Borussia Dortmund out to shatter Bayern Munich's great time - Football.co.uk

Members Borussia Dortmund are aiming to shatter Bayern Munich's 'ideal period' when Germany's top two teams collide in Wednesday's emergency German Cup quarter-final in a of last season's final. 'For them, it's a perfect season, for us it is like a Champions League absent game,' said Dortmund instructor Jurgen Klopp with Bayern a commanding 17 things obvious at the top of the Bundesliga, with Borussia minute in the group. "We know that we're among the several clubs in the world who will defeat Bayern. "We have goals in this competition, but we truly need an excellent performance. "You can not beat Bayern by playing at just 98 percent." The match at Munich's Allianz Arena could be the plum tie of the cup quarter-finals with relatively unstoppable Bayern up against last season's domestic dual champions Dortmund. "These are the two best teams in Germany. I reckon the whole state is looking forward to it - and so are we," said Bayern leader Philipp Lahm. Having hammered Bayern 5-2 in last May's German Cup final, when Poland striker Robert Lewandowski netted a, Dortmund have a lot of connection with beating their Bavarian competitors recently. Bayern haven't crushed Dortmund in a league or cup match since February 2010, while they did enjoy a 2-1 Supercup remaining gain in August over Borussia in a warm-up for the Bundesliga's top sides. "Three years ago, we still had to scroll through the history books to see when we last acquired against Bayern," quipped Klopp with both Bayern and Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League. "Now we have realized that the respect from Bayern has increased towards us." Bayern are clearly investing heavily in Wednesday's sport as coach Jupp Heynckes relaxed several stars for last Saturday's 6-1 hammering of Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena. Lahm, Dutch wing Arjen Robben and Brazil centre-back Dante were also all provided Monday down by Heynckes to rest up for the fit. "We have big aspirations in the cup and are extremely motivated," said Heynckes, with Bayern last having acquired a title in May 2010 and are on course for an ancient treble. "We are playing at home, we're self confident and we're playing football at an extremely higher level. So we're optimistic." Dortmund may have centre-back Mats Hummels (bruised thigh), midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski (hip stress) and striker Robert Lewandowski (suspension) back after missing Sunday's 1-1 bring at Moenchengladbach. Bayern will be without France wing Franck Ribery, who's stopped after a card in December's past round, while Spain midfielder Javi Martinez is expected to be healthy despite suffering a light groin injury against Bremen. With all due respect to another teams in the quarter-finals, Wednesday night's success will become the chances on favourite to gain the German Cup closing at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on June 1. On Tuesday, Mainz 05 host Freiburg, in the round's only other all-Bundesliga match, and third-division Kickers Offenbach host top-tier area VfL Wolfsburg, while VfB Stuttgart are home to second-division VfL Bochum on Wednesday. Giant-killers Offenbach are looking to maintain their third Bundesliga head having already defeated Greuther Fuerth and Fortuna Duesseldorf en route to the past nine.

More Info: Tigers--Monarcas Morelia [Live Football]

Strategy FC ensure Bacary Sagna can skip north London derby - Crunchsports.com

Arsenal director Arsene Wenger has said that Bacary Sagna may miss Sunday's north London derby conflict with Tottenham. The full-back has been struggling with a leg injury. "[Sagna] is not prepared for Sunday," Wenger told the club'sAofficial site. "It is too small for him." The Frenchman also established that Kieran Gibbs can miss the game with a thigh injury, while Abou Diaby is doubtful as he appears to come back from a leg problem. "Abou can be an uncertainty," Wenger included. "He has a calf problem, a minor one. It is question of days. He will have checks and then not or we will see if we can use him on Sunday. It is a 50:50. Actually perhaps a little more for him playing. "Kieran is not back. That has been even as we expected." System are in fifth position in the Premier League prior to the weekend's accessories and are four factors behind Spurs, who are in third. Fourth-placed Chelsea play host to West Brom this weekend.

Link: Tigers--Monarcas Morelia [Live Football]

Football viewing manual, 2/27: Its not variety, its quality - SBNation.com

There aren't almost as numerous games on Wednesday as there were on Tuesday, but there's plenty of good stuff to view. Happy Wednesday, friends. There's no Clasico and a dramatically smaller amount of somewhat watchable games on than there were recently, but there's still a great deal of good baseball worth watching. You will find very exceptional and very big games in England, Spain, Germany and South America. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund perform arguably the greatest game of the day, and they may be seen on ESPN3 in the Usa. Chelsea visit Middlesborough in the FA Cup, and that match is on FOX Soccer. In Spain, Atletico Madrid face Sevilla for an area in the Copa del Rey closing in a match that may be seen on beIN Sport. Two Copa Libertadores activities will also be on TV tonight. Both Barcelona-Boca Juniors and Corinthians-Millonarios will undoubtedly be on FOX Deportes. Agenda (all times ET) Lorient vs. Brest (Coupe de France) - 11 a.m.Raon-l'Etape vs. Bordeaux (Coupe de France) - 12:45 p.m.Venissieux Minguettes versus. AS Nancy (Coupe de France) - 1 p.m.Stuttgart versus. Bochum (DFB-Pokal) - 1 p.m.Anderlecht compared to. Zulte-Waregem (Belgian Pro League) - 2 p.m.Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (DFB-Pokal) - 2:30 p.m.Middlesborough compared to. Chelsea (FA Cup) - 2:45 p.m.Motherwell compared to. Celtic (Scottish Premier League) - 2:45 p.m.Paris Saint-Germain compared to. Marseille (Coupe de France) - 2:55 p.m.Sevilla compared to. Atletico Madrid (Copa del Rey) - 4 p.m.Barcelona vs. Boca Juniors (Copa Libertadores) - 5:45 p.m.Municipal Iquique compared to. Emelec (Copa Libertadores) - 5:45 p.m.Corinthians compared to. Millonarios (Copa Libertadores) - 8 p.m.Huachipato vs. Fluminense (Copa Libertadores) - 8 p.m. Follow @SBNationSoccer on Facebook

Like SB Region Football on Facebook a Real Madrid drain Barcelona in El Clasico a Bayern Munich host Borussia Dortmund in DFB-Pokal a Atletico Madrid check out end Sevilla a MLS group previews a many people adore Shep Messing

More Info: Osasuna - Athletic Bilbao [Live Football]

Real Madrid Line Up Bumper £70m Bid for Tottenham Winger ...

Real Madrid are ready to pay as much as £70m to win the race to sign in-form Welsh winger Gareth Bale according to the Daily Express.

fanatix tickets – El Clasico tickets are still available for the biggest derby match in Europe.Real Madrid vs Barcelona tickets are on sale for this massive La Liga clash at the Bernabeau on March 3rd.

The 23 year old is in red hot form and Tottenham may struggle to keep hold of the goal-scoring wide-man if the Spanish giants are ready to make such a big money bid for Bale.

Calderon said: "It's true we have spent a lot of money in the last three or four years but we are in a position to pay the money they are going to ask for.

"There is always a limit but Real Madrid is in a very healthy situation, economically speaking, so we would be in the position to sign him.

"I'm sure it will be a high amount of money because he is a fantastic player. A lot of clubs would like to have him.

White Hart Lane chairman Daniel Levy held up Luka Modric's exit from the North London club before finally accepting a £35m bid for the Croatian, only for the schemer to now be considered one of the worst signings the La Liga has seen in many years.

Bale netted another brace on Monday night, including a last gasp cracker to overcome West Ham, taking his total for the current campaign to 19 including 12 in his last 12 appearances.

One would wonder where such a bid would leave Cristiano Ronaldo as clearly both players fill the same left attacking role, perhaps Real Madrid's apparent interest in the former Southampton man comes in lieu of a possible exit of the Portuguese international skipper.

French female soccer team uses sex toy to promote Womens Day ...

Top-flight French football club Rennes risked drawing the wrath of the feminist movement by launching an advertising campaign based at female fans featuring a sex toy with the logo "Venez vibrer" (come to vibrate).

The Britanny-based Ligue 1 outfit posted a photo of a vibrating sex toy, in the shape of a black miniature duck wearing a red and black club scarf, on its website staderennais.com.

"Five euros for all women," said the club of the price of tickets for the Rennes v St Etienne match on March 8, which is international women's day.

The campaign was largely supported on the club's Facebook page, as the regional daily Le Telegramme asked: "A sexist invitation?"

A Rennes spokesman countered that insinuation, telling AFP that the advertisement was "a creative, off-beat choice, humorous but certainly not sexist".

More Info: SC Bastia - AC Ajaccio [Live Football]

Disturbing reports of Borussia Dortmund's trouble with racism and Germany's ... - NBCSports.com

An extensive AP report today details why German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund is having such a difficult time dealing with neo-Nazi elements of its supporter base.

While most of Germany long ago confronted its dark history in meaningful, progressive ways, this city in the heart of Germany's industrial Ruhr (and a place with steadfast devotion to its soccer and its Bundesliga side) have had a tougher time moving on. From today's AP piece:

Dortmund, in the heartland of the industrial Ruhr area, is a magnet for immigrants from all over the world. It also serves as a focal point for neo-Nazis in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In no other German state are more right-wing offenses recorded.

But it's also so horribly unfortunate because there are so many great things going on with the club, the two-time defending Bundesliga champs.

Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp is so highly thought of these days, blessed with so much remarkable talent (and displayed in a high-paced, dynamic way that makes Dortmund so thrilling to watch.)

Dortmund remains alive in the Champions League chase, and few of the UEFA survivors would relish being drawn against Klopp's talented assembly.

I have been fortunate to see games at the Westfalenstadion, and even for someone blessed to see matches in as many places as I have, it was truly an amazing experience. This place, in so many ways, defines passionate soccer support.

So it's a real pitty to see anything siphon off attention from the array of positive elements around Dortmund – especially something this sorry.

Via: FC Sochaux - AS Nancy [Live Football]

Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, 2013 El Clasico: Final score 3-1, Los ...

Real Madrid are heading to the final of the Copa del Rey on the back of an all-around spectacular performance by manager Jose Mourinho and all of Los Blancos' players. They dominated Barcelona throughout the match and never looked like losing.

A masterful tactical plan from Jose Mourinho, a brilliant performance by all of his players and another impotent attacking display from Barcelona have all come together to send Real Madrid to the final of the Copa del Rey. Los Merengues scored in three different ways to win 3-1 at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night, winning the tie, 4-2, on aggregate and producing arguably the most impressive result they've achieved against the Blaugrana during the Mourinho era.

Lionel Messi had a brilliant chance after just two minutes, but missed his opportunity to undo Real Madrid's gameplan before they got settled into the match. Pedro did brilliantly on the right wing to play him into space, but Barca's No. 10 couldn't get his shot on target from eight yards.

As Madrid settled into their defensive shape, attacking opportunities dissipated for the Blaugrana, and the visitors looked well in control of situations without the ball following the Messi miss. However, Barcelona put together a decent attack in the 12th minute, when Ronaldo fell asleep defensively and allowed Dani Alves too much space, eventually leading to a foul on Andres Iniesta on the edge of the box.

Unfortunately for them, that free kick went nowhere, and the ensuing Madrid counter attack led to their goal. A brilliant run down the flank from Ronaldo led to a one-on-one situation in the penalty area against Gerard Pique. The Barcelona defender was fooled by Ronaldo's stepovers and attempted a tackle just a hair late, catching Ronaldo and getting none of the ball. Ronaldo stepped up and sent Jose Manuel Pinto the wrong way before burying the penalty, putting his side ahead, 1-0 on the night and 2-1 on aggregate.

The game became a wide-open and frenetic affair late in the first half, with both teams pushing hard for a goal, while simultaneously looking confident in their back lines to cut out dangerous attacks. Alvaro Arbeloa and Carles Puyol picked up yellow cards in the dying minutes of the half as things got chippy, but neither team looked much like scoring, despite the open nature of the match. At the very end of the period, Jordi Alba took a slight shove in the back from Arbeloa and attempted to milk a second yellow for the Madrid right back out of the situation, to no avail.

Barcelona had the first big chance of the second half, when Diego Lopez was forced into a save on a long shot by Sergio Busquets in the 52nd minute and Fabregas missed on a follow-up attempt, but that would be the closest they would come to looking like they could win the tie. Just five minutes after failing to capitalize on that opportunity, they were destroyed by a Madrid counter that put the tie to bed.

Los Merengues turned defense into attack instantly in the 57th minute, when Sami Khedira played a long ball upfield following a blocked Barcelona shot. Angel Di Maria won the race to the ball, then made an incredible dribbling move to cause Puyol to fall down. Pinto saved his shot, but Cristiano Ronaldo was unmarked on the follow-up, and had all the time he wanted to settle the ball and finish comfortably.

If that goal didn't end the match, the one Raphael Varane scored 11 minutes later certainly did. With Barcelona pressing forward even harder than normal, they were left susceptible to counter attacks, and Madrid won a corner on a surge forward. Mesut Özil took and found the head of Varane, who rose up above everyone and powered an absolutely spectacular header into the net, scoring his second goal in as many matches against the Blaugrana.

Barcelona attempted to claw their way back into the game with an array of attacking substitutions, but with Madrid three goals ahead and with an advantage on away goals, their incentive to take risks in attack was gone. Even so, Mourinho's men continued to look dangerous on the counter for the rest of the match. They switched off late, allowing Jordi Alba to net a consolation goal for the Blaugrana in the 89th minute.

There is another Clasico looming at the weekend, but it matters very little compared to this game. With Barcelona already having virtually wrapped up the La Liga crown, this was the biggest match of Madrid's season to date. They've salvaged an otherwise lackluster season with this victory, and will be favorites to win the Copa del Rey final, even if their local rivals Atletico Madrid, who are currently above them in the league, are the other finalists.

Link: FC Lorient - Valenciennes [Live Football]