London 2012: Football tickets and fixture confirmed

The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has confirmed the dates of Team GB’s group stage fixtures ahead of London 2012 Olympic Football tickets going back on sale on 29 November 2011.

The men’s team, coached by Stuart Pearce, will begin their London 2012 campaign at Old Trafford on Thursday 26 July, followed by Wembley Stadium on Sunday 29 July and their final group game will be at the Millennium Stadium on Wednesday 1 August.

The women’s team, coached by Hope Powell, will begin the tournament on Wednesday 25 July at the Millennium Stadium, followed by Saturday 28 July also at the Millennium Stadium. Their final group stage match will take place on Tuesday 31 July at Wembley Stadium.

Tickets for the London 2012 Olympic Football Tournaments will go back on sale from 11am on 29 November 2011 on a first come, first served basis at www.tickets.london2012.com or via telephone on 0844 847 2012.  In recognition of Visa's longstanding support of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, only Visa (debit, credit and prepaid) can be used to purchase tickets.

The Official Draw for the Olympic Football Tournament will take place on 24 April 2012 at Wembley Stadium.

LOCOG Director of Sport Debbie Jevans commented, ‘The prospect of Team GB taking part in the Games has captured the imagination of the public and we are pleased to be able to confirm their group stage fixtures ahead of tickets going back on sale.  With teams like Spain and Brazil already qualified and fantastic venues across the country, the Olympic Football Tournaments promise to be a great family day out at the Olympic Games next summer.’

Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics said:  ‘I am really looking forward to watching Team GB men’s and women’s football teams compete in 2012, and there are no greater football venues anywhere than our host stadiums.  There are still tickets left, so I encourage everyone to try and get one and support the team in 2012.’

Team GB Chef de Mission Andy Hunt said, ‘We are delighted that the group fixtures for Team GB in both men’s and women’s football will allow fans from throughout the United Kingdom to experience the spirit and energy of the Olympic Games while showing their support for Team GB.’

There are more than 1.5 million Football tickets still available across all sessions, with limited availability at matches taking place at Wembley.

Fixtures:

Men's team:

Thursday July 26, Old Trafford

Sunday July 29, Wembley Stadium

Wednesday Aug 1, Millennium Stadium

Women's team:

Wednesday July 25, Millennium Stadium

Saturday July 28, Millennium Stadium

Tuesday July 31, Wembley Stadium

Messi Scores 50th Goal in a single season: Barcelona Victory

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi on Saturday became the first player to score 50 goals in a Spanish season as Barcelona and arch-rivals Real Madrid both triumphed ahead of their mouth-watering Champions League duel.

Messi reached his latest landmark when he found the target three minutes from time in his team's 2-0 win over Osasuna as Barcelona maintained their eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.

He had already equalled the previous best mark of 49 goals scored by Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas when he netted in the 1-1 draw against Real last weekend.

Now Messi has 31 goals in the league and nine in the Champions League after finishing with seven in the King's Cup and three in the Spanish Supercup.

Earlier Saturday, Real crushed Valencia 6-3 to set the foundation for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg clash at their Bernabeu home.

In midweek, Barca's hopes of a treble had come to an end when Real beat them 1-0 in the King's Cup final, but coach Pep Guardiola shrugged it off saying that the league is their main priority.

However, ahead of another 'clasico' in Europe, Guardiola chose to leave the likes of Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta on the bench against Osasuna.

The impressive Jeffren Isaias supplied the 24th minute cross for Spain international David Villa to end one of his worst spells in front of goal when he fired passed the keeper after having gone eleven matches and two months without scoring.

In the second half Barca tightened up and substitute Messi came on to secure the three points and his place in the record books.

"It wasn't a very strong performance from us. Osasuna are always a difficult team and we had players who don't play that often. It was important for Villa to get his goal to boost his confidence," said Guardiola.

Looking ahead to the game with Real he added: "If we go to the Bernabeu aiming to defend they will take advantage. We need to go and score goals even though we have problems with injuries. At the moment not many people would back us as Madrid are playing a lot better."

A second-string Real side romped to a 6-3 win over Valencia.

Coach Jose Mourinho fielded just Iker Casillas and Ricardo Carvalho from the side which beat Barcelona in the final of the King's Cup as he also looked to rest his players.

Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain made the most of his opportunity with a hat-trick while Brazilian star Kaka grabbed a brace.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring when the keeper failed to reach a Higuain pass and the Frenchman slotted passed two defenders on the line.

Higuain then slipped the ball home while defender Jeremy Mathieu dawdled in possession.

Still before half time Kaka and Higuain netted from crosses with the Valencia defence again ball watching.

After the break Valencia were a little better with Higuain completing a hat-trick before Roberto Saldado finally got the home side on the score sheet.

A piece of quality from Kaka saw him finish clinically after nutmegging a defender and then Valencia gave some respectability to the scoreline with goals from Jonas Goncalves and Jordi Alba.

"We want to finish the season well and with the feeling that we are capable of winning in any stadium. Our aim is that Barca win the league with the points they pick up and not those that we give away," said Mourinho.

"This is a competition in which we aren't favourites but after winning a trophy, we have won well here and played spectacular football. We did our job and have had two very tough games after each other."

Athletic Bilbao boosted their European hopes with a 2-1 win in a hard-fought Basque derby against Real Sociedad.

They are now five points clear of sixth-placed Sevilla thanks to goals from Iker Muniain and Gaizka Toquero.

Argentina vs Portugal, Messi vs Ronaldo live streaming and preview

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will finally meet in an international when Argentina faces Portugal on Wednesday. Longtime club rivals in the Champions League and Spain, the gifted forwards have never come up against each other on national team duty because the friendly in neutral Switzerland is their countries' first meeting in almost 40 years.

The historic clash arrives with Barcelona's Messi and Real Madrid's Ronaldo locked at the top of the Spanish scoring chart with 24 league goals each.

Portugal coach Paulo Bento downplayed talk of a personal duel between the two most recent winners of FIFA's world player award. Bento says "it's not about individual rivalry. I doubt whether Ronaldo or Messi see it that way, either."

Please, feel free to add live streaming links

Libertadores de América Cup 2011 Schedule

First Round

Corinthians (Brasil) - Alianza Lima (Perú) - Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) - Bolívar (Bolivia) - Independiente (Argentina) - Liverpool (Uruguay)

Deportes Tolima (Colombia) - Jaguares de Chiapas (México) - Deportivo Petare (Venezuela) - Unión Española (Chile) - Deportivo Quito (Ecuador) - Grêmio (Brasil)

G1

26/1: Corinthians - Tolima

2/2: Tolima - Corinthians

G2

26/1: Alianza Lima - Jaguares de Chiapas

1/2: Jaguares de Chiapas - Alianza Lima

G3

27/1: Cerro Porteño - Dep. Petare

3/2: Dep. Petare - Cerro Porteño

G4

27/1: Bolívar - Unión Española

3/2: Unión Española - Bolívar

G5

25/1: Independiente - Dep. Quito

1/2: Dep. Quito - Independiente

G6

26/1: Liverpool - Grêmio

2/2: Grêmio - Liverpool

Second Round

Group 1

Universidad de San Martín de Porres (Perú) - Libertad (Paraguay) - Once Caldas (Colombia) - San Luis (México)

15/2: San Luis - Libertad

16/2: Once Caldas - Univ. de San Martín

22/2: Univ. de San Martín - San Luis

22/2: Once Caldas - Libertad

2/3: San Luis - Once Caldas

8/3: Libertad - Univ. de San Martín

15/3: Univ. de San Martín - Libertad

15/3: Once Caldas - San Luis

22/3: Libertad - Once Caldas

22/3: San Luis - Univ. de San Martín

19/4: Libertad - San Luis

19/4: Univ. de San Martín - Once Caldas

Group 2

Junior (Colombia) - Oriente Petrolero (Bolivia) - León de Huánuco (Perú) - G6

17/2: León de Huánuco - Junior

17/2: G6 - Oriente Petrolero

23/2: León de Huánuco - Oriente Petrolero

24/2: Junior - G6

3/3: G6 - León de Huánuco

8/3: Oriente Petrolero - Junior

15/3: León de Huánuco - G6

17/3: Junior - Oriente Petrolero

24/3: Oriente Petrolero - León de Huánuco

5/4: G6 - Junior

14/4: Oriente Petrolero - G6

14/4: Junior - León de Huánuco

Group 3

Argentinos Juniors (Argentina) - Nacional (Uruguay) - Fluminense (Brasil) - América (México)

9/2: Fluminense - Argentinos Jrs.

15/2: América - Nacional

23/3: Fluminense - Nacional

24/2: Argentinos Jrs. - América

2/3: Nacional - Argentinos Jrs.

2/3: América - Fluminense

15/3: Argentinos Jrs. - Nacional

23/3: Fluminense - América

6/4: Nacional - Fluminense

6/4: América - Argentinos Jrs.

20/4: Nacional - América

20/4: Argentinos Jrs. - Fluminense

Group 4

Caracas FC (Venezuela) - Universidad Católica (Chile) - Vélez Sarsfield (Argentina) - G4

15/2: Vélez Sarsfield - Caracas FC

16/2: G4 - Universidad Católica

3/3: Vélez Sarsfield - Universidad Católica

3/3: Caracas FC - G4

9/3: Universidad Católica - Caracas FC

10/3: G4 - Vélez Sarsfield

22/3: Caracas FC - Universidad Católica

24/3: Vélez Sarsfield - G4

7/4: G4 - Caracas FC

7/4: Universidad Católica - Vélez Sarsfield

14/4: Universidad Católica - G4

14/4: Caracas FC - Vélez Sarsfield

Group 5

Santos (Brasil) - Colo Colo (Chile) - Deportivo Táchira (Venezuela) - G3

15/2: Dep. Táchira - Santos

17/2: G3 - Colo Colo

1/3: Dep. Táchira - Colo Colo

2/3: Santos - G3

10/3: G3 - Dep. Táchira

16/3: Colo Colo - Santos

5/4: Dep. Táchira - G3

6/4: Santos - Colo Colo

12/4: Colo Colo - Dep. Táchira

13/4: G3 - Santos

20/4: Santos - Dep. Táchira

20/4: Colo Colo - G3

Group 6

Internacional (Brasil) - Jorge Wilstermann (Bolivia) - Emelec (Ecuador) - G2

16/2: Emelec - Internacional

16/2: G2 - Jorge Wilstermann

22/2: Emelec - Jorge Wilstermann

23/2: Internacional - G2

8/3: G2 - Emelec

16/3: Jorge Wilstermann - Internacional

16/3: Emelec - G2

30/3: Internacional - Jorge Wilstermann

6/4: G2 - Internacional

7/4: Jorge Wilstermann - Emelec

19/4: Jorge Wilstermann - G2

19/4: Internacional - Emelec

Group 7

Estudiantes de La Plata (Argentina) - Guaraní (Paraguay) - Cruzeiro (Brasil) - G1

9/2: G1 - Guaraní

16/2: Cruzeiro - Estudiantes de LP

22/2: Cruzeiro - Guaraní

23/2: Estudiantes de LP - G1

2/3: G1 - Cruzeiro

9/3: Guaraní - Estudiantes de LP

16/3: Cruzeiro - G1

17/3: Estudiantes de LP - Guaraní

30/3: G1 - Estudiantes de LP

31/3: Guaraní - Cruzeiro

13/4: Estudiantes de LP - Cruzeiro

13/4: Guaraní - G1

Group 8

LDU de Quito (Ecuador) - Peñarol (Uruguay) - Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba (Argentina) - G5

17/2: Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba - LDU de Quito

24/2: G5 - Peñarol

1/3: Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba - Peñarol

3/3: LDU de Quito - G5

9/3: Peñarol - LDU de Quito

10/3: G5 - Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba

17/3: LDU de Quito - Peñarol

23/3: Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba - G5

31/3: Peñarol - Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba

5/4: G5 - LDU de Quito

12/4: Peñarol - G5

12/4: LDU de Quito - Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba

Round of 16 (27/4 y 4/5 *)

1 - 16 - A

2 - 15 - B

3 - 14 - C

4 - 13 - D

5 - 12 - E

6 - 11 - F

7 - 10 - G

8 - 9 - H

Quarter Finals (11/5 y 18/5)

A - H - S1

B - G - S2

C - F - S3

D - E - S4

Semifinals (25/5 y 1/6 **)

S1 - S4

S2 - S3

Finals (15/6 y 22/6)

Libertadores de América Cup Winners

Year // Champion

1960 Peñarol

1961 Peñarol

1962 Santos

1963 Santos

1964 Independiente

1965 Independiente

1966 Peñarol

1967 Racing

1968 Estudiantes de La Plata

1969 Estudiantes de La Plata

1970 Estudiantes de La Plata

1971 Nacional

1972 Independiente

1973 Independiente

1974 Independiente

1975 Independiente

1976 Cruzeiro

1977 Boca Juniors

1978 Boca Juniors

1979 Olimpia

1980 Nacional

1981 Flamengo

1982 Peñarol

1983 Grêmio

1984 Independiente

1985 Argentinos Juniors

1986 River Plate

1987 Peñarol

1988 Nacional

1989 Atlético Nacional

1990 Olimpia

1991 Colo Colo

1992 São Paulo

1993 São Paulo

1994 Vélez Sarsfield

1995 Grêmio

1996 River Plate

1997 Cruzeiro

1998 Vasco da Gama

1999 Palmeiras

2000 Boca Juniors

2001 Boca Juniors

2002 Olimpia

2003 Boca Juniors

2004 Once Caldas

2005 São Paulo

2006 Internacional

2007 Boca Juniors

2008 LDU (Quito)

2009 Estudiantes de La Plata

2010 Internacional