Champions League Betting Special: Side with Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Juventus

The Champions League knockout rounds are fast approaching, and for many punters that means the opportunity to back some of Europe's strongest sides to make the last eight of the competition.

Bet Victor are offering enhanced multiples on the continental elite's big guns qualifying from the Round of 16, with variations on Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus to qualify.

The bet that immediately stands out for value at 3/1 (4.0) is all five of those teams - favourites for their Champions League two-legged clashes - to progress.

There do tend to be surprises at this stage of the tournament though - last season Lyon fell to minnows APOEL and Inter Milan exited at the hands of Marseille - but more often than not the strongest side goes through over home and away ties.

Looking at the sides most unlikely to fall at this hurdle, and it seems that Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona fall into that bracket.

Juve are leading Serie A and have a quite remarkable home record, having only recently seen a 49-game league unbeaten streak at their new stadium broken by Inter Milan. 

And while Celtic produced a victory over Barcelona at Celtic Park in the group stage, it looks a step too far to expect them to pull off another shock - even with key striker Gary Hooper still at the club.

read more : http://sg.news.yahoo.com/champions-league-betting-special-side-barcelona-borussia-dortmund-083000234--spt.html

Karanka: Champions League is the most important

Real Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka has revealed the Champions League now takes "center stage" after the club thumpedSevilla 4-1 on Saturday.

Priority was immediately refocused to the team's home encounter against Manchester United, despite Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick inspired rout of the La Liga rival at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We have shown we still want to win every league game," Karanka told reporters after the match. "However, the Champions League takes center stage now."

Ronaldo was hauled off with 20 minutes to go, preserving the Portuguese superstar's energy reserves ahead of the fixture against his former side.

"Ronaldo's fine. He works hard and has to play. He deserves it [the hat-trick]," said defender Pepe. "The team works hard every day. Today, we went all out. Every game is special, but on Wednesday we will have to keep it up."

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European champions, World Cup winners: Spain complete full year as the top team in FIFA's world rankings

World and European champions Spain have been rewarded for their ongoing success with the completion of a full year at the top of the FIFA rankings as Brazil plummet to 18th.


Spain's closest competitors are second-placed Germany. Italy, who Spain convincingly beat 4-0 in the summer's European Championship final, climb one place to fourth while England, despite their disappointing progress, remain sixth.

Heading a top 10 that has no new entrees, Spain's placing means they are to end a fifth consecutive year at first in the world rankings.



Dominant: Spain's summer European Championship triumph followed victory at both the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008


FIFA RANKINGS

Rankings for December(November positions in parentheses)
1. Spain (1)
2. Germany (2)
3. Argentina (3)
4. Italy (5)
5. Colombia (8)
6. England (6)
7. Portugal (4)
8. Netherlands (7)
9. Russia (9)
10. Croatia (10)
11. Greece (12)
12. Switzerland (16)
13. Ecuador (17)
14. Ivory Coast (15)
15. Mexico (14)
16. Uruguay (11)
17. France (18)
18. Brazil (13)
19. Algeria (19)
20. Sweden (23)

Even if their presence at sixth appears underserved, England are the Home Nations' sole representative in the top 20. Scotland are 72nd, Wales are 82nd and Northern Ireland are joint 96th, while Republic of Ireland are joint 42nd.

The 2014 World Cup hosts Brazil have fallen as a result of playing only non-competitive fixtures and after their failure to win last month within a rankings system based upon a four-year results cycle.

They lost 2-1 to rivals Argentina, who remain third, and drew with Colombia, who have surprised many by reaching fifth.

It perhaps should not be overlooked, however, that their defeat to Argentina followed a 2-1 victory over them in September that levelled the aggregate score of their friendly double header at 3-3. When that match – in which only domestic league players were used – then went to penalties, Brazil won 4-3.

Colombia's ascent represents a significant improvement on 2011. At the same stage last year they were the world's 36th best team but six wins, a draw and only one defeat since have ensured their climb.

Ivory Coast are the highest ranked African side, 15th-placed Mexico are North America's highest side and Japan, at 22nd, are Asia's highest.

With 27 teams throughout the top 50 and 10 of the world's top 12 teams, European football remains the overall dominant power.

read more : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2250492/European-champions-World-Cup-winners-Spain-end-2012-FIFAs-world-rankings.html

Mohamed bin Hammam resigns from all football-related positions, banned for life

LONDON – Mohamed bin Hammam resigned from all soccer-related posts and received a new lifetime ban from FIFA on Monday, perhaps closing one of the most damaging corruption scandals to hit the sport's world governing body.

Bin Hammam, a FIFA executive committee member from Qatar who challenged incumbent Sepp Blatter for the presidency last year, gave up his long-running dispute with the organization after being found guilty by FIFA of "repeated violations" of its code of ethics while head of the Asian Football Confederation.

FIFA said the 63-year-old bin Hammam sent a resignation letter to both FIFA and the AFC on Saturday.

"Mr. Mohamed bin Hammam ... has resigned from all his positions in football with immediate effect and will never be active in organized football again," a FIFA statement said.

Bin Hammam, who has always denied wrongdoing, had no immediate comment on FIFA's announcement.

Controversy has swirled around bin Hammam in recent years — he had also been fighting a separate life ban imposed by FIFA following allegations he offered bribes to voters when running against Blatter.

FIFA said the second life ban is a result of the final report from the chairman of its ethics committee, Michael J. Garcia.

"That report showed repeated violations of Article 19 (Conflict of Interest) of the FIFA Code of Ethics of Mohamed bin Hammam during his terms as AFC President and as member of the FIFA executive committee in the years 2008 to 2011, which justified a life-long ban from all football-related activity," the statement said.

According to the Malaysia-based AFC, a yearlong audit revealed "infringements" regarding the "execution of certain contracts" and tampering with the organization's bank accounts while president. As a result, Garcia and the AFC ordered probes into how bin Hammam managed the accounts.

The reputation of bin Hammam, who was elected AFC president in 2002, has been in tatters since a bribery scandal erupted in May 2011 — a week before the FIFA presidential election.

The Qatari withdrew his bid just hours before FIFA provisionally suspended him, allowing Blatter to be re-elected unopposed.

FIFA used evidence from whistleblowers that pointed to bin Hammam handing out $40,000 in cash bribes to officials in each of 24 Caribbean soccer nations during his campaign visit to Trinidad. He was banned for life in July 2011, but that was lifted a years later by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. He denied any wrongdoing, claiming the FIFA investigations were politically motivated to protect Blatter.

Jack Warner, FIFA vice president and a veteran power broker in the north and central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF) region, was also implicated in the scandal that cost bin Hammam his position. Warner walked away from world soccer before FIFA concluded its probe into allegations of wrongdoing.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/17/mohamed-bin-hammam-resigns-from-all-football-related-positions-banned-for-life/?intcmp=trending#ixzz2Fbs2kqTG

English Football Association agrees on anti-racism action plan after high-profile cases

LONDON – The English Football Association has approved proposals to help stamp out the resurgence of racism in the sport.

The "Inclusion and Anti-Discrimination Action Plan" was requested by British Prime Minister David Cameron after high-profile racism cases involving Chelsea captain John Terry and Liverpool striker Luis Suarez last season and various fan incidents.

Among 15 pages of proposals, managers and players will have "mandatory induction arrangements" if they are new to the "British cultural environment."

Soccer leaders also want greater consistency in the response by police to racist abuse at matches and legislation to clamp down on abusive messages on social networking sites.

FA Chairman David Bernstein says "this is a commitment on behalf of English football to ensure the game is inclusive and free of discrimination."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/12/20/english-football-association-agrees-on-anti-racism-action-plan-after-high/#ixzz2FbrY8tyJ

AC Milan & Juventus keeping tabs on Leandro Paredes

The Argentine youngster has attracted the interest of both Serie A powerhouses, and a transfer to Italy could be on the horizon in the not too distant future


EXCLUSIVE
By Elia Raimondo

Leandro Paredes has caught the attention of AC Milan and Juventus with his good performances for Boca Juniors, Goal.com can reveal.

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The Rossoneri are looking to rebuild their team after the departure of several key players in the summer transfer window, and sporting director Ariedo Braida sees the 18-year-old as a valuable addition to their squad.

Paredes would fit Milan's new transfer policy of signing promising youngsters rather than accomplished stars, and the San Siro side are closely monitoring the attacking midfielder's progress, with an eye on a transfer at the end of the season.

Juve, meanwhile, feel the Argentine midfielder would be a good signing in the long term, as they aim to add some more creativity to their squad.

The Serie A champions have scouted Paredes on four different occasions this year, and the youngster has done enough to impress the Turin powerhouse.

Paredes, who has also been linked with Real Madrid, has an ongoing contract with Boca, but an offer in the region of €5 million could be enough to lure him away from his current club.

read more : http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/4063/exclusive/2012/12/20/3616367/ac-milan-juventus-keeping-tabs-on-leandro-paredes?source=breakingnews

Pato linked with Brazil move

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed receiving a bid from an unnamed club for striker Alexandre Pato, as Robinho edges towards a January return to Brazil.

Reports in Brazil and Italy have linked Pato with a possible move to recent Club World Cup winners Corinthians in the transfer window, with fellow Campeonato Brasileiro side Santos publicly declaring their willingness to bring Robinho back to his boyhood club.

Galliani is eager to retain the latter but admits persuading the forward to stay in Italy will be a tall order.

He told the Milan channel: "Milan have received an offer for Pato.

"Meanwhile, I am doing everything in my power to keep Robinho, I don't know if I will succeed, but I will use all my powers of persuasion.

"Robinho is happy here. He has a good relationship with the coach and the team, but he has a wife and children who are back on the beaches of Santos right now.



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"I hope to convince him to stay here. He hasn't asked vehemently to leave Milan, he's just asked to go back to his country."

The potential departure of a strike partnership that cost the Rossoneri a combined €30million could free up space for long-term target Mario Balotelli, but Galliani would not be drawn on the Manchester City striker on Wednesday.

"If both Robinho and Pato leave, we will only buy one striker because we believe the right number of strikers should be five," he added.

"Is (Didier) Drogba possible? No. (Javier) Pastore? No, because we've asked Paris Saint-Germain and they won't let him go."

Robinho, who originally left Santos to join Real Madrid in 2005, arrived in Milan following an unsettled two-year spell with Manchester City, but not before spending six months on loan back at Vila Belmiro in 2010.

Santos vice-president Odilio Rodrigues told UOL Esporte: "We are in negotiations. It will be difficult but we are are doing everything in our power to realise our fans' dream."

read more : http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/seriea/story/ac-milan-receive-pato-bid,-robinho-linked-with-brazil-return-122012