Cup competitions, Sir Alex Ferguson on retirement, and Cheryl Cole's a good person

With the FA Cup quarter finals taking place this weekend, ahead of a crucial European week, it's time to question the relevance of the competition. [Guardian]

Chasing the dream in football's academies. [Telegraph]

Two of Buenos Aires' finest get knocked out of the Libertadores Cup. [Reuters]

While many on the big island may agree with Michel Platini's opinions on the English footy, it may not be fans of the traditional top four. [Times]

European soccer rears its ugly two heads, again. [The Sun]

Harry Redknapp shows off those "man-motivating/management" skills. [Goal]

You'd think the one guy that can use his hands would protect them. [FourFourTwo]

Sir Alex verbalizes Red Devil fans' worst fear. [Sky Sports]

Cheryl Cole takes her hubby's arrest well. [Daily Star]

Are There Any Portuguese Speakers In The House?

Anyone want to take a crack at Mano, Pra Cima Deles?

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Bye Bye Villarreal, Hello Bradley And Co.

It's been quite a 24 hours for Mr. Renaissance, Juan Roman Riquelme. First he's amazing in the two-legged Copa Libertadores final, scores three times, and was named most valuable player of the final. Villarreal then comes out publicly and says that Riquelme will not be playing for them next season.

Attention from Italy, as well as being a late addition to Alfio Basile's Copa America side should cushion the blow. Now he has a week to think about nothing else but how to beat the United States.

Boca win Libertadores with Riquelme double [Reuters]
Villarreal ends Riquelme contracts [Independent Online]
Juve show Riquelme interest [Channel 4]

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Boca's Return To Glory Is 90 Mintues Away

That's all Boca Juniors has to get through tonight to lift it's 6th Copa Libertadores. But it won't be easy, this year's Libertadores has seen a ton of goals, and if Boca can win the first-leg 3-0 at home, you can bet that Gremio can return the favor in the second-leg. Marcela Mora y Araujo sends out a warning here.

Possibly the most important stat of the final is that the Brazilian side failed to score at la Bombonera. This of course means that any score by los Xeneizes will most likely see them happy by the end of the night.

The key for Boca tonight will be to soak up the intense pressure that Gremio will put them under in the first 10 to 15 minutes of the game. Then it'll be a question of how much possession the Argentines can muster, as well as how quick they can break out of the back to try to catch the Brazilians napping. It should be a pretty fun game to watch knowing that one team has no choice but to attack.

These are the probable lineups:

GREMIO: Sebastian Saja; Patricio, Teco, William, Lucio; Diego Gavilan, Lucas, Tcheco, Diego Souza; Tuta and Carlos Eduardo.

BOCA: Mauricio Caranta; Hugo Ibarra, Daniel Diaz, Morel Rodriguez, Clemente Rodriguez; Pablo Ledesma, Ever Banega, Neri Cardozo; Juan Roman Riquelme; Rodrigo Palacio and Martin Palermo.

Referee: Oscar Ruiz (Colombia)

The match will be kicking off in less than three hours. It's going to be shown Live on FOX Sports en Espanol, the broadcast begins at 8:30pm ET.

Riquelme on target as Boca beat Gremio 3-0 [Reuters]
Boca's victory is as uncertain as Riquelme's future [Guardian Sport Blog]

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Thanks To Carmona, Pachuca Waltz Into Mexican Final

In one of the most bizarre incidents I've ever come across, Cruz Azul were disqualified from the Mexican league playoff semi-finals after fielding an ineligible player. That player, Salvador Carmona, had tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol in June of 2005, and was subsequently banned for a year by the Mexican FA. Despite a second positive test by Carmona for the same substance on January 31st of last year, the FA disciplinary committee decided to nullify the second result last summer because it mistakenly believed the B sample was destroyed.

The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland for a lifetime ban, and won. CAS rejected Carmona's formal protest because it said the former international didn't attempt to make any excuse which would have allowed CAS to consider a less severe sanction.

For some reason, Cruz Azul decided to let Carmona play, even after the Mexican FA informed both the player and the club of Carmona's ban the day before the first-leg semi-final against Pachuca. Pachuca went on to win that match and were then given a free passage into the final. Cruz Azul was assessed a one match sanction, which seems like a slap on the wrist when league guidelines state that teams could be expelled from the top-flight for fielding ineligible players.

Thus, Pachuca will now face America in the two-legged final this week. America edged past Chivas after a pair of 1-0 wins in the other semi-final. Immediately after the match, America boarded a flight to Sao Paulo for Wednesday's Copa Libertadores quarter-final second-leg against Santos. The tie's first-leg ended in a goalless draw at the Azteca. The schedule for the Mexican final will be revealed this afternoon.

Mexican defender Carmona gets life ban [Reuters]
America tops Chivas, to face Pachuca in the Mexican final [International Herald Tribune]

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Champions League v. Copa Libertadores

The case is made for the Copa Libertadores being the more "entertaining" of the two tournaments. I'm still, and might always be, more intrigued by the chess match that is a Champions League game in the competition's later stages. But I'd be more inclined to give the South American edition more love if it was readily available on TV.

Libertadores Cup or Champions League? [Reuters Soccer Blog]

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Sorry, You'll Have To Play Somewhere Else

That's what Mexican club Necaxa was told last Sunday as they were preparing for tonight's Copa Libertadores match against Uruguayan side Nacional (which they lost). I'm guessing that picking a pop star over a mid-week match was a money decision, but regardless, it doesn't bode well for state soccer south of the border. Money quote:

Their [Necaxa's] stadium in Aguascalientes was hosting a concert by Shakira the following evening -- with more than 24 hours needed to get the arena ready for the Colombian singer, who provided the pre-match entertainment at last year's World Cup final.

Both the Libertadores and Shakira's tour were planned months ago, yet the authorities were still caught out.

Shakira won the day and Necaxa will have to play at Mexico City's Azteca stadium, around 600 kilometres away. Any fans dedicated enough to see the match will be back in line at the travel agents looking for plane or bus tickets.

For more doozies, read the rest of Brian Homewood's Reuters piece.

Mexican soccer joy for travel agents and pop stars [Guardian]

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Quarters Set For Libertadores

It is now on to the quarter-finals in the Copa Libertadores after the last of the round-of-16 ties were decided earlier this evening. The tournament is now left with two teams from both Brazil and Uruguay, and one each from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay. The first-legs of the following ties will be played next Wednesday, with the second-legs played a week later.

A: America v. Santos
B: Defensor Sporting v. Gremio
C: Boca Juniors v. Libertad
D: Nacional v. Cucuta Deportivo

For the semis, the draw has the winner of game D hosting the winner of game A in the first leg. The winner of game C will play the first leg at home against the winner of game B in the other semi.

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Last 16 Of The Libertadores

Martin Palermo celebrates after scoring from the spot tonight, contributing to the ass-kicking that Boca Juniors gave to Bolivian side Bolivar in the Copa Libertadores. Boca pulled a Man U and put seven past the "hapless" side from the Andes. The win sends last season's Argentine runners-up into the last 16 of the tournament.

The two-leg ties will be played on May 2nd and 9th. The match-ups are as follows:

A: Caracas (Venezuela) v. Santos (Brazil)
B: Defensor Sporting (Uruguay) v. Flamengo (Brazil)
C: Parana (Brazil) v. Libertad (Paraguay)
D: Cucuta (Colombia) v. Toluca (Mexico)
E: Necaxa (Mexico) v. Nacional (Uruguay)
F: Velez Sarsfield (Argentina) v. Boca (Argentina)
G: Gremio (Brazil) v. Sao Paulo (Brazil)
H: Colo Colo (Chile) v. America (Mexico)

The quarter-finals are set up so that the winner of game A plays the winner of game H, B versus G, C versus F, and D versus E. As you might of noticed, the round of 16 will pit Boca against Velez, and thus, both Miguel Angel Russo and Ricardo La Volpe against their former teams. Funny how that happens.

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Guillermo Barros Schelotto will be honored before Boca's game on Sunday against Racing. The tribute, as well as the match, can be seen on FSC, Sunday at 5pm ET. It'll be shown live, at 3pm ET, on Fox Sports Espanol. Schelotto is expected to return to the U.S. on Monday and train with the Columbus Crew next week.

Seven-goal Boca storm into last 16 of Libertadores [Reuters]

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FIFA Turns It's (One Good) Eye Towards Bolivia

I guess the soccer world's governing body wasn't busy influencing a federation's elections (Michel Platini's thank you card is in the mail) because they're now turning their attention to Bolivia's home field advantage. FIFA has enlisted the help of medical professionals to find out if playing at high altitudes is harmful to a players well being.

Teams have been complaining about having to play in Bolivia for years, so why take a 'serious' look at it now? Brazilian club Flamengo must have some pull in Zurich, they called the conditions at a recent Copa Libertadores match "inhumane." If Flamengo didn't like it, how do you think Venezuela's sea-level club, Maracaibo, is going to fare playing at 13,780 feet?

FIFA Studies High-Altitude Soccer as Players Gasp for Oxygen [Bloomberg]

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