VS

The Turks didn't impress me when they played Portugal. The team is not bad, Nihat, Mehmet Aurelio, Hamit Altintop... I expected much more from Turkey, specially from Atintop but they really disppointed me.

Switzerland on the other displayed great football in the opening match but ended up with two defeats. One was the goal that gave the Czechs the victory and the other was Alexander Frei's injury. I'd love to see Derdiyok have more time on the pitch.

A MUST win match for both teams. Switzerland will have to face Portugal in the last round of this group phase so if they're still hoping to move on in the competition they'd better get this one!

I just hope that we don't see embarrassing violence scenes like the ones from the last match between these two teams. But anything is possible. There's certainly some tension in the air.

You can follow all the action in the MATCH CENTRE with live commentary and a heated chat room!

Join me there!

Here we are my friends.

The Euro 2008 starts this Thursday and we will begin to find out who rules football in Europe.

Italy are the World Cup title holders, Greece won the last edition of the tournament, France and Spain are bringing lots of new talents, Portugal is counting on Champions League Champions Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, Germany is always one of the main favourites, Holland is always a dangerous mystery, and then we got Romania, Russia, Czech Republic, Turkey and Croatia who might be more surprising than people give them credit for.

I personally still believe France is the team to bet on, followed by Germany, Spain and Italy.

So get warmed up because this Euro will be incredible....

And don't forget to follow all the action here on Samba Soccer Club

>Here we are folks!

Today is the day...

X

On my PREVIOUS POST I promise I would be here reporting my impressions on the match as it happens... So here I am...

Just waiting for the Kick Off...

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FORMATIONS

CHELSEA FC (4-5-1)	MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3)
1- Cech	1- Van der Sar
5- Essien	6- Brown
6- Ricardo Carvalho	15- Vidic
26- Terry	5- Ferdinand
3- A. Cole	3- Evra
10- J. Cole	16- Carrick
8- Lampard	18- Scholes
4- Makelele	4- Hargreaves
13- Ballack	7- C. Ronaldo
15- Malouda	10- Rooney
11- Drogba	32- Tevez
SUBS.: 23 Cudiccini, 20 Paulo Ferreira, 18 Bridge, 12 Mikel, 21 Kalou, 7 Shevchenko, 39 Anelka	SUBS.: 29 Kuszczak, 22 ÒShea, 27 Silvestre, 8 Anderson, ..Nani , 11 Giggs, 9 Saha

******

FIRST HALF:

7min - Drogba offside: Chelsea marking firmly and blocking all the spaces. ManU tried a cross that was cleared by Chelsea's defense

15min - Ronaldo moves: The portuguese star leaves Essien in the dust and crosses in the box. The ball goes too high and Chelsea's defense clears it. ManU looking more confortable on the pitch now.

19min - Corner for ManU: nobody heads it in and the ball goes all the way to the left. ManU still attacking

21min - Bad Ref: In a ball dispute in the air Scholes and Makelele bump and the referee gives the french a yellow card for apparently no reason.

23min - Corner for Chelsea: after Vidic heads the ball out of bounds Lampard takes the corner. The ref calls an offensive foul. Nothing else.

26min - GOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLL: Manchester has been dominating possession and after a perfect crossing from Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo heads the ball also perfectly away from Cech. Great goal for the man who can make all the difference in this match. ManU 1-0 Chelsea!

Chelsea will have to play a little bit more aggressive if they want to get back in this game. ManU scored the goal and still controls the match. Drogba is playing too isolated up front. Chelsea midfielders are playing too far behind. Ballack and Lampard need to get into the game.

33-35min: Almost - twice: It all happened while I was typing Chelsea moves up a little more and Van der Sar saves a almost certain goal them ManU instantly pays back. A great move by Rooney ends with a header and a shot that forced Cech to save the Blues twice.

40min: Chelsea moves their players up a little trying to balance the game. Ashley Cole falls near the box but the referee doesn't give him the foul.

44min: Great opportunity: Ballack takes a free kick near the box but the ball flies over the crossbar.

45min: GGGGOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL: Chelsea ties things up. After moving their player up Chelsea finally get what they've been looking for. Lampard picks up a ball in the box and kicks it in after Van de Sar slips. ManU 1-1 Chelsea

END OF FIRST HALF:

Manchester United dominated the first 30 minutes of the game. They got their goal and seemed much more aggressive. But something finally clicked inside Chelsea's players and the Blues responded little by little by occupying more space in midfield and even Essien came up.

The Blues got their equalizer in the very last minute of the with the captain Frank Lampard. Exactly in the first real moment Essien participated in the attack.

I'm hoping for a great second half.

********************

SECOND HALF

Teams back on the pitch. Chelsea's goal in the very end may have given the Blues a good psychological advantage.

None of the teams are very happy with the referee's performance. Neither is this reporter. The man in black made some really bogus calls

52min: More bad Ref - The referee Lubos Michel doesn't give Chelsea a clear corner kick. The match is much more balanced in second half.

55min: Essien moving up - The Ghanese is dangerous in long range shots. He forces Ronaldo to step back following him, wins in the physical contact and shoots with the left. The ball flies over the bar.

57min: Chelsea time - The Blues are playing better the the Red Devils now. With more control of the midfield and a closer marking.

59min: Too much contact - Makelele elbows Hargreaves under the eyes of the linesman. Foul given but no yellow card. (it would have been his second)

65min: Chelsea being much more aggressive now. No clear chances to score but the Blues are looking more and more dangerous.

67min: Oh cramp! - Ferninand goes down in his own box feeling cramps. Lampard is also down on the sideline receiving treatment for cramps...

76min: Referee oh referee - Malouda falls inside ManU's box. He had his right foot touched by Ferdinand. Not too obvious but certainly a foul. And fouls inside the box means what? PENALTY. The referee didn't think so

78min: Drogba is alive - Isolated for most part of the striker finally has a moment. A beautiful blaster hits Van der Sar's left post

80min: Where's Tevez - The Argentine is not having a good game. Sir Alex Ferguson should consider replacing him if he wants his offense to put pressure on Chelsea's defense.

86min: 759 for Giggs - The record of Sir Bobby Charlton is broken as Ryan Giggs replaces Scholes to make his 759th appearance for Manchester United. A landmark, a moment to remember. Can he also become a hero for his team now?

Chelsea completely shut ManU's offense down in the second half. Rooney, Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo disappeared but after a good suffocating first 20 minutes the match became quite controlled by both teams' defenses. Chelsea could not break through even tough I believe the referee should have awarded the Blues a penalty in the 76th minute.

Now we go to extra-time and stamina will be fundamental. Lampard and Ferdinand already felt cramps in the second half.

*****

EXTRA TIME - 1st HALF

After 5 minutes to rest and some players from Chelsea having received muscle massages Manchester United and Chelsea kicks off in extra time.

92min: Rooney is alive: Rooney attempts a one-two play with Tevez that is intercepted by J. terry inside Chelsea's penalty area.

94min: Saved by the crossbar - Oh my Goodness!!! What a great passing play for Chelsea. Ends up with a great lefty by Lampard that hits Van der Sar left top corner crossbar. So close!!! I bet ManU fans almost held their breath on this one

97min: A rarity in this match. Chelsea created a fast counter-attack butr Essien took too long too and the ball was knocked out of bounds

98min: Sub for Chelsea: Anelka replaces Joe Cole. Chelsea is going forward.

100min: Almost glory for Giggs: Terry heads out a shot from Giggs, after a great play from Evra on the left side, that had a certain address.

101min: Sub for ManU: Nani comes in for Rooney who didn't really play well. Actually who didn't even seen to be on the pitch at all

Manchester United re-balanced the action in the match. Anelka still didn't have a chance to touch the ball for Chelsea and Nani is playin open on the right side of the attack. The first half of extra time ends with both teams still fighting to find the winning goal and the rain making the pitch heavier, the ball harder to control and the players legs more and more tired.

EXTRA TIME - 2nd HALF

110min: Anelka's on the run - On his first good opportunity the French striker is stopped by Vidic with a hard slide tackle. Yellow card for the defender and a good chance for Chelsea.

111min: Drogba canon - Didier Drogba takes the free kick. A powerful shot but off the left post.

113min: ManU pressure - After almost ten minutes of inactivity, Tevez runs back to misfield to recover the ball and pull the Red Devils forward. Good play to remind Chelsea that ManU is still alive.

114min: Losing their heads - Lubos Michel shows a red card to Drogba after he slapped Vidic in the face. The match gets tense. Ballack also got a yellow.

117min: Yellow card for Essien

119min: Giggs receives a pass behind Chelsea's defense but the flag is up. He was offside.

120min + 4min:Subs for Chelsea and ManU- Belleti comes in to replace Makelele and Anderson takes Brown's place.

120min +5min: The referee blows the whistle.

A very good match. A true title deserving performance for both sides. Chances for both sides and an amazing defensive work from both sides and what I have to admire and admit: no slide tackles, no violent plays, just clean and efficient defense.

But it's all comes to the penalty shootout. Some say it all depends on luck. I say it's state of mind and competence maybe with a 5% of luck . And it's about to start... here are the shooters for each team:

Manchester United

* TEVEZ - GOOOOAAAALLLL

* CARRICK - GOOOOAAAALLL

* C. RONALDO - SAVED BY CECH!!! AWFUL PENALTY!!! Why does he do all that fancy stuff? to take a penalty??

* HARGREAVES - GOOOOAAAALLL

* NANI - GOOOOOAAAALLL

* ANDERSON - GOOOOAAAALLLL

* GIGGS - GOOOOAAAALLLL

**************

Chelsea

* BALLACK - GOOOOAAAALLL

* BELETTI - GOOOOOAAALLL

* LAMPARD - GOOOOAAALLL

* A. COLEY - GOOOOOAAALLL

* TERRY - MISSED. He slipped and the ball hits the post and went out...

* KALOU - GOOOOAAALLLL

* ANELKA - SAVED BY VAN DER SAR!!! Amazing save by Van der Sar...

*******************

MANCHESTER UNITED CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!!!

GLORY GLORY GLORY FOR THE RED DEVILS!!!!!

Post your comments...

Celebrate, discuss!!!

Congratulations to the RED DEVILS!!!!

The stage in Moscow is ready to host the Champions League final match and by now so are the main attractions - Chelsea and Manchester United.

The first two British teams meet in the final. The same two teams that fought for the Premier League title this season and definitely two of the most "international"squads in the world today.

*************************

Chelsea's squad brings together players from 14 different nationalities and with a Russian owner The Blues might as well add a 15^th fan nation to support them. The ruski.

On their list of main foreign players Chelsea has:

• Peter Cech (Czech Republic)
• Makelele, Malouda and Anelka (France)
• Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)
• Drogba and Kalou (Ivory Coast)
• Essien (Ghana)
• Ballack (Germany)
• Beletti and Alex (Brazil)
• Schevchenko (Ukraine)

**************************

Manchester United's list of "internationals" is not too far behind. The Red Devils have 13 different nationalities on their squad and with the success in this season's EPL, ManU arrives in Moscow with the "favourites" badge.

Besides that the team has probably the most popular European footballer at this moment. Cristiano Ronaldo is at the top of his game and filled with desire to crown his amazing season with the most important club title of the continent.

Ryan Giggs is another player on the ManU squad that has an extra reason to celebrate in case his team wins the Champions League. It will be his 759^th appearance wearing the red shirt of United. He will then beat Sir Bobby Charlton record.

Along with the Portuguese star, Ronaldo, and the Wales born Ryan Giggs, other international players are crucial for ManU's title ambitions.

• Van der Saar (Holland)
• Saha and Silvestre (France)
• Anderson (Brazil)
• Fletcher (Scotland)
• Tevez (Argentina)
• Park (South Korea)

It's a Champions League Final with World Cup level players.

Who will be the ultimate star of the match in your opinion?

On Wednesday I'll be following and reporting my impressions live here on Samba Soccer Club.

Stay tuned!!!

So once again Mr. Sepp Blatter wants to control the number of foreign players in the european teams.

Great idea but very much improbable that will be approved by the UEFA members. And that's about it.

But I decided to write (and read your opinions) about it.

Mr. Blatter's idea is not just bullocks. It does have a good intention behind it. He claims (and he's right) that the way the big clubs are right now make it impossible for a smaller team to fight for a league title. And that is very bad for football, very bad for the national teams but very good for global business for those big clubs.

When we see a team like Arsenal for example. 25 foreign players and only 12 Brittish on the 2007-2008 squad.  With Internazionale  Milan from Italy it's even worse. Out of the 29 players on the regular first team only 4 are Italian. It's not rare to see Inter playing with a starting XI that features only Marco Materazzi as an italian born player (well and then he gets a red card and Inter ends up with 10 foreign footballers on the pitch).

It is a pleasure for the fans to see their team win titles and sweep their rivals off the map for one season but when it happens like in France where Olympique Lyon (10 foreigners) is about to win the French League for the 7th time in a row, I start to understand (and partially agree) with the FIFA President.

The main difference between me and SOME other people that write here at OleOle is that I'm absolutely NEUTRAL.

I love good football and I know some of you will say "if you love good football you should love the foreign presence because they give quality to the Brittish teams". 

They do. The English sides of Manchester United and Chelsea fought for the league this season and going to play for the continental title thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez, Vidic, Anderson, Ballack, Drogba, Cech, Essien, etc... 

Of course there is also Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney BUT neither of the two teams could rely on an all-Brittish squad to get this far in the tournaments. WE KNOW THAT!

And as the powerful clubs become richer, more international and consequently more powerful we see the National Teams becoming weaker and weaker. England out of the Euro ... hmmm... that might say something... 

So, (try to) leave your passion aside just for little bit and think how much more exciting would be if we had other teams besides Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and ManU in England, Real Madrid and Barcelona (and sometimes Valencia) in Spain, Juventus, Inter and AC Milan in Italy, Olympique Lyon in France. 

What's your opinion on this? 

So we are less than two months away from kick off at the Euro 2008.

The main nations like Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, France, Portugal … are intensifying their preparations for the most important competition in the continent.

After some research I could see that most of the betting sides point Germany as favorites to win the tournament followed by World Cup Champions Italy. Among internet users it seems that Spain is at the highest preference as possible winners.

I truly believe that none of these teams will take the title. I would put my money on France.

With Abidal, Diarra, Saha, Flamini, Vieira, Ben Arfa, Anelka, Ribery and Benzema … the French can even leave Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet sitting on the bench…

I don’t particularly support any of the teams although I always have hopes that Spain is going to perform well in and International Competition. (I’m getting tired of hoping).

But before getting to the finals the teams need to qualify in their groups so my first question for you, CRAZY FOOTBALL FANS is … who are the teams that will make to the quarter-finals

HERE ARE THE GROUPS:

Leave your predictions:

An electrifying match played at Anfield proved why the Premier League is the best club league in the world at the moment. Arsenal and Liverpool fought until the very end for a place in the 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

 

Arsenal turned things in their favor when, at minute 13, after a great play from Cesc Fabregas, Darby with a powerful shot put the Gunners ahead (picture). LIVERPOOL 0 x 1 ARSENAL

17 minutes later Hyypia header made things even for Liverpool. LIVERPOOL 1 x 1 ARSENAL

The score was now set for a possible extra time but just as the second half started we could tell that none of the teams were gonna settle for that.

Chances missed from both sides on the second half until Fernando Torres received the ball in the box, turned and with a powerful shot scored a beautiful goal (picture) and put Liverpool ahead. Now the possibility of a penalty shootout didn't was eliminated. LIVERPOOL 2 x 1 ARSENAL

I always criticize the British style of football with their long crosses and physical game but I see hope when I see a kid like Theo Walcott touch the ball. And what a touch he had at minute 84.

Coming from his own field, Walcott dribbled all the Liverpool defenders that came into his way and assisted Adebayor that only had to place the ball into the net. Arsenal tied the game and had one foot on the semis. LIVERPOOL 2 x 2 ARSENAL

But one foot is not enough. Especially when you're playing against a powerful offense like Liverpool's. One minute later Babel invaded Arsenal's box and was tripped after having his shirt pulled. An obvious foul and inside the box it means PENALTY!

Gerrard gave Almunia no chance and Liverpool crashed the Gunner's morale right there. LIVERPOOL 3 x 2 ARSENAL

Arsenal moved all offense. A goal would put them through but with little time to do it, the team got desperate and that gave Liverpool the chance of counter attack. At minute 92 Liverpool confirmed their ticket to the semifinals with Babel socring the 4th goal in a quick counter-attack. LIVERPOOL 4 x 2 ARSENAL

A game that could've gone either way ended with the victory of the most consistent team in the past weeks. Arsenal had a great first half of this season but the team started going down hill since the beginning of the year. That got even worse when Eduardo got injured and now they need to pick up the pieces and fight for at least a place in the next Champions League.

Liverpool moves on to face Chelsea and I believe they have a big chance of pulling this one of and making to the big Final.

They've just announced the draw for the quarter-finals of the 2008 UEFA Champions League:

Here are the matches and a quick personal analysis:

Game 1: Arsenal X Liverpool

The game that every football fan were dying to see. This match is probably the most interesting match of the four. Last time these two teams played was on October 28th at the Anfield. The score ended 1-1 and some curious facts can be pointed to help us predict this clash:

*Liverpool scored early in the game with a free kick from Gerrard. The equalizer came with Fabregas but only at minute 79.

*Fernando "El Niño" Torres only played the first 45 minutes and left the pitch injured, now he's fully recovered and playing at his best.

*Eduardo was not even on the bench for that match and now he will once again watch the game from his home.

***MY PREDICTION: Arsenal will not be able to stop "El Niño" and Liverpool will move on to the semi-finals.

Game 2: Roma X Manchester United

If the first game is the most interesting this one is possibly the most exciting. Both teams have tremendous capacity of creating offensive plays so we might see many goals in this draw. That's why, even though one might think Man U are the favorites with Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney leading the pack, I still believe they should not even think of underestimating Pizarro, Mancini and Totti.

***MY PREDICTION: I'll be cheering for Roma on this one because of my "homeboy" Mancini but I believe Manchester United is indeed a stronger side and will advance.

Game 3: Schalke 04 X Barcelona

Well, well, well... If Ronaldinho plays his best, if Henry forgets about his unhappiness, if Etto scores the necessary goals then Barcelona will have an easy path to the semifinals. The only problems is that a football match is never decided by "IFs". Schalke made this far for a reason so the Catalan Team will have to foccus and play well without their Wonder Kid Lional Messi.

***MY PREDICTION: Ronaldinho is eager to shut up his critics and I'm expecting him to perform his best, with that been said, it's Barcelona in the semifinals.

Game 4: Fenerbahçe X Chelsea FC

This is not gonna be pretty. Chelsea doesn't follow the "play beautifully" slogan. They play to win and that's it. Fenerba'hçe on the other hand plays with heart. They might not have the best team on the paper but their home crowd can make all the difference. It's not gonna be easy for Chelsea playing in Turkey. So we might have a surprise with this one.

***MY PREDICITION: Brazilian Coach Zico will infuse passion in his players hearts and Fenerbahçe will repeat Barnsley achievement and knock Chelsea out of the competition.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN TO AGREE OR DISAGREE...

POST YOUR PREDICITONS!!! 

After yesterday's and today's games I came to a few personal conclusions (feel free to disagree)

 * Using the home team advantadge is crucial at this point of the competition.

* But a one goal is still a dangerous result for Fenerbahce and Roma. They will both face strong spanish teams that will play for their crowds. And Sevilla and Real Madrid will need a simple victory by 1 x 0 to move to the next round.

* Schalke has a better change to hold up Porto. The tactical discipline of German football can make the difference

* Liverpool is a little bit more confortable to face Internazionale after scoring twice and not allowing a reaction by the leader of Serie A.

* Real Madrid's inefficiency to create trouble to Roma's defense in the second half proved that Robinho is much more important for the team than Robben right now.

* Vitor Valdes needs to improve his game or soon he'll be getting the boot. How couldn't he save that header in Celtic's second goal?

* Olympique Lyon will have a lot of problems to stop Tevez and Ronaldo in the second leg. Lyon can always count on Bezema and Juninho but if Ronaldo, Tevez and Anderson really play at the top of their game