Ewan Macdonald begins to look ahead to the Champions League knockout stages, which start in less than a week's time...Just six days stand between us and the resumption of the Champions League. It's been a long, long wait since December, but it's almost over now, and we here at Goal.com are already suitably excited.
We've already kept you updated with our in-depth examinations of England's and Italy's respective CL contenders, but between now and kick-off on the 24th of February we will inform you each days of the inside scoop at each club to see who's preparing well, and who isn't.
Tuesday February 24 2009
Atletico Madrid - Porto
Atletico Madrid were today buoyed by news that defenders Pablo Ibanez and Luis Perea are fit for the weekend meeting with Sevilla, but as usual the transfer rumour mill is also in full swing. Juanito of Real Betis is rumoured to have signed on a pre-contract, while Wigan's Amr Zaki is said to be on the shopping list as the Rojiblancos look to assure their place in the Champions League next year, too.
Over the border at Porto, coach Jesualdo Ferreira is putting aside any concerns ahead of the trip to the Vicente Calderon, stating that all he's worried about is the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup, which is against Pacos de Ferreira at the weekend. Another matter that Ferreira was the Clasico encounter between Porto and Benfica, which ended a goal apiece: that match has been dredged up because the referee and assistants, led by Pedro Proenca, were rated today as one of the worst-officiated games of the season...
Lyon - Barcelona
Lyon's skipper, Juninho, is bullish ahead of the weekend trip to Nancy. Les Gones beat Le Havre by the narrowest of margins at the weekend, but the Brazilian wants more, saying today, "Our lead at the top of the table is not enough. We know that our schedule is tough and we must stay ahead, so we will go to Nancy knowing that we need to take all the points." Meanwhile John Mensah is still reeling after the disgusting racial abuse leveled at him at the weekend. "After hearing the voices I only wanted to do one thing: to go home to my own country, Ghana, and to forget all this," he said.
Big disaster for Barcelona: midfielder Andres Iniesta is going to miss the first leg against Lyon after picking up a hamstring strain in training. The Blaugrana have already had to soldier on without the Albacete-born ace this season, but to go into such a vital tie bereft of his influence is a major blow to coach Pep Guardiola. Meanwhile the Samuel Eto'o transfer bandwagon rolls on as AC Milan apparently make their mark on proceedings...
Arsenal - Roma
Eduardo tops the headlines at Arsenal as he gets ready to make his European comeback next week. The Croatian forward, though, has disputed earlier reports that Matt Taylor - the man who injured him - apologised. "Some friends told me he was saying he’d spoken to me, but he never did. I’ve never met him," he said, adding that a simple email was all he'd received by way of amends. Speaking of, well, speaking, Nicklas Bendtner has slammed the English press for misquoting him. "I've never said anything like what they put in the newspapers," he fumed, referring to allegations that he'd demanded to play every minute of every game.
Roma are building up the tension ahead of their visit to London, with full-back John Arne Riise, formerly of Liverpool, declaring that Serie A is the best league in the world. Roma fan, and West Ham striker, Davide Di Michele believes that Giallorossi coach Luciano Spalletti is a better tactician than Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, but Brazilian hitman Julio Baptista is a little more cautious, and says the tie with ex-club Arsenal will be "difficult". In transfer news, Cicinho and Alberto Aquilani's contract situations have both come under the spotlight, while summer target Sergio Floccari of Atalanta seems more likely to join Juventus, according to the forward's agent.
Inter - Manchester United
Inter are looking odds on to win the Scudetto, and even David Beckham of rivals Milan has admitted so. The Nerazzurri seem set to lose out to the Rossoneri though in the summer race to sign Liverpool defender Daniel Agger, according to the latest reports. It has been Milan-Inter news all day long, as a number of Diavoli fans were arrested for beating up rival tifosi during the derby on Sunday night. Reborn striker Adriano scored a controversial handball goal during that game, but Inter director Ernesto Paolillo claims referee Roberto Rosetti made the correct decision allowing it to stand.
It's all smiles at Old Trafford after the midweek win over Fulham, but as usual there are squad concerns. Carlos Tevez's recent declaration that he wishes to stay at Manchester United ended with the usual coda of "but," although things are looking brighter than they were. Also worthy of note is that Edwin van der Sar now holds the European record for clean sheets after overcoming Dany Verlinden's record from 1990, topping 1,390 minutes.
Wednesday February 25 2009
Real Madrid - Liverpool
Real Madrid were rocked - well, at least tilted slightly - by the fact that Juande Ramos already has his eye on his next job. The ex-Tottenham man is in the frame to land the Santiago Bernabeu position full-time after taking the Blancos to eight consecutive wins, but he's revealed that he is considering a return to England in the future. Meanwhile Pepe has raised the stakes by predicting not only victory over Liverpool, but also a win against Barcelona in the CL final!
No such (over)confidence at Liverpool, though, despite the revelation that captain Steven Gerrard could be set for an early comeback from his recent injury. He may appear on the bench against Manchester City at the weekend before playing against Madrid at the Bernabeu...
Chelsea - Juventus
Chelsea will still have to do without Michael Essien before their England v Italy clash, while the forward line could be set for something of an old-school change. Just as was slated to be the case at the time of Nico's arrival, the new forward pairing could consist of Nicolas Anelka and Dider Drogba, putting paid to rumours that the Ivorian is essentially used goods at the Bridge.
Lots of transfer news regarding Juventus. The agent of Atalanta star Sergio Floccari claims that his client will move to Turin in the summer, while the representative of Bayern Munich sensation Franck Ribery believes that the Frenchman will also join the Bianconeri in the near future. Another star, Antonio Cassano of Sampdoria, also continues to be heavily linked with a summer move to Juve. Werder Bremen man Diego claims that the Old Lady want him too while, in non-transfer news, ex-Juventino Aldo Serena has criticised the "limitations" of young forward Sebastian Giovinco.
Villarreal - Panathinaikos
Villarreal could land Bojan Krkic this summer, if the latest reports in the Catalan sporting press are to be believed. But back to the present day, the old European campaigner that is Robert Pires is looking ahead to next week. "We're all hyped up right now because the Champions League is on its way and all the players want to prove that they are ready to face Panathinaikos," he said. "This mindset is good for the team but also for the coach, because he'll now have trouble picking a starting eleven."
Panathinaikos have been dented by the news that Marcelo Mattos is out of commission for next week's clash with Villarreal. Meanwhile Simao Junior, the Mozambican prodigy, is still locked in contractual negotiations with the Pana top brass. The sticking point appears to be his release clause, as he holds out hopes of moving to a higher league one day.
Sporting Lisbon - Bayern Munich
Sporting Lisbon's Simon Vukcevic is looking ahead to an especially tough week for Sporting as they face Benfica at the weekend, then Bayern in the CL, and finally FC Porto, with serenity. "For a long time people have talked about this sequence, but I take it one game at a time," he said. "We just think about winning each day. Above all we need to do our best to win the very next clash."
Bayern Munich Bayern's training session this morning was overseen by Simone Schubert, a sports scientist who normally works with the women's team. In light of recent disappointments, though, it seems as though coach Jurgen Klinsmann felt that she could be of use to the men, too. Meanwhile Lukas Podolski is back in the reckoning of Klinsmann, who says that he could come back to the first team this weekend...
0 comments:
Post a Comment