EURO FOOTBALL NEWS ARCHIVE

European Under 21 Championship Semis
Holland and the Ukraine booked their places in the final of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Portugal, narrowly edging out France and Serbia respectively. The final is in Bessa at 19:45 on Sunday the 4th June.

In the first semi final in Braga, Holland took an early lead through Nicky Hofs and extended their advantage on 38 minutes through Ajax star Klass Jan Huntelaar, who narrowly missed out on the Dutch World Cup squad.

However, the French hit back in the second half and drew level with goals from Julian Faubert and substitute Bryan Bergougnoux with five minutes to go. That took the tie into extra time and a second goal from Hofs sealed the win for Holland.

The second semi final between Ukraine and Serbia and Montenegro in Aveiro was a much tighter affair and went all the way to penalties with Ukraine prevailing 5-4 after a goalless draw. - Paul

Chelsea Bid To Further Strengthen Squad
The arrival of Michael Ballack on astronomical wages at Stamford Bridge looks likely to be followed by several more high profile big money signings.

After weeks of speculation, Andriy Shevchenko has finally admitted that he will be moving on from AC Milan this summer, with Chelsea - possibly the only club who can afford him - ready to open talks with the player and his agent.

Officially the player wants to move to England for family reasons so that his son can learn English, however, it seems likely that the attraction of a giant pay packet could have a lot to do with his decision. There aren't any valid footballing reasons for the switch as he's a hero in Milan and went closer to winning the Champions League with them this season than Chelsea did.

Roberto Carlos or Ashley Cole could yet end up making summer moves to Chelsea and several of the fringe players are set to depart. Portuguese midfielder Maniche has already been released. - Paul

Champions League Final News
Arsenal and Barcelona are completing their final preparations for the 2006 UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France in Paris. Both teams expect to be at almost full strength although there remain a few doubts about the fitness of Philippe Senderos, Mathieu Flamini and Lionel Messi.

Sol Campbell will partner Kolo Toure in central defence for the Gunners if the Swiss defender doesn't make it and Ashley Cole is expected to get the nod for the left-back spot ahead of Flamini even if the Frenchman is fully fit.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi hasn't played for over two months since picking up an injury against Chelsea but has returned to training and could feature in the squad.

Tickets for the match could have sold out many times over but thousands of supporters are expected to travel to France without them in the hope of picking some up on the day of the game.

Given the number of exciting individuals on show, it promises to be a highly entertaining final. Let's hope that the teams don't put too much emphasis on stopping each other from playing and serve up a dull stalemate and penalties. - Paul

Champions League: Benfica 0-0 Barcelona
Spanish champions and Champions League favourites Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by their Portuguese counterparts in Lisbon, largely due to an impressive performance from the home goalkeeper Marcelo Moretto.

Barcelona enjoyed the lion's share of the possession and created the best chances but were unable to secure an away goal that would have given them a foothold in the next round. Benfica will travel to the Camp Nou in a week's time believing they still have a chance to progress but the Catalans will be strong favourites in their own back yard. - Paul

Coupe de France 1/4 Finals Draw
The draw has been made for the Quarter Finals of the Coupe de France and four of the favourites face each other, opening up a route to the semis for a few of the unfancied teams.

Perennial favourites Olympique Lyonnais face a tough test at Gerland against a Marseille team with much to prove. Gerard Houllier's Lyon have made it their objective to secure their first ever domestic double this season but Marseille will be a tough nut to crack.

Paris-Saint Germain have also been handed a tricky tie as they try to salvage something from another disappointing season. Lille will visit the Parc des Princes as favourites in many people's eyes.

The two lower division teams left in will both feel they have a chance to progress. Second division Montpellier travel to Rennes and fourth division Calais will hope to repeat their giant killing act against Nantes.

The ties will be played in Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th of April. - Paul

UEFA CUP Last 16 Round-up
Five more teams booked their places in the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Cup to complete the line-up for the draw in Eindhoven.

Steaua Bucuresti managed a spectacular 3-0 away win over struggling Betis of Spain to join neighbours Rapid in the next round. A brace from Banel Nicolita and a goal from Victoras Iacob, all in the second half, secured a 3-0 aggregate victory.

Levski Sofia are still flying the flag for Bulgaria, having come from behind to put out Udinese. Tissone gave the Italians a first half lead in the Bulgarian capital but goals from Borimirov and Tomisic turned the tie around to send Levski through 2-1 on aggregate.

FC Schalke are Germany's sole remaining representatives in Europe this season. They overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit against Palermo to go through 3-1 on aggregate with goals from Kobiashvili, Larsen and Azaouagh.

Zenit St Petersburg and FC Basel complete the quarter final line up. The Russians capitalised on their 1-0 win in Marseille with a 1-1 draw at home and the Swiss secured a 2-2 draw away at Strasbourg, having won 2-0 at home. - Paul

'Boro battle through in Rome
Steve McClaren's Middlesbrough won through to the UEFA Cup Quarter finals for the first time in their history despite going down to a 2-1 defeat against AS Roma at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

'Boro led 1-0 from the first leg and extended their advantage on 32 minutes when striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink headed a Downing cross past goalkeeper Curci. That meant the Roman side needed to score three times but Mancini's goal just before the break gave them belief that the task was possible.

A sixty-sixth minute penalty, after a foul by Ray Parlour, was converted by Mancini to set up a nervous last 25 minutes for the Teesiders. McClaren's charges defended well as a unit and absorbed much of the Roma pressure, although a couple of fine saves from 'keeper Schwarzer were needed before 'Boro could be sure of their place in Friday's draw.

Elsewhere, Hamburg failed in their attempt to overturn a two goal deficit from the first leg against Rapid Bucuresti. The German side scored three times through Lauth, Barbarez and Van Der Vaart but a crucial away goal from Buga put the Romanians through.

Spanish side Sevilla did manage to overturn a first leg deficit against Lille. First half goals from strikers Frederic Kanoute and Luis Fabiano put them 2-1 up on aggregate and into the quarter finals although their task was made easier by the dismissal of Lille midfielder Mathieu Bodmer after only 26 minutes. The numbers were not evened up until the 71st minutes when Seville's Jesus Navas was also sent off. - Paul

Inter Complete Quater Final Line Up
Internazionale of Milan won the final Champions League last sixteen tie to set up a Quarter Final clash with Villareal.

The Italian side led on away goals after a 2-2 draw at the Amsterdam ArenA in the two weeks ago and looked fairly comfortable on home turf in the second leg. Adriano had a great chance to wrap up the tie in the first half when Inter won a penalty after a handball by Juanfran but the Brazilian missed with his spot kick.

The breakthrough came on 56 minutes when Stankovic stroked the ball home from the edge of the box and Inter shut up shop to eliminate the final Dutch outfit from this season's Champions League and leave Italy with three clubs in the quarter finals.

The full draw is:
Benfica v Barcelona
Arsenal v Juventus
Olympique Lyonnais v AC Milan
Internazionale v Villareal

(1st Legs 28/29th March, 2nd Legs 4/5th April) - Paul

Impressive Lyon crush sorry Metz
Olympique Lyonnais carried their impressive midweek Champions League form over into the French Championnat at the weekend and had no problems in beating northerners Metz 4-0 at Gerland.

It was 2-0 within 20 minutes and 3-0 before half time with two strikes from Florent Malouda sandwiching a header from John Carew. Patrick Muller completed the rout in second half injury time with an impressive volley from an acute angle and Metz look set for a desperate struggle against relegation.

Bordeaux's good form continued at the Stade Chaban-Delmas. They are now unbeaten in eleven Ligue 1 games (7 wins, 4 draws), and second-half goals from Henrique and Laslandes saw off Toulouse. The Girondins remain nine points behind Lyon with nine games to go.

Lille and Auxerre are third and forth respectively, separated by only one point. Lille took a point from a 1-1 draw at Nantes whilst Auxerre beat Nice 2-0 at home. Marseille, Lens, Le Mans and Rennes all won to keep up the pressure in the race for a UEFA Cup place. Paris-Saint Germain lost ground as they were held away at Nancy. - Paul

Spanish La Liga Round-Up
The big news in Spain at the weekend was Barcelona's home defeat to Atletico Madrid, which brought to an end their run of 15 successive league wins. Fernando Torres (2) and Maxi Rodriguez scored for the visitors with Henrick Larsson mustering the solitary reply for the Catalans.

The result allowed the chasing pack - Valencia, Real Madrid and Osasuna - to regain some of the lost ground on the leaders. All three teams won to cut Barca's lead to a mere nine points.

Real beat Espanyol 4-0 with two more goals from Zinedine Zidane plus strikes from Guti and Ronaldo. Valencia notched up an impressive 1-0 win away at Deportivo with the prolific David Villa grabbing the winner and Osasuna matched that result away at Sevilla thanks to a Savo Milosevic strike.

Celta Vigo and Villareal occupy the remaining European spots. The former picked up a 1-0 away win in Santander whilst the latter were being held at home by Cadiz.

It's still very tight at the bottom of the table with six teams being separated by only four points. Bottom side Mallorca lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad and Alaves drew 2-2 with Getafe. Athletic Bilbao complete the bottom three having lost 2-1 at Malaga.

Elsewhere, the match of the day was at Zaragoza where the home side saw off Real Betis by the odd goal in seven. Zaragoza went 4-0 up within 23 minutes but were pegged back by a superb hat-trick from Dani. Both teams had a player sent off late on. - Paul

Italian Serie A Round-Up
Juventus' relentless good form continued with another narrow win at the Delle Alpi. This time Udinese were the victims and Del Piero scored the solitary goal. The Turin side have led the table since week two of the season and they remain eight points clear of Internazionale.
Inter themselves clocked up their fifth successive victory with a 1-0 win over Chievo. Julio Cruz got the goal early on and the Milan side are now unbeaten in 14 league games. Roma are the other form team with seven successive wins and their convincing 3-0 victory away at Parma kept up the pressure on the fourth Champions League spot.

That position is still held by Fiorentina, who are five points clear of Roma and one behind Milan. Fiorentina beat Lecce 1-0 whereas Milan were held to a goalless draw at Lazio. Livorno drew 2-2 with Messina and still occupy the final UEFA Cup spot.

Elsewhere, Sienna and Ascoli shared the points and two goals at the Artemio Franchi stadium and Sampdoria also drew 1-1 with Treviso in Genoa. Reggina versus Palermo finished two apiece and Cagliari thrashed Empoli 4-1. - Paul

French Ligue 1 Round-Up
There was no change at the top of the table as leaders Olympique Lyonnais were held to a 0-0 draw at home by second placed Bordeaux. Lyon remain nine points clear and Bordeaux extended their lead over third placed Auxerre to four points as Jacques Santini's team went down 1-0 away at Ajaccio.

Lille couldn't capitalise on Bordeaux's dropped points either as they were beaten 2-0 at Nice. That result allowed Marseille to move to within one point of a European spot courtesy of a 1-0 win away at Troyes. Paris Saint-Germain are sixth, having shared the points and four goals with Saint-Etienne in an exciting game at the Parc des Princes.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Lens, Monaco and Toulouse and a 0-0 draw between Sochaux and Le Mans. Metz remain glued to the bottom of the table; their derby game with Nancy was postponed due to bad weather. PSG striker Pauleta is now six clear at the top of the scoring charts with 15 goals in 23 games. - Paul

Euro 2008 Qualifying Draw
Here is the draw for the qualifying tournament for the 2008 European Championship in Switzerland and Austria:

Group A
Portugal
Poland
Serbia
Belgium
Finland
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan

Group B
France
Italy
Ukraine
Scotland
Lithuania
Georgia
Faroe Islands

Group C
Greece
Turkey
Norway
Bosnia
Hungary
Moldova
Malta

Group D
Czech Republic
Germany
Slovakia
Republic of Ireland
Wales
Cyprus
San Marino

Group E
England
Croatia
Russia
Israel
Estonia
Macedonia
Andorra

Group F
Sweden
Spain
Denmark
Latvia
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Liechtenstein

Group G
Holland
Romania
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Albania
Belarus
Luxembourg - Ed.

French Ligue 1 Round-Up
Finally champions Lyon have been proven to be fallible, but it took until the last round of matches before France's two week winter break for someone to find a chink in their armour.

It was Claude Puel's Lille that ended Europe's last unbeaten record and had the temerity to do so in Lyon's own back yard at fortress Gerland. The Nordists have threatened to start producing this sort of form in the league for some time, and it all came together perfectly for them in France's second city.

Peter Odemwingie put them ahead after nine minutes and they extended their advantage early in the second period through Debuchy. Sidney Govou pulled one back but Lille withstood the inevitable onslaught and added a third through Dumont to record an impressive victory.

Lille are now up to eighth and join a cluster of teams within two points of second placed Lens. Lens, who have lost only once this season went second by virtue of beating Le Mans 2-0. Auxerre failed to capitalise on Lyon's slip-up, losing 0-1 at home to Nancy and Bordeaux also missed a chance to go second, drawing 0-0 with Nantes.

Monaco and Marseille won 1-0 over Toulouse and Strasbourg respectively to join Paris-SG on 31 points. The Parisians drew 1-1 with Ajaccio in Corsica. - Paul

Bundesliga Round-Up
The closest challengers to Bayern Munich cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw at the Weserstadion on Sunday. Werder Bremen took the lead right at the end of the first half through Frenchman Johan Micoud but they couldn't hang on and Hamburg duly equalised through Benjamin Lauth on 67 minutes.

Bayern Munich had already extended their lead the previous day with an impressive win away in Dortmund. They are now six points clear of Hamburg after Ali Karimi and Claudio Pizarro found the net to seal victory at the Westfalenstadion. Florian Kringe pulled one back for Borussia but it wasn't enough to halt Bayern's relentless progress.

In the weekend's other big match, VFB Stuttgart beat Schalke 2-0 thanks to goals from Mario Gomez and Danijel Ljuboja. The most exciting game of the day was surely in Monchengladbach where the home side came from two down to lead 4-2 before making it a tense last few seconds by conceding a third but hanging on to win 4-3 against Eintracht Frankfurt. - Paul

Serie A Round-Up
Both Milan clubs recorded emphatic 4-0 victories to nibble away at the gap to run-away leaders Juventus. The Bianconeri were held to a 1-1 draw by Lazio at the Olimpico where David Trezeguet cancelled out an early strike from Tommaso Rocchi.

AC Milan went ahead through a Shevchenko penalty on 22 minutes and he doubled the lead just after half time. Pirlo and Gilardino sealed the win late on to leave visitors Messina looking over their shoulders at the relegation zone.

Internazionale thrashed Reggina 4-0 away from home with goals from Cordoba, Martins, Adriano and Pizarro. Fiorentina dropped to fourth as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Empoli.

At the bottom end of the table, five teams are separated by only one point. Lecce, Treviso and Parma are the three in the relegation zone, Treviso picking up only their second success of the season with a 2-1 win over Lecce. Parma managed a 2-2 draw in Siena.

Elsewhere, Palermo went down 0-2 at home to high-flying Livorno, Chievo beat Udinese by the same score and Cagliari dispatched Ascoli 2-1. Sampdoria and Roma shared the points in a 1-1 draw in Genova. - Paul

La Liga Round-Up
Champions Barcelona moved clear at the top of Spain's Primera Division with a 3-1 win away at Cadiz to make it a club record 12 consecutive victories in all competitions. Ludovic Giuly opened the scoring before Eto'o notched up his fourteenth and fifteenth goals of the season. Mirosavljevic grabbed a late consolation for Cadiz.

Real Madrid were held 1-1 at the Bernabeu by Osasuna. The visitors were reduced to ten men after only 15 minutes but this didn't prevent them taking the lead an hour later through Milosevic. Madrid managed to fight back to level terms through Soldado but they are now 8 points behind Barca and 6 behind Osasuna.

Villareal, Deportivo and Valencia are all level with Real on 29 points, having enjoyed wins over Getafe, Celta Vigo and Alaves respectively. Real Betis remain rooted to the bottom after a 2-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao, who are showing signs of improvement under Javier Clemente. - Paul

French Football Round-Up
There was more of the same at the top end of the Ligue 1 table in France as Lyon kept on winning and the chasing pack continued to take points off each other. The champions rested several key players but still came back from a goal down at home against Troyes to record a 2-1 win thanks to two goals from centre-back Cris.

Bordeaux went down 2-0 at home to Paris-Saint Germain with Pauleta scoring against his former club. Colombian defender Mario Yepes scored the first and the result puts PSG level with Bordeaux in second place a massive 12 points behind the leaders.

Auxerre moved up to fourth spot thanks to a 3-2 home win over Lille and Monaco's recent improvement continued with a 1-0 victory over Saint-Etienne to move level with them in fifth place. At the other end of the table, Strasbourg remain winless having been held to a goalless draw at home by Nice. - Paul

German Football Round-Up
The top three all won to maintain the status quo at the top of the table as the Bundesliga resumed after the international break. Bayern Munich struggled away at Arminia Bielefeld and an upset was on the cards when Boakye gave the home side a 1-0 lead which they protected until the last eight minutes. Peruvian Claudio Pizarro turned out to be the champions' saviour with two late strikes to snatch the points.

Werder Bremen remain five points behind Bayern but looked impressive in their 6-1 thrashing of Wolfsburg. Borowski and Klose both scored twice, the latter taking his tally to an incredible 14 goals in 12 games this season. Hamburg are a point further back in third place having beaten Duisburg 2-0 at home. - Paul

Italian Football Round-Up
There were some potentially decisive results in Serie A as the league programme resumed after the international break. Juventus continued their seemingly relentless accumulation of points with a comprehensive 4-1 away win over Roma.

Pavel Nedved opened the scoring just before the interval and the Bianconeri came storming out of the blocks at the start of the second period to make it 4-0 within sixteen minutes. Ibrahimovic and Trezeguet (twice) found the net with Totti grabbing a consolation goal soon after Lilian Thuram was sent off.

The champions are now five points clear of Milan and Fiorentina in second place, the latter having beaten the former 3-1 in Florence thanks largely to two goals from in-form striker Luca Toni. Internazionale are fourth after a 2-0 win over Parma with goals from Figo and Cambiasso. - Paul

Spanish Football Round-Up
The big match of the weekend took place in Spain where champions Barcelona travelled to Madrid to take on Real at the Bernabeu. It proved to be a Catalan master class inspired by the Brazilian magic of Ronaldinho that saw his team strike a damaging blow in this season's struggle for supremacy in La Liga.

Samuel Eto'o gave Barcelona the lead in the fifteenth minute and it remained one nil until half time. After the break, it was very much the Ronaldinho show to the extent that he even received applause form the home fans. The World Player of the Year contender he tormented the Madrid defence and scored two goals to wrap up a 3-0 victory.

Real's misery was compounded by the news that captain Raul could be out for the rest of the season and may be doubtful for the World Cup. He was carried off after 58 minutes with a suspected cruciate ligament injury.

Barcelona are now level on points with Osasuna at the top of the table after the leaders drew 0-0 away at Getafe. Celta Vigo moved into third spot with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid and Real dropped to fourth. - Paul

Euro 2012: Three Bids Remain
With a year to go until the final decision is due, European football's governing body UEFA has narrowed the field of possible Euro 2012 hosts to just three. Turkey and Greece have seen their bids rejected, leaving two joint bids from Croatia/Hungary and Poland/Ukraine to compete against the favourites Italy.

Italy has hosted the final stage of the tournament twice before, in 1968 and 1980, although it was a much smaller affair in those days. None of the other contenders have ever played host to a major football tournament. - Paul

Barthez and Coupet Must Wait Till March
The France national team coach Raymond Domenech has delayed his decision over who will wear the number one jersey at next summer's World Cup until March. He had previously said that he would decide this week and use only one goalkeeper in the run up to the finals. However, he has since changed his mind and will field Marseille's Fabien Barthez against Costa Rica and Lyon's Gregory Coupet against Germany in the upcoming friendly games.

The pair will effectively be on trial and their performances in their respective club games will be closely scrutinised over the coming months. The decision is now expected to be made public in the build up to the friendly fixture against Slovakia scheduled for the first of March at the Stade de France in Paris. - Paul

CL: Real kick start their campaign
Nine time European Cup winners Real Madrid picked up their first points in Group F of this season's competition with a 2-1 win against Olympiakos at the Bernabeu. Raul gave them an early lead, scoring his 50th goal in European competition in the 9th minute. However, it was not plain sailing for the Spaniards and Kafes grabbed an equaliser just after the interval. The game looked set to end all square until substitute Roberto Soldado headed a late winner. Sergio Ramos was sent off in the dying seconds.

Real Madrid are now level with Norwegian side Rosenborg on three points after French champions Olympique Lyonnais won 1-0 away in Trondheim. Brazilian defender Cris scored the goal on the stroke of half time.

Group E looks likely to be the tightest in this season's competition and all four teams will still be hopeful of reaching the knockout phase. Schalke are bottom on one point but they showed their mettle by twice coming from behind to hold AC Milan to a 2-2 draw at the Arena Aufschalke. Soren Larsen and Hamit Altintop replying to goals from Clarence Seedorf and Andriy Shevchenko. Fenerbahce drew level with PSV on three points by beating the Dutch side 3-0 at home. Two goals came from the Brazilian Alex, with Stephen Appiah getting a late third. - Paul

Champions League Round-Up
Group A
The results in Group A continued to go to form with the big two preserving their 100% records. Juventus are top on goal difference after a 3-0 win over Rapid Wien courtesy of goals from Trezeguet, Mutu and Ibrahimovic. Bayern Munich join them on six points having marked the first Champions League game at their new stadium with a win. Martin Demichelis scored the only goal of the game against Club Brugge.

Group B
Arsenal are enjoying one of their best ever starts to a European campaign and have maximum points from their first two games after a terrific win in the Amsterdam ArenA. Minnows FC Thun of Switzerland are in second spot after a 1-0 win over struggling Sparta Prague. Selver Hodzic scored the only goal late in the game.

Group C
A fantastic hat-trick from Ronaldinho helped Barcelona recapture the kind of form that makes them one of the favourites for the trophy. Deco also scored in the 4-1 win over Udinese. Panathinaikos drew level with the Italians on three points after a 2-1 victory against Werder Bremen. The German side conceded two early goals and had Klasnic sent off late on.

Group D
Manchester United scraped a late 2-1 win at Old Trafford to go top of the group. Their opponents Benfica are still in second place after Lille and Villareal played out a goalless draw at the Stade de France. - Paul

La Liga Round-Up
The big guns started to fire this weekend in Spain. After a slow start to the season both Real Madrid and champions Barcelona picked up convincing victories to boost morale and move them up the table.

Barcelona were impressive in their 4-1 away victory over Betis, although the Seville side had to make to with 10 men for much of the encounter. Marc Van Bommel and Santiago Ezquerro both picked up their first goals for their new club with Samuel Eto'o getting the other two.

Real also impressed on the road with a 3-0 win in the Basque country against Alaves. Ronaldo returned to form with two goals and Guti grabbed a late third. However, Celta Vigo remain in top spot after a 2-1 win over Sevilla. Getafe continue to exceed expectations and occupy second place after a 1-0 away win over Atletico Madrid, achieved despite playing the last half hour with only ten men. - Paul

Bundesliga Round-Up
Hamburg supporters have an extra reason to be cheerful after the latest round of fixtures. Not only did their team pick up three points on the pitch, they bagged 10,000 litres of beer off it. That was the reward on offer from the Bitburg brewery for the first team to beat Bayern Munich this season.

Bayern took a 100% record to the AOL Arena but the Hamburgers were also unbeaten and showed no signs of cracking on the big occasion. Inspired by summer signing Rafael Van Der Vaart they took the game to the champions and opened the scoring after only 10 minutes through a fantastic strike from the Dutchman. Hamburg grew more and more confident as the game wore on and wrapped up the points with a magnificent goal from Trochowski. A superb team move was rounded off with an emphatic finish.

Hamburg are now in second place, only three points behind Bayern. Werder Bremen moved up to third with a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen and Hertha are fourth having won 1-0 away at Koln. Like Hamburg, Schalke, who occupy fifth spot, still have an unbeaten record to defend after a 2-0 win over Hannover. - Paul

Serie A Round-Up
Champions Juventus have a perfect record of five wins from five games this season and are three points ahead of closest rival Internazionale. Patrick Vieira was again on the score sheet as the Bianconeri came from behind to win away at Parma. Inter sneeked a 1-0 win over Fiorentina thanks to an early strike from Obafemi Martins.

Livorno are the surprise package so far this season and a win over Ascoli leaves them in third place. Milan are fourth having dispatched bottom side Treviso 2-0 away. There were also wins for Lazio, Chievo, Siena, Empoli and Reggina. - Paul

French Ligue 1 Round-Up
Champions Olympique Lyonnais stretched their lead at the top of 'Le Championnat' to four points with a narrow win over Nantes at La Beaujoire. Substitute Fred got the goal ten minutes from time but Lyon are indebted to their goalkeeper Gregory Coupet for keeping out a penalty and making a string of fine saves.

Paris-Saint Germain remain in second place having ground out a goalless draw in Le Mans. Le Mans, in their first season after promotion, are proving to be no pushovers having let in only four goals in nine games. Bordeaux, Auxerre and Lille each kept up the pressure on the top two with home wins.

Marseille's revival continued with a 3-1 home win over Metz, but Monaco showed little improvement on their recent form, drawing 0-0 in the derby with Nice. It was their first game since the departure of Didier Deschamps as manager. - Paul

Real Madrid on Fred Alert
Brazilian goalscoring sensation Fred gets his first taste of Champions League football tonight as two of the favourites to win the trophy meet at Lyon's Stade de Gerland. His new club Olympique Lyonnais take on a Real Madrid side reeling from a 3-2 home defeat to Celta Vigo at the weekend.

And the Spanish outfit have every reason to be scared as they must travel to the capital of French football without their talisman Zinedine Zidane. Ronaldo and Beckham are also unlikely to play and Raul is another doubt. To make matters worse, Lyon's deadline-day signing, Fred, scored a brace in a stunning debut at the weekend to take his staggering goals per game ratio up to 45 in 41 this year! Real may have bought a bunch of Brazilians this summer, but did they miss out on the best one? - Paul

World Cup Qualifying Round-Up
France took the initiative in Group 4 with a 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. A 68th minute Thierry Henry strike was enough to separate the sides and earn France the first win in a match between any of the top four teams in the group. Switzerland and Israel secured away wins over Cyprus and the Faroes respectively.

Holland continued their good form in Group 1 with a 4-0 win against Andorra. The Czech Republic returned to second place by beating Armenia 4-1 and Finland routed Macedonia 5-1. Group 2 is set for a very interesting finish. Turkey scraped a win over already-qualified Ukraine and Greece were equally lucky to overcome nine-man Kazakhstan 2-1. Denmark are the third team contesting second place and they looked impressive in a 6-1 thrashing of Georgia.

Slovakia and Russia are neck and neck in second place behind Portugal in Group 3 after they both drew their games against Latvia and Portugal respectively. Italy remain top of Group 5 having beaten Belarus 4-1. Slovenia beat Moldova 2-1 away to join Norway in second spot after the Norwegian succumbed to Scotland.

Poland are now 5 points clear in Group 6 after a 1-0 win against Wales. The Welsh are now propping up the group as Azerbaijan gained a point from a goalless draw versus Austria. Northern Ireland beat England. Spain missed an opportunity to go top of Group 7 when they were pegged back to 1-1 against Serbia and Montenegro. Belgium thrashed San Marino 8-0 and Bosnia won 1-0 in Lithuania.

Finally, in Group 8, Sweden went top thanks to a last ditch winner against Hungary. They now contest the automatic qualification spot with Croatia, who were held by Malta. Bulgaria came from two down to beat Iceland at home. - Paul

Liverpool lift UEFA Super Cup after Cisse brace
Liverpool went behind and then needed extra time; but two goals from Djibril Cisse and one from Luis Garcia were enough to send the Super Cup to Anfield.

Rafa suggested after the game that Cisse may be leaving Liverpool to make way for Michael Owen. Watch this space. - Ren

Champions League Draw - Liverpool get Chelsea
The Chamipons League draw has placed last years semi finalists Chelsea and Liverpool in the same group. With no country protection the only English team Liverpool could have drawn was the oddly unseeded Chelsea. It looks like a tricky group also including the strong Beglian outfit Anderlecht and Real Betis of Spain.

Ironically the other semi finalists last year; AC Milan and PSV also meet in the group stage this time round.

European minnows FC Thun will be excited at the prospect of playing the likes of Arsenal and Ajax.

GROUP A
Bayern Munich
Juventus
Club Brugge
Rapid Vienna

GROUP B
Arsenal
Ajax
Sparta Prague
Thun

GROUP C
Barcelona
Panathinaikos
Werder Bremen
Udinese

GROUP D
Man Utd
Villarreal
Lille
Benfica

GROUP E
AC Milan
PSV Eindhoven
Schalke
Fenerbahce

GROUP F
Real Madrid
Lyon
Olympiakos
Rosenborg

GROUP G
Liverpool
Chelsea
Anderlecht
Real Betis

GROUP H
Inter Milan
Porto
RANGERS
Artmedia Bratislava
- Ren

FC Thun reach the Champions League group stage
The first batch of teams to progress from the knock-out stage to Champions League proper include little known Swiss side FC Thun. They produced one of the shocks of the last round dumping out Dynamo Kiev, and have follwed that up with a convincing 4-0 aggergate over Malmo.

Other interesting results tonight include: Liverpool scraping though after losing 1-0 to CSK Sofia on the night. Also the finalists of just over a year ago; Monaco were beated 3-2 by Real Betis. And Artmedia Bratislava of Slovakia follwing their win over Celtic up by knocking our Partizan Belgrade.

Rapid Vienna (Austria), Panathanikos (Greece), Rosenborg (Norway) and Udinese (Italy) have also progressed. - Ren

Football Kicks Off Again
The first major European league to get the new season underway was France's Ligue 1. The season started early to allow players the maximum possible break before next summer's World Cup.

Paris-Saint Germain are the inaugural leaders after a convincing 4-1 win over Metz. New signing Bonaventure Kalou impressed with a goal and three assists. The Parisians were soon joined on three points by Bordeaux (2-0 winners over Marseille), Nantes (2-0 v Lens), Lille, Monaco, Toulouse and champions Lyon, who started their quest for a record-breaking fifth successive title with a 2-1 win away at Le Mans.

The new season in Germany kicks off this weekend with champions Bayern Munich against Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday night (5th August). The English Premiership starts a week later (13th August) and the Spanish Primera Liga starts a fortnight after that (28th August). The Italian fixture list is yet to be confirmed after yet another summer of off the field wrangles involving administrative relegations. - Paul

Houllier Takes Lyon Hotseat
Gerard Houllier has been named as the new manager of French champions Olympique Lyonnais by club president Jean-Michel Aulas. The 57 year old Frenchman takes over from Paul Le Guen, who won the title in each of his three seasons at the club but was unable to get past the quarter finals in the Champions League.

Houllier, who left Liverpool at the end of last season and has been out of work ever since, signed an initial two-year contract. His first task will be to try and hold on to the clubs big name players, especially Mikael Essien who has been linked with a £20 million move to Chelsea. - Paul

La Liga Round-Up
The Spanish league season finished with Barcelona already having wrapped up the championship and Real Madrid already secure in second spot, although there were plenty of other issues left to sort out.

Villareal won 4-1 over Levante to cap a fine season with their first ever Champions League qualification and also send their opponents down into the second division. Manchester United reject Diego Forlan scored twice to finish as league top scorer with 25 for the season.

Real Betis take the fourth Champions League spot after a 1-1 draw away at Mallorca because city rivals Sevilla went down 2-0 at home to Malaga. Sevilla are joined in the UEFA Cup by Espanol, who won 2-0 against Athletic Bilbao.

At the bottom end of the table, Albacete and Numancia were already long gone, and it was a straight battle between Levante and Mallorca to avoid the final relegation place. Mallorca's draw with Betis proved sufficient as their rivals crumbled away at Villareal. - Paul

Serie A Round-Up
The final day of the Italian championship was one of the most exciting in recent years, even though Juventus had already wrapped up the title and Milan were safe in second place. Below them, Udinese and Sampdoria were vying for the final Champions League spot, whilst everyone in the bottom half of the table was still in danger of relegation.

There were a whole host of possible permutations and almost every match had something riding on it, usually for both teams. This could explain the high number of draws, with only three games producing positive outcomes.

At the top end of the table, Udinese drew 1-1 at home to AC Milan, a result that was good enough to secure fourth spot as Sampdoria were unable to win away at relegation threatened Bologna. That game finished goalless and meant that Sampdoria will have to make do with UEFA Cup action next season, alongside Palermo, who drew 3-3 with Lazio.

Bologna's situation is less clear cut after a dreadful second half of the season. They finish on 42 points, level with Fiorentina, who beat Brescia 3-0 to send them down, and Parma, who drew 3-3 at Lecce despite two sending offs. The three jointly occupy the final relegation spot so head-to-head results are taken into account to separate them. Fiorentina come off best on this count and are safe but Parma and Bologna still cannot be split and now face a two-legged play-off on the 14th and 18th of June to decide their fate.

Chievo and Reggina both achieved impressive away draws at Roma and Internazionale respectively (both 0-0) to secure their own safety, and Siena pulled off a dramatic late escape act of their own, beating already relegated Atalanta 2-1 thanks to an 80th minute winner from Argilli to climb clear of trouble.

In the other games, champions Juventus secured another three points with a comfortable 4-2 win over Cagliari and Cristiano Lucarelli scored his 24th goal of the season for Livorno in their 1-1 draw at Messina to clinch the top goalscorer's spot. Incredibly, the 8th and 18th placed teams were only separated by three points in the final table. - Paul

Bayern Win Fifth Double
FC Bayern Munich beat Schalke 04 2-1 in the German cup final in Berlin to clinch the fifth league and cup double in their history.

Roy Makaay opened the scoring just before the break to give the Bavarians the lead but there was still time for Schalke to draw level before the interval, Lincoln slotting home a penalty.

The game was beginning to look destined for a penalty shoot-out until Hasan Salihamidzic became the hero, scoring the winner in the 76th minute from a seemingly offside position.

Bayern had the league wrapped up well before the final day of the season as the challenge from Schalke fell away dramatically. The winning margin was 14 points in the end, with Schalke holding on to the second automatic Champions League spot. - Ed.

Another Unsatisfactory Ending
As is the trend these days, yet another major final has ended in a penalty shoot-out; the eigth time this has happened in the last 22 European Cup Finals. This time Liverpool overcame AC Milan after an entertaining game.

The first half was no contest as Rafael Benitez got his tactics horribly wrong and the Italians waltzed in to a 3-0 lead with goals from Paolo Maldini and a brace from Argentine striker Hernan Crespo. Maldini's goal from a first minute corner was the fastest ever in European Cup final history.

Liverpool came out for the second period with a new shape, having introduced Dietmar Hamann for Steve Finnan but they knew they faced a seemingly impossible task. It looked about to get even harder when Kaka beat Sami Hyypia on the edge of the box but the Brazilian cynically decided to go down rather than take the chance and Hyypia escaped unpunished.

Two minutes later, the ball was in the Milan net and the come-back was on after Gerrard placed a perfect header just inside Dida's far post. The Reds really got the bit between their teeth and soon found themselves level after an extraordinary six minute blitz.

First Smicer scored from outside the box after the referee failed to spot an offside flag in the build-up, and then Gerrard went down for a penalty as he broke clear of Gattuso. Xabi Alonso's spot kick was well saved by Dida but the Spaniard struck home the rebound.

From then on the entertainment level dropped as both teams took stock and attempted to protect what they had. Milan regained the momentum and monopolised possession for the remainder of the game. The one outstanding chance to win it came right at the end of extra time when Shevchenko followed up his own header to shoot from only three yards out only to be denied by an incredible stop from Dudek. - Paul

CSKA Spoil Sporting Party
CSKA Moscow have become the first Russian team to win a major European trophy by beating Sporting Clube of Portugal 3-1 in the UEFA Cup final.

The Russians overcame the disadvantage of having to play in front of a partisan crowd in Sporting's own Alvalade stadium and showed great character in recovering from a goal down at half time.

Sporting were much the stronger team in the first period and enjoyed the lion's share of the possession. They took the lead in the 28th minute when Rogerio curled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner. CSKA rarely looked dangerous but almost levelled on the stroke of half time when Wagner Love missed a real sitter.

That chance proved to be a sign of things to come as the Russians came out a changed team after the interval and started to get to grips with the game. Berezoutski headed in an equaliser on 57 minutes and Zhirkov slotted home a second only nine minutes later.

As Sporting pushed forward they became more and more vulnerable on the counter attack and Love finally made them pay for some sloppy defending by capitalising on a lightening break away just after CSKA had themselves had a lucky escape.

For the first time ever, a European club trophy takes up residence in Moscow and Abramovich's millions have reaped their first reward in European club football. One feels that it might not be the last. - Paul

Four match stadium ban for Inter
Internazionale have been fined £132,000 and ordered to play their next four European home games behind closed doors as a result of the disruption caused by their fans during the Champions League semi final against Milan.

Large groups of Inter 'Ultras' caused the game to be abandoned by throwing flares and other missiles onto the pitch with their team trailing 3-0 on aggregate. AC Milan progress to the semi finals where they will face PSV Eindhoven.

The Dutch side scraped through an even encounter with French champions Olympique Lyonnais. The tie could have gone either way but Lyon will lament referee Kim Milton Nielsen's decision not to award a late penalty when striker Nilmar was up-ended by the PSV 'keeper in extra-time.

The other semi final will be an all-English affair between Chelsea and Liverpool. The Londoners survived a late scare against Bayern Munich to go through 6-5 on aggregate despite losing 3-2 on the night. Liverpool produced a fine display of commitment and application away at Juventus to hold on to their slender 2-1 lead from the first leg, gaining a 0-0 draw at the Delle Alpi. - Paul

Real Halt Barca Title Charge
The match of the weekend took place in Madrid where Spain's top two came face to face in a crucial title showdown. It was an absolutely must win game for Real Madrid, who started the day 9 points behind their rivals Barcelona.

The Galacticos for once proved value for money, taking an early lead through Zinedine Zidane and increasing it shortly after through Ronaldo. However, Wanderlei Luxemburgo's team didn't have it all their own way and Samuel Eto'o pulled one back on the half hour. However, local hero Raul struck a decisive blow on the stroke of half time, restoring the two-goal advantage.

Real Madrid wrapped up the points in the 65th minute with the English pair of Beckham and Owen combining to make it 4-1. Ronaldinho's 73rd minute goal failed to spark a Catalan fightback and there's life in the title race yet. - Paul

Tragedy Mars Fourth Title Chase
Olympique Lyonnais' chase of a fourth successive Ligue 1 title was marred by the death of two supporters in a minibus crash on the way to their match with Nantes. Several other supporters are injured after the bus hit a patch of snow and collided with an oncoming vehicle.

Lyon moved a step nearer to the title with a 2-2 draw whilst rivals Marseille slipped up. In Germany, Bayern Munich also took an important step towards wrapping up the championship with a 2-1 win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Closest rivals Schalke went down 3-0 at third placed Stuttgart.

In Italy, Milan and Juventus once again matched each other's results, drawing with Brescia and Fiorentina respectively. Milan looked to be heading for three points until Pierre Wome grabbed a late equaliser, whereas Juventus had to come form behind three times thanks to Del Piero and Ibrahimovic twice. - Paul

All over in England, Spain and France?
The title races in three of Europe's major leagues seem to be all but over, with Chelsea, Barcelona and Lyon all enjoying eleven point leads in their respective leagues after the weekend's fixtures.

Chelsea demolished Crystal Palace to maintain their advantage, Barcelona earned an impressive away win at Deportivo through a Ludovic Giuly strike and Lyon triumphed in Strasbourg thanks to a goal from Sylvain Wiltord.

Thankfully, things are a bit more exciting in Italy and Germany this season. Milan and Juventus again matched each other's results and remain locked together at the top, separated only by goal difference. In Germany, Bayern regained top spot on goal difference with a 3-1 win against Hansa Rostock whilst Schalke went down 2-1 in Mainz. - Paul

Quarter Final Time
The draws have been made for the quarter finals of the major European competitions:

Champions League
Liverpool v Juventus
AC Milan v Intervazionale
Olympique Lyonnais v PSV Eindhoven
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Ties to be played on the 5th/6th and 12th/13th of April.

UEFA Cup
Austria Wien v Parma
Newcastle United v Sporting Clube
CSKA Moskva v Auxerre
Steaua Bucurest/Villareal v AZ Alkmaar
First Legs: 7th April; Second Legs: 14th April. - Ed.

UEFA CUP Last 16 Round-up
Newcastle United and AZ Alkmaar look best placed to progress after the first legs of the latest round of the UEFA Cup. Graeme Souness' team profited from Olympiakos' indiscipline as the Greek side had two players sent off and gave away a penalty. Shearer, Robert and Kluivert scored the goals in a 3-1 away win. Olympiakos replied with a penalty of their own to briefly level the scores.

AZ Alkmaar achieved an impressive 3-1 away win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine and Sporting Clube de Portugal looked equally impressive as they took a 3-0 lead against Middlesbrough at the Riverside. However, Steve McLaren's side gave themselves a fighting chance for the return leg through late goals from Job and Riggott.

Elsewhere, Auxerre won the all-French clash 1-0 at Lille, Austria Wien shared two goals with Real Zaragoza of Spain and the Partizan Belgrade - CSKA Moskow clash also finished 1-1. Sevilla against Parma finished goalless and Steaua Bucharest - Villareal fixture has been rescheduled for the 16th March after it was snowed off. - Paul

Last Gasp Juve Stun Real
Juventus recovered from a 1-0 defeat at the Bernabeu to overcome Spanish giants Real Madrid in a dramatic finale at the Delle Alpi.

It was a tense affair and remained deadlocked until the 75th minute when substitute David Trezeguet found the net. His strike took the tie into extra time and each side had a man dismissed as a penalty shoot-out beckoned.

Ronaldo and Alessio Tacchinardi saw red after an altercation on the edge of the box before Uruguayan Marcelo Zalayeta snatched a winner with four only minutes remaining.

Liverpool put in an impressive away performance to secure their spot in the last eight. Two goals from Luis Garcia and one from Milan Baros gave them a 3-1 win on the night and 6-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal again underachieved in Europe despite a spirited fight against Bayern Munich. Trailing 3-1 from the first leg, the Gunners managed a 1-0 win thanks to Thierry Henry but it wasn't enough.

At the Stade Louis II, PSV Eindhoven built upon their 1-0 lead from the first leg, scoring two more against a disappointing Monaco side. Hesselink and Beasley got the goals to make it 3-0 on aggregate. - Paul

Chelsea survive toughest test
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea team scraped through their toughest test of the season so far, beating Spanish league leaders Barcelona 5-4 over two legs.

The Blues raced into a 3-0 lead in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, only to be pegged back to 3-2 before half time after a Ronaldinho penalty and a wonderful second goal from the magical Brazilian.

That score line would have sent the Spaniards through on away goals but Chelsea snatched a highly controversial winner as Carvalho clearly impeded the Barcelona 'keeper whilst Terry headed home.

A disappointing Manchester United were clearly second best at the San Siro where they lost out to a solitary Hernan Crespo strike for the second time in two weeks against Milan.

In France, champions Olympique Lyonnais eclipsed their German counterparts Werder Bremen to record a staggering 10-2 aggregate victory. Sylvain Wiltord scored a hat-trick in the 7-2 second leg win. - Paul

Ballon D'Or for Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan and the Ukraine has finally won France Football magazine's European Footballer of the Year award, having come close several times before.

The striker, who finished top scorer in Serie A and led his club to the title, was rewarded for his remarkable consistency and ruthlessness in front of goal. Barcelona players Deco and Ronaldinho came second and third respectively; Arsenal's Thierry Henry was fourth. - Paul

Champions League Round-Up
Bayern Munich and Juventus are through in Group C after beating Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Ajax respectively. Juventus have won all five of their games 1-0.

Dynamo Kiev beat AS Roma 2-0 to put Real Madrid under pressure. The Spaniards dropped two points at home to Bayer Leverkusen and now need to win away in Rome.

AC Milan thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 to go clear at the top of Group F and Olympiakos beat Deportivo to top Group A. Internazionale drew 1-1 with Werder Bremen to stay top of Group G whilst Valencia won away at Anderlecht to keep alive their chances of making the knockout phase. - Paul

BARCA BOUNCE BACK
Barcelona have recovered from last week's defeat to trounce deadly rivals Real Madrid 3-0 at the Nou Camp.

The first 'superclasico' of the season turned out to be a distinctly one-sided affair with the Catalan giants enjoying a deserved 2-0 lead at the interval. Cameroonian international striker Samuel Eto'o scored first on the half hour and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst doubled the lead on the stroke of half-time. From then on, Barca were in control and a Ronaldinho penalty wrapped up the scoring fifteen minutes from time. Barcelona's lead over their great rivals is now seven points. - Paul

World Cup Qualifiers
There was more action on the road to Germany 2006 but not all the big guns were involved this time around.

The Czech Republic and Holland both won away from home in Group 1 whereas Romania dropped two points in Armenia.

Greece got back to winning ways in Group 2 against Kazakhstan and Turkey lost at home to the Ukraine. Denmark were held by Georgia.

Russia, Latvia and Portugal all had convincing wins in Group 3 and Israel took the points away at Cyprus in Group 4. In Group 7, Belgium lost at home to Serbia and Lithuania scraped past San Marino. Hungary overcame Malta in Group 8. - Paul

Mutu fails drugs test
Chelsea and Romania striker Adrian Mutu has reportedly failed a random drugs test. The player, whose career has been on a downward spiral over the last 12 months, has not requested a test of the 'B' sample - effectively an admission of guilt.

Rumours abound that the substance involved was cocaine although all Mutu had to say on the matter was that he took something to improve his sex life. He now awaits an FA decision which could see him banned for anything up to two years. - Paul

Weekend of World Cup shocks
Many of the traditional powers of European football struggled to assert their authority on the latest round of World Cup qualifying matches.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Portugal's failure to hold on to a two-goal lead away at Liechtenstein. Elsewhere, the Dutch also failed to hold a lead away from home and had to settle for a 2-2 draw in Macedonia.

European champions Greece again failed to live up to their status, sharing two goals with Ukraine. Italy were another big-gun to slip up, 1-0 in Slovenia. Other results went largely to form and there is another round of qualifiers in mid-week. - Paul

France choose Domenech
Former Under 21 team coach Raymond Domenech has been appointed as the new manager of the French national team.

The 52 year old won 8 caps for France as a player and previously coached at Olympique Lyonnais. He has spent several year working in the national team set-up with great success in youth football. His appointment revives the French federation's traditional tendency to favour an in-house candidate.

Laurent Blanc and Jean Tigana were also considered for the post but Glenn Hoddle was apparently overlooked. - Ed

Perez wins Real election
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has been re-elected by the club's 'socios'. The 57 year old secured another 4-year term of office after crushing his rivals with a massive 94% of the vote.

Former president Lorenzo Sanz edged into second place ahead of Arturo Baldasano. The result was a massive vote of confidence for Perez's 'Zidanes and Pavons' policy which has seen the club spend millions to gather together a collection of the world's greatest attacking stars alongside some home-grown youngsters.

However, under new manager Jose Antonio Camacho, the club are finally trying to sure up the defence having signed Argentine central defender Walter Samuel from Roma. They are also rumoured to be in the market for Arsenal's Patrick Vieira. - Paul

Porto Conquer Europe
FC Porto have won Europe's premier club trophy for the second time in their history. They emulated their 1987 triumph with a 3-0 win over AS Monaco to win the UEFA Champions League.

On the night, it was a one sided affair and Monaco rarely threatened, having lost captain Ludovic Giuly to an early injury. Youngster Carlos Alberto gave Porto the lead just before half time, and they added two more in a five minute spell in the second half. Deco and Alenichev wrapped up the scoring.

It now remains to be seen whether or not manager Jose Mourinho and star palyer Deco will be at the club next season. Mourinho, at 41, is a talented young manager, who has nothing left to achieve in Portuguese football. Speaking after the game, he indicated that he will be moving on and may be destined for Chelsea or Liverpool. - Paul

Un-Real run of results
Carlos Queiroz has paid the price for overseeing Real Madrid's worst ever run of league results. The Portuguese manager has been replaced by Benfica boss Jose Antonio Camacho, who recently led his club to a cup final victory over rivals FC Porto.

Queiroz, who only came to the club last summer in a move from Manchester United, failed to win a single trophy and managed only a fourth place finish, despite having built up a big lead in the championship. Worst of all, Real finished below rivals Barcelona and lost their last 5 games of the season, an unprecedented losing run.

Camacho, a former Spanish national team boss, briefly held the reins at Real Madrid a few years ago but quit after falling out with the former club president. - Paul

Valencia win UEFA Cup
Marseille had Fabien Barthez sent off just before half time, gifting Valencia a penalty which was confidently converted by Vicente. Valencia never looked back and Mista made it 2-0 in the 57th minute. - Ren

End of an Era at Atletico
Former Atletico Madrid president Jesus Gil has died of a stroke six days after being admitted to a hospital in Spain.

A flamboyant and charismatic character, he had a reputation for hiring and firing managers at the drop of a whistle and enjoyed the high point of his presidency when Atletico won the Spanish league and cup double in 1996.

Gil made his money in the construction industry and also had a controversial career in local and national politics. He was well-known as the Mayor of Marbella but was often embroiled in legal proceedings and allegations of corruption, spending short periods in prison. - Paul

Ajax, Valencia and Werder Celebrate
It was party time in Amsterdam, Valencia and Bremen at the weekend as the Dutch, Spanish and German championships were decided.

Ajax brushed aside NAC Breda 2-0 at the ArenA whereas Werder Bremen beat direct title rivals Bayern Munchen 3-1 away to clinch the Bundesliga. Valancia capitalised on yet another Real Madrid slip-up to win La Liga by beating Sevilla 2-0. - Paul

FC Porto v AS Monaco
Portuguese champions FC Porto will play AS Monaco in the final of the UEFA Champions League in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday 26th May 2004.

Jose Mourinho's Porto dispatched Deportivo La Coruna by a goal to nil on aggregate after two tight games and Didier Deschamps' Monaco held on to their 3-1 first leg lead to go through 5-3 on aggregate after a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. - Ed

Milan win Serie A
AC Milan wrapped up the Italian championship with a 1-0 win against their closest title rivals AS Roma.

Andreij Shevchenko scored after just one minute in front of a packed San Siro to hand his club a nine point lead at the top with only two games remaining.

The match was marred by crowd trouble as the visiting fans reacted angrily to their team's performance and began launching missiles at the players. - Ed

Porto win title
FC Porto have captured the Portuguese championship after their closest rivals Sporting Clube failed to defeat Uniao Leiria. Porto celebrated with a 1-0 win over Alverca with a goal from Bosingwa.

There is mounting speculation that Porto manager Jose Mourinho may move to Chelsea in the summer. The London club have denied contacting him with a view to replacing Claudio Ranieri. - Ed

UEFA Cup Semi Finals
Villareal face Valencia in an all spanish tie for a place in the UEFA Cup final in Goteborg, Sweden on the 19th of May. The other semi final sees Newcastle take on Marseille.

SEMI FINAL FIXTURES

22/04/04
Newcastle United v Marseille
Villareal v Valencia

06/05/04
Marseille v Newcastle United
Valencia v Villareal - Ed

Champions League Semi Finals
We are down to the last four teams in this season's Champions League after a series of shock results in the quarter-finals. Monaco will play Chelsea and Porto will play Deportivo for a place in the final in Gelsenkirchen on the 26th of May.

SEMI FINAL FIXTURES

20/04/04
AS Monaco v Chelsea
21/04/04
FC Porto v Deportivo La Coruna

04/05/04
Deportivo La Coruna v FC porto
05/05/04
Chelsea v AS Monaco - Ed

AC Milan stage amazing comeback to win Milan Derby
AC Milan have staged an amazing comeback to beat their old rivals Inter 3-2 after trailing 2-0 at half time.

In one of the most memorable Milan derbies of recent years, AC Milan have shown that they are more than worth their top of the table spot by overcoming a 2-0 half time deficit to win 3-2 at a packed San Siro stadium.

Milan who went in to the game 16 points clear of their greatest rivals had the 'home' advantage and the fans were in utter shock to see their side go in at the break two goals down.

The first Inter goal came after 15 minutes when Dejan Stankovic's swinging corner kick went directly in at the back post. Then on 40 minutes Italian midfielder Cristiano Zanetti scored his first goal of the season double the Nerazzurri's lead.

Milan needed to respond quickly, but it was Inter who had the fist real chance of the second half; Brazilian striker Adriano blazing a shot over the bar from just inside the box.

Then on 56 minutes, the Milan comeback began as striker Jon Dahl Tomasson prodded home from close range. Barely a minute later and the scores were level. Milan's Brazilian young sensation Kaka picked the ball up on the half way line and run past four Inter players before driving an unstoppable low shot from 25 yards into the back of the Inter net.

With just five minutes left, the comeback was completed as Clarence Seedorf haunted his old club after hitting an amazing 20 shot past Francesco Toldo.

Milan have now stretched their lead over second placed Roma to eight points and their Milan rivals Inter are back in fifth on 36 points.

Scott Stephens (London, 21.02.04)
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Lazio thump AC Milan in Italian Cup Final
Lazio have reached the Coppa Italia final after an amazing night at the Stadio Olimpico which saw the Rome side run out 4-0 winners over the league leaders.

Lazio took a 2-1 first leg lead in to tonight's game, but by half time, the aggregate score was 6-1 as Lazio hit the back of the net four times in the first forty five minutes.

The scoring spree began as early as the twelfth minute when the Brazilian Aparecido Rodriguez Cesar slotted past a grounded Abbiati. Just three minutes later and Lazio's lead was doubled. Cesar was again influential. crossing for Fabio Liverani who drilled his shot past the hapless Abbiati.

Lazio managed to keep up their early pace and at times it looked like it should be the Roman side, not Milan in the ascendancy in Serie A. Great link up play in the box between Bernardo Corradi and Stefano Fiore produced the third on thirty five minutes, as Corradi set up Italian counterpart with a great chest trap which Fiore duly fired home.

Just six minutes later and it was four; Fiore grabbing his second of the night with a vicious volley after great work by Massimo Oddo. The scoring finished here but Milan failed to maintain their discipline and 13 minutes after the break, Christian Brocchi was shown a red card and the Milan were down to ten men. Lazio did have a handful of really good chances of extending their lead but Abbiati made up for his dismal first half performance with an excellent string of saves.

Lazio will find out who they will meet in the final tomorrow night as Inter and Juventus lock horns at the San Siro with the score finely balanced at two goals apiece.

Scott Stephens (London, 11.02.04)
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First Blood to Lazio in Italian Cup Semi Final
Lazio have beaten AC Milan 2-1 at the San Siro in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final.

In a very tight affair, two first half goals gave Lazio a 2-0 lead only to be penned back on the stroke of half time. A goal in the very first minute, got the ball rolling for Lazio as Stefano Fiore claimed his fifth goal of the season. Then after 36 minutes, Portuguese defender, Fernando Couto claimed his first goal in two seasons to double the Rome side's advantage and establish a fairy healthy lead away from home.

However on the stroke of half time, Filippo Inzaghi struck for the home side, having been out injured for over two months.
Although the game saw both sides spurn many good chances, the scoring finished at 2-1 and Lazio take a single goal advantage to the Stadio Olimpico for next Wednesday's second leg.

Scott Stephens, London 05.02.04
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Football Mourns Feher
Benfica and Hungarian international striker Miklos Feher has collapsed and died during a Portuguese league match at Vitoria Guimaraes.

The 24 year old suffered an apparent heart attack and was rushed to hospital where doctors tried to resuscitate him, sadly without success. An autopsy failed to reveal the exact cause of death.

The tragedy struck in injury time, with Benfica having just struck a 90th minute winner and Feher himself receiving a yellow card.

The player won 25 caps for Hungary and previously played for FC Porto, Salgueiros and Sporting Braga. - Paul

UEFA Team of The Year for 2003
Uefa.com have announced today their team of the year 2003. Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry and Real Madrid's Zinedine Zidane both feature in the team for the third year in succession.

The website poll's team consists of four Real Madrid players and features European player of the year, Pavel Nedved. Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy partners Arsenal hotshot Henry upfront, whilst AC Milan's Alessandro Nesta and Paolo Maldini have both been selected as the team's central defenders. FC Porto manager Jose Mourinho has been selected as the team's coach.

UEFA Team of the Year 2003

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC)
Paulo Ferreira (FC Porto) Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid CF)
Luís Figo (Real Madrid CF), David Beckham (Real Madrid CF), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid CF), Pavel Nedved (Juventus FC)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal FC), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United FC)

Coach: José Mourinho (FC Porto)
- SCOTT STEPHENS (London, 12.01.04)

Transfer Window Opens
The European transfer window officially opened on the first of January 2004. For the next month, until the first of February, players will once again be permitted to change clubs.

It remains to be seen whether or not there will be many big money moves as the current climate of financial insecurity continues to make football club chairmen wary of opening their cheque books.

One big name player set to change clubs is Rivaldo, who will leave AC Milan on a free. River Plate's Fernando Cavenaghi is attracting interest from a host of top European clubs, and Manchester United may look to sign a defender to cover for Rio Ferdinand. - Paul

Nedved Wins Ballon D'Or
Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved has won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year Award organised by France Football magazine. His form helped Juventus win Serie A and reach the final of the Champions League and he also captained the Czech Republic team who won their Euro 2004 qualifying group.

Arsenal's Thierry Henry came second, ahead of AC Milan pair Paulo Maldini and Andrei Shevchenko. - Paul

Champions League Draw
The draw has been made for the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. The first legs will take place on the 24th/25th February and the second legs will be played on the 9th/10th March 2004.

VFB Stuttgart v Chelsea
FC Porto v Manchester United
Real Sociedad v Olympique Lyonnais
Celta Vigo v Arsenal
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
Sparta Prague v AC Milan
Deportivo La Coruna v Juventus
Lokomotiv Moskow v AS Monaco - Paul

EURO 2004 DRAW
The first game of the 2004 European Championships will see hosts Portugal take on Greece in Porto on Thursday 12th June. Holders France open their defence of the trophy with a tough match against England in Lisboa.

Group D is favourite to be tagged 'Group of Death', as it includes Germany, Holland and the Czech Republic. The full draw is:

Group A
Portugal
Greece
Spain
Russia

Group B
France
England
Switzerland
Croatia

Group C
Sweden
Bulgaria
Denmark
Italy

Group D
Czech Republic
Latvia
Germany
Netherlands - Paul

New leaders in England and Italy
Both the Premiership and Serie A have new leaders after showdowns between some of the title contenders.

In England, leaders Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw by fourth placed Fulham whilst big-spending Chelsea overcame champions Manchester United at Stamford Bridge thanks to a Frank Lampard penalty.

In Italy, Juventus were beaten 3-1 at the Delle'Alpi by Internazionale, with goals from Julio Cruz (2) and Obafemi Martins. Both Milan and Roma took advantage to go joint top thanks to wins over Modena and Lecce respectively. - Paul

Euro 2004 Draw
The draw for Euro 2004 will take place in Lisbon this Sunday November 30th. The 16 teams will be divided into four pools of seeds and one team from each pool will play in each group.

The seeds are as follows:

A: France, Portugal, Sweden, Czech Republic

B: Spain, Italy, England, Germany

C: Holland, Croatia, Denmark, Russia

D: Bulgaria, Latvia, Greece, Switzerland - Paul

Deisler Down in the Dumps
Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Sebastian Deisler will take a break from football after it was announced that he is suffering from depression.

Deisler was seen as the next superstar of German football when he made his name as a teenager at Hertha Berlin, but his development was interrupted by a year on the sidelines due to serious injury.

This latest setback comes just as he was returning to top form and on course to re-establish himself in the national team. Deisler is reportedly finding it tough to cope with the intense pressure of life in the media spotlight. - Paul

Euro 2004 Play-offs
The play-offs for the final qualification places for Euro 2004 will take place over two legs on the 15th and 19th of November.

The fixtures are:
Scotland-v-The Netherlands
Russia-v-Wales
Latvia-v-Turkey
Croatia-v-Slovenia
Spain-v-Norway

The draw for the finals will take place on Sunday the 30th of November 2003. - Paul

Award Winners
As predicted by aboutaball viewers Ruud van Nistelrooy won UEFA European Striker of the year (ahead of World Cup winner Ronaldo?!). Goalkeeper of the year was Gianluigi Buffon, Midfielder of the year Pavel Nedved and defender of the year Roberto Carlos. In addition Paolo Maldini won the Uefa president's award for his amazing 17 year football career. - james

Chamions League Draw
It's difficult to spot a weak group in what looks like strong Champions League competition this year.

Group A
1. Bayern Munich
2. Lyon
3. CELTIC
4. Anderlecht

Group B
1. ARSENAL
2. Inter Milan
3. Dynamo Kiev
4. Lokomotiv Moscow

Group C
1. Deportivo La Coruna
2. PSV Eindhoven
3. AEK Athens
4. Monaco

Group D
1. Juventus
2. Galatasaray
3. Olympiakos
4. Real Sociedad

Group E
1. MANCHESTER UNITED
2. Panathinaikos
3. RANGERS
4. VfB Stuttgart

Group F
1. Real Madrid
2. Porto
3. Marseille
4. Partizan Belgrade

Group G
1. Lazio
2. CHELSEA
3. Sparta Prague
4. Besiktas

Group H
1. AC Milan
2. Celta Vigo
3. Ajax
4. Club Brugge

- james

David Beckham Shines
In the Spanish Super Cup second leg David Beckham scored to put two disappointing performances behind him. Real won 3-0 on the night with Raul and Ronaldo also scoring. The scroed over both legs was 4-2 Real. More - james

Champions League Qualifiers
After a season trying to get into the Champions League Newcastle now find themselves out of it after a devestating defeat to Partizan on Penulties! The Old Firm clubs both made it through, and the other esult of note was that Dortmund were knocked out by Brugge - james

European Football Awards
The Results will be on the site on Thursday...Who will win the European Football awards?

Best goalkeeper:
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC)
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF)
Francesco Toldo (Internazionale FC)

Best defender:
Cristian Chivu (AFC Ajax)
Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)
Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan)
Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid CF)
Lilian Thuram (Juventus FC)

Best midfielder:
Edgar Davids (Juventus FC)
Claude Makelele (Real Madrid CF)
Pavel Nedved (Juventus FC)
Paul Scholes (Manchester United FC)
Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid CF)

Best forward:
Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid CF)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)
Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United FC)
Christian Vieri (Internazionale FC)
- James

40th anniversary of the German Bundesliga
The German League is 40 Years old, find out more about it on aboutaball! Check out the best team in the history of the german league here all the league winners here - James

Beckham off as Real Madrid falter
Real Madrid coach Carlos Queiroz subbed the England star on only 55 minutes as Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 Spanish super cup 1st leg defeat to Real Mallorca. However whilst Beckham was on he set up the only Madrid goal of the game which was converted by Luis Figo BBC - James