║ UEFA Champions League 2013/2014 ║

[BayernMunich]

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[BayernMunich]

Tevez: Calm key to Champions League glory
The striker believes that Juventus have a chance of winning the Europe's top trophy in 2013-14 but claims that the team are prioritising Serie A

Lichtsteiner targets third straight Scudetto
The full-back is hoping to win Serie A a third year running and has ruled out a move away from the club this summer, despite links with Manchester City

Ogbonna: Champions League vital to Juventus move
The defender says that a switch to the Bianconeri made perfect sense and hopes that the transfer will boost his Italy national team hopes
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[BayernMunich]

CAS suspends Fenerbahce & Besiktas Uefa bans

By Kris Voakes15

Jul 18, 2013 3:03:00 PM

The Turkish giants had both been barred from competing in European competition next season but will be allowed to compete in the preliminary rounds pending a final decision

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has suspended Fenerbahce and Besiktas' Uefa bans.

The decision means that Fenerbahce will enter the Champions League preliminary round in the upcoming 2013-14 season, having previously looked set to miss out on European football due to a 24-month continental ban for their part in the Turkish match-fixing and corruption scandal.

Besiktas were also set to lose out on playing in the Europa League this year due to a one-year ban but, following Thursday's decison by CAS, there is yet a chance that both sides could be cleared.

"Due to agreements reached between the appellants and Uefa, the decisions challenged by Fenerbahce and Besiktas have been stayed and will not be enforced until the CAS issues its final decision in each matter," a statement frm CAS read.

"This means that Fenerbahce SK and Besiktas JK will take part in the draws of the first preliminary matches of the Champions League (Fenerbahce) and of the Europa League (Besiktas).

"In the meantime, the arbitration procedures are continuing following an expedited calendar agreed upon by the parties and it is anticipated that hearings will take place in August with a final decision being issued before 28 August 2013 (Fenerbahce) and 30 August 2013 (Besiktas)."

Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildrim said the club intend the fight to prove that the ban is unfair on the club following the decision to suspend the ban temporarily.

"The Fenerbahce football team will participate in the Champions League this season," Yildirim told the club's official TV channel. "We'll move on, starting with Friday's draw. Enjoy this. I thank our lawyers here and vow that we'll fight until the end. The world and Turkey will see that Fenerbahce are right."

The decision means that the club, who reached the semi-finals of last season's Europa League, will be included in Friday's Champions League third qualifying round draw, although the final decision on their case could yet result in them being prohibited from participation in the group stage of the competition.

The Uefa ban had been met with a furious reaction in Turkey, with Fenerbahce's players understood to be preparing to lobby the European body over the severity of the penalty in light of them having already been imposed a previous competition ban in 2011-12 relating to the same scandal.

A final CAS decision for Fenerbahce's case will be taken on August 28, with Besiktas' fate set to be heard two days later.

 

[BayernMunich]

Champions League draw: Lyon, Zenit & PSV among third-round entrants

By Miles Chambers22

Jul 19, 2013 12:58:00 PM

Thirty places were up for grabs in the qualification stage, with lasts season's Barcelona-beaters Celtic and Bayern Munich-conquerors BATE among them

Zenit St Petersburg, Olympique Lyonnais and PSV were among the top teams to have discovered their Champions League third qualifying round fate in Friday's draw.

Former European champions PSV were drawn against Belgian debutants Zulte Waregem, while Luciano Spalletti's men will face Nordsjaelland, who finished bottom of a group including Chelsea, Shakhtar Donetsk and Juventus in last season's tournament.

Basel, Europa League semi-finalists in 2012-13, will face either Hungarian side Gyori or Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv, while French giants Lyon will be tested by Swiss team Grasshopper.

Fenerbahce have been drawn against Austrian opponents Salzburg ahead of the Court of Arbitration for Sport's final decision over Uefa's two-year ban from European competition.

Celtic, who beat Barcelona in the competition last campaign, will face either Elfsborg or Daugava Daugavpils should they hold on to their lead over Cliftonville in the second leg of the second qualifying round.

The opening legs will be played on July 30 and 31, with the return games on August 6 and 7.

 

[BayernMunich]

UEFA Champions League Preview: BATE and Partizan face battle to progress
22 July 2013

BATE Borisov and Partizan both face tough second-leg clashes to remain in this season's UEFA Champions League.

BATE lost their second-round first leg 1-0 to Shakhter Karagandy in Kazakhstan, and they know they will have to produce some of the form that saw them reach the group stages of last season's competition in order to progress to the third round of qualifying.

Midfielder Aleksandr Pavlov remains confident they could turn the game around in Belarus after the disappointing first outing.

"I want to underline that it is not the end of this tie," he said. "It seemed like we had total dominance and full control of the ball (in the first leg), we were finding space but rarely threatened.

"Even in our domestic league we do not see that much possession.

"Shakhter defended with their whole squad inside their own half."

Partizan were held 1-1 by Armenian champions Shirak in their first-leg match, but will be confident they can progress to the third round with a home tie in Belgrade given they have only lost once in their last 10 home competitive fixtures.

Dinamo Tbilisi and Elfsborg recorded the biggest wins of the second-round first legs with wins over EB/Streymur and Daugava Daugavpils respectively.

Elfsborg's 7-1 win puts them favourites to face Celtic in the third round of qualifying, Neil Lennon's side are also in a strong position having won their first leg 3-0 against Cliftonville.

Tbilisi take a five goal advantage to Iceland, knowing a clash with Steaua Bucharest is on the cards after the Romanian side recorded a 3-0 win over Vardar.

After reaching the group stages in 2011-12, Viktoria Plzen will be hoping to hold onto their slim advantage against Bosnian champions Zeljeznicar, the Czech side edged the first leg 4-3 but have a trip to Sarajevo to negotiate in their quest to reach the next round.

 

[BayernMunich]

23-24 July 2013

24-25 July 2013

1st Leg Aggregate Match Results

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[Buffon]

UEFA Champions League Qualifying Wrap: Celtic through but BATE go out
24 July 2013

Celtic cruised into the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League with a 5-0 aggregate victory over Cliftonville.

Neil Lennon's side had put themselves in a strong position with a first-leg win and were rarely tested at Celtic Park, triumphing 2-0 on the night thanks to strikes from Efe Ambrose and Georgios Samaras.

The Nigerian defender met a cross from Anthony Stokes to head past Conor Devlin in the 16th minute. Kris Commons and James Forrest both had good chances to extend Celtic's lead but it was Samaras who added the second goal with a header from Commons' cross late in the game.

BATE Borisov's defeat to Shakhter Karagandy was the shock of the round, the Kazakh side winning 1-0 on the night to progress 2-0 on aggregate.

The Belarusian side, who beat eventual champions Bayern Munich in the group stages of the competition last season, failed to score against their Kazakh opponents in the 180 minutes of football.

After losing the first leg 1-0, they succumbed to the same result in Karagandy, as Igor Zenkovich scored the only goal of the game with eight minutes to play.

The result puts Shakhter into the third round of qualifying for the first time in their history.

After their 7-1 victory in the first leg, Swedish side Elfsborg cruised to a 4-0 win against Daugava Daugavpils in Latvia, taking them to an emphatic 11-1 aggregate triumph.

James Keene scored the only goal of the first half, walking the ball into the back of the net just before half-time, while Viktor Claesson , Niklas Hult and a penalty from Martin Andersson sealed the win for the Swedish champions.

After a goalless first leg, Estonian champions Kalju overcame HJK Helsinki 2-1 in Tallinn, goals from Yankuba Ceesay and Damiano Quintieri put the hosts ahead and although Demba Savage got a goal back in the second half, Kalju were able to hang on.

Moldovan side Sheriff produced an emphatic away performance in Montenegro to beat Sutjeska 5-0 and record a 6-1 aggregate victory, while Molde ended Sligo Rovers' campaign with a 2-0 victory which saw them progress 3-0 on aggregate.

Dinamo Tbilisi were in complete control against Faroe Islands' EB/Streymur, adding three more goals to the six they scored in the first leg to win 9-2 on aggregate. Goals from Xisco, Jaba Dvali and Darko Glisic saw them win 3-1 on the night, with Niels Pauli Danielsen getting a consolation strike for the hosts.

Maccabi Tel Aviv built on their first-leg victory over Hungarian side Gyor to progress 4-1 on aggregate, the Israelis winning 2-1 to book their place in the third round of qualifying.

Former European Cup winners Steaua Bucharest had on-loan striker Federico Piovaccari and Alexandru Bourceanu to thank for firing them into the next round, the Romanian side winning 2-1 against Vardar to seal a 5-1 win over the Macedonians.

Nigerian Nurudeen Orelesi was Skenderbeu's hero as they beat Neftchi 1-0 after extra time. Neither side were able to break the deadlock in the first 180 minutes of the tie but Orelesi struck with four minutes to play in the added period to seal the Albanian side's progression from round two for the very first time.

Dinamo Zagreb were never in danger of not making the third round after their comfortable 5-0 first-leg win over Luxembourg's Fola, and the Croatian side came through the second leg, winning 1-0 thanks to striker Andrej Kramaric's 78th-minute penalty.

Viktoria Plzen and Zeljeznicar shared 10 goals in their tie, the Czech side coming out 6-4 victors on aggregate after a 2-1 second-leg victory in Sarajevo.

Meanwhile, Bjorn Daniel Sverrisson and Atli Bjornsson were FH's heroes as they came from a goal behind to beat Ekranas 2-1 on the night, sending the Icelandic champions through 3-1 on aggregate.

 

[BayernMunich]

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[BayernMunich]

Juventus top Bayern for Champions League earnings

Jul 24, 2013 12:47:00 AM

The Italian champions raked in a staggering €10 million more than winners Bayern Munich from last season's competition despite going out in the quarter-finals

Juventus earned more from the Champions League than any other club last season.

The Serie A club were beaten by eventual winners Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals, but still made €65.3 million from the competition - compared to €55m collected by the German champions.

This was mostly due to the Italian side gaining much of the TV money in their own country, with Uefa explaining that "monies from the market pool were divided according to the proportional value of the national TV market each individual club represented".

Under the European governing body's system for distributing Champions League cash, the amounts given to clubs varies by country and is related to the performance of all teams representing a particular nation.

Bayern - who also won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in 2012-13 - earned less because fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund also made the final at Wembley.

Jurgen Klopp's side took home €54.16m, thanks partly to the reward for winning four of their six group stage games, which brought in €1m per match.

Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona were the next biggest earners, gaining €51.3m, €48.4m and €45.5m respectively, even though the latter beat the Serie A side in the last-16 stage.

Manchester United, who lost to Madrid in the last 16, were the best rewarded Premier League side with €35.5m. By comparison, Chelsea made €60m from winning the competition in 2012.

In total, €904.6m was handed out to 32 clubs, while in the Europa League the overall fund was €209m.

Semi-finalists Fenerbahce were the biggest earners from the competition with €11.18m, while winners Chelsea made €10.7m to add to the €30.5m they made from the Champions League.

 

[BayernMunich]

UEFA Champions League Wrap: Partizan and Maribor advance
25 July 2013

Partizan edged into the third round of qualfying for the UEFA Champions League after being held to a 0-0 draw by Shirak on Wednesday.

Vladimir Volkov's 93rd-minute equaliser in the first leg was enough to see the Serbian champions through on away goals after they were unable to break down the resolute Armenian defence in Belgrade.

Vojislav Stankovic and Nemanja Kojic both missed good second-half chances for the hosts to win the tie outright, but were denied by Artur Harutyunyan in the Shirak goal.

Partizan will now meet Ludogorets in the third qualifying round after the Bulgarian outfit came back from a first-leg defeat against Slovan Bratislava to win the second leg 3-0 and claim a 4-2 aggregate victory.

Ivan Stoyanov gave Ludogorets an early lead before Spaniard Dani Abalo netted twice to seal their win.

Meanwhile, Slovenian champions Maribor used home advantage perfectly to seal their path into the next round with a 2-0 victory over Birkirkara. After a goalless first leg, strikes from Goran Cvijanovic and Mitja Viler ended the Maltese side's dreams of further progression.

Legia Warsaw also took their place in the third round of qualfying after beating Welsh side TNS 1-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate.

Vladimir Dvalishvili was the matchwinner for the Polish side, his 53rd-minute strike securing the win and a tie against Molde to determine who will go through to the Champions League group stages.

 

[BayernMunich]

2nd Qualifying Round

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[BayernMunich]

PSG are ready for Champions League glory, says Ibra
The Sweden star feels the side is far stronger following another summer of spending and is better prepared after last season's exploits in the competition

Draxler targets titles with Schalke
Fresh from signing a new deal with the club in May, the 19-year-old harbours ambitions of winning some silverware and overtaking Borussia Dortmund

Antonini: There is no Champions League without AC Milan
The full-back has urged his side to focus on progressing through the qualification round as he aims to get his hands on the prestigious trophy

'Third place like winning a title for Leverkusen' - Voller
The Bayer Leverkusen chief thinks reaching a Champions League qualification spot, in a division with Bayern and Dortmund, is better than a cup win

Liverpool ready for top-four challenge, says Rodgers
The Reds boss expects his side to improve on last season's campaign and says that, after offloading a number of players, he has found the right balance at Anfield
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[BayernMunich]

Moyes: I have to learn quickly in Champions League

By Jamie Dunn23

Jul 25, 2013 2:13:00 PM

The former Everton boss has only experienced qualifiers for Europe's elite competition and the Europa League and will look to senior players like Ryan Giggs for guidance

Manchester United manager David Moyes is excited to compete in the Champions League proper for the first time this season but admits that he has a lot to learn about participation in the competition.

As Everton boss, the Scot managed in the Uefa Cup and Europa League several times but the club missed out on Champions League football after agonisingly losing a qualifier 4-2 on aggregate to Villarreal in 2005.

Now the new Red Devils No.1 acknowledges that he must get up to speed as quickly as possible to avoid a slow start in the competition this season.

"For me it will be a thrill and I'm going to have to learn a lot quickly and that's where I'm looking to the likes of Ryan Giggs and a few players around me for the things which I need to be told about," he told reporters.

"It's not all about the playing side of it – I've been in the Champions League [qualifiers], watched loads of games, managed in the Europa League – everybody has to start somewhere."

Moyes also believes that winning the Champions League - which United managed twice under predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson - has taken on greater significance in England over time.

He added: "I think, to win one of the big European tournaments, it's always been seen as something special.

"Winning your own domestic league is very important but winning the Champions League has become very important, for the country and Premier League as well.

"I think the year when Manchester United and Chelsea played in the final [2008] everyone connected to football in this country sort of stuck their chest out. It was the German teams this year [at Wembley].In the past it's been the Spanish teams.

"I genuinely think there's a swell [of pride] from our country that we want the British teams to do really well. I've got to say I'm really looking forward it."

 

[BayernMunich]

Celtic warn fans as Uefa open investigation

By Liam Twomey

Jul 25, 2013 6:34:00 PM

Supporters of the Scottish giants let off fireworks in Celtic Park during Tuesday's Champions League qualifying victory over Cliftonville and the club may be punished

Celtic have warned supporters that a section of Celtic Park could be closed after Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings against the club.

Issues with fans' behaviour came to a head during Tuesday's Champions League qualifying round win over Northern Ireland's Cliftonville, when supporters let off fireworks in the stadium.

The Scottish Premier League champions have expressed concern regarding both overcrowding in Section 111 of their Glasgow home and fans' refusal to comply with the wishes of safety stewards on match days, as well as 'moshing' and 'body surfing'.

A statement read: "The directors and board of Celtic Football Club are responsible for the safety of all supporters, and this is their primary objective.

"For some time the club has been under close scrutiny by the Glasgow City Council Safety Advisory Group with regard to serious safety concerns within Section 111.

"The club is keen to work with spectators in Section 111 to resolve safety concerns. However, it should be understood that failure to stop this unsafe behaviour will require the closure of this area in Celtic Park.

"The club recognises the many examples of good support for the team emanating from this part of the ground and in particular the efforts of the ‘Green Brigade’ in organising positive displays which are commended. However, the unsafe aspects of spectator behaviour in Section 111 require to be addressed with immediate effect.

"The directors and board of Celtic Football Club consider their responsibilities with regard to spectator safety to be of paramount importance. We will continue dialogue with representative of fans in this area to resolve these serious safety concerns however this unsafe behaviour must stop."

Celtic have previously faced scrutiny from Uefa over allegations of sectarian chanting, which saw them hit with a €14,700 fine in December 2011.

 

[BayernMunich]

UEFA Champions League Wrap: Lyon, PSV claim home wins
31 July 2013

Lyon and PSV both recorded home victories in the first leg of third round qualifying action in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

With a place in the play-off round of Europe's premier club competition up for grabs, the stakes were high across Europe.

And French giants Lyon did enough to win, although only 1-0, against Grasshopper of Switzerland.

The first half was goalless, but Lyon, who warmed up for the match with a 2-2 friendly draw against Real Madrid last Wednesday, still managed to claim victory.

Serbian defender Milan Bisevac, who has never scored for Lyon since joining from PSG in 2012, was the unlikely scorer, climbing highest to head home Clement Grenier's free-kick in the 64th minute.

Grasshopper will be pleased they did not concede again though, heading in to the second leg in Zurich.

PSV also won at home, with goals from Memphis Depay and substitute Jurgen Locadia in the final 30 minutes giving them a 2-0 triumph over Zulte-Waregem of Belgium.

Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb left it late but beat Sheriff of Moldova 1-0 at home, with Ante Rukavina coming off the bench to the score the game's only goal with one minute of normal time to play.

Zenit Saint Petersburg of Russia also won 1-0, but their triumph came on the road as they claimed an important win against Nordsjaelland in Denmark.

Substitute Alexander Kerzhakov – who replaced Andrey Arshavin – scored the winner on 49 minutes, converting Hulk's assist.

Switzerland's FC Basel beat Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel 1-0 at home, thanks to Valentin Stocker's first-half strike, while Austria Vienna triumphed by the same result, toppling Iceland's FH courtesy of Daniel Royer's strike.

Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic put one foot in the play-off round with a 4-0 thrashing of Estonian outfit Kalju.

Marian Cisovsky scored a hat-trick for the victors while Michal Duris also netted.

Ukrainian forward Marko Devic scored twice for Metalist – taking his scoring run to seven in five matches – as they beat PAOK of Greece 2-0.

Other results saw Steaua Bucharest of Romania win 2-0 at Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi, while Kazakhstan's Shakhter Karagandy cruised to a 3-0 win over Albania's Skenderbeu Korce.

The second legs of all ties will be played in the week commencing August 5.

 

[BayernMunich]

Marotta slams Juventus fixture pile-up
The club's director says teams competing in Europe should receive better protection from Serie A organisers following Juve's tough opening to the campaign

Valdes craves Champions League crown before Barcelona exit
The Blaugrana shot-stopper is hoping he will be a European champion when he leaves Camp Nou next summer and welcomed Gerardo Martino's arrival

Tottenham's sole aim is Champions League qualification, says Dawson
The Spurs skipper insists that his side's main priority this season is a top-four finish, while also dismissing the importance of individual results during pre-season friendlies

Gabi expects more Atleti success
Los Rojiblancos' captain is not intimidated by the prospect of facing Europe's heavyweights next season and has his eyes set firmly on silverware

Bierhoff fears for German football
The ex-Mannschaft star believes there is an unhealthy reliance on players from the nation's two top sides

PSG are ready for Champions League glory, says Ibra
The Sweden star feels the side is far stronger following another summer of spending and is better prepared after last season's exploits in the competition
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[BayernMunich]

Pizarro to face investigation over UEFA Champions League claims
31 July 2013

Fiorentina midfielder David Pizarro faces investigation over comments he made about his club missing out on the UEFA Champions League.

The 33-year-old said a penalty decision awarded to Milan in their 2-1 win over Siena on the final day of last season, which ensured they qualified for the competition ahead of Fiorentina, had turned his side into a "joke".

Milan had been 1-0 down in the match and needed two late goals to ensure they finished above Fiorentina, who beat Pescara 5-1.

At the time, a number of players and officials from Fiorentina complained about the penalty decision and Pizarro recently told Corriere dello Sport that "they didn't let us play in the Champions League even though we deserved it".

The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have now confirmed that both Pizarro and the club are to be investigated over the comments.

"The federal prosecutor has referred Fiorentina player David Pizarro to the national disciplinary commission," read a statement on the FIGC's official website.

"In statements published on the websites of the Gazzetta dello Sport and the Corriere dello Sport on July 22, he publicly expressed opinions and remarks likely to infringe on the prestige, reputation and credibility of the Federation, casting doubts on the neutrality of the institution itself, the fairness of the games and the championship and the objectivity and the impartiality of the referees.

"For their objective liability, (Fiorentina) have also been referred."

In his interview with the Italian newspaper, Pizarro also suggested he had witnessed similar practices at one of his former clubs, Roma.

"I am protesting about a system that allows these kind of things to happen," he said. "The same things I saw at Roma. It's a shame to work hard all week only to be frustrated every Sunday."

 

[BayernMunich]

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