Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Wednesday

A fine Wednesday to you all, and a few statistics to begin with. Attendance at the Nou Camp: 95,486. Estimated crowd noise (in decibels): 121.8. Estimated noise of a referee’s whistle (in decibels): 121.8.

The operative word above is estimated, because of course we have no idea, but a quick dig around on the internet shows some debate about whether Robin van Persie could have heard Massimo Busacca’s whistle despite the defeaning noise at the Nou Camp.

Sending-off or no sending-off, here’s another statistic for you from the Champions League thriller. Completed passes: Barcelona – 738 ; Arsenal – 199. The Londoners did mighty well to hang in there and can be proud of their efforts, but the Catalan team’s superiority told in the end. Few teams could touch them in that mood.

Do you think 11 against 11 would have seen Arsenal through? Or was the red card just a mere sideshow?

In Tuesday’s other action, Shakhtar Donetsk eased past AS Roma 3-0 to book their quarter-final place to become the first Ukrainian side to reach the last eight since Dynamo Kiev in 1999.

So now all eyes will be on another north London team hoping to reach the quarters. Tottenham Hotspur take a one-goal advantage into their clash with AC Milan at White Hart Lane.

Schalke 04, whose manager Felix Magath could leave at the end of the season according to German media, host La Liga side Valencia after former Real Madrid striker Raul salvaged a 1-1 draw for the Bundesliga club in the first leg in Spain.

Soccer Break Tuesday

After Chelsea’s vintage performance in a 3-1 win at Blackpool, Tuesday’s edition will start with a look at Fernando Torres.

Poor old Torres. He’s undoubtedly a classy player, but one who seems to be feeling the burden of expectation that has fallen on him after his British transfer record fee of £50 million in January.

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway said before the match he didn’t think Torres was worth the money. What do you think? And how about Chelsea’s title chances? Win their game in hand and the Londoners would sit six points behind leaders Manchester United.

Without any further ado, there is a game involving Barcelona and Arsenal later on Tuesday. Champions League, last 16, second leg. Club football does not get any bigger than this.

The first leg was a cracker won 2-1 by Arsenal, and there’s some added spice to the second leg as the Catalan giants are upset with the Gunners about the signing of one of their young talents.

Also in Champions League action on Tuesday are Italy’s AS Roma and Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk. Read our preview here.

We’ll leave you with two contrasting posts. In bed with Maradona argues for the death of English football. Dirty tackle doesn’t argue the contrary, but I think you’ll agree the sense of humour shown here by the chairman of English Championship club Middlesbrough is commendable and that there is a lot of spirit still to be found in the English game.

Can Shakhtar Donetsk gatecrash western Europe’s party?

Shakhtar Donetsk’s impressive 3-2 win at AS Roma in their Champions League last 16, first leg match was perhaps overshadowed by Arsenal’s unlikely comeback against Barcelona on the same night, but it will have nonetheless reverberated around Europe.

It would be audacious to expect Shakhtar to appear in the final at Wembley in May, but the Ukrainian champions appear to have one foot in the last eight after a textbook display of counter-attacking football at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

It came after equally inspired performances in the group phase of the competition, where they finished top of their pool ahead of Arsenal to reach the knockout stage for the first time.

Shakhtar’s rise from relative obscurity started in 1996 when wealthy Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov became the club’s president, but they had to wait until 2002 to lift their first league title.

Years of investment and team-building quickly began to pay dividends as Shakhtar dismantled traditional rivals Dynamo Kiev as the country’s flag carrier in Europe, winning another three league titles in just four seasons before they captured the UEFA Cup in 2009.

Having won their fifth league title last season, Shakhtar look assured of adding a sixth as they enjoy the cushion of a whopping 12-point lead over Dynamo at the winter break, while breaking into Europe’s elite on a long-term basis is also a realistic possibility.

Unlike most eastern European clubs, Shakhtar are not forced to sell their most talented players to stay afloat and building the five-star Donbass Arena, which opened in 2009, epitomised their financial muscle and the ability to compete with more familiar Champions League names.

Are AC Milan now Serie A favourites?

As the dust settles after the end of the transfer window, Italian soccer fans are gradually coming to terms with a possible shift in power at the top.

No one is outwardly saying it, but whispers and hints abound. AC Milan may finally have a squad capable off wrestling the title off Inter Milan after five long years.

Owner Silvio Berlusconi decided to loosen the purse strings and recruiting Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho has seriously spiced up Milan’s front line, at a time when Inter decided not to invest at all and rely on last term’s treble winners minus Mario Balotelli.

It is easy to see former Inter man Ibra fitting straight into Milan’s system in the middle of a front three also containing Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato. I reckon Robinho has been bought from Manchester City to be a reserve for either Ronaldinho or Pato, who’ve had their injury problems of late.

Besides Robinho’s troubles at City, the only downside to Milan’s transfer business which I can see is that the decision to let strikers Marco Borriello and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar leave for AS Roma and Schalke means there is only 37-year-old Filippo Inzaghi remaining as a substitute target man in case anything happens to Ibrahimovic. 

Inter are probably in a similar situation though with only Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito and Goran Pandev recognised as established forwards in their squad and if they all start then what options are there for the bench?

Should Totti be allowed to make World Cup comeback?

Italy coach Marcello Lippi says we won’t know until next week whether Francesco Totti will come out of international retirement at the World Cup.

It’s unclear if the wait is because Totti has not decided yet, Lippi has not made up his mind or they are just building the tension ready for the announcement of the 30-man preliminary squad on May 11.

The AS Roma striker, 33, quit the Azzurri after their 2006 World Cup triumph but has recently hinted he would be interested in going to South Africa in June if he was fully fit.

Injuries have dogged him for the past few years but he is looking sharper now than he has for a while in a title-chasing Roma side. Totti never excelled for Italy but he offers a creativity the squad is now sorely lacking.

The big question in Italy though is whether Lippi should allow him to waltz back into the team or the squad having not contributed to qualification and given renewed controversy over his on-field behaviour.

If Totti is called up, the striker that misses out on selection will be feel very hard done by. Giampaolo Pazzini and Fabio Quagliarella helped during qualifying and even though World Cup hopeful Luca Toni has not featured for Italy of late, he endured a tortuous Euro 2008 for the Azzurri colours while Totti was sunning himself on a beach.

Is there a way to stop end-of-season farces?

AS Roma are absolutely livid after Inter Milan regained the lead in Serie A with a 2-0 win at Lazio, where the home fans cheered the goals as much as the away supporters.

Lazio fans hate Roma so much that many of them wanted their own side to lose on Sunday as it meant their bitter city rivals were knocked off top spot. This was despite the fact Lazio are not clear of relegation yet.

“If I was Inter I would be ashamed of winning like that,” Roma president Rosella Sensi told reporters, despite Lazio putting up a fight in the first half.

Liverpool fans had a similar dilemma when losing to Chelsea on Sunday. Defeat meant their Champions League dreams were over but at least hated rivals Manchester United stayed behind Chelsea in the title race with one game to go.

But is there any way of stopping situations like these and haven’t they happened for decades?

In Lazio’s case, it might have made a difference if their game had been scheduled at the same time as Atalanta v Bologna because then Lazio’s Serie A fate would have been even more insecure.

Is Serie A title race exciting for the wrong reasons?

It’s the most exciting Serie A title race in years with Inter Milan, AC Milan and AS Roma all in the running with just nine games remaining. Just like most other European leagues, it could all go to the last day.

Inter ran away with the league in the last three years and Italians moaned about about the lack of competition.

Now there is suddenly a proper fight for the scudetto but the new complaint is that the quality has dropped off and that’s why the top three are falling over each other not to win it.

Inter drew 1-1 with Palermo at the weekend, the sixth time they’ve failed to win in seven league outings, but Milan wasted the chance to go top for the first time this season with a 1-1 draw at home to Napoli. Roma were being held 2-2 by lowly Udinese before prevailing 4-2.

Milan fans say Ronaldinho, who turned 30 at the weekend, is on fire but to many eyes he is still well below the form he managed at Barcelona.

There’s no doubt Serie A has slipped well behind Spain’s La Liga and the Premier League in recent times but Inter’s win over Chelsea in the Champions League last week had led to suggestions the Italian game was not as far back as had been thought.

If Inter, whose nine-point lead from mid-February has been whittled down to one, fail to beat bottom side Livorno at home on Wednesday the Italian football purists will be shaking their heads again.

Lippi unmoved by Totti’s come-get-me hints

While everyone at AS Roma would probably do the Birdie song standing on their heads if Francesco Totti asked, the Italian capital’s golden boy learned his charms have limits this week.

The striker has been hinting for some time he’d like to come out of international retirement, having quit Italy after being part of Lippi’s 2006 World Cup-winning team.

The most recent come-get-me call was last month, when he said he would “think twice” about returning if Marcello Lippi picked up the phone.

But Lippi is either not getting the signals or he’s turning a deaf ear.

“Francesco is an extraordinary lad and player, but he’s made his decision and I’m not going back on it,” Lippi told reporters at the Azzurri’s training camp for Wednesday’s friendly in Switzerland.

There are two ways the Roma captain can interpret this. Either Lippi wants him back but would like the player to explicitly say he has made a U-turn, so it doesn’t seem like the boss is coming cap in hand for help after Italy’s dreadful Confederations Cup showing.

Or Lippi has no place in his plans for a gifted-yet-injury prone 32-year-old and Totti’s retirement is a good way to sidestep the issue. After all, Lippi already has plenty of people on the wrong side of their prime — what he needs are more players whose best days are in front of them.

Vlog on the pitch – Who are Romans supporting in the Champions League final?

The Champions League final is almost upon us and the views of the Roman locals are quite interesting.

As Paul Virgo explains above, AS Roma fans are rooting for Barcelona while Lazio supporters want Manchester United to win.

The Stadio Olimpico is eerily quiet but it will soon be buzzing on Wednesday when the hordes of fans descend on the venue for what many are calling a ‘dream final’.

Even Mourinho can’t halt Serie A decline as England dominates

The sight of Serie A sides flopping in the Champions League has become a familiar one and although the three teams eliminated this week were a little unlucky, a mental block against English opposition is developing.

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, who won the trophy with Porto in 2004, was hired in June largely to boost their hopes of challenging Europe’s elite after years of failure.

However, his confident nature and man-management skills can only go so far and he acknowledged that the Italians need something extra if they are to really threaten the continent’s best teams.

The former Chelsea boss talked of his side lacking the necessary “intensity” after being eliminated in the last 16 by holders Manchester United on Wednesday following a 2-0 defeat.

“We need something more to win this competition, but I will talk about this with the club. I will open my heart,” the Portuguese told reporters.

United manager Alex Ferguson was scathing about his side’s first-half performance, but the fact they dispatched the strongest team in Italy with plenty to spare speaks volumes of the widening gulf in class.