It looks as if UEFA are moving in the direction of changing the finals to twenty-four nations but not until 2016 at the earliest. I hate to see them move from 16 which is a perfect number.
Ian Herbert on a player who turned his career around – Richard Dunne.
Brian Reade tries taking a look at the Newcastle situation from the ordinary fan’s point of view.
Louise Taylor on the role being played by former Spurs director Paul Kemsley.
I missed this one from last Monday. Gabriele Marcotti on why Dave Kitson should care about the FA Cup.
A class action claim against Dave Whelan’s JJB Sports over replica football shirts has been settled.
Roy Keane does not think much of the FAI’s search for a new manager – either that or he thinks a great deal of Big Brother. It seems surreal that Mick McCarthy’s name is even being mentioned let alone a strong second choice.
I know there were a number of questions asked last week on the response section and weekend preview that I was not able to get to. Although I try to chip in on the blog throughout the week the best time to get a response to your question is by posting to Monday's Speakers' Corner.
First of all, a big thanks to the staff and management of the Galway Hooker Bar in Manhattan. Last Thursday they hosted the Fox Soccer Channel 10th anniversary east coast reception and did a fine job of it.
Celtic issues a warning to players who might be thinking of invoking FIFA’s article 17.
A small piece on Freddie Adu at Benfica and the impact that Coach Jose Antonio Camacho may have on the youngster’s development. Although Camacho was not in charge when Adu signed the signs are that he is willing to work with him.
Gabriele Marcotti assesses the threat posed by Inter Milan in the Champions League.
Glenn Gibbons puts some perspective to the issue of a “British” team in the 2012 Olympic soccer tournament. The one thing he does not mention is the timing of the event which is only a few weeks after Euro 2012.
The article quotes Berlusconi from 20 years ago. However, Sports Illustrated ran a series on the future of sport in the late seventies. SI suggested that the future of sport was TV money and that spectators would be allowed in free to create atmosphere. No matter this article lays out what is in store for spors fans over the next few years as far as televised sport and the prices that will have to be paid.
It sounds as if the Premiership has taken the exaggerated claims of the Super Bowl, the IOC and FIFA to heart and see no harm in announcing potential viewership numbers that have no link to reality.
It is generally accepted amongst sober folks that the Champions League Final draws around 70 – 100m people worldwide. An opening ceremony for an Olympics of one sort of another would attract 125-150M around the globe. The World Cup Final around 200M+ and the Super Bowl would be around 115M worldwide. These numbers cover people who actually watch as opposed to those popping in for thirty seconds.
If Saturday’s game attracted an audience of 5M in the UK (it was only available on Sky) it would be an unheard level for a league game. So, even if we say 5M watched in the UK that is only one in 12 people - based on a population of 60M.
The world’s population is around 6B and you can knock off 10% or so for babies and the infirmed. You would have to further reduce the number of potential viewers due to the number of people that live without electricity and such. That has to be another one billion + you would think.
What you are left with is a little over 4B people. And so we are supposed to believe that although a maximum of 1 in 12 people watched in the UK (and that is extremely generous) that around the world 1 in 4 tuned in. Take North America where the game was only available on Setanta. In Canada, with a population of around 30M, there are not 100,000 Setanta subscribers. In the USA with 300M how many people had access to the Setanta signal let alone watched?
The claim is ridiculous. If the game was “watched” by 40M around the world I would be surprised.
There has been a significant amount of discussion on Sepp Blatter’s latest utterances. To start off with here are some statistics that were provided to me a couple of months ago courtesy of James Pavlick.
“I used the list of FOREIGN EPL players on the www.soccernet.com website. I considered Wales, Scotland, and N. Ireland as "foreign" as they have their own FAs and national teams. I listed them by nationality as listed on the rosters on wikipedia. I excluded reserve players. I labeled nationality in terms of national team. For example, I count Arsenal's Eduardo as a Croat as opposed to a Brazilian and Spurs' Kevin Prince-Boateng as German as opposed to Ghanaian.
Here is the list of players by nationality:
26 - France 19 - Rep. of Ireland 16 - Spain 14 - Scotland 13 - Holland, Wales 12 - Portugal, Nigeria 11 - Brazil 10 - Australia, Cameroon, Senegal 9 - USA 8 - Sweden 7 - Germany, Denmark 6 - Ivory Coast, Northern Ireland, Trinidad, Norway 5 - Czech, Argentina, Iceland 4 - Bulgaria, Israel, Finland, Italy, Ghana 3 - Austria, Switzerland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, S. Korea, Tunisia, S. Africa, Egypt 2 - Greece, Ukraine, Ecuador, Peru, Iran, China, New Zealand, Jamaica, Canada, Congo 1 - Belgium, Russia, Belarus, Paraguay, Mali, DR Congo, Togo
By confederation: UEFA -201 (not including England) CAF - 56 CONMEBOL - 21 CONCACAF - 19 AFC - 17 (including Australia) Oceania - 2 (not including Australia)”
Here is a press release from MLS on foreign born players and it contains comparisons to other North American sport leagues.
I might just be cynical about this but I don’t believe that Blatter’s stance has anything to do with the benefit of the game at the domestic level. For FIFA it about trying to ensure that the club game does not dominate – something that would impact on FIFAs cash cow the World Cup. As a pure defensive action FIFA instituted the Club World Cup so they have a fallback position at least.
You also have to consider that FIFA and UEFA have paid and continue to pay for their arrogance in dealing with the European Union in the 80s. Both organizations believed that they were above the civil courts and European Union legislation.
The Bosman ruling and others were made by the EU without UEFA or FIFA fully understanding the implications nor realizing that times had changed and that EU regulations had to be adhered to. It is only in the last five or six years that the governing bodies have really understood the need to work with and to influence political policy within the EU.
There is a very good chance that sport will be recognized as being different (the EU have shown sympathy to that position on many occasions) but the current argument goes beyond that. What we are seeing is negotiation on very important wording and it appears that Blatter is pushing for full control through inserting the word “autonomous”.
It is almost inconceivable that the EU would allow UEFA / FIFA to operate autonomously which would essentially provide the soccer bodies with free reign to impose what they wish. (You can see why the IOC would be supporting the FIFA position.) The EU is not about to give up free market regulations (an oxymoron perhaps) for soccer or any other sport – special yes, autonomous I can’t see it.
The other part of the ongoing discussion has related to the development of young players and how it affects national teams. If – and I am sure that it will not – Blatter’s proposal every come into existence then it will lead to a rapid escalation in domestic players wages.
The Premiership is generally considered to be the best paying league but if the supply of foreign talent was suddenly cut off, the supply of English talent would remain the same but the demand would instantly increase – impact, a rapid escalation in salaries for domestic players.
The ripple or tidal wave – a fall off in standards throughout the domestic league structure. Those that argue that the overall standard would increase more broadly as European players returned home fail to acknowledge the part played by African and South American players.
There is more than enough money in the system to help develop young domestic players. What doesn’t exist is the will to impose such a system in the likes of England. The FA have been cowardly when dealing with the Premiership since the inception in the early 90s and they still are.
The FA should insist on a larger share of the TV money generated by the Premiership and put it into youth development and the grassroots. That is of course a simplistic solution but the concept is valid – the game in England and other top European countries is awash in cash – there just has to be the political will to spend it differently.
Tamerlin - How does the financing of the Champions League and UEFA Cup work? I've heard that the CL pays each club for everything (hotel, travel, etc.), whereas UEFA Cup requires the clubs to pay. Therefore a club needs to get to the Semi-finals in the UEFA Cup to actually make any money.
- Where do you place the ref's call that ejected Shanon Boxx among the worst World Cup calls? The Brazilian fouled her!
Bobby – UEFA controls both competitions and generally owns the media (TV etc) and sponsorship rights. I say generally because my understanding is that the clubs are able to sell the rights to qualifying round games in the Champions League but all rights revert to UEFA once the group stage starts.
The home team gets to keep their gate money but I have no idea who pays for hotel, travel etc. I would be surprised if UEFA paid for hotel, travel etc as it would be easily abused. The prize money is allocated based on qualification for the group stage, points collected in the group stage plus how far the club progresses in the knock out rounds. The prize money is a combination of money from a general rights pool (sponsorship and TV) and money allocated based on the TV money generated domestically and paid out based on how all clubs from that country do. That’s why we get situations where Champions League runner up (or even beaten semi finalist) can be awarded more prize money than the actual winner.
There are also payments made to teams that are knocked out in the three rounds of qualifying. Here is a UEFA article that outlines the process with pay out amounts for 2006/07 for both competitions.
I stand to be corrected but I believe UEFA only sells TV rights from the last eight of the UEFA Cup on and before that the home club owns the rights. Sponsorship is limited compared to the Champions League. Clubs also keep the home gate so I think the stories of having to reach the semis to make money are far-fetched – after all if that was the case why would teams bother competing?
I didn’t watch the WWC so I can’t comment on the referee’s decision.
Yohann - Are you confident about Chelsea (in Champions League)? I feel like the Blues will have trouble finding the net, especially if Drogba isn't on fire like last year... They tied Rosenborg and are in a group that includes Schalke and Valencia, a team that has an extra motivation against Chelsea.
Bobby – I stand by my prediction. There are six games and a home draw against Rosenborg is not the end of the world. Schalke is average at best. Valencia are a good team with solid European credentials.
Ringo - Either Duncan Castles is now part of the inner workings at the Bridge, or he`s auditioning for a job with the Sun.
Bobby – I was a bit cautious on some stuff he wrote earlier as I was thinking the same as you. But based on the stuff he has generated lately and after listening to him on the GU podcast I would say that someone (or a couple of people) are feeding him a lot of inside stuff. Or someone who has now left was feeding him information!
MDMcAuley - Maybe you've been asked this before; but as the wise seer of all things Scottish and most things soccer, do you think Celtic and Rangers would consistently compete and stay clear of relegation if they were in the English Premier League? If so, roughly where would you put them in the table? Is there any serious interest in their managements in joining the EPL for financial reasons?
Bobby – Without a doubt over an extended period they would compete and would both be strong teams. Celtic and Rangers enjoy massive global support and with the money generated from playing in the Premiership they would both comfortably be in top ten after they settled in. The most difficult period would be the first year. Both clubs would jump at the chance to join the Premiership but it will not happen. Not because of UEFA or FIFA but because they would be taking the place of two English teams and you don’t find turkeys voting for Christmas too often.
Just a general comment about a UK side. Anyone who suggests such a possibility has no idea of history, culture and pride. There are more important things than winning. As for the Republic of Ireland taking part as well – a history lesson is badly needed.
Henry14 - q1 What do you make of the Flamster's impact at Arsenal, what have you made of him? l have to say l am changing my opinion q2 You predicted Chelsea as the champs at the end of the season are you ready to throw the towel that they will not retain? q3 Do you see Kaka staying at Milan if they keep not taking anything serious other than with a Champions League athem (sic)? q4 Spurs or Man City who is your pick now for fifth?
Bobby–1. Flamini has played very well and looks to have come of age. 2. No. I don't normally change predictions. 3. I must have missed the press release that said Milan was only taking the Champions League seriously. 4. I picked City to finish 12th and Spurs 5th. Two seasons ago after 7 games City had 11 points and Stuart Pearce was the saviour. They finished 15th. Two seasons on they have two more points and this time SGE is the saviour. The problem with a team having an unexpected good or bad start to the season is that we tend to project the trend as upwards and onwards.
However, there is not a lot of evidence to support that view and over time things average out. Yes, City have recruited some players who have made an initial impact but the rest of the Premiership isn’t sitting around in awe. They are looking at City matches and they are looking at ways to blunt their strengths and to take advantage of their weaknesses.
Craigyf - How long has it been since the top two in Scotland were both managed by Scots?
Bobby – Not very long given that both Smith and Strachan are Scots and with the exception of a brief French interlude it was McLeish and Strachan.
Craigyf - Marcotti on Super Pippo! – Really Gabrielle, how many games of Pippo have you actually watched? Saying that Pippo doesn’t fit in with Milan is akin to saying that Antipasti doesn’t fit in with an Italian meal. The article is basically tosh; Marcotti really doesn’t know what he is talking about. He scores goals for a living and does it with immense passion, obviously a dullard such as Marcotti doesn’t get football. Interesting choice of articles this week, some good and some are just awful, how do you pick them?
Bobby – Did you read the article? How anyone could interpret the article as anything but complimentary to Inzaghi beats me. The articles are chosen based on what I think readers might find interesting, or perhaps a contrary view that is worth considering. Based on your interpretation of Marcotti’s article on Inzaghi I can’t even attempt to guess which ones you think are good and which are awful.
popculturejon - This is a bit off topic Bobby, but stay with me. Would it be possible for a company like Nike to buy a small EPL club (Like Derby for example) before a WC (so 2009). Then sign a lot of American players and an American coach to try to get a squad together that plays every week and trains as a unit over a season? Granted, not all players would have to come from this project team, but it would give the US an advantage as far as team chemistry and EPL experience.
Bobby – Well Spons46 makes a very good and valid point – there are work permit restrictions to overcome. But beyond that you may (or may not) be surprised that such a notion has actually been put into practice a couple of times.
In the late 70s (?), Dynamo Kiev became the defacto Soviet Union national team. The experiment was abandoned after a couple of seasons. The same could be said for a large number of eastern-bloc countries before the Berlin wall came down. The sports ministries often used their power to allocate large numbers of national caliber team players to one or maybe two club teams. The great Hungarian national team of the 50s had a significant number of players from Honved.
However, the most relevant example is much closer to home. A Team America was fielded in the NASL around 1982 or 83 with the same logic as you sugested. I believe they played as Washington (maybe a NASL fan can confirm) and it was a disaster. Canada was ready to undertake the same experiment in Montreal but baulked after the USA plan bombed.
Ulsterson - Last night you talked about Kasper Schmeichel’s youth and experience affecting his performance on crosses and I think you mentioned his height (at 6'0", a good 4 inches shorter than his old man) on Friday. I agree, and there is, in my view, another issue of his game where his stature is also detrimental. This one more directly related to his father. The young Dane mimics a distinctive technique his father was famous for called the "starfish". Just as it sounds, the arms and legs splay out like an open jumping jack to try to make as big a target as possible. Peter used the maneuver if the ball was off the ground and he was too close to the anticipated shot to react, jumping before he had any real idea where the ball would go. It was quite successful for Sr., in part, because of his massive size, but because it required the size of Peter’s XXXL frame and of the risk involved in leaving the feet before the shot I don’t think it is often taught. From what I have seen, Kasper seems to rely on the "starfish" more than he should (it almost seems to be his default save, even when he is too far away from the shot for it to be prudent or even when the ball is on the ground) and his smaller stature leaves too much room for balls to get by. Watch the goals scored on him by Fulham and tell me what you think.
Bobby – Good point. If I remember correctly Schmeichel senior borrowed the move from playing in goal at handball or at least watching the sport. Before I heard that I was in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics and took in a handball game one day. I was surprised to see (what I thought to be) the goalkeepers pulling off Peter Schmeichel style saves! I guess I got it the wrong way round.
The draw for this season's Champions League was made earlier today and, as normal, it generated some interesting match ups. However, foar more interesting was UEFA President Michel Platini's vision for the future. He unveiled his proposal to revamp the competition from the 2009/10 onwards.
One of comments made by Platini is that "We need to ensure football is more balanced so that the rich do not become much richer. If another proposal is better than my philosophy that is fine but I doubt they will come up with something better. Unless someone comes up with a fabulous proposal we will decide on mine."
So can you come up with something better?
Personally I don't see anything wrong with using the domestic cup competitions as a qualifier for the Champions League. After all it's not so long ago that we had the European Cup Winners Cup competition that was normally regarded as second only to the European Cup.
When it was scrapped seven seasons ago the Cup Winners spots were tipped into the unwieldy UEFA Cup. I see Platini's proposal as righting a wrong. The proposal could also boost domestic cup competitions across Europe which I can't see being a bad thing. Guaranteeing a group spot for the sixteen top European leagues also gets two thumbs up from me.
The Saturday final idea I really like as well as the stadium size and capacity. The suggestion for the UEFA Cup gives it a more dominant knock out flavour rather than the dominant and unbalanced round robin.
As for scrapping the bookmaker inspired Inter Toto Cup - would anyone notice if it was scrapped? It doesn't even serve a purpose for bookies anymore as technology has brought games from other parts of the globe "closer".
Ian Bell with a scathing article to kick off the European season.
An interesting piece on Sven’s record as a club manager.
An article on Marcus Hahnemann – of the three US keepers playing in the Premiership the one that receives the least amount of press coverage. Writen before his Old Trafford shut out.
The Times says that Wenger has been given more transfer money than he says he needs this summer.
Alan Campbell describes an outbreak of sanity at Tynecastle. Unfortunately for Hearts' fans it didn't help them to qualify for the UEFA Cup as Aberdeen ensured their spot on the final day of the Scottish season.
We will start off with the FA Cup Final. Manchester United look to complete a fourth domestic double and to hoist the FA Cup for a record extending 12th time. For Chelsea it is a chance to be the first team since Liverpool in 2001 to do the domestic cup double. In addition the FA Cup represents the only trophy that Jose Mourinho has not won during his time at Porto and Chelsea.
This is only the third time that the top two teams have competed in the final. Ninety-four years ago Aston Villa beat Sunderland and in 1986 Liverpool beat Everton. It’s interesting that with the continual talk of the top teams not taking the FA Cup seriously that for the 12th straight season the Cup will be won by one of the big four. You have to go back to 1991 to find the last time that Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal did not make it to the deciding game. The last team outside of London, Merseyside or Manchester to actually win the trophy was Coventry in 1987 when they beat Spurs 3-2 after extra time.
Mourinho and SAF have locked horns nine times and Jose has the superior record with four wins, one loss and three draws. However, you can make a good case that the one loss was the turning point in United’s battle with Chelsea. It was back in November 2005 when a Darren Fletcher goal won the game for United. From that point on United has had a better Premiership record than Chelsea.
It could be a very special day for the evergreen Ryan Giggs. He could become the first player to win five FA Cup winners' medals in 116 years - that is to say it was last done 116 years ago not that Giggs has been playing for 116 years! He could also match Phil Neal’s record of winning seventeen major honours.
After last weekend’s slip-up by Schalke, Stuttgart is in the driving seat. A win against Energie Cottbus will assure them of their third Bundesliga title. A draw would leave the door ajar for Schalke but it would require a win by at least four goals for the Ruhr club to overtake the present leaders. They play Arminia Bielefeld who are one of the Bundesliga's form teams at the moment. Schalke’s return of 15 points out a possible 30 has not been good enough. Stuttgart is on a 7 game winning streak and their last loss was to Schalke 1-0 on March 17.
Stuttgart Coach Armin Veh replaced Trapattoni last February but it was an inau####ious start with only nine points in the final ten games of last season. Veh signed a bunch of foreign players over the summer such as Ricardo Osario and Pavel Pardo (both Mexicans), Brazilian Antonio Da Silva, Swede Alex Farnerud and Swiss striker Marco Streller. Even then the season started poorly with two losses and a draw in their first three home games. Since then Stuttgart has gone unbeaten at home with 11 wins and 2 draws. Next week Stuttgart plays Nurnberg in the German Cup Final.
Real Madrid is sitting top of La Liga for the first time since October 2005 and plays away to Recreativo de Huelva. Recreativo has performed remarkably well this season with Florent Sinama-Pongolle scoring 11 goals and securing a permanent move from Liverpool to the southern Spanish club.
Recreativo has only one loss at home since Christmas (4-0 to Barcelona) while Real Madrid have 7 wins, 2 draws and only 1 loss in their last 10 matches. During that time Ruud Van Nistelrooy has scored at a goal-a-game pace and is currently the leagues leading scorer with 21 goals.
Four words Barcelona don’t want to hear as their season threatens to implode – Atletico Madrid, Fernando Torres. Atletico have won three and drawn two of the last five games against Barca and Torres has scored six goals. This game is a test of character for Barcelona. If they lose this one and Real Madrid win there would be a sense of the inevitable about Madrid first La Liga title since 2003. Barcelona have only won twice in their last 11 away games and have only shut out the opposition four times on the road this season.
Atletico have lost three times at home but are unbeaten since December 10. There have not been a lot of goals to enjoy at the Vicente Calderon with Atletico scoring 18 and conceding 11. In 13 of the 17 home matches Atletico have scored one goal or less while Espanyol are the only visiting team to score more than one.
Fresh from retaining the UEFA Cup Sevilla travels to La Coruna where the home defense has proven to be a tough nut to crack. Deportivo La Coruna have the best defensive home record in La Liga with only 9 goals conceded in 17 games and 11 shut outs. However, it comes at cost of goals scored with only 16 goals potted at the Riazor.
Sevilla are unbeaten in their last three La Liga trips to La Coruna with two draws and one win but they not won away from home since Jan 28 against Levante. That means six games without an away win.
In MLS there is a rematch of the 2006 Championship game. Houston Dynamo won that one in a penalty shoot-out but they have made a stuttering start to the new season. Houston have won two, drawn one and lost three so far. The latest defeat came against Toronto FC on Wednesday night at a cold, wet – and we found out today – “collapsing” BMO Field.
Houston enjoyed the majority of the possession on Wednesday but they had a look of a team that did not know what to do once they got within 30 yards of the Toronto goal. On the other hand New England Revolution have flown out of the gate with four wins, two draws and a single loss. Taylor Twellman is red hot with six goals and Andy Dorman (a player who is a joy to watch at times) has three. There have only been two goals scored (one for and the other against) in three games at Robertson Stadium this season so far but I think we will see some more on Saturday.
Kate Foster on one of the strangest supporters clubs that you will find any place. Here is a clue - at one time the club was managed by a young man called Alex Ferguson.
Daniel Finkelstein uses a more statistical basis to pick his Player of the Year.
There will be a number of blog entries this week. The first in a series of Toronto FC Reports will be posted along with a review of the Premiership predictions that were made back in August. There will also be a “Premiership by the Numbers” column on Tuesday and on Friday there will be a recap of the road to the FA Cup where we will go from the first preliminary round that got underway in August right through to Saturday’s Final.
In a number of provinces in Canada we can bet legally on sports courtesy of the government. The down side is the Russian Mob would probably give better odds than we can get on what is known as Pro Line. Included on Pro Line is the Premiership. Over the couple of years I have got into the habit of dropping by the local store on the way home from doing the Friday Fox Soccer Report.
My weekly wager is very small but it does add something extra to the weekend's soccer action. I try to avoid the early Saturday game because if you get that one wrong then your are screwed. Luckily this weekend was one of the few occasions when the govermment gets to return some of that money to me. I picked six games and all came good. The picks (all to win) were Bolton, Charlton, Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham.
Here are some articles that caught my eye over the weekend.
Stewart Fisher with a piece on Paul Dalglish of The Houston Dynamo. Apparently Paul’s father was quite a good player. Unfortunately Mr. Fisher can’t get the name of the Dynamo’s coach correct!
Gabriele Marcotti takes a look at how Roma have changed under the very underrated Luciano Spalletti. Totti has never been rated by the English media. I wonder if that will still be the case in a few weeks time.
Patrick Barclay takes a look at a player born just miles from Old Trafford who is out to stop Manchester United.
Steve Tongue points out that seven of the eight remaining Champions league teams are skippered by home-town players.
A little piece on Northern Ireland hero David Healey.
Finally a piece from Hugh McIlvanney on the behaviour of some England fans in Barcelona last Wednesday. It includes this stiletto - “All their efforts to masquerade as passionate patriots driven to condemnatory fury by the inadequacies of McClaren and his men could not begin to conceal the revolting truth that most of the snarling, bellowing viciousness came from look-at-me exhibitionists so absorbed in masturbation of their emotions that their favourite insult had an autobiographical ring.”
A big week coming up with the Champions League and UEFA Cup taking centre stage.
It is official - Newcastle are the winners of the Intertoto Cup.
Neil Warnock the manager of one of the Premiership’s hottest clubs Sheffield United, has been writing a regular column for the Independent.
Stewart Robson on the pros and cons of Chelsea’s current midfield set-up.
Daniel Finkelstein and “The Fink Tank” takes a look at the Champions League draw.
Another clear indication that UEFA is willing – or must – align with the European Union in order to control the G-14. The article may point to Chelsea, but this is only because they are an easy target.
Rob Hughes provides more details on the FIFA-Mastercard-Visa court case. The article includes the following comment from the Judge on Jack Warner’s right-hand man Chuck Blazer. “Mr. Blazer’s testimony was generally without credibility based on his attitude and evasive answers on cross examination.”
After this week Speakers’ Corner will be taking a break over the holiday season. However, I will continue to post during that time and create open forums for discussion over the next few weeks.
Thank you to all the regular blog readers and contributors and a happy holiday season to you all and a guid New Year.
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.
Henry14 - Do you think Henry is finished, because he is not playing like he used to, what is your verdict on Henry, is he going down? Do Buffon and Henry receive anything, for being runners up to the Ballon D'Or - or they are just named, and what is your take on who deserves the award.
Bobby – Henry not playing like he used to still makes him a better player than 99.5% of the players in the Premiership. Finished – yes….. in around ten years time! I have no idea what second and third place receive – maybe a years subscription to France Football? Cannavaro should have won the Golden Ball at the World Cup. However, I don’t think he has been Europe’s outstanding player over the last 11 months
Neophyte - Heskey is an amazing player with a rocket of a leg. I don't know how long his contract is but he may not be playing at the JJB for long or they will have to shell out some serious cash for his services. Bobby -- are you surprised by Wigan? Would you buy Heskey? (provided he comes back from his calf injury)
Bobby – Wigan will continue to have their ups and downs. I picked them to finish 15th come season’s end and I still think that they will finish close to that spot. As for Emile Heskey – I will turn to Tommy Docherty for inspiration. Back when a million pounds was a million pounds he was asked about a player who was being hyped on a regular basis. The Doc’s quote went something like this “They tell me that 2 million wouldn’t buy him, and I am one of them”. Heskey was given all the physical tools but he has never known what to do with them. His managers have been relegated to talking up his strong defensive qualities – which is fine except he is supposed to be a striker. His career average has been a goal every four games and his record with Wigan is about the same.
As for a rocket of a leg, is that why he constantly falls over? Maybe if he had a pair of leg rockets he could balance better.
davard - How much does qualifying for the UEFA cup get anyone? (if anything) Obviously the knockout rounds are the more lucrative ones, but is the reward anywhere near as lucrative as the champs. league?
Bobby – It is difficult to make apple-to-apple comparisons because Champions League pay outs are largely dictated by market pay outs that are largely based on how much television revenue is generated in a teams home market and which rounds the teams from that market reach.
For UEFA Cup qualifiers the payment system is - the clubs get gate money and the right to sell some of the TV rights. Celtic estimated that their run to the 2003 final earned them about $18M but you have to consider that a lot of that would be gate money that many other teams would not be able to generate. Another comparison is that Celtic and Rangers have used in the past is that if they don’t qualify for the Champions League group stage then they need to reach the semi final of the UEFA Cup in order to compensate.
Overall though, the UEFA Cup is small potatoes compared to the Champions League.
Realmadridcffan1. With Canada hosting the FIFA World Under 20 soccer championships next year in Canada, what do you think will the CSA define as an acceptable performance for the Canadian Squad? 2. Who do you think will be Canada's next coach of the Men's National team? and what type of qualities should the next coach of the national team should have?3. Who do you think is the most overrated and underrated goalkeeper currently playing at a club level right now?
Bobby – 1. Canada has to qualify from the group stages (given that 16 of 24 make it that should not be difficult), an exit in the last 16 would be spun as a success by the CSA but it would not be, last 8 would be about right, anything after that a massive over achievement.
2. I have no idea and I don’t think that the CSA has much choice given the mickey-mouse reputation that they enjoy internationally. Even after the changes at the top I can’t see the CSA offering a competitive wage and so the choice will be between foreign “damaged-goods” or a North American who is willing to put up with inadequate funding and resources. The new CSA President can talk all he wants about making the national men’s team a priority but until he walks the talk I remain skeptical.
3. Given that club level in Europe covers 50 plus countries and who knows how many teams and goalkeepers I can’t answer that question.
Davard - I don't know if you saw that one but I'd love to know what you thought of your female countrymen getting booted out of the cup by a last gasp penalty.
Bobby – Didn’t watch it – don’t care.
Henry14 - l have seen linesmen come into the field to align proper positions of free kick and corners l have one thing that makes me wonder, why do they not stop the ball from going far from where the throw in is taken. Do you know why? What do you make of the Sun's claims about Sheva?
Bobby – Because their job requires them to be level with the last line of defense. When you see them come onto the field it is almost exclusively because the ball is in the corner. People read/look at the Sun for two reasons and they are both on page 3.
USAEnglandfan - The hot topic right now is Man Utd's depth up front. Personally I think it's pretty urgent in the midfield too. Fletcher/O'Shea are great cover guys but they don't have much else. Where do they need support more and can they possibly reinforce both areas in January? Also, I'm a huge fan of some of the crowd chants in the prem. BBC has a few great ones in their Quotes of the Week this week. Exactly how are they conceived? Are they made up on the spot? Do you recall any that you'd say are the funniest?
Bobby – I think in the aftermath of Sunday’s game for fans are looking at the relative depth of the two squads. As Alan Parry and David Pleat pointed out on Sunday, United didn’t have a player that they could bring on who could change the game. Solskjaer might have been that player if he had been fit. Alan Smith is never going to be a top drawer midfield player or cover for Saha. His best performances with Leeds tended to be in a support type role ala Wayne Rooney. I can’t see how United can battle on two fronts with their squad and how are they going to get the money to buy impact players?
There is usually a core of fans who take it on to conceive the chants and then others pick them up. Many are traditional and have been handed down while there is also a regular stream of new ones built around news or gossip. One of the primary differences I found between British and North American sport audiences was the humour or to be more accurate in terms of North America the lack of humour.
As for chants – “He’s short, he’s fat, he’s going to get the sack – Advocaat, Advocaat” by Celtic fans to Rangers boss #### Advocaat has stuck with me.
There are a number of legendary ones. After Leeds United keeper Gary Sprake literally threw the ball into his own net during a game at Anfield in the late 60’s the Kop sang “Careless Hands” which was a pop song of the time.
USAEnglandfan - There was recently a high-profile college football (American) game here (I think it involved Missouri), and in the dying minutes there was an iffy penalty call which allowed the trailing side to score a touchdown and win. The officials issued a statement recently saying, and I quote, "We blew it." Perhaps it is because video technology has all but eliminated incorrect calls in the sport, but American football refs seem to be respected more and much more in the periphery of the sport (where refs should be) than world football. Granted, the stop-and-go nature of American football lends itself much better to video technology, but when the mistakes are made, this type of statement issued by the officials at this college game is absolutely unheard of in world football. Do you think under-fire referees like Poll would do well to get off their high horse and own up to their mistakes or would it just damage their authority and future job prospects?
Bobby – Didn’t a referee issue an apology after incorrectly awarding a goal against Middlesbrough last season – against West Ham perhaps?
AlexMorph - Just how much longer do we have to suffer Sepp Blatter for? Can he run again for the presidency, and if so is there a realistic challenger to replace him (perhaps a donkey or Kermit the Frog?). Why is it that contenders for these big positions can never have a moderate stance on things. Platini, Johansson, and Blatter all make stupid comments.Plus, is there any chance that Beckenbauer might throw in his lot in the near future?
Bobby – Despite his promise to only run for two terms, old Sepp has decided that soccer cannot do without him and he will run again next year – without a credible challenger in sight. Beckenbauer is a notable absentee from the UEFA election and there is no way I could see him running against Blatter. My guess is that Beckenbauer is angling for 2011. His opponent in five years time might turn out to be Jack “get your tickets here” Warner.
Henry14 - l think we all know the sky sports ratings, do you know which player had the highest average in Premiership history for an entire season and by which value?
Bobby – Give up, who is it?
To bigdavedisaster – I hope your sister made the comment with her tongue firmly in her cheek.
Flashman - A lot of Toronto FC fans, many still waiting to commit their first dollar, are hoping the club can attract big-name Canadian players and bring in quality opponents for international friendlies. But the club plan to play on plastic turf - they and FIFA claim it's very special stuff - but many reactions to that have been negative. I thought the Spartak-Inter CL game, played on this turf, was a very sterile affair. Paul Stalteri and Dwayne De Rosario have trashed it, as has Charmaine Hooper. Since we're still golfing in mid-November on pretty decent grass an hour north of Toronto, it makes the club's claim that grass won't work sound like the accountants are running Mo's show. This is a team that isn't likely to see a home playoff game for many years. And its playing style is likely to be more shillelagh than stiletto, so wouldn't grass suit the sort of game they'll need to play in the early going, attract quality clubs for friendlies, and keep fans interested? Also, the playing surface is not likely to see, in the short term, heavy multi-purpose usage, such as the CFL, though rugby would be a nice event to add. This seems like a penny-wise, pound-foolish approach in their early going. A warming climate is hardly hurting the southern Ontario sod industry. What's your take on it?
Bobby – Up to now MLSE have shown that they are good business people but they are not in the trophy winning business – the Maple Leafs a prime example. Ho
