UEFA champions league quarter final first leg previews

In previous years, the champions league has tended to get more and more dramatic as it goes along. However, this year, both the group stage, and the round of 16 have been full of drama with world class teams Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Arsenal, last year's winners Chelsea, to name just a few, already being dumped out. So with this season's tournament already being full of excitement and tension, these quarter finals promise to be nothing less than spectacular.

Bayern Munich vs. Juventus

Both these teams are considered "dark horses" to win the competition by many, but only one will make the semi-finals as these two European giants clash, with the first leg being held in Munich. Both teams look set to win their respective domestic leagues, and won impressively at the weekend. Bayern tore Hamburg apart, winning 9-2, while Juventus picked up a colossal three points in a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro. Both these sides are flying, with Juventus having one of the most organised teams in world football, and Bayern having the most well rounded and energetic sides. Bayern's attacking trio of Müller, Kroos and Ribery will look to create chances for the deadly Mario Mandžukic, but if any side can neutralise the threat posed by these four, it is the expected Juventus defence of Barzagli, Chiellini and Bonucci, helped by energetic wing backs Lichsteiner and Asamoah. Bayern's Javi Martinez is suspended for this game, so Bayern will need to rely on Luis Gustavo to help Bastian Schweinsteiger keep Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo and goalscoring midfielder Arturo Vidal quiet. Juventus tend to keep the ball regardless of the opposition, but against a creative Bayern side in the expectant Allianz arena, this may be difficult. A genuinely mouth-watering tie.

PSG vs. Barcelona

Barcelona have fond memories of the French capital, having won this very trophy in Paris back in 2006, in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. However, despite having virtually won La Liga a while back, this Barca team arrives in Paris with question marks regarding their ability to play away from home. In the round of 16, Barca were beaten 2-0 against Milan, with many suspecting they wouldn't be able to overturn that result. Barcelona managed it however, winning 4-0 in Catalonia, so PSG will need a huge result if they are to go into the second leg with strong hopes of going through. PSG's defence that includes Brazilians Thiago Silva, Alex and ex Barca left back Maxwell, will need to remain fully focused and determined if they are to silence Messi and co. and knock out the side who many consider tournament favourites.

Malaga vs. Dortmund

At the start of the tournament, many considered Malaga a side too weak to make waves in the champions league and Dortmund a side just too young to compete against Europe's elite. However, both of these hard working sides are just two games away from a place in the champions league semis. Malaga's well-oiled machine of a defence has conceded a mere 6 goals in 8 champions league games this season, while Dortmund possess one of Europe's most feared attacks, with Reus, Götze, Lewandowski and Błaszczykowski all hitting form right now. Malaga do possess creative players themselves though, such as much aligned Isco and Joaquin. Definitely one of the most tactically unpredictable quarter finals.

Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray

After getting through to the quarter finals in a highly controversial manner against Manchester United, Jose Mourinho's quest for an historic third champions runs through Turkish champions Galatasaray. Although Galatasaray aren't the most feared team left in the competition, their impressive 3-2 win away to Schalke in the round of 16 second leg is a prime example why they shouldn't be dismissed, especially with the champions league's top scorer (along with Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo) Burak Yilmaz in absolutely unbelievable from, as well as a presumably determined Wesley Sneijder returning to his old stomping ground of the Bernabeu. Galatasaray's Hamit Altintop and Felipe Melo will be expected to do a great deal of running to prevent Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso from controlling the game too much, although this may prove a task too much for this tenacious Galatasaray side. 

The secret footballer: the ultimate insight

If you, like me, have always been intrigued by what goes on behind the scenes in premier league clubs and football clubs in general, then the secret footballer is absolutely the ideal book to buy. If you are unfamiliar with the secret footballer, well there isn't much to know, it's an anonymous professional footballer talking about his experiences in the beautiful game, and it is one of the few books that I've been truly devastated by the fact I've finished reading it.

The player shares stories and gives his opinion on a wide range of topics. His childhood as a passionate fan of the game, his adaptation into being a professional player, and perhaps most interestingly, his battles with depression. A lot of the tales he tells are predictable, and are similar to what those you'd imagine professional footballers at young ages do when they are essentially showering in money. However, others are much more thought provoking and surprising. The player describes his financial issues that came about due to his own carelessness, as well as some opinions which many inside the game are almost too scared to share.

The book isn't just stories either. He gives his own views on a range of taboo subjects such as homophobia, racism, gambling and mental health problems within the game. Reading his views are refreshing, and part of me feels that the player, whoever he is, would make a better FA or FIFA representative than a rich, elderly businessman. Although some of the player's gripes could be seen as childish and out of touch with ordinary people who can only dream of being a professional footballer, the player justifies every one of his claims. For example, describing how painful being a professional footballer is at times may seem an ungrateful and unappreciative at first, but upon further reading, you begin to worry for the player's livelihood, and make you question what these players do when the full time whistle blows.

Don't worry though, the player's story does paint the life of a footballer as ludicrous, and as wild as many people expect and dream of it being. Some of the stories told are genuinely shocking, and the player tells tales of the obscene amounts of money spent on certain nights out, the extreme gambling addiction of two of his old teammates, and what a day in the life of the footballer during his depression consisted of. Parts of the book makes the footballer’s lifestyle seem idealistic, in one of the later chapters, he lists some of his purchases he made during his most financially blissful years. It makes you think, if a premier league footballer lives like this, what must the billionaire businessman and entertainers live like? However, this feeling of almost envy swiftly turns to pity and horror as the realities of depression bought about due to personal problems, injuries and other things are detailed. I’m sure many others, whether they are rich or poor can relate to his fears and feelings of uselessness.

‘’The secret footballer’’ is not all tales of wild parties, it’s a story of life, beliefs, talent and morals. What toll does professional football have on him? Living his life so recklessly by his own admission and then his spiral into financial troubles and the remarkable story in how he got out of potentially being homeless. The training ground stories of players and managers being late and duly punished, as well as the often viscous bullying of younger players by experienced heads are all fascinating and at times shocking insights. A brilliant book that has given me a thorough and genuine insight into the life of a player in today’s game.

A selection of the book’s best quotes (without wanting to spoil anything):  

“On Dwight Yorke’s first day as a Manchester United player, Roy Keane fired the ball deliberately hard so Yorke would be unable to handle it ‘’welcome to Manchester United’’ Keane said.

“I sat in that chair because I knew that once I did, I wouldn’t have to get up and do something I couldn’t face’’ (on his depression)

‘’ (John) Terry may as well have a whistle such is his influence on matches. The man gets away with murder on the football pitch”.

Just how good is Gareth Bale?

Gareth Bale is a player who divides opinion. Some claim he is overrated and not on the level of various other players he has been compared to, while others have suggested he is one of, if not the best player in the premier league. My opinion on Bale is quite specific, and one that I feel must be presented in article form.

I remember a game at the start of the 2007/08 season when I first truly noticed Gareth Bale. His runs were powerful, and he constantly stretched the Fulham defence that day. His impressive performance that day was rewarded with a goal that summarised the Bale we see today, a long and energetic run followed by a good finish although the game ended 3-3. However it was another two years before Bale really amazed me with a performance and that performance was against Arsenal towards the end of the 2009/10 season. At times, Bale looked world class and it made you feel very confident in his future.

Bale's real breakout season was definitely 2010/11, which included some excellent performances in the champions league, especially against the then reigning champions Inter Milan. In the away leg in Milan, Tottenham had an utterly rotten first half and at half time they were 4-0 down. The North London club were in need of inspiration and Bale gave them that, scoring a hat-trick, resulting in the game finishing 4-3. That was Bale at his finest, and he was fully capable of inspiring a team on his own. Bale terrorised inter Milan right back Macon again in a 3-1 win for Tottenham at home a few weeks after and all of a sudden there was a huge buzz about the Welshman. Some were predicting and or reporting a move to Barcelona or any other top European club and it appeared Bale had the world at his feet.

The anecdote just given is what annoys me about Bale. The media hype, and then the lack of impact after it. The rest of the 2010/11 season was relatively quiet for Bale, and he was anonymous in far too many matches. When Bale had one of these games, hardly any fuss was made, yet when Messi, Ronaldo and the like play below their potential, there is a large level of discussion. Inconsistency is the primary reason why I don't consider Bale as one of the world's finest players.

Bale's current run of fine form has led to many reevaluating their opinion of him. Some have come out with quite frankly, (at least in my opinion) ludicrous statements. Jamie Redknapp claimed Bale is as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while well known (to those in the UK) Sky sports pundit Jeff Stelling went a step further, saying Bale is better than Ronaldo. The basis of his argument was Bale's versatility. Although I agree Bale puts in more of a shift defensively than Ronaldo does, Ronaldo is a far superior player in every aspect concerning technical and even physically ability.

Stelling even went as far as saying Bale was quicker and stronger than Ronaldo, both are strong but Ronaldo is a real physical specimen, and in my opinion, Bale simply is not. 

Chelsea's striker problems

Various word springs to mind when I think of Chelsea's season so far: chaotic, wild, unpredictable, inconsistent. The latter perhaps best summarises the way in which Chelsea's results have gone. The season started well with wins over Wigan, Newcastle and Reading, but a 4-1 demolition spearheaded by Radamel Falcao in the UEFA super cup against Atletico Madrid. After the oh so controversial sacking of Roberto Di Matteo and equally controversial appointment, Wins over Aston Villa, Norwich and Everton made it seem things were really on the up at Stamford Bridge. Yet again however, the positivity was disrupted after a shock 1-0 loss at home to local rivals QPR.

So what has caused all this inconsistency and vast but regular changes in the feelings of Chelsea fans. Well, one thing about Chelsea has been consistently poor: their striking options. Although Fernando Torres has shown glimpses of his best this season, he hasn't shown anywhere near enough of this form to justify his place in the team. Some would claim Torres deserves to be in the Chelsea starting line up week in week out due to his ability to score out of nothing as shown by his goal against Brentford, but goals like these have been far too rare. In fact, I can't remember a single occasion where Torres has scored a truly vital goal for Chelsea, and the goal against Barcelona, which was a chance that he couldn't really miss was the only goal I can remember Torres scoring against a real top side. Instead, his goals have come in matches against weaker teams such as Nordsjaelland, Brentford, Leicester, Reading and the like. Also, on most of these occasions, he has chipped in with a goal rather than be a heroic match winner, like he was many times during his days at both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

Chelsea fans, more and more of them, are becoming increasingly frustrated with Torres. Many fans are posting, saying and writing things reading messages such as: "Torres and Rafa out of our club". The reasoning behind this sentiment isn't as obvious and one dimensional as it appears. Contrary to popular belief, Chelsea fans' support for Torres has only faded somewhat since the sacking of Di Matteo and hiring of Rafael Benitez. Many Chelsea fans feel all the drama surrounding Torres has been the clear reason behind Abramovich's constant hiring and firing of managers, and that Benitez was only hired to help Torres find form.

So with Torres still misfiring and Chelsea fans becoming more and more impatient towards the Spanish striker, surely the conditions are ideal for Demba Ba to seize the role of Chelsea's best striker to play up top? Well, Rafael Benitez doesn't seem to feel that way. One game that summarises the whole Torres/Ba and the general Chelsea striker situation is the blues' game at home to Swansea in the capital one cup first leg a few weeks back. Torres regularly lost the ball, and couldn't seem to get hold of it, despite some decent crosses and passes. When Ba came on, things seemed to improve, but still no goals. Ba looks to be a threat when he is on the pitch, and hasn't really had a bad game in a blue shirt as of yet. But it appears Ba is doing something wrong, as he hardly ever seems to start. Since Ba joined the west London club in early January, he hasn't really started any of Chelsea's key games, to be precise, the games against Arsenal, Reading and both legs against Swansea.

To me, Benitez should stop playing Torres just to keep Abramovich happy. Ultimately, football is about winning matches, and as of right now, I feel Chelsea are more dangerous and more able to score goals with Demba Ba playing. Ba doesn’t have to play every week, or even be the distinct first choice striker, but I just feel that Torres is far too unreliable, and the more he is left on despite being what some would call lazy, and appearing exhausted almost constantly, the more the resentment of him and Benitez amongst a large proportion of Chelsea fans will grow. So please Rafa, give Ba a go as otherwise it may damage the whole atmosphere at Chelsea, as it is being slowly but surely damaged now.

Drogba joins Galatasaray

It has been quite a month for Galatasaray and their fans. Firstly, the somewhat surprise signing of Inter Milan's Dutch talisman Wesley Sneijder, swiftly followed by the news that Didier Drogba will now be joining the current Turkish champions, Galatasaray SK. Reportedly, Drogba has joined the club on an 18 month contract at a cost of £5 million from Shanghai Shenua, a mere eight months after joining the Chinese club.

So why has Drogba decided to leave Shanghai? Well, he has only made eleven appearances, but has scored eight goals in that time. Nicolas Anelka's move to Juventus which was confirmed just 24 hours before Drogba's was led to many expecting Drogba to leave the club too. Shanghai are in a poor financial state in actuality, despite being in a supposedly healthy one this time last year when they signed Anelka and in June when they signed Drogba. Despite good form, it is clear it was not quite right for Drogba being in China.

So what is Galatasaray reasoning behind their second surprise signing of the January transfer window? Galatasaray’s owners have proved in recent years that they are willing to splash the cash for players in their late 20's to early 30's that are experienced in Europe's top leagues, as shown by the signings of the likes of current club captain Hamit Altintop, Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Elmander, but few expected the signings of Drogba as well as Sneijder.

I feel Galatasaray are being somewhat disrespected though by both opposing club fans around the world and journalists. People talk as if Galatasaray and the Turkish league in general have no selling point, but the club and the league absolutely do. Galatasaray are a club with huge support both in Turkey and across Europe and the rest of the world. Although the club and its fans in particular have attracted a fair amount of negative press headlines, the majority of their fans are peaceful, but still passionate. The roar that comes from the Turk telecom stadium when they score is immense, while the Istanbul derby against long standing rivals Fernebache are must see games.

When I first heard about the signing of Drogba by Galatasaray, I instantly thought of how the former Chelsea man and club legend Didier Drogba would fit into this Galatasaray team. Well, it is pretty simple really; he will lead the line alongside Galatasaray’s main man, striker and goal machine Burak Yilmaz. Burak Yilmaz has been in magnificent form this season, especially in the UEFA champions league. It was on match day 4 when the Turkish striker almost singlehandedly destroyed CFR Cluj in the game in Romania, with Burak Yilmaz scoring all three Galatasaray goals in the 3-1 win. What really impressed me personally about this performance was the fact Yilmaz scored with a header, then with his right foot and finally his left foot, making his a perfect hatrick. With every goal he made it look so easy. Yilmaz also scored Galatasaray’s winner against Manchester United and their equaliser against Braga, and both goals went a huge way to securing round of sixteen qualification for the Turkish side. Yilmaz and Cristiano Ronaldo finished the group stage as equal top scorers.

Yilmaz, like Drogba is a tall, but deceptively quick finisher. Drogba is a lot more muscular and uses his upper body strength more than Yilmaz does admittedly, but the point is that they share many common abilities. One problem that this could cause is that both players may well feel more comfortable up on their own, or with the more technically sound and versatile Johan Elmander, the ex-Bolton and Toulouse striker. Drogba has previously struggled to be as effective and dangerous for opposition defences while with another striker, so Faith Terim may have to rearrange and reshuffle his side’s line up on a few occasions to compliment these two world class strikers.

Despite potential changes to the side’s line up and questions about Drogba’s ability to still perform on the world stage, I am confident he can help Galatasaray secure the Turkish league title (Galatasaray are currently five points ahead of closest rivals Fernebache who are in second) and perhaps secure some other trophies too in his time in Istanbul. With Galatasaray still in the UEFA champions league with two games against Schalke approaching, the club’s board are clearly aiming high. The idea of a midfield with Wesley Sneider and Hamit Altintop must have excited Drogba and they could be a team to really watch out for.

Hazard ball boy incident has been massively blown out of proportion

In my many years of watching football, I can't recall an incident as bizarre and baffling as the one involving Eden Hazard on Wednesday night. I'm sure you've all seen the footage, Hazard kicked the ball boy at a time when Chelsea were frustrated and in urgent need of the ball, after the ball boy was blatantly time wasting.

The term "kicked" is a highly suggestive term and connotes the entirely wrong images. It suggests that Hazard, in a fit of rage whacked the ball boy as hard as he possibly could. That is in no way the case. The only reason Hazard swung his foot back was to get the ball out of the ball boy's body which covered the ball in an attempt to waste time. I myself have played in games with friends where the goalkeeper has had both hands on the ball and in an attempt to score a cheap goal players have kicked the ball out of his realm. Childish behaviour, I know, but this is all Hazard wanted to do. Get the ball. He didn't mean to kick the boy (if he even did) surely anyone speaking honestly would realise and appreciate this?

A 22 year old footballer kicking a ball "boy" is also misleading. The term "boy" connotes he was about twelve or thirteen years old, but in reality the "boy" is seventeen. He knew exactly what he was doing, Hazard didn't attack some innocent kid, which is the way some people are referring to the situation as. The ball boy was purposefully wasting time, as his tweet sent earlier in the day read "#needed for time wasting". The ball boy covered the ball with his body, it was obvious that he was attempting to waste time. After the kick, the boy was clearly exaggerating the severity of his injury, you could see it in his face. He obviously felt some pain, but there can't have been much damage.

Don't get me wrong, Hazard deserves some blame. It was foolish to kick a ball boy; it's foolish to kick anyone on a football pitch, especially with the cameras which are seemingly able to pick up everything that occurs on the field of play. Ultimately, Hazard made an immature, unnecessary, and spare of the moment decision that backfired, and resulted in him receiving a red card. I cannot blame or criticise the referee's decision either. It is extremely rare that a player gets involved in a physical altercation and with only his assistants to offer contrary opinions. In the end, a red card was probably appropriate as Hazard did physically assault someone, albeit not intentionally. Any more punishment of Hazard would be unnecessary, with the exception of perhaps a verbal telling off by the FA.

To conclude, I believe this entire incident has been blown out of proportion on a ridiculously large scale. Hazard did in no way mean to hurt the boy; in fact I don’t think he even meant to touch the boy at all. He wanted the ball, and did what was required to get it. Admittedly, Hazard crossed the line and should have been calmer rather than kicking or trying to physically force the ball out of the boy’s control. I agree sending Hazard off was the appropriate decision from referee Chris Foy, but some of the reaction to the incident has been utterly ridiculous. The boy was not in much pain, but people are acting as if it was a kick on the scale of Eric Cantona’s Kung-Fu kick in a Manchester United game away to Crystal Palace. Now that was reprehensible. To suggest more punishment and branding Hazard a ‘’thug’’ as some tabloid newspapers have is laughable, he has apologised and I hope this is the end of this particular fiasco.  

Nuri Sahin returning to Dortmund

Cast your mind back two years ago. Borussia Dortmund were beginning to run away with the Bundesliga title and Nuri Sahin was one of their key architects. Alongside current Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa, Borussia Dortmund possessed one of Europe's most fearsome midfields. After helping Dortmund to secure their seventh German league title, Sahin left Germany to realise his dream move to the mighty Real Madrid. And then it all went downhill...

I for one, felt Sahin would adapt quickly to La Liga's more pass based style of football and that he would soon develop his skills to become the very best he could be with the side from the Spanish capital. After all, the likes of Mesut Özil and Sami Khedira had both made the switch from Bundesliga to Real Madrid in La Liga with success.

Sadly for Sahin, his potential to succeed at Madrid took an early blow. An ongoing injury led to Sahin having to wait until early November to make his debut for his new club, and with Madrid's midfield that regularly included Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira, Mesut Özil, Angel Di Maria, Jose Callejon and of course Cristiano Ronaldo, it would always be an uphill task for Sahin if he wanted to become an established member of the first team. After some not particularly impressive performances, Sahin finally scored his first goal for Madrid in December, against SD Ponferradina in the copa del rey, a goal which many expected to kick start some form. Unfortunately for Sahin, he never could shake off his various niggling injuries and he ended the 2011-12 season with a measly ten appearances.

It seemed inevitable that Sahin would be spending the 2012-13 season at a different club, and that different club turned out to be Liverpool on loan. After a decent start to life at the Anfield club that included two goals away at West Bromwich Albion in the capital one cup, Sahin slowly grew further and further out of favour under manager Brendan Rodgers. The final straw in my mind was Sahin's lack of involvement over the Christmas period and against lowly Mansfield town in the FA cup. At Real Madrid he had Mesut Özil, Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso (amongst others) in front of him in the pecking order, at Liverpool he had Jordan Henderson, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Allen (again amongst others) in front of him.

Things are now looking up for Sahin. His move to Borussia Dortmund may well have rejuvenated his career, and being back at Signal Iduna Park could offer something extra to Dortmund's ailing Bundesliga title campaign, which looks to have Bayern Munich's name on it already. In my opinion, Dortmund need more depth and organisation in central midfield and Sahin could provide that, as long he can replicate the confidence and desire he showed while in his previous stint with the German club. Mario Götze has done a fantastic job of creating chances for star striker Robert Lewandowski and left winger Marco Reus. The addition of Sahin will only add to Dortmund's midfield options but I can't see him being able to overtake the electrifying Mario Götze. Ultimately, I believe Sahin's potential success at Dortmund relies on him being able to get in the right mindset. If he forgets his issues of his time in both Madrid and Liverpool, he could well yet become one of Europe's most exciting players again.