fernabache awaits second leg

Back in December when Fenerbahçe SK had secured qualification from the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time, their London-born winger Kazım Kazım told uefa.com: "I want to get an English club". He eventually got his wish and on Tuesday the former Sheffield United FC man will face Chelsea FC in circumstances even he could have scarcely imagined.

Homeward bound

Kazım Kazım watched from the bench as Fenerbahçe fell 1-0 behind at home to Chelsea last Wednesday but the 21-year-old got his chance early in the second half when he was introduced by coach Zico. Within eleven minutes he had beaten Carlo Cudicini with a coolly-taken finish, setting Fenerbahçe on the road to a 2-1 win. Now, having spent around €2,500 on tickets for family at Stamford Bridge, he cannot wait for the return. "Of course I'm looking forward to going home, I've got a lot of family there," Kazım Kazım said. "I grew up in London and my family could not have imagined this success."

Goal

Having made the most of his only home competition start on Matchday 4 when his shot was deflected in by PSV Eindhoven's Dirk Marcellis in what proved a decisive 2-0 home success, Kazım Kazım is now on the competition's goalscorers list in his own right. Yet he is more concerned with what his strike means to his team's chances of a first European semi-final in their centenary year. "For me personally it is nice to get the goal," the Turkish international said. "But even more it's great for the team. We have a little bit of an advantage but they are a great team at Stamford Bridge so we are going to have to work even harder.

Team spirit

The former Bury FC and Brighton and Hove Albion FC player knows that having lost 3-0 at Chelsea last season in his sole career visit with Sheffield United. Unlike that day, chances are he will not start on Tuesday, but Kazım Kazım is pleased to have any part. "I'm happy being part of the team," he said. "I'm working hard to get into the starting eleven. It's not about me, it's about the team, about Turkey, about us getting to the final. Whatever Zico thinks is best, he is in charge, I am in no position to criticise the manager!"

arsenal and liverpool share spoils

Liverpool FC will take a slender advantage back to Anfield for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final after the first of three meetings with Arsenal FC inside seven days ended 1-1 in London.

Absorbing contest

In an absorbing contest, Emmanuel Adebayor put Arsenal in front on 23 minutes only for Dirk Kuyt to restore parity with a crucial away goal three minutes later. The two sides renew hostilities in the Premier League on Saturday before resuming a finely-balanced tie at Anfield next Tuesday.

Few chances

Both managers had predicted a tight encounter and there was little to separate the teams early on. Javier Mascherano was brought back into the Liverpool midfield as they looked to contain Arsenal's passing threat down the middle while Adebayor was restored to the hosts' attack. Chances, though, were few and it took seven minutes for either side to threaten, and that came only when Pepe Reina misjudged a long ball forward, recovering just in time to thwart the menacing Adebayor.

Adebayor opener

The opportunity lifted the home supporters, whose hopes for the season have ebbed during Arsenal's recent dip in form. The sight of Kolo Touré dispossessing Steven Gerrard, then Mathieu Flamini clattering into Fernando Torres, further raised morale and Arsenal almost capitalised on their momentum on 21 minutes. Flamini's beautifully flighted pass dissected the Liverpool defence and was met on the volley by Robin van Persie, who could not keep his shot down. Moments later the Dutch striker came close again. His low shot was tipped behind by a full-stretch Reina and from the resulting corner Arsenal scored, Adebayor rising to head in.

Kuyt reply

Liverpool were reeling yet quickly regrouped and as so often, inspired by Gerrard, they hit back with their first chance of the game. The visiting captain picked up a loose ball and darted past Emmanuel Eboué and Touré before crossing low for Kuyt to bundle the ball in. Belief restored, the Merseysiders were suddenly the sharper. Ryan Babel tested Manuel Almunia with a low drive before Sami Hyypiä's header almost caught out a surprisingly sluggish Arsenal back line as Liverpool went for the kill.

Walcott introduction

Rafael Benítez's men almost scored again two minutes after the restart. Again the Gunners rearguard failed to clear, allowing Kuyt to snap a shot at goal that Almunia did well to hold. Van Persie hobbled off at the break, making way for Theo Walcott, only the third Englishman involved on the night, and he was soon in the thick of the action. His rasping 56th-minute attempt flew just past the far post and his pace immediately unsettled the Liverpool defence. On 65 minutes he darted into the area and pulled the ball back for Eboué whose goalbound effort was cleared away

Final chance

Arsène Wenger sent on Nicklas Bendtner and the Dane's first telling contribution was to block, inadvertently on the line, Cesc Fabregas's goal-bound shot with 20 minutes to play. The north Londoners' moment had passed. Having defeated holders AC Milan at San Siro to get this far, Arsenal will not be daunted by the return leg at Anfield; given their record against English opposition there in this competition, neither will Liverpool be.

chelsea bows to superior firepower

Deivid's spectacular long-range strike nine minutes from time gave Fenerbahçe SK a UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg win over Chelsea FC which had seemed most unlikely when the same player scored an early own goal.

Tide turned
Chelsea, with three victories at this stage of the competition in the last five seasons, had looked in control after that opening gift. But having been under pressure for much of the first half, the knockout phase debutants responded after the break and London-born substitute Kazım Kazım turned the tide with a neat left-footed finish. Sixteen minutes later came Deivid's moment of redemption, leaving next Tuesday's return match at Stamford Bridge perfectly poised.

Wide men
The expectation surrounding the biggest European night in their 100-year history had Fenerbahçe fans thronging outside the Sükrü Saraçoglu Stadium from early afternoon and, by the kick-off, fervent would be a severe understatement of the atmosphere. With the hosts' regular full-backs Gökhan Gönül and Roberto Carlos absent through suspension and injury respectively, Chelsea manager Avram Grant opted to test their replacements, Önder Turacı and Gökçek Vederson, by deploying Florent Malouda and Joe Cole in advanced wide roles. The Englishman had an early chance but Volkan Demirel was wise to his chip.

Own goal
In fact it was Malouda, making his first start since 8 March, who created the opening goal. The French international, chasing a clever Frank Lampard back-heel, cut his cross back in the area and Deivid turned the ball inside his own near post. Remarkably, for the third consecutive UEFA Champions League game here, the visitors' breakthrough goal had come from a home player. Michael Essien, starting at right-back for Chelsea, then advanced forward and his powerful drive skimmed the crossbar.

Drogba threat

Former Chelsea forward Mateja Kežman cut an isolated figure as Fenerbahçe's lone striker, although a Mehmet Aurélio centre flew just behind him in the box. By contrast, his busy counterpart Didier Drogba headed Essien's delivery narrowly wide and also stung Volkan Demirel's hands with an angled shot. Home midfielder Claudio Maldonado was having to spend much of his UEFA competition debut in defence, while Carlo Cudicini, continuing in the Chelsea goal for the injured Petr Čech, had a more straightforward first period.

Revamp

Fenerbahçe looked more dangerous early in the second half when a testing Önder Turacı cross somehow eluded captain Alex. Drogba replied in kind, again forcing Volkan Demirel to save, before Zico decided to revamp his attack with the introduction of Kazım Kazım. A well-worked corner ended with Kežman's overhead effort being blocked by Cudicini, but again Chelsea moved forward and Lampard's teasing free-kick was nodded over by Ricardo Carvalho.
EqualiserVolkan Demirel dived to stop Michael Ballack's attempt from distance, and in similar circumstances Alex made Cudicini work. Soon after, the Italian was finally beaten as a superb Mehmet Aurélio pass from halfway sent Kazım Kazım clear – the substitute coolly controlling the ball and driving it into the net to level matters. Ballack nearly restored the Londoners' lead, but again Volkan Demirel was in the right place.

Winner

Unsurprisingly, the volume inside the arena was now ear-splitting and Deivid was unlucky not to turn it up further as he just misjudged an acrobatic strike similar to the one that stunned FC Internazionale Milano on Matchday 1. Yet something more spectacular still was coming, a shot from 30 metres that swerved beyond Cudicini's dive to give the Turkish title-holders their fifth successive home win in this season's competition and the edge in the tie.

the knock out stage is finally here

The expected draw for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League concluded with very interesting encounters. Six European giants will battle in three key games.Current champions AC Milan from Italy will play against English premier league leaders Arsenal. Last season's finalists Liverpool will test Italian Series A side Inter-Milan. And Spanish leaders Real Madrid will receive challenges from another Italian team AS Roma.

In other clashes, Manchester United will face Olympique Lyon, Barcelona will take on Celtic. Schalke will combat Portuguese Porto, Olympiakos will fight against powerful Chelsea. And Sevilla will do battle with Fenerbahce from Turkey.

BARCA PULL THROUGH WITHOUT MESSI

Midfielder Xavi Hernandez flicked in a cross from the left by Ronaldinho Gaucho in the fourth minute to give Barcelona FC a 1-0 triumph over Scotland's powerhouse Celtic as the Spanish club advanced 4-2 overall.However, the young talent Lionel Messi, the competition's leading scorer with six goals, pulled up as he made a run. He left the field in tears in the 35th minute of the second-round, second-leg match at Camp Nou.

This serious injury was similar to the one which sidelined Messi for six weeks in December and January, club officials admitted."I feel sad and I really feel for him and for the team, above all for Leo (Messi), who is very upset," Barcelona president Joan Laporta stated afterwards.

It's important to consider that the Argentine international, who scored twice in Barcelona's 3-2 win in the first leg, had been recalled to the starting lineup to join with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o, with Thierry Henry left on the bench.In the end, the blaugrana team advanced to the quarterfinals on 4-2 aggregate.

ARSENAL ELIMINATES AC MILAN

Surprisingly, current champion AC Milan was eliminated from the European Champions League, losing 2-0 at home last night to English Arsenal.Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas beat goalkeeper Zeljko Kalac with a long bouncing shot from outside the penalty area in the 84th minute and Emmanuel Adebayor scored from close range in injury time."It's really good for such a young team to beat a team like Milan with so much quality," Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger admitted.

"It will be positive for the future and the rest of our season."Indeed, the Gunners advanced to the quarterfinals on 2-0 aggregate in the home-and-home series and became the first English club to beat the popular team AC Milan at San Siro stadium."There are no regrets," the "rossonero" Coach Carlo Ancelotti admitted. "There are regrets when you could have done more, but they didn't allow us to. Both teams did their best and we have to accept the loss and move on." he concluded.

The history of the UEFA Champions league

marseile celebrate after winning the first UEFA champions league in 1993

Europe's premier club competition was launched one month after UEFA's first Congress, held in Vienna on 2 March 1955 yet, curiously, the so-called "European Cup" was not a UEFA initiative.
French foundersWhereas many of UEFA's founder members were more interested in establishing a national team competition, the French sports daily L'Equipe and their then-editor Gabriel Hanot, were championing the cause for a European-wide club competition. Hanot, together with colleague Jacques Ferran, designed a blueprint for a challenge tournament to be played on Wednesdays under floodlights.

Sporting recordThe tournament initiated by L'Equipe did not stipulate that the participating teams had to be champions of their country, but they invited clubs who they considered had the most fan appeal. Representatives of 16 clubs were invited to meetings on 2 and 3 April 1955 and the L'Equipe rules were unanimously approved. The first European Champions Clubs' Cup fixture was played in Lisbon and Sporting Clube de Portugal were held to a 3-3 draw by FK Partizan.

The Yugoslav side won the return leg in Belgrade 5-2 to advance to the next round.
Madrid dominateReal Madrid CF immediately made the tournament their own by winning the first five finals. Since then, other clubs have also enjoyed fruitful runs in the competition with AFC Ajax and FC Bayern München both completing three consecutive wins. However, no one club has been able to claim long-term domination. Ajax waited 22 years to add a fourth title to the hat-trick obtained in the early 1970s; Madrid's win in 1998 was their first in 32 years; and Bayern's penalty shoot-out success in Milan in 2001 ended a 26-year wait for their fourth success.

Liverpool successLiverpool FC's four victories between 1977 and 1984 deserve special mention as the English club won its four trophies with essentially different teams. The Reds' European pedigree shone brightly again in 2005 when they battled back from 3-0 down to defeat AC Milan on penalties in what was perhaps the competition’s most exciting and memorable final.
Honours listReal Madrid CF and AC Milan have been the most successful sides in the UEFA Champions League, winning the competition three times. Madrid are also the most successful side overall with nine triumphs, followed by seven for Milan, five for Liverpool and four each for Bayern and Ajax.

Madrid also hold the record for final appearances, with 12. Milan's 2002/03 success came after a marathon 19 games from the third qualifying round of the competition all the way to their penalty shoot-out success against Juventus in the final.
Competition change

The major turning point in the evolution of the competition came in the 1992/93 season when the UEFA Champions League, involving a group stage in addition to the traditional knockout elements, was officially inaugurated after a pilot round robin during the previous season. The popularity of the group phase has witnessed the competition grow from eight to 32 teams with matches taking place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays across Europe.

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1956 - 1957 Real Madrid CF
1955 - 1956 Real Madrid CF