2008 Emirates Cup

The 2008 Emirates Cup was a pre-season football friendly tournament hosted by Arsenal at its home ground, the Emirates Stadium in London. It was the second Emirates Cup, an invitational competition inaugurated in 2007. Held on the weekend of 2–3 August 2008, the participants of the tournament were Arsenal, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Hamburg.

2008 Emirates Cup
Tournament details
Host countryEngland
CityLondon
Dates2–3 August
Teams4 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsHamburg (1st title)
Runners-upReal Madrid
Third placeArsenal
Fourth placeJuventus
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored8 (2 per match)
Top scorer(s)Ivica Olić (2 goals)

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw and none for a loss. An additional point is awarded for every goal scored. Arsenal did not face Hamburg, and Real Madrid did not play against Juventus. On the opening day of the tournament, Real Madrid beat Hamburg 2–1, while Arsenal lost to Juventus by a single goal. Although the hosts defeated Real on day two, Hamburg won the Emirates Cup as they recorded a 3–0 victory against Juventus.

Background

The Emirates Cup began in July 2007 once Arsenal finalised plans to stage a pre-season competition at its home ground.[1] Named after Arsenal's main sponsor Emirates,[2] the competition's inaugural edition was attended by over 110,000 people across the two days.[3] La Liga champions Real Madrid, Italian outfit Juventus and German side Hamburg were confirmed as participants for the 2008 edition, alongside hosts Arsenal.[4] Hamburg's inclusion came after their withdrawal a year earlier due to European commitments.[1] Coverage of the two-day event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.[5]

Summary

Real Madrid took on Hamburg on the opening day of the tournament. There was a contingent of former Premier League players and staff, as Real Madrid’s lineup featured Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jerzy Dudek,[6] while Hamburg was coached by former Tottenham Hotspur manager Martin Jol.[7] Van Nistelrooy almost scored inside three minutes of the first half when his teammate Raúl put him through on goal.[8] Hamburg goalkeeper Frank Rost distracted the striker by rushing towards him. Paolo Guerrero headed wide for Hamburg, before Real Madrid took the lead five minutes before the half-hour mark. Hamburg's Nigel de Jong was beaten off the ball in his own penalty area by right back Míchel Salgado, who set Van Nistelrooy up for a straightforward tap in.[8] Real Madrid dominated and were punished for missing multiple chances to extend their lead when Mohamed Zidan scored Hamburg's equaliser.[8] Receiving the ball from the left-hand corner of Real Madrid's half, the striker curled the ball past goalkeeper Dudek which went in off the crossbar.[8] David Jarolím and Guerrero came close to putting Hamburg 2–1 in front, but Dani Parejo five minutes from time sealed the win for Real Madrid, heading in Juanmi Callejón's cross.[8]

Real Madrid lost to Arsenal on the second day of the Emirates Cup. Emmanuel Adebayor scored the only goal of the match, converting a penalty in the second half.[9] The striker was booed throughout the tournament as he failed to clarify his plans for the future during pre-season,[9] even though he had agreed a contract extension according to Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger. "To my face he told me he wants to stay at the club and that is what happened," Wenger told reporters.[10] Arsenal were defeated by Juventus the day before; David Trezeguet's goal came after the hosts failed to deal with a free kick properly.[10] Gaël Clichy, Cesc Fàbregas and Kolo Touré were absent for Arsenal, though captain William Gallas did feature in the second half.[10] New signing Samir Nasri started the match against Real Madrid.[11]

Hamburg won the 2008 Emirates Cup after beating Juventus by three goals. Guerrero scored the first in the 19th minute and Ivica Olić added two more in stoppage time.[12]

Standings

Each team played two matches, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and a point for every goal scored.[13]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Hamburg 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 7
2 Real Madrid 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 5
3 Juventus 2 1 0 1 1 3 −2 4
4 Arsenal 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 4
Source: [14]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Matches
Real Madrid2–1Hamburg
Van Nistelrooy  25'
Parejo  85'		 Report Zidan  53'
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Alan Kelly
Arsenal0–1Juventus
Report Trezeguet  37'
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Peter Walton
Juventus0–3Hamburg
Report Guerrero  19'
Olić  90+1', 90+2'
Attendance: 51,000
Referee: Chris Foy
Arsenal1–0Real Madrid
Adebayor  49' (pen.) Report
Attendance: 51,000

Goalscorers
Ivica Olić was the tournament's topscorer, with two goals.
Rank Name Team Goals
1 Ivica Olić Hamburg 2
2 Dani Parejo Real Madrid 1
David Trezeguet Juventus
Ruud van Nistelrooy Real Madrid
Mohamed Zidan Hamburg
Paolo Guerrero Hamburg
Emmanuel Adebayor Arsenal

References

General

  • Saaid, Hamdan (10 September 2015). "Emirates Cup 2008". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2017.

Specific

  1. "Valencia replace Hamburg at Emirates Cup". Arsenal F.C. 11 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  2. "The Emirates Cup". Emirates. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  3. "Emirates Cup brings out the big guns". Al Bawaba. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  4. "European giants lined up for Emirates Cup". Arsenal F.C. 7 April 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  5. "Emirates Cup on Sky". Sky Sports. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  6. Piper, Alice (6 May 2016). "Jerzy Dudek picks his #One2Eleven on the Fantasy Football Club". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  7. Gilmour, Rod (16 September 2008). "Martin Jol benefits from slice of Hamburg life as Tottenham go into freefall". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  8. Dall, James (2 August 2008). "Real see off Hamburg". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  9. Spiro, Colin (3 August 2008). "Emmanuel Adebayor penalty secures Arsenal victory over Real Madrid". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  10. Jackson, Jamie (2 August 2008). "Wenger smiles as crowd boos and Arsenal lose". The Observer. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  11. Gardner, Alan (3 August 2008). "Chelsea crush Milan while Arsenal roll over Real". theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  12. "Juventus 0–3 Hamburg: Martin Jol enjoys north London victory". Mirror Online. 4 August 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  13. "Emirates Cup – Competition rules & regulations". Arsenal F.C. 27 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  14. "Emirates Cup – a complete history". Arsenal F.C. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
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