Celtic´s Mc Donald goal seems to define 43rd Scottish league against Rangers

On Saturday, Rangers host Celtic in the 290th league installment of the all-Glasgow clash ‘The Old Firm’. The two sides are first (Celtic) and second (Rangers) in the Scottish table and will likely decide the title as they have divided it amongst themselves in every season since 1985/1986.

Rangers have won a world record 51 domestic league top flight titles.
Among European clubs, Celtic are ranked in the top three, having won 42 Scottish league crowns. Mc Donald goal seemed to define another Championship...

The last side to snatch the Scottish title other than Rangers or Celtic were Aberdeen in 1984/1985.

European clubs with most domestic league top flight championship titles
# Club Nation

51 Rangers Scotland
48 Linfield Northern Ireland
42 Celtic Scotland
36 Olympiacos Greece
33 Rapid Wien Austria/Germany
31 CSKA Sofia Bulgaria
31 Sparta Praha Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic
31 Benfica Portugal
31 Real Madrid Spain
29 Anderlecht Belgium
29 Ajax Netherlands

Happy Liverpool at Christmas

Liverpool are the 2008/2009 FA Premiership table leaders at Christmas time, making them the frontrunners on December 25th for the 16th time in league history, equalling Manchester United’s English top flight record.

The Reds are the leaders at Christmas for the first time since 1996/1997, according to Infostrada. From the previous 15 times they led the way on 25 December, they have gone on to win the league title on 10 occasions. The last time they accomplished that feat was in 1987/1988.

Most often leading English top flight at Christmas
# Club

16 Liverpool
16 Manchester United
12 Arsenal
9 Everton
5 Aston Villa
4 Blackburn Rovers
4 Burnley
4 Newcastle United
4 West Bromwich Albion
4 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Seasons in which Liverpool led English top flight table at Christmas
Season P W D L Pts GF GA Final rank

2008/2009 18 11 6 1 39 27 12 TBD
1996/1997 19 11 5 3 38 36 18 4th
1990/1991 17 14 2 1 44 37 14 2nd
1987/1988 19 14 5 0 47 44 11 1st
1983/1984 18 11 4 3 37 31 13 1st
1982/1983 19 12 4 3 40 45 17 1st
1980/1981 23 11 10 2 32 46 27 5th
1979/1980 20 12 6 2 30 45 14 1st
1978/1979 20 14 3 3 31 44 9 1st
1972/1973 23 14 6 3 34 45 26 1st
1968/1969 25 17 4 4 38 44 14 2nd
1965/1966 22 14 4 4 32 48 20 1st
1949/1950 22 11 9 2 31 40 23 8th
1922/1923 21 15 1 5 31 46 21 1st
1921/1922 20 9 9 2 27 29 18 1st
1905/1906 19 12 2 5 26 44 29 1st

UEFA Champions League schedule: Round of 16

First knockout round, to be played 24th, 25th February and 10th, 11th March
Team named first at home in first leg

Chelsea FC (ENG) v Juventus (ITA)
Villarreal CF (ESP) v Panathinaikos FC (GRE)
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) v FC Bayern München (GER)
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP) v FC Porto (POR)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) v FC Barcelona (ESP)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Liverpool FC (ENG)
Arsenal FC (ENG) v AS Roma (ITA)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) v Manchester United FC (ENG)

Arsenal – Liverpool preview: the match of the week

Arsenal welcome Rafael Benitez’s Liverpool team to the Emirates on Sunday, in the knowledge that they have the best record in Premier League matches between the Big Four sides over the last three seasons.

According to Infostrada, since the start of 2006/2007 season, Arsenal have picked up 23 points from 14 Premier League matches against the other Big Four sides – one more point than Manchester United.

This season, Arsenal and Liverpool have both won their league matches against Manchester United and Chelsea, and are thus unbeaten in Big Four clashes in the 2008/2009 season.

Premier League record in matches between the Big Four clubs since the start of 2006/2007
Club P W D L GF GA Pts

Arsenal 14 6 5 3 20 17 23
Manchester United 15 6 4 5 19 14 22
Liverpool 14 4 4 6 12 16 16
Chelsea 15 3 7 5 11 15 16

Arsenal vs Liverpool in Premier League since 2006/2007
Season Date Match Result

2007/2008 05 Apr 2008 Arsenal - Liverpool 1-1
2007/2008 28 Oct 2007 Liverpool - Arsenal 1-1
2006/2007 31 Mar 2007 Liverpool - Arsenal 4-1
2006/2007 12 Nov 2006 Arsenal - Liverpool 3-0

FC Barcelona can equal a Spanish top flight record if they beat Villarreal CF

If they beat Villarreal CF on Sunday, 21 December, FC Barcelona can equal a Spanish top flight record.

Barcelona are on a streak of six consecutive away wins in La Liga. The record of seven away wins in a row was set by Real Madrid in the 1960/1961 season and later equalled by Real Madrid (1991) and Villarreal CF (2007). This is Barça’s fourth streak of six away wins in La Liga.

Most consecutive away wins in La Liga
# Club Last match before streak Match that ended streak

7 Real Madrid RCD Mallorca - Real Madrid (20 Nov 1960) 1-1 Real Oviedo - Real Madrid (19 Mar 1961) 0-0
7 Real Madrid Osasuna - Real Madrid (19 May 1991) 3-3 Real Zaragoza CD - Real Madrid (15 Dec 1991) 1-1
7 Villarreal CF Getafe CF - Villarreal CF (15 Apr 2007) 3-0 Osasuna - Villarreal CF (07 Oct 2007) 3-2
6 FC Barcelona Numancia - FC Barcelona (31 Aug 2008) 1-0 Still running
6 FC Barcelona Real Madrid - FC Barcelona (25 Feb 1984) 2-1 CR Murcia - FC Barcelona (12 Oct 1984) 1-1
6 Real Madrid FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (23 May 1987) 2-1 Athletic Bilbao - Real Madrid (31 Oct 1987) 0-0
6 FC Barcelona Racing Santander - FC Barcelona (04 Jan 2004) 3-0 Real Betis - FC Barcelona (14 Apr 2004) 1-1
6 FC Barcelona Deportivo La Coruña - FC Barcelona (15 Oct 2005) 3-3 Valencia CF - FC Barcelona (12 Feb 2006) 1-0

Current away winning streak FC Barcelona
Date Match Result

29 Nov 2008 Sevilla FC – FC Barcelona 0-3
16 Nov 2008 Recreativo Huelva – FC Barcelona 0-2
01 Nov 2008 Málaga CF – FC Barcelona 1-4
19 Oct 2008 Athletic Bilbao – FC Barcelona 0-1
27 Sep 2008 RCD Espanyol – FC Barcelona 1-2
21 Sep 2008 Sporting Gijón – FC Barcelona 1-6

Barcelona 2 - Real Madrid 0: goals and highlights

Video of El Clásico: Samuel Etoo and Lionel Messi scores against Real Madrid and Barca maintain top position.

Barcelona – Real Madrid: the match of the week

On Saturday, FC Barcelona host Real Madrid in the 157th edition of ‘El Clásico’. La Liga leaders Barça have a nine point advantage over Real Madrid after 14 matchdays.

If all points are recalculated to three points for a win, the biggest gap (13 points) in favour of Barcelona after 15 matchdays was in the 1929/1930 season.
Barcelona can hand Real Madrid their third consecutive defeat in La Liga.
According to Infostrada, the last time Real lost three league matches in a row was when they set a club record of five straight defeats between April and May 2004.

Biggest gap between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid after 15 matchdays
# Season Points Barça Points Real

13 1929/1930 31 18
11 1990/1991 38 27
9 2004/2005 38 29
8 1947/1948 24 16
7 1973/1974 28 21
7 1984/1985 35 28
7 1995/1996 32 25
Note: all points recalculated to three points for a win

Manchester United unbeaten streak reached 19 matches: They go for a new record

On Wednesday, Manchester United drew AaB 2-2 at home, bringing their Champions League unbeaten streak to 19 matches.

United join Ajax and Bayern München for most successive matches in the CL without a defeat.
AC Milan are the last team that beat Manchester (02 May 2007).
Milan won in the semifinal of the 2006/2007 CL replay at home against Manchester (3-0).
According to Infostrada, the Red Devils also recorded two streaks of 16 matches without a defeat earlier.

Longest undefeated streaks in Champions League
# Club Start date W D Match that ended streak

19 Manchester United 19 Sep 2007 11 8 Still running
19 Ajax 14 Sep 1994 14 5 Ajax - Panathinaikos (03 Apr 1996) 0-1
19 Bayern München 14 Mar 2001 13 6 Real Madrid - Bayern München (10 Apr 2002) 2-0
16 Manchester United 04 Mar 1998 7 9 Olympique Marseille - Manchester United (19 Oct 1999) 1-0
16 Manchester United 23 Oct 2001 10 6 Maccabi Haifa - Manchester United (29 Oct 2002) 3-0
15 FC Barcelona 14 Sep 2005 10 5 Chelsea - FC Barcelona (18 Oct 2006) 1-0
14 FC Barcelona 25 Nov 1998 10 4 Chelsea - FC Barcelona (05 Apr 2000) 3-1
14 FC Barcelona 01 May 2002 11 3 FC Barcelona - Juventus (22 Apr 2003) 1-2
14 Liverpool 08 Dec 2004 8 6 Benfica - Liverpool (21 Feb 2006) 1-0
14 Olympique Lyon 08 Dec 2004 10 4 AC Milan - Olympique Lyon (04 Apr 2006) 3-1

Hoffenheim goes for the winter title

After this weekend, the Bundesliga is halfway through its season and heads into a winter break for more than a month. On 31 of 45 previous occasions (76%), the leaders at the winter break eventually won the league title in Germany.

Hoffenheim currently are the table leaders in Germany. Bayern München had the same amount of points as Hoffenheim, but Hoffenheim have a better goal difference. Bayern drew at VfB Stuttgart, Hoffenheim host Schalke 04.

‘Herbstmeisterschaft’ titles by club - Bundesliga
# Herbstmeister Won title Missed title

16 Bayern München 14 2
6 Werder Bremen 3 3
4 Borussia Mönchengladbach 4 0
3 1. FC Köln 2 1
3 Hamburger SV 1 2
2 Borussia Dortmund 2 0
2 1. FC Kaiserslautern 1 1
2 Eintracht Frankfurt 0 2
2 Schalke 04 0 2
1 1. FC Nürnberg 1 0
1 1860 München 1 0
1 Eintracht Braunschweig 1 0
1 VfB Stuttgart 1 0
1 Bayer Leverkusen 0 1
45 Totals 31 14

Note: ‘Herbstmeisterschaft’ is awarded to club that tops the table at the season’s halfway point

Diego Maradona visiting Mother Teresa of Calcutta Center, India

Video of Maradona visiting Mother Teresa of Calcutta Foundation in India.

Take a look at people watching him by the trees...

Bayern Munich 2 Hoffenheim 1: highlights and goals (tors)

Bayern Munchen vs Hoffenheim 2008 - 2009 (trying to upload every goals and highlights in the blog)

Cristiano Ronaldo named European Footballer of the Year by France Football, as Eusebio and Figo

Cristiano Ronaldo was named European Footballer of the Year for 2008 by France Football magazine on Tuesday. He is the third Portuguese player to win this award and the first English-based player since Michael Owen in 2001.

According to Infostrada, Cristiano Ronaldo is the fourth Manchester United player to be named European Footballer of the Year and the first United player to win for 40 years.

Portuguese players winning the European Player of the Year award
Year Name Club

2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
2000 Luis Figo Real Madrid
1965 Eusébio Benfica

English-based players winning the European Player of the Year award
Year Name Nation Club

2008 Cristiano Ronaldo POR Manchester United
2001 Michael Owen ENG Liverpool
1968 George Best NIR Manchester United
1966 Bobby Charlton ENG Manchester United
1964 Denis Law SCO Manchester United
1956 Stanley Matthews ENG Blackpool

AS Roma goes for 1000th win

On Saturday, AS Roma hopes to celebrate their 1000th win in the Serie A when they face Chievo in Verona.

AS Roma recorded their first win in the Serie A on 13 October 1929 when they thrashed Cremonese 9-0. Acording to Infostrada, Roma have secured 51 wins against Torino, the most against a specific Serie A club. Juventus have recorded the most Serie A wins (1336).

Most wins in Serie A
Won Club Matches Drawn Lost

1336 Juventus 2522 718 468
1264 Internazionale 2560 727 569
1194 AC Milan 2500 752 554
999 AS Roma 2515 784 732
922 Fiorentina 2340 726 692
847 Torino 2246 722 677
794 Lazio 2202 682 726
772 Bologna 2082 664 646
755 Napoli 2062 673 634
590 Sampdoria 1759 570 599

Most wins AS Roma against specific Serie A clubs
# Club
51 Torino
44 Atalanta
44 Lazio
43 Napoli
42 Internazionale
41 Fiorentina
41 Sampdoria
39 Bologna
36 Bari
36 AC Milan
35 Juventus

Bayern München vs Hoffenheim: the match of the week

Today, Bayern München and Hoffenheim, the two top teams in the Bundesliga, face each other in München. Bundesliga debutants Hoffenheim are leading the Bundesliga, three points ahead of Bayern.

Bayern have lost 10 times at home against newly promoted teams in the Bundesliga.
The last time Bayern lost to a promoted team at home was against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on 2 August 1997.

That season FCK won the Bundesliga, becoming the only promoted team ever to win the German league title.

On the other nine occasions that Bayern lost at home to a promoted club, they always finished the season above the promoted team in the league table.

Home defeats Bayern München against promoted clubs in Bundesliga

Date Club Result Rank Bayern Rank promoted club

02 Aug 1997 1. FC Kaiserslautern 0-1 2 1
27 Apr 1996 Hansa Rostock 0-1 2 6
15 Feb 1992 Dynamo Dresden 1-2 10 14
05 Oct 1991 Stuttgarter Kickers 1-4 10 17
10 Aug 1991 Hansa Rostock 1-2 10 18
28 May 1983 Schalke 04 0-1 4 16
10 Mar 1979 Arminia Bielefeld 0-4 4 16
12 Nov 1977 1860 München 1-3 12 16
12 Mar 1977 Borussia Dortmund 1-2 7 8
21 Jan 1967 Fortuna Düsseldorf 1-2 6 17

Note: Rank indicates final position at the end of the season

Asteras Tripolis FC scored, but then….

On Saturday, Adrian Bastia (Asteras Tripolis) scored against Panathinaikos in the Greek League but then the Argentinian player kicked a football fan. Watch the result...



Related: Nacional was too late for the match

Is Arsenal the Chelsea´s father in Premier League?

On Sunday, 30 November 2008, Chelsea and Arsenal meet for the 33rd time in the Premier League. According to Infostrada, Chelsea have won six, Arsenal 15 and there have been 11 draws. Arsenal have more PL wins (15) and more PL points (56) against Chelsea than any other team in Premier League history.

Best Premier League records against Chelsea
Club P W D L GF GA Pts

Arsenal 32 15 11 6 47 34 56
Liverpool 33 12 7 14 36 42 43
Blackburn Rovers 29 11 8 10 35 38 41
Manchester United 33 9 14 10 40 43 41
Aston Villa 33 9 10 14 31 39 37

Franck Ribéry goals in Bayern Munich go for history

Franck Ribéry has carried resurgent Bayern München by scoring at least once in each of their last six Bundesliga matches. If the mercurial Frenchman nets at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, 29 November, his scoring run will be worth a top 10 listing in German top flight history.

Greece’s Theofanis Gekas was the last player to score in at least seven successive Bundesliga matches, according to Infostrada.

The league record is 10 and was set by 1. FC Köln’s Klaus Allofs in 1984.

Bayern remain unbeaten in Bundesliga matches in which Ribéry has scored. He has found the net in 16 different matches of which Bayern have won 15 and have drawn one.

Scoring in most successive Bundesliga matches of club
# Name Club Start date End date

10 Klaus Allofs 1. FC Köln 21 Apr 1984 08 Sep 1984
9 Gerd Müller Bayern München 24 Aug 1968 19 Oct 1968
8 Gerd Müller Bayern München 27 Sep 1969 15 Nov 1969
8 Gerd Müller Bayern München 06 Dec 1969 28 Feb 1970
8 Roy Makaay Bayern München 23 Apr 2005 27 Aug 2005
8 Theofanis Gekas VfL Bochum 10 Mar 2007 05 May 2007
7 Uwe Seeler Hamburger SV 30 Nov 1963 15 Feb 1964
7 Friedhelm Konietzka Borussia Dortmund 02 Jan 1965 06 Mar 1965
7 Dieter Müller 1. FC Köln 24 Sep 1977 12 Nov 1977
7 Rüdiger Abramczik Schalke 04 25 Nov 1978 17 Mar 1979
7 Rudi Völler Werder Bremen 20 Nov 1982 05 Feb 1983
7 Anthony Yeboah Eintracht Frankfurt 22 May 1993 28 Aug 1993
7 Fredi Bobic VfB Stuttgart 04 Nov 1995 17 Feb 1996
7 Roy Makaay Bayern München 28 Feb 2004 10 Apr 2004

6 Franck Ribéry Bayern München 25 Oct 2008 TBD

Xavi Hernández reached 100 in Europe

On Tuesday, 4 November, FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernández Creus played his 100th European match. He is the fifth Spanish player to reach this total.

Xavi is the first FC Barcelona player to play 100 matches in European competition for the club, according to Infostrada.

Spanish players with at least 100 European matches
Total Name Played for Years

124 Raúl Real Madrid (124) 1995 - …
110 Fernando Morientes Real Zaragoza (7), Real Madrid (61), AS Monaco (12), Liverpool (11), Valencia CF (19) 1995 - ...
103 Fernando Hierro Real Madrid (103) 1989 - 2003
100 Xavi FC Barcelona (100) 1998 - ...
100 Manuel Sanchis Real Madrid (100) 1984 - 2001
Raúl and Morientes can add to their totals later this week.


Matches per competition – Spanish players with at least 100 matches
Total Name UCL CC/CLQ CWC UEFA ESC

124 Raúl 119 2 0 0 3
110 Fernando Morientes 89 11 5 1 4
103 Fernando Hierro 68 9 4 20 2
100 Xavi 80 6 0 13 1
100 Manuel Sanchís 31 27 6 35 1

UCL – UEFA Champions League, CC/CLQ – Champions Cup/Champions League qualifying, CWC – Cup Winners’ Cup, UEFA – UEFA Cup, ESC – European Super Cup.


100+ European matches for one club
Total Player Nation Club

167 Paolo Maldini ITA AC Milan
131 Oliver Kahn GER Bayern München
124 Raúl ESP Real Madrid
122 Ryan Giggs WAL Manchester United
121 Roar Strand NOR Rosenborg BK
117 Giuseppe Bergomi ITA Internazionale
116 Alessandro Costacurta ITA AC Milan
116 Javier Zanetti ARG Internazionale
113 Paul Scholes ENG Manchester United
112 Roberto Carlos BRA Real Madrid
112 Gary Neville ENG Manchester United
110 Jamie Carragher ENG Liverpool
107 Alessandro Del Piero ITA Juventus
103 Fernando Hierro ESP Real Madrid
101 Bülent Korkmaz TUR Galatasaray
100 Xavi ESP FC Barcelona
100 Manuel Sanchís ESP Real Madrid

Maldini and Strand can add to their totals on 6 November.

Marseille - PSV Eindhoven preview: Holland team have arrived in Marseille

On Monday afternoon, PSV arrived in Marseille, where they will meet Olympique on Matchday four in the Champions League. The plane, with, among other people, the 19-man squad on board, landed at Aéroport Marseille Provence, after which the groups from Eindhoven withdrew to their hotels.

PSV coach Huub Stevens will hold the customary pre-match press conference at 6.30m. The PSV first-team squad will train on the pitch of the Olympique Marseille stadium from 7pm. Olympique Marseille coach Erik Gerets will take his players through the motions at the La Commanderie training complex at 5pm. On arrival in France, the players, coaching staff, club officials, sponsors and media representatives went to their hotels.

PSV squad: Andreas Isaksson and Cássio Ramos; Eric Addo, Jan Kromkamp, Dirk Marcellis, Erik Pieters, Francisco Rodríguez, Carlos Salcido and Mike Zonneveld; Ibrahim Afellay, Otman Bakkal, Jason Culina, Edison Méndez, Timmy Simons and Stijn Wuytens; Balázs Dzsudzsák, Danny Koevermans, Danko Lazovic and Stefan Nijland.

PSV Press

Liverpool – Atlético Madrid preview: Atlético is already to take on Liverpool

After earning an important victory in league play over Gregorio Manzano’s Real Mallorca on Saturday, Atlético de Madrid has their minds set on Champions League. Around 11 am, the ‘rojiblanco’ expedition took off from Madrid Barajas Airport, headed for Liverpool. The city where the Beatles are from will welcome the almost 3,000 Atlético supporters who will make the trip to cheer on their team for two days.

Before their departure from Terminal 3 towards the United Kingdom, the team was received by many fans, who made their way to the airport to hunt down an autograph or take a photo with their idols. Almost two hours after taking off, Atlético de Madrid arrived in Liverpool around 12:10 pm (English time). Upon their arrival, the footballers and the coaching staff went directly to the Hotel Marriot Liverpool, which will serve as their headquarters until kick-off time.

Along with the first squad, and as is usual on most of the trips, Mr. Enrique Cerezo (Chairman of Atlético de Madrid), Mr. Miguel Ángel Gil Marín (Managing Director), Don Lázaro Albarracín, Vice-President of the Social Department, Mr. Antonio Alonso (Vice-President of the Commercial Department), Mr. Fernando García Abásolo (Vice-President of the Economic Department), Óscar Gil (Board Member), Mr. Jesús Gil Marín and Mr. Miguel Pérez (Shareholders), Mr. Clemente Villaverde (Director) and Mr. Emilio Gutiérrez (Director of Marketing and Communication) also travelled with the squad.

They all wanted to accompany the team in its arrival in British lands to watch the team take on Liverpool (it should be recalled that the match played at Estadio Vicente Calderón ended in a one-all draw) and go up against an old ‘friend’ of Atleti in Spanish international striker Fernando Torres. It will doubtlessly be a special match for the player from Fuenlabrada and for all of those who shared so many years at the Atlético organization with him.



Atlético Madrid Press

Sporting Lisbon - Shakhtar Donetsk preview: Shakhtar arrive in Lisbon

Shakhtar’s away Champions League group stage match against Sporting Lisbon will be shown live on TRK Ukraina. Transmission of the event begins at 21:30 (Kyiv time).

Russian channel NTV+Nash Futbol will show the clash again on 5 November at 06:00 and 19:35 (Kyiv time).

Plane with Shakhtar players onboard landed at the Lisbon international airport at about 22:00 (Kyiv time). The Portuguese capital met the orange-and-black outfit with pleasing temperature, same as it was in Donetsk as they were leaving the city - +12C.

Having completed all obligatory customs procedures the players and the staff were taken to a hotel.

FC Shakhtar Press

Anorthosis - Inter preview: "A win and we're through"

José Mourinho briefed the Italian and Cypriot press in Nicosia ahead of Tuesday's Champions League Matchday 4 clash against Anorthosis Famagusta.

He said: "We know that we'll be through if we win tomorrow, and this is our first objective. The Champions League is a risky competition. You have to be careful not to slip up or make things complicated for yourself. But we know what to do. Our goal is first place.

"We face a tough opponent who prepared very well for the first match and created problems for us. So we're not expecting it to be an easy game. Anorthosis have won every game in front of their fans. They have beaten strong opponents so they will try to create problems for us too, but our goal is to win and we always go on the pitch to win."

Mourinho's 4-2-4 formation and tactics in Saturday's match against Reggio Calabria raised a few eyebrows in the Italian press. "I know that for many of you critics I should have inserted some defenders after Patrick Vieira's second goal," explained the coach, "but this isn't my football and, as I have already said many times, Italy won't change me, so I preferred to continue with a very offensive formation and this is why we won the match in the end."

The Inter coach also commented on the form of several players. On Ibrahimovic, he said: "I don't understand why everybody worries about Ibra's condition. Physically and psychologically Zlatan is a strong player who is very extremely well for the team. He played splendidly in Reggio Calabria and was involved in all the moves. I'm sure that if I put him on the bench one day, all the critics would be ready to underline my mistake. But I don't choose according to what the critics say, so if a player is in form, like Zlatan is, he plays."

On Julio Cruz: "Julio is with us and he'll go on the bench. It's important for the team to have a player of his quality and experience."

On Adriano: "I think that Adriano will get more playing time if he wants to, like he did before when he did very well. He's not with us for this match but there are two more Champions League games and I'm convinced he'll be with us if he wants to."

On Quaresma: "I wasn't worried before when he had a few negative games, and I'm not worried now after his positive performance in Reggio Calabria. I have known him for a long time, he has enormous potential."

Press FC Inter

Barcelona – Basel preview: “We aren’t in the last 16 yet”

Josep Guardiola doesn’t want his side to be over-confident against Basle and says they could have a nasty surprise if they don’t concentrate and take the game seriously.

Josep Guardiola is not having his head turned by good form in the League and the Champions League. After training this Monday, he said the team needs to keep up its commitment if it wants to beat Basle and qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League. “We aren’t in the last 16 yet and we haven’t beaten Basel yet,” said the Barça manager. “If we think tomorrow’s game will be like the one a fortnight ago, we could be in for a nasty surprise, and we’ve got to remember who our opponents are and give them the respect they deserve. I don’t want to win five nil. All I want the players to do is to keep on as they have done so far.”

Guardiola is pleased that his side is top of the League, but once again pointed out that the competition has only just started. “We are top, one point ahead of Vila-real and two above Real Madrid, and I’m happy about that,” he said. “We must be doing something right to be on top, but there’s still a long way to go. I’m very pleased with the image the players are giving, as that’s the most important thing.”

Guardiola highlighted the fact that the entire squad and coaching staff are going to Navarra to attend the funeral of Juan Carlos Unzué’s father as a sign of the unity to be found in the dressing-room. “I’m happy with what the players have done here,” he said. “When the father of someone you work with so closely and for so long dies, it’s quite normal that people will want to go to the funeral. It’s nothing extraordinary and you’d find it in any workplace. The club’s provided us with a plane and we’re all going to Navarra.”

FC Barcelona Press

Real Madrid – Juventus: Van Nistelrooy goes for the fourth one

On Wednesday, 5 November, Real Madrid host Juventus in the Champions League with striker Ruud van Nistelrooy aiming to close in further on a competition record.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is the only player who has scored in each of the three CL matches this season. Alessandro Del Piero and Sergi Rebrov are the CL record holders with at least one goal in the first five matches of a CL season.

Most consecutive matches from start of CL season with at least one goal scored
# Season Goalscorer


5 1995/1996 Alessandro Del Piero
5 1997/1998 Sergi Rebrov
4 1997/1998 Alessandro Del Piero
4 2002/2003 Ânderson
4 2002/2003 Filippo Inzaghi

3 2008/2009 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Karim Benzema x 10 goals

On 21 October, Karim Benzema sparked an Olympique Lyon comeback victory in the Champions League by scoring twice against Steaua Bucuresti. The young Frenchman raised his career CL goal tally to double digits in only his 14th match in the competition.

According to Infostrada, only four players, Adriano, Simone Inzaghi, George Weah and Didier Drogba were faster to 10 goals than Benzema.

Fewest Champions League matches needed to score 10th goal in competition
# Name Nation Club(s) From / Until

11 Adriano BRA Internazionale 14 Sep 2004 23 Nov 2005
12 Simone Inzaghi ITA Lazio 29 Sep 1999 12 Sep 2000
13 George Weah LBR Paris Saint-Germain / AC Milan 14 Sep 1994 16 Oct 1996
13 Didier Drogba CIV Olympique Marseille / Chelsea 16 Sep 2003 12 Apr 2005
14 Ronaldinho BRA FC Barcelona 29 Sep 2004 07 Mar 2006
14 Karim Benzema FRA Olympique Lyon 06 Dec 2005 21 Oct 2008
15 Ruud van Nistelrooy NED PSV / Manchester United 04 Nov 1998 17 Oct 2001

Rafael Benitez searching for his first win against Big Four clubs

Liverpool has not won in all 12 Premier League visits to the other Big Four sides since Rafael Benitez became manager.

According to Infostrada, since June 2004, they have picked up only two points from a possible 36 on the road against Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, and have scored only four Premier League away goals in this time.

Liverpool’s Premier League away record at the other Big Four clubs under Rafael Benitez

Club P W D L GF GA Pts
Chelsea 4 0 1 3 0 4 1
Arsenal 4 0 1 3 3 9 1
Manchester United 4 0 0 4 1 8 0
Total 12 0 2 10 4 21 2

PSV - Olympique Marseille: Kromkamp, Zonneveld and Manco miss Wednesday’s game

A 19-man squad will withdraw in the woody surroundings of Oisterwijk to prepare for Wednesday night’s UEFA Champions League game against Olympique Marseille. PSV coach Huub Stevens announced that Jan Kromkamp (groin) and Mike Zonneveld (back) will miss the game, along with Reimond Manco, who is ill.

PSV coach Huub Stevens presented a team update at the end of this morning’s press conference at the Philips Stadium. Zonneveld made an appearance in Young PSV’s 4-2 win over FC Groningen on Monday night. The defender picked up a knock in his back and is ruled out of the clash with Olympique Marseille. Kromkamp left the training session early, after he had sustained a groin injury in training. Reimond Manco will miss Wednesday’s game due to illness. One player will be dropped from the 19-man squad. Olympique Marseille manager Erik Gerets and former PSV player Boudewijn Zenden will be the guests at the Olympique Marseille conference on Tuesday afternoon from 5.30pm, before the French team train on the Philips Stadium pitch for one hour.

PSV Press

Shakhtar Donetsk - Sporting Lisbon preview: the match shall be won by a team that’d do fewer mistakes than their opponents

Mircea Lucescu: “This is a very important match for both sides. Both, Shakhtar and Sporting, deserve to advance further in the competition. This is why both teams shall be doing everything possible to achieve a good result. Our main challenge is that we have lost two of our main players, Ilsinho and Luis Adriano. Now we are trying to wind the way out of this difficult situation. We are trying to find a replacement for these two players. The team should not feel their absence”.

“I hope the fair play rules will be observed in this match. There shouldn’t be any problems with it. The teams must show respect for the spectators, for their opponents and for the referees. This is very important. The teams shall be striving to win, but at the cost of the fair play idea”.

Shakhtar’s group stage rivals, Sporting, are staying at the Donbass Palace hotel and the group of Portuguese journalists at the Atlas hotel.

Paulo Bento has taken 23 players to Ukraine:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício, Tiago, Ricardo Batista
Defenders: Daniel Carriço, Anderson Polga, Pedro Silva, Tonel, Leandro Grimi, Michael Santos, Pedro Mendes, Abel
Midfielders: Adrien Silva, Marat Izmailov, Miguel Veloso, Bruno Pereirinha, Fábio Rochemback, João Moutinho, Leandro Romagnoli
Forwards: Derlei, Yannick Djaló, Hélder Postiga, Liedson, Wilson Eduardo

FC Shakhtar Press

FC Basel – Barcelona FC: back at Saint Jakobs

Barça have trained at the place where they won their first ever Cup Winners Cup in 1979, and where on Wednesday they face FC Basel in the third game of their Champions League campaign.

Thirty years later, FC Barcelona are back where they won their first ever Cup Winners Cup. Things have changed, and the old Saint Jakob Stadium has now been replaced by the ultra-modern Saint Jakob Park, which holds 37,500 spectators. The pitch was in excellent conditions as the team trained in preparation for their key European encounter.

The session started at 19.30, and the light rain made the pitch much faster than usual. Only the first fifteen minutes were open to the media, during which time the 19 Barcelona players went through their usual warm up drills.

Next time Guardiola’s players set foot on the Saint Jakobs turf will be on Wednesday night for the game with Basel.

FC Barcelona Press

Panathinaikos- Werder Bremen: the program of the game

Michael Riley (Eng) will be the referee of the match between Panathinaikos and Werder. The assistant referees will be Phillip Sharp and David Richardson (Eng). The fourth official will be Stuart Attwell (Εng)

The last training of Panathinaikos before the match started at 19.30 at OAKA. The last training of Werder before the match started at 18.30 at OAKA.

Inter Milan – Anorthosis preview: Mourinho squad

José Mourinho has called up 20 players for Wednesday evening's Champions League Matchday 3 fixture at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (kick-off 20:45):

Goalkeepers: 1 Francesco Toldo, 12 Julio Cesar, 22 Paolo Orlandoni.

Defenders: 2 Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, 13 Maicon, 16 Nicolas Burdisso, 23 Marco Materazzi, 26 Cristian Chivu, 39 Davide Santon.

Midfielders: 4 Javier Zanetti, 5 Dejan Stankovic, 19 Esteban Cambiasso, 20 Sulley Muntari, 33 Amantino Mancini, 36 Francesco Bolzoni, 77 Ricardo Quaresma.

Strikers: 8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 9 Julio Ricardo Cruz, 10 Adriano, 45 Mario Balotelli.

Inter Milan Press

Bayern Munich – Fiorentina preview: Violas hopes rest on potent duo

To the untrained eye, Alberto Gilardino might have appeared nervous at the news conference ahead of Bayern’s meeting with Fiorentina on Tuesday evening. The Italian striker repeatedly burst into a torrent of speech even before the official interpreter had started translating the questions put by newsmen, a breach of the unspoken etiquette prevailing on official UEFA occasions. Is Signor Gilardino slightly fearful of the home side’s enviable reputation at the Allianz Arena?

The truth is undoubtedly a little different. The 26-year-old is Fiorentina’s most experienced player with 28 Champions League appearances already under his belt. Most of his team-mates are tasting life in Europe’s top club contest for the first time, but Gilardino lifted the trophy with AC Milan in 2007. Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli is expecting his striker to carry the fight to Bayern on Tuesday. “Alberto simply has the right attitude,” the 51-year-old commented. The pair worked successfully together at AC Parma. Prandelli has twice been named Italy’s coach of the year (05/06, 06/07), as Fiorentina boss on both occasions.

Gilardino’s impatience at the news conference probably reflected his desire for hostilities to commence as soon as possible. “We want to cause Bayern as many problems as possible and win the match,” the 2006 World Cup winner confidently declared. “Tomorrow’s match is one of the most important in my coaching career, in one of the world’s finest stadiums,” Prandelli stated, doubtless speaking for many of his players too.

Fiorentina’s solitary Champions League campaign so far was back in 1999-2000, when they finished second in their group behind Barcelona, before losing out to holders Manchester United and eventual finalists Valencia in the second group stage. Last season, the Italians emulated Bayern in reaching the UEFA Cup semi-finals, but they were absent from the European scene for five years previously.

Prandelli expressed delight at the return to fitness of Gilardino’s strike partner Adrian Mutu. “Thankfully, Adrian can probably play,” the coach reported. The Romanian sat out a 3-0 victory over Reggina Calcio at the weekend with a knee problem. “We’ve not played together very often so far, but I hope we’ll achieve a lot together in the future,” Gilardino commented.

Mutu was the Tuscan side’s leading scorer last term, but summer signing Gilardino has netted five of Fiorentina’s eight league goals this season, and both their goals in Group F. In the summer qualifying meeting with Slavia Prague, both strikers hit the target in a 2-0 return leg win. “Do you think you and Adrian are one of the best strike pairings in the world?” a journalist asked Gilardino on Monday. The player smiled knowingly – while waiting for the interpreter to finish his job on this occasion.

FC Bayern Press

Atlético de Madrid and Liverpool will train on Tuesday evening at Vicente Calderón

As is usual for Champions League matches, both teams will hold their final training sessions prior to the encounter at Estadio Vicente Calderón. The Liverpool expedition is scheduled to land at Barajas Airport at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and Rafa Benítez and his players will stay at a hotel in the centre of Madrid. The Spanish manager, along with one player, will hold a press conference at Estadio Vicente Calderón at 6:45 p.m. Liverpool will then train afterwards at 7:30.

For his part, Javier Aguirre and one Atlético player will appear before the media at 8:30 p.m., and Atlético de Madrid will hold their practice subsequently at 9 o’clock.

Access to the Press Room shall be granted through Gate 0 and the media, who will only be able to record the first fifteen minutes of each training session, will not have access to the pitch.

Atlético Press

Manchester United – Celtic FC preview: Celts look forward to facing European champions

Tradition dictates that tomorrow night’s UEFA Champions League meeting of the reigning Scottish and English champions should make for an entertaining and eventful evening.

But despite the proud custom of attacking football embraced by both Celtic and Manchester United, Gordon Strachan is well aware of the pitfalls that this Group E encounter at Old Trafford will hold.

Speaking at this afternoon’s pre-match press conference in Manchester, the Celtic manager was fulsome in his praise of the UEFA Champions League holders, explaining that they were an improved outfit from the one that his team met two years ago in the same competition.

Those encounters turned out to be classics, with United winning 3-2 at home and Shunsuke Nakamura scoring the only goal of the game in an unforgettable tie at Celtic Park.

“The traditions of the clubs say that we have to try and entertain and attack,” Gordon Strachan said. “We will do our best, but a lot of teams come here and say that and the traffic always seems to go the one way.

“You come with great intentions when you come here and I’ve seen people say that teams sit in when they come here. No they don’t, they just can’t get out, there’s a big difference.

“We are going to play the best team in Europe, they are the champions of England, the champions of Europe and that tells you that they are the best team in Europe, with some of the best players in the world.

“The players know what’s coming and we are looking forward to the challenge. A lot of them were here two years ago, so they know what to expect. They enjoyed the experience two years ago and you can only enjoy the experience if you perform well and are happy with your contribution.”

The United squad list reads like a current ‘who’s who’ of world football, with the prodigiously gifted Cristiano Ronaldo expected to start alongside the likes of Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.

Celtic FC Press

FC Porto - Dynamo Kyiv preview: Match officials appointed for Tuesday's match

Match officials from Norway have been selected to work at the Champions League group stage match FC Porto – Dynamo Kyiv.

The Norwegian referee Terje Hauge will take charge of Tuesday's encounter. Hauge was born in 1965 and currently lives in Bergen, Norway. He works as a referee advisor in addition to refereeing. Since he made his debut in 1990, Hauge has handled more than 200 matches in the top division and is considered one of the best Norwegian referees. He has been an authorised FIFA referee since 1993.

Hauge has refereed in the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2000 and 2004. He also took charge of the 2004 UEFA Super Cup match between FC Porto and Valencia CF. On 17 May 2006, Terje Hauge became the first Norwegian to referee in a UEFA Champions League final. He took charge of the match between Arsenal and Barcelona at the Stade de France in Paris.

The 43-year-old referee will be assisted by his compatriots Jan Petter Randen and Kim Thomas Haglund, with Kjetil Saelen, also from Norway, acting as fourth official.

Wolfgang Thierrichter from Austria and Patrick Kelly from Ireland have been appointed UEFA delegate and UEFA Referee observer, respectively.

Dynamo Kyiv Press

Juventus - Real Madrid preview: Historical duel

Two of the greatest teams in European football history will face each other on Tuesday 21 October in Turin at 20:45 CET. Real Madrid and Juventus have clashed twelve times throughout their history, with seven victories for the Whites and five for the Italian team. The Madridistas have only won one of their five games in Turin.

Real Madrid have won four and lost only one of their five matches against the Italians at the Bernabéu, but the same can be said of Juventus at their home stadium. Two of the 12 clashes between them took place on neutral ground, first in the 1962 quarterfinal tie-break that gave Real Madrid a ticket to the semifinals, and in the legendary 1998 final in which the Madridistas won their seventh European Cup.

The Whites reached the quarterfinals in the 1986/87 edition of the tournament by defeating Juventus in the Last 16. Both sides won 1-0 at their own stadiums, but Real Madrid went through in the penalty shoot-out (3-1).

The first time the Italian side ever eliminated the Madridistas was in the 1996 quarterfinals. Raúl helped the team win 1-0 at home with a goal, but Juventus earned a 2-0 victory in the return leg. The Italians eventually won their second and last European Cup to date that year against Ajax.

Every Madridista remembers the 20 May 1998 clash between both sides in the Amsterdam Arena. The Italians were favourites to win the title due to their experience in the championship, their title of the previous campaign and by having Zinedine Zidane in their ranks.

Against all odds, Jupp Heinckes' Real Madrid won the title by defeating them 1-0. It was their first European Cup title in 32 years.

Both clubs were pitted against each other again in the 2002/03 and 2004/05 seasons. Real Madrid won at the Bernabéu by one goal both years (2-1 and 1-0, respectively) despite deserving much more. They eventually lost 3-1 and 2-0, respectively, in the Turin return legs.

Real Madrid Press

Fenerbahce – Arsenal preview: ready to win

''We all know that Arsenal are the strongest team in our group from their previous results in the Champions League, but my players are also very qualified and experienced. Our only aim is to beat Arsenal infront of our fans, so we approach the task with this attitude and play with the same mentality and intentsity. We are aware of the fact that we really have to be very careful at defending and attacking. What we need to do is to show how much we really want to be successful in the Champions League.'', so revealed Fenerbahce coach Luis Aragonés today at the magnificient Fenerbahce Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium.

Talented canary Edu also added: ''It's not only me and Lugano trying to close down the opposition," he said. "It's a team thing, preventing the opposition having opportunities. There are still areas which need to be improved and when we achieve this everything will be better. Despite not making an impressive start to our Champions League campaign, we still have a chance of qualifying.You need to judge each match on its own merits because every game has its own story. It's no secret that we go out to win every match. Last year we had a successful Champions League campaign but things have not gone as we wanted this year. Although we have started badly, I believe we can finish strongly. We attach a great importance to this match against Arsenal, because we got some bad results and now it is time for great victories again. We have worked hard, studied them, and will take the necessary precautions on the pitch.''

Fenerbahce Press

Atlético Madrid – Real Madrid: Colchoneros want a win in the derby

On Saturday, 18 October, Atlético Madrid hope to end a 13-match winless streak in the Primera División against city rivals Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderón stadium.

If Atlético fail to beat Real they will equal their longest non-winning streak against their city rivals, which stretches to 14 matches.

According to Infostrada, this streak of 14 matches without a win is also the longest of Atlético against any club in the Primera División.

Atlético Madrid longest non-winning streaks against a club - Primera División
# Club Last match before streak Match that ended streak
14 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid (04 Jan 1992) 2-0 Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid (12 Jun 1999) 3-1
13 Real Madrid Real Madrid - Atlético Madrid (30 Oct 1999) 1-3 Still running
12 Real Zaragoza CD Atlético Madrid - Real Zaragoza CD (07 Oct 1962) 2-1 Atlético Madrid - Real Zaragoza CD (02 Feb 1969) 1-0
11 Atlético Club de Bilbao Atlético Madrid - Atlético Bilbao (31 Dec 1950) 2-0 Atlético Bilbao - Atlético Madrid (06 Jan 1957) 1-4
9 Real Madrid Real Madrid - Atlético Madrid (07 Mar 1965) 0-1 Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid (15 Mar 1970) 3-0
9 Real Zaragoza Atlético Madrid - Real Zaragoza (23 Feb 1998) 2-1 Real Zaragoza - Atlético Madrid (21 Jan 2006) 0-2
8 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid (07 Oct 1951) 3-2 Atlético Madrid - Real Madrid (19 Feb 1956) 1-0
8 Las Palmas Atlético Madrid - Las Palmas (16 Oct 1966) 2-1 Atlético Madrid - Las Palmas (03 Jan 1971) 2-1
8 Sporting Gijón Atlético Madrid - Sporting Gijón (23 Apr 1978) 5-1 Atlético Madrid - Sporting Gijón (19 Dec 1982) 2-1
8 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid - FC Barcelona (08 Mar 1981) 1-0 Atlético Madrid - FC Barcelona (08 Sep 1985) 2-1
8 RCD Espanyol Atlético Madrid - RCD Espanyol (07 Dec 2003) 2-0 RCD Espanyol - Atlético Madrid (08 May 2008) 0-2

Chelsea - Aston Villa preview: league leader hoping to snap streak

On Sunday, league leaders Chelsea host third placed Aston Villa in the seventh match round of the Premier League.

Chelsea has not won in the last five meetings with Aston Villa. Their last win over Aston Villa was three years ago on 24 September 2005 (2-1).

According to Infostrada, no other current Premier League team is on a longer unbeaten streak against Chelsea than Aston Villa.

Between 1995 and 2005, Chelsea suffered a 19 match winless streak against Arsenal.

Longest winless streak against specific opponent – Chelsea in Premier League
Matches Opponent Last match before streak First match after streak

19 Arsenal Chelsea - Arsenal (30 Sep 1995) 1-0 Chelsea - Arsenal (21 Aug 2005) 1-0
12 Blackburn Rovers Start Premier League Blackburn Rovers - Chelsea (21 Sep 1998) 3-4
8 Sheffield Wednesday Start Premier League Sheffield Wednesday - Chelsea (07 Sep 1996) 0-2
6 Everton Chelsea - Everton (03 Jan 1994) 4-2 Everton - Chelsea (11 May 1997) 1-2
6 Liverpool Chelsea - Liverpool (25 Sep 1993) 1-0 Chelsea - Liverpool (01 Jan 1997) 1-0
6 Coventry City Chelsea - Coventry City (01 May 1993) 2-1 Chelsea - Coventry City (24 Aug 1996) 2-0
5 Aston Villa Chelsea - Aston Villa (24 Sep 2005) 2-1 Still running


Last five PL meetings between Chelsea and Aston Villa
Date Match Result

26 Dec 2007 Chelsea - Aston Villa 4-4
02 Sep 2007 Aston Villa - Chelsea 2-0
02 Jan 2007 Aston Villa - Chelsea 0-0
30 Sep 2006 Chelsea - Aston Villa 1-1
01 Feb 2006 Aston Villa - Chelsea 1-1

Zenit’s Tomas Hubocan is part of the history

On Tuesday, Tomas Hubocan of Zenit St. Petersburg netted an own goal in the fourth minute of his club’s Champions League match against Real Madrid.

The Slovakian thereby recorded the second fastest own goal in the history of the competition, according to Infostrada.

The record belongs to Benfica’s Scott Minto who beat his own goalkeeper in the third minute of a Champions League match on 4 November 1998.

Fastest own goals in Champions League history
Min. Goalscorer Nation Match Date

3 Scott Minto ENG Benfica* - HJK 2-2 04 Nov 1998
4 Tomas Hubocan SVK Zenit St. Petersburg* - Real Madrid 1-2 30 Sep 2008
10 Max Houttuin NED Olympique Lyon - sc Heerenveen* 3-1 12 Sep 2000
10 Vladislav Vashchuk UKR Anderlecht - Dynamo Kyiv* 4-2 18 Oct 2000
10 Gary Caldwell SCO Benfica – Celtic* 3-0 01 Nov 2006
12 Fernando Meira POR VfB Stuttgart* - Chelsea 0-1 25 Feb 2004
13 Sami Hyypiä FIN Besiktas – Liverpool* 2-1 24 Oct 2007
13 Deivid BRA Fenerbahçe* - Chelsea 2-1 02 Apr 2008
14 Jorge Andrade POR Deportivo La Coruña* - Liverpool 0-1 03 Nov 2004
16 Manuel Dimas POR Sporting CP* - Spartak Moskva 0-3 17 Oct 2000

* Denotes club that scored own goal

Champions League (in Africa) arrives to final four

We know, UEFA Champions League is the most important tournament in club levels in the world.

But, be careful, many of the top players that will be playing UCL next seasons, are playing the African Champions League these days. An example: Kolo Touré, Yaya Touré, Ibrahim Touré, Emmanuel Eboué, Salomon Kalou, Bonaventure Kalou, Bakari Koné, Donald-Olivier Sié,Abdoulaye Traoré, Romaric N'Dri Koffi and many other had played in the Ivorian ASEC Mimosas.

Due to semifinals will start on Sunday, here we have an interesting article from The Offside.

Link: Dynamos in CAF Champions League Semis

Standard Liege – Everton: Saha starts

David Moyes has handed Louis Saha a starting berth for tonight's Uefa Cup clash with Standard Liege.

The French international striker will partner Yakubu in attack as the manager makes two changes from the side that started against Liverpool at the weekend.

Marouane Fellaini is unavailable after playing for Liege in the Champions League qualifier, whilst Joseph Yobo drops out of the starting line-up in order to accomodate the return to the starting line-up of Leighton Baines.

Joleon Lescott will switch over from left back to the centre of defence alongside Phil Jagielka.

Leon Osman, Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville will fill the midfield positions.

Yobo has to settle for a place on the bench alongside Segundo Castillo, Nuno Valente, the fit-again Steven Pienaar, Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe.

It is Pienaar's first inclusion in an Everton squad this term after recovering from the broken toe he sustained against PSV Eindhoven in pre-season.

Source: Everton Press

Valencia – Marítimo: Iberian contest

Valencia CF carried out an intense morning training session. The team prepared the UEFA Cup first round second leg clash that will take place on Thursday 2nd October against Portuguese side CS Marítimo at Mestalla. Coach Unai Emery managed a training session that begun with some physical exercises. Then, the players carried out some tactical exercises, focusing on offensive and defensive movements with ball possession to improve speed. All Valencia CF players joined in this training session. The only absence was Curro Torres, who is still recovering from his injury.


Source: Valencia CF Press

Paris Saint Germain – Kayserispor: “Gather all our strength”

This Thursday, against Kayserispor, PSG can confirm its place in the group stage of the UEFA Cup. PSG coach Paul Le Guen and midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu fronted up to the press at the traditional pre-match press conference...

Paul, you have one foot in the group phase...
“We saw with the result from the first leg that we got off to the right start. That still stands, even if we’ve lost two league games since then, against Saint-Etienne and Grenoble. We have to be very wary, because to be eliminated now would be a huge disappointment. We don’t have that much room to play with. We can get back to winning ways, but we need together all our strengths, even though I can’t call on the entire squad sue to injuries.”

You have several key players missing with injuries...
“Of course I’m not happy to be without Sakho, Makelele and Giuly because, without any disrespect to the others, without those players, it’s not the same. We need all our players, but especially the big players. We hope to have them fit soon. Now it’s up to the other players to seize the opportunity. Clément Chantôme is back in the squad after his twisted ankle, and that’s obviously a positive.”

Péguy Luyindula also seems to be riding a wave of confidence...
“Péguy has never given up. He’s always kept working hard. It hasn’t always been easy, including during our discussions, but he hung in there. I’ve played him in the UEFA Cup and the League Cup because I knew he could do a job. His relationship with the Parc des Princes is a little hard, and I’m sorry about that because he works hard for the team. Péguy is a lovely guy and I know he’s worth more than he’s shown here at PSG.”

Are PSG going give this UEFA Cup 100 per cent?
“Obviously there’s a logical progression having qualified for this competition by winning last season’s League Cup. We have respect for this competition. The club’s aim is to qualify for the group stage and I think our fans will love the European nights back at the Parc des Princes.”

Source: PSG Press

Galatasaray - AC Bellinzona: host team need a draw or less...

Galatasaray will play with AC Bellinzona in the UEFA Cup First Round, Second Leg. Turkish team was victorious in the first leg 4-3.

Galatasaray's Last Five Games
28.09.2008 Galatasaray 4-1 Konyaspor (Turkcell Super League)
21.09.2008 Kocaelispor 1-4 Galatasaray (Turkcell Super League)
18.09.2008 AC Bellinzona 3-4 Galatasaray (UEFA Cup 1. Round)
13.09.2008 Galatasaray 1-1 Antalyaspor (Turkcell Super League)
31.08.2008 Kayserispor 0-0 Galatasaray (Turkcell Super League)

AC Bellinzona's Last Five Games
26.09.2008 AC Bellinzona 1-1 Grasshoppers Zürich (Axpo Super League)
18.09.2008 AC Bellinzona 3-4 Galatasaray (UEFA Cup 1. Round)
14.09.2008 Bellinzona 1-2 BSC Young Boys (Axpo Super League)
01.09.2008 FC Zürich 3-0 Bellinzona (Axpo Super League)
28.08.2008 Bellinzona 2-1 FC Dnipro (UEFA Cup)

Source: Galatasaray Press

Zurich - AC Milan: the usual press conference by coach Carlo Ancelotti at the Letzigrund

Ahead of the match against Zurich, valid for the second leg of the first round of the Uefa Cup 2008/2009, Carlo Ancelotti talked during a press conference:

"In tomorrow's match we start from a 3-1 result which is certainly an advantage for us, but we must not underestimate Zurich, because they will put us in difficulty.

It will be a different Milan compared to the first leg, because in the meantime the team has found a lot more balance. There won't be many changes, also because of the various injuries which prevent us from playing certain players. The most uncertain is Jankulovski, while Dida will start in goal. For the midfield there is a doubt between Ambrosini and Gattuso and up front between Ronaldinho and Pato.

We expect a Zurich team who will try to give everything at home, but Milan's objective is to go as far as possible in this competition and possibly to win the Uefa Cup, so we want to start by surviving this round."

Source: AC Milan Press

Liverpool 3 – PSV Eindhoven 1: 100 Red goals in Europe

Robbie Keane scored his first goal for Liverpool and Steven Gerrard joined the 100 club as the Reds marked Rafael Benitez's 250th match in charge with a comfortable 3-1 win over PSV Eindhoven.

The Ireland international's first-half strike was upstaged by Stevie's century in what proved to be a routine victory against the Dutch outfit with Dirk Kuyt also on target.

It means Liverpool remain level with Atlético Madrid at the top of Group D and will approach their double-header with the Spanish side in buoyant mood having taken maximum points from their opening two group fixtures for the first time ever.

Ahead of the match Benitez had suggested he would keep with faith with the players who had served him so well in the opening 10 games of the season, and he was true to his word.

Fabio Aurelio's return to action in place of Andrea Dossena was the only change from the team that beat Everton so convincingly at the weekend and it was a policy that would serve the Reds boss well.

Indeed, he didn't have long to wait for his reward with Kuyt firing the Reds in front after just four minutes of the contest.

A corner from the right was met on the volley by Fernando Torres and although Andreas Isaksson did brilliantly to deny the Spaniard, Kuyt was on hand to drill the rebound into the corner via the keeper's hands.

It was Liverpool's 100th goal in the European Cup under Rafa Benitez and it set the tone for a night that would be littered with significant milestones.

First Keane was denied a penalty after he appeared to be tripped in the area before Torres powered a towering header from Steven Gerrard's corner just wide.

Torres ghosted into space down the right hand side of the penalty area before crossing low for his strike partner who met the ball first time with a superb side-footed effort.

So often this season the 28-year-old has seen the ball bounce just wide or into the grateful arms of a goalkeeper - but not on this occasion as he expertly guided it into the far corner of the net. Cue a trademark celebration from the Irishman, whose finish was greeted by the biggest cheer of the night.

It already seemed like it would be a damage limitation exercise for Huub Stevens' men but they gave the home side a scare on 59 minutes when Nordin Amrabat smashed a 25 yarder inches wide of Pepe Reina's right-hand post.

It was rare foray forward for the visitors and the remainder of the match followed the same pattern that had preceded that attempt - with Liverpool in the ascendancy.

Keane went close to doubling his tally with a flicked header from Aurelio's free-kick before Torres saw a clipped effort bounce just wide after a burst of pace had sent him surging in on the left-hand side of the area.

On an evening where his teammates had been stealing the limelight with significant goals, Steven Gerrard had been surprisingly quiet.

The skipper is so often the man for the big occasion and he wasn't about to let it pass him by without notching his 100th for the club. On 76 minutes the Reds were awarded a free-kick in front of the Kop and as the midfielder raced on to Aurelio's touch-off there was only one place the ball was destined to land.

It was typical Gerrard - an exquisite drive that gave the keeper absolutely no chance and how fitting the goal came at the Kop end.

Source: Liverpool FC Press

Shakhtar 1 - Barcelona 2: Messi goals produce another late victory

Barça turned their Champions League tie with Shakhtar on its head in the closing minutes with two goals from Lionel Messi to record their fifth consecutive victory and stay on top of Group C.

Just like on Montjuïc four days before, it was not until the very last moments that justice was done as a brace from the Argentinian forward won the game for the visitors in Donetsk. In a match of few chances at either end it was always going to take something special to claim all three points and Messi was able to produce just that.

Shakhtar complicated Barça's task by taking the lead before the break with a goal on the counter-attack. In the second half the hosts sat back even more, but Eto'o and Bojan both had chances before the Blaugrana finally drew level in the 87th minute thanks to a mistake by Andriy Pyatov that saw the ball slip through his hands. Not content with a point though, Barça pushed forward in the closing moments and Messi was able to show why he is so highly-rated with a superb finish to win the match for his team.
The home team was conscious of how important the game was for their aspirations to qualify for the next stage and did not want to take too many risks and allow Barça much space. After a bright opening, Shakhtar then sat back and the visitors took control but, unlike in previous games, they had to maintain possession in their own half and across the middle because an advanced Shakhtar side pressed them back and kept the ball away from their area.

The best chance for Barcelona in the opening stages came in the sixth minute when a superb pass through the middle found Thierry Henry clear and he was able to take one touch to control the ball before shooting, only for a good save from the keeper to deny him the opener. Fernandinho then looked to test Víctor Valdés, but it was the away team that maintained the pressure and ensured that their opponents had to keep several players back on the edge of their own area at all times. With Henry and Eto'o looking for space in front of goal and Iniesta creating down the flanks, Xavi was able to use his creative touches more and more.

Alves then kept Pyatov's eye in with a shot from outside the area shortly before Shakhtar tested Valdés. Brandão Broke forward in the 37th minute and picked out Luiz Adriano and he in turn found Ilsinho, but the Catalan custodian was prepared and made a superb save to tip the shot over the bar. The home side were not finished though and took the lead a minute before half time. A high ball forward was flicked on by Piqué and Ilsinho held off the challenge from Puyol before clipping the ball over the approaching Valdés.

With a one goal lead, Shakhtar looked to protect that and Barça controlled the second period from start to finish. Alves tested the keeper shortly after the restart with a low free-kick that was tipped round the post. Messi then entered the game just before the hour mark in place of Henry and he quickly showed a few touches that would later be used to undo Shakhtar's stubborn resistance. His first contribution was a superb pass through the middle to Eto'o and the Cameroonian forward looked set to score before losing his balance at the crucial moment before prodding the ball wide of the post. Bojan then came on and he almost scored too after steering his way into the area before shooting into the side-netting.

When the equaliser came it was at a time when Shakhtar were looking to wind down the clock and see out time. Justice was served though in an unexpected way as Krkic's cross was fumbled by Pyatov and Messi was in the right place to steer home from close range.

At 1-1 the game was there for Barcelona to take and, while they could have accepted a point, they moved forward in search of all three. In the 92nd minute they produced a superb move as Xavi's pass behind the defence found Messi and he superbly clipped it over the approaching keeper and into the net to win the game.

The victory sees Barça move clear at the top of Group C with six points.

Source: FC Barcelona Press

Atlético de Madrid - Olympique de Marseille preview: host team goes for another win

The players of Olympique de Marsella have gotten to know the pitch at Estadio Vicente Calderón, where they will face off against Atlético de Madrid on Wednesday (8:45 p.m.). Eric Gerets’ lads worked out for approximately an hour on the grass, in their final preparatory session before the encounter. The French side fell at home to Liverpool on the first matchday of the group stage, so they are just about obligated to earn points against Atlético.

Pape Diouf, chairman of Olympique de Marseile, travelled at the front of the French club’s expedition and attended the practice of the squad managed by Eric Gerets. He had the opportunity to chat for a bit with Jesús García Pitarch, the General Manager Club Atlético de Madrid, for a few minutes in the stands.

The Olympique de Marseille squad list is formed by the following players:

Goalkeepers: Mandanda and Riou.
Defenders: Bonnart, Taiwo, Hilton, Zubar and Erbate.
Midfielders: Cana, Cheyrou, M’Bami, Kaboré, Ziani, Zenden, Valbuena and Ben Arfa.
Strikers: Niang, Samassa and Koné.

Liverpool - PSV Eindhoven preview: flight delayed

PSV’s flight from Eindhoven Airport this morning eventually left two-and-a-hours late. The hold-up was caused when the plane did not take off due to mechanical problems. The PSV party had to wait for a second aircraft and arrived at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool two-and-half-hours later than planned.

Liverpool and PSV had never met until the 2006/07 campaign, when they faced each other four times. In the group stage Ronald Koeman’s team played out a goalless draw in Eindhoven on Matchday 1 before Liverpool won the return match 2-0 on Matchday 5. PSV progressed to the quarter finals after having eliminated Arsenal from the competition. Rafa Benítez's team then earned a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate victory over PSV in the quarter-finals. They recorded a 3-0 win at the Philips Stadium in the first leg and claimed a 1-0 victory in the return leg at Anfield. PSV also made a trip to Liverpool in summer, when they met Everton in a pre-season friendly. Nordin Amrabat opened the scoring for PSV, but the hosts canceled out the deficit in the closing stages. All in all, PSV are in Liverpool for the fourth time and will play a competitive match at Anfield for the third time.

The plane with the PSV party, including players, coaching staff, officials, members of the board, sponsors and media representatives, landed at John Lennon Airport at 2pm. PSV coach Huub Stevens will preview Wednesday’s game at a press conference tonight at 6pm, after which the players will have a one-hour training session on the pitch at Anfield.

Source: PSV Press

Shakhtar Donetsk – Barcelona preview: “Another big test”

Although the fact that the first team has won four games in a row indicates that things are on the right track, Pep Guardiola wants to put the past behind him, knowing that Shakhtar will be another big test.

Speaking in his press conference on the eve of the game with the Ukrainian club, the Barça manager has commented on how important it is to get a win to put them in a strong position in the group table. “We have another big test on Wednesday” he said. “A huge opportunity to make a big step towards the second round. We have to remember that not winning in the Champions League can penalise you heavily.”

The football first team has won on its last four outings, once in the Champions League and three times in the domestic championship. But Guardiola is keeping clam and reminded listeners that, especially in the league “a few days ago we were in the relegation zone … it is better to be prudent. The past belongs to the past. We know where we are going and that we need to persist.”

Guardiola was speaking about both the games Barça must face before the international break, and about how important both encounters are for their futures in both competitions. “Now we have to play two important matches before the break for different international commitments. The game on Wednesday is the priority for now, and is crucial in terms of qualification for the second round of the Champions League. The game on Saturday against Atlético Madrid is basic for getting closer to the top of the league.”

The Barça manager was giving nothing away regarding the side he might put out on Wednesday evening and also commented on Shakhtar Donetsk’s strength going forward. “I have enormous respect for Shakhtar” he said. “They are a very attacking and daring side. We’ll have to be very careful, because it is always difficult at their ground. But we know how they play, I know their players well, they have a high level and we’ll be trying to do them damage.”

The problem with Barça of late has been that despite creating loads of chances, they are struggling to covert them into goals. On this issue Guardiola said “getting goals is the most difficult bit … the most important thing is the good football and great team spirit we have. We have to persist in ensuring we do things well. With our strikers, we’ll manage it.”

Source: FC Barcelona Press

Inter Milan - Werder Bremen preview: Italians want another victory

Inter finished off their preparations for Wednesday's UEFA Champions Group B Matchday 2 clash against Werder Bremen with an afternoon training session at the Centro Sportivo Angelo Moratti.

After a long session of warm-up and stretching exercises, José Mourinho's Nerazzurri performed tactical drills and played a training game. Luis Figo, Luis Jimenez and Maxwell trained separately.

José Mourinho has called up 20 players for Wednesday evening's Champions League Matchday 2 fixture at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (kick-off 20:45):

Goalkeepers: 1 Francesco Toldo, 12 Julio Cesar, 22 Paolo Orlandoni.

Defenders: 2 Ivan Ramiro Cordoba, 4 Javier Zanetti, 13 Maicon, 16 Nicolas Burdisso, 23 Marco Materazzi, 26 Cristian Chivu.

Midfielders: 5 Dejan Stankovic, 14 Patrick Vieira, 19 Esteban Cambiasso, 20 Sulley Muntari, 33 Amantino Mancini, 36 Francesco Bolzoni, 77 Ricardo Quaresma.

Strikers: 8 Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 9 Julio Ricardo Cruz, 10 Adriano, 45 Mario Balotelli.

Source: FC Inter Press

Aalborg - Manchester United: historical visit

Aalborg are the first Danish side to enjoy a second bite of the Champions League cherry, having previously made it through to the European top table in 1995/96. It proved to be a baptism of fire, as they lost their first five matches against Dynamo Kiev, Porto and Nantes before earning their first ever CL point with a 2-2 draw against the Portuguese champions. The Danes have had recent European experience, though. They won one only game in last year’s UEFA Cup group stage, but gave Spurs a huge fright at ‘The Lane’ by taking a two-goal advantage before losing 3-2.

Andreas Johansson has the dubious honour of being the last player to be sent off at Highbury… and that was without touching the ball after coming on as a substitute for Wigan! An attacking midfielder, Johansson wasn’t a hit with everyone at the JJB Stadium and scored just four goals in 29 games, but he’s proved a handful for Danish defences since arriving last summer. Most dangerous when given time to create, Johansson is also a handy ball-winner in the centre of the park. He enjoyed his best spell as a player in his native Sweden with Djurgardens, where he won two titles and a Swedish Cup.

A familar face... Bruce Rioch. The former Arsenal and Bolton manager (to name just a couple) took over the reins at AaB in July after Erik Hamren switched Scandinavian allegiances to join Norway’s Rosenborg BK. But what’s Bruce doing in Denmark? Well, it’s not his first stint in the country – he was in charge at Odense for 20 months until his wife’s illness forced him to resign in March 2007. While there he enjoyed a win over Hibernian in the third round of the Intertoto Cup in 2006.

American defender Danny Califf led Aalborg to their first Danish title in nine years. But he subsequently signed for FC Midtjylland, leaving the captain’s armband behind for Thomas Augustinussen. A striker in his formative years, Augustinussen has real aerial presence (he stands 6’ 4” tall) and scored five goals in his 20 games for Denmark’s Under-21 team. He has since dropped back into central.

Fenerbahçe - Dynamo Kyiv: Yuriy Semin has named 21-man squad for tomorrow's match

Monday morning FC Dynamo Kyiv departed for the Turkish capital for tomorrow’s UEFA Champions League group stage encounter against Fenerbahçe SK (Istanbul, Turkey). The Matchday 2 fixture will take place at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul.

Dynamo head-coach Yuriy Semin has picked 21 players to bring to Turkey. 18 of them will be registered for the match. The list of players looks as follows:

Goalkeepers: Oleksandr Shovkovskyy, Stanislav Bogush, Oleksandr Rybka;

Defenders: Betão, Taras Mykhalyk, Pape Diakhaté, Malkhaz Asatiani, Badr El Kaddouri, Andriy Nesmachnyy, Oleksandr Romanchuk;

Midfielders: Ognjen Vukojević, Oleksandr Aliyev, Miloš Ninković, Tiberiu Ghioane, Roman Eremenko, Mykola Morozyuk,

Forwards: Ismaël Bangoura, Maksim Shatskikh, Artem Kravets, Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Zozulya.

Source: FC Dynamo press

FC Bayern Munich – Lyon: Jürgen Klinsmann goes for rotation

In the eleven weeks from now until the mid-season break, Bayern will contest 17 competitive fixtures, with the club’s current internationals chalking up another three matches for a total of 20 games in 70 or so days. “It’s two games a week from now on,” Jürgen Klinsmann reacted, “so there’ll inevitably be rotation in certain positions.”

The coach initiated that process in the midweek DFB Cup clash with Nürnberg, making four changes to the team beaten by Bremen four days earlier: Daniel van Buyten, Mark van Bommel, Christian Lell and Lukas Podolski dropped to the bench, with Massimo Oddo, Andreas Ottl, Tim Borowski and Miroslav Klose in the starting line-up.

Line-up changes will be the order of the day from now on. “To compete in Europe and cope with the rhythm of the Cup, the Bundesliga and the Champions League, we need rotation – not in every position, but definitely in certain areas,” Klinsmann explained.

The key factor is the consistent depth and quality in the Bayern squad. “We have a very good playing staff,” the coach opined, “up front, in midfield, defence – we have two players for every position.“ That naturally means intense competition for places. “A few of our players have made great progress,” Klinsmann observed, pleased with the improving form of the stars involved at Euro 2008 last summer.

The best example is Miroslav Klose, scorer of the vital opening goal against Nürnberg. “It was a sensational strike, a goal of the month,” Klinsmann enthused, “he’s slowly but surely getting to where he should be and where he’s set his own benchmarks. You can clearly see he’s on an upward trend.“

That applies to the whole squad, the coach feels, singling out Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Andreas Ottl in that respect. The Nürnberg tie also saw maiden 90-minute appearances for Tim Borowski, scorer of Bayern’s second, and Massimo Oddo. “He did a great job,“ the coach commented. “The increased competition livens the place up.”

The packed schedule means none of the stars need fear extended spells on the bench. “They’ll all get plenty of playing time. It’s a very, very long season,” said Klinsmann, hinting he may be ready for more rotation in Saturday’s trip to Hanover. “We’ll have to see who we allow to take a rest."

Source: Bayern Munich press

FC Zenit - Real Madrid: Fabio Cannavaro returns for the Saint Petersburg match

Fabio Cannavaro had to miss the match against Betis because of Bernd Schuster's rotation system. This time around it's Christoph Metzelder's and Míchel Salgado's turn not to travel in order to rest. Guti, Fernando Gago and Wesley Sneijder will miss the match because they sustain injuries.

Squad List:
Goalkeepers: Casillas, Dudek, Codina
Defenders: Pepe, Torres, Heinze, Ramos, Cannavaro, Marcelo
Midfielders: De la Red, Van der Vaart, Drenthe, Diarra, Javi García
Forwards: Raúl, Van Nistelrooy, Higuaín, Saviola, Robben

Source: Real Madrid FC press

BATE Borisov – Juventus: Juve already at work, team flies to Minsk on Monday

Juventus continue their series of close-up games. Just a few hours after the game at the Ferraris against Sampdoria and after returning from Genoa, the team immediately resumed training in Vinovo with a morning session today.

As usual, those who played had a lighter session, while the others trained normally, including Nicola Legrottaglie, who missed the Samp game but today took part in the final training match too.

Buffon's fitness is improving, and this morning he worked as normal with Goalkeeping Coach Giorgio Pellizzaro. But the keeper won't be taking part in the trip as a precaution. He'll be staying in Turin with Poulsen, whom Claudio Ranieri has decided to rest for one game. Injured players Zanetti and Trezeguet will also stay home. However, Zebina will be travelling with the team, even if he won't be available for the match itself. Junior keeper Nocchi has also been called up.

In total a 21-man squad will depart tomorrow morning – Monday September 29th – for Belarus and, after a three-hour flight, will reach Minsk, the city Bate Borisov have selected to play their home Champions League games.

Source: Juventus FC Press

Arsenal FC – Porto FC: Lucho González is back in the squad to face the Gunners

Jesualdo Ferreira picked 19 players to travel to England. Lucho is back in the squad after missing the game against Paços de Ferreira. The list includes the following players: Benítez, Bruno Alves, Candeias, Fernando, Guarin, Helton, Hulk, Lino, Lisandro, Lucho, Mariano, Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Raul Meireles, Rodríguez, Rolando, Sapunaru, Stepanov and Tomás Costa.

F.C. Porto travels this Monday to London. The flight is scheduled to 9h30. On Tuesday, the Dragons play the match day 2 of this season UEFA Champions League against Arsenal.

Source: FC Porto press

Villarreal - Celtic FC: friends will be reunited in Spain

Celtic travel to Spain at the beginning of the week for their UEFA Champions League clash with Villarreal, and it will be a case of friends reunited as both clubs have forged strong and lasting links since they first met back in 2004.

Indeed, Celtic have superb relations with Spain as a whole, from the meetings with Barcelona in both the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League in recent seasons to the 2003 UEFA Cup final in Seville, when over 80,000 Celtic fans descended on the Andalucian capital to cheer on the Hoops and show the world how to support their team, win or lose.

Not only did that event lead to Fair Play Awards for the Celtic fans from both UEFA and FIFA, but it ensured that Spanish people would always look fondly on the green and white Hoops.

And, ahead of next week’s UEFA Champions League match in the EL Madrigal Stadium, the Spanish Consul General, Federico Palomera, made a visit to Celtic Park to emphasise the unique bond between the club and Spain.

He said: “Spain and Scotland enjoy a great connection and through the positive relationship developed around football, this can only continue.

“In recent years Celtic Football Club has travelled to Valencia, Villarreal and Barcelona and on each occasion made great friends.

Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell welcomed the Spanish Consul General to Celtic Park, and presented a special Celtic shirt to Federico Palomera, receiving a Villarreal shirt in return.

And the Celtic Chief Executive said that he’s looking forward to further strengthening the bonds between Celtic and the city of Villa-real with the visit to Spain this week.

Source: Celtic FC official site

Jermaine Defoe goes for Fernando Torres: Portsmouth - Tottenham Hotspur preview

On Sunday, Portsmouth hosts Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe is set to face his former club Tottenham for the first time since he left them to join Pompey in January.

Since Defoe left Tottenham at the end of the January transfer window, Spurs have won only four of their 20 Premier League matches – the fewest wins in the division in this period.

Defoe has scored 12 goals since joining Pompey. Only Liverpool’s Fernando Torres has scored more goals in the Premier League since 31 January, according to Infostrada.

Fewest Premier League wins since 31 January 2008
# Club Matches

4 Tottenham Hotspur 20
5 Newcastle United 19
5 Bolton Wanderers 19
6 Middlesbrough 19
6 Wigan Athletic 19
Note: Only includes teams who have played in both 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 season

Most goals in the Premier League since 31 January 2008
# Player Nation Club(s) Matches

14 Fernando Torres ESP Liverpool 16
12 Cristiano Ronaldo POR Manchester United 15
12 Jermain Defoe ENG Portsmouth 17
11 Michael Owen ENG Newcastle United 18
11 Emmanuel Adebayor TOG Arsenal 19
10 John Carew NOR Aston Villa 19
9 Yakubu Aiyegbeni NGA Everton 17
9 Roque Santa Cruz PAR Blackburn Rovers 19
8 Gabriel Agbonlahor ENG Aston Villa 18

José Mourinho record reached 100 matches

On Wednesday, José Mourinho reached an impressive milestone when Internazionale beat Lecce 1-0 in the Serie A.

Mourinho is now on a streak of 100 home league matches without a defeat as a coach. According to Infostrada, the last time he lost a league home match was on 23 February 2002, when FC Porto lost 3-2 at home to SC Beira Mar.

José Mourinho’s unbeaten home streak in league matches
Club Matches Won Drawn Competition

FC Porto 38 36 2 Super Liga
Chelsea 60 46 14 Premier League
Internazionale 2 2 0 Serie A

Total 100 84 16

Underground Stadium in Doha, or how to observe football avoiding 50ºC

The first underground stadium ever constructed will be ready in 2010: here we have The Wall Stadium in Doha, Qatar.

Why underground? Obviously it’s a great revolution to have the world’s first underground stadium but there’s one priceless benefit, especially in a climate such as Qatar’s: on summer, Doha’s temperature reaches 50ºC.

Nicknamed "The Laptop" the stadium will have no traditional floodlights. As an alternative, the lights will be embedded into the architecture, which adds to the clean futuristic look.

The stadium is part of Doha’s forthcoming bid to host the 2018 World Cup and if the location was decided purely down to stadium architecture, they may have a chance.

But the one concern is The Wall will only be able to seat 11.000 people, not much population for a WC…

Real Madrid goals reached 5000

On Sunday, 14 September, Real Madrid became the first club in Spain to score 5,000 goals in the top flight when they hosted Numancia. Captain Guti signed his name to the milestone.

Alfredo di Stéfano is Real’s all-time top scorer in the Primera División with 216 goals.
Current Real player Raúl is second on this list with 205 goals.

Most goals by club in Primera División
Goals Club Matches
5,003 Real Madrid 2,422
4,936 FC Barcelona 2,422
4,164 Athletic Bilbao 2,422
3,945 Atlético Madrid 2,274
3,863 Valencia CF 2,324
3,224 RCD Espanyol 2,286
3,138 Sevilla FC 2,068
2,853 Real Sociedad 2,036
2,524 Real Zaragoza 1,834
2,041 Celta de Vigo 1,508

Milestone goals for Real Madrid in Primera División
# Name Match Date
5000 Guti Real Madrid – Numancia 4-3 14 Sep 2008
4000 Iván Zamorano Real Valladolid – Real Madrid 0-5 22 Dec 1994
3000 Juanito UD Salamanca – Real Madrid 1-3 04 Apr 1981
2000 Francisco Gento Real Madrid – Pontevedra CF 3-1 09 Nov 1963
1000 Pahíño Atlético Club de Bilbao – Real Madrid 2-5 05 Nov 1950
1 Jaime Lazcano Real Madrid – CD Europa 5-0 10 Feb 1929

Del Piero goal defined Juventus 1 Zenit 0

Screen capture: La Gazzetta Dello Sport

Manchester United – Villarreal: Cristiano Ronaldo is back

The 23-year-old winger is well ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and will make an appearance of some sort – most likely as a substitute – when the Reds take on the Spaniards in Wednesday’s Champions League Group E opener at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Cristiano Ronaldo has no cause to win United’s fans over after a summer which saw the player heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid. The Reds boss instead has praised the player's maturity as he prepares to return from an ankle injury against Villarreal on Wednesday.

Real Madrid’s public pursuit of Ronaldo throughout the summer brought matters to a head when Sir Alex met with the Portuguese international during pre-season. The United boss insists that is where the matter ended, and now predicts a welcome return from the Old Trafford faithful.

“I don’t think [he has to win the fans over],” Sir Alex said on Tuesday. “I think our fans understand the situation. He’s a young man who was tempted by the lure of money, but since we gave him our decision he has accepted it.

“He said that he’d like to go to Real Madrid. When I had the meeting with him, that was it finished. He understood my position and the club’s position. He has accepted it and got on with it like a professional. There has not been a problem since.”

Ronaldo has thrown himself at his recovery from the surgery he underwent in July with the same dedication he has to developing his raw skill into world football's most sought-after talent during five years with the Reds.

“His training and rehabilitation has been fantastic,” said Sir Alex. “Every day, right through till five o’clock, he has shown a real determination to get back playing for us.

“He is such a massive player for us,” said Carlos Tevez. “He is a great person to have on your side. It’s almost like having an extra player when he is playing for you because he is such a danger to our opponents. It will be a big boost to have him back.”