UEFA Champions League

The best team lost, but Mourinho knows the best manager won. Not that he’ll mention it.

Mar 092013

“The best team lost”, is the quote doing the rounds after Real Madrid’s 1-2 win at Old Trafford. It’s widely accepted that this rare show of humility from Jose Mourinho is true, but as Manchester United know better than most, you need to be more than simply “the best team” in a competition, if you want to win it. Mourinho’s modesty is being seen as an indication that this great wandering winner will one day want to settle down at Old Trafford. Alex Ferguson has singled out the Portuguese in the past as one of the few managers whom he thinks has the quality to continue the work he’s done at Manchester United. Mourinho withdrew Read more..

Otelul Galati

UEFA Champions League, World Football

Oct 162011

Otelul Galati will take on Manchester United at the Romanian National Arena in Bucharest on Tuesday, as both teams seek their first win in this season’s Champions League competition. Otelul will not use their own 13,500 seat stadium in Galati as it doesn’t meet the requirements for the Champions League, so the team whose name translates directly to English as “Steel Fortress”, will be trying to upset the odds at an arena which might favour Manchester United’s players, who will be used to playing these games in front of big audiences. Otelul won their first Romanian title last season, and resultantly qualified directly for the lucrative Champions League group stages. Their previous forays into Europe Read more..

The Continuing Story Of Carlos Tevez

Opinion, Premier League, UEFA Champions League

Sep 282011

All the headlines from last night’s game between Bayern Munich and Manchester City have been based around Carlos Tevez, and his apparent refusal to take to the pitch when requested to by his manager. Mancini said he refused to come on, as in the heat of the moment he was lead by the media into the next days headlines and seemed happy to oblige. As did everyone else in the world of football, lashing out at Tevez even before they knew any facts surrounding the whole saga. Tevez says he didn’t refuse to come on, well he would wouldn’t he. ”In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready to play”, said the Read more..

Arsenal – Udinese: Champions League Playoff First Leg

UEFA Champions League

Aug 162011

Arsenal - Udinese: Champions League Playoff First Leg

Arsenal begin their latest Champions League campaign with a tough two legged play-off against Italian 4th place qualifiers – Udinese. This is Arsenal’s 14th consecutive Champions League qualification – an impressive statistic and a reminder for Wenger’s critics within the club’s fan base, of the consistency he has brought to the club despite being surrounded by some of the toughest domestic competition in Europe. This season they will need to overcome a play-off in order to qualify for the lucrative group stages, and this will pose an early test of the mental steel in this new look Arsenal side. Whilst reflecting on Arsenal’s loss of Fabregas to Barcelona, it’s worth sparing a thought for Udinese who Read more..