FC Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o and Gonzalo Higuaín of Real Madrid CF were responsible for eight of the 34 goals scored in the Liga over the weekend, with Monday headlines greeting the latter as ‘The New Idol’ in Spain.

Both players struck four times for the Spanish heavyweights within the space of a few hours on Saturday night, bringing back memories of 18 and 19 April, 1992 when Barcelona’s Hristo Stoichkov and Madrid stalwart Fernando Hierro also hit four in the same round of games. Eto’o’s goals, all of which came in the first half of the 6-0 home win over Real Valladolid CF, helped Josep Guardiola’s side to maintain their one-point league lead over Villarreal CF and raised the former RCD Mallorca player’s profile even further after he completed his best start to a season in the club’s famous colours with 13 goals in ten Liga appearances.

After a slow start which saw the Blaugrana lose away to newly-promoted CD Numancia and draw at home to Real Racing Club, Guardiola’s men have won their subsequent eight matches and are the first team in 50 years to score 34 goals in their opening ten Liga outings. Despite those impressive figures, Guardiola still sees room for improvement. “I think there are things we can do better,” said the 37-year-old. “We’re not a perfect team; we haven’t won any titles yet.” A perfect team they may not yet be but in Eto’o, a player who has scored 92 league goals in 118 league appearances, Barcelona may have the perfect centre forward.

A player who is looking to challenge the Cameroon international in the race for the Pichichi title is Higuaín who, after his own four-goal haul in the 4-3 win against Málaga CF has now netted nine in nine for a Madrid team that are fourth, two points off top spot. ‘Higuaín releases the genie’ and ‘The New Idol’ were among Monday’s headlines in praise of the Argentinian. “I always try to do my best and today was a great day,” the 20-year-old said after Saturday’s game, the signed matchball under his arm. With two of Higuaín’s goals coming from the spot, his coach Bernd Schuster preferred to offer advice instead of praise. “I told him he might consider slightly changing the way he takes his penalties,” said the German.

SSC Napoli’s 2-1 win against Juventus on Saturday had taken them a point above Inter, Udinese and Lazio at the summit but only the reigning champions registered victory today. Within five minutes at the Stadio Olimpico, Zlatan Ibrahimović raced on to a long ball and lobbed Doni, and he scored a second goal with a calm finish after Sulley Muntani’s pass not long after the interval. Dejan Stanković increased the lead with a fine half-volley and in similar style Victor Obinna claimed a goal on his first Serie A start for Inter. Roma, who pushed Inter hard in the title race last season, remain 14th.

Although Bologna had lost five of their first six matches since their return to the top flight but they shocked Lazio with a Sergio Volpi goal on five minutes then two more from Marco Di Vaio before the half-hour mark. Tommaso Rocchi pulled a goal back for Lazio after the break but the result left UC Sampdoria in the bottom three after they lost 3-0 at AC Milan. Two second-half goals including a penalty from Ronaldinho and a late Filippo Inzaghi strike moved Milan level with Lazio after the visitors had Stefano Lucchini dismissed.

Udinese trailed 2-0 at Lecce with goals in either half from Simone Tiribocchi and Guillermo Giacomazzi but Alexis Sánchez and Gaetano D’Agostino rescued a draw. Calcio Catania are level with Udinese and Napoli after a 2-0 win against high-flying Sicilian rivals US Città di Palermo thanks to second-half strikes from Jorge Martínez and Giuseppe Mascara following Moris Carrozzieri’s sending off.

Atalanta BC, like Palermo, could have gone ahead of Lazio, Udinese and Catania with a win but were held 1-1 at AC Chievo Verona. Cagliari Calcio gained victory for the first time this season through an Robert Acquafresca goal at Torino FC to leave winless Reggina Calcio at the bottom and Genoa CFC beat AC Siena 1-0.

It was a mixed night for German sides in the opening leg of their UEFA Cup first round ties as VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg both opened with victories, while Hamburger SV could only draw at home to AFC Unirea Urziceni and BV Borussia Dortmund lost against Udinese Calcio at the Westfalenstadion.

PFC Cherno More Varna 1-2 VfB Stuttgart

Mario Gómez struck twice in the second half as Stuttgart came from behind to defeat Cherno More at the Vasil Levski National Stadium in Sofia. The Bulgarian side opened the scoring three minutes before the break when Tanko Dyakov was given too much space in the area and he picked his spot beyond Jens Lehmann. Stuttgart hit back on 66 minutes as Gómez pounced on a loose ball following a goalmouth scramble, before the 23-year-old sealed victory for his side by turning in Martin Lanig’s cross with nine minutes to play.

VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 FC Rapid Bucureşti

Wolfsburg will take a slender lead with them to Romania after Grafite’s penalty two minutes into added time at the end of the first half earned them victory at home to Rapid. Wolfsburg, playing their first UEFA Cup match in nine years, had the better of the first half and made their superiority tell moments before the break when Césinha upended Makoto Hasebe in the area to allow Grafite to score from the spot. Wolfsburg continued to press after the restart, but were thwarted time and again by goalkeeper Urko Rafael Pardo whose saves kept Rapid in the tie.

Hamburger SV 0-0 AFC Unirea Urziceni

Hamburg also played host to Romanian opposition, but the former European champions fared less well against European debutants Unirea. The home side struggled to make an impression on Dan Petrescu’s team and did not create a real chance until the 30th minute when David Jarolím’s shot bounced back off the post. Rather than spark HSV to life, that chance proved a catalyst for some enterprising play from the Romanian liga 1 leaders and it was not until well into the second half that the home side imposed themselves again. Piotr Trochowski hit the crossbar in the 80th minute and José Paolo Guerrero came close three minutes from time, but Unirea held on for a creditable draw in their first match at this level.

BV Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Udinese Calcio

First-half goals from Antonio Floro Flores and Gökhan Inler put Udinese in the driving seat as the Italian side made the most of some sloppy Dortmund defending. Floro Flores struck on the break eight minutes in before Swiss international Inler doubled the advantage when he turned in Simone Pepe’s cross with 34 minutes played. A young Dortmund side regrouped after the interval but were fortunate not to fall further behind as they pressed for a way back into the tie.

Christian Panucci gave Roma a 17th-minute lead but from that moment, the Romanian champions took control in the Stadio Olimpico. Ten minutes later, Juan Culio finished off a smart move to equalise and the Argentinian attacker scored again early in the second half, after which CFR looked far more likely to extend their lead than Roma to cancel it out.

Defender Gabriel Mureşan is one that is relishing in CFR’s new lofty status. “Today we have shown we are a big team as we came from 1-0 down and looked like a mature team,” he said. “Europe didn’t know much about us before today, but I think we have surprised everyone.”

CFR captain Cadú believes a collective will was the key to the result, despite some trepidation when Roma talisman Francesco Totti was brought off the bench in the 52nd minute to make only his second competitive appearance since injuring his knee in April. “It was the team that won the game, we have a great spirit,” the Portuguese defender said. “I was a bit concerned when Totti came on but I realised that it was too tough for him to come back after five months and do something special. We have made a bit of history but it is hard to estimate our chances of going through.”

That is a realistic statement with FC Girondins de Bordeaux and the team that visit Romania in a fortnight’s time – Chelsea FC – also in Group A, along with Roma. Cadú’s compatriot and fellow defender Tony is aware of the strength of the 2007/08 runners-up, who defeated Bordeaux 4-0 on Tuesday, but points out that there were plenty of critics that argued CFR would be out of their depth at Roma. “People thought that when we went 1-0 down we would embarrass Romanian football,” Tony said. “But we demonstrated that we are a great team. The squad are very strong and we have to remain focused for the next game, because Chelsea are a big team.”

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International commitments will put back the 27-year-old’s United debut, but speaking in Sofia ahead of Bulgaria’s FIFA World Cup qualifier against Montenegro on Saturday, he said he was delighted and relieved to have finally made the move. “It was a dream come true,” he said. “I am very, very happy to have become a Manchester United player. Everything is over and I’m looking forward to making my debut for the club. I had a dream of playing at the highest possible level and now this dream is a reality. I would like to thank Tottenham for giving me the chance to play in the Premiership. I will always be grateful to the club.”

Berbatov also confirmed that Manchester City FC had attempted to hijack the switch at the last minute and that he had received a call expressing their interest as he was being driven by Sir Alex from Manchester airport to United’s training base to tie up the deal. “I respect City’s interest, but I had already made up my mind and my wish was clear – I wanted to join Manchester United. I was really impressed with Sir Alex Ferguson’s attitude towards me. Everyone knows what he is like as a manager. I saw him as a person as well and he was great.”

Berbatov started his career with PFC CSKA Sofia before signing for Bayer 04 Leverkusen midway through the 2000/01 season. Tottenham brought him to England in 2006 and were rewarded with 27 goals in 70 Premier League games. Berbatov was also on target in Tottenham’s League Cup victory against Chelsea FC last term, but after joining the UEFA Champions League holders his sights are set much higher. “The aims of the club are clear – we must win every possible trophy. This is the best club in the world and the current European champions. The best players in the world are at Old Traford – the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tévez and many more. I’m looking forward to playing alongside them.”

Before his likely United debut against Liverpool FC – and former Spurs team-mate Robbie Keane – on 13 September, Berbatov will play for Bulgaria against Group 8 rivals Montenegro this weekend. “Our aim is to reach the World Cup finals,” said Berbatov, who has scored 41 goals in 64 appearances for his country. “Our group is very tough. We have to play the world champions Italy and the Republic of Ireland, but we will do our best and be one of the teams in the finals in two years’ time.”

Italian champions FC Internazionale Milano had to settle for a point at UC Sampdoria on the opening day of the Serie A season but Udinese Calcio hit the ground running against US Città di Palermo.

José Mourinho’s first league game at the Inter helm appeared destined for victory when Zlatan Ibrahimović swapped passes with Mancini and fired into the far corner on 33 minutes. But Sampdoria rallied after the interval and could have had more to show for their efforts than Gennaro Delvecchio’s effort midway through the half, converted after Daniele Franceschini headed Marco Padalino’s cross into his path. Antonio Cassano and Angelo Palombo both had chances to secure the points for the hosts, with the latter bringing a smart save from Júlio César as Inter held on.

In the day’s other match, Gökhan Inler celebrated his contract extension at Udinese by scoring the final goal in their 3-1 home success against Palermo. Italy striker Antonio Di Natale curled in a ninth-minute opener to set the UEFA Cup hopefuls on their way before adding his second later in the half with a cute chip over Marco Amelia following a long pass from Gaetano D’Agostino. Mark Bresciano (69) hauled the visitors back into contention but within a minute Inler had his say, heading in a corner to dash Palermo’s comeback hopes.

Go ahead and give them a try!

The relay race between the two continents will carry on because the Atlanta 1996 finalists will meet again in tomorrow’s Olympic final. Argentina bundled its South American arch rival Brazil out of gold medal contention through a comprehensive 3-0 victory, while Nigeria skipped passed Belgium in the other semifinal, defeating the European minnow 4-1.

Besides Atlanta 1996, Argentina has won the other three games that it has played against Nigeria in major senior-level international tournaments, including two group-stage victories at the 1994 and 2002 World Cups.

Argentina also won the final of the 2005 U-20 World Cup, with the then 19-year-old Lionel Messi converting two penalties to help Argentina beat Nigeria 2-1. Messi has been one of the most influential players at Beijing 2008, contributing two goals and one assist in the four matches he played in Beijing.

Sergio Aguero, who bagged two goals for Argentina in the semifinal against Brazil, was also in the team that won the 2005 U-20 World Cup.

Nigeria has nine members from its 2005 U-20 team, including its scorer in the final, Chinedu Ogbuke and the coach Samson Siasia.