Towards the championship

The European leagues are entering their last stage, and one can begin to see the shape of the champions more or less in many of them:

• In Germany, Borussia Dortmund destroyed 4th placed Hannover 96, and are 7 points ahead of Bayer Leverkusen with six matches left. They have had an extraordinary season, and it would be a pity if they don't win it.
• In Italy's local derby between AC Milan and Inter, AC Milan won 3-0. Pato played an extraordinary match in this important step for the Milanese, although the Serie is hot: Napoli took second spot after defeating Lazio, only three points up to first place! It will be an exciting ending!
• In the Netherlands Twente defeated PSV Eindhoven 2-0 in a hugely important victory to retake the title. There are five matches left, and a five point difference between Twente, PSV Eindhoven and Ajax Amsterdam on first, second and third spots respectively.
  
• In Portugal FC Porto defeated second placed Benfica 1-2 in Lisbon, and now 16 points ahead of Benfica and five matches left, is certain to win the championship. The Portuguse league has been completely dominated by a mighty Porto side that might still go through it undefeated!
  

Praise for a referee

I have never been much of a person to praise referees... I believe that in general, referees have been too afraid to admit mistakes, or been notably absent in the debate to suggest ways to improve the game itself.
However, a few days ago, a Dutch referee has stepped into the limelight. Rene Temmink recently stopped a game in the Dutch league between PSV Eindhoven and Den Haag, due to the racist chants of supporters.
That Mr. Temmink did this, shows him as a strong referee and a decent man, who wants to fight the scourge of racism in football with the means possible to him: refereeing. It is about time a referee decides to take a stand.
Furthermore, I can only commend Mr. Temmink on other issues as well. On a recent interview, he was positive on the use of cameras to assist referees: "The referee needs to be able to take the correct decision, and what could be better than a camera. If the assistant is in a position where he can see a monitor and tell whether a ball has crossed the line, then it can only help the referee."
I am extremely happy finally to hear a referee say this. I have always found it to be in the best interest of themselves!
It is the likes of Mr. Temmink which must improve the most beautiful game on Earth. Therefore, I can only nominate him for my football fanatic of the year number 5.

Poor PSV Eindhoven

PSV Eindhoven came very close to give us a very surprising Champions League final. In th first match, in Milan, they only deserved to be down by two, because of their offensive inefficiency. In the match in Eindhoven, they came very close to upsetting the usually cool Milanese. PSV Eindhoven have truly shown themselves as a great team of Europe, and I look forward to seeing their refreshing football next season. AC Milan deserves to be in the final. They have shown their usual organisation, strength, and an incredible attacking force. It will be an exciting final on May 25th in Istambul. As usual, it can go to either side, but I just look forward to some great football!

Champions League 04-05: semifinals 1st leg

In the semi-final between AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven, Mr. Schevchenko proved why he is the best striker in the world. His speed totally overwhelmed an otherwise stable PSV defence for the first goal. For the second goal, AC Milan showed its strong attacking credentials, when substitute Jon Dahl Tomasson made a second goal, making sure AC Milan is on their way to Istambul. It was all a pity for PSV, who had played an excellent match, and certainly did not deserve to go down like this. If they are to have any chance at all when playing in Eindhoven, they will have to be more dangerous in attack.
Liverpool got a good result from Stamford Bridge, with a goalless draw. Liverpool were motivated and showed great discipline, while Chelsea was a bit disappointing. While Liverpool will have a crowd hungry for titles supporting them, Chelsea is full of confidence, and the match will without doubt be far more exciting than the one last night.

When are the next matches?
- May 3rd, 20:45: Liverpool-Chelsea
- May 4th, 20.45: PSV Eindhoven-AC Milan

Champions League 04-05: Quarterfinal predictions

After an exciting first round of quarterfinals last week, we are nearing the moment of truth: who will be semi-finalists of the 2004-2005 Champions League. It is hard to predict, but I will dare anyway:

Inter-AC Milan: AC Milan pulled back what in Italian terms is a comfortable victory. 2-0, and they will also have their strong attack ready tonight. However, I believe that Inter may pull a tie or even a 1-0 victory. In any case, AC Milan is the next semi-finalist.
Bayern Munich-Chelsea: The first game was a game of superlatives. Both teams played great, and Chelsea certainly showed why they are the most dangerous team in Europe this season. Even when Bayern Munich was dominating, the Chelsea striking force was devastating, particularly an amazing Frank Lampard. Bayern is under pressure, and I believe they can pull a 1-0 or 2-1 victory. But Chelsea is the next semi-finalist!
Juventus-Liverpool: The first was an exciting and emotional match between two of Europe’s greatest team. Liverpool managed a deserved 2-1 victory that gives them hope for a semi-final spot. However, Juventus is the master of 1-0 victories (five alone in the first round of the CL), and I think they will get it. Juventus will be in the semi-final.
PSV Eindhoven-Lyon: Just as much as Lyon was a disappointment, PSV was a positive surprise in the first match. After 1-1 in Lyon, the aces are in the hand of PSV. While I believe that Lyon will try hard, it will not be enough against a well-organised and motivated PSV side, which is back with the strength of former times. PSV will win 1-0 or get 0-0.

I am seldom right. But I keep trying!

Champions league quarterfinals draw

We are down to the quarterfinals in the Champions League 2004-2005 season. After some very exciting last-16, where we saw the exit of great teams like Barcelona, Manchester United, FC Porto and Monaco, we are now ready to the following games on April 5 and 6:

Liverpool-Juventus: This match is between two of the greatest European teams through history. Sadly, the most remembered encounter between them was that in Heysel in 1985, when many died after hooligans rioted. While this will clearly be remembered, it will hopefully be a match with great football.

Inter Milan-AC Milan: The two neighboring teams have always been among the best in Europe, and their encounters arouse all of the football fanaticism of this beautiful Italian city. However, neither of them are remembered for their great play, and maybe we can expect two 0-0 games, solved on penalty kicks...

Olympique Lyon-PSV Eindhoven: The two dark-horses of this season's Champions League. Lyon has been amazing, with players like Juninho, Michael Essien and Sylvain Wiltord. PSV Eindhoven is led by perhaps the best coach in the world right now, Guus Hiddink, and is cruising in the Dutch league. Both teams can make it all the way, but I particularly expect Lyon to be the best of them.

Chelsea-Bayern Munich: The winner of this game will have taken a giant leap for the title. I have expected both teams to make it far, and now one has to leave. Chelsea made a wonderful game against Barcelona, and only thing against them is Mr. Mourinho's rabbling. Bayern is showing their former strength, and Chelsea will have to play their best to defeat Kahn & Co.

Champions League Matchday 5

For this CL round, I only had the opportunity to watch Monaco-Liverpool and PSV-Arsenal. Liverpool against Monaco was quite a bore. Liverpool defends well, but attacked little, so the game did not swim in chances. PSV has been a great positive surprise this season, and I actually expect they can get very far. Although Arsenal was a disappointment, Gus Hiddink's troops did not do more than they had to. Even when two men ahead, they did not lose their cool: they always knew that their quarterfinal spot was secure.

A thing about the first round of this CL is that it is becoming increasingly hard to see a winner: so many teams are incredibly strong! I still would tip Barcelona, although they only got a 1-1 at home to Celtic. But you got to give Celtic the spirit thye play with is great, and Barcelona will have to open up sometimes.

However, some of the Italians are looking strong: Juventus went on to the fifth 1-0 victory in a row! That has to be a record, although it does not seem the most exiting. Inter is sure to go thrugh, while a feverish game awaits between Valencia and Werder Bremen in Mestalla for the next round! Valencia must win by 1-0 or two goals ahead (this is because in case of equal points, the decision is taken for games between the contenders). At least the results went Valencia's way, and it is now in their own hand.

AC Milan is also looking strong, now with the great Argentinian Hernan Crespo, who really returned with strength, scoring two goals in the 4-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Bayern Munich is another strong contender. The goal-machine Roy Makaay scored again in the 5-1 destruction of Maccabi Tel Aviv. Nobody will want to play the South Germans, who after a couple of dry seasons, now seem to be back at former levels.

Dynamo Kiev would also count here. They did what they had to do, defeating a disillussioned Roma side in Moscow 2-0. But this group will go to a really exiting finale. Amid appalling continued racist chants from Spanish spectators, Real Madrid could not defeat Bayer Leverkusen, and is now forced to defeat Roma in Rome (or, if they tie, hope Dynamo Kiev wins against Leverkusen). Both Leverkusen and Dynamo Kiev have their own destiny on their own hands, unless Roma saves some face and defeats Real Madrid.

On December 7th and 8th we will know which teams continue as champions, and which are losers!