matsuyama. • Special Techniques: Hirado Combi (with Jito) Tomeya Akai • Date of birth: 10th May • National team jersey number: 23 • Position: Mid-fielder, Defender • Nickname: Red Stopper Gakuto Igawa • Date of birth: TBD • National team jersey number: 32 • Position: Any Position (Including Goalkeeper) • Nickname: TBD Furukawa • Date of birth: TBD • National team jersey number: 26 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: TBD Shinnosuke Kazami • Date of birth: TBD • National team jersey number: 25 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: TBD Yuji Soga • Date of birth: TBD • National team jersey number: 32 • Position: Forward • Nickname: TBD Mamoru Izawa • Date of birth: 20th December • National team jersey number: #8 • Position: Mid-fielder • Nickname: Field Soldier • Mamoru Izawa is a substitute of Japan. He is a specialist at headers and usually wins most of his heading duels. He also has a good team play especially with Kisugi and Taki. The three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other. Izawa is the most skillful in the Shutetsu Trio. Although Izawa is only a substitute of Japan, he has proved himself several times that he was a good defender. In the new Golden-23 series, in a match vs Denmark, he replaces Jito and showed that he was capable of defending. • Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio Hajime Taki • Date of birth: 8th August • National team jersey number: #13 • Position: Forward • Nickname: Excellent Wing • Hajime Taki is a substitute of Japan. His best friend is Kisugi and they have always been together since primary school. Together with Kisugi and Izawa, The three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other. He is reasonably fast and his favourite technique is to run straight along the right side line of the field. • Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio and Nankatsu Silver Combi Teppei Kisugi • Date of birth: 15th May • National team jersey number: #19 • Position: Forward • Nickname: Maintainer of Score of Shutetsu • Kisugi Teppei is a substitute of Japan. His best friend is Taki and they have always been together since primary school. Together with Taki and Izawa, the three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other. • Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio & Nankatsu Silver Combi Yuzo Morisaki • Date of birth: TBD • National team jersey number: #21 • Position: Goalkeeper • Nickname: STGK (Super Tenacity Goalkeeper) • Yuzo Morisaki is the third-string goalkeeper of the team. At first, he doesn't standout very much. He was just a replacement keeper for Wakabayashi in Nankatsu. In The World Youth series versus Thailand, he was the starting keeper, as Wakashimazu left the team and Wakabayashi is still injured and in Germany. Even if he took 4 goals, which was a 4-1 start for Thailand, he held his own until Wakabayashi miraculously went to the game and praised him for his efforts, in which he managed to crash on the goal bar just to save a shot, where he got his nickname, STGK. • Special Techniques: TBD Foreign Players Karl Heinz Schneider • Date of birth: 4th July • National team jersey number: #11 • Position: Forward • Team: Bayern Munich (Germany) • Nickname: The Kaiser, King of German football • He is the captain and ace striker of the German team. He is also the guy whom Genzo admired the most when he was in Germany since many shots from Schneider were untouchable. He can be called the European version of Tsubasa since they're surprisingly similar in looks (their only real differences are the eye and hair colors; Tsubasa has black hair and black eyes, while Schneider has blond hair and blue eyes). Schneider is very sweet and kind in real life (he loves his family dearly, specially after his parent's close divorce), but he is very dangerous on the field and is a very noble and dignified rival to Genzo. • Special Techniques: Fire Shot, Neo Fire Shot, Chokusenteki Dribble Carlos Santana (Brazil) • Date of birth: 1st May • National team jersey number: #11 • Position: Forward • Team: Valencia CF (Spain) • Nickname: Son of the Soccer God, Soccer Cyborg to make Arrow Jumping Overhead(Inspired by Tsubasa), Rolling Overhead, Rising Arrow Shoot(Inspired by Tsubasa), Santana Turn, Skywing Shoot(From Roberto), Tornado Arrow Skywing Shoot(Inspired by Roberto,Tsubasa and Hino), Twin Shoot(With Natureza) Elle Sid Pierre (France) • Date of Birth: 16th August • National team Jersey Number: #10 • Position: Mid-fielder • Team: Paris Saint Germain (France) • Nickname: Field Artist, Beautiful Beast • He is the Captain, and Play maker of the France team. El Sid (Alcide) Pierre is the son of a multi-millionaire, he was disgusted with how he was treated because of this whether it was with favoritism or discrimination. His only outlet was football, he practiced football because in football there are no relations, poor or rich, the rules are the same for everyone, and everyone's objective is the ball. Pierre is very patriotic and places enormous pressure upon himself to perform well for France. He has developed a rivalry with Misaki of Japan. • Special Techniques: Slide Shoot, Off-side Strategy, Eiffel Attack(with Napoleon) Juan Diaz (Argentina) • Date of Birth: 25th January • National team Jersey Number: #10 • Position: Mid-fielder • Team: Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) • Nickname: Heaven-sent Child of Soccer, Soccer Genius • He is the Captain and top scorer of the Argentina team. At first Diaz is arrogant and conceited, but he is somewhat humbled after his match with Japan and duel with Tsubasa. Diaz has been playing football since he was 7 months old, and is considered to be a Soccer Genius. Throughout Argentina no one of his age group could compete with him, at 12 years old he was recruited by his hometown's club along with his best friend Alan Pascal. Diaz is very talented and has been deemed to be the next generation superstar of Argentina Soccer, even being compared to Diego Maradona. Because of their talents and similarities he has developed a rivalry with Tsubasa of Japan. • Special Techniques: Drive Shooter, Argentina Golden Combi(with Pascal), Drive Shoot, Acrobatics Gino Hernandez (Italy) • Date of Birth: 4th February • National team Jersey Number: #1 • Position: Goalkeeper • Team: Internazionale FC (Italy) after Gino recognized Aoi's potential and determination. Gino's skills as a keeper is superb as he is able to stop many great shots from many great players. Gino also has the ability to remain calm in dire situations and create strategies as he displayed in Italy's match against Japan. Brazil, by been born in there he never play in any club of soccer and only train in his village with his friends. He is nicknamed the King of Soccer because of his great ability with the ball, he has all the attributes to be the greatest soccer player in the world, only compared to TsubasaBarcelona. He is still playing for the Real Madrid and we can see that a second confrontation with Tsubasa is about to happened in a chapter of the Golden 23 but the result is remain unknown. • Special Techniques: Aurora Feint, Back Heel Pass, Kakudo 0 no Shoot (angle 0 shoot), Nidan Flying Drive Shoot, Rabona Feint, Flying Drive Shoot, Heel Lift, Jumping Volley, Overhead Kick, Handoshusoku Jinho (Reverse Shoot), Twin Shoot(With Roberto Carolus and Santana), Basketball Ball Keep, Brazil Golden Trio (with Santana and Rivaul) Non-players • Sanae Nakazawa (known as Anego -"older sister"- in the anime series): Oozora Tsubasa's cheerleader, team manager, girlfriend and later wife. In the new golden-23 series she is pregnant. • Yayoi Aoba: Tsubasa's first friend and Jun Misugi's close friend. • Yoshiko Fujisawa: Hikaru's assistant and later girlfriend. She moved to the United States, to return some months later. • Kumi Sugimoto: Sanae's close friend, who joins the Nankatsu club because of her crush on Tsubasa. When she declares her love for him but he tells her that he loves Sanae, she accepts it and encourages him to tell her. • Yukari Nishimoto: Originally from Nagasaki, she's the cousin of Jito Hiroshi and the best friend of Sanae. In the WYC manga, she falls for Ryo Ishizaki and they later start dating. • Kaori Matsumoto: First the castout for the Toho team, later Hyuga Kojiro's manager. • Roberto Hongo :A former Brazilian player who was forced to retire after an eye injury. Trained Tsubasa and Nankatsu's Team, and later, became the coach for Brazil. Read more!

Safina wins an Epic against Venus!

Dinara Safina was a set and 0-2 down and she came back to win a Epic battle against Venus Williams, who earlier defeated the 2 time reigning champion Jelena Jankovic. Now Safina will face her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in a all Russian affair.

Dinara and Svetlana will face each other for the second time in two weeks, earlier Svetlana defeated Safina in the finals of Stuttgart Grand Prix last Sunday.

It was clearly a display of a True Champions! Safina has send in some strong message to her opponents. Will last year's Rolland garros runner up be victorious this time?

The fourth seed Venus Williams played better early on to go 4-1 and then 5-2 ahead. But Safina refused to give up and the first set went into a tie breaker but Venus eventually won 7-3.

Williams kept up the pace to go 2-0 up in the second set before Safina stormed back to win six of the next seven games to level the contest.

The Russian twice let a break advantage slip in the third set but she broke again with a powerful crosscourt backhand return.

She then saved four break points in the following game and failed to convert two match points before finally clinching an enthralling match that lasted over three hours.

It was clearly a display of a True Champions! Safina has send in some strong message to her opponents. Will last year's Rolland garros runner up be victorious this time? Read more!

Barcelona are through to the CL Finals to face Man Utd!

It was really a heart break for Chelsea at Stamford bridge last night. They began the match with a shaky start. But in the 9th minute Michael Essien saw the ball which rebounded from Yaya Toure and smashed it straight into the nets.

Although they scored a goal the match was still in balance as Barca were having around 70% possession and only a single goal can take Barcelona to the Finals based on Away goals rules.

Then came a serious of Terrible mistakes by the referee which ultimately say Chelsea lose the match.

Then, in the second of four added minutes, Barcelona cancelled Chelsea's tickets to Rome. Essien's clearance was weak, Messi turned the ball to the edge of the box and Andres Iniesta mustered Barcelona's first shot on target of the evening. It was an absolute stunner, and the Spanish champions elect will play Manchester United in the Champions League final.

The things which happened after the match were like a disgrace to the world of football.Didier Drogba came up and shouted the refree in a offensive language.

Now Chelsea would have a lot to mourn about but they should remember that they wasted like 3 easy opportunities and they were over defensive. Drogba acted on the field like he had a major injury and wasted hell a lot of time that resulted in 4! minutes added up at the end!. They gave away the balls so easily and at the end of the night according to me Barca deserved to win!

Ashley Cole returned from suspension for Chelsea, allowing Jose Bosingwa to revert to right-back at the expense of Branislav Ivanovic. Nicolas Anelka started again, virtually as a right winger, with Didier Drogba in the lone striker role.

Barcelona, meanwhile, were defensively without the injured Rafael Marquez and the suspended Carles Puyol. Pep Guardiola moved Eric Abidal into the centre of defence, with Sergi Busquets starting on the right. Perhaps most crucially, weekend hero Thierry Henry failed a late fitness test, so Seydou Keita was drafted in.

On 26 minutes, Drogba latched onto another through-ball and ended up on the deck under pressure from Eric Abidal. There may have been a slight tug inside the box, maybe some contact by the leg of the defender. Either way, it was debatable, and the officials weren't interested. This really should have been a penalty.

Chelsea at the moment were handling Leo Messi very well. Then On 65 minutes, however, another Chelsea long ball resulted in disaster for the Catalan giants for Barcelona. Abidal was beaten for pace by Anelka, who cut across the defender and went to ground. There was contact, if minimal, as Anelka adjusted his position, and the referee decided to send Abidal for an early bath. This should have not really been a Send off!

Then, Pique – soon after trundling wide at the other end – was at the centre of a hand ball appeal as Anelka desperately attempted to get round him. Referee Tom Henning Ovrebo was adamant that he wasn't going to give the Blues the benefit of the doubt on the night. The Third penalty Chance not Given yet again!

Then, in the second of four added minutes, Barcelona cancelled Chelsea's tickets to Rome. Essien's clearance was weak, Messi turned the ball to the edge of the box and Andres Iniesta mustered Barcelona's first shot on target of the evening. It was an absolute stunner, and the Spanish champions elect will play Manchester United in the Champions League final.

The things which happened after the match were like a disgrace to the world of football. Ballack, Terry and Lampard went and kept on shouting at the refree and then Didier Drogba came up and shouted the refree in a offensive language. I hope UEFA has a see on that clip. Didier Drogba is not going to get away with that easily.

Now Chelsea would have a lot to mourn about but they should remember that they wasted like 3 easy opportunities and they were over defensive. Drogba acted on the field like he had a major injury and wasted hell a lot of time that resulted in 4! minutes added up at the end!. They gave away the balls so easily and at the end of the night according to me Barca deserved to win!
Read more!

Serena loses Opener at Italian Open !

Serena williams should watch her mouth from now i suppose. Days after she claimed that "She was the real no.1 and not Safina", she has lost in a first round match up in the Italian open against Patty Schnyder 6-2, 2-6, 6-1

We all know who the real No. 1 is,” Williams said Monday. “Quite frankly, I’m the best in the world.”. (Read more on This!)

Earlier, Dinara Safina, the player who overtook the top spot from Williams, bumped off Virginie Razzano 7-6 (1), 6-1. . After Serena's comments and her defeat, Safina had something to say to the media,

“It’s not luck,” Safina said Monday. “Nobody gave it to me—I proved it. I played two Grand Slam finals, and last year I won four titles … so I think I belong to this, because this doesn’t come out of sky.”

Defending champion Jelena Jankovic and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic all advanced to the third round, as play was disrupted by rain and went late into the night
In other matches, Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-3, and Nadia Petrova beat Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Caroline Wozniacki, Flavia Pennetta and Kaia Kanepi also advanced, while 11th-seeded Marion Bartoli and Alize Cornet were both upset.

The 13th-seeded Cornet, last year’s runner up, lost 6-4, 6-1 to Kateryna Bondarenko, and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beat Bartoli 6-1, 7-5. Read more!

Team mates sorry for Fletcher's sending off

Manchester United may have got through to the finals with flying colours but they will miss the service of their key player Darren Fletcher in the Finals as he was unfairly awarded a red card.

Darren Fletcher's Manchester United team-mates have expressed their sympathy for the player after he was ruled out the UEFA Champions League final.

United trio Michael Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra all believe Fletcher was unlucky to be red carded for the offence. Rooney said

" It is a massive game to miss out on. I think over the last two seasons he has been brilliant for us and if anyone deserves to be there and play it is him."

"I thought it was harsh to be honest," "In that situation he seems to have got the ball. I was behind him and the ball changed direction." Carrick told Media

Evra too was sorry for Fletcher he commented "I am so sorry for Darren Fletcher," said Evra. "The real big bad news about all this is Darren not being able to play in Rome.

"I am very, very frustrated and disappointed for him and his family. I played with a lot of pain in my stomach worrying about missing the final." Read more!

United reach Champions League finals!

By : Sriram Ilango
Machester united are going through to their Second Consecutive Champions League Finals after they defeated Arsenal at the Emirates 3-1. United made it clear to the whole world that they are coming to Rome as they scored twice in the first 11 minutes.

They will miss the service of Darren Fletcher in the finals as he was send off for a rather controversial tackle. Park scored in the 8th minute and Ronaldo scored twice in the 11th and 61sr minutes.

“I’ve said it many times, we should have won this cup more times than we have,” United manager Alex Ferguson said after the defending champions defeated Arsenal 3-1 in an all-English semifinal on Tuesday night. “We’ve got the hunger and the quality.”

Manchester United faced off their EPL rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last night in a UEFA CL Semifinals 2nd leg match-up. United had a 1 goal advantage from their 1st leg at Old Trafford. With Rooney, Tevez and Evra all under a Yellow card, they were under the probability of missing a Champions League Finals. Many thought that Rooney may not start but he did.

With Berbatov and Tevez both on bench Ronaldo was the Center Forward with Park Ji sung in the right and Rooney in the left. Rio Ferdinand was back from an 1st leg injury.

The match started then all of a sudden in the 8th Minuted Kiren Gibbs slipped giving J.S Park a easy goal. The 60,000 crowd at Emirates were in a slumber. The World Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo made the situation even worse for Arsenal as he struck a majestic free kick away from 35 yards.

“The shot was quite difficult to save because the ball moved a little bit,” Ronaldo said. “I just try to do my best to put the ball in the net and it was a good goal.”

Now United have scored twice in a span of 10 minutes. Based on away goals rules Arsenal have to score 3 times now to win the match which seemed almost impossible .

After the first half Substitutions were made for Rooney, Evra and Anderson as Berbatov, Rafael and Giggs came on. Ronaldo started and scored on a 61st-minute counterattack. He backheeled the clearance to Park, who sent the ball to Wayne Rooney, who then crossed to the FIFA player of the year.

Everything was going on United's way until the referee Send off Darren Fletcher for an undeserved tackle. Fletcher will now miss the Champions league finals. Fergie seemed a little distressed with the sending off. Neville and Scholes went staright into the dressing room to consolidate Fletcher. Van Persie converted that Penalty into a Goal but it was too little too late as United are going to rome to face either Barca or Chelsea. Will it be a repeat of last year's Finals or last year's Semifinal? Read more!

Serena : Im the real No.1 Not Safina!

Serena Williams has said that She is the real world number 1 of women's Tennis although the rankings indicate otherwise.

Dinara Safina, took over the No.1 Spot from the American two weeks ago, but Serena Williams frankly says

quite frankly, I’m the best in the world

at the Italian open.

Safina has never won a Grant Slam title, and was beaten in the Australian Open final this year by Williams, who has won 10 Grand Slam titles. Safina gained her No.1 ranking by playing consistently good in the tour for more than 2 years now.

Safina says she is still coming to terms with her new position but insists it is well deserved. She notes she has played in two Grand Slam finals and won four titles last year.

The upcoming Rolland Garros should reveal us who is the best but I don't see either Safina or Serena winning the cup. Read more!

Ronaldo : Real Madrid dream is over!

Manchester United's World player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo has said that his dream about moving to Spain to play in Santiago Bernabue is over. The united winger who is having a great season with the club who are looking to win more than 4 trophies this season.

Ronaldo said

I'm no longer thinking of Madrid. That dream is dead.

in a interview to The People He also added "The only thing I dream about now is Manchester United and winning the Champions League again in Rome."

Source :Sky Sports News

Sir Alex Ferguson, Manager of United made a great effort last season to make the Portuguese Super Star stay at Old trafford. Now Ronaldo has turned his back at the Spanish Giants.

It should also a morale boost to United who will be facing Arsenal in the Second leg of the UEFA Champions league Semi Finals in 2 days (May 5th).

Ronaldo has his deal extended to 5 more years!

Read more!

Man United Win Carling Cup

Manchester United won the League Cup with a 4-1 penalty shootout victory over Tottenham on Sunday that kept the English Premier League leaders on course for an unprecedented five trophies this season.

After a 0-0 draw through extra time, United goalkeeper Ben Foster saved Tottenham’s first shootout kick from Jamie O’Hara and David Bentley missed the third before Anderson hit the winning penalty.

The victory gave United its second trophy of the season following December’s Club World Cup title. The Red Devils also lead the Premier League by seven points and are in contention for the Champions League and FA Cup.

In Sunday’s Premier League action, Aston Villa’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League were dented when the home side squandered a two-goal lead in the final minutes against Stoke to draw 2-2 at Villa Park.

The result means Villa remains fourth, in the final Champions League slot, three points behind Liverpool in third and sixth points clear of Arsenal, which is fifth.


Stoke stays 19th, below Middlesbrough on goal difference.

West Ham moved up to seventh after a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Upton Park on Sunday.

Blackburn moved out of the relegation zone on goal difference with a 2-1 win at Hull, a fiery game that saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

MILAN (AP)—AC Milan slipped further behind Inter Milan and Juventus in the Serie A title race after losing to Sampdoria 2-1.

Antonio Cassano gave the Genoa side the lead in the first half, and Gianpaolo Pazzini doubled it early in the second. Alexandre Pato scored in the 80th minute to give Milan some hope, and Emerson had a goal disallowed.

Inter, which hosted AS Roma later Sunday, is in first place with 59 points, followed by Juventus with 53, AC Milan with 48 and Fiorentina with 46.

Cassano gave Sampdoria the lead in the 33rd minute. He tapped in the ball at the far post after Marius Stankevicius headed Angelo Palombo’s corner.

Fiorentina and Genoa, the two teams chasing the fourth Champions League qualification place, both failed to win.

Fiorentina drew 1-1 at last-place Reggina, with Emiliano Bonnazzoli’s goal equalizing Alessio Sestu’s opener for Reggina.

Genoa was unable to breakdown stubborn defending by Siena in their 0-0 draw.

Also Sunday, it was: Atalanta 0, Chievo Verona 2; Cagliari 0, Torino 0; Palermo 0, Catania 4; and Udinese 2, Lecce 0.

MADRID (AP)—Malaga’s pursuit of a Champions League spot lost momentum after a 2-0 loss to Recreativo Huelva, while Deportivo La Coruna bolstered its European ambitions with a 1-0 win at last-place Numancia.

Albert Camunas gave Recreativo the lead in the 54th minute, and 10 minutes later Adrian Colunga added a goal to hand Malaga only its third loss in 15 games.

Juan Rodriguez scored from a sharp angle with 15 minutes to play as Deportivo rallied from Thursday’s UEFA Cup exit to join Malaga and Valencia— which played Valladolid later Sunday—on 39 points. The three clubs are only two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal, which occupies the final Champions League spot and will attempt to consolidate its position against lowly Real Betis later Sunday.

Barcelona also played later, and needed to snap a three-game winless streak at Atletico Madrid to get its title campaign back on track. The Catalan giant led Real Madrid by 12 points going into 2009, but has since let Madrid narrow that gap to just four

Barcelona has 60 points, Madrid has 56, Sevilla is third with 47 and Villarreal has 41.

In Sunday’s other 25th round results, it was: Almeria 2, Getafe 1; Racing Santander 1, Osasuna 1; and Sporting Gijon 0, Mallorca 1.

FRANKFURT (AP)—Defending champion Bayern Munich failed to score against 10-man Werder Bremen and fell to fifth place in the Bundesliga after a 0-0 draw.

Werder lost central defender Naldo when he was ejected after 15 minutes, but Bayern, coming off a 5-0 win at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, was unable to break the deadlock. Bayern has won only one of its last five games in the Bundesliga, losing three of them.

Wolfsburg won 3-1 at Hamburger SV behind two goals from Grafite to move past Bayern into fourth place on goal difference. Also on Sunday, Stuttgart beat Karlsruhe 2-0.

PARIS (AP)—Paris Saint-Germain routed Nancy 4-1 with two goals from Guillaume Hoarau to consolidate its second spot in the French league.

Marseille and Bordeaux kept pace with PSG in the race for a Champions League berth as Marseille edged Caen 1-0, while Bordeaux beat Lorient 1-0.

AMSTERDAM (AP)—Blaise N’Kufo scored his 100th league goal for FC Twente, securing a 1-0 victory over ADO The Hague to keep alive his team’s slim Dutch title hopes.

N’Kufo headed home Ronnie Stam’s 24th minute cross to give Steve McClaren’s side all three points. Twente is second in the standings, nine points behind AZ Alkmaar and three clear of Ajax, which won 2-0 at FC Utrecht.

Alkmaar, led by former Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal, tops the league with 63 points after beating FC Groningen 3-0 on Saturday. Twente is second with 54 and Ajax third on 51. Read more!

Carling Cup Final Review

Rarely can a cup final have crept so low under the radar as Sunday’s League Cup showdown between holders Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United with both clubs pre-occupied for vastly different reasons.

While Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has been juggling his squad for relegation scraps and UEFA Cup ties, his opposite number Alex Ferguson has watched his side surge to the top the Premier League while plotting a Champions League showdown with Inter Milan and his old adversary Jose Mourinho.

League leaders United appear unstoppable at present and are still on course for a possible five trophies this season having already taken FIFA’s Club World Cup in Tokyo although of the four still on offer, the League Cup is likely to be bottom of Ferguson’s priorities.

The Scot may even elect to leave the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench for the Wembley showpiece, although such are his attacking and midfield options and the Scot’s insatiable appetite for trophies that United will still start firm favourites to win the competition for the third time.

“Alex will want to win the game make no mistake,” Redknapp said on Wednesday with half an eye on a UEFA Cup tie with Shakhtar Donetsk on Thursday, a game which is proving a big distraction.

“Whoever he picks he’ll pick a strong team because he only knows one thing and that is he wants to win. That’s why he is the best in the business.

“So it’ll be a very, very hard game. It should be a terrific game, we’ve got good players and I think it will be a great spectacle.”

Complicating the issue for Redknapp, whose side have already been beaten by United in the FA Cup this season, is the fact that all five of the players he signed in the transfer window to revive the club’s season are not available.

Unlucky striker Jermain Defoe, who missed Tottenham’s 2-1 win in the final against Chelsea last year because he had joined Portsmouth and the FA Cup final because he was cup-tied, having played in the competition for Spurs, is out with a broken foot sustained soon after returning to White Hart Lane.

Striker and new club captain Robbie Keane, who played in last year’s final before his ill-fated transfer to Liverpool, is cup tied, as are goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini, midfielder Wilson Palacios and Pascal Chimbonda, another player who returned to Spurs after joining Sunderland.

No wonder Redknapp has worn a hang dog expression all week, although the thought of leading the side out at Wembley restored his sense of humour. “I’ve got my suit ready to go,” he said. “They’ve all got their suits all the lads. I don’t know if they’ve got new suits, some of them have probably got them left over from last year. I wasn’t here last year so I’ve got my new suit.”

United arrive at the final on the back of 10 consecutive Premier League wins that have fired them seven points clear in the title race and an impressive display in 0-0 draw with Inter in the San Siro on Tuesday Read more!

Hungry Heart - Sports Manga

By our Xtra Sport Editor Mr. Amrit Mishra
Contact Author : amritthegoku.dbz44@yahoo.com

First of all we regard our Sincere thanks to Mr. Amrit for regardless working for us in the Anime and Manga division and keeping us in touch with even the Animated version of Sports!

Hungry Heart: Wild Striker is a Japanese soccer manga and anime series, authored by Yōichi Takahashi. The manga series was serialized in Akita Shoten's Weekly Shōnen Champion. The anime series was produced by Nippon Animation and Animax, and premiered in Japan on Animax between September 11, 2002 and September 10, 2003, spanning a total of 52 episodes.



Animax later aired the series across its other networks worldwide, including its English-language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and its other networks, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Latin America and numerous other regions. The anime series has also been broadcast, translated and dubbed in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and other languages.

German-based sportswear brand Puma were the commercial sponsors for the anime series, with many of the clothing and sportsgear sporting Puma's brand. Storyline Hungry Heart: Wild Striker tells the story of Kanō Kyōsuke, a teenage high-school student, who, at the beginning of the series, has just transferred into the Jyoyō Orange high school. Kyōsuke's older brother is the illustrious and extremely famous A.C. Milan soccer player, Kanō Seisuke, who had first taught him how to play and love the game of soccer and whom he has greatly admired since childhood.

After Seisuke left Japan to sign with Italian powerhouse A.C. Milan, people started comparing Kyōsuke with his brother, and criticizing him due to his different playing style. Living in his brother's shadow, Kyōsuke's love for the game slowly started to evaporate and lessen, and he eventually lost most of his passion for it. After his transfer to Jyoyō and a fated meeting with Tsujiwaki Miki, an enthusiastic girl with a lot of passion for soccer and who soon reinvigorates his love for the game with her determination to excel, Kyōsuke's deep love and passion for soccer returns to its fullest and soon joins the Jyoyō soccer team, making several friends, such as his fellow freshmen, Sakai Jefferson, a talented goalkeeper, and Rodrigo, a passionate Brazilian transfer student.

Kyōsuke, along with his friends at Jyoyō, invigorated with Miki's care and help, and by his love and determination to excel in soccer, takes on the best, and discovers an immense and determined passion for the game. Characters Note: Names are given in the original Japanese order, with the family name, or surname, followed by the given name. This is also the format used in the English dub. Kanō Kyōsuke Called Orangehead jokingly by some of his friends, Kyōsuke learns the tricks and trades of soccer from his illustrious elder brother, A.C. Milan playmaker Kanō Seisuke.

After Seisuke's departure, he slowly loses interest in the game, but rediscovers his love for it after a fated meeting with Miki. Initially joining as the coach of Jyoyō's girl's soccer team, the determination exhibited by the girls, especially Miki, invigorates his passion for soccer, and soon he joins Jyoyō's male soccer team, emerging as their ace striker. In the last episode, he becomes a player for AFC Ajax. Tsujiwaki Miki Kyōsuke's closest friend, and the captain of the female soccer team in Jyoyō. He later falls in love with her.

Rodrigo A transfer student from Brazil, who wants to become a pro in order to help his family. Rodrigo is Jyoyo's playmaker, who earns the interest of several professional J-League clubs. In the final year, he becomes the captain of Akanegaoka. Sakai Jefferson Kōji Known for charming all the girls in school, he is Jyoyō's goalkeeper. He is also known for his superior acceleration speed. Kamata Gohzo He's known as Sergeant Chin. He played forward in junior high. Sako Toshiya Jyoyo's team captain in the first year.

Ichikawa Hiroshi Known for his hot-headed attitude. In the first year, he has troubles with Rodrigo's individualist attitude, as he believes teamwork is the key for victory. In the second year, he's chosen to be the sub-captain, and has to deal with Yūya and his group. Esaka Masashi He's called Ōsaka by Kyōsuke. He's the series' comic relief for his bald look. In second year he is chosen by Sako as the new captain. Kiba Yūya Anime-only character. Called Nesthead by Kyōsuke. Kyōsuke's rival in 2nd year for the forward position. He also falls in love with Miki and battles with Kyōsuke in order to win her heart.

Shinkawa Masahiko Anime-only character. The fastest in the team. Yūya's buddy. He and Muroi joined soccer to help Yūya make it into the J-League, as a way to thank him for getting them out of their lives as outcasts. Muroi Kazuya Anime-only character. Replaces Kamata in 2nd year as defender. Known for his Mohawk look. Like Shinkawa, he started playing soccer to help Yūya make it into the J-League. Murakami Kazuo Coach of Jyōyo men's soccer club. He was formerly a powerful forward for the Japanese National Team. Mori Kazuto Jyōyo's team manager.

He used to play soccer in middle school, but due to an injury he cannot play anymore. Ōmori Fukuko Jyōyo dormitory's cook. Dōmoto Kaori Jyōyo's nutritionist and cook. She has some feelings for Seisuke, who asked her to watch over his brother in his absence. Kanō Seisuke Kyōsuke's brother. When he was young, he led both his Middle and High School's soccer teams to the nationals and won, and was in the top three in High School. A world renowned player before 17, he also had a J-League contract before 21, and later became the AC Milan star and captain. He also had excellent academic grades. Furuki Ryosei's team captain.

He plays ID (Important Data) soccer. Makoto Iguchi Kokuryō's ace goalkeeper. He also plays with the Japan youth team. Kamiyama Yuujirou Kokuryō's ace striker. Kyōsuke's rival as the best striker in the region. JYT member. Fujimori Minoru and Fujimori Kaoru Kokuryō's dynamic duo. They are members of the JYT. Yuki Kagami Known as Kanō Seisuke Jr. Tenryū's captain. He's Kyōsuke's rival as the best player in high school soccer in Japan. Gon Like Murakami Kazuo, he was a former Japanese football player. He was the first man to ever score a goal in a World cup for Japan, since this was their first time to play the tournament. Narumi Keisuke Biological father of Kyosuke. He holds a mark in japanese football.

Lost his life in a car accident shortly before being called to the Japanese football team. Kyosuke was in the car, but managed to survive the accident. Narumi Mitsuko Biological mother of Kyosuke. She lost her life in the car accident along with her husband. Coach Numakawa Head coach of Tenryu High and Japan Under 22 delegate. Toda and Ueno Both are side backs for Jyoyō's Soccer Club. Kamata "Sergeant Chin" teachs them some defensive techniques in the first year. Sakai also tells them what to do in some trainings and matches.

Teams • Jyōyo Akanegaoka High School (Jyōyo Orange Hill) - Kyōsuke Kanō's high school team. Members: Sakai Jeferson Kouji, Toda, Ueno, Kamata (graduated), Muroi, Ichikawa, Shinkawa, Esaka, Sako (graduated), Tanaka, Rodrigo, Kanou Kyosuke, Kiba Yuya, Sasao, Shimizu (graduated), Omura (graduated).

• Ryōsei High School - Known for their ID soccer, based on data collected by their captain, Furuki.

• Yamanomori High School - A school in the mountains known for their teamwork.

• Kokuryō high school - The regional champions and Tenryū's rival school. Members: Kamiyama, Iguchi, Fujimori Twins

• Tenryū High School - The national champions. Seisuke Kanō's former high school. Members: Seisuke Kanō (graduated), Kagami, Sawamura, Suzuki, Mishima, Aida

• Japan Under 22 delegate - Chosen by coach Numakawa to represent Japan in the Amsterdam Preliminaries. Members: Kanou Kyosuke, Kagami, Kamiyama, Iguchi, Fujimori Twins

• Jyoyo Asahigaoka High School - Sister school to Jyōyo Akanegaoka High School. Read more!

Slam Dunk - Sports Anime!

Our Xtra Sports Editor Mr. Amrit Mishra publishes his second Article!

Slam Dunk also known as Suramu Danku, officially romanized SLAM DUNK in Japan. It is a sports-themed manga series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School. It was first serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996 and has sold over 100 million copies in Japan alone. In 1995, it received the 40th Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen. The success of Slam Dunk is cited as an influence in the increased popularity of basketball among the Japanese youth during the 1990's. Inoue has also used basketball as a central theme in two other manga series: Buzzer Beater and Real.

Plot Slam Dunk centers around Hanamichi Sakuragi, who starts as an deliquent outcast, becoming the leader of a gang. Hanamichi, being very unpopular with girls, has been rejected by them fifty times. Yet, he finds out that Haruko Akagi is the girl of his dreams, and is happy when she's not scared of him like all the other girls he has asked out. Haruko Akagi, who recognizes Hanamichi's athleticism, introduces him to the Shohoku basketball team. Hanamichi was reluctant to join the team at first because he had no previous background in any sports and thought that basketball was a game for losers (also because the fiftieth girl rejected him for a basketball player). Sakuragi, despite his immaturity and hot temper, proves to be a natural athlete with potential and joins the team in order to impress Haruko and prove that he is worthy of her. Kaede Rukawa - Sakuragi's bitter rival (both on the basketball court and love, even when Rukawa doesn't acknowledge Haruko's crush on him), the star rookie and a "girl magnet" - joins the team at the same time. Hisashi Mitsui, an ex-junior high school MVP, and Ryota Miyagi , a short but fast player, both also rejoin the team and together these four struggle to complete team captain Takenori Akagi's dream of making Shohoku the national champion. Together, these misfits gain publicity and the once little known Shohoku basketball team becomes an all-star contender in Japan. Media Manga Slam Dunk premiered in Japan in Issue 42 of the Weekly Shonen Jump in 1990 and lasted until Issue 27 in 1996.

An English version of Slam Dunk was published for the Singapore market by Chuang Yi. Anime The anime series, consisting of 101 episodes, was produced by the TV Asahi terrestrial television network and Toei Animation and directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa. It was first aired on TV Asahi from October 16, 1993 to March 23, 1996. It was later aired on the anime satellite television network, Animax, in addition to four animated movies produced. The anime series follows the manga storyline, but leaves out the National Tournament games. Toei and Geneon briefly chose to release the anime on DVD after the manga was discontinued, though the anime was also discontinued after only a few volumes. Toei is currently streaming episodes of the series on-line for a fee and for free through Crunchyroll. Teams Except where otherwise noted, the following basketball teams appear in both the anime and manga. Aiwa High School Aiwa is ranked 4th in Japan and was favored to win the Aichi Interhigh Tournament, but was upset by Meihou. Shohoku faces them in the third round of the National Championship and loses to them because they were exhausted from the Sannoh match. The team's captain, shooting guard Dai Moroboshi, is known as the "Star of Aichi". He was injured by Meihou's Hiroshi Morishige during the Aichi Interhigh finals, and despite returning to the game later, could not push Aiwa over the top because of Meihou's insurmountable lead. Some consider Moroboshi as the only one who can beat Sannoh's Eiji Sawakita in a one-on-one, though Moroboshi himself does not think so. Daiei High School Daiei (Daiei Gakuen) is the lead representative for Osaka in the National Championship, having beaten Toyotama. Their captain, point forward Atsushi Tsuchiya, is also the top player for the team, and proved key in their victory. Jousei High School Jousei is ranked 8th in Japan, and the main representative for the Shizuoka Prefecture. Their coach is a former pupil of Coach Anzai's, and prior to the start of the National Championship, Shohoku (minus Sakuragi, who undergoes a weeklong training on how to shoot from Coach Anzai) visits them for a weeklong training camp that includes three matches, resulting in a win, loss, and tie for Shohoku. They are knocked out of the National Championship in the second round by Meihou, in a match where Morishige alone eclipses the whole opposite team, leaving the team captain, Mikoshiba, greatly depressed. Kainan University Affiliated High School Kainan University Affiliated High School basketball team Meihou High School Meihou is a surprise newcomer to the National Championship, knocking off the favorite Aiwa to qualify as the lead representative for Aichi. They are spearheaded by a massive first year student, Hiroshi Morishige (so massive, he can take Sakuragi down with a mere nudge - given by Sakuragi himself). Meihou beat Jousei in the second round of the National Championship. Miuradai High School Miuradai faces Shohoku in the first round of the Interhigh Tournament. They do well at first, because Takenori Akagi is the only one of the five starters to actually start the game, the other four being temporarily benched by Coach Anzai for fighting. The tide turns against Miuradai once the other four starters enter the court and Shohoku is restored to full strength. Miuradai is quite a self-confident team, whose members - particularly their captain, Kengo Murasame - only respect Kainan as an opponent. One character who only appears in the anime, Tetsuya Naito, is enrolled in the ranks of Miuradai as a substitute Power forward and a brute physical force - he used to play for the Miuradai rugby team, but he was dissatisfied with the lack of challenge and dropped out after Murasame approached him. Naito's inexperience as a basketball player is quickly exposed by Rukawa though, and Shohoku go on to win decisively. In the end, Naito ends up knocked out after Sakuragi (who was pissed off after Naito blocked him several times successfully) tries to use a slam dunk, yet ends up bashing him on the head by mistake. Ryonan High School Ryonan High School basketball team Ryokofu High School Ryokofu appears in the third OVA, inviting Shohoku for a friendly match right after their defeat from Kainan. They are a relatively new team, but were a force to be feared as their ranks included star players from junior high, including their half-American ace, Michael Okita. Sannoh Industry Affiliated High School Sannoh Industry Affiliated High School basketball team Shohoku High School Shohoku High School basketball team Shoyo High School Shoyo High School basketball team Takezato High School Takezato was seeded first in its respective bracket in the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament and makes the final four. However, they prove to be the weakest team present, losing to Shohoku, Ryonan, and Kainan and finishing fourth. Takezono High School Takezono is the team for which Tatsumasa Oda, the boy for whom Sakuragi suffered his 50th rejection, plays. Unluckily, their last match in the Kanagawa Tournament is against the reigning champion Kainan, who beats them handily with a reserve team, the only starters to play being Jin and Muto. Sakuragi, who at first mistakenly thought that Oda was mistreating his girlfriend Yoko Shimamura, wanted Takezono to win so he could face Oda again (Shohoku and Takezono face each other in the first Slam Dunk OVA, in a friendly match). Oda was injured, but played all the same. However, none of these events are mentioned in the manga. That Oda is playing in Takezono or that Shohoku played them are also not mentioned. Toyotama High School Toyotama is the runner-up team from Osaka in the National Championship, having lost to Daiei. They are an A ranked team and almost all of their starters are third years. Shohoku faces them in the first round of the National Championship, where Toyotama show a talent for getting away with violent, flagrant fouls, not to mention the constant teasing from the crowd, that constantly yells, swears and threatens the opposite team. They have mastered the run and gun style of play and divide their effort between 80% offense and 20% defense. Their main weakness was the replacement of their coach,'Kitano , who nurtured the team's offensive philosophy and is widely respected by the players. His replacement, on the other hand, Jiei', emphasizes defensive basketball, which the players have difficulty adjusting to. Because of this, they prefer to play their own way than listening to their new coach. The Toyotama match only appears in the manga. One of the reserve players, Teruo Okawa, is a friend of Hikoichi Aida's from junior high. Toyotama has an ace in the form of Minori Kishimoto, who earns not only Hikoichi's enmity for Toyotama after he dismisses Sendoh's abilities as a player (Hikoichi in retribution gives Shohoku information on Toyotama), but also from Sakuragi, who spent the first half under intense pressure and could not perform well enough, being substituted for by Yasuda early in the match. Their other ace and captain is Tsuyoshi Minami (who Sakuragi calls "chick-face" after the bird), who is the most aggressive of the players. He is known as the "Ace Killer", and lives up to this nickname by hitting Rukawa in the face with his elbow as he once did to Kenji Fujima from Shoyo, leaving him with a black eye for the whole second half of the game. Minami however makes up for it later, as the night before the match against Sannoh, he gives Rukawa an ointment to help his eye heal and warns him about Sawakita. The other players include Mitsuaki Iwata (center), Kyohei Yajima (shooting guard) and Daijiro Itakura (point guard). Tsukubu High School Tsukubu used to be a high-leaguer team before the rise of Shohoku. They were the fourth team Shohoku faced in the Prefectural Tournament and, after a good start, they let their defense be breached by Miyagi's fast play and lost concentration, leading to a rather shameful loss. Tsukubu is featured prominently in the second OVA (which portrays the tournament match), where their star rookie, Koichiro Nango (who is actually a center player despite his youth, something quite uncommon in local basketball), falls in love with Haruko and becomes a bitter rival to Sakuragi, to the point of betting with him: whoever wins the game will have the right to ask Haruko out. Their coach, Kazuma Kawasaki, was a former pupil of Anzai, while their captain, Tomokazu Godai, attended Kogure and Akagi's former junior high and is on friendly terms with them, but is kicked out of the game after losing his temper.

In spite of all this, along with Yohei they are among Sakuragi's most loyal supporters, going to all his games to cheer him on, and helping him out when he had to make 20,000 shots in one week to prepare for the National Championships. According to Yohei, they are known as "The Three Stooges of Wakoh Junior High". Tatsuhiko Aota Year: 3rd Year Voice Actors: Hideyuki Umezu The captain of the Shohoku judo team, Tatsuhiko is a childhood friend of the Akagi siblings, having argued with Takenori over which sport was better, judo or basketball, since their youth. This grudge continued until their present age, where their feud is over which team will be National Champion first. He once tried to make Sakuragi join the judo team because he considered his fighting skills exceptional, and to achieve this, "bribed" him with some photos of Haruko when she was younger. Still, Sakuragi refused, saying simply, "because I'm a basketball player" (actually because he knew he would actually be closer to Haruko if he stayed with the basketball team). But Tatsuhiko does not give up on trying once in a while. He is rather loyal to Takenori when the need arises, cheering him on when he is outplayed and hard-pressed during the second Ryonan match. Despite his inability to physically coerce Sakuragi into joining the judo team, Tatsuhiko has proven that he is skilled, as he is the sole member of the judo team to qualify for the National Championships in judo. However unlike Takenori, he has to beg for the chance to retake the exams that he failed or else face academic disqualification - much like the other four starters of the basketball team. It is also worth noting that Tatsuhiko has had a crush on Haruko since they were young.

She calls him "Ta-chan" instead of by his last name, which irritates Sakuragi immensely. Norio Hotta Year: 3rd Year Voice Actors: Hōchū Ōtsuka Hotta is the leader of a gang of fellow Third Year students who are the reigning delinquents at Shohoku. Sakuragi catches his attention on the first day of school when he gets into an altercation with two of his cronies, resulting in his issuing a direct challenge to Sakuragi by interrupting one of his classes. Before Sakuragi and his Gang arrive, Hotta and his cronies run into Rukawa on the school roof, who singlehandedly knocks out all four of them. Hotta is a good friend of Mitsui, and backed him up when he challenged Miyagi to a fight a year ago. He and his friends provide the muscle again after Miyagi returns, and they join Mitsui in his attack on the basketball team. From Kogure’s revelation of Mitsui’s prior history with basketball, Hotta realizes that Mitsui deep down wants to play again, and is persuaded by Sakuragi’s Gang to share the blame with them for attacking the team, getting the team off the hook for fighting. It should be noted that though Hotta and his friends failed to win in fights against Sakuragi’s Gang or even Rukawa, they are portrayed as among the best fighters in Shohoku. Hotta and his cronies later become supporters of the basketball team during the National Championship Tournament (though even they get scared by the aggressiveness of the Toyotama crowd), largely because of their friendship with Mitsui, who they give the epithet Honoo no Otoko (lit. "Flaming Man"). Tetsuo Voice Actor: Masaharu Sato Tetsuo is a biker and the only adult member of Mitsui’s gang, which included Norio Hotta and his cronies, in addition to some other delinquent high school students. It would appear that he is the gang leader, although he largely defers to Mitsui when they launch their attack on the Shohoku basketball team. He appears to be in his late 20's/30s, and is the gang’s most experienced and capable fighter. Tetsuo succeeds in knocking out five Shohoku players, among them Rukawa and Miyagi, but meets his match in Sakuragi. After Mitsui leaves the gang and rejoins the team, Tetsuo later runs into him after the former is heading home after getting his knee checked. He accepts Mitsui as an athlete, reaffirming the latter’s decision to rejoin the team. Because he refuses to wear a helmet when riding, Tetsuo has to constantly watch out for the police. Tetsuo makes an additional appearance in the anime when on the morning of Shohoku’s match with Shoyo, he is chased and cornered by the non-Shohoku members of his gang, who beat him up in a bid to challenge his leadership.

Mitsui comes upon them, but refuses to fight because of the promise he made to Coach Anzai not to fight again. Tetsuo stands up for him, but gets knocked out. However the timely intervention of Sakuragi and his Gang enables the two basketball players to leave the scene, resulting in Tetsuo teaming up with Sakuragi’s Gang to take out Ryu and his cronies. Yayoi Aida Voice Actor: Yuko Nagashima Hikoichi's older sister, she is a reporter for a weekly basketball magazine. Even though her brother plays for Ryonan, she is mostly designated to cover Shohoku matches, in which she is always impressesed about Shohoku players' performances, as they mostly play stronger opponents like Kainan or Sannoh. In the National Championship though, she gets to watch Sannoh's exercise training routines. She is almost always accompanied by a bubbly trainee called Nakamura, who does the driving when they need to go from gym to gym even though he drives slowly, as he had just gotten his driving license.She also has a huge crush on Ryonan ace Sendoh. Fujii and Matsui Year: 1st Year Voice Actor: Etsuko Nishimoto, Tomomi Sugimoto and Machiko Toyoshima (Fujii), Hiromi Nishikawa (Matsui) Haruko's classmates and friends from Junior High. They often appear together with or without her. They do not trust Sakuragi too much at first, but try their best to deal with him for Haruko's sake, and gradually become more fond of him. Fujii is shy, soft-spoken and has short hair, while Matsui has her hair tied in pigtails, has thick lips and is rather sassy at times. Their first names are not known. Ryu Voice Actor: Nobuhiko Kazama Ryu is one of the non-Shohoku members of Mitsui’s gang and the only other non-Shohoku member besides Tetsuo given the most depth. During Mitsui’s attack on the basketball team, he is matched up with Rukawa, giving him a bloody head wound with a broken mop head, but in turn gets knocked out by Rukawa. In the anime, Ryu challenges Tetsuo’s leadership by recruiting new members and targeting him after Mitsui rejoins the basketball team. He takes advantage of Mitsui’s reluctance to fight to attempt to break his hands, but is interrupted by Sakuragi’s appearance. To his surprise, Sakuragi thanks him for beating up Rukawa. The arrival of Sakuragi’s Gang enables Mitsui and Sakuragi to break away and head to the 3rd round match (which they are late for), and results in the trouncing of Ryu and all his gang members.

Dr. T • Voiced by: Yoku Shioya Dr. T is the avatar of Takehiko Inoue in the story. Every once in a while he appears in a short segment called Dr. T no Basukettobooru no Nyuumon ("Dr. T's Introduction to Basketball" or, more loosely speaking, "Basketball for Dummies"), where he breaks the fourth wall by explaining to the reader (or the viewer in the case of the anime) the rules of basketball, usually when Sakuragi makes a mistake for not knowing the rules, or a new basketball concept is introduced. He appears once in the manga as an unnamed "manga artist" outside the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament arena just before Shohoku faces Ryonan in the league round. Kawai Mari Year: 2nd Year Voice Actor: Nanae Sumitomo (Japan) A good friend of Ayako, Mari is a member of the Shohoku school newspaper and a skilled reporter, always followed by two of her clubmates. Sassy and outspoken, she likes to tease Ayako off-court, and like other girls from the school she has a huge crush on Rukawa, even when she considered him a rude brat at first. The owner of Chieko Sports Voice Actor: Hideyuki Umezu (when Sakuragi buys the Air Jordan Series VI), Hirohiko Kakegawa (when Sakuragi is offered the Air Jordan Series I) Read more!