HERE COME ROUND OF 16

 

 

The Champions League group stages concluded in heart-stopping fashion with one of the most dramatic final days in the competition's history.

In the end, all four English and all four German teams progressed to the last 16 and they will be joined by three Spanish sides and one team each from Italy, France, Russia, Greece and Turkey.

Cristiano Ronaldo ends the sequence of matches as top scorer - netting a record nine goals in total - while Zlatan Ibrahimovic was arguably the best player of the group stage.

Some of the bigger sides did not have it all their own way, with Juventus and Porto as chief disappointments, while things were stickier than expected for reigning champion Bayern Munich in the end.

In all, we've seen 772 goals across all the group stage matches and the appetite is certainly whetted for the knockouts in the new year.

 



CARRYING ON

Neymar has scored the fourth fastest hat trick in Champions League history as Barcelona rampaged past Celtic 6-1 on Wednesday.

The Brazilian, 21, scored his first goal in the continental competition on 44 minutes, which was the third for Gerardo Martino's men of the night after Gerard Pique and Pedro opened the goal glut at Camp Nou.

After halftime, the ex-Santos star scored in the 48th and 58th minutes to become the fourth-fastest player to rack up three goals in a Champions League tie.

"I'm very happy not only for the three goals in the Champions League, but also for the team's win," he is quoted by Marca as saying.

"I did not feel the pressure, but I wanted to make my mark. The important thing is we were able to overcome those two losses and now we must change our mindset to think about La Liga. "

Batefimbi Gomis still holds the quickest trio of goals having netted thrice in eight minutes as Olympique Lyonnais beat Dinamo Zagreb two seasons ago in the group stage.

Barca's comfortable victory in Catalunya sees the club top Group H in the tournament ahead of Monday's last 16 draw.

BEST EVER?

 

The Portuguese struck early in the second half to take his tally to nine goals in the current Champions League, a mark he previously shared with four other players

Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for goals in the Champions League group stage with his strike for Real Madrid in the Spanish side's at FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, who missed Madrid's 4-1 win over Galatasaray in the last group game, struck with a low finish at the far post to give Madrid a 2-0 lead early in the second half in the Danish capital and now has nine goals in Europe's premier club competition this season.

"All goals are important for the team and it was special to break the record today, but I don't think about records," Ronaldo told his team's official website shortly after the match. "The main goal is to win."

The Portuguese previously shared the record of eight with Hernan Crespo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Filippo Inzaghi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was left out of Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Benfica on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, who was suspended for Real's Copa del Rey clash at Olimpic Xativa on Saturday, had missed Madrid's last three games after his recent thigh injury but took his season total for the Spanish side to 26 in 19 games on Tuesday. He later saw a penalty saved by Copenhagen goalkeeper Johan Wiland.

Ronaldo said he is still not 100 percent healthy.

"I'm coming back bit by bit. I'm at a good level, but not my best," he said. "I feel good and eager to help the team."

Cristiano struck a hat trick in the 6-1 win over Galatasaray, hit three in two games against Juventus and netted three in the two meetings with Copenhagen.

His goal on Tuesday was Madrid's 800th in European Cup football

WORLD CUP 2014

 

 

In a World Cup that will be filled with storylines for the United States national team, the Americans have been placed with Ghana, Germany and Portugal in Group G.

Mexico is in Group A with host Brazil, Croatia and Cameroon. Reigning champions Spain has been paired with World Cup 2010 runner-up Netherlands, South American representatives Chile and Australia in Group B.

Next summer's tournament kicks off on June 12 in Sao Paulo with hosts Brazil taking on Croatia in the opening game.

The group stage comes to an end on June 26, with the first games of the round of 16 to take place only two days later in Belo Horizonte and Rio de Janeiro.

The four quarterfinals will then be staged on July 4 and 5, while the semifinals take place on July 8 and 9 and the 2014 World Cup winners will be crowned on July 13 in Rio de Janeiro.


Winners

Year	1st	Club	Points	2nd	Club	Points	3rd	Club	Points
1956	Matthews, StanleyStanley Matthews (ENG)	Blackpool	47	Di Stéfano, AlfredoAlfredo Di Stéfano (ARG)	Real Madrid	44	Kopa, RaymondRaymond Kopa (FRA)	Real Madrid	33
1957	Di Stéfano, AlfredoAlfredo Di Stéfano (ARG)[note 1][9]	Real Madrid	72	Wright, BillyBilly Wright (ENG)	Wolverhampton Wanderers	19	Edwards, DuncanDuncan Edwards (ENG)  Kopa, RaymondRaymond Kopa (FRA)	Manchester United Real Madrid	16
1958	Kopa, RaymondRaymond Kopa (FRA)	Real Madrid	71	Rahn, HelmutHelmut Rahn (FRG)	Rot-Weiss Essen	40	Fontaine, JustJust Fontaine (FRA)	Stade de Reims	23
1959	Di Stéfano, AlfredoAlfredo Di Stéfano (ESP)	Real Madrid C.F.	80	Kopa, RaymondRaymond Kopa (FRA)	Real Madrid	42	Charles, JohnJohn Charles (WAL)	Juventus	24
1960	Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez (ESP)	Barcelona	54	Puskás, FerencFerenc Puskás (HUN)	Real Madrid	37	Seeler, UweUwe Seeler (FRG)	Hamburg	33
1961	Sívori, OmarOmar Sívori (ITA)[note 2][10]	Juventus	46	Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez (ESP)	Internazionale	40	Haynes, JohnnyJohnny Haynes (ENG)	Fulham	22
1962	Masopust, JosefJosef Masopust (TCH)	Dukla Prague	65	Eusébio (POR)	Benfica	53	Schnellinger, Karl-HeinzKarl-Heinz Schnellinger (FRG)	Köln	33
1963	Yashin, LevLev Yashin (URS)	Dynamo Moscow	73	Rivera, GianniGianni Rivera (ITA)	Milan	53	Greaves, JimmyJimmy Greaves (ENG)	Tottenham Hotspur	33
1964	Law, DenisDenis Law (SCO)	Manchester United	61	Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez (ESP)	Internazionale	43	Amancio (ESP)	Real Madrid	38
1965	Eusébio (POR)	Benfica	67	Facchetti, GiacintoGiacinto Facchetti (ITA)	Internazionale	59	Suárez, LuisLuis Suárez (ESP)	Internazionale	45
1966	Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton (ENG)	Manchester United	81	Eusébio (POR)	Benfica	80	Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer (FRG)	Bayern Munich	59
1967	Albert, FlóriánFlórián Albert (HUN)	Ferencvárosi TC	68	Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton (ENG)	Manchester United	40	Johnstone, JimmyJimmy Johnstone (SCO)	Celtic	39
1968	Best, GeorgeGeorge Best (NIR)	Manchester United	61	Charlton, BobbyBobby Charlton (ENG)	Manchester United	53	Džajić, DraganDragan Džajić (YUG)	Red Star Belgrade	46
1969	Rivera, GianniGianni Rivera (ITA)	Milan	83	Riva, LuigiLuigi Riva (ITA)	Cagliari	79	Müller, GerdGerd Müller (FRG)	Bayern Munich	38
1970	Müller, GerdGerd Müller (FRG)	Bayern Munich	77	Moore, BobbyBobby Moore (ENG)	West Ham United	70	Riva, LuigiLuigi Riva (ITA)	Cagliari	65
1971	Cruyff, JohanJohan Cruyff (NED)	Ajax	116	Mazzola, SandroSandro Mazzola (ITA)	Internazionale	57	Best, GeorgeGeorge Best (NIR)	Manchester United	56
1972	Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer (FRG)	Bayern Munich	81	Müller, GerdGerd Müller (FRG)  Netzer, GünterGünter Netzer (FRG)	Bayern Munich Borussia Mönchengladbach	79	& —	& —	& —
1973	Cruyff, JohanJohan Cruyff (NED)[note 3][11]	Barcelona	96	Zoff, DinoDino Zoff (ITA)	Juventus	47	Müller, GerdGerd Müller (FRG)	Bayern Munich	44
1974	Cruyff, JohanJohan Cruyff (NED)	Barcelona	116	Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer (FRG)	Bayern Munich	105	Deyna, KazimierzKazimierz Deyna (POL)	Legia Warsaw	35
1975	Blokhin, OlegOleg Blokhin (URS)	Dynamo Kyiv	122	Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer (FRG)	Bayern Munich	42	Cruyff, JohanJohan Cruyff (NED)	Barcelona	27
1976	Beckenbauer, FranzFranz Beckenbauer (FRG)	Bayern Munich	91	Rensenbrink, RobRob Rensenbrink (NED)	Anderlecht	75	Viktor, IvoIvo Viktor (TCH)	Dukla Prague	52
1977	Simonsen, AllanAllan Simonsen (DEN)	Borussia Mönchengladbach	74	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan (ENG)[note 4]	Hamburg	71	Platini, MichelMichel Platini (FRA)	Nancy	70
1978	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan (ENG)	Hamburg	87	Krankl, HansHans Krankl (AUT)	Barcelona	81	Rensenbrink, RobRob Rensenbrink (NED)	Anderlecht	50
1979	Keegan, KevinKevin Keegan (ENG)	Hamburg	118	Rummenigge, Karl-HeinzKarl-Heinz Rummenigge (FRG)	Bayern Munich	52	Krol, RuudRuud Krol (NED)	Ajax	41
1980	Rummenigge, Karl-HeinzKarl-Heinz Rummenigge (FRG)	Bayern Munich	122	Schuster, BerndBernd Schuster (FRG)	Barcelona	34	Platini, MichelMichel Platini (FRA)	Saint-Étienne	33
1981	Rummenigge, Karl-HeinzKarl-Heinz Rummenigge (FRG)	Bayern Munich	106	Breitner, PaulPaul Breitner (FRG)	Bayern Munich	64	Schuster, BerndBernd Schuster (FRG)	Barcelona	39
1982	Rossi, PaoloPaolo Rossi (ITA)	Juventus	115	Giresse, AlainAlain Giresse (FRA)	Bordeaux	64	Boniek, ZbigniewZbigniew Boniek (POL)	Juventus	53
1983	Platini, MichelMichel Platini (FRA)	Juventus	110	Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish (SCO)	Liverpool	26	Simonsen, AllanAllan Simonsen (DEN)	Vejle	25
1984	Platini, MichelMichel Platini (FRA)	Juventus	110	Tigana, JeanJean Tigana (FRA)	Bordeaux	57	Elkjær, PrebenPreben Elkjær (DEN)	Verona	48
1985	Platini, MichelMichel Platini (FRA)	Juventus	127	Elkjær, PrebenPreben Elkjær (DEN)	Verona	71	Schuster, BerndBernd Schuster (FRG)	Barcelona	46
1986	Belanov, IgorIgor Belanov (URS)	Dynamo Kyiv	84	Lineker, GaryGary Lineker (ENG)[note 5]	Barcelona	62	Butragueño, EmilioEmilio Butragueño (ESP)	Real Madrid	59
1987	Gullit, RuudRuud Gullit (NED)[note 6][12]	Milan	106	Futre, PauloPaulo Futre (POR)[note 7]	Atlético Madrid	91	Butragueño, EmilioEmilio Butragueño (ESP)	Real Madrid	61
1988	Basten, Marco vanMarco van Basten (NED)	Milan	129	Gullit, RuudRuud Gullit (NED)	Milan	88	Rijkaard, FrankFrank Rijkaard (NED)[note 8]	Milan	45
1989	Basten, Marco vanMarco van Basten (NED)	Milan	129	Baresi, FrancoFranco Baresi (ITA)	Milan	80	Rijkaard, FrankFrank Rijkaard (NED)	Milan	43
1990	Matthäus, LotharLothar Matthäus (GER)	Internazionale	137	Schillaci, SalvatoreSalvatore Schillaci (ITA)	Juventus	84	Brehme, AndreasAndreas Brehme (GER)	Internazionale	68
1991	Papin, Jean-PierreJean-Pierre Papin (FRA)	Marseille	141	Savićević, DejanDejan Savićević (YUG)  Pančev, DarkoDarko Pančev (YUG)  Matthäus, LotharLothar Matthäus (GER)	Red Star Belgrade Red Star Belgrade Internazionale	42	& —	& —	& —
1992	Basten, Marco vanMarco van Basten (NED)	Milan	98	Stoichkov, HristoHristo Stoichkov (BUL)	Barcelona	80	Bergkamp, DennisDennis Bergkamp (NED)	Ajax	53
1993	Baggio, RobertoRoberto Baggio (ITA)	Juventus	142	Bergkamp, DennisDennis Bergkamp (NED)	Internazionale	83	Cantona, EricEric Cantona (FRA)	Manchester United	34
1994	Stoichkov, HristoHristo Stoichkov (BUL)	Barcelona	210	Baggio, RobertoRoberto Baggio (ITA)	Juventus	136	Maldini, PaoloPaolo Maldini (ITA)	Milan	109
1995	Weah, GeorgeGeorge Weah (LBR)[note 9][13]	Milan	144	Klinsmann, JürgenJürgen Klinsmann (GER)	Bayern Munich	108	Litmanen, JariJari Litmanen (FIN)	Ajax	67
1996	Sammer, MatthiasMatthias Sammer (GER)	Borussia Dortmund	144	Ronaldo (BRA)[note 10]	Barcelona	143	Shearer, AlanAlan Shearer (ENG)	Newcastle United	107
1997	Ronaldo (BRA)[note 11][14]	Internazionale	222	Mijatović, PredragPredrag Mijatović (SCG)	Real Madrid	68	Zidane, ZinedineZinedine Zidane (FRA)	Juventus	63
1998	Zidane, ZinedineZinedine Zidane (FRA)	Juventus	244	Šuker, DavorDavor Šuker (CRO)	Real Madrid	68	Ronaldo (BRA)	Internazionale	66
1999	Rivaldo (BRA)	Barcelona	219	Beckham, DavidDavid Beckham (ENG)	Manchester United	154	Shevchenko, AndriyAndriy Shevchenko (UKR)	Milan	64
2000	Figo, LuísLuís Figo (POR)[note 12][15]	Real Madrid	197	Zidane, ZinedineZinedine Zidane (FRA)	Juventus	181	Shevchenko, AndriyAndriy Shevchenko (UKR)	Milan	85
2001	Owen, MichaelMichael Owen (ENG)	Liverpool	176	Raúl (ESP)	Real Madrid	140	Kahn, OliverOliver Kahn (GER)	Bayern Munich	114
2002	Ronaldo (BRA)[note 13][16]	Real Madrid	169	Carlos, RobertoRoberto Carlos (BRA)	Real Madrid	145	Kahn, OliverOliver Kahn (GER)	Bayern Munich	110
2003	Nedvěd, PavelPavel Nedvěd (CZE)	Juventus	190	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry (FRA)	Arsenal	128	Maldini, PaoloPaolo Maldini (ITA)	Milan	123
2004	Shevchenko, AndriyAndriy Shevchenko (UKR)	Milan	175	Deco (POR)[note 14]	Barcelona	139	Ronaldinho (BRA)	Barcelona	133
2005	Ronaldinho (BRA)	Barcelona	225	Lampard, FrankFrank Lampard (ENG)	Chelsea	148	Gerrard, StevenSteven Gerrard (ENG)	Liverpool	142
2006	Cannavaro, FabioFabio Cannavaro (ITA)[note 15][17]	Juventus	173	Buffon, GianluigiGianluigi Buffon (ITA)	Juventus	124	Henry, ThierryThierry Henry (FRA)	Arsenal	121
2007	Kaká (BRA)	Milan	444	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo (POR)	Manchester United	277	Messi, LionelLionel Messi (ARG)	Barcelona	255
2008	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo (POR)	Manchester United	446	Messi, LionelLionel Messi (ARG)	Barcelona	281	Torres, FernandoFernando Torres (ESP)	Liverpool	179
2009	Messi, LionelLionel Messi (ARG)	Barcelona	473	Ronaldo, CristianoCristiano Ronaldo (POR)	Real Madrid	233	Xavi (ESP)	Barcelona	170
2010 onwards	Merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year awards to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or