April 30, 2009
French winger Franck Ribery admits he may leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season as the Bundesliga side could miss out on a Champions League spot for next season.
Ribery has been linked with Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus and Liverpool in recent months.
He said: “It would be difficult for me to stay if we do not reach this goal.
“It is why the club must, at all cost, finish at least in second place.
“We want to win the league and it is still possible.
“But the priority of the club and of the coach is to make sure we finish at least in second place to qualify for the Champions League.”
Ribery ready to leave Bayern
1 May 2009
Transfer Rumours
12 Apr 2009
Newcastle target Juanito wants new contract
Real Betis defender Juanito is keen on signing a new contract with the Primera Divison club.
The 32-year-old’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the season and the Spain international has been linked with a move to Premier League side Newcastle United.
But Juanito is now seeking a new deal with Betis that will keep him at the club for the rest of his career.
Juanito said in the Daily Star: “It has to be the contract of my life because I’m in great form. I want to be paid what I deserve.
“My first option will always be Betis. I want to retire here after the three or four years I have left in football.
“If it doesn’t happen I will find another place.”
[Source: Daily Star]
Messi urges caution for swashbuckling Barça
9 Apr 2009
The football that FC Barcelona played in beating FC Bayern München 4-0 in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg was dashing and cavalier but the reaction of the majority of Josep Guardiola's players after the match was much more conservative.
Nothing settled
Both Lionel Messi, author of two terrific goals in a stunning first half, and Andrés Iniesta, Barcelona's most influential player without a goal on the night, agreed that even after inflicting Bayern's joint-heaviest margin of defeat in Europe, the job was barely half done. Man of the Match Messi told uefa.com: "We went out with the intention of settling this match as quickly and efficiently as possible, and I think we patently achieved that. Our tactic was to play with a high tempo, to pressurise Bayern all the time and to score enough goals to take full advantage of the first leg being at home. But we didn't need the coach to put our feet on the ground again at the end because we all know that a game in Germany against a club like Bayern, who have top-level players, will be difficult. In our minds nothing is settled."
European crown
The goals Messi stroked past Bayern keeper Hans Jörg Butt could easily have been added to had Butt not produced an excellent save from Barça's No10 early in the second half – and had team-mate Seydou Keita not accidentally blocked a goal-bound shot from the Argentinian in added time. The striker was keen to turn the spotlight away from a display which left him leading scorer in the competition on eight goals and focus it on his colleagues. "I think from one to eleven, each of our players put in an excellent performance against Bayern – as a team we played to our true potential. But to be considered the best team in Europe, it's not about playing like this, it is about winning the Champions League and regaining the Spanish title. That's something we can only achieve by taking things calmly and a game at a time."
Difficult return
Iniesta added weight to the idea that Barça's players already had in mind the difficulty of visiting Bayern's Fußball Arena München when they produced such passion and enthusiasm on home soil. "We enjoyed it because it was a terrific performance," said the midfielder. "We were very conscious how difficult the second leg could be in Germany so we went out full of pride and hunger, and imposed ourselves. As a midfielder I must say I have three of the best footballers in the world in front of me, and while Leo [Messi] deserved a hat-trick, the fact he didn't get one does not remove any credit from a great display. It's okay to say we have one foot in the semi-final but to actually play in it, you need to get both feet there."
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'Beast' the best for delighted Terry
The hero of the hour let his captain do most of the talking for him, as Branislav Ivanović made a modest exit from Anfield after his two headers helped Chelsea FC to a 3-1 victory over Liverpool FC in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
'Fantastic moment'
The Serbian international full-back, who connected with corners by Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard in both halves to claim his first goals for Chelsea, only started the first leg due to José Bosingwa's calf injury. His presence was to prove pivotal, however. "It's a fantastic moment for me. I am very happy because I played right-back and scored twice from corner kicks," the shy 25-year-old said. "I've scored [four] goals for Serbia and now two for Chelsea, but I just try to do my best. All the team played very well, I don't like to speak about myself."
Semi-finals beckon
Ivanović made the difference after Liverpool had forged an early lead through Fernando Torres, and a third goal by Didier Drogba put the London side in prime position to move into the last four for the fifth time in six seasons. Chelsea and England skipper John Terry, who will miss Tuesday's second leg after being booked at Anfield, said: "He [Ivanović] is unbelievable. I've said before how strong he is. He's a beast from set- plays and now he's got his first and second goals for us. And what a time to get them. He's such a solid player. He gets forward and tracks back and a few people tried to get round him tonight but they were really struggling because he is so quick, strong and great in the air. Fair play to them [Liverpool]. For the first 15 or 20 minutes they outplayed us totally and got their goal early on, but after that I think we dominated the game and we were unlucky not to win by five or six goals."
'Fantastic spirit'
Ivory Coast striker Drogba shook off an ankle injury to provide a constant threat to Liverpool, and his persistence was rewarded in the 67th minute when he converted an excellent low cross by Malouda to complete Chelsea's perfect evening. "Tonight we had a fantastic spirit," Drogba said. "Even when they scored, we kept playing to make a difference. We had chances at set-pieces and we used them very well. I think Liverpool played well, but so did we. The second leg will be a different game, we will see. We don't know what's going to happen but we will do everything to get to the semi-final."
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Franco frustrated as Villarreal let it slip
8 Apr 2009
One of the famous images from the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final at El Madrigal is of Villarreal CF striker Guille Franco crying helplessly at the stark reality of being pipped for a place in the Paris final by Arsenal FC.
Gifted result
With the two teams now balanced at 1-1 after their quarter-final first leg ahead of the return in London next Wednesday, all Franco feels is frustration and annoyance. No desperation, no tears. "My view is that we gifted Arsenal that result and all because of a poor 20-minute period in the second half," he argued. "Villarreal had the initiative, as well as the lead and we let it slip.
Senna opener
"All of a sudden we didn't have anyone who knew how to hold the ball up, we tossed away possession too quickly and that meant we didn't stretch Arsenal even when we had the ball. We allowed them to push us back and all our defensive players were left constantly chasing Arsenal." Franco's tone was analytical, rather than angry, but he outlined why frustration was his dominant emotion after Villarreal let slip the advantage given by Marcos Senna's outstanding tenth-minute goal.
Challenge intact
"Not only did we already know that at this level of the Champions League you always pay dearly for gifting the ball away, but it feels worse because immediately when we started stringing three or four passes together again the chances began to arrive. Sadly we didn't manage to convert any of them but we have to accept the blame lies with a bad 20-minute period in the second half."
Arsenal smooth
Arsenal looked as smooth and confident in their short period of ascendancy as they had appeared ruffled and under pressure in the first half. However, with Cesc Fàbregas increasingly imposing himself in the attacking third of the pitch Arsenal's rally eventually brought a cleverly improvised goal from Emmanuel Adebayor after 66 minutes. That eventually sparked Villarreal's attempt to get back in control of the match. Franco now refuses to accept that a home draw signals the beginning of the end of his side's UEFA Champions League challenge.
Intelligent performance
"We had the same result in the last round against Panathinaikos and then went to Athens and won," the Mexican international said. "I think that experience will certainly help us with the task ahead in London. We'll attack, we'll try to avoid getting pushed so far back and in general we will try to show what I'd call a typical Villarreal performance. To win we will need to produce a complete match and an intelligent display, but I've got faith we can do it and faith is the very last thing that you lose. I think this team totally believes that it can still achieve a place in the semi-final."
©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.
Mariano sends Porto confidence soaring
Manchester United FC may still be the favourites but FC Porto's 2-2 draw at Old Trafford ensured that confidence levels in the home camp should be sky-high for next week's UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg, according to goalscoring substitute Mariano.
Belief
The Argentinian had been on the field nine minutes when he struck the 89th-minute goal that earned Porto a draw – and boosted the Portuguese champions' prospects of progressing. "We've certainly gained a lot of confidence," Mariano told uefa.com. "We were quite calm because we have a lot of faith in the way we are playing as a team. To get a draw with two goals is very important; it's going to give us a lot of belief as we work towards the second leg. But Manchester United, as the champions and because of their history and their quality, are still the favourites."
'Early goal settled us'
Porto preyed on United's present defensive vulnerability, attacking with speed and precision, particularly in the first half when they took a fourth-minute lead through Cristián Rodríguez. "Scoring the early goal settled us," added Mariano, who like his fellow South American Rodríguez, recorded his first UEFA Champions League goal at Old Trafford. "We knew they were a team that had no major weaknesses. They have good players throughout the team but we tried to take advantage of the weaker points of their game. We'd studied their games and we focused on trying to hit them on the counterattack when they had lost the ball."
'Intelligent game'
To measure Porto's first-half threat, they had six shots on target to United's two – one of which yielded Wayne Rooney's equaliser. And although United came into the game more after the break – and seemed set to win when Carlos Tévez made it 2-1 after 85 minutes – the visitors still finished with more efforts on target and twice as many corners. "We played an intelligent game," said Porto's Argentinian playmaker Lucho. "We kept our discipline, we used the ball well, carefully and created several scoring opportunities. We gave away two goals but we produced a great performance. Yet we can't get carried away as we've still not achieved anything."
Wide open
Porto have never lost a home game against English opposition and defender Bruno Alves believes they have a 50-50 chance now of reaching the semi-finals. He said: "We have the same chance of getting through as Manchester United, although it will be a hard game in our stadium. Porto did well – we showed we have a great history in the Champions League. We've had highs and lows in the competition but we are a team with a strong personality. The tie is open. We are at home against United with two away goals to our credit."
©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.
Roma Finale 2009
7 Apr 2009
Choose which team can be a winner Champions League 2009 in Roma :
Villareal 
Manchester United
Chelsea
Liverpool
Bayern Munchen
FC. Porto
Arsenal
Barcelona
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