Franck Ribery looks set to get a transfer from Bayern Munich

With each day that passes the future of gifted Bayern Munich star, Franck Ribery, looks more and more set in stone. For a long time reports from all over Europe have been popping out with rumours of reported bids and planned coups to take the Frenchman into the squad of another massive club.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Lyon and Real Madrid among others have all said to be interested in his services and fresher strong rumours have emerged this morning that he will move to Italy when the transfer window opens this summer.

Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan is said to be intensely frustrated at his side’s failure to make vast steps in Europe this season and Ribery has been targeted to secure UEFA Champions League success for next year.

Inter are supposedly ready to offer 40 million Euros plus a possible player exchange in order to make the move a reality, but Ribery’s future is still greatly unclear. A number of other clubs would be willing to match or even better this price.

Ribery has consistently said in Germany that he is satisfied and happy to be playing in Munich. He has been instrumental in the progress they have made this season and despite a European thrashing at the hands of Barcelona, Munich have been noted as a rapidly developing side.

He has made just fewer than 30 appearances for Munich this season scoring 11goals and not to mention has become one of the first names to go down on the French international team list every time a France game comes around. Many England fans will remember he scored in their victory over the English in Fabio Capello’s second game in charge.

If Ribery moves to Inter this summer then he would look set to form an attacking partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and possibly Diego Milito as well who has also been linked with the Italian outfit. Inter are a side packed with no end of talent and experience but they are missing a piece in the jigsaw.

It is unlikely that Munich will let him leave with out a fight. For any club who are faced with the prospect of having to sell one of their best players the option is quite simple; if you are going to let him go then you sell him to the highest bidder.

Real Madrid have cash in the bank as their Ronaldo quest seems to have stopped so the fire power that could come from elsewhere, besides Inter, could be enough to sway the German club to listen to other offers. Especially considering Madrid’s European fragility this year.

Munich would do very well to Get Ribery signed on for even longer than his current contract runs for. They have regular European football guaranteed and Ribery has settled in the country. Munich have a strong case for persuading him to stay but it is likely that the glitz and glamour of moving to a bigger European club may be too hard to say no to.

The future of this Portsmouth star is unclear

The future of Portsmouth defender, Glen Johnson, is very unclear, as reports have emerged that Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa have expressed an interest in signing him at the end of the season.

Johnson has secured a starting place in the Pompey side this year and has even impressed Fabio Capello to earn regular call-ups to the international side. However, his future at Fratton Park is uncertain, as the former Chelsea right back has expressed an interest to move on to a bigger club.

Portsmouth have put a price tag of £16 million on Johnson, which seems a little bit too high. However, in the modern climate of world football it would not be a surprise to anyone if any of the clubs interested fork out the amount of cash for a player who is clearly improving every time he plays.

Johnson has made 27 appearances for Portsmouth this season, scoring three times in his 2422 minutes on the pitch. What makes him such a valuable asset to Portsmouth is his endless energy displayed up and down the right flank, he is just as capable of getting forward in the same way that Patrice Evra does at Manchester United and Ashley Cole at Chelsea.

Liverpool would probably be the most likely club to get Johnson’s signature, as they don’t currently have an out and out right back, although Spurs could be a popular choice as the geographical move from Portsmouth would not be too problematic.

This does not even take into account the impressive progress that Villa have made this season under Martin O’Neill and Johnson wouldn’t be blamed by anyone if he chose to join a budding side on the verge of securing a Champions League spot.

If Johnson were allowed to leave then it would be very hard for Portsmouth to replace him. The club have not had the best of seasons and have relied on players like Johnson to save them on regular occasions. Allowing their best assets to leave can surely only end in more problems as opposed to saving them.

Portsmouth lose only 5 per cent of games when Johnson plays and have not lost when he has managed to get to the other end of the pitch and knock in a goal. Although his discipline is still questionable, no amount of enthusiasm and passion can be sacrificed for the greater good of finances and Pompey having greater ability to ease their financial worries.

His international career is still very much in the infancy stages and a move away from Southern England could see this transform into regularity. Chelsea obviously saw something in him when they signed him from West Ham United, but the inconsistency was too much to cope with.

Now that this consistency is settling down, Johnson is starting to show the potential and talent that everyone has known he possesses for a very long time. Whether it’s Liverpool, Spurs, Villa or Pompey he is turning out for nest year, whoever has his services has one of the most gifted right backs in the game.

Manchester United take a slight advantage into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal

Manchester United will go into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with a one-goal advantage, following their victory over Arsenal last night.

John O’Shea struck from a Michael Carrick cross to give the current European Football champions the most fragile of first leg leads as Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his disappointment at not killing off the tie last night.

United will be disappointed as they dominated the game from start to finish. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez both had good chances to score but the brilliance of Arsenal goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, meant Arsenal are still in with a fighting chance.

Football took the centre stage in this match as opposed to the aggression and passion we saw in Tuesday’s encounter between Barcelona and Chelsea. Both sides looked a little tentative and the match up did not really produce what all of the previews were predicting.

Arsenal’s inexperience in defence was plain and it could have been a different story if Cesc Fabregas had the ability to put the ball into the corner of the goal as opposed to along the ground and into Edwin Van Der Saar’s arms.

Ferguson said in his reaction, as reported in The Times: “We had good chances and their goalkeeper has had some fantastic saves, our performance level was very good and we have given ourselves a very good chance, but the tie is not over, of course.”

Carlos Tevez did himself no harm with a splendid performance. The Argentine never stopped running from the first whistle and shook his head in obvious disappointment when he was replaced in the second half. The Old Trafford crowd shouted consistently the familiar chants of ‘Argentina,’ and Tevez can be pleased.

The only set back for United is an injury to defender, Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand left the pitch holding his ribs and despite apparent enthusiasm to return to the field of battle he was promptly sent for an x-ray to determine the severity of the damage to his cracked ribs.

For Arsenal the mood must be fairly bouyant. They could easily have left this tie at a three or four goal disadvantage but were able to stay relatively compact and concede just the one.

At the Emirates Arsenal are capable of doing just about anything so it will be interesting to see how they play and risk the chance of an away United goal in going for the win.

Wenger said: “They started stronger than us and in terms of clear-cut chances they were on top. But I am convinced you will see a very different Arsenal team at the Emirates and I am convinced we can reverse this result. We have the quality to do it and we believe at home we can do that.”

It all makes for a mouth watering clash on Tuesday but both teams have important Premier League duties to take care of before hand. These cannot be overlooked as the Champions League story for this season turns one page closer to its ending.

UEFA Champions League

It’s going to be quite a clash when Barcelona visit Stamford Bridge on May 6 for the second and decisive return leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final.

Chelsea’s performance at the Nou Camp has been hailed as “fantastic” and “magnificent” after they became the first team this season to prevent the Spanish league leaders from scoring.

Football pundits, the manager and the players themselves were all giving themselves a pat on the back for frustrating Barcelona into a 0-0 draw which defied all the odds.

But the morning after, Barcelona did not exactly agree. Chelsea were accused of deliberately stagnating play and failing to play the game. It’s now not a question of who was right but who will have the last laugh. Chelsea or Barcelona?

Certainly, if the small Chelsea crowd at the Nou Camp game were intimidated by the stadium’s magnificent atmosphere, Barcelona supporters are in for a similar shock when they come to Stamford Bridge। Some 95,000 fans packed into the incredible Nou Camp arena which really is amongst the very best in the world.The Chelsea fans who made the journey to Spain, about 3,000 of them, were herded into a top corner where they could be seen but not particularly heard. But who was laughing the loudest once the final whistle blew? Certainly, there was not one gloomy face amongst the travelling fans as they waited for the stadium to clear. They were well pleased with the job and deservedly so.

Okay, Chelsea didn’t exactly play flowing football and squandered their best chances, not least Didier Drogba who could have been the hero of the night. But holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw was a massive achievement which should be under-estimated, no matter what the content of Barcelona taunts.

Playing in yellow, Chelsea’s back four made it impossible for the Barcelona strikers, despite a late flurry of urgency as the clock ticked away in the second half.

Previous clashes between these two teams have always been tight and Chelsea just hung on by their finger-tips. Ballack, Henry, Alves, Hleb, Eto’o – they were all lining up for misses.

Chelsea captain, John Terry revealed afterwards that they had closely studied a video of Barcelona’s play and so had done their homework, achieving full marks. He considered the draw a fantastic result and warned that their fans would be right behind them on May 6 for the return leg. Yes, he conceded, the Nou Camp was an intimidating place but back home at the Bridge, they would have home advantage and a fully fit team again.

“The only thing missing was an away goal,” he said.

Unfortunately, that’s just the point. Upbeat Barcelona feel they can and will score at Stamford Bridge and will take the tie.

Statistics actually say otherwise. In the last three knock-out encounters at this stage of the UEFA Champions’ League, it has been the team playing at home which has taken the honours. Can that record be maintained at Stamford Bridge?
Both sides obviously have the appetite to win and it should be a frantic 90 minutes – plus more, if need be.

Certainly, Chelsea appear to have a secret weapon already armed and waiting to fire. In the recent match against Liverpool, Chelsea goal-keeper Petr Cech came under fire for some interesting goal-keeping. Against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, he was simply magnificent and kept his side in the game on more than one occasion. He had that look about him, standing big and radiating the message: “You can’t beat me!” He was outstanding and back to his best.

It was, however, a huge team effort and no-one should under-estimate the superb tactics of the Chelsea manager। Yes, the visitors rode their luck but the approach worked and Barcelona, who usually put the goals away on home soil, just could not hit the back of the net. Chelsea were focused, positive and determined.

Chelsea manager, Guus Hiddink isn’t convinced that home advantage will count but was pleased with the draw.

“It’s quite an achievement against a team that plays beautiful football which we saw tonight,” he said, picking out Bosingwa and Malouda for special praise but describing Terry as “inspiring” and “an example to the rest of the team”.
Barcelona coach, Pep Guardida was not so complimentary। He accused Chelsea of being unwilling to play football and committing foul after foul just to interrupt play. He believes a very different Chelsea will have to take to the pitch on May 6.

Barcelona will be without two key players for the return leg; Puyol who is suspended following a booking and Rafael Marquez who is out for the rest of the season after being injured. This, says Guardida, will be no excuse for the final and they intend to be the victors.

There’s going to be an awful lot of sparring off the field in the run-up to May 6 but there’s only one place where the action will make any difference – and that’s on the pitch. Let battle commence!