Fútbolita

Oh Pep, he’s totally saying “What dicha say about my PUYOLITA?” to that periodista huddled in the corner! And you’d better not mess, Lyon, because Barca know exactly what they want tonight and will probably go get it at the Nou Camp while singing “Cesc On!”

“Of course we can lose as Madrid did, without a doubt. It’s a huge challenge to make it to the quarter-finals, [to be] among Europe’s best, to equal Manchester United in reaching the quarter-finals for the third successive time. The team deserves the stadium to be absolutely full, I want the fans to back the team because we’re much stronger with them behind us,” declared Pep.

Speaking of Puyolita, here he is enjoying the morning sprinklers…. Lovely day, isn’t it?

via Reuters, AFP

Who drew the pots at the Champions League draw last night? I mean… it can’t be Santa Sepp, now can it? Whatever the case…. the gifts they’ve bestowed upon us all are amazing! United vs Milan, Chelski vs Inter (all the action will be in the press conference room!) and Arsenal v Porto. Meanwhile, Real Madrid will take on Lyon while Barca face Stuttgart.

Nevertheless, everyone knows that the only team who is under immense pressure to WORK IT this season is Real. They have everything to lose, especially since the grand finale will be held at the Bernabeu. In other news, Mickey Mouse Beckham is thrilled to face United when he fulfills the rest of his odd contract with Milan next month – and so are his former employees. “He was a terrific servant for the club and we all hope he will be playing,” said a United spokesman. Uh-uh, seriously… we just want the Da Silva bros to sing on floats during half time OK? Porque é que tão difícil?!

Show romanization

Also futbolitas, please take a break from decorating your Christmas trees for a while and watch this….

via Reuters

Pippo reminds us of that old uncle character who comes to family gatherings and tries hard to fit in with the young ones by casually mentioning Rihanna. He gets excited when the kids identify with him (phew, all that research!) and feels like he’s actually part of the crowd. Anyway, Zio Inzaghi – who is 36 by the way – scored a double to steer the Rossoneri to a 2-1 win over Lyon last night. Yes, Milan actually needed him to win the game. If you ask us, that’s really sad.

Nevertheless, a win is still a win and at least he achieved a record last night as his 70 goals in European football equaled Gerd Muller’s achievement. Also, Alessandro Nesta is back playing for Milan in the Champs League (after 13145 years). Say what you will, but he desperately needs to step up…

Top of the morning to you too, Karim! All these ‘morning expressions’ are pretty hilarious – especially Rafael da Silva’s pillow face and Lionel Messi’s epic yawn.

Not like it’s much of a surprise but Lyon have accepted Real Moneda‘s 35 million euros ($50m) bid for the 21-year-old striker. As you can see, history is quickly repeating itself and Karim would be perfect for the squad seeing how Real did the exact same thing when they bought Robinho in 2005.

Come to think of it, Karim would probably join the Raver Ramos-Greaseano-Gago-Casillas clique. These hombres will  petition for Potter Perez to set up a nightclub within the training centre with vice girls on call 24/7. Madrid’s nightlife will be transformed immediately!

Juninho has officially announced his decision to leave Lyon. And in his farewell to to the club, he gave his jersey to the club’s president, Jean-Michel Aulas. Yeah, I went to France and all I got was this lousy shirt.

“Juninho will leave us. We accept that his contract has ended. He can go anywhere,” said Aulas at the press conference. There were also some cheesy photo photo ops involving the player waving below a signage of the club. Ok, who are we to say anything? He spent eight years at the club – and some players can’t even last one season.

Once the best free-kick taker in the world, Juninho has scored 100 goals in 344 games for Lyon. And for old time’s sake…. let’s revisit one of his amazing goals.

What a show by Barcelona last night! In contrast to Real’s thrash fest yesterday, that is. Even El Mundo Deportivo rewrote Marca’s “Chorreo” headline to show that they mean serious business.

Doubles from Henry, Keita as well as goals from Messi and Eto’o gave them a 5-2 win over Lyon.

Check out Titipo and Eto’o's goal celebration in the pictures below. They’re saluting the crowd with pride! In contrast, poor Juninho looks dejected.

Can someone PLEASE decipher Titipo Henry’s goal celebration for us?! It’s clear he could be ‘making a call’ or kissing his sleeve passionately. Or could it be something else altogether?  Informe-nos, por favor!

Anyway, Barca managed to scrape through with a 1-1 draw against Lyon last night after the French side dominated the first half. It was Juninho’s free kick in the 7th minute (those are absolute killers!) that gave the home side the lead.

Gerard Pique thought he had found the equaliser in the 65th minute but his shot was denied by Lyon’s goalkeeper.

Ederson is quickly learning from Pato eh? They probably had a phone convo the previous night about the heart celebration (“Make sure your thumbs are adjacent to one another, pal” Pato warned, seriously)

Well, the celebratory gesture was actually directed at Ederson’s wife who was watching the game in the stands on Valentine’s Day. Sweet!

Anyway, the striker who scored three goals in his last four games for Lyon has said that teammate Farmer Fred’s possible departure to Fluminense may hurt the team.

“He’s a great player and has great presence in the team. He is always in (good) shape and makes a difference. He brings joy to us. I do not know how far the negotiations (with Fluminense) are going but in recent months, it hurts a little (to know that they are taking place.”

Yes, that’s a pretty classic photo of Lyon’s Brazilian striker Fred looking morose. And things don’t look to be going well for him either. It seems that the President of Lyon, Jean-Michel Aulas,  has ‘opened the door’ to the player’s departure from the club.

“When a player does not show what is expected of him and does not match (a certain) technical level,  it is time to punish him or let him go to some other place. It was exactly what happened to Fred,” said Aulas.

“He really wants to leave. And I talked to him and told him that (he) can go. Now, Fred will have to find a club that wants him for the rest of this season.”

Lyon’s coach Claude Puel also spoke about the team’s 2-0 victory over Grenoble, a match which Fred did not feature in. “His absence was felt in the group. He really wasn’t able to participate in the game,” he said.

Poor Fred. Back to Fluminense or are other teams in Europe eying him? One thing’s for sure, Real Madrid better keep their hands off him.

I used to eat at a bistro called Farmer’s Fred and they had the best bolognese ever. So looking at Lyon’s Fred always reminds me of the place, which is no longer. Muy triste!

At least Frederico Chaves Guedes (or Fred) we’re talking about now is remaining committed to Lyon, despite declaring last month that he wasn’t getting enough chances to ‘prove’ himself and wanted to play elsewhere. If you recall, the Brazilian striker wanted a move to another European team which would allow him more chances to play and thus, earn him a call up to Dunga’s squad.

“I will not let any negotiations impair my performance,” said Fred. “The person who takes care of my career is my employer, and while I wear Lyon’s short, I will do everything for the club including winning more titles. With God’s will, I want to win another French championship this season. I will fight for it.”

So now he says this. Whatever makes you happy, Fred! Just don’t take fashion advise from Benzema….

Lyon’s Brazilian striker Fred has asked to leave the club after a season of dry spells. He has opted not to renew his contract, which expires in 2009, and instead, requested for it to be terminated. Fred is also feeling bitter that his lack of club appearances has cost him a place in Dunga’s front line.

Lyon coach Claude Puel is so impressed with child party mascot Karim Benzema that he’s not giving Fred any chance to play upfront.

“Now that I am not playing, I have asked (Claude) to release me,” Fred told French radio station, RTL. “My goal is to play in the World Cup 2010, so I must be able to score goals for Lyon, which is difficult (now).”

“Even if there was a really good proposal, I will walk away. Money is not everything in life and playing soccer is what I enjoy doing. I need it,” he added.

After an impressive stint at Brazilian side Cruzeiro, the player was recruited by Lyon in August 2005 for 15 million euros.

Poor Fred. We’d really like to see him play for the selecao again, quite honestly, but the competition there is really heating up!

We know Karim Benzema is good, etc, but there’s something about him that reminds us of a children’s party mascot.

Anyway, the French striker has come out to say that he wants to play for Real Madrid. He told “Le Buteur” magazine that it is his dream to play for Juande Ramos’ team. Come on! I’m sure he didn’t say “I would like to play for Juande Ramos one day.” Anyone who says that needs to stand by the window immediately.

“It’s my secret dream and I believe that I am close to achieving that dream. I like the white shirt and the environment of the Santiago Bernabéu. I promised my mother that one day, I would play for Real,” Benzema said.

Do you hear papers shuffling furiously? That’s president Calderon throwing his 104th file at Pedja Mijatovic screaming, “GET HIM NOW!”

Juninho Pernambucano was shown the red card during Lyon’s match against Paris Saint-Germain last weekend. As you can see, good old Fred was trying to refute the referee’s decision to no avail. Juninho promptly walked off the field- after playing 17 minutes of the second half – and proceeded to kick the door of the stadium’s dressing room in anger. SporTV has video footage of the doorman looking like he’s about to piss in his pants after the kick. Apparently, he was also “crying out” in anger and gesturing wildly. Globo says it was a mess. Click below to watch the video!