AFRICAN NATIONS CUP!

Huge excitement builds around the African Nations Cup in Ghana this month. Several African superstars are going to miss a month of soccer from their top flight clubs to play for their nations. Just after coming back from injury for Barcelona, Samuel Eto'o is leaving Spain to play for Cameroon. So are Didier Drogba, Obafemi Martins, Sulley Muntari, Kolo Toure and Momo Sisoko plus countless others. The prospect of this cup of stars is enticing to say the least.

ETO'O RETURNS!

After being absent for six months, Samuel Eto'o is back with a bang at Barcelona. Even though he will be absent for the Spanish club when he is away at The African Nations Cup he seems to be making up for lost time. A goal against Mallorca, two against Murcia and another double against Valencia has propelled Barcelona to second in Spain and has inspired attractive soccer back to the team. He is a regular scorer for the Catalan club and has formed a nice partnership with Thierry Henry. He is in good form and will probably star for Cameroon in The African Nations Cup.

LAST YEAR'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

TRICKY DRAWS IN CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!

After several dramatic weeks in the group stages, the next round of the Champions League is finally here! The games are as follows, AC Milan against Arsenal, Porto versus Schalke 04, Chelsea play Olympaicos, the unfortunate Liverpool play Internazional, Celtic play Barcelona, Lyon play the English giants Man Unt., Roma play Real Madrid and underdogs Fenerbeche play Sevilla. Both Liverpool and Arsenal didn't do well in the group stages and are now paying the price. Sevilla and Chelsea are almost certain of a quarterfinal position since they play the two weakest teams but Barcelona should be cautious of Celtic who have beaten some of Europe's best teams. Porto should beat Schalke 04 since the German team just scraped through the first round. All of these games should be entertaining.

A TRUE TALENT:CESC FABREGAS

Although for the past eight years Arsenal's star has been Thierry Henry, but after he has left for Barcelona they still have a talented star in Spaniard Cesc Fabregas. He has propelled Arsenal to title fighters in the Premiership by putting on some incredible displays and scoring amazing goals. Bought from Barcelona as a teenager he was always overlooked by Arsenal fans as a young player because of the huge talent of Thierry Henry but now he is the club's most talented player and is hugely popular. With a strong left foot, a knack for dribbling and a great passing range he is a perfect striker. And he is still quite young.

A YEAR TO REMEMBER

Although they were defeated in the final, the hugely talented Brazilian womens team were by far the best team in the 2007 Women's World Cup. In an interview before the tournament an
English player quoted "the United States, China and Germany are favorites but anything can happen". But nobody thought of Brazil. They beat the Chinese calmly in a stunning 4:0 display. Brazil then demolished Denmark and New Zealand who where dealt with 5:0. They then overcame a talented Australian team to come face to face with favorites and tournament giants the United States. The United States underestimated the powerful Brazilians. They were crushed 4:0. In that game the United States scored an own goal early on. For the rest of the game Brazilian star Marta took the stage scoring twice. Then as overwhelming favorites in the final they lost crushingly to Germany's aging team. But although they didn't win the Brazilians had played hugely entertaining soccer and played extremely well.

AC MILAN COLLAPSE!

After winning the Champions League last year, few expected that soon afterward the Italian league giants would be struggling to get a win. AC Milan are a team of global superstars like Brazilian midfielder Kaka who ended the Champions League as top scorer. They also have one of the best defenders of all time, captain Paolo Maldini.
Struggling in ninth place in the Italian league with terrible home games such as a recent 0:0 draw with Torino. Although they crushed Sampodria 5:0 away they have lost at home to Italian push overs Palermo. A humiliating 1:0 loss to Italian rivals Roma in Milan has taken things from bad to worse. If the Italian team hope to participate in next season's Champions League they need to play better and win a few games.