LASK in the CL

 The second leg of the last qualifying round of the Champions League started today. 

It was perhaps unusual Scottish arrogance from Celtic after they had won 3-0 at home to Austrian champions from LASK, and after going ahead 0-1 in Linz, that they started to dream about their return to the Champions League, but truth is that LASK pulled an incredible comeback.

The first Austrian goal was a gift from Celtic's Swedish defender Benjamin Nygren, who chose to pass the ball to the unmarked Moses Usor, who equalized for the Austrians, and perhaps even the belief in a comeback. At least they came out with energy to the second half only fifteen minutes into the second half had taken a 3-1 lead on good goals by Robert Ljubicic and Samuel Adeniran. Massive pressure ensued but it was only in the last seconds of the match when Florian Flecker made it 4-1, forcing the match into extra time.  

LASK had all the energy against a Celtic side that defended poorly in the face of the odds, and it was the North American striker Samuel Adeniran who brought joy and Champions League to Linz, making it 5-1.

The defeat must have been bitter for the Celtic striker Kasper Høgh, who had just switched from Bodø/Glimt to Celtic. Bodø/Glimt qualified for the second CL in a row by destroying NEC Nijmegen 3-0, and may be this year's darlings again, alongside LASK! 

Champions League qualifier for FC Midtjylland

 After a fantastic European Championship (which far exceeded expectation), football continues: the Gold Cup is currently taking place in North-, Central-America and the Caribbean, and some exciting women's football is to start in the Olympic games. More interestingly, leagues are quietly starting (the Danish Superliga having started this week, and other interesting leagues to start a new season in the following month) including Champions league qualifiers.

With Brøndby winning the Danish League they are to have a play-off match to qualify to the Champions League. In the meantime the runners-up from FC Midtjylland also get an option to qualify to the Champions league starting in the second round play-offs of the League Path (whose losers will get into either the qualifying or league stages of the Europa League). Last night I watched FC Midtjylland play the first leg of their attempt to qualify in an away match to Celtic in Glasgow.

1-1 was an excellent result for the team from Herning (even though the away-goal rule has been eliminated) against a Celtic side that nevertheless were the better team in the first half, were leading 1-0 on a goal by the young Israeli Liel Abada, but made it all more difficult for themselves when Nir Bitton received a second booking for reacting angrily to Anders Dreyer's apparent dive. During his participation in the match Bitton appeared way too angry; his first booking had been after an overly eager tackle after which he looked like he was going to murder someone, and the card was well-deserved when he should have kept his head cold. In the meantime Dreyer appeared only too happy to have provoked Bitton's card; he received a card for his dive, and in the second half received a second half for exactly the same reason in a situation that was surely not a dive, but the Swiss referee appeared too eager to punish him for something.

10 against 10 opened a bit more the match, but Celtic never became overly dominant in the second half, where Evander equalized on an excellent free-kick. The will face each other in Herning in one week.

A great Champions League round

Last night I watched Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid. Always expect a great match between these two sides, and this was no disappointment with a 2-2 result and great play.
This evening I watched Celtic-Manchester City. A bravely fighting (and a bit lucky) Celtic side (which because of their fans is impossible not to like) managed an exciting 3-3 result against mighty Manchester City, which nevertheless looked a bit easy to shake. As FC Barcelona got a lucky 1-2 victory in Germany against Borussia Monchengladbach, the next match is bound to be a drama as FC Barcelona face Guardiola and Manchester City at home.
Atletico Madrid repeated their feat from last season's semifinals by defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 at home. Leicester continued showing their European potential by defeating FC Porto 1-0 at home.
The only thing I did not like at all, is that FC Copenhagen defeated Club Brugge 4-0....

Great Celtic

Even though Celtic play in the world's most boring league, their victory today against the leaders of the world's second most boring league was truly impressive. Because no matter how you turn things, FC Barcelona are a much better football team than Celtic. But the beauty of football is that sometimes David beats Goliath. Two weeks ago Celtic were close to tying Barcelona away, and it was some of the same tough, defensive style, with good counterattacking, that gave them today's important victory, that puts them ahead of Benfica to take the second spot in the group. In other matches of this round of the champions league, Real Madrid tied 2-2 at home to Borussia Dortmund, who are set to take the first spot in the group, where Manchester City are on their way out after 2-2 at home to Ajax Amsterdam. While Manchester City were dreadful in the first half they were rightfully angry with the Danish referee who cheated them for a goal and a penalty in the second half, favouring a Dutch side full of Danish players.

Champions League 2009-10 Qualifiers

Panathinaikos and Atlético Madrid played a marvelous 1st leg qualifying match for the Champions League, which was a great preview for the CL. In Athens, Atlético Madrid showed its attacking force and with goals by Maxi Rodriguez, Diego Forlán and Sergio "Kun"Agüero, won a very useful 3-2 against a Panathinaikos side that will surely be a qualitative asset in the Europa League (or of course, in the CL if the manage to get a highly improbable two-goal victory in Madrid!).

After watching such quality from these two teams, any football fan would have to wonder why in the world either Atlético Madrid or Panathinaikos have to be out, when either FC Copenhagen or Apoel Nicosia will be there... In their dead-boring 1st leg match FC Copenhagen won 1-0 at home, and I think anyone should only watch the 2nd leg match if they have sleeping problems.

Not many people have been noticing that after Real Madrid and Manchester City, Olympique Lyon have been the team most investing in new players this summer, after losing some of their former stars, Juninho and Benzema. And some of these new players showed that Olympique Lyon is again a team to count on this season: Lisandro Lopez, Miralem Pjanic and Bafe Gomis all scored in Lyon's 5-1 victory against Anderlecht. It will surely be interesting to watch the French team this season!

Arsenal won an important 0-2 away victory against Celtic in Glasgow, and the youngsters will again be facing a season in the CL, where they can surely defeat anyone on a good day.

Sporting Lissabon and Fiorentina tied 2-2 in Lissabon, in a match where the Portuguese were left with ten men after Simon Vukcevic was red carded because he took his shirt off when celebrating his equalizing goal to 1-1. Still, Sporting managed to go ahead, before Gilardino equalized to 2-2 for Fiorentina, giving them a good result before the 2nd leg in Italy.

Otherwise, a number of other teams seem well on their way to the Champions League after important away victories in their 1st leg qualifiers: VFB Stuttgart (defeated Poli AEK Timisoara 0-2), FC Zurich (defeated Ventspils 0-3), Debrecen (defeated Levski Sofia 1-2) and Maccabi Haifa (defeated Red Bull Salzburg 1-2).

The Champions League is underway, and after a summer without football and watching a great match tonight, I cannot wait for it to start!

16 teams remaining in the Champions League

The first round of the 2007-2008 Champions League has ended, and we now have 16 teams left for the draw on December 21st.
Due to work obligations, I have had limited time to follow the rounds closely, and have missed (too many) matches. But I have the clear impression that it has been an excellent start to the champions league, wiith some amazing matches, and it seems bound to get even more exciting with the following teams:

• FC Porto: The Portuguese won their group ahead of Liverpool, and as so many years before, may be bound to be underestimated. However, be sure that no team will have an easy time against Porto!
• Liverpool: Last year´s finalists looked very weak in the start, but with three consecutive victories and 16 goals, they look to be searching for another Champions League success, otherwise eluding them in the Premier League.
• Chelsea: In spite of changing coach in the middle of the tournament, Chelsea never really looked in danger i the group, and should be considered a contender for the title, although they are looking weaker than last year.
• Schalke 04: The Germans made sure they would be in the last-16 by a sure 3-1 victory against Norwegian Rosenborg BK in the last match. They will have a hard time however, almost against any of the other teams.
• Real Madrid: Under coach Bernd Schuster, Real Madrid truly seems reborn, and one player as crucial as Raul seems to have been reborn, whiile Robinho is free to do his magic, and Van Nistelrooi and Robben are super-dangerous. With the beautiful football they are displaying again, they are a welcome team by any football fan, and will surely be aiming for the title (well, they always do).
• Olympiakos: The Greeks have performed well to be in the last 16, with some excellent results. Although I do not think they can make it all the way, they will be difficult for any team to play against, specially in Greece where they are supported by a passionate and intimidating homecrowd.
• AC Milan: The defending champions are sure contender for the title again. Kaka & Co. have again been very strong, and their first place in the group was never really in question.
• Celtic: The Scots are a very welcome team in the last-16 with their charming supporters, spirited fight and strategy. It is doubtful whether they can make it very hard, but they shall surely not be underestimated after the results in the first round.
• FC Barcelona: The Catalonians were never threatened and won their group easily. They are looking strong indeed, and with Samuel Eto'o back in the last game against Stuttgart (and even scoring!), they may now be at full firepower, which will surely make them one of the favourites for the title. With their technique and positive football, any game with them is something to look forward to.
• Olympique Lyon: The French started off a bit weak with a home-defeat to Glasgow Rangers, but improved as the round progressed, and ended with an impressive 4-0 victory against Rangers in Glasgow. I have many times previously thought Lyon was a team to watch; I don't think they are as strong as former years, but still... They are a team to watch!
• Manchester United: The English team was one game away from maximum-points in the first round, and are looking very strong, and one of the favourites for the title. In fact, I don't think they have looked as strong since their last victory in 1999, but their weakness may be that they seem to depend very much on a limited number of players.
• AS Roma: The Romans are always difficult to play again, particularly in the Italian capital, but I doubt whether they can make it all the way.
• Inter: Inter always looks strong, and has a very dangerous attacking force and brilliant technical players. In that regard, they are, in my humble view, a contender for the title. However, they are every year, but I think they are looking much more dangerous this season, not only in the Champions League, but also in the Serie A.
• Fenerbahce: The Turkish side did what they ahd to do in their last match by defeating CSKA Moscow to make it to the last-16. With a number of Brazilians and a passionate homecrowd, Fenerbahce should also be a team to watch, although I do not believe they can make it all the way.
• Sevilla: The double-UEFA Cup winners started their Champions League adventure by losing 3-0 to Arsenal in London, but have since won five consecutive victories to win their group ahead of the Englishmen. Sevilla is a very strong team, although not looking as strong as last season in the Primera División, they should be considered seriously as an outsider to get very far in this Champions League.
• Arsenal: They youngsters from Arsenal are leading the Premier League, and with good results in the Champions League, may be considered a contender for the title. However, their young age may also be their biggest enemy, and it remains to be seen how they do against any of the giants.

There is bound to be some amazing matches ready on December 21st. Group winners will have the (minor) advantage of starting playing away when the CL starts again in February 2008. By that time, I will again be in the Mozambican bush, and just hope I will be able to watch!

Top Five Dida Excuses

Dida, AC Milan's great acting Brazilian goalkeeper just got two days match ban for his performance against Celtic.
I have a proposal of top five excuses he could use though:

5) Come on! I deserve an Oscar!
4) He patted me! Nobody did that before! I was so touched!
3) Too much Scottish whisky for me!
2) It was a delayed reaction. I am really that slow!
1) He smeared my make-up!

Champions League in Nacala

And so, Football Mojo is back... On Tuesday I went out of the way to watch football... I was working in a poor community in Namatapa (don't try to find it on a map...) and then afternoon, drove some farmers on lousy roads to the community of Nivali (site of the splendid match between Nipita and Mazua). I then hurried 120 Km, on lousy roads to the community of Geba, by the coast, before taking the last 60 Km to Nacala. This is a medium town, a port town, with a few hotels, bank, so I figured there was an hotel showing football. And there was... But they weren't showing it. I drove around, desperately and tired to three possible places, until finally crashing a small hotel where the South African run DSTV was available. It was a relief. I was tired though, having left home at 4.30 that morning.
I started watching Besiktas against FC Porto. But predictably, I fell asleep... Not the glorious return of Champions League I would have hoped for after all the hazzle... I saw that FC Poto had won 0-1, thus achieving a second place in a group where Marseille upset a horrible Liverpool side at Anfield.
They then announced that they were showing Celtic against AC Milan. The defending champions against the ever-fighting Scottish underdogs. And this was an exciting match, with Scott McDonald's last minute strike giving Celtic a well-deserved and surprising win. The end was marred by a spectator running on the pitch, but Dida's pathetic acting made it all seem very grotesque!
Otherwise, I was disappointed to see that Valencia lost at home to ever-present Chelsea. There were also some surprises in this round, with Benfica losing at home to never-to-be-underestimated Shakhtar Donetsk and Glasgow Rangers destroying Olympique Lyon in Lyon (Really a great day for Scots!).
The teams to watch, Barcelona, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Arsenal, all won, while Real Madrid managed a 2-2 draw to Lazio in Rome.

But for me, football mojo is back :-)
Pity I am living somehwere where it may prove difficult to follow...

...and then there is AS Roma

It was interesting to see the two opposites of fan cultures during this round of the Champions League: on one hand the great fans of Celtic, and on the other, the violent tifosi of AS Roma.
I must admit that I have before deplored one of the main players of AS Roma, Mr. Totti. At the same time, I can see the behavior of the fans of AS Roma does not stand back from their players. While I understand the passion of football, I find it utterly unacceptable when fans behave as they did in Rome. I only hope that UEFA will give a swift and harsh punishment to AS Roma.
In the meanwhile, I have no doubt in saying that Roma's fans are a disgrace to football.

Celtic and Henrik Larsson

Great match between Barcelona and Celtic in Glasgow. The good combination of the Catalonians against the spirit of the Scots. But what impressed me the most from this match, wass the welcome the Celtic fans gave to Mr. Larsson. These are fans who do not forget. These are fans who appreciate the love Mr. Larsson has shown for the club.
Mr. Larsson showed his appreciation for Celtic: he scored, but did not show the usual euphoria: he had scored against his friends and he knew it.

I wish I was a Celtic fan, because they have shown themselves as the most fair and passionate fans. The best fans in the world! At the same time, Mr. Larsson showed he was a gentleman, a great player, who understand the game, and the fans he plays for. This is what truly great players are made of.

Thank you Celtic fans, and thank you Mr. Larsson.