How were you right? If Inter doesn't win in Kiev and Arsenal defeats Lokomotiv in highbury,Inter would be eliminated,and mostly due to the huge loss to Arsenal. Since the agregate would be 5-4 head to head. Inter cannot in no way eliminate Arsenal only Arsenal can eliminate themselves now.So your preditcion was wrong. I guess you jumped the boat when you made that comment! Northerner what would be the point of playing Pool? I mean even if you outplay us,we will still defeat you and at home also.

well shujui that websites contents are questionable right away,you know why? Because Henry has been nominated for the World Footballer of the year award and is only named with 50 other footballers for the european award. So i find it laughable that Pires would make such a mistake since it's his country men that make the two awards--> World Footballer of the Year and the Ballon D'or two different awards. The shortlist for the Ballon D'or hasn't been made available yet,so why would Pires right away assume that it will be Henry and two others short listed for this one too? I'll tell you why Henry is worthy of the World Footballer of The year award. 24 goals and 23 assists in the Premier League,Does Nedved even have that many assists in the Seria A? 7 goals in 12 CL games last season,just five short of RVN,who played a quarterfinal more than Henry. MVP of this summers Confedarations Cup(Very Important for this award) Lead scoring in the French National Teams qualifications for Euro 2004 and their 13 game unbeaten streak. FA cup winner(but i guess that doesn't count,right?) It is nonsense to say that Nedved single-handedly led his Czech squad to automatic qualification for Euro 2004,cause just like the French,they have quality players-->Rocisky,Koller and the influential Poborsky. Juve was not spectacular last season,and much of their continuous victories was due to luck. Where was Nedved when Manchester was pummelling them at the dell Alpi? Juve almost didn't even qualify for the quarterfinals,a simple better head to head against a second rate basel side was their saviour. A lacklustre Real Madrid without a suspended Makelele is what they faced in the semis of the return leg at Turin which added to the streak of continued luck. Maybe we should associate Nedved with the irish Leprechaun,as when his CL dream ended so did Juve's. HEEENNNRRRYYYYYY!

Shujui's words: Yep. (1)Lets hope Inter eliminate Arsenal from the first group and save us all from the histrionics from the english media, (2)and then hopefully Inter will the knocked out in the following stage, Well the 1st part has come to fruition lol arsenal remain very predictable in Europe My words: One thing i promise you Shujui is that the game at the San Siro will be a different story,mark my words. Ahhhhhhhhh you gotta love hindsight.

A complete Henry hater you are Shujui,so much so that no matter what he does your blind hatred for him will always hinder your judgement.But that's understandable from a guy who rates Totti as the world's best. Anyways here is BBC's version of the candidtaes who deserve the "Ballon D'or": BBC Picks

One of the best Eid it was for me,i punched a hole in the wall in my house after henry left Javier Zanetti for dead in the third goal. It was a night of dreams i tell ya. You can say Inter was horrible and all,but this is the first time in 40 years Inter Milan lost at the San Siro in a european tournament. Also it was the worst result ever for an italian side in european tournaments. Never in my wildest dreams did i see a pummeling of this sort to happen. But like i said before,the CL is that type of tourney where any team can beat the other. What would be quite funny is if Inter defeats Juventus this weekend. So much for your best league in the world argument Shujui. In this years CL the english teams defeated the italians 3 games out of 4. A trend that will continue throughtout the tourney i feel. Ole Ole Gunners

Ofcourse Shujui you would take Henry out,as you are among the anti-henry crowd. Even after he torched the italian grounds for the second year in a row. The italian press are on his ****,even Moggi is considering of getting him back to Juve.You already know that defenders never win this award,that's why Maldini would be disqualified right away. Zizou has been good,but nothing really spectacular. I think the reason Nedved has not been nominated is because FIFA world player of the year looks more into the players acheivement in the national side. I would think the european player of the year to go to Nedved. In truth i wouldn't vote for anyone,since i did not see any certain player to be spectacular in last years campaign. I think Henry is in there because of his Confederations cup performances. Zizou is Zizou no need to explain why he is in there,but Ronaldo? I don't remember him doing much last season,besides the goal feat at Old Trafford against Manchester United. Well my vote has to go to Henry,because i am biased and also would be nice to see someone new win the damn thing.

loool,excellent article Conquest. The Ghanaians are taking this one seriously. I suggest we take on an all defence formation,and just punt the ball every chance we get hopefully to maybe once catch Kuffor trying to play the offside trap. Other than that i see no chance or hope of Somalia winning,especially since they are playing both legs in Ghana.

well no one deserves more than Nedved, that's for sure. WHat am laughing at are the players who mde it to the list and are simply crap. For example no need to look further than my own beloved club Arsenal. The list included that garbage of a player named Sylvain Wiltord. It is astonishing to see this player in the top 50 list,rather than the top shit list. Why build the ego for an already out-of form shit.

Liverpool needs to get rid of "Hoofier", "heskey the Donkey", "Shitcer or Smicer" and "Biscan i think am a defender". What a shame to see a club with great traditions have players of rubbish talent grace their field. Yes it was a penalty,but Poll is known for his idiotic ways. If it was Van Nostrels at Old Trafford,that penalty would have been a sure bet. ANyways anotha week at the top,oh how good it feels. All this and we been playing like shit and still are,also no more big teams to play till january. Can't wait to see Manu-Chelsea slice and dice each other.

I see your a happy man this day shujui, well Roma did well to win,but Coach Mancini disagrees and feels 0-0 would have been more fair. Lady luck was in my teams side this weekend, as tired legs from the CL exerts had to fight against a tough Tottenham side who were bent on winning this derby. Can't say the same for Liverpool,as their most hated rivals came to town and stole three precious points. Manu had lady luck by their side,especially with that non-call for the clear penalty. Shujui why bother watch the seria A when you already know that Juventus will be crowned champions for a third straight year. Oh OH looks like the seria A is catching the PL cold,with one team winning the championship every season. ATleast the PL is very close between three very even teams. I mean how can the seria A justify having a team win the scuddetto so many times,when about 5 of the top teams have almost the same buying potential. Unlike Arsenal who always been broke and will remain broke,but atleast managed to challenge the world's richest club year after year. BY the way,what is the distance between Liverpool and Manchester? And how long does a drive take?

i see the anti-arsenal regime was out in full force last CL matchday! Arsenal always has been a flop in the CL,no suprise. It is quite obvious that it is a psychologiical factor,rather than level of skill that hinders Arsenal. I mean when teams like Newcastle,Leeds and Liverpool,do betta than Arsenal in their first attempts,it amounts to one explanation only. Arsenal would literally lose to a team from Azerbaijan,just because it is the CL. Take that same team to the UEFA CUP or the Prem League,it would be a totally different game. Atleast you can count on Arsenal for a poor showing in the CL. Let's look at how the so called power houses faired. Manu escaped with a undserved win from Ibrox,after being pummeled the whole entire game by a second rate scottish outfit. Your qualification hopes are not so clear yet,so don't get ur hopes up. Next after hearing so much about the magic of the seria A teams in the CL. A humbling was due,and yes that's exactly what happened. Inter MIlan getting hammered literally by Moscow,after getting all the praise for that one-off game they had against Arsenal. Lazio getting beat by a a lacklustre Chelsea team. And finally the defending european champs falling to a shocker at home to Club BRuge from Belgium,yes i said Belgium. The CL is those sort of tournaments,where any team can beat the other,so no need to get all excited by a poor showing from a certain team. I favour Arsenal to do betta in the UEFA cup so am hoping for that,as there is no need to just qualify to the second round and get eliminated after. ANyways i have ranted for long,let'se what kind of game the top two most succesful clubs in the Seria A serves up this weekend.

obvious and easy choice --->Allez Les Bleus

You are slowly becoming a hypocrite shujui,the Arsenal-manu game for the first 80 minutes reminded me of a seria A match,basically i was yawning. IT was obvious that Arsenal had to prove to the world that they were not all about attack and kept it quite on the front end. You would think that you atleast would apppreciate that,but i guess anything english is not your cup of tea! No doubt the juve-roma game was much more exciting,but again how many times do we see that in the Seria A? 0-0 is a scoreline of the Seria A. Let's look at the other top team matches in the Seria A. Parma-Lazio,managed to produce a quality game. But perugia-Milan was really really typical of the Seria A, and Inter-Sampodoria damn. So let's clap for the Seria A for producing an eventful weekend and see if this excitement can be kept(highly unlikely)!

I see the Hyenas have already come out to scavenge. The Seria A fans have been creaming their pants since that trouncing Inter gave to a tacticaly poor Arsenal. When a team scores three goals from four shots,you wonder to yourself that it's either a crap team playing a very super team,or that the losing team had a "One off" day. Everyone knows that Arsene Wenger is naive when it comes to the CL,that is why he has never done good in it for the past six years. Arsenal are too one dimensional about their play and don't have a solid back four. Arsenal made their chances,but lacked that killer instinct that was missing for years. Basically there are a tad too many frenchman in this team. One thing i promise you Shujui is that the game at the San Siro will be a different story,mark my words. Since when does a good quality team like Arsenal become bad overnight,and a non scoring Inter become Real Madrid, NEVER! LIke i said it was a "One off". I have no idea why are the manure fans celebrating, when they played part time footballers from greece. Arsenal came out to show the world they can play some defence and more physically against Manu,with that manure coudln't score a penalty let alone from open play. I hope Wenger plays more like this,rather than the gung-ho football he went for against Inter. And Northerner, Arsenal did make the quarterfinals before,in 2001-2002 when Valencia eleminated them. What I find funny is that how the Italian media have taken this Inter win a tad over board. I mean shujui your beloved Roma where trounced in the same manner at home by this Arsenal squad,but no one really creamed their pants. So please hold your say of the strength of the Seria A,until this CL competition is finished with.

LOL@shujui,well your beloved Totti will be missing in action this weekend, hair appointment i think was his excuse!

Most premiership clubs need to adopt the policy of playing the ball on the ground,and not the Hoof tactic. But in terms of a challenge and not a duopoly ala the premiership and a monoploy like da Bundseliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 or Championatte have to be the most competitive,as Seria A comes a close third behind. But am not complaining,as my heart is at ease when i beforehand know the 3 points are in the bag,lol.

Touche shaqsii,Touche.

but that is the problem with Seria A,it is not fast. Yes skilfull and very tactically aware football,but not fast at all. Ofcourse there are the few teams like Lazio and Parma who play a totally different game than their counterparts. Yes I did watch the Parma-Bologna game and indeed it was entertaining,but those are few games much of the time. I mean on the same weekend i tried watching Inter vs MOdena. My godness what a sour game it was,and yet for boring Inter to sneak two goals in the end, is what a hard working defensive minded Modena got. Even the Milan game was boring,except for the always hardworking schevchenko. He was the only highlight in that game!

sorry to burst the bubble northerner,but Arsenal's games in ukraine and russia will be on September 30 and October 22. I know for sure that it's still not winter in Ukraine in september,but Russia may have some flurries at most. Nothing like the november,december weather they get down there. All in all am looking forward to the knockout stages-->very confident indeed!

good thing it didn't work, he's not worth the look. Very useless player in my eyes,can't figure out what his role is suppose to be,for sure he can't run at defenders,nor he's pacey,nor he's a tackler,i guess he is needed to come on whenever a high powered Lazio team needs to disguise their english,spanish style game to the slow italian one.

LOL,winger you said it yourself "you have to look at who's a more complete player"! How can Van Nostrils be a more complete player than Henry who scored one goal less than him,but had 20 assists in comparison to van nostrils 1 or 2! The league neva had a striker who was tops in scoring and assisting before until Henry arrived. No doubt Van nostrils is quite prolific in the CL,but who wouldn't score so many goals after playing such crap opposition ala Macaiba Haifa(Israel),Basel(Swiss)..etc Van Nostrils scored 5 more CL goals than Henry Last season,nothing to really boast about. If Van was anything close to Henry, we wouldn't have seen the lacklustre performances shown by manu in their games. CL perfromances don't determine your quality,but add to your resume. Christian Vieri scored his only CL goal last season in the quarterfinals against Valencia. Can we say he is not much of a striker in comparison to Van Nostrils,ofcourse we can't,because they are very equivalent(they are the orthodox striker). But when it comes to Henry,it is simple,he offers you more.One easy way to explain this is, joining Van Nostrils with Henry will get you --->The not so Fat Ronaldo. Anyways I expect you to say the same thing after Van Nostrils scores his usual goals against mediocre opposition and please don't tell me that Rangers,Panathinkos and stuttgart are not weak opposition!

Shujui my friend,you seem to have forgotten the sheer purpose of why we watch sports--->for entertainment. Now since you prefer your football matches to be played like a chess match, no doubt the only supporters you will have to follow your analogy are those big glasses wearing,pocket pen carrying drones from California(metaphorically speaking).You are a very patient man indeed,and obviously your taste for football entertainment is parallel with that of the grease heads of palermo,milano..etc. Like think tank said,the hay days of italian football,were when they played that lovely attacking football mixed with their staunch defending. The only reason that Real lost in the CL last season,was because they were missing Monseigneur Makelele. These players are out there to entertain,that's why they are making so much money. I mean if the fans of these clubs for once let their blood lineages and affiliations not cloud their perception,they would realize that exchanging spaghetti recipes to be a more entertaining prosepct. Football has alot of luck in it,and to say that France were lucky to win euro 2000 is not fair if we compare them to the luck exhibited by the Italians. It seems the italians have the belief of winning the race like the Turtle did. Well as long as they decide to hide in their shells after a goal, dissapointment will always be the end result. What justifies a top european side playing against a less than average asian side to sit on a one goal lead,rather than go for more? When will they learn that such tactics will never work and always lead them to a sad day. My goddness imagine if I was an Italian 90 year old man,how many heartattacks would i have gotten in the last 20 years? But at the sametime, there is nothing fun about watching two teams long ball each other to death ala Liverpool and most of the english clubs. That is why England will neva do good in the world stage, those youth academies need to start developing playmakers instead of sprinters. Shujui it could be curtains for the Italians this weekend against a determined welsh side,we shall see if the italian turtle defeats the pacey welsh rabbit,lol. Sorry for the long rant,I am having one of those days!

Switching from the premiership to Seria A is like switching from F1 driving to watch Golf. I think the seria A would have been fun to watch if maybe the fans were allowed to be closer to the field ala the english league. But i guess they can't do that cause the grease heads luv those fire crackers and flare guns. Anyways am going for Lazio to win the scudetto,and maybe Roma to suprise people with a fourth place finish. How do you guys rate Fabio Liverani ,i think he's crap. ALways looks to get rid of the ball as soon as he gets it.

quite a draw it is. It's time to shut the Calcio fans up when my beloved Arsenal come head to head against one of the most boring teams in the history of football,lol. The premiership runnersup against the Seria A runnersup. The sad thing bout this year's CL,is that shit teams like Celtic,Rangers,PSV..etc are within good chances of qualifying for the second round. Meaning less intriguing games as most likely these teams will end up facing a Real Madrid or an Ac Milan. Ac Milan and Juve have it the toughest this year,so who knows maybe one of them will do a Bayern this season. As usual Manure got the easiest draw,ain't it a wonder that Ferguson had the audacity to say that the quarterfinal draw last season was fixed,just cause they got matched up with Real Madrid. One match to watch for is former Bayern MUnich striker Giovane Elber's quick return to Munich,he will have much to prove to Ottmar Hitzfield. My prediction for this season has to be Bayern Munich or Real Madrid(only if they get Ayala). Hopefully we will do away with all the Italian teams early this season,lol. On with the Show! Am taking bets for a Henry hat trick at the San Siro! Anyone up for it?lol

well one thing we can be sure about is that any speculation that was linked to Chelsea has mostly turned out to be true. Welcome mr. Crespo to the premiership. Maybe now Shujui's Roma will have a betta chance since your gone,lol. I must say Shujui your cross town rivals play a lovely brand of football. Nice to see that from an italian team. It seems that Makelele is coming by this Sunday to Chelsea,so are we allowed to name them Galacticos 2? As Real Madrid don't look so strong anymore,especially with such average players as Beckham and Cambiaso,and without a reinforcer if Makelele does go.