Motivational video

Apparently Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola motivated his players in the CL final against Manchester United by showing them a video comparing it to the movie gladiator. The movie is now on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Dhj7KsEyQ
It may be a strange way to motivate football players, but hey, these players are all from a generation that has grown up with Hollywood blockbusters, so I am sure that Mr. Guardiola is on to something after seeing them destroy Manchester United in the final.
At least I must admit that after watching it, I have been feeling like going out to play a CL final!

Cristiano Ronaldo's Top-5 excuses for losing the CL final

I don't think that Mr. Cristiano Ronaldo will need my advice, but here are possible suggestions for excuses he can use for having lost the Champions League final against FC Barcelona:

1. I couldn't focus on the match as I kept admiring Puyol's hair
2. I want to be just like Real Madrid (because I want to go there) and be humilliated by Barcelona
3. They shouldn't even have been in the final; only because of a Norwegian referee
4. My teammates underperformed
5. Puyol is better at diving than me

Super Barcelona

It was not the kind of dream-final that had been expected, although it was definetly the best two teams in the world at the moment, FC Barcelona and Manchester United. The Red Devils, except for their first 10 minutes were simply not good enough, and apparently had an off-day in every sense of the word. United's normally impenetrable central-defense around Vidic and Ferdinand looked rather unconcentrated and shaky, while Barcelonas' subsitutes in central defense played an impeccable match, and when Samuel Eto'o brought Barcelona ahead, there was really only one team on the pitch! I think the biggest surprise about the match was exactly how superior Barcelona looked against the English champions.

While the Premier League may be the most exciting league in the world, English clubs are not all-powerful in Europe, and that was seen last night in Rome!

Barcelona was awesome, while Manchester United seemed powerless at the offensive power of players such as Iniesta (who simply played perfectly!), Xavi and Messi.

Sadly, Manchester United even ended as apparently bad losers, as tempers ran off with them on completely senseless tackles by Ronaldo, Vidic, and notably Paul Scholes (who should have been given a red card).

The victory is, on top of it all, a victory for offensive and entertaining football. It has been. Barcelona really are the best team in the world, and have crowned the most awesome season with the Champions League.

Congratulations to all Barca fans!

"Dommeren er købt"

There has already been much talk about last night's Norwegian referee, Mr. Henning Ovrebo, and I must add some thinking myself: I think that it was a pity and bad luck for Chelsea that they didn't win, but I preferred Barcelona. At the same time, I think that the referee was incredibly bad for both teams, but of course, it was more felt by Chelsea, who should have had two penalties called (and not six like some people are saying!).
Bad refereeing is unfortunately not an unseen phenomenon, and in particular not regarding Mr. Ovrebo, who in the Euro 2008 made such a poor performance on the Italy-Romania match, that he was not given any more matches in that tournament...
Need I say more...?

In the many years I have been a football-fan, I have always had a problem with referees. I have always found it suspicious that the apparently impartial guys in black have such an important role in the outcome of the matches, and at the same time there is so little on the part of the referees themselves in trying to improve their own position (for instance, referees are notably against using technological aids to improve refereeing). Also, I have always found it suspicious that referees who are consistently bad, are rewarded again and again by getting more and more big matches, just like happened with Mr. Ovrebo, or has even happened with the infamous Danish referee Jens Larsen.
Many friends of mine, have always made fun of me of when I have insinuated "partisanship" by referees. Because of this, I find it quite amusing that so many people (including Danish TV3 commentator Preben Elkjær and Chelsea player Bosingwa) now have few quarrels in insinuating corruption by Mr. Ovrebo in last night's Champions League semifinal.
Most referees are good and do their best, and very few are corrupt, but some are incompetent, what I personally just think Mr. Ovrebo is. But at the same time, I would be very careful about totally dismissing the possiblity of foul play. Unfortunately, it has been seen at top level in Europe in many instances:

• In 1984 Anderlecht (with three Danish players) defeated Nottingham Forest in a scandalous match in the semifinal of the UEFA Cup. The referee had been paid off by an Anderlecht official, something that only came to light 13 years later.
• In the 2006 Italian football scandal where Juventus was forcefully relegated, many referees, among them Italy's referee representative for the 2006 world cup, were found to be involved.
• In 2005, a match fixing scandal erupted in Germany, where the referee Robert Hoyzer, admitted to having fixed a number of matches, notably a cup match between Hamburger SV and Paderborn, where the former, leading 2-0, had its best striker red-carded and two doubtful penalties against them, made them lose the match 2-4. The scandal had connections to gambling.
• In the 1994 VA-OM scandal, where Olympique Marseille were forcefully relegated, it was proved that players had been bought. Nothing was directly proved about referees, but the extent of Olympique Marseille's corruption and match-fixing was enormous.
• In 1995, Dynamo Kiev was suspended from the Champions League after approaching a referee in trying to bribe him.

This is just what is known, and what I can immediately think of.
I can also think of a number of matches I have seen throughout my life where, looking at the broader picture, I suspect foul play; this includes a number of World Cup and European club matches.
While I think it happens more often than we think, I don't believe there is a wider conspiracy deciding the outcomes of the leagues, but rather, I think it happens on match-by-match basis, but I also believe that UEFA and the national football associations are not to keen to study the incidences too much, in order not to bring the game into disrepute. Whatever is done, is done quietly, and only selected few instances get out.
But finally, I do think it is naive to believe that in a sport that moves millions and millions of Euros, it is bound not to happen! Fortunately, I do believe it is the exception rather than the rule.

The consistently bad referees

Two great matches, with four great teams, and two consistently bad referees.
In the match between Manchester United and Arsenal, it didn't matter that much, because Manchester were truly the best team in their 3-1 victory, but Darren Fletcher's red card was only the major among many mistakes of the Italian referee.

In the Chelsea-Barcelona match the problem was bigger. Not that 1-1 is an unfair result overall (I was hoping and still happy that Barcelona progressed to the next round), but the problem is that any football fan is left with a bad taste when the referee in such a way takes all the headlines. And in spite of the penalties the Norwegian gentleman didn't call, the calls also went against Barcelona, as the red card to Abidal was totally out of place (here one must add that Drogba's and Anelka's diving and acting probably didn't help, although a good referee should manage to see through that). So the frustration of the Chelsea players and in particular the Chelsea fans is understandable: today they were the better team! They simply played excellently, disciplined and tactically great - the mistakes is that they should have scored on the chances they had, and when you don't, you lose.
But what an amazing srike by Michael Essien!
On a final note, I would also like to congratulate Barcelona. I have long admired how they have played this season, and in spite of the fact that Chelsea was the better team, Barcelona showed character today, as they kept fighting and playing even when all the odds seemed against them; I didn't think the Barcelona team would have such character (I thought they were a bunch of pretty boys playing on humour), but they did, and now we can really look forward to the final in Rome of the two best teams overall in this season's Champions League.

Disappointing semifinals

The first leg of the 2008-2009 UEFA Champions League semifinals were a huge disappointment considering the exciting tournament that we have been having until now.
FC Barcelona was unable to open the strict and disciplined defense of Chelsea, in spite of the fact that they played beautifully in the first half, and probably deserved to win overall (although Chelsea did have a couple of good chances to seal what would have been an unlikely victory). 0-0 was a disappointing result for the Catalonians and for all football fans, and now Chelsea has it all in their hands to win in London. It will be interesting though: if Chelsea play more offensively, they will risk opening up spaces for FC Barcelona's awesome attacking machine.

Manchester United against Arsenal was a different type of match: mainly dominated by United, with Arsenal playing the ball nicely around but without getting any good shots. In fact, the game was most notable for its lacking chances (which largely went to Manchester United nevertheless), and it was perhaps because of this that it was also a defender, John O'Shea, who scored the winning goal in the first half.
1-0 is a rather narrow lead for United, but Arsenal will surely have to play much better to win against Manchester United, who already showed against FC Porto in the quarterfinal that they can play tactically and with discipline away.

I believe that the final in Rome will be a repeat of last years' final in Moscow.

Will Barcelona win...?

I was delighted that Valencia managed to get a 2-2 tie with seemingly mighty Barcelona. Valencia fought and played with heart, and they may be cementing their position to play the next season's Champions League, more so as Sevilla lost to Real Madrid, and Valencia is now eyeing the 3rd place.
Now 4 point separate Barcelona and Real Madrid, and next weekend is the clash that can decide the Spanish championship. Barcelona is looking awesome, but I am not so sure: Barcelona is a looking more like a team of humour-players, who play exceptionally when things are going for them (against easy opponents) but may not be looking too strong when they are actually facing opposition.
In spite of my personal antipathies, I must admit that Real Madrid plays with spirit and heart, and I am certain they will put all their spirit into the Barcelona match. At the same time, Barcelona is facing two crucial matches this week: on Tuesday in the Champions League against Chelsea, and then the Real Madrid match. These will not be easy matches, and they will prove whether the current Barcelona side under Guardiola is really a new "Dream team", or whether they are just a bubble of good football but without the spirit to fight and win.
I am not sure where I rate them, but I definetly see the danger that they may not be as good as any football fan (surely myself) would surely like them to be.

Chelsea-Liverpool

Just like last season, Chelsea proved to be the last stop for Liverpool in the Champions League campaign, but after an exciting match that ended with the most extraordinary result of 4-4! Any match that ends 4-4 is entertaining and intense, specially in the face of a spirited Liverpool side that seemed as always to be coming back against impossible odds. Also, the spirit and physical strength the players from both teams showed was simply extraordinary.

In this sense, it was an extraordinary match.

Nevertheless, a serious football fan should also notice that the game was charactrized by an overwhelming amount of pretty simple mistakes, and that the Chelsea side in particular in the first half seemed very nervous and/or unmotivated. In that sense, it was a strange match, as one is not used to seeing these types of mistakes at this level.

But that is the beauty of football: sometimes these things happen, even to the best of teams, and you end up having a match like we had last night.

Chelsea will now be facing FC Barcelona, whose semifinal never looked in doubt, and managed a 1-1 in Munich against Bayern.
Chelsea against Barcelona has all the ingredients to be an extraordinary match.

Champions League quarterfinals

The first leg of the Champions League 2008-09 quarterfinals were interesting matches which I greatly enjoyed watching over beers in pubs in Copenhagen:

• Manchester United-FC Porto: FC Porto has done it before, and may be well on the way to repeating the feat of eliminating Manchester United, and proving yet again that they are a team that should never be underestimated. They played a great match, and 2-2 may be a great result as they play in Oporto for the next match, where Manchester United will be forced to win, something they have never done before!
• Villarreal-Arsenal: I was a bit disappointed of Villarreal, who didn't really manage to control the match despite the early lead and home advantage. 1-1 is a fair result, and puts Arsenal in a good position before the match in London. The two goals of the match were splendid, in particular Adebayor's bicycle kick!
• FC Barcelona-Bayern Munich: After losing 5-1 in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich suffered another heavy defeat in the hands of FC Barcelona, who in particular in the first half seemed to be running over the Germans when leading 4-0. FC Barcelona somewhat relaxed in the second half, but the most surprising thing in such a match is seeing the difference in quality between two teams in the Champions League.
• Liverpool-Chelsea: Liverpool has looked awesome lately, but had their hands full against a Chelsea side that has found itself under Guus Hiddink. Chelsea deservedly won 1-3 and have one foot in the semifinal, and increasingly look like the team to beat! Liverpool on the other hand can come back to planet earth and concentrate on the Premier League!

I personally feel the dream final will be Barcelona against Chelsea!

UEFA Cup Fantasy football

As we are now entering the quarterfinals of the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League, I am ranked 19,634 (out of 272,515) on UEFA CL Fantasy football, and have just reformed my team again to illustrate the coming quarterfinal matches:

• Goalkeeper: Pep Reina, Liverpool
• Defenders: Ashley Cole, Chelsea; John O'Shea, Manchester United; Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United
• Midfielders: Xavi, FC Barcelona; Markus Babel, Liverpool; Javier Mascherano, Liverpool; Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool
• Attackers: Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona; Samuel Eto'o, FC Barcelona; Carlos Tevez, Manchester United
• Substitutes: Michael Rensing, Bayern Munich; Lucio, Bayern Munich; Lucho Gonzalez, FC Porto; José Bosingwa, Chelsea

Rules change at this stage, as one can have as many players as one wants from a team, explaining the many Liverpool players I have on midfield. Nevertheless, one is still limited by the amoung of funds to spend, and add to that that I have wanted at least a balance, based on the teams I believe are going to be more lively in the round.

A lot depends on Liverpool and FC Barcelona progressing.

Champions League Quarterfinal draw

With the teams left in this 2008-2009 season of Champions League, any result of the draw was bound to be interesting. And indeed it has become very interesting with the following matches to take place in a few weeks in April:

• FC Barcelona-Bayern Munich

After a short periodn where the amazing attacking machinery of the Catalonians seemed to be weakening, they have apparently returned with force to pose as serious candidates for this years trophy. However, Bayern Munich is never to be underestimated: although not doing overly well in the Bundesliga, they seem committed to showing their strength in Europe.

Surely a difficult match, but I believe Barcelona will prevail.

• Chelsea-Liverpool

This is becoming an almost classic encounter, and will be a repeat of last season's semifinal, where Chelsea prevailed after John Arne-Riise's own goal in the first match. In the Premier League Chelsea is behind Liverpool, and has not looked as awesome this season as last, although the arrival of Guus Hiddink as coach may have given them new momentum.

Liverpool on the other hand increasingly looks as the team to defeat after their pounding of Real Madrid and Manchester United in the CL and Premier League respectively. I also think that is why Liverpool will prevail.

• Villarreal-Arsenal

This is a repeat of the 2006 Champions League semifinal, which was a first for Villarreal, but where Arsenal prevailed and made it to their first ever Champions League final (where they eventually lost to FC Barcelona). Arsenal is pretty much out of the fight for the English league title, but has a young team that are wanting to show what they can do in Europe. However, their striking force seems to be very poor, and I do believe that Villarreal, although not a strong team themselves (and with awful tendencies to underestimate their opponents) will win.

• Manchester United-FC Porto

Manchester United is looking awesome this season (in spite of their recent 1-4 loss at home to Liverpool in the Premier League) and in my point of view are still the favourites to lift the trophy in Rome. Against a confident and always-underestimated FC Porto they will nevertheless face difficulties. FC Porto is still a very strong team and they have managed to upset the Reds before: in the 2003-2004 Champions League season, when FC Porto ultimately won the title, the Portuguese champions eliminated Manchester United in the quarterfinals.

Still, I think Manchester United will prevail this time: the team this season is on a completely different league!

Champions League 2008-09 group draw

The draw for the 2008-09 UEFA Champions Legaue took place last night with the foolowing groups:

Group A: Chelsea is likely to win, and no tips on the runner-up. The Romanians will be interesting to watch.

• Chelsea (England): Last season's finalists enter the tournament as big favourites under a new coach. Will be exciting to watch them, and they are certainly contenders again as well as favourites in the group.
  
• AS Roma (Italy): The Italians are always strong, and AS Roma is an example of it. They won't get my support though...
  
• Bordeaux (France): The team coached by former French super-star Laurent Blanc will be interesting to watch, since they are relatively unwritten at CL level.
  
• CFR Cluj (Romania): These are the Romanian and should thus not be underestimated. Still, without knowing much about them, they are a completely unwritten team.
  

Group B: Inter Milan, as a serious contender to the title, is by far the favourite. The surprising Cypriots will be interesting to watch as well.

• Inter Milan (Italy): Under the new coach José Mourinho, and an already star-filled team, they should this season be even more serious contenders for the title.
  
• Werder Bremen (Germany): Not as strong as in previous years, but I still is the safest bet to follow Inter to the next round.
  
• Panathinaikos (Greece): Will have to hold up the flag for Greek football after Olympiakos sensational elimination against Famagusta.
  
• Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus): The surprising Cypriot team is in after a sensational win against the Greek champions of Olympiakos, but will have their hands full!
  

Group C: Barcelona is by far the favourite, and could get a flying start to the tournament. I think the other three teams will be fighting for the crumbs...

• FC Barcelona (Spain): A renewed Barcelona under Pep Guardiola will be interesting to watch, now without Deco and Ronaldinho, but with Messi playing a much more important role.
  
• Sporting Lisbon (Portugal): Portuguese teams are always hard to play against and so will Sporting (don't check their web-site though: it is crap!).
  
• FC Basel (Switzerland): Their second CL appearance, the Swiss will be interesting, but I don't think they will make it far.
  
• Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine): The defending Ukrainian champions are becoming a common team in the CL. Last season they finished last in their group, let us see what they can do this time!
  

Group D: This group has some of the most interesting encounters in the group stages! Liverpool-PSV is a classic encounter, and Fernando Torres facing his old club Atlético will surely also cause talk!

• Liverpool (England): Always better at European level than in the Premier League, they will probably be hard to beat again, although the group surely looks difficult!
  
• PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands): Dutch champions doesn't that say it all?
  
• Olympique Marseille (France): Good to have the southern French giants back in the CL!
  
• Atlético Madrid (Spain): Hungry for European success, they will be hard to beat, as well as good to have them back in the CL!
  

Group E: Manchester and Villarreal usually have some good clashes, and the Scots always put up an entertaining fight. However, Manchester United should be considered the favourites by far.

• Mancherster United (England): Defending champions, they will surely be the team to beat, and will have to fight very hard to win again.
  
• Villarreal (Spain): The "yellow submarine", siilver winners in Spain last season, are in the second CL; in their first one, two years ago, they tied Manchester United twice and reached the semi-finals...
  
• Celtic (Scotland): Awesome champions of the Scottish league, Gordon Strachan's team will as always be liked in Europe, but will have to fight much more for the points!
  
• Aalborg B (Denmark): The Danish champions are in their second CL ever, but will probably have an early exit.
  

Group F: Olympique Lyon and Bayern should be fighting for the top-spot in this group, and I would give the Germans the edge. Nevertheless, the two other teams are strong outsiders and may tease the other two.

• Olympique Lyon (France): Continuing as the most awesome team in French football (seven titles in a row now), and having played well in the previous CL's, success has nevertheless eluded them. Will this be their year...?
  
• Bayern Munich (Germany): Good to have the Germans back after their notable absence last season. They are German champions, and under Jurgen Klinsmann, I would consider them a contender for the title.
  
• Steaua Bucharest (Romania): The most traditional Romanian club has been in the CL many times, and won highest European honours in 1986. The participate as Romanian runners-up this season, but should nevertheless not be discounted (and an addition here: great for Romanian football!)
  
• Fiorentina (Italy): Hard to beat, boring to watch... Farewell!
  

Group G: Difficult group where all have an option, perhaps with FC Porto and Arsenal with a slight edge. I tip the Portuguese to go on top.

• Arsenal (England): Arsene Wenger's team came closest to European success when they reached the final two years ago. This season the team looks less strong, and I doubt they can reach that far, although they can never be discounted.
  
• FC Porto (Portugal): Portuguese champions and two-times winners of the CL/Champions Cup (1987 and 2004) they are again a potential outsider for the title.
  
• Fenerbahce (Turkey): Turkish runners-up last season, but managed to qualify for the CL with an experienced and capable side which surely will be hard to defeat.
  
• Dynamo Kyiv (Ukraine): The traditional Ukrainian side ended second in Ukraine last season, but qualified to the CL after destroying Spartak Moscow in a Soviet-era traditional clash.
  

Group H: Probably the hardest group as both Real Madrid, Juventus and Zenit St. Petersburg must be considered some of the best teams in Europe. Every match will be interesting. Borisov will be facing some expensive first-hand training....

• Real Madrid (Spain): Spanish champions and as always, serious contenders for the title.
  
• Juventus (Italy): "The old lady" is back in Europe after their forced relegation in 2006, and they are very welcome! They will be interesting to watch, and will surely want to show they belong in the CL top! A serious outsider for the title.
  
• Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia): The defending UEFA Cup champions and Russian champions are playing their first CL, and will be a team to count on, and will give everyone a serious fight. Another outsider for the title!
  
• BATE Borisov (Bielorussia): I know nothing about these Bielorussian champions besides the fact that they are sensationally in the CL after defeating Levski Sofia.
  

Standard Liege-Liverpool

I rather enjoyed last night's spirited fight between Standard Liege and Liverpool in the Champions League qualifier. Although it ended 0-0, it was a good match - one where both teams knew that the promised land of the Champions League would not come by itself.
Standard Liege, in front of a great crowd in the Belgian city, has every reason to be disappointed: missed penalties and some huge chances were not used, and that will make it very difficult when they face the reds in Liverpool.

It is a pity that one of these teams has to be out of the Champions League already; they would both be great!