OUCH: Ball to the Head

I do not think I have ever seen this...Guy gets knocked out cold in mid air, after taking a shot to the head.
WARNING: Images may be considered disturbing!!

Benfica Campeão 2010

Benfica has finally accomplished the inevitable with a 2-1 win over Rio Ave at the Estadio da Luz.  Recently, a friend has sent me some pictures taken last week at the stadium.  Congratulations to SLB for their 2nd title in six years.  This is their 32nd title in the Portuguese League.  Certainly they will have to deal with the loss of some key players like Angel Di Maria and David Luiz.  The pics are after the jump.

Number 10 World Cup Commercial

The Power of 10

Poppa's Picks

Sevilla X Barcelona - Saturday 3:00PM ET
The Blaugrana visit Sevilla in an attempt to get one step closer to La Liga champions.  They currently have a one point lead in the standings over Real Madrid with a ridiculous 93 total points.  But the Galacticos could not ask for a better matchup to try and steal some crucial points from Barce on Saturday.  Sevilla has already defeated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey earlier in the season.  Dani Alves has said he wants to be Champions in Seville, a task which would need to see Real Madrid lose or tie to be completed.  I do think Barcelona wins a close one here 2-1.  Goals from Bojan and Dani Alves.  Negredo for Sevilla.

Palermo X Sampdoria - Sunday 9:00AM ET
With 2 games left in the Serie A, Sampdoria are current incumbents of Italy's last Champions League.  They sit in 4th place with 63 points, while Palermo trails them by only 2 points.  This is similar to the Spurs X Man City game, the difference between Champions League and the Europa League.  Sampdoria are on a roll with 5 consecutive wins, but Palermo is also in form led by Miccoli's 18 Serie A goals.  It should be a tight one, but I see Palermo taking full advantage of their home-field advantage and go on to win 1-0, Fabrizio Miccoli again.

Arsenal X Fulham - Sunday 11:00AM ET
Arsenal have a difficult matchup here against Europa League Final makers Fulham.  The Cottagers will want to end the season in form and boost their confidence with what would be a great win against the Gunners in the Emirates.  Not to mention, we have a little derby match here so its personal.  AND to add a little more London flare, Tottenham can move into that direct Champions League spot with an Arsenal loss here, as they have an almost automatic victory against soon-to-be relegated Burnley.  Looks like that emotional Spurs victory over Arsenal at White Hart Lane a few weeks ago can actually pay off.  This is pretty much the only buzz in the EPL, with Chelsea and Manchester United facing weaker sides Wigan and Stoke, respectively.  Arsenal will pull it off though with a 1-1 tie to barely hold on to 3rd place.  Zamora and Arshavin.

Lille X Marseille - Saturday 3:00PM ET
Lille host recently crowned champions Marseille in a must-win showdown.  With only 2 games left, Lille sit tied with Auxerre for second place with 67 points.  Lyon have a much less challenging opponent in 10th place Valenciennes.  They are only two points behind second with 65 points, so Lille will have to win if they want to keep their Champions League hopes up.  With Lille hosting, I see a 1-1 draw here, Cheyrou and Gervinho the scorers.

Please Don't Go!

Radamel Falcao's father has insisted the forward is preparing for a Premiere League move this summer.  He has been linked to Aston Villa and Tottenham among others, with a price tag of around $23 million.  The 24 year-old scored 31 goals this season for Porto and was probably their best player.  The team will also look to move Raul Meireles and Bruno Alves in the summer.  Falcao's dad said that it was always his dream to play in England.  For more on this story click here.

Benfica stars Angel Di Maria and David Luiz will also have plenty of suitors this summer.  Rumours have suggested that a $110 million move was in place for the two to join Manchester City.  But yesterday reports out of Argentina said Real Madrid have already landed "Dima" for $43.5 million.  For more on this click here.

Nobody Likes Balotelli

This happened during the Coppa Italia Final.  I didn't watch the whole game so I can't really put this into context, but Totti takes a full swing at his leg.  That's basically trying to break his leg.  I'd go bananas on someone if they did that to me or a teammate.

Links & Site Update

The site is scheduled to relaunch late this month.  Things to look for:

• New site name
• Our own domain
• Several daily updates with new site features
• Complete coverage of the World Cup
• Transfer market watch
• Much much more!!

And now for some LINKS:

Spurs steal EPL's last Champions League spot from Manchester City [link]

Marseille finally put an end to Lyon's Ligue 1 Run [link]

Inter wins the Coppa Italia and the media are jerks to Mourinho...again [link]

Arshavin claims he'll be at Barcelona next season [link]

ESPN Special - Andres X Pablo Escobar - looks dope [link]

Benfica are coming to play the Revolution on May 19th [link]

Clint Dempsey ESPN Special

The Deuce's story is told starting from his roots in the Lone Star State...

Poppa's Picks: Champion's League Edition

Lyon X Bayern Munich - Today 2:45PM ET

Bayern hold a slight advantage on aggregate with the crucial 1-0 win in Germany.  The game will not see key players Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan.  Lyon coach Claude Puel has asked for Lisandro and company to step it up on the attack and take advantage of their home field advantage.  On the other side of the ball, Louis Van Gaal has also claimed Bayern will implement an attacking style of play as to keep Lyon on their heels in order to defend their lead.  Lyon went to Madrid and qualified; look for them to do the same at home.  Lisandro equalizes, Makoun brings them back to Madrid for the Final, 2-0 in France.*


Barcelona X Inter - Wednesday 2:45PM ET

The Nerazurri stunned big, bad Barcelona 3-1 in the first game earning them a clear advantage heading into this leg.  However, Barcelona do not buckle under pressure.  In fact, they usually do just the opposite.  Inter will have to close down the wing threats of Messi and Dani Alves.  I think Mourinho knows "parking the bus" in front of the net probably won't work against the Blaugrana.  Look for a nail-biter here at the Nou Camp, with Barce taking a 2-0 lead with goals from Messi and Iniesta.  But Eto'o will net a 2nd half goal to give Inter a 2-1 Cinderella-type story to head to the Final with.**


*My biased for Lyon does not apply in this decision
**This decision also has nothing to do with a Mourinho biased.  I only want him to win Champions Leagues with Porto.

Rafa to Juve...Almost

Reports from Goal.com claim that Juventus have come to a verbal agreement with Livepool coach Rafa Benitez.  Juventus will discard current incumbet of the head coach position Alberto Zaccheroni.  Rafa is a great manager, but I am not sure Italy is the place for his type of football.  The slower defensive play in Italy could be considered anti-Rafa.  He will reportedly try and bring Fernando Torres, Martin Skrtel, Dirk Kuyt, and Javier Mascherano with him to Turin.  Man City is also among one of the many suitors preparing monster transfer bids for Fernando Torres this summer.  Juve president Jean-Claude Blanc has said the deal will last 3 years with Benitez.