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Clarence Seedorf showed that he still has legs. He turned out to be Leonardo's secret weapon coming on as a substitute late in the second half. It was turning out to be a frustrating night for the Rossoneri as they came tantalizingly close through Ronaldinho, Beckham, and Pippo Inzaghi.

But Chievo grimly hung on till Seedorf took off in the 91st minute staying on his feet after surviving a challenge from Mantovani, taking the ball wide to the right, swiveled around gathering torque, and absolutely belted the ball which went screaming past an elevating Sorrentino into the left hand corner. Seedorf, Favalli, and Borriello celebrated in a touching man hug.

Inter now has Milan breathing down its neck, Roma close at hand. Suddenly the Serie is an interesting league.

The San Siro was also treated to a rare sight of a Beckham full start and he did well, on one instance coming close to scoring as Ronaldinho laid a pass on a dime. But he hobbled off with what appears to be a serious ankle or foot injury having to be stretchered for medical attention. Earlier, he had to be taken off to receive first aid for a nasty facial cut when Davide Mandelli's boot raked his face.

There is Cristiano Ronaldo, there is Wayne Rooney, but there is only one Leo Messi. That left foot has a brain of its own- the neural representation must be the size of what is devoted to the hand. It is so precise, so deadly, changing the course of the ball with a series of flicks like a snake finding its prey with its tongue. For good measure he scored his third goal with the right foot. Yes, he is bipedal.

His hat trick shattered Valencia, a proud club as Unai Emery and his men looked on in disbelief. And Thierry Henry quietly had one of his best nights. He may not be the marquee player but if he is going out, then Pep Guardiola is losing out on a player still playing well within his born on date. The Barca manager was a spectator serving out a suspension for arguing with the linesman in the Almeria match.

The Liga is now a dogfight between the Blaugrana and the Merengues with the latter ahead on goal difference. They destroyed Valladolid, 4-1 on the strength of Gonzalo Higuain's hat trick. A welcome change from his ineptness against Lyon. And a reprieve for the beleaguered Manuel Pellegrini.

Man Utd went on top of the table with Wayne Rooney scoring his 22nd and 23rd Premiership goals (video). Berbatov added another (video) to finish off Fulham who clung on till half time before the second half swamp. The Bulgarian had a brilliant game. He is a such a pleasure to watch when he is on. Mostly he is off.

Add to the growing "as Rooney goes, so shall England." We can try and find him a strike partner but as the highlights show give him a couple of clever wingers and he will do it all.

Hertha's troubled season got worse with the club facing possible sanctions after unruly fans invaded the pitch, some wielding steel bars. They were reacting to the club's defeat at the hands of Nurnberg. 30 arrests were made and 4 police officers were injured.

It was a crucial match for both relegation threatened clubs. The loss leaves Berlin almost no chance of remaining in top flight, the first time in 12 years. A precipitous fall from their 4th place finish last season. They got off to a disastrous start in the present season losing six games in succession. Coach Lucien Favre was fired in October and replaced by Friedrich Funkel who has not been able to correct the club's downward slide.

The scene left manager Michael Preetz in tears who now prepares for life in League 2 barring a miracle.

Landon Donovan appeared for the final time for Everton when the Toffees played Birmingham City to a 2-2 draw.

He is on his way back to the Galaxy for the season opener which should begin 27th of March if the player strike does not go through.

Everton fans got a lot of love from the American. And the appreciation appears to be mutual.

"But I've never met a fan base like this, either playing for them or as an away player. Forget about football for a moment, this is a experience I'll never forget."

Good for him. He now goes back to an unsettled league that is showing signs of player revolt at the limited economic opportunities.

He also has impressed David Moyes enough that an Everton appearance might be a regular gig in the MLS off season. So this might be the start of a nice series of cameos and a gateway to a more permanent place in the European leagues.

Arsene Wenger was a very relieved man when Nicklas Bendtner using his newly found predatory instincts scored when Boaz Myhill parried the ball from Denilson's 20 yard blast. Bendtner following up found the ball in his path.The Gunners got the win well into stoppage time. (+6 minutes).

If the Gunners go onto win the Premiership they can count this as a pivotal match.

The match was drifting into a dispiriting 1-1 draw when Bendtner's goal broke the deadlock. Most importantly, it gave the Gunners three points to keep them just behind Chelsea. Earlier the Blues completed a 4-1 rout of West Ham. Tomorrow Man Utd takes on Fulham with a chance of going on top of the table.

Arshavin gave the Gunners an early lead (video) as Bendtner fed him the ball. The little Russian took on two Hull players and off his dribble the ball struck Bernard Mendy's foot bouncing forward. The unsighted defender spun around only to see Arshavin move to his left past him and retain the ball and slot it past Myhill.

A wrong decision by Andre Marriner restored parity. A clearly offside Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (video) went down quite conveniently after clearly inviting Sol Campbell to make contact. Wily bit of acting.

Jimmy Bullard with his shaggy mane looking like Michael Pitt/Peter Frampton/Richard Thompson took the penalty and celebrated like a rock star afterwards.

The final third of the first half was eventful for all the wrong reasons. Bendtner should have gotten a penalty as Mendy mugged him in the box leaping for a header. The match became quite testy as Mendy, Bullard and Fagan kept making these niggling fouls on the Gunners.

Two things happened all at once- Andy Dawson making a pretty awful challenge on Denilson for which he was awarded a yellow card and George Boateng's finger puppetry on Nicklas Bendtner's face which was detected by a linesman for which both received a booking. A few minutes later Boateng was sent off for making a horrible challenge on Bacary Sagna, a high studs up tackle on the shin for which he received his second yellow but deserved a straight red. In between Arshavin missed a couple of good chances. (video- 18 minutes)

The Gunners played without Fabregas, Gallas, Rosicky, and Alexander Song. Denilson, Diaby, and Eboue started for the Gunners.

An un-Storried past

Peter Storrie who enjoyed his best years as Pompey's CEO when Sasha Gaydamak was the owner but became the dupe who let in all the barbarians at the gate finally ended his tenure.

However, he will continue to receive a remuneration for his assistance in finding a buyer and also to making the FA Cup semi-final arrangements.

Tragically, 85 other employees also lost their jobs in the cost cutting measures taking place under Andrew Andronikou, the administrator in charge of steering the club back to financial health.

Meanwhile, the administrators are now investigating £1.5 million worth of unexplained payments which seem to have originated when Daniel Azougy, a disbarred Israeli lawyer was made CFO by the then owner Ali Al Faraj in October 2009. The payments were made via Faraj's client account at London law firm Fuglers.

I am sure when all of Pompey's deep, dark secrets are uncovered, it will make for a juicy book. Looking for a journalist with the investigative chops to write a quality expose into the first Premiership club going belly up.

A shocker in the Serie as Inter crashed and burned against Catania, a club 15 places below and struggling against relegation. The beneficiaries are Milan if they can shake of their Man Utd shellacking to win against visiting Chievo this weekend and close the gap to a point.

Both teams played fast attacking football as the first half finished with no goals but plenty of chances. The second half saw Inter take the lead as Diego Milito finished of a Samuel Et'oo pass.

But Catania showed they were no slouches as they fought back through Maxi Lopez's emphatic finish off a scintillating cross by Sebastian Alvarez. Things got worse as Sulley Muntari was sent off after handballing a Giuseppe Mascara free kick and Catania were awarded a PK. Mascara duly scored off a cheeky lob. The door slammed shut when Jorge Martinez pulled of a goal that had shades of Samir Nasri against Porto.

Sweet redemption for Catania's manager Sinisa Mihajlovic a former assistant coach at Inter who had a testy relationship with Jose Mourinho. Their disagreements ranged from Adriano, the absconding Brazilian striker; Mihajlovic's personal conduct on the field (he was a notorious spitter); to Mourinho's knowledge of the game. By the way, Mihajlovic might have the last laugh but as this article points out he has a reputation as a rather unsavoury character.

All indicators are that the MLS season will be delayed as players overwhelmingly voted to strike if free agency and guaranteed player contracts are not part of the collective bargaining talks.

This means that the season will not begin on March 25th as anticipated unless the two parties come to an agreement very soon.

This has immense benefits for Donovan who gets to extend his Everton stay without the moral hazard of violating the same principles he accused David Beckham of abandoning last season.

Except this is far worse. While hundreds of his MLS brethren fight for a better day for themselves, Donovan gets to play for the best league in the world while earning more than many of them. Their pay will likely be docked for every no show, cutting further into their paltry salaries.

A strike could also virtually end the hopes of MLS players with national aspirations making it to the World Cup. Donovan has no such worries. As a DP he is inoculated from the vagaries of free agency and settled contracts. So far he seems to have said very little about the labour dispute.

You might say so what? Let the players stew in their juices. But these are the very tactics that initially setback the MLB and NFL but transformed them into the viable leagues they are. The European leagues have benefited immensely from free agency and Bosmans. It is part of the maturation of sport.

The MLS pays attention when a talismanic figure like Donovan spurns a high profile, high paying overseas gig to come back and fight with his team mates for a better future. In fact, every player who cut their teeth in MLS and now play for leagues abroad should be standing in solidarity with the players they have left behind. They know the reasons why they left and they should be the first ones to appreciate every effort to make the MLS better.

Fiorentino Perez's silence after the Lyon defeat has been remarkable. Quite a turnaround from the eve of his bombast "Real has the DNA to Europe."

However, what is heartening is that fans and club supporters have largely stopped scapegoating Manuel Pellegrini. Instead in poll after poll they have turned their ire on Real's chairman. Somewhere Ramon Calderon, the bitter rival to Perez is wearing a smirk. Even Sir Alex, might be enjoying an aperitif.

Perez was supposed to have been in attendance for a beverage presentation by Cristiano Ronaldo for a sports drink company at the Bernabeu that was abruptly canceled at the last moment. Family reasons were cited.

Looks like Perez has slunk of underground to lick his wounds.

Those CR9 jerseys have not been flying off the shelf

In 2000, Fiorentina Perez joked that Madrid, as an ideal, was above titles.

He was talking about money. The club is a money making machine and in 2000, it made €100 million. Last year the revenues exceeded €400 million. With Ronaldo and Kaka in the squad the club could be on pace to exceed €500 million by 2012. Real has outstripped its competitors by peddling memories of a glorious past and the image rights of its current superstars.

The only clubs keeping up are Barcelona and Man Utd.

The outlay on transfers has not been matched by a commensurate increase in titles won. Since 2000, Real has only won 10 titles of the 38 competed. The discrepancy worsens after 2004, with only 3 titles won in 20 competitions.

The defeat at the hands of Lyon, was the sixth time in succession that the Merengues were eliminated in the Champions League knockout stage. Far from the sobriquet of European excellence in footballing terms. Luckily, the club has never had to rely on the boost provided by CL money, unlike Liverpool where transfer money is heavily weighted by European success.

However, times maybe changing. The paucity of titles is gradually having a deleterious effect on club revenues. Coupled with the drag on the economy that has hit Spain hard with unemployment rates spiking to almost 20%.

The Bernabeu has seen attendances decline almost 8% from last season and the Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo jerseys have not been the envisioned bestsellers. Real now sells less jerseys than Chelsea and Liverpool. The €151.5 million in low interest bank loans which Real borrowed to fund its €250 million buying spree need to be repaid through 2015. The massive investment in players has swelled the club debt to well beyond its current €510 million account.

All these adverse figures could have been leavened by the €60 million in CL prize money, TV fees, and performance related bonuses that Real missed out on when it lost to Lyon.

"Real Madrid has a lot resting on its role in the Champions League," said Jose Maria Gay, a Barcelona University professor who specializes in soccer finance. "Its costs have soared and it's under pressure to increase its income by about 20 percent to balance its accounts."

A return to the Bernabeu to contest this year's CL finals could have not only provided Real with a glorious homecoming, but a short term economic boost. The real danger is the long term effects of all these curtailed CL appearances. Selling Ronaldo jerseys may not be feasible when the club has been "out of sight, out of mind" on the world stage for so long.

After Lyon gutted them, Real have once again started their Wenger overtures.

Seriously, there is nothing more crass than a club that uses the lure of money to try and get everyone including Kim Jong Il on board.

So I am glad that Wenger came back forcefully:

"Leave me alone," he said. "I am always going to go to the end of my contract. It is the worst moment to come back on this subject. I want to focus on the match against Hull City on Saturday. Maybe it's less glamorous than Real Madrid, but they are much more important in my life."

Good for him.

Simon Barnes has a great article on the Green n' Gold phenomenon, the teabaggers with those bright scarves seen at every Man Utd match protesting the Glazers and the club's huge debt. It's all a crock.

Even David Beckham got caught up in it.

This year's CAF awards comes in the wake of the tragedy at Angola and Togo's subsequent suspension giving a somewhat farcical quality to the announcements. The CAF president, Issa Hayatou as has already been established does not seem to live in reality. But more on the awards, especially the crown title.

Didier Drogba got a handy birthday gift when he was crowned African Footballer of the Year. This is his second time winning the honour having previously won in 2006. Drogba was instrumental in Ivory Coast's World Cup qualification scoring five goals.

One of the criteria used is the player's charisma and influence. There is no doubt that Drogba occupies a special place in the hearts of Cote D'Ivoirians, a vocal activist for unity, bringing together that fractious country. As captain of the national squad, he is very involved in operational aspects, for e.g., coaching decisions.

When the national association made contact with Guus Hiddink to ascertain his interest in coaching the team, Drogba took the initiative making a personal request to his ex-boss.

This aspect seems to have proved influential in winning him the title over the other front runner Samuel Eto'o, a three time winner but who has none of Drogba's off field dynamism. Last year's winner Emmanuel Adebayor was not even considered.

He also beat out his Chelsea team mate, Ghana's Michael Essien, the Susan Lucci of nominations having never won. The other two nominees were Barcelona's Seydou Keita (Mali) and Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast) rounding out the dominance of the European leagues. Only Mohamed Aboutrika in recent years has broken that mold with his Al Ahly and Egypt exploits. He is also the only one outside the West Africa stranglehold.

Drogba gained from the the World Cup qualifying countries that had no footballer of the year nominees. South Africa, Nigeria, and Algeria gave him their maximum three votes.

He also was the candidate of choice from wider swaths of Africa whereas Eto'o benefited from more North African countries. Essien landed up as mostly third choice nominee after countries split their vote between Drogba and Eto'o. A number of sub Saharan countries went for Keita and Toure. A notable exception was Sudan who gave no votes to the two front runners dividing their votes between Keita, Toure, and Essien.

Drogba was not around in Accra to receive his award. Instead it was picked up by an Ivory Coast Football Federation official.

Lille scored a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the Europa League round of 16.Eden Hazard scored what is described here as a fortuitous free kick.Unfortunately no fortuitous breaks seem to have come Liverpool's way at all this season.They have hit rock bottom and now look to be carving a hole to get a bit deeper.

Andrew McNaught and Guy Dawson are the Nomura bankers advising the Red Knights

Guy Dawson and Andrew McNaught were the bankers advising the Man Utd board members during the long drawn out negotiations with the Glazers which resulted in their £790m takeover in 2005.

The two at that time were partners in Tricorn, a corporate financial services company specializing in M&As.

In December 2009, the company was taken over by Nomura Holdings in their buying spree to bolster their British corporate presence. Dawson and McNaught joined Nomura as part of the restructuring, the former as the vice chairman of its European investment banking team and the latter as managing director of the bank's M& A services.

Fast forward to 2010 and Nomura today climbed on board as advisers to a Red Knights Man Utd buyout. The team of bankers responsible for planning the acquisition will be led by Guy Dawson and Andrew McNaught. This is being considered as a major coup and it elevates the Red Knights ambitions to a altogether different level.

A stumbling block towards a buyout could be the proposed non-renewal of season tickets as protest by thousands of supporters. Such bad faith tactics could backfire as the Glazers would be less likely to negotiate. Whatever the dynamics maybe, there appears to be no overnight resolution and it could take months to put together a meaningful bid.

As a starting point one should also shine a light on the incredibly clubby group of bankers that are spearheading these efforts. Sixty of them against a family run business. When it comes time for accountability, a smaller number is more manageable.

Free agency rights and a larger cut from guaranteed deals continue to be sticking points.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the agency mediating the dispute said that the two parties had agreed to meet again to resume negotiations.

The MLS season is set to being March 25th.

Stan Chelney of Soccerlaw explains why MLS will not accept free agency. Basically, if it does so, it undermines its own single entity structure by which the league, not the team decides, owns and negotiates player contracts. MLS has already been challenged by players in court which has upheld its single entity structure.

The vote is running almost two thirds in favour of keeping Manuel Pellegrini underscoring the Spanish tabloid disconnect. They hate Pelllegrini. At least the fans realize when they are being sold a bill of goods.

And it takes old hands like Guti and Sergio Ramos to accept responsibility that they did not play as a team.

But Kaka's reaction is shameful. This is quintessential Kaka using a third party to voice his displeasure. Pellegrini was right in substituting him as he did nothing except flop on the ground and complain all match long.

An unhappy Kaka was removed by Manuel Pellegrini to make way for Raul Gonzalez. He later twittered his unhappiness to his wife who showed it to Diogo Kotscho, his communications director.

Kotscho blasted his own twitter showing what he thought of Pellegrini. He called his decision a joke.

" The manager is a coward and changed the player to divert attention from his incompetence."

On has to fathom the implication of this loss.

A club boasting Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and Gonzalo Higuain cannot count themselves as Europe's elite. The salary and transfer fees of these players equals the annual pay packet of 4,000,000 Spaniards. It just boggles the mind.

But if you saw the match, it was built around the fragile hope of Cristiano Ronaldo's early goal. That is all they had. Manuel Pellegrini can get all the brickbats but what does he have to do with Gonzalo Higuain's criminal miss with an open goal waiting? How is a manager culpable for such a sin? In football, more than any other sport, the adage you are only as good as your players holds. The rest is relationship building.

Pellegrini does not deserve this and his players do not deserve him. Their performance in the second half was shambolic. He is being made a scapegoat. If Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo have an ounce of shame, they will own up to their responsibility for such a debacle and support their manager.

Full marks to Lyon. Their defense was iron clad when it needed to be and for that we can single out two players - Cris and Jeremy Toulalan. They were huge as they stopped pretty much every Real attack in their tracks. Hugo Lloris did the rest. On the attacking end Lisandro Lopez, Cesar Delgado, Kim Kallstrom, and Miralem Pjanic took a buzz saw to the Real back line. Delgado especially was a thorn in their side and it was his industry that set up Pjanic's goal.

In their place, Guti and Esteban Granero will make their start against Lyon in the second leg of their CL fixture.

Meanwhile a nervous expectation descends on the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain have been in cracking form and they go up against a superb Hugo Lloris. The Lyon custodian has gone 620 minutes without conceding a goal.

Champions League last 16 second leg
Venue: Old Trafford Date: Wednesday 10 March Kick-off: 1945 GMT

He wants them to lose.

If he does play it will be the first time in Old Trafford since he left seven years ago on the way to Real and now AC Milan. He is unlikely to start. But he can make an appearance, can't he? Even Leonardo is playing coy.

United have to fancy their chances to advance to the quarterfinals. Even a 1-0 win will not help Milan. Plus, Wayne Rooney is sure to make an appearance which could only mean more goals.