Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Should the cup-tied rule be abolished in the Champions League?
How AC Milan were crying out for the guile of Antonio Cassano or the tough tackling of Mark Van Bommel (who could have replaced Gennaro Gattuso before he lost his head) in Tuesday’s 1-0 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League last 16 first leg.
Both were ineligible having played in the competition for Sampdoria and Bayern Munich earlier in the season.
But if Fernando Torres can spend half a league season with Liverpool and half with Chelsea, why is it so different for cup competitions?
What extra benefit would Milan have by fielding players who played in a totally separate part of the tournament months ago with someone else?
Van Gaal era starts with a whimper
Louis van Gaal came to Bayern Munich because the Bavarians were looking for a “soccer teacher“, someone who would rid the club of former coach Juergen Klinsmann’s experiments — the innovative training methods, the meditation sessions and the Buddha statues – and bring the club back to basics.
So far so good. By the time Van Gaal arrived in July, Bayern had already signed strikers Ivica Olic, Mario Gomez and defensive midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk.
