Fútbol – Última hora y Noticias sobre Fútbol – Diario Información

The draw for this season’s UEFA Champions League last 16 has taken place and it certainly produced some mouthwatering encounters to look forward to. These games will take place on February 24th & 25th with the return legs two weeks later on March 10th & 11th. Here is the full draw as it was drawn in Nyon, Switzerland:

Chelsea v Juventus

Villarreal v Panathinaikos

Sporting Lisbon v Bayern Munich

Atletico Madrid v FC Porto

Lyon v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Liverpool

Arsenal v Roma

Inter Milan v Manchester United

The current champions Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson face their old friend, the former Chelsea manager, Jose Mourinho and his Inter Milan side who were knocked out by Liverpool last year at the same stage. Mourinho had made it clear he wanted to draw one of the English «big four» clubs and he certainly got his wish, with the first leg to be played at the San Siro. The game at Old Trafford will no doubt revive memories of Mourinho’s famous celebration, as he ran down the touchline back in March 2004 when his Porto side scored a last minute equaliser that sent United crashing out of the Champions League. Of course Mourinho and Porto went on the lift the trophy that season beating Monaco in the final.

Sir Alex Ferguson is also looking forward to the tie as well. Ferguson believes it will be very interesting to come up against Mourinho as he has a character with a good personality. Contrary to what used to go on between the two when Mourinho managed Chelsea, Ferguson also said that he has always got on well with the now Inter Milan manager. It didn’t take long for Mourinho to also start the psychological word games by talking up Man Utd. He stated that he wanted to be drawn against the best and that he got the European champions. Man Utd could also be crowned World Club Champions in Japan this weekend too. Meanwhile another of the English teams, Liverpool, were drawn against the current Spanish champions Real Madrid and their new manager, ex Tottenham boss, Juande Ramos. The former Tottenham manager has only just taken over at the Bernabeu and will no doubt be looking forward to his return to England with the 9 times winners Real Madrid. Liverpool have the perceived advantage of the second leg at Anfield due to finishing their group on top. The tie is a repeat of the 1981 Paris final, which the English side won 1-0 thanks to a goal by defender Alan Kennedy. That was the last time these two giants of European football have met in a competitive game.

The draw also provided Italian coach Claudio Ranieri the chance of an emotional return to London and Stamford Bridge, against his former club Chelsea, last year’s beaten finalists. Ranieri is now the manager get Italian giants Juventus. Ranieri was a popular figure at Stamford Bridge before being replaced by non-other than Jose Mourinho in 2004. This despite Ranieri guiding them to the Champions League semi-final, where they lost to Monaco, who as mentioned above were then beaten by Mourinho and Porto. Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal will have the first leg at home as they take on AS Roma. The Arsenal manager believes the Gunners, just like every other team now left in the competition, has a good chance of lifting the trophy in Rome come May. Despite both those difficult ties for Arsenal and Chelsea, they will have breathed a huge sigh of relief as the draw was made as they could have been paired with the current favourites Barcelona. They will have been extremely happy to have avoided the Catalans however, as mentioned above both Arsenal and Chelsea face difficult ties against AS Roma and Juventus respectively.

The «unlucky» team to draw Barcelona were the French champions Lyon and looking ahead to the game, their sporting director Bernard Lacombe admitted that they were very worried. Lyon couldn’t have been handed a more difficult game.

The Spanish team Villareal, which finished second in the group stages behind Manchester Utd, were handed, what on paper at least, looks one of the easier ties. They will face the Greek side Panathinaikos which pipped Inter Milan to top stop in their Group. So, Panathinaikos will equally be relived they didn’t finish second, as Utd would have been awaiting them. Former champions, and I suspect a dark horse for this season’s cempetition, Bayern Munich, will play the Portuguese team Sporting Lisbon and in the final tie of the round another Portuguese team Porto will go head to head with another Spanish team, Athletico Madrid.

There truly are some great games to look forward to in early 2009. No doubt there will be plenty of drama and a few shocks, the UEFA Champions League never disappoints once it has entered the sudden death knock-out stages.

After weeks of dilly-dallying between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, it is for certain now that Ruud Van Nistelrooy is moving to Real Madrid at an undisclosed amount. After Cannavaro and Brazilian midfielder Emerson, Nistelrooy is the third big signing for the Madrid squad.

Over the years the Dutchman had been a great acquisition for the Red Devils as he scored 150 goals in 219 games and second highest goal scoring tally in Champions’ league with almost one goal a game.

Sven Looking to buy Aston Villa

Former England manager Sven Ericcsson has decided to put his own money in an effort to buy Aston Villa Football Club. The club has been approached by a Swiss consortium with purchase offers after the sacking of club manager David O Leary and strike of the players.

John Terry or Gerrard – who should be captain of England football team

This week Steve Mclaren has to take the first major decision of his short English manager career, to hand out the captain’s armband. The contenders for now are John Terry ( Chelsea) and Steven Gerrard (Liverpool). Both of them are inspiration to their respective teams and are clear stand out leaders on the field.

Initial reports suggest that John Terry is the clear favorite for the task as Gerrard’s place in the starting eleven is not certain.

West Ham in no mood to sell Harewood

According to the latest news in ‘The Sun’, West Ham manager Alan Pardew has declared that his club’s prolific striker Harewood is not for sale at any price.

Throughout human history people have competed against each other in different forms of sport. People pit themselves against each other to define themselves, to try and rise to their full potential, and even to solve disputes between societies. These competitions have evolved along with humanity. Sports spectatorship has always been an integral part of this as well. For the ancient Olympics a truce was held throughout Greece so spectators and athletes could travel to the games. People identify with their teams, which creates a sense of community and excitement that is impossible to replicate.

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the modern world. It captivates the hearts and minds of millions of people, from Mexico to Brazil to Nigeria to Korea. Fans are forced to wait in stadiums for hours while opposing sections disperse, yet intense rivalries still inspires riots and celebrations that shut down normal life. Wear the wrong shirt in Manchester on match day and you might start a fight. In Buenos Aires, there are neighborhoods that should be avoided wearing the wrong colors. The world cup is the most widely viewed event in the entire world. So with all this excitement, all this energy and allegiance, why is it so hard to catch a soccer game on television in the United States? It’s a nation comprised of people from the entire world. Shouldn’t there be a way to watch the world’s most popular sport?

With satellite TV there is. Satellite offers a wealth of programming that can’t be found anywhere else. There is better access to more exclusive packages of sports programming, allowing you to keep up with the UEFA Champions League, the Premiership, Serie A, and more. No longer will you have to miss watching Ronaldinho and Barcelona take on Bayern Munich. There are also packages covering the quickly improving MLS, featuring growing numbers of international stars and expanding rapidly in the United States. League changes have brought in international superstars like David Beckham, who joined the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007.

With today’s high definition technology the picture on your screen of the game will also be better than ever. You might be able to pick out the actual panels on the ball as it’s making its way downfield. With satellite access to more HD channels than any other form of television, you will have a gamewatching experience better than any other. The detailed picture available these days makes some commentators say that it’s better to watch the game from home than the field!

What about those games that you can’t see because of work or some obligation, but at the same time you feel you can’t miss? After all, the time zone difference for many of those international games might mean that what you want to see is happening in the middle of night. Not to worry, modern DVR technology will allow you to preset your TV to record those high quality matches. Everything you want to see will be waiting for you to enjoy it at your pleasure. With satellite you not only can now catch the most important sports events, you can do it when it’s convenient for you.

Because there are so many excellent breweries in Germany (more than 1,300), it is quite difficult to say what the best German beer brands are. Foreigners undoubtedly are familiar with brands such as Lowenbrau and Becks; these are among the most exported German beers. Germans rather have favourite types of beer. They are more likely to order by style such as a Pils or a Doppelbock rather than by brand name like Bitburger or Krombacher. There are those however who distinguish between a Bitburger Pils and a Krombacher Pils, or a Schofferhofer Hefeweisen and a Paulaner HefeWeissen. It is these connoisseurs that hold the key to determining the best German beer brands.

5 of the Best German Beer Brands

There has been an ongoing survey as to what the best German beer brands are on the ToyTown Germany website since 2004. The respondents are people who live and work in Germany, both native Germans and many expats from around the world, who are regular beer drinkers. It is no surprise that hundreds of beers have been named, but there are five particular brands that are mentioned more than others. Following is a summary according to popularity of what local consumers consider to be the best brands of German beer.

Augustiner – This brand turned up more times than any other. Augustiner beer, like many great beers, is brewed and produced by monks, in this case the Augustinian Brotherhood in Munich. This brewery has been producing quality beer since 1328, so it’s no surprise that they might be pretty good at it by now. The Augustiner Brewery produces several types of beer of which Heller Bock, a light strong beer of 7% alcohol is a crowd favourite.

Lammsbrau – The Neumarkter Lammsbrau Brewery near Nuremberg sets exceedingly high standards for the ingredients to be used in its brews. In fact any ingredient used in a Lammsbräu must be from a certified and controlled organic grower. But their quality control doesn’t stop there. Aroma hops are used as opposed to the traditional bitter hops, thus giving the beer a more pungent aroma and a less bitter taste. Their water is sourced from a protected underground spring, and they produce their own malt and fresh yeast. The passion for quality control has indeed made this one of the best German beer brands.

Franziskaner – Another Bavarian brewery based in Munich, Franziskaner has been in operation since 1363. They specialize in producing only two types of wheat beer – a light and a dark. It is most likely because of this specialization that their beer is so highly rated among locals and expats alike. Franziskaner is also popular around the world and can be found on both the east and west coasts of America, in Asia, Australia, South America (Ecuador), and throughout Europe.

Erdinger – It is no wonder that another Bavarian brewery heads the list of best beer brands in Germany. Erdinger is based in the town of Erding, and has been producing quality brew since 1886. The most popular of their beers is the Erdinger Weissbrau, a fairly light wheat beer of 5.6% alcohol strength.

Paulaner – Paulaner is a partner of FC Bayern Munich, and like its football club companion, it is also a champion among its peers. Based in Munich, as you have noticed that most of the best beers are, Paulaner was also initially brewed by monks beginning in 1634. Paulaner is also exported to more than 70 countries around the world. Their Original Münchner Hell, a premium lager, seemingly the most popular.