Champions League
+ Niklas Bendtner hit a hat-trick as Arsenal crushed Porto 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium to advance to the Champions League quarter-finals.
+ A stunning strike from Arjen Robben fired Bayern Munich into the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of an unlucky Fiorentina at a wet and windy Stadio Artemio Franchi.
+ Bayern Munich Coach Louis Van Gaal admits that Fiorentina have every reason to be upset at their exit.
+ Richard Williams: Leonardo, a leader after Berlusconi’s heart, will urge Milan to attack.
+ Lyon midfielder Michel Bastos is suffering from a muscle strain and has been ruled out of his side’s round-of-16 Champions League clash with Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
North America
+ The Columbus Crew tied Toluca 2-2 in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal.
+ Paul James: No excuses for Julian de Guzman.
+ Duane Rollins: The cost of the Canadian problem.
+ Red Nation: Simeon Jackson is confident that Canada are taking positive steps towards 2014, but warns that more will follow the path of Asmir Begovic to represent other nations.
+ The Chicago Fire and trialist Collins John have been unable to reach agreement on a contract, and the 24-year-old Liberian-Dutch forward is planning to return to Europe to seek other opportunities.
+ Dallas has signed goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, a four-time MLS All-Star. The team said Monday that it acquired Hartman in a trade with the Kansas City Wizards, giving them a second-round selection in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for Hartman.
+ Philadelphia Union have announced the signing of 18-year-old Colombian midfielder Roger Torres on loan from Colombian powerhouse club América de Cali.
+ Europe-based midfielders Marko Perovic (FC Basel) and Gareth Williams (Watford) will join the Revolution on trial.
+ Red Bulls forward Giorgi Chirgadze underwent left hip surgery to repair a labrum tear and decompress the joint and is expected to recover in 4-5 months.
+ Former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Kenold Versailles has signed with rival USSF D2 club Crystal Palace Baltimore.
England
+ Sunderland defeated Bolton 4-0 on the strength of a Darren Bent hat-trick.
+ Cameron Jerome scored twice to lift Birmingham to a 2-1 win at Portsmouth.
+ Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is unlikely to face an FA charge for allegedly flicking a ‘V-sign’ at referee Andre Marriner.
+ The Football Association is considering whether Shaun Wright-Phillips and Chelsea could face charges for dealing with an unlicensed agent, Mitchell Thomas, when Wright-Phillips moved to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in July 2005.
+ Chelsea have opened talks with Nicolas Anelka’s representative over extending the France striker’s stay at Stamford Bridge. The 30-year-old’s current contract expires at the end of next season, with discussions now under way to keep him at the club until 2013.
+ Egyptian attacker Mohamed Zidan revealed that English giants Arsenal want him at the Emirates.
+ Manchester City scouts have been impressed by Sampdoria midfielder Andrea Poli. City scout Barry Hunter went to watch Sampdoria against Lazio, to examine striker targets.
+ Portsmouth face prospect of FA Cup glory without the prize of European football after not applying for a Uefa club licence.
+ The administrators running Portsmouth have revealed that the club is still paying out £4m a month in wages but promised fans that any revenue collected for next year’s season tickets will be placed in a ring-fenced account.
+ Wilson Palacios has risked the wrath of Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp by admitting he wants a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid in future.
+ Fabio Capello expects defender Wes Brown to recover in time to be selected for the World Cup.
+ England will step up their security as they attempt to hunt down and identify the culprits behind the illegal bugging of their team hotel in Hertfordshire.
Italy
+ Roma captain Francesco Totti admits that he is thinking about going to the World Cup in South Africa this summer.
+ Roma director of sport Daniele Prade is reportedly in London to discuss the transfer of Arsenal centre-back William Gallas.
+ Grosseto striker Mauricio Pinilla insists he is ready to make the step up and join Italian champions Inter this summer.
Germany
+ Jens Lehmann appears ready to end his career at the conclusion of the current season after confirming he will not be renewing his contract with Stuttgart.
+ Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has admitted the club will pull out all the stops to convince Franck Ribery to extend his current deal at the Allianz Arena.
+ Hoffenheim owner Dietmar Hopp has demanded an explanation for his side’s pitiful performance at the weekend. A 1-0 defeat at home to Mainz has left Hoffenheim’s ambitions of European football next season in tatters and Hopp would like to know why his team is performing as poorly as it is.
France
+ Nice have confirmed the sacking of coach Didier Olle-Nicolle after less than a year in charge of the Ligue 1 club.
+ Montpellier wing sensation Karim Aït-Fana has turned down a call-up from the Moroccan national team, the France U-21 international choosing to maintain an option on a future in Bleu.
Scotland
+ Red-hot Rangers streaked 13 points clear in the title race at Kilmarnock on Tuesday night, ensuring a full year of league games with just one defeat.
+ Celtic have opened contract talks with keeper Artur Boruc but his long term future still remains a mystery.
Russia
+ Jonathan Wilson: After the boom, Russia’s leading clubs are fighting to avoid the bust.
starting the rumour: gourcuff to utd this summer as laurent blanc is possed to be the eventual successor to ferguson in the coming years.
for some reason i really have taken a liking to fiorentina’s purple kits…. i compare it to seeing a fine woman in a red dress. like scarlett j that one time
i see schweinsteiger is playing in the centre of midfield now….is this the prefered position now at bayern? or was it just for yesterdays game?
Humiliating loss to Arsenal yesterday. Credit is due to their opponents. Porto’s performance was an example of a team very scared to play. The defending was timid and amateurish. Porto has been very inconsistent and this season is turning out to be a forgettable one. There will be an overhaul of the team in the off season. Firstly, the coach will be changed. He’s overstayed his welcome and the players quit playing for him some time ago. The club has way too many average south american players. I expect that they will be replaced by some of the young players (predominantly Portuguese) currently on loan to other clubs.
I also have a soft spot for Fiorentina and was pulling for them yesterday. I equate them to a modest club “that could”. Over the years (Batistuta and Rui Costa era) they get close to success but disappointingly fall short. The games with Bayern were unfortunate.
No problem about missing yeseterday’s links Joe. I just worked all day. Don’t worry about me. Toiled tirelessly at my computer, frequently checking back in, only to be disappointed once again. No worries though.
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Bendtner – couldn’t hit the broad side of a fucking barn on the weekend to give my fanatasy team some points. And then, to add insult to injury, he bangs in a CL treble that helps the Arse advance. Meh.
JDG at TFC – this season is his litmus test in my opinion. If he fails to shine at a mediocre (and I am being fairly generous) MLS team, I think he will have forever lowered the ceiling in terms of his marketability and value, not to mention his reputation in the eyes of many fans. Yes, he was great at Deportivo, but by the end of the upcoming season his best times at Depor will be two years in the past, and lets face it, his games with Canada aren’t exactly going to be advancing his reputation beyond the relatively quant circle of canadian soccer fans who are already on board anyway.
On another happy note, this season is shaping up to be a real doozie for TFC. No major signings, starters leaving the club (without adequate replacements), and the same major holes left to fill that we saw last year (and the year before…). While opinions may vary on some of them, the fact remains that we have lost Guevera, Serioux, Vitti, and Robinson (all starters or potential starters last season) without any kind of equivalent replacements coming in. Oh well, at least we still have Garcia and Barrett. WTF. We still need some serious all-action defenders, and someone who can consistently score goals at the MLS level. Without them, it is going to be a long, miserable season.
Have a super day.
Lenhart, had one really nice goal last night for the Crew (boo). Worth a watch for anyone who wants to take a look.
Mini Coumbian invasion to MLS looks to be in the works. Shame we can’t connect with any of these guys, they seem to be in the price range of what we need given we’re in cap trouble.
Not to hopeful for this season, but i still want to see TFC back on the pitch. Offseason has been too long.
Fiorentina losing on away goals hurts. Especially when it really was the Klose goal that ended up deciding things. Had Fiorentina held on that would’ve slowed Germany’s pursuit of Italy’s 4th CL spot.
Nam – Bang on about TFC.
The teams strategy this season is
1- to hope that Frei, Cronin, O’Brian White and Nana can all build on last season,
2- DeRo brings it again,
3- JDG steps up and isn’t here for a paycheck,
4- Gerba remembers how to score and
5- Wynne, Brennan, and Garcia learn how to defend.
Seems like a receipe for success. Over/Under on 7.5 wins?
any chance of getting the 2nd half highlights from the Bayern-Fiorentina match??? cheers!
Probably not, they’re really doing a good job taking them down.
For the record, I wa just kidding about yesterday’s links. I hope you didn’t have chronic diarhea or something.
Lyon just mugged Real. Not only did they knock them out of the tournament on their home soil, they got Real to pay them a crapload for Benzema, who doesn’t look worth anywhere near 42 million Euros. My fingers are crossed for Stuttgart, Olympiakos, and CSKA to do the same as Lyon; especially Stuttgart.