Juventus eased through to the Champions League group stages after a 1-1 draw at Artmedia Bratislava completed a 5-1 aggregate victory. Juve, out of Europe for two seasons following their involvement in an Italian match-fixing scandal, named a relatively strong team despite winning the third qualifying round first leg 4-0.

Claudio Ranieri’s side went behind when Artmedia midfielder Branislav Fodrek netted with a stunning bicycle kick after 14 minutes but they were soon level as Amauri scored his first competitive goal for the club. The Brazilian-born striker, a close-season signing from Palermo, hung in the air before powering home a header from Czech winger Pavel Nedved’s cross on 25 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Juventus marked their return the continental football with an emphatic win, while Barcelona have also put one foot in the Champions League group stage. Italian giants Juventus all but assured their path into group stages with a 4-0 thrashing of Slovakian side Artmedia Petrzalka at the Stadio Delle Alpi.

Goals from Mauro Camorenesi (pictured), Alessandro del Piero, Giorgio Chiellini and a final-minute strike from Nicola Legrottaglie leave the club almost certain to progress into their first European campaign for two years. Read the rest of this entry »

To commemorate the end of the 2007-08 season we bring you the best of the best from across the continent with Eurosport’s European team of the season. With so many outstanding forward players having displayed their talent this season, it is perhaps inevitable that our selection of superstars line up in a somewhat unorthodox 4-1-3-2 formation - an unashamed effort to cram in as many attacking players as possible.

But that is not to take any focus away from our defensive picks - those chosen have contributed just as much and their importance should never be underestimated.

So, without further ado, we present the crème de la crème of European football - a mouthwatering line-up if ever there was one… Read the rest of this entry »

Incredible match between Manchester United and Chelsea. The score was 1-1 after 120 minutes and the champion was decided at the penalty shootout. Here are the highlights of this game:

After a long and interesting Uefa Champions League season we know both teams that will fight for the trophee. I would say this was England’s year because they had: 4 teams in the quarter finals from 8, 3 teams in the semis from 4 and now in the big final At Moscow Manchester United will meet Chelsea. It’s not the first time when we see compatriot contests in important football competitions and in the past years we’ve seen other finals like this one.

2002-2003 was Italy’s year in the Uefa Champions League when they had 3 teams in the semi-finals: Internazionale, Milan and Juventus. The grand final was a perfect demonstration of the famous catenaccion and the goalless 120 minutes draw at Old Trafford was decided by penalty kicks in favour of Milan. Read the rest of this entry »