In which Manuel Neuer makes it rain quite literally on some pour girl, tipping a bloody huge beersteinall over her while Bayern Munich celebrated their run-away Bundesliga title victory after a 3-0 win over Augsburg at the Allianz Arena yesterday...
Although they did not officially secure the club's 23rd Bundesliga title, Bayern Munich's home win over Hamburg made headlines all around the world this weekend.
Bayern routed European hopeful Hamburg 9-2 on Saturday, giving the German giants a club record 10th straight Bundesliga win.
Plenty of heart in that performance, epitomised by Koscielny
That we are now out of the Champions League is no surprise. The manner in which we exited, was however surprising. I would hold my hand up and admit that I did not have any expectation that we would we able to win at Munich, let alone managing to level the score.
Thomas Mueller and Bastian Schweinsteiger of Bayern Muenchen (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
After a gut-wrenching 3-1 defeat at the Emirates in the first leg, Arsenal will have plenty of work to do in the second leg at the Allianz Arena to qualify for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Today, we heard Gus Johnson commentate his second soccer game for FOX Soccer, where he was the announcer for the UEFA Champions League match between Arsenal and Bayern Munich. His performance as a commentator at the Emirates Stadium tonight showed that he was a considerable amount of work ahead of him if he wants to improve.
Manchester United widened the gap between them and second-place Man City to 12 points on Sunday, prompting many fans to write off the Premier League season as boring and already over. Meanwhile, in Germany, Bayern Munich have a 15-point lead on Borussia Dortmund and winning comfortably has become so common for Bayern that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer needs his teammates to keep him entertained during matches.
Philipp Lahm of FC Bayern Muenchen-Photo by Maksim Malinouski/EuroFootball/Getty Images
This Saturday, the Bundesliga's indomitable league leaders Bayern Munich will face off against 6th placed Schalke at the Allianz Arena. The Munich side have been sensational this term, conceding only seven goals in 20 matches while Schalke must feel hard-done by their performances this campaign after finishing third last season.
Compiling a starting XI from all of the best leagues around the world is difficult. Taking in consideration the league a player plays in, as well as their ability level are at the forefront of the equation. However, just because a player has a big name like a Vincent Komany or Gerard Pique, does not pencil their names into the squad, nor even a spot on the bench.
FIFA have taken it upon themselves to announce their 23-man long shortlist/short longlist of nominations for this year's Ballon d'Or prize.
Here it be (in alphabetical order) as put out by award originators and overseers France Football...
Sergio Aguero (Argentina, Man City) Mario Balotelli (Italy, Man City) Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid) Gianluigi Buffon (Italy, Juventus) Sergio Busquets (Spain, Barcelona) Iker Casillas (Spain, Real Madrid) Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast, Chelsea/Shanghai Shenhua) Radamel Falcao (Colombia, Atletico Madrid) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden, Milan/PSG) Andrés Iniesta (Spain, Barcelona) Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) Manuel Neuer (Germany, Bayern Munich) Neymar (Brazil, Santos) Mesut Özil (Germany, Real Madrid) Gerard Pique (Spain, Barcelona) Andrea Pirlo (Italy, Juventus) Sergio Ramos (Spain, Real Madrid) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal Real Madrid) Wayne Rooney (England, Man Utd) Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast, Man City) Robin van Persie (Holland, Arsenal/Man Utd) Xabi Alonso (Spain, Real Madrid) Xavi (Spain, Barcelona)
The long/shortlist will be further whittled down to just three names (the short shortlist) at the tail end of November, with the winner being announced at FIFA's annual jolly in Zurich on January 7th of next year.
Bayern Munich celebrated the 2012 Edition of Oktoberfest in typical Bavarian style yesterday, except this time, they had new recruit Javi Martinez within their ranks. Granted, the Spaniard looked a little confused by the dress code (the Spanish don't do Bavarian Fancy dress bring on the 'beret', which is the traditional Basque costume!
Champions League Matchday 2 Ajax Amsterdam vs Real Madrid Borussia Dortmund vs Manchester City
Who is this photographer who has been capturing what can best be described as 'Moments of Gold' from the Champions League?
After Manuel Neuer's show of unabashed Bromance at the Bayern Munich press conference yesterday, Real Madrid teammates Fabio Coentrao and Pepe have followed it up with this gem of a photo ahead of their meeting with Ajax Amsterdam.
The photos of Manuel Neuer with Bayern teammate Anatoli Timoschtschuk at yesterday's Champions League press conference are relatively romantic, no? Nothing screams 'Bromance!' more than tenderly laughing into shoulders in front of the media pack.
Football Match just over at Allianz Arena Bundesliga Home Team Bayern Munich Goals & Scorers 51′:
Bastian Schweinsteiger;49′: Thomas Müller;47′: Mario Mandzukic;44′: Luiz Gustavo;34′: Toni
Kroos;32′: Thomas Müller; Keeper Manuel Neuer Midfield Luiz Gustavo; Thomas Müller; Toni Kroos;
Bastian Schweinsteiger; Franck Ribéry; Forwards Mario Mandzukic; Defense Philipp [.
Playing at Allianz Arena Bundesliga Home Team Bayern Munich Keeper Manuel Neuer Midfield Arjen
Robben; Thomas Müller; Toni Kroos; Franck Ribéry; Luiz Gustavo; Forwards Mario Mandzukic; Defense
Holger Badstuber; Jérome Boateng; Philipp Lahm; Emre Can; Subs Away Team Stuttgart Keeper Sven
Ulreich Midfield [.
Balotelli brace stuns Germany and sends Italy through to Euro 2012 final - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Italy stunned highly-fancied Germany with 2-1 win on Thursday night to book a place in the Euro
2012 final against holders Spain. Mario Balotelli was the hero, scoring both Azzurri goals in a
commanding Italy performance before Mesut Ozil grabbed a consolation from the penalty spot in
injury-time.
Balotelli brace stuns Germany and sends Italy through to Euro 2012 final - originally posted on
Soccerlens.com
Italy stunned highly-fancied Germany with 2-1 win on Thursday night to book a place in the Euro
2012 final against holders Spain. Mario Balotelli was the hero, scoring both Azzurri goals in a
commanding Italy performance before Mesut Ozil grabbed a consolation from the penalty spot in
injury-time.
Ich habe sie nicht gezählt. Ein Freund von mir hat einen Laden in Gelsenkirchen, vielleicht sammle ich sie noch auf.
Manuel Neuer, Torwart des FC Bayern München, über die vielen Bananen, mit denen er beim Spitzenspiel Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern München von den Fans beworfen wurde.
1. This particular Champions League Houdini act looks like it will be beyond even the seasoned escapologists of Barcelona. 2. Dante's peak was considerably higher than that of anyone in the Barca defence. Bayern dominated in the air. 3. Lionel Messi can claim to be fully fit all he likes he clearly wasn't.
Bayern Munich will travel to Turin, Italy on Wednesday to take on Juventus in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals with a two-goal advantage in hand.
The first leg in Munich saw Bayern score one of the fastest goals in Champions League history (26 seconds), and would later add another thanks to a Thomas Muller tap-in in the 63rd minute.
Bayern Munich have pretty much everything going in their favour at the moment. They are fifteen points clear of Borussia Dortmund in second place in the Bundesliga, have a goal difference of +50, have conceded one league goal away from home all season and face an Arsenal side tonight that are still stinging from an [.
L-R back row) Holger Badstuber, Manuel Neuer, Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira and Jerome Boateng (L-R front row) Philipp Lahm, Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil of Germany (Photo by Joern Pollex/Getty Images)
The FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers get back under way over the next few days and the UEFA zone has thrown up some interesting encounters, including Ireland vs.
The Euro 2012 tournament is now complete and Spain have been crowned the title holders once again,
in what was an entertaining tournament we now select our 23 man roster from the star performances
of the 2012 tournament.GoalkeepersIker Casillas (Spain), Gianluiga Buffon (Italy), Manuel Neuer
(Germany)DefendersPEPE (PORTUGAL), FABIO COENTRAO (PORTUGAL), Gerard Pique (Spain), Jorge Alba (
While Italy's players are rightly taking all the plaudits this morning after their Euro 2012 win,
it was the performance of Germany's new sweeper, Manuel Neuer, that really caught OTP's eye. In the
closing stages, Neuer took to playing 'rush goalie', the highlight being this diving header
clearance after he was nearly caught out of [.
Four years ago, Fernando Torres blew by Philipp Lahm for Spain's winning goal in the Euro final.
Today, Lahm was caught in a similar futile foot race this time against a powerful Mario
Balotelli.
The City striker sneaked behind the lines as Riccardo Montolivo with all the time in the world
caught the Germans in their offside trap to find Balotelli with a long diagonal pass.
On a day when Germany captain Philipp Lahm matched Thomas Hassler and Jurgen Klinsmann's record
of 13 European Championship appearances, he also scored a fantastic opening goal to give his side a
deserved 1-0 lead at half-time.
The Germans dominated the proceedings throughout a highly one-sided opening period but were
somewhat wasteful in their failure to open the scoring until the 38th minute.
All four Champions League semi-finalists were impressive in a weekend which saw both Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain edge closer to winning their respective titles.
Germany Bundesliga champions Bayern flexed their goalscoring muscles for a second consecutive week to dispatch Hannover 96 6-1.
I love the latter stages of the Champions League for so many reasons; the customary song which is played before kick-off, the flags that adorn the pitch as the players stroll down the tunnel, the clashes of European heavy-weights, and the electrifying buzz that pulsates through the crowd for the entire 90 minutes.
I love the latter stages of the Champions League for so many reasons; the customary song which is played before kick-off, the flags that adorn the pitch as the players stroll down the tunnel, the clashes of European heavy-weights, and the electrifying buzz that pulsates through the crowd for the entire 90 minutes.
Bolzplatzheld versucht den Fußball aus Sicht von Facebook und Twitter zu beleuchten, deckt investigativ Missstände im Fußball auf und versucht sie zu ändern, wird nach Bundesligaspieltagen im Schlafzimmer des Moderators aufgezeichnet, soll ausschließlich Spaß machen und ist so interaktiv, wie es andere sein wollen.
Arsenal have dug themselves a hole so deep that it's going to be nearly impossible to climb out of after dropping a 3-1 decision at home on Feb. 19 to Germany's Bayern Munich in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie in the European Champions League. It was a rather sloppy affair in the first half with the Gunners improving greatly in the second 45 minutes, but they were simply beaten by a better side on the night.
Wenn ein Kalenderjahr dem Ende entgegen geht, dann heißt das auch immer, dass bald der beste Spieler des Jahres oder wie man ihn früher genannt hat: Weltfussballer gekürt wird. Wie immer schreiben dann die Medien nur vom Zweikampf Messi vs. Ronaldo und wie immer werden alle anderen nominierten Fussballer ganz galant übergangen.
Bolzplatzheld versucht den Fußball aus Sicht von Facebook und Twitter zu beleuchten, deckt investigativ Missstände im Fußball auf und versucht sie zu ändern, wird nach Bundesligaspieltagen im Schlafzimmer des Moderators aufgezeichnet, soll ausschließlich Spaß machen und ist so interaktiv, wie es andere sein wollen.
En el 2008 Austria y Suiza el mejor jugador fue Xavi Hernandez, en este 2012 su compañero Andres
Iniesta el Oliver Atom de carne y hueso para Marca es el jugador mas valioso.
Andrés Iniesta, centrocampista del FC Barcelona, ha sido declarado mejor jugador de la
Eurocopa de Polonia/Ucrania 2012, según informa hoy la UEFA en un comunicado.
The joy of beating Greece 4-2 to advance to the semifinals of Euro 2012 quickly turned to
confusion for Germany as they questioned how it was possible that they faced a team so much worse
than anyone they played in the group stage.
"The entire first half I couldn't help but feel we had accidentally been placed in a consolation
tournament," said German captain and first-half goal scorer Philipp Lahm.
In the end, Germany proved to be way too much for upstart Greece to overcome.
Despite a short-lived equalizer by the Greeks in the second half, Germany steamrolled the 2004
European champions, as a 4-2 victory booked the Germans' place in the semifinals.
Barcelona will travel to Munich Tuesday to take on German giant Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal round and a much-anticipated matchup between two title favorites.
For Barcelona, this marks the fifth consecutive season in which they have advanced to at least the semifinal round of the Champions League.
