Lionel Messi mauls VfB Stuttgart to send Barcelona through Champions League quarters

Lionel Messi's brilliance sent holders Barcelona through to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.

Messi scored twice, including a 13th minute stunner that set the Catalans on their way, and was instrumental in the second goal from Pedro, before Bojan Krkic sealed a 5-1 aggregate win.

Barca's victory sent them through to the last eight for a third successive season and salvaged some honour for Spain after the elimination of La Liga sides Real Madrid and Sevilla.

"Only Manchester United have managed to get to the quarters the following season as reigning champions before and I want to congratulate my team for that," proud coach Pep Guardiola said at a news conference.

"Being among the eight best again and being able to compete with them fills us with excitement," he added.

The excitement during the match was supplied by the beguiling skill of Messi.

After collecting the ball just inside the visitors' half, he raced towards the retreating Stuttgart defence before unleashing a left-foot shot that fizzed past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann high into the net.

The Fifa World Player of the Year turned creator nine minutes later. A superbly weighted pass sent Yaya Toure clear on the left and forward Pedro timed his run to perfection to sweep home the Ivory Coast midfielder's low cross.

More smart work from Messi set up Toure in the 55th but his low drive flew just wide of Lehmann's right-hand post.

Messi beat Lehmann again with a low strike from the edge of the area on the hour, his eighth goal in four matches in all competitions, to end Stuttgart's hopes.

As Barca asserted their dominance, a rampant Messi almost completed his hat-trick with a header in the 68th, well saved by Lehmann, before Krkic wrapped things up a minute after replacing Andres Iniesta.

Stuttgart coach Christian Gross said Real's elimination by Olympique Lyon last week had probably been an extra motivation for the Barca players.

"They pinned us back and we couldn't make any headway down the flanks," the Swiss said. "They are the best team in the world and when they go ahead in front of their own fans it's very difficult," he added.

The draw for the quarter-finals is on Friday and on this evidence, Barcelona will again be the team to avoid.

Henry considered quitting international football

Thierry Henry says the outcry over his hand ball in France’s World Cup playoff against Ireland pushed him to the brink of international retirement.

French sports daily L’Equipe quoted the Barcelona striker in an interview as saying he felt abandoned and deeply upset by the virulent criticism he received from former players and politicians.

Henry’s hand ball before passing for defender William Gallas to score helped give France a 1-1 draw with Ireland and a 2-1 win on aggregate, advancing the team to next year’s tournament in South Africa.

“The day after the match and the next day, I felt alone, really alone,” said Henry, adding that he gave serious thought about quitting the French team. “Oh, yes I did. Friday, when everything had gone too far, I was very worked up.”

After receiving criticism from former players such as former Ireland and Marseille striker Tony Cascarino and French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot, Henry said it was his friends and family who talked him out of retiring from international football.

“Despite everything that happened, the fact I felt abandoned, I will not drop my country,” he said. “I asked myself the question. Without the support of my loved ones, maybe I wouldn’t have thought the same way. Now, I’ve decided - I’ll always fight until the end.

“It’s been very hard, everything started from something that happens in a game and it went too far. I heard some people giving lectures about this, when I said I was sorry, on the pitch and off it.”

Henry received criticism for wildly celebrating Gallas’ goal in front of dejected Irish players.

“I shouldn’t have done that. But honestly, it was uncontrollable ... Yes, I regret that,” he said.

However, Henry dodged the issue of whether he should have immediately told referee Martin Hansson he had handled the ball.

“I was in a no-win situation,” he said, adding that the incident will not overshadow his whole career. “I don’t think that everything I’ve achieved can be tarnished.”

India looking for hat trick

Aiming for a title hat trick under coach Mr Bob Houghton but hampered by lack of international match exposure, defending champion India will bid for a second consecutive Nehru Cup, taking on Lebanon in a tricky opener of the five-nation tournament on Wednesday.
Under Mr Houghton, India won the 2007 edition of the Nehru Cup before clinching the Asian Football Confederation Challenge Cup at home, which gave the country a berth in the elite AFC Asian Cup, to be held in Doha in January 2011, after 24 years.
The Nehru Cup will give Houghton a chance to test his boys how they measure up to at least two quality sides ~ Syria and Lebanon ~ who are now vying for a place in the Asian Cup.
Bhaichung Bhutia's side are a confident lot after a seven-week training tour of Dubai and Barcelona.

They played friendly games against Spanish third division sides in their month-long sojourn in Barcelona where they used top class facilities at Nou Camp. The sore point though would be the lack of international fixtures. The Indians played their last such match in January though Houghton claimed that the Spanish third division sides "were of our level". Houghton himself picked last edition runners-up Syria as the favourites to win the tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium, considering that the West Asians are inside top 100 in Fifa rankings at 95th and have beaten sides like China besides drawing Korea this year.

Sunil Chhetri's injury will give Sushil Kumar and tall Mumbai forward Abhishek Yadav the chance to be in the playing XI more often along with captain Bhaichung Bhutia upfront as has been done in the friendly games in Barcelona. East Bengal captain Syed Rahim Nabi has also been tried by Houghton as a striker in Spain.

With the 2011 Asian Cup in mind, Houghton has also indicated that he may start with younger legs in deep defence and in that case taller players Gouramangi Singh and Anwar may be seen in action. In the midfield also, Houghton is likely to field the younger Anthony Pereira at left wing more often than senior player Renedy Singh who has had minor injuries in recent times. In fact, Renedy was tried at the right wing position in four friendly games in Barcelona as Steven Dias' substitute. With the absence of Chhetri, talismanic captain Bhutia will have to find more goals for India besides trying to once again inspire his side to title victory.

The Sikkimese said his ongoing tussle with Mohun Bagan on his suspension issue has distracted him in the preparations of this tournament. But having said that he will have to put his distractions aside and try to motivate his teammates in front of the home crowd in a country virtually starved of international football matches. More than 20,000 people came to the Ambedkar Stadium in the final against Syria on August 29, 2007 to cheer the home team, which won 1-0.
Exuberant fans celebrated wildly and Bhaichung and Co. would want to see similar scenes here again on 31 August.

Ronaldo blasts Ferguson's tactics to counter Messi and company

Manchester United's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has criticized club manager Alex Ferguson's tactics in the Champions League final here, saying they were not good enough to neutralise Barcelona's front line led by Argentine star Lionel Messi.

United lost to Barcelona 2-0, ending their dream of becoming the first team to win two consecutive Champions League crowns.

Leo Messi won his personal duel against Ronaldo as he headed in Barca's second.

Ronaldo risked Fergie's wrath by saying: "We didn't do well. The tactics were not good and everything went wrong for us. We were only in it for 10 minutes and we never found ourselves again.".

According to The Sun, Ronaldo's rant could cast further doubt on his United future with Real Madrid desperate to land the Portuguese winger this summer.

Ferguson blamed his defence after goals from Samuel Eto'o and Messi stunned United.

Fergie also believes some of his players will feel they let themselves down on the night.

Home Depot to end Olympics sponsorship

After 16 years as an Olympic sponsor, Home Depot is hanging up its rings.

On Wednesday, the world’s largest home improvement retailer informed 98 employees in its Olympic jobs program that it is ending its sponsorship of the Olympics and Paralympics.

The innovative jobs program had allowed Olympic athletes to work part-time at Home Depot while enjoying full-time pay and benefits, gaining time to train.

Three Georgia athletes will be affected. They are in Morrow, Savannah and Athens, said Home Depot spokeswoman Jean Niemi, who couldn’t immediately provide their names.

Over the course of the retailer’s 16-year sponsorship, more than 660 athletes participated in the jobs program; 300 Home Depot athletes made Olympic and Paralympic teams; and they brought home nearly 150 medals, 95 of them gold.

Athletes will be paid through March 2. After that, they can stay in their current positions for part-time pay, apply for full-time jobs that become available, or leave the company.

Home Depot had been a U.S. Olympic Team sponsor since the 1992 games in Barcelona, followed by the 1996 games in the company’s hometown of Atlanta.

Home Depot, a publicly traded company, doesn’t disclose how much it spends on sports sponsorships. Niemi wouldn’t specify Wednesday night how much money it invests in the Olympic jobs program. “We don’t disclose that at all.”

While other companies also sponsor Olympic athletes, Home Depot’s program was high-profile: It had used its athletes in advertising campaigns.

In May, prior to the summer Olympics, 137 athletes were in the program. At the time, the company had said it was weighing whether to continue its Olympic sponsorship.

Home Depot’s announcement could signal a cascade of ending sports sponsorships, as some big brand names and retailers are suffering from the economic downturn.

Niemi said Home Depot’s decision wasn’t based on the economy, but rather on finding “new ways” to reach out to customers and staffers.

“We came to the decision the time was right to move on and look at other opportunities,” she said. “There are no plans in place as of now as to what to do with the money.”

Summer Olympic games in recent years have been in farflung locations, from Sydney to Athens to Beijing, where the big-box chain has no presence, or only a small one, like its dozen or so fledgling stores in China.

Meanwhile, the company has added on expensive sponsorships for NASCAR and other popular American sports, like college and professional football.

These sports appeal to the main customer base of Home Depot, as the majority of the chain’s stores —- just under 2,000 out of about 2,274 —- are in the U.S. market. Its other three markets are Mexico, Canada and China. Still, the bulk of the company’s revenue and profit comes from its U.S. stores.

Patrick Rishe, director of Sportsimpacts, a St. Louis sports marketing firm and a marketing professor at Webster University, wasn’t surprised Home Depot was cutting back.

“In tough times like these, companies are going after things that are not essential, like marketing and goodwill initiatives,” said Rishe, noting Atlanta-based UPS’ rival FedEx’s decision not to advertise at this year’s Super Bowl. He said the economic and public relations backlash probably won’t be too severe. “I’d like to the think, given everything that’s going on, the general public are probably more likely to cut them some slack,” he said. “If the economy was going well, people might scratch their heads a little, but not now. Besides, a lot of people may not even notice because they’re too busy dealing with their own situation.”

The company’s total advertising and marketing budget in 2007 was $1.2 billion, according to the 2007 annual report, the most recent available.

Several firms track the numbers. One, IEG Sponsorship Report, says Home Depot spent $60 million to $65 million on sports sponsorships in 2007.

The Nielsen Co. reported that Home Depot purchased $25.3 million and $30.1 million in ads during the 2004 Summer and 2006 Winter games, respectively. Nielsen also reports Home Depot spent nearly $12 million on NASCAR ads in 2007, while rival Lowe’s spent $7.7 million.

Only winning is acceptable at Real: Juande Ramos

For Spaniard Juande Ramos, who managed to win a trophy with Tottenham Hotspurs, was sacked as manager in the middle of the next season, and then returned to top-flight football by taking charge at one of the biggest clubs in the world, it's been quite a year.

Ramos, whose team Real Madrid trail Barcelona by 12 points in the Spanish premier league, faces the daunting task of bringing the club's title ambitions back on track.

In a free-wheeling interview, he opens up on how his stint with the English side ended and the challenges of his new assignment. Excerpts:

Did you ever expect to end the year as Real Madrid coach?
I couldn’t have imagined all that I have already lived. I started the year fully dedicated to a very exciting challenge in the EPL. My goal was to gain back positions within the Championship for Spurs, to try to win a title and qualify for Europe.

Do you regard this challenge as the toughest of your career so far?
Every new project is always a big challenge. The only difference is that Real Madrid are one of the top clubs in the world and their objectives are of the highest level… Their goals are never to avoid relegation or to qualify for tournaments. At Real, historically, only winning is acceptable.

How would you sum up the year?
It’s been an exciting year. I have truly enjoyed every minute of it, even the tough moments that I have had. It’s been a year where I moved to the EPL, managed to win a trophy and then got another opportunity by being a part of Real.

Real have been conceding many goals this season despite having one of the best defence...
I’d rather look at how to solve this issue. The team is already stronger at the back… Sometimes this is simply luck but it is important to strengthen the self confidence.

Ronaldo careful to avoid Fergie "hair-dryer" in Japan

Cristiano Ronaldo studiously avoided talk of Real Madrid after Manchester United booked their place in Sunday's Club World Cup final.

Spanish media reports claiming United had agreed to sell Ronaldo to Real prompted a furious response from Alex Ferguson after his side's 5-3 win over Gamba Osaka on Thursday.

While the United manager insisted he "wouldn't sell a virus" to Real, Ronaldo kept his own counsel, perhaps mindful of Ferguson's famous "hair-dryer" treatment.

"I don't want to talk about Real Madrid," the Portuguese winger told reporters after scoring one of United's five goals in their semi-final win in Yokohama. "I am happy here."

Ronaldo admitted that United would need to play better against Ecuador's LDU in order to become the first British side to win the Club World Cup.

"LDU are a great side and the final will be much more difficult," said the Ballon d'Or winner. "The second game is always harder. It would be amazing to be world champions.

"The lads want the treble (English, European and world champions) and we're delighted to be in the final. But we know we have to play better on Sunday."

LIME GREEN

Ronaldo, wearing lime green boots, gave United a 2-0 lead with a header on the stroke of halftime but was overshadowed by substitute Wayne Rooney's late double strike.

"Wayne did brilliantly tonight," said Ronaldo, who dazzled the crowd of 67,000 with his trademark stepovers. "He was hungry to score and got two fantastic goals."

Ferguson's side won the Club World Cup's forerunner, a one-off match between the champions of Europe and South America, with a 1-0 victory over Brazil's Palmeiras in 1999.

United were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Argentine side Estudiantes in 1968 when the Intercontinental Cup was played over two legs.

Ferguson was still fuming after the game about the latest rumours from Madrid, which came after last weekend's 2-0 defeat by arch-rivals Barcelona.

"Real Madrid will blame anybody but themselves for their problems," said the Scot. "I said to (chief executive) David Gill last summer, when we sold Gabriel Heinze, you can bet your life in January it will all start up with Ronaldo again.

"We know their game. We've just got to ignore it. If we keep worrying about what Real are going to say then we're not going to concentrate on our own programme of difficult games coming up."

Cristiano Ronaldo wins Golden Ball award

Cristiano Ronaldo won the Golden Ball awarded to the European Footballer of the Year on Tuesday, becoming the fourth Manchester United player to take the honour and the first since fellow winger George Best in 1968.

Ronaldo's brilliant scoring form helped him beat Barcelona striker Lionel Messi into second place, while Liverpool forward Fernando Torres was third in the poll results announced overnight by France Football magazine.

Ronaldo dominated the voting, tallying 446 points. Messi had 281 points and Torres had 179.

That gave Ronaldo two points more than Kaka won last year's award with.

Ronaldo was second last year with 277, while Messi was third with 255. Kaka, Milan's Brazilian playmaker, was eighth this time with only 31 points.

Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions last season as United won the Premier League and Champions League trophies.

The 23-year-old Ronaldo adds the Ballon d'Or award to the FIFA Pro World Player of the Year trophy he won in October, and the Professional Footballers Association and the Football Writers awards.

He also becomes the first Premier League player to win since former Liverpool forward Michael Owen in 2001, and the first Portuguese player since winger Luis Figo won it with Real Madrid in 2000.

France Football's award was decided by an annual poll of football journalists with a short list of 30 players.

Following Portugal's disappointing showing at the European Championship in June, Ronaldo underwent an operation to his troublesome right ankle injury in July that then kept him sidelined until September 17.

Holders United lead rush into knockout phase

Holders Manchester United advanced to the knockout phase as all eight qualifiers from the first four Champions League groups were decided with a round to spare on Tuesday.

United progressed with a goalless draw at Villarreal, the fourth in a row between the two clubs, which was also enough to send the Spaniards through from Group E.

Group F was also decided as Bayern Munich beat Steaua Bucharest 3-0 with two goals from Miroslav Klose and Olympique Lyon edged to a 2-1 win at Fiorentina to go through.

A seventh-minute goal by Raul was enough to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win at Bate Borisov to send the nine-time champions through from Group H alongside Juventus, who had already qualified and who drew 0-0 at Zenit St Petersburg.

Arsenal left it late at the Emirates as an 87th-minute goal by Nicklas Bendtner secured the 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev that sent the Londoners through from Group G along with Porto after they won 2-1 at Fenerbahce with two goals from Lisandro.

Barcelona and Sporting had already qualified, leaving six slots up for grabs from the remaining groups.

Anorthosis Famagusta dream of last 16

Cypriot underdogs Anorthosis Famagusta will reach the Champions League last 16 later on Wednesday if they beat Werder Bremen at home and Group B leaders Inter Milan defeat Panathinaikos.

The competition newcomers can seal their shock progression with a game in hand and will be confident after holding the Germans to a 0-0 draw in Bremen in their first group game.

Inter, who drew 3-3 at Anorthosis last time out, need just a point at the San Siro to go through but coach Jose Mourinho is keen to finish top of the group following Saturday's morale-boosting 1-0 Serie A win over Juventus.

Last season's runners-up Chelsea can ensure a place in the knockout stages with a victory at Bordeaux but they will be wary after the 3-1 defeat at AS Roma in their last Group A game.

Roma visit Romania's CFR Cluj, who beat the Italians 2-1 away in their group opener, but neither can progress just yet.

Liverpool will have inspirational midfielder Steven Gerrard back from injury for the visit of Marseille while fellow Group D leaders Atletico Madrid host PSV Eindhoven. Wins would put both sides through while draws for both would also suffice.

Sporting entertain Barcelona in Group C with the two clubs already through to February's last 16. A victory for Barca in Lisbon would make sure they finish top of the group.