Linking Up: Arselona prediction contest, World Cup dominance, and welcome Nick Lichtenberg to the team!

My good friend Cathal over at Football Corner wants to hear your predictions for tomorrow’s big game! There’s a nice little prize to be won as well! I predict its going to be 2-0 Barcelona, even though it would be great to see Arsenal put up a fight at Camp Nou.

Speaking of the Champions League, the Americans over at Yanks Are Coming wrote an interesting piece about why the World Cup will always trump the Champions League.

And speaking of the World Cup & Americans, we have yet another special announcement to make

Nick Lichtenberg, a Syracuse-educated, Brooklyn-based American, will be writing for us from a proper American perspective for the upcoming festival of football. Don’t let his American heritage fool you, Nick knows what he’s talking about when it comes to the footy. An avid follower of English and American ‘soccer’, Mr. Lichtenberg attended the inaugural MLS Cup in 1996 when John Harkes led DC United to the first of successive titles. Having spent time studying abroad in London and growing up in a family that appreciated Italian calcio, Nick’s Soccer IQ is sound. We’re excited to have Nick join the team here at AFR, so give him a nice welcome!