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Spurs win Peace Cup


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Seems like a pretty competitve pre-season tourney with Lyon, PSV, Boca, etc. particapting in it. Good to see Spurs win it, showing their potential for a positive and solid season.

Keane double wins Spurs Peace Cup

SEOUL, July 24 (Reuters) - Robbie Keane scored twice to help Tottenham Hotspur clinch the Peace Cup pre-season tournament with a deserved 3-1 victory over French champions Olympique Lyon on Sunday.

'We are very happy to win this tournament, in the first half everything went well. We were a little fortunate with the first goal, but after that we scored two terrific goals', Tottenham coach Marten Jol told a news conference.

The English Premier League club took the lead in the seventh minute when Lyon defender Jeremy Berthod deflected a cross from Stephen Kelly into his own net.

Two minutes later Ireland forward Keane made it 2-0 after meeting a cross from Mido with a powerful header in sweltering conditions in front of nearly 50,000 at the Seoul World Cup stadium.

Keane claimed his second in the 45th minute after midfielder Andy Reid sliced open the Lyon defence with a clever pass through to Mido, who again set up the Irishman up for an easy tap-in.

'We've had a good tournament, it's been a good preparation for the season', Keane said.

Lyon upped the tempo in the second half and Hatem Ben Arfa grabbed a goal back from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Tottenham captain Ledley King had handled the ball.

Lyon coach Gerard Houllier paid tribute to Spurs and blamed his side's sluggish start for the defeat.

'I expect Tottenham to have a good season in the Premier League', Houllier told a news conference.

'It was difficult to judge a team that went 2-0 down in under 12 minutes,' he added. Lyon were also runners up in the inaugural Peace Cup two years ago.

Spurs receive $2 million for winning the tournament, which also included Boca Juniors of Argentina, Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, Real Sociedad of Spain, Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, Once Caldas of Colombia and domestic K-League side Seongnam Ilhwa.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=337483&cc=5901

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Martin Jol gives his reaction to the excellent 3-1 win over Lyon in the final of Peace Cup 2005...

IT IS GREAT for the young lads to win a trophy, it doesn't mean the world but it is still a big bonus to win a tournament like this. We have won something for the club and that is special.

It has been a long trip, fortunately it went well and we can now look back on it with happy memories.

Lyon are a top side and you could see in the second half that we wanted to defend. We have to be clever and it is something we have to learn. Hopefully we will get some experience out of this because we need to play better than we did in the second half.

The first half was the opposite and very good. The strikers scored again, while Stephen Kelly was fortunate with the own goal. That is his job though, to get forward, and he did that.

The first goal was lucky, but the second one was a very good one. Mido did very well with a good cross and Robbie, not known for his heading, scored a top goal.

Robbie is in good form, as is Jermain. I played Jermain in the first and third match and he was a bit unfortunate that Robbie played in the second and should play in the fourth. I am certain if Jermain had played he would have scored and ended up as top scorer instead. They are good lads who wish each other well and that is a good sign.

At times you can see we are a young side. Wayne Routledge did well and gave us a bit of pace up front and that is what we need on the wing. It was important that Ledley played and he was terrific, while Anthony played in three matches and probably had the most minutes of all the outfield players - I was happy with him.

We still have Michael Brown, Paul Robinson, Sean Davis and Paul Stalteri to come back so we have a lot of things to look forward to. There are a lot of positive things.

http://www.spurs.co.uk/article.asp?hlid=293906

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Tottenham swoop to capture Davids

Davids has played at the highest level

Tottenham are poised to sign Edgar Davids from Inter Milan on a free transfer subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms.

"He is one of the most versatile midfielders, a playmaker, a ball-winner with great stamina and huge charisma," said Spurs head coach Martin Jol.

"It's terrific that he is joining us. He will lift the team's performance."

The 32-year-old has 73 caps for Holland and counts Ajax, Juventus and Barcelona among his previous clubs.

Jol continued: "This is a player who went to Barcelona when they were middle of the league and took them close to winning the title."

Davids joined Barcelona on loan in January 2004 but could not agree a deal with the Spanish club and returned to Juventus last summer.

The midfielder joined Inter on a free but was a peripheral figure at the club and is now set to move to the Premiership.

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From Spurs website:

The Club is delighted to announce that we have signed Edgar Davids on a free transfer from Inter Milan. The player will undergo a medical in the next couple of days and agree personal terms.

The 32-year-old is one of the finest all-round midfielders in the world, combining well-developed technical skills with tough tackling and a will to win.

Head Coach Martin Jol commented: “He is one of the most versatile midfielders, a ball-winner with great stamina and huge charisma and one of the best midfielders to come out of Holland in the last 10 years.

“This is a player who went to Barcelona when they were middle of the league and took them close to winning the title.

“It’s terrific that he is joining us. This is the player we have spoken about who will lift the team’s mentality. We have a young squad with an average age of 23 and I believe Edgar will come in and lead by example.”

Davids has won 73 caps for Holland, representing the Dutch in four major finals and has played in four Champions League finals, tasting victory with Ajax in 1995.

He came through the famed youth system at Ajax where he made his debut aged just 18 and helped the Dutch giants to successive league titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996 and the UEFA Cup in 1992.

A move to Serie A and AC Milan followed in 1996 before switching to Juventus in December 1997.

He spent seven years at the Turin club during which he helped them to the final of the Champions League on three occasions — 1997, 1998 and 2003. He also bagged three domestic titles with Juventus in 1998, 2002 and 2003.

He moved on loan to Barcelona in 2003-04 and was credited with helping turn around the fortunes of the Nou Camp outfit as they finished second that season behind Valencia. He then moved back to Italy joining Inter Milan for the 2004-05 campaign.

Internationally, he has represented the Dutch for over 10 years including appearances in the semi-finals of the 1998 World Cup and of the European Championships of 2000 and 2004.

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Tottenham complete Davids signing

Tottenham have completed the signing of Holland international Edgar Davids on a free transfer from Inter Milan.

The 32-year-old has passed a medical and agreed terms with the London club.

"I know everybody is very excited, he is a big player and the one we wanted," Tottenham head coach Martin Jol told the club's official website.

"He's one of the most successful players of the last decade. He has played for five of Europe's biggest clubs and he wants to play for Spurs."

Jol said Spurs would gain a huge benefit from the vast top-level experience of Davids, who has 73 caps for the Netherlands as well as played for Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Inter.

"All of our players are ambitious and know why we have brought Edgar in, because both mentally and physically we need to go up a step or two," he said.

Davids has played in four Champions League finals, tasting victory with Ajax in 1995 - and won the Dutch league title in 1994, 1995 and 1996.

To have an experienced international, an experienced head is invaluable to most sides

He moved to AC Milan in 1996, before switching to Juventus in December 1997.

Seven successful years in Turin followed, with Davids helping the side to the Serie A title in 1998, 2002 and 2003 - and taking part in the 1998 and 2003 Champions League finals.

Davids joined Barcelona on loan in January 2004 as the Spanish club enjoyed a successful resurgence of form, finishing second to Valencia in the league.

But he could not agree a deal with Barca and returned to Juventus last summer, before moving to Inter on a free transfer.

However, Davids was a peripheral figure at Inter last season, rarely playing in the first team.

Spurs assistant boss Chris Hughton said the signing of Davids was a huge boost for the team.

"Probably the thing that attracts him to the English game is he's very much a competitor, he works very hard in the middle of the park," he said.

"He's not regarded as a goalscorer but he has a creative side to his game. In that area, to have an experienced international, an experienced head is invaluable to most sides."

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quote:Originally posted by amacpher

Do we really need a thread on every EPL club?

Last season us Italian fans had a thread specifically for Italian soccer that we kept going for the whole season, and we'll do the same for the coming season. I suggest that there should be a similar thread for English soccer so that those of us who aren't interested don't have to put up with so many separate threads.
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