Recently in UEFA Champions League Category

What they're playing for: the UEFA Champions League trophy pictured today at the draw for the final 16 teams in Switzerland. (AP Photo)

Donovan's loan deal with Everton was officially announced today.

Meanwhile, AC Milan and sometime Galaxy guy David Beckham will face a familiar foe in the next round of the Champions League.

Quotable:

"I think David wanted this match and destiny looked after him," Milan director Umberto Gandini told the Associated Press at UEFA headquarters.

The first legs will be played Feb. 16-17 and 23-24, and the return matches are set for March 9-10 and 16-17.

Ooh la la!

Leave it to those Italians.

Juventus' Paolo De Ceglie, left, and Giorgio Chiellini, right, not only gave their shirts to fans in the wake of the Italian club's 1-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa in Israel Tuesday, but their shorts, too. (AP Photo).

I offer this picture not so much so we can ogle Italian bums (although my wife, ahem, begs to differ), but as a vivid reminder that the UEFA Champions League is on again today.

The Arsenal-AZ Alkmaar is behind Sentanta's pay wall, but everything else can be seen on free TV (if you have El Segundo-based DirecTV).

The full schedule is here. Barcelona gets things off to an early start with a game at 9:30 a.m. today on Fox Soccer Channel.

One other note: the U.S. is out of the Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria having lost 2-1 today to the Italians.

And I'm guessing those Italian lads kept their shorts on at game's end.

Did you know that for the first time ever on American television the English Premier League, the most popular soccer league (in terms of ratings) in this country, can now be seen almost weekly in hi def?

Did you know that coverage of the UEFA Champions League has taken a quantum step forward from announcers calling games in some distant studio rather than being there live, that there is no longer an extremely limited selection of games on TV and that you'll never have to hear the over-used "bulge in the ol' onion bag" phrase ever again?

You do now. (Can you tell I'm just a tad excited about these developments?).

This morning is a reminder of how quickly we've gone from famine to feast when it comes to watching televised soccer in this country.

Here it is around noon on Wednesday and as a DirecTV subscriber I have a choice of a UEFA Champions League mix on Channel 461 although at the moment it's only showing two of up to eight games (why I'm not seeing the game between Moldova's FC and Greece's Olympiakos since I subscribe to Fox Soccer Channel is a mystery to me though).

DirecTV channels are showing games (for the first time ever) so I could check out Timisoara-Stuttgart on Channel 462 or Copenhagen-Apoel Nicosia on Channel 463 if I was so inclined. (DirecTV channels 461-466 will show games live).

Up on Fox Sports Southwest on Channel 676, (yup, Fox channels other than FSC are now showing games, too) it's Celtic-Arsenal in hi def.

And ESPN channels will continue showing games as they have in year's past.

Indeed, it's become so difficult to keep track of what's on where and when that Fox has unveiled a television schedule and dedicated UEFA Champions League news Web site here.

BTW, the UEFA Champions League has a slightly different format this year. Here's a primer.

This latest television soccer development comes just five days after ESPN announced hours before the curtain rose on a new EPL season that the league would return to the network after an absence of more than 10 years (games will also continue on FSC and other outlets).

There will be almost 50 games in hi def on ESPN2, something that will hopefully spur FSC on to do the same sooner rather than later.

For instance, next up at 7 a.m. Saturday is Wigan-Manchester United, followed at noon Monday, Aug. 24 by Liverpool-Aston Villa.

Don't let the batteries in that remote control run out.

The not so surprising news this afternoon was that Galaxy midfielder/defender Sean Franklin, hobbled much of this season by a problematic hamstring, is now done for the next four to six months after undergoing surgery Tuesday to repair a torn right upper hamstring tendon.

So he's pretty much gone for the season then.

Last year's MLS Rookie of the Year started eight games for the Galaxy this season and frankly looked much better going forward on the right side of midfield in several games than at right back.

In other news:

*ESPN released its Confederations Cup schedule.

ESPN will show four and ESPN2 eight of the 16 games live generally at 7 a.m. and 11:25 a.m. June 14-28 from South Africa.

The U.S. opens against Italy at 11:25 a.m. June 15.

* Cal State Northridge released its men's soccer schedule.

*There was also a UEFA Champions League thingie today. Manchester United played for 10 minutes then stopped when Barcelona scored. Barca won 2-0. Messi scored the second, which must be worth a buck or two. You can read more about it * here.

The big winners locally were the Galaxy, which put tickets on sale today to their * Aug. 1 game in Pasadena against the now reigning European Champions.

A quick quiz related to the Barcelona-Manchester United final on live at 11:25 a.m. Wednesday on ESPN.

You know this game is big when:

A. ESPN actually recognizes soccer exists and puts Barcelona's Lionel Messi on the cover of ESPN: The Magazine.

B. ESPN shows the final on well, ESPN, compared to ESPN2 or ESPN Classic, which is where it usually shows UEFA ECL contests.

C. Clerks in Trader Joe's are eager to talk about the relative merits of the two teams.

D. I take the day off for a game.

E. All of the above

The answer is, of course, E.

Frankly, there's more buzz surrounding this soccer game than I can ever remember between two club teams in this country.

And there's unprecedented coverage, too:

*Seven hours of Fox Soccer Channel coverage (except the actual game) beginning at 9 a.m. Expect lots of Bobby McMahon.

*ESPN will air the game to 115 nations using 14 commentators in three languages with pregame segments splattered throughout its programming on ESPN and ESPN2.

The Galaxy will sponsor four local viewing parties:

*ESPN Zone at L.A. Live, 1011 S Figueroa St., Los Angeles.
*The Underground, 1334 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach.
*Lucky Baldwins, 17 S Raymond Ave., Pasadena.
*Ye Olde Kings Head pub, 116 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

Here's a preview of the game:

By ROBERT MILLWARD
AP Soccer Writer
ROME -- From Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi to Wayne Rooney vs. Thierry Henry, this Champions League final shapes up as a classic of European club soccer.

Already with the domestic league and cup titles to show for his first season as a coach,
Barcelona's Pep Guardiola chases the ultimate prize in European club soccer on Wednesday when he bids to topple Manchester United and Alex Ferguson in a final fans all over the world have been waiting for.

"I think we have been able to show maturity for quite a few months, but tomorrow's game is the most important," Guardiola told reporters at the Stadio Olimpico on Tuesday.

"I want the players to feel well, to feel beautiful, to feel like they are playing in front of the whole world, to be daring and to feel that they are here because they deserve it and to show how good we are. It's the best match to show it."

After scoring 151 league and cup goals this season, Barcelona has the ability to take the
title from defending champion United, which also captured the Premier League title for the
third season in a row and 11th time in 17 years.

While Barcelona is chasing its third trophy of the season, United is after a fourth.

Ferguson's team has also captured the FIFA Club World Cup and domestic League Cup.

United will make more history on Wednesday if South Korean star Park Ji-sung becomes the first Asian player to play in a Champions League final, after being surprisingly left out of the squad that beat Chelsea in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in Moscow.

"I think there was a terrible disappointment last season when we didn't include him in the
squad," Ferguson said Tuesday. "I can assure you he will be involved in the squad tomorrow and, if he plays or comes on, he has an impact that other players like Messi and Ronaldo don't have.

"He's a different type of player. He has fantastic understanding of space and movement which is completely different from Messi and Cristiano. (They) work to have the ball all the time and make things happen, whereas Ji-sung doesn't need the ball."

United defender Rio Ferdinand says he will play after shaking off a calf muscle injury and
Guardiola said he was confident striker Thierry Henry and attacking midfielder Andres Iniesta would also be fit, setting up the final even neutral fans have been waiting for.

In Messi, Samuel Eto'o and Henry Barcelona has a strikeforce to match or even outplay
United's. Ferguson is unlikely to field Ronaldo, Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tevez all at the same time, and there is speculation that two of them will be on the bench when the game kicks off.

Likewise, Ferguson is unlikely to field both of his 30-something midfielders Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs at the same time against the top quality duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

But Ferguson should have the edge when it comes to defense.

With Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in central defense, that lineup at the back can show why the team set a British record by going 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in the league during mid-season.

Barcelona, by contrast, is counting the cost of having Brazilian right back Daniel Alves and
French left back Eric Abidal missing through suspension and Mexican center back Rafael Marquez out through injury.

The only thing missing from this final in Italy's capital are any Italians.

Serie A has missed out again in a competition it used to dominate when AC Milan and Juventus were at their best.

Now Italy's top teams can only watch, although there are security fears that local fans may
try to ambush the spectacle by targeting the visiting 50,000 spectators from England and
Spain, who have been advised to stay away from certain parts of the city on match day.

A look at Barcelona's attack:

By PAUL LOGOTHETIS
AP Sports Writer
ROME -- Barcelona's formidable attack should be at its best with Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta likely to return for the Champions League final against Manchester United.

Henry and Iniesta were traveling with the team to Rome on Tuesday, a day after taking part in their first full training session since picking up separate leg injuries earlier this month.

The puzzle is coming together for the Spanish champions in time for Wednesday's match between two of the world's best clubs.

"They are two basic footballing pieces in our scheme," Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez said. "We know they're going to play, that they'll be 100 percent, and to have them is a privilege because with them we're better."

Both players have been key to the offensive juggernaut that has scored 151 goals in collecting two trophies this season.

Iniesta's injury-time goal against a staunch Chelsea side earned Barca its sixth trip to the
final; it has won the cup twice. The Spain midfielder, recovering from a thigh injury, abandoned his usual reserved nature when it came to deciphering the final.

"United are the defending champions, one of the best, but they don't scare me. I have the same respect for them as they have for us," Iniesta said. "It's a chance to go down in history. I'd accept winning on penalties."

Based on their training methods, that's something Barcelona is not exactly ready for.

"We haven't practiced them," Xavi said. "I think to do that is ridiculous because you can't
emulate the tension of a game in a training session."

Henry has combined with Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto'o to net a league-record 71 goals by a trio. But Iniesta provides an integral midfield piece to rookie coach Josep Guardiola's
philosophy: attacking, possession soccer borne out by midfielders Xavi and Iniesta.

The two players are straight out of the mold of Guardiola, a former midfielder who orchestrated Barcelona to 10 major titles from that role, including in the Champions League in 1992.

"This is special for us because we played the best football," Xavi said after the club secured its 19th league title. "I have never seen (a team) play at this level, I have never played in a better team. We have individuals but, above all, we've won as a team. I'm proud."

But the absence of several defenders has left Barcelona's defense exposed against a team that knocked it out at the semifinal stage last year.

With fullbacks Daniel Alves and Eric Abidal suspended and center back Rafael Marquez injured, midfielder Yaya Toure will likely partner with former United player Gerard Pique in the middle as he did against Chelsea, then against Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final. Captain Carles Puyol and 35-year-old Silvinho are likely to fill in on the wings.

With forwards Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Dimitarm Berbatov to contend with, goalkeeper Victor Valdes again may be called upon to make big saves in
pressure moments.

"What I must value is how Rooney, Tevez, (Paul) Scholes, etc., work," Iniesta said. "Rooney played left back against us. To win a final against United you can't make any
mistakes."

There are some advantages when the Internet, telephones and computer system go down simultaneously at work (keep in mind I work at a newspaper): I could remain blissfully ignorant Tuesday of the stunning Liverpool-Chelsea UEFA Champions League game until I could go home and watch it (ah, I miss the pre-blogging days some times) held on the eve of English football's most tragic day and with memories of the even more amazing Liverpool comeback in the 2005 UEFA Champions League final still fresh.

Things aren't due to be fixed at work until about 1 p.m. today so with any luck things will follow the same pattern with regard to the Manchester United-Porto game (which is a roundabout way of saying don't expect much blogging).

So let's play a little catch-up:

*Seattle's Fredy Montero will be able to fully concentrate on the Sounders game with Chivas USA after the resolution of the legal issues hanging over him.

*We won't be seeing Kasey Keller in goal for Seattle this weekend after his red card against Kansas City for handling the ball outside the box and he's still angry about it.

BTW, here's what Seattle Coach Sigi Schmid told me about Keller's ejection when I spoke to him Monday:

"His hands were in tight. I think if it's a defender that slides into an attacker in the same manner I think the referee gives him a yellow card and we move on. But because it's a goalkeeper the instinct is to say he probably tried to bat it down with his hands. It's a tough one to argue, but it it was a tough call. It's not like he had his arms extended, it's not like he threw his arms at the ball or anything like that. He basically slid into it like a defender would slide into a tackle."

*Chivas USA will hold its second "Practice in the Community" at 10 a.m. Sunday at Montebello High School, 2100 West Cleveland Ave. Fans can take photos, get autographs and meet players after the practice. It's free.

*North (Torrance) High's Andre Turoldo and Matt Chavez were named Daily Breeze Player of the Year and Coach of the Year respectively.

*Lastly, the Sol is having a not to be missed ticket sale today in recognition of tax day for Sunday's game at Home Depot Center.

Playing a little catch-up this evening, so you should know:

*Mexico soccer coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was fired today, a day after El Tri crashed to a 3-1 loss against Honduras in World Cup qualifying.

Less than a year into the job, the former England coach had just one win in its last
seven games.

"We told Mr. Eriksson that his term with the national team has finished," Justino Compean, president of Mexico's soccer federation, said at a news conference.

*The L.A. Sol of Women's Professional Soccer today signed 25-year old Liz Bogus, who had 31 goals and 18 assists during a four-year career at Arizona State where she was the 2002 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award.

*Fox has indeed outbid ESPN for the rights to the UEFA Champions League in a three-year deal. Games will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel, FSN, FX and Fox Sports en Español.

The final will air on FX in High Definition each year, a spokeswoman with the network told me. FSC is also "looking to accelerate the time frame in which they will begin broadcasting in HD."

Although no official on-air talent decisions have been taken, Fox is looking to use the international English-language feeds UEFA provides rather than using American talent stuck in an L.A. studio.

From the (edited) press release:

As the primary outlet for the UEFA Champions League, Fox Soccer Channel will deliver 110 live and delayed UEFA Champions League matches per season to its nearly 35 million subscribers. FSN - reaching up to 83 million homes nationwide through its owned and affiliated regional sports networks - will televise 16 live matches per season, while Fox Sports en Español will distribute 94 total contests (live and delayed) in Spanish to its 14 million subscribers.

The UEFA Champions League Final will air each season on FX, reaching over 95 million homes nationwide. Next season, the final will be staged on a Saturday for the first time in its history, with the match kicking off at 11:45 a.m. Pacific May 22, 2010 at Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Fox Soccer Channel's UEFA Champions League coverage will include one live and two premiere match telecasts per match day - including prime-time rebroadcasts of FSN and Fox Sports en Español's live offerings - as well as live pregame and postgame shows from its Los Angeles studios. All live matches will kick off at 11:45 a.m. Pacific on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the course of the season. Fox Soccer Channel will also produce a 30-minute UEFA Champions League highlight show at the conclusion of each match day.

I like to keep this blog as Southern California focused as possible, but is there any soccer fan locally not looking forward to the beginning of the knockout rounds of the best club competition in the world?

Thought not. Purists will tell you that this is when the real competition begins anyway.

Today's draw.

It means Manchester United's Alex Ferguson and Inter Milan's Jose Mourinho will resume hostilities.

It means Liverpool's Spanish Coach Rafael Benitez faces former club Real Madrid, who are now coached, of course, by former Tottenham gaffer Juande Ramos (and yes, I just like writing gaffer).

And former Chelsea Manager Claudio Ranieri returns to his old club as Inter Milan coach.

Landon Donovan may also be interested to know Bayern Munich got Portugal's Sporting Lisbon.

Who drew the short straw? French club Lyon, which faces Barcelona.