Think Inter Milan. Think Walter Samuel, Adriano, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira, Luis Figo, Javier Zanetti, Hernan Crespo, Esteban Cambiasso, Marco Materazzi, Cristian Chivu and Cesar.

Think AS Roma. Think Cicinho, Ludovic Giuly, Francesco Totti, Juan, Christian Panucci, Antunes, Simone Perrotta, Rodrigo Taddei, Daniele De Rossi and David Pizarro.

AS Roma and Inter Milan share the lead at the top of the Italian Serie A standings with 11 points each. Roma and Inter have identical records of 3 wins, 2 draws & 0 losses. Inter Milan have scored 10 goals so far, and Roma have scored 11. Inter Milan have only 3 goals against them while Roma have 4 goals against them. On the standings and the numbers, Roma and Inter are quite even.

Maybe the advantage will be with Roma since the biggest match in Italian football this weekend will be played on their home pitch at the Stadio Olimpico…[read more Inter Milan vs. AS Roma: The Biggest Match in Italian Football This Weekend!]

The Carling Cup, or what is better known as The Football League Cup is competed by 92 English football clubs. There are the 20 clubs that are part of the English Premier League plus the 72 other teams that make up the English Football League. Most of the time, the teams of the English Premier League are expected to win just because they have some bigger football names representing their squad. However, there can be exceptions.

In the recent third round of the 2007-2008 Carling Cup tournament, English Premier League champions Manchester United were handed a defeat courtesy of Coventry City Sky Blues, who play at the Coca-Cola Championship, which is the second-highest tier of the English football league system. Coventry City were visitors at Manchester United’s home pitch of Old Trafford, and it seemed that Manchester United would have the advantage of being on their home ground…[read more]

I told you so.

Manchester United improve their English Premier League standings to 18 points, and maintain second place behind Arsenal, after defeating Chelsea 2-0 on their home pitch at Old Trafford last Sunday.

Chelsea had several of their star players on the injured list, such as Didier Drogba, Wayne Bridge, Frank Lampard, Ricardo Carvalho & Michael Ballack. Not only was that a disadvantage for them, but they also had to deal with new manager Avram Grant, who recently replaced Jose Mourinho. Let’s just say that the Chelsea players and management are still trying to iron out some differences to be on the same page…[read more]

Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid looked worn out when they visited the Estadio Jose Zorila on Sunday to face Real Valladolid for the 4th matchday of the 2007-08 Spanish Primera Liga season. Real Valladolid were last season’s Segunda Liga champions, which earned them the opportunity to join the Primera Liga this season. On paper, Real Madrid definitely looked the better side, and their recent football performance made them huge favorites to win the match against Real Valladolid.

However, the Segunda Liga champions Real Valladolid put on an inspired performance in order to prove their metal against the Primera Liga champions Real Madrid. In this champion vs. champion match, it was Real Valladolid who took control at the start as Real Madrid struggled to find a consistent flow to their game. Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas had to make some heroic saves against the attempts of Valladolid’s Jose Antonio Garcia Calvo, Joseba Llorente, Borja Fernandez and Sisi Gonzales…[read more]

Arsenal FC are at the top of the English Premier League with 16 points in only 6 matches played. Their most recent victory was a 5-0 win over Derby County on the Arsenal home pitch at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger was definitely in high spirits as his side delivered 5 impressive goals against Derby County, giving proof that Arsenal is ready to show the world some quality football.

“We kept a good concentration on the quality of our game. It was really enjoyable to watch.” said Arsene Wenger…[read more]

Chelsea vs. Manchester United. That match is supposedly going to be an awesome display of football, but I don’t think that Chelsea will be up to the task of winning against Manchester United in their upcoming derby at Old Trafford. It’s not because Manchester United have the home pitch advantage either.

Let’s just look at the facts, and what we know is that Chelsea has been not playing the level of football that’s expected of their star-studded squad. In Chelsea’s last home game at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea supporters were booed off the pitch when Norwegian champions Rosenborg made a 1-1 draw in their 2007-08 UEFA Champions League group stage match. before that, Chelsea hosted the Blackburn Rovers for an English Premier League match, and the two sides were scorless for a 0-0 draw. The week before that Chelsea were destroyed in Villa Park when Aston Villa creamed them 2-0. The last Premiership goal Chelsea scored was back in August 25 when they defeated Portsmouth 1-0…[read more]

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi had an impressive performance for Barcelona FC when the Catalans hosted French Ligue 1 Champions Olympique Lyonnais at the Nou Camp in Barcelona for their 2007-08 UEFA Champions League group stage match. Lionel Messi was announced as the Man of the Match for his tireless efforts in attacking the Lyon goal. Messi was instrumental in providing the first Barca goal when he took a short corner from Ronaldinho and drove a low cross across the Lyon goal. Lyon defender Francois Clerc did his best to block the cross, but his touch diverted the ball into the back of the Lyon goal, giving Barcelona a 1-0 advantage due to the Lyon own goal in the 21st minute

Barcelona looked to be in control throughout the entire match from thereon. Barca’s Lionel Messi, Deco, Ronaldinho, Gianluca Zambrotta and Thierry Henry were relentless in their assult of the Lyon goal. Fortunately, Lyon keeper Remy Vercoutre made some impressive stops. Even Lyon defender Francois Clerc was able to redeem his early own goal blunder by blocking Messi’s shot just right at the goal line….[read more]

The Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid was in full capacity as Spanish La Liga Champions Real Madrid played host to German squad Werder Bremen in their Group C group stage match of the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League season. Real Madrid started the match with a bang, making an impressive goal in the 16th minute from Madrista captain Raul. Real Madrid striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy brought in the ball to the left side of the penalty area and flicked it to the near post past two Werder Bremen defenders. Raul was able to beat the Werder Bremen defense to the ball and headed it home past Werder Bremen keeper Tim Wiese. The goal by Raul improves his UEFA Champions League All-Time Leading Scorer record to 57 goals.

However, the celebrations at the Santiago Bernabeu were short-lived when Werder Bremen scored an equaliser in the 17 th minute. Werder Bremen midfielder Dusko Tosic swung in a cross to the middle of the box, and striker Boubacar Sanogo was able to get a toe to put the ball past Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas…[read more]

The competition format of the UEFA Champions League is not like boxing. When you defend a title in boxing, you go through one match and wait to see the outcome after you slug it out. In the UEFA Champions League, defending the title means having to survive the Group stages of 32 teams, the elimination round of 16 teams, then 8, then 4, then the big dance in the finals of the top 2 teams where one can only be crowned champions of the UEFA Champions League.

In the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League, AC Milan went through that entire ladder until they were the only ones remaining on the top step. For this season, AC Milan have to go through the entire ordeal again beginning with the Group stages. In the 2007-2008 season of the UEFA Champions League, AC Milan have been grouped in Group D along with Ukranian football club FC Shaktar Donetsk, Scottish Premier League title holders Celtic FC and Portugese club Benfica. Only the top 2 of Group D will advance to the elimination round of 16…[read more]

Bayern Munich had the home court advantage when they faced Schalke 04 at the Allianz Arena last Saturday for matchday5 of the German Bundesliga. However, it was Schalke who opened the scoring, marking the first time ever that Schalke had scored in the Allianz Arena.

Bayern Munich looked to be the more comfortable team on the start of the match. In fact, they had a lot of opportunities to be the first to score with multiple attempts made by Miroslav Klose, Luca Toni and Christian Lell. However, nothing seemed to get past Schalke keeper Manuel Neuer.

Eventually, Schalke took the lead with their first shot on target when Ivan Rakitic blasted the ball from 25 yards out to go past veteran goalkeeper and Bayern captain Oliver Kahn in the 36th minute. It could’ve been two goals for Schalke just before half time, but Rakitic was stopped by Oliver Kahn the next time around…[read more]