Champions League

[Amoroq]

LINK (http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fbleurc1engwal&prov=afp&type=lgns)

Village people enter Liverpool's land of the giants

July 10, 2005
LLANSANTFFRAID, Wales (AFP) - They are just 60 miles (100km) apart on the map but when it comes to football, light years separate the players of Llansantffraid and Liverpool.

This Welsh border village is the home of Total Network Solutions (TNS), the champions of Wales, who face the European champions in the first qualifying round of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Never can football have thrown up such a potential mismatch.

Liverpool are five-time European champions, they have just agreed a 100,000-pound (145,000-euro) a week deal to keep Steven Gerrard on their books and always pack out their 45,000-capacity, legendary Anfield home.

By contrast, Llansantffraid is a village of 800 people.

The TNS Treflan ground boasted an average attendance of 333 last season and a season high of 1,042.

The tiny club, who took their name of their sponsor in 1998 and whose turnover is just 500,000 pounds a year, are modest in the extreme.

Their directory boasts of a 500-seat stand behind one goal with a single hospitality box.

"The ground is bang in the middle of the village, just turn off the A4393 opposite the shops," advises the club website.

"Unfortunately Llansantffraid railway station, just a few yards from the ground, closed 50 years ago. Note that there is another village called Llansantffraid in Ceredigion. You have been warned!"

No wonder the club have agreed to play the second-leg of the tie at nearby Wrexham's 10,000 capacity Racecourse ground after Wednesday's first leg in Liverpool which is already sold out.

"This is the beauty of this game," TNS chairman Mike Harris told the Western Mail.

"It's a dream for our players to be competing on the same pitch as Gerrard and the other players who won the European Cup in such thrilling style.

"It wouldn't be bad would it? Victory over the European champions. Anything can happen. It's only three sticks of wood. You never know, we could have a shot which hits the referee's backside and deflects into the goal.

"The most likely scenario is that Liverpool will win, but I want to ensure that we don't disgrace ourselves and give a good account of the Welsh Premier League."

However, the omens are not good for the side who were only formed in 1959.

In their first Champions League adventure in 2002/2001 they drew 2-2 at home against FC Levadia from Estonia before losing the second leg 4-0 while two years later they lost 12-2 on aggregate to Polish side Amica Wronki.

They then faced Manchester City in the UEFA Cup two seasons ago and were beaten 7-0 over the two games.

But TNS have a secret weapon by the name of Rooney.

Thomas Rooney is the 20-year-old cousin of Manchester United striker Wayne and was brought in on a non-contract deal last week.

TNS is also packed with Everton fans.

Liverpool have been warned!


This team has the right attitude, all I can say is bring it lads :) Does anyone know how good baby Rooney is?

[Amoroq]

2005/06 UEFA Champions League
Group A FC Bayern M?nchen (GER) Juventus FC (ITA) Club Brugge KV (BEL) SK Rapid Wien (AUT)

Group B Arsenal FC (ENG) AFC Ajax (NED) AC Sparta Praha (CZE) FC Thun (SUI)

Group C FC Barcelona (ESP) Panathinaikos FC (GRE) Werder Bremen (GER) Udinese Calcio (ITA)

Group D Manchester United FC (ENG) Villarreal CF (ESP) LOSC Lille M?tropole (FRA) SL Benfica (POR)

Group E AC Milan (ITA) PSV Eindhoven (NED) FC Schalke 04 (GER) Fenerbah?e SK (TUR)

Group F Real Madrid CF (ESP) Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) Olympiacos CFP (GRE) Rosenborg BK (NOR)

Group G Liverpool FC (ENG, holders) Chelsea FC (ENG) RSC Anderlecht (BEL) Real Betis Balompi? (ESP)

Group H FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) FC Porto (POR) Rangers FC (SCO) FC Artmedia Bratislava (SVK)

[Madferret]

Good draw actually. Every EPL team should go through...

[a4l]

There are some interesting match ups. A B & G will be great to follow

[Amoroq]

Match Day 1

Champions League - Lyon Thrash Real Madrid: Champions Liverpool Top Real Betis : Rangers Nick Win Over Porto and Chelsea Do Just Enough:
AC Milan 3-1 Fenerbahce
PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Schalke 04
Lyon 3-0 Real Madrid :eek:
Olympiacos 1-3 Rosenborg
Real Betis 1-2 Liverpool FC (Title Holders)
Chelsea FC 1-0 Anderlecht
Artmedia 0-1 Inter Milan
Rangers 3-2 FC Porto

[J.R.]

Villarreal 0 - 0 Manchester United.
Villarreal CF made a solid debut in the UEFA Champions League by holding their vastly more experienced Group D rivals Manchester United FC to an entertaining, but goalless, draw.Hopefully the Red Devils can have a better campaign in the C.L. than last season. Not the best start, but was on the road and they needed to play most of the second half with ten men (Rooney got his second yellow for clapping at the referee).

UEFA Game Report (http://www.uefa.com/Competitions/UCL/FixturesResults/Round=2201/match=1100256/report=RP.html).


Around the Champions League
Club Brugge 1 - 2 Juventus
Rapid 0 - 1 Bayern
Sparta 1 - 1 Ajax
Arsenal 2 - 1 Thun
Udinese 3 - 0 Panathinaikos
Bremen 0 - 2 Barcelona
Benfica 1 - 0 Lille

We should get a pool going for this. Just a suggestion. ;)

[a4l]

Hopefully the Red Devils can have a better campaign in the C.L. than last season. Not the best start, but was on the road and they needed to play most of the second half with ten men (Rooney got his second yellow for clapping at the referee).

We should get a pool going for this. Just a suggestion. ;)

Rooney needs to calm down. Especially in international play.

A pool would be fun.

[Amoroq]

Real Betis 1 Chelsea 0 :D

[a4l]

Real Betis 1 Chelsea 0 :D

Chel$ki seems to be on a bit of a losing streak. Here's to hoping it exstends to their PL matches. :gulppint: :gulppint:

[Madferret]

I thought I heard Real won 4-1?
Remember the Champions League pool from last year? Who's interested in the same this year?

[a4l]

I'm in to defend my title.:laughing:

[Madferret]

Champions League: Final 16 set
Canadian Press

LONDON (AP) - The final 16 of the Champions League was completed Wednesday when Villarreal, Benfica and Werder Bremen became the final three teams to advance in Europe's most prestigious club competition.

Villarreal defeated Lille 1-0 to win Group D, and Benfica upset two-time champion Manchester United 2-1 to take second place in the group. In Group C, Werder Bremen defeated Panathinaikos 5-1 to finish second behind Barcelona, which had already advanced.

Thirteen teams had already qualified for the final 16 knockout stage: AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Lyon, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Arsenal, Ajax, Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Rangers and Barcelona.

Manchester United was the shock of the night.

United's loss at Benfica in Group D left the English power in last place in the group - and out of Europe. United finished with six points, the same as Lille. Lille claimed third place - and a place in the UEFA Cup - ahead of Manchesyer United because the French team beat United in one group game and drew the other.

The last time Manchester United was ousted from the Champions League group stage was 1994-95. In '95-'96, United failed to qualify for the competition. Since then, the club has reached the knockout stage nine straight times, and won the title in 1999.

"When you are chasing a game like that, there is a certain desperation that comes in and there's anxiety," Ferguson acknowledged. "And we needed a bit of composure. We overdid it a bit and became a bit desperate."

Trying to sound upbeat, Ferguson blamed part of the loss on a young squad that he hopes will improve with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool having replaced United as England's dominant teams.

"It's a blow and what you have to do is regroup," Ferguson said. "This club in history has always risen from difficult situations, and we'll do so again."

Benfica coach Ronald Koeman called the result historic. Like United, Benfica is a two-time European champion. The Lisbon club also lost two other finals - in 1988 and '90.

"Benfica is a big club with a lot of history, but what we did here today will go down as a great thing," Koeman said. "It's a giant step for this club."

In other results Wednesday,it was Brugge 1 Bayern Munich 1, and Rapid Vienna 1 Juventus 3 in Group A, Arsenal 0 Ajax 0, and Sparta Prague 0, Thun 0 in Group B, and Udinese 0 Barcelona 2 in Group C.

The draw for the knockout round is Dec. 16.

Juventus' victory, coupled with Bayern's draw gave the Italians first place in Group A with 15 points. Bayern finished with 13. Alessandro del Piero scored twice and Zlatan Ibrahimovic added the third for Juventus.

Arsenal and Ajax were already guaranteed the top two spots in from Group B, and the 0-0 draw changed nothing. Arsenal finished with 16 points and Ajax had 11.

Barcelona's two late goals against Udinese - from Santi Ezequerro and Andres Iniesta - eliminated the Italians, who would have advanced from Group C with a draw. Barca finished with 16 points.

Nelson Valdez led Werder Bremen with two goals. Johan Micoud, Torsten Frings and Miroslav Klose also scored for the German team. Bremen and Udinese finished with seven points, but the Germans advanced because of better head-to-head results in their two group games.

Villarreal won Group D with 10 points with Benfica in second on eight. Lille and Manchester United each had six. Villarreal got the winner in the 67th from substitute Antonio Guayre.

"It was a difficult game," Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini said. "We were nervous in the first half, but we improved after halftime. Guayre's goal calmed us down. We did our job."

United went ahead on Paul Scholes' goal in the sixth minute, but Benfica rallied with first-half goals from Geovanni and Beto.

United's defeat was humiliating, costly and puts Ferguson's job under pressure.

Like many top clubs, United earns millions from the competition. The revenue shortfall could be critical to United, which was purchased earlier this year by American billionaire Malcolm Glazer in a takeover that relied heavily on borrowed money.

The draw is next week, then I'll go ahead and set-up the knock-out pool.

[a4l]

Will you contact us by PM when it is set up? :boogie:

[Madferret]

Will you contact us by PM when it is set up? :boogie:

I just might..

:laughing:

[Amoroq]

Round of 16 draw

Chelsea v Barcelona
Real Madrid v Arsenal
Werder Bremen v Juventus
Bayern Munich v AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven v Lyon
Ajax v Inter Milan
Benfica v Liverpool
Rangers v Villarreal

[Madferret]

Round 16 starts tommorow, let's get the pool started - there will only be few of us anyways. Here's the legs..

Bayern - Milan L1 21/02 L2 08/03
Benfica - Liverpool L1 21/02 L2 08/03
Real Madrid - Arsenal L1 21/02 L2 08/03
PSV - Lyon L1 21/02 L2 08/03
Chelsea - Barcelona L1 22/02 L2 07/03
Rangers - Villarreal L1 22/02 L2 07/03
Bremen - Juventus L1 22/02 L2 07/03
Ajax - Internazionale L1 22/02 L2 07/03

Pick who's going to advance out of each set of matches, and the combined goal total for the tie break. Good luck...

I hate the Series A but I think Juve's got a good shot to win it this year. They're playing through their teeth and their strikers are pretty scary.

[J.R.]

You want us to PM you, Dev?

Just for confirmation, is this how we pick? Milan over Bayern (6 combined goals).

[Madferret]

You want us to PM you, Dev?

Just for confirmation, is this how we pick? Milan over Bayern (6 combined goals).

Yes & yes. Sorry Junes, should have said that..

[a4l]

Damn and I missed out. Too much hockey watching and celebrating. lol

[Madferret]

If anyone wants to join still let me know your picks through a PM, I know I kinda sprung it up last minute I didn't realize it started up today...my bad.
Junes if you want to revamp your picks at all let me know the new ones ASAP, if not I'll just use the ones you sent me...

Hey Sue the Gunners were solid at the Camp today eh..

[Madferret]

Alright, just me and Junes so far I guess. I'll keep it open until today, PM me your picks..

Milan over Bayern - (6)
Liverpool over Benfica - (4)
Arsenal over Real Madrid - (5)
PSV over Lyon - (5)
Chelsea over Barcelona - (7)
Villarreal over Rangers - (6)
Juventus over Bremen - (6)
Internazionale over Ajax - (5)

Milan - (5)
Benfica - (3)
Arsenal - (4)
Lyon - (4)
Barcelona - ( 8 )
Villarreal - (5)
Juventus - (5)
Inter - (4)

[Madferret]

Buy-bye Chelsea...

Barcelona, Juventus, Villarreal reach Champions League quarter-finals

LONDON (AP) - FC Barcelona, Juventus and Villarreal qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday.

Chelsea didn't. Ronaldinho scored in the 78th minute to give host Barcelona a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and put the Spanish league leaders into the final eight 3-2 on aggregate. Frank Lampard converted a penalty for Chelsea in injury time.

Juventus, which got an 88th-minute goal from Emerson after a goalkeeping error, beat Werder Bremen 2-1. The deciding goal levelled the aggregate score at 4-4, which advanced the Italian champions on away goals.

Villarreal drew 1-1 with visiting Rangers and advanced on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate score. Defender Rodolfo Arruabarrena scored Villarreal's equalizer in the 49th, advancing the provincial Spanish team, which is making its debut in the Champions League.

With Barcelona holding Chelsea scoreless into the final minutes, the hosts didn't need to score to advance. But Ronaldinho - the FIFA world player of the year - wasn't satisfied with that.

Taking a pass from Samuel Eto'o, the Brazilian skipped into the area, barged past Chelsea defender John Terry and drove the ball past the diving Petr Cech.

"There's nothing better than winning a game like this one," Ronaldinho said.

On Wednesday, defending champion Liverpool hosts Benfica while trailing 1-0, AC Milan hosts Bayern Munich after a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Arsenal hosts Real Madrid with a 1-0 lead and Lyon has a 1-0 advantage when it hosts PSV Eindhoven.

The remaining Champions League game will be March 14 in Milan with Ajax and Inter Milan level 2-2. The draw for the quarter-finals and semifinals is Friday in Paris.

The Barcelona-Chelsea match - the Spanish champions against the English champions - was the most awaited match of this season's Champions League.

Seldom generous in defeat, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was true to form when asked if the better team had won.

"I don't think so," Mourinho said. "We played against them four matches in two seasons - and 11 against 11 they never beat us. That's the reality."

Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard had a different view.

"I think we deserved to get through," he said.

Chelsea ousted Barcelona 5-4 a year ago at the same stage, a series in which Mourinho suggested Rijkaard tried to cheat.

Two weeks ago in the first leg - won by Barcelona 2-1 in London - Mourinho contended that Barca forward Lionel Messi faked an injury to get Chelsea defender Asier del Horno sent off.

Chelsea officials accused Barcelona fans of spitting at Mourinho when he arrived Sunday in Barcelona. The Portuguese, once an assistant coach at Barcelona, said the anger focused at him took pressure off his players.

He took the same approach at Camp Nou on Tuesday, taking the field long before his team in a bid to deflect the pressure off his players.

Barcelona has won Europe's top club prize only once - in 1992. Chelsea has never won it.

In the wake of the Turin Olympics, Juventus slipped into quarter-finals on an 88th-minute error by Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese. It allowed the Italian champions to win the second leg 2-1, and they advanced on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate score.

Juventus was trailing on aggregate when Wiese lost control of the ball inside the area, and Emerson drove the ball home for an easy goal.

Midfielder Johan Micoud gave Bremen the lead in the 13th minute and David Trezeguet equalized in the 65th.

Villarreal delighted the 22,500 fans at its stadium by drawing 1-1 with Rangers to advance on away goals.

Rangers striker Peter Lovenkrands scored the first goal in the 12th minute after a mistake by Villarreal goalkeeper Sebastian Viera. But Arruabarrena scored the deciding goal in the 49th.

[a4l]

Buy-bye Chelsea...

:rollover: :rollover::gulppint: As much as I don't like Ronaldinho I was happy with his play to-day.

[Amoroq]

GO LIVERPOOL!!!!

[Madferret]

As much as I don't like Ronaldinho I was happy with his play to-day.

Ronaldinho is disgusting. Any other player would have been bumped off the ball three times over on his goal, the guy is hands down the best footballer in the world.

[a4l]

Looks like Arsenal is the only EPL team left in the competition.

GO GUNNERS!!!!!!!!!!:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[a4l]

We are in the semis. Go Arsenal!!!!!!!