I will be liveblogging the final, and I’ll try to post more often once we know who our finalists are. If Bayern manages it now, they truly do deserve it. If not, it just wasn’t meant to be this year.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Zenit St. Petersburg (Ribery 19′, Lucio o.g. 61′)
Rangers 0-0 Fiorentina

22:38 - And that’s it in Munich as well. Man of the Day, of both matches, is Viacheslav Malafeev. 13 saves, and one goal from Franck Ribery, from about five feet away, allowed. An epic day for the Zenit vice captain, who will not be buying the beers tonight.

22:32 - Final score in Glasgow is nil and nil.

22:28 - Looks like the team of clean sheets, Rangers, will have themselves another one, unless Bobo and Friends can make a late charge, and Zenit has only five minutes to hold on for an incredible draw. Good on them, though - they’re still pushing for this. Arshavin boots wide … some practice on accuracy in St. Petersburg wouldn’t be wasted this week.

22:26 - Zenit win their first corner, to Bayern’s 8, but do little with it.

22:14 - The Viola goes with the time-tested cure for all 0-0 draws … it’s Bobo Viera on the pitch. Meanwhile, Lucio is trying to become the second coming of Deivid, making up for his own goal, but his shot is tipped over by the fantastic Malafeev.

22:12 - 59 fouls in the two games so far, and the Zenit midfield is now on three yellows, but they are holding strong. This team is no minnow.

22:10 - Mutu threatens, finally, with a nice 30 yard free kick, but Neil Alexander is up to the task. The back up man has done his duty so far tonight. I also hasten to add that he is a Scotland international, and third in line behind Gordon and McGregor for his national #1 shirt, with 3 caps to his name.

22:06 - Zenit get their first offside call of the night, indicative of their new attacking mindset. Things have settled a bit in Glasgow, with Rangers and Fiorentina both having decent runs of play, but threatening each other’s goals very little.

22:04 - Zenit are much better this half, actually possessing instead of clearing, and Malafeev actually has had some time to relax in goal. They can smell this draw, or even a win, now, especially with Kahn out for Bayern.

22:02 - Another miss left from The Schwein. Bayern got knocked a little off balance by that own goal. They better get it back. Perhaps Mr. Toni is in order? And Ollie Kahn is off the field injured. Rensing takes over in goal.

22:00 - OH MY. It’s the week of the own goal, as Lucio deflects in … that’s amazing luck for Zenit, and it’s all tied up in Munich. Bayern has to know how good Zenit are at home. An amazing turn of events.

21:58 - Walter Smith subs out both of his attackers … a Whaaaaa? … and it’s Thomas Buffel in for Nacho? I don’t have the words. Meanwhile, Podolski has his shot blocked. It appears that Zenit don’t want Sam to win that shirt.

21:56 - Steven Davis heads wide for Rangers. The pressure is starting to build for Rangers, though, and their goals might be changing from “Don’t Concede” to “Don’t Concede, and Maybe, Just Maybe Score”. Novo follows it up with a bad shot and a bad decision. Should have passed.

21:55 - Zurianov has a shot for Zenit, but it’s wide left. Just one shot on target in five total for Zenit … that’s not what’s needed to beat a team like Munich. When you get your chances, they’ve got to be on the mark.

21:52 - Schweinsteiger .. again … he is now “The Schwein” … has a try, but again it’s Malafeev for the save.

21:50 - Pavel Pogrebniak, who I’m calling Pavel P. from now on, gets his first shot of the night, but can’t keep it down. As Bob Uecher would say “There’s a lucky fan”. In another case of strange coincidence, Nacho Novo does the same thing, only from farther out. Rangers still haven’t managed a shot on goal.

21:49 - Cuellar breaks up the opening move from Fiorentina. The Viola will feel very hard done by if they leave Glasgow without a goal, considering the moves they’ve made.

21:47 - Back underway. There’s a jersey on the line here, so let’s see some goals .. or no goals, if that’s what you guessed.

Halftime
A minute to catch the breath … damn … Daddies, don’t let your children grow up to blog two games at once. Anyway, at the half, Bayern’s got the 1-0 lead and things are all even in Glasgow. Men of the half for me: Bayern: Ribery: as Inara said, he pledged to get revenge for Marseille, and he’s done his part. Zenit: Malafeev : scouts in the crowd are underlining his name and putting little hearts around it. Rangers: Broadfoot: the only one trying to create something for them. Fiorentina: Pazzini: I actually think he looks better than Mutu, which probably means Mutu with two goals in the second half, but we’ll see.

PS - 1-0 to Bayern at halftime was called by eight of our entrants in the podcast jersey giveaway. But its the final score that matters, and those start to diverge in the second half.

21:25 - Some communication problems between Cuellar and Alexander, but that’s to be expected, since one is from Spain and the other has never started a game this season. Another save from Malafeev - that’s seven in the first half.

21:23 - Ohhhh … Krizanic has what might be the best chance of the game for Zenit, and he heads it wide. I have to admit, I wanted that one in.

21:22 - That’s two yellow cards for the Zenit midfield. I don’t know if they saw that match with Getafe, but going down a man doesn’t make things any easier.

21:20 - Bayern has had 2/3 of the possession so far, and its only down to their keeper’s heroics that Zenit isn’t in a bigger hole.

21:17 - Ribery tries again, this time from about 30 yards further out, and with far less luck. Kuzmanovic does the same for Fiorentina, but with the same result. Both misses. Nice reply from Zenit, but their shot, rather ambitious even on its own, is well blocked by Lucio.

21:15 - Mutu got away with a handball there, but Rangers won’t complain too much … they ought to be happy they’re not trailing.

21:14 - This is reminiscient of the first half of the Barca - Man U game. There probably is another half to the pitch, but we don’t often see it.

21:13 - That was four shots in six minutes for Bayern. That keeper Malafeev is going to want a raise if he can keep it at 1-0.

21:12 - So far, the newcomer Rangers goalie is holding up better than the veteran Rangers defense. If they keep giving Mutu the ball, they will eventually pay for it.

21:09 - Malafeev is taking a beating in the Zenit goal, but he’s standing up to it. Finally his team gets some sort of control back, leading to a shot from Radek Shirl, but its not enough to beat Ollie Kahn.

21:08 - Montolivo gets a shot in against Rangers, but Hemdani is there to deflect it. Yellow card for Mario Santana.

21:07 - Bayern wants more, and could have had it through Miroslav Klose, but his header flies wide.

21:06 - GOAL. It’s Franck Ribery with a tap in from virtually right on the goal line. Munich is on the board.

21:05 - And there’s a shot, at long last, from Rangers, but Whittaker is well off target. Still, they are thinking of offense somewhere in their heads, and that’s a relief.

21:04 - Promptly, when I call the Ibrox match unphysical, Fiorentina fouls Darcheville. Funny.

21:00 - I would have expected the Ibrox match to be the more physical, but there are fouls every which way in Munich, and it won’t be long before we see cards, I’d bet. Meanwhile some signs of life from Darcheville, but nothing to challenge the Viola goal.

20:58 - Fiorentina really turning it on now. Great opportunity, completely wasted, for Pazzini, but the momentum is all Viola right now.

20:57 - Mutu gets his first look at goal, and trickles one into Alexander’s arms. The newcomer in Rangers goal will have been happy to have that one to start with.

20:52 - Great run, in open space, from Martin Jorgensen, but he finishes off with nothing at all.

20:51 - Another shot from Schweinsteiger, and another miss wide. For bloggers’ sakes, I do hope someone with a somewhat shorter name makes some plays as well. Meanwhile, this may be another yawner from Rangers … they look to have very little ambition right now.

20:50 - Cuellar gives up an awful ball to Mutu, but it comes to nothing. Could have been an early disaster for Rangers.

20:49 - Fernando Ricksen has been called in to make clearances three times in the first five minutes for Zenit. If they sit back and hope to weather the assault, it could be a long night for the Russians.

20:48 - Early shot from Schweinsteiger, to start what must be a barrage from Bayern. He misses wide.

20:45 - We’re underway. Let’s see if these two games can manage more than the two combined goals from this week’s CL matches.

20:29 - If anyone’s interested in the betting odds on these two, it looks like Bayern are favored pretty heavily, with payouts of 1.44 for home win, 4.33 for a draw and 7 for a Zenit win. They give a slight advantage to Fiorentina, at 2.5 to Rangers 3, with a draw payout of 3 as well.

20:20 - Just under a half hour to wait. Neil Alexander has some huge boots to fill taking over Rangers’ goal from Allan McGregor, especially with Adrian Mutu in the wings. And that Bayern lineup of Ribery, Klose and Podolski would scare anyone, with some guy named Luca Toni on the bench. What a strike force to choose from.

20:15 - And for the other match, we now have starting lineups as well:
Bayern: Kahn, Lucio, Lahm, Jansen, van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Schweinsteiger, Demichelis, Ribery, Klose, Podolski
Zenit: Malafeev, Krizanac, Ricksen, Tymoschuk, Zurianov, Denisov, Shirl, Shirokov, Faitzulin, Arshavin, Pogrebniak

20:08 - Rangers look to be fielding something like a 4-4-2. Here are the lineups:
Rangers - Alexander, Weir, Dailly, Broadfoot, Cuellar, Whittaker, Papac, Hemdani, Davis, Novo, Darcheville
Fiorentina - Frey, Gamberini, Ujfalusi, Jorgensen, Liverani, Santana, Gobbi, Montolivo, Kuzmanovic, Mutu, Pazzini

That’s two players for Rangers who they won’t have in their next few league matches, as Weir and Cuellar start suspensions.

Results:
Zenit St. Petersburg 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen
(Zenit advances on 4-2 aggregate) (Bulykin [BL] 18′)
Bayer needed four away goals to pull even. They got one. The Russian international Dmitri Bulykin won’t be making any new fans in St. Petersburg with his goal, but it wasn’t decisive. If it wasn’t for the disaster last week in Germany, 0-1 would be a fine result, considering how well Zenit does at home. It’s official now that the semifinals of the UEFA Cup will feature four teams from four different leagues. Eat that, Champions League. This will be Zenit’s first ever appearance in a European semifinal.

PSV Eindhoven 0-2 Fiorentina
(Fiorentina advances on 3-1 aggregate) (Mutu [F] 38′, 53′)
MUTU! Was there much doubt, on his form, that he’d find the net? And he adds another in the second half, in case you didn’t see the first. The Italians are still alive for a European trophy.

Sporting Lisbon 0-2 Rangers
(Rangers advance on 2-0 aggregate) (Darcheville [R] 60′, Whittaker [R] 90′)
Rangers keep another clean sheet and won’t change a lot of minds about their safety-first style of play, but they’re in the final four, and they’ll face Fiorentina for a spot in the final. Barry Ferguson will miss the first match of the semis with a suspension after today’s yellow.

Getafe 3-3 Bayern Munich
(4-4 tie on aggregate, Bayern advance 3-1 on away goals.) (Contra [G] 45′, Ribery [BM] 89′, Casquero [G] 91′, Braulio [G] 93′, Toni [BM] 115′, 120′)
You can’t make this stuff up, folks. Ruben de la Red is … red carded. And it’s Cosmin Contra with another clutch goal over Munich, this time down a man … this is fantastic stuff from the Romanians again today, but in the 89th minute, it’s Frank Ribery with an equalizer, and we’ll go to extra time. Casquero starts the third period off right for Getafe, putting them up once again. And a minute later, it’s Braulio. Getafe are not letting this one go. Luca Toni gets himself booked in the 104th, and finally, a goal in the 115th. Just a few minutes to go now. Oh my God … Bayern equalize … Unbelievable. Luca Toni … just … unbelievable. If I was a Getafe fan, I would be in tears right now. That was a game for the ages.

Zenit St. Petersburg v. Bayer Leverkusen
Current Aggregate: 4-1 (4 aways goals for Zenit)
Zenit needs: not to screw up.
Leverkusen needs: an actual miracle.

Short of the skies opening up and heralding the second coming of Dimitar Berbatov for Leverkusen, this one’s over. Zenit did what they had to do in Germany, and then they scored two more goals. Their home form has been fantastic, and I can’t see them dropping this one.

Sporting CP v. Rangers
Current Aggregate: 0-0
Sporting needs: to stop overplaying and make it look like they’re interested in shooting. You know, someday.
Rangers need: to hold possession for more than 10 seconds running.

Now that both teams have had time to digest just how boring they were last week at Ibrox, they’ll come out and … well … probably be almost as boring in Lisbon. Neither of these teams showed much bite in the first leg, and both had basically one good chance all match. With Rangers’ tight defense and Sporting’s ability to dominate possession, the first goal will likely win this matchup. I just hope that first goal isn’t a penalty after extra time.

Getafe v. Bayern Munich
Current Aggregate: 1-1 (1 away goal to Getafe)
Getafe needs: not to get too purely defensive.
Bayern needs: to get over themselves and realize they’re in real trouble.

Bayern started dusting off a place for the UEFA Cup in their trophy case months ago, but Getafe might very well play spoilers for that predictable result, as they hold the advantage with 90 minutes at home to play. This is a team in the cup final in Spain, who has beaten three of the current top four in La Liga this season, including Real Madrid and Barcelona. They held an admittedly weakened Barcelona side scoreless on the weekend, and they’ll be full of confidence that they can do the same against Luca Toni and Munich. The game to watch tomorrow … along with the next one.

PSV Eindhoven v. Fiorentina
Current Aggregate: 1-1 (1 away goal to PSV)
PSV needs: to control Mutu and keep the sheet nice and sparkly clean.
Viola needs: early pressure, and to force set pieces where they can break down the stingy PSV defense.

This is going to be another good one, but more from a tactical standpoint than anything else. I really can’t see it bringing us more than two goals in regulation, and more likely one. With Roma eliminated from the European Cup, the Viola have all of Italy (except maybe Siena and Livorno) behind them to keep some hope of European hardware alive. A lot of that hope lies with Adrian Mutu, who has come back from injury seemingly stronger than ever. This one is really tight, but regardless of the away goal situation, I still think Fiorentina will pull it out.

It should be an interesting day. Scotland, Holland, Italy, Russia, and Germany are all out of the Champions League, with its distinctively tea-and-crumpets flavo(u)r this year, and this is their chance for European glory. We’ll have to wait and see.

The Olympic torch and its controversial tour of the world has left Europe and is coming to San Francisco, thus joining one of the biggest protest issues in the world with one of the most protest-happy places on Earth. What could go wrong?

I’d like to start by saying that I fully support the protest of the Beijing Olympics and the Olympic flame tour. China has tarnished the name of the Olympics by using the Games as a public relations scheme, and at the same time, an excuse to not only continue, but in many cases increase the oppression of dissidents and the Tibetan people. The protesters lining the streets of the torch route carrying signs and Tibetan flags have all of my sympathy.

Then there’s the other sort. The sort that throw cups of hot coffee at former Olympians for being involved in the tour. The sort that jump through the now-ridiculous security to get in a punch or body check at the person holding the torch. Let me be clear. If you resort to this kind of tactic, it is not protest … it’s assault, and it not only does nothing to support the cause you claim to represent, but it also distracts attention away from that very cause. Your actions become the story.

We just saw the passing of the fortieth anniversary of the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., a pioneer not only in the American civil rights movement, but in the practice of nonviolent protest. Rather than take on the methods of groups like the Black Panthers, Dr. King realized that violent action would play directly into the hands of his opponents. Rather than spreading the idea that a whole population was being oppressed and mistreated by their government, it would ensure that the news would be dominated by scenes of violence, and that the issues would be lost. I’m not saying this is the same situation - not at all - but there are parallels. I’m all for ruining the Chinese government’s propaganda parade, but the way to do that is to keep the focus on the issues of repression and violence by that government, not distracting from it by creating violence of our own.

There are those that have defended the more hostile protests by saying that when faced with a violent and oppressive force, like the Chinese government, you have to “fight fire with fire”. It’s a term that is as overused as it is inappropriate. Whoever came up with the term “fight fire with fire” was probably a piss-poor fireman. In most cases, it just doesn’t work. I’m not saying that signs and flags are going to make China change its mind about its policies on human rights … but neither are a few fights and bruises, especially when those bruises are being handed out to people that most likely agree in principle with the people hitting or throwing things at them. I just hope that the more hostile of the protesters (a very small minority) remember that the people they are claiming to stand up for - the Tibetans - have a tradition based on peace and nonviolence. Make no mistake, the Dalai Lama does not want people hurting other people to “represent” the rights of Tibet.

Okay, rant over. For those of you who may be involved in either watching or protesting the Olympic torch tour, be careful out there, and just keep your head about you and your goals clear. That’s all I ask.

Like I said, I’ll be on later with the previews of tomorrow’s UEFA Cup action. Except for Zenit-Leverkusen, they could all go either way, so it should be a fantastic day of football. Stay tuned.

(more…)

Bayer Leverkusen v. Zenit St. Petersburg
Leverkusen Home Form: LWWWW
Zenit Away Form: WLLLW
* (Russian League only started March 14, so all but the first of these are UEFA Cup)

A look at their away form shows you the simple fact. Zenit has not done well on the road in Europe. Their last win away in the UEFA Cup was November 8th over Larisa in Greece. Still, their home record is scary, and Leverkusen will know that they will have to get a lead in Germany, then avoid slipping in St. Petersburg, like Marseille did last round.

Rangers v. Sporting CP
Rangers Home Form: WWWWW
Sporting Away Form: WLDLW

Rangers haven’t always been all that impressive in Europe this season, at least not since the first half of their Champions League group stage, but Ibrox has remained a very secure fortress from which little can be gained. The last team, domestic or European, to get a win there was Lyon on December 12. They have squeaked by in the UC so far, and Sporting will see them as vulnerable, but the advantage is certainly with the home side in this one.

Bayern Munich v. Getafe
Bayern Home Form: WLWWD
Getafe Away Form: LDWWW

On paper, this is certainly the best matchup of the round. Getafe are doing well in Spain, and will figure that if they can win away at Real Madrid, they can do the same in Munich. But Bayern is the favorite for a reason, and now that they can smell a trophy, they will be more tenacious than ever. They have the most loaded offense in the competition, and Getafe will have a very serious job just staying in the tie for the return leg. If they can keep it close, we could see an upset here, but betting against Munich in this competition is a very dangerous strategy right now.

Fiorentina v. PSV Eindhoven
Fiorentina Home Form: WWWWW
PSV Away Form: DDWLW

With Roma down two goals to Man United in the Champions League, the Viola are likely the last chance for an Italian team to lift a trophy in Europe this season. They have been very strong at home in Serie A, and have to be favorites against a PSV side that has not traveled all that well domestically or in Europe. PSV has one of the strongest defenses in the notoriously goal-happy Eredivisie, but whether it will be enough to stop Bobo, Mutu and Friends remains to be seen.

Since my predictive abilities have already proven themselves to be shaky at best, I’ve got nothing to lose, and so I’ll make my picks for the four quarterfinals this week. Here goes.

Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Zenit St. Petersburg
Rangers 1-0 Sporting CP
Bayern Munich 3-2 Getafe
Fiorentina 2-1 PSV Eindhoven

We’ll find out tomorrow how wrong, how horribly, horribly wrong, I’ve been. Make your own guesses below, if you dare.

Bayer Leverkusen
Zenit St. Petersburg
Rangers
Sporting Lisbon
Getafe
PSV Eindhoven

, and you’d like to try your hand at blogging, let us know. You can email Daryl, who is in charge of such things, at daryl [at] theoffside [dot] com, or you can get in touch with me if you have any questions at uefa [at] theoffside [dot] com. I’d really like to see these teams represented, and a few posts a week, or even just match reports each weekend, would be a start. Thanks.

As we get closer to the opening leg of the quarterfinals this week, I’ll be back to take a look at the matchups and the latest news on each team.