Euro giants back on glory trail (FIFA.com) Monday 13 February 2012 Print

Euro giants back on glory trail
(FIFA.com) Monday 13 February 2012
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Nine different countries are represented in the Round of 16 of the sUEFA Champions League, which begins on Tuesday and Wednesday with the first four first-leg matche. The round’s remaining first legs will be played next week, with the return fixtures taking place between 6 and 14 March.

For the eighth season running Italy have three representatives in the last 16 (Napoli, Inter and AC Milan), more than any other nation. That honorary title usually goes to England, who have just two teams left in the running (Arsenal and Chelsea), the first time that has been the case at this stage of the competition since 1999-2000.

Also of note is the fact that five of the teams who came through the qualifying rounds are still going strong (Bayern Munich, Benfica, Lyon, Arsenal and APOEL Nicosia), and that the Cypriot underdogs are making their first appearance at this stage of the competition along with Napoli and Zenit St Petersburg.

This week’s fixtures
Tuesday 14 February
Lyon-APOEL Nicosia
Bayer Leverkusen-Barcelona

Wednesday 15 February
AC Milan-Arsenal
Zenit St Petersburg-Benfica

Match of the day
Bayer Leverkusen-Barcelona, Bay-Arena, Leverkusen, 20:45
The European champions and their star asset Lionel Messi go into this game under something of a cloud, having seen their form in the league desert them and Real Madrid pull away at the top of the table. Judging by the much-changed team he sent out in the 3-2 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday, one that contained a clutch of youngsters deputising for the likes of Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Pep Guardiola is now channelling his resources into successfully defending Barça’s European title and winning the Copa del Rey. Iniesta and Xavi are likely to return against the Germans, restoring some balance to the side.

For their part, Bayer saw a six-game unbeaten run come to a sticky end against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, a match coach Robin Dutt began with a 4-4-2 formation before switching to a three-man front line (Andre Schurrle, Stefan Kiessling and Karim Bellarabi), while leaving Michael Ballack on the bench for the third time running.

The Germans won all three of their home games in the group phase, while Barcelona won their three away matches. The Catalans also have a formidable record against German opposition in the tournament, going undefeated in 15 matches, with 12 wins and three draws.

The other matches
AC Milan-Arsenal
Though not the superstitious type, Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri had good reason to grimace when his side were paired with the Londoners. The Italians have lost their last three home ties against English opposition (Arsenal in 2008, Manchester United in 2010 and Tottenham last season) in the knockout rounds of the competition. Nevertheless I Rossoneri are nothing if not resilient, as they showed in winning 2-1 at Udinese at the weekend to move back to the top of Serie A, all in spite of the absence of several first-teamers. Arsenal also won by the same scoreline on their visit to Udine in qualifying for the group phase of this year's competition. Despite losing centre-half Per Mertesacker to injury, they also earned a morale-boosting 2-1 win at Sunderland on Saturday to climb back into the top four in the Premier League. That result sets them up nicely for a game in which most eyes will be on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robin van Persie, two of Europe’s top strikers.

Lyon-APOEL Nicosia
Through to this stage of the tournament for the ninth time running, Lyon will not be underestimating the unfancied Cypriots, especially after only scraping into the knockout phase with a 7-1 win at Dynamo Zagreb. Key to the chances of Remi Garde’s side will be the form of Lisandro Lopez, the man who makes them tick. APOEL have an impressive record in this season’s competition, winning six of their 12 games so far, drawing four and losing only two. Notable victors at Porto and Zenit St Petersburg in the group phase, the Cypriots owe much of their success to striker Ailton and his seven goals, and the consistency of Nuno Morais and Marcelo Oliveira, the only players to have appeared in all their Champions League outings so far.

Zenit St Petersburg-Benfica
The fourth Russian club to reach the Round of 16, Zenit have been out of action since qualifying at the expense of Porto at the end of the previous round, the midwinter break in Russia keeping them sidelined for the last few weeks. Their preparations for this game have been hindered by the long-term injury suffered by Portuguese attacking midfielder Danny in training. Coached by Luciano Spaletti, who has just renewed his contract, Zenit find their path to the last eight blocked by a Benfica side back in the knockout phase for the first time since 2006 and riding high in the league, eight points clear of second-placed Porto.

Player to watch
Arsenal’s leading all-time goalscorer, with 229 goals, Thierry Henry is set to play what will almost certainly be the last European match of his career before rejoining New York Red Bulls. The 34-year-old French striker has had a productive loan spell with the Gunners, scoring three goals in all, two of them turning out to be winners. “His performances show that talent never dies,” said Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. “I hope he will add to his legend in the Champions League.”

The stat
2 - The number of teams England, France and Germany still have in the competition. Curiously, the reigning league champions from all three countries (Manchester United, Lille and Borussia Dortmund) have all been knocked out.

What they said
“Some people have rated me up there with the very best, while others have given me a lot of criticism. The key is not to attach too much importance to comments like that, whether they’re positive or negative,” Pablo Aimar, Benfica’s Argentinian playmaker.

Have your say
Can Bayer Leverkusen cause an upset against the reigning champions?

Mweene: Zambia's most important win

Mweene: Zambia's most important win
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Kennedy Mweene is obviously a man who can handle pressure. Already a household name amongst South African football fans, the Zambian international plays his club football for Free State Stars. At the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, he proved to be an inspirational match-winner in Zambia's semi-final victory, where he saved Asamoah Gyan's penalty. He followed that up with another top-drawer performance against Côte d’Ivoire in the final, where he not only saved another spot-kick but also scored from the spot during the decisive penalty shoot-out.

The 27-year-old discussed Zambia's first continental triumph with FIFA.com shortly after the Chipolopolo secured an 8-7 result in the shoot-out after 120 scoreless minutes.

FIFA.com: When did you first start believing that you could win the competition and the final?
Mweene: I always thought that it would be our day. We all had faith in ourselves and belief in our strength. We knew that we could do it and we were very determined.

Côte d’Ivoire were awarded a penalty in the 68th minute after Gervinho was brought down. What were your thoughts when it was awarded and when Ivorian captain Didier Drogba blasted it high into the Libreville night?
My first thought was that I did not think that it was a penalty. I thought it was a harsh decision. But after the miss, I thought that it was going to be a good day. Sometimes when you concede a penalty and the other side misses it, you just know that it is your day and that is what happened.

Many were surprised how Zambia went into the game and controlled the ball. As a result, the Elephants really struggled to get into the game. Was that planned?
Yes, that was our strategy. We wanted to 'ball them'. We wanted to play a ball game with them, and then when they got frustrated because they did not get much of the ball and were not at full concentration, then we would hit them going forward. That was our plan, even if it did not work out completely.

Especially in the first half, your side seemed to really just be relishing the opportunity to play in the final.
Yes, we had no reason to be nervous. We were not under pressure, all the pressure was on them. We did not have anything to lose and before the game our coach told us we just have to go out and enjoy whatever happens, well and good.

Do you think you deserved to win the match in regulation time?
Yes, I think we did. We had three really good chances, which we could not convert, but at the end of the day, we won on penalties, so what can you say.

What did you think when you saved the penalty in the shoot-out, but the referee said it had to be retaken?
He told me that I had moved off my line. I was not too worried as I knew that I was going to save other penalties. We have been practising penalties and I knew that even if we were going to go 12 or 15 each side, I was going to save enough of them.

And then when you stepped up to take your side's fifth, knowing that if you failed to score you would lose, was that difficult?
No, I was very confident that I would not have a problem scoring, and I did not. I just chose my spot and hit the ball there.

What significance does this victory have for Zambian football?
We are the first generation that has won the Cup of Nations for Zambia, but I hope we are not the last as it is a great thing. We have started winning something and those who come after us will want to achieve more, just as we wanted to do more than players like Kalusha Bwalya, who was in the final in 1994. But first we want to qualify for the World Cup and achieve more success.

During the week, the players laid flowers at the spot where the plane carrying the national team in 1993 went into the sea and 18 players lost their lives. How important is it that this victory was achieved in Libreville, which is the very place where the plane went down?
This is the most important thing that could have happened for our football. Before we came to Gabon, people in Zambia told us that we should try to win the cup so that those who died in the plane crash could rest in peace. We fought for them, and I am glad that we achieved that.

Henry hoping to go out with a bang

Henry hoping to go out with a bang


Thierry Henry will be looking to give the club he loves a farewell gift as he makes his final appearance for Arsenal against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

Henry's second spell at the North Londoners is set to come to an end on Thursday when he will return to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

And having bowed out of his Premier League commitments on Saturday with a vital winning goal at Sunderland, Henry will be hoping to leave an equally lasting impression at the San Siro.

These two sides meet at this stage of the competition for the second time in four years. Back in 2008/09 Milan came away from the Emirates with a goalless draw but two goals in the final six minutes in Italy from Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor saw Arsenal triumph 2-0 on aggregate.

That was the start of a miserable run for the Rossoneri who were also knocked out at the second round stage by English opposition in the next two years with Manchester United and Tottenham both winning at the San Siro as well. Until that juncture Milan had never lost at home to an English side but now they will be looking to end this run of three successive reverses.

And they will have to keep an eye on Henry who at 34 proved during his six-week spell with Arsenal that he can still cut it at the top level, even though he was mostly used as a substitute.

Having twice already been a match-winner for the Gunners in the last six weeks, French manager Arsene Wenger is hoping his compatriot has one more trick up his sleeve before he leaves. "I hope he will add some more (goals) in the Champions League on Wednesday. Certainly he got us the three points in a very difficult game (at Sunderland)," said Wenger.

Milan boost
Arsenal may be boosted by the Frenchman's presence but Milan are also looking set for an increase in playing resources.

Star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns to the team after a domestic suspension while Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alessandro Nesta, Mathieu Flamini and Pato have all resumed training with their team-mates following injuries. The return of Boateng is particularly welcome given how his forward thrusts from midfield have been missed.

More important than that for coach Massimiliano Allegri, though, has been Milan's improved fighting spirit. Until Saturday's 2-1 win at high-flying Udinese Milan had gone three games without a win, surrendering meekly to Lazio in the league and Juventus in the Cup along the way.

But in Udine at the weekend, Allegri was a far happier man. "The spirit is what made the difference. When we have the right nastiness we don't concede goals," he said. "We saw that from the last piece of action at a corner where we had the desire to get rid of the ball."

Milan will have to be alert at the back, particularly against a forward line that knocked seven goals past Blackburn recently and for whom Robin van Persie has been in clinical goalscoring form with 22 league strikes already this season.

In truth Milan have shored up a backline that was leaking goals alarmingly at the beginning of the campaign, drawing chief executive Adriano Galliani to publicly rebuke his coach and tell him that the best defence usually wins the league.

Herbert signs on for Brazil 2014

Herbert signs on for Brazil 2014
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New Zealand football coach Ricki Herbert has signed a contract extension tying him to the All Whites until the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ campaign.

The deal means Herbert, who took over in 2005, is set to become the All Whites' longest serving coach, New Zealand Football (NZF) said.

"We believe Ricki is the man to see us through the qualifiers and, if things go to plan, on to another Confederations Cup and World Cup," NZF chief executive Grant McKavanagh said.

Herbert's All Whites team was the only side to remain undefeated at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, securing three draws in the group stages but failing to advance to the knockout phase.

To reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, New Zealand need to top the Oceania qualification rounds, then win a home-and-away play-off against the fourth placed team in CONCACAF, covering North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Abidal pens new Barça deal

Abidal pens new Barça deal
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French international defender Eric Abidal has signed a new deal with Barcelona, the Catalan club said on Monday after some protracted negotiations.

European champions Barça said they had reached agreement with 32-year-old Abidal for an extra year, meaning his new deal runs through to June 2013.

"The agreement includes an option to extend it through to 2015," the club added on their website.

Abidal's original deal at the Nou Camp was until 2012 and he was initially offered a one-year extension, but based on appearances whereas the player had asked for two years without any appearance strings attached.

Abidal - capped 60 times for France - has made 177 appearances in four years at the club, winning the UEFA Champions League twice and the Spanish title three times among other trophies, and won much admiration for overcoming surgery to remove a liver tumour last spring.

Dzeko strikes as City extend lead

Dzeko strikes as City extend lead

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Edin Dzeko broke an 11-match scoring drought to send Manchester City three points clear in the English Premier League title race. The giant Bosnian netted his 14th club goal of the season as he steered David Silva's free-kick into the bottom corner for a 1-0 win.

It was enough to overcome a spirited Wigan side, although the visitors did have chances to make life a little more comfortable against the basement boys, with Dzeko taking the best chance off the toe of Sergio Aguero. And Blues boss Roberto Mancini ended the game in animated conversation with the fourth official after Martin Atkinson's failure to show Maynor Figueroa a red card for deliberate handball as he denied Aguero a clear run on goal two minutes from time.

Wigan's adherence to the passing game is very laudable, but there are times when their supporters would were prefer a bit of old-fashioned English-style long ball. Although the Latics were back-pedalling for most of the half, there were enough occasions when they did work themselves into decent positions yet failed to deliver a cross or a pass that might have put their opponents under pressure, leaving their supporters distinctly agitated.

As it turned out, James McArthur had their best chance, a snap-shot from the edge of the area, which Joe Hart gathered at the second attempt.

Silva returned to the City side for tonight's match at the DW Stadium. The diminutive Spain international is behind so much of the Blues' most inventive play and with Yaya Toure amongst the five senior figures missing this evening and Samir Nasri struggling for top form, there was more reliance on him than usual.

Silva had a couple of shots blocked, almost sent Aguero through and supplied the free-kick for Dzeko's goal. Having not found the net since 5 November, the Bosnian was in need of a goal. To that end, he could not have wished for more accommodating opponents. Wigan failed to get close enough to Dzeko and as Gary Caldwell and Antolin Alcaraz floundered, Dzeko found the bottom corner with a precise header.

Aguero brought a fine one-handed save out of Ali Al Habsi as the opening period drew to a close and, despite the closeness of the scoreline, the suspicion remained that City would cruise clear after the restart. Yet Wigan remained spirited opposition and with plenty of team-mates in support, McArthur could have picked a better option than a long-range shot from an acute angle that fizzed disappointingly wide.

It was not long before City were back on the offensive, although how they had not increased their advantage by the hour mark was a bit of a mystery. First of all, Al Habsi made a magnificent double save to deny Dzeko and Silva, clawing the Bosnian's curling effort away from the top corner, then repelling the midfielder, who had aimed low from barely seven yards.

What followed next was infuriating for Aguero, who weaved his way past three Wigan defenders and seemed to have the simplest of tasks to find the net. Instead, Dzeko whipped the ball off his toe and went for goal himself. But his shot was so weak Al Habsi was able to make a comfortable save.

It meant Roberto Martinez was able to introduce Ben Watson and Franco Di Santo midway through the second period still harbouring hopes of snatching something from the game. And how close they came too as Hugo Rodallega rolled a pass to James McCarthy on his left and the midfielder forced Hart into his best save of the match.

It was not turning into the cruise many had predicted and the jitters even seemed to get to the normally unflappable Hart, who made a save he did not need to as McCarthy's shot was flying wide. The introduction of Nigel de Jong for Nasri and Nedum Onuoha for Silva were further signs of City entering preservation mode.

Wigan continued to be the architects of their own downfall though, gifting a chance to Dzeko, which Al Habsi turned away, then costing themselves a decent attacking chance when Caldwell rolled a two-yard pass to Stam straight out of play.

And, though they worked hard to fashion another opportunity, Wigan could not find a talking point to match Figueroa's deliberate handball as he got the bounce of a De Jong clearance all wrong and, knowing he was the last man, stuck up a hand to prevent Aguero bursting clear.

Rewriting the rulebook

Rewriting the rulebook
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Football is a game rooted in tradition, and the Laws of the Game have undergone fairly minor changes since they were first drafted by England’s newly-formed Football Association in 1863. Nonetheless, while the aim has always been to preserve football’s original spirit, and to ensure that rules can be applied from elite to amateur level, several crucial changes have helped to enhance the sport over the years. Here, FIFA.com looks at a few of these key modifications.

1866: Forward passes permitted
The most fundamental alteration was also the earliest, with forward passes permitted for the first time – provided there remained three defending players between the receiver and the goal. Previously, once the ball had been kicked, any player on the same team closer to the opponent's goal was considered out of play and unable to receive the ball. This 1866 change represented the crucial first step away from sharing the original offside rule that remains in place in rugby, and allowed passing football to thrive.

1891: The penalty kick introduced
It took almost three decades from the first rules being drafted for the penalty, which has become such an integral part of modern football, to be instituted. Having previously operated on the quaint assumption that a gentleman would never deliberately commit a foul, football responded to increasing intensity and competitiveness by bringing in a measure known then as 'the kick of death'. Until 1902, the penalty was not taken from a spot, however, but from anywhere along a 12-yard line.

1891: Referees enter the fray
More recognition that the game had evolved from its gentlemanly roots came with the introduction of referees. In football’s early days, disputes had been settled by the two team captains, and later by two umpires - one per team - to whom appeals could be made. However, as the number of disputes and complaints grew, the need for an impartial arbiter became clear, and from 1891 the power to give penalties and free-kicks became the job of one man: the referee.

1912: Goalkeepers restricted
It was a century ago this year that goalkeepers were forbidden from handling the ball outside the penalty area. This change came just three years after it was decided that the players filling this position should be visually distinctive from their team-mates by wearing a different colour, with green the general default.

1925: Offside changed again
The revised offside rule was further relaxed in 1925 to allow a player to remain onside provided two, rather than three, opposition players stood between him and the goal. The result was an immediate increase in goalscoring, and this particular law was amended in attackers’ favour once again in 1990 to enable a player to remain onside by keeping level with his/her second-last opponent.

1958: Substitutes permitted
The early history of the game includes several mentions of ‘substitutes’, but the purpose of these back-up players was merely to stand in if any of the 11 selected failed to turn up. However, the detrimental impact of injuries on matches eventually resulted in substitutes being permitted during the 90 minutes, although initially only for an injured goalkeeper and one other injured player. From the late 1960s, these rules were relaxed to allow substitutions for tactical reasons.

1970: Red and yellow cards introduced
Championed by English referee Ken Aston, then an influential figure on the FIFA Referees' Committee, this ‘traffic light’ system was aimed at ending confusion among players and spectators over a referee’s intentions. Red and yellow cards were first used at the FIFA World Cup™ of the same year and have been a fixture ever since, even spreading to several other sporting codes.

1992: Handling of pass-backs forbidden
Another change aimed at tilting the balance of power in favour of attacking players was the International Football Association Board’s 1992 decision to forbid goalkeepers from handling deliberate pass-backs from a team-mate’s feet. Though initially greeted with widespread scepticism, this measure is now universally seen to have made a positive impact on the beautiful game.

As football continues to evolve, the Laws of the Game are sure to follow suit. Indeed, the FIFA Task Force Football 2014, chaired by Franz Beckenbauer, is currently examining various proposals aimed at improving the game’s overall attractiveness and match control in elite competitions. And as the aforementioned examples go to show, a small change can often go a long way.

Have Your Say
All of the amendments listed above have had a major impact on the game we watch today. But which do you believe has been the most significant? Just click ‘Add your comment’ to share your views with the world.