There will be a Spanish team in a European final, but it is not the team that many expected. Atlético Madrid completed their strange and wonderful trip to the Europa League final with an extra time goal by Diego Forlán against Liverpool. As per usual, Atlético did not win the second leg of their Europa […]

The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff. The Barcelona anthem, "Cant del Barça," blared through the loudspeakers as the Culés did not know whether to clap off their Blaugrana heroes or vehemently whistle at the unwanted visitors from northern Italy. This sense of confusion permeated throughout the […]

Dear Special One, Or, is it Mr. Special? Excuse my error in salutation, if in fact I committed one. I wish to take a fleeting moment to put pen to paper and congratulate you on your recent 0-1 loss to current world "dominators" Barcelona FC. I've in fact never seen such an emphatic "jump for joy" […]

La Liga heads down the home stretch with five matches remaining, and Jornada 34 is littered with matches between the top and the bottom of the table. FC Barcelona hosts Xerez at the Camp Nou in the early Saturday kickoff, and both teams are running opposite of their position in the standings. Despite propping the […]

In my previous posts, I discussed Arsenal and Spurs and so now we will turn our attention to the Anfield outfit that has been on a downward spiral this season. Below are my top five transfer/ownership/managerial suggestions for Liverpool heading into the summer transfer window. Please add yours in the comments section! 5. Find Another […]

Sevilla failed to show up against a desperate Real Valladolid side. Mallorca could only muster a draw against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda. Athletic Bilbao knew that a win against Valencia on Thursday would ascend them to within one point of Mallorca for the final Champions League spot. Sure, Athletic has not won away from […]

Fox Soccer Channel broadcasts Champions League in the United States. Their presentation's main studio analysts, Warren Barton and Bobby McMahon, joined me on Tuesday to discuss their show; specifically, their preparation, the show's level of analysis, the choices made in presenting new players and teams to an audience, and the effect of losing the competition's […]

Throughout Barcelona's two-year run of groundbreaking excellence, Josep Guardiola i Sala role as a tactician tended to be undervalued. He reinstituted the "Total Football" concept that Johan Cruyff, Guardiola's former manager at FC Barcelona, instilled when he was a player and a manager at the club, and he changed the culture inside the dressing room. […]

Real Madrid and Barcelona's matches in La Liga this season have almost had the feeling of high-level training sessions. A few surprises sprinkled throughout, but the inevitability of the best team in the world and the most expensive team in the world deciding the championship arrives on Saturday night. Barcelona will come off a heavenly […]

In the coming days there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth about the fact that the Premier League, for the first time in seven years, has no teams in the semi-final of the Champions League. Boo Hoo. Does anyone outside of the media really care? There’s a staggering degree of hubris amongst the […]

Manchester United has gone crashing out of Champions League, having succumb to the left foot of Arjen Robben. On this episode of the EPL Talk podcast, I am joined by Laurence McKenna for our mid-week review show, talking about United's capitulation and Arsenals ouster at the boots of Lionel Messi. That, and a preview of […]

I've never been a big fan of the away goals rule because it seems like an odd rule that exists only as a cruel and unusual punishment to knock a losing team out of a cup tournament. But the match between Manchester United and Bayern Munich was a perfect example of how well it can […]

Serie A's lone representative in the Champions League advanced to the semi-finals with a 2-0 aggregate win over a feisty CSKA Moscow club. Their reward: facing probably the best team in the world, a Barcelona club that obliterated Arsenal yesterday at Camp Nou. Inter did what it needed to do to advance in the tournament – […]

After the Tuesday night defeat in the Champions League at the hands of Lionel Messi and a sublime performance from Barcelona, Arsenal supporters are at a crossroads and have an important decision to make. Do they want beautiful football or do they want to win trophies? It's as simple as that. If they want to […]

During the last round of Champions League action, Fox Soccer Channel's Bobby McMahon joined me to break down Chelsea's pivotal match at Stamford Bridge against Internazionale. Today, the analyst was kind enough to join us again to engage in the same detailed discussion of Manchester United's second leg of their quarterfinal match-up with Bayern Munich.