El Clasico kicks off on December 23 at Camp Nou in Barcelona featuring Spanish football’s biggest rivalries - Real Madrid vs. Barcelona. The two most successful teams of the Spanish La Liga will play in the El Clasico, which is probably the biggest football derby of in all of Europe.

FC Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard seemed a bit nervous about the El Clasico since his star strikers Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi were not going to play the El Clasico due to injuries. Well, a bit of good news goes to Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard as Thierry Henry has been given medical clearance to play at the El Clasico against Spanish La Liga Champions Real Madrid. Thierry Henry hasn’t played since November 25, and is not expected to be on the starting eleven, but he should be dressed up and ready to come off the bench should the need arise.

Read more on El Clasico Betting Update: Lio Messi Not in Barcelona Roster Against Real Madrid

Arsenal team captain William Gallas was able to capitalize on an error by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, which allowed Gallas to slot home the only goal of the match and give Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Premier League rivals Chelsea.

Chelsea defender John Terry got injured midway in the first half and had to be replaced. While Arsenal seemed to have the better rhythm in offense with fine plays being set up by Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb. Meanwhile, Chelsea weren’t as fluid in their offense and were content to try and find their luck through counter-attacking with Shaun Wright-Philipps, Frank Lampard, Andriy Schevchenko and Didier Drogba hoping to get into the Arsenal goal.

Read more on English Premier League Betting: Arsenal Beat Chelsea 1-0

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“A great player cannot exist without a great team. If my performances have been good I owe much of it to my team mates who put me in the best conditions to do well. In Tokyo, it was the victory of Milan, not of Kaka. And we are all very happy about this victory which brought us on top of the world. Every individual performance is the result of the team’s work.” - Kaka, AC Milan midfielder

AC Milan midfielder Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, or better known around the world as KAKA, was just named as the 2007 FIFA World Player less than 48 hours after leading AC Milan to the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup championship. In a poll of national team coaches and captains, Kaka received 1,047 votes compared with 504 for 2nd top vote-getter FC Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, followed by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo who had 426 votes.

Kaka’s recent 2007 FIFA World Player Award is his third accolade this year, having won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and also collecting the Ballon d’Or. The 25-year old Kaka has helped AC Milan win the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League title, and was the top-scorer of last season’s tournament with 10 goals. Kaka also provided 2 assists and 1 goal as they beat Argentina Primera Division club Boca Juniors 4-2 to win the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup in Yokohama, Japan.

Read more on AC Milan’s Kaka Awarded 2007 FIFA World Player Title, Ready for AC Milan vs. Inter Milan Derby

AC Milan 4, Boca Juniors 2

UEFA Champions League champions and Italian Serie A giant AC Milan beat Argentina Primer Cisvision club Boca Juniors 4-2 in the finals of the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup held in the Yokohama Stadium in Japan. The FIFA Club World Cup tournament features some of the best football clubs in the world, particularly in Asia, Europe and South America. In previous years, the tournament has also been called the Toyota Cup or the Intercontinental Cup. However, in the past years, this prestigious tournament was called the FIFA Club World Cup.

In any case, AC Milan is the first European winner of the FIFA Club World Cup, although in history this is the fourth time that they’ve won the Intercontinental crown. Prior to the match both Boca Juniors and AC Milan each had 3 Intercontinental championships, but this victory of AC Milan over Boca Juniors has given them a 4th Intercontinental championship and a place in the football history books.

Read more on AC Milan: 2007 FIFA Club World Cup Champions

Italian Serie A club AS Roma are favored to win against AC Torino in their match to compete for the Coppa Italia this coming December 20. 8 teams remain in the race for one of Italy’s most prestigious football titles.

Torino is currently at the bottom of the Italian Serie A standings. Torino is coached by Walter Novellino, who hopes to beat AS Roma through his pool of talents, which include the likes of Gianluca Comotto, Dominic Malonga, Nikola Lazetic, David Di Michele, Masahi Oguro and Alvaro Recoba.

AS Roma are second in the Italian Serie A standings with 33 points, 7 points behind Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan with 40 points. AS Roma is coached by Luciano Spalleti, who will be looking on his pool of superstar footballers to beat Torino. Some of these superstars for AS Roma include: Philippe Mexes, Francesco Totti, Ludovic Giuly, Cicinho, Daniele De Rossi, David Pizarro and Christian Panucci.

Read more on Coppa Italia Betting: AC Torino vs. AS Roma

Fabio Capello, the former manager of Italian Serie A club AC Milan and the previous manager of Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid, will be now in charge of the England national football team on a four-and-a-half year contract as confirmed by the Football Association just recently.

Fabio Capello replaces Steve McLaren, who was dismissed from his post as head coach when England failed to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2008 finals which will be held in Austria and Switzerland. Fabio Capello, a 61 year-old Italian, becomes England’s second foreign manager. Prior to Fabio Capello, Swedish football manager Sven-Goran Eriksson once coached England.

Fabio Capello’s latest achievement includes leading Real Madrid to the 2006-2007 Spanish La Liga championship. However, Capello was sacked despite the achievement. Apart from that, Fabio Capello once led AC Milan to four Italian Serie A championships and a UEFA Champions League title. He also won an Italian Serie A championship with AS Roma in 2001. Cappello also helped Juventus capture two Italian Serie A championships before the club was stripped from their titles following the 2006 match-fixing scandal.

Read more on 2010 World Cup Betting: Fabio Capello and England As 2010 World Cup Champion?

German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen were eliminated last week from the UEFA Champions League group stages after failing to score a win against Greece Super League champions Olympiacos. It must’ve been disheartening for Werder Bremen, but now they have to focus on winning the German Bundesliga if they hope to capture any kind of important silverware this football season.

The 5-2 victory by Werder Bremen over Bayer Leverkusen may be the first step in helping Werder Bremen win the German Bundesliga championship, as the win brings their point standings 36 points after 17 games played, tying them at the top of the Bundesliga standings with Bayern Munich, who also share 36 points.

Bayer Leverkusen were the first to open the scoring with a goal ont he 7th minute by Leverkusen’s Tranquillo Barnetta. However, Werder Bremen were able to equalise on the 30th minute with a goal from Ivan Klasnic. In the second half, Werder Bremen applied pressure to the Bayer Leverkusen home side, and eventually Werder Bremen’s Diego was able to score a goal on the 50th minute to give Werder Bremen a 2-1 advantage.

Read more on German Bundesliga Betting: Werder Bremen Beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-2

The group stage qualifiers have ended, and the first knockout round will kick off on February 2008 with the top 16 teams who advanced through the group stages by being among the top 2 of their respective group. Among the top 16 football clubs who qualified are: Portuguese Liga champions FC Porto, English Premiership club Liverpool, English Premier League club Chelsea, German Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04, Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid, Super League Greece champions Olympiacos FC, UEFA Champions League title holders AC Milan, Scottish Premier League champions Celtic FC, Spanish La Liga club FC Barcelona, French Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyon, English Premiership champions Manchester United, Italian Serie A team AS Roma, Italian Serie A champions Inter Milan, Turkish Super Lig champions Fenerbahce SK, UEFA Cup champions and Spanish Super Cup champions Sevilla FC and English Premier League club Arsenal FC.

Read more on Champions League Betting: Top 16 Football Clubs Compete For 2008 UEFA Champions League Trophy

Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid finally break through to the final round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League, following a 3-1 victory over Italian Serie A club Lazio at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain, on the final matchday of the group stage qualifiers. The two qualifying slots for Gorup C were still up for grabs, and the winners on Matchday 6 were assured a trip to the Final Round of 16.

Real Madird were very comfortable on the pitch, and it wasn’t long until the goals started pouring in. On the 13th minute, Real Madrid’s Julio Baptista opened up the scoring. 2 minutes after, Real Madrid captain Raul Gonzalez added another goal. And just half-time on the 36th minute, Real Madrid’s Robinho added a 3rd to give a 3-0 scoreline leading into the first half break.

Read more on Champions League Betting: Real Madrid Defeat Lazio 3-1

Earlier in the 2007-08 UEFA Champions League season, English Premier League club Liverpool looked like they were not going to be qualifying into the Final round of 16. However, consecutive big wins kept them in contention, and a big 4-0 victory on the final matchday 6 of the Champions League group stages against French Ligue club Olympique de Marseille gave Liverpool entry into the Final Round of 16.

As early as the 4th minute, Marseille’s Gael Givet made a foolish challenge in the penalty area to set up a Steven Gerrard penalty. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard took the spot kick which was initially blocked by Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, but Steven Gerrard was quick to pounce on the rebound to giev the Liverpool Reds a 1-0 advantage.

Read more on Champions League Betting: Liverpool Beat Marseille 4-0