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.

So there were some very interesting results around Europe this weekend with the major stories making the headlines being Inter's 4-0 loss to Roma in the Serie A and Chelsea's surprising 3-3 draw at home with United.

Coming off the back of 3 poor results, Inter desperately needed a win to ensure they broke into the top 4 spot.

The Tevez-Pato "will he? won't he" questions ricocheted every which way this January as the musical chairs transfers song played at AC Milan, but at the end everyone retook their own chairs. Boring. Perhaps they were dating Berlusconi's daughter, or were on £200,000 a week slave wages that no one else could match, but whatever the reason, that anti-climax will be followed up by a busy February and early March.

I was surprised when i learnt that Milan had signed Ghanaian Sulley Muntari on loan from cross town rivals Inter considering his form the past couple of seasons. Muntari who is on international duty with Ghana in the African Cup of Nations, will be with the Rossoneri until the end of the season when his current contract with Inter is set to expire.

AC Milan continued where they left off last Wednesday by beating Cagliari 3-0 at the San Siro yesterday to take them to within a point of leaders Juventus. Juve on the other hand were 2-1 winners over Udinese on Saturday.

Both wins see them pull clear of there nearest challengers Udinese and Lazio to set up a rather interesting conclusion to the league this season.

Benvenuto amici! Here's a perfect photo demonstrating the unglamorous side of football when you're on the pitch and it starts to rain. Believe us, it's absolutely horrible. Poor Claudio Ranieri had to stay on and watch as his Inter boys fought and sunk 0-1 to lowly Lecce at the Via del Mare stadium last night.

Italian champions AC Milan have stated that they will be making a decision on signing Carlos Tevez today. Tevez who has been making headlines since he infamously snubbed Roberto Mancini's request to come on as a substitute in their Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich last September, remains AWOL in his native Argentina.

Taye Taiwo has finally been officially unveiled as Queens Park Rangers' new signing this January and the player express his gratitude towards the club's manager, Mark Hughes, who reportedly was then one asking for the Nigerian international.

The six months loan deal with possible buy out clause at the end of season was actually done few days ago, but it's just got active after Taiwo received his working permit, a basic conditions for foreigners to play in the premier league.

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has issued a come get me plea to Italian champions AC Milan. With time running out in the transfer window, the Argentine international is keen on getting his career back on track.

Speaking to Argentinean news agencies, Carlos maintained that he was flattered to be linked with a move to PSG but stated that Milan was the club for him.

Swedish international and AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Serie's A's best player for 2011. This comes as no surprise bearing the season he had with the Rossoneri.

The annual award ceremony which was held in Milan, is voted for by Serie A players and recognises the best player, best coach, best club and the best referee.

Aveva ragione il legislatore dell'antica Grecia Solone quando diceva che è bello vivere perchè ogni giorno si scopre qualcosa di nuovo. Ieri sera il Milan a San Siro, nel penultimo (stasera chiuder l'Inter contro il Genoa) ottavo di finale di Coppa Italia contro il Novara (gara vinta per 2 a 1 dai rossoneri: gol diContinua a leggere .

As the smoke cleared Monday morning in the city of Milan, there was no question who won the latest edition of the Derby della Madonnina the night before. The sun shone a bit brighter and everything tasted a bit sweeter for those wearing the Nerazzurri colours. In a hard fought battle over 90 minutes, the warriors wearing the black and blue of Milan were victorious.

Courtesy of MilanChannel Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives us a few words on the coming Milan derby against city rivals Internazionale with much praise for defender Thiago Silva
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Tevez's 52 goals in 91 City appearances may again prove appealing to Mancini

Alexandre Pato put the spokes on a PSG move as he came out with a statement.

" Milan is my home. I did not want to interrupt my career with the Rossoneri after winning my first two trophies with this shirt.

PSG is splashing some serious cash this transfer window. They are on the verge of signing Alexandre Pato for €35 million from Milan for a three year deal. Leonardo is also milking his popularity with Brazilian players to bring Kaka on board and is offering €25 million for the services of the Real midfielder.

The Christmas break is over. This can only mean one thing: it's now time to put down the panettone and get back to calcio! The Serie A season resumed this weekend – and no holiday hangovers here; there was no shortage of action!

Perhaps still recovering from jet-setting-induced jet lag, Milan and Juventus, the league's joint leaders, both seemed to be struggling to get back into the swing of things with difficult wins against Atalanta and Lecce, respectively, on Sunday.

AC Milan defender Alessandro Nesta has no plans to retire soon.The veteran Italian defender who is now 35 made the startling remarks during an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday.

Despite his numerous injuries over the years that have seen him missing lengthy spells of regular playing time, Nesta has no desire of quitting just yet.

Image: STR/AFP/Getty Images

While you've were toiling over turkey and trimmings, AC Milan took advantage of the Serie A break by taking their players to sunny Doha. Their winter training camp includes a match vs. Paris St Germain in the Dubai Football Challenge on the 4th January; a fixture sure to be a tough one as PSG's newly appointed manager is none other than Carlo Ancelotti, who managed Milan from 2001 to 2009.

In the world of football, festivities and holidays don't last very long... just ask AC Milan! They've spent the last three seasons holed up in a winter training camp in Dubai, ringing in the New Year in the presence of one another. At least David Beckham threw a New Year's party when he was at the club.

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani claims his side are nearer to closing the gap on European champions Barcelona than Real Madrid.

Milan have already played Barca twice this season in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League with the Rossoneri earning a notable draw at the Nou Camp in September before losing 3-2 at the Giuseppe Meazza last month.

Joe Cole was the flagship signing of the ill-fated Roy Hodgson era, and he was a Rafa signing that Hodgson inherited. For me, like Bellamy, Cole was not given chances to impress at Anfield. It was also unfortunate that he got sent off in his very first game for Liverpool against Arsenal.

Ac Milan's Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic finds himself on the wrong side of the law for the umpteenth time as he escaped a ban from league matches after a federal prosecutor decided not to present video footage as evidence against his charge of blasphemy.

Now Ibrahimovic is a good player, there is no denying his abilities, however, his ego is just to big.

Former Chelsea Coach Carlo Ancelotti believes that English sides Arsenal and Chelsea will struggle against Italian opponents AC Milan and Napoli. The 52 year old further went on to say that state of the game in England is 'unwell'.

These are very interesting remarks coming from a coach who helped led the Blues to the Premier League title in 2009/2010.

Antonio Nocerino and Zlatan Ibrahimović were on target as AC Milan went top of Serie A by beating Siena 2-0 at San Siro.

Nocerino drove the Rossoneri in front with a low shot through a crowded penalty area nine minutes into the second half. Ibrahimović confirmed victory with a powerfully-struck penalty, awarded after goalkeeper Željko Brkić brought down Kevin-Prince Boateng.

AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has finally spoken out on the Carlos Tevez transfer saga saying that the Argentine has the choice between joining a prestigious side like Milan or moving to a club that is able to meet his financial requirements.

Commanding a weekly wage of £200,000, Tevez does not come cheap and it is this fact that it the bone of contention between his club City and Milan.

Clarence Seedorf give the salute after scoring against Bologna at the weekend. Although most of us you missed this contest are only hearing of an official controversy with bad calls, no calls and missed calls, the elder rossonero can't be denied. The Milan midfielder receiving a cross from Kevin-Prince Boateng drifted inside his defender unleashing an unstoppable shot from outside the box.

As one unbeaten run came to a close in England, another ws sustained in Italy as the magic hands of Italy and Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon earned the Bianconeri a 1-1 draw with Roma.

It's been interesting to see how the Italian Serie A is playing out these past couples of weeks.

Gazzetta dello Sport Milan assist for Juve The Rossoneri are stumped (2-0) by Bologna. Di Vaio and Diamanti are goalscorers. Antonio Conte's team take on Roma in Rome at the stadio Olimpico tonight. The Bianconeri could move four points ahead of their rivals. Luis Enrique hangs in the balance: "Resignation?

While Barcelona's Clásico win at Real Madrid captured headlines around the world, it was not the only significant result in Europe this weekend.

Spain
The Liga focus fell squarely on the Santiago Bernabéu this weekend as Barcelona injected fresh drama into the title race with a 3-1 comeback win at Madrid.

Last sixteen of the UEFA Champions League? Say word.

I reckon that's a Luis Suarez (a couple middle fingers) to all our detractors. Tell me you don't agree. But, now that we've booked our place in the knockout stages of the competition, we need to look ahead to our possible opposition in the opening round.

Milan started off their Champions League campaign in truly inspirational form after stealing a point away to Barcelona on the opening match day. Their next two games ended according to expectation, with routine victories over BATE Borisov and Viktoria Plzen. However, following their 2-0 win over BATE Borisov on matchday three, the Rossoneri failed [.

It's official! Want away Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez will join Italian giants AC Milan on January 2nd on a loan deal that will see him earn 3 million Euros for the 5 months to the season's end in May 2012 .

Milan Vice President Adriano Galliani revealed this yesterday stating that club had agreed to personal terms with Tevez.

Chelsea's veteran striker, Didier Drogba, looked set to end his journey with Manchester City sometime soon as the striker rejected the one year extension that was being offered to the 33-years-old attacker.

Drogba's refusal in signing the extension with Chelsea was revealed by the player's agent, Thierno Seydi, who believes that minimum contract length isn't something that his client seek in the twilight of the striker's career.

It was a mixed week for Serie A clubs competing in Europe's top competition. An enthralling encounter with the world's best side ended in disappointment for AC Milan, while city rivals Inter did just enough to earn qualification into the knockout stages with a draw in Turkey. But for calcio fanatics, the highlight of this week's Champions League action came from a 2-1 contest at the Stadio San.

Our chicas were all excited playing Heineken Star Player on their iPhones during the Milan-Barcelona game last night especially since the Rossoneri put up such a spirited performance! How were we supposed to predict that Boateng goal until it eventually went in?

"Tipoooo! Want a signed copy of my autobiography?" is probably what Ibrahimovic asked good ol' Messi in this photo, after Milan's 2-3 loss to Barcelona last night. Neither side really have anything to worry about they're both through to the second round!

Reigning FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi has humbly stated that he is not the best player in the world, attributing his personal success to the brilliance of his Barcelona teammates and manager Pep Guardiola.

Messi, who is widely considered the best player in the world along with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, understands that the plethora of personal accolades he has claimed in recent years are certainly accomplishments to be proud of but insists that looking around the Barca dressing room keeps him grounded every day.

by Adam Bate

In 1999 the No.6 shirt of AC Milan's Franco Baresi was retired. That same
year, he was named Milan's best player of the twentieth century. More recently,
he was officially named as Italy's player of the century too. These are
extraordinary accolades to be given to a defender.

In the end Milan had to settle for a point thus bringing to an end their five-match winning streak. It was perhaps undeserved, the Rossoneri dominated the affair at least up until the final twenty minutes when Fiorentina finally decided to take the match to the visitors. Perhaps then did they only realise they were [.

The international week is finally over, thankfully, and now we can again focus on what really matters; the Serie A. And more importantly Milan's bid to retain the Scudetto. The Rossoneri are without doubt the form team in Italy right now after five wins in a row and eighteen goals scored in the process.