[/size]
Mourinho banking on Eto'o
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho says that striker Samuel Eto'o would have no more motivation to beat former team Barcelona than he does anyone else as he is already a born winner.
Inter host the holders in their UEFA Champions League Group F opener today in a match that immediately pits Eto'o and Barcelona's Zlatan Ibrahimovic against the teams they left only a couple of months ago.
The manner of their departures was wildly different, though, as Ibrahimovic left in search of the European success that eluded him during five years in Italy while Eto'o was forced out of Catalonia against his will, as a makeweight in the deal to bring the big Swede to Spain. But Mourinho said revenge will not be on the mind of the Cameroon forward.
"I think Samuel is one of those types of player who is always motivated, he was born to win, someone who likes to play with a ball," said the Portuguese boss, who like Eto'o has previously won this competition. "He left Barcelona with the team in his heart because he felt no negative sentiments towards them.
Ronaldo double delivers Real
Real Madrid began their bid to reach the UEFA Champions League final at their Santiago Bernabeu stadium with a 5-2 Group C win at debutants FC Zurich on Tuesday although it was far more difficult than the scoreline suggests.
Real surged into a 3-0 first-half lead after Cristiano Ronaldo made it three goals in as many games with his first Champions League goal for Real before Raul and Gonzalo Higuain both netted. However, nine-time European champions Real had to withstand a sterling second-half comeback from Zurich who scored twice in two minutes to give Real a jittery final 20 minutes before Ronaldo and Guti scored late on.
Veteran Guti conceded that they had relaxed too much. "Perhaps we thought it was over at 3-0 but it wasn't," said Guti. "We have to avoid that happening again if we want to go far in this competition." Higuain thought otherwise saying that Real had shown they were in a different class to their opponents. "I don't think we relaxed too much," said Higuain. "They got two quick goals and then we had to step it up."
United off to winning start
A late winner from Paul Scholes ensured Manchester United got another UEFA Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over Besiktas on Tuesday. A game of few chances was settled by the 77th-minute strike from Scholes, the midfielder heading in the rebound after the Turkish champions' goalkeeper, Hakan Arikan, had beaten out a shot from Portugal winger Nani.
It was a far from vintage performance from last season's runners-up but United boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared himself satisfied with a job well done. "Over the years, Paul Scholes has got a lot of goals like that for us and it is a very important goal for us," he said. "It is a fantastic atmosphere here and that's a test of your concentration and your nerve, so this is a good result for us."
It was a far from vintage performance from last season's runners-up, who were forced to do without Rio Ferdinand, the England defender ruled out by a groin strain having only just returned to the first team following a month out with a calf problem. The likes of Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs were also rested while Dimitar Berbatov had to settle for a place on the bench as Ferguson deployed Wayne Rooney as a lone striker with Antonio Valencia, making his Champions League debut, and Nani operating in wide positions either side of him.
Who will conquer Europe?
The 2009/10 UEFA Champions League is wide open. FIFA.com wants to know who you think will lift the trophy at the Santiago Bernabeu on 22 May.
Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are the marginal favourites, closely followed by England's quartet of representatives - namely Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United - and Italian champions Inter Milan. Thereafter, Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg, Lyon, AC Milan, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla have their own title credentials.
Bordeaux, Marseille, Stuttgart, AZ, Olympiacos, Fiorentina, Rangers, CSKA Moscow, Rubin Kazan and Porto will hope to cause an upset reminiscent of the latter's 2004 triumph, while APOEL, Besiktas, Debreceni, Dinamo Kiev, FC Zurich, Maccabi Haifa, Standard Liege and Unirea dream of staging the biggest shock in the history of Europe's top club competition.
So, it's over to you: Who will win the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League? Click 'Add your comment' to share your opinions with fans from all over the world, remembering to keep your posts clean, respectful, on-topic and in English.
Ribery: I feel loved at Bayern
Franck Ribery has indicated that he may be willing to sign a new contract with Bayern Munich, after appearing to fall back in love with the club at the weekend. The Frenchman made a point of racing to coach Louis van Gaal to celebrate his first goal of the season in Saturday's 5-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.
Ibrahimovic calms exchanges before San Siro return
That seemed to end speculation the pair did not see eye to eye. And the smile on his face remained after the game, when he declared his love for the club he so eagerly wanted to leave in the summer amid interest from Real Madrid.
MILAN (AP) - Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has calmed an escalating war of words with former club Inter Milan ahead of Wednesday's Champions League at the San Siro.
When Barcelona was paired with Inter in Group F, the focus turned to Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto'o, who swapped clubs in the offseason with Inter getting an additional €66 million ($93.5 million).
Recently, the Swede claimed that Inter only won its three most recent Serie A titles because of him, while Inter coach Jose Mourinho hit back by saying that he got the better part of the deal.
On the eve of the match, though, Ibrahimovic said how much he is looking forward to his return to the San Siro.
"It will be a touching moment to go back," Ibrahimovic said Tuesday. "I feel very emotional about returning. I spent three seasons with Inter and I am delighted to have another chance to play in their stadium.
"It will not be easy, especially as they have strengthened this season and will make things hard for us."
Under Mourinho, Ibrahimovic scored 25 goals last season and was the league's leading scorer. For Barcelona, the striker has scored twice in two league games.
Mourinho, meanwhile, has played down the importance of meeting the defending champions and one of his former clubs.
Champions League
"It is only a group match, there's not the tension you get in the knockout stages," he said. "Barcelona is only a team and tomorrow is only a match. If we stay level at the start we can then push on for a win.
"We have five new starting players and we're playing with a new philosophy and trying to adapt to the Italian league and the Champions League, where we want to be more successful than in recent years."
While losing Ibrahimovic was a blow to Inter's prestige, the money received allowed Mourinho to strengthen his squad's depth.
"The exchange was important because the money allowed us to buy Thiago Motta, Diego Milito, Wesley Sneijder and Lucio," Mourinho said. "I lost one great player and gained another and we have reconstructed the squad.
"We need a little more time to get used to each other, but we are under pressure like I've never seen before to win the Champions League."
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was also diplomatic and paid tribute to Mourinho and Inter - despite the former Chelsea coach having had heated disputes with Guardiola's predecessor Frank Rijkaard.
During previous Champions League meetings between the two sides, Mourinho accused Rijkaard of trying to influence the referee at halftime in one match, and then claimed that Lionel Messi play-acted to get Asier Del Horno sent off in another.
"He is a great coach, he's won the title in three different countries," Guardiola said. "It will be an honor to be up against Mr. Mourinho. He's an amazing person and for the moment we have an excellent rapport.
"From what we've seen, Inter is a quality side with squad depth, play well on the counter attack and this year are stronger in possession. To get any result we will have to play excellently."
Eto'o has made an excellent start as Ibrahimovic's replacement at Inter, scoring twice and linking up well with Milito, who has also scored two goals.
The run continues Eto'o's excellent form from his days at Barcelona, where he scored 35 times, including the opener in the Champions League final.
"I didn't dream about meeting Barcelona, however, it is a pleasure to play against them and to be able to return to the Camp Nou, which is a home to me," Eto'o said. "Barcelona is the best team in the world and we have a slight chance of beating them. We can do it and we have a chance of winning."
In the other Group F match, Dynamo Kiev hosts Russian champion Rubin Kazan.
Andriy Shevchenko, who scored the winning penalty for AC Milan in the 2003 final, will play his first match for Dynamo since leading the team to the 1999 Champions League semifinals.
Pele: Messi Should Win World Player Award
Brazil legend Pele says that Barcelona forward Lionel Messi should be crowned FIFA World Player of the Year.
The Argentinian was the key figure for Pep Guardiola's side this year as they won an unprecedented five trophies, picking up the European Club Footballer of the Year award along the way and now Pele says it's time Messi was recognized as the best in the world.
"After giving it to Ronaldinho, Kaka and [Cristiano] Ronaldo, now it's the turn of [Lionel] Messi," Pele said, according to Sport.
Pele also said that he hopes Messi's national side, Argentina do not miss out on World Cup qualification.
"It's hard to imagine a World Cup without Argentina. Nobody expected this to happen but that's football. It wouldn't be good for football if they were not there," he said.
Casillas: Ronaldo Has A Gift From Free-Kicks
Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas has said that Cristiano Ronaldo has "a gift" when it comes to taking fee-kicks and also said that Madrid are lucky to have him in their side.
"Cristiano has a gift from free-kicks, it's a skill and he knows to use it. He has a different touch, with power from his instep. It's very difficult for the goalkeeper," he insisted.
Speaking once again about the flight of the new ball Casillas said that it's unpredictable flight path isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially with the likes of Ronaldo on your side.
"For goalkeepers it's difficult, not that's that bad, quite the contrary. The balls are changing but that is not an excuse, or a complaint," he added.
"From the outside looking in, it looks like the 'keeper is making a monumental error but when you are on the spot, twenty yards away it is very hard to stop it.
"Fortunately for us we have Cristiano Ronaldo in our side."
Adebayor hits back at Gunners
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has hit back at Arsenal amid the continuing fallout from his controversial performance at Eastlands last weekend.
The Togo international has been banned for three matches for his stamp on Robin van Persie in City's 4-2 win over the Gunners last Saturday, and faces the threat of further punishment if the Football Association take a dim view of his controversial goal celebration in the same game. His relationship with his former Gunners team-mates took a further nosedive yesterday when Cesc Fabregas claimed that he, too, was the victim of an alleged Adebayor stamp in last weekend's heated clash. However, the City striker insists it was the Arsenal players who were at fault.
"There were players from Arsenal who refused to shake my hand before the match," Adebayor told The Sun. "I don't want to give you their names - that is not my style - but there's more than one of them. My friends, like [Emmanuel] Eboue, were fine with me. They are decent people. But I could not understand some of the Arsenal players being disrespectful towards me.
"I can just about understand the fans' reaction because they don't know the full story. However the way some of the players behaved is just crazy. When a man offers you his hand, you shake it. For them to act like that was a disgrace."
Adebayor, who is banned for Sunday's Manchester derby and will also miss the Carling Cup game with Fulham and Premier League encounter with West Ham, feels the angry reaction of some Arsenal fans following his £25million summer exit is hard to comprehend. "An offer came in for me and, as I understand it, Arsene and the club accepted the offer the same day," he said.
"It wasn't my fault I left, it was Arsene who wanted to accept the offer for me. I wasn't making any comments in the press about wanting to leave or being unhappy. It was the club who wanted to sell me yet I am being abused by the fans who once cheered me. I think, in terms of class on the pitch, we [City] have overtaken Arsenal and that was a reason for some of the hostility."
He added: "People talk about us as being football players and the money we earn, but just because we are fortunate it does not mean we need to take abuse. If you were to abuse a man in the street for over an hour he would react and it would be a worse reaction than a goal celebration. There is only so much abuse a man can take until he reaches breaking point."
Adebayor's robust defence of his actions comes as Fabregas claims he has a gash on his leg which proves he fell victim to his former team-mate's violent conduct. "I think this is a red card here," said Fabregas, reportedly gesturing to his leg and claiming the injury was suffered in an Adebayor challenge studied by the FA yesterday before they banned the City striker for stamping on Van Persie.
"I was lucky my foot was in the air when it happened," Fabregas added. "All I tried to do when he [Adebayor] was at Arsenal was to create opportunities for him to score - so I think I didn't do too bad for him."
Fabregas and his fellow Gunner Emmanuel Eboue were both shocked by Adebayor's behaviour last weekend. "I have no idea why he acted like this," said Eboue. "We always respected him.
"He didn't do well because you have a lot of young people who watch the game and they see that, and it's no good for football. But I am very, very happy because the FA have given him a three-game ban (for the Van Persie stamp)." What he did was no good for football. I am very disappointed about it, very disappointed."
The news from FIFA.
By Turki
Subject: Soccer News 
Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:32 am
iam now in my dad's office and in front of me your mum
