Football life will be in full swing in April. National championships are coming to an end, and the most important matches in European tournaments - the Champions League and the UEFA Cup - are beginning. In April, the Champions League semifinalists will be determined, who will be the winners of the following pairs: Liverpool - Juventus, Lyon - PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea - Bayern, Milan - Inter. The first matches will take place on April 5-6, the return matches on April 12-13. The first semifinal matches will be held on April 26-27.
A little later, the semifinalists of the UEFA Cup will become known. Here, the pairs of contenders for reaching the semifinals look like this: CSKA - Auxerre, Austria - Parma, Newcastle - Sporting, Villarreal - AZ. The first matches are scheduled for April 7, the return matches for February 14. And on April 28, the first semifinal meetings will take place.
In addition, in April, first-round matches of the Fed Cup tennis tournament will be played. In the World Group on April 23-24, the following teams will compete: Italy - Russia, USA - Belgium, Spain - Argentina, Austria - France. The matches will take place in the countries listed first.
And also, the Formula 1 World Championship will gradually gain momentum. The first two stages brought unexpected results: Michael Schumacher scored only two points out of a possible 20, and the victories in Australia and Malaysia were celebrated by Renault team drivers - Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella, who lead the overall standings among drivers. In April, two more stages will take place - the Bahrain Grand Prix (April 1-3) and the San Marino Grand Prix (April 22-24).
ENGLAND The main question in English football is whether any of the recognized grandees of the local championship can compete with Roman Abramovich's Chelsea, which is led by the brilliant tactician and strategist Jose Mourinho. In principle, anything is possible in football, but it seems that neither Arsenal nor Manchester United are even thinking about the championship title this season. Chelsea's claims look too serious. It is possible that by the end of April the Londoners will be able to secure first place ahead of schedule. To do this, the Blues need to play well away against Southampton (April 2), Manchester United (April 16) and Bolton (April 30), as well as at home against Birmingham (April 9), Arsenal (April 20) and Fulham (April 23). At the same time, defeats from Manchester United and Arsenal could revive the already faded intrigue.
In addition to Chelsea's confident leadership and perhaps two key matches in the race for the championship title, in April it is worth noting several bright confrontations. These include the match between Manchester United and Blackburn (April 2), Liverpool and Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton (April 16), Everton and Manchester United (April 20), Arsenal and Tottenham, Manchester United and Newcastle (April 23).
GERMANY The football confrontation between Bayern and Schalke in the German championship is entering the home stretch. Meanwhile, a number of other teams, including Bayer, where Ukrainian national team player Andriy Voronin plays, are desperately fighting for the third spot in the Champions League and three spots in the UEFA Cup. Naturally, attention to the leaders will be increased. And not only in April.
Let's start with a pair of favorites. In April, Bayern, compared to Schalke, has simply a heavenly life. Judge for yourself: on April 2, a home game with Wolfsburg, on April 9 - home with Borussia M, on April 16 - a trip to Hanover, a week later a date in Munich with Bochum, after which on April 30 a match in Kaiserslautern. The Gelsenkirchen team faces more severe trials. After a visit to Nuremberg (April 2), there will be: a match in Stuttgart, a home meeting with Hamburg, a trip to Berlin for a game with Hertha, and finally a meeting with Bayer at home. The white-blue team is not advised to lose points, but it will be very difficult to avoid this, given the strength of the opponents.
Our sympathy for Bayer, given the performance of the Ukrainian footballer in the Leverkusen team, is quite understandable. The Pharmacists need to add at the finish to break into European competitions for the next season. To do this, in April they should play as successfully as possible against five teams - Arminia at home (April 2), Borussia D at home (April 9), Freiburg away (April 16), Werder at home (April 23) and Schalke away (April 30).
In addition, several more matches involving the leaders can be highlighted. These are the following matches: Stuttgart - Werder, Hertha - Borussia D (April 2), Hamburg - Werder (April 9) and Werder - Stuttgart (April 16).
On April 17-25, the European Weightlifting Championship will take place in Leipzig.
In Munich on April 25, a men's tennis tournament with a prize fund of $302,000 will start. It will end on May 1.
SPAIN The football championship of this country, apparently, will not offer intrigue in the race for first place down the home stretch. Barcelona regularly picks up points, while its competitors make mistakes. If in April the Catalans do not squander their solid advantage on their own, closer to the end of the month Frank Rijkaard's team can be congratulated on the championship title. And yet Barcelona has a meeting with Real Madrid in round 31 (April 9-10) in Madrid. The eternal rival of the Catalans lost heavily to Barcelona in the first round - 0:3, and then practically lost all chances for gold medals. The only chance for the Madrid side is to beat the leader. The price of victory in El Clasico this time is higher than in previous years. A week before the match in Madrid, Barcelona will test their strength against Betis at home, after the game with Real will host Getafe and Albacete at home, and in between these matches will play away against Malaga. All matches will take place on weekends. Meanwhile, Real's opponents will be: Albacete (away, a week before the game with Barcelona), Levante (away), Villarreal (home), and Real Sociedad (away). In short, one victory over Barcelona is not enough for the Madrid side. They need positive stability for at least a month. Otherwise - goodbye, championship ambitions.
Of other matches worth watching, given the strength of the opponents, we note the following: Atlético - Mallorca and Zaragoza - Valencia (April 3), Deportivo - Villarreal and Athletic - Real Sociedad (April 10), Mallorca - Valencia (April 17), and also Sevilla - Deportivo (April 31).
Two prestigious men's tennis tournaments will be held on Spanish soil in April. The first (April 4-10) is in Valencia with a prize fund of 319 thousand euros. The second (April 18-24) is in Barcelona with a prize fund of 850 thousand euros.
In Madrid, on April 13-17, the World Taekwondo Championship for men and women will be held.
ITALY Milan or Juventus? Carlo Ancelotti or Fabio Capello? Who is better? Who is more worthy of the title of Italian football champion? It seems that in April the answer to this question will not yet be obtained. Both teams demonstrate too even indicators. It is hard to imagine that one of them will break down and allow the opponent to pull away in this difficult race.
In April, Milan and Andriy Shevchenko have the following matches. In round 30 (April 2-3) - against Brescia at home, in the 31st - against Siena away, in the 32nd - against Chievo, in the 33rd - against Parma (both at home), in the 34th - against Fiorentina in Florence. Juventus's schedule looks like this: Fiorentina (away), Lecce (home), Inter (home), Lazio (away), Bologna (home. At first glance, the Turin side will have it harder, because their opponents are more skillful than Milan's. On the other hand, it is easier to fight against teams that play themselves and let others play, than against those who all drop back into defense.
CANADA In Canadian Victoria, on April 2, the World Championship in curling, a sport exotic for us, will begin. The tournament will last a little over a week and finish on April 10.
MOROCCO The traditional men's tennis tournament for the prizes of King Hassan II will be held in Casablanca on April 4-10 (prize fund - 302 thousand euros).
MONACO A serious men's tennis tournament of the Masters series will be held in Monte Carlo from April 11 to 17. The prize fund is $1,870,000 (the winner will receive $396 thousand, the loser in the first round - $7,430).
POLAND A women's tennis tournament with a prize fund of $585 thousand will be held in Warsaw from April 25 to May 1.
PORTUGAL In Estoril, on April 25 - May 1, a women's tennis tournament of the fourth category will be held with a prize fund of $140 thousand. At the same time, in Estoril, men will also compete, vying for a sum several times larger - $510 thousand.
RUSSIA The football championship in Russia has just started, so in this case there is no point in talking about leaders and outsiders. Nevertheless, the favorites of the tournament are known in advance. These are Moscow's Lokomotiv and CSKA, and also St. Petersburg's Zenit. The capital's Dynamo, Torpedo and Spartak, Ramenskoye's Saturn, Samara's Krylia Sovetov are also counted among potential medal contenders. Naturally, increased attention should be paid to exactly the games in which the above-mentioned teams take the field.
One of the innovations of the started championship is the decision to spread the matches of a round over two days. Now some matches are held on Saturday, some on Sunday. In the third round (April 3), a match will take place that may rightfully claim the title of 'match of the first round'. CSKA will host Lokomotiv. In the next round, on April 9, Dynamo and Saturn will play in Moscow, and on April 10 - CSKA and Krylia Sovetov.
The middle of April (round 5) promises several bright encounters. So, on April 16 in Samara, Krylia Sovetov and Lokomotiv will battle. The next day in St. Petersburg, Zenit will host CSKA, and in Moscow, Spartak and Dynamo will meet. A week later, gourmets are offered the matches Krylia Sovetov - Zenit (April 23) and CSKA - Torpedo (April 24). And finally, on April 30, fans will see two more breathtaking duels: Zenit - Lokomotiv and Torpedo - Krylia Sovetov.
USA Still at the end of March (on the 23rd) in Miami, Florida, a very large tennis tournament, the NASDAQ-100 Open, started. The prize fund in the men's draw is $3,200,000, of which the winner is due $533,350, and the loser in the first round - $5,560. Last year's winner of the tournament is American Andy Roddick. A US representative also won in 2004 in the women's draw; this was done by Serena Williams. True, in the women's draw the total prize fund is slightly less - $3,115,000. This time, the names of the winners will become known on April 3.
The United States, by the way, will host several top-tier tennis tournaments in April. From the 4th to the 10th, a women's tournament with a prize fund of $585,000 will take place in Amelia Island. On April 11, a much more prestigious women's tournament will begin in Charleston, with a prize fund of $1,300,000, which is part of the Super Nine series. The tournament, whose winner last year was Venus Williams, will end on April 17. And the next day, a men's tournament will start in Houston (prize fund - $355,000).
FRANCE Will the leader of the French football championship, Lyon, maintain the pace it has set for itself? This question is the biggest concern as the end of the tournament approaches. The French champion of recent years looks an order of magnitude stronger than its rivals, but will it have enough strength to fight on several fronts, including the Champions League? In April, Paul Le Guen's team will have four French championship matches. On April 2, at home against Lens, a week later in Nantes, then on April 16 at home against PSG and, finally, an away match against Auxerre. The schedule, to say the least, is not easy. So there will be something to watch.
Among the other events of the April rounds in France, one can single out several traditionally fundamental duels. For example, the meeting of two clubs famous for their reserve training, Auxerre and Nantes, dated April 2. Or the match between Marseille and PSG in the same round. A week later, the most interest should be aroused by the game in Paris between PSG and Bordeaux, as well as in Monaco between the local club of the same name and Lille. And on April 23, the duel between Nantes and Marseille on the former's field should be the most interesting.
SWEDEN In Linkoping and Norrkoping, the World Women's Hockey Championship will be held on April 2-9.