Juergen Klinsmann, who has turned German soccer upside down the last four years with a dynamic and modern approach to the game, has once again managed to silence the domestic naysayers, at least for the time being.

Bayern’s 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Lisbon put an abrupt halt to the media speculation that Klinsmann’s job was on the line after Bayern lost three of their first four Bundesliga matches since the start of the second half of the season in January.

Never mind that Bayern opened 2009 with an awesome performance in destroying VfB Stuttgart 5-1 in a German Cup match, those losses (in which Bayern played well) combined with one truly dreadful effort last week, a 2-1 defeat at home against Cologne, suddenly had the poets in the press box writing Klinsmann’s obituary. (more…)

Join vlogmeister Owen Wyatt as he takes the plunge and asks John Arne Riise whether he’s still a better player than Andrea Dossena, the man who replaced him at Anfield.

And talking of the Premier League, Arsene Wenger thinks Liverpool’s title hopes are still alive, and that none of the top teams are playing to their full potential. Dare to disagree with Wenger? Let us know in the comments, or record your own video rant and send us a link. If we like it, we’ll embed it here.

Rafa Benitez celebrated a famous victory over his hometown club when Liverpool beat Real Madrid 1-0 in their Champions League last 16, first leg on Wednesday.He outfoxed his counterpart Juande Ramos with an astute tactical display, but anyone linking the Spaniard with a move to the Bernabeu in the near future would be mistaken.

Real Madrid are in limbo. Former president Ramon Calderon sacked Bernd Schuster in December and installed Ramos on a contract to the end of the campaign, and then was forced to resign in disgrace after a vote-rigging scandal at a club general assembly was exposed.

The current president Vicente Boluda, like Ramos, is only in the post temporarily until a new presidential election is held, which is likely to be in June or July.

Until then, decisions over the coach and the buying and selling of players are on hold. Sports director Predrag Mijatovic, a close ally of Calderon’s, is widely considered a lame duck and likely to be dropped quickly when a new president arrives.

Once the date for the election is officially announced, candidates will throw their hats into the ring, and promise to land players and coaches who will appeal to Real Madrid’s demanding ‘socios’ - the 85,000 or so club members.

The candidate with the most appealing package, and mastery of the local media, will win. Benitez could align himself with a candidate, but it is a lottery.

The man touted as the most likely to win at present is former president Florentino Perez, who has yet to declare any interest. He has been linked with Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger in the local media.

Benitez has the right credentials in terms of background and with his record in Europe. At present he is on course to lead Liverpool into their fourth Champions League quarter-final in five years. Nine-times winners Real have not passed the first knockout round since 2004.

But Benitez’s conservative approach would not appeal to Real Madrid fans who demand attacking football and entertainment as well as silverware. Just ask Fabio Capello who was sacked in 2007 after delivering the Primera Liga title.

Benitez is hardly a vote-winner for an election.

PHOTO: Liverpool’s coach Rafael Benitez gestures during their Champions League victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Feb. 25, 2009. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

There’s still a long way to go to the final in Rome but from what we saw over the first legs of the opening knock-out round of the Champions League a lot of people will be expecting another all-English affair at the Olympic Stadium.

If you take Mark’s dad as an authority, and I’m sure he knows as much as anyone, serie A sides are unlikely still to be challenging but is there anyone else capable of preventing another Premier League tour match?

Manchester United are actually the most precariously placed of the four English sides. A goalless draw away from home is not a great result, as United will doubtless remember from their trip to the Bernabeu in 2000.

Arsenal and Chelsea had better results at home to Italian sides, winning their home legs 1-0 against, respectively, Roma and Juventus, while Liverpool nicked a great result, 1-0 away to Real Madrid thanks to a late Yossi Benayoun header.

Barcelona should probably go through after salvaging a 1-1 draw away to Lyon but their performance in France will have given rise to more doubts from their fans.

Have Pep Guardiola’s team peaked too early?

Of the rest, Bayern Munich hammered out a reminder of their European glory days by winning 5-0 at Sporting and I guess the Bavarians can’t be discounted but I don’t think any of the other teams, from Panathinaikos to Villarreal, Atletico and Porto, would provide too many problems for United and co.

Anything’s possible, but I’d expect all four English teams to make it through to the quarter-finals and from there, who knows?

But let me know if you think I’m wrong. My predictions usually are…

Kevin Fylan, London

PHOTO: Liverpool’s Yossi Benayoun celebrates his goal during their Champions League win over  Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, Feb. 25, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

My dad was a sports journalist too so he has seen a fair few matches in his time.

After Inter Milan’s 0-0 Champions League draw with holders Manchester United at the San Siro, he sent me a very abrupt text message.

“If Inter are the best team in Serie A then the rest must be rubbish!”

(He didn’t actually use the word rubbish, I’ll let you guess the real word he used.)

Does he have a point? Jose Mourinho’s side were played off their own park by United in the first half. The Italian champions, nine points clear this term as they seek a fourth straight scudetto, continually wasted possession in the final third.

Mourinho hailed Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s performance (even though I thought he was average), saying: “I think it’s right to talk about Ibrahimovic, he had a wonderful game and let’s remember that playing against Manchester United isn’t like playing against Bologna.”

Isn’t that exactly the point? Inter have little competition in Italy at the moment and are again running away with Serie A without playing especially well this season.

They also have a big chip on their shoulder about the European Cup having only won it in 1964 and 1965. It makes them get unduly nervous. They were well beaten by Liverpool at this first knockout round stage last season and struggled through this term’s group stages.

AC Milan were easily beaten by Arsenal last season and the Gunners, despite their troubles in the Premier League, should have beaten Roma by more than 1-0 on Tuesday.

Can Serie A and Inter recover? An away goal at Old Trafford on March 11 would help…

PHOTO: Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic (R) challenges Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United during their Champions League match at the San Siro, Feb. 24, 2009. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Back in December, when the draw for the first knock-out round of the Champions League was made, Liverpool could be forgiven for feeling pretty pleased with the prospect of renewing their acquaintance with Real Madrid. How different things look now.

Back then, Liverpool were top of the Premier League, six points ahead of a Manchester United side facing a fixture pile-up and struggling for form. Real Madrid, in apparent disarray after sacking coach Bernd Schuster, were 12 points behind Barcelona, having just lost 2-0 to their arch-rivals.

Now, Liverpool have all but conceded the title to United, while Real Madrid, inspired by Juande Ramos, have won nine league games in a row to give Barcelona plenty to think about. True, Real remain seven points behind Barca, exactly the same margin by which Liverpool trail United, but Ramos’s side will go into the tie bristling with confidence, while their opponents fight just to keep their season alive.

There are at least a couple of other uncomfortable facts for Liverpool to consider as they prepare for a first European Cup meeting with Real since the final in Paris in 1981.

Firstly, coach Rafa Benitez will know that Fernando Torres has a terrible record against Real Madrid. As an Atletico player, Torres could be relied upon to score against Barcelona and to come up short against Real. There was no real explanation for it. That’s just the way it was.

Secondly, it will not have escaped Liverpool’s notice that Raul has gradually played his way back into the sort of form that convinced Sir Alex Ferguson that he was the world’s best player.

Raul is two goals short of Gerd Mueller’s record of total European goals and he has that guile around the box English defences hate. Just ask Ferguson.

Liverpool’s faith will be pinned on Steven Gerrard, who has at least been passed fit enough for a place in the squad. A couple of inspirational performances from him and who knows? But without him, it’s hard to see Liverpool surviving to the last eight. And not many people were talking like that back in December.

PHOTO: Real Madrid’s Raul celebrates a goal during their Spanish First Division soccer match against Real Betis at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid February 21, 2009. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Sir Alex Ferguson wrote off Chelsea’s title hopes in the middle of last week and what the Scot was charitably calling a two-horse race was down to one on Sunday, as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City.

Strange things happen in football — look to the Spanish League, where Real Madrid suddenly look like giving Barcelona a run for their money – but surely nothing will stop Manchester United now.

So I think we can legitimately look beyond the Premier League and ahead to the prize Ferguson really wants this season.

Ferguson has often spoken of the frustration he felt that the great team that won the Champions League in 1999 did not go on and really dominate Europe.

That surprising defeat by Real Madrid in 2000 ended their reign as champions and set the tone for the next few years, as United would qualify for the knock-out rounds with some style only to come unstuck against often inferior teams.

One of those was Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto, who stunned United with a last-minute away goal from Costinha and went on to win the competition.

Mourinho is now in charge of Inter Milan, United’s opponents in the first knock-out round on Tuesday, and the presence of the Portuguese makes this a more treacherous tie for United than might otherwise have been the case.

Win this one, and I wouldn’t bet on anyone depriving United of a second successive Champions League title, not even Barcelona or Real Madrid.

Can Mourinho do it again against Ferguson? If he does, he would put himself right at the front of the queue to be the next United boss … should his ambitions lie in that direction.

PHOTO (TOP): Inter Milan’s coach Jose Mourinho gestures during their Italian Serie A match against Torino at the San Siro in Milan, Feb. 1, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

PHOTO (BOTTOM): Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Blackburn Rovers during their Premier League match at Old Trafford, Feb. 21, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Ryan Giggs has probably never received the recognition he deserves for his contribution to Manchester United’s success over the last 15 years.

No other player has collected the full set of medals for all the silverware which has filled the Old Trafford trophy cabinet over that time. Yet several, including Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Cristiano Ronaldo, have received the major individual awards which have eluded the man who has played more games for United than anyone else.

Giggs started in the first team as a 17-year-old winger famously likened by his manager Alex Ferguson to a “spaniel chasing a slip of paper in the wind”. Ferguson recently described Giggs as the ultimate professional whose burning desire to continue playing at the highest level at the age of 35 should make him a role model for all aspiring footballers.

Giggs has unsurprisingly lost the raw pace which, combined with his skills, used to leave defenders with what his manager called “twisted blood”. But he more than compensates now with a vast experience which allows him to play in a variety of positions.

Ferguson played Giggs as a holding central midfielder in the recent Premier League win over Chelsea and he was used as a striker in Sunday’s FA Cup victory over Derby County. Typically, the Welshman gave a masterclass of passing and clever touches which created three goals and prompted more calls for him to be named England’s Footballer of the Year.

From exuberant spaniel to top dog. That would be a fitting reward for one of British football’s most popular and enduring players.

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs stretches during a training session at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow May 20, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Twice UEFA Cup winners Tottenham Hotspur are most likely heading out of the competition after a 2-0 first-leg defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk in the first knockout round on Thursday.

The fact they fielded a ‘B’ team was not surprising. Manager Harry Redknapp had already stated several times that Premier League survival and the League Cup were his priorities. After the game Redknapp said: “I had a 17-year-old playing tonight and I will probably have four playing next week.”
 
The reason they will play with an under-strength team in the return leg next Thursday is that it comes three days after a crunch league match at Hull City and three days before their League Cup final against Manchester United.

Spurs have already lost to the Old Trafford side in the FA Cup fourth round after selecting a weakened team so it will be a welcome change for their fans that the starting lineup for the Wembley final will be the strongest they can muster.
 
The irony is that it was their surprise victory over Chelsea in last year’s League Cup final that got Spurs into the UEFA Cup in the first place. The delight that the supporters took in qualifying for a European campaign has been soured by the fact that it was not a priority to try to win the competition.

Fans spent their hard-earned money stumping up for tickets for the group stage matches only to find that the competition has almost turned into an irrelevance.
 
Of course, if Spurs were not struggling near the foot of the Premier League, cups would be more important but it is a sad indictment of the UEFA Cup’s standing that a team with a proud European history have had to relegate the competition to an irritant.

There will be a 48-team group stage in the competition next season when it is renamed the Europa League. I doubt Harry will be relishing the prospect.

For more blogs on other sports than soccer, check out http://blogs.reuters.com/sport

PHOTO: Shakhtar Donetsk’s Yevgen Seleznov scores against Tottenham Hotspur during their UEFA Cup match in Ukraine. Feb 19, 2009. REUTERS/Valery Belokryl

Interim Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink is adamant that he will be leaving at the end of the season to concentrate on the Russia job.

Chelsea fans who had been hoping the Dutchman would decide to stay must now start contemplating a fourth manager in two years.

Frank Rijkaard is unemployed and the style of football his Barcelona side managed when winning the Champions League in 2006 would definitely go down well at the Bridge, especially after some dour displays in recent times.

On the downside, the Dutchman had a little run in with Chelsea when they met Barca in Europe a few years back while his agent has said he is enjoying a break from the game.

Roberto Mancini also has great pedigree and would seem available having been sacked by Inter Milan at the end of last season despite leading them to a third straight scudetto. (more…)