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Champions League Watch - May 2008

Porto in Champions League limbo

May 29th 2008 17:33
A punishment for match-fixing has left FC Porto, winners of this year's Portugese SuperLiga, sweating their place in the 2008/09 Champions League. The penalty, a six-point deduction in the domestic table, was related to attempts to bribe match officials during the 2003/04 season. It didn't hurt Porto at home; they were 20 points into first place when the deduction was given. However, it may prevent them from taking Portugal's first Champions League spot in next year's competition.

UEFA bylaws explicitly prohibit teams from taking place in its competitions that ". . . have been involved in any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level". Doubts abound about UEFA's enforcement of this rule. One issue in this case is the fact that the bribing activity, which Porto accepted punishment for without appeal, occurred several seasons ago



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A surprising '08/'09 Champions League picture comes into focus (Pt. 2)

May 27th 2008 23:44
A couple of posts ago, I gave a rundown of the notable firsts (and a few notable seconds) for the big leagues' entrants into next season's Champions League. With the 2007/2008 season having come to a close, it's time to see who will be representing Europe's minnows on the CL stage.

First, we have three teams who have earned their countries' spots in the Second Qualifying Round. Brann earned the right to carry Norway's flag in the Champions League next season by winning the Norwegian league for the first time since 1963. Brann first played in the Champions League in 2001, a year in which Norway had two entrants in the tournament. They'll be hoping to improve on their performance in that season when they lost their qualifying round matches 1-1 to Levski Sofia on the away goals rule to crash out of the Champions League



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CL Final Wrap Up: Moscow Magic for Manchester United

May 21st 2008 22:58
On the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster, Manchester United have won the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League by besting Chelsea 6-5 in a nail-biting penalty shootout. Overcoming a shocking miss by Cristiano Ronaldo, Edwin Van der Sar came up big for the Red Devils when it counted most, blocking Nicolas Anelka's try to deliver the second European championship that Sir Alex Ferguson has sought so keenly since his club's famous win in 1999. A slip by John Terry led to the other penalty miss for Chelsea. The scrappy, battling game was locked up at 1-1 going into penalty kicks, the goals having come from Ronaldo and Chelsea's Frank Lampard in the first half.

Recap:
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The final arrives

May 21st 2008 18:46
A quick apology to all of my readers for the lack of a follow-up to that last entry - I was unexpectedly forced to spend the week traveling and couldn't find the time. A review of the surprises and firsts from Europe's smaller leagues is in the works, so check back here for that.

First, though, is the Champions League final. This is the night that the fans have been waiting for, that every kick of the ball, every goal, every dramatic moment have led to. Get to your local bar or pub or just tune in at home, but don't miss what's sure to be an exhilarating 90 minutes of European football


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Sepp Blatter pushes player nationality plan, gets shot down by EU

May 8th 2008 17:37
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been pushing changes to the requirements for the world's football clubs to employ foreign-born players. Blatter would require all clubs to field six players native to the country in which the team is based and just five international players in any given match. Teams are free to hire as many foreign-born players as they like; they just can't play more than five of them at a time.A separate effort on Blatter's part would see players required to reside in a country for five years before becoming eligible to play for that nation's international side. The previous requirement was two years.

Blatter's goal with these new regulations is ostensibly to limit the dominance of any particular national league and to keep players playing in their home countries in both club and national team football. According to Blatter, English Premier League teams' success in this year's Champions League is one of his primary motivations. The UEFA competition produces a huge amount of revenue for clubs, and this year the majority of that revenue will be flowing back to England. If players were forced to play their football closer to home, Blatter argues, this success would be shared around the continent by clubs from a variety of nations


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Cash and Championships: 8 of world's top 20 players in Champions League final

May 4th 2008 15:54
A recent Forbes report on the world's best-paid footballers featured a number of names that should be familiar to any fan of the UEFA Champions League. After all, eight of the 20 players listed as the most highly compensated in the world will be in the final, and an amazing 12 of 20 play for clubs that reached this year's semi-finals.

Of the eight who will be vying for European glory in the final in Moscow, the advantage goes to Chelsea players. Five of them have made the globe-besting list to just three for Manchester United. This won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows about Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's penchant for paying whatever it takes to draw the world's premier players. One has to imagine that if the list were expanded to include the world's top 40, the entire Chelsea line-up might appear


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(UPDATED 3/5) Breaking news: Rooney to miss Champions League final?

May 3rd 2008 18:35
Reports are popping up in the British press that Wayne Rooney's recent injury woes will keep him out of action until after the Champions League final in Moscow.

The most recent claims indicate that Rooney has suffered a hernia. Recovery for such a complaint depends greatly on the seriousness of the injury, but can last several weeks


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(UPDATED 8/5) Rijkaard backpedals on exit claims

May 3rd 2008 18:08
Despite a recent blog post to the contrary by his colleague and confidant Jil van Eyle, Frank Rijkaard has insisted that he has not yet decided to leave Barcelona at the end of the season. At a Saturday press conference, Rijkaard stated his intention to guide Barcelona to a second-place finish this season and only then discuss his plans for the future.

Rijkaard at first seemed to be offering a non-denial denial, with talk of "now is not the moment" to discuss his future. However, the conference eventually produced a more strongly worded statement from the Dutchman, who said, regarding the blog post that announced his departure: "This declaration is entirely untrue


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Cristiano Ronaldo's United future in doubt

May 2nd 2008 17:27
Cristiano Ronaldo has hesitated to declare his intentions for seasons to come, saying that he would decide his future with the club, or potentially away from it, during the summer. This ambiguous news is all that was needed for the management at Real Madrid to redeclare their desire for the quick-footed Portuguese star yesterday.

According to Spanish sports rag AS, Real Madrid are committed and hopeful regarding the idea of bringing Ronaldo to the club. For a club that's been bleeding star players over the past few seasons, Cristiano Ronaldo would signal a return to the talented, yet expensive, tastes the club showed at the beginning of the decade


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Rijkaard to leave Barcelona during the summer

May 1st 2008 16:43
After having been blamed by the club's directors for Barcelona's Champions League semi-final exit, Frank Rijkaard seems to be set for a summertime departure from the Catalan club. A fundraiser and organizer at teaming.info who worked with the manager stated on his blog on Thursday morning that Rijkaard would be leaving Barcelona in a few weeks. Rumors have swirled that the former Dutch international had lost the support of many in his locker room, and with Barcelona going two seasons in a row without a trophy, heads were almost certain to roll. Rijkaard's would appear, then, to be the first, but will most likely not be the last. The manager is expected to finish the season with the club, which ends with Barcelona facing Murcia in La Liga on May 18th. In the meantime, Barcelona are technically still in the title hunt with five matches to play. However, with Real Madrid 14 points in front, Barca will more likely have their sights set on Villarreal, four points ahead of them in second place. A third place finish would be their worst since 2002/2003, and would be one last bitter pill for Frank Rijkaard to swallow at the Nou Camp before making his exit.

Jose Mourinho is conspicuously without a job at the moment. Could he be the man to fill Rijkaard's shoes


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