Before we get to the articles I would like to thank all those who stop by on a regular basis and those who contribute. The response each week continues to amaze me as does the respect shown for others opinions…….most of the time!

A new professional league for India. A potentially massive market but the chances of besting cricket with the next couplke of generations is probably zilch to nil.

Match-fixing allegations being passed to Interpol from UEFA and tucked away is a mention of the Intertoto Cup being scrapped when the tournaments are changed for the 09/10 season.

Could an England vs. Scotland match be set for May 28th of next year?

Normally in a situation where a team has already qualified the youngsters can look forward to a run-out. However, Gabriele Marcotti thinks that as far as Milan is concerned it is the squad’s old-timers who will get the nod on Tuesday against Celtic.

Scottish clubs have had so little success at the San Siro it might be better to refer to it as the San Zero.

Will Buckley links the actions of the legendary Billy Meredith one hundred years ago with Michel Platini today.

With only one round of the Champions League group stage remaining six of the eight teams that were seeded fourth still have a chance to make the knock-out stage.

There was a question on the blog last week about Paul Robinson. In this article Stewart Robson looks at how Robinson and others have fallen behind their foreign counterparts.

Simon Kuper writes about how the Swiss manage to keep their passion for the game well hidden.

The FAI seems intent on making the FA’s search for a new national team boss look like a smoothly run operation.

Porto vs. Chelsea - A good draw for Chelsea, but perhaps a little more difficult than many of the pundits will have you believe. Jose Mourinho and Porto boss Jesualdo Ferreira are no strangers to each other. Ferreira has a reputation as a shrewd and cunning tactician who gets the most out of his players.

Premiership buffs may turn up their noses when they see Helder Postiga leading the Porto line but under Ferreira Postiga has recaptured the scoring touch that made him one of the most sought-after youngsters in Europe.

Porto made a poor start to group play but three successive wins and a draw turned it around. A 2-0 away win in Moscow against CSKA was pivotal. Goals from Argentine midfielder “Lucho” Gonzalez and former Barcelona winger Ricardo Quaresma did the trick that day and both players are enjoying good seasons. Brazilian striker Adriano Vieira has just returned from injury and he should be back to match-fitness by February.

Celtic vs. AC Milan - These two teams have met four times before in European competition and Celtic has yet to record a victory.  In 1969 Celtic returned to Parkhead after achieving a scoreless draw at the San Siro. But Prati took advantage of a McNeill error early on in the first half of the return leg and Milan went on to beat reigning champions Manchester United in the semi-final and then to beat Ajax 4-1 in the final at the Bernabeu.

Two seasons ago the teams met again with Celtic losing 3-1 at the San Siro.  Two goals in the last two minutes by Inzaghi and Pirlo flattered Milan. The return leg finished in a scoreless draw. Milan fans will have noted that their team again made it to the final that season.

Celtic fans need no reminding of their atrocious away record in the Champions League - one draw and 11 defeats. In his four Champions League away games in charge of Celtic, Gordon Strachan has seen his side concede 14 goals.

However, Celtic's record at Parkhead is quite imposing.  Including qualifying games, Celtic has only lost one of the last 19 home games with four draws.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal - Arsenal is unbeaten against PSV in their four meetings in the last four years.  Although they lost two games - their last two - PSV cruised through as runners up in group C to Liverpool.  PSV was unlucky to lose to Milan at the semi-final stage two seasons ago and last season they lost in the round of 16 to Lyon 5-0 on aggregate.

PSV supporters are used to a continual turnover of players but they also saw for their manager Guus Hiddink leave this past summer. However, his replacement Ronald Koeman is an extremely experienced manager when it comes to European competition and he also lifted the European Cup as a player.

The PSV squad is a veritable United Nations with thirteen countries represented in the first-team pool.  Gomes (Brazil) provides the Dutch side with consistent goalkeeping while the back four normally comprises of a Dutchman (Jan Kromkamp), a Portuguese (Manuel da Costa), the Brazilian (Alex) and a Mexican (Carlos Salcido). Csaba Feher (Hungary), Tommy Simons (Belgium) and Phillip Cocu are often joined in the midfield by Australian Jason Culina or Edison Mendez (Ecuador).  In attack Jefferson Farfan (Peru) and Arouna Kone (Ivory Coast) round things off.

Lille vs. Manchester United - Although Lille beat and drew with Manchester United in the group stage last season neither team qualified for the last 16. In fact the goal Lille scored against Manchester United was their only marker in the Champions League last season.

This season they scored 8 goals, only lost one game and qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League for the very first time.  However, they did need to beat Milan in the San Siro in the last game of group play in order to qualify. Goals appear to be coming more freely this season for Lille but much of their strength still resides in defense and particularly midfield. Cameroon international Jean Makoun is an all action figure in midfield and is complemented by the young French attacking midfielder Mathieu Bodmer.  Both have been rumoured to be Premiership targets in the past.

Roma vs. Lyon - This is new territory for Roma given that they have never qualified for the knockout stage of the last 16 of the Champions League. Although there are signs that some younger players are successfully breaking into the Roma squad and contributing, it will still come down to the likes of Totti, Chivu, Pizarro, Mancini and De Rossi to do the heavy lifting.

Lyon's ambitions extend beyond the last 16 and by that I do not mean the quarter- final stage at which they have departed the competition in the last three seasons.  Domination of the French league is one thing, but it is the Champions League where Lyon needs to succeed. The French champions should have Brazilian striker Fred back in time when the tournament resumes in February and that should provide Lyon with a major boost.

Barcelona vs. Liverpool - Not surprisingly this game is being held heralded as the tie of the round. This match up is intriguing on many levels - the Champions League winners from the past two seasons; Rafa Benitez facing a club that he has triumphed over before; the number of Spanish players plying their trade at Anfield; and two teams with worldwide support and fabled histories.

I suspect that this is not the match up Barcelona would have preferred but there again I doubt Liverpool are overly impressed either.  Benitez has been heavily criticized for his rotation policy at Liverpool. With the team now running into form the pay off for Liverpool may not necessarily come in the Premiership but in the Champions League.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich - These two sides are certainly no strangers to each other having faced each other 16 times in the last 30 years in European competition. And it is Bayern Munich who holds the upper hand with nine wins and two draws over that time.

Neither side was ever in any danger of not qualifying for the knockout stage. Real Madrid finished as runners up to Lyon while Bayern Munich won group B, seven points ahead of third placed Spartak Moscow.  Bayern Munich has only failed to make the group stage once in the previous five seasons but have not progressed beyond the quarter-final stage.

It is a far cry from the turn of the century when they reached the semi-final in three successive years, and finished runners up once (to Manchester United) and won the trophy when he beat Valencia two years later. It was of course Real Madrid who knocked them out at the semi-final stage, and Madrid went on to lift their eighth champion European Champions trophy by beating the unfortunate Valencia.

This game might have stirred the blood a few years back, but it is likely to be a dour 180 minutes…. or maybe even more.

Inter Milan vs. Valencia - Valencia must be hoping that the injury hoodoo that they have suffered through during the early part of the season will be long gone by the time February rolls around.  During the summer, Valencia was aggressive in the transfer market signing Ferdinando Morientes from Liverpool, Asier Del Horno from Chelsea, Empoli striker Francesco Tavano, speedy winger Joaquin from Real Betis as well as reclaiming David Silva who had been on loan at Celta Vigo.

While the signings encouraged Valencia fans that the team could mount a legitimate challenge to Barcelona in Spain, injuries to a number of key players have taken a toll domestically. However, it did not seem to affect their European form as they finished top of group B three points ahead of Roma and seven points ahead of third place, Shakhtar Donetsk. 

With three wins in their first three games Valencia was very much in the driving seat right from the start. A draw away to Donetsk in the fourth game of qualifying was a minor bump in the road and by the time Valencia traveled to Rome qualification was secure and Roma’s 1-0 was largely inconsequential.

Inter's route to the last 16 was very different and after two games the Italian side looked to be odds-on favourite to become a high-profile casualty at the group stage. 

Losses to Sporting Lisbon and Bayern Munich (without scoring a goal in either game) placed Inter firmly behind the 8-ball. But the Milan side roared back with three successive wins, and by the time they traveled to Munich progress to the last 16 had been secured.  

The ties are to be played on 20/21 February and 6/7 March with the final in Athens in May.

The Money
Prize money to be paid out to the 32 group teams-$363 million.
Pool money from TV to be shared-$355 million.
Estimated prize money for the eventual winner-$29 million.
Total sponsorship and TV revenue generated by the Champions League-$986 million.