Revenues from UEFA competitions

Let us finalise this series by condensing the revenues the top teams' earning from the UEFA competitions. 

For starters, the 2015/16 season the UEFA Champions League and Europa League’s media rights generated EUR 1.6 billion and EUR 312 million, respectively.

The largest share of funds available to participants is distributed on the basis of sporting performance,  and more than 40% of funds is still allocated according to the value of UEFA’s broadcasting agreements within clubs’ domestic market (“market pool”).

Therefore, due to lucrative deals with BT (United Kingdom) and Mediaset (Italy), the distribution system is currently most beneficial for Premier League and Serie A clubs.

Sharing Italy’s large Champions League’s market pool revenues with a limited number of other Italian clubs, Juventus FC are an example of a team that has benefited from the current distribution to secure a place among Europe’s top 10 by EV. 

In the last two seasons the Bianconeri have received EUR 165 million from UEFA, EUR 111 million alone from the Italian market pool.

Manchester United FC have maintained their position as the most valuable club despite missing European football in 2014/15 and only qualifying for the UEFA Europa League at the end of the 2015/16 season, thus receiving lower income from international competitions.

In the last two seasons Spanish clubs have been the top earners in terms of revenues from UEFA competitions. This result has been mainly driven by performance bonuses resulting from international on-pitch dominance rather than being due to the market share allocated to Spanish clubs.

With the aim of rewarding greater sporting performance, from the 2018/19 season UEFA will introduce a new four pillar financial distribution system, including a fixed starting fee, bonuses according to the clubs' performance and individual coefficient and a reduction of the market pool’s weight.

However, the recently approved reform of the UEFA Champions League will also guarantee each of the four top-ranked national associations four spots in the group stage. While limiting the extent to which some clubs benefit from the market pool, this new format highlights once again the impact a club’s underlying market can have on operating revenues and, ultimately, on its EV.

UEFA Champions League 2017 final tonight - Ronaldo and no Messi

The UEFA Champions League 2017 final in Cardiff between Real Madrid  and Juventus brings the year's football fixtures to a close in grand style. In tonight football, there is Ronaldo and no Messi.

The analysis of football tonight will centre around different brands of the game the fast defensive Italian football with swift precise counter attacking and the solid systematic attack of the Spanish.

It must be said that Real have a lost a second or so in their speed of attack and became a calculating force of destruction. This is due to the aging of the Ballon' Dor winner who now plays more with head than feet.

Without the brute force of Athletico Madrid, the cunning nature of FC Barcelona, both protagonists ooze confidence as their capability to dish out the two elements is common knowledge.
 
This Champions league brings few things to the fore. Zinedine Zidane, like many Spanish managers fast-tracked into greatness, has people talking of him as a great coach already. Winning this will make his fans happy.

Personally, a great manager is not one who is able to stick when thrust into luxury. That is not bad either, as many managers have failed to develop staying power in those positions. To me, it is a sign that one is not a bad manager, than to confirm as a good manager, and there is a huge difference.

The good thing is that many, like Pep Guardiola, develop in that environment to be good managers due to coaching the best players who earn thew most money, by default of course. The managers coaching the worst squads with minimum budgets and bring them to greatness, usually go back to find another situation of a rescue mission perennially. Back to the match tonight.

A lot of experience comes to the party, with Cristiano Ronaldo making his 136th appearance, the only players with more than 50 with two different clubs (52 with Manchester United and 84 with Real Madrid) and Gianlugi Buffon (39) making it his 104th appearance.

Buffon's case is a sad one. He is one of the two centurions (with Zlatan Ibrahimovic) to have not won it. H e has been there many times and sentimentally, he deserves the winners' medal. However, Ronaldo has to put the Ronaldo or Messi argument to bed.

Already, the Portuguese has honuors with his country and record hat-tricks under his belt. Still, there is an army of doubters of who is the greatest. This is not a blatant support for him, but as a team player, he has no equal. Lionel Messi has incredible individual brilliance.

Without making this a poll of who is better, I leave it in your hands and look to Gareth Bale. Consider that the match is in Cardiff and Gareth Bale, born in a hospital a few minutes away from the stadium, may play only part of the match from the bench. It is never rosy even for the best.

Who is your money on, and why?

Are CAF courses worthwhile?

With Jarcqi Shipanga, Brave Gladiators coach and CAF Instructor

Since the Confederation of African Football decided to follow the global trend of licencing coaches based on the common UEFA pattern, many countries implemented the licensing system and afforded coaches the CAF C, B and A qualifications. I am personally at the beginning of that chain despite the fact that I qualified for some equivalent.

My personal observation, having attended the best in South America and in Europe, is that all the course material is the same. What the system does is to equip coaches with uniform qualification based on the elementary, intermediate and advanced coaching material, most of which matches UEFA and FIFA modules very closely at each level.

What happened before, as I went through all the different level materials meant for the CAF licenses, is that what I taught as Level 1 and 2 was regarded as Level 3 or 4 (Advanced) in some countries and even in the current set-up. Regardless of where one acquires their badges in Africa, there will be a certain degree of understanding of their knowledge, aptitude and understanding, provided they started with the current system.

In attending the courses from the low level, the challenge is the interaction and even the examinations. Does one participate to the best of their knowledge and ability, or stoop low as a novice? Both scenarios have a danger. One does not want to be correctly answering each and every question and arguing the basics that are not necessarily correct at a higher level. That can extremely annoy the instructor big time.

To also take a back seat and let others digest the course material and assimilate all the data can be boring as well as raise question marks about your credibility, because the course directors and instructors have your CV, which they suspect you doctored anyway.

That is not helped by the examination time as the candidates begin to wonder on the requirements at that level. How much details suffices or is inadequate, is a source of another headache when writing the examinations or doing the practicals. The battle is fighting the urge to provide TMI (Too Much Information) yet providing relevant information and coaching.

One common aspect at different stages of learning is in mathematics. One divided by four in lower grades, the answer is; it can’t. At a higher level, things change. This is the dilemma of working at lower levels.

National associations have been asked to run ‘equivalent course’ for those coaches with foreign certificates or extensive prior experience as coaches or players. This noble idea had holes in it. Equivalent course students write examinations, in most cases, it is oral. Missing some bits of class makes a mammoth difference. The answers to their questions include the material from the level of the course of their ‘equivalent’.  

Otherwise, it is great to see the continent trying to bring at par all colleagues, and that parity is aimed at bridging the gap with Europe’s best. CAF Pro is being drafted and should be in line with the UEFA Pro. CAF and UEFA are working on the syllabus and the instructors for these courses.

This is Africa and those responsible for running the courses are less likely to freely help people they think will take their positions. (Who cares about positions?). If you are somewhere out of the ordinary, you will have to hassle big time, but good luck. See you in the next class.

How to become a coach

One is only considered a coach after successful completion of training provided by a competent trainer provided by FIFA, CAF or other confederations, football associations or the structures under their auspices. An example of structures that can provide training is the Olympic Solidarity Committee, but still, it is basically a FIFA program. Let us start from the beginning. Entry requirements will differ from association to association, but for beginners' courses, anyone can enroll. Normally, you need to know how to read and write. Your playing history counts for nothing. I must say to many association and their Premier Leagues, coaches education ranks last and is never a requirement to be employed in that capacity.

You may be required to pay fees depending on the association. Where there is a coaches association, they are responsible for organising the course, i.e. dates and venues. They will be responsible for providing instructors. The fees you pay go towards venue rental, paying the instructor’s fees, transport, food accommodation and entertainment, course material as in photocopying, hand-outs, administration and that association has to make profit for its general operations.

The coaches association will advertise, which is another expense, and get all participants names and their payments. Courses are usually rated from Level 1 to Level 4, where Level 1 is entry-level. Some, as it was in earlier days, will have Preparatory/Preliminary, Intermediate and Advanced Levels. As an entry-level coach, you will be expected to be able to demonstrate basic technique to players.

The time frame ranges from 7 to 14 days from Level 1 up. Prices differ from association to association, course to course and from time to time. You will be required to write an examination at the end of each course and do a practical which are divided into two parts; your own performance of a certain technique as you would demonstrate to your team and the actual coaching of a group of players. These players can be your course mates or a group of players provided by course coordinators. Here you will be tested for your understanding of the subject, ability to handle players, organisation, time keeping and the like.

In the theory examination, you will be tested on the whole course material. It is imperative that you get tested on the Laws of the Game. This will usually be done by a referees’ instructor who will give you a test which referees do. At this level, the material may be level-friendly and the marking a little generous. It becomes serious business when you do higher levels. At higher levels, failing the Laws of the Game will cost you a certificate.

A lot of these will depend on the standards of the examining authorities and all this information is very general. Basic first aid and sports medicine are part of the curriculum from Level 1. A qualified Sports Medicine doctor will teach and examine trainees on the subject.

Level 1 will basically cover the proper football language like is defining technique, tactics, skill, conditioning and demonstration of these. It will cover basic performance of these and how to coach them. Higher levels will require advanced knowledge of the human biology like the locomotor systems, dietary needs and respiration as well as human behaviour.

Level 2 is a more serious result oriented program that may take as much time but more detail about planning training sessions and handling players is emphasised. There is a shift to physical conditioning and detailed technique training.

Level 3 is longer, harder and more demanding mentally and physically. Tactics are the leading topic as well as conditioning. Match analysis and game observation are top of the agenda. Sometimes student coaches will be required to go to matches with specific tasks to do and look out for and given assignments and home works. They may be required to do a class presentation.

At level 4, there may be a requirement that you have access to coaching 11 versus 11 teams as you will be given assignments and be required to give feedback from time to time and an instructor will visit you several times before you get certificated. Theoretically, technique, tactics, physical conditioning, dressing room management, data collection and Laws of the Game become very important.

You may be asked to do the football business side and marketing. At all levels, psychology is taught, starting very basic and becoming extremely important at Level 4. Sometimes there is a requirement to do media relations. There are a lot of other important things to learn and depending on the available instructors and personnel, the order of importance of topics may vary.

I must say that many football associations allow the existence and operation of a football coaches association. According to FIFA, only the football association is answerable for the game and its structures as the custodians of the game. It is then up to coaches to organise themselves as an association under the mother bodies.

FIFA will provide instructors and pay for them for programs like the FUTURO courses. Associations have the responsibility to request for these. Trainees are usually encouraged to attend in their own political territories but it is not a rule. Usually, it would be a free course with a few goodies for attendants, but associations get extra activities on the programs that require payment.

The same goes for the International Solidarity Committee training. The IOC will usually target youth coaches and school teachers. There may be special courses that can be organised from time to time but all FIFA does is wait for association to apply or request.

Sometimes specialist courses are organised. This can be goalkeeper training courses, youth training for players below 10 and so forth. There can be refresher seminars that are target specific. It can be a single subject seminar covering tactics only. It can be even be further divided into topics like 'Defending corner kicks', 'Attacking from wings' and 'Winning the ball in Midfield'.

For qualified coaches, an attachment with big clubs that have experienced coaches, this can be a worthwhile experience. It helps cement all the theory learnt and boosts the confidence especially if one has never been in a situation to coach. This does not substitute the moment of truth when you are by yourself and 40 players are waiting to hear what you have to say and show. It can be very scary but it is very normal.

CAF just started to have proper certification system that is in line with the UEFA licensing, a few years back. As expected, they have done a lot of work in North and West Africa. Both UEFA and CAF adopted the C, B and A Licensing system. After the UEFA A License, there is a Pro License. These are however done by individual associations under the authority of UEFA. CAF still runs the courses and Lesotho and Botswana had C and B License course this year.

I may have omitted a few other things as I am taking all this from my head. I encourage you to search for your information on the net, though from my experience, it is not readily available. Associations usually do not advertise for these courses and you will know about them when they are done. Good luck.

Manchester United look dangerous for Arsenal's liking

Manchester United played a match Arsenal should have not watched. The Red Devils devoured Marseille 2-1 in a UEFA Champions League encounter last night, proving to be both lucky and well managed.

At this point of the season, all teams hope to see fatigue setting in in other teams to their advantage. United, having an inside out season and being at the summit of the Barclays Premier League, seemed to be peaking. For their fans, it is welcome news.

The fans and players on chasers, Arsenal and leaders, United is justified given the Gunners will have far less matches to play than Manchester United. It is tempting to suppose they will rest more, being fresher for most of their league matches and suffering fewer injuries. United could be thought to be at risk with the opposite happening in their camp.

However, shrewd as Sir Alex is, United may be getting all the high level practice there is to collect his second or third treble. There is no reason to believe they will burn out, given their main striker is playing the final 20-30% of the matches these days.

Top scorer, Dimitr Berbetov has been set aside by SAF who is giving Chicharito and Wayne Rooney more playing time. The Mexican is proving to be hungry to cement the starting 11 place and is impressing. This makes United very dangerous, and as a Gunner fan, this is not the news you should be reading.

The rot of the Beautiful Game, courtesy of UEFA

Barcelona beat Arsenal because they were a better team. The referee messed up not only his job, but the livelihood of several grown-up men with families and a couple of teenagers. It may have been a genuine mistake, but how many times does football survive fatalities like this?

A couple of finals ago, UEFA showed how rotten they were in preferring Barcelona to Chelsea for revenue purposes. Didier Drogba was eventually fined and suspended for politely putting his humble opinion across.

In the transfer window, you remember how Howard Webb was not ‘available for sale by Manchester United’. A few people have cried foul on how lenient United are treated by the FA.

The rot is not only manufactured in the FA and UEFA offices as many can testify. England has been diplomatic in trying to explain how they lost the bid to Russia to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Questions are still being sought about the strength of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup bid. Some think that the winning bids guaranteed the President a life-time of fortune.

FIFA courts controversy with chilling accuracy. Their top officials were ready to sell their votes for hosting the World Cups like dried fruit in an African market. At the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, the ‘no-goal’ by Frank Lampard was the climax of their blunders. The Cameroon 2-1 defeat to England in Italia ’90 was one pure conspiracy. There are many.

They are not alone. CAF own other football associations which are football dinosaurs. They do not to pull off any antics anymore to qualify them for African Nations Cup or the World Cups. It will not be surprising if qualifier matches are cancelled altogether. The only reason they are actually still being played is that they provide further level playing ground for looting funds. Syndicates have to make money.   

The CAF Presidency is a full-time career and there is no successor born yet. Zimbabwe was supposed to host the 1998 AFCON Cup. It was whiskered off to the north. Only South Africa hosted the Cup until the 2010 Edition in 2010. It will be a long time before the region sees another. The North and West has hosted and won everything besides South Africa who hosted and won the 1990 version. African Player of the Year awards are the domain of French speaking nationals.

Where is the beautiful game of football going? A gentleman like Arsene Wenger will not let his honest opinion to protect his character. Jose Mourinho has been labeled ‘loud mouthed’. These guys will find it hard to be honoured for the way they revolutionised the game. One day, they will tell all.

Coming to Arsenal, they dig their own grave anyways. It is not once or twice, but almost always that when they matters in their own hands, they give away the initiative. That is the mentality of boys. The Gunners cannot be old boys anymore. If they cannot be men enough, Wenger should wield the axe and chances are that the boys may mature ‘footballically’ if the manager himself is axed.

These players and Wenger have been involved in a perennial and sterile relationship for a long time to necessitate external fertilisation or surgery. If you read me correctly, that change must happen whether the Gunners bag both the league title and the FA Cup or are empty handed at the end of this season. It may a revolution his troops are fighting but without hearing any gunshots, how are we to know?

THE Academy of Wingers

The Sporting Lisbon Academy’s never ending conveyor belt of world class wingers yielded them the ISO 9001. It is the only academy in Europe to receive this quality certificate awarded by EIC. The academy was recently renamed the Sporting\Puma Academy to reflect the sponsorship.

Amongst the wingers who came from this academy, the legendary Luis Figo. He is Portugal’s most capped player and was the ring leader of the so-called golden generation which included the likes of Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and Nuno Gomes. Figo went on to reach dizzy heights playing for Real Madrid where he won the European and the World Player of the Year accolades. He later joined Inter Milan.

Luis Boa Morte hasn’t really reached his full potential, in Lisbon, his form tempted Arsenal to sign him but failed to perform as many thought he would. He is now playing for West Ham United. Simao Sabrosa played his best football for Athletico Madrid. He has been a regular for the Portuguse national team and recently joined Turkish giants Besiktas alongside Ricardo Queresma.

Queresma might have flopped at Inter he shined very brightly for archrivals Porto, inspiring them to successive league titles. The trio of Figo, Simao and Queresma left Sporting for Barcelona but it was Figo who lived up to the expectations, in match winning displays resulted in a move to Real Madrid.

When Gerrard Houllier tried to sign a 16 year old boy from Sporting, Liverpool told him the boy was still young and needed time to develop his skills. He had seen an extra-ordinary talent in Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 was so talented such that he played for the U-16, 18, B team and the senior team within one year. Alex Ferguson lured the boy to England to become the first Portuguese to play for Manchester United and the rest is history. He went on to win the European and World Player of the Year awards whilst still at Old Trafford.

His 80m Pounds move to Real Madrid is and will for a long time be biggest amount paid for an individual. In 2007, Cape Verde born Nani followed CR7’s route to Old Trafford where he has force his way into the starting line up and is now a key player as well as a crowd favorite.

Manchester United’s relationship with Sporting took a turn when Queiroz’s pursuit of Miguel Veloso didn’t please Sporting and was seen as unsettling him and disrespecting the agreement between the two sides. Sporting later cut ties with United and romped in across town rivals Manchester City to have first preference on their upcoming stars.

I’m still looking forward to the much promising Academia Sporting Africa, an initiative between Sporting Lisbon and the South African Premier League team, Bloemfontein Celtic. The academy will be based in Bloemfontein, its set to boast local talent as Celtic will be given a chance to loan or sign players. Sporting will then send a technical director, chief scout and a U-19 coach. Currently Sporting has agreements two other academies, Al Ahly Club Academy of Saudi Arabia and the Belgian side, The Cercle Brugge Academy.

The Sporting Lisbon Academy was the camp of Portugal on their road to the final of the European Championships in 2004. Popularly known as Sporting Lisbon, the club has accepted the name to avoid confusion with teams like Sporting Braga, Sporting Gijon while UEFA use Sporting CP. Their real name is Sporting Club de Portugal.

By Vusumuzi Mourinho Ndlovu
vusmann10@yahoo.com and vusmann@gmail.com.

TP Mazembe, as I said before, are the real deal

My ink has not even dried on the blog concerning how much of a revelation Democratic of the Republic of Congo and African champions, TP Mazembe are in playing textbook football. They have made history becoming the first African team to reach the FIFA Club World  Cup final after a stunning 2-0 victory over Internacional of Argentina, 2006 Champions, at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

TP Mazembe are purely men at work 24/7. They graft tirelessly for each other. Fear does not exist to them and they can not be intimidated at all. Mulota Kabangu scored a beautiful goal for a 53rd minute lead, followed by a Dioko Kaluyituka wonder goal with 5 minutes of play remaining. TP beat 1-0 Mexican side Pachucha 1-0 in the quarter-finals in a hungry lion-like manner. It was a performance that would give one confidence that one day soon, Africa will lift the FIFA World Cup.

As we speak, one more win, in their next official match will see them crowned the champions of the world. No team outside the UEFA and CONMEBOL federations have ever reached the Club World Cup final before. Their passage was not an easy one. Internacionale threatened to tear them apart with some Barcelona type of football, but the Africans put their best foot forward, refusing to be bossed around like a slave and holding their heads high with a disciplined performance.

The South Americans wanted a piece of the Congolese as early as the 12th minute and several good saves from goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba kept them in the match despite efforts from Sobis, headers from Tinga and Indio in the 18th and 20th minutes. TP resorted to route one football, evading dealing with the more slick and creative midfield of the former champions who wanted to become first 2-time champions.

It was a reminder to the rest of Africa, that football is not based on colour or geographical location. Southern African teams like Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates, Highlanders, Dynamos, Power Dynamos, Nkana Red Devils and Kabwe Warriors, to name a few, better take a leaf from the solid performance of Mazembe, especially on the tactics of how to wear your opponents down without giving much away. It is always a case of forgetting who you are playing, casting away all doubt and playing 200% with heart.

Shibobo for shibobo, tsamaya for tsamaya, mpama for mpama, there is no equal to Southern African talent. There is however a big psychological gap as you go up north and west. Southerners generally, unfortunately, feel inferior to the northerners and westerners. TP Mazembe have torn those form books and are now basically world beaters. They have the least pressure going into the unexpected final with nothing to lose and I wouldn't bet on them losing. I must agree that winning it will be a big feat, but not impossible. VIVA AFRICA!

UEFA judgement is nonsense

If Barcelona's 5-0 hammering of Real Madrid is anything to go by in footballing prowess, surely West Ham United's 4-0 whitewash of Manchester United cannot be. At best, it is a fluke, but frankly who cares.

West Ham anchor the Braclays Premier League, the position they have guarded jealously for a while now. Their Carling Cup victory over the team at the other end of the table is likely to boost their confidence in the coming matches. They always played well but failed to get the results.

Manchester had always managed to get results without playing a thing. It could be time they started to earn their points and place in the top of the league. Last weekend's 7-1 win over Blackburn Rovers showed their good side but was largely due to lack of interest from Rovers. West Ham were in a less charitable mood. For United fans, the least said about it the better and I will not speak. 

Arsenal are still in familiar territory in the Cup. It is still to be seen if they will be reaching their dreaded area of supremacy for once. Their 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic came from a gifted goal and Nicklus Bendtner. Arsene Wenger's side has all the ingredients they need to win this one and for me, this won't mean a thing about their ability. It is well well overdue and at this point, the Gunners should have been too tired to win this Cup or even the FA Cup. They are a teams that should be gunning for the UEFA Champions League final.

Talking of the Champions League, UEFA slapped Jose Mourinho with a heavy fine of EUR40, 000 and ban, to add salt to the 5-0 defeat to Barca at the weekend. Real was fined EUR120,000 while players Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas and Jerzy Dudek were fined around EUR17,000. This followed what they called instructions to have players be suspended for the final group stage matches so they could be available for the more important knock-out stage.

UEFA are over the top with this one. They must never involve themselves with such issues at all. All the bans and fines combined should have been handed to Ajax Amsterdam for failing to give Real Madrid enough opposition. Even other teams in the group are liable for what happened. Basically, teams that qualify early will also field weaker teams to rest their best players. Those teams do not get punished. If the same justice applies to all teams, assuming they are all equal, the scenario must never be allowed to prevail. Teams must be forced to field their best teams always.

If that is not the case, Real were  free to do as they please because Ajax did not give them reason to play with 11 men and these players were wasting their own time playing a team that was not interested in offering opposition to Real. For Ramos and Xavi to be available when they are needed most, Jose knew what was available to him and he used it. The noise, bans and fines are just too hypocritical. That is nonsense.

UEFA Champions League Results - As cruel as It can be, Baile rocks.

Incredible as it began, it finished in a historic and incredible Gareth Bale hat-trick. Champions, Inter Milan of Italy hosted rookies, Tottenham Hotspur of the Barclays English Premier League at the famous San Siro Stadium. As Murphy Law would have it, everything that can go wrong at any match actually went wrong for Spurs as they suffered a first minute goal, conceded an early penalty that earned goalkeeper Gomes a red card and a conversion by Samuel Eto'o in the 11th minute. It was 3-0 by the 14th minute and with 10 men and less than 35 % possession, the first ever English team to win the European Cup were down and out when Eto'o scored the 4th after just 35 minutes.

Just as it started with the Eto'o show, Gareth Bale was a gear up with an incredible hat-trick of two mirror goal of top drawer quality and sheer determination that you will not see anywhere in a long time. The Bale show started in the 52nd minute before it lulled for the entire half, In injury time, Bale accelerated from the centre line on the left channel, running the entire length of the pitch to blast a sizzling hot shot below the body of sprawling Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, exactly the way he scored the first goal, step for step and stride for stride in injury time. Aaron Lennon was set on his bike as he attacked his marker to about the D-area before releasing Bale on his left, exactly on the spot he pulled the trigger for the first 2 goals. His classic precision took wind out of Inter and thank God, time ran out.

In a memorable match for the Bale performance in particular, as was the Manchester United come back against Bayern Munich in the year Samuel Kuffor cried several barrels of tears in 1999, the disastrous start by Spurs looked set to be historic in the other direction and for the wrong reasons. As any coach would tell his players at half-time, it was not about how Spurs began, but how they ended. In the dressing room, Harry Redknapp was at pains trying to solicit eye contact after heads dropped due to the defense that went to sleep early and were punished. Frankly, the officials were not even there for Spurs.

His words were definitely in the line of 'Let us take ourselves from the mess we just put ourselves in. Good teams will be judged from how they come out of trouble that how they ride the crest'. With 10 men against the champions who are 3rd in their league and have been perennial performers at the same level, and given the circumstances of the match, a final 4-0 score would have been respectable for the Englishmen. The 4-3 final results, which had both the fans and referees panicking in the dying seconds, underlines the battered team that has 2 key players in Rafael van der Vaart and Gomes suspended and top scorer Jermaine Defoe injured. Spurs showed the class that many didn't know possible, though a lose is a lose.

While this was a performance of character out of this world was happening in Italy, Manchester United were being even more average at Old Trafford against Bursaspor whom they beat 1-0. Nani scored a well taken goal for the valuable points. Barcelona also won 2-0 at home with Lionel Messi scoring a double. Rangers and Valencia drew 1-1 as did FC Twente and Werder Bremen. Shalke 04 beat Hopoel Tel Aviv of Israel 3-1. Lyon were 2-0 victors over Benfica in France.

What do you think went wrong for Spurs and what is your opinion of Gareth Bale?

Arsenal Avalanche of Goals Over Sporting Braga.

Arsenal threatened to run riot in the first half of the UEFA Champions' League match at the Emirates and that remained just a threat by half-time despite the 3 goals scored by Cesc Fabregas (8 minute pen), Andrei Arshavin (30 min) and Chamakh (34 min). Two genuine penalty cases were denied by a 5-men refereeing panel until that 8th minute when Fabregas converted a penalty resulting from Chamakh being felled in the box by the goalkeeper.

One way traffic ensued as Arsenal went into training mode displaying the usual crisp passes they do only when they are on the front foot. Braga were grateful for the half-time whistle.

After the break, Braga further showed how disjointed in defence they were, marking horribly and out of synch with each other. In that discord, Fabregas, Arshavin and Alex Song were so close to embarrass the visitors. Fabregas (54 min) and substitute Carlos Vela (69) and Vela (84) actually did, putting the Gunners 6 up.   

Other results Bayern Munchen 2 - AS Roma 0, Cluj 2 - FC Basel 1, Marselle 0 - Spartak Moskow 1, Zilina 1 - Chelsea 4, Real Madrid 2 - Ajax 0, AC Milan 2 - Auxerre 0.

Arsenal Avalanche of Goals Over Sporting Braga.

Arsenal threatened to run riot in the first half of the UEFA Champions' League match at the Emirates and that remained just a threat by half-time despite the 3 goals scored by Cesc Fabregas (8 minute pen), Andrei Arshavin (30 min) and Chamakh (34 min). Two genuine penalty cases were denied by a 5-men refereeing panel until that 8th minute when Fabregas converted a penalty resulting from Chamakh being felled in the box by the goalkeeper.

One way traffic ensued as Arsenal went into training mode displaying the usual crisp passes they do only when they are on the front foot. Braga were grateful for the half-time whistle.

After the break, Braga further showed how disjointed in defence they were, marking horribly and out of synch with each other. In that discord, Fabregas, Arshavin and Alex Song were so close to embarrass the visitors. Fabregas (54 min) and substitute Carlos Vela (69) and Vela (84) actually did, putting the Gunners 6 up.   

Other results Bayern Munchen 2 - AS Roma 0, Cluj 2 - FC Basel 1, Marselle 0 - Spartak Moskow 1, Zilina 1 - Chelsea 4, Real Madrid 2 - Ajax 0, AC Milan 2 - Auxerre 0.

Arsenal Avalanche of Goals Over Sporting Braga.

Arsenal threatened to run riot in the first half of the UEFA Champions' League match at the Emirates and that remained just a threat by half-time despite the 3 goals scored by Cesc Fabregas (8 minute pen), Andrei Arshavin (30 min) and Chamakh (34 min). Two genuine penalty cases were denied by a 5-men refereeing panel until that 8th minute when Fabregas converted a penalty resulting from Chamakh being felled in the box by the goalkeeper.

One way traffic ensued as Arsenal went into training mode displaying the usual crisp passes they do only when they are on the front foot. Braga were grateful for the half-time whistle.

After the break, Braga further showed how disjointed in defence they were, marking horribly and out of synch with each other. In that discord, Fabregas, Arshavin and Alex Song were so close to embarrass the visitors. Fabregas (54 min) and substitute Carlos Vela (69) and Vela (84) actually did, putting the Gunners 6 up.   

Other results Bayern Munchen 2 - AS Roma 0, Cluj 2 - FC Basel 1, Marselle 0 - Spartak Moskow 1, Zilina 1 - Chelsea 4, Real Madrid 2 - Ajax 0, AC Milan 2 - Auxerre 0.

Arsenal Avalanche of Goals Over Sporting Braga.

Arsenal threatened to run riot in the first half of the UEFA Champions' League match at the Emirates and that remained just a threat by half-time despite the 3 goals scored by Cesc Fabregas (8 minute pen), Andrei Arshavin (30 min) and Chamakh (34 min). Two genuine penalty cases were denied by a 5-men refereeing panel until that 8th minute when Fabregas converted a penalty resulting from Chamakh being felled in the box by the goalkeeper.

One way traffic ensued as Arsenal went into training mode displaying the usual crisp passes they do only when they are on the front foot. Braga were grateful for the half-time whistle.

After the break, Braga further showed how disjointed in defence they were, marking horribly and out of synch with each other. In that discord, Fabregas, Arshavin and Alex Song were so close to embarrass the visitors. Fabregas (54 min) and substitute Carlos Vela (69) and Vela (84) actually did, putting the Gunners 6 up.   

Other results Bayern Munchen 2 - AS Roma 0, Cluj 2 - FC Basel 1, Marselle 0 - Spartak Moskow 1, Zilina 1 - Chelsea 4, Real Madrid 2 - Ajax 0, AC Milan 2 - Auxerre 0.

Zimbabwe Warriors Coach: Who Exactly Is Tom Saintfiet?

Tom Saintfiet was born March 29, 1973 in Belgium and coached the Namibian national team, where he beat Comoros and Malawi and drawing Lesotho in the 2008 COSAFA in South Africa. He played football between 1983 to 1997 before becoming a football manager at 24, becoming the youngest manager in Belgian football.

A holder of UEFA A Pro License, Saintfiet coached in several countries including Qatar where he was assistant club coach and then Under-17 coach which qualified for FIFA World Cup, Germany, Faroe Islands finishing 2nd in the 1st Division league, and Holland teams junior sides and was 1st Division Technical Director. He was Finnish Premier League club Rovaniemi coach before going to Namibia.

Saintfiet, who holds Sports Psychology and Econimic Psychology qualifications, was also an advisor for the Kazakhstan Football Federation and worked as a TV football Analyst for Belgian Television and a translator for the DFB.

Is this the best for Zimbabwe Warriors?

Zimbabwe Warriors Coach: Who Exactly Is Tom Saintfiet?

Tom Saintfiet was born March 29, 1973 in Belgium and coached the Namibian national team, where he beat Comoros and Malawi and drawing Lesotho in the 2008 COSAFA in South Africa. He played football between 1983 to 1997 before becoming a football manager at 24, becoming the youngest manager in Belgian football.

A holder of UEFA A Pro License, Saintfiet coached in several countries including Qatar where he was assistant club coach and then Under-17 coach which qualified for FIFA World Cup, Germany, Faroe Islands finishing 2nd in the 1st Division league, and Holland teams junior sides and was 1st Division Technical Director. He was Finnish Premier League club Rovaniemi coach before going to Namibia.

Saintfiet, who holds Sports Psychology and Econimic Psychology qualifications, was also an advisor for the Kazakhstan Football Federation and worked as a TV football Analyst for Belgian Television and a translator for the DFB.

Is this the best for Zimbabwe Warriors?

Zimbabwe Warriors Coach: Who Exactly Is Tom Saintfiet?

Tom Saintfiet was born March 29, 1973 in Belgium and coached the Namibian national team, where he beat Comoros and Malawi and drawing Lesotho in the 2008 COSAFA in South Africa. He played football between 1983 to 1997 before becoming a football manager at 24, becoming the youngest manager in Belgian football.

A holder of UEFA A Pro License, Saintfiet coached in several countries including Qatar where he was assistant club coach and then Under-17 coach which qualified for FIFA World Cup, Germany, Faroe Islands finishing 2nd in the 1st Division league, and Holland teams junior sides and was 1st Division Technical Director. He was Finnish Premier League club Rovaniemi coach before going to Namibia.

Saintfiet, who holds Sports Psychology and Econimic Psychology qualifications, was also an advisor for the Kazakhstan Football Federation and worked as a TV football Analyst for Belgian Television and a translator for the DFB.

Is this the best for Zimbabwe Warriors?