UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal Preview

The Champions League is back this week with eight remaining European sides looking to secure a trip to the semi finals. Matchday 9 is upon us and no one seems to be denying that there are some definite Davids and Goliaths left in the tournament. Here is your preview for this week's match ups.

Tuesday April 1st

Manchester United at AS Roma
United is being regularly referred to as the best club in the world right now, and probably rightfully so. Cristiano Ronaldo is playing inspired soccer and is seemingly scoring goals at will. Roma will be missing Totti due to injury and despite their current hot streak in the Serie A, I don't think anyone is going to be able to touch United right now.
SOTB Prediction: Manchester United 3 - AS Roma 0

FC Barcelona at Schalke 04
Both injuries mark the Barcelona side that making the trip to Germany. The Catalan's will be without the attacking prowess of Leo Messi, Deco, Ronaldinho and Eto'o is still questionable after injuring his calf last weekend. Schalke has a huge opportunity to put itself in the driver seat, but Barcelona still looks dangerous with Xavi and Iniesta running the midfield and youngster Krkric (alongside Henry) up top.
SOTB Prediction: Barcelona 2 - Schalke 1

Wednesday April 2nd

Liverpool FC at Arsenal FC
From a neutral perspective one has to feel that Liverpool has all the momentum. They finally have a little bit of breathing room in the EPL and can go into Wednesday's match knowing that they have one of the best strikers in Europe with Fernando Torres. Arsenal is in trouble. They are playing without any of the conviction or consistency that usually defines their style of play. I think they will concede a couple of away goals in this one and put Liverpool in the driver seat for the second leg.
SOTB Prediction: Liverpool 2 - Arsenal 0

Chelsea at Fenerbahçe SK
I get the feeling that Fenerbahçe is really enjoying being the underdog. The Turkish side seems to be relishing the opportunity to play without any pressure. Fenerbahçe is brimming with confidence and Chelsea is the side that has it all to loose. I'm betting that Fenerbahçe really goes for Chelsea in this one in an effort to get a few goals before their trip to London for the second leg. On the other hand, I'm expecting Chelsea to try and control the flow of the game and attack limitedly.
SOTB Prediction: Chelsea 1 - Fenerbahçe 2

Weekend Wrap Up

It was a big weekend for soccer both stateside and abroad. My colleague Skippy is currently on location in London and was lucky enough to catch a few of this weekend's EPL match ups. Soccer on the Brain wishes him safe travels; enjoy a pint for us over there! Here is a rundown of some of the weekends scores, as well as a few selected "matchday thoughts."

Major League Soccer

• Houston Dynamo 0 - NE Revolution 3
  FC Dallas 1 - Chivas USA 1
• KC Wizards 2 - DC United 0
• Columbus Crew 2 - Toronto FC 0
• Chicago Fire 1 - Real Salt Lake

"Matchday Thoughts"
The big story here is the Revolution's "redemption" over the Houston Dynamo. The KC Wizards opened with a big win over a very strong DC United team. KC has the potential for a strong season as they will be looking to take advantage of signing their first DP (designated player), Argentinian Claudio Lopez. A Cuauhtemoc Blanco goal saved the Fire from what could have been a season opening upset by much weaker Real Salt Lake. All in all it was a great matchday-- its gonna be a great MLS season.

English Premier League

• Chelsea 1 - Middlesbrough 0
• Liverpool 1 - Everton 0
• Tottenham 1 - Newcastle 4
• Arsenal 3 - Bolton 2
• Derby 2 - Fulham 2
• Manchester United 4 - Aston Villa 0

"Matchday Thoughts"
Robin Van Persie welcomed his first goal since since returning to Arsenal's squad in what was a very turbulent match that produced 5 goals and 5 cards (4 yellows and 1 red). Arsenal (3rd place) sit just 1 point behind Chelsea and 6 points back from league leaders United. Liverpool secured their fourth place spot with a victory over Everton thanks to another Fernando Torres goal. Torres is playing like one of the best, if not the best natural striker in England. Every game is becoming a "must win" for Fulham yet they were only able to split points with fellow bottom feeders Derby. Time is running out for "FulhAmerica." Chelsea won over Middlesborough and is doing everything it can to keep the title race interesting while Manchester continues to play evolved football.

David Beckham on CBS 60 Minutes

For those of you who missed it, David Beckham was interviewed by Anderson Cooper on last night's 60 minutes. The interview didn't really shed any information about Beckham that any semi-serious soccer fan wouldn't already know. But, hopefully it will stir up a little attention for this Saturday's start of the 2008 MLS season. The interview's target audience doesn't seem to be the MLS faithful, but you can't deny this type of public exposure doesn't hurt. I've posted the interview here for those who missed it; the highlight comes after about 10 minutes: Beckham "bending" past Anderson Cooper.

In related news, the MLS season kicks off this weekend. Be sure to sign up for MLS Fantasy, and don't forget to join the Soccer on the Brain League!

Goal of the Week

This week's honor goes to Rubén Baraja who's blast helped put a struggling Valencia side into the finals of the Copa del Rey over injury laden Barcelona.



The Copa del Rey trophy looks like Valencia's only chance to get back into Europe next year, as the winner of the Cup earns a spot in the 08/09 UEFA Cup. Valencia, who currently sit 11th in La Liga, will meet 8th placed Getafe in the finals on April 16th.

CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinal Takes Shape

The Houston Dynamo became the second MLS team to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Semifinals tonight at the expense of Guatemalan side Municipal by 3 goals to 1.

Unfortunately, the questionable calls are what are going to be remembered from this match. Corey Ashe won Houston a penalty as he went down very gingerly in the box midway through the second half. It was a terrible call and I was certain that Ashe was going to be booked for embellishment. Not the case; Dwayne DeRosario netted his brace from the the penalty spot giving his side a 2-0 lead. It wasn't long before the Texan side netted their third goal and secured the victory before allowing Municipal a loan consolation goal in the closing minutes of the game. Its unfortunate that the second half was pocked with spotty officiating, choppy play and heightened tempers (several of the players were involved in a short scuffle after DeRosario's penalty). All of these detracted from the game which at times was dominated by a fast paced and exciting style of play.

Questionable calls aside, Houston definitely deserved this win. I don't hold it against Ashe for winning his side a penalty, in fact, he looked just as surprised as the Municipal defenders at the call. All in all Ashe had a great night, he looked very dangerous down the left flank as much of Houston's attack came through him. DeRosario was also solid, he was the driving force behind Houston's midfield throughout the game. Even when Municipal looked dangerous, Houston was always able to regain control.

Here is how the semifinals will shape up.

Semifinal 1: DC United (USA) vs Pachuca CF (Mexico)
Semifinal 2: Houston Dynamo (USA) vs Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica)/Atlante FC (Mexico)

Barcelona's Injury Woes Continue

Barcelona isn't doing itself any favors as it strives to take home both La Liga and UEFA trophies this year. With 10 games to go in La Liga, the Catalan side sits 7 points back from Real Madrid and in the Champions League they are set to face an upset minded Schalke side in two weeks time. But, Barcelona's list of injured superstars keeps growing with the news that Ronaldinho has been left out of the last few games due to injury. Conflicting reports coming out of Spain are making the diagnosis confusing. While most sources are stating that he is suffering from "medical problems" its not exactly clear (perhaps this is how Rijkaard would like things to stay) what those medical problems are. What is certain is that Ronaldinho was unable to play in Barcelona's drawl with Almeria on Sunday, wasn't able to train this week, and won't be playing in Thursdays fixture with Valencia (King's Cup semi-final, second leg).

Confusion surrounds the cause of the Brazilian's injury troubles, but knowing the exact diagnosis doesn't change the fact that none of this poses well for Barcelona. Ronaldinho will be joining the likes of Rafa Marquez, Giovani dos Santos, Deco and Leo Messi on the bench.

CONCACAF Champions' Cup: DC win big

DC United 5 - 0 Harbour View
(DC wins series 6-1 on aggregate)

DC United pulled out a emphatic 5-0 win over Harbour View (Jamaica) in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champion's Cup series. After a 1-1 draw last week in Jamaica, DC was able to crack the game wide open in the second half and secure their spot in the semi-final round. Devon McTavish and Luciano Emilio both had 2 goals and Fred added the 5th.

Overall I think DC played much better in this match than last week. It seems as though some of DC's off season acquisitions are definitely going to pay dividends this season in MLS. Gallardo has looked solid on the ball although he falls to the pitch much to easily for my liking. He almost had a spectacular goal in the first half on a full volley rebound from about 20 yards out. Fred put on a dominate performance, repeatedly giving Harbour View problems down the left side and even set up one of Emilio's goals with a nice back heel pass for an assist. Recently signed Santino Quaranta made his way into the match in the second half and had several chances on goal, tallying at least one assist.

This season is looking bright for last year's MLS Supporters Shield winners. DC's acquisitions will hopefully be more than adequate replacements for the likes of Troy Perkins, Christian Gomez and Bobby Boswell. The team seems to be gelling together nicely, but we'll see just how ready they are when the MLS season kicks off at the end of the month.

Fulham win against Everton

TOOT TOOOOOT!! Is that the sound of the comeback train I hear? Maybe, maybe not. Fulham pulled out a 1-0 win against Everton on a Brian McBride header late in the second half. Now Fulham is sitting on 23 points and still in 19th position. With Bolton (at 25 pts) losing to Wigan, Fulham might have an opening to leapfrog up a spot in their fight to get out of the relegation zone. There next four games are against Newcastle, Derby, Sunderland, and Reading; presumably all winnable games.

Eddie Johnson, McBride and Keller all got the start with Bocanegra and Dempsey coming on as subs in the second half. I have to say that I am sad to see Dempsey's playing time diminish in the last couple of weeks. I would think that Hodgson could find a useful position on the field for him. Anyway, it should be exciting to see what materializes for the Cottagers in the upcoming weeks. Just look at the picture, McBride is about to throw up just at the thought of relegation.

UEFA Champions League Draw

UEFA conducted the draw for the Champions League quarterfinals this morning from Nyon, Switzerland. Footballing fans around the world were not let down as there are some truly must see matches ahead. Here is the draw:

April 1st
Fenerbahçe SK v Chelsea FC
AS Roma v Manchester United

April 2nd
Arsenal FC v Liverpool

Schalke 04 v FC Barcelona

The second leg of the quarterfinals will take place on April 8/9th. Here is a look at how the semifinals (April 28/29th) will line up:

Arsenal/Liverpool v Fenerbahçe/Chelsea
Schalke 04/Barcelona v AS Roma/Manchester United

Midweek Action

Here is a quick rundown of a few of the midweek results in el mundo de futbol:

UEFA Cup

Everton 2 - 0 Fiorentina
(Fiorentina advances in penalty shootout)

A tough loss for Tim Howard and Everton. They played well and managed a 2 - nil result but the aggregate stood at 2-2. That means extra time which eventually led to a shootout. A Yakubu spot kick off the left post and a Jagielka miss sealed the Toffees fate. Better luck next year.

Tottenham 1 - 0 PSV Eindhoven
(PSV advance in penalty shootout)

Two EPL teams getting knocked out of the UEFA Cup on PK's on the same day? Yup. Berbie and Co. finished regulation 1-0 and tied 1-1 on aggregate. Once it made it to PK's, Chimbonda's miss in the 7th round of kicks doomed Tottenham. Sorry Dilbs.

CONCACAF Champions Cup

DC United 1 - 1 Harbour View (Jamaica)
(Aggragate 1-1)

United managed a 1 nil advantage until late in the game. On a corner kick from the home side, the ball was bouncing around and made its way to the foot of a Harbour View player and ended up in the back of Zack Wells' net. This game was rather sloppy and only a slight departure from the Champions League matchups everyone has been used to watching. I wonder how a chain link fence lining the San Siro would have gone over on Tuesday? The second leg of this series heads to RFK next week.


P.S. MLS starts in about 3 weeks. Who is excited!!!?? Anyone down for some Fantasy MLS this year??

UEFA Round of 16 Wrap Up

There has been some high quality European soccer taking place over the past two days. For those of you who missed the action we have all the results from this weeks' matchday. In my opinion "the goal of the matchday" goes to Cesc Fabregas for his 30+ yard strike that silenced AC Milan.



Yesterday, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal and Fenerbahçe all advanced to the round of eight. And in today's matches favorites Real Madrid were ousted by Roma, Chelsea dismantled Olympiacos and Porto lost in penalties to German side Schalke. The last match before the quarterfinal draw will take place next week as Liverpool will face off against Internazionale.

Here is a quick rundown of the aggregate scores (bold teams are through to the quarterfinals):

Arsenal 2- Milan 0
Fenerbahçe 5 - Sevilla 5 (Fenerbahçe through on penalties 3-2)
Manchester United 2 - Lyon 1
Celtic 2 - Barcelona 4
Olympiacos 0 - Chelsea 3
Roma 4 - Real Madrid 2
Schalke 1 - Porto 1 (Schalke through on penalties 4-2)

The first leg of the quarterfinals will take place during the first week of April.

UEFA Round of 16 - Second Leg Preview

Sixteen teams will be trying to move one step closer to securing a trip to Moscow in this weeks' UEFA Round of 16 second leg. One can never expect an easy ticket in European football, and this week is no exception. With some truly epic clashes taking place this week; here is a preview for Tuesday's fixtures.


Celtic FC vs FC Barcelona: Celtic will travel to the Camp Nou and try and relinquish the three goals that they surrendered in the first leg. Celtic might be feeling a bit overwhelmed at the task of trying to deconstruct a Deco-Messi-Ronaldinho-Eto'o-Henry led attack, and if they don't, they should be. I'm expecting Barcelona to put a goal away early--killing the Scots' dreams of advancement.
Prediction: Barcelona 2 - Celtic 0 (5-2 agg. Barcelona through)

Lyon vs Manchester United: United will be looking to extend their consecutive UEFA winning streak (at home) to 10 at Lyon's expense. United was lucky to pluck an important away goal in the first leg; it was Tevez's last gasp equalizer that put United in the driver seat. Benzema and Lyon are lethal, but I think United and Old Trafford will be too much to handle for the French side.
Prediction: Manchester United 2 - Lyon 0 (2-1 agg. United through)

Fenerbahçe SK vs Sevilla: I really want Sevilla to take this one, but the way they have been playing it looks like they are more cut out for UEFA Cup competition. Sevilla is down 3-2 on the aggregate, but they do have two important away goals. On paper this should be a walk in the park for an attacking suited Sevilla. They have a record of coming from behind in European competitions (albeit UEFA Cup) and they also have an impressive home record this season. This game will will show if they have the ability to preform at the highest of levels.
Prediction: Sevilla 2 - Fenerbahçe 1 (4-4 agg. Sevilla through on away goals)

Arsenal FC vs AC Milan: Milan seemingly has all the momentum. Kaká, Pato, Maldini and Nesta are all reported as fit. And Arsenal on the other hand has some serious question marks surrounding their team. Arsenal supporters are sure to be hoping for both Cesc and Hleb to improve upon their performances last week; Arsenal's style of play depends almost exclusively upon their play. Also, I think that Gallas' ability to lead the team is questionable at best. The Gunners have been on an emotional roller coaster ride over the past few weeks and I'm not sure they are going to have what it takes to top Milan.
Prediction: Milan 1- Arsenal 0 (1-0 agg. Milan through)