World Cup Knockout Stage
UEFA Champions League â 20 teams are after the 10 last seats for the group stage by Andrew Hill
The last knockout qualifying round is halfway through, but nothing has been decided yet, as there are still 90 minutes to play. Nobody wants to loose the chance to be part of the biggest club competition in Europe, and the second leg games that will be played on August 24th and 25th will be a good preview of the intensity that will be experienced through out the competition. The 56th edition of the tournament is just waiting for the winner of each playoff to begin its group phase on September 14th.
Teams like Sevilla, Sampdoria or Tottenham have a tight situation ahead, where they need a come from behind victory against rivals that turned out to be more complicated that expected during the first leg. The Spaniards lost 1 to 0 on their visit to Braga, the Italians 3 to 1 to Werder Bremen, and the English team 3 to 2 against the Young Boys from Switzerland. Others like Ajax and Anderlecht had a little bit more of luck and tied their games against Dynamo and Partizan respectively.
The defending champion, Inter, has the statistics against them, as no club has been able to win two consecutive titles since the current format was implemented in 1992. For some, the strength of this team was their former coach, Portuguese Jose Mourinho, who left to Real Madrid in search of new challenges for his successful career. To replace him, President Massimo Moratti signed former Liverpoolâs Coach Rafael Benitez, who leaves Anfield after 6 years of work. Replacing someone like Mourinho might not be something easy, but Benitez is a winner and has already conquered one Champions League title with Liverpool in 2005, so he is prepared for what is coming.
The team that has done the strongest investment this year for the competition is Real Madrid, which has not only signed Mourinho to lead them to victory again, but also six new players have arrived to the team: World Cup sensation Ozil, Argentinean Di Maria, Spaniards Canales and Leon, German Khedira, and the Portuguese defender Carvalho. The club is obsessed with wining one more Champions League cup, which would represent the tenth one in their history. It must be said that the UEFA Championship has not made it to the Santiago Bernabeu since Real Madrid won the title in 2002. They are going to be one of the favorites to win the competition.
Barcelona still regrets their elimination from the past season against Inter, it hurt the players so bad that they made a vow compromising to win the competition this year. For third year in a row they look as one of the strongest teams to beat, as they not only have Lionel Messi, considered to be the best player of the world, but they are also the base of Spainâs National team. And if this wasnât enough, striker David Villa has joined the team in the best moment of his career, and is hungry for titles. Guardiola has a small but strong group that will definitely make it to the final stages of the competition.
Since Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea, he placed the team on top of the Premier League along with Manchester United, but unlike their rival, they havenât been to take that superiority to Europe, which has been a pending desire for him and the fans. This season they have on more shot to fulfill their dreams and win their first Champions League cup in their history.
Other teams might join to the list of favorites, but these ones will definitely carry the title of favorites. The only thing for sure is that Wembley Stadium will be waiting to crown the new champion.
Andrew Hill has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/UEFA-Champions-League-----20-teams-are-after-the-10-last-seats-for-the-group-stage-/840077
World Cup Knockout Stage
UEFA Cup 2008/09 - The Road to the Final by Peri Witny
The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take center stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted in Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. FC Zenit St. Petersburg, the 2008 UEFA Cup champion, will defend its title in 2009 after qualifying as one of eight teams to emerge from UEFA Cup group play.
The group stage concluded on Wednesday Dec 10th night. The eight teams who finished in third place in their respective groups have advanced to the knockout stage, which begins in February of 2009 with 32 participants. Joining FC Zenit St. Petersburg as qualifiers are FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Werder Bremen, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympique de Marseille, Aalborg BK, ACF Fiorentina, and FC Dynamo Kyiv. The top two teams in each group are still in contention for Champions League berths, and therefore not yet assured of spots in the UEFA Cup.
The Champions League takes precedence among the two events, and therefore clubs that qualify for that more prestigious tournament do not participate in the UEFA Cup. Fiorentina, which reached the UEFA Cup semifinals last season, defeated FC Steaua Bucuresti on Wednesday to book its place in the knockout round. Werder Bremen, meanwhile, scored a 2-1 home win over Inter Milan to secure third place in its group and qualify for the UEFA Cup. It's a consolation prize for Werder Bremen, which missed out on qualifying for Champions League action. We're disappointed in the Champions League this year but, with a bit of luck, in the end we made the best of a bad situation, said Werder Bremen's Torsten Frings in a statement on the club's official website. In spite of everything, I am happy that we will continue to play internationally next year. FC Zenit St. Petersburg, which overcame Rangers FC in Manchester to hoist the most recent UEFA Cup trophy, has a chance to equal the accomplishment of Sevilla FC by winning back-to-back UEFA Cup championships. Sevilla FC captured repeat titles in 2006 and 2007 and could soon be competing in another knockout stage yet again.
With the knockout stage still two months away, it has already been a long and grueling road to the UEFA Cup for the competitors. Prior to the group stage, UEFA Cup hopefuls endured two qualifying rounds, the first of which took place in July and the second of which was held in August. Advancing teams progressed to first-round play held in September and October. The all-important group play, which concludes next week, consists of eight pods, all of which contain five teams. Next season, however, the format will be changed so that there are 12 groups, each comprised of four teams. After 16 teams advance out of February's opening knockout stage, the second round will take place in mid-March.
The quarterfinals will be held in mid-April, and the semifinals will be featured in late April and early May. The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take center stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted in Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. Turkey's largest city also showcased another big European soccer event when the 2005 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan was contested in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Istanbul will be the 12th city to host the UEFA Cup final since the tournament switched to a new format for the 1997-98 season.
ScoresPro provides Live Score, Results real time service, Soccer Livescore and Sports Live Results all over the world...Feel free to visit ScoresPro.com for Uefa Cup
Football Results.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/UEFA-Cup-2008-09---The-Road-to-the-Final/458225
World Cup Knockout Stage
UEFA Cup 2008/09 - The Road to the Final by Peri Witny
The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take center stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted in Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. FC Zenit St. Petersburg, the 2008 UEFA Cup champion, will defend its title in 2009 after qualifying as one of eight teams to emerge from UEFA Cup group play.
The group stage concluded on Wednesday Dec 10th night. The eight teams who finished in third place in their respective groups have advanced to the knockout stage, which begins in February of 2009 with 32 participants. Joining FC Zenit St. Petersburg as qualifiers are FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Werder Bremen, FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Olympique de Marseille, Aalborg BK, ACF Fiorentina, and FC Dynamo Kyiv. The top two teams in each group are still in contention for Champions League berths, and therefore not yet assured of spots in the UEFA Cup.
The Champions League takes precedence among the two events, and therefore clubs that qualify for that more prestigious tournament do not participate in the UEFA Cup. Fiorentina, which reached the UEFA Cup semifinals last season, defeated FC Steaua Bucuresti on Wednesday to book its place in the knockout round. Werder Bremen, meanwhile, scored a 2-1 home win over Inter Milan to secure third place in its group and qualify for the UEFA Cup. It's a consolation prize for Werder Bremen, which missed out on qualifying for Champions League action. We're disappointed in the Champions League this year but, with a bit of luck, in the end we made the best of a bad situation, said Werder Bremen's Torsten Frings in a statement on the club's official website. In spite of everything, I am happy that we will continue to play internationally next year. FC Zenit St. Petersburg, which overcame Rangers FC in Manchester to hoist the most recent UEFA Cup trophy, has a chance to equal the accomplishment of Sevilla FC by winning back-to-back UEFA Cup championships. Sevilla FC captured repeat titles in 2006 and 2007 and could soon be competing in another knockout stage yet again.
With the knockout stage still two months away, it has already been a long and grueling road to the UEFA Cup for the competitors. Prior to the group stage, UEFA Cup hopefuls endured two qualifying rounds, the first of which took place in July and the second of which was held in August. Advancing teams progressed to first-round play held in September and October. The all-important group play, which concludes next week, consists of eight pods, all of which contain five teams. Next season, however, the format will be changed so that there are 12 groups, each comprised of four teams. After 16 teams advance out of February's opening knockout stage, the second round will take place in mid-March.
The quarterfinals will be held in mid-April, and the semifinals will be featured in late April and early May. The upcoming UEFA Cup Final will take center stage on May 20, 2009 and will be hosted in Istanbul's Sukru Saracolou Stadium. Turkey's largest city also showcased another big European soccer event when the 2005 UEFA Champions League final between Liverpool FC and AC Milan was contested in the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. Istanbul will be the 12th city to host the UEFA Cup final since the tournament switched to a new format for the 1997-98 season.
ScoresPro provides Live Score, Results real time service, Soccer Livescore and Sports Live Results all over the world...Feel free to visit ScoresPro.com for Uefa Cup
Football Results.
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/UEFA-Cup-2008-09---The-Road-to-the-Final/458225
1986 FIFA World Cup Knockout stage Round of 16 part 1.wmv
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