Champions League Minimal score brings luck: 1-0 in semifinals decided once again Ozren Podnar reports... Do you plan to win the Champions League or the UEFA Cup? We suggest that you win by 1-0 on aggregate in the semifinals. This score was lucky for Manchester United (so lucky themselves in the finals against Chelsea), but also to Barcelona, Liverpool, Sevilla, Porto and Valencia. In the past seasons many clubs fulfilled their dream of lifting a European trophy after minimum wins in the semis. It worked for Liverpool no less than twice: after the aggregate 1-0 against Barcelona they beat Alaves in the 2001 UEFA Cup finals and four years later the story repeated itself against against Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals and Milan in the finals. The magical 1-0 against Deportivo did the trick for Porto in 2004 Champions League as they went on to defeat Monaco in the finals. In the same season, Valencia took the UEFA Cup after nailing Villarreal by a mere 1-0. That was not the end, because a 1-0 against Milan sufficed to Barcelona to reach the 2006 League finals and subsequently the trophy at the expense of Arsenal. The Gunners, incidentally, also reached the finals thanks to a 1-0 over Villarreal. Amazingly, even Sevilla collected their first UEFA Cup after a 1-0 aggregate against Schalke, and the only goal was scored by now late Antonio Puerta. The mystique of the minimal win continued this season, as Manchester United defeated Barcelona by 1-0 in the semis. It is no doubt curious that every final saw many more goals after the single goal in the 180 or 210 minutes, ranging from two in Valencia vs Marseille (2004) and Manchester vs Chelsea (2008) to nine in Liverpool vs Alavés (2001). Imagine that: Liverpool reached their last two winning finals with a total of two goals in 360 minutes only to score eight goals (plus penalties) in the finals themselves. Lucky, lucky 1-0 2001. UEFA Cup: Liverpool vs Barcelona 0-0 1-0 2004. Champions League: Porto - Deportivo 0-0 1-0 2004. UEFA Cup: Valencia - Villarreal 0-0 1-0 2005. Champions League: Liverpool – Chelsea 0-0 1-0 2006. Champions League: Barcelona - Milan 1-0 0-0 2006. UEFA Cup: Sevilla - Schalke 0-0 1-0 2008. Champions League: Man. Utd. - Barcelona 0-0 1-0 Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

UEFA Cup Zenit's success triumph of soccer Ozren Podnar reports... A brilliant Zenit team became only the second European trophy winner for Russia after CSKA Moscow three years ago. Congratulations to Zenit, as their soccer was like a puff of fresh air: lightfooted, attacking and ambitious, unlike that of Glasgow Rangers, which reminded us of Greece from the 2004 Euro. And that should not be taken as a compliment. At the City of Manchester, Zenit crowned their brilliant European season in which they overcame teams from the biggest leagues: Villarreal (1-0 and 1-2), Marseille (1-3 and 2-0), Bayer (4-1 and 0-1) and Bayern (1-1 and 4-0). The first leg against Bayer in Leverkusen, where the home team were thoroughly thrashed, opened everybody's eyes to the Russians' potential, and the later demolishing of Bayern delighted the fans everywhere thanks to an inspired and fast-paced play reminiscent of the wonderful Dinamo Kiev of the seventies and eighties. In spite of the admiration for the Rangers' commitment and desire, the neutrals largely fancied Zenit, who did not allow the Scots to suffocate them as they had suffocated Panathinaikos, Sporting and Fiorentina with their 7-8 men defense. . Even without Pavel Pogrebnyak, this season's UEFA Cup's top scorer, the St. Petersburg team had enough explosive to penetrate the Rangers' stonewall twice. The first to do it was Igor Denisov after a nice interplay with Andrei Arshavin and the last bricks of the bunker were demolished by Konstantin Ziryanov in the last minute after a cross by Fatih Tekke. As far as the Rangers are concerned, the finals in Manchester evoked memories from Barcelona 36 years ago. There Rangers played their previous European finals against another Russian squad, Dinamo Moscow, but then they prevailed by 3-2. The Rangers fans then also "prevailed" against the police at Camp Nou, which ultimately cost the team a two-year ban from Europe. UEFA Cup finals City of Manchester Stadium Zenit vs Rangers 2-0 (0-0) Scorers: Denisov (72), Ziryanov (90) Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Switzerland coach Jakob ´Kobi´ Kuhn, who has had to prepare his side for Euro 2008 while caring for his seriously ill wife, on Friday paid tribute to the support he had received from everyone connected with the Swiss side.

Spain got down to business at their Austrian base on Friday determined to snap a recent poor streak which has brought premature heartbreak at major tournaments.

Czech captain Tomas Ujfalusi admitted his thoughts will be with crocked team-mate Tomas Rosicky as his side kick-off Euro 2008 in the tournament opener against Switzerland on Saturday.

Germany´s Polish-born striker Lukas Podolski says he will treat Sunday´s Euro 2008 game against Poland with the same fierce desire to see his side win in style.

A joke in Vienna says that three countries will play home games in Austria during the Euro -- Austria, Croatia and Turkey -- and two of these have a reputation as violent fans.

Russian police have begun work at the European football championship keeping watch over their country´s fans attending the tournament, Russian press reported Saturday.

Croatian defender Vedran Corluka has been passed fit and was named Saturday by coach Slaven Bilic in his team for their Euro 2008 Group B encounter with co-hosts Austria.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has tipped Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas to impress as much in this month´s European Championships as he has in the Premier League over the last few seasons.

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings said Saturday he had never feared that an injury-plagued season would force him to miss out on Euro-2008.

Former German international goalkeeper Andreas Kopke said Saturday that shot-stoppers must not make excuses about the new ball being used at Euro 2008, which current German guardian Jens Lehmann has criticised.

SoccerWay.com will be offering you everything you need to follow all the Euro 2008 action and share the excitement with people from all over the world.

Yes, this is the first time Brazil loses a match to South American rival Venezuela. In the Gillette Stadium in Boston, on a game that lacked creativity, passion and good sense, Brazil watched a very much alive and skillful Venezuela dominate the entire 90 minutes.