UCL Round of 16 wrap: Could it be that the the boys separated from the men yet?

When a tournament gets to a certain stage, it is often said that the boys have been separated from the men. Could this be the case already in the Champions League as the last eight have been decided?

Some will say the usual suspects have made it through, other also say that deserving teams have qualified based on their performance. Whatever the case may be, the world has potentials, men with guts and hunger to progress, and above all some exciting football.

Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona made it through after defeating Roma and Arsenal respectively. Also from Spain Atletico Madrid fought a battle of their lives in a thrilling encounter with PSV decided on penalty shootout.

Paris Saint German edged Chelsea, Manchester City booked a place in the last eight for the first time in the campaign after seeing off Dynamo Kiev while Benfica also beat Zenit.

German champions Bayern Munich produced a stunning come back against Juventus to progress as fellow Germans Wolfsburg also saw off Gent to qualify.

Eight clubs from five countries will feature in the draw for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals which will be held on Friday, 18th March, 2016, What are your expectations? Ready to see the real men make it though?

Messi visits Gabon, lays foundation for new Stadium

Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi linked was Gabonese president Ali Bongo Ondimba's guest of honour on Saturday to lay the first stone at a future Africa Cup of Nations venue.

Four-time World footballer of the year officially started the building process at the Port-Gentil stadium, which will host Africa Cup of Nations matches in 2017.

The ceremony took place on a wide sandy ground where the stadium will be built.

It was the Argentine forward's first visit to Gabon and he signed autographs on team jerseys worn by his fans, before proceeding with the laying of the first stone, accompanied by the president.

"When I was in Barcelona a few years ago, I met Messi who had told me that he would come to visit me in Libreville," said the Gabon president.

"It's a promise he made me. He is a man of honour who just kept his word."

The new stadium will have a capacity of 20,000 and is expected to host matches from November 2016 in the build-up to the tournament.

Port Gentil is Gabon's second city.

Source: BBC

Real Madrid and Barcelona get clasico dates in new La Liga fixtures

Google Image: El Clasico

Fixtures for the Spanish Primera Division 2015/2016 season were released on Tuesday, with the El Clasico matches scheduled for Week 12 and 31 of the new season.

Barcelona will visit the Santiago Bernabeu to play Real Madrid on November 8th, and the Whites will travel to the Nou Camp for the return leg on 3rd April 2016.

Last season Madrid beat Barca 3-1 at the Bernabeu, while Barcelona won 2-1 at home on their way to winning La Liga.

In the season opener, Luis Enrique tutored side will begin their title defence away to Athletic Bilbao as Madrid travel to newly-promoted Sporting Gijon.

The new La Liga campaign will start on the weekend of the 22/23 August and finish on 14/15 May. On the final day of the season, Barcelona will host Granada, while Real Madrid finish the campaign against La Coruna.

Ronaldo leads, Barcelona dominates top ten goals of 2014/2015 Champions League season

Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Liverpool has been adjudged the best goal of the 2014/2015 season amidst dominance by Barcelona in the top ten.

Ronaldo combined well with his teammates Pepe, benzema before feeding James Rodríguez, who played a perfect ball for the Portugal forward to half-volley in at Anfield. 

Barcelona registered five goals in the top ten, including two each from Ivan Rakitić and Lionel Messi.

Top ten goals of 2014/15 as selected by the UEFA Technical Observers

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Liverpool FC 0-3 Real Madrid CF, 22/10/14)

2 Ivan Rakitić (Juventus 1-3 FC Barcelona, 06/06/15)

3 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona 3-0 FC Bayern München, 06/05/15)

4 Luis Suárez (Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 FC Barcelona, 15/04/15)

5 Ivan Rakitić (FC Barcelona 1-0 Manchester City FC, 18/03/15) 

6 Marco Reus (Galatasaray AŞ 0-4 Borussia Dortmund, 22/10/14)

7 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid CF 5-1 FC Basel 1893, 16/09/14)

8 Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 FC Barcelona, 30/09/14)

9 Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München 6-1 FC Porto, 21/04/15)

10 Vincent Aboubakar (FC Porto 4-0 FC Basel 1893, 10/03/15)

Best set-piece goals of 2014/15

1 Son Heung-Min (FC Zenit 1-2 Bayer 04 Leverkusen, 04/11/14)

2 Aaron Ramsey (Galatasaray AŞ 1-4 Arsenal FC, 09/12/14)

3 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC 1-1 FC Basel 1893, 09/12/14)

4 Casemiro (FC Porto 4-0 FC Basel 1893, 10/03/15)

5 Andrea Pirlo (Juventus 3-2 Olympiacos FC, 04/11/14)

Click here to watch Video of the goals.

Barcelona beats Juventus 3-1 to claim 2014/2015 champions league

Barcelona defeated Juventus 3-1 to win the 2014/2015 UEFA champions league on Saturday night.

Goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and last minute goal from Neymar sealed the victory for the Spanish champions.

Barca drew the first blood in the early minutes of the match with clear dominance to end the first 45 minutes 1-0.

Morata who hurt his former side Real Madrid in the semi final drew level in the second half  but Suarez returned the lead until later in the match when Neymar ended it with his goal.

Barcelona completed the season with a treble having won the league, Copa del Rey and the UCL.

Extraordinary Xavi poses with his 24 Trophies won at Barcelona

Wow! Xavi Hernandez will be playing his final game for Barcelona when they confront Juventus in the final of UEFA Champions League on Saturday.

He moves to Al-Sadd in the UAE after a success stint at the Spanish club where he won a total of 24 trophies which includes eight league titles, three Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, three Copa del Reys, six Spanish Supercups, and two FIFA Club World Cups.

If Barca beat Juventus to claim this season's Champions League final in Berlin, his tally would become 25 trophies in all.

Source: @FCBarcelona

Champions League: Barcelona dismiss PSG as Bayern cruise into semi final

The atmosphere at the Camp Nou last night could be likened to a training session for Barcelona as they finished the job they started a week ago against French Champions Paris Saint German.

The Spanish side defeated the visitors on all fronts with Brazilian forward Neymar scroring twice to seal a semi final spot for Barcelona as they won 5-1 on aggregate.

In the other semi final on the night, Bayern Munich punished FC Porto winning  5-1 to cancel the the Portuguese side's first leg 3-1 win.

Bayern still did not have a handful of players but were enough to run riot on Porto to progress to the semi finals as well. Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Robert Lewandowski and Xabi Alonso all made the scorers sheet.

Tonight will see Real Madrid battle city rivals Atletico Madrid in the return leg inside Santiago Bernabeau to continue the drama which ended scoreless in the first leg while Juventus travel to Monaco with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg.

Champions League: Laurent Blanc admits beating Barca will be ''very difficult''

Paris Saint-German will have to fight an epic battle for a place in the Semi final of this season’s Champions League but they will have to create an upset when they take on Barcelona at the Camp Nou.

The French side lost at home 1-3 to Barcelona and look to progressing but their manager Laurent Blanc admitted that beating Barça will be ''very difficult'' whilst at the same time highlighting the fact that ''we have nothing to lose''.

''I am a realist and we know that it will be very difficult, given that it we have had little time to prepare for the game. We don’t have anything to lose and we will simply play our usual game.''

''We will have the chance to score goals. The only problem is that to get through we cannot concede more. That is impossible given that the majority of team have conceded.''

''Barça dominated but we also will have the ball, but we have to show that we can make them work hard. We will try to pressure them high up the field.''

''The return of Ibrahimovic will have a great impact and he is a player who has great self-confidence. He loves this kind of game.''

''There is a great difference between Barça and us. Barça have great players and it’s a great club who have recently won the Champions League more often than PSG.''

Xavi signs three year deal with Qatari club Al-Sadd

Barcelona midfielder Xavi has signed a three-year contract with Qatari club Al Sadd

According to reports from Spain the 35-year old midfield maestro will join Al Sadd at the end of the season and replace former Real Madrid star Raul in the side.

Xavi is expected to receive a salary of 10 million euros and will study for his coaching licences during his time in Qatar at the Aspire Academy.

Xavi emerged from Barca’s famous academy at La Masia, making his breakthrough into the senior side in 1998.

Barcelona tie will come good for Villareal - Ike Uche

Super Eagles and villareal striker Ike Uche has stated that their his club's La Liga league match against Barcelona this weekend will be a good outing.

He told NIgeri's number one sports Radio, Brila FM on friday that the his side is in good spirit and are happy with their recent performance.

''We hope that things will continue to go the way they are going with us now.''

Villareal will be visiting the Camp Nou after an impressive performance in the Copa Del Rey which saw the team qualify for the Semi final.

Deloitte: Real Madrid is the Richest Club in the World for the 10th year

Spanish giants Real Madrid have been confirmed by world's reputable financial accountants Deloitte as the richest football club in the world for the 10th year running. 

Despite a poor run of performance in the season in question, Manchester United rose two places to make second place while Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal made top 10.

1. Real Madrid - £459.5m

2. Manchester United - £433.2m

3. Bayern Munich - £407.7m

4. Barcelona - £405.2m

5. Paris Saint-Germain - £396.5m

6. Manchester City - £346.5m

7. Chelsea - £324.4m

8. Arsenal - £300.5m

9. Liverpool - £255.8m 

10. Juventus - £233.6m

11. Borussia Dortmund - £218.7m

12. AC Milan - £208.8m

13. Tottenham - £180.5m

14. Schalke 04 - £178.9m

15. Atletico Madrid - £142.1m

16. Napoli £137.8m

 17. Inter Milan - £137.1m

18. Galatasaray - £135.4m

19. Newcastle United - £129.7m

20. Everton £120.5m

21. West Ham United - £105.3m

22. Aston Villa - £101.9m

23. Marseille - £100m

24. Roma - £97.7m

25. Southampton - £97.3

26. Benfica - £96.6

27. Sunderland - £95.7m

28. Hamburg - £92.2m

29. Swansea City - £90.5m

30. Stoke City - £90.1m

Barcelona ends Zubizarreta's contract as Director of football

Barcelona have officially announce the sack of Director of Football at the club, Andoni Zubizarreta.

Google Image: Andoni Zubizarreta

''The President, in the name of the Club, thanks Andoni Zubizarreta for his contribution, dedication and professionalism over the last four years in his role at the head of the Club’s football area.

''FC Barcelona goalkeeper between 1986 and 1994, the man from Vitoria in the Basque Country returned to the Club in July 2010 to take up the role of Director of Football.''

Zubizarreta took over the position in 2010.

Barcelona wants Neymar to remain at Barca until 2020

Neymar's agent, Wagner Ribeiro has claimed that Spanish club Barcelona want Neymar to remain at the club until 2020.

The Brazilian moved to Camp Nou from Santos in 2013 and his current deal is set to expire in 2018, but his representative has said the club want to tie the player down for a further two years.

 

"Of course Barcelona want to renew his contract. Until 2020? Yes," he said.

 

Speaking at the launch of a project designed to help the disadvantaged in Brazil, Neymar said: "I'm happy in Barcelona. I have a contract there and there's still a lot left for me to do."

 

Manchester City clash will be tough for Barca - Enrique

FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has reacted to the UEFA Champions League last-16 draw, which saw Barca against draw Manchester City for the second year in succession.

He said in a press conference on Monday that his side is ready to do battle with hopes of defeating the English club.

 

"They [City] are a hard and tough opponent," he said.

 

"From now until February a lot can happen. But it will be a balanced game.

 

"The key when you face this kind of match is that we are well. If we have a good tone it is easier to face any competition.

 

"I always think positively, and I think only of overcoming that tie against Manchester City."

''Barcelona surprised us'' - PSG defender David Luiz

Paris Saint German defender David Luiz has admitted that they were taken by surprise by Barcelona's 3-4-3 formation in Wednesday's UCL clash.

The French side lost 3-1 to Barcelona at the Camp Nou which saw them finish second in the group F behind Barca.

"I think that Barcelona are a great side, they've played very well, with a diamond in the middle of the park in order to have more possession," he said. "This surprised us.

"Barca have some of the best forwards in the world, all three of them are top quality and they all scored.

"We have to be ready to play against any team if we want to win the tournament, even if we'd have preferred to play the second leg at home."

PSG will face Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Chelsea or Porto in the next round.

Victor Valdez Is The Best Goalkeeper, Casillas Ranks 20th In La Liga History - Report

Former Barcelona goalie has been named the best in the history of the Spanish la liga.

According to a recent research carried out by the Centre for Research of Football History and Spanish Statistics (CIHEFE), analyzed keepers since 1928, Dailymail Sport report.

Google Image/ Valdez

He beat Thibuat Courtois (Athletico Madrid), Francisco Liano (Racing, Sport and Sporting), Roberto Rodriguez, ''Rodri'' (Atletico Madrid and Celta) and Mariano Garcia Remon (Real Madrid).

Despite winning 160 caps for Spain, compared to Valdes' meagre 20, Real Madrid's Casillas is ranked way down the list in 20th place.

Meanwhile, Santiago Cañizares was eighth, Luis Maria Arconada 13th and Andoni Zubizarreta 17th. The report detailed 790 players and concluded Valdes was the ‘ideal prototype’ for a goalkeeper.

See full report here 

Do you agree?

Football fans and how they react about their respective clubs

Someone posted this on his face book account and I began to wonder how true this is, but honestly there seem to be an iota of truth in his revelation on how football fans react about their clubs and i feel i should share this.

He tags it ''FOOTBALL FANS AND THEIR ATTITUDES''

Barcelona Fans - Even though they are one of the greatest, they make no noise, this shows how mature they are.

Real Madrid Fans - They act like kings but talk less

 - They are so patient even when in trouble, they talk a little but not much

Man City fans - I don't even know if they exist 

Liverpool Fans - Claiming to be kings when they are not, though they act wisely

Chelsea Fans - Oh my goodness, they're d worst, they always talk ''rubbish'' and too arrogant, they claim to b the best and yet they have less trophies than all d mentioned teams, they hate history

because their club have none... Amos can't share the rest of the comment

Manchester United Fans - best sets of fans, though they talk, they're friendly, they are the most

successful club in England and they never give up!!!!....

The fan confirms he's a Gunner, so where do you belong and what do you think your normal reaction is when your club is being discussed ???...

Amos says ''So this guy is an Arsenal fan, hmmm, okay lets see how positive this argument will end for him. Hahahaa.... I also feel this is related to Nigerian football fans or what do you think? 

So it's true! Suarez says thank you to Gerrard for advising him to shun Arsenal move

Barcelona Striker Luis Suarez has sent words of appreciation to his former teammate and captain Steven Gerrard for advising him not to join Arsenal last summer.

Google Image

Reports had it that the Gunners were keen on his signature and willing to cough out about £40million but was rejected by the Reds.

Suarez eventually joined Barcelona, waited to complete his four months match ban before seeing action for the Spanish giants.

''It would have been a big error that I would have made had it not been for Steven Gerrard,'' Suarez admits, in his book ‘Luis Suarez, My Story: Crossing the Line’.

''We spoke about this when I went to Melwood to pick up my things at the end of the summer and he said: ''You did the right thing, you waited until the best moment.''

''He had told me to play well for Liverpool, give it another year and it will be Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Barcelona coming for you and then you can go where you want, because you have the quality to play at any of those three clubs.''

Arsenal fans must be ''hating'' Gerrard right now. Lol

It’s a ''happy moment'' for Lionel Messi after Barcelona star equaled Raul’s 71 UCL goal-mark

Barcelona star Lionel Messi has tagged his new goal-scoring feat as ''happy moment'' having hit Raul Gonzalez’ 71-goal record in the UEFA Champions League.

For Messi who grabbed the double which saw Barca triumph over Ajax on Wednesday night, the victory was more important though he relish his new feat.

''It’s a happy moment for me,'' he said.

''I think it’s great but the most important thing was to get the three points so that we will be able to qualify for the next round.

''We secured the points, therefore I’m happy.''

''I don’t remember one goal especially. I always want to score and in the end it’s the sum total of them all that I will remember,” he said.

''As I’ve always said, goals in finals are the best and most powerful memories.''

Messi has however beaten Cristiano Ronaldo to the record, who surpasses it? Time shall tell.

Revealed: Alexis Sanchez chose Arsenal ahead of Liverpool

Liverpool fans across the globe must be biting their finger right now after it was revealed that Alexis Sanchez turned turn an offer to join the Reds in the summer.

It was reported by Metro UK  that the former Barcelona forward chose to join Arsenal for a fee which is £3million lower than what Liverpool were offering.

Alexis finally moved to the Emirates for £32million and  has scored 10 in 16 appearances so far for Arsenal, while Liverpool’s strikers continue to toil in front of goal, with new arrivals Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert yet to register a single league strike between them this season.

Reds boss Rodgers said: ''He’s a fantastic player and would have suited us.

''His profile would have been great but it was not to be and we move on.

''Lots of players are really impressed by what we are doing as a club and really excited about coming to Liverpool.

''It wasn’t due to a lack of ambition by the club.

''It was about where the player and his family wanted to choose to live.''