Richard Lewington

The first legs of the quarter-finals saw 3 of 4 matches end with large advantages being established. The fixture that all the attention will be focused on this week will be the second leg match between Manchester United FC and Chelsea FC. United played a perfect road game and took an important away goal and […]

I was looking forward to an exciting Champions League tie between perennials AC Milan and newcomers Tottenham Hotspur. The match did deliver excitement but was marred by the mindless actions of both Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso and Mathieu Flamini. UEFA is already investigating the incidents involving Gattuso and Tottenham coach Joe Jordan. On two occassions […]

Let me qualify what I am about to say by stating that I love football and its potential to thrill, excite, inspire and unite us. However, in recent times football has become harder to love. You go to see your team play, and you have to sit there listening to the screaming swearing of thousands […]

Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi captured the inaugural Fifa Ballon d'Or award. This is the first time this award has been presented as the Ballon d'Or (former European Footballer of the Year award) and the FIFA World Player of the Year award have been merged. Messi beat out fellow Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andres […]

WOW ! Some great match-ups including a repeat of last season's final with Inter Milan facing Bayern Munich. The match-up that will likely garner more press is the Arsenal v Barcelona. The two clubs play similar styles though Barcelona is still the better side for my money. It's not impossible to think Arsenal could pull […]

Congratulations to FC København for becoming the first Danish club through to the last 16 in the UEFA Champions League era. This goes down as one of their biggest successes in European club competition since they reached the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup (1991/92) prior to their merger. Ah yes, the merger. Many don't […]

Group D has an easy-to-predict first place but the rest of the group is wide open. FC Barcelona are a class above the teams they have been drawn in to Group C with, so complacency is going to be their biggest enemy. The real battle is going to be the home-and-away fixtures between FC Kobenhavn, […]

Group C contains annual challengers Manchester United, a Valencia team facing life post-David Villa, a Rangers side facing transition and newcomers Bursaspor who won the Turkish League for the first time in their history. Manchester United FC Key Signing: Javier Hernández Balcázar (commonly known as "Chicharito"). The 22 year-old reminds me a little of Michael […]

Group B features clubs with varying levels of experience ranging from perennials Olympique Lyonnais to debutants Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC. This group feels a little more predictable than Group A but the battle at the top could get quite interesting. Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC Key Signing: Salim Toama. Toama rejoined Hapoel on a two-year contract following spells […]

Debutants Tottenham Hotspur and FC Twente were drawn into a group with the reigning champs, FC Internazionale and a side with significant experience – Werder Bremen. This has the makings of a group of death and so it is no surprise that the big story in the group will be how the managers perform. Each […]

I think I am one of the few people in the blog/media realm that seems to enjoy the Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup). I've always looked at it as a great way to get more cultured in European football and see some of the up and coming stars before the big clubs swoop in for […]

Hello again, it's been a long time since I've posted here. Life had taken me in some different directions and I had settled into an early retirement from football punditry. However, as the cliche goes, old habits are hard to break so I am back again for another Champions League and Europa League season. It's […]

The draw for the quarter-final matches was held Friday morning at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. As expected there are some big talking points, not the least being Thierry Henry's return to face Arsenal. These clubs last faced off in the 2005-06 final when Henry was captain of Arsenal. Another matchup with a rich history […]

One of the least talked about ties in the Round of 16, Bordeaux’s match-up with Olympiacos, could turn out to be one of the most important in shaping the face of the Champions League as well as French football. Lyon’s ouster of Real Madrid last week combined with a potential advancement by Les Girondins would […]

The Round of 32 produced a few dramatic results including a thrilling two-leg sweep of Roma by Panathinaikos. The Greek club won both legs by identical 3-2 scores and should be full of confidence for their matches against Standard Liège. A quick look ahead to the Round of 16. Depsite their domestic foibles, I do […]