Posts Tagged ‘AS Roma’

CHAMPS LEAGUE: GROUP STAGE PREDICTIONS

Friday, August 27th, 2010

The Champions League group stage begins in about three weeks and we are scouring the ONELOVE community for predictions, opinions, and irrational arguments surrounding the upcoming round.  To get the ball rolling, we caught up with OLFC West teammates Darren Davies and Cameron Araghi.

Davies, an LA area club coach, says: ‘Chelsea will win it (slight bias). They’ve been together, relatively unchanged, for three years and they have depth. Barça could win, especially with the addition of Villa, and Real is pretty damn serious. Picking up Ozil was huge. And then Mourinho has the formula for success.’

Cameron Araghi, another ONELOVE Ambassador, chimes in: ‘I always say Barça.  They have the statistics.  They have an attack-minded forward in Villa and if Mascherano signs, they will be the best team on earth.  I see Real Madrid doing very well this year, but they will fall short in the major tournaments.  And I may be wrong, but something tells me that Rafa is going to ruin Inter.’

What do you say?  Who will surprise us this year?  Who will disappoint?

The group stage fixtures will take place in September (14/15, 28/29), October (19/20), November (2/3, 23/24), and wrap up in early December (7/8).

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EUROPEAN LEAGUE LEADERS

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Seasons are drawing to a close rather dramatically across Europe.  Here is what we’re seeing in each of the top leagues.

* many thanks to Marc Roseblade for the stats.

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LONELY AT THE TOP: Inter Milan and the Serie A

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

By Jake Glavies

Italian football is proving to be a one-horse race this season and it’s Inter Milan out in front galloping down the home stretch. Inter has been unstoppable over the past two months, compiling a 5-0-2 record since it’s last loss Dec. 5 to Juventus; the squad has also recorded 14 goals in the span. The most impressive victory of the stretch came Sunday in a 3-0 win over Cagliari.

Forward Alberto Diego Milito has been at the head of the charge as of late, accounting for six scores over the span.  Samuel Eto’o, one of the game’s most feared strikers, has added eight league goals on the year with 12 scores in all competitions.

And the squad is only getting stronger. After a lengthy layoff, Macedonian forward Goran Pandev is beginning to hit his stride. Finding the back of the net in three straight league matches, Pandev gives Inter one of the most scoring minded front lines in all of Serie A. Coach Jose Mourinho will look to the trio to avenge the squad’s first defeat of the season, a 1-0 loss at Sampdoria, when the Nerazzurri travel to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris Feb. 20.

Just two weeks ago, Inter further demonstrated its dominance, trouncing second place AS Roma 2-0 at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. With an eight point lead over Roma and the season more than half over, it would take a disastrous turn of events for Inter not to claim a fifth straight league title.

As for Roma, a slim 1-0 win over Fiorentina Sunday gave Claudio Ranieri’s club a leg up on third place AC Milan, who has failed to find the win column in its last four matches – most recently drawing 0-0 at Bologna.

Upcoming matches against Napoli, Palermo and Roma, will certainly put Inter to the test. Beyond his front line, Mourinho will look to goalkeeper Julio Cesar to keep a long list of talented scorers from stealing a victory. Facing the likes of Francesco Totti, Edison Cavani and Marek Hamsik, Cesar will be key if Inter is to win a fifth straight league crown.

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