Battle of ideologies means Inter and Barcelona provide feast for the neutral

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Mathematical Treatise
“After Internazionale had astonished the football world by pummelling Barcelona 3-1 in San Siro last week, a calm José Mourinho pronounced that his team’s chances of reaching the Champions League final had not changed. ‘They are still 50-50,’ he said. ‘We deserved this victory, but we’re a long way from the final. In the second leg in Barcelona we’ll be playing against a team who will be even stronger. Whether we get to the final or not, we’ll come home with our heads held very, very high’.” (Guardian)

Nicolas Otamendi is one of Argentina’s unsung heroes

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“First, because Maradona has made a point of playing friendlies with a squad solely made up of home-based players. Otamendi featured in the first of them, against Panama in May of last year, and was soon plunged straight into the tumultuous World Cup qualification campaign.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Pakistan Defends Its Soccer Industry

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“This is the city the soccer ball built, a global manufacturing hub in a nation starved for foreign capital and mired in terrorist violence. Nike Inc., the official soccer-ball supplier to Britain’s Premier League, gets soccer balls here. So does Denmark’s Select Sport A/S, which sells to the Danish national league and clubs across Europe. The city exports 30 million balls a year, or about 70% of the global output of hand-stitched soccer balls, and an estimated 40% of the total market. This summer’s World Cup is Sialkot’s latest win. Germany’s Adidas Group, licensed by soccer’s governing body to sell the official World Cup ball, has contracted with a company here to produce the entire supply of mass-market hand-stitched replicas of the ‘Jabulani” World Cup ball.” (WSJ)

Football Weekly: Guts and goals galore in the fight for the title

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“With just two weeks left of the Premier League season, it’s still all to play for at the top. Chelsea went goal crazy (again) to stay in control, but Manchester United put in a gut-wrenching performance – at least for Patrice Evra and Nani – to beat Tottenham Hotspur to stay in the hunt. James Richardson and his Football Weekly chums are here to analyse it all.” (Guardian – James Richardson)

Video: Noel Gallagher on His World Cup Memories

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“English bands have been as important in my life as football has been. Ever since a friend of mine introduced me to The Clash some 15 years ago, the plethora of bands to emerge from the UK that have affected my intellect and overall well being have been staggering. Minus godfathers like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, which, seemingly, everyone grew up with, bands like the Clash, the Smiths, the Jam, Joy Division, the Stone Roses, Radiohead, Oasis, Elbow and the Arctic Monkeys, to name just a few, are bands that are immensely important to me on a personal level.” (EPL Talk)

Stories of African (and English, and American) Soccer: Steve Zakuani and the Congo

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“There is a significant degree of chance in the fact that the last two top overall picks in the MLS draft, Steve Zakuani and Danny Mwanga, were both originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both players took circuitous routes to the league through the unpredictability of immigration and the strange concoction that is American college soccer. But their success in the US, however random, also says something about a place that is not likely to get much attention in this ‘Year of African Soccer.’” (Pitch Invasion)

From England to Nazareth: The hardest job in soccer

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“John Gregory used to be a contender. When the former England international took charge of Aston Villa in his first big coaching job, few expected him to transform the fortunes of the former European Cup winners. But by the end of 1998 Villa stood (albeit briefly) at the top of the English Premier League and was openly touted as the next England coach.” (CNN)(Must Read Soccer)

Berlin Undone, Bayern on Edge

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“After the Wall, Berlin’s Olympiastadion was one of the landmarks of German division. And after the now-united city’s team, Hertha, succumbed to a late goal on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Schalke, its relegation from the Bundesliga now looks to be inevitable. That means the former East German soccer league will have no representative in the country’s most affluent division. It also means the German capital city will have no team in the Bundesliga.” (NYT)

Roma 1-2 Sampdoria: awful second half display may cost Roma the title

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“A shock result if you didn’t see the game – and even more of a shock result if you did. Roma were magnificent in the first half, but somehow let their lead slip, as Giampaolo Pazzini converted two left-wing crosses to hand Roma their first defeat in 26 league games. After last weekend’s failed experiment with a 4-3-3 shape, Claudio Ranieri reverted to his customary lopsided 4-2-3-1 shape, with Luca Toni dropped at the expense of Jeremy Menez, who played on the right. Mirko Vucinic stayed wide-left, with Francesco Totti as a false nine.” (Zonal Marking)

The Monday Morning Link Emporium

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“We know how you feel. We share your pain. It’s Monday morning, and you’re sitting in front of your monitor, bleary-eyed and holding a cup of coffee with the consistency of molasses in your shaky hands. With that in mind, every Monday morning from now on we’ll be bringing you six of the best football articles from the outside world over the last couple of weeks or so, to help you put off that first spreadsheet for a while. Just don’t blame us if your boss catches you, and if you happen to come across anything that you feel would be appropriate to be shared with the rest of the world, just email us from the ‘Contact’ page on the site.” (twohundredpercent)

Cops and robbers in Ghana

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“Accra, Ghana – In a lot of African cities the divide between rich and poor is hard to miss. Shanty towns are squished between the majestic monuments and manicured lawns. This week I ventured into one such area, Jamestown, with Ghanaian journalist Isaac Kpelle. From a cinematic perspective Jamestown is absolutely gorgeous – crumbling colonial buildings, a tattered lighthouse, crowded alleyways and brightly coloured wooden fishing boats. Originally settled by the coastal Ga people, it was turned into a British fort (James Fort) in the 17th Century. Today it’s a hardened shanty area with a working port and home to many of Ghana’s best boxers (You can see more about the boxing here).” (ESPN)(Must Read Soccer)

Time For A Salary Cap in European Football?

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“It’s not only English clubs who are facing financial reality rather harshly these days, with pigeons back home and roosting all over the place. James Horncastle at Four Four Two’s French football blog, The French Connection, discusses a recent L’Equipe report that shows the scale of the losses at numerous clubs at the top levels of the game in France…” (Pitch Invasion)

No holds barred for Milito brothers in arms

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“FC Barcelona’s Gabriel Milito and elder brother Diego, of FC Internazionale Milano, may come face to face in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg but the defender, whose side trail 3-1 in the tie, told UEFA.com that sibling rivalry will be secondary at the Camp Nou.” (UEFA)

Palermo 3-1 Milan: the home side more comfortable in their formation

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Fabrizio Miccoli
“Milan’s Scudetto hopes are officially over, whilst Palermo move up into a Champions League position. The scoreline was a fair reflection of the game, as Palermo’s front three terrorized Milan’s makeshift back four. Palermo lined up in their customary 4-3-1-2 shape, with a traditional Italian front three – a central striker (Abel Hernandez), a seconda punta (Fabrizio Miccoli) and a trequartista (Javier Pastore). Fabio Liverani was the deepest of the three midfielders, with width coming from full-back.” (Zonal Marking)

Palermo 3-1 AC Milan – Recap and Video Highlights – Serie A – Saturday, April 24, 2010
“Palermo hosted AC Milan in the Italian Serie A on Saturday, April 24, 2010 looking to keep their Champions League hopes alive. A win for Palermo would move them into 4th with Sampdoria not playing until Sunday. AC Milan is out of the title race but has a comfortably lead over 4th place and likely to earn a Champions League spot for next season.” (The 90th Minute)

Lionel Messi: Argentina star player at World Cup 2010

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“Considered to be one of the finest players of his generation, Messi has seen his playing style and ability compare to those of Argentina head coach Diego Maradona, who has identified Messi as his successor. The diminutive winger has been playing the game since he was barely able to walk and his potential was quickly noticed by Barcelona.” (Telegraph)

Gerrard double relegates Clarets

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Peter Paul Rubens. A Peasant Dance
“Two goals from captain Steven Gerrard, a first Liverpool strike for Maxi Rodriguez and a late effort from Ryan Babel relegated Burnley from the Premier League and kept alive the Merseysiders’ distant hopes of finishing fourth. With two matches to play the Clarets cannot now catch 17th-placed West Ham and return to the Championship after just one season in the top flight.” (ESPN)

Burnley 0-4 Liverpool – Recap and Video Highlights – EPL – Sunday, April 25, 2010
“Liverpool still had slim hopes of Champions League football for next season but needed a win at Burnley. The two teams met at the Turf Moor on Sunday, April 25, 2010. Burnley have all but been relegated while Liverpool is in one of the Europa League spots before the match. A win for Liverpool would move them within two points of 4th place.” (The 90th Minute)

Reasons To Love (and Hate) All the teams in South Africa

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“So with the World Cup coming up, many of you will be looking for a team to follow either as a second team when your team inevitably gets knocked out in the Quarter Finals on Penalties (perhaps that one is just me) or because your team didn’t make it to South Africa. Either way, at some point you are going to need someone to follow. Often this is irrational and you just like a team. Sometimes you need a reason, sometimes you just inexplicably hate someone, or maybe they have a player you like from the club you follow.” (World Cup Blog)

Balotelli Brings More Heat Upon Himself

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“Last Tuesday, but for a small minority who had made the trip from Catalonia (by land, given the volcano ash cloud-related flight restrictions), San Siro stadium celebrated Inter Milan’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal. One man, clad in Inter’s distinctive black and blue colors, however, declined to join in the jubilation.” (WSJ)

2010 Copa Libertadores, Second Stage, Round of 16, with top 5 leading scorers

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“The map shows the 14 clubs through to the Round of 16, plus the two Mexican clubs who were allowed to pick up where they were a year ago prior to the H1N1 scare in Mexico that forced the two clubs, San Luis and Chivas Guadalajara, to pull out of the 2009 Copa Libertadores. Click on the gif below to see photos, with flag of the country of birth listed, for the top 5 scorers in the competition so far.” (billsportsmaps)

How Barcelona spawned Mourinho as its nemesis

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Pep Guardiola
“In 1996, José Mourinho suddenly became a powerful man. Aged only 33, the unknown Portuguese had come to Barcelona chiefly to translate for the English manager Bobby Robson. However, he fast turned into more than a translator. Mourinho took a duplex in the beach town of Sitges, near Robson’s house, and often talked football with him over dinner, recounts Mourinho’s biographer Patrick Barclay. He wrote dazzling scouting reports, and had one great advantage over his boss: he spoke Spanish. When Robson talked to players or the press, Mourinho interpreted. Many felt he added thoughts of his own.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

World Cup scouting: Jesús Navas (Spain)

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“If recent World Cup history teaches us anything, it’s that pre-tournament form is a fickle indicator of how sides will fare at the sport’s showpiece event. Favourites typically stumble at early hurdles (France and Argentina in 2002, Brazil in 2006) and the teams that make it to the final – as Italy and France demonstrated in 2006 – are often simply those that come into form at the right time.” (Football Further)

Are Academies the Cure for Scottish Football?

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“Former Scottish Labour politician and ex-East Fife player Henry McLeish’s 74-page Scottish Football Review was finally released to the public yesterday, recommending, among other things, the establishment of 20 football academies to save Scottish football from what McLeish calls ‘chronic underachievement’ at both the club and national level.” (Pitch Invasion)

How much would Ghana miss Essien?

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“At their first World Cup four years ago, Ghana’s campaign came off the wheels when Chelsea star and midfielder Michael Essien missed the second round clash against Brazil. Even with him the Black Stars’ hopes were slim but without a man whose group displays were heroic, those hopes were wafer-thin – as shown when Brazil won 3-0. Now Ghana’s World Cup dreams are being revised again with the news the midfielder may not just miss the last five months of Chelsea’s season but June’s finals as well, because of a nagging knee problem.” (BBC)

World Cup Preview: Group B

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“The 19th FIFA World Cup kicks off in eight weeks today, and as such Dotmund continues his almost-in-depth look ahead to this summer’s festivities. Today he continues his preview of each of the eight groups, having been sent foraging for facts on the internet with only his trusty big pencil for company. Up for examination in this week’s post, Group B.” (twohundredpercent)

Beauty and the best are not always the same beast

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“We need goodies. Therefore we need baddies. Human minds work that way. We can’t help turning any situation before us into a moral tale. Take politics: we even turn the choosing of a government into a contest between good and evil, or, at least, between awful and slightly less awful.” (TimesOnline)

Defeat to Mourinho’s Inter remains a bitter pill for Barca to swallow“It’s the ultimate in gloating — the traditional song that really, really rubs it in and stings like hell. You’ve traveled miles and miles to watch your team but hope has turned to despair, all you’ve eaten is a ropey sandwich at a service station and all you’ve drunk is a bottle of warm Coke that’s long since gone flat. Which might not be a bad thing, because there’s no way you’re trusting your backside to that toilet.” (SI)

Mourinho + Guardiola

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“There’s wily, and then there’s completely insane. Mourinho’s act with the media has always felt less like tactical posturing—the sort of thing Bill Parcells always used to get credit for, or that Rafa Benítez believes himself to be good at—than like the simple luxuriating of a man who likes sunning his ego in public. If there are two smart ways to deal with the media—be boring and say all the right things, or else stir up controversy for some deliberate purpose—Mourinho loves balancing on the precipice of Crazy Option #3, letting them know what you really think.” (Run of Play)

The Championship: Winners and Losers

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“The end of the season is a time to reflect on the nine months just gone. As we approach the season’s finale, it is time to consider: Who has overachieved, and who has flattered to deliver? Who has surprised us and who has underwhelmed us? Here we take a look at five clubs who have sparkled this year, and five more whose once bright lights have somewhat dimmed.” (thetwounfortunates)

World Cup Moments: Zidane’s Other World Cup Final Headers

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Zinedine Zidane
“For better or worse (probably worse) the one thing most people know about Zinedine Zidane is that he headbutted Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. But when we asked for your favourite World Cup moments it was Zidane’s other World Cup final appearance that got the most mentions, and what Zizou did with his head in 1998.” (World Cup Blog)

Brazil must reform its domestic league if it is to thrive

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“The 2010 version of the Brazilian championship kicks off with the presence of all four national team strikers from the last World Cup: Ronaldo, Adriano, Robinho and Fred. Meanwhile, Roberto Carlos is back from Europe, as are Vagner Love, Ewerthon and Lincoln.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Atlético Madrid 1 – 0 Liverpool

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“Liverpool failed to gain any reward for their valiant efforts in making the long-haul trip to Madrid as a familiar foe gave Atletico a 1-0 victory in their Europa League semi-final first leg. Former Manchester United striker Diego Forlan hit a scrappy winner in only the ninth minute but the tie is far from over and even without an away goal Rafael Benitez’s side will be optimistic of overturning the result at Anfield next week.” (ESPN)

WPS – Why I Love The Women’s Game

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“Closed-minded pundits point to one simple moment, one single article of clothing, to represent the rise of the Women’s game in the US: the Chastain Sports Bra. This moment encapsulates the twisted history of women’s sports – the double standards and the fleeting big media attention. In a word, I hate and love this moment. As do many WPS fans.” (futfanatico)

Bayern 1-0 Lyon: Unremarkable game, fair result

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Francois Perrier, Orpheus
“Some unfavourable games for the goal-loving neutral can turn out to be the most interesting for the tactical enthusiast. Sadly, this wasn’t really the case tonight, as a toothless Lyon went down to a relatively subdued Bayern in a muted contest. Bayern went for the expected side – Diego Contento at left-back and Danijel Pranjic in the middle. The Croatian sat slightly deeper than Bastian Schweinsteiger, tending to drift to the left to allow Contento to attack.” (zonalmarking)

Franck Ribéry shown red card but Bayern Munich claim first-leg victory
“Franck Ribéry’s nightmare week went from bad to worse last night as he was sent off in the first half of Bayern Munich’s 1-0 Champions League semi-final win over Lyons. The France winger will be suspended for next week’s second leg in his home country, compounding a miserable few days in which he has found himself mired in a sex scandal.” (TimesOnline)

Tactics: Lyon paralysed by chance of a lifetime
“With 53 minutes to play and their opponent a man down in last night’s Champions League semi-final first leg in Munich, Lyon spurned the chance of a lifetime simply by failing to react. Franck Ribéry’s dismissal handed the visitors the initiative in a huge and unignorable way, but rather than reacting, Claude Puel’s side froze.” (Football Further)

Bayern Munich 1-0 Lyon – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Wednesday, April 21, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League continued its semifinal round on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 with the first leg between Bayern Munich and Lyon. Both teams have upset teams in previous rounds and were not expected to go this far in the tournament. Bayern Munich hosted the first leg with the second scheduled to take place in France next Tuesday.” (The 90th Minute)

Sense and sensitivity

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“I was on my way out of a lecture by Menzi Simelane, South Africa’s director of public prosecutions, after having tried in vain to draw him on the subject of Julius Malema. ‘Excuse me,’ came a voice from the shadows. ‘Did I hear you say you’re a British journalist? I want to ask you a question. What do the British press think of South Africa?’ It’s a question I get asked more and more often as the football World Cup draws closer. Any negative UK headline or story quickly snowballs on the web and leaves South Africans feeling vexed. In short, they want to know of me, why do you hate us?” (Guardian)

Is the sweeper set for a return to prominence?

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Matthias Sammer, a classic sweeper
“Jonathan Wilson recently wrote in his excellent ‘The Question’ series about the possibility of the return of the sweeper to football. The sweeper prospered as the ’spare man’ in a three-man central defence up against a two-man attack, so now we have two-man central defences up against one-man attacks, should one centre-back not become a sweeper? The idea is music to the ears of anyone who fondly remembers Euro 96. The player of the tournament was Matthias Sammer, the sweeper in the German 3-4-1-2 system that went onto win the tournament. As well as being the most important player in defence, clearing up behind the two markers, he also had license to go forward and launch attacks, and found himself scoring (in open play) on more than one occasion.” (Zonal Marking)

Football Weekly Extra: Joy for José Mourinho as Inter beat Barcelona

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“Paolo Bandini, Sean Ingle and Owen Gibson join James to debate the week’s football news. As Barcelona lose away to Inter, the pod ponder where it went wrong for the European Champions. They also discuss Zlatan Ibrahimović’s shocking match stats and the latest in the Mario Balotelli saga. Sid Lowe is on hand to give reaction from the Spanish press.” (Guardian – James Richardson)

France, Thierry Henry & The New Calciopoli

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“All the way back in 2006, there was this thing they called ‘Calciopoli’ whipping up into a furor on the peninsula. It was an enormous distraction, one fraught with harsh accusations against the very core of Italian football, and left the club futures of many in the Italian team hanging in the balance. The players had far more on their plates than merely the biggest football games of their lives.” (World Cup Blog)

English teams face a difficult journey to European final

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” Fulham and Liverpool are up against it tonight. Not because they face the might of Hamburg and Atlético Madrid, but because some ash has erupted out of a volcano in Iceland. The English teams have travelled across Europe by plane, train and automobile this week, and, scientifically speaking, they face an uphill journey to the Europa League final.” (WSC)

Cambiasso praises Inter’s forward thrust

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Jose Mourinho
“Esteban Cambiasso praised the ‘extraordinary work of our three forwards’ after FC Internazionale Milano’s 3-1 win against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their semi-final tie at the San Siro, a sixth consecutive UEFA Champions League victory for José Mourinho’s side.” (UEFA)

Inter 3-1 Barcelona: Why did Pep Guardiola play Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
“It’s not often during his two seasons as Barcelona manager that you can conclusively say that Pep Guardiola got his tactics wrong – but tonight that was the case, as Inter take an important two-goal lead to the Nou Camp. Both sides essentially played their standard formations. Inter were 4-2-3-1 with Samuel Eto’o and Goran Pandev wide, and Javier Zanetti continuing at left-back. Barcelona played a similar team to the first leg at against Arsenal – Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading the line, Lionel Messi behind him, Pedro in a wide-right role and Seydou Keita playing from in to out on the left.” (Zonal Marking)

James Lawton: Mourinho calls the shots to make Italy think again about his style
“Even Jose Mourinho has rarely known a night like this, one in which not only a second Champions League title but perhaps even the keys of European football may have been at least halfway into his grasp. If Mourinho had some substantial gifts from his Portuguese compatriot referee, including a third goal that was plainly offside, there was no questioning that he had produced from his Internazionale a magnificent response to the challenge of facing the reigning champions of Europe, a team with the potential, some of us may still believe, to touch new levels of excellence.” (Independent)

Italian Football Faces Tough Times
“The most important league table in Italian football right now isn’t the Serie A standings, where AS Roma and Inter Milan are locked in a titanic tussle for the title, or even the Serie B championship, where Torino—one of the country’s most historic clubs—is hoping to secure a top-flight return. It’s actually an obscure ranking of European’s football nations known as the UEFA coefficient table, a mind-boggling complex formula that has produced one very simple conclusion: Italy’s days as a football superpower could soon be at an end.” (WSJ)

Champions League: Inter Milan 3, FC Barcelona 1
“Inter Milan meets Barcelona tonight in the first leg of a mouthwatering Champions League semifinal that many fans think should have been the final itself. With Lyon and Bayern Munich meeting in the other semifinal tomorrow, the glamor — and global attention — will all be at the San Siro in Milan this evening. The visitors are Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona: Spanish league leader, defending European champion and for many, currently the best team in world soccer. The side also, of course, fields the planet’s best player, by popular acclaim, in Argentinian forward Lionel Messi.” (WSJ)

‘It Will Not Be Inter-Barcelona, It Will Be Inter or Barcelona’
“Inter Milan counter attacked with great effect Tuesday against Barcelona, coming back from a goal down to win the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal, 3-1. Barca went up early, scoring a crucial away goal by way of Pedro Rodriguez. He tucked away an angled pass from Maxwell, whose run down the left flank past Cambiasso to the goal line was unchecked by Maicon and Lucio, who both stopped dead in their tracks. But Inter responded with determined counter-attacking play, as per Manager Jose Mourinho’s instructions.” (NYT)

Inter Milan vs. Barcelona
(footytube)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 3-1 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Tuesday, April 20, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League kicked off its semifinal round with a 1st leg match between Inter Milan (Internazionale) v FC Barcelona at the San Siro. Either team would be favored to win the competition if they were to make the final. Barcelona has been in very good form in the Champions League while Inter Milan has knocked out favorites like Chelsea.” (The 90th Minute)

Didier Drogba was a surprise choice as Africa’s number one

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“Didier Drogba was named the 2009 African footballer of the year. If the award – his second in four years – was a surprise, even more so was the margin of his triumph in the poll as he beat Samuel Eto’o by 23 points. The pair have been embroiled in some tight contests in the past and it was expected to be fairly close again this time, albeit with Eto’o the seemingly logical winner.” (World Soccer)

Olympique Lyonnais Go For Historic Double

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“There’s a pretty good chance that you know Olympique Lyonnais are playing today in the UEFA Champion’s League semi-final against Bayern Munich. You may not also know that Lyon’s women’s team are also playing in their UEFA Champion’s League semi-final this Saturday, against Swedish giants Umeå IK.” (Pitch Invasion)

Late-Game Heroes Have Lifted Bayern Munich and Lyon
“Arjen Robben’s contributions to Bayern Munich in the Champions League this season have been eerily consistent, and supremely valuable. In the 65th minute of the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 match on March 9, the Bayern Munich wing capped a stunning 11-minute spell with a sharply angled shot into the top corner of the Fiorentina goal. How fortunate. Though the German side lost the match, 3-2, it was Robben’s stunner that saw Bayern through to the quarterfinals by virtue of away goals, 4-4 on aggregate.” (NYT)

The Ball They Can’t Leave Alone

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“Pick up a basketball, football, baseball, tennis ball, golf ball or a hockey puck, and the objects feel and look much as they have for two generations. Yet, grab a soccer ball from 1960, or even one from 1980 or 1990, and the orb is virtually unrecognizable from the one that will be used for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in June and July. Leather has given way to synthetics. Some 32 individually sewn panels have become eight. Hand stitching has given way to thermal bonding.” (WSJ)

World Cup and Poverty: Make a Difference

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“This summer 32 nations will fight in South Africa to be named the world’s best footballing nation. This summer 63 international matches will take place in 10 top-of-the-line stadiums. This summer the entire country of South Africa will open its arms and embrace the world. This summer 6 billion people will come together and be united as one.” (Soccer Politics)

Neymar and Ganso the crown jewels of Santos’ new generation

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“On the same day the Titanic struck that fatal iceberg in 1912, a club was founded that would raise the profile of Brazilian soccer. All around the world Santos are almost certainly the team from Brazil that most people have heard of. This is a remarkable achievement for a club representing a relatively small city. Santos is a port with a population under 500,000, an hour’s drive away from sprawling Sao Paulo, South America’s biggest city. But the seaside club have often punched well above its weight, getting the best of metropolitan rivals Corinthians, Palmeiras and Sao Paulo, and often anyone else who stood in its path as well.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

Milan’s No. 10 on the Champions League Semis, Messi and Kaka

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“In his regular discussion with New York Times readers, Clarence Seedorf discusses the UEFA Champions League semifinals, some of the brightest stars of the international game, and whether or not he thinks doping is a major problem in international soccer. Read the AC Milan midfielder’s responses post your comments below.” (NYT)

Aesthetics and Justice

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“The crux of the problem is the Hand of God goal and whether, if you could, you would go back in time and stop the referee from awarding it. This is where you confess to the moon that you view the sport a certain way and that you think of it as a game or a story. I think of it as a story, which is why I wouldn’t change anything about the Hand of God goal even if I had control of all dimensions. But it’s easy to understand both viewpoints.” (Run of Play)

Benitez launches staunch defence of Ngog

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“Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has warned critics not to judge striker David Ngog by Fernando Torres’ standards and backed the youngster to continue improving. Ngog is likely to see plenty of action between now and the end of the season with Torres sidelined by a second knee operation in three months and he responded to his second successive start in the Spaniard’s absence by scoring a well-taken goal in last night’s comfortable 3-0 win over West Ham at Anfield.” (ESPN)

Liverpool 3 – 0 West Ham United
“Liverpool cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over West Ham at Anfield to keep their faint Champions League hopes alive and leave the Hammers with three games to secure their top-flight survival. Former West Ham midfielder Yossi Benayoun and David Ngog gave the hosts a 2-0 lead in a low-key first half and goalkeeper Robert Green’s unfortunate own goal finished off his side.” (ESPN)

Liverpool 3-0 West Ham United – Recap and Video Highlights – EPL – Monday, April 19, 2010
“Liverpool hosted West Ham United in a Monday night match in the English Premier League on Monday, April 19, 2010. West Ham remains in the relegation battle but would likely be safe with one more win. Liverpool is in contention for one of the Europa League spots but too far back to make it into the top four. The two teams played at Anfield in front of over 37,000.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter v Barcelona: tactical preview

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“Many have commented that, in an ideal world, this may have been the final of the competition. Barcelona and Inter are generally considered to be the strongest two sides left in the Champions League – and of course, they are also the only two actual champions left. For the tactical enthusiast, however, a two-legged tie between the two most interesting sides in the competition is a more exciting prospect than a one-off game.” (Zonal Marking)

Inter’s date with destiny
“Outside influences have had a habit, recently, of trying to penetrate Inter’s hardened outer shell ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. Most notably, there have been allegations about the Nerazzurri’s perceived role in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal which have been brought to light by the defence attorneys for disgraced former Juventus director Luciano Moggi.” (ESPN)

It Was a Weekend for Clearing the Air, Though Not in England
“In sports, the shortest journeys often turn out to be the most perilous — as derby matches affecting the leading clubs across Europe demonstrated throughout the weekend. This, however, is a uniquely challenging time for long-distance travelers across the Continent, and for once the great and the good of soccer are in the same boat, or grounded plane, as the rest of us.” (NYT)

Espanyol make their new home a fortress to derail Barcelona
“As the bus turned in, all you could see was the palms of their hands hammering against the window. Then as the light filtered through, Nico Pareja in the aisle, arms aloft and chanting. His Espanyol team-mates were bouncing and shouting and thumping on the glass. Outside, they were too. Along the narrow streets of Cornellà, balconies were draped in blue and white, music blaring. Bars were packed with Periquitos sinking minis – litres of beer in plastic glasses – and hollering war cries.” (Guardian)

Could personal technology stop a winning World Cup squad spirit?

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“I have been back in England for a quick visit and I was struck by an outburst that Hull boss Iain Dowie aimed at his squad. ‘Sometimes the players have to forget about the iPods,’ he said. ‘They need to think about what really matters.’ He went on to admit: ‘I’m not a big fan of these big earphones on the way to games,’ and that ‘my thing with the iPod generation is that when they leave the ground and go away to their closeted little lives they shouldn’t forget what’s got them where they are and what impact they can have.’ It is, of course, the complaint of a member of one generation about the desocialising effect of technology on the next.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

The Title That No-One Wants To Win?

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Adidas advertisement makes the link between soccer and religion
“English football season has had more than its fair share of madness this season, but the race for the title is starting to give off a hint of being the title race that no-one wins. Only one of the top three clubs in the Premier League have been able to manage all three points, and even that came at the end of a less than inspiring performance with yet another injury time winner. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal were all long ago guaranteed their places in the Champions League, and perhaps it is this that is firing the most nervy end of season run-in for several seasons.” (twohundredpercent)

Americans Abroad Recap and Video Highlights – Sunday, April 18, 2010

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“It was a light day for Americas Abroad with not very many playing key roles in matches in the top European leagues. Brad Friedel got a win for Aston Villa in the English Premier League while there were a few playing in the Danish league (Benny Feilhaber and Michael Parkhurst). Eddie Johnson continues to get regular playing time in Greece while teammate Freddy Adu sat on the bench.” (The 90th Minute)

Champions at Home Too?

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“One of the curious aspects of this season’s UEFA Champions League is that three of the four semifinalists—who square off in their first-leg encounters on Tuesday and Wednesday—are all also embroiled in legitimate title races domestically. Inter Milan and Barcelona are neck-and-neck with Roma and Real Madrid in Serie A and La Liga, respectively, while Bayern Munich is nursing a slender two-point lead over Schalke in the German Bundesliga. The same held true for Olympique Lyonnais, the fourth semifinalist, at least on April 7—the day it actually reached European soccer’s final four—when it was two points off the top of the table. (It now sits third, nine points behind league-leading Marseille.)” (WSJ)

Espanyol share spoils with Barca

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“Espanyol put a dent in Barcelona’s hopes of securing consecutive Primera Division titles after holding their local rivals to a goalless draw. However, Pep Guardiola’s side may consider it a point gained rather than two lost after playing 28 minutes with 10 men.” (ESPN)

Barca held in derby, Sevilla thrash Sporting
“Espanyol put a dent in Barcelona’s hopes of securing consecutive Primera Division titles after holding their local rivals to a goalless draw. However, Pep Guardiola’s side may consider it a point gained rather than two lost after playing 28 minutes with ten men.” (ESPN)

Espanyol 0-0 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights – La Liga – Saturday, April 17, 2010
“FC Barcelona faced Espanyol in a derby match in the Spanish Primera Division on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Barcelona held a three point lead over rivals Real Madrid but would face a tough test in Espanyol. Barcelona could go six points clear with a win in the match as Real Madrid do not play until Sunday. Espanyol are not in any relegation danger but will have the motivation of a derby match.” (The 90th Minute)