Who is Oriol Romeu?

Chelsea have agreed a £4.5 million fee for 19 year old Barcelona B midfielder Oriol Romeu, and is expected to complete his move to London next week.

The Spanish Under-19 international is currently representing Spain at the Under 20 World Cup, and is another product of the famed La Masia Barcelona youth system, and has been on the books at the Catalan club since 2004, after signing from fellow Barcelona based club; Espanyol.

Oriol is a defensive midfielder, who is also capable of playing at centre back, similar to that of current Barcelona and Spanish international Sergio Busquets. He was apparently previously scouted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, while Everton, Blackburn and Newcastle were previously linked.


He is 6ft tall, right footed, with excellent stamina and responsiveness, and acts as the defensive wall in front of the two central defenders. He is not just a ball winning midfielder, nor is he just an in your face Darren Fletcher style of player, he has great vision and passing ability, something drummed into him as part of the Barcelona philosophy. Imscouting.com reports that Romeu has “a rare blend of pace, strength, tactical sense, technique and anticipation”.

Joining Chelsea, he is expected to compete with Jon Obi Mikel for the defensive midfield role in Andres Villas-Boas’ team, as it became vacant due to Michael Essien’s unfortunate, yet serious knee injury.

Here’s all you need to know

Age: 19

Date of birth: 24/09/1991

Nationality: Spanish

Position: Defensive Midfielder

Previous club: Barcelona/Barcelona B

Club: Chelsea

Club Apps: 49 Club Goals: 1 (Stats for Barca B)

Spain U-19 Level

International Caps: 11 International Goals: 1

Transfer fee: £4.5 million

Here is a video of him in action, he is wearing the number 6 shirt



Real Talk Football

Who is Romelu Lukaku?

One of the most exciting and promising strikers in Europe, surely every fan of European football has had a conversation about the 18 year old in the past twelve months. Real Talk Football is going to look at why he has received so much publicity recently, leading him to be linked with a move to the Premiership, possible suitors being Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.

I named him as one of the most promising players in the world last year, and he has came into the media spotlight this past week, after Chelsea had reportedly put in a £18 million bid for the youngster.

Lukaku was born in Antwerp in Belgium, and has currently spent the last two years of his career at one of the country’s biggest sides; RSC Anderlecht. He has made 71 appearances for the Purple and White, and scored 31 times. He hit 16 goals in the Belgian Pro League last season, and a fabled story tagged with the young striker, is that in his youth career with Lierse and Anderlecht, he hit over 100 goals.

He says he looks up to Didier Drogba as his football hero, not to mention Lukaku being a self confessed Chelsea fan, and is in the same mould as the Stamford Bridge legend. He is 6ft 3in, blessed with raw power, pace and strength. He is predominatly left footed, but capable of scoring with his right foot. He is excellent in the air, and displays the same ability as Drogba, using these attributes to score. I’d argue he has the same knack for hitting those scuff-shots with inevitably end up in the net, just like Drogba.


Not only is he gifted on the football pitch, but he speaks four different languages; Dutch, French, Congolese and English. Anderlecht are holding for £25 million, and it seems they are willing to bide their time in order to get their true valuation of the player. Chelsea are the apparent front runners at the moment, and the chances of him moving to West London have been rated “50/50”.

Lukaku has played nine times for the Belgium national team, scoring twice. Should he join Chelsea, he’d already have to contend with Roman Abramovic’s favourite Fernando Torres, established striker Nicholas Anelka, promising forward Daniel Sturridge and his “idol” Didier Drogba. This move, of course still remains nowhere near completion but it would be fantastic to see someone who seems so equipped to play in the Premiership finally testing himself in one of the toughest leagues in the world.



Here’s all you need to know

Age: 18

Date of birth: 13/05/1993

Nationality: Belgian

Position: Striker

Club: Anderlecht

Club Apps: 71 Club Goals: 31

International Caps: 9 International Goals: 2



Real Talk Football

Who is Thibaut Courtois?

With the position of Goalkeeper high on the list of priorities of most Premier League clubs in the transfer market this summer, noticeable examples include Manchester United; who brought in David De Gea from Athletico Madrid, Arsenal; who are content with their decision to make Wojciech Szczesny their new number one, and even Aston Villa; who are trying to tie up a deal for Manchester City ‘keeper Shay Given. A transfer was completed this afternoon for a club who were unlikely to be filling the Goalkeeper void anytime soon, but have brought in one of the most promising young goalkeepers in European football to West London; Thibaut Courtois from Belgian champions Racing Genk.

New manager in charge at Stamford Bridge, Andres Villas-Boas, has finalised the signing for the Premier League runner-up Chelsea, who have spent £7.9 million on the 19 year old. Racing Genk’s director spoke of the deal explaining; “We received an enormous offer that gave us no choice but to let our goalkeeper leave, but I have mixed feelings about this transfer. Genk wanted Thibaut to stay a bit longer."

Thibaut Courtois is 19 years old, standing at a giant 6ft 6in. He has no other international experience at any level for Belgium, apart from 4 caps for the Under 18’s squad. He spent 10 years with the Genk youth team before making his first team debut against Gent in 2009. He has gone on to make 41 appearances for the first team, and was the number one choice last season on route to Genk winning the 2010/11 Jupiler Pro League (Belgian Premiership if you will). While in goal he only conceded 32 goals in 40 appearances while between the sticks.


Chelsea fans can expect Courtois to be the second or maybe third choice goalkeeper for foreseeable future, he’ll be competing with Hilario (who signed a new deal with the club last month) as well as Ross Turnbull, who has two years remaining on his current deal. All that's left Courtois is too agree personal terms, and then he will complete his move.

Here’s all you need to know

Age: 19 years old

Date of birth: 11/05/1992

Nationality: Belgian

Position: Goalkeeper

Club: Chelsea

Previous Club: Genk

Club Apps: 41 Club Goals: 0

Transfer Fee: £7.9million

Here’s a video of Thibaut Courtois in action



Real Talk Football

André Villas-Boas – Football’s Brightest Prospect

With a relatively short experienced manager set to take over the reigns at Chelsea, in one of the biggest transfers of the summer, we ask the questions, and give you the answers into Football’s Brightest Prospect’s and the future Chelsea manager; André Villas-boas

Who is André Villas-Boas?

Luis André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas, known commonly as André Villas-Boas, is a Portuguese football manager born on the 17th October 1977. He is 33 years old and widely expected to take over the vacant managerial position at Premiership side Chelsea. He was an apprentice of late Sir Bobby Robson, who helped him gain his coaching qualifications in the United Kingdom. He has established himself of fantastic scout and strategist of the modern game through backroom spells at Porto, Inter Milan and Chelsea.

He is the former manager of Portuguese sides Academica, and FC Porto.

He worked as a trainee with the FC Porto youth team in 1994, under the invitation of Sir Bobby Robson. In 1999, he took the role of technical director of the British Virgin Islands, and in the year 2000 he became the youngest international manager at the time, taking over the national side.

Villas-Boas, who ascertained his UEFA C license in Scotland, stayed in the Caribbean for over a year and a half managing the Virgin Islands national team aged just 21. He remembers the time their well, and admits that it was a difficult learning curve, yet an important experience none the less.

He moved back to Portugal, and was appointed manager of the Porto under 19’s. A role he held up until 2002, when Jose Mourinho was appointed FC Porto first team manager. Mourinho was familiar with Villas-Boas during his time as Sir Bobby Robson’s assistant at Sporting Lisbon, and employed Villas-Boas as a member of the first team coaching staff.

Jose Mourinho had referred to Villas-Boas as his “eyes and ears”, and he was a vital member of the all conquering FC Porto team who won back to league titles (03/04, 04/05), the 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League titles.

When Mourinho exited to join Chelsea, Villas-Boas was one of the first men hired to Mourinho’s back room staff. During his tenure at Chelsea, he was in charge of developing strategy, as well as pre match preparation. He was a member of the Chelsea staff that won back to back Premiership titles in 2004/05, 05/06. As well as two League Cups, and the 2007 FA Cup.

When Jose Mourinho was sacked as Chelsea manager in 2007, he waited nine months before joining Inter Milan as manager. Villas-Boas again was drafted in, and again, was a vital member of the back room staff and in their successful title victory.

Villas-Boas was there for only one season, before he left to try his hands at senior management, taking the vacant managerial role at Academica, back in the Portuguese Liga. He secured top flight survival, for a club who were known as one of the weakest side in the Portugal, and he guided them to the Portuguese cup semi-final.

His impressive managerial skills didn’t go unnoticed and he was given the chance to join one of the biggest club in Europe; a role as FC Porto first team manager. His career path followed the same long winding roads, similar to that of his former colleague; Jose Mourinho. The man who has made it no secret that he holds Villas-Boas in extremely high regard.



What are his managerial credentials?

In only his second season in professional management, as manager of FC Porto he guided his side to the Portuguese Primera Liga, Portuguese Cup, Portuguese Super Cup and the UEFA Europa League.

His side blasted their way to the title, scoring 73 goals in 30 matches, winning 27 matches, drawing 3 games and losing none. His side amassed 84 points, and boasted a defence which only conceded 16 goals.

Hulk was the side top goalscorer, hitting 23 goals. Radamel Falcao hit 16 league goals, and scored a record 18 Europa League goals in 16 games.

He broke many records in charge of FC Porto

• He became the youngest manager to win the UEFA Europa League, aged just 33 years old and 213 days
• The club record for the most matches across all competitions unbeaten (36). This record was previously held by José Mourinho at 33 matches.[11] Part of this streak was completed by the previous coach of FC Porto, Jesualdo Ferreira
• The most wins in Europe in one season by a Portuguese club (14)
• The most points in a 30-game Portuguese league season (84)
• The highest number of consecutive wins in the Portuguese league (16)
• The biggest margin over the second placed team in the league (21)
• The only team to win the Portuguese league without being beaten aside from Benfica in 1972/73
• On 3 April 2011, Villas-Boas won his first Primeira Liga, five rounds before the end, by defeating second-place Benfica 2–1 away at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon,[15] becoming the third youngest coach to win it, only behind Mihály Sistka (1938–39) and Juca (1961–62). It is the second time that Porto won the Portuguese league by beating its rival at its home soil, the first time being 71 years ago, in the 1939–40 season when Porto clinched the title by defeating Benfica at the Estádio das Amoreiras
• On 22 May 2011, Villas-Boas won the Treble by winning the Portuguese Cup, equalizing Tomislav Ivić (when he won 4 titles for Porto in 1987/88), and making Porto the first (and only) European team to win a treble twice (Portuguese League, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League)

What will he bring to Chelsea?

Off the back of a sensational record breaking season, it’s clear he is all about attacking free flowing football. He advocates the 4-3-3 formation, which Chelsea fans became huge admirers of during Mourinho’s reign in charge.

He is a known strategist, a great planner and tactician, with a solid in depth analysis of every opponent. He has the outlook of a scout, combined with the intuition of a coach. The BBC reported that preparation is key for Villas-boas, with every training session being very specific for preparing for the next match. No two training sessions in a day, just one intensive session in the morning, demanding maximum concentration and commitment. Training methods similar to that of Barcelona’s, lots of passing in short spaces, short and sharp, quick and under pressure, pass-and-move with the long ball game a non entity.

A scouting report was posted online a few years ago, was in preparation for a match between Chelsea and Newcastle. The pre match scouting report showed in depth detail on the opponents strengths, weaknesses, ability from set plays, corners, free kicks, everything. He picked up the moniker of “Director of opposition intelligence” during his time at Stamford Bridge, and was renowned for his creating pre match reports which included “personalised DVD’s” of opposition players.

For a copy of the scouting report, tweet me @ www.twitter.com/RealTalkFB and I’ll send you the link.



Can he become a success?

Let’s be honest, one name has cropped up throughout this blog post, and that is Jose Mourinho. Villas-Boas has taken the same career path, and without doubt has a similar understanding and knowledge of the game, and is a man who comes up with the plan to win. A game plan which has brought great success and achievements, both domestically and internationally. Okay the Portuguese League isn’t regarded as one of the toughest in Europe, but its a professional, competitive league none the less, with skilful players and fantastic individual talent.

Villas-Boas is different from Mourinho, he’s more humble and reserved, and has earned great respect over the past year. Seemingly while Mourinho’s reputation has taking a slight decline due to some of his outlandish statements and comments made over the past season.

For Villas-Boas, he will look at it this way. Their will undoubtedly be comparisons to Mourinho, both were never professional footballers. Both were protégé’s of the great Sir Bobby Robson. Both were vital figures behind the scenes before becoming successful managers, both cutting their teeth in Portugal’s northern region.

Villas-Boas is his own man, with his own methods, who has a great knowledge of the game, and has great respect for Mourinho. He will in not want to be judged by the standards he set (especially at Chelsea), nor will he like to be played off against as in some sort of young buck looking to take the “Special One” title.



Chelsea will have an exciting fresh faced manager in charge, with great maturity and intelligence. He will however be judged on how he copes in arguably the World’s toughest league. He’ll be managing the Premiership runners-up, managing some big names within that side; the much talked about player power struggles between players and manager, main culprits being the Club’s captain/spokesman John Terry (who has had his fair share of controversy in the past few years), Frank Lampard (who is the same age as Villas-Boas), Didier Drogba (who is undecided about where his future lies), and the most intriguingly the misfiring Fernando Torres. Can he be the man to rejuvenate the Spanish international, and get him scoring again?

A lot of important questions. All of which can be answered, if he is given time to implement his ways at Stamford Bridge. All football fans are aware of Roman Abramovich having this Real Madrid like culture, whereby unless a manager is delivering the Champions League title, the Premiership title is the only other option that can save your job for another year.

Villas-Boas is a young man, and will need time. One season at the very least he’s guaranteed, but two or three would give a well rounded opportunity to assess how successful/unsuccessful he could really be.

His record in the short period of time he’s spent as a manager, is excellence, and must be what Roman Abramovich for him to fork out nearly £13.3 million compensation for the 33 year old.

My message to the Chelsea fans who are sceptical about the man, or who just don’t know too much about him, is that they have every reason to be optimistic. Villas-Boas has a history of working behind the scenes at Chelsea during their most successful period in their history, as well as the skills he has learned working with Mourinho at Inter, Porto and with Chelsea.

Villas-boas has a chance the dynasty both he, and Abramovich desire. The real question is; can both coincide long enough for relationship to be triumphant or will Abramovich’s ruthless streak in a quest for the Champions League damage the best candidate for that achievement since Mourinho left? Time is the essential factor, but whatever the outcome is, we are in for another enthralling Premier League season, let alone a captivating summer, and the possibility of a new Special One hitting these shores.



Leave your thoughts below, and let me know what you think of the André Villas-Boas and how do you think he will fair at Chelsea?

Real Talk Football

Champions League Quarter-Finals 1st Leg: What We've Learnt

After all four first legs in the Champions League quarter-finals were completed yesterday; Real Talk Football looks at what we have learnt from four ties, who were the stand out performers, who underachieved and what we can expect from an exciting round of matches.

Real Madrid v. Tottenham – 4-0

Tottenham fans got their wish of facing one of the tougher sides left in the competition, and ended facing up to the harsh consequences. A mystery illness to Aaron Lennon before the game as well as an early red card from Peter Crouch already meant the North London faced an uphill battle.

Emmanuel Adebayor put in a class performance, reminiscing of his best years at Arsenal, and he scored two goals on the night taking his tally to 11 goals in 10 appearances against Tottenham.


Angel Di Maria scored a wonder goal, while Cristiano Ronaldo added the fourth; finally getting on the score sheet after having 14 attempts on goal during the game.

There aren’t too many positives for Tottenham to take to the second leg, Real Madrid are yet to concede at home in the Champions League, and only have only conceded 3 goals altogether. All Spurs can do is go all out attack, and hope for the best.


Inter Milan v. Schalke 04 – 2-5

Inter Milan cannot defend. This is their biggest hindrance in this shaky defence (no pun intended) of their Champions League title. If you look at Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United’s defensive records so far in this campaign, you understand why they are all clear favourites ahead of the Nerazzurri.

Inter are missing their experienced and solid central defensive partnership of Lucio and Walter Samuel, upon which they built their Champions League win last season. During that victorious campaign, they only conceded 9 goals in 13 matches, where as this season they have already shipped 19 goals in just 9 games. They also have the worst defensive record of the last eight teams in the Champions League, conceding an average of 2 goals per game.

In a finaly note on Inter, Dejan Stankovic's unbelievable volley opened the scoring, and is too good to leave out of this review.


Schalke were seen as dark horses to make it into the latter stages of the competition, and thanks to the pacey powerful performance from Jefferson Farfan, the clinical finishing from Striker Edu, along with the fantastic attacking prowess shown by legendary striker Raul all led to thrashing Inter.

The final high point for Schalke, apart from the five away goals, was the performance of 19 year old centre back Joel Matip; who has played in all but one of Schalke’s Champions League game. His composed and confident performance, at such a young age against the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito, was a joy to behold for the Schalke fans.

Inter need a big turnaround if they are to progress.


Chelsea v. Manchester United – 0-1

Manchester United has been labelled lucky this season, but I believe it’s time for this label to be relinquished. They have this never give up attitude and winning mentality, and now look favourites to progress after beating Premiership rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. As well as giving themselves that desired away goal advantage.

Despite the critics, Michael Carrick had his best appearance in a Manchester United shirt last night, making seven interceptions against Chelsea, at least three more the any other in the game.

Also Ecuadorian international Antonio Valencia had to fill in at right back during the second half and was excellent throughout the match. He created more goal scoring chances than any other player during the match.

Finally Manchester United’s evergreen goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was also in great form, making two brilliant saves in the game. It’s noted that he has the best saves-to-shots percentage in the Champions League this season with 93%, followed by Petr Cech, 90%.


Chelsea are not completely out of the tie, but it seems older players like Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, who were instrumental in Chelsea performances last year, seem to no longer be the match winners they once were, with Chelsea distinctly lacking in the final third of the pitch.

The £50 million striker Fernando Torres, who’s price tag will not be shaken off until he starts putting the ball in the net, played okay, but just like this Chelsea side were just not clinical enough. Torres linked up well once the full backs (Bosingwa and Cole) got forward and got the ball into the opposition box. His partnership with Didier Drogba however, is somewhat non-existent.

Heading up to Old Trafford, Chelsea will need to take the game to Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, while there are murmurs that the Champions League is Carlo Ancelotti’s last lifeline. This is the closest remaining tie left in the Champions League, and should be another tightly contested game.


FC Barcelona v. Shaktar Donetsk – 5-1

First things first, you cannot give Barcelona an early goal. This alleviates any kind of pre-game nerves the Barca side would have had, and settled them quickly. Lionel Messi was phenomenal, as was Andres Iniesta. Sergio Busquets was solid at the back, while Adriano and Dani Alves were brilliant in the full-back positions, just as they were against Arsenal.

Shaktar had their chances throughout the game, as striker Luiz Adriano even hit the post and missed a one on one with Victor Valdes. But it was Barcelona who was potent in front of goal, and in all honesty always looking capable of exposing the Shaktar back four.

Iniesta, Alves, Pique and Xavi all took their chances in great team moves. The goal of the night came from Seydou Kieta who ran onto Lionel Messi’s pass and smashed the ball into the top corner and past Andriy Payatov. Barcelona showing they don’t need David Villa or Lionel Messi on the score sheet in order to put five past a side.
Shaktar’s record coming into this game was 39 wins in their last 44 games, so that gives you an idea of the quality of side Barcelona were taking on.


Finally: just a word on Barcelona full back Dani Alves. The Brazilian international, who recently signed a contract extension with the Catalan giants, if for me one of the best footballers in the world, but is overlooked for this acknowledgement for the simple fact he play’s a right back.

Last night apart from a few early wobbles in the first half he was vital in all of Barcelona’s attacking moves, and he was the first outlet for every single one of these Barcelona attacks. Also his no nonsense hard working style is something which also is really impressive, a hard worker, a team player and a great individual.


That wraps up the Real Talk Football’s views on what we learnt from the first round of matches, remember you can follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/realtalkfb to get all the latest football news, and remember to cast your vote on who you think will win the Champions League by voting in the poll on the right hand side.

Real Talk Football

Europe: Part 1 - Champions League Preview

Last Friday both the quarter-final draws were made for Europe’s elite club competitions, the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Real Talk Football takes a look at the draws of both competitions, and previews the last eight teams left in each competition. Today we start with part 1 which features the Champions League draw.

Champions League

The four ties in the quarter final draw are as follows:

Real Madrid v. Tottenham Hotspur

Tale of the tape

Tottenham’s European adventure saw them top Group A ahead of defending champions Inter Milan, Dutch champions FC Twente and German side Werder Bremen.

Spurs defeated seven time winners and European heavyweights AC Milan 1-0 over two legs in order to book their place in their first ever Champions League quarter final. With their full throttle attacking football, nobody has begrudged the North London side their spot in the last eight.

Serial big spenders Real Madrid have reached the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time in the last seven years. The Spanish giants are undefeated in their campaign so far, overcoming AC Milan, AFC Ajax and AJ Auxerre in the group stage.

With star man Cristiano Ronaldo and two times Champions League winner Jose Mourinho in charge, Madrid will feel they can go all the way this season.

Key Players

Karim Benzema – the French forward came under scrutiny in the first half of the season with his lacklustre performances in La Liga, however the 23 year olds form has vastly improved, and he’s been Real’s top goal scorer in the Champions League with 6 goals in 7 appearances.

While striker Gonzalo Higuain out for the season and Manu Adebayor breathing down his neck for a 1st team position, he needs to continue his rich vein of form.



Luka Modric – The Croatian playmaker has been instrumental in Tottenham’s campaign this season, and his link up play with wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, have been the key weapons in Spurs Champions League challenge.


Probable Line-ups





Chelsea v. Manchester United

Tale of the tape

The two English powerhouses have been ever-present competitors in the last six seasons in this competition, and contested the 2008 Champions League final.

Chelsea, who has struggled to regain the domestic titles this year, sees the Champions League as their main target this season. They topped Group F with 15 points, winning five matches while their solitary defeat came away to Olympique de Marseille. Chelsea beat Danish side FC Copenhagen comfortably 2-0 over two legs in the second round.

Manchester United haven’t been at their best this season, but have still managed to grind out results and maintain their stay at the top of the Premier League, reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup and of course, reach the latter stages of the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side qualified top of their group, fending off competition from Bursaspor, Valencia and Glasgow Rangers.

In the second round, there 2-1 victory over Marseille was synonymous with many of their victories this season, a game where they had a lot of first team players missing, and still managed to grind out the result.

Key Players

Nemanja Vidic – The Serbian defender has been head and shoulders above the rest of the other centre backs in Europe, and has been the cornerstone of Manchester United’s solid defensive record, which has seen them only concede two goals in Europe this season.



Nicholas Anelka – the Frenchman has seven goals in his seven Champions League appearances this season, and has outshone fellow strikers Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in Chelsea’s campaign.


Probable Line-ups





FC Barcelona v. Shaktar Donetsk

Tale of the tape

Shaktar Donetsk are favoured as the “Dark Horses” in this year’s competition, thanks to their immaculate home form (they are unbeaten at the Donbass Arena in almost two years, over 60 matches), as well as their array of talented imports such as attacking midfielders Douglas Costa and Willian, Striker Eduardo and Luiz Adriano, as well as established and experienced players including; Tomas Hubschmann, Razvan Rat, Darijo Srna and Dmytro Chygrynskiy.

They surpassed Roma comfortably 6-2 in the second round stage, beating the Italians both home and away. They recovered from a 5-1 thumping away to Arsenal to go on and win Group H ahead of the English side.

For Barcelona, progression into the latter stages is minimal of expectations for the Catalan club, and they progressed through as winners of Group D. On paper they were expected to dominate the group stage however it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Spanish giants as FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos all gave a great account of themselves.

In the second round, Barca overcame a first leg defeat by Arsenal to beat the Gunners 4-3 over two legs, in a fiery and intriguing contest.

Key Players

Xavi Hernandez – The Spaniard World Cup winner impressed with his sensational passing ability in the seven matches he’s played in. He is the heartbeat of the Barcelona side, while his experience and ball retention skills are valuable assets to the side.



Dmytro Chygrynskiy – the 24 year old is quite familiar with the Barcelona team having spent the 2009/10 season at the Camp Nou. He is a tall, no nonsense defender who was influential in both legs of the second round victory over Roma. His quality will be essential in dealing with Messi and co.



Probable Line-ups





FC Internazionale v. FC Schalke 04

Tale of the tape

Schalke have somewhat surpassed expectations by reaching the quarter finals, but with the experienced Raul and goal poacher Klass-Jan Huntelaar, plus an array of talented players, has helped the German side top a tough group that contained the likes of Lyon, SL Benfica and Hapoel Tel-Aviv. In the second round, they beat Spanish side Valencia in two competitive encounters, winning 4-2 on aggregate.

Defending champions Inter Milan reached the quarter finals by the skin of their teeth, after two fantastic matches against last year’s beaten finalist Bayern Munich. Only a late goal from Macedonian international Goran Pandev saw Leonardo’s team progress on away goals. During the group stage, they finished runners-up in Group A, behind Tottenham.

Key Players

Samuel Eto’o – The Cameroonian international has been in sensational form this season, returning to his favoured central striker role, after playing out of position for much of last year’s victorious Champions League challenge. This season, he is the joint top scorer in the competition with eight goals from eight games, with four assists.



Raúl – the legendary Real Madrid striker is the record highest goal scorer in Champions League history with 71 goals, if anyone can be the difference maker, he can. Despite being at the ripe old age of 33 he hasn’t missed a step on the European stage, and has chipped in with 3 goals in this campaign so far.



Probable Line-ups




All ties will be played on the 5/6th April, and the return legs played on 12/13th April

Who do you think will win the Champions League? Cast your vote on the right hand side and let us. Part 2 will be coming on Wednesday.

Real Talk Football