A Football Report

Amsterdam awaits x AFR Giveaway

The location. The two giant clubs clashing. The Europa League final promises to be a night to remember. Benfica have to pick themselves up after possibly conceding the Liga Sagres title in the 92nd minute in their 2-1 loss to Porto. Chelsea will have one eye on a new Champions League charge next season. It’s not the Champions League, but these two sides have produced some of the most entertaining football the world has seen this season.

And we have another reason to tune-in. As part of their post-season tour, Chelsea are traveling to another city with Dutch roots, playing against Man City at Yankee Stadium after the Champions League on Saturday, May 25th. Before the friendly, Yankee Stadium will host a viewing party, showing the Champions League on their 59 foot high screen. We’ve been given a few tickets for the match. So, we’re going to give them away. If you’re not in NYC, you probably know someone who is. Be a good friend.

Right, contest details. Plenty of eyes are on David Luiz for tonight’s final, so tell us if you think he will a) Score b) Earn a yellow card c) Both d) Neither/Other (we reward creativity). Tweet @afootballreport or comment on this article to enter. And enjoy the match. Boa sorte, Benfiquistas and Blues! [More information on the friendly here. GIF by Dale con Comba.. Art by Luke Barclay. Send questions to Eric]

Relegation Delegation - AFR Voice Ep. 16

Okay okay, as much as we try, we can’t seriously muster the belief that the Premier League title race has been blown wide open, even if Manchester City did triumph against their neighbours on Monday. After speeding through the Manchester derby, we pulled up and rubbernecked the almighty scramble for survival at the foot of the table. Whilst Aston Villa have really hit top gear and Stoke continue to stall, Reading and QPR are now surely all set for the scrapyard? Amongst our relegation predictions we discuss Gabriel Agbonlahor’s scoring record, Paolo Di Canio’s promising debut at Stamford Bridge and Newcastle amazing knack of scoring crucial last minute goals.

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Springing Back - AFR Voice Ep.14

Spring is in the air, except in freezing cold London, so it’s an especially husky outing for the AFR Voice team as they wrap up the last two weeks in football. Amidst all the usual winter fare of Premier League and FA Cup action, the green shoots of MLS and the Champions League have sprung again, we’ve seen quite literally a new breed of pitch invader, and perhaps most importantly, you can now watch games from a pitch side jacuzzi in Zurich (and yes, you did read that last point correctly).

There’s the usual look at all things Anglophile – have Liverpool hit form at the right time? Will Chelsea and Man United be able to play their FA Cup replay before the final itself? And when Spring arrives, are Wigan the best team that the world has ever seen? We’ll also take our pick of who is going to jump off the managerial merry-go-round and straight into the Reading manager’s office, and we’ll see who’s been getting all artistic at Stoke.

Then it’s straight into all of the action from around the world. We start off in MLS where both the Western and Eastern conferences seem to be having a Canadian affair, Seattle may soon be making a significant addition to their roster, and Ryan Nelsen starts to make his mark in Toronto. Then it’s back over to Europe where Palermo put Chelsea’s managerial dismissal policy to shame, Atletico Madrid surrender their 100% home record, and Montpellier attempt to start discussions with a certain Diego about taking charge next season, so watch this space….

As always, you get in touch with the team by emailing afrvoice@gmail.com, or join in with the ‘at which point before the World Cup will Jack Wilshere get injured’ sweepstake by tweeting @AFRvoice.

Muitos Parabéns / Happy Birthday, José!

Today, Mourinho turns 50. Since his managerial career started at Benfica 13 years ago, the man who’s known as the ‘The Special One’ became the first to win the league titles in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, not to mention his pair Champions Leagues. As Inter Milan owner, Massimo Moratti, puts it: “he loves to win.” He really does, but he’s also one who loves to entertain.

“I’m a coach, I’m not Harry Potter. He is magical, but in reality there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real.” - the quotes are really there for the taking.

Wherever he’s been, his name has not been forgotten; although not even Bobby Robson expected Mourinho to have built such an illustrious successful career for himself. This remark is highlighted in a recent documentary, which is well worth your time.

His future remains more uncertain than ever, whether it’s remaining at Real Madrid, seizing the opportunity to coach the Portuguese national team that still lies in the distance, or returning to England. But some things never change: “I have the same or even more ambition than I did before.” [Posted by Dom.]

State Of The Game - AFR Voice Ep9

With the start of the New Year comes a brand new audio offering from AFR Voice, packed with all of the news and views from a frantic festive period of Premier League fixtures that seemed to have more games than a Nadal-Federer Wimbledon final.

We’ll be taking a look at the best and worst from the Christmas run of games, including Baywatch at the Etihad Stadium, politics at Stamford Bridge, Wizards at Loftus Road, as well as looking into why 2013 could be a bad year for fax machines, Marouane Fellaini’s lady problems, and a heart warming canine-based tale from the Bundesliga.

Then it’s time to get serious and give the Premier League its annual check up when we discuss what direction it’s going in, who look like being the winners and losers, and just when will the financial bubble burst? 

And an early January show wouldn’t be complete without signing off 2012 with our highlights of what has been another (mostly) superb year of football, of which there are almost too many moments to choose from. And with that, roll on 2013….

As always, you can get in touch with the team by tweeting @AFRvoice or emailing afrvoice@gmail.com. You can also subscribe to AFR Voice on iTunes and find us on Soundcloud.