Posts Tagged ‘Chelsea’

The Greatest Exports of the Italian Game (Part 1): Gianfranco Zola

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

Gianfranco Zola, Italy and Chelsea Legend

Italy has given the world so much: Peroni lager, pizza, garlic bread, pasta… Yes, my knowledge on the matter is solely restricted to gastronomical contributions, but the list could be as long as you like. In football however, much like in the English and Spanish game, the talent tends to stay at home rather than take itself to new places. This is probably due to the strength of each respective league: why leave when you already speak the language and already play the top football in Europe? There are a few shining examples however who have taken their Serie A principles, packed them in a suitcase, and spread them across the globe. This is the first in my three-part installment of the best exports of the Italian game, in no particular order, I’ve decided to start with one of my favourite Italian footballers – Gianfranco Zola.

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UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals Draw (2008-09): It’s Liverpool vs. Chelsea Again!

Friday, March 20th, 2009

UEFA Champions League

The draw for the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Champions League took place at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland, today at 12:00 CET (I liveblogged the event on Soccerlens).

No Serie A teams were involved alas, and most of us will be watching the next rounds sighing in sadness and regret. Yup. No Juve, no Inter, no Roma… sad sad sad. But while we cry, there’s no reason not to enjoy the best football action European football still has to offer.

I’ll try to make a more elaborate analysis later in the day, but for now here are the draw results.

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2008/09 UEFA Champions League
Quarter-Finals
to be played April 7/8 and 14/15

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Villareal
Villarreal
vs.
Arsenal
Arsenal
Man Utd
Manchester Utd
vs.
Porto
FC Porto
Liverpool
Liverpool
vs.
Chelsea
Chelsea
Barcelona
Barcelona
vs.
Bayern
Bayern Munich


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2008/09 UEFA Champions League
Semi-Finals
to be played April 28/29 and May 5/6

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Man Utd/Porto
vs.
Villarreal/Arsenal
Barcelona/Bayern
vs.
Liverpool/Chelsea


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Juventus 2-2 Chelsea: Bianconeri Fighting Spirit Not Enough, Blues Qualify for Quarters (UEFA Champions League Round of 16, Second Leg)

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Juventus' Sebastian Giovinco reacts at the end of the Champions League round of 16 second leg soccer match against Chelsea in Turin, Italy, Tuesday March 10, 2009. (AP Photo)

At the end of the night, the accolades between Juventus and Chelsea players after the full-time whistle are the only consoling (and beautiful) images emanating from the Stadio Olimpico of Turin. The Blues have won on aggregate, the Bianconeri are out of Europe.

Over-turning the 1-0 deficit from the first leg was going to be a big hurdle for Ranieri & friends to overcome; at the end of 90 minutes an insurmountable one. The match ended 2-2, with the strokes of Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alessandro Del Piero giving Juve hope twice, only to see it destroyed by the daggers of Michael Essien and Didier Drogba, two players which had been so crucially absent during Scolari’s reign.

The Bianconeri, decimated by injuries (which even last night did not fail to take their toll on the Old “rotten luck” Lady), played in true Juve spirit: with their hearts. They needed to play the perfect game, score goals without conceding any. It was not to be. Once again Chelsea (and by extent, the English Premiership) proved their superiority as a great team, concentrated in defense and cynical in attack, morally solidified by the arrival of expert tactician Guus Hiddink. One manager who, you may remember from WC 2002, already crushed Italian hearts with South Korea, and who continues the English Juve-killing trend initiated by Liverpool (2005) and Arsenal (2006).

But speaking of Hiddink, one seriously has to wonder if fate would have been kinder to Juve had Scolari still been at the Blues’ helm. We will never know. One this is for certain though: after overt two years of absence, Juventus can be proud of their return to the UEFA Champions League. “There is always next year” as they say, and the rebuilding towards European grandeur continues.

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Chelsea vs. Juventus: The PLAYERS

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Chelsea vs. Juventus: The PLAYERS

Continuing to surf on La Gazzetta‘s “Serie A vs. EPL” wave, here are ALL THE PLAYERS from UEFA Champions League’s Chelsea vs. Juventus.

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Make or Break Time for Serie A Teams (UEFA Champions League R16 Return Legs Preview)

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

It really is make or break time for the Italian sides in the UEFA Champions League. All three teams face uphill struggles against their English opponents, and it will be tricky for any of them to progress. Roma and Juve both have a one-goal deficit to recover, while Inter travel to Manchester on level terms.

Chelsea's Jose Bosingwa, left, battles for the ball with Juventus' Pavel Nedved during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Chelsea and Juventus at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009. (AP Photo)

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