Inter Milan 2011/12 Home Kit Leaked

Nike have had their designs leaked again. Around this time of year all of the kits of the upcoming season somehow finish on the internet. Nike's possible latest design for the Inter Milan kit of 2011/12 has been leaked, similarly to Barcelona's, Manchester United's, Arsenal's and Juventus's.

Nike's latest designs seem to offer this idea of having thin stripes which diagonally thicken. We saw this before with Barcelona's 2011/12 home kit which was leaked some time ago. It should also be noticed that the sleeves and collar are completely black, offering contrast to the white Nike and Pirelli logos.

Many Inter fans don't like the new design, saying that they prefer thicker stripes. In my opinion it's a nice kit, but then again I'm rarely picky regarding kits.

This is the only photo which has been circulating around on the internet, and it looks like it could very well be next season's design for Inter. I'm curious to see what Nike are going to do with Inter's away kit, mainly because this past season's was exceptionally well designed with the dragon up along the side of the kit.

Here's the same picture of the kit below, except slightly larger:

So if Nike are deciding to go with this diagonally thickening pattern on their striped kits for next season, are you gonna buy them? Do you like this new design by Nike? What technological advancements do you think will come with this kit? Share your comments about it below!

Kevin McCarra Talking About the Champions League Draw

I'm a very big fan of the Guardian's football section, mainly because they offer excellent insight into soccer/football from around all of Europe. Of course, being an English newspaper they tend to focus a bit more regarding English clubs and the Premier League.

Here's a short video of Kevin McCarra, the Guardian's chief football writer talking about the UEFA Champions League quarter-final draw along with Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham and Jose Mourinho. If you're interested in more insight from the Guardian's expert panel of football writers and correspondents, I suggest you try listening to the Guardian's Football Weekly podcast.

What do you think, could Jose Mourinho be sacked if he fails to win the Champions League this season? I'd personally give him at least two years to work his magic, but maybe Florentino Perez has other ideas. And what about Chelsea, could this be the year that Abramovich's big spending pays off? Share your comments below!

UEFA Champions League 2011 Quarter-Final Draw

As this season approaches crunch-time, we're seeing some teams really step up their game for the Champions League. The holders Inter Milan knocked out Bayern Munich after a well-fought 3-2 victory in the return leg at the Allianz Arena. Real Madrid finally broke their seven year curse of never managing to reach the quarter-finals. And Tottenham magnificently overcame a staunch AC Milan side in their debut season of the European tournament. It has truly been a thrilling competition.

Many say that while the semi-finals and the final are extremely important, it's the quarter-finals which are often the most exciting. And so, after the UEFA draw in Nyon, we have the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals. The team on the left  (Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, and Inter Milan) will play the first leg (which takes place April 5th or 6th) at home, and the return leg away from home. 

Real Madrid - Tottenham Hotspur

Barcelona - Shakhtar Donetsk

Chelsea - Manchester United

Inter Milan - Schalke 04

The semi-final draw looks will be the winner between Real Madrid v Tottenham against the winner of Barcelona v Shakhtar Donetsk, and the winner of Chelsea v Manchester United will face the winner of Inter Milan v Schalke 04. This sets us up perfectly for a possible Barcelona v Real Madrid semi-final, which would truly be a spectacle. Share your thoughts regarding the draw below!

Real Madrid Knock Out Lyon 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu

A strange look on Benzema's face after scoring
against his former club, Olympique Lyonnais

The curse is finally broken for Real Madrid, it had been seven years in which the club was unable to proceed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. If there was a man who would've broken the curse for Real, it was going to be Jose Mourinho. He ended Inter's nearly 50 year Champions League trophy drought last season, and now he looks ready to win the European competition with Real Madrid this season.

While Jose Mourinho's presence on the Madrid bench was important, there was work on the field for the players. While Real Madrid enjoyed possession in their home stadium, Lyon were always ready to spring from their rigid defence to a surprise counter-attack. While there was an apprehensive feeling in the Bernabeu, when Marcelo combined with Ronaldo and then finished past Lloris, a large weight was lifted off of the Real players's shoulders. A goal up in the 37th minute and the tie in their hands, Real Madrid could be a little more relaxed in their play for the rest of the first half.

The second half saw Lyon begin to commit more men forward in attempt to score. Yet this opened the French side up wonderfully for Real Madrid to counter-attack and exploit space on the break. Real's second came in the 66th minute, when Marcelo pinged a long ball through the sleeping Lyon defence, allowing Benzema to gather and coolly finish through Lloris's legs. And from that goal came the third just ten minutes later. Another counter-attack with Ozil flicking a header through for Di Maria to speed past the Lyon defence (yet again caught asleep) and dink the ball into the goal.

At the end of the match both teams showed their support for Barcelona
player Eric Abidal who was recently diagnosed with a liver tumour

After having scored the first goal, Real Madrid merely let Lyon destroy themselves as the French team pushed too far forward in an attempt to score. What followed was classic Mourinho counter-attacking, earning Real Madrid a place in the quarter-finals.