UEFA Power Rankings 7 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Below are my weekly power rankings for the top (8) clubs teams in UEFA. These rankings are a combination of their play in domestic and UEFA competitions.

The rankings haven't changed from the last (late January) as the top three remain the same.

El delantero brasileño formó una dupla letal con Radamel Falcao García y redondeó una temporada a todo festejo con el Porto portugués. Aunque se cansó de gritar goles imitando al científico que se convertía en un monstruo verde, le escapa al ruido mediático y se apega a la familia. Pese a su potencia extrema, velocidad y técnica es casi desconocido en Brasil; contrató una asesoría de imagen para llegar a la Selección y aspira a cubrir el hueco que dejó la despedida de Ronaldo, su ídolo.

The club's official betting partner, 188BET, is offering all Chelsea FC fans the chance to chat live with Ramires.
Chelsea FC's Brazilian international midfielder will be taking over 188BET's Twitter account to answer fans' questions during a special live interview on Thursday 2nd February 2012.

Benfica 21 year old striker Nelson Oliveira could be moved out on loan as the Eagles are said to be offering his services to French clubs Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne. The Portuguese U21 year old international is not currently getting much playing time at the Luz and with the signing of Djalo will have even less first team action.

Benfica have come to terms with former Sporting striker Yannick Djalo on a 4 and a half year contract today. Djalo who has been a free agent since his transfer to Nice by Sporting was declared to be invalid due to the transfer window being closed has not seen any action since August 2011. The 25 year old Djalo appeared in 98 games for Sporting, finding the twine 23 times.

Benfica have loaned out midfielder/right back Ruben Amorim to Braga for the next year and a half. Amorim who had a falling out with Benfica coach Jorge Jesus, recently signed a contract extension with the club until 2013 but the club felt it was in their best interest to loan Amorim to Braga never the less.

Former Sporting player Yannick Djalo is now linked with a move to Benfica and it is being reported that Benfica have offered the striker a contract until 2015. Djalo has not played a game since August do to circumstances involving his transfer from Sporting to Nice. Sampordia and Parma are also said to be interested.

Benfica's Bruno Cesar and Jardel were involved in a car accident in Portugal around 9pm on the 20th, both players were unharmed and were passengers in a car driven by a friend. Jorge Jesus was glad that both players were not hurt and revealed that he has also been in a few accidents this season the latest being on Christmas Eve.

Sneaky throw Benfica's Maxi Pereira was eager to launch an attack after winning a throw-in level with opponents Vitoria Setubal's six-yard box. His team-mate Axel Witsel wasn't in any such rush and was happy to take his time while tying his laces. Pereira didn't want to hang around and decided to throw the ball against [.

Week 15 saw Benfica maintain their two point lead over Porto as the season hit the midway point. Benfica earned a convincing 4-1 win over Setubal while Porto stayed pace with a 2-0 win over Rio Ave. In what amounted to the game of the week, Braga defeated Sporting 2-1 to move into sole spot of third place in the Portuguese league as Sporting drop to fourth.

Benfica and FC Porto have done Portugal proud by ranking in the Top 10 of the club world rankings from IIHFS for 2011. Barcelona and Real Madrid were one/two as the two Spanish giants continue their battle on all fronts. Top 10 World Clubs: 1- Barcelona (Spain) 2- Real Madrid (Spain) 3- Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) 4- Manchester United (England) 5- Manchester City (England) 6- Santos (Brazil)

Week 14 has finally seen a team take sole spot atop Portugal for the first time since Week 4. Benfica now sits atop the Portuguese League after their commanding 4-0 win over U. Leiria as FC Porto was held to a scoreless draw versus Sporting. Benfica are two points clear of Porto as the season is one week away from the half point.

On the 23rd of October 2011, an idea for an app came to mind...
... the number nineteen on a red background would slowly morph into 1-6 on a sky blue background.
Less than a fortnight later and Steve Bruce and Wes Brown were needed to ensure that Sir Ferguson's 25th anniversary was marketed correctly.

The 2011 year in now behind us and as we now move forward in 2012, we take a look at ten things that should happen for all Portuguese fans this year. 1- Cristiano Ronaldo will win the La Liga Golden Boot 2- Portugal will reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012 3- Porto's Hulk & Benfica's Gaitan will be sold in the summer 4- Benfica will reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League 5- FC

A list put together by BBC Sport on the top 50 players from around the world that could be on the move during the month ahead.

By "The Other 87 Minutes" / Senior Unemployed English Major Correspondents
To our mind, the only thing wrong with the Champions League is its outmoded method of determining the best of the final 16 teams through a two-legged, single-elimination knockout tournament.

The Uruguayan outrage at Luis Suarez's eight-game ban proves just how far they are behind England in eradicating racism.
Suarez is alleged to have called Patrice Evra a Negro during Liverpool's game against Manchester United on 15th October. He and his fellow countrymen claim that the term is not offensive when used in Uruguay.

Argentine playmaker Nicolas Gaitan is set to join Manchester United, hopefully next summer. He currently plays for Portuguese side Benfica and has even admitted to willingly join the Red Devils. Gaitan's signing is not official yet but the deal looks almost done. The only problem to sign him is the €45 million release clause that is written into his contract, which United have refused to meet.

Week 13 saw the see saw battle between Benfica and FC Porto continue as Benfica took the league lead by three points after a 5-1 win Friday over Rio Ave. FC Porto then matched the Eagles with a 2-0 victory over Maritimo as both clubs remain tied for the top spot in Portugal. Sporting slipped six points back after drawing on the road to Academica 1-1.

Octavos de Final Champions League 2011/2012
Martes 14 de Febrero de 2012
Lyon vs Apoel 13:45 hrs
Bayern Leverkusen vs Barcelona 13:45 hrs
Miércoles 15 de Febrero de 2012 Zenit vs Benfica 11:00 hrs
Milan vs Arsenal 13:45 hrs
Martes 14 de Febrero de 2012
CSKA vs Real Madrid 11:00 hrsNapoles vs Chelsea 13:45 hrs
Miércoles 15 de Febrero de 2012 Basilea vs Bayern Munich 13:45 hrsOlympique vs Inter de Milán 13:45 hrs
Martes 6 de Marzo de 2012 Benfica vs Zenit 13:45 hrs Arsenal vs Milan 13:45 hrsMiércoles 7 de Marzo de 2012 Apoel vs Lyon 13:45 hrsBarcelona vs Bayern Leverkusen 13:45 hrsMartes 13 de Marzo de 2012
Bayern Munich vs Basilea 13:45 hrsInter de Milán vs Olympique 13:45 hrsMiércoles 14 de Marzo de 2012
Real Madrid vs CSKA 13:45 hrsChelsea vs Napoles 13:45 hrs
Gracias por tu visita Estadísticas de Fútbol

18.12 2011 - Con goles de Messi (´17 y ´82), Xavi (´23) y Fabregas (´45), Barcelona humilló (4-0) a Santos en Yokohama para consagrarse campeón del Mundial de Clubes 2011 (como en 2009).
Con una diferencia de jerarquía pocas veces vista (podemos decir nunca?

En Eurosport han sacado el recuento de Los 10 mejores goles de la Champions League 2011 fase de grupos, como ya lo han de saber la Champions League es el mejor torneo de clubes de futbol en el mundo. Esto sucede cuando buenos futbolistas se esfuerzan al maximo de sus capacidades.

10.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LAST 16 DRAW

Olympique Lyonnais v APOEL Nicosia

Napoli v Chelsea

AC Milan v Arsenal

Basel v Bayern Munich

Bayer Leverkusen v Barcelona

CSKA Moscow v Real Madrid

Zenit St Petersburg v Benfica

Marseille v Internazionale

*The first legs will be played on Feb.

By Alan Duffy

You have to feel somewhat sorry for Arsenal. After doing all the hard work and topping their difficult group with a game to spare, they still manage to draw the Italian champions in the last 16 of the competition. Still, the Gunners have a decent record against Milan, knocking them out of the competition in 2008, courtesy of a 2-0 win at the San Siro.

"Football is a simple game" were four words of Graham Taylor's wisdom when he was managing Watford up the Football League in the late 70s and early 80s. And his Watford sides certainly "kept it simple." But it is an unfortunate consequence of the contemporary 24-hour news culture that "keeping" football analysis "simple" leaves a gap in the media schedules.

Este 11 de Diciembre fue fatal para el futbolista Paraguayo Oscar Cardozo quien una vez mas se esfuerza por fallar cuando todos pensaban que facturar el gol seria tarea sencilla,recuerden el penal en la copa mundial contra España (si bastante presión pero no se olvida).

Aquí el bombom que deja ir Cardozo en el partido Maritimo vs Benfica

Week 12 saw Braga lay a licking on visiting Pacos Ferreira with a 5-2 victory. The win vaulted Braga into a 4th place tie with Maritimo. On Saturday FC Porto moved three points clear of Benfica after their 2-1 victory over Beira Mar, quickly erasing their fall from the Champions League a few days earlier.

The last round of matches of the group stages of the 2011-12 Champions League had a couple of surprises.Firstly, Manchester United was elminated for the first time in the group stages of the tournament since the 2005-06 season. More surprising than this fact is nevertheless that it happened against the underestimated FC Basel in the last match of the tournament, where the English side needed only

"Thursday nights, Channel 5!" was a chant designed by Manchester United fans when Liverpool failed to get a top four spot in 2010, but expect it to be heard more often the next few months. United's loss to Basel was excruciating, humiliating, and painful. Memories of Benfica and the failings of the 2005/06 season were [.

On another night of drama in the Champions League Lyon, Basel and Napoli all moved onto the round of 16, while last season's beaten finalist Manchester United was sent to the Europa League.

The most unlikely team to progress to the knock stages was Lyon, who needed Ajax to lose at home to Real Madrid while they beat Dinamo Zagreb and overturned a seven-goal deficit.

After the dust settled from Wednesday's shocking UEFA Champions League group results, the final 16 teams have emerged to make it to the knockout stage.

The draw is set for Dec. 16, and teams from the same group or same league cannot meet in the first knockout round. The teams in each pot are:

GROUP WINNERS - Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, Benfica, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal, APOEL Nicosia, Barcelona

RUNNERS-UP - Napoli, CSKA Moscow, FC Basel, Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Marseille, Zenit-St.

Terrible night for Manchester United and City as both clubs crashed out of the Champions League tonight.

The bigger shock was Man United losing 2-1 to Basel on a night that saw United captain Nemanja Vidic carried off with a bad knee injury.

United only needed a draw to progress but went behind after only nine minutes when Marco Streller fired home after Xherdan Shaqiri's cross was kicked out by David De Gea.

Terrible night for Manchester United and City as both clubs crashed out of the Champions League tonight.

The bigger shock was Man United losing 2-1 to Basel on a night that saw United captain Nemanja Vidic carried off with a bad knee injury.

United only needed a draw to progress but went behind after only nine minutes when Marco Streller fired home after Xherdan Shaqiri's cross was kicked out by David De Gea.

Group Winners Runners-up A Bayern Munich Napoli B Internazionale CSKA Moscow C Benfica Basel D Real Madrid Lyon E Chelsea Bayer Leverkusen F Arsenal Marseille G APOEL Zenit St. Petersburg H Barcelona Milan

Ahead of tomorrow night's crucial Champions League against Basel, Darren Fletcher has insisted that the players are fully prepared because they know what is at stake. In 2005, United failed to qualify from the group and thankfully were saved from having the compete in the UEFA Cup.

"It doesn't get much bigger than this," said Fletcher.

The last time I wrote an article, it was to describe a very troubling, disturbing and traumatic defeat against our neighbours, Manchester City who to their credit are making the right noises SO FAR....
Continue to the full story

1. So we're barely in December and we've already won as many games away as we had done all of last season. Whilst the scoreline meant we had a nervy ending to the game, it was a convincing performance that was worthy of victory. Whilst I don't think dominating a team in the top half away from home is anything to be sniffed at, it is frustrating to see us struggle to put games to bed.

Galatasaray look to be back in the hunt for Benfica's Javier Saviola. The Turkish club knows that the striker has fallen to third choice striker behind Cardozo and Rodrigo. Benfica also look to be leaning towards using U21 portuguese sensation Nelson Oliveira, Saviola could find himself further down the pecking order, with the transfer window set to open in a few weeks.

Week 11 kicked off after a long hiatus due to International play and the Taca de Portugal qualifying. Beira Mar defeated Academica 1-0 to move into sixth place in the league. Saturday was Derby day in the league as Nacional played Martimo to a 2-2 draw in Madeira, while Benfica hosted Sporting at the Luz.

Oguchi Onyewu played the full 90 in an electric Lisbon grudge match against Benfica, while Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Atletico suffered only their second defeat of the season against Moreirense.