RSSEurope Related Content
The Final English Premier League Matchday – Trophy, Europe and survival at stake
There is so much to play for on the final week of what has been a very long and eventful season in England. The title is yet to be decided with Manchester City and Manchester United locked on the same number of points.
The battle for the final two Champions League spots is very tight between Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United whereas the hunt is over for 2011/12 UEFA Champions League finalists Chelsea.
Meanwhile, way down the table, one more team will join Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers out of the English Premier League. Will it be Queens Park Rangers or Bolton Wanderers?
Barcelona’s Messi vs Real Madrid’s Ronaldo: Focus on Pichichi after European exit
Lionel Messi tipped to bounce back
An emotional Lionel Messi, devastated by Pep Guardiola’s decision to step down at the end of the season, will be under the spotlight against Rayo Vallecano. The young Argentine suffered the worst night of his career in midweek at the Camp Nou. He was part of the relentless Barcelona team that could not break down Roberto Di Matteo’s Chelsea.
Lionel Messi was given a glorious chance from the penalty spot to put his side 3-2 up on aggregate. However, in front of the Catalans’ multitude of fans at the stadium, Messi missed. His ball crashed against the post at the relief of Chelsea’s goalkeeper, Petr Cech.
Live soccer TV schedule info on mega week with European semis & El Clasico
UEFA Champions League semis on April 17 and April 18, 2012
The stage in midweek belongs to Europe’s best teams. In the UEFA Champions League, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea and Bayern Munich will battle for tickets to the Grand Finale on May 19.
At the Allianz Arena in Munich, German contenders Bayern will host La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Both teams have not conquered Europe during the last 10 years. This season presents a chance for them to try their luck again.
In 2010, Bayern Munich came second-best behind Internazionale, then coached by Jose Mourinho. The latter has given his team the edge over Bayern ahead of this crucial UEFA Champions League semi-final tie.
Sporting tasked with keeping the Portuguese flag flying in Europe
Last season the Liga ZON Sagres produced three of the four Europa League semi-finalists and an all-Portuguese final. The ability of Portugal’s top teams to compete with clubs that benefit from vastly superior resources has been so consistent that it is almost taken for granted nowadays.As FC Porto, Braga and Benfica fell to Manchester City, Besiktas and Chelsea respectively, the feeling on each occasion, was that with a little more luck the Portuguese team could have prevailed against their incomparably wealthier opponents.
This ability to punch above their weight is borne out in the UEFA coefficients country ranking table, where Portugal now occupies fifth position, behind only England, Spain, Germany and Italy. If Portuguese clubs continue to prosper in the coming seasons, it is not inconceivable that the nation could overtake Italy.
Barcelona’s Guardiola: Bielsa is the best, Bilbao are the sensation of Europe
According to the Spanish coach - who won six trophies in 2009 - Bilbao are “used to working at maximum effort. They are educated to believe that they can do more.”Athletic Club were active in the Europa League on Thursday, but Guardiola refuses to accept that their game against Schalke has weakened them in the Blaugrana’s favour. Speaking at his pre-game press conference, Pep underlined Bilbao’s ability to dominate games despite not always being able to direct results their way.
Although Barcelona are currently under deep pressure chasing Real Madrid at the top of La Liga table, Guardiola showed no real sign of competition against the Basques, and especially not against their coach: “I think (Marcelo Bielsa) he’s the best and believe me, it’s a pleasure for me to go up against him.”
ESPN Presents UEFA European Football Championship 2012
ESPN networks will combine to televise more than 200 hours of live coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship 2012™ beginning Friday, June 8, through Sunday, July 1, in eight cities across Poland and Ukraine.ESPN Deportes, the company’s Spanish-language sports network, will lead the three television networks (ESPN and ESPN2) with 106 hours of programming featuring 27 live matches and four tape-delayed telecasts on concurrent match windows. ESPN will present 22 matches and surround programming – pregame, halftime and postgame shows – totaling 62 hours, and ESPN2 will feature 33 hours of coverage with nine matches and surround programming, all live.
All 31 matches will be available in high definition and carried on ESPN3, WatchESPN, ESPN Deportes Radio, and 25 matches live on ESPN Mobile TV. This will be the first time the UEFA European Football Championship will be available on ESPN Deportes HD.
Arsenal’s Wenger: Barcelona and Real Madrid are Europe’s “two super favorites”
The Frenchman shared his opinion about this season’s prospective UEFA Champions League winners. Speaking to Arsenal’s official website, Wenger declared:“At the moment I would say in Europe there are two super favorites – Barcelona and Real Madrid. Behind them, everyone else can hope to win it and we will try to win.
“At the moment we are not one of the favorites but one advantage we have is that we have finished top of our group.
“From now it becomes a cup competition. The Champions League becomes different when you go in the last 16, it is more open.
Why the Bundesliga is the Best League in Europe
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona- these are six clubs which are household names around the world. Nowadays, even Manchester City can stake a claim. These clubs have the power to leave fans in awe and to win numerous titles (feel free to enter Arsenal and Liverpool jibes here though.) However, when one watches a Bundesliga team, one wants to become a fan of it.The sour truth of the game of football is that football is after all a business. Fans pay the price for the tickets which make the sport feel at-least somewhat fan-oriented. However, only in the Bundesliga can a fan truly feel that they are oriented with a club. First and foremost, their club isn’t owned by a Russian billionaire or by a rich Sheikh. The fans themselves own part of their clubs.
Manchester City Reassert Domestic Dominance after European Disappointment
Rovers defended stoutly for almost an hour, before Adam Johnson opened the scoring with a spectacular curling effort to give City a 1-0 lead. Mario Balotelli doubled the City lead three minutes later when he volleyed home Samir Nasri’s cross.Nasri himself got on the score sheet in the 73rd minute, before defender Stefan Savic iced the game with an 87th minute header.
The win leaves City behind league leaders Manchester United on goal difference alone, and will have raised morale after what had been a turbulent week.
On Tuesday night City traveled to Germany and were convincingly beaten 2-0 by Bayern Munich. A Mario Gomez brace handed City defeat and there was clearly a gulf in class between the two teams on the night.
No Europe but Carling Cup is a must—Carragher ahead of Exeter City vs Liverpool
For the first time in almost 12 years, Liverpool will commence their League Cup campaign from the Second Round. The Merseyside Reds will come up against Exeter City and Jamie Carragher is ready to inspire his team to a great start as they aim to clinch the title come February 2012.Liverpool will be lifting their 8th Football League Cup title if they clinch glory this season. For Jamie Carragher, a triumph in 2012 will revive the memories of 2001 and 2003 while it will put aside the disappointment of finishing as a runner-up in the competition in 2005.
“Exeter is a massive game for us. We haven't been in the Carling Cup at this stage for a long time,” Carragher told Liverpool’s official website on Tuesday.
Manchester United are second best to European champions Barcelona, says Fergie
Both sides have met twice in the past three UEFA Champions League finals and Barca came out victorious at each occasion. This fact has seen Pep Guardiola equaling Ferguson’s Champions League feat in no time at all. The two managers now have two Champions League medals each as Barcelona has become World Football’s team to beat since the 2008/09 season.Barcelona are widely praised for building superstars. World Cup winners Xavi, Iniesta and Puyol all taught their football at La Masia just as current FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. Adding his voice to Barcelona’s admirers, Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson told the following to reporters on Thursday:
Will European Triumph Over Chelsea Push Manchester United To Victory On Sunday?
The Red Devils have lost all their games against the rest of the Big Four in the English Premier League in 2011. On March 1, they were beaten 2-1 by Sunday’s opponents Chelsea. This defeat followed with a terrible 3-1 defeat at Anfield. Lately, Manchester United also lost 3 precious points away to Arsenal. Subsequently, they are yet to secure the English Premier League title and this weekend’s Manchester United vs Chelsea match has pretty much transformed into THE decider.
But the Red Devils will be hoping to repeat the results they had against Chelsea in Europe a few weeks ago. To clinch their first victory against a Big Four in the year 2011, play maker Nani believes that confidence will be key to succeeding.
Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Reasons Why The Blues Will Kill Off Spurs' European Hopes
Scoring a hat-rick at the San Siro would have been a fantastic moment for Gareth Bale while defeating European giants AC Milan in the second round was something for all Spurs fan to cherish. Their journey in the UEFA Champions League this season has been a fairytale one indeed and there will be very little denials on how they mesmerized the whole of Europe with their fantastic atmosphere at White Hart Lane.
But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. But for Spurs, the end virtually seems to near to behold. Harry Redknapp's men are currently embroiled in a battle for the Champions League spots, similar to the one they faced last year except that Redknapp's men were far more commanding at that time. In the current circumstances, draws to West Brom and Arsenal have placed them in a very delicate situation ahead of their clash against Chelsea tomorrow, which has now evolved into a must-win match.
Valencia vs Real Madrid Is Crucial For Barca's Rivals European Hopes
Glory sanctified the Spanish giants again after almost three years of title drought. An extra-time Cristiano Ronaldo goal powered Real Madrid to a famous victory over Barcelona in the 2011 Copa del Rey final; Los Blancos suffering and efforts were finally rewarded on Wednesday night. In truth, Real Madrid’s restoration process has just begun under Jose Mourinho—and Barcelona are in a good position to torment their foes.
One major thing for Jose Mourinho and his men is to maintain the momentum from now on. That’s exactly what Valencia vs Real Madrid could serve as, ahead of next week’s all important UEFA Champions League first semi-final leg encounter against Barcelona.
Shakhtar Donetsk Vs Barcelona: Fans Get Absolutely Excited On European Nights - Busquets
Barcelona visit Ukraine to take on Shakhtar Donetsk tomorrow in a clash that seems to have ended prematurely after Barcelona won the first leg at home with a staggering score line of 5-1. The Catalans were at their level best on that day and the victory has placed them in a paradisiacal position to progress into the semi finals.Guardiola's men also visit Madrid this weekend for another edition of the Clasico but Sergio Busquets has dealt a blow towards it by insisting that nothing gets the Barcelona fans as excited as European nights does.
Why Liverpool Vs Manchester City Could End The Reds' European Dreams
Considering that even Tottenham Hotspur are not mathematically safe from relegation is something that virtually sums up a fantastic season of Premier League football that we have had so far. But things are not looking quite done yet for the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool as they continue their never-ending battle of securing a Champions League spot for next season.
Ever since the Arabians took over the throne at Eastlands, success in Europe has been their ultimate priority as they lavishly invested millions on new acquisitions in a bid to transform City into a global European powerhouse.
The impact of that spending has virtually made some real positive impact to be frank when it comes to City's improvement in the league standings. However, things are not quite done yet for Roberto Mancini and his team as they still face a tough fight in the ongoing battle for European spots.
Does AS Roma’s Takeover Mean The End Of Juventus’ European Spot Hopes?
Coincidentally, AS Roma vs Juventus comes up this weekend. Ahead of this titanic encounter, Live Soccer TV analyses a few aspect concerning the Old Lady’s chances of qualifying for Europe compared to Roma’s expected revival.Juventus are going through torrid periods this season with their defence hitting appalling records. They are 7th in Italy’s Serie A with 11 points behind 4th placed Udinese ahead of match-day 31. Now whereas clinching a Champions League spot seems a hard task to complete, securing a Europa League spot doesn’t appear to be that easy.
Pan-European media rights awarded to Eurosport
· The annual editions of the men’s and women’s youth national team European championships at Under-19 and Under-17 levels;
· UEFA Women’s Champions League final and UEFA European Women’s Championship 2011/13;
· The yearly futsal club competition, UEFA Futsal Cup, and the national team futsal competition, UEFA European Futsal Championship 2011/12.
Barcelona Vs Arsenal: Optimistic Guardiola Sees European Triumph If The Gunners Are Beaten
As the whole world gets set and ready for a fantastic clash between Barcelona and Arsenal, Pep Guardiola already has other things on his mind- Champions League crown.The former Barcelona player won the Champions League with Barcelona two years ago. Despite that, Guardiola insisted that his side will be able to go far in the competition if the overcome Arsenal at the Nou Camp tonight.
"If we go through then we will go really far in Europe," Guardiola said during a press conference.
"I am convinced that if we beat Arsenal, we will go far in this competition. If we don't get to the quarter-finals then it will not be because of Carles Puyol's injury, or Gerard Pique's suspension.
UEFA Champions League Draw: Big European Clubs Face Potential Clashes
All 16 teams involved are praying not to be given a tough draw. Evidently, however, they’ll all get paired against each other and there’s a big chance for 2 great clubs to clash against each other as such an early stage in the Champions League. Let’s look at what kind of Last 16 encounters could come up involving Europe’s top teams. Live Soccer TV takes you through probabilities.
Champions League Draw: Which Opponents Could Barcelona, Real Madrid, And Co. Face?
We start by looking at the Big 8, composed of Internazionale, Manchester United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Arsenal. Some teams among this group of European elites had a rather tough time during the group stages of the Champions. Consequently, these ones haven’t won the right to be seeded ahead of Friday’s Champions League draw. Still, they are big clubs and they deserve much attention from the anxious public and inquisitive media.