Football Dispatch

Weekend Football
14-16 March 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Manchester United have been assigned a third trip to the Italian capital in twelve months. The Premier League title-holders were tied to AS Roma when the Champions’ League quarterfinal draw was held in Nyon, France on Friday.

The contest is certain to be one of the most ferocious of the round. When the two sides clashed at the Stadio Olimpico last April, dozens of United supporters were injured – some seriously – in clashes with police both during and prior to the match. And while the hosts triumphed 2-1 on the night, they were annihilated in the return-leg – losing 7-1 at Old Trafford.

Coincidentally, the two were also bunched together with Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev in the Group Phase of the current competition. United ran out 1-0 winners in a tedious affair at home before earning a meaningless 1-1 draw in Rome in early December.

Should United and Roma fail to produce the anticipated fireworks, Arsenal and Liverpool can be expected to compensate. The two English giants were paired together in the quarterfinal stage, Friday; and the winner will be handed a likely semifinal matchup with Chelsea.

The Blues, for their part, will make a daunting foray into Instanbul to battle Fenerbahce on 02 April before returning to Stamford Bridge for the second-leg a week later. While many pundits are predicting a cakewalk for the English side, in reality, it will be anything but. The Sukru Saracoglu Stadium is one of the most intimidating fortresses in world football. And given that Chelsea struggled to get anything out of their recent match away to Olympiakos, they will be taking nothing for granted in the buildup to kickoff.

Should United overcome Roma, which is accepted wisdom at this point, they will be tasked with beating one of Barcelona and Schalke 04. Had the draw been made in January, the Catalans would have been certain favorites. But a string of poor performances has demoralized the Blaugranes; and the imaginative Lionel Messi is unlikely to feature in the first-leg.

Schalke, meanwhile, have had an up-and-down season in the Bundesliga. Currently fifth in the standings, they face an uphill battle to qualify for next season’s Champions’ League. Mirko Slomka’s side, however, plays some of the most attractive football on the continent. In progressing to the quarterfinals, they advanced from a tricky bracket which included Chelsea, Rosenborg, and Valencia before dispatching Porto from the Round-of-16.

Gretna will play their scheduled Scottish Premier League match against Aberdeen this weekend. As straightforward as that sounds, the very fact that the game is going ahead at all is remarkable. Since going into administration, or company voluntary arrangement, on Wednesday, caretaker manager Mick Wadsworth has struggled to cobble together a squad for the northward journey to Pittodrie.

As of Thursday, just ten players – and not a goalkeeper among them – had committed to playing the match. The entire squad has gone weeks without wages; and rumors of a mutiny have only complicated the already taxing financial situation at the club.

The short-term goal is to keep Gretna F.C. afloat until Celtic’s visit to Fir Park next weekend. If they can fill Motherwell’s 13,700-capacity stadium for the showdown with the reigning champions, the club stands a decent chance at surviving the 2007-2008 season. Doing so will be easier said than done. Barely 500-fans were on hand for Gretna’s home fixture against Dundee United last Thursday.

Karim Benzema has extended his contract at Olympique Lyonnais. The 20-year-old striker has already scored 25-goals this season and is already considered among Europe’s top forwards. Combining size, strength, and superb pace on the ball, the France international strikes something of a resemblance to a young Ronaldo.

Needless to say, he has been coveted by several of Europe’s top clubs for over a year. Manchester United were the latest side to make an inquiry; and Real Madrid have been kicking tires as well. Still, Benzema will be property of Lyon until 2013 – at which time he will be 25-years of age.

“I want to be at Lyon next year,” the player told Spain’s El Munde Deportivo. “There’s still so much to do; and I want to win trophies with Lyon.”

Aaron Lennon could be exiting White Hart Lane over the summer. The right-winger was on the bench, Wednesday, as Tottenham Hotspur went out of the UEFA Cup to PSV Einhoven. And with Spurs manager Juande Ramos already targeting Getafe’s Cato Diaz, the 20-year-old England international might be considered a surplus to requirements.

With just three goals in 39-appearances this season, Lennon has failed to impress his new coach. That said, there would be no shortage of suitors if the former Leeds player went on the open market. At the very least, he could be expected to fetch upwards of 15M-pounds – a fair return for Spurs. They paid just 1M-pounds to pry him from Elland Road in 2005.

Ben Foster will make his first start for Manchester United in three years, Saturday. After moving to Old Trafford from Stoke City in 2005, he spent two seasons on loan at Watford before a knee surgery ruled him out of the first half of the 2007-2008 Premier League season. But with Edwin Van der Sar nursing a groin strain and Tomas Kuzczak suspended, manager Sir Alex Ferguson will award the 24-year-old his first appearance with the Red Devils.

“He has fantastic speed and agility,” commented Ferguson upon revealing his decision on Thursday. “I have no fears about him being okay.”

In defeating Werder Bremen by a 2-1 aggregate scoreline in the UEFA Cup Round-of-16, Rangers have earned a quarterfinal tie with Sporting Lisbon. The Scottish Premier League leaders will kick-off the round at Ibrox on 03 April before flying to Portugal for the return-leg on 10 April.

In other pairings, Fiorentina were drawn against PSV Eindhoven, Bayern Munich were coupled with Getafe, and Bayer Leverkusen were tied to Zenit St. Petersburg.

The UEFA Cup final will be held on 14 May at the City of Manchester Stadium.