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.

Onside Manager

As the league's in the entire world are progressing, I have of course made my own fantasy managers' teams on different sites. One of them is on TV3's Onside.dk, where you can make your fantasy team for the Danish league. Since many years ago, when I was s young and jolly guy, I won fifth prize in Denmark on a similar one with Politiken, I have again joined this one, but mostly to compete with old friends, whom I nevertheless usually defeat (especially the girls!).
Onside Manager is ok, although some clear faults, for instance that there are no automatic substitutions options.
As it is now, my team looks as follows:

• Goalkeeper: Karim Zaza, Aalborg B
• Defenders: Max Von Schleebrügge, Brøndby; Kasper Bøgelund, Aalborg B; Dennis Cagara, FC Nordsjælland; Thomas Helveg, Odense B.
• Midfielders: Stefan Gislason, Brøndby; Eric Demba-Djemba, Odense B; Anders Due, Aalborg B; Jonas Borring, FC Midtjylland
• Attack: Ousman Jallow, Brøndby; Frank Kristensen, FC Midtjylland
• Coach: Lars Olsen, Odense B

I have lived up to my principle of no players from Copenhagen, although some of my selections are admittedly looking a bit dubious: Ousman Jallow in attack is not looking as strong in attack as I had hoped, and I think he will become a bench-warmer in Brøndby.

Anyway, but I think I will win, and the name of the team says it all: "Hvis jeg ikke vinder er det dommeres skyld".

UEFA EURO 2008 Fantasy football

With the EURO 2008 starting on this coming Saturday, the fever is kicking in (and it is a great feeling to have it back!). And as is appropriate in such times, I have made a team called "The Ugly Outfits" on the UEFA Fantasy football site.
The team is as follows:

• Goallie: Nikopolidis (Greece)
• Defenders: Heitinga (Netherlands), Lahm (Germany), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Senderos (Switzerland)
• Midfielders: Ballack (Germany), Robben (Netherlands), Kranjcar (Croatia), Nani (Portugal)
• Attackers: Torres (Spain), Nuno Gomes (Portugal)

I am allowed one substitute, where I chose Frei (Switzerland).
It is not easy to choose these teams, and I am under no illusion that this is a brilliant side. But at least I have tried to choose some solid players not everyone takes, as well as some of the more conventional players. If they don't perform, one can substitute, although that surely also needs to be done with care.

My team in the UEFA CL Fantasy Football

I have prepared a Fantasy Football team on UEFA's excellent CL Fantasy Football site.

My team's name is Akunhas, and features some pretty good players if I have to say it (S means Substitute):

• Goalkeepers: Valdés (Barcelona), Helton (S) (FC Porto)
• Defenders: Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Alex (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Les Ferdinand (Manchester United), Milito (S) (FC Barcelona)
• Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Quaresma (FC Porto), Jesús Navas (Sevilla), Baptista (S) (Real Madrid)
• Attackers: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Robinho (Real Madrid), Kanouté (S) (Sevilla)

Still, with currently more than 300,000 people playing, and the randomness of football ahead, it will not be easy to win. No matter what, it will make it even more interesting to watch the Champions League (as if it weren't already...).

I have created a group as well: The football fanatics, and any football fanatic out there is more than welcome to join.

May the best win!

Historic Villarreal

Villarreal is in the semifinal of the Champions League! This is a historic event for the Valencian team, since it is the first time this small town outside of Castellon has made it to the tournament. And this time they did it by getting the scalp of Inter Milan, whom they defeated 1-0 to progress on aggregate.

Here, I must mention my team in the UEFA CL Fantasy Football ("Football Fanatics"), where I have last night's lone scorer, Arruabarrena, on the defense: the Villarreal captain has proven one of the strongest defenders of the league and is giving me a lot of points.

It will be interesting to see Villarreal in the next round. Everything can happen from now on, so could we end seeing Villarreal go all the way....?

The other Milanese team, AC Milan, had serious difficulties defeating a well-playing Olympique Lyon. However, with 2 goals in the dying minutes of the match, the Italians managed to progress to the semifinal. A pity for Olympique Lyon, whose exit is yet again in the quarterfinals.

UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football

On Tuesday the long-awaited Champions League season 2005/06 starts. The event needs to be planned carefully: cancel all appointments, set up the TV, get beers, study the teams, and of course, set a team in the UEFA Fantasy Football.
Last season, Abruniohene (as my team was beautifully named) did not do too well. I hope that this season, with my new team, Football Fanatics (modestly named after this web-site), will do much better.

The game rules are to buy a number of players on the different UEFA CL teams. One gets 100 mio. Euros to buy for. Players are valued according to how good they are, so you are not free to buy Europe´s eleven top strikers. However, as the tournament progresses, players will increase or decrease in value, and you can continue buying or selling.

Furthermore, there is a limit as to how many player you can take from each team (the limit is two). These limits , as well as the large number of teams and players, makes the selection quite a detailed process. But after a few hours of careful consideration, I now have spent the full amount of money, and now have the following team:

Goalkeepers:

• Dida, AC Milan: Dida is one of the best goalies in the world in one of the best defensive teams in the world.
• Malicki, Lille (substitute):I must admit that Lille's goalie was bought to save some money for other players.

Defenders:

• Rio Ferdinand, Manchester United: The strong defender is often also good for a goal or two.
• Juanito, Betis: A young Spanish star in one of the Spanish sides that may prove a revelation this season.
• Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, FC Barcelona: Not always a starter in the Catalonian side, but often comes in as a good threat.
• Ze Maria, Inter Milan:The Brazilian defender is not always a starter, but often comes in to defend well, when the Italians need to defend a narrow lead.
• Alan Hutton, Glasgow Rangers (substitute): A talented young defender, although Rangers will have a difficult time in the Champions League.

Midfielders:

• Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona: The young Argentinian is a potential superstar in European football. Could be one of the revelations this season, although taking him is a bit of a risk.
• Juan R. Riquelme, Villarreal: One of the best players in Spain last season, he is the midfield-general who may lead Villareal to their first European success.
• Luis Garcia, Liverpool: The talented Spaniard will surely be a key player as Liverpool will try to defend their title.
• Joe Cole, Chelsea: Has not been brilliant lately, but I believe he will be again, as we enter well into the season.
• Daniel Jensen, Werder Bremen (substitute): A Danish touch on my team - Mr. Jensen has been a key player, both on the national team and on the German team

Attack:

• Adriano, Inter Milan: In my own humble opinion, Adriano is the the world's best striker at this very moment. He will makes defenders tremble in this season's Champions League.
• Didier Drogba, Chelsea: Didier Drogba is also one of the world's best strikers right now. As Chelsea again tries to take the title, Drogba will be certain to make some goals.
• Luciano Figueroa, Villarreal: Villarreal is an entertaining team that scores a lot of goals. If the team does well, Mr. Figueroa will probably be one of the leading scorers.

The first price this season is a trip to the Champions League final in Paris. It is sure to be easy, and I wish everybody luck!

My Team in the UEFA Fantasy football

I did not do that well with my team Abruniohene, in the first round of the UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football.
However, I have not lost faith in my abilities, and I have made a new team for the Knock-out stages (also called Abruniohene):

Goalie: Buffon (Juventus).
Defenders: Zambrotta (Juventus), Cafu (Milan), Cordoba (inter) and Ismael (Werder Bremen)
Midfield: Kaka (Milan), Deco (Barcelona), Babic (Leverkusen), Garcia (Liverpool)
Strikers: Eto'o (Barcelona), Saviola (Monaco), Klasnic (Werder Bremen)

I have fulfilled my principle of not having Real Madrid players on the team. Also, besides Eto'o, I am taking some chances with the strikers, as well as with Garcia and Babic on midfield.
Let us see! I hope I am luckier this time around!

I wish Nistelrooij was on my team

My team, Abruniohene, on the UEFA Fantasy football, is not doing well. Actually, after last round, only Eto'o scored some good points, with his goal against AC Milan. However, teams who had Manchester United's (other) super striker, Ruud Van Nistelrooij, really got some good points. With four goals, Mr. Van Nistelrooij sank Sparta Prague. With Mr. Rooney and Mr. Van Nistelrooij, Manchester United must have the best attack in European football these days, although competition is hard.
On another note, Real Madrid is really showing that the team is able to fight back in the CL. They did it against Roma, and now managed a hard-fought but well-deserved tie against Dynamo Kiev.
Juventus, after defeating Bayern Munich in Munich, is looking as a serious contender for the title, although four 1-0 victories does not aim at the most entertaining football.

Champions League Matchday 2: My team

The champions league has really gotten off to an excellent start, and this second round already showed some memorable games.
AS Roma continued deepening its crisis against a Real Madrid team, that was looking pathetic when down 0-2, but showed that the primadonnas are able to fight back. Maybe this victory will be crucial for Madrid's season.
Other teams continued showing strength: Bayern Munich is looking a strong contender, led by an amazing Roy Maakay, and Manchester United is building up a new strong team with Super-Rooney at the forefront. Chelsea defeated the defending champion from FC Porto, and is looking a strong contender to the title.
Two of the strongest contender to the title, Barcelona and AC Milan, both continued victorious against Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic respectively. Playing a different kind of football, the next matchday will see these two great teams facing each other, in what could become an early final...
Dynamo Kiev and Lyon both showed that they are teams to be seriously reconned with: Dynamo Kiev defeated the Leverkusen team that had humilliated Real Madrid, while Lyon got an excellent result from the strong home-team Sparta Prague. At the same time as some of the greater teams disappointed: Arsenal only managed to tie in Norway against Rosenborg, and Valencia lost to Werder Bremen.
The CL has started great, and it will be even more excited!

Now, on a more personal account, it was not such a great round. My team in the UEFA Fantasy football, Abruniohene, did rather badly, considering that I had started off quite well. Some of my players scored, like Saviola and Eto'o. Others did fine, like Nedved and Kaká. But all in all, I could not compete with teams who had Luis Figo or Roy Makaay. One player, goalkeeper Rütsu, even got minus points, after the lesson he received against Manchester United.
Oh well, there are many rounds ahead, and victories for Abrunioehene!

UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football - My team

On the excellent UEFA webpage, it is possible to make a fantasy football team for the 2004-05 season of the Champions League, which will be starting soon.
The rules are simply that you have 100 million Euros to select 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 strikers from an extensive list of players at different prices. According to how it goes for the players this season, your team is awarded points. (You can read more on this on http://en.uclfantasy.uefa.com/M/rules.mc).
I have made my team, "Abruniohene" (long story...). It has a healthy mixture of favourite players and players from teams I like, and I believe will get far in the tournament. I am rather proud of the fact that I did not choose any Real Madrid players!

My team looks as follows:
Goalkeepers: Rustu Recber (Fenerbahce), and Musin (Dynamo Kiev) as my substitute. Recber did not do well in Barcelona, but I still consider him a good goalkeeper, who did not cost much. Musin I got because of his price.
Defenders: Marquez (Barcelona), Toure (Arsenal), Evra (Monaco) and Hansen (Rosenborg). Fatih Akyel (Fenerbahce) is substitute. Marquez and Toure are two of my favourite defenders, from two teams which I believe will be at the top (again) this season. Evra had a good season last year with Monaco, and I believe Monaco also will get far this year. Hansen was cheap, and I believe the Norwegians will as usual have a strong defense, although I doubt how far they will get in the tournament.
Midfielders: Poborsky (Sparta Prague), Baraja (Valencia), Nedved (Juventus) and Kaka (AC Milan). Substitute: Van der Schaarf (PSV). I am rather proud of this midfield! Poborsky was strong on a surprisingly strong Sparta side last season. Valencia will surely do well this season, with Baraja as one of the dynamos on their midfield. Nedved is, needless to say, still a wonderful footballer, and so is Kaka, whom I believe is heading towards a great season with AC Milan.
Forwards: Saviola (Monaco) and Eto'o (Barcelona). Substitute: Baros (Liverpool). These have been chosen with my heart, because they are three of my favourite strikers. On the other hand, I also believe they are all three marvelous players. I have great expectations to Eto'o on this season's excellent Barcelona side, and I also believe Saviola will have a glorious season with Monaco!

Although I am happy with "Abruniohene", I have often been mistaken. Also, the Champions League is so full of surprises and new great players, that I might not make it. But I hope I am lucky! In any case, I look forward to some great games this coming CL season!
Good luck to all teams and to all football fans!