elite eight: europa league

... somehow, that stopped neither of them from brushing aside a league leader (anderlecht and panathinaikos, respectively) in the round of 16 ... hamburg moves on after a 3-2 aggregate victory the salvage derby as it has been a frustrating campaign for both atlético madrid and valencia, this intra-league knockout reminds me of last year's hsv-werder bremen uefa cup semifinal ... it is two teams from the same league, each looking to rescue something of note from the season ... atlético closed last season winning eight of nine to earn a champions league berth ... they then stumbled from the gate this term, winning just one of their first 11 la liga contests and plummeting down to the europa league after a winless group phase ... players to watch: despite a stretch of glory as back-up with real madrid that included starting (but not finishing) the 2002 champions league final, this is the most opportune time in the career of 38-year old valencia keeper césar sánchez - and he will be facing an array of sharpshooters ... the english reds will hit the road first in facing benfica, who knocked them out of the champions league with a clean sweep in 2006

messi fabregas piqueall forged in barcelonas hothouse of champions

... has already played in la liga and was in the champions league final squad for last season's victory over manchester united

eight champions league finals required

... roberto mancini "i just want the players to treat every game like it’s a champions league final and always give 200% for the team – this is the only way we can improve and get to where we want to be

evra is best in world, insists irwin

... irwin should know a thing or two about the position, having played there in the 1999 champions league final, one of his 529 appearances in a 12-year stint with the old trafford outfit ... "the premier league was totally different to the league he was playing in

martin samuel- how ronaldos exit turned rooney into the real deal

... madrid, meanwhile, will host the champions league final this season, but will not feature in it ... in many ways, watching him now underlines how exceptional barcelona were last season because to have this player, and ronaldo with seven goals still the top scorer in the champions league, despite madrid's exit in the same team and not to win the competition seems barely believable

exclusive- owen hargreaves tells capello- i wont make world cup

... a broken leg and knee problems delayed his move to united after the2006 world cup in germany, but he crowned his first season inmanchester by scoring a penalty in the shoot-out victory in the 2008champions league final against chelsea ... hargreaves has made just 25 league appearances since his £18m move in 2007 'i probably shouldn't have played in that game,' said hargreaves ... ' fergie desperate to see injury-stricken hargreaves back in a united shirtowen hargreaves withdrawn from united's champions league squadowen's italian job - ferguson wants hargreaves back to face beckhammanchester united fc

manchester united fans go green and gold at wembley in colour-coded protest against owners

... wembley stadium will reverberate this afternoon to the sounds of the first colour-coded football rebellion as manchester united take on aston villa in the carling cup final and fans of the premier league champions stage a vivid protest against the club's controversial american owners ... the figures revealed that without the sale of cristiano ronaldo to real madrid for £81m, the colossal interest payments on the club's debt would have meant a net loss, after a hugely successful season in which the club won the premier league and reached the uefa champions league final ... on friday, portsmouth became the first premier league club to go into administration, with debts of around £70m, sparking fears that a combination of spiralling player wages and reckless overspending could leave other clubs vulnerable to a similar financial predicament ... the chatroom of united's red issue fanzine site has been teeming with plans for today's final, with a special trail called "green and gold report", with an editorial to be published next week listing options for further protest

martin samuel- jose mourinho is a master of both chelsea and inter milan

... arsene wenger played mathieu flamini in place of the injured ashley cole as arsenal advanced to the champions league final in 2006, and this was a similarlyimpressive turn ... where in recent years, inter have disappointed against premier league opposition, there is no doubt mourinho has constructed a team in his image ... the maestro: mourinho conducts matters from the touchlinesthey have been a hair's breadth from being champions of europe in consecutive seasons, and if inter are to go that step further they must be prepared to devour some of england's elite on the way

guardiola demands more from champions

... barcelona coach pep guardiola has demanded his side improve if they want to retain their uefa champions league title after being held to a 1-1 draw by germany's stuttgart in the last 16 clash ... barcelona coach pep guardiola stuttgart goalkeeper jens lehmann, who was famously sent off in arsenal's ill-fated 2006 champions league final against barcelona, said there might be an upset ... a string of other chances followed as the home side ran rings around the ragged-looking spanish league leaders, but the german underdogs were unable to capitalise

terry focused on success

... and terry firmly has his sights set on a premier league, uefa champions league and world cup treble this year ... "i want to win the champions league and premier league for chelsea and help win the world cup for england ... "to achieve champions league success, terry will have to help chelsea past former mentor jose mourinho ... now in charge at inter milan, mourinho tackles chelsea in the first knockout round of the champions league, with the first leg taking place on wednesday at the san siro ... "there's a shirt on my wall at home - the shirt i wore when i missed that penalty against manchester united in the champions league final ... we'd finished as premier league runners- up and not really got there ... "jose said once that you don't have to be the best team and you can still win the champions league ... he too has a great reputation in the champions league - as a player and a manager