AC Milan Manager Carlo Ancelotti Denied Chelsea Move in Summer 2009

(This entry was originally published on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009)

As Chelsea’s temporary manager Guus Hiddink is repeatedly refusing to take up the Chelsea job permanently at the end of the current season, Chelsea officials are now in search of Hiddink’s successor at the club. I hope, you already know that Hiddink is also at the helm of Russian national football team, and was agreed to take up the Chelsea managerial role on request of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich following the sacking of former Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. Well, reports out in the media suggested that the current AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti could become the next boss at Chelsea.

However, Ancelotti has recently turned down all the reports, claiming that he does not have any interest to join Chelsea and wants to continue his job at AC Milan next season. AC Milan has not won any silverware since 2004, excluding the European Cup title in 2007, and the club sits third in the Serie A point table at this moment with 14 points behind leader Inter Milan. As they are already out of Champions league title reckoning, and are way behind from the title race in domestic league, Milan is most likely to remain empty handed this season too. Still, AC Milan officials are banking on Carlo Ancelotti and it seems that the manager also wants to pay something back to AC Milan now.

Related article:

Guardian

Andrea Pirlo All Set to Move to Chelsea

Andrea Pirlo is about to join English club Chelsea in a move away from AC Milan. The midfielder would sign on a four-year deal under which he will be earning €6 million per season. Chelsea has to pay an amount between €18m and €20m to land the Italian international at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s new manager Carlo Ancelotti demanded to include Pirlo in the Chelsea squad and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich did not hesitate to bankroll for the player. Though nothing has been official yet, it is pretty much confirmed that Andrea Pirlo is just on the verge of completing the Chelsea signing.

Related article:

Goal.com

Andrea Pirlo All Set to Move to Chelsea

Andrea Pirlo is about to join English club Chelsea in a move away from AC Milan. The midfielder would sign on a four-year deal under which he will be earning €6 million per season. Chelsea has to pay an amount between €18m and €20m to land the Italian international at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s new manager Carlo Ancelotti demanded to include Pirlo in the Chelsea squad and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich did not hesitate to bankroll for the player. Though nothing has been official yet, it is pretty much confirmed that Andrea Pirlo is just on the verge of completing the Chelsea signing.

Related article:

Goal.com

Transfer Rumors January 2009: William Gallas Attracts AC Milan and Juventus Interest

(This entry was originally posted in this blog on December 10, 2008 and the information is based on that time.)

Former Arsenal captain William Gallas now seems to have attracted attention of two Italian giants AC Milan and Juventus who are keen to sing him in the upcoming January transfer window. Arsenal defender William Gallas was recently stripped of Arsenal captaincy following his comment on dressing room rift in Arsenal in the media which caused an outburst among the Arsenal fans and manager Arsene Wenger took away the captain’s armband from Gallas and handed it to the young Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas. Ever since William Gallas lost the captaincy, flurry of rumors concerning his future at Arsenal started to come in the media.

AC Milan first showed interest in Gallas as they are desperate to sign a defender in January transfer window because Milan is currently missing their star defender Alessandro Nesta due to his injury and Captain Paolo Maldini is also retiring at the end of this season. So, this is pretty much clear that the club is seriously tracking the French defender at this moment.

Recently, Juventus also showed their interest in the 31-year-old William Gallas. Alessio Secco, director of sport at Juventus, recently came to London and met Ivan Gazidis, the new chief executive of Arsenal, to start a negotiation for the defender. Tuttosport, a Turin based newspaper, reported that Juventus is ready to make a €8 million bid for William Gallas. Now, let us see who wins the race, AC Milan or Juventus?

Related article:

Goal.com

Kaka will Negotiate with Chelsea after Milan and Chelsea Agree on a Deal

AC Milan and Chelsea are negotiating about a possible deal for Milan’s Brazilian star Kaka. Kaka’s personal assistant Diogo Kotscho has recently said that Kaka will start to negotiate with Chelsea only when AC Milan and Chelsea will come to terms about the deal. Reports have it that Chelsea made a 100-million Euro bid for Kaka. Admitting the Chelsea move for Kaka possible, Kotscho has also said that Milan normally does not let their best players leave the club, but this time Milan has found the Chelsea offer worthwhile to go ahead.

It is not yet confirmed whether Kaka will arrive at Stamford Bridge or not, but one thing is for sure that Chelsea newly appointed Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari seems to be more interested to sign Brazilian players. He has already made a strong bid for Real Madrid’s Robinho, and he has already signed Portugal’s Brazilian-born star Deco. Now, let us see if he becomes successful in signing Kaka and Robinho as well. Still, Chelsea fans would not mind if Scolari can bring silverware for what the world cup winning coach has worldwide reputation.

Related article:

edmontonsun.com

AC Milan vs Arsenal: Live Score and Live Updates

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AC Milan (0)---- Arsenal (2)

Arsenal has won the match.

94 MInutes: Arsenal has won the match by 2-0 and now in the quarterfinal of UEFA Champions league

92 MInutes: Arsenal has scored the second goal.

90 MInutes: Now, 4 minutes of added time to be played. Arsenal just needs to hold on

89 MInutes: Arsenal goalkeeper is slightly injured now. Change fof player for Arsenal. Gilbarto comes in the field in place of Flamini

86 MInutes: Milan has to score now 2 goals in the last few minutes becuase Arsenal has scored an away goal. Even if the score is 1-1 then Arsenal will forward to next round.

84 MInutes: Goaaaaaaaaal. Out of no where, Fabregas shot from a long distance and Arsenal is now leading by 1-0

82 MInutes: Good attack from Milan but easily collected by Arsenal goalkeeper

80 minutes: Just 10 minutes left of normal time.

79 MInutes: Milan fans wanted a corner but did not get

74 MInutes: What a chance for Arsenal! They should have scored.

72 MInutes: Freekick for Milan

68 MInutes: CHange of player for Milan. Ingazhi comes out from the field.

66 MInutes: Milan attacked but off side

60 MInutes: Arsenal on attack again.

56 MInutes: Freekick for Milan and yellow card shown to Arsenal 27 Eboue

54 Minutes: Corner for Milan

53 Minutes: Arsenal defense is very good at the moment. In two minutes, they could trap Milan forwards to offside twice.

50 MInutes: Arsenal again attacked and again a great opportunity but bad finishing in the end.

48 MInutes: Arsenal is again playing very well. Senderos missed an easy chance

46 MInutes: Second half has just started. Be with us for live updates of the match.

45 MInutes: First half has finished. COme back wtihin a short time for second half action.

43 MInutes: AC Milan players are finding it difficiult to fight against Arsenal defense

40 MInutes: Freekick for AC Milan

38 MInutes: the match is still goalless. The best spell for Arsenal in the match. They dominated the match in the last 10 minutes and now tehy have a freekick.

36 MInutes: Arsenal again attacked.

34 MInutes: Bad luck for Arsenal. Fabregas shot defeated the AC Milan goalkeeper but hit the goalpost.

32 MInutes: Best time for Arsenal in the match. IN the last 4 minutes, tehy attacked 4 times.

30 MInutes: ANother corner for Arsenal.

28 MInutes: Cornet for Arsenal

24 MInutes: Arsenal is attacking. Arsenal is playing some better now

21 MInutes: Freekifk for Arsenal.

19Minuutes: Corner for Milan

17 MInutes: Lovely run from Clichy of Arsenaland Milan is now in counter attack

14 MInutes: INgazi missed an easy chance for Milan

12 MInutes: Lovely counter attack from Arsenal.

10 MInutes: First a freekick and then a corner for AC Milan

9 MInutes: AGain a corner for AC Milan.

8 minutes: Corner for AC Milan

7 minutes: Long distance shot from Arsenal number 13 Helb but it was too high.

5 MInutes: Freekick for Arsenal

2 Minutes: Arsenal is in attack.

The match has started. So, be with us.

The players of the two teams are now warming up at San Siro stadioum. So, be with this in this blog and read some other entries before the live updates begin.

The UEFA Champions League match will start at 19:45 GMT.

Come back to this blog for live score and live updates of the match AC Milan vs Arsenal in UEFA Champions League 2007-08.

AC Milan vs Arsenal Champions League: Preview and Live Score

For live score of AC Milan vs Arsenal Champions League match, visit the following link:

AC Milan vs Arsenal: Live Score and Live Updates

AC Milan and Arsenal will face each other in the second leg match of last 16 round of Champions League 2007-2008. The match takes place at San Siro, home ground of Milan, on 4 March 2008. Arsenal failed to reel off a victory in the first leg match at home last month. So, AC Milan now has the advantage as they will get Arsenal in front of their home supporters in the second leg match. It seems that Arsenal might have to face some strong challenges from AC Milan on Tuesday.

Match: AC Milan vs Arsenal, Second Leg of Round of 16, Champions League

Venue: San Siro

Date: 4 March 2008, Tuesday

Time: 19:45 GMT

AC Milan has not been in an impressive form so far this season. In fact, they are currently stand fifth in the point table of Serie A this season. With 19 points behind the leaders Inter Milan at the top, AC Milan is certainly out of title race in the domestic league. So, the defending champions of Champions League definitely give more focus on defending the title this season.

Arsenal, on the other hand, is still leading at the premier league with three points clear of Manchester United. However, it does not mean that Arsenal will have less focus on Champions league. Arsenal lost their star forward Thierry Henry at the beginning of the season following his move to Barcelona. With having no star footballer in the squad, many wrote off Arsenal having hardly any chance to win silverware this season. It is true that they have not won any title, but the way they have progressed so far this season is simply tremendous. They lost only one premier league matche so far this season.

Recent form of AC Milan and Arsenal

To begin with, AC Milan’s recent performance is not as bad as it was at the beginning of the season. Milan was held to a 1-1 draw against Catania Calcio in their recent league match. Including this draw, AC Milan came up with four draws and three victories in their last seven matches in all competitions. AC Milan has drawn a number of matches so far this season that cost them heavily in Serie A. AC Milan must try their best to come out of draw against Arsenal at home in order to continue their progress in Champions League in their pursuit to defend the title.

Arsenal, in contrast, has gone though some tough times in their last few matches. They shared points with Birmingham City away in their last premier league matche before their lackluster draw against AC Milan in the first leg match. Arsenal is yet to be back in winning run since their FA Cup thrashing to Manchester United. So, the task will not be that much easy for Arsenal when they travel to Milan in the return leg match.

Anyway, both AC Milan and Arsenal have a league match for each ahead of their high profile meeting. AC Milan will face Lazio Roma in Serie A on 1 March, while Arsenal will host Ashton Villa in premier league on the same day. Both teams must seek an inspirational performance in the matches in order to have a huge boost in their confidence level ahead of their mouth watering clash.

AC Milan must have an advantage over Arsenal as they will play at their home ground. Famous coach Marcello Lippi said that Arsenal would have fear of AC Milan. He thinks that Milan will give their maximum in Champions league.

Goal.com reported:

“They (Milan) give their maximum in this competition and there is no doubt that Arsenal had some fear against this Milan side,” Lippi told Sky Sport Italia.

“Arsenal’s youngsters, as good as they are, must have asked themselves why does this team always win? Why do they become World and European Champions? There is this type of fear that you can see on the pitch.

Kaka Expected to be Back against Arsenal

AC Milan has no major injury woe ahead of their Champions League showdown against Arsenal. The only injury problem they are facing is with their star midfielder Kaka. The Brazilian, however, is expected to be back in action in the match against Arsenal. He suffered a knee injury during Milan’s 2-1 victory over US Città di Palermo. Thus he missed the match against Catania Calcio. Kaka is not yet confirmed for the match against Lazio Roma. However, AC Milan fans are now eagerly waiting to see Kaka in action in the Champions league tie with Arsenal. Goal keeper Dida will remain sidelined with his injury and Željko Kalac from Australia will continue his service in the Milan goalpost.

While Kaka has a realistic chance to come back in action against Arsenal, his countrymen Pato is in impressive form with Milan. Pato scored in their recent match against Catania Calcio. The forward expressed that he was thinking of fellow striker Ronaldo while celebrating his goal. Ronaldo has been sidelined with a career threatening injury recently and his chances to come back in action not confirmed yet.

Tribal Football reported:

"When I celebrated, I was thinking of Ronaldo. It was a good feeling, like last year when I scored in the derby for Inter (nacional de Porto Alegre)."

AC Milan has an experienced squad with the players like Cafu, Paolo Maldini etc. Midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is expected to be crucial for AC Milan. Andrea Pirlo and Filippo Inzaghi have some particular roles to play for AC Milan.

Arsenal Needs to Recover the Eduardo Blow and Cope up with a Number of Injury Woes

Arsenal not only lost points against Birmingham City but also saw a horrific injury to the Croatian striker Eduardo after he was tackled badly by the Birmingham City defender Martin Taylor, who was shown red card for the incident. Eduardo has fractured in his left fibula and suffered an open dislocation to his left ankle following the tackle. He was immediately rushed into the hospital. Though he has been released from the hospital recently, he is now out of action for at least nine months. Thus he will miss the remaining season of Arsenal and miss his country’s EURO 2008 campaign.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that Eduardo’s injury was a disappointment for Arsenal. However, Wenger does not want to rush his striker, Robin van Persie, back in action quickly. Persie was out of action for two months after he had picked up a knee injury. He then gave two comeback shots, but failed in both as he was sidelined again with injury.

Telegraph reported:

"We will not rush Robin van Persie back, but the news is quite good," said Wenger, who has since admitted that bringing the Dutchman back for the January cup fixture was a mistake on his part.

"It is difficult to say, we go step by step, but he should come back into normal training very, very quickly now.

"Maybe I am being a little over-cautious in my statements, but I do not want to put any special pressure on him."

Now, Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner is expected to be seen pairing up with Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor in the up front. Theo Walcott will be seen in the left wing. However, Walcott said that he would do his best if he was asked to fill the void left by Eduardo’s injury.

Arsenal has some more injury problems including Ivorian defender Kolo Touré, Johan Djourou and some long time absentees Alex Song, Tomas Rosicky. Toure has not yet recovered fully from his knee injury. So, even if he misses the match against Aston Villa, he is likely to take part in the second leg Champions League match against AC Milan. Emmanuel Eboué is now under suspension because of his being shown red card against Manchester United in the FA Cup match.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has recovered from calf injury and is expected to be back in action with the premier league match before facing AC Milan. Arsenal striker Adebayor is expected to play a big role for Arsenal. He is currently the second highest goal scorer of this season in Premier league.

AC Milan vs Arsenal Champions League: Online Live Score

The match is expected to be a classic one as both teams will be looking to win the match to progress to the next round. Fans are now eagerly waiting for the live action of the match. However, many of you will not be able to watch the match on television because of your personal and professional works. So, you can get the online live score and updates of AC Milan vs Arsenal match from the online live score websites. Here, I am giving some links of the websites from where you can get the online live score and updates of the match:

Live Score

Goalzz

Footie Scorez

Sportpress

Goal.com

The match has everything to be an exciting one. Both teams have some talented footballers. AC Milan footballers are experienced, while Arsenal players are young but talented. So, it seems to be a match of experience against youth. AC Milan will have home advantage over Arsenal. Though it would be very tough for Arsenal to break AC Milan, I do not think that they are less capable of achieving it. However, I hope to see an exciting match.

Arsenal vs AC Milan Champions League: Live Score and Live Updates

For live score of AC Milan vs Arsenal Champions League match, visit the following link:

AC Milan vs Arsenal: Live Score and Live Updates

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Arsenal (0)-- AC Milan (0)

90 MInutes: Match has finsihed goalless.

82 MInutes: Still goalless. Time is running out for the two teams.

75 MInutes: Just 15 minutes left.

65 MInutes: Just 25 minutes left for Arsenal to score a goal.

57 MInutes: No goal yet.

49 MInutes: Good attack from Arsenal but the shot was wide.

47 MInutes: Second half has started and no change in score ling so far.

45 MInutes: First half finished and no one could score. Come within a few minutes for second half action.

43 MInutes: Arsenal fans unhappy with refree's decision. They thought that they got a corner.

40 Inutes: 5 minutes to half time. Score is still goalless. Arsenal is playing better in the match.

37 MInutes: Arsenal is oon the attack again. Good cross from Clichy but Adabeduyl took a weak head that did not bother anyone.

34 MInutes: Freekick for Arsenal from dangerous area and Fabregas took it.

31 minutes: Good cross from Sanjya but no Arsenal player could get it.

27 MInutes: AC Milan had a good chance from the edge of penalty box but very bad finsihingl.

24 MInutes: LOvely ball from Fabregas but Adabeuyl sht was too wide.

21 MInutes: Corner for Arsenal but nothing hapened.

19 MInutes: Freekick for AC Milan.

15 MInutes: AC Millan is on attack

8 MInutes: Lovely attack from Arsenal but head of Adabeul was weak in the end.

3 MInutes: Arsenal on attack but nothing happened.

Arsenal vs AC Milan match is going to kick off within two hours. You can get live score and updates of the match in this post. We will be giving updates of the match after every few minutes when the match starts. So, be with us and enjoy the text commentary of the match. The match will kick off 19:45 GMT.

Arsenal vs AC Milan: Who Will Win?

If you are interested to get the online live score and updates of the Arsenal vs AC Milan match then visit the following links:

Arsenal vs AC Milan Champions League: Live Score and Live Updates

http://techblogbiz.blogspot.com/2008/02/arsenal-vs-ac-milan-champions-league_20.html

Not even 24 hours are left before the start of the match between Arsenal and AC Milan. The match is going to take place in London and that is why, it is a home match for the London club. It is a vital match for both the clubs. For Arsenal, it is a very important match because Arsenal is already out of League Cup and FA Cup. So, they have UEFA Champions League and English Premier League to look forward. This weekend, Arsenal lost to Manchester Untied by 4-0 in the fourth round match of FA Cup. The same thing happened for the club last month when they crushed out of the Carling Cup by 1-5 defeat to their north London rival Tottenham Hotspur.

The only good thing is that Arsenal has very impressive form at home. So, tomorrow, the fans would hope that their favorite club will shine and win the match. They would surely feel inspired by the impressive win of Liverpool over another Italian club Inter Milan. In fact, Inter Milan is from the same city of Milan. It is true that AC Milan is not the mighty team anymore that they used to be a decade ago. Still, AC Milan has a lot of experience in UEFA Champions League. ON the other hand, Arsenal is weak in Europe and has not won any title of UEFA Champions league until now. The best they could do was to become runners up two years ago.

So, who do you think will win the match? Arsenal or AC Millan?

AC Milan Coach Carlo Ancelotti Expecting Seedorf to Be Fit for the Champions League Clash with Arsenal

AC Milan is traveling to England to face Arsenal at the Emirates stadium in the first leg last 16 clash of Champions league. AC Milan was held to a goal less stalemate in their recent league clash with Parma, while Arsenal crashed out of FA Cup following a 0-4 smashing at Manchester United. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, however, is satisfied with his team’s performance against Parma. He said that AC Milan was in fourth place which was their target. He might have felt relief with his top gun Kaka returning to action with the Parma match following a knee injury. He is hopeful that Clarence Seedorf will also be available for the first team contention against Arsenal.

Tribalfootball reported:

"Seedorf will be there, I am certain, but if we do recover Pato in time then it will have to be at the last minute," said Ancelotti.

"That is quite a surprising result, but also a lovely one for me. I hope it will be the same on Wednesday night."

AC Milan has already been out of title race in Serie A with 21 points behind the league leader Inter Milan. So, it is obvious that their priority is now on Champions League. The defending champions look to win the title again this season. Reports have it that Pato is expected to catch the trip to Arsenal. So, AC Milan fans can be hopeful to see an interesting match at the Emirates stadium.

Kaka Expecting a Beautiful Game at Arsenal in Champions League

AC Milan midfielder Kaka is looking to have a beautiful game at Arsenal in the Champions League first leg first knock out round match. Kaka said that as they are way out of title race in Serie A, Champions league is the most important competition for his side. He prioritized to win the Champions League again this season as their chances to win the series A title is gradually being faded. He thinks that the match will be open. To him, experience is needed at this stage of Champions league, indicating the aged players of AC Milan.

Goal.com reported:

"People have called this tie against Arsenal a match between an ageing team and a new young, up-and-coming side,” the reigning Fifa world player of the year said. “It is a fair comparison, because the average age in the first team here in Milan is 32, but that doesn't mean we'll struggle against them. Experience counts for everything at this stage of the Champions League.”
“This is a game we can enjoy. It can be beautiful.”

Kaka spoken of highly about Arsenal saying that he likes the way they play. AC Milan is now 21 points behind leader Inter Milan at the top of Serie A. Arsenal is very much in the title race with five points lead at the top over the second-laced Manchester United. However, Arsenal suffered a 0-4 thrashing defeat to Manchester United in their recent FA Cup clash. Added to that, Arsenal is missing some of their key players out with injury for the Champions league clash with AC Milan. So, it is truly an open match.

Arsene Wenger Expecting 16 Fit Players for Arsenal’s Champions League Tie with AC Milan

Arsenal has recently suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Manchester United at the fifth round match of FA Cup match. However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is hopeful ahead of the Champions League showdown with defending champion AC Milan. He said that he was expecting to get at least 16 fit players for the Milan clash. So, you can understand that Arsenal is going through a tough time with a flurry of injury woes. He said that he did not have enough options for the match against Manchester United as most of the players at the bench were injury. However, he is happy that there has not been any more injury news in the squad.

Premiershiplatest reported:

After the game, he had said: "I did not have many options. The players who were on the bench were all recommended not to play medically."

He said: "The players have given me so much recently but unfortunately we were not up to the level required against United. At least we did not suffer any more injuries, so we might be able to find 16 players to face Milan."

This is true that Arsenal has been suffering a lots of injury problems. Now, the more the players would be back in action the more the Arsenal chance would increase in the match. Arsenal is five points clear at the top of premier league. They have been impressive throughout the season thanks to excellent performances from some youngsters of the squad. Now, let us see if the young Arsenal players can transform their league performance in Champions League.

Clarence Seedorf Thinks Experience Would Give AC Milan Edge over Arsenal

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf revealed that experience of his side is the main advantage ahead of the Champions League showdown at Arsenal on 20 February. Defending champion AC Milan is going to travel to Emirates stadium to face Arsenal in the first of the two-leg match of last 16. The Dutch international insisted that Arsenal would not be able to outperform experienced AC Milan though he admitted that Gunners are one of the best teams of Europe.

Goal.com reported:

"In my view, although Arsenal are one of the best teams in Europe and have been playing very well lately, they lack experience," he told Sunday Mirror.
"We are champions of Europe and have won this competition seven times. We know how to handle these occasions.
"We have experience and we also have cunning, especially when it comes to ties over two legs.
"Arsenal have a great record at home but. But the second leg being at the San Siro will be our advantage."

Seedorf claimed himself a fan of Arsenal’s young midfielder Cesc Fabregas but added that Fabregas would find it difficult to outclass Gennaro Gattuso. Well, it is true that Fabregas is now at his prime form with steering Arsenal in their pursuit to win the premier league. Arsenal fans will be looking to him to expecting a special performance in the home tie with AC Milan. Seedorf, on the other hand, is now yet confirmed for the trip to Arsenal as he is recovering from his ankle injury.

AC Milan Happy with Kaka, Pato Back in Action ahead of Arsenal Tie

AC Milan seems to have got a huge boost ahead of the Champions League clash with Arsenal. AC Milan faces Arsenal on Wednesday in the first leg of the first knock out round match of Champions League. AC Milan striker Pato and midfielder Kaka have recovered from their injury and now are waiting to catch the Arsenal trip. Striker Alexandre Pato missed his team’s last three league matches being out of action with ankle injury. Kaka has also been back in action after recovering from his knee injury.

Premiershiplatest reported:

The 18-year-old Brazilian attacker has recovered from an ankle injury, which had forced him to miss the last three league games, including Saturday's goalless draw at Parma. His compatriot, Kaka had returned to action at the weekend following his knee problem.

No doubt, Arsenal defense has to be prepared to have some scary moments in their showdown with AC Milan as Pato and Kaka are enough to break the defense of any side. Though AC Milan has worry for their back up goal keeper Zeljko Kalac with his hand injury as regular goal keeper Dida has already been ruled out of the match. Midfielder Clarence Seedorf is not yet confirmed for the match against Arsenal. Let us see if the defending champions can stave off the challenge of home team Arsenal in the champions league match.

Arsenal vs AC Milan Champions League: Preview and Live Score

If you are interested to get the live score and updates of the Chelsea vs Olympiacos match then visit the following link:

Chelsea vs Olympiacos: Live Score and Updates

For live score of AC Milan vs Arsenal Champions League match, visit the following link:

AC Milan vs Arsenal: Live Score and Live Updates

Arsenal and AC Milan are going to face each other in the first leg match of the first knock out round of Champions League 2007-2008. The match will take place at the Arsenal home ground, Emirates Stadium, on 20 February 2008. A mouth watering clash is now expected at the Emirates stadium that day as two of the most popular European clubs are going to meet each other in a crucial match.

Match: Arsenal vs AC Milan, First Leg Match of First Knock Out Round of Champions League

Venue: Emirates Stadium

Date: 20 February 2008, Wednesday

Timing: 19:45 GMT

Live on: Sky Sports 2

Arsenal has been handled one of the toughest draws of the last 16 round of Champions League. Though they have been impressive in premier league this season, the Gunners suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat at Manchester United on Saturday evening. Thus, they have been crashed out of FA Cup this season. Earlier, Arsene Wenger boys failed to reach the final of Carling Cup after suffering a big-margin defeat to arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur. However, their premier league run is going on pretty smoothly with only one defeat so far this season. Arsenal is leading the league table with five points clear off second-placed Manchester United.

AC Milan, on the other hand, has been showing an ordinary performance in Serie A this season with only 38 points at the fourth position of the point table. Milan is now way behind the league leader Inter Milan in the league with a deficit of 21 points with 15 matches at hand. However, interestingly AC Milan has managed to hold on their red-hot form in Champions League. The defending champion has successfully replicated their previous season’s form this season as well. Milan progressed to the last 16 round of Champions league as the group champion from group D with the only one lose to Celtic in the group phase.

Arsenal, though, confirmed their berth in the knock out stage without facing any strong challenge, they have not been as consistent in the group stage of champions league as they have been in premier league. However, they could make it to last 16 of Champions league with from Group H, where they finished second to Spanish club Sevilla.

Arsenal could not yet win the Champions League trophy. Their best performance in Champions league was in 2005-2006 season where they were the finalist. In contrast, AC Milan has won the trophy of Champions League for seven times so far including their last season triumph. The interesting thing is that Arsenal and AC Milan faced each other only once so far in the history. The two clubs met in European Super Cup in 1994. So, AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini played that match and he is perhaps the only current player who has the experience of playing that match.

Despite the unimpressive performance at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fifth round match, Arsenal is expected to appear with their full rhythm when they take on defending champion AC Milan at home. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger termed the match as season defining. So, it is for sure that Arsenal has taken the match with huge significance.

Independent reported:

"We have the toughest draw," Wenger views a fixture which, in effect, is the legacy of him deploying a below-strength side against the eventual group winners back in late November. "This game will define whether or not we can win the European Cup. On the other hand, two years ago we played Real Madrid and went through. Last year we played Eindhoven but went out. It's very difficult to predict what's going to happen. The only thing we do know is that if you don't play at your best against Milan, you're out."

Following the defeat to Manchester United, the Gunners now need an inspirational victory over AC Milan, which could give them a psychological advantage in their pursuit to win the league title besides progressing further step in champions league. AC Milan’s title hope in Serie A has already been faded. So, they must try their best to defend the title of Champions League. They have a world class team with some world class players like Kaka, Paolo Maldini, Cafu, Gennaro Gattuso etc.

AC Milan will miss their Brazilian striker Ronaldo as he picked up a knee injury last week. Alexandre Pato is also doubtful for the trip to Arsenal as he sustained an ankle injury recently with what he is most likely to remain out for the Champions League tie with Arsenal. However, the major concern of AC Milan is their star midfielder Kaka, who was given rest in the goalless league match against Parma. The megastar is recovering from a knee injury.

Independent reported:

The biggest worry for Milan, however, remains World Player of the Year, Kaka, who has been resting a sore knee. Arsenal's coach, Arsène Wenger, will breathe a huge sigh of relief if the Brazilian's name does not appear on the teamsheet. The player's personal press officer said last week that Kaka would have to "stay still for a while and do some physio," adding "there is no need for an operation but he will probably miss the Arsenal match". However, it is unlikely that Ancelotti will risk leaving his star player out for such a season-defining game.

The young Arsenal side will face an experienced AC Milan. Actually, since Thierry Henry’s move to Barcelona last summer, there was hardly anyone who could even think off Arsenal could win any title this season. It is true that they have not won any trophy, but they are played excellently well in premier league this season. Arsene Wenger is directing a young side towards the league title. Arsenal has got an unexpected contribution from the young players like Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Mathieu Flamini, Alexandre Song etc.

AC Milan has one of the most experienced squads of European teams. They have only two regular team players: Kakáa and Andrea Pirlo, who are under 30 years of age. It is true that AC Milan will have huge experience to take on Arsenal, but the Wenger boys are desperate to show their talent and skill at Champions League and are determined to progress further in the competition as it is like a dream to the youngsters to take part in the tournament of this kind.

Arsenal vs AC Milan Champions League: Online Live Score

If you can not enjoy the live action of the match on your television, you can get the online live score and updates of the match from the following links of online live score sites:

Live Score

Goalzz

Footie Scorez

Sportpress

Goal.com

Actually, it is very hard to predict when two teams like Arsenal and AC Milan face each other in such a crucial match. AC Milan might be happy with at 1-1 draw, if not victory, against Arsenal considering the fact that they will get Arsenal at home in the second leg match up. Arsenal, in contrast, must be focused to capitalize on the home advantage seeking a victory at the home ground, as they know that the away match would not be that much easy for them. Anyway, we can expect an interesting and mouth watering clash between the two teams.

Preview of all 8 Groups of UEFA Champions League 2007-08

UEFA Champions League is the greatest event in club football. 32 top clubs of Europe get the opportunity to take part in this competition. 2007-08 season of UEFA Champions League is going to begin soon. Today, we had the draw and now we know the group positions. We also know that there are 8 groups and each group has 4 clubs. The top two clubs will advance to the next round. Here, I am giving brief preview of all the 8 groups including the names of the clubs in each group.

Group A

Liverpool

Porto

Marseille

Besiktas

UEFA Champions League 2007-08 season draw has been over. Thirty two teams will be playing in eight groups of four teams each. Group A teams are Liverpool, Porto, Marseille and Besiktas. Liverpool is the most successful club in Champions League history among these four teams. They have won UEFA Champions League for five times and the most recent was in 2005 season. Last season Liverpool was the runner up of Champions League as in the final they lost to AC Milan. Liverpool is one of the most successful English clubs in English Premier League. Liverpool is the top seed team in Group A.

FC Porto is one of them most successful Portuguese club in Portugal domestic league. Porto has won Champions league title two times. Porto is one of those teams who appear regularly in Champions league. Olympique de Marseille is a major club in France who won 1993 UEFA Champions League and was runner up two years back in 1991. They could appear in the champions league final these two times. The other club of Group A is Turkish club Besiktas. They have not any notable record in Champions League history.

I think, Liverpool is most favorite in the group to enter into the knock out stage. For the second place there will be a hard fight between FC Porto and Olympique de Marseille because both clubs are in same level. Now, let us see who are going to be the two lucky teams to qualify for the quarter final stage from Group A.

Group B

CHELSEA

Valencia

Schalke 04

Rosenborg

Group B has four teams: CHELSEA, Valencia, Schalke 04 and Rosenborg. Among the, Chelsea is the top seed and Chelsea is perhaps the best club in England at this moment as Chelsea is in the first position of EPL this season so far. Valencia is a strong Spanish club too and it has been performing consistently well in the last few years in La Liga. Last season, Valencia was in the fourth position in La Liga and in UEFA Champions League 2006-07, Valencia reached to the quarterfinal stage and then lost to Chelsea. So, it will be interesting for us to see these two clubs in action this season in the same group of Champions League.

FC Schalke 04 is a German club and it was second in German Football League last season. FC Schalke 04 does not have good track record in UEFA Champions League. So, the top two clubs in this group would not need to bother about them so much. However, it will be a foolish thing to take FC Schalke 04 lightly. Rosenborg is a Norwegian club and it does not have good track record in UEFA Champions League either.

So, I guess that the main battle will be in between Chelsea and Valencia in Group B of UEFA Champions League 2007-08.

Group C

REAL MADRID

Werder Bremen

Lazio

Olympiakos

At first look, Group C seems to be a tough group for the clubs. Well, it is half true. There should be no competition for the first position as Real Madrid should become number one in this group easily. Well, you can never say what happens in Champions League football. For example, last year, Real Madrid could not become the top club in their group and Real Madrid had an early exit from the knockout stage. So, this will give some hope to the other 3 clubs but I don’t think that the other 3 clubs can come near to Real this time. Anyway, I think that Real Madrid is the favorite to top the group. They have perhaps the strongest squad in club football today.

The other 3 players will have to fight for the second position in Group C. Werder Bremen and Olympiakos did not have good performance last season. Lazio is back in Champions League action. They have everything to play for. I fancy Lazio doing well. Lazio was in the third position of last season of Italian League.

Group D

AC MILAN

Benfica

Celtic

Shakhtar Donetsk

Group D really looks a tricky one to me. Of course, you can easily omit Shakhtar Donetsk from the fight to go to the next round. Shakhtar Donetsk has never done anything impressive in Europe despite the fact it is a strong club in Ukraine. In fact, alst season, in Ukrainian Premier League, the club was in second position. AC Milan is the top seed in Group D and I feel they deserve to be the top seed. However, I am not expecting an easy time for AC Milan. You can never neglect a club like Benfica.

Benfica is highly experienced in Europe and no team can take them lightly. So, I am expecting a tough competition between Benfica and AC Milan in Group D. What about Celtic? Celtic is really an unpredictable team. It has a formidable squad and can offer some tough times to all the other clubs in this group. Celtic is the current champion of Scottish Premier League. In fact, Celtic lost to AC Milan in First Knockout Round of UEFA Champions League 2006-07 (last season). So, Group D can easily become the group of death for all the clubs.

Group E

Barcelona

Lyon

Stuttgart

Rangers

Barcelona is one of the most successful Spanish clubs in La Liga. Barcelona has two UEFA Champions League titles and the recent one was in 2006. They have some star players in the team. So, they are though to be one of the favorite to the Champions League title of 2007-2008 season.

Olympique Lyon is one of the most known French clubs. They have got many successes in their domestic leagues but they have not Champions league title yet. However, they plays in Champions League regularly.

Scottish club Rangers has a good popularity among the European teams. They won 51 Scottish league championship titles so far but they could not yet win any Champions league title. VfB Stuttgart is a German club who has sheer success in German league. However, they could not win any Champions league title.

I think, Group E is a tough team. It is like a group of death. Almost all the teams play very well. Anyway, I think, Barcelona is most likely to enter in the quarter final stage but it is not possible to say anything about any team specifically who has most chance to get into the next stage. The second place in Group E is open.

Group F

MANCHESTER UNITED

Roma

Sporting Lisbon

Dynamo Kiev

Manchester United is the top seed in Group F and Manchester United players can expect to become the top club in the group and advance to the next round. Manchester United is also the current champion of English Premier League. However, Manchester United is not in good form this season. In fact, Man United has the worst possible start to the season in many years. The bad form of Man United should give the other 3 clubs some hope. Roma is a strong club of Italy and Roma fans are dreaming their club to go to the second round.

If Roma fans can dream then Sporting Lisbon fans can also dream that they have something in this group. Dyano Kiev was once a mighty club but it has become weak because of many reasons. Anyway, I feel that Manchester United will go to second round from Group F. Roma and Sporting Lisbon will have to fight for the second spot.

Group G

Inter Milan

PSV Eindhoven

CSKA Moscow

Fenerbahce

Inter Milan is a famous Italian club who has won many domestic league titles in Italy. Inter Milan won champions league title twice and was runner up two times. Inter Milan has some star players who can lead the club to their third title in Champions League 2007-08. PSV Eindhoven is a well known European club from Netherlands. They have won Champions league title once in 1987-88 season.

PFC CSKA Moscow is the most successful Russian club in UEFA champions league. They appear regularly in Champions league. However, they are yet to win a champions league title. Their major success outside Russia was in 2005. They won the UEFA Cup title in 2005. Fenerbahce is a Turkish club who has 17 Turkish league title. However, they do not have any notable success in UEFA Champions League. However, this year they recruited some star players including Brazilian star Roberto Carlos. So, they can do better in Champions league 2007-08 season.

I think, Inter Milan is favorite to enter into the quarter final stage form Group G. However, for the second place of the group, there will be a hard competition between PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow. I will not be astonished if any upset happens in this group.

Group H

Arsenal

Sevilla/AEK Athens

Steau Bucharest

Slavia Prague

This is the only group where at this moment five teams are involved. As the second leg match between Sevilla and AEK Athens in UEFA Champions league third qualify round has been postponed, both teams initially have been included in the group.

Arsenal is the top seeded team in this group. Arsenal is a popular English club who has won Premier League for 13 times. However, in Champions league their best result was in 2005-2006 where they achieved the runner up trophy.

Sevilla is a Spanish club who are now in good form. Though they could not won Champions league title yet, they won the last two UEFA Cup titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07. So, it is possible for them to do something better in Champions League 2007-08 season. On the other hand, AEK Athens is Greek club who does not have any success in Champions league or in UEFA Cup.

Romanian club Steaua Bucuresti is not so well known in the world. However, they already won one Champions league title. In 1985-86 season they won the UEFA Champions league tile defeating FC Barcelona in the final.

Slavia Prague is a Czech football club who does not have any notable success in Champions league. However, in domestic league they got different titles several times.

Arsenal is undoubtedly the most favorite in the group as they are most likely to qualify for the quarter final stage. If Sevilla can qualify then they will have better chance to be the second team from this group to enter into the quarter final stage. However, if they can not they it will be open to all other three teams to achieve the second place in the group.

So, now you know about all the 8 groups of UEFA Champions League 2007-08. What is your favorite club?

UEFA Super Cup 2007 without Paolo Maldini and Ronaldo

UEFA Super Cup 2007 is going to be held in 31 August 2007. Ahead of the match, both AC Milan and Sevilla are taking their last minute preparation. Both AC Milan and Sevilla are in good form as both the club started their season with big win in their domestic leagues. So, both teams are now confident to play their best and win the UEFA Super Cup 2007. Everything is going well with the two teams. However, injury has come into the scene and that is now a problem.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini and Brazilian striker Ronaldo have fallen in injury and that is why, these two important players are now out of the match against Sevilla. It is really a bad news for AC Milan and their fans will really miss these two stars.

So, the fans have to watch the match without Maldini and Ronaldo. However, it is good news of Sevilla that AC Milan has to play the UEFA Super Cup 2007 match without Paolo Maldini and Roanldo. Anyway, I still hope that the fans will see a classic match in Stade Louis II, Monaco.

Source:
Goal.com

UEFA Super Cup 2007: Kaka is the Hope of AC Milan

UEFA Super Cup 2007 is now very close as it will be held on 31 August. Ahead of this prestigious match, both AC Milan and Sevilla are in good form. So, it is expected that the match will be hard for each team and the fans will get to see a classic match. Both AC Milan and Sevilla started the new season of their domestic leagues with big win. So, it is natural that the two teams have now sheer confidence.

AC Milan’s Brazilian midfielder Kaka seems to be in his prime form as in the opening match of the season, he scored twice that helped his side to a 3-0 victory over Genoa. Kaka’s eyes is now on the match against Sevilla. He admits that both his team and Sevilla is in good form and thinks that he needs improvement.

Goal.com reported:

"I'm in form," admitted the Brazilian star, "But now let's thinking about Sevilla."
The Rossoneri will be facing the Spanish side, which won for the second consecutive year the Uefa Cup trophy, on Friday at Monaco in a game which Milan want to win to increase the number of silverware.
"We're in form right now, just like Sevilla, who won yesterday. I'm fine too, but I must still improve in the sprint."

So, it seems that Kaka is now eagerly waiting to touch another European cup. Kaka is undoubtedly the most important player of AC Milan at this moment. I think, Kaka can make the difference in the coming UEFA Super Cup 2007 match against Sevilla.

UEFA Super Cup 2007: Both AC Milan and Sevilla to Make Record

You already know that UEFA Super Cup 2007 will be held on 31 August 2007. The match will have huge attraction to the football fans around the world. It is true that UEFA Super Cup 2007 is not so significant tournament, but in terms of prestige the match have sheer importance. Reigning Champions league winner AC Milan and UEFA Cup winner Sevilla will meet for the UEFA Super Cup 2007 match. It is not so hard to understand that how much excited the fans are at this moment with this prestigious match.

Sevilla’s recent performance is very good as they have recently won the Spanish Super Cup 2007 and started the La Liga 2007-2008 season with a big win against Getafe. On the other hand, AC Milan also started their new season with a big win against Genoa. Their key player Kaka got two goals in the opening match of the season.

Sevilla is the defending champion of UEFA Super Cup and they can be the second team in the history of UEFA Super Cup to defend their title. Barcelona suffered a crushing 0-3 defeat to Sevilla in UEFA Super Cup 2006 match. AC Milan is going to make a record in terms of highest appearance in UEFA Super Cup. UEFA Super Cup 2007 is going to be their seventh appearance. AC Milan is also the most successful team with four UEFA Super Cup titles. Now, let us see if the title of UEFA Super Cup 2007 will go in Italy or Spain.

Source:

UEFA.com

UEFA Super Cup 2007: AC Milan vs Sevilla

UEFA Super Cup 2007 is going to be held in Stade Louis II stadium in Monaco on 31 August 2007. AC Milan and Sevilla FC will compete in the match. UEFA Super Cup is always held before the start of new season. Current champion of UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup face each other in the UEFA Super Cup match. AC Milan is the reigning champion of UEFA Champions league and Spanish club Sevilla is the current champion of UEFA Cup. So, they got the ticket of UEFA Super Cup 2007.

Ahead of the UEFA Super Cup 2007, both AC Milan and Sevilla are in good form. Both AC Milan and Sevilla started their domestic league in style this week so both the teams are now confident enough to win the title of UEFA Super Cup 2007. That is why, football fans are now excited to see the match and hoping to see a classic match. Though in terms of significance and importance, UEFA Super Cup match can not be considered as a big match, the title has seer prestige that inspired the participating teams to win the title for their country.

Sevilla is the defending champion of UEFA Super Cup. They are going to defend the title of UEFA Super Cup which is the second instance in the history of UEFA Super Cup. IN 2006 UEFA Super Cup, Sevilla won the title beating another Spanish club Barcelona by 3-0. On the other hand, AC Milan is going to participate in UEFA Super Cup for the seventh time. AC Milan is also the most successful club of UEFA Super Cup as they won UEFA Super Cup for four times in the past. So, you can realize that how much competitive the forthcoming match is going to be.

Previously, UEFA Super Cup was two legged tournament where the two competing teams played each other twice; once was home and another was away. However, from 1998, the competition has become just a one match tournament. Another important thing is that, from 1998 all the matches of UEFA Super Cup have been held in Stade Louis II stadium in Monaco. The gradually the stadium is becoming a stadium of UEFA Super Cup competition.

AC Milan has recently won their first match of Italian Serie A against Genoa with a superb score line of 3-0. Milan’s Brazilian striker, Kaka scored twice in the match which proves that the midfielder is going to bring back his last season’s success in this season as well. To tell the truth, if I consider only the players of AC Milan and Sevilla then I have to say that AC Milan is favorite in the match. AC Milan has some players who do not need any introduction because they have already proved their skill and talent in international football. Brazilian Goal keeper Dida is one of the best goal keepers in the world at this moment. Former Brazilian Captain Cafu, Italian Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Nesta are star defenders in the world. In the midfield, AC Milan has players like Emerson, Gennaro Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Massimo Ambrosini etc. Moreover, the players like Filippo Inzaghi, Alberto Gilardino, Ronaldo, Alexandre Pato etc. are enough to destroy any defense of any team. So, AC Milan looks very strong compared to Sevilla players.

However, having some star players does not mean that you are going to win all the titles of all tournaments. Sevilla has recently proved this truth in the Spanish Super Cup 2007 match. Sevilla won the Spanish Super Cup 2007 title against the reigning La Liga champion Real Madrid. No doubt, Real Madrid is one of the richest clubs in the world and they always have some star footballers but they could not show any resistance against the good team work of Sevilla. Sevilla won both leg matches of Spanish Super Cup 2007. Sevilla started the La Liga 2007-2008 season with a big 4-1 victory over Getafe. Sevilla also has some promising players like defender Daniel Alves, midfielder Renato, forward Luís Fabiano ect. What made me impressed about Sevilla is their team work and understanding in the field. Sevilla is going to prove again that team work is one of the most important factors of success.

So, I do not want to say that AC Milan is favorite to win the UEFA Super Cup 2007 match. Rather, I think, the match will have a hard competition as both the teams have some good qualities. I hope an exciting match in UEFA Super Cup 2007 competition. AC Milan is, do doubt, a big budget team but Sevilla’s recent performance is really alluring. So, it is not possible to predict anything regarding the result of the match previously. Let us enjoy the match and see if AC Milan or Sevilla will win the title of UEFA Super Cup 2007.

Online Live Score

I know that almost all of the football fans will try to watch this prestigious match between AC Milan and Sevilla. However, due to time constraints and personal and professional works, some passionate football fans will not be able to watch the match. So, for those unfortunate football fans I am giving some links of websites that provide online live score of all major football matches below:

Sportpress.com

Live Score

Footie Scorez

Goalzz.com

Goal.com

Live Football Scores