It was announced today that Real Madrid trio; Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Marcelo will miss next weeks Champions League Quarter-Final first leg tie against Tottenham. Ronaldo has a hamstring injury, Benzema with a thigh problem and Marcelo with a sore rib. They should, however, return for the second leg, and they won't be available for Real Madrid's match on April 9th against Athletic Bilbao.
Below is the draw for the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final. Again, the team on the left will be playing the first leg at home. Ties will be played on 26/27 April and 3/4 May 2011.
Semi-Final 1:
Inter Milan or Schalke04 vs Chelsea or Manchester United
Semi-Final 2:
Real Madrid or Tottenham vs Barcelona or Shakhtar Donetsk
Below are the final results from the UEFA Champions League Last-16 Round. Check back tomorrow for the full list of the Quarter-Final draw.
Chelsea 0 - 0 FC Copenhagen (agg 2-0) Chelsea Win
Manchester United 2 - 1 Marseille (agg 2-1) Manchester United Win
Shakhtar Donetsk 3 - 0 Roma (agg 6-2) Shakhtar Donetsk Win
Barcelona 3 - 1 Arsenal (agg 4-3) Barcelona Win
Tottenham 0 - 0 AC Milan (agg 1-0) Tottenham Win
Schalke 04 3 - 1 Valencia (agg 4-2) Schalke 04 Win
Bayern Munich 2 - 3 Inter Milan (agg 3-3) Inter Milan Win (on away goals)
Real Madrid 3 - 0 Lyon (agg 4-1) Real Madrid Win
Fellow blog readers, after quite some time off blogging, I have decided to return with a key feature in the news - besides Mubarek's resignation. The decision over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 London Olympics.
The two teams fighting for the stadium are; West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspurs.
In my opinion Tottenham deserve the stadium due to the financial aspects. They would be guaranteeing full capacity almost every fortnight allowing income due to ticket prices. It also adds as another stadium for a World Cup to be played in, creating income through advertising and several matches being played there. Lastly, Champions League football will be added to the long list of possible events there. The only downside is Tottenham want to demolish the running track, therefore turning the stadium into a purely football, or rugby, venue.
On the other hand, the stadium could easily be given to West Ham United (the favourites) because they will be maintaining the running track, which will allow the prestigious stadium to be used as a football/rugby/athletics ground. However the financial benefits, in my opinion, are not as great due to the fact West Ham will not be able to offer sell out crowds (60,000) as they, at the moment, seem to be taking a turn down a division to the nPower Championship. Furthermore, they cannot offer Champions League football. The upside is the ground can be used for numerous events and will link a newly regenerated Stratford, to a newly regenerated West Ham United.
These are my opinions, I am curious to hear what you have to say about this dilemma. Post your comments below.
