Champions League set to return September 16
As club soccer slowly picks up speed all around Europe, Champions League is set to make its return to the center stage on Sept. 16 and 17 with the first round of group matches. This year’s group stages will showcase some new teams and some old teams who have managed to make long-awaited returns to the Champions League. There will also be the Bulgarian Ludogorets, who are completely new to the Champions League stage, looking to continue their fairy-tale run. So, as you tune into the upcoming matches, let’s take a look at the groups:
Surprise, suspense, and disappointment at 2014 FIFA World Cup unite soccer fans worldwide
I believe the Champions League is the pinnacle of competitive soccer.
Stage set for the Champions League final in Lisbon
Everything is set for Saturday, May 24. Soccer fans have already marked their calendars for European soccer’s biggest night: the Champions League final. This year it will take place in Lisbon, Portugal in Benfica’s stadium, the Estadio da Luz.
Real Madrid gain the upper hand with 1-0 win in first leg
The four semifinalists of the Champions League battled it out in the first leg of the matches last week. While Atletico Madrid and Chelsea ended up drawing 0-0, Real Madrid edged one over Bayern Munich to earn a 1-0 victory. There now only stands one more leg between these four teams and the finalists. While two teams will earn tickets to the final in Lisbon, Portugal, two teams will face the agony of defeat.
European soccer year entering final stretch
Soccer has entered the final stretch all throughout Europe. Some leagues already have a team that has clinched the league title; other leagues are currently witnessing heated races for first place. Teams are trying to collect as many points as possible from their remaining games to finish as high in their league as possible. Players are showcasing their talents with hopes of being selected for their country’s World Cup Squad.
Champions League soccer returns with quarterfinals
March was truly filled with madness in sports. NFL free agency opened up and teams raced to sign the best free agents in the market. NCAA basketball fans witnessed some incredible upsets and millions were forced to shred their brackets. European soccer saw some magnificent matches and events. Chelsea’s 6-0 demolition against Arsenal, Barcelona’s 4-3 win and Messi’s historic hat-trick against Real Madrid in the el Clasico, and Bayern Munich’s clinching of the Bundesliga title with still a good amount of games remaining in the German league are just some examples of what European soccer produced in March. Apart from the leagues, Champions League soccer continued and the round of 16 came to an end. Thus, only eight teams now remain on the quest to be Europe’s best. Let’s take a look at the match-ups.
Manchester United and Chelsea both favorites
Tuesday’s issue covered the first half of the Last 16 matchups. This time, we will focus on the remaining four matchups. These matchups will have their first games on either February 25 or 26 and the second leg matches on either March 18 or 19.
Champions League soccer returns in February
After a long winter break, Champions League soccer is set to return on February 18. The group stage has concluded and 16 teams have been eliminated, leaving the last 16 teams in the race for Europe’s top trophy. The remaining teams include the usual suspects like Real Madrid and Barcelona, as well as a couple of upsets such as Galatasaray, who beat Juventus in a dramatic match in the last round of the group stages to see them through to the next round, and Olympiacos. With that said, let’s take a look at the first four of the Last 16 matchups.
European soccer continues
The Champions League resumed earlier this week with some great matchups including Juventus-Real Madrid, Dortmund-Arsenal and Barcelona-Milan, but now fans have to wait until November 26 to watch Champions League soccer once again. In the meantime, the domestic European leagues will showcase some very interesting match-ups that will definitely delight soccer fans. Here are some matches to look forward to this weekend:
MIT takes down WPI
Nov. 2, 2013 was a beautiful day to play soccer as the players of MIT and WPI came onto the pitch to play the last regular season conference match. MIT had high stakes in the match. With a win, they would finish the first in the conference and host the playoffs. The match started off slowly as both teams tested each other and seemed evenly matched. As halftime drew near, Sean D. Bingham ’16 connected with a wonderful through ball and beat the keeper to pull MIT up 1-0. The first half didn’t see any more goals and MIT took the lead into halftime.
Champions League soccer play resumes Nov. 5
The Champions League has kicked off and we are halfway through the group stages. The first three match weeks should have pleased soccer fans all over the world with all the great soccer played and the many goals scored. Before the second half of the group stages start on November 5, it is best to take a look at how the groups are shaping up so far:
New England Revolution looks for playoff bid
As MLS nears the end of regular season play, the hunt for a playoff spot is becoming heated. One of the teams competing for a spot in the playoffs is the New England Revolution. On Sept. 19, 2013, I had the chance to interview New England Revolution rookie midfielder, Scott Caldwell right after their practice and ask him about how the season has been so far, their chances for playoff qualification and how it feels to be a professional athlete at an age where most of his peers are in a university.
Club soccer resumes
After a week off from club soccer due to international fixtures, the European soccer leagues have picked up where they left off with some action packed matches. Barcelona went up 2-0 against Sevilla in the beginning, but Sevilla managed to make the score 2-2 by injury time. When it was almost certain Sevilla was going to get away with the one point, Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona scored an extremely late winner (90+3’). Borussia Dortmund managed to retain their winning streak by overcoming Hamburg 6-2 in a match where Hamburg had come back from 2 down to equalize the score at 2-2. In England, Jose Mourinho suffered his first defeat in his second stint with Chelsea. Chelsea missed many chances to score and Everton managed to score on their first big chance at goal, so it was an unlucky day for the skillful Chelsea squad. In Italy, Napoli went up to three victories in three matches while Inter and Juventus tied 1-1 bringing both their points up to 7 in three weeks. As interesting as this past week’s matches were, this Sunday will bring even more soccer delight with several big matches to look forward to. Here is a brief list:
Pro soccer rosters finalized
The soccer leagues in Europe have kicked off and are on the third or fourth match days. Though some matches have been interesting, the true hype that surrounds the start of the soccer season is the summer transfer window. Every day new rumors make their way into the sport headlines and only some turn into a reality. Clubs spend millions of Euros to acquire the best players on the market with the hopes of claiming the league in May. As the first days of September pass by, the transfer windows of the major leagues have come to an end and teams have finalized their rosters. In another summer full of splashing cash and seeing the best players in the world change teams, here are the ten transfers that stick out: