The Lead

This video of the infamous 2005 Champions League second leg round of 16 match is the perfect embodiment of the recent history between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona in the Champions League—pretty to watch, yes, but hard to appreciate over the obnoxious soundtrack.

You might recall the controversy before that match, when then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho accused referee Anders Frisk of visiting Barca’s dressing room, which led to death threats and Frisk’s early retirement. And there was controversy after the second leg as well, when some claimed that Barcelona’s Victor Valdez had been fouled in the box, allowing Terry to head in the winning goal on aggregate.

And in the following season at the same stage in the first leg against Barcelona again, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho got his whinge in over Asier Del Horno’s red card in the first half of their 1-2 loss to Barca. If you think all these incidents are Mourinho-dependent, skip forward to 2009, and more death threats, this time to Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo over his refusal to award Chelsea a penalty in their 1-1 second leg semifinal draw against Barca.

What fresh hell awaits us in this meeting of the “titans” or whatever egregious bit of Sky Sports-esque hyperbole strikes your fancy this week? Tune in tomorrow to find out…in the meantime, read Miguel Delaney’s calm build up to the match.

Canada

Grant says that Canada needs more friendlies.

Oprah and what “bad luck” means when it comes to Toronto FC.

TFC youth academy player Jordan Hamilton will be joining Canada’s U17 squad.

So will four Whitecaps youth players.

Take a deep breath, Montreal Impact fans.

England

Dani Alves says Chelsea are scared, fearful losers.

Meanwhile Ashley Cole claims CFC know how to stop Messi [insert air rifle joke here].

Ben Lyttleton on the growing importance of Ivanovic to Chelsea.

Mario Balotelli insists he’s staying at Manchester City. Meanwhile, he rather worryingly claims Tevez is his hero.

Jack Wilshere won’t be fit in time for Euro 2012.

Arsene Wenger accuses Wigan of time-wasting in their 1-2 defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates yesterday.

Luis Suarez takes the Aron Winter approach and puts Liverpool’s topsy-turvy season down to bad luck.

Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey out for the rest of the season.

Germany

The long, sordid history between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Arjen Robben says Bayern “must play a perfect game.”

Rafa Honigstein gives his take on the match-up.

Greuther Fürth gain promotion to the Bundesliga proper, in part because of the solid presence of Olivier Occean.

Spain

Sid Lowe interviews Dani Alves.

Bits and bobs

Juan Sebastian Veron is set to hang up his boots.

Caldwell/Robin van Persie handbags.

A unique punishment for a unique crime.

The diving header that sparked a pitch invasion.

And that, give or take, is the story so far…