'Tis the Time of the Champions
Fresh off the the tracks of that massive Serie A (and B), EPL, la Liga and Bundesliga picspam, I now bring you:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Newsletter! (thanks to
hloke for that word)
I was wondering why there were so few matches being played this week, then I read and realized, Oh right, it's Champions League time. In other words, 16 matches are being played (or have already been played) between today and tomorrow. Sixteen. And a whole bunch of them I actually want to watch. *grabs hair* ARG, NO TIME!!! *spazzles* Full schedule and results can be found here.
The games that are of interest to me are: (in almost no particular order)
1. AC Milan vs. Lille (Group H): Forza Rossoneri!!! I don't particularly care for Lille, but if my team is playing, damn right that I'm gonna watch/follow that game. I'll download whatever's necessary for me to cheer my team on. (May Paolo's injury (ies) recover quickly. We need our God back!)
Update: That match has now been played. The results? Tied at 0-0. Another bloody tie. $#^%#%^#$&^&%whyohpaolowhy????(so nice to see Gila playing). This is majorly ARG-y. For a comprehensive and detailed report, go here.
gilardino_fans is a very nice community dedicated to our favorite Zegna-modeling forward. And the mods there are pretty cool too *grins*.
2. Man Utd vs. Benfica (Group F): Isn't it ironic that the media starlet of Man Utd, Ronnie, is actually from Portugal? And suposedly, this is sort of an occasion for Fergie and co. to "avenge" their loss to Benfica during their matchup in December. Plus, Cricri will get to see his national teammate Nuno Gomez again. (Those two had quite a bit of fun during the WC, heheheh)
Update: 1-0 for Man Utd. Whooo! Saha scored the winner, but poor Ronnie got jeered at by Benfica fans. *pets his pretty hair* Match report here.
3. Real de Madrid vs. Dynamo Kiev (Group E): Ruud said that he'll play, even though his wife just gave birth to a baby girl last night. Awwwwww.... I hope that Capello makes good use of that galactico team that he has. And a lot of Canna appearances would be nice.
Update: Real won, 5-1. But erm...Kiev (or Kyiv or however you want to spell it) isn't exactly the biggest threat, you know? I personally can't name a single player on that team and basically, I know it's where Sheva got his start (DUH). But it's nice to see some Soviet footie being played. Ronaldo made an appearance, but not mention of Canna. Ruud did score twice though!
4. Arsenal vs. Porto (Group G): Jose's old team vs Arsene's Emirates-sponsored Gunners. Seeing how I have no idea who plays for Porto, my vote is definitively going for those cuddly Arsenal Ladies, led by their ever huggable captain Titi Henry. (By the way, I didn't that Vieira used to be captain of Arsenal. Yeah, my footie knowledge is rather limited to the present situation of things. But no, I still do know who Platini and Rossi and Beckenbauer are. *rolls eyes* Not that limited. )
Update: 2-0 for Arsenal. Thierry Henry and Aleksandr Hleb (no idea who that is...) scored.It was Titi's 50th goal in European competition! The rest of the team looked pretty good too (which pretty much translates into Cesc=cute, Freddie=hot and Jens=erm...bendy?)
5. Chelsea vs. Levski (Group A): I understand that Levski is a football club from Sofia, Bulgaria. Good for them. I still want Jose to lead Lampsies, JT, Micha and Sheva to victory. Right, and Ashely Cole too.
6. Bremen vs. Barcelona (Group A): As you've probably noticed, I write the name of the list that I want to win first in the pair-up. So yes, I'm rooting for Bremen. Why? Torsten, Per, Miro and Klasnik. (But ZAMBROO!!! And Ronaldhino's gotta count for something...)
8. AS Roma vs. Valencia (Group D): Lol, Valencia's pretty defender Ayala said that stopping Totti is the key to win . Oh, you two are both so pretty, I'm sure that you could compare hairstyling tips on the field. *sigh* But despite Ayala, my heart goes out to Totters and Dani. Go giallorossi!
7. Liverpool vs. Galatasaray (Group C): No clue who Galastaray is, but yay, Captain Stevie and the Reds!
9. Inter vs. Bayern Munich (Group B): Holy Maldini, talk about a powerhouse pair-up! Ok, I listed Inter first, but really, that's only because of Matrix. And Figo. And Grosso. And, of course, Zlatan. But on the other hand, Bayern has Poldi, Schweini, Lahmi, Hargreaves and to a (very) extended way, Ollie Kahn. But it's Inter and I'm a rossoneri tifosa, so my vote goes to Bayern. Plus, they have the Schweinski. By the way, did you know that one of Internazionale's nicknames is il Biscione , which means "the big grass snake"? ROFL. I think that I'll stick with gli nerazzurri, thankyouverymuch.
So there you have it. NINE games. Plus an extra tenth one, Lyon vs. Bucuresti Steaua, because of my Romanian friends. (Unsurprisingly, Lyon won 3-0.) X_X How in the world am I going to be able to follow, download, watch AND picspam about all of these???!!!
Anyways, I'll post more results and pictures from all of them after tomorrow. For now, some pre-match pictures: (yes, that was the cue for a picspam, and what a incoherent one it shall be. There's no logic nor sense in their order, you have been warned, lol)
Let's start with some Chelsea training in Bulgaria, because they are just all so slashy and Jose is always funny to watch.
JT is making a pretty face, Sheva is looking pretty and the other guys are staring at John's arse marvelous running.
Here's the captain again, cosying up to one Khalid Boulahrouz, whom I had no idea was playing for Chelsea. Speaking of JT, it's nice to have him back. I hope that his back injury isn't going to bother him in the near future.
JT is obviously very happy to be back. Awwww...just look at that smile! (But where's Frankie, John???)
*is impressed with the layout* What a pretty nice background this picture has. And for some weird reason, I think that Jose's two finger point is funny. (Yes, I'm talking to plants already, so I know how my sanity is fearing.)
The Special One is either scratching his nose or gesturing in a "look-into-my-eyes-and-tell-me-what-you-see-do-I-look-afraid-to-you?" kinda way.
Micha and Ashley observe while the rest of the team attempts once again to play slashy!air ballet. Unfortunately, they are lacking their best ballerinas, Sheva and Drogba.
Here, Micha is trying to show off those gorgeous legs of his. Or maybe he's just pulling his shorts up. I have to say, I really like the Chelsea training kit. So...blue.
LOL. It looks like Jose has just finished praying. Or is about to rub his hands in a very Mr Burns' -like way. Either way, he still looks better with hair. (Yes, Chelsea + hair, or lack of thereof, = me ranting a lot)
*stares* Sheva stretching with a very angry-Russian-esque expression on his face. Or he's just annoyed that Kaka hasn't called him back yet. (My rossoneri striker OTP!!!)
Let's move on now to some very happy Liverpool training...
You know, taken out of context, this picture could be very suspicious-looking....
Stevie is focusing very hard on kicking those balls...*coughpunintendedcough*
Oh lookie, it's Valencia's pretty Ayala! He's actually the first and only Argentinian that I noticed while watching a game. At an airport. About 5 meters away from the television. And still, his prettiness shined through.
On the right, the man that Ayala said that they had to stop. Totters is, naturally, looking confused. *snuggles her Francesco---though Ilary might mind*
Speaking of Roma, did you know that Ancelotti, Capello AND Nataka all used to play at Roma? (Srsly, Nataka, of all people!) I don't know what Capello looked like or dressed back then, but I do know that this:
..is probably not the best way to look if you're trying to appear serious. I mean, tied at the neck cardigan AND two-toned glasses? I think not.
Arsene Wenger, on the other hand, is totally working his Nike-made Arsenal manager jacket:
Oh, and this:
..gives "Arsenal Ladies" a whole new meaning...A lovely shade, yes, but hot pink? Hahahhahahah
Barca flew to England for their upcoming match against Bremen and here is what I found:
Ronaldhino, the movie star
Incognito sunglasses? Check. Stylish little hat? Check. Nifty messenger bag (he must have stolen that from Canna!)? Check. Two suit-wearing and impeccably groomed bodyguards? Check and check. He even has the walking and posing simultaneously thing down. Not too shabby, not too shabby at all...
Barca's coach decided to grab some attention himself...
..so he showed up to the press conference with the curliest hair not seen on a sheep.
In the meanwhile, at the Bremen training camp...
Torsten Frings, Per Mertesacker and Tim Borrowski practices whatever Klinski taught them during for the WC. (But sadly, no blue Pilates band in sight.)
Miro was surprised that the ball bounced off his head...
...and the Fringsters showed off, not unlike his lover best friend over at Chelski. And oh, Kappa strip! That's cool, but on a German kit? Weird.
Over at Bayern, Lukas trained some more and fangirls pondered where did Bastian go. (sorry about the smallness)
Also, Bayern has the coolest stadium ever (perhaps even more than San Siro, mostly because they don't have to share it).
Allianz Arena. Doesn't it look like a super-modern inflated German doughnut?
Finally, Man Utd arrived in Lisbon and Cristiano got the full star-treatment:
'cept that he only got the lousy local police escort, no snazzily-dressed bodyguards for him.
Roonz was very happy to be in Portugal too...
...as was SAF. (a.k.a. Sir Alex Ferguson, a.k.a. Fergie, a.k.a. the man you don't want to piss off while you're playing at Man Utd)
After getting off the plane, Wayne and Ronnie decided to sit together for the trip to their hotel...
EEeek. *points to the teeny pic* Hand-touching much?
From the Real Madrid vs Real Betis game, some pics of Becks "warming up" on the sidelines (he didn't play because he's suffering form tonsilitis. O.O )
Awww...it almost looks like he's cheering on his team, had he not that lofty expression on his face.
Bah, if I was the reporter sitting behind him, I would take fully advantage of the fact that David Beckham is showing off his derriere to me. But noooo....she looks elsewhere.
It seems that Ronaldo and Diarra had fun today during practice. (WHERE THE HELL IS CANNA???!!!!)
(There are page after page of pictures from today's games, but I don't have the time nor the energy to post them now. That'll come by itself soon enough.)
In non-UEFA news today:
Dida Silva had to get his right leg amputated after a car accident. Now that is just awful. Imagine being a world-class footballer and losing your leg. Your career is cut short and you'll never be able to this:
...ever again. Poor him, my symphathy goes to him and his fans. They must be devastated.
On a much a happier note (unless you're a Portsmouth fan *glares*), CHELSKI RETAINED THEIR #1 RANKING IN THE EPL, yay!!!! Portsmouth lost 0-1 to the Bolton Wanderers (exactly. Who?), so Chelsea is still at the top of the rankings. Me happy! Me verry happy!!!
A picture of the nice gent who scored against Portsmouth:
That would be Kevin Nolan, who is on the left and enthusiastically thumping his chest. Good for you, Bolton!
Finally, Mini #5 was born yersterday! Luis Kehl is his name and he shared a birthday with Michael Ballack. (Crap, I forgot to wish him a happy anniversary yesterday! *pacepalm* HOW COULD I??!) I'm happy for Kehli and Tina and hope that Metze will be named godfather, hehehehe. Woudln't that be oh-so-wonderful?
All right, I've got to run now. Thank you for reading and don't forget to comment! ♥
(Images are from Yahoo!Sports and Getty Images, as if the watermarks weren't obvious enough...)