Football Media

FC Barcelona have already beaten FC Internazionale Milano once at home this season and they need a repeat performance if they are to claim a place in next month’s UEFA Champions League final.

José Mourinho’s visitors may have performed well on their travels in recent rounds but they lost 2-0 at the Camp Nou in November and have never won a semi-final away leg in Europe’s elite club competition.

The Italian champions hold the upper hand in the tie, however, despite Pedro Rodríguez’s 19th-minute strike at San Siro. Wesley Sneijder levelled on the half-hour, and second-half goals from Maicon (48) and Diego Milito (61) left Barcelona with plenty of work to do in the second leg.

For two-time winners Inter, the goal is a first final appearance since 1972. Josep Guardiola’s Barcelona, by contrast, are looking to take the penultimate step towards becoming the first team since Inter’s neighbours AC Milan 20 years ago to win back-to-back European crowns.

In a contest rich in sub-plots, Inter coach Mourinho returns once more to the club he served as assistant coach and he is not alone, with Nerazzurri players Samuel Eto’o, Thiago Motta and Ricardo Quaresma all having enjoyed spells at the Camp Nou.

Mourinho served as an assistant to the late Sir Bobby Robson and Van Gaal at Barcelona from 1996 to 2000.

As Chelsea manager Mourinho oversaw a 5-4 aggregate defeat of Barcelona in the 2004/05 first knockout round but suffered a 3-2 overall loss at the same stage the next season. The 2006/07 campaign brought another reunion, this time in the group stage, with Chelsea finishing above Barça after a 1-0 home win and 2-2 away draw.

Guardiola played in Italy between 2001 and 2003, making 24 appearances in Serie A for Brescia Calcio and another four for AS Roma. Inter forward Diego Milito, 30, could line up against his 29-year-old brother Gabriel of Barcelona. The Argentinian siblings played together for two seasons with Real Zaragoza between 2005 and 2007.

Watch LIVE Inter vs Barcelona on UEFA.com website

ARD and ZDF appointed Official Broadcasters of UEFA EURO 2012™

UEFA announced an agreement with ARD and ZDF for the broadcasting rights of UEFA EURO 2012™ in Germany.

The two public broadcasters have been long-term partners of UEFA for national team competitions in Germany and had a very successful coverage of UEFA EURO 2008™ in terms of audience figures.

The deal will ensure extensive free-to-air coverage with 27 matches live via channels Das Erste and ZDF. Dedicated magazines and highlights programmes will complement the offering on both broadcasters. In addition, coverage of the competition will also be made available via internet, mobile and radio.

The right to licence the four overlapping matches to other Free-TV channels and all Pay-TV rights remains with UEFA.

Commenting on the agreement, David Taylor, CEO of UEFA Events S.A. said:

“UEFA is delighted to renew this agreement with ARD and ZDF, two long-standing and experienced partners in broadcasting major sports events.

“Having established a very good relationship with both broadcasters, UEFA is looking forward to providing a unique viewing experience to football fans in Germany by offering an extensive coverage of UEFA EURO 2012TM.”

Spanish-language coverage of the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup begins on Wednesday, December 9th at 12:30pm ET with the preliminary match between Al Ahli (UAE) and Auckland City FC (NZL). The contest continues through Saturday, December 19th with the Championship Final airing on Fox Sports en Espanol at 11:00am ET.

FIFA Club World Cup is the competition between the leading clubs from all six continental confederations. Since 2007, the champions of Oceania have played a qualifying play-off against the champion club of the host country. In 2008, Manchester United (ENG) won its first FIFA Club World Cup by defeating first time participants and finalists, LDU Quito, (ECU) by 1-0.

In 2009, the event will be hosted outside of Japan for the first time ever as it travels to United Arab Emirates “Abu Dhabi”.

DAY DATE AIRTIME (ET) MATCH
Wednesday 12/09/2009 12:30 PM PRELIMINARY – Al Ahli FCD (UAE) v Auckland City FC (NZL)
Friday 12/11/2009 11:00 AM QUARTER FINAL – TP Mazembe (COD) v Pohang Steelers FC (KOR)
Saturday 12/12/2009 11:00 AM QUARTER FINAL – Winner Game 1 v Atlante FC (MEX)
Tuesday 12/15/2009 11:00 AM SEMI FINAL – Winner Game 2 v Estudiantes LP (ARG)
Wednesday 12/16/2009 8:00 AM FIFTH PLACE MATCH – Loser Game 2 v Loser Game 3
Wednesday 12/16/2009 11:00 AM SEMI FINAL – Winner Game 3 v FC Barcelona (ESP)
Saturday 12/19/2009 8:00 AM THIRD PLACE MATCH – Loser Game 4 v Loser Game 5
Saturday 12/19/2009 11:00 AM FINAL – Winner Game 4 v Winner Game 5

*For a complete telecast schedule, visit www.fifa.com.

Source: Fox Sports en Espanol

FIFA announced a landmark deal with China Central Television (CCTV) covering the broadcasting of different FIFA tournaments on CCTV from now to 2014, including the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups™.

CCTV made a strong commitment to show not only matches from the FIFA World Cups™ but also from other FIFA events and tournaments such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and the different FIFA World Cups for young players.

The agreement is the first of its kind in the history of both Chinese sport and FIFA. Extending broadcast coverage of football in the world’s most populated country also represents an important step in developing and strengthening the game worldwide.
We believe that this is the start of a long-term cooperation that will help to further strengthen football in China PR and make it even more popular.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke

“FIFA is delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with CCTV,” FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said after the contract was announced today in Beijing. “We believe that this is the start of a long-term cooperation that will help to further strengthen football in China PR and make it even more popular.”

“Since its broadcast of the first FIFA World Cup match in 1978, CCTV has enjoyed over thirty years of constructive cooperation with FIFA,” said CCTV’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Li Ting. “The partnership between the two organisations will further improve the quality of CCTV’s long-term strategy in covering football.”

The agreement between FIFA and CCTV ensures that the world’s most popular sport will be broadcast free-to-air throughout China PR. This will greatly benefit promotion of the game of football in a country where it is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of fans.

FIFA has already organised a number of competitions in China PR including the Olympic Football Tournaments in 2008 and the FIFA Women’s World Cups™ in 1991 and 2007.

CCTV is China PR’s national television station, with its 38 channels attracting more than a billion viewers throughout the country. CCTV was previously the media rights holder for the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups™, as well as the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007™ and the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009.