The four play-off games in the European qualification zone were all tight affairs with all left to play for in the second legs. France edged Ireland 1-0 at Croke Park in Dublin with a second half Nicolas Anelka goal.
In Lisbon, a Bruno Alves strike gives the Portuguese a slight advantage ahead of the return leg in Sarajevo. Click to continue reading...

by TRAVIS CLARK

Three more World Cup spots will be sealed on Saturday, and with the tournament held in the same continent, desperation will be at a maximum as African qualification finishes. Two spots are already held by the continent's two best teams, as Ghana and the Ivory Coast have both safely secured a place in the World Cup.

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Atletico have not won at the Bernabeu in 10 years. The last time October 30th, 1999 when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with his brace and Jose Mari won a now historic victory. Sergio Aguero was 11 years old.

Hasselbaink was virtually unstoppable and so was Joan Capdevila, now at Villareal.

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FC Barcelona would be looking to continue their two match winning streak at Osasuna tonight. After the set-backs suffered at Valencia and against Rubin Kazan at Camp Nou, Barca looked to have got their campaign back to the right track, but still this will be a huge test. The defeat against Rubin Kazan had made the return leg on wednesday a must win affair . Click to continue reading...

Inter Milan moved four points clear at the top of Serie A after winning an eight-goal thriller against Palermo tonight.

The game seemed to be all wrapped up when two goals each from Samuel Eto'o and Mario Balotelli gave Inter a 4-0 lead at the interval, but Palermo fought their way back to put the Nerazzurri under pressure.

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This morning Man United striker Wayne Rooney has been shortlisted for the FIFA World Player Of The Year award. He has been named alongside other English Premier League stars Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry.
Other Premier League players named are Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and Michael Essien. Click to continue reading...

"Henrik Larsson always scores." The clip shows Celtic fighting back through Larsson against Porto in a pulsating 2003 UEFA Cup final.

My memories of Larsson will always be defined by the Swedish striker entering the game in the 2006 CL final against Arsenal late in the second half.

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After Samuel Eto'o's alleged statements against Pep and others at Barca, he adressed the subject as expected at the presentation campaign for "Shoe Aid In Africa" which he's the face of. And Samu's statements were far from any sort of lashing out at the club:
"My relationship [with Guardiola] has never been bad. Click to continue reading...

It looks like Gerard Pique has replaced Samuel Eto'o this season as the player who most often shows up late to training. And today was no exception, with Geri arriving five minutes later than the 11:30 deadline (pictured). Naturally he's up for a fine now; all the better for the club's contributions to medical research. Click to continue reading...

- According to EMD, ex-Barca striker Samuel Eto'o as given an interview to Canal+ in which he lashes out at some of the figures from his former club. The interview won't come out till next Thursday, but leaked statements suggest that when asked which members of the club he's dissapointed in, Samu's reply was something like "Yes, I think if I'd pick two, I'd probably aim at Pep and Joan, but there are many more people who let me down, many more. Click to continue reading...

The 30-man list of nominees for the 2009 Ballon d'Or has been announced. The list consisted of a Who's Who of European football. The most glaring thing is that there is no Italian player nominated in the top 30.

2009 Ballon d'Or Nominees

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Kaka (Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Xavi (Barcelona)
Yaya Toure (Barcelona)
David Villa (Valencia)
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla)
Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)
Diego (Juventus)
Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan)
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)
Maicon (Inter Milan)
Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg)
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)
Lionel Messi is arguably the favourite for this award this year. Click to continue reading...

Inter Milan vs Dynamo Kiev
Tuesday 20 October 2009, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
UEFA Champions League
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK (20:45 CET)

Inter go into this midweek game against Dynamo Kyiv on a high - having thrashed Genoa 5-0. They're unbeatable in Italy but will Inter be able to break their European hoodoo?

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France Football magazine has announced the following 30 nominees for their 2009 Golden Ball (Ballon D'Or) Award:
Andrei Arshavin (Russia and Arsenal)
Karim Benzema (France and OL/Real Madrid)
Iker Casillas (Spain and Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and Manchester United/Real Madrid)
Diego (Brazil and Werder Bremen/Juventus)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast and Chelsea)
Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Wolfsburg)
Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon and Barcelona/Inter Milan)
Cesc Fabregas (Spain and Arsenal)
Fernando Torres (Spain and Liverpool)
Diego Forlan (Uruguay and Atletico Madrid)
Steven Gerrard (England and Liverpool)
Ryan Giggs (Wales and Manchester United)
Yoann Gourcuff (France and Bordeaux)
Thierry Henry (France and Barcelona)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden and Inter Milan/Barcelona)
Andres Iniesta (Spain and Barcelona)
Julio Cesar (Brazil and Inter Milan)
Kaka' (Brazil and AC Milan/Real Madrid)
Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea)
Maicon (Brazil and Inter Milan)
Lionel Messi (Argentina and Barcelona)
Luis Fabiano (Brazil and FC Seville)
Franck Ribery (France and Bayern Munich)
Wayne Rooney (England and Manchester United)
John Terry (England and Chelsea)
Nemanja Vidic (Serbia and Manchester United)
David Villa (Spain and Valencia)
Click to continue reading...

10 Premier League players have been named in the 30 strong list for the European Player Of The Year Awards- three of which are Man United players.
Here is the list-
Arsenal- Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas
Atletico Madrid- Diego Forlan
Barcelona- Thierry Henry, Xavi, Yaya Toure, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi
Bayern Munich- Franck Ribery
Bordeaux- Yoann Gourcuff
Chelsea- John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba
Inter Milan- Samuel Eto'o, Julio Cesar and Maicon
Juventus- Diego
Liverpool- Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres
Man United- Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney
Real Madrid- Karim Benzema, Iker Casillas, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo
Sevilla- Luis Fabiano
Valencia- David Silva
Wolfsburg- Edin Dzeko
Barcelona dominates the list with six players and in all honesty. Click to continue reading...

The Ballon d'Or award has released their shortlist of candidates for this year which includes favorites Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The list includes 30 players in Europe but has no Italian players even though they are reigning World Cup champions. Who will win this year's award? Messi is probably the favorite for the award but it is still up in the air.

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Por John Wyatt
Este sí que es un tipo con suerte. De todas las guerras en las que se ha metido ha salido airoso, un superviviente, vamos. Da igual que no tomara las mejores decisiones. Al final la suerte siempre ha acudido al rescate.

Firme opositor al nuñismo, fue lo suficientemente oportunista como para integrarse en la candidatura de Elefant Blau en 1998 (y perder contra Núñez), en la de Lluis Bassat en 2000 (cayó contra Gaspart) y de crear su propio grupo electoral para traicionar a Bassat y vencerle en 2003.

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Cameroon sits at the top of Africa's Group A, having climbed from fourth (last) to first during the last break by virtue of their two wins against Gabon, who previously led the group. The Indomitable Lions lead Gabon by one point, Togo by two, with a November trip to Morocco to close-out qualifying. Click to continue reading...

By TRAVIS CLARK

With just two World Cup qualifying matches left for just about every country, it's the last chance for many countries to make a push at a spot in South Africa next year. Perhaps the best match slated for this weekend is the matchup between Germany and Russia.

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After only four months in charge of Uzbekistan side FC Bunyodkor, Luis Felipe Scolari is once again facing the sack. Despite earning an astonishing £230,000 a week as head coach of the ambitious side; Scolari has become unstuck once again.
There are parallels to be drawn with his infamous tenure at Chelsea which ended in Feburary 2009.

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The former Chelsea and Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino believes Liverpool forward Fernando Torres is a better player now than when Inter Milan's Samuel Eto'o was in his prime at Barcelona.
The Spaniard leads the Premier League scoring charts with eight goals, five in his last two against West Ham and Hull City, and Cascarino suggests he is almost untouchable. Click to continue reading...

They keep coming:

• Apparently Samuel Eto'o wants a buyout or refund or something from Barca from the transfer. Or something.
  
• David Beckham, surprisingly, doesn't know what his future holds.
  
• Milan and Juve among those after Gary Cahill.
  
• Giuseppe Rossi skeptical about Madrid interest.

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- Zlatan Ibrahimovic has already made history in his little time wearing the Blaugrana shirt: He has become the first player ever in the history of the club to score in the first four Liga matches.
But this achievement comes along with some sad news: Zlatan's out with an ankle injury after last night's match, ironically enouh at the hands - or rather feet - of Barca loan-out Henrique. Click to continue reading...

Anoche saltó una noticia que me hizo confirmar mis sospechas: Samuel Eto'o es indomable. Esta vez no le ha traicioando lo que tantas veces lo ha hecho, su lengua. Ayer demandó al FC Barcelona reclamando un 15% de su traspaso al Inter, es decir, la nada despreciable cifra de 3 millones de euros.
Me da la sensación que, aunque su madurez se ha hecho evidente, sigue teniendo un caracter difícil. Click to continue reading...

Chelsea v Barcelona
Originally uploaded by toksuede Calendario y resultados de la Champions League 2009-2010 Todos los partidos
Estamos en esto de las complacencias y revisando el buzón me piden que les ponga el Calendario de la Champions League.
Por supuesto que si, debemos de ver el fútbol de la mejor calidad y este 2009 y 2010 habrá mucho fútbol internacional. Click to continue reading...

- Barca coach Pep Guardiola stars in a new book entitled "Paraula Pep", or "The World of Pep". The book is the result of the success of a television program by TV3 under the same name, which was broadcasted in the week before Barca's CL victory in Roma. Editor Ernest Floch was quick to take the initiative to commision the book, which records the phrases that have been considered outstanding in the path of Guardiola on the bench of FC Barcelona, and that define his philosophy. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal shook off a terrible start to pull off a dramatic road victory while the much-anticipated clash between Inter Milan and Barcelona left fans hungry for goals.

Arsenal posted a 3-2 victory over Standard Liege after falling behind by two goals just five minutes into the match.

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Group E
Liverpool 1-0 Debrecen -- Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal in the 45th minute for an underwhelming home win for the Reds. The other guys were the Hungarian champs, FYI.
Lyon 1-0 Fiorentina -- Alberto Gilardino was sent off early and the French side took advantage with a 76th minute goal by Miralem Pjanic. Click to continue reading...

The match-up most of us have been waiting for is here and highlights the second day of Matchday One in the UEFA Champions League.

FC Barcelona, the reigning champions, take on Inter Milan, in a match-up chock full of sub-plots and juicy match-ups. Samuel Eto'o looks to show Barcelona that it made a mistake by letting him go while Zlatan Ibrahimovic faces former Inter teammates who aren't too thrilled with him taking all the credit for the three Serie A titles they win with him at striker.

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With the upcoming opening round of Champions League fixtures imminent, perhaps the most mouth watering tie will see Inter Milan face the current Champions Barcelona. An intriguing contest on so many levels, not least to assess how the contrasting styles of both teams will fare, nor how the cross Mourinho seems to carry from his days with Chelsea will manifest itself when it comes to facing the Catalans once again in European Competition.

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FC Barcelona will kick start their defense of Champions League crown officially with the visit to San Siro tonight. This match is set to bring out some stunning re-unions, most importantly Eto and Ibrahmovic. Zlatan Ibrahmovic is set to have a very hostile reception from the Inter fans; meanwhile Eto will feel a bit awkard playing against players who were his team mates for long six years. Click to continue reading...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o will be the focal points of all the hype surrounding the UEFA Champions league clash between reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan and European holders Barcelona. Ibrahimovic travels to the San Siro to play against his former employers, while Samuel Eto'o is also expected to start against his former Catalan [. Click to continue reading...

Today is Matchday One of the world's biggest club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League.
Super clubs like England's Manchester United and holder FC Barcelona of Spain will battle it out with Europe's elite clubs for the right to call themselves the continent's best team.
Who will win the title? Click to continue reading...

L'attesa cresce, diventando sempre più spasmodica. Il destino ha voluto così. Inter contro Barcellona, in Champions, mercoledì sera. Eto'o si troverà contro la sua ex squadra, ed Ibra tornerà nel tempio (uno degli stadi più prestigiosi della Serie A) che lo ha adorato quando indossava il nerazzurro in Serie A, dove incontrerà di nuovo un allenatore, Josè Mourinho, che lo ha già dimenticato, "adottando" proprio il camerunense (autore già di fantastici gol). Click to continue reading...

The Serie A is back from the international break and the surprise start of Genoa to the season continued. Genoa defeated Napoli at home 4-1 on the strength of 2 penalty kicks in a game that ended with Genoa's 10 men and Napoli's 9. Ex-Inter forward Hernan Crespo scored his 1st for his new team as Genoa stayed in 1st place with a perfect record. Click to continue reading...

Our collossal clash with Inter Milan is coming up, and y'all know what that means: everyone remotely involved is throwing words and left and right in the buildup to this match...
- First, we take a trip down to Inter headquarters where the man in charge, Jose Mourinho, claims he has no hard feelings towards Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Click to continue reading...