Aimar is not over!!!!

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Benfica's Argentinian midfielder Pablo Aimar celebrates with his team-mates their second score against Vitora SC's during their Portuguese League football match at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon on February 13, 2011. AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA

speed, first touch, technique n great finishing..!!! that's what makes a goal!!

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REAL ZARAGOZA Team of the Decade: 2000 - 2010

, by testing

Continuing about Pablo Aimar.. and here's another team that had Aimar play, where the players included in the ranks of the best players in a decade.

this is REAL ZARAGOZA Team of the Decade: 2000 - 2010

GK: CESAR LAINEZ

During the last decade there have only been two noteworthy goalkeepers at La Romareda. While Cesar Sanchez is undoubtedly a solid enough goalkeeper, the guy is far too error prone, and so the position goes to a local hero in Cesar Lainez. Commanding and with stunning reflexes, Lainez made his way through the ranks to debut in the first team during the 2001/2002 season. Although that year Zaragoza were relegated, Lainez played a pivotal role in helping the club win immediate promotion back to La Primera, before leading them to a comfortable mid-table position and a historic Copa del Rey win over Real Madrid in 2003/2004.

LB: JAVIER PAREDES

Perhaps my difficult choice. There havn't been a great number of left-backs at the club during the decade, so the position goes to the dependable Javier Paredes. Known as 'El JabalĂ­', Spanish for wild boar, Paredes brings pace and power to the table. Always gives 100% to the cause and has been a loyal servant to the club, helping Zaragoza back to the top flight after relegation in 2008.

RB: CARLOS DIOGO

What a character. As hard as nails and as crazy a footballer as you'll find, Diogo is also an extremely useful right-back. While he scores extra points for a bizarre punch up with Luis Fabiano in 2007, Diogo is a monster of a man who offers just as much in attack as he does in defence. Defensive positioning was never his strong point, but he more than made up for it with his last-ditch tackling and whole-hearted approach to defending. He's also capable of racing down the wing to send over wicked crosses for his frontmen. Full of energy and full of fight, there's no such thing as a lost cause for Carlos Diogo.

CB: GERARD PIQUE

Unfortunately for Real Zaragoza, Gerard Pique only ever enjoyed one season in Aragon, but what a season it was for the young defender. Having only played for the reserves at Manchester United, he was sent to Zaragoza on loan during the whole 2006/2007 season to gain first team experience. Displaying the class that has made him one of the worlds best now at Barca, 'Piquenbauer' formed a formidable pairing with Gabby Milito which lead Real Zaragoza to 6th place in the league. He was also used a defensive midfielder in his time at La Romereda, which also shows the versatility of the man. He returned to Manchester in 2007 and the Zaragoza defence has never been the same since.

CB: GABRIEL MILITO

A rock of a defender that spent four incredible seasons at Real Zargoza from 2003 to 2007. Milito was nothing short of an icon during his time at the club, winning the Copa del Rey in his first season and generally offering much the same as Carlos Puyol does at Barcelona. A clever defender and dominating in the air, Gabriel Milito reads the game perfectly, while also wearing his heart on his sleeve with a full-on, committed approach to defending. The fans still chant his name which shows just how they rate the man they call 'The Marshal'.

CM: ALBERTO ZAPATER

Another local boy, Alberto Zapater was the architype combative midfielder, who shielded his back four as if his life depended on it. With a strong range of passes and an eye for a goal or two, Zapater spent five successful years at Zaragoza, helping the club to UEFA Cup qualification in 2006/2007 and was instrumental as they made an immediate return to La Liga after relegation in 2008. Once famously labelled 'The Bull' by Diego Maradona, Zaragoza still miss his huge presence in the middle of the park.

CM: PABLO AIMAR

What Zapater offers in defensive stability, Pablo Aimar offers in creativity. Signed for a then club record 12 million euros in 2006, Aimar was sensational during his first season at the club. Scoring four and with 6 assists, the little Argentine lit up La Romereda with his brand of attacking flair that provided the perfect platform for Zaragozas strikers to feed off. A crowd pleaser who was unfortunate to miss most of Zaragozas relegation season through injury. How they missed him.

CM: CANI

With his first touch in a Zaragoza shirt, Cani nutmegged Michael Reiziger of Barcelona and so started a career that was characterised by attacking verve and stunning technical ability. Able to play behind the front two, or on either wing, Cani enjoyed his best season in 2005/2006 when he provided the highest number of assists in La Liga. An exciting talent, capable of troubling the best of defences.

RM: SERGIO GARCIA

Having just failed to make his name at the Camp Nou, after scoring close to a 1000 goals in the junior teams, Sergio Garcia rocked up at Real Zaragoza in 2005 eager to prove he had what it took to succeed in the top flight. Three years later he was part of the Spain Euro 2008 Championship winning squad. Sergio Garcia was electric during his time at the club, reeking havoc down the right and through the centre with his searing pace, trickery and neat finishing. The perfect foil for Diego Milito and by far the most exciting player I witnessed during my time at Zaragoza.

CF: DIEGO MILITO

They didn't call him the 'Prince of Zaragoza' for nothing. As clinical as they come, Milito joined Real Zaragoza in 2005, and scored a total of 61 goals in 125 matches over the course of his three seasons at the club. Capable of scoring with either foot and strong in the air, Milito was considered one of the most lethal marksmen in the country during his time in Spain and narrowly missed out on the 'Pichichi' trophy in 2006/2007. The only thing the Argentine lacked was raw pace, but he more than made up for it with his exquisitely timed runs. Fantastic striker.

CF. DAVID VILLA

Raised at Sporting Gijon, and having scored bagfuls of goals in 'La Segunda', it was at Real Zaragoza where David Villa really made a name for himself in the top flight. Full of promise, the young striker arrived at the club in 2003 and went on to score 38 goals in 96 appearances, earning his first cap for Spain in the process. Part of Zaragozas Spanish Supercup winning team of 2004, Villa exhibited the sort of form that would eventually lead him to be considered one of the top strikers in world football. (www.forzafutbol.com)

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Soccer Review : Lazio win, Aimar scored!!

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Javier Cortes scored from a spectacular scissors kick on Sunday as UNAM Pumas drew 1-1 with Chivas to remain among the only two undefeated teams in Mexico.

Xavier Baez put Chivas ahead from a free kick in the 78th minute. A minute later, Carlos Orrantia sent a cross from the right wing to Cortes, who contorted his body to strike the ball past goalkeeper Luis Michel.

"It was a beauty of a goal, but we could not get a win," Cortes said. "We lacked some intensity in the first half and they took advantage, but we never gave up and got a good result. But this team can play better, we know that."

Morelia downed Estudiantes 4-1 with Argentinian defender Mauricio Romero scoring twice.

After six rounds of the of the Clausura championship, Pumas and Toluca have 12 points and are the only unbeaten teams, albeit in different groups. Tigres has the most points — 13 in Group 1.

Pumas is off to their best start since the 1997 Verano tournament in which they were unbeaten for nine rounds.

In Morelia, Romero scored in the 15th and 56th minutes. Teammates Miguel Sabah in the sixth minute and Luis Gabriel Rey in the 84th also added goals. Mauro Cejas scored in the 56th for Estudiantes, which lost their second match in a row.

Monarcas, which has not lost since the first round, has nine points to place third in Group 3.

In other weekend results, it was: Jaguares 1, Monterrey 4; Queretaro 0, Toluca 5; Tigres 2, Cruz Azul 0; Pachuca 1, Puebla 0; Atlas 1, Santos 2; Atlante 0, San Luis 0 and Necaxa 1, America 0.

League News

Champions League resumes with tasty last-16 games

LONDON (AP) — The Champions League resumes this week at the last-16 stage, with Arsenal and Barcelona ready to put on a show for the football purists and AC Milan in impressive shape ahead of the visit of injury-hit Tottenham.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium will play host to arguably the two most easy-on-the-eye teams in European football, in a rematch of last season's quarterfinal that Barcelona won 6-3 on aggregate.

The Spanish giants, who have won the competition three times, are among the favorites to land the trophy again and will look to Lionel Messi, the team's leading scorer domestically and in Europe, to spark their potent attack on Wednesday.

"We play certainly the best team in the world next so it is important to go in strong psychologically," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said after a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton on Saturday that kept his team second in the Premier League behind Manchester United.

Tottenham is set to be without star winger Gareth Bale and playmaker Rafael van der Vaart on Tuesday when it returns to the San Siro, where the London side has already visited in this season's competition.

On that occasion, Spurs lost 4-3 to Inter Milan in a group match despite a stunning second-half hat trick by Bale, who has been sidelined recently with a back injury.

Milan, a seven-time European champion, consolidated its lead in the Italian league with a 4-0 thrashing of Parma at the weekend and is unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions.

"We will need courage, concentration and quality to get through," veteran Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf said. "This result (against Parma) means we are well prepared."

Valencia hosts Schalke and Shakhtar Donetsk visits Roma in this week's other first legs, with the other four two-legged series starting next week.

Arsenal was taught a lesson by Barca last season. Lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw from a thrilling first leg at home, the Gunners were smashed 4-1 in the return match — with Messi scoring all four goals in a sensational individual performance.

The Argentina playmaker has already scored six times in this season's competition, as well as 24 goals in the Spanish league.

"When you play a team like Barcelona, you need all 11 to be at their best," said Wenger, whose side lost 2-1 to the Catalans in the 2006 Champions League final.

"For us it is important we play with belief. We are not favorites in this game but I think we can do it."

Barcelona comes into the game off a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon, a result that ended the team's record of consecutive league wins at 16.

The champions had previously outscored their opponents 60-6 through the historic run. They had also won all their away games this season.

"Now we can see the merit of 16 consecutive wins," coach Pep Guardiola said. "Now we have to recover so we can play well in London."

Guardiola should have all his regular starters available after resting Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets and France left back Eric Abidal on Saturday. The only question mark is whether captain Carles Puyol recovers from a knee injury in time.

Milan is set to be without injured midfielders Kevin-Prince Boateng, Massimo Ambrosini and Andrea Pirlo against Spurs, so Brazil center back Thiago Silva may play out of position further upfield.

"Playing Thiago Silva in central midfield on Tuesday is a real possibility," Milan coach Massimo Allegri said.

Spurs have injury problems on their own, with central midfielders Luka Modric and Tom Huddlestone expected to miss out. The probable loss of Bale and Van der Vaart (calf) would hit the side the hardest, however.

Despite the caliber of the opposition, manager Harry Redknapp has faith in his team, which topped its group ahead of Inter on its debut in the competition and is fourth in the Premier League after three victories.

"Milan are a dangerous side. They have got some real quality players. The front three — Robinho, (Alexandre) Pato, (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic — have all got goals in them. They are top-class players," Redknapp said.

"It will be a big test, but I think we have got a big chance."

Two-time runner-up Valencia, which is in the Champions League positions in the Spanish league after seven wins in its last eight matches, may be without injured forward Juanma Mata for the first leg against Schalke.

Former Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez makes his first return to Spain after his move to Schalke last summer. Raul scored 12 goals against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium when he was with Madrid.

Defenders Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso are likely to return to Roma's starting lineup against Ukrainian champion Shakhtar after missing a 2-0 defeat by Napoli on Saturday through suspension.

-- Steve Douglas

Ten-man Real Madrid beats Espanyol 1-0 in Spain

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ten-man Real Madrid moved within five points of Spanish league leader Barcelona by beating Espanyol 1-0 from Marcelo's first-half goal on Sunday.

Madrid played a man down from the second minute at Cornella-El Prat stadium after goalkeeper Iker Casillas was sent off for fouling Jose Callejon in a one-on-one situation with the goal wide open.

Even so, Madrid's quality was enough to overcome Espanyol's numerical advantage.

Marcelo scored in the 24th minute through a great individual effort. The Brazilian left back received a pass from Cristiano Ronaldo, raced into the box and slotted between the post and goalkeeper Carlos Kameni.

With reserve goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek injured, third-choice Antonio Adan replaced Casillas and played well in his league debut.

Madrid's first win in three away matches came a day after Barcelona's record 16-game winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Sporting Gijon.

Despite reducing the gap to Barcelona, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said the defending champions are still in control.

"I would like to have a five-point lead over the second-place team," he said. "But the way we won the game was very important against a tough adversary ... to lose a player in the second minute and give a debut to a goalkeeper. With those setbacks you would think (we) would lose, but we won."

Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira and Espanyol playmaker Javi Marquez both had good chances to score before Marcelo grabbed the lead for the visitors.

"I am very happy to have scored, but the most important thing is the result," said Marcelo. "We have worked very hard to do what we did today."

Madrid came close to going into halftime leading by two goals when Emmanuel Adebayor's chip shot hit the crossbar after Xabi Alonso had put him through the defense.

Espanyol continued to press for the equalizer after the restart, its best chance came when Callejon sent his shot past the post in the 74th.

Adebayor, in his most impressive game since joining Madrid during the January transfer market, could have sealed the win twice in the last 10 minutes, but Kameni saved both times.

Ealier, Alberto Lopo's second-half goal lead Deportivo La Coruna to a 1-0 win over Villarreal, and Jose Rondon's injury-time equalizer gave Malaga a 2-2 draw with Getafe.

After a dull first half, Lopo pushed home a ball flicked on by teammate Juan Rodriguez for Deportivo's 60th-minute winner at Riazor stadium.

Villarreal's top scorer, Giuseppe Rossi, was out with the flu, and Deportivo had little trouble stifling the visitors' attack to claim its first victory in six games.

"This team needs more motivation than normal," said Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Lotina. "When he play with this sense of need, the team responds well."

Villarreal dropped to fourth place with its second straight loss, two points behind provincial rival Valencia.

At La Rosaleda stadium, Getafe went ahead when Malaga goalkeeper Francesc Arnau attempted to clear a cross in the eighth minute but only succeeded in punching it into forward Nicolas "Miku" Fedor, with the ball then crossing the line.

Adrian Colunga doubled Getafe's lead in the 24th minute. But Baptista grabbed one back for Malaga from the penalty spot in the 80th after Ivan Marcano had handled in the area, and Rondon split the points with a goal in the fifth minute of injury time.

"I hope (the result) helps us change the dynamic and shows us the way to win," said Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini, whose team is now winless in six games to stay in last place.

David Trezeguet scored Hercules' 89th-minute winner in a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Zaragoza for his team's first win in five games.

Zaragoza took an early lead when Braulio Nobrega headed home in the fourth minute.

Francisco Farinos equalized in the 80th with Hercules' first goal in five games, and Trezeguet capped the comeback in the 89th with his 10th goal of the season.

Levante beat Almeria 1-0 from a goal by Felipe Caicedo, and Raul Tamudo gave Real Sociedad a 1-0 win over Osasuna.

Athletic Bilbao is at Mallorca on Monday.

-- Joseph Wilson

Ronaldinho's Flamengo remains perfect in Rio

SAO PAULO (AP) — Deivid scored the lone goal to give Flamengo a 1-0 win over Resende on Sunday for its seventh straight win in the Rio de Janeiro championship.

Ronaldinho was held scoreless, but Flamengo will play Botafogo in the semifinals of the Guanabara Cup, the first stage of the Rio tournament, while Fluminense will face Boavista. Vasco routed America 9-0 but had already been eliminated.

In the Sao Paulo tournament, goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni scored his 98th goal to help Sao Paulo beat Portuguesa 3-2, while Corinthians — with striker Ronaldo reportedly set to announce his retirement on Monday — was held to a scoreless draw by Paulista.

Luiz Felipe Scolari's Palmeiras stayed on top of the standings by beating Americana 1-0 on Saturday.

Ronaldinho failed to provide a lot of spark to Flamengo in Macae, but the popular Brazilian club was able to keep its winning streak alive with a 76th-minute goal by striker Deivid after a low cross by Chilean right back Gonzalo Fierro.

Ronaldinho, in his third match since signing from AC Milan, was substituted in the 85th.

Flamengo is the only team to win all its matches to start the season and it had already secured a spot in the semifinals of the Guanabara Cup. It will face Botafogo, which was held to a 1-1 draw with Macae at the Engenhao stadium.

A victory would have allowed Botafogo to avoid Flamengo in the semifinals and face Boavista, but it was Fluminense which got the opportunity after beating Madureira 1-0 in Volta Redonda. Fluminense's winner was scored in the 79th by recently signed striker Rafael Moura, who has netted five goals in his three matches with the Brazilian champion.

Boavista earned a semifinal spot over Resende on goal difference after a 5-3 win against Nova Iguacu. Max scored three goals for Boavista, including a last-minute score that allowed the team to advance.

Vasco, which began the year with four straight losses, thrashed America in Volta Redonda. Left back Ramon and substitute midfielder Enrico scored a pair of goals each for the four-time national champion, which now has won two in a row with new coach Ricardo Gomes.

The winner of the Guanabara Cup will play for the state title against the Rio Cup champion later in the tournament.

In Sao Paulo, Ceni scored his 98th goal by converting a 39th-minute free kick at Caninde stadium. Already the most prolific goal scorer as a goalkeeper, Ceni is just two short of 100th-goal mark, although FIFA says the 37-year-old player has 96 goals instead of 98.

The victory moved Sao Paulo to fourth in the 20-team standings with 15 points, four less than leader Palmeiras, which defeated Americana 1-0 at Pacaembu stadium on Saturday thanks to a low shot from outside the area by striker Kleber in the 54th.

Palmeiras, still without injured Chile midfielder Jorge Valdivia, has won six of its last seven matches to reach 19 points, one more than second-place Santos, the defending champion which on Friday defeated Noroeste 2-0 at Vila Belmiro stadium despite a missed penalty kick by playmaker Elano.

Sixth-placed Corinthians couldn't get past a 0-0 draw with Paulista in Jundiai. The most successful Sao Paulo state team was without former Brazil and Real Madrid left back Roberto Carlos, who left the club on Saturday because of fan threats after the team's elimination from the Copa Libertadores.

Ronaldo, who is expected to put an end to his stellar 18-year career on Monday, hasn't played for Corinthians since the team's loss to Colombia's Deportes Tolima in the Copa Libertadores on Feb. 2. Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos were heavily blamed for the defeat.

The top eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals of the Sao Paulo tournament.

-- Tales Azzoni

Boca Juniors stunned in 4-1 loss in opener

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina Clausura favorites Boca Juniors slipped to a stunning 4-1 loss to Godoy Cruz on Sunday as Ruben Ramirez scored two goals in the first match of the season for both clubs.

Ramirez scored after two defensive blunders in the first half, one of which saw Boca Juniors keeper Javier Garcia let a cross slip through his hands with Ramirez to score.

Much is expected from Boca, which has not won a title in three years and is looking for a boost from new coach Julio Cesar Falcioni.

In other matches Sunday, Gabriel Hauche scored in Racing's 1-0 victory over All Boys, and Tigre played out a scoreless draw with River Plate.

Ramirez gave Godoy Cruz a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when Garcia let a cross from his right slip through his fingers with Ramirez there to head it home from close range.

Garcia let a similar ball slip through his hands minutes later, an unstable start for a Boca. Boca began to regroup later in the half and started to look threatening with Juan Roman Riquelme and Martin Palermo pushing the offense.

But Ramirez snuffed out the surge and made it 2-0 in the 38th, this time left undefended as he chipped in a cross from a few meters (yards).

Boca kept pressing with Riquelme hitting the post minutes later.

Adrian Torres made it 3-0 in the 52nd, again from close range and against poor defending.

Boca broke through two minutes later with new forward Walter Erviti making it 3-1.

Carlos Sanchez got Godoy Cruz's final goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time after making a break down the right side — with Boca pressing for a goal — and scoring on a sharp angle to beat Garcia.

In the first matches of the new Apertura season on Friday, defending champion Estudiantes defeated Newell's Old Boys 2-1 and Velez Sarsfield drew 2-2 with Independiente.

On Saturday, Olimpo rallied to beat Banfield 2-1 on Carlos Salom's winning goal 10 seconds into second-half stoppage time. In two other Saturday matches, Juan Neira's 69th-minute goal gave Gimnasia a 1-1 draw with San Lorenzo. Juan Menseguez scored in the 16th for San Lorenzo.

Esteban Fuertes scored both goals in Colon's 2-0 victory over Quilmes.

On Monday it is Lanus vs. Arsenal and Huracan vs. Argentinos Juniors.

-- Stephen Wade

Juventus beats Inter Milan 1-0 in Serie A

MILAN (AP) — Juventus checked Inter Milan's pursuit of city rival and Serie A leader AC Milan with a 1-0 win Sunday from Alessandro Matri's first-half goal.

Matri found the net in the 30th minute in a match in which both teams had several scoring chances. Inter striker Samuel Eto'o squandered a late chance to equalize when he smashed the ball against the bar despite having an open goal at his mercy.

Inter is eight points behind Milan with a game in hand. Juventus is three further points behind.

"It has been a tough few weeks for us and this win is important for our morale," Juventus coach Luigi Delneri said. "Beating Inter can give us momentum for the rest of the season.

"We have had to be strong mentally in this period and tonight we were focused and precise in what we did, and as such deserved our win."

Lazio, meanwhile, stayed in contention for a Champions League place with a 2-0 win at Brescia on Sunday.

Alvaro Gonzalez scored an early goal in the 17th and Libor Kozak added another in the 58th to earn the Rome team a comfortable win that puts it seven points behind league leader AC Milan.

"We haven't had a particularly good time recently," Lazio coach Edy Reja said. "We haven't won away for quite some time, but we had a good game today."

Fiorentina twice came from behind to earn its first away win in over a year with a 4-2 victory at Palermo.

"Finally we were able to call up our best players, those who can score and set up goals," Fiorentina coach Sinisa Mihajlovic said. "Until now we haven't had them available and we suffered because of that. Today we didn't stop trying to play good football."

Also Sunday, it was: Bari 0, Genoa 0; Cagliari 4, Chievo Verona 1; Catania 3, Lecce 2; Cesena 0, Udinese 3; and Sampdoria 3, Bologna 1.

Juventus midfielder Alberto Aquilani had the first chance of the game, but chipped just over the crossbar.

Juventus winger Milos Krasic started the build-up for the goal, pulling the ball back for Frederik Sorensen to find Matri, who headed his cross past goalkeeper Julio Cesar, for his third goal in three games since joining Juventus.

"Matri is an important player for us," Delneri said. "He is good in front of goal, is determined, and works hard till the final whistle."

Inter immediately went on the attack, but Esteban Cambiasso hooked his shot over the bar.

Early in the second half, Inter had its best chance, but goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon punched Giampaolo Pazzini's header away.

Matri had a chance to add a second, but headed Krasic's cross wide from close range. He then took too long when Aquilani played him in and Maicon came back to clear.

Buffon had to rush off his line twice to stop Eto'o, and Matri then fired a shot wide from close range.

With two minutes remaining, Eto'o missed an open goal. He hit the bar from close range after Juventus' defense had failed to stop Maicon's low cross.

"We had a poor first half, failed to create much and allowed ourselves to be hit on the counterattack," Inter coach Leonardo said. "Juventus had a very good game, kept its shape, and controlled the ball well."

Gonzalez gave Lazio the lead when he headed in Stephan Lichtsteiner's cross at the near post. He nearly doubled his tally 10 minutes later but Brescia goalkeeper Michele Arcari got down low to push the shot away for a corner after Gonzalez raced behind Brescia's defense.

Lazio grabbed a second after the interval when Kozak got up highest to head in Cristian Ledesma's corner.

Alessandro Diamanti was Brescia's main attacking threat and he nearly grabbed a consolation goal in injury time when his free kick hit the bar.

"There are times in the season when you don't play at your best," Reja said. "We had ours in January and suffered because of that. But we kept our spirits up and now things are starting to go our way."

In Palermo, Javier Pastore kept up his impressive form by grabbing the opener in the seventh. By halftime though Fiorentina was level after Alberto Gilardino nodded in Valon Behrami's chipped cross.

Antonio Nocerino put Palermo back in the lead soon after the break with a diving header, but again Fiorentina fought back when Michele Camporese was left unmarked at a corner to score in the 70th.

Cesare Bovo's own-goal put Fiorentina into the lead and Riccardo Montolivio secured the points with two minutes remaining.

-- Jeremy Inson

Lille beats Toulouse 2-0 in French league

PARIS (AP) — Gervinho scored his 11th league goal of the season and set up another for Tulio De Melo as Lille beat Toulouse 2-0 to stay five points clear of Rennes at the top of the French league on Sunday.

Lille took the lead with a bizarre first-half goal, and Gervinho set up De Melo for an easy goal in the fourth minute of injury time.

Lille coach Rudi Garcia's team is now unbeaten in the league for 13 matches, last losing to Marseille at home on Oct. 24.

"The other teams behind us are winning, which motivates us. We have to stand up to them," Lille midfielder Florent Balmont said. "We know what we're capable of, we're not putting ourselves under pressure. We haven't lost for a long time and we're gaining in confidence and experience."

Lille striker Moussa Sow's shot was pushed onto the post by goalkeeper Matthieu Valverde in the 38th minute, the loose ball breaking to Gervinho, whose scuffed, spinning strike was helped into the net by defender Adrian Javier Gunino.

The goal was credited to Gervinho, even though it looked like an own goal by the defender.

Sow almost made it 2-0 just before halftime when he burst into the penalty area and hit a low shot that Valverde kicked away near his right post.

With two minutes remaining, Sow — the French league's top scorer with 16 goals — broke free down the left before trying to curl the ball in for his 17th rather than passing to the unmarked Gervinho.

Gervinho showed how to be unselfish when the Ivory Coast forward cut through the Toulouse defense down the right and squared the ball to De Melo, who was lurking near the penalty spot and swept the ball home with seconds remaining.

Lille goalkeeper Mickael Landreau did not even have a shot to save in his 500th appearance in the French league.

Earlier, Victor Hugo Montano and Abdoulrazak Boukari scored in the second half as second-place Rennes beat Nice 2-0 at home to stay in second place — one point clear of third-place Marseille and two ahead of Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain.

"I've always said that there are five teams who have more room for error than us," Rennes coach Frederic Antonetti said of his team's chances of qualifying for the Champions League. "The objective is to be ready if one of them slips up."

Montano put Rennes ahead when he headed in veteran midfielder Jerome Leroy's chipped pass in the 52nd minute, and Boukari added another from the penalty spot shortly after.

"These youngsters are surprising. We have the youngest team in France, despite Jerome Leroy," Antonetti said. "They are imposing themselves more and more ... but I am still waiting to see them away from home."

Rennes is gaining in confidence after beating title rival Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at home last weekend.

"We had to follow up our win against PSG and we did it well," Antonetti said. "We should have scored in the first half, but couldn't manage to despite having four or five chances."

But Antonetti is worried that away form will cost Rennes this season. The team has not won away since Sept. 25.

"We've had a real problem away from home," he said.

Gregory Pujol's ninth league goal of the season led Valenciennes to a 3-0 home win over Brest and moved it five points away from the relegation zone.

David Ducourtioux and Milan Bisevac scored the other goals to put Valenciennes 2-0 up at halftime. Pujol struck in the 69th minute to equal his best league tally.

-- Jerome Pugmire

Brisbane finishes A-League in typical style

SYDNEY (AP) — The Brisbane Roar finished Australia's A-League regular season in typical form — in first place and taking a lengthy unbeaten streak into the finals series.

The Roar beat southern neighbors Gold Coast United 4-0, their 25th unbeaten match in a row, and will play second-place Central Coast in the first match of a home and-away major semifinal next Saturday.

In two elimination finals, Adelaide United hosts the Wellington Phoenix on Friday, while Gold Coast takes on the Melbourne Victory on Sunday.

The Phoenix took the final playoff spot with a 3-1 win Sunday over North Queensland. The win eliminated Newcastle, which lost 1-0 to Central Coast in the final regular-season match Sunday, from the finals race.

In other weekend results, Adelaide clinched third spot with a 2-1 win over the Melbourne Victory on Friday. The Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC, both out of finals contention, played out a 2-2 draw.

Danny Vukovic became the first goalkeeper to score a goal in the A-League in the Phoenix win. Vukovic took a stoppage time penalty and made no mistake, making history as the first goalkeeper to score for his own team in the sixth season of the competition.

The elimination final winners meet in a minor semifinal in the second week of the finals. The winner of the major semifinal advances direct to the grand final on March 12, the loser plays the minor semifinal winner in the third week.

Gold Coast defender Dino Djulbic claimed "only one team turned up" in its match against Brisbane.

"If we play like this in the finals we can pack our bags and go home," he said.

Captain Travis Dodd headed home the winner in the 78th minute for Adelaide in front of 21,083 spectators. Striker Archie Thompson came on in the second half to scored a 65th-minute equalizer for the Victory after Adelaide veteran midfielder Paul Reid had given United the lead after six minutes.

Adelaide's 10th home win of the season was achieved without leading A-League striker Sergio Van Dijk, who withdrew late with a thigh injury.

Panathinaikos beats AEK Athens 3-1 in Greek league

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Costas Katsouranis, Loukas Vyntra and Djibril Cisse scored to give defending champion Panathinaikos a 3-1 win over AEK Athens in the Greek league on Sunday.

Katsouranis exploited a defensive mistake in AEK's area to beat goalkeeper Sebastian Saja and put Panathinaikos ahead in the 44th minute.

In the 51st, Cisse charged forward from midfield, drew AEK's defense and, at the right moment, passed to Vyntra, who blasted a shot from the edge of the area into the net.

Panathinaikos dominated for the next few minutes, missing at least two good chances to make it 3-0. Instead, it was AEK which pulled a goal back on a counterattack in the 58th. Costas Manolas stripped Sebastian Leto of the ball in midfield and, while several Panathinaikos players were pleading with the referee for a foul, passed to Nacho Scocco who did not miss.

Panathinaikos made it 3-1 when defender Cedric Kante surged forward and, despite being hassled by three AEK players, passed to Cisse, who scored with a low drive from inside the area in the 75th.

With eight rounds left, Panathinaikos is seven points behind leader Olympiakos, which won at Aris 2-1 on Saturday.

Panathinaikos visits Olympiakos in the next round in what could be its last chance to get back in the title race.

Also Sunday, Xanthi beat Atromitos 3-0; Kerkyra beat last-place Panserraikos 3-0; Volos won 2-1 at Larissa; and Iraklis and Asteras played to a scoreless draw.

PAOK, which lost 1-0 at Panionios on Saturday, is third.

Ajax held to 2-2 draw at Roda in Dutch league

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Ajax lost ground in its bid to win the club's first Dutch league title in seven years after missing a late penalty in a 2-2 draw at Roda JC on Sunday.

The visitors were awarded a spot kick in the 88th minute, but striker Mounir El Hamdaoui missed his attempt.

Ajax led 1-0 when Miralem Sulejmani latched onto a pass from Christian Eriksen to score after 13 minutes, and teammate Siem de Jong doubled the lead in the 34th.

But Roda hit back with Mads Junker's goal seven minutes later and Anouar Hadouir, playing in his 200th league match, equalized with a free kick in the 82nd.

PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente both won Saturday to share the lead in the standings, five points ahead of third-place Ajax.

SC Heerenveen boosted its Europa League chances with a 2-0 win over NAC Breda. Luciano Narsingh scored in the 60th minute and created the other for Oussama Assaidi in the 82nd.

Niki Zimling's two second-half goals sealed NEC Nijmegen's 2-0 win over Excelsior Rotterdam, while FC Groningen drew 1-1 at De Graafschap.

On Saturday, it was: ADO The Hague 3, VVV-Venlo 0; Willem II 3, FC Utrecht 3; Twente 1, Vitesse Arnhem 0; Feyenoord 2, Heracles Almelo 1 and AZ Alkmaar 0, PSV 4.

Celtic beats Dundee United 3-1 to move five points clear

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Celtic moved five points clear of Glasgow rival Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Dundee United on Sunday.

Celtic went into halftime at Tannadice with a 2-0 lead thanks to deflected efforts by top scorer Anthony Stokes and Mark Wilson.

The hosts, who came into the match boasting an 11-game unbeaten run, halved the deficit in the 64th minute when David Goodwillie crashed home a close-range finish.

But Celtic wrapped up the win when Daniel Majstorovic headed in from an inswinging free kick, extending its run to 16 matches without defeat.

Second-place Rangers, which beat Motherwell 6-0 on Saturday, has two games in hand over its cross-city rival.

FC Porto beats Braga 2-0 in Portugal

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Nicolas Otamendi scored twice to give FC Porto a 2-0 win at Braga, keeping the Portuguese leaders undefeated and 11 points clear of second-place Benfica.

The Argentine center back put his team ahead a minute before halftime. He sealed Porto's eight straight victory in the 68th.

Benfica defeated Guimaraes 3-0 after goals by Sidnei, Pablo Aimar and Carlos Martins. Benfica has won 16 consecutive games in all competitions and has a game in hand over Porto.

Also on Sunday, Naval climbed out of last place with its 3-1 win over Academica and Rio Ave beat Portimonense 2-0. Beira Mar visits Setubal on Monday to close round 19.

Elsewhere

Report: Ronaldo set to announce his retirement

SAO PAULO (AP) — Three-time FIFA player of the year Ronaldo will announce his retirement from football on Monday, according to a Brazilian newspaper.

"It's time," Ronaldo was quoted as saying by the website of the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper on Sunday. "I can't keep going. I wanted to continue but I can't. I think about making a play but I can't execute it."

Ronaldo's agent, Fabiano Farah, didn't confirm the report but told local media that it is a possibility. Corinthians has announced a news conference for Monday afternoon at the team's headquarters, without giving further details.

Last week, the 34-year-old Ronaldo was heavily blamed by fans for Corinthians' disappointing elimination from the Copa Libertadores, Latin America's most important competition and the only major tournament the Brazilian club is yet to win.

Supporters damaged players' cars and threw rocks at the team's bus, and Ronaldo said at the time that the fan violence made his consider putting an end to his career.

He had been expected to keep playing until the end of the year, but he is visibly out of shape with his physical condition having deteriorated. He has been struggling to play at a high level and hadn't scored a goal since last year.

If the retirement is confirmed, Ronaldo will be ending a stellar 18-year career.

He played in three World Cups and remains the tournament's all-time scoring leader with 15 goals. He helped Brazil win the title in 2002 in South Korea and Japan, scoring twice in the final.

Ronaldo thrived in Europe after leaving Cruzeiro to PSV Eindhoven in 1993, starring for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan before returning to Brazil at the beginning of 2009 to recover from the third serious knee injury of his career. He won the FIFA player of the year award in 1996, 1997 and 2002.

Ronaldo scored 62 goals in 97 internationals with Brazil, but was never called up again to the national team after a disappointing performance at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. There were calls for his return to the squad after he helped Corinthians win the 2009 Brazilian Cup, but he was never able to get back in shape.

Ronaldo brought a lot of sponsors to Corinthians and is expected to remain linked to the club's football operations, at least until his contract is set to expire at the end of the year.

His announcement to stop playing would come two days after former Brazil teammate Roberto Carlos said he was leaving the club because he and his family were being threatened by fans after the Copa Libertadores elimination.

-- Tales Azzoni

Corinthians: Roberto Carlos moving to Russian club

SAO PAULO (AP) — Corinthians says veteran left back Roberto Carlos has signed for Russian club Anzhi. The Brazilian club says he will be paid $9 million a year.

Corinthians did not release further details of the transfer, but local media reported that the player agreed to a two-year contract with the Russian club, with an option for another year.

The27-year-old Carlos said he left Corinthians because he and his family received threats from fans after the team's elimination from the Copa Libertadores on Feb. 2. His contract was to expire at the end of the year.

The former Brazil and Real Madrid left back played 64 matches for Corinthians, scoring five goals.

Ballack sidelined by knee injury

BERLIN (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen said Sunday that midfielder Michael Ballack has had another injury setback. The 34-year-old midfielder was unable to train due to a problem with his knee and underwent an MRI scan at the team doctor's clinic in Cologne on Sunday morning.

Results of the scan are not yet known. He was an unused substitute in Leverkusen's 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

Ballack, capped 98 times for Germany, returned to action in January after four months out with a shinbone injury sustained against Hannover in September.

The former Chelsea player also missed the World Cup with an ankle injury.

Moenchengladbach fires coach Frontzeck

MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP) — Struggling Borussia Moenchengladbach has fired coach Michael Frontzeck. Frontzeck was dismissed after the team's latest defeat — a 3-1 loss at St. Pauli on Saturday — left it seven points short of safety at the bottom of the table.

Sports director Max Eberl says "we had to rethink the situation."

Moenchengladbach has only 16 points from 22 matches. It has conceded 56 goals — easily the division's worst defensive record. There was no immediate word on a successor.

Gouffran out for 3 months with broken ankle

BORDEAUX, France (AP) — Bordeaux winger Yoan Gouffran could miss the rest of the season after breaking his right ankle in Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Caen in the French league.

Bordeaux announced on its website on Sunday that Gouffran had a successful operation overnight and "will be out for a period of three months." The French league ends on May 29. The 24-year-old Gouffran has scored two goals in 21 league games this season for ninth-placed Bordeaux. (www.brownsvilleherald.com)

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fastest red card ever for the goal keeper

, by testing



This is being called the fastest red card ever for the goal keeper in the worlds and like the word, has been dropped hit the stairs as well. that's what happened at Ebbsfleet United and it makes a good case. Just 10 seconds into Ebbsfleet United's Conference South match against Farnborough, its goalkeeper, Preston Edwards, was shown a straight red for weakly tripping up an opposing player who got in the way of a terrible backpass (about 50 seconds into the video).



Having your first-choice keeper sent off just 10 seconds into the match is bad enough, but it's even worse when you don't have a backup keeper on the bench. Which Ebbsfleet didn't. So, Ebbsfleet's 17-year-old attacking midfielder Tom Phipp came in as a makeshift goalkeeper and the side ended up losing 3-0. Which isn't as awful as you might expect. It probably could have been worse.

Poor Edward Preston, and the unlucky club :D

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Valencia’s top 11 players

, by testing

The 2000’s were an exceptional decade for Valencia CF. From Spanish league titles to Champions League finals, Valencia supporters were spoiled rotten.

Things deviated somewhat towards the end of the decade, with a financial meltdown and a relegation battle. But overall, Valencia experienced a renaissance.

Who were the players that spurred that resurgence?

Using a 4-3-1-2 system, here are Valencia’s top 11 players of the decade from my version.

Goalkeeper – Santiago Cañizares

Can there be another? The platinum blond, former Real Madrid ‘keeper was a rock in the net, playing in over 300 matches for Los Che. He won 4 Zamora trophies as best goalie in the country, played in 46 internationals with Spain and had it not been for an unfortunate aftershave bottle incident in 2002, started the World Cup for La Furia Roja.

While many of his acrobatic saves could be listed as his best moment in the Valencia shirt, the one that stands out is the tears he shed after losing the Champions League final to Bayern Munich on penalties in 2001.

The emotion he showed captivated many fan’s hearts. He displayed his devotion for the club and the fans who suffered with the team. He’s truly a VCF legend.

Defenders – Roberto Ayala, Mauricio Pellegrino, Amedeo Carboni, Carlos Marchena.

Defense carried Valencia to two league championships and two successive Champions League finals early in the decade.

The rock in the middle of the defense was Ayala, who recently retired. He captained Argentina more times than anyone else (63 times) and his solid play in the middle meant opposing offenses had to be creative to score against Valencia. He was a true defensive pest. They don’t make defenders like Ayala anymore.

Joining Ayala in the middle is Mauricio Pellegrino. He amassed nearly 200 appearances with Los Che and along with Ayala, anchored the best defense in Europe.

Italian international Amedeo Carboni played nine years for Los Che, eventually becoming sporting director. His fiery play and aggressive marking were a major reason clubs couldn’t count on wide play against Valencia’s defense. In 2005, Carboni became the oldest player in La Liga history at age 40.

Carlos Marchena rounds out the defense. While Marchena splits opinion with Valencia fans, the man’s impressive defensive abilities can’t be argued. He’s hard nosed and aggressive. He’s appeared with Los Che over 220 times and won the Euros and World Cup with country. Simply one of the best Valencia defenders ever.

Defensive Midfielder – David Albelda, Ruben Baraja, Gaizka Mendieta

While the defense anchored Valencia’s impressive record in the ‘00’s, the midfield provided service to the forwards and goals galore.

First up is David Albelda, another player who splits fan opinion. Some love him, some hate him. What can’t be argued is his devotion to the club, where he’s spent his entire career, over 300 games. Albelda isn’t flashy or creative. But he’s solid and an above average stopper. He’s in his twilight these days, but his contribution will not be forgotten.

Ruben Baraja is a true Valencia icon, one of the most underrated midfielders of the decade. He could shoot, he could create, he could out hustle, pass and defend with the best. He played a full decade with the squad and when he retired after last season, the club lost an influential presence they’ve yet to replace.

Gaizka Mendieta, who played as a midfielder. Versatile, with good offensive and tackling skills, also being capable of creating goals for teammates and himself. Mendieta had an even better year in 1999–2000. However, the biggest triumph of the season was helping Valencia reach the final of the season's UEFA Champions League, a 0–3 loss to fellow league side Real Madrid; later, he was awarded the "European Midfielder of the Season" award.

Playmaker - Pablo Aimar
Pablo Aimar is a strange case. An attacking midfielder with a range of skills, Aimar entertained the Valencia faithful for years with his silky passes, his genial midfield play and his gorgeous goals. Problem was, he couldn’t stay healthy and never truly fulfilled his promise. Still, many of his signature plays will forever live in the minds of Valencia fans.

Forwards – David Villa / Mista.

Any list of Valencia’s best has to include El Guaje, David Villa. Arguably the world’s best striker, Villa played for Los Che from 2005 to 2010, scoring an impressive 108 goals in 166 appearances. He was top scorer of Euro 2008, scored 5 goals in helping Spain win the 2010 World Cup and has scored 44 for country, tied with the legendary Raul.

Villa won the hearts of Valencia’s fans and although we would have loved to keep him, the financial debt forced our hand. Villa now plays for Barcelona and he’s continuing his impressive form, leading the offensive arsenal of arguably the world’s best club.

The last choice might seem odd, but while Mista isn’t as impressive as others on this list, his accolades at the club speak for themselves.

When Mista came to Valencia from Tenerfie in 2002, the club had a solid midfield and a superb defense but a shoddy offensive line.

In comes an unremarkable Mista, who straps on his work clothes and out hustles defenses, scoring 24 goals in all competitions en route to the UEFA Cup and league championship in 2004.

Maybe he peaked that season, as his offensive prowess fell back to Earth soon after. But for those years, Mista was a blessing, doing nothing remarkable but scoring goals when we needed them.

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Contaminated Effect

, by testing

Preview: 
Warning! contamination ahead. suite up and get ready for an awesome effect tutorial :)
In this tutorial we will use various overlay techniques, the pen tool and how to use stock images to add texture to the design.

Getting started.

In this GIMP tutorial i used two elements. the nuclear sign and the watercolor background so go ahead and download them from the following links.
Nuclear sign: i can't remember where i got this freebie icon so I've placed it on our sever for download
Water color texture can be downloaded from Go Media's free Watercolor Pack sampler, download

Step 1

Create a 600x450 image. if your going to use it as a wallpaper i suggest you create something bigger.

Step 2

Fill the background with black and place our nuke sign in the centre of the canvas.

Step 3

Now right click on the nuke icon layer and click on Alpha to Selection, then go to Filters>Light and shadows>Drop shadows, set the settings to Offset X:0, Offset Y:0, Blur radius:380, color a5ef17, Opacity 100 , and un-tick "Allow resizing".
De-select selection by going to Select>None . this is how it should look

Step 4

Now Repeat step 3 but this time set the blur radius to 100.

Step 5

Next open mdp-watercolour60.jpg from the zip file you downloaded off go media and open it in gimp, then resize it to 700x990 by going to Image>Scale image.

Step 6

Next change the image to black&white by going to colors>Desaturate. then go to colors> Brightness and contrast
and set Brightness to -80 and contrast to 118.

Step 7

Now insert the watercolour image above all the other layers and then rotate the image on an angle of 128 and set the layer mode to Overlay.

Step 8

Next turn off the textured watercolor layer by clicking on the eye icon in the layer dialog this is so it doesn't get in our way.

Step 9

Next grab the Path tool and create a curved path. the idea is to start all paths from the edge of the icon, as if its coming from behind it.

Step 10

Create a new layer. change your foreground color to yellow fdf23c and with the path still active go to Edit>Stroke path and set the value to 3px.
note* if your path disappears go to the paths dialog and right click>path tool.
This is how it should look

Step 11

Select the easer tool, erase part of the overlapping line so that it looks like its coming from behind the icon. then use the Circle fuzzy (19) easer brush to get a faded effect for the end points.

Step 12

Next will add a glow to our stroke by going to the path dialog then "right click to > Path tool" on the path we previously drew.
then select Circle Fuzzy (17) from the brushes dialog and go to Edit>Stroke Path and select "Stroke with paint tool. finally set the layer to overlay.

Step 13

As we did in step 11 use the Eraser tool to clean up the stroke ends.

Step 14

Create three more strokes each on there own layer with each layer's opacity set to 39.

Step 15

Using the same technique as the glow strokes in step 12, will create some particle effects on two of the paths.
Create a new layer, Go to the path dialog then "right click> Path tool" on the path we previously created. Then select Sparks from the brushes tab and go to Edit>Stroke Path and select "Stroke with paint tool. repeat this to the top left stroke and when your done set layer mode to Overlay.

Step 15

We could stop here but i think this adds a nice touch to it :) with the "spark brush" randomly apply some here and there, not so much though.

Step 16

Re-activate the watercolour texture layer by clicking on he eye icon and set its Opacity to 85. and thats it :)
The gimp XCF source file is attached below as always. enjoy! (gimp-tutorials.net)

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Mail Merge in Openofficeorg: Everything You Need to Know

, by testing

If you haven’t tried OpenOffice.org’s mail merge feature because you find it confusing or difficult to use, you are in luck. Mail Merges in OpenOffice.org and StarOffice provides a detailed description of the mail merge feature from start to finish. Among other things, it shows how you can use the mail merge to create letters, labels, and envelopes. Download the free PDF ebook for your persusal or read the article online.
by Solveig Haugland
Overview of the Steps in Creating and Printing Mail Merges in OpenOffice.org or StarOffice
Step 1: How to Create or Double-Check Your Data
Creating the Middle-Man .odb Database File That Reads the Data
Creating the Mail Merge Document
Printing Your Mail Merge Document to Create the Merged Versions

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE EBOOK (PDF)

Conceptual Mail Merge Overview

A mail merge is a way to take a letter you’ve written and send it to a whole bunch of people, personalizing it with information about them so they might think that you typed that letter personally for them. A mail merge can also be a quick way to take a list of people’s mailing addresses and generate labels or envelopes with the address for a different person on each label or envelope. In short, it’s a way to be personal, yet efficient. It’s essential for any person or organization that has a lot of clients, partners, parents and children, or other people to communicate with.
Here’s a simplified conceptual overview of how a mail merge works in any application.
Let’s say that you need to send out an invitation to every person in your mailing list, thanking them for coming to an event. You make sure you’ve got the data set up correctly in a database, and you create a letter saying what you want to say. Then you display the database, you pull in a few fields from it like the name, city, or whatever specific information about each person that you need in the letter. Then you print the letter, choosing all the people or just specific people, and you get a copy for each one.
If you want to use the letter again, you just open it up again and print it again, specifying either all the people in the database, or just the ones you want.
To add people to the database, you just open up the spreadsheet, or the text file or other data source where the data is stored, and add them there. The mail merge document will be able to pick up on the new data as well as all the old data the next time you print.
Advanced option example: You could also choose to only print a copy for people who came to the event and donated $100 for fundraising. To do this, you’d need to have a column, a field, in your data that specifies the amount of their donation. When it comes time to print, you’d just sort by the donation field and print the range of records that have a value of $100 or more.

Overview of the Steps in Creating and Printing Mail Merges in OpenOffice.org or StarOffice

Creating a mail merge isn’t quick the first time, but once you’ve got your data source set up (the data, and the database file that points to it), creating the mail merge document and creating the actual documents you send to people is really quick and easy.
1. Create or find your data and make sure it’s set up correctly. You can have it in a spreadsheet, your address book, a text file, or a database like Access or mySQL. Once you do this once, you don’t have to do it again.
2. Create what I call the “middle man” file, a database file that functions as a go-between, between the data and your letter or your label documents. It’s easy to create and its role is to just let the letter or the labels pull information out of the data. As with the data, once you do this once, you don’t have to do it again.
3. Create a letter or label or envelope document, in Writer. It can be a blank document that you start typing in, it can be a template that you open and modify, it can be labels or envelopes you’re creating through the label wizard–any Writer document.
Once you’ve done this once, you don’t have to do it again. You can re-used the document just open it up and print it. If you’ve changed the data in the data source (your spreadsheet or database) since the last time you printed, you’ll get the latest up-to-date information when you print it now. You don’t have to do anything; the Writer mail merge document knows to look for the current information.
4. Then you print, which creates the actual merged documents. The output can be printed copies of the letter or labels, or it can be a Writer file that’s got all the merged documents in it (so you can customize it before you print).
This is the only step that you have to do again each time you do a mail merge: the production of the actual output. You need to do it again to be sure that you get the latest information from the data source, because the data has probably changed since the last time you did the mail merge. Or you might want to print copies for only a few of the people or records in the data source.
Note: This article doesn’t address using a native Base database for both your data and your “middle-man” file. There are many ways to create a native Base database from scratch and via importing. See this URL to create a Base database by importing: http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2007/12/starting-a-new.html and this one for creating from scratch: http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2142/creating_databases_the_quick_easy_way_with_openoffice_org#creatingnativedatabase
If you have a native Base database, that is the same as steps 1 and 2.

How to Create or Double-Check Your Data

You probably already have data around that you’ll want to use. You need to be sure that it’s set up correctly.
You have to have a unique label, a name, for each column of data. You’re going to want to put a specific field, like the First Name field or the Zip Code field, in your mail merge document, so you need to be able to refer to it by name. Every name needs to be different; you can’t have Name for the first names and Name again for the last names.
Also, the names need to be at the top of the file, not along the left side or on the second row. The first row of the file, whether it’s a spreadsheet or text file, needs to be the field name.
Note that the text file doesn’t look even. That’s OK – you just need to have one (and only one) tab between each column. You could also separate the columns with commas or semicolons.
To make sure that the data can be used in as many ways as possible, make the names lowercase and without spaces. “First Name” is bad, “Firstname” is better and “firstname” or “first_name” are ideal.
If you’re using an address book or a database, it’s probably set up correctly in function, and you won’t be able to change the names of the fields.
Here’s something else to note. In a spreadsheet, the sheet name is going to be the table name: the table is what the data is in. You might want to name the sheet something that will clarify what the content of the data. The same goes for text files and the file name: the file name will be the table name.
You can have multiple tables (sheets or files) in the same database. This is fine and probably more convenient for you. This spreadsheet above, for instance, has two sheets, customer_mailinglist and employee_mailinglist. There’ll be two tables in the same database, corresponding to those sheets. You just can’t use two tables in the same mail merge. For text files, all the text files in the same directory will be tables in the database. If you have C:\data\customer_mailinglist.txt and C:\data\employee_mailinglist.txt, each file will be a table in the same database.
If you’re using text files for your data, put all the text files that you want in the same database, in the same directory. Make sure that those files are the only things in that directory, since all usable data in that directory will be brought into the database.
Once you’ve got the data set up correctly, you’re done with the data and you don’t need to do anything else except add new data when you need to. The new data goes into the data files or your database and your mail merge documents will be able to find it automatically.
You’re ready for step 2.

Creating the Middle-Man .odb Database File That Reads the Data

OpenOffice.org and StarOffice are set up with a middle-man file in the mail merge process to make merging work easily. You’ll create a small file, one for each spreadsheet or other data source. Once you create it, you don’t have to do it again.
1. Choose File > New > Database. You’ll see this window:
2. Select the type of data: spreadsheet data, text file data, your particular type of address book, or the type of database you’re using like Access or mySQL. It’s very important to select the right type.
3. Click Next.
4. What you do here depends on what you chose as the type of data you’re working with.
Spreadsheet
You’ll see this window. Click the Browse button and find the spreadsheet containing your data. Then click Next and continue to step 5.
Text File
You’ll see this window. Click the Browse button and find the directory containing your text files.
Fill out the rest of the information:
Specify the type of files you want to access: Specify whether the file name ends in .txt or .csv.
Row format: In the Field Separator list, specify what character separates each column: a tab, a comma, etc. Tab and comma are common. In the other lists, if you don’t know the characters used to indicate each type of information, just leave the defaults as is.
Then click Next and continue to step 5.
Access
You’ll see this window. Click the Browse button and find the .mdb Access file containing your data. Then click Next and continue to step 5.
Address book
You don’t have to specify anything if you choose to get your data from your email address book; the system automatically finds it. Continue to step 5.
Databases like mySQL requiring drivers
You’ll be asked different questions depending on what type of database you chose. For instance, if you chose mySQL, you’ll first be asked whether you want to use ODBC or JDBC to connect to the database. Click Next.
Then just specify where the ODBC or JDBC driver files are. The information will vary depending on your database and how you connect to it.
Click Next and continue to step 5.
5. In this window, just be sure to keep the option for registering selected. Unmark the selection to open the database for editing unless you want to see the database editing window. (You don’t need to unless you want to make a query or other database-related item, which we haven’t talked about yet.)
Click Finish.
6. You’ll be prompted to save the database file. Name it something very descriptive; this is the name you’ll be looking for when you’re adding database files to your mail merge documents. The name can be the same as the data source that you’re basing it on, or entirely different. The file will end in .odb and be stored in whatever directory you choose. It doesn’t have to be in the same directory as the data.
7. You can see your databases by pressing F4 when you’re in a Writer or Calc document. Click the + icon next to the database you created to see the items named Queries and Tables. Click the + next to Tables to see the tables you created; select a table to see the data in it.
When you’re done viewing your databases, press F4 again to hide the pane.
You’re done creating the database file. You only need to do this once for every spreadsheet, database, or directory of text files.

Creating the Mail Merge Document

In this step, you create the Writer document that contains the fields from the database like firstname, lastname, and so on. If it’s a letter, then you also put in the text of the letter, any graphics or letterhead, and so on.
Follow the steps for the type of mail merge document you want to create: a letter, labels, or an envelope.
Create a Mail Merge Document: Letter
1. Open a template, if you have one you want to use, or create a new Writer document.
2. Save the document with the appropriate name, like mailmerge_openenrollment.ods or mailmerge_parents.odt.
Warning: Don’t save it in Word format. You must save it in OpenOffice.org Writer format or the mail merge won’t work.
3. Write out the text that will be going to everyone, and plan where you want the fields. For instance, you might know that you are going to have an address block at the top of the letter, so you’ll leave a few blank lines for that. Then you’d write something like this, know that you’d add the fields firstname and years_of_service later:
Dear ,
Remember that next month is open enrollment for benefits. Employees with over five years of experience are also eligible for sabbatical; you have been with us for years so please get your application in early if you plan to apply.
Regards,
Human Resources
If you’re doing anything complex and this is your first mail merge letter, write out the letter completely as you want it to read including sample data. Use all the text, including samples for firstname, lastname, etc. This will help you determine which fields you need to use, where you need spaces before and after fields, etc.
In the following example, for instance, if you want to communicate this, you’ll need to use fields from the database for title, lastname, childs_name, study_area, and test_score.
Dear Ms. Smithson,
Your child Jenny is such a joy to have in the classroom. Her score on her Social Studies test score last Friday was A-.
Regards,
Mr. Thomson
4. Once you have the letter written out and you know what fields you need, you can delete the specific data like “Ms. Smithson” and insert the fields from the database instead.
Press F4. Click the + next to the database you want, then click the + next to Tables and the + next to the table you want.
5. Now just drag the field you want into the letter, to the place you want it.
a. Click and hold down on the name of the first field you want. Don’t click on the data, like Smithson; click on the name of the field, like lastname.
b. Drag the field name into the letter to the place where you want it. The mouse will have a + atached to it as shown.
c. Release the mouse. The field will appear. You won’t see the data yet; you’ll see the field name.
If you didn’t get it exactly where you want it, just select it, and cut and paste it to the place where you want it. The easiest way to select a field is to click on the right side of it, hold down the Shift key, and press the left keyboard key once. Then it’s selected and you can cut or copy.
Drag in all the other fields you want, the same way. If you want a field in the letter twice, you can either drag it twice, or drag it in once, then copy and paste it to the other location.
The fields should display with a gray background, as shown. It won’t print; it just helps you see which text is from the database and which text you typed.
Format the document any way you want it. The fields respond to formatting the same way that normal text does.
You’re done creating the mail merge document. You only need to do this once. The next step is to either print the letter to a printer, or “print” to a Writer file so you can see all the data merged, and so you can customize, before printing on paper. Continue to the printing step.

Create a Mail Merge Document: Labels

1. In Writer, choose File > New > Labels.
2. In the window that appears, select the appropriate Brand and Type. You must select the right choice in the Brand list, usually Avery Letter or Avery A4, or the type of label you want won’t appear in the Type list.
3. Select the Database and Table you want to work with.
4. Select the first field you want to use, such as firstname, in the Database Field list. Click the arrow button next to it to insert it in the Label Text field. It will appear as shown, with the databasename, then the table name, then the field name.
5. You’ll need to type any spaces, carriage returns, and any other extras you want in the labels yourself. So typically you would want to type a space after the field, in the Label Text area, then select the next field, lastname, and click the arrow button to insert that too.
Then press Return, insert the Address field, and so on until you’re done.
6. Click the Options tab. You’re almost done, but it’s a good idea to add a feature that will let you customize the labels after you’ve created the mail merge document itself. Select the Synchronize Contents checkbox. You’ll see how to use it in a moment.
7. Click New Document.
8. You’ll see the mail merge label document, with fields displayed instead of data. (You’ll be able to see the data in the next major step, printing.)
Notice that there’s a small floating Synchronize button. You might not need to use it. But consider the following: you might not like the text formatting, or you might realize you forgot to type a comma after the city field. It would take a lot of time to make those corrections in 30 or more labels.
With the Synchronize button, you make the corrections just once, in the upper left label, then click Synchronize and the changes are made in all the labels.
9. To make a formatting change, do it in the upper left corner as shown:
…then click Synchronize Labels and the changes are made in all the labels.
10. Optional: Here are some other changes you can make. You can add a graphic such as a logo. Click in the first label and choose Insert > Picture > From File. Resize it so it fits in the label, then right-click on it and choose Wrap > Page Wrap so that the text will flow around it. Make the text font size smaller if necessary so that it will all fit in along with the logo. Then click Synchronize Labels to put the logo on every label.
Here’s something else, totally optional, that you might want to try in order to make sure your labels don’t get cut off as you print on slightly different printers. Select the text in the first label and drag the small bottom triangle in the illustration to the right to give it a little room on the left margin.
Then click to the left of the first line of the label, press Enter, and click in the blank line created above the field names. Click in the Font Size field and type something small like 4 or 6, then press Enter again. You’ll get a small space above the label.

Then click Synchronize Contents to make the changes in every label.
11. Save the mail merge label document a recognizable name like labels_openenrollment.odt.
Warning: Don’t save it in Word format. You must save it in OpenOffice.org Writer format or the mail merge won’t work.
You’re done creating the mail merge label document. You only need to do this once. The next step is to either print the letter to a printer, or “print” to a Writer file so you can see all the data merged, and so you can customize, before printing on labels. Continue to the printing step.

Create a Mail Merge Document: Envelopes

Envelopes are very similar to labels, you’ll just need to specify what type of envelope you’re using, instead of the type of label. Refer back to the Labels directions for more detail on using envelopes.
Note: You can also create envelopes the same way you created letters: just set up the page in envelope size under Format > Page, Page tab. It needs to be Envelope 10 page size, landscape, with very small borders. You’ll also need to indent the text in the To area to get it in the right spot.
1. In Writer, choose Insert > Envelope.
2. If you want to type return address information, do so in the From area.
3. Select the Database and Table you want to use.
4. Select the first field you want to use, such as firstname, in the Database Field list. Click the arrow button next to it to insert it in the Label Text field. It will appear as shown, with the databasename, then the table name, then the field name.
5. You’ll need to type any spaces, carriage returns, and any other extras you want in the labels yourself. So typically you would want to type a space after the field, in the Label Text area, then select the next field, lastname, and click the arrow button to insert that too.
Then press Return, insert the Address field, and so on until you’re done.
6. The next step is the most important part of creating envelopes. Click the Format tab and in the Size list, select a specific envelope format from the list. I recommend Envelope 10. This selection MUST be the same that your printer is set up to expect when you print.
Next, you need to be sure your printer is also set up for Envelope 10, or the same choice you made in the Format tab. Click the Printer tab and click Setup as shown.
Now select your printer and click Properties.
In the window that appears, which will vary depending on your printer, you need to find the field where the size of the paper is specified. Select what you specified in the Format tab, typically Envelope 10. Click OK, and OK again to get back to the envelope wizard.
7. Select the correct option from the envelope orientation, if you know it. If you don’t, leave it as the default and if necessary repeat these steps to try a different orientation.
8. Click New Doc., not Insert. It’s best to keep envelope documents separate from letter-size documents because of the need to have the printer set up specifically to expect envelope-sized documents.
9. Save the document something recognizable like ‘envelope_openenrollment.odt’.
Warning: Don’t save it in Word format. You must save it in OpenOffice.org Writer format or the mail merge won’t work.
You’re done creating the mail merge envelope document. You only need to do this once. The next step is to either print the letter to a printer, or “print” to a Writer file so you can see all the data merged, and so you can customize, before printing on envelopes. Continue to the printing step.

Printing Your Mail Merge Document to Create the Merged Versions

Note: If you’re printing on labels for the first time on this printer, you’ll need to experiment a few times before you arrive at the right way to insert the envelope. Be sure to just print one record at a time until you’re figured this out.
1. With your letter, label, or envelope document open, just choose File > Print.
2. You’ll see this message. Click Yes. (Always click Yes, or you’ll just end up with a single printed version with <firstname> and <lastname> instead of the data.
3. You’ll see the mail merge print window. Here you can choose how many records to print, and how to print them: to the printer right now or to a file so you can view and edit them before you commit to paper.
4. Choose what range of records to print. The easiest is to just leavel All selected.
Printing Specific Records
You can specify exactly the ones you want with Ctrl – select. Just click on the gray box to the left of the first record you want to print, then hold down Ctrl and select the next record, and so on. In that case you want Selected Records to be marked, as shown.
Printing a Consecutive Range of Records
You can also specify a range of records such as 1 to 5, by making the appropriate selections in the From fields.
Sorting Records
Optional: You might want to specifically print a letter, labels, or envelopes only for people who meet certain criteria, like only people with five or more years of experience. To do that in this case, click on the field name for years_of_experience, as shown. Then find the Sort icon at the top. It’s easiest to sort Descending in this case, with the people with the most years of experience first.
When you click the Sort Descending icon, you get the results sorted in that order. And since you can see that the last person with five or more years of experience is Record 11, you can choose to print from 1 to 11.
5. Now choose where you want to print.
Printing to the Printer
If you’re ready to print straight to the printer, leave Printer selected as it is by default and click OK. You’ll see the normal print window. Just leave the defaults as is, with 1 copy of each document, and click OK.
If you’re printing labels, be sure to feed the labels into the printer. If you’re printing envelopes, click Properties and be sure that the printer is still set up to expect Envelope 10. Then click OK and feed in envelopes.
Printing to a File for Previewing or Customizing Before Printing on Paper
To print to a file – that is, to just generate a Writer document with the merged results – select File and Save as Single Document. Then click OK.
You’ll be asked to give a file name. This is the name of the merged document. Name it and click Save.
You’ll see the print monitor counting through the records.
Now choose File > Open and open that file you just named.
Note: When you open the output from merged labels, don’t click yes when you see this message. Click No. If you click Yes accidentally, just close it without saving, and reopening it, clicking No this time.
You’ll see the merged results.
Here’s one example of a merged letter:
And merged labels:
At this point you can view the document and proof it, make any changes you want, and save it. Then to print it, just print it like a normal document, since it’s already merged with the data from the database.
Making Changes
If you need to make changes to the document, such as adding spaces around a field, adding fields, or adding text, just go back to the mail merge document itself and make those changes. Then repeat the steps to print in this Printing section.
by Solveig Haugland of http://www.openoffice.blogs.com/

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