AP Photo/Claude Paris

It was reported yesterday by Barcaloco.com that Lionel Messi would be taking home the UEFA Footballer of the Year award and it was confirmed today in Monaco. Messi also won the UEFA forward of the year for his great performance in Champions League play last season with nine goals.

. There were some interesting results in the play-off stage in the Champions League, and some teams progressed with pride into the biggest club competition in Europe, while for some other, it was a case of a slip between the cup and the lip. Cypriot First Division club APOEL FC overturned a 1-0 deficit with a 3-1 [.

Unless one has been in a coma for the past two weeks, they would have noticed the controversy surrounding the (just about) Croatian Eduardo's attempt to "deceive the referee" in Arsenal's Champions League Qualifier against Celtic and his subsequent two match ban by UEFA.

After the entire British Isles bar the red side of North London cried "cheat" at Eduardo, UEFA handed out a two match ban to Eduardo and one would have thought that justice has been served and the world can move on to other football controversies like Gael Kakuta and APOEL FC's presence in the Champions League.

The UEFA Champions League continued on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 with APOEL FC v Chelsea. Here's a recap and video highlights of that match.

Chelsea beats APOEL Nicosia FC 1-0 Video Highlights

Chelsea had their second match of the UEFA Champions League at APOEL as they looked to go 2-0.

The UEFA Champions League had a full set of group stage matches on Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea, and Manchester United were all in action on Tuesday. So, who win and what happened? Here's a recap of all the matches along with video highlights.

UEFA Champions League Recap Tuesday, November 3, 2009

There were several draws on Tuesday as some of the favorites struggled.

Which teams will survive the first round of the Champions League?

The long summer of guessing and online gaming is now over, with the groups for the Champion League playoffs finally ready. Let's take a quick look at which teams will make it through to the second round, with our predictions below for the group plays.

15/09/2009Gruppo AJuventus - Bordeaux ore 20.45Maccabi Haifa - Bayern Monaco ore 20.45Gruppo BWolfsburg - CSKA Mosca ore 20.45Besiktas - Manchester United ore 20.45Gruppo CZurigo - Real Madrid ore 20.45Olympique Marsiglia - Milan ore 20.45Gruppo DChelsea - Porto ore 20.45Atletico Madrid - APOEL FC ore 20.

Ronaldo's two goals meant Real Madrid qualified for the last 32 stage in their match against Marseille. They stay group winners as AC Milan followed them close behind. Real won 1-3 as Ronaldo scored in the fifth minute through a free kick. Lucho Gonzalez scored six minutes later from close range after which Raul [.

Debreceni VSC - Blazing a Champions League trail

The 90th Minute Soccer Blog is glad to announce the UEFA Champions League Power Rankings that will be released after each set of group stage matches. The rankings are based mainly on teams performance in the Champions League and not necessarily a reflection of their form in domestic or other competitions.

The UEFA Champions League has eight group stage matches on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 including APOEL FC v Atletico Madrid. Both teams haev no chance of making the knockout stage they are third and fourth place in Group D. Live coverage of the match (streaming video) will be provided at our other site, Free Live Sports TV, at the link below.

With UEFA Champions League 2009-2010 match day 5 now over, the majority of clubs know their fate. In another interesting two days of football, some of Europe's biggest names are in danger of slipping out of the competition. Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munchen and Real Madrid are just a few.

Defeats for Manchester United, Juventus, Lyon, Inter Milan and Sevilla prove how tight the group stages are.

The UEFA Champions League has its last set of group stage matches including Chelsea v APOEL FC on Tuesday, December 8, 2009. Kickoff is scheduled for 19:45 GMT and will be covered live on our other site, Free Live Sports TV, at the link below.

Chelsea v APOEL FC

The UEFA Champions League resumed its group stage on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 with several matches including Chelsea v APOEL FC. This is the last set of group stage matches before the knockout stages starts in February 2010. Here's a recap of the match along with video highlights.

Chelsea draws with APOEL FC 2-2 Video Highlights

APOEL were given virtually no chance to win the match or even get a result but would stun the crowd at Stamford Bridge with an early lead.