Champions League quarter final pairings: What to expect?

The Champions League final will be held in Madrid in May. Sadly however, the start studded Real Madrid will not be there to win the title at their Bernabeu Stadium! The star studded but at times misfiring Madrid side lost to the gallant Lyon side who despite going to the return leg with the narrowest of margins never lost their self belief.

Whilst I wrongly underestimated Lyon's depth & predicted Madrid would easily go through, I can still save face by referring to my several blogs at the beginning of the season when I claimed Real were a collection of great but selfish players who would not be able to deliver Mr Perez instant gratification, at least in the first year of his reign. The fact that Real have given Barcelona & the out of this world Messi a run for the Primera in fact comes as a surprise!

My other major flop for the round was Chelsea's loss to the arrogant master tactician, Jose Mourinho & his Inter Milan side. Mourinho simply rubbed salt to the Chelsea supporters' wound by reminding what they are missing out of since his departure!

Overall, this year's quarter finals amazingly are littered with surprise qualifiers. The elimination of giant former winners AC Milan, Juventus, Liverpool & Real Madrid as well as Porto & the newcomers Chelsea mean that the less fanciful CSKA Moksva, Bordeaux & Lyon have made the quarterfinals easier to predict, at least on paper!

The most exciting match up is undoubtedly Manchester United vs Bayern Munich. Manchester United comfortably disposed of a misfiring AC Milan whilst Bayern at the just scrapped past a gallant & unlucky Fiorentina side on away goals rule due to a masterful goal by Arjen Robben.

The last gasp heartbreaking final win by Manchester United in 1999 & the subsequent home & the subsequent quarter final home & away win by Bayern on their way to win the CL in 2001 means these two teams have an unbreakable history. Also, in Robben & Rooney, I believe we will witness the second & third current best players in the world going to the battlefield.

My Prediction: If Bayern's defence holds off Rooney & co in the first leg in Munich, Bayern may go on to win the tie. Otherwise, Manchester United are the favourites to go through.

Barcelona vs Arsenal: Arguably the two most skillful & entertaining club sides in the world repeating their CL Final encounter of a few years ago. With Messi in his current form speeding towards the super stardom legendary status, Barcelona are favourite to take advantage of Wenger's side's occasional lapses & go through.

Lyon vs Bordeaux: The all French tussle will produce the first French side in the semi finals of the CL since Monaco reached the final & lost to Mourinho's Porto a few years ago. Lyon have been a consistent performer in the CL League & go the battle with the confidence boosting elimination of Ronaldo & Co of Madrid. On the other hand, Laurent Blanc has built a masterful compact unit at Bordeaux capable of many surprises. I believe Bordeaux will continue their dream run to the semi finals.

Inter Milan vs CSKA Moskva: Whilst CSKA have quietly enjoyed good solid performances & slightly easier draws to get to the quarter finals, they are also a great team which fully deserve their position at this level. On the other hand, hats off to Mourinho for getting Inter Milan through the battle with Chelsea. I still feel uncomfortable about Inter & believe CSKA are capable of causing a huge upset!

No matter which team you are following, the quarter finals will be as exciting as ever. Let's just hope they do not get too tight & defensive. The away goal rule is making home teams timid & nervous & has a negative impact on the game as a spectacle.

Early signs of trouble for Joachim Löew & Germany in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa

The German national team, or Die Nationalmannschaft are known as the ultimate "Tournament" team. They usually have a slow start in World Cup tournaments & grind their way into the latter stages whilst more talented teams fall by the way side & get eliminated. Germany (including west Germany) have reached the World Cup semi final 11 times, the final 7 times & have of course been winners in 3 occasions. Outside the 1990 win & the 2006 campaign, they have always been slow starters & at times labeled boring and/or lucky. Nevertheless, Germany's performance & record in the world Cup continues to generate intense envy amongst rival fans.

Germany are currently the Under 17, Under 19 & Under 21 European Champions & the crop of young talent coming through the ranks is almost second to none in Europe. However, with less than 100 days till the start of the World Cup, most the young talented players will miss out on Loew's team selection for the World Cup. Only Ozil, Marin & Kroos have any realistic chance of being selected in the final 23 man squad for the World Cup.

The recent friendly 0-1 defeat to Madonna's hapless Argentina in Munich raised many worrying questions about Germany's prospects in South Africa. The shortcomings were clear in all areas. The following is a list:

1. Loew & his team have failed to sign a new contract with the DBF beyond the World Cup. Whilst both the German Federation & Loew have diplomatically agreed to decide to postpone negotiations to after the World Cup in order to avoid destabilisation, the fact that they have not reached an agreement will by itself cause some disharmony.

2. In the goal keeping department, Loew's stubborn insistence to allow Lehmann to be the no 1 keeper in Euro 2008, and the subsequent recent tragic death of Robert Enke has left this always reliable area of the German team well short of international experience.
Both Rene Adler of Leverkusen & Manuel Neuer of Schalke have shown promising signs of being able to emulate the feats of their legendary colleagues of the previous years. Nevertheless, the fact remains that between the two of them they only have 11 caps, and neither plays for a clubside which appears in the Champions League regularly. Therefore, both have limited international exposure.

In Central defence, where problems were evident in 2006 & Euro 2008, a reliable long term partner for Mertesacker is yet to be found. Tasci of Stuttgart & Boeteng of Hamburg as well as Westermann of Schalke are all unproven in international level.

Then there is the issue of where to play Lahm! He played so effectively as a left back in WC 2006. But Lahm has appeared as an attacking right back for Bayern all season & has stated he prefers to play in that position. He's also stated it takes him a few weeks to get used to switching from right to left. Should Loew try why he successfully experimented on with in Euro 2006 again? i.e. Use Podolski as a right midfield player & emulate the successful Lahm/Robben combination at Bayern?

Then there's the question of total loss of form by Ozil! The promising talented midfielder has had a poor run of form & the question now is whether he should be selected at all. On top of that, Ballack's relationship with Loew is still at best cordial. This can't be good for team moral.

Nevertheless, there is an abundance of talent in the likes of Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Sammy Khedira & Marco Marin who will help reduce Loew's tactical headaches (but not selection headaches). Nevertheless, they are all untested on the big stage.

Finally, there are major headaches upfront in attack. Kuryani is the in form German striker right now & he's out of favour. Both Podolski & Klose have been out of form & between the two of them scored a miserly 3 goals all season! I believe Cacau & Kiessling are not of World Cup pedigree & Patrick Helmes will take too long to reach his optimal form after a long injury lay off.

And last but least, as a Bayern & Germany fan, I am yet to understand what the big fuss about Mario Gomez is! He was a total flop in Euro 2006 & his international record is by no means impressive. Yet both Loew & Bayern insist on starting him in every game!

To top it all off, Germany are in the toughest group with Ghana, Australia & Serbia ready to Pounce on any mistake they can!

The good news however is that before every World Cup & European Championships, thousands of obituaries like mine are written about Germany, and they still make it to the latter stages & the finals!

As Gary Lineker famously said (paraphrasing) "Football is a game which 22 men run after a ball & try to score, and at the end Germany wins!"

Enjoy the World Cup & good luck to whichever team you support!

Fabio Capello has made England one of the World Cup favourites. But lack of English born coaches capable of managing England remains a major concern.

I am simply blogging what most fans of international football around the world treat as a joke! The scarcity of English born coaches in the English Premier League!

Fabio Capello is one of the greatest coaches of the modern era & seems to have at last managed to make England a solid & reliable unit as a team. But shouldn't the mother home of the beautiful game be able to manage to produce an English born coach to lead it to the World Cup?

The answer is simply no! It can't! Outside a few true & trusted old hands such as Harry Redknapp of Tottenham & Roy Hodgson of Fulham, there are very few high calibre English born coaches around these days. The late Sir Bobby Robson was probably the last of that generation.

I rest my case by listing the names of the top 10 EPL Teams Managers for those of you who are not aware of their nationalities. This is based on the league table as of 1 March 2010:

1. Chelsea: Carlo Ancelotti (Italy)

2. Manchester Utd: Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland)

3. Arsenal: Arsen Wenger (France)

4. Manchester City: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

5. Tottenham: Harry Redknapp (England)

6. Liverpool: Rafa Benitez (Spain)

7. Aston Villa: Martin O'Neill (Northern Ireland)

8. Brrmingham: Alex McLeish (Scotland)

9. Everton: David Moyes (Scotland)

10. Fulham: Roy Hodgson (England)

As you can see, only two out of ten were born in England. Of course, as you know the English would protest saying we & the Scots & Northern Irish are all British! That's OK! My question remains the same:

Are there any coaches born in England who can claim to have the calibre to lead a major footballing national side to the World Cup?

I believe the answer remains negative. As a result the international performance of England will continue to suffer & whilst they are a very good side, I don't think they can win the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in July 2010.

Champions League knockout stage in 2010 promises to be exciting as well as intriguing

UEFA Champions League (CL) knockout stage kicks off on Tuesday 17th Feb 2010. As the world's richest and most watched annual sporting tournament, the real excitement starts in the round of 16 as the knock out stage commences.

In the absence of any form of salary cap system in Europe, the disparity amongst football teams in the CL is becoming more & more evident by the fact that most of the same usual suspects reach the quarter finals, ie teams from the powerhouse nations in Europe.

This year is no exception. The surprise casualties of the group stage were past winners Liverpool & Juventus, both of which are also having a relatively lean domestic season as well. the other surprise is the timely return to form of another former winners Bayern Munich.

Here are the round of 16 encounters & my predictions:

• Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid: Whilst my pre season prediction that Real Madrid will need time to mould their star studded team to a force is still a valid point, Real are far too good for a mediocre Lyon that are a shadow of the perennial quarter finalists of the last few year. This is regardless of whether the recently back from injury Ronaldo or the out of form Kaka are present to help them.



• AC Milan vs Manchester United: This is a far more intriguing contest with the added spice of David Beckham's return to Old Trafford in Milan's colours. I am not a fan of either team this season (or any season for that matter!) & like many others believe selling Ronaldo has substantially weakened Manchester United, even though Rooney is playing the best football of his career. Milan on the other hand have dipped in form again after a mid season revival led by the resurgent Ronalidino. I think Manchester United will survive & pip Milan to the quarter finals. However, I don't think the eventual winner of this year's Cup will be either of these two teams
  
• Bayern Munich vs Fiorentina: A classic case of reversal of fortunes. Fiorentina played great football in the group stage & topped their group which included Liverpool. Since then however, Fiorentina's form in Serie A has dipped & Mutu has got suspended. On the other hand, Bayern were seemingly down & out & had to win their last match in Turin to qualify for the knockout stage. They fell 0-1 behind in the match, but in perhaps the best match of the current season ended up winning 1-4, their best ever away win against a top Italian side. Since then, they have had 12 consecutive wins in all competitions & scored 40 goals in the process. With Ribery rumoured to be starting against Fiorentina & Mutu suspended, Bayern should be win reasonably comfortably. If they can maintain their current form, they may even be an outside chance to win the CL this year! (Disclaimer: For those of you who don't know, I am a life long Bayern supporter!)



• Porto vs Arsenal: At the beginning of the season I predicted arsenal's attractive & flowing style lacked the experience factor. This is showing & I believe Porto, another former winner, whilst upstaged by Benfica in their domestic league this year, are too tricky & experienced for Arsenal & will win this close tussle.
  


• Stuttgart vs Barcelona: Barcelona will comfortably win against out an out of sorts but reviving Stuttgart & remain my tip to win the CL back to back. Pep Guardiola has done a magnificent job even if I believe Ibrahimovic is not suited to Barcelona's & Spanish football & is over rated.


• Olympiacos vs Bordeaux: Bordeaux are the refreshing surprise of the current season & disposed of Juventus & Bayern in style. Alongside Guardiola, Laurent Blanc is a rising star coach. Bordeaux should win this encounter comfortably even though their form in the French League has recently been inconsistent & Olympiacos are difficult to beat in Athens


• CSKA Moskva vs Seville: This is a hard one to predict simply because both teams can and do score goals & have proven themselves to be hard to beat. Seville have a better team on paper & should prevail.
  


• Chelsea vs Inter Milan: The last & most intriguing encounter is the return of Jose Mourinho with Inter Milan to Chelsea. I must say I am not a fan of Mourinho & believe Inter Milan would currently win the Serie A even if they don't have a coach! Both teams ae frustrated with lack of European success & are hungry. How much of a distraction John Terry's personal life & Ashley Cole's untimely injury are to Chelsea is open to speculation as they have been wobbly lately & lost to Everton this week with John Terry at fault. On the other hand, Inter Milan have a lot to prove in the european stage & this plays heavily on their players' minds. I believe Ancelotti is a better tactician than Mourinho & predict Chelsea will win the battle & in doing so will start the end of Mourinho's time at Inter Milan.