Posts tagged ChampionsLeague at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

For the record, "I'm fantastic" in Italian is "Sono fantastici." So says Google, anyway.

In a move that was as hard to predict as the sun rising in the east this morning, former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was named the new manager at Inter Milan today.

The big Italian club has won Serie A three times in the last three years under Roberto Mancini, but after a series of spectacular flame-outs in the UEFA Champions League, Inter sacked Mancini and brought in the Special One to change their European fortunes.

Inter plans to start by giving Mourinho £100 million to spend during the summer transfer window, which means the raid on Stamford Bridge should begin any day now. Didier Drogba is probably gone after his Moscow slap fest -- even though Henk Ten Cate, the coach who tossed Drogba under the bus, was shown the door last week. Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho might follow Mourinho to Milan as well. After all, if you want to kill your old club, you start by buying all their biggest stars, right?

John Terry's fateful penalty kick slip might have cost Chelsea the Champions League Final yesterday, but at least one Chelsea coach would like you to know that it wasn't his fault. In fact, he knows exactly whose fault it is.

"John was not in the first five to take a kick but things changed during the game," said the Chelsea assistant manager Henk Ten Cate. "The sending-off of [Didier] Drogba made us change it [the order]. It's unbelievable that it should happen to him, though."

Drogba was sent off for a girly little slap at the face of Man United defender Nemanja Vidic in the 116th minute. He likely would have taken the penalty that Terry ended up taking. So just like Bill Buckner wasn't supposed to be in the game when that ground ball went through his legs in the 1986 World Series, Terry wasn't supposed to be the one to take that decisive penalty.

The Ivorian striker has been a huge brat since Jose Mourinho was sacked early in the season, and Ten Cate, who had feuded with members of Mourinho's staff in the past, wasted no time throwing one of the Special One's favorites under the bus. Once again, the ghost of Mourinho still haunts Stamford Bridge. I suspect Chelsea fans can't wait for Drogba to be a ghost there as well.

All those fears of English soccer fans starting trouble in Moscow during the Champions League Final were unfounded. None of the 40,000 fans at the big game were arrested or detained, and the heavy police presence ensured a lack of trouble.

Alas, that was not the case back in London, where Chelsea fans took out their frustrations on local riot police by throwing bottles at them and causing other such mayhem. 13 people were arrested, and one was cited drunk driving and "grievous bodily harm" for running over a dude's leg.

Clearly, these fans are smart enough to know the difference between English cops and Russian cops -- namely, one has a baton and the other has a Kalashnikov. Plus, an arrest in England leads to a citation and fine, while an arrest in Russia leads to a trip to Siberia. Big difference there. Rioting is easier to do when the consequences aren't so severe.

Blame it on the rain. Or the pitch. Don't blame John Terry.

The Chelsea defender played brilliantly for 120 minutes in this Champions League Final, clearing balls away from his goal and keeping Manchester United from having more than one goal all night. His header away against Ryan Giggs' shot in extra time may have been the only thing that kept the score tied. That set up a penalty shootout, and Petr Cech's save of Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty set up John Terry with the dream scenario of every kid who plays soccer -- put one past Edwin van der Sar, and lift the European Cup.

Only the rain had been pouring down in Moscow for a half-hour, making the uneven new pitch in Luzhniki Stadium even more slippery than it should have been. And when Terry stepped forward to make his kick, the grass refused to give him a solid place to put his foot. He slipped. The ball bounced off the post. Chance gone. Two kicks later, Nicolas Anelka put his penalty right into Edwin van der Sar's chest. Cue the Dramatics.

Reuters Soccer Blog is reporting that 15,000 Russian cops are on duty in Moscow today to keep an eye on the 50,000 or so English fans being flown in and herded around like so much cattle for today's UEFA Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. That photo shows a select few heading to Luzhniki Stadium earlier today.

Yeah, I don't think we'll be seeing a repeat of what happened in Manchester last week. As our pal Orson reminds us, police and military are basically indistinguishable in Russia. The next drunken moron that tosses a beer mug at these guys should get a proper bashing today and a trip to Siberia tomorrow. None of that "Stop, or I'll say stop again!" in Moscow tonight.

As if Nemanja Vidic's verbal poke at Didier Drogba wasn't enough, Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez has stepped forward to plunk down his two cents on why Chelsea can't possibly win.

"We are a better side than Chelsea. That is a psychological problem for them. They may say the Premier League is another matter but we are convinced that winning it will have an impact in what happens in the final. We are favorites and everyone knows it, and we are not worried by Chelsea. We are confident and focused but, for them, it is more difficult. This is more than a final for them - their whole season rests on the outcome of this game and I am convinced they have some problems in that team."

Ah, Carlito. Where would we possibly be without your hot-blooded Argentinian tongue spitting out such pseudo-intellectual blather? No wonder the ladies love you so.

Perhaps Señor Tevez would do well to consider past history. Just a year ago, after Man United took the league title, Chelsea turned around and toppled them in the FA Cup Final. Oh, and didn't the Blues beat the Red Devils in a league match just a few weeks ago?

While most of the coverage this year's Champions League Final has focused on potential problems off the pitch, some are starting to wonder if the pitch itself might be a problem. Reports out of Moscow suggest that Luzhniki Stadium's new grass sod might not be up to snuff. Said one BBC Radio correspondent:

"The pitch doesn't look too good. If you look closely you can see where it has been patched up, particularly around the center circle. It's possible the ball won't run true in places"

Granted, it's probably still better than the stadium's old artificial surface, which was ripped out after last October's Russia v. England EURO 2008 qualifier -- as opposed to before, which would have negated Russia's home field advantage. Still, a European final deserves better than an uneven pitch, even if it does add to the fun. Some pundits are already suggesting that the bumps in the pitch are giant bags of cash that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich left behind for the refs. ZING!

Might we see another classic bumpy-pitch blunder like Paul Robinson's infamous goal-kick whiff against Croatia? (Which never, ever gets old, by the way.) If Russia wants to host another European final, they better hope not.

Apparently, some Manchester United players really enjoy poking bears with sticks.

Two days before Man United faces Chelsea in the Champions League Final, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney have decided to make a few comments to the press about Didier Drogba.

"Sometimes he goes in very strong, and sometimes he pretends he is very weak," Vidic said ahead of Wednesday's final. "He plays with your mind and tries to make you think about the next tackle. ... He can pretend he fell down to win a penalty, but referees know that. The Champions League final is a big game and I'm sure the ref will know his job."

Rooney threw in this winner: "Sometimes he seems as if his head's not quite there."

Clearly, these guys learned nothing from Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who lashed out at Drogba in the media days before the second leg of Champions League semifinal, then watched helplessly as Drogba scored two goals to lead Chelsea over Liverpool and to the final. Yes, we all know Drogba enjoys a good dive. That doesn't mean you repeat that to the press -- not unless you want Drogba to walk out of that tunnel completely focused on destroying you.

Last year, Drogba scored the goal that beat Man United in the FA Cup Final. Why do I suddenly have a feeling we might see that again?

This news report out of Russia takes a closer look at the police force in Moscow and how they are preparing to deal with tens of thousands of English soccer fans for Wednesday's Champions League Final between Manchester United and Chelsea. At least one officer doesn't seem too concerned:

"I've seen how British fans behave in the arenas. They're like kids compared to the Russian fans. There are sometimes problems in the streets, but I'm sure we'll manage it."

So a group called the Prawn Sandwich Brigade doesn't scare the cops too much. Shocking. Then again, perhaps they're just glad that no Polish clubs reached the Final.