Champions League 11/12 Preview - Group B

Group B

Trabzonspor AS

Last season:
2nd Super Liga
Europa League play-offs

Manager: Senol Gunes

Key Man: Alanzinho

Stadium: Huseyin Avni Aker, Capacity 28,169



Installed into the Champions League in dramatic fashion, replacing Turkish “champions” Fenerbahce, who were removed from the Champions League by the Turkish Football Federation after being instigated in a match fixing scandal.

They were in the Europa League playoffs last season, crashing out 3-1 on aggregate to Liverpool, and finished second in the Turkish Super Liga, missing out on the title on the head to head ruling in favour of Fenerbahce.

Well known names that play for the Turkish club include Marek Cech who signed from West Brom on deadline day, former Spurs midfielder Didier Zokora, and former Schalke winger Halil Altintop. Less familiar names, but a player to look out for is Burak Yilmaz, who is a 26 year old Turkish international striker, who has scored 23 goals in 41 games for Trabzonspor.

Best Starting XI:



LOSC Lille Metropole

Last Season:
1st Ligue 1
Coupe de France
Europa League round of 32

Manager: Rudi Garcia

Key Man: Eden Hazard

Stadium: Stade Lille-Metropole, Capacity 17,754



All conquering Lille had their best season in history, collecting the Ligue 1 for the first time in over 50 years, as well as winning the French Cup to complete a domestic double.

This summer, the success of the 10/11 season saw the clubs star performers become the interest of side all over Europe, as forward Gervinho left to join Arsenal, Yohann Cabaye joined Newcastle and Pierre-Alain Frau left also. Undeterred, Lille spent wisely strengthening by signing central midfielder Benoit Pedretti from Auxerre, winger Dimirti Payet from St. Etienne and most intriguingly Joe Cole on loan from Liverpool.

Best Starting XI:


PFC CSKA Moskva

Last season:

2nd Russian Premier League
Russian Cup
Europa League, round of 16

Manager: Leonid Slutsky

Key Man: Zoran Tosic

Stadium: Luzhniki Stadium, Capacity 78,360 (artificial turf)



The Russian side are regulars in the Champions League, but missed out last season and took part in the Europa League last season, losing to eventual winners Porto. This time round, they make their fifth appearance in the Champions League in the last seven years. With long term injuries to key players Igor Akinfeev and Keisuke Honda, CSKA have a tougher task than usual.

Look out for fomer Manchester United winger Zoran Tosic, ex-Liverpool midfielder Mark Gonzales, and with the injury to Honda, Alan Dzagoev will have a bigger part to play for CSKA.

Best Starting XI:



FC Internazionale Milan

Last season:

2nd Serie A
Coppa Italia
Champions League, quarter-finals

Manager: Gian Piero Gasperini

Key Man: Wesley Sneijder

Stadium: San Siro, Capacity 80,074


After securing a sensational treble from the 2009/10 season, and losing manager Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid, Inter Milan struggled to match those heights last season. First in charge was former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, whose reign at the top was extremely short due to severe injuries which caused poor results on the pitch, saw him replaced by the turn of the year. Leonardo took over, and guided Inter to second place in the league, and the Coppa Italia trophy.

Inter only had one major exit, and that was talismanic striker Samuel Eto’o to Russian billionaires Anzhi. They reinvested heavily signing experienced forward Diego Forlan from Athletico, winger Ricardo Alvarez, midfielder Andrea Poli from Sampdoria, Luc Castaignos from Feyenoord and Mauro Zarate from Lazio. Firepower to replace Eto’o, while their experienced midfield and defence will need to adapt to Gasperini’s expected formation alteration from 4-3-3 to 3-4-1-2 fast in order to steer clear of any potential upsets.

Best Starting XI:

Anzhi Makhachkala – Samuel Eto'o's New Destination

With one of the world’s best strikers set to move to one of the most obscure football clubs in the Europe, for an absolute shed load of money I might add, a sum in which would make even Carlos Tevez blush. Samuel Eto’o is all set for a £30 million transfer to Anzhi Makhachkala, where he will earn wages of a rumoured £330,000 a week.

With all the financial madness in the game today, Manchester City owned by the brother of Abu Dhabi ruler; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan who has an estimated worth of £555 billion. Malaga, owned by Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Thani, has undisclosed wealth and member of the Qatari royal family. Paris Saint Germain, who just this week completed the £37 million signing of Javier Pastore ahead of English giants Chelsea, have similar Middle Eastern financial backing as Malaga, with 70% of the club owned by the Qatari Investment Authority who also have ties to the Malaga owners. Show's that financial super powers are no longer the big names we are used to.

As for Anzhi Makhachkala, they were founded only twenty years ago in 1991 and have spent a majority of time during professional existence in Russia’s first division, the second tier of Russian football, before returning to the Premier League in 2009 after a seven year hiatus. They’ve now consolidated their position in the Russia’s top flight, and in January of this year, a major revolution took place at the Dagestan based club.


Russian businessman Suleyman Abusaidovich Kerimov, listed number 118th on Forbes list of the Worlds’ Billionaires, purchased the football club and has a personal net worth of US$7.8 billion. A month later, the clubs first major signing was then 37 year old Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos. He signed a two-and-a-half year deal, where he is to earn approximately €10 million. He is currently Anzhi’s club captain.

Current players on the books include Brazilian striker Diego Tardelli, who was once one of Brazil’s most promising forwards, joined from Athletico Miniero for a €7.5 million in March of this year, making himself the fourth Brazilian at the club.

Another interesting note is that Anzhi clubs stadium only a capacity of 11,600.

Some of the more recent signings include former Chelsea midfielder Yuri Zhirkov, who has 44 caps for Russia, joined for £13.2 million and signed a four year contract worth €5.5 million annually. Also former PSV forward and Hungarian international Balázs Dzsudzsák joined for €14 million where he will earn £2.5 million a year, for five years.


Big money moves, with a few well known names in European and World football have joined the club, but these will all be eclipsed by the blockbuster move for Cameroonian captain Samuel Eto’o. Inter have been offered €40 million for the 30 year old, offering Eto’o wages of £330,000 a week. But before Eto’o signs for Anzhi, there are serious concerns whether this is the right move for the striker, and many people are sceptical and believe it’s not right for someone who has been subject to racial abuse in his career, something which club captain Roberto Carlos suffered recently. Is this the sort of haven Eto’o would like to reach the twilight of his career in?

These concerns regarding racism in Russian football, with no better example than this video that surfaced a few months ago of Anzhi player (and captain) Roberto Carlos being racially abused during a match against Zenit St. Petersburg and Krylia Sovetov Samara where banana’s were waved at him and at the latter, thrown at him. West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie was the subject of racism in Russia, the striker was subject to racist abuse while playing at for Lokomotiv Moscow.


Eto’o would argue why he should care about the prospect of racism, after he was racially abused during his time at both Inter Milan in Italy, and while playing for FC Barcelona in Spain. It must obviously faze him, and Eto’o would respond by saying he’s here to play football, and may even brush it off as somewhat idiotic and ignorant people, but it is not at all excusable. Racism in UK football is nonexistent as it was back in the 1970’s, and it’s met with shock and anger when reported in this country, but the proof is there, that it still pops up in different corners of European football.

This is a factor Eto’s would have to consider, and considering how upset he was after this incident against Real Zaragoza, shows that he is human and is deeply affected by such abuse. This is of course is a blog post about who Anzhi are, and not racism in football, but with Eto’o expecting to be a marquee signing, racism is something I had to discuss and make it clear to football fans reading, that this is something which has been displayed by their fans.

Whether Samuel Eto’o signs, and fancies himself a new challenge is yet to be confirmed, it is however widely expected to be a done deal next week. This could see a shift in power from Western European to Eastern European football. Clubs in Russia and Ukraine have always had money, but have struggled to bring big big names, and more importantly players in their prime. Eto’o may be 30 years old, but he scored 37 goals in 53 appearances last season, and is by no means past his best. This will be a massive move for this ambitious Russian side, and will surely open the path to other international stars that can persuaded by the big funds offered by clubs outside of the top three leagues in European football. One thing’s for certain, with Malaga, Paris Saint Germain and now Anzhi Makhachkala bankrolled by major financial sources, how long will it be before traditional clubs fall away unable to compete with the financial leaders and more importantly how will UEFA level the playing field?


Real Talk Football

Zlatan Ibrahimović - Great or Overrated?

This weekend, Serie A round 36 commenced in Italy, on a warm spring evening in Rome, AC Milan took on AS Roma knowing that thanks to their hefty eight point cushion between them and closest rivals Internazionale, just a solitary point was all they needed to take away from the Stadio Olympico in order to wrap up their first Serie A title in seven years.

Milan went on to draw 0-0 with Roma, completing their task in very Italian fashion, doing all that's necessary in order to ascertain the result. This point gave them a 9 point lead ahead of rivals Inter, and subsequently wrapped up their 18th Scudetto.

The match itself was an entertaining spectacle with standout performances from Roma defender Juan, and AC Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati, who made very important saves during the 90 minutes.

However one of the most impressive stat to come out of Milan's triumph was that 29 year old striker Zlatan Ibrahimović becomes the first player to win eight league titles in a row and more impressively he has done it with five different clubs (four if you’re excluding the Juventus scandal). A phenomenal achievement.


Ibrahimović is quintessentially one of those players who if he is playing against your club, you hate him, or if he’s playing for your club, you love him!

Another interesting note is that Ibrahimović seemingly gets no admiration from Football pundits, legends or fans outside of Italy, Sweden or Holland. Some fans believe he's "a lazy individual", a "showboat" or "one trick pony" and fans fail to take a shine to the Swedish, mainly because of his arrogance. Alternatively, some fans believe him to be one of the best strikers in the world, and his ability, and medals tally supports this theory.

They say that in order for a striker to be considered great, they must have a degree of selfishness, arrogance and of course the ability. Zlatan has these three elements in abundance, as well as the titles to back this.

Ibrahimović is two inches shorter then Peter Crouch (6ft 5in), but isn't slow by any stretch of the imagination, as he has acceleration, pace and a fantastic balance. He has great shooting technique, power and can ping the ball with either feet. A man with his height, of course is great in the air, but has great flair and dribbling technique with the ball on the ground. Finally his control and first touch are second to none, and his technique is astounding. For me, he has all this ability and is almost the complete striker.



His talismanic influence on the clubs he has been at, is testament to how much of a quality player he is. Since turning professional aged 18, at the time playing for his local side Malmö in Sweden, he has gone on won 16 major honours with four/five different clubs (Ajax, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and Juventus; if you’re counting the Calciopoli incident). He has also won 16 individuals titles since turning professional.

Since Ibrahimović left AFC Ajax in 2004, in a spell that was littered with controversy (having a pair of scissors thrown at him by team mate Mido) and the brilliance. Subsequently the Dutch giants haven't won an Eredivisie title since then. Of course Ajax will win another league title, but the influence of Ibrahimović in that side, lead them to winning the title was undeniable.

At Juventus he won two Serie A titles, which were consequently revoked due to the Calciopoli match fixing scandal. Nothing of which, was to do with Ibrahimović surely? Absolutely not. He still went on to the field week in, week out, notching up 26 goals in 91 games over two seasons. His change of play changed, and was more of an attacker rather than an out and out striker.

At the start of 2006/07 season, he joined Inter Milan, and despite the lack of competition due the bans handed out by the Italian Football Federation due to the Calciopoli scandal, Inter Milan won three titles in a row with Ibrahimović leading the line.


His excellent performances for Inter Milan caught the attention of Barcelona, who was looking for that central striker to play as part of their three pronged attack. So he joined in a transfer worth around €66 million in exchange for Samuel Eto’o and Alexander Hleb, plus a transfer fee.

He was widely criticized during his time at FC Barcelona, despite scoring 16 goals in his first season and the winner in El Clasico. He won five trophies in one calendar year. Barcelona was a juggernaut and was unstoppable at the time, and Ibra was unlucky not to win the Champions League trophy.


After his 13 month stay in Spain, his relationship with manager Pep Guardiola declined, twined with criticism from the press and fans, he left him seeking a new home.

So he took his bag full of medals, and jetted back to Italy, some would say his second home. He joined AC Milan on a season long loan with an agreed transfer of €24million.

AC Milan hadn't won a title since the 2003/4 season, and boss Massimiliano Allegri brought in the big guns, Robinho on loan from Manchester City, Antonio Cassano from Sampdoria and of course Ibrahimović from Barcelona.

Milan lead from pretty much the start of the season, and Ibrahimović was inspired form, adding to his array of sensational goals and assists. He’s leading the clubs goal scoring chart this season with 20 goals in 40 appearances (with two games remaining). A stimulating signing, which gave the desired results and Milan’s first piece of silverware since 2007.



Over his career, his transfers have totalled at a sum of more than €138million. He has scored a believed 200 goals in 429 appearances. He has also won 66 caps for Sweden scoring 25 goals, and is the national team captain.

Here is his list of awards:

Ajax
- Eredivisie 2001/02, 2003/04
- KNVB Cup 2001/02
- Johan Cruijff Shield 2003

Inter Milan
- Serie A 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09
- SuperCoppa Italiana 2006, 2008

Barcelona
- La Liga 2009/10
- Supercopa de Espana 2009, 2010
- UEFA Super Cup 2009
- FIFA Club World Cup 2009

AC Milan
- Serie A 2010/11

Juventus
- Serie A 2004/05, 2005/06 (both revoked)

If you think I’m overrating the Swedish international, then I'd advise just taking 10 minutes to check out some of his unbelievable goals. I guarantee that if you’re sitting on the fence in your opinion over Ibrahimović, then your opinion will alter to either to joining the masses the either loving or hating Ibrahimović.

Either way, Ibrahimović’s track record, the facts, figures and footage of his goals prove that he is great player, and the matter of whether he is overrated, is surely a matter of opinion.


What are your thoughts on “The Magician”? Do you think his criticism is justified? Do you think he is a great player, or just one who was at the right club at the right time? Leave a comment below and let me know what you think

Real Talk Football

Champions League Quarter-Finals 1st Leg: What We've Learnt

After all four first legs in the Champions League quarter-finals were completed yesterday; Real Talk Football looks at what we have learnt from four ties, who were the stand out performers, who underachieved and what we can expect from an exciting round of matches.

Real Madrid v. Tottenham – 4-0

Tottenham fans got their wish of facing one of the tougher sides left in the competition, and ended facing up to the harsh consequences. A mystery illness to Aaron Lennon before the game as well as an early red card from Peter Crouch already meant the North London faced an uphill battle.

Emmanuel Adebayor put in a class performance, reminiscing of his best years at Arsenal, and he scored two goals on the night taking his tally to 11 goals in 10 appearances against Tottenham.


Angel Di Maria scored a wonder goal, while Cristiano Ronaldo added the fourth; finally getting on the score sheet after having 14 attempts on goal during the game.

There aren’t too many positives for Tottenham to take to the second leg, Real Madrid are yet to concede at home in the Champions League, and only have only conceded 3 goals altogether. All Spurs can do is go all out attack, and hope for the best.


Inter Milan v. Schalke 04 – 2-5

Inter Milan cannot defend. This is their biggest hindrance in this shaky defence (no pun intended) of their Champions League title. If you look at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United’s defensive records so far in this campaign, you understand why they are all clear favourites ahead of the Nerazzurri.

Inter are missing their experienced and solid central defensive partnership of Lucio and Walter Samuel, upon which they built their Champions League win last season. During that victorious campaign, they only conceded 9 goals in 13 matches, where as this season they have already shipped 19 goals in just 9 games. They also have the worst defensive record of the last eight teams in the Champions League, conceding an average of 2 goals per game.

In a finaly note on Inter, Dejan Stankovic's unbelievable volley opened the scoring, and is too good to leave out of this review.


Schalke were seen as dark horses to make it into the latter stages of the competition, and thanks to the pacey powerful performance from Jefferson Farfan, the clinical finishing from Striker Edu, along with the fantastic attacking prowess shown by legendary striker Raul all led to thrashing Inter.

The final high point for Schalke, apart from the five away goals, was the performance of 19 year old centre back Joel Matip; who has played in all but one of Schalke’s Champions League game. His composed and confident performance, at such a young age against the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito, was a joy to behold for the Schalke fans.

Inter need a big turnaround if they are to progress.


Chelsea v. Manchester United – 0-1

Manchester United has been labelled lucky this season, but I believe it’s time for this label to be relinquished. They have this never give up attitude and winning mentality, and now look favourites to progress after beating Premiership rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. As well as giving themselves that desired away goal advantage.

Despite the critics, Michael Carrick had his best appearance in a Manchester United shirt last night, making seven interceptions against Chelsea, at least three more the any other in the game.

Also Ecuadorian international Antonio Valencia had to fill in at right back during the second half and was excellent throughout the match. He created more goal scoring chances than any other player during the match.

Finally Manchester United’s evergreen goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was also in great form, making two brilliant saves in the game. It’s noted that he has the best saves-to-shots percentage in the Champions League this season with 93%, followed by Petr Cech, 90%.


Chelsea are not completely out of the tie, but it seems older players like Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who were instrumental in Chelsea performances last year, seem to no longer be the match winners they once were, with Chelsea distinctly lacking in the final third of the pitch.

The £50 million striker Fernando Torres, who’s price tag will not be shaken off until he starts putting the ball in the net, played okay, but just like this Chelsea side were just not clinical enough. Torres linked up well once the full backs (Bosingwa and Cole) got forward and got the ball into the opposition box. His partnership with Didier Drogba however, is somewhat non-existent.

Heading up to Old Trafford, Chelsea will need to take the game to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, while there are murmurs that the Champions League is Carlo Ancelotti’s last lifeline. This is the closest remaining tie left in the Champions League, and should be another tightly contested game.


FC Barcelona v. Shaktar Donetsk – 5-1

First things first, you cannot give Barcelona an early goal. This alleviates any kind of pre-game nerves the Barca side would have had, and settled them quickly. Lionel Messi was phenomenal, as was Andres Iniesta. Sergio Busquets was solid at the back, while Adriano and Dani Alves were brilliant in the full-back positions, just as they were against Arsenal.

Shaktar had their chances throughout the game, as striker Luiz Adriano even hit the post and missed a one on one with Victor Valdes. But it was Barcelona who was potent in front of goal, and in all honesty always looking capable of exposing the Shaktar back four.

Iniesta, Alves, Pique and Xavi all took their chances in great team moves. The goal of the night came from Seydou Kieta who ran onto Lionel Messi’s pass and smashed the ball into the top corner and past Andriy Payatov. Barcelona showing they don’t need David Villa or Lionel Messi on the score sheet in order to put five past a side.
Shaktar’s record coming into this game was 39 wins in their last 44 games, so that gives you an idea of the quality of side Barcelona were taking on.


Finally: just a word on Barcelona full back Dani Alves. The Brazilian international, who recently signed a contract extension with the Catalan giants, if for me one of the best footballers in the world, but is overlooked for this acknowledgement for the simple fact he play’s a right back.

Last night apart from a few early wobbles in the first half he was vital in all of Barcelona’s attacking moves, and he was the first outlet for every single one of these Barcelona attacks. Also his no nonsense hard working style is something which also is really impressive, a hard worker, a team player and a great individual.


That wraps up the Real Talk Football’s views on what we learnt from the first round of matches, remember you can follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/realtalkfb to get all the latest football news, and remember to cast your vote on who you think will win the Champions League by voting in the poll on the right hand side.

Real Talk Football

Europe: Part 1 - Champions League Preview

Last Friday both the quarter-final draws were made for Europe’s elite club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Real Talk Football takes a look at the draws of both competitions, and previews the last eight teams left in each competition. Today we start with part 1 which features the Champions League draw.

Champions League

The four ties in the quarter final draw are as follows:

Real Madrid v. Tottenham Hotspur

Tale of the tape

Tottenham’s European adventure saw them top Group A ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, Dutch champions FC Twente and German side Werder Bremen.

Spurs defeated seven time winners and European heavyweights AC Milan 1-0 over two legs in order to book their place in their first ever Champions League quarter final. With their full throttle attacking football, nobody has begrudged the North London side their spot in the last eight.

Serial big spenders Real Madrid have reached the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time in the last seven years. The Spanish giants are undefeated in their campaign so far, overcoming AC Milan, AFC Ajax and AJ Auxerre in the group stage.

With star man Cristiano Ronaldo and two times Champions League winner Jose Mourinho in charge, Madrid will feel they can go all the way this season.

Key Players

Karim Benzema – the French forward came under scrutiny in the first half of the season with his lacklustre performances in La Liga, however the 23 year olds form has vastly improved, and he’s been Real’s top goal scorer in the Champions League with 6 goals in 7 appearances.

While striker Gonzalo Higuain out for the season and Manu Adebayor breathing down his neck for a 1st team position, he needs to continue his rich vein of form.



Luka Modric – The Croatian playmaker has been instrumental in Tottenham’s campaign this season, and his link up play with wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, have been the key weapons in Spurs Champions League challenge.


Probable Line-ups





Chelsea v. Manchester United

Tale of the tape

The two English powerhouses have been ever-present competitors in the last six seasons in this competition, and contested the 2008 Champions League final.

Chelsea, who has struggled to regain the domestic titles this year, sees the Champions League as their main target this season. They topped Group F with 15 points, winning five matches while their solitary defeat came away to Olympique de Marseille. Chelsea beat Danish side FC Copenhagen comfortably 2-0 over two legs in the second round.

Manchester United haven’t been at their best this season, but have still managed to grind out results and maintain their stay at the top of the Premier League, reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and of course, reach the latter stages of the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side qualified top of their group, fending off competition from Bursaspor, Valencia and Glasgow Rangers.

In the second round, there 2-1 victory over Marseille was synonymous with many of their victories this season, a game where they had a lot of first team players missing, and still managed to grind out the result.

Key Players

Nemanja Vidic – The Serbian defender has been head and shoulders above the rest of the other centre backs in Europe, and has been the cornerstone of Manchester United’s solid defensive record, which has seen them only concede two goals in Europe this season.



Nicholas Anelka – the Frenchman has seven goals in his seven Champions League appearances this season, and has outshone fellow strikers Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s campaign.


Probable Line-ups





FC Barcelona v. Shaktar Donetsk

Tale of the tape

Shaktar Donetsk are favoured as the “Dark Horses” in this year’s competition, thanks to their immaculate home form (they are unbeaten at the Donbass Arena in almost two years, over 60 matches), as well as their array of talented imports such as attacking midfielders Douglas Costa and Willian, Striker Eduardo and Luiz Adriano, as well as established and experienced players including; Tomas Hubschmann, Razvan Rat, Darijo Srna and Dmytro Chygrynskiy.

They surpassed Roma comfortably 6-2 in the second round stage, beating the Italians both home and away. They recovered from a 5-1 thumping away to Arsenal to go on and win Group H ahead of the English side.

For Barcelona, progression into the latter stages is minimal of expectations for the Catalan club, and they progressed through as winners of Group D. On paper they were expected to dominate the group stage however it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Spanish giants as FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos all gave a great account of themselves.

In the second round, Barca overcame a first leg defeat by Arsenal to beat the Gunners 4-3 over two legs, in a fiery and intriguing contest.

Key Players

Xavi Hernandez – The Spaniard World Cup winner impressed with his sensational passing ability in the seven matches he’s played in. He is the heartbeat of the Barcelona side, while his experience and ball retention skills are valuable assets to the side.



Dmytro Chygrynskiy – the 24 year old is quite familiar with the Barcelona team having spent the 2009/10 season at the Camp Nou. He is a tall, no nonsense defender who was influential in both legs of the second round victory over Roma. His quality will be essential in dealing with Messi and co.



Probable Line-ups





FC Internazionale v. FC Schalke 04

Tale of the tape

Schalke have somewhat surpassed expectations by reaching the quarter finals, but with the experienced Raul and goal poacher Klass-Jan Huntelaar, plus an array of talented players, has helped the German side top a tough group that contained the likes of Lyon, SL Benfica and Hapoel Tel-Aviv. In the second round, they beat Spanish side Valencia in two competitive encounters, winning 4-2 on aggregate.

Defending champions Inter Milan reached the quarter finals by the skin of their teeth, after two fantastic matches against last year’s beaten finalist Bayern Munich. Only a late goal from Macedonian international Goran Pandev saw Leonardo’s team progress on away goals. During the group stage, they finished runners-up in Group A, behind Tottenham.

Key Players

Samuel Eto’o – The Cameroonian international has been in sensational form this season, returning to his favoured central striker role, after playing out of position for much of last year’s victorious Champions League challenge. This season, he is the joint top scorer in the competition with eight goals from eight games, with four assists.



Raúl – the legendary Real Madrid striker is the record highest goal scorer in Champions League history with 71 goals, if anyone can be the difference maker, he can. Despite being at the ripe old age of 33 he hasn’t missed a step on the European stage, and has chipped in with 3 goals in this campaign so far.



Probable Line-ups




All ties will be played on the 5/6th April, and the return legs played on 12/13th April

Who do you think will win the Champions League? Cast your vote on the right hand side and let us. Part 2 will be coming on Wednesday.

Real Talk Football

Ronaldo : Il Fenomeno

Il Fenomeno: The Greatest Striker of Them All

Today there was a collective sigh of disappointment amongst football fans across the globe, as one of the greatest strikers of all time announced his retirement from the professional game. 34 year old Brazilian Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima, simply known as “Ronaldo” announced his retirement from Football.

The legendary striker kept his announcement short, the disappointment evident on his face, while a wry grin popping up slightly now and again, he stated: "I wanted to continue, but I can't. I think of an action, but I can't do it the way I want to. It's time, my body aches. The head wants to continue, but the body can’t take much more."

In the aftermath of this disappointment announcement, there has been a significant degree of admiration and recognition for one of the greatest players to play the game. The Brazilian’s decision to leave the game has sparked debates that after playing for four of the biggest clubs in the world, competing at the top level for almost 15 years; spanning an 18 year career, and winning almost every individual and collective trophy possible, whether he truly is the greatest striker of all time.


Arguably he is the greatest striker of his generation, although modern greats such as Raul, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry, Francesco Totti, Miroslav Klose, Gabriel Batistuta and Ruud van Nistlerooy would all challenge him for this title.

Some fans however, will argue that he is the greatest of all time, while past greats such as Ferenc Puskas, Gerd Müller, Eusebio, Alfredo di Stefano, Romario, Mario Kempes, Roberto Baggio, Hugo Sanchez, Marco van Basten and of course, fellow compatriot Pelé would have to compete for that title.

Its markedly clear that yes, we are talking about a footballer of the highest calibre, and one whose name is deservedly placed amongst that list of great names, and doesn’t stand out on inch.

When I was younger, I remember watching Ronaldo in the colours of Inter Milan during their successful UEFA Cup, he was at the height of his career, and he caught the imagination and hearts of aspiring football fans with his brilliant ability, skill and determination.

Growing up, everyone wanted to be Eric Cantona, flipping up there collars up and walking around the pitch with a strut. That was before Ronaldo became a regular on our TV screens, and the dimension distinctly changed. Everyone donned a pair of Blue and Silver Nike R9 boots, and everyone in the school playground wanted to be Ronaldo, the man with the skills, the goal scorer; Great.


Ronaldo was born on the 18th September 1976, and started his football career aged 14 years old. He played for youth teams: Social Ramos Youth Club, and Sao Cristovao up until the age of 18, where he was believed to have been spotted by Brazilian legend Jairzinho. During his time at Sao Cristovao, Ronaldo scored 35 goals in 54 appearances.

Jairzinho put in place that Ronaldo joined Brazilian top flight side Cruziero. This is where he would make his name as a teenage prodigy, scoring 12 goals in 14 appearances. This earn him a surprise call up to the 1994 Brazil World Cup winning squad, after only making his professional debut for Brazil three months before the World Cup, a 2-1 win against Argentina.


With a World Cup winners medal under his belt, and aged just 18, Dutch side PSV Eindhoven acquired Ronaldo for a fee believed to £4million. During his first season in Europe, the Brazilian scored 30 goals, and went on to add another 12 in his second season (which was hampered by injury, limiting him to just 13 appearances). This took his total 42 goals in 46 matches for PSV, and he also won the Dutch Cup during his time in Holland.

This exquisite form rightly earned him the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year award, while he finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or (European Footballer of the Year) award as well. These titles earned him the attention of some of the big clubs in Europe, however eventually it was Spanish giants Barcelona, who coughed up £10million for the 20 year old.


Ronaldo lit up La Liga, continuing his magnificent form and progress. During his time at the club, he scored some great individual goals, and amassed a total of 34 goals in 37 appearances, 47 goals in 49 total appearances for the Blaugrana.

During this solitary season with the club, he won the Spanish Super Cup, the Copa Del Rey and UEFA Cup Winners Cup, beating former side PSV in the final.


Ronaldo no longer had the desire to play in Spain once interest from Italian giants Inter Milan began to surface. Requiring a new challenge, Ronaldo joined Inter from Barcelona for a world record fee of £19million in 1997. Individually at the end of the year he regained the FIFA World Player of the Year award (1997), as well as the Ballon d’Or award.

His first season at Inter (97/98) was to be his most successful spell in Italy. He led the Nerazzurri to Serie A runners-up, UEFA Cup success, while he scored 34 goals in 47 appearances. During this season, it was clear that Ronaldo became a more complete and well rounded striker, and was widely regarded the best player in the world. He went on to represent Brazil in the 1998 World Cup finals, with his side established as pre-tournament favourites.

During the finals Brazil passed through the group stages with a minor glitch against Norway, and managed to steamroll their way to the Cup final, facing the home nation France. Going into the game, Ronaldo already had 4 goals in the competition and with the expecting world waiting to see the best footballer on the planet play in the grandest stage of them all, he was mysteriously struck down by an “illness” on the day of the final.

There were conflicting reports regarding what had happened, and whether Ronaldo would be even be fit to play. He did eventually start the game, and a sluggish Brazil side were beaten comprehensively by a France side led by another world great; Zinedine Zidane. More rumours came to the forefront stating that he had had an epileptic fit during the half time interval.

After the World Cup campaign and at the end of 1998, Ronaldo came second in the FIFA World Player of the Year award, and third in the Ballon d’Or awards.

During the next four years at Inter Milan, his career stalled, with serious knee injuries limiting him to a total of just 99 appearances and 59 goals in all competitions. A significant blight to the career of the Brazilian.


These four difficult years however, did not mean that he still didn’t have what it takes to complete at the highest level, and he showed this at the 2002 World Cup. He was selected for the Brazil team and was sensational during the tournament, which had been jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, with him scoring 8 of Brazil’s 18 goals in the competition. He went on to collect the Golden Boot trophy, and collect his second World Cup medal, Brazil’s fifth.


Ronaldo announced himself back onto the world stage, and while equipped with a strange haircut earned him a £20million move back to Spain, this time with Real Madrid. His time in the Spanish capital was again marred by just as many goals as well as injuries. The year ending 2002, he won the FIFA World Player of the Year for a record third time, and the Ballon d’Or for the second time.

During his first season at the club, he scored 23 goals in 30 league appearances, helping Real Madrid win the La Liga title, and amassed 29 goals in 42 appearances in his first season. During his time at Real Madrid, aside from the injury issues, there were problems concerning his weight, and his attitude. During his five year spell at the club, he won the Spanish Super Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and added another La Liga title in 2006/07.


Ronaldo was selected for 2006 World Cup, despite the aforementioned concerns regarding health and attitude issues. He scored 3 more goals in tournament, taking them to the quarter-finals stage, losing to eventual finalist France. More significantly for Ronaldo, was that this goal tally made him the highest goal scorer in World Cup history with 15 goals, surpassing Gerd Muller.


After the World Cup, he returned to Real Madrid, and only stayed at the club for 6 more months. He was named La Liga’s top goal scorer in the 2004/05 season, and scored 83 goals in 127 appearances in his Real Madrid career.

In January 2007, after falling out with Fabio Capello for the last time, aged 30, Ronaldo joined another one of Europe’s giants, AC Milan. The fee was around £7.5million. He would only spend one season and a half at AC, scoring 8 times in 20 appearances. The reason for this was he suffered another serious knee injury, combined with concerns regarding his weight, meant that his contract was allowed to run out with the Italian club, and he was free to leave.

This showed that his time with the big boys in Europe was over, and Ronaldo himself expressed a desire to return to Brazil.


After almost a year out, upon returning from his knee injury, Ronaldo returned to training with Brazilian side Corinthians, where in December 2009 he signed a one year deal at the club. He scored 12 times in 20 appearances in his first season, and added another 6 goals in 11 appearances during his second year. His second season was slowed by injuries.



With Ronaldo expressing his wishes to retire at the end of 2011 (when the Brazilian season finishes), his decision has been brought forward two months shy of a year. The reason for this is believed to be the behaviour of the clubs fans after this weekend’s Copa Libertadores elimination. Several fans attacked the Corinthians team bus, with a large proportion of the fans blaming Ronaldo. These fans smashed and damaged the striker’s car, which was seemingly all that the 34 year old could take, and subsequently the last straw, culminating in him announcing his retirement from the sport.

He won everything apart from the Serie A title and the Champions League trophy, however the two World Cup medals, two Copa America titles, and a FIFA Confederations Cup more than make up for these domestic trophies absentees from such an illustrious cabinet.

A disappointing end to a career which had been on a downward slope for the past few years, however I do not have it in me to speak so negatively of a player who was an idol, and a footballing hero to so many. A great man, whose career was defined by goals, was an enigma on the pitch who shook fear into opposition players and fans, but who was subsequently packed with excitement and flair and undeniably a joy to watch.

He will be talked about and remembered for years to come.

Il Fenomeno, the greatest striker of them all


Real Talk Football

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