It didn't send boots aquaking in Catalunya, but it is a team to respect based on their precedent. If there is one demon they will have to overcome in order to get to that historic treble, they will have to do so against a side that they have never beaten. Never Beaten Bayern In four […]

Where does this idea of a European Super League keep coming from? Scratch that, WE know where the idea comes from, The European Club Association, the collective of 135 clubs dotted around Europe, keeps trying to push for this dreadful idea to come into fruition. I can't think of anything I'd rather watch less than […]

The question I am posing is looking purely at what the UEFA Cup means to clubs from the English Premier League. Judging by recent participants and how they have fared, it appears to feature very low on most Premiership clubs’ list of priorities. Before the profile of the European Cup was sufficiently raised and rebranded […]

Three people have been killed and at least one more injured after a taxi blew up in St Petersburg. A spokesman for Russia's emergencies ministry told the BBC that the taxi exploded during rush-hour just outside the Udelnaya underground station in the north of St Petersburg. That station is not far from Zenit's training ground […]

In what has to be considered a poor decision, the UEFA Appeals Body has reduced the initial three-match stadium closure to a two-match behind closed doors sentence, with one match deferred for two years. Consequently, Atlético must play their next home fixture in the Champions League, against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday November 26th, without any […]

It's a pretty safe bet Madrid's Vincente Calderon Stadium will be at capacity today when Liverpool visits for its Champions League Group D match against Atletico Madrid. Shame. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and UEFA will never get a second chance to make its first major stance against racism […]

I had a great conversation with Jonathan Starling of the Third Half podcast last week. We discussed the upcoming UEFA Cup group stage, UEFA's stance on debt-laden clubs, the situation at Ajax and many other topics. I've posted the Champions League Talk segment of the show here as a separate podcast file but if you'd […]

Joost, the online video site that was launched by the creators of Skype, has changed its platform from peer-to-peer to Flash-based video. In addition to offering TV shows and movies, the site still features a selection of soccer-related channels. Here are a few recommended ones that are worth watching: UEFA Training Ground UEFA Magazine US […]

This may be a bit long-winded and rambling but I hope you stick with me as there are a number of important points to discuss. UEFA recently released a publication entitled "Safeguarding The Heritage And Future Of Team Sport In Europe", which outlines UEFA's stance on principles of good governance, player agents and home-grown players. […]

Michel Platini is making a fool of himself again this week after his tirade against the prominence of English teams in European football. If you caught his interview on Sky Sports, you wlll have seem him ramble on and on, venting his anger and seeming quite unfocused and unpresidential — especially for someone who is […]

UEFA's general secretary David Taylor has lost his marbles. He's warned clubs that they may face being banned from competing in European competitions if they continue to carry excessive debt. "There would be forms of communication, even warnings, even reprimands before one would ever get to a situation of exclusion but it's absolutely possible," said […]

As we reported on a number of weeks ago, the UEFA Executive Committee has finalized the change in name of the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League starting in the 2009-10 season. Along with the new name come major changes to the competition, which will feature a 48-team group stage. Changes to the name, […]

This is a bit late but I did want to acknowledge that UEFA.com has re-launched with a new take on their familiar look. The layout is a bit cleaner though the page now contains more elements. The color scheme is basic white and black though the newly launched photo gallery adds plenty of color. I'd […]

It's time for FIFA to rethink international football. In 1992, UEFA changed the European Cup to the Champions League and transformed European club football into a more entertaining product that generates vast sums of money. It also didn't hurt that the tournament now attracts a cumulative television audience of 4 billion viewers in 227 countries. […]

After leading 1-0 from the first leg, Schalke had to have had some confidence going into Madrid for the second leg. A strong performance from Atletico saw them thump the German team 4-0 to advance to the group stage for the first time since 1996-97. I had picked Atletico as my 'dark-horse' team in the […]