Author Archives: Lonnie Smetana

I’m running behind schedule on the previews but I will be done before Matchday 2 kicks off ! Group C contains annual challengers Manchester United, a Valencia team facing life post-David Villa, a Rangers side facing transition and newcomers Bursaspor … Continue reading →

Group B features clubs with varying levels of experience ranging from perennials Olympique Lyonnais to debutants Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC. This group feels a little more predictable than Group A but the battle at the top could get quite interesting. Hapoel … Continue reading →

Debutants Tottenham Hotspur and FC Twente were drawn into a group with the reigning champs, FC Internazionale and a side with significant experience – Werder Bremen. This has the makings of a group of death and so it is no … Continue reading →

I think I am one of the few people in the blog/media realm that seems to enjoy the Europa League (formerly UEFA Cup). I’ve always looked at it as a great way to get more cultured in European football and … Continue reading →

Hello again, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. Life had taken me in some different directions and I had settled into an early retirement from football punditry. However, as the cliche goes, old habits are hard to … Continue reading →

The draw for the quarter-final matches was held Friday morning at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. As expected there are some big talking points, not the least being Thierry Henry’s return to face Arsenal. These clubs last faced off in … Continue reading →

One of the least talked about ties in the Round of 16, Bordeaux’s match-up with Olympiacos, could turn out to be one of the most important in shaping the face of the Champions League as well as French football. Lyon’s … Continue reading →

The Round of 32 produced a few dramatic results including a thrilling two-leg sweep of Roma by Panathinaikos. The Greek club won both legs by identical 3-2 scores and should be full of confidence for their matches against Standard Liège. … Continue reading →

Barring a flood of deals in the last couple of days, this will go down as one of the quietest transfer windows in recent years. So far there have been very few actual sales with the majority of deals being … Continue reading →

It’s only days away from the opening of the transfer window — a time when much cash will be splashed and many sides will be re-shaped and benches re-inforced. Because there can be some major impact signings, I am waiting … Continue reading →

The congestion of international, domestic and cup competitions is beginning to show as the injury lists grow longer. Several top stars will be missing from the Matchday 5 stage. Let’s take a look at how this might impact the results … Continue reading →

AC Milan’s 3-2 win in Madrid on Matchday 3 lifted them to the top of Group C and a repeat success on home soil would take them a step closer to the first knockout round. The Matchday 3 win was a big … Continue reading →

Swedish legend Henrik Larsson had an emotional farewell from professional football on Wednesday night as he played his last ever professional game for Swedish side Helsingborg. Larsson had announced his intent to retire at the end of this season but … Continue reading →

I have to start this off by saying thank you to the people behind the scenes at uefa.com for moving their subscription video service away from Windows Media and into a Flash-based format. It’s allowed me to follow all the … Continue reading →