Draws out for UEFA Champions League 2012/13 Group Stage

The draw for the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage was carried out today at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco. And all the 32 participating clubs aim to reach the final to be played on May 2013 at Wembley Stadium in London.

The strongest of all groups is Group D containing four national champions - Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Defending champions FC Chelsea have been drawn in a weaker Group E then along with Italian champions Juventus they should move into the knockout stage past Ukrainians FC Shakhtar Donetsk and newcomers FC Nordjaelland from Denmark.

Last season finalists FC Bayern München after having had the Group of Death last term, this time around got an easier Group F in which they face Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France) and FC BATE Borisov (Belarus).


The Groups

Group A: FC Porto (Portugal), Dinamo Kyiv (Ukraine), FC Paris Saint-Germain (France), GNK Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

Group B: Arsenal FC (England), FC Schalke 04 (Germany), Olympiacos Piräus FC (Greece), HSC Montpellier (France)

Group C: AC Milan (Italy), FC Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), RSC Anderlecht (Belgium), FC Malaga (Spain)

Group D: Real Madrid CF (Spain), Manchester City FC (England), AFC Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands), Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Group E: Chelsea FC (England), FC Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Juventus Torino (Italy), FC Nordjaelland (Denmark)

Group F: FC Bayern München (Germany), Valencia CF (Spain), LOSC Lille Métropole (France), FC BATE Borisov (Belarus)

Group G: FC Barcelona (Spain), SL Benfica (Portugal), Spartak Moskva (Russia), Celtic Glasgow (Scotland)

Group H: Manchester United FC (England), Sporting Braga (Portugal), Galatasaray Istanbul (Turkey), CFR Cluj (Romania)

FC Paris Saint-Germain sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Big spending French side FC Paris Saint-Germain have signed Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Italian giants AC Milan for a transfer fee of 20 Million Euros and unveiled him in Paris at a press conference today. Ibrahimovic is set to get 14 Million Euros as salary per season.

At the press conference at Parc des Princes Ibrahimovic said, "I want to thank Paris Saint-Germain and (sporting director) Leonardo for the great work they've done!"

"I think they've made something that looked impossible, possible. I'm very happy to be sitting here. After lots of talks, I'm finally a PSG player. It's a big step in my career, another dream come true. I think this is a very interesting project and I had no doubts. In my mind I was very clear, and I knew what I wanted.

"They're bringing together the very best. Who wouldn't want to be here?" Ibrahimovic added.

30 year old Zlatan Ibrahimovic is someone who has won league titles in three different countries having played for FF Malmö, Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus Torino, Inter Milan, FC Barcelona and AC Milan.

Ibrahimovic is the fourth signing by PSG from the Italian Serie A after Argentinian Ezequiel Lavezzi from SSC Napoli for 26 Million Euros, former AC Milan team mate Thiago Silva for 42 Million Euros and young Italian Marco Verratti for 12 Million Euros from AC Pescara.

In total these four signings have cost PSG already 100 Million Euros, but with the financial backing of their investors from Qatar Sports Investment more signings look possible as they will want to challenge the best and strongest clubs in Europe. After spending more then 100 Million Euros over the last season and now again the Qatari owners will want titles from coach Carlo Ancelotti and his team.

VIDEO: AC Milan demolish Arsenal

Last night Italian giants AC Milan demolished English Premier League side FC Arsenal 4-0 in a one-sided game. The opening goal from Kevin-Prince Boateng was a beauty, while the two next from Robinho were well created by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who himself scored the fourth of a penalty. What a night for Milan, what a nightmare for Arsene Wenger and his men.

Deloitte Football Money League: Real Madrid top once more!

The Deloitte Football Money League 2010/11 has been released with Spanish giants Real Madrid topping the league table of the world's 20 highest earning football clubs for the seventh straight year, according to auditing firm Deloitte.

For the first time the combined revenues of the 20 biggest football clubs in the world has crossed the 4 billion Euros mark and now stands at 4,3 billion Euros an increase of 8,3 percent with all these clubs coming out of Europe. England remains the most represented with six out of the top 20 clubs from the Premier League, five from Italy, four from Germany, three from Spain plus two from France.

Once more Spain's big two are the highest revenue earners in world football. Though playing second fiddle to FC Barcelona in the Spanish league and on the European stage Real Madrid have been able to increase their revenues by 40.9 million Euros from the previous season to now an impressive 479,5 million Euros with Barca 28,8 million Euros behind. But the Catalans could once more close the gap over their archrivals.

German Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04 are the biggest movers as they move from 16th place into the Top 10 for the first time due to their UEFA Champions League semifinal appearance and winning the German Cup as their budget rose from 139,8 to 202,4 million Euros.

Atlético de Madrid, VfB Stuttgart and Aston Villa dropped out of the Top 20; while Borussia Dortmund, FC Valencia and SSC Napoli entered this elite group of football clubs.


Deloitte Football Money League - 2009/2010 Top 20

01. (01) Real Madrid 479,5 million Euros
02. (02) FC Barcelona 450,7 million Euros
03. (03) Manchester United 367,0 million Euros
04. (04) FC Bayern Munich 321,4 million Euros
05. (05) FC Arsenal London 251,1 million Euros
06. (06) FC Chelsea London 249,8 million Euros
07. (07) AC Milan 235,1 million Euros
08. (09) Inter Milan 211,4 million Euros
09. (08) FC Liverpool 203,3 million Euros
10. (16) FC Schalke 04 202,4 million Euros
11. (12) Tottenham Hotspurs 181,0 million Euros
12. (11) Manchester City 169,6 million Euros
13. (10) Juventus Torino 153,9 million Euros
14. (15) Olympique Marseille 150,4 million Euros
15. (18) AS Roma 143,5 million Euros
16. (--) Borussia Dortmund 138,5 million Euros
17. (14) Olympique Lyonnais 132,8 million Euros
18. (13) Hamburger SV 128,8 million Euros
19. (--) FC Valencia 116,8 million Euros
20. (--) SSC Napoli 114,9 million Euros

VIDEO: Crazy Italian commentary/celebrations in Barca - Milan match

As a commentator and expert I have seen a lot in studios and at grounds. They ask you to be neutral, not show too many emotions. As a friendly producer would always say, be professional.

But in the video below the old gentleman simply goes berserk when AC Milan scores early and then equalises late in the match against FC Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League match last night. A real must watch!

Decisive Saturday in Europe's top leagues

This Saturday, April 2, 2011 could have decided the titles in a number of top European football leagues for the 2010/11 season. And interestingly it all went in favour of the league leaders - Manchester United (England), FC Barcelona (Spain), AC Milan (Italy) and Borussia Dortmund (Germany).


English Premier League
English league leaders Manchester United had a tough away game in London against West Ham United and the first half just proved that as United were two goals down at the break with both goals coming of penalties from Mark Noble. West Ham even had chances to make it three, but it remained 2-0 at half time and still left United with a chance to comeback.
And they just did that in style with Wayne Rooney scoring a brilliant hattrick in 14 minutes to allowed Manchester United to turn things around with a late Xavier Hernandez goal ensuring a 4-2 victory. As closest rivals Arsenal (0-0 against Blackburn Rovers) and Chelsea (1-1 at Stoke City) drew, Manchester United now have a seven point advantage over Arsenal and 11 on Chelsea. United are closing in their next Premier League title.


Spanish Primera Division
It was supposed to be the weekend that Spanish clubs are on strike, but a court disallowed such a move so clubs were forced to play. And Real Madrid afterwards would have hoped the strike had been on, then Real Madrid were beaten 1-0 at home by Sporting Gijon through a 79th minute goal from Miguel de la Cuevas, while bitter rivals FC Barcelona won 1-0 against FC Villarreal through a 67th minute goal from Piqué. This now leaves Barca eight points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race, while for Mourinho it was the first home loss in over nine years. His last defeat had been while at FC Porto, a 2-3 against Beira Mar on February 23, 2002.


Italian Serie A
AC Milan took a giant step towards regaining the Serie A title after a 3-0 win against city rivals and current holders Internationale Milan. The hero of the day was Brazilian youngster Alexandre Pato who scored in the 1st and 62nd minute, while substitute Antonio Cassano added a third in the 90th minute to seal a memorable victory. It opened up a crucial five point gap for Milan at the top of the Serie A table after Inter had been closing in on them over the last few weeks.


German Bundesliga
League leaders Borussia Dortmund hosted third placed Hannover 96 in a crucial Bundesliga game. Dropping more points would have given a chance to Bayer 04 Leverkusen to close the gap further to the top, but Dortmund won 4-1 to maintain the seven point lead at the top. Dortmund were given a scare by Hannover when Mohammed Abdellaoue scored a shock lead in the 57th minute, but a brilliant solo from teenager Mario Goetze gave Dortmund the equaliser only a couple of minutes later and suddenly their got their game together as Hannover fell apart. Two goals from Lucas Barrios and a fourth from Kevin Großkreutz ensured in the end a clear 4-1 win.

Gattuso faces tough UEFA punishment

Former Italian international and current AC Milan captain Gennaro Gattuso could face tough sanctions from European football governing body UEFA for his unprofessional behaviour in the Champions League match against Tottenham Hotspurs on Tuesday.

What had happened? There were two separate instances were Gattuso and Tottenham assistant coach Joe Jordan came close - in the first instance Gattuso shoved Jordan in the throat, before going on to head-butt him after the final whistle.

The Control and Disciplinary Body of UEFA will meet on Monday to review the Gattuso incidence. And as per rules there is a stipulation of a minimum three-match ban for assault, although UEFA have the power to issue lengthier suspensions depending on the individual case.

Meanwhile Gattuso has apologised for his actions and some jokingly said there were two guys who understood each others language well and had a dispute. Gattuso played a year in Scotland for Rangers in the 1990s, while Jordan can speak Italian as a former AC Milan player.

Gattuso said afterwards, "I lost control. There is no excuse for what I did. I take my responsibilities for that." And added, "I was nervous. We were both speaking Scottish, something that I learned when I played in his home city of Glasgow, but I can't tell you what we said."

And trying to defend his client Gattuso's agent Claudio Pasqualin told Italian radio that his client had been called a "fucking Italian bastard" by Jordan. Pasqualin said: "For someone like Rino, who has a strong sense of belonging to Italy, I think this is the most cowardly and unspeakable of insults."

Gattuso is a tough player, but someone who is a nice guy off the field. It will be interesting to see what action UEFA takes on such an incidence.

Deloitte Football Money League: Real Madrid top again!

The Deloitte Football Money League 2009/10 has been released with Spanish giants Real Madrid topping the league table of the world's 20 richest football clubs for the sixth straight year, according to auditing firm Deloitte.

For the first time the combined revenues of the 20 biggest football clubs in the world has crossed the 4 billion Euros mark and now stands at 4,3 billion Euros an increase of 8,3 percent with all these clubs coming out of Europe. England remains the most represented with seven out of the top 20 clubs from the Premier League, four each from Germany and Italy, three from Spain plus two from France.

But once more Spain's big two are the highest revenue earners in world football. Though playing second fiddle to FC Barcelona in the Spanish league Real Madrid have been able to increase their revenues by 37.2 million Euros from the previous season to now an impressive 438,6 million Euros with Barca 40,5 million Euros behind. But the Catalans could close the gap considerably through their 30 million Euros per annum sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation.

Meanwhile the biggest jump came from big spending Manchester City who have come from 19th to 11th in the table and the Deloitte researchers think in coming seasons they along with Tottenham Hotspurs would make it into the top ten. Who they could replace was not said, but most likely the Italian clubs who are falling behind and maybe even Liverpool without European football.


Deloitte Football Money League - 2009/2010 Top 20

01. (01) Real Madrid 438,6 million Euros
02. (02) FC Barcelona 398,1 million Euros
03. (03) Manchester United 349,8 million Euros
04. (04) FC Bayern Munich 323,0 million Euros
05. (05) FC Arsenal London 274,1 million Euros
06. (06) FC Chelsea London 255,9 million Euros
07. (10) AC Milan 235,8 million Euros
08. (07) FC Liverpool 225,3 million Euros
09. (09) Inter Milan 224,8 million Euros
10. (08) Juventus Torino 205,0 million Euros
11. (19) Manchester City 152,8 million Euros
12. (15) Tottenham Hotspurs 146,3 million Euros
13. (11) Hamburger SV 146,2 million Euros
14. (13) Olympique Lyonnais 146,1 million Euros
15. (14) Olympique Marseille 141,1 million Euros
16. (16) FC Schalke 04 139,8 million Euros
17. (--) Atlético de Madrid 124,5 million Euros
18. (12) AS Roma 122,7 million Euros
19. (--) VfB Stuttgart 114,8 million Euros
20. (--) Aston Villa 109,4 million Euros

Van Bommel leaves Munich, signs for AC Milan

In the end everything went really quickly. Dutch international midfielder Mark van Bommel has left FC Bayern Munich and joined Italian Serie A giants AC Milan for the remainder of the 2010/11 season on a free transfer.

Van Bommel, who until his departure was captain of Bayern Munich, was not happy with his situation at Bayern as the club was unwilling to renew his contract which was set to run out in the summer and his relationship with coach Louis van Gaal had also cooled over the last few months. And with Bayern Munichs signing 23 year old Brazilian midfielder Luis Gustavo for 17 Million Euros van Bommel's long-term replacement had already arrived at the club.

With van Bommel looking to continue his international career for the Netherlands until the 2012 European Championships he wants to continue playing for a top European side until then at least. And as Bayern weren't willing to offer this to him, his agent was looking for alternatives and over the weekend the Milan option came and van Bommel grabbed it with a move to VfL Wolfsburg the most talked about option over the last few weeks, but it never materialised.

The defensive midfielder had joined the Bavarians in summer 2006 from FC Barcelona. He played in his four and a half years 123 times in the Bundesliga and scored 11 goals for Bayern Munich with whom he won two Bundesliga and German Cup titles each.

Blackburn Rovers bid for Ronaldinho

When I first heard the rumour that English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers are interested in Brazilian playmaker Ronaldinho I thought about a public relations gimmick from the clubs new Indian owners Venky's, but it now looks to be a serious attempt by the club to sign the former superstar. Still one will have to see if the first attempt in a star signing succeeds or not.

Still the whole episode looks a little weird. When the rumours first surfaced the club denied any truth in the story, but then the owners came out with a statement stating their interest and since then they have mentioned that Ronaldinho has been offered close to 25 Million Euros as salary for a three year contract.

The Venky's through their Brazilian set-up are in touch with the players agent and have made an offer to AC Milan, but Ronaldinho himself is currently in Brazil and has numerous offers there from clubs like Flamengo and Palmeiras plus his former club Gremio Porto Alegre, who were the original front-runners to sign him.

And Ronaldinho isn't the only high profile target. Like numerous other English Premier League clubs Blackburn Rovers are also trying to sign former England captain Davivd Beckham on a short term loan deal, but the question remains if Beckham will return to England to play for a few weeks.

AC Milan: Cassano in, Ronaldinho out

Italian giants AC Milan are currently top of Serie A and have made it into the Pre-Quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, but in recent weeks their performance hasn't been the best and the club is looking to strengthen the team further in the winter transfer period. Upfront the club brought in Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer, but have had oldie Filippo Inzaghi and youngster Pato mainly on the injury list while Ronaldinho has seen little match action.

Now the club is set to exchange players for the second half of the season. Italy's 'enfante terrible' Antonio Cassano has been confirmed as an addition to the Milan squad joining the Rossoneri from Serie A rivals Sampdoria Genoa, while Brazilian Ronaldinho seems to be on his way out with him moving further down the pecking order with Cassano joining Milan in January when the transfer list opens.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, who is also Italian prime minister, said: "Yes. We will be signing Cassano. I am also very happy with how the side are playing."

Cassano isn't the easiest of characters, actually he was suspended and then fired by Sampdoria after abusing club president Riccardo Garrone, but the club couldn't fire the outlaw and were looking to get rid of the striker. In Milan Cassano is set to sign a contract until 2014, but is said to get less then the 2,8 Million Euros he was receiving in Genoa. And Sampdoria will have to share the 5 Million Euros transfer fee with Real Madrid, the former club of Cassano who still hold a stake in the player.

Coming to speak about Ronaldinho Silvio Berlusconi said, "It is a shame for Ronaldinho. At the moment, he has not been playing well or training as well as he can."

With Cassano coming in it means it could be the end of the road for Ronaldinho. And his home club of Gremio Porto Alegre along with rivals Flamengo and Palmeiras are interested to bring the former Brazilian international back to his home country, but there is also interest from the English side Manchester City and MLS club LA Galaxy.

Gremio president Paulo Odone see's his club at an advantage and told Brazilian daily Zero Hora, "Ronaldinho feels that he owes our club something. He told us he wants to return to Gremio and end his career where it started. There are conversations going on and a very good chance that the move will go through."

Robinho makes late AC Milan switch

It was the move of the last transfer day, Brazilian Robinho has signed a four year contract with Italian giants AC Milan ending his two year misunderstanding with English Premier League side Manchester City. And this transfer marks the second anniversary of Robinho joining Manchester City in 2008 as the first signing under new owners Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan from the Abu Dhabi royal family on the last date of the summer transfers. The transfer was a British record at 32,5 Million Pounds which the club spend on the player and one remembers interviews where Robinho wasn't sure which English club he had signed for as before the deal had come about he had been in long negotiations with FC Chelsea.

Robinho never really felt at home in northern England. He did score 14 goals in 41 appearances, but Robinho had spend the first six months of this year on loan with his former club Santos FC as manager Roberto Mancini had no use for him. Robinho wanted to stay back with Santos, but the Brazilians were not in the financial situation to secure a long term deal. Manchester City meanwhile did not want to take the Brazilian back though he still had a valid multi-year contract and that due to the fact that coach Mancini still didn't want him while he was bringing in other players.

The transfer market has been sluggish this summer, but there had been numerous rumours surrounding were Robinho could play the new season. He wanted to return to Santos, while Manchester City were looking to recoup at least some of the transfer fee they paid for him to Real Madrid. Their Spanish rivals FC Barcelona had shown interest in the player but the clubs couldn't agree on a fee, then Robinho had lucrative offers from Turkish clubs Fenerbahce and Besiktas but he wasn't interested in moving to the Bosporus. So it needed a late offer from Milan to end his misery and take him back to southern Europe.

For Milan it is the second prize catch in days after signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic on loan from Barcelona in their push to challenge city rivals Inter Milan, who have won five Serie A titles in a row and last season won a historic treble. Robinho underwent a successful medical yesterday in Milano and joins fellow Brazilians Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato at the club for an estimated 18 Million Euros transfer fee.

Ibrahimovic returns to Italy, on loan to AC Milan

Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has left FC Barcelona after only one season and has returned to Italy to join AC Milan on loan, city rivals of his former club Internationale Milan. As per the deal Ibrahimovic has been signed by Milan on a one year loan deal, while the Rossoneri and the player have agreed a four year contract.

The 28 year old Ibrahimovic will undergo a medical tomorrow in Milan and then sign the contract. After the initial one year loan deal Milan have the right to sign the player permanently for a fee of only 24 Million Euros. It is a cut price deal for a top class striker like Ibrahimovic who only a season ago left Inter Milan to join Barca in exchange for Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o plus 69 Million Euros.

The tall, lanky striker never seemed to fit into Pep Guardiola's system still Ibrahimovic scored 21 goals in 41 matches in all competitions, not a bad scoring rate for a top striker. Still Ibrahimovic was seen alien in Barcelona and to their system of tiki-taka football though the Swedish international is technically a sound player. Many said he could not recreate the form and magic that made him a star in the Italian Serie A with Juventus and Inter Milan. In Barcelona his signing a year ago is now seen as a big mistake.

The arrival of Ibrahimovic at AC Milan could also mean that Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could finally be leaving the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza. Huntelaar has been linked with a number of clubs in the English Premier League as well as some German Bundesliga clubs. Huntelaar now falls down the pecking order and departure might be the only way for him to guarantee playing time.