Photo by ISIphotos.com
The European final we are all waiting for, between Barcelona and Manchester United, is still a week away, but those craving the excitement of a final will be able to enjoy today's UEFA Cup final between Werder Bremen and Shakhtar Donetsk (2:45pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
The last UEFA Cup final (before the tournament is renamed the Europa League) will feature the Brazilian-laden squad from the Ukraine and the South American-inspired squad from Germany. One Brazilian who won't be on the field is Bremen playmaker Diego, who is suspended for the match.
Here are some other stories to get your day going:
Wenger: I'm staying
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger shot down rumors of an impending move to Real Madrid by declaring that he plans to stay with the London club. Wenger had a three-hour meeting with Arsenal CEO (and former MLS deputy commissioner) Ivan Gazidis and emerged from that meeting eager to express his desire to stay with Arsenal.
Wenger was identified as Real Madrid's managerial target by Real Madrid presidential candidate Florentino Perez, and when Wenger called the interest from Madrid "strongly interesting", questions began emerging about his loyalty to Arsenal.
No warm welcome for Cannavaro
You would think that a former World Cup winner and captain like Fabio Cannavaro would be in for a great welcome on his return to former club Juventus.
Think again.
Juve fans are still holding a grudge with the way Cannavaro left Juventus in the wake of the match-fixing scandal back in 2006. Cannavaro bolted for Real Madrid while other top stars such as Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero stay with the club. Now Cannavaro, 35, is ready to return to the Turin club, but it won't be the warmest of welcomes.
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These are just some of the stories emerging on this Wednesday morning (and from Tuesday). Who do you see winning the UEFA Cup (and more importantly, will you be watching)? Happy to see Wenger staying, or want to see him leave? Think Juve fans should get over it and welcome Cannavaro back with open arms?
Share your thoughts on these and any other soccer stories from Tuesday and Wednesday in the comments section below.
What about Scolari for Bradley? His international cred is spectacular and it gives him a chance to remedy the disaster of Chelsea.
Cannavaro is going to Juve because he’s good friends with Ciro, Ciro actually worked closely w/ Cannavaro’s brother in Napoli in a business. Ciro is going to be the next Capello and Juve fans should welcome back Cannavaro with open arms because I’m sure he wants to end his Italian career with a Serie A championship.
I think fans of Juve should reazlize that Juventus screwed Cannavaro and mostly the rest of the team by match fixing and in turn getting demoted to Serie B. That also meant no Champions League. Maybe they should shut up and welcome him back now that the team has righted itself of the mess.
Any truth to that speculation, mb?
people are talking about both Klinsmann and Rijkaard being available and under consideration for taking over for Bob Bradley.
Not a bad idea Rao. The sad thing is, is there are so many good ideas out there that will never see the light of day. I was reading World Soccer a couple months back and one of the columnists (who dislikes deciding games on penalty kicks more than me) was giving potential replacement ideas. Are they good ideas? Yes! Will they ever see the light of day? Probably not.
I agree that yellow card accumulation is a tough reason for someone not to play in the final. How about something like this?
– If a player has accumulated 2 yellows due to previous games, then if they get a single yellow in the final, it counts as a red and they are out.
– The club would have the choice of playing the player (or possibly keeping them in reserve in case they are needed) but at a huge risk if that player can’t play with discipline.
It would prevent hack fests but allow the final the *chance* to have the best players actually play.
mb, what are you talking about?
LEBENSLANG GRUN WEISS!!!!
Should be interesting if our Schaaf can pull it out with all the cards and injuries. Its been a garbage year without these two tournaments and it would be nice to walk away with something.
Next year things will hopefully be back to normal, this is the first time in about a decade that we’ve placed this poorly. Im really really curious to see who goes and who stays, as well as whos coming in, lord knows we will need a replacement for Diego and we never seemed to replace Klose up front, although Pizarro looks to be the real deal, just a matter of whether Chelsea will let him come back for a reasonable price.
Yeah, I just decided not to skip work and watch the the UEFA final based on Diego being out. Its a joke soft reds carry into finals like this. Its got to hurt them money-wise. But when have some rules ever made sense?
I think Adam has a point, and I’ve always felt this way, too. And yes you can argue that the semis would become a mess, but I think that can be controlled. After all, if you receive a red (or 2 yellows in the semi final) then you are still out of the finals, like usual. It’s the yellow accumulation that I don’t think should keep a player out of the fianls. For instance ,United fans were relieved that Rooney and Evra thankfully didn’t pick up ONE yellow in ONE single game… I think that limits the quality of a players game more than it keeps a match “clean”.
Interesting points all around.
Klinsmann or Rijkaard to take over as USMNT coach for Bob Bradley?
Adam: it would turn semi-finals into hackfests…
They really need to find a way to allow players on their second yellows to compete in the final. Either wipe cards away for the final or impose some kind of increased punishment for getting a second yellow in the semis that doesn’t relate to the final. Fans want to see stars and full strength sides in finals. Having players like Diego and Dani Alves out for second yellows is process over substance.
“Think Juve fans should get over it and welcome Cannavaro back with open arms?”
why?? same reason i dont like Ibra
per Cannavaro- i thought he was planning on ending his career in Napoli??
Dom Cervi (finally) signs with Celtic after getting his Italian passport:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8059535.stm