Barca Boss Admits Tough Task Ahead at Nou Camp

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has admitted his side face an uphill task when they don the Barcelona football shirt to face Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side in the second leg of the Champions League semi final next week. The Spanish giants trail 3 - 1 after being outplayed for the majority of the first leg in Italy - and in spite of boasting some of the best attacking players in the world of football such as Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, coach Guardiola admits they face an uphill battle to retain the Champions League trophy. The second leg of the tie is set to take place in Barcelona on Wednesday the 28th of April, and Inter will know that scoring an away goal could be critical to heap the pressure on the Catalonians. The Italians also boast a highly experienced and resolute defence which could prove to be critical in the melting pot atmosphere of the Nou Camp - and stopping Messi will clearly be central to their chances of success. The Argentine has been in scintillating form for Barca this season both in Europe and the Spanish domestic competitions - and a masterful hat trick against Arsenal in the last leg of the Champions League further strengthened his claims to being the best footballer in the world at the moment.

Scholes Nods Vital Winner in Pulsating Manchester Derby

Evergreen Paul Scholes capped a fantastic individual display with a vital winner in a pulsating Manchester Derby. The midfielder was perfectly placed to power home a Patrice Evra cross for his sixth goal of the current campaign, heading into the bottom corner beyond the despairing dive of Shay Given deep into the third minute of time added on. The 35 year old once again proved his wealth of experience is vital to United with a display combining both quality of passing and tenacious desire. The former England star showed strength in the tackle and a desire to win back possession for his side that belied his years - and having just signed another 1 year contract extension, the Salford born star is seemingly set to go from strength to strength for Manchester United. United had created the better chances during the first half of an intriguing encounter with Giggs and Rooney both going close, yet in spite of a frenetic final 10 minutes the game was looking set for a draw until Scholes was on hand to snatch the 3 points for United. Scholes’ winner may yet prove even more important in the broader context of the Premier League as Chelsea’s defeat to London rivals Tottenham later that afternoon has cut the Blues lead to just 1 point, meaning that the title race is now wide open again.

Adebayor Hangs Up International Boots

Manchester City Striker Emmanuel Adebayor has today declared that he will retire from international football with immediate effect. Adebayor and his international team mates were attacked by gunmen on their team bus on the 8th of January - an incident that left members of the party dead and several players also injured. The Togo star has admitted that he has since understandably struggled to mentally come to terms with the devastating effects of the tragic incident that occurred prior to the African Cup of Nations tournament in Angola, and as such has now opted to retire from playing for his country at the age of just 26. Clearly deeply shaken by the incident, Adebayor was quoted as saying: “We were just footballers going to play a football match and represent our country, yet we were attacked by people who wanted to kill us all. It is a moment I will never forget and one I never want to experience again.” Emmanuel Adebayor had represented Togo on 38 occasions - scoring 16 goals in the process. He won the African footballer of the year award in 2008.

West Ham Issue Complaint to Premier League Over Fulham Team Selection

West Ham United have registered an official letter of complaint to the Premier League’s governing body regarding Fulham’s team selection against Premier League relegation rivals Wolves. The Hammers are incensed that Fulham manager Roy Hodgson rested 6 key players including top score Bobby Zamora and influential midfielders Danny Murphy and Damien Duff for the league game against Wolves in preparation for their Europa League clash against Wolfsburg on Thursday night. Fulham went on to lose the game 2 – 0 against Wolves last weekend - handing 3 vital points to Mick McCarthy’s side which may yet prove to be vital in securing their Premier League status come the end of the season. Wolves themselves were earlier this season handed a suspended fine in the region of £25,000 after falling foul of the same Premier League rule E20 which dictates that top flight team’s must select their strongest available line up for all Premier League fixtures. The matter remains an issue of some contentious debate in English football, as fans would argue that title challengers such as Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool have regularly “rotated” their first 11 without question, yet smaller clubs have seemingly been subjected to regularly scrutiny over their selection policies this season.

The matter remains an issue of some contentious debate in English football, as fans would argue that title challengers such as Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool have regularly “rotated” their first 11 without question, yet smaller clubs have seemingly been subjected to regularly scrutiny over their selection policies this season. If you have the passion to complain, many clubs have contracts with live answering services to answer fan feedback lines.