CAMP NOU, BARCELONA, SPAIN – Barcelona lost their second game in a week when they went down 1-2, 21 April, in their home El Classico match against Real Madrid, virtually handing the La Liga title to their arch-rivals. In the English Premier League Man United managed to go from two goals up with only seven minutes left to a 4-4 draw with Everton, meaning that Man City can take the Premier League title if they win their last four games, including the big one against Man United on 30 April.
In Switzerland FC Basel have almost won the Super League, after beating Sion 3-0 but have not started to celebrate as Luzern could theoretically pick up two bonus points from an earlier match with Sion, and then only need to catch up another 16 points on the leaders.
The big games this week feature Barcelona v Chelsea and Real Madrid v Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. Both Spanish teams need to come back from a loss in the first leg.
Links to other sites: Premier League, RTS
OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Manchester United took a firm hold of the Premier League by extending their lead over their noisy neighbours to eight points, 8 April. United beat QPR 2-0 while Man City lost 1-0 at Arsenal. United controlled the game and struck twice with a Wayne Rooney penalty and a trademark strike by veteran Paul Scholes. In the next game Man City again self-destructed as they were outplayed by the Gunners, with Mario Balotelli fortunate to stay on the field after a vicious early foul. The Italian striker was later sent off and is unlikly to play again this season. Coach Roberto Mancini and wandering striker Carlos Tevez might also be out at the end of the season. Tottenham held on to fourth place, behind Arsenal, with a draw at Sunderland. Chelsea moved nearer with a fortunate 2-1 win over Wigan. Wolves are bottom of the League, with Wigan and Blackburn in the other two relegation spots with six games to play.
Lionel Messi scored twice for Barcelona in their 1-4 win at Real Zaragoza, bringing his season total to an amazing 60 goals. Real Madrid were held to a 0-0 home draw by Valencia, leaving them with a three point lead over Barcelona in La Liga. In the Swiss Super League FC Basel still dominate with a 17 point lead despite only drawing 1-1 at Lucerne. Sion beat FC Zurich 2-1.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian, RTS
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Fifa has threatened Switzerland with expulsion from all Fifa events unless the Swiss Football Association punish FC Sion in the long confrontation over the Valaisan team playing unregistered players. The Sion chairman Christian Constantin responded in his own inimitable style by threatening to sue Sepp Blatter, the Valaisan head of Fifa. Unless the Swiss Federation react by 13 January 2012 the Swiss participation in the Champions League, as well as the national youth and senior matches, will be suspended, as will all the Swiss referees. FC Basel would be the first to suffer as they would be barred from playing in the Champions League match against Bayern Munich and would be replaced by Manchester United in the competition.
On the field Barcelona confirmed their place at the top by winning the Club World Championship by beating Brazilian team Santos 4-0 in Tokyo. In the Premier League Manchester city beat Arsenal 1-0 to regain their first place, ahead of Man United, 0-2 winners at QPR. Spurs are third after a 1-0 win over Sunderland. Chelsea fell back after a 1-1 draw at Wigan.
Links to other sites: TSR, Premier League, Guardian
STOKE, ENGLAND – Manchester United lost their perfect start to the season but stayed top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Stoke, 24 September. They still lead their Man City neighbours on goal difference but the slip up will give a little hope to Basel FC which will be travelling to Old Trafford for their European Champions League match on Tuesday evening. They will be without star striker Wayne Rooney who is suffering a strained hamstring. Man City won 2-0 against Everton while Chelsea won 4-1 against Swansea to stay third. fernando Torres sored again but was sent off for a dangerous tackle. Arsenal avoided disaster with a 3-0 win over Bolton which kept Arsene Wenger’s men off the bottom.
Barcelona and Real Madrid both thrashed their opponents in La Liga. The Swiss local derby between Geneva Servette and Lausanne ended in a dull 0-0 draw. Sion and Neuchatel Xamax continue to make more news off the field than on it.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It was a fine weekend for sports fans, with the best and the brightest putting on good shows:
Football – Barcelona defeated Manchester United 3-1 in a master class performance, with the Man United team and coach graciously afterwards that Barcelona is simply the best team in Europe. Details, The Guardian
Tennis – Roger Federer smoothly sailed past fellow Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. He now has his 28th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final place. Details, Roland Garros
Formula 1 – Sebastian Vettel won in Monte Carlo, with Fernando Alonso second and Jenson Button in third. Details, Formula 1 de Monaco
International sports, Champions League football
Old Trafford, Manchester (GenevaLunch) - Sir Alec Ferguson rested many of his star players, like Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand but the replacements easily brushed aside the challenge from FC Schalke to win 4-1. This gave them a 6-1 aggregate win in the European Champions League semi-final, 4 May. They will meet Barcelona in the final at Wembley after the Catalans beat Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate the previous evening. Manchester were sent to the final with goals by Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson and then two from Anderson.
International sports, Champions League football
Madrid, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Barcelona beat Real Madrid 0-2 in a bad-tempered semi-final of the European Champions League at Real’s Bernabéu stadium, 27 April. The match featured three red cards, but only one of these for a player on the field: Barcelona’s substitute goalkeeper was sent off in a scuffle as the teams left the field at half-time, Real Madrid coach José Maurinho was sent from the touchline for arguing with the officials and Real’s Brazilian defender Pepé was rather harshly sent off for a clumsy challenge. The game was saved by two moments of magic by Lionel Messi: his second goal being one of the finest of the season, and probably the decade.
Manchester United also won their first semi-final match 0-2, away to Schalke, with goals by Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney in a game in which their passing and movement almost matched Barcelona’s style. The two teams now look sure to meet in the final of the Champions League to be held at Wembley, 28 May.
Links to other sites: UEFA, Guardian
The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain was reopened in the afternoon of Tuesday 19 April after firefighters extinguished a fire started by a suspected arsonist on Tuesday morning. Four workers were transported to hospitals to be treated for smoke inhalation and 1,500 tourists were evacuated from the Unesco World Heritage Site.
Tuesday morning, two tourists saw smoke coming from the sacristy and alerted a worker to the fire. Another group of tourists and workers detained the suspected arsonist in the crypt until he was arrested, reports El País.
“[The suspect] appears to be a disturbed man of around 55 who was found with several lighters in his pocket,” says Joan Rigol, Sagrada Familia Foundation president.
The Gaudi masterpiece that attracts more than 2 million visitors every year to Spain’s second-largest city did not suffer any damage, but many furnishings on the inside were burned.
International sports, football
City of Manchester Stadium, England (GenevaLunch) - Manchester United took another step towards the Premier League title when they came back from 2-0 down at West Ham to win 2-4, 2 April. The Hammers scored from two penalties in the first half but Wayne Rooney replied with a hat-trick in the second half, only to spoil the headlines by swearing in his celebration – much to the apparent shock of the British tabloid press.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all slipped back to leave Man United with a seven-point lead at the top of the table. Man City enjoyed their Sunday romp against Sunderland, winning 5-0 to move past Chelsea into third place.
Barcelona also moved away from their rivals as they beat Villareal 0-1 and then saw Real Madrid lose at home to Gijon. That game ended an amazing 151 unbeaten home record for coach José Maurinho: a sequence that goes back nine years and includes seasons at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. Barcelona are now eight points ahead in La Liga.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
Chelsea and Man United will face off during the UEFA quater-finals
Geneva and Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Friday morning Uefa draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will provide real tension for the 5-6 and 12-13 April matches. Chelsea and Manchester United face off, and as the Uefa report on the draw points out:
“Sir Alex Ferguson’s team denied Chelsea a first European Champion Clubs’ Cup in a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Moscow three years ago, and the London club will have a shot at revenge next month. While Chelsea are reigning English champions, United currently lead them by nine points in the Premier League and have history on their side in the competition having been crowned Europe’s finest three times.”
FC Internazionale Milano will meet FC Schalke 04. The two clubs last met in a major tournament in 1997.
Nine-time trophy winners Real Madrid CF is up against Tottenham Hotspur FC, so Madrid escapes playing Barcelona at this stage, but the Spanish teams could face each other in the semi-finals if FC Barcelona chases out FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Quarter-final draw (5/6 and 12/13 April)
Real Madrid CF (ESP) v Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
Chelsea FC (ENG) v Manchester United FC (ENG)
FC Barcelona (ESP) v FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
Semi-final draw (26/27 April and 3/4 May)
1: Inter/Schalke v Chelsea /Manchester United
2: Madrid/Tottenham v Barcelona/Shakhtar
Final (28 May, Wembley)
Winner semi-final 2 v Winner semi-final 1
International sports, football
Anfield, Liverpool (GenevaLunch) - Liverpool may not win any titles this season but they might well have played a role in denying one to Manchester United. They deservedly beat their archrivals 3-1, with a hat-trick by Dirk Kuyt, 6 March. Man United fielded a side weakened in defense because of the absence of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, but they were comprehensively outplayed in all departments.
Arsenal could only draw 0-0 against Sunderland but are just three points behind United in the Premier League and still have a game in hand. Man City stay third after a 1-0 win over Wigan.
Tottenham travelled to Wolverhampton for the best game of the weekend: a thrilling 3-3 draw.
In the Spanish La Liga Barcelona and Real Madrid both won. Inter Milan beat Genoa 5-2 and AC Milan beat Juventus in Series A. In the Swiss Super League Basel are still on top after a 3-1 win over Zurich. Neuchatel lost 1-2 to Bellinzona while Thun-Luzern ended 3-3.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
“I love you” isn’t something airline passengers are used to hearing over the flight’s announcement system, but they heard that and more on a flight from Lisbon to Barcelona, reports the Telegraph. Hear all about it, as Vera Silva gets the big question, to the delight of passengers, from Joao Vieira:
International sports, football
(video) Zurich, Switzerland (GenevalUnch) - Lionel Messi was awarded Fifa’s (international football federation) highest honour, the Ballon d’Or. The Argentinian told reporters afterwards that he felt his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta deserved it as well. Messi received 22.65 percent of the vote, while Iniesta had 17.36 and Xavi 16.48 percent. Coaches and team captains as well as sports journalists from around the world vote for the winner.
Messi, 23, was not considered a frontrunner by some observers because of his failure to make a single goal in the 2010 World Cup, for Argentina, which was bumped in the quarter-finals. His 60 goals for the year, however, counted for something.
The Ballon d’Or award “was created following the merging of France Football magazine’s European Footballer of the Year prize with the Fifa World Player of the Year award,” notes the Guardian.
Links to other sites: Fifa, Guardian and Guardian March 2010 praise for Messi
Video, TSR (Fr)
International sports, European Champions League football
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The draw for the first knockout round of the European Champions League took place in Nyon from 12:00 Friday 17 December. Highlights include a re-match of last season’s final between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, while the crowd pleaser is likely to be Arsenal against Barcelona, another rematch from last season. AC Milan play Spurs while Chelsea travel to Copenhagen for their first match. Manchester United meet Marseille. The full fixture list is:
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
Milan v Tottenham
Valencia v Schalke
Internazionale v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Real Madrid
Arsenal v Barcelona
Marseille v Manchester United
FC Copenhagen v Chelsea
In the Europa League FC Basel meet Spartak Moscow while Young Boys meet St Petersburg.
International sports, football
Emirates Stadium, London (GenevaLunch) – Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League thanks to two superb goals by Samir Nasri their talented French international. The Gunners beat Fulham 2-1 to move ahead of Manchester United, whose game at Blackpool was postponed because of the weather. Chelsea missed the chance to move into first place when they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton. West Ham were pushed into last place when they lost to Sunderland. The other two relegation places are occupied by Wolves and Wigan.
Barcelona beat the Spanish air controllers strike by travelling by train and bus to Pamplona, where they won 3-0. Real Madrid recovered from their 5-0 mauling in El Clasico to beat Valencia 2-0 with the aid of two late goals by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the Swiss Super League Lucerne stay in first place after beating Bellinzona 3-0. FC Basel are second following their 3-1 win over Young Boys. FC Sion beat Grasshoppers 2-0.
Links to other sites: Premier League, Guardian
International sports, football, Barcelona v Real Madrid
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain (GenevaLunch) – It was a thumping, clear and simple: Barcelona 5, Real Madrid 0, in the El Clásico match Monday 29 November. Leo Messi, widely considered the best footballer around even before the match, was untouchable and put on a fine show for the crowd. The closest thing to criticism of his game Monday night 29 November comes from The Guardian, which writes, “Messi failed to score for the first time in 10 matches but his performance—like those of Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets—was sublime.” Real Madrid coach José Mourinho, the self-proclaimed “The Special One”, conceded that Barcelona’s game was “fantastic”.
Links to other sites: El Pais (Spa), Figaro (Fre), The Guardian
International Sports, European Athletics Championship
Barcelona, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Victor Rothlin celebrated August 1 in the best possible way by winning the marathon at the European Championships. The 35-year-old became only the fourth Swiss to win gold at the European Championships; the last was Werner Gunthor, who won the shot putt in 1986. Rothlin won by more than two minutes, ahead of Spain’s Juan Martinez and Russian Dimitri Safronov. Rothlin had already won silver at the 2006 European Championships and took bronze in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
British athletes have been fighting to show their best form in advance of the 2012 Olympics, and they won six gold medals. Possibly the most impressive performance was the distance running double by Mo Farah, who won gold in both the 10,000 and 5,000 metres. Mohammed Farah was born in Somalia but arrived in England when he was 10 years old. There was also a rare Welsh double when Dai Greene and Rhys Williams took gold and silver in the 400m hurdles.
International sports, football
Wembley, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea completed their double of Premier League and FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. The victory seemed inevitable given the huge gap in resources between the two teams but Portsmouth, with the aid of the woodwork, made the London millionaires work more than anticipated. Pompey could have taken the lead when Kevin-Prince Boateng hit a feeble shot straight at the Chelsea goalie. Didier Drogba scored shortly afterwards and Chelsea controlled the rest of the match despite Frank Lampard missing a penalty.
The game was pushed out of the news by a sting operation lead by the normally conservative Daily Mail which taped a supposedly private conversation between Lord Triesman and his ex-assistant (and mistress) Melissa Jacobs. The FA Chairman accused Russia and Spain of trying to bribe World Cup referees. Triesman has resigned and the English 2018 bid committee sent off grovelling apologies.
Barcelona won La Liga with a 4-0 thumping of Vallaloid. Inter Milan won Serie A and are in search of their own double in the final of the European Champions League against Bayern Munich. In Switzerland FC Basel won their 13th League title by winning 0-2 against Young Boys.
Links to other sites: Daily Mail, Guardian
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain (GenevaLunch) – Barcelona started the evening needing to reverse a 3-1 deficit from their first leg match against José Maurinho’s Inter Milan side in the semi-final of the Eurpean Champions League. This meant they needed to win 2-0 or better to have a chance to achieve the double dream of retaining the Champions League trophy and doing so at the home of the hated Real Madrid. Inter held their own defensively, despite being reduced to 10 men after Thiego Motta was sent off for making contact with his flat hand against Sergio Busquet’s face.
In the second half the Barcelona team started to lose patience as they struggled to find a way through the well-organized Inter defensive wall. The first goal was scored in the 83rd minute: beautifully taken by Gerard Piquet from a possibly off-side position.The last five minutes were tense as the massed crowds of the Camp Nou urged their team to score the vital goal, and they thought their prayers had been answered as Bojan Krkic fired the ball into the net – only to find the goal had been disallowed for handball. José Maurinho’s men held out to achieve a special victory at the ground where their trainer once worked as a translator for the English coach Bobby Robson.
Inter Milan will play Bayern Munich in the final in Madrid 22 May 2010.
Lyon, France (GenevaLunch) – Bayern Munich had an easy path to the finals of the European Champions League with a convincing 0-3 win at Lyon. The Bavarian team won the first leg 1-0, so win 4-0 overall. All three goals were scored by Croatian striker Ivica Olic.
Bayern will play in the final in Madrid against the winners of the semi-final between Barcelona and Inter Milan. These teams play their return match on Wednesday 28 April. Inter took the first game 3-1.
San Siro, Milan (GenevaLunch) - Barcelona took a bus to Milan for their semi-final match for the European Champions League trophy, 20 April, but left some of their magic at home. Things started well for the Catalans, generally considered the finest team of the last decade, but things then went horribly wrong. Pedro scored the first goal for Barcelona after being set up by Maxwell but Inter kept pressing and were rewarded with a first half equaliser by Wesley Sneijder. Maicon made it 2-1 just after the pause as he toed the ball in from five metres and then Diego Milito headed the ball in from even closer to leave José Mourinho’s team with a two goal lead.
Lyon travel to Bayern Munich for Wednesday’s match. The return games will be played next week.
Madrid, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Barcelona trimphed against arch rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu stadium. They won 0-2 with goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro, both set up by beautiful passes from Xavi. Barcelona showed they are currently the best team in the world, but the Spanish press concentrated on the way Lionel Messi had completely outclassed Cristiano Ronaldo, the Euro 94 million signing from Manchester United.
Back in the Premier League Man United slipped again on Sunday 11 April when they could only manage a 0-0 draw at Blackburn.
Camp Nou, Barcelona (GenevaLunch) - Lionel Messi ended all debate about who is the greatest current footballer with a stunning four-goal tally against Arsenal in the second leg of their European Champions League match. Arsenal had fought back in the first leg to salvage a 2-2 draw and for a brief moment were ahead with a goal from Nicklas Bendtner. Messi then struck three goals before half time and finally added another in the 88th minute to see Barcelona through 4-1 on the night and 6-3 overall. The World Cup will reveal whether another Argentine Messiah, Diego Maradona, can inspire Messi to perform as well for his country.
In the other match on Tuesday evening 6 April, Inter Milan won 0-1 away to CSKA Moscow to add to their 1-0 victory at San Siro. They have the task of meeting Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Wednesday’s games see Manchester United, possibly with Wayne Rooney, facing Bayern Munich after losing the first leg 2-1. Bordeaux face the prospect of coming back after losing the first leg at Lyon 3-1.
Emirates Stadium, London (GenevaLunch) - Arsenal faced the finest club team in the world in their Champions League match and were soon outclassed. Barcelona completely dominated the first half, with more than a dozen shots on goal compared to a solitary shot by the home team. Somehow the game was scoreless at half time but Barcelona’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made up for a host of wasted chances with a neat goal in the first minute after the interval.
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – English Premier League football club Arsenal and Spanish Barcelona will face each other in the quarter-finals of the European Champions League. The draw was held at UEFA, the European Football head office in Nyon. French striker Thierry Henry, who is Arsenal’s highest-ever goalscorer, played for Arsenal when the two last met but he now plays for Barcelona.
The other games will feature Bayern Munich against Manchester United, an all French affair as Lyon play Bordeaux, while Inter Milan face a trip to play CSKA Moscow. The two favourites, Barcelona and Man United, cannot meet before the final in Madrid 22 May.
Stamford Bridge, London (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea took back the leadership of the Premier League as Didier Drogba scored twice to beat their local rivals 2-0. It was the second consecutive loss for the Gunners, following on the 3-0 loss to Manchester United last weekend. Man United briefly topped the table after crushing Portsmouth 5-0 with the help of two or three own goals by the unfortunate visitors, currently on the brink of bankruptcy. Liverpool won their deby match against Everton 1-0 to reclaim 4th place while Spurs played out a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa and Man City lost at Hull.
Barcelona maintained a five point lead in La Liga after beating Getafe 2-1 while arch rivals Real Madrid won 3-0 against RCD Espanyol.
Links to other sites: Premier League, La Liga
Voters in 166 pro-independence towns and villages in Catalonia voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Spanish state Sunday 13 December, but only 27 percent of those who could vote actually did so. The organizers of the symbolic, non-binding vote played up the result in Spain’s wealthiest region, which boasts its own language, culture, and the city of Barcelona.
Participation fell far short of the 49.4 percent in the 2006 referendum on the statute governing relations between the central government and Catalonia, already largely autonomous.
Barcelona, Spain (GenevaLunch) - Spain confirmed its place at the top of the tennis world with a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the final of the Davis Cup on the clay courts of Barcelona. Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer won the singles on Friday to give the Spanish a 2-0 lead and their doubles team of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco finished the task on Saturday.
Links to other sites: Davis Cup, Eurosport/Yahoo
Camp Nou, Barcelona (GenevaLunch) - Chelsea confirmed their place as the top London club for this season with a confident 0-3 away win at Arsenal. Didier Drogba scored twice as the Blues opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The other two derby matches played on Sunday also ended as away wins: Everton lost 0-2 to Liverpool while Wolves went down 0-1 to Birmingham.
(GenevaLunch) - Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal all won on Saturday but Liverpool crashed to a 3-1 defeat at Fulham, ending the game with nine men as Philip Degen and Jamie Carragher were sent off. This was Liverpool’s fifth defeat in the Premier League this season, and their sixth loss in their last seven matches. The turning point came when manager Rafa Benitez took off their star striker, Fernando Torres, no doubt hoping to rest him for the important Champions League match against Lyon on Wednesday.
