After 4 seasons, 13 trophies and hours upon days of exquisite football, Pep Guardiola has decided that a change is best for both himself and Barcelona. Coming directly on the heels of being eliminated from the Champions League by Chelsea and from the Spanish title race by arch-rival Real Madrid, it’s hard to not see this as an emotional reaction. Given Guardiola’s calm, poised approach though, it’s unlikely to be so reactionary. The rumours had started months ago that he may seek another project and now that time has come. Cue the Chelsea and Manchester City rumours!

Watch Guardiola’s press conference

Image courtesy of Flickr user mazzi (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mazzi/) 

Congratulations to FC Barcelona for capturing their 2nd Champions League in 3 seasons. Three incisive goals from Messi, Villa and Pedro saw Barca cruise to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United. More analysis to follow.

Join us over at our sister site, EPL Talk, and share in the discussion and banter with soccer fans around the world. We’re expecting a big crowd online for the biggest game of the season. And we hope you can join us.

The live blog will be available at epltalk.com starting at at 2:45pm EST.

The third installment of this season’s ‘El Clasico’ match-up between Real Madrid and Barcelona could have been renamed ‘El Fiasco’. Depending on your outlook, it may have been surprising to see Jose Mourinho’s Madrid squad setup with such bullying tactics. Both coaches had strong words for one another in the press conference so I was not surprised that the atmosphere was tense.

The game was hyped in some circles as a Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo showdown to see who the true best player in the game is right now. That for me was just one of the sub-plots available. To dismiss the array of talent on both squads is naive. According to Deloitte, Real Madrid pay €192m (£170m) in wages to a squad that cost €475m to assemble. Barca hand over €235m to a group who cost €175m to buy. Barcelona spend less on transfers because of the success graduates of Barcelona’s academy — La Masia de Can Planes (loosely translates from Catalan as “The Farmhouse”) have had with the first team. Among the graduates are key first-team players Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Carles Puyol, and Víctor Valdés.

The game itself was a cagey affair in the first half with both teams not looking full sharp and taking more interest in fouling their opponents. The half-time whistle brought no relief to the tension as Barcelona’s backup goalkeeper, Pinto, was sent off for seeming to punch Madrid’s match-day delegate Miguel Porlán “Chendo” in the midst of an argument with Alvaro Arbeloa.

The game changed early in the second half when Pepe and Dani Alves both went for a loose ball and Pepe appeared to catch Alves on the shin. Alves writhed on the floor like his leg had been broekn and referree Wolfgang Stark showed Pepe the red card. Personally, I thought the referee was conned by Alves’ roilling around and at most should have given a yellow card. Don’t believe it? Watch this video!

Jose Mourinho sarcastically applauded Alves as he was stretchered off and gave the fourth official a thumbs-up for good measure. Mourinho’s performance earned him a red card and he will not be on the touchline for the return leg. Alves returned to the pitch less than 5 minutes later and appeared to be just fine.

I suspect that had Pepe not been sent off that the game would have ended as a dour scoreless draw. Pepe and Lassana Diarra had done a good job of harrassing Messi, playing in a deeper position because of Iniesta’s absence, and Xavi which stifled some of Barcelona’s creativity.

A scoreless draw was not to be after the sending off and there are two moments of pure class to discuss with Lionel Messi being at the heart of both of them. His second goal in particular deserves to be celebrated not just by Barcelona fans, but anyone who is even a casual soccer fan. It was an expression of artistry that elevates the game to the heights it should always strive to reach. Watch the marvelous second goal and tell me if you’ve seen a better display in such a big game. Remember, this is not some beer league team, this is a very good Real Madrid squad who were looking to keep the score close.

Unfortunately, things got ugly again during Jose Mourinho’s post-match press conference. Some of his remarks are completely scandalous and Barcelona manager Pep Guardialo refused to acknowledge them.

Barcelona are considering legal action against Mourinho while UEFA confirmed that its Control and Disciplinary Body would hear numerous cases against Real on May 6, ‘in relation to the throwing of missiles, a pitch invasion, the red card shown to Pepe, the dismissal of the coach José Mourinho, as well as the inappropriate statement given by Mr Mourinho to the media after the match’.

Mourinho has essentially conceded the semi-final to Barcelona stating that a 2-0 deficit will be very difficult to overturn.

WOW ! Some great match-ups including a repeat of last season’s final with Inter Milan facing Bayern Munich. The match-up that will likely garner more press is the Arsenal v Barcelona. The two clubs play similar styles though Barcelona is still the better side for my money. It’s not impossible to think Arsenal could pull an upset but I remain unconvinced of their back 4 and they do not have an undisputed number 1 goalkeeper. Still, this should be a fun tie to watch. Thank you UEFA !

We’ll have more thorough analysis of these match-ups once the January transfer window has closed.

Champions League Round of 16 draw in full:
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Inter Milan v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea

First-leg matches will be played on February 15, 16, 22 or 23. Return legs will be played on March 8, 9, 15 or 16.

The Champions League group stages have finished, and now it’s time to see which teams will face each other in the round of 16 which is coming up next. UEFA will be drawing the match-ups for the Champions League and the Europa League on December 17th, and there’s a set of guidelines which the round of 16 matches will have to comply with. Here’s the guidelines below:

• Winners and runner-ups of the groups will be drawn against each other.

• The runner-up team will play the first leg at home.

• No two teams from the same association can be drawn against each other, ex. Manchester United – Arsenal cannot be drawn because both sides are from the Premier League.

• No two teams from the same group can be drawn against each other, ex. Tottenham – Inter Milan cannot be drawn because they were in the same group.

With these guidelines, I’ve put together the matches that I want to see in the round of 16. I tried to think about match-ups which will be exciting, even, and hopefully full of goals. Here they are below:

Tottenham Hotspur – Valencia

Schalke 04 – FC Copenhagen

Manchester United – Marseille

Barcelona – Roma

Bayern Munich – Inter Milan

Chelsea – AC Milan

Real Madrid – Arsenal

Shakhtar Donetsk – Lyon

What do you think about my choices? I decided to put Bayern Munich against Inter Milan, because I think it would be exciting to see Bayern take revenge for last season’s final which they lost. I also decided to put Arsenal against Real Madrid because Arsene Wenger’s side tries to replicate Barcelona’s beautiful passing and attacking style, could they do it against Real Madrid? Tottenham against Valencia seems like an extremely exciting match-up to me, because both sides love to play an attacking and free-flowing style, and I don’t think I can predict a winner between those two. And I put Chelsea against AC Milan because of Carlo Ancelotti facing his former side, along with the possibility of seeing an Ibrahimovic-led AC Milan side try and break down Chelsea.

Make sure to share your thoughts on what match-ups you want to see in the round of 16 by commenting below! What could be the most exciting match in the next round? Comment below!

The Champions League group stages have been extremely exciting this season, and as the knockout stages draw nearer, we’re beginning to see the sides which will take part in the latter stages of the competition. Right now, the sides which have qualified are: Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Schalke 04, Lyon, Manchester United, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Manchester United – Valencia

Manchester United sealed their qualification in first place of the group after drawing 1-1 against Valencia at Old Trafford. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side started with a bit of complacency, they were sloppy, and unable to transition quickly like they were able to do in their 7-1 victory against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, mostly because Valencia closed them down quickly and efficiently. Berbatov and Anderson both had great opportunities to score, but poor finishing was what stopped United from taking the lead. Then Michael Carrick lost the ball (not for the first time) and allowed Pablo Hernandez to score the opening goal for Valencia.

What Manchester United were lacking was a bit of spark, a midfield maestro, or an experienced playmaker in the middle of the park. The second half began, and Rio Ferdinand had to be substituted in the 50th minute, when his hamstring seemed to be causing him problems. Chris Smalling was placed in the center of defence, and the big defender struggled against a Valencia side which was looking for another goal. But Manchester United got the final goal of the match, tying up the result which qualifies them in first place of the group.

It was the lively Anderson who got on the end of Park Ji-Sung’s parried shot, and the Brazilian tucked away his first goal at Old Trafford. It was a good game, and Valencia looked very dangerous against a slightly complacent Manchester United side. It’ll be interesting to see which side will have to face Valencia, and I’m sure that the Spanish club will give their next opponents a tough game.

FC Twente – Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur also qualified in first place of their group after their 3-3 draw, away against FC Twente. Harry Redknapp’s side had a lucky start when the FC Twente goalkeeper Boschker scored a comical own goal in the 12th minute. Boschker was about to clear a pass from his defender, Wisgerhof, and the keeper completely missed the ball, allowing it to roll into the back of his own net! But Twente recovered and eventually equalized when they were awarded a penalty about ten minutes later when the ball bounced off of Assou-Ekkoto’s arm.

In the second half the two sides alternated scoring goals, with Jermain Defoe scoring a brace, and Chadli scoring a fantastic free kick which equalized the score at 3-3. It was a great result for Tottenham, especially with their rivals for first place, Inter Milan, being humiliated 3-0 by Werder Bremen.

Other games

Barcelona had few problems defeating Rubin Kazan 2-0 at the Camp Nou. Josep Guardiola put out a very young side, and his youngsters proved him right with 21 year-old Andreu Fontas and 23 year-old Victor Vazquez scoring the two goals.

Copenhagen also qualified in the same group with Barcelona after their 3-1 win against Panathinaikos. The Danish side had no trouble until the 90th minute, when Kante scored a consolation goal for Panathinaikos, making the final score 3-1 for Copenhagen.

Schalke 04 qualified in first place of their group after a fantastic 2-1 away win against Benfica. Schalke were two up with Jurado and Howedes having scored the goals when Luisao scored a consolation goal for Benfica. This win is fantastic for Felix Magath’s side which hasn’t been playing too well this season. Maybe this is where their season turns around?

Lyon qualified second behind Schalke 04 after their exciting 2-2 draw against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Hapoel Tel Aviv thought that they’d managed to win when Zahavi scored their second goal with a beautiful bicycle kick to make it 2-1, but it was the youngster Lacazette who ruined their victory dreams. If the Israeli side had managed to hold on for the win, they’d have qualified for the Europa League, but instead it will be Benfica which will be playing in the Europa League this season.

Share your comments regarding the Champions League action below!

Tonight’s game promised to give one of the closest indications so far of who could become European champions this year, but in truth, nobody could’ve predicted what followed. Barcelona dissected their rivals with precise, incisive play that arguably would have torn absolutely any team in the world apart. In doing so, they confirmed their status as clear favourites for the Champions League once again, and it’d take a brave man to doubt them. With 13 goals in their last 2 league games, they are beginning to look even more menacing than they ever did in their historic 2008/09 season, and their form will be striking fear into managers across the continent.

Regardless of tonight’s result, however, it would still be naïve to completely write off Real Madrid at this stage. They will have learnt a great deal from tonight’s events, and in particular, Mourinho will now have a far better understanding of his team’s strengths and weaknesses, and possibly even his own managerial weaknesses. The biggest concern has to be the fact that he abandoned his usual “park the bus” (for want of a less horribly clichéd term) tactics for these key matches in favour of a slightly more ambitious counter attacking system, and saw his team get dismantled with relative ease. Real were exposed down both flanks, and coupled with a high defensive line, Barca always threatened to get in behind and cut the ball across goal to create more chances. Will this cause Mourinho to abandon these more ambitious tactics in future big games despite the pressure from those above him? Only time will tell, but it may be Real’s only chance of success, considering their weakness in the core areas compared to the likes of Barcelona and Chelsea.

Outside of Spain, it appears that the usual recent suspects will be challenging – almost by default. In England, Manchester United remain unbeaten and are now finally hitting their stride, having predictably struggled to find any real form in the first third of the season. Their defence looks imperious once again, Nani is in the form of his life, and with Rooney dropping deep to play behind Berbatov, the two forwards finally look capable of reaching their potential as a partnership. Chelsea have begun to stutter of late, and this has highlighted the challenge they face. When fully fit, their squad is intimidating to even look at, but remove two or three key players and suddenly they become a beatable side. For this reason, it will be absolutely essential for them to keep Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Malouda and Terry fit if they’re to have a realistic chance of toppling Europe’s elite sides for the first time. They may well struggle to keep up with the congested fixture list in the closing period of the season unless they make a couple of signings in January – David Luiz of Benfica is one player currently heavily linked with the club. Arsenal, meanwhile, appear to be suffering from the same problems that seem to plague them every year. They remain uncertain at the back and display a real lack of character whenever they have found themselves under heavy pressure, so although the quarter finals will be a minimum expectation, this will most likely be the furthest they go unless they avoid the top sides – particularly Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona.

Both of last year’s finalists; Inter and Bayern, have looked extremely underwhelming so far this season. Without the injured Arjen Robben, Bayern have looked painfully mediocre for long periods, but they still look set to top Group E, ahead of Roma. If the draw is favourable to them, they might just have a chance of reaching the semi finals, but their reliance on Robben will once again be huge. One sign for encouragement, though, is the sudden improvement of Mario Gomez. The big-money signing from Stuttgart struggled to impress in his first season at the Allianz Arena, but he has now scored 16 goals in 20 appearances this season. Inter, however, will now almost certainly finish second in Group A behind Tottenham Hotspur and this will most likely mean they have to face one of the favourites for the competition in the next round. Unless they are lucky enough to be drawn with Shakhtar or Schalke, the writing may well be on the wall for them unless they make drastic changes in the January transfer window. The squad is finally beginning to show its age, and Rafael Benitez is already under huge pressure, following a multitude of disappointing results and unacceptable performances so far this season.

I would love to be able to predict great success for Shakhtar Donetsk or Copenhagen, but truthfully speaking, it will be a colossal surprise if any team other than those already mentioned features in the Wembley final. If I had to predict an outsider to cause a few shocks, it would be Tottenham. They are absolutely desperate for a top class midfield enforcer to replace the wasteful and clumsy Wilson Palacios, and they still lack the world-renowned goalscorer they searched so hard for in the summer, but Rafael Van Der Vaart, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon have already proven they can expose just about any defence around. They have beaten Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Inter in the last 6 months or so, but under the extreme pressure of a Champions League knockout match, it would be no great surprise to see them crumble.

After failing to reach the finish line last season, Barcelona will be determined to re-claim the Champions League trophy and it’s looking increasingly likely that they will do so this year. The only hope for the rest of Europe is that Manchester United or Chelsea face them as early as possible and somehow nullify them in order to grind out a positive result over two legs. If they reach the final, there is simply no way they will be stopped in a one-off match if they reach the levels they are capable of finding.

With just one more set of group stage matches to go, many teams have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages, but few did it better than Barcelona. Although Valencia destroyed Bursaspor 6-1, Barcelona played their usual brand of spectacular football, and they crushed Panathinaikos 3-0.Right now the teams which have mathematically qualified for the knockout stages are:

Tottenham Hotspur, Inter Milan, Schalke 04, Manchester United, Valencia, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan.

Among the qualified teams you have some surprises, the newcomers Tottenham Hotspur fought well for their spot defeating the German side Werder Bremen 3-0 at home. Aaron Lennon was devastating on the right wing as he provided two assists with phenomenal runs. Eunice Kaboul netted the first with a great volley, Modric scored the second after Crouch headed it down into the Croatian’s path to control and volley, and then the big Englishman Crouch got a goal as well, tapping in from close range after Lennon had nutmegged a defender before passing it to him.

Inter Milan also qualified with their 1-0 win over Twente, and although the Italian side has been going through difficult times with a big injury list, Rafa Benitez’s side played excellently. Although the nerazzurri hit the woodwork a couple of times, the lone goal was scored by Cambiasso who reacted first to get on the end of a deflection off of Sneijder’s free kick. But Twente were dangerous as well, they clipped the crossbar late in the second half after a well worked chance, but the nerazzurri had already won. If you’re interested in a full breakdown of how Italian teams are doing in the Champions League, click here.

Manchester United also won, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team defeated Rangers 1-0 at Ibrox Stadium with a late penalty scored by Wayne Rooney. Rangers had played well throughout the match, and although the red devils had some good chances during the match, they never capitalized. But the win arrived with Wayne Rooney scoring the late penalty and celebrating with plenty of intensity.

What are your thoughts regarding the teams which have qualified? Make sure to share your thoughts regarding the Champions League matches below!

It is quite early to discuss next season’s Champions League particularly with the World Cup looming ahead but Inter’s historic treble was much more than a great achievement. It proved once again how difficult it is to repeat as a champion in Europe’s elite club competition. For the Nerazzurri winning the Champions League is the ultimate experience having waited for more than four decades to repeat as champions of Europe.

President Massimo Moratti helped fund the building of the Nerazzurri squad and brought in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho with the specific objective of bringing European glory to Milan considering the current Serie A title holder have not won the Champions League since the 1960s. Previous boss Roberto Mancini succeeded in breaking the dominance of Juventus and Milan since the early 1990s but failed to combine domestic success with an extended run in Europe’s elite competition as he never guided the Nerazzurri to the Final.

Mourinho succeeded in winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League yet he is racing to the exit door leaving the Nerazzurri in a delicate situation following the best season in the club’s history. Players such as Maicon and Diego Milito are now being linked with a move to Real Madrid which is Mourinho’s likely destination. It is only time before Mourinho is confirmed as the boss in Madrid unless he has a change of heart and opts to stay with the Nerazzurri. Other clubs are beginning to assess their chances of luring some of Inter’s key players to leave the peninsula as Arsenal have reportedly shown interest in goalkeeper Julio Cesar while Manchester City are looking to capture midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. These reports might not become reality but all these claims are a major distraction for a club celebrating a historic treble and with some of the star players headed to South Africa 2010.

Assuming Mourinho and some of the players jump ship, the Nerazzurri will be losing some key components while skipper Javier Zanetti is only getting older despite his consistent displays. Zanetti deserves credit for his fighting spirit and for putting in solid performances time and again despite his age. Below is a brief look at some of Inter’s main competitors for next season:

Barcelona: The former holders were ousted by Inter and will be looking to regain their lost title. Barca are one of the most talented teams in the world with Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez leading the charge. Barca have added a star name in the shape of striker David Villa while the Catalans remain in pursuit of Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas. If they do sign Fabregas then the team will likely start the next La Liga season and Champions League campaign as one of the favourites.

Real Madrid: The record winners of the Champions League will welcome with open arms Mourinho who has made it clear he will only leave the Nerazzurri for Madrid. In Madrid he will have greater individual talent to work with yet less of a cohesive unit and a weaker team spirit. Mourinho will be motivated to turn this team of stars into a strong and unified squad. Los Galacticos already have former Milan idol Kaka and world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks but it would not be a surprise if Mourinho asked for Maicon and Diego Milito to be signed from Inter. If they do, then Los Galacticos will be considered as a firm favourite considering they only missed on La Liga title by three points and many forget it does take time for news players to gel together.

Chelsea: Ironically Mourinho was shown the doors at Stamford Bridge because he failed to bring European glory to the London club but he did punish his former employers by eliminating them in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating them twice home and away. Chelsea hired former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian succeeded in leading the Blues to a historic double by winning the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge. Ancelotti made it clear his main objective for next season is to repeat the domestic double and to win in Europe. While Chelsea have a strong squad with experience and talent, the players as individuals are below the talent level of Spanish giants Real and Barca.

Bayern Munich: Bayern proved they are a solid team after a slow start to the season and the final in Madrid was perhaps a small representation of their season as they only began to show their potential after conceding the first goal to Inter’s hero Milito. The Bavarians will have Arjen Robben (despite rumours linking him with Juventus;  just unlikely to happen for a number of reasons) and French star Franck Ribery will apparently return after missing the Champions League final due to suspension. The Germans are a solid group but like Chelsea they are not on par with Real and Barca if individuals are compared on a position by position basis.

Manchester United: Manchester have one of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson but he can certainly be stubborn leading him to make the odd mistake here and there, particularly when it comes to offloading certain players or refusing to bring in the appropriate players to replace outgoing stars. The Red Devils did not replace Cristiano Ronaldo and their challenge for Chelsea in the Premiership and before that in the Champions League tie against Bayern  faltered once it became clear Wayne Rooney is carrying injury. If Manchester do not sign a couple of solid players, in particular one goal scorer to complement Rooney, then they will likely fall short in the early knockout stages with perhaps a quarter-final spot at best.

There are other less likely contenders but the strongest ones would be Italian duo Roma and Milan yet the two sides have a number of limitations such as their restricted budget for bringing in players and in the case of the Rossoneri an aging squad. Milan will need Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato to stay and will hope a capable coach will take charge at Milanello to promote a few promising players from the youth sector and sign a number of quality players to reinforce the team. As for Roma they have do not have a deep bench and their first team is often riddled with injuries due to the age of some key players such as Francesco Totti. It is unlikely either squad will win the Champions League but they can play the role of a spoiler if their stars remain healthy and fit.

It is quite hard to repeat in the Champions League as shown by the famous Milan side in the 1990s which dismantled Barca 4-0 in an epic encounter only to loss the next year in the final to Ajax Amsterdam who in turn were defeated the following year by Juventus. The Bianconeri would go on to play in two more consecutive finals yet the curse of repeating would also prove to be their downfall despite having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (at his peak).