Champions League Semis: Schalke vs Manchester United (1st Leg)

Schalke vs Manchester United (1^st Leg)

April 27 @ 2:30AM 

Champions League QF: Inter Milan vs Schalke (1st Leg)

2 – 5

Inter Milan vs Schalke

Quite a stunning defeat of the defending champions!  I am so bummed I overslept and missed this game L 

Looking at the numbers, I think this was a very quick-paced game.  Because I overslept and missed the match, I’m imagining that it was like the Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan game in the Round of 16.  German-style football vs Italian style football, with the Germans winning this time.

Talk about fast-paced, Inter scored the 1^st goal just 1 minute into the game.  How did that happen?  Was Schalke caught off guard?  But good thing they were able to equalize 16 minutes later.

With an “own goal” and a 2^nd-yellow-card-send-off in the second half, was this desperation on Inter’s part?  It seems like they just caved in to the pressure.  And even if Inter were down to 10 men I don’t think this was a factor as it happened at the 62^nd minute where all the goals were already scored.  More than anything, it would seem that out of desperation, they made more and more mistakes (which maybe Schalke capitalized on).

I am definitely watching the replay of this game.

Aggregate Score:

Inter Milan: 2

Schalke: 5

Here are the numbers:

Champions League QF: Inter Milan vs Schalke (1st Leg)

Inter Milan vs Schalke – 1^st Leg

April 6 @ 4:30AM

The last Italian team vs the last German team who survived up to quarterfinals stage of the Champions League. 

Personally, I like both teams for different reasons.  Inter because I have always had a soft spot for Italy (but I do admit that calcio is not at its best form right now).  And I would like to see the defending champions reach the finals once again and face off vs Barca :P

Schalke, because of Raul :)  I guess he’s one of the greats when I started to follow football.  With all the new and young players, I still kinda hope he’s still the formidable attacking force that he was (when he was still with Real Madrid).  And also because Inter has a better chance making it to next season’s Champions League (qualifying thru topping their domestic league) than Schalke (who is currently ranked 11^th in the Bundesliga).  I guess, I also have a soft spot for the underdogs.

Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza (Inter’s Home Turf)

More here:

Champions League R16: Lyon v Real Madrid Munich Recap (2nd Leg)

0 – 3

Lyon v Real Madrid
Replay: March 17 @ 9PM

Real Madrid just really dominated this match in their classic Spanish posssession style of football.  They had way more chances than Lyon and we able to convert three of them.  I guess they finally broke the record of never beating Lyon in a match, and it’s a first time since 2004 that they finally reached the Quarterfinals stage.

Cristiano Ronaldo did play after all but was not able to score a goal (I guess I’ll have more chances to see if this is true).

former Real Madrid legend & captain, Raul who is now playing for Schalke

With Schalke also advancing to the next round, I wonder if the two teams will get to play against each other.  This would be a really interesting match, but my money would be on Raul’s Schalke :P

Champions League: Valencia vs. Schalke 2nd Leg Recap

1 – 3

Valencia vs. Schalke

Another match I didn’t watch… I couldn’t stay up late twice in two nights.  But I guess Rual’s team goes to the next round.

It would be really interesting if they face off with Real Madrid… if Real Madrid advances to the next round, that is…

Valencia vs. Schalke – 2nd Leg

March 10 @ 5:30AM – Schalke vs. Valencia (Live)

March 10 @ 12NN – Schalke vs. Valencia (Replay)

March 10 @ 11PM – Schalke vs. Valencia (Replay)

Will Champions League record goal scorer, Raul, work his magic and score enough goals for them to proceed to the Quarter Finals? 

Wouldn’t it be interesting for Schalke and Raul’s former team, Real Madrid play against each other? (and Schalke winning because of Raul’s goals?  …that would be something)

WAGs: Mamen Sanz

Behind every great man, is a woman.  Or so they say.  I have always been fascinated about the women who captured the hearts of football’s greatest players.  So I decided to do a little digging into the women who are collectively called WAGs (Wives and Girlfriends of Football Players).

this Spanish striker is known for kissing his
wedding ring after scoring a goal, as a tribute to his wife

I know, I know… I said I’ll try not to feature WAGs that are models, but when I saw Raul score for Schalke in the 1^st Leg of Champions League's Round of 16 and did his “kissing-of-his-wedding-ring” goal celebration, it made me curious about his wife.  So my next WAG post will be about Raul Gonzales’ other half.

former Queen WAG in Real Madrid