“A shimmy and shammy as purty as a Tennessee beauty queen saw Iniesta glide through a sluggish Espanyol defence to set Barcelona on their way in what was, considering the bust-ups of recent years, a somewhat boring Catalan derby. Barcelona just need a single point against Levante on Wednesday to win the title, providing Real Madrid dodge their local civic duty and beat Getafe the day before.” FourFourTwo
“Clever footballers seem destined to fail. When Craig Bellamy questioned Roberto Mancini’s tactics at Manchester City last season, he was punished – and rightly so, said the pundit mafia – but what if he was right? What if an eloquent, insightful player did know better than his consistently average manager?” surreal football
Pieter Brueghel the Elder
“In his earliest days at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo would react to tackles on the training ground with a yelp and sometimes a quick roll on the ground. His new team-mates – Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs among them – took him aside and advised him to be less theatrical: not out of righteousness, but because they knew it was the wrong signal for him to send to opponents in the Premier League.” Guardian
“Below are MOTD video highlights for all the EPL matches on May 7, 2011. The full edition of MOTD can be viewed here.” The 90th Minute
“Every Monday I look at my email account with trepidation. Since the first week of the season around 3pm I get that ‘ping’ sound signifying the arrival of the latest excuse from the pen of Avram Grant. Although it is obviously not from Avram, but rather from someone employed in the club to make such trivial facts such as we are bottom of the Premier League with just three games to go seem inconsequential.” The Ball is Round
“Soccer fans, heave a collective sigh of relief – no pun intended. So much theater, so much wrestling, so much on the line, so much falling over coupled with ankle grabbing and head embracing — the four Clásicos are finally over. Now back to football. Is there so much on the line (millions of dollars aside) when Real Madrid and Barcelona meet that the players have to forsake playing the game for a bout (or four consecutive rounds) of shadowboxing? Do we even have anything close in MLS?” Yanks are coming
“Late drama saw both sides pick up a point at White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp left out Aaron Lennon, using Rafael van der Vaart on the right, and two strikers. Danny Rose made a rare start at left-back. Ian Holloway played his usual 4-3-3 formation. Sergei Kornilenko started as part of a front three, probably as he’d done well against Spurs earlier in the season. This was an open game with plenty of goalscoring chances. A draw was probably an accurate reflection of the balance of play, though neither goal seemed to owe much to tactics.” Zonal Marking
Kévin Gameiro
“The quota controversy that has dominated the French media agenda this week means that Marseille’s 1-1 draw at home to Auxerre last Sunday did not yield the level of scrutiny you might expect from an unscheduled setback for the reigning league champions.” Football Further
“Are all obsessed sports fans miserable and obnoxious? Can we be a “hyperpartisan” fan without falling into those categories? Is every type of fan capable of being a total idiot? We explore all these aspect of fandom and more.” SB Nation
“In their third and fourth match up of this season, Twente and Ajax will meet in both the final of the Dutch Cup next Sunday and in what may be called the final of the Eredivisie on Sunday May 15. Both managers have already expressed themselves in clichés such as “the Cup is a very important prize” and “our next match is always the most important one”, but the general feeling is that this weekend’s Cup final is overshadowed by the importance of the Eredivisie title decider next week. And it’s not just the title that is decided, but both teams may even end up losing their Champions League ticket in the case of a loss next week, with PSV aiming to regain second place.” 11 tegen 11
“Sir Alex Ferguson has made some astute transfer decisions in his 24-year spell at Old Trafford. Signing the likes of Peter Schmeichel, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Cristiano Ronaldo has proved to be of huge benefit to Manchester United, while the manager has often released players at the right time, too — Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis were shocking departures, but none ever recreated the form he showed for the Red Devils.” ESPN
“I am here to save your life, and I’m not kidding. This isn’t about the state of discourse on the internet, or nostalgia for some imaginary pastoral of 1950s civility, or making sure I don’t get yelled at in blog comments. This is about you, and how you are going to live in the world. I mean how you’re going to live as a sports fan, but let there be no limit to the revelation: I mean how you’re going to live in every other way, too.” Run of Play
“Through the years many football managers have been known to put the fear of God into their players, but there has been only one who has terrified them by killing off God completely. I’m talking of course about the great European coach of the mid-1800s, Friedrich Nietzsche. The ‘God is dead’ story is the stuff of legend but first let us take a look at the, sadly neglected, early career of arguably the first great European manager.” Fisted Away
“Nice video of Barcelona’s off the ball movement here…” YouTube
“Even with an XI resembling a reserve side, Manchester United were extremely comfortable against Schalke, and will face Barcelona at Wembley later this month. Sir Alex Ferguson made numerous changes to his side, rotating hugely ahead of the weekend visit of Chelsea. Dimitar Berbatov made a rare European start upfront, whilst Nani and Anderson were other notable starters. Ralf Rangnick brought in Sergio Escudero and Benedikt Howedes, and started Julian Draxler in place of Edu, which meant that Raul moved further forward.” Zonal Marking
“IBWM’s man in Buenos Aires on why South America’s leading club competition is so much more than a Champions League equivalent.” In Bed with Maradona
“All they had was 20 minutes. It was February 10, 1999 and Italy were sparring in a friendly against Norway under the leaning tower of Pisa when Dino Zoff threw on a 22-year-old Francesco Totti to play alongside Roberto Baggio.” FourFourTwo
“El Diego and Michel Platini on the same pitch. And who do you think came out on top? Something was beginning to happen in Southern Italy.” In Bed With Madadona
Pedro, David Villa
“Barcelona rarely looked under real pressure and completed a 3-1 aggregate victory. Pep Guardiola named the expected XI – Andres Iniesta returned from injury to replace Seydou Keita. Javier Mascherano continued at centre-back, with Carles Puyol at left-back. Jose Mourinho switched to his 4-2-3-1 system but made two surprise selections. Kaka was in ahead of Mesut Ozil, whilst Gonzalo Higuain started upfront. Mourinho was not in attendance at the stadium (as far as is known at time of publishing) so assistant Aitor Karanka was in charge for the night.” Zonal Marking
Barcelona 1 – 1 Real Madrid
“Barcelona comfortably advanced to the Champions League final following a 1-1 draw at home to fierce rivals Real Madrid at Camp Nou. Following a completely one-sided first half in which Madrid keeper Iker Casillas kept his side in the game, Pedro gave Pep Guardiola’s team the lead nine minutes into the second period.” ESPN
Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 1: match report
“For those who came to the Nou Camp expecting a fight, a football match broke out, a decent one. After all the play-acting and name-calling, this was an El Clasico more worthy of the name, ending with the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, a zephyr with the ball, heading towards Wembley. There were still noises off, squalls of complaints, particularly about the embarrassing Javier Mascherano, who again auditioned for panto, but this was a far less heated affair than earlier episodes of the Antics Road Show.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Barcelona hold off Real Madrid threat to reach Champions League final
“The last instalment of a four-match, 18-day scorpion dance that became nastier by the hour was a proper contest in which Real Madrid recovered their attacking urges but Barcelona advanced to a probable meeting with Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley. ‘This has been one of the most beautiful nights I have ever lived,’ said Pep Guardiola, the Barça coach.” Guardian
FC Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid (El Clasico) – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
The 90th Minute
“Already the vultures are hovering. Porto will be back in the Champions League next season, but the problem is that it is unlikely to be this Porto, the side that has dropped just four points in the league all season, and swept all before it in Europe.” SI – Jonathan Wilson
“Supporters of Vasco da Gama filed away sadly — some of them angrily — on Sunday after their team suffered a defeat on penalties in a Rio championship final against great local rivals Flamengo. But along with the sorrow, the last few days also brought the fans a reason to be cheerful. One of their favorite players is returning to the club, and the story has an uplifting twist.” SI – Tim Vickery
“On walking through the streets of Paris this spring, it was hard not to be confronted by Nike’s landmark agreement to sponsor the French national team. The glossy posters showing Florent Malouda, Yann M’vila, Abou Diaby and Alou Diarra standing, arms crossed with steely determination, gave off the sense that a changing of the guard had taken place. Fifty-seven years with Adidas had been consigned to history, the coveted rights prised away with the promise of an annual cheque worth €42.6m until 2018.” FourFourTwo
“It started deep inside the Brazilian half, the Seleção playing at walking pace, the orb in their thrall. The sun beats down on Mexico City’ s Azteca Stadium; the grass cowers from the incandescent barrage but Brazil’s golden shirts seem gloriously imbued with sunlight. Time moves slowly. The seconds that tick by are incidental.” The Equaliser
“Energie Cottbus’s hopes of promotion to the Bundesliga were ended for another season, but Augsburg now need just one win from their final two games to secure a place in the top flight. The final game of 2. Bundesliga’s Round 32 pitted 6th-placed Energie Cottbus against 2nd-placed FC Augsburg.” Defensive Midfielder
Sandro Botticelli
“Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona feature some of the best soccer players on earth, are the world’s two richest clubs, embody drastically opposed philosophies of the game, have combined to win more than 140 trophies, and share a complex, antagonistic history that ties their rivalry inescapably to the Spanish Civil War. (Fascists kidnapped and executed Barcelona’s club president in 1936; the Franco regime used Madrid as a symbol of Spanish nationalism.) Any game between these two clubs is a big deal. Four Clásicos in 18 days is, in the soccer universe, a quasar.” Slate – Brian Phillips
Barcelona v Real Madrid: tactical preview
“Amongst the squabbling, appealing and conspiracy theories, there’s a football match to play tonight at the Camp Nou. Now into the fourth part of a four-part Clasico series, there’s relatively little left to say about the potential tactics of both managers. We’ve had one win for Pep Guardiola, one win for Jose Mourinho (in extra time) and one draw. We’ve had different formations, different players and wildly different patterns to matches, and it’s difficult to predict what more can reasonably be expected tonight.” Zonal Marking
On Mind Games
“Listening to the most recent ESPN Soccernet Podcast seemed to confirm the notion that there is a persistent, perhaps all-too-British, unreconstructed lapdog approach to covering Jose Mourinho.” Run of Play
“The memories came flooding back last week when the draw was held for the Under-20 World Cup, which kicks off in Colombia at the end of July. Ten years ago I travelled up there for the Copa America. It was the first time that Colombia had staged a major tournament, and some doubted that they could do it. The political moment in the country was tense, with guerrilla forces offering a threat. In the build-up to the tournament there were car-bomb attacks in some of the major cities, and then the vice-president of the Colombian FA was kidnapped.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“The English FA’s website wonders plaintively how players such as Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho and Roberto Carlos managed to ‘develop skills that set them apart… What did they do as youngsters that provided them with the basis to becoming some of the world’s best players?’ Reading this you might think that the FA are about to reveal new plans for youth development. But the article continues: ‘If you are interested in the answer then you need to learn more about a game called futsal.’” WSC
“Sami Hyypia called time on his outstanding career yesterday, retiring from Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 37. Even in the twilight of his career, Hyypia gave the Bundesliga club a glimpse of the consistent greatness he displayed throughout his ten years at Liverpool. Sami helped Leverkusen to a 4th place finish in 2009-10, his only full season at the club and was named to the Bundesliga Team of the Season.” Anfield On The Hudson
“On Thursday evening, as I sat clad in shorts basking in the warm spring sunshine and savouring a tipple in the company of good people, I began to shuffle nervously as conversation quickly turned to the previous nights activities at the Santiago Bernabeu. The reason for my sudden anxiousness was not down to any strong affiliation with Real Madrid, nor was it down to any kind of discomfort brought about by the searing heat (18 degrees – I’m British), but rather because I knew exactly what was coming. To be more specific, I knew exactly what was coming from one particular corner of the table.”
Five in Midfield
“The 1960s: skirts got shorter, and it seems that memories got shorter too. Larkin’s verse above exemplifies this. Written looking back on the ‘Annus Mirabilis’ from 1967, he conveniently ignores that his own sexual career started much earlier than this.” The Equaliser
“While writing this I’m still shaking. My dad just called me to ask what the final score was. With a smile from ear to ear I told him Ajax won. Goals from the Serbian, Miralem Sulejmani and wunderkid Christian Eriksen gave Ajax the three points. Once again it wasn’t a great performance but I couldn’t care less in this phase of the season. A win and only a win counts. The lads gave us that today.” World of Ajax
Heerenveen 1 – 2 Ajax: Eredivisie title race still open
“Ajax managed a narrow win in this must-win game away at Heerenveen. But with both sides putting in far better offensive than defensive performances, this match could easily have gone another way.” 11 tegen 11
“Goals continue to flow at Anfield under Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool strengthened their claim for European football next season with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. The Reds, who have scored 14 in their last three home matches, moved above Tottenham into fifth place having rarely been troubled by the Magpies. Dirk Kuyt’s eighth in his last seven Premier League matches was sandwiched between another for Maxi Rodriguez, who hit a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over Birmingham last week, and one for the impressive Luis Suarez.” ESPN
Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“Arsenal’s recent poor run against Manchester United came to an end, thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s cool finish. Ramsey was only playing because Arsenal were without Cesc Fabregas through injury. Otherwise, Arsene Wenger’s side was as expected. Sir Alex Ferguson brought Nani into the side in place of Antonio Valencia, whilst Anderson also played in the centre of midfield.” Zonal Marking
Wayne Rooney finds the Fountain of Youth
“As humans, agelessness is something we have always sought to attain. Be it in physical form or alive in intellect, the search for eternal youth is ever-ongoing. The most easiest way is to hold on to what you have thus aiming to prolong it’s existence but like a F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, are almost certainly to be crushed by the ravages of success and it’s idealisms: the cut-glass age is better left to the hands of time. Yet, for some people, you will find that they are almost resistance to inevitably that engulfs us and watching, Wayne Rooney, it seems he is one such person.” The Arsenal Column
Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“Chelsea turned the game around after bringing on players more suited to their system. Carlo Ancelotti started with Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba, assisted by Florent Malouda. The natural shape with the XI that started seemed to be a diamond midfield, or possibly even a lopsided 4-4-2, but Ancelotti had other plans.” Zonal Marking
“When Real Madrid ran out to warm up before Hell Clásico last Wednesday, 10 of Jose Mourinho’s players strode en masse to the far side for some final drills, almost like soldiers filing at speed on to a parade ground.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Simeon Jackson
“When Canadian international forward Simeon Jackson struck the last-gasp winner for Norwich City against Derby County last weekend, it was incredibly the 12th goal that the Canaries had scored in the 90th minute or later this season. This is a sign of a team that never knows when it is beaten and this resilience is just one of the reasons for Norwich’s impressive surge to a highly commendable second place in the Championship. Paul Lambert’s team stand on the threshold of the Premier League, which would mean a second successive promotion and represents a remarkable turnaround in the club’s fortunes.” Swiss Ramble
“With an inevitably that feels like it has been building for about two months, Marseille returned to the Ligue 1 summit after a 4-2 win at Mediterranean neighbours Nice on Wednesday night. Lille’s 1-1 draw at Lorient last Sunday – a magnificent game of football – had given the champions an opportunity to sneak to the top of the pile that they duly took, thanks to a hat-trick from André Ayew and a first Marseille goal for his younger sibling, Jordan.” Football Further
France football heads mired in race row over alleged quotas for ethnic players
“France has been plunged into a fresh race crisis after claims that football officials tried to limit black and Arab players on youth training schemes to make the French team more white. The French football federation has opened an internal investigation after website Mediapart reported that top management approved a quota system to limit young black players and those of north African origin emerging as candidates for the national team.” Guardian
“Today is the last day to vote for the Best EPL Blog (qualification round). Since there are so many good Premier League-related blogs to choose from, we decided to have a qualification round for many. Out of these, the top three winners (the polls close at midnight tonight) will enter the final round of voting next week for the Best EPL Blog.” EPL Talk
“Villarreal were 1-0 up at half time, but a superb second half performance from Porto puts them fully in charge of the tie. Andre Villas Boas used his usual 4-3-3 system. Cristian Sapanaru was at right-back, and Cristian Rodriguez was wide left. Juan Carlos Garrido named a side which seemed to be his usual 4-2-2-2 before kick off. Nilmar and Giuseppe Rossi were supported by Cani and Santi Cazorla, two wide players who come inside, and Borja Valero and Bruno Soriano, two classic deep-lying Spanish ball-playing midfielders. Jose Catala was surprisingly used at left-back over Joan Capdevila.” Zonal Marking
“Football and religion have always been intertwined; from teams such as Manchester City and Everton being formed as church teams to the likes of Gavin Peacock entering the church in their post-football careers. Indeed, many believe that football is a new religion, with star players being treated as deities and their importance within society being debated long into the night. One player, however, had doubts as to its significance.” The Equaliser
“In spite of not having done anything in particular this week out of the ordinary, Thursday night has arrived and I’ve still not yet put up Argentines Abroad. I have had two contributions sent in, though, from Spain and Mexico, so it would be remiss of me not to at least put those up. To find out how Argentines did in Spain between last week’s Copa Del Rey clásico and this week’s installment in the European Cup, and how Emanuel Villa, Damián Álvarez et al did in Mexico last weekend, just read on. Complete with videos!” Hasta El Gol Siempre
“What is the fundamental importance of football? The support of its fans. Brendan begins our three piece ‘For Sake of the Game‘ feature with an overview of the predicament modern football finds itself in, before a swift follow up through both sides of the debate later next week.” The Oval Log
“Lionel Messi scored a poacher’s strike and then a superb solo effort to give Barcelona a major advantage in the tie. Jose Mourinho named his expected side – Lassana Diarra was in for Sami Khedira, whilst Raul Albiol came in for the suspended Ricardo Carvalho. Pep Guardiola also chose the side expected in the preview. Carles Puyol returned from injury to fill in at left-back, whilst Seydou Keita replaced the injured Andres Iniesta. The game was scrappy, dirty and not particularly pleasing on the eye. For much of the contest, the objective of both sides seemed to be to get opposition players sent off, rather than actually try to score a goal. Tactically, it wasn’t fascinating for long periods.” Zonal Marking
Jose Mourinho claims Barcelona benefit from refereeing conspiracy after stormy Champions League loss
“Mourinho made mention of four officials: Anders Frisk, who he claimed received a half-time visit from Frank Rijkaard, the then Barcelona coach, in 2005; Tom Henning Ovrebo, who turned down a succession of Chelsea penalty claims against Barcelona in 2009; Massimo Busacca, who sent off Arsenal’s Robin van Persie at Camp Nou this season, and Wolfgang Stark, who showed a red card to Real’s Pepe on Wednesday. Mourinho was also expelled.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 2: match report
“Two moments of beauty stood out amidst the beastliness of the Game of Shame last night. Two moments of magic from Lionel Messi, his second goal echoing Diego Maradona’s dribbled gem against England in 1986, rescued this match from the dark ages. Clasico, crasico. But for Messi remembering that football should be about joy, adventure and imagination, and Xavi also playing with style, this was the game that dignity forgot. There was no respect, no charm, no integrity.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Messi puts Barca on brink of Wembley
“Lionel Messi struck twice late on as Barcelona took a huge step towards the Champions League final with a 2-0 semi-final, first leg win over 10-man Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Messi, taking his tally to 52 in all competitions this season, netted in the 76th and 87th minutes – the second a typically brilliant solo effort – to settle an ill-tempered clash which saw Madrid defender Pepe sent off in the 61st minute.” ESPN
Barcelona and Real face UEFA action
“Both Barcelona and Real Madrid will face disciplinary proceedings from UEFA after their tempestuous Champions League semi-final first-leg tie at the Bernabeu. Barcelona won the game 2-0 thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi, but the clash was littered with unsportsmanlike behaviour, diving and fights. After the match, Real boss Jose Mourinho (who had been sent to the stands during the game for comments made to the fourth official) then launched into a tirade about the influence that the Catalan side have over European football.” ESPN
Negative Soccer Mars Real Madrid vs Barcelona Semi-Final
“Thank goodness the embarrassing spectacle of Real Madrid against Barcelona in the Champions League was played out in the semi-final of the tournament instead of the finale. The first leg of the semi-final was an example of everything that people hate about soccer. Barcelona players crowding the referee on several occasions to influence his decision. Players exaggerating contact. Poor refereeing decisions. The referee stopping and starting the game seemingly every few minutes. Off the pitch pushing and shoving. This is not what soccer is about. This was anti-soccer.” EPL Talk – Video
Champions League press reaction: ‘Mourinho has perverted history’
“If José Mourinho was feeling disgusted after Barcelona’s controversial 2-0 victory over his Real Madrid team, the Spanish press contained little to soothe his feelings. While figures from both sides offered predictably opposed views about the dismissal of Pepe which had such a major effect on the Champions League semi-final first leg at the Bernabéu, most commentators took a dim view of the Portuguese coach’s approach to the game and his complaints afterwards.” Guardian
Real Madrid 0-2 FC Barcelona – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
The 90th Minute
“Manchester United were superior throughout the 90 minutes and could have won by a much greater margin.
Ralf Rangnick was without Benedikt Höwedes at the back, which meant Joel Matip had to play at centre-back. Other than that, it was the expected team in the expected formation. Sir Alex Ferguson omitted Nani to play Antonio Valencia on the right, and played Fabio behind him. The side was the same as the XI that started against Chelsea, with the exception of one Brazilian twin in for the other.” Zonal Marking
Schalke 0 Manchester United 2: match report
“Manchester United are so close to Wembley they can see the traffic. They moved to within touching distance of the final of the Champions League with a performance that was so mature, so mesmerizing that it must rank up there with their greatest ever.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
United dismantle Schalke to close in on final
“Barring an unlikely Schalke victory at Old Trafford next week, Manchester United will contest the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28 after a one-sided encounter in Germany. Ryan Giggs and the outstanding Wayne Rooney scored United’s goals in a two-minute second-half spell in the semi-final first leg at the Vetlins-Arena. Prior to that, though, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men had wasted an astonishing 13 chances to score – 11 of them coming before the break.” ESPN
Schalke 0-2 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
The 90th Minute
“As all of my regular readers know, I am a red-blooded Liverpool fan. Given the choice, I never walk alone. As such, much was my dismay when earlier this year, my beloved Reds found themselves in the relegation zone during the first few months of the EPL season. At the same time, since January, I have become elated with their success with King Kenny Dalglish at the helm. The turn-around has been remarkable, and yet paradoxical at the same time. While the personnel changed somewhat (sulky Torres out, Suarez and Carroll in), this small change in personnel to me should not a complete turn-around make.” Yanks Are Coming
“Just as the Champions League has a qualification round to narrow down the field of teams that will compete in the Champions League proper, this year’s EPL Awards has had to do the same in the ‘Best EPL Blog’ category due to the sheer quantity of quality blogs this season.” EPL Talk
“Schalke have reached their first-ever European Cup semi, whilst United are in their fourth in the last five seasons. The headline news is that Dimitar Berbatov hasn’t travelled because of a groin strain. On face value, the absence of the Premier League’s top scorer should be quite a blow, but considering that Ferguson has only picked Berbatov for one of United’s last ten Champions League knockout games, it really shouldn’t cause too much concern.” Zonal Marking
“First we take Colchester….then we take Sudbury. Not my words, or those of Leonard Cohen but actually Boudica in AD61 when she attacked the Roman garrison and capital of Britain, raising it to the ground resulting in the centre of power moving down the Roman road to a little settlement called Londinium.” The Ball is Round
“This infographic about Real Salt Lake’s road to the two-legged final of the CONCACAF Champions League is pretty damn awesome, and more than worth glancing at ahead of tomorrow’s second leg in Salt Lake, with the Americans tied 2-2 on aggregate with Monterrey of Mexico. It’s informative for the newbie, and interesting enough for the nerd.” Pitch Invasion
“Eight years after your last Champions League semi-final, you’re back in the last four of Europe’s premier competition – having left Real Madrid. Many thought your departure was the beginning of the end. Instead, you’re the story of the season.” Guardian
“The Seventh and final Glasgow Derby of the season ended in a stalemate. Chances were few and far between, but Celtic had a glorious opportunity to secure all three points late on as they awarded a penalty. However Greek International Georgios Samaras was denied by a great save from Rangers keeper Allan McGregor. Despite the game ending all square, the league title is Celtic’s to lose. Rangers may be a point ahead, but Celtic have a game in hand against Terry Butcher’s Inverness Caley and even if they take a draw from that game, the Parkhead side would go top on goal difference. If a win was secured then Celtic would lead by two points with four games left remaining of the season.” Scotzine
“On the pitch, last week was a splendid one for Brazilian football. Fluminense’s dramatic qualification for the knockout stages of the Copa Libertadores meant that Brazil did not have a single team eliminated in the group phase – while Argentina lost three. The Brazilian sides also managed to avoid each other in the second round, creating the possibility of the competition’s last eight featuring five teams from the same country.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“The relegation from and promotion to the Premier League is starting to shape up. Still room for decisions and intrigue but nowhere near as unclear as it was a few weeks ago. First, Premier League relegation. In my opinion the bottom six teams are still in the fight. Those above that could, technically, face trouble based on their points total but it’s tough to imagine all six teams below them doing enough to overtake them. So that leaves us with this setup…” EPL Talk
“When they first ran into each other, Mourinho was assisting Bobby Robson while Guardiola was Barcelona captain and darling. Staff versus family, outsider versus insider: as Mourinho’s world collides with Guardiola’s again, a past dynamic underpins the present drama. As Mourinho prepares a Champions League ambush for Guardiola’s side in the Bernabéu this Wednesday, some of the energy fuelling his astonishing career surely stems from a desire to prove himself to Barcelona, whose faithful still deride him as ‘The Translator’.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
“‘Typical Germans,’ Sir Alex Ferguson sneered after Manchester United’s away-goals quarterfinal exit against Bayern Munich (4-4 on aggregate) in the Champions League 12 months ago. The Scot was referring to the perceived gamesmanship of Ivica Olic, Franck Ribéry, Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who all made sure referee Nicola Rizzoli was well aware that United defender Rafael had already been on a yellow card before his dismissal.” SI
“Our topics for rumination and mastication include showing a bit of love to Arsène Wenger after yet another late collapse by the Gunners; celebrating the end of Fernando Torres’s goal drought; and wondering whether Liverpool can pip Tottenham into fifth place and squeak into Europe. Plus, we look ahead to the Champions League semi-finals and catch up with the goings on in Serie A, the Bundseliga and La Liga (where Lionel Messi has scored his 50th goal of the season, and Real Madrid’s reserve side tonked third-place Valencia 6-3).” Guardian – James Richardson
Andrea Mantegna, Triumph of Caesar
“A Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick inspired Liverpool to their biggest win of the season and further prove, if anyone was still in doubt, that Kenny Dalglish is the man to lead the club forward. The little Argentinian was not necessarily brilliant but just put himself in the right places to capitalise on some impressive team play by a side brimming with the confidence instilled by the 60-year-old Scot.” ESPN
Liverpool 5-0 Birmingham City – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“Lionel Messi netted his 50th competitive goal of the season and David Villa ended his goal drought as Barcelona recovered from their Copa del Rey final defeat with a victory over Osasuna that keeps them firmly on course for the Primera Division title. Villa had gone 11 matches without finding the back of the net for his club – including Wednesday’s painful cup final loss to bitter rivals Real Madrid – but the Spain international was back on the mark to put a much-changed Barca ahead at the Camp Nou.” ESPN
FC Barcelona 2-0 Osasuna – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – La Liga
The 90th Minute
“Below are MOTD highlights for all the EPL matches on April 23, 2011. The full edition of MOTD can be viewed here.” The 90th Minute
“Like most people, I expected Kenny Dalglish to give Liverpool a lift. While he wouldn’t have been my first choice last summer (due to his time out of the game), such was the depression surrounding the team by the autumn that it was crying out for someone inspirational and in touch with the club. If a caretaker was needed, he had to be the man.” Tomkins Times
Scissors Kick 