Sweet Commercial

This is a pretty imaginative commercial by Nike I first saw on Steve Goff's blog, Soccer Insider. Not a bad soundtrack either. It's like I'm really in the game...

UEFA Champions League Semifinal Preview, Manchester United v Barcelona

The only two teams that have not suffered a defeat in this years Champions League competition are set to face off Wednesday night at the Camp Nou in Barcelona. This semifinal will allow both Manchester United and Barcelona to show off their stylish attacking brands of soccer.
Match Preview
The media is touting Manchester as the favorite, especially due to Barcelona's lackluster La Liga performances (earning only 4 victories in their last 13 games). However, Barcelona's ace up the sleeve has to be the return of phenom Leo Messi from injury. Manchester looks as imposing as ever and must feel ready for this challenge. United host so many attacking threats; despite dropping points to Blackburn this weekend, they are playing confident and consistent soccer. I expect both teams to attack in what will prove to be an exciting match filled with goals.
Key Match Ups
Its hard to isolate the most important match up when almost every player on each team is a superstar. With that in mind, the two most obvious threats for their respective teams are Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi. Ronaldo is on track to be the World Player of the Year and Messi is one of the most dangerous players on the planet when he is fit. Whichever team can manage the impact of those players will have a gigantic advantage.

SOTB Prediction: Manchester United 2 - Barcelona 2

UEFA Champions League Semifinal Preview, Liverpool v Chelsea

The wait is over, the first leg of the Champions League semifinals is here. In the week's first match (Tuesday, April 22nd) Chelsea will travel to Anfield and take on Liverpool.
Match Preview
There is good news for the Merseyside faithful, Stevie Gerrard has been declared fit after recovering from last week's neck injury. And Blue's fans will be glad to see Lampard suit up for Chelsea after missing the past two games. Since the first leg is at Anfield, I'm expecting Chelsea to play conservatively, they won't want to go behind early. Liverpool on the other hand, will want to take the game to the Blues through the Gerrard-Torres fueled attack. I don't think Chelsea is going to be able to keep that attack out of the back of the net.
Key Match Ups
The midfield battle is key and the obvious match up to watch is the Lampard/Gerrard dynamic. Both players mean so much to their respective teams, but I think Gerrard has the edge in this one. Avram Grant's side has their work cut out for them.

SOTB Prediction: Liverpool 2 - Chelsea 1

Mums the word with Avram

It seems that Avram grant didn't have much to say following Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Everton. A rather strange press conference was the result of Grant's unwillingness to answer any of the questions the media asked him. It's actually pretty funny. Give the press conference word for word here.

Celtic Close Gap on Rangers in SPL; Nakamura's "Goal of the Week"

The race for first place in Scotland's Premier League just got more interesting. Celtic toppled first placed Rangers by a score of 2-1 in today's Old Firm derby. The game was a must win in order for Celtic to have a chance at winning the Scottish Premier League; they now sit in second place (1 point aback of Rangers) with just 2 games remaining.

Shunsuke Nakamura's stunningly beautiful strike opened the action in the 20th minute, and earned him "Goal of the Week" honors. Rangers leveled with a goal in the second period, but in the 70th minute where reduced to 10 men as Carlos Cuellar was shown red. The Hoops failed to convert the ensuing penalty and it looked like gloom and doom for the Celtic fans until Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (doesn't it sounds like he is from Middle Earth? - ED.) scored the stoppage time winner.

This game will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel Thursday April, 17th at 8 PM (yes the game was played on Wednesday--FSC doesn't make sense) and should definitely be considered as a "must see " match. Here is a sneak peek of the match and Nakamura's "Goal of the Week."

Valencia Wins Copa del Rey

Valencia's disappointing season was given a much needed shot of optimism this week as they defeated Getafe to win the Copa del Rey tournament. It was Valencia's first trip to the finals since 1999 when they defeated Atlético Madrid. One might say that this victory "saved" Valencia's season as they are awarded a spot in next years UEFA Champions Cup.

Unfortunately Valencia's season was marked inconsistent play despite having a talent-filled squad. But fear not! Since we are always the optimists here at Soccer on the Brain we feel that with Valencia's recently booked spot in the 2008/9 UEFA Cup, the Spanish side can confidently say "there's always next year."

Ronaldinho to AC Milan

This deal seems pretty legit, Ronaldinho and Barcelona are reported to be in advanced talks with Italian side AC Milan. Ronaldinho's agent (also his brother) stated yesterday that "In general Ronaldinho and Milan are in agreement." Ronaldinho has had a frustrating year with Barcelona and there is no doubt in my mind that a move away from Spain is in the cards. However, is the move to Italy the right one?

It has been speculated that Ronaldinho and Kaká can't play together and that brining the 28 year old Brazilian in is unwise. However, the attacking potential of a side that hosts Kaká, Pato, Ronaldinho, Pirlo and possibly Ronaldo is hard to ignore.

More on this as it develops. In the meantime, Milan continues to struggle to secure a spot in next years UEFA Champions League. They square off against Juventus this afternoon in one of the biggest games of the season. Juventus is struggling to hold on to their 3rd place spot and with both Milan and Fiorintina (5th and 4th place respectively) scrapping for every possible point, the game is a must win for both sides.

The game airs at 2:30 on FSC.

Champions League Semifinals Take Shape

And then there were four. The race for European glory narrowed again today as the UEFA Champions League Semifinal picture came into focus.

Liverpool 4 - Arsenal 2 (5-3 on aggregate)

This was the most enthralling fixture of the matchday. The defining moment of the match must have been when Liverpool were awarded a dubious penalty just moments after Arsenal had tied the Reds 2-2 thanks to an inspired Theo Walcott play. Babel went down in the box after minimal (Arsenal fans might say incidental) contact from Kolo Touré and Stevie Gerrard coolly finished the ensuing penalty. Arsenal fans may feel cheated, but I feel that Liverpool outplayed the Gunners in the second half.

Barcelona 1 - Schalke 0 (2-0 on aggregate)

I didn't have a chance to watch this one, but it seems like Schalke just didn't have the ability to outmatch the Catalan side. Barcelona's hopes at catching Real in La Liga are starting to look unattainable; perhaps its time for Barca to start focusing on the mammoth task of undoing United in the Semifinals.

Manchester United 1 - AS Roma 0 (3-0 on aggregate)

Manchester proved its quality again with a solid performance over Roma. Squandered chances will haunt the Roman's as they failed to convert a first half penalty that could have changed the game drastically. United rested many of its players as they have more work to do in the EPL this week. They will play host to a victory starved Arsenal side on Saturday.

Chelsea 2 - Fenerbache 0 (3-2 on aggregate)

Yawn. Did anyone really expect Chelsea to be knocked out by the Turkish side? You would think with both EPL and European glory sitting as viable possibilities for the Blues they would be playing a more inspired brand of soccer. Instead we are forced to watch a side that continues to win (albeit, they are winning) by "going through the motions". I miss the fire, passion and controversy that Jose Mourinho instilled in this side. Lets see how boring Avram Grant can make these next few weeks.

The first leg of the Semifinals will take place on April 22nd and 23rd. FC Barcelona will take on Manchester United, meanwhile Chelsea will face Liverpool.

Trip to England

This past weekend I had the opportunity to make the trip over to London with my Dad, Dave and Boyd. Needless to say, it was one hell of a good time. The original plan was to see Chelsea v Boro and Spurs v Newcastle. The Chelsea plans fell through and we managed to get tickets to see Reading v Blackburn on Saturday and Spurs v Newcastle on Sunday.

Reading 0 - 0 Blackburn

The atmosphere at the Madjeski seemed a little bit subdued but was still amazing to experience. The beer wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be and we even got to watch a bit of the Rangers v Celtic match before our game started. The stadium only holds about 24,000 people so it was a very intimate setting. The weather was about 50 degrees with 20 mph winds and rain. It was a good thing our seats were high up so we didn't get soaked.

The game went back and forth and each team had some chances. Both of the American goalkeepers played well with Marcus Hannehman making some saves to keep his team in the game. (Each time he made a good stop the crowd would chant U-S-A! I thought that was pretty funny) Stephen Hunt had a 'mare of a game and was taking a lot of flack from the supporters sitting next to me. He had a good chance in the waining minutes but managed to flub it up. A late substitute in Shane Long showed some promise and maybe should have been made earlier. It was a respectably result for Reading but really could have gone either way.

Tottenham 1 - 4 Newcastle

On Sunday we made our way to North London for the Tottenham/Newcastle fixture. After stopping for a few pints before the game, we headed over to White Hart Lane. I have to say it is definitely a different feeling going to a sporting event in the middle of a city rather than one in the suburbs like so many American sports facilities. Our seats were in the next to last row on the side of the pitch, but it didn't matter. The atmosphere was more vibrant and energetic than the Reading match. The Newcastle supporters were there in force and added to the energy of the match.

Things got started off with scoring in the 26th minute by Darren Bent with a lovely header. The place erupted and things were looking good for the Spurs. A Nicky Butt equalizer in first half stoppage time evened the score at 1 a piece going into the second half. A second half Geremi free kick took even more momentum away from the home side and eventually led to Michael Owen and Obafemi Martins sealing the deal. I'm not sure about the decision to play Berbatov, Keane and Bent at the same time but I guess Ramos knows more than me.

All in all, it was an awesome trip and I can't wait to go back again. Until then....MLS.

The Newcastle fans were out in full force.