SoccerBlogs

Galatasaray allowed supporters to attend their training session this week — a decision they probablyregrettedafter a fan invaded the practice pitch and collided with Didier Drogba. The man appeared to be sprinting towards Drogba to give him a hug, but just before he reached the Ivorian striker, he slipped an fell on him.

Racism continues to be one of the hot topics in world football even in 2013, and Ivory Coast star Didier Drogba is the latest to be affected by racist chants. The Galatasaray striker was racially abused by Fenerbahce fans during a recent match between the two rivals, which finished in a 2-1 win for Fenerbahce.

His current side may have just this week dropped out of Europe's premier club competition. However personally it has been a pleasure to witness the return of Didier Drogba to the Champions League in the colors of Galatasaray. Albeit his absence was short-lived, having departed Stamford Bridge for China last summer only to return to Europe in January to join the Turkish side, his return has been a welcome reminder that the Ivorian striker still has something to offer at this elite level.

Strikers often decide the outcome of a match more often than not, as it is their goals that separates two teams. This is my list of the top 5 strikers in the world.

Lionel Messi of Barcelona (Flickr Commons)

Arguably one of the best players in the world, Lionel Messi continues to be compared alongside the best in the world like Diego Maradona and Pele.

Mario Goetze of Borussia Dortmund (Google Creative Commons)

Friday's Champions League semifinal draw will have been particularly pleasurable for those symmetrically inclined.

The 2011-12 Bundesliga winners (Borussia Dortmund) are taking on the same season's La Liga champions (Real Madrid) in one match, with each division's runners-up (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid respectively) of that campaign contesting the other.

Real Madrid are back in the Champions League semi-finals after beating Galatasaray 5-3 on aggregate despite a 3-2 defeat in Istanbul.

Already three goals up from the first leg at the Bernabeu, the tie was seemingly over when Cristiano Ronaldo scored after just eight minutes.

But an Emmanuel Eboue thunderbolt after 57 minutes brought Gala back level on the night, before Wesley Sneijder put the home side ahead after 70 minutes.

BY IVES GALARCEP

When Malaga's Eliseu put the ball in the net in the 82nd minute to give Malaga a 2-1 lead over Borussia Dortmund, it looked as though the reigning German champions had given themselves too high a hurdle to overcome in too short an amount of time. They couldn't dwell on the fact that the goal looked to be offside.

When Cristiano Ronaldo scored just eight minutes into Real Madrid's Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Galatasaray it seemed the result was a foregone conclusion. Real Madrid carried over a 3-0 lead from the first leg in Spain, so the final 82 minutes of the tie could've easily devolved into something even worse than an free information session on ski resort time shares.

After the results from the first leg of these matches, who would have thought that the second leg of the matches between Borussia Dortmund-Malaga and Galatasaray-Real Madrid would have so exhilarating? And I'm not even a supporter of any of the four clubs.

If you missed the matches, or if you want to watch the highlights, here they are for readers/viewers in the United States (due to rights restrictions).

Cristiano Ronaldo scored early for Real Madrid but it was Galatasaray who responded with three goals to make the second leg of this Champions Leauge Quarterfinal an exciting one. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored again late to secure Madrid's passage to the semi-finals, but Didier Drogba, Emmanuel Eboue, and Wesley Sneijder all scored to make it very interesting in Istanbul.

While there aren't any Premier League clubs remaining in the UEFA Champions League, there's still plenty of good football to watch today with the second legs of the quarter-finals set for later today.

If you live in the United States, both matches can be watched live on television and the Internet.

Club football is working its way to champions on every continent. Seattle Sounders FC and Santos Laguna are in the semifinals of their climb in North America. The Liga MX is favored in the contest (a Sounders win is listed at 9.00, Santos at 1.33), which isn't really a surprise. You certainly know of the big UEFA contests involving Malaga's trip to Dortmund and Turkish club Galatasaray needing a miracle to get past Real Madrid.

Real Madrid come into the second leg of their quarter-final Champions League tie with Galatasaray knowing that they almost have one foot in the semi-final draw. The 3-0 comprehensive first leg victory means that Mourinho's men can afford to relax a little ahead of the match. Mourinho said after the first leg that Galatasaray needed a miracle in order to make it into the semifinals.

It has been a largely miserable weekend of travelling, bad weather and even death (in the tragic passing of Manuel Pellegrini's father) for Malaga. On Friday, The Spaniards had to sit through a nervy flight up to the Basque Country when their aircraft was struck three times.

"Ho?geldiniz!" You're looking at the lavish 'Sultan-esque' bedrooms of the Real Madrid players who arrived in Istanbul earlier to face Galatasaray in the second-leg of their Champions League encounter tomorrow. Indeed, Jose Mourinho and his players will be resting their million-euro feet at the Ciragan Palace hotel ahead of their "visit to hell", as dubbed by the Turkish media.

Ronaldo (Wikimedia Commons)

As much as things change, things stay the same. This season's Champions League quarterfinals feature clubs synonymous with the latter stage of the competition, as well as those who are less frequently a presence -or who at least have not been for some time.

Malaga and Borussia Dortmund, who contested a 0-0 draw on Wednesday, represent two different approaches to becoming part of the former.

By DAN KARELL

Real Madrid's 3-0 win on Wednesday over Galatasaray should give them breathing room in their quest for a Champions League title, but news of an EU investigation has taken the wind right out of the club.

The European Commission is investigating the club for accepting illegal state aid, according to a report in The Independent.

By Alan Duffy

Real Madrid 3-0 Galatasaray Champions League 3rd April 2013

Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid firmly planted one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after cruising past Galatasaray at the Bernabeu.

First-half goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema gave Los Merengues a 2-0 lead at the interval while Gonzalo Higuain finished off the scoring in the second period.

Real Madrid 3-0 Galatasaray Game In 10 Tweets is a post from: Just Football

Before the match, the game was mostly characterized as José Mourinho versus two of his disciples in Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba. Would the former Internazionale playmaker be able to hurt his former boss?

By JUSTIN FERGUSON

Real Madrid kept up their winning ways on Wednesday with a complete team performance that has them looking like a favorite to be at the Champions League final next month.

In Wednesday's other quarterfinal action, Borussia Dortmund and Malaga played out a scoreless draw that was marked by several missed chances from Dortmund's attacking trio of Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski.

Real Madrid have all but booked their place in the Champions League semi-finals for a record 24th time as they overpowered Galatasaray 3-0 at the Bernabeu.

Galatasaray's coaches and players had insisted before the game that they would try to attack Real Madrid and that they would not settle for holding out for a draw.

By DAN KARELL

Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba renew their long-standing rivalry when Real Madrid takes on Galatasaray (2:45pm, Fox Soccer Channel) on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

The two have previously faced off in the English Premier League with Manchester United and Chelsea as well as Portugal vs.