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"YOUR SLIP UP IS NOW" Frank Rijkaard insists Bayern's slip up is tomorrow DURING the week Bayern Munich's strong-witted manager Felix Magath decided one more slip up from his team this season can lose them the league title, no matter how tight the points gaps is. Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard responded yesterday and insisted his side would do just that when they meet Barcelona in tomorrow's week thirteen of the opening ECS campaign. With the sheer competition for the top spots much can happen in the remaining six weeks after tomorrow's fixtures, but Magath believe's it's all over if they are defeated by on form Barcelona. However, the Spanish outfit are currently suffering on the back of a traumatic Cup exit to underdogs Werder Bremen who, as hoped, eliminated Barca via the away goals rule. Rijkaard says this wont affect his players and if anything, it will make more of an affect on Bayern Munich as the Catalan players look to surge back into the form they currently behold in the league. Magath was speaking in another press conference when he made it perfectly clear what he wants from his men in these final weeks. "Despite our many ups and downs, fourth place isn't a bad position to be in. We're just four points behind the league leaders Juventus with a reasonable goal difference. We've looked good this season and don't look to let all our hard work go to waste. We have seven games to play where every point is now vital, but on the way we face some very hard games including Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan all in the next few weeks. They are tough opponents, but if we can beat them, we can damage their hopes of silverwear. The league is still very open and we know what we have to do and it's not down to anyone else on how our season ends." With, as Magath explained, Barcelona and Juventus yet to come up against his men, a preferable win against both teams can pull them within touching distance of snatching an unlikely league title. Frank Rijkaard on the other hand is not ready to be disposed of consecutively by German teams. "We had a bad start to the season, but we've pulled together and got into second place just a point behind first place. A good run in the Cup has helped us now as well. It's disappointing to be out of it, but at least now we can concentrate on what's more important. I'm confident Juventus will slip up again at some stage and hopefully we can take advantage of that. They've been lucky this season. They only drop points when the one or two teams behind them do, which has been frustrating. I am sure we can beat Bayern tomorrow. To be honest, I've coached more difficult games as Barcelona manager. We do not see them as a threat to our hopes. I think the slip-up they want and need to avoid will be tomorrow." DEFENDERS

THE MYSTIC JUAN "Psychic" Caro claims to be the new "Special One" JOSE MOURINHO has stiff competition. The "Special One" has been targetted by under-fire Real Madrid boss Juan Lopez Caro who claims "I am the real special one!" after predicting a couple of things before they actually happened at the expense of the Chelsea boss who himself has a reputation of predicting things correctly before they happen as he's proved in the past. Mourinho has previously predicted famously that he and his Chelsea team would be crowned champions away to Bolton two years ago and the top four Premiership positions last season. His mystical powers had unleashed their magic again when he envisioned, before the ECS fixture list was announced, when his crucial and more imporant matches would come abouts and when his team would be playing specific away games. Yesterday however, Juan Caro gave him a piece of his mind...literally. The Real Madrid coach pointed out that he has his own mind waves as he already bought a suitable midfield replacement before Fredrik Ljungberg's horrific knee ligament injury, when he snapped up Bolton's Kevin Nolan just days before for £5,000,000. And secondly, the issue that brought this into configuration in the first place, the sale of Brazilian forward Ronaldo to Porto from Chelsea. Caro claims to have thought the signing of Ronaldo from him to Chelsea would be just another flop for the Blues' and felt they'd be selling him off again before the season was over. "There was plenty of fuss being made when Jose Mourinho famously predicted things correctly before they happened regarding the English Premiership. It's quite ironic that a respected manager like himself and the one what's known as the "special one" is the guy who does such a thing. To be perfectly honest, I had a gut feeling he'd be sold on again being considered a flop before the season was over. His time was clearly up here and he wasn't the player he once was. And I was right. I think it's a clever business move on my behalf. We sold him, receiving Damien Duff in exchange plus £6,000,000, which could've been a fee of a much larger quantity. In a way, a very strange sort of way, we've made a technical profit. I'm the specal one, not Jose Mourinho. I've made predictions and effective actions that have benfited my team as a whole. I see them as better illusions." Mourinho responded and jokingly predicted that Juan Caro would no longer be the Real Madrid manager by the start of the second season in a cheeky return to his comments given recent rumours that suggest Sam Allardyce will quit Bolton to be appointed as the new boss of Real Madrid. Mourinho also called Caro "pathetic" and "childish" for his needless remarks and added "this league isn't big enough for two special ones." DEFENDERS

KLOSE SHAVE GERMAN hitman Miroslav Klose believes Werder Bremen can now go on to win the ECS Cup after performing a miracle to overcome the 3-2 defeat at the Nou Camp using the wonders of the away goals rule to knock out the Spanish champions. The two goals they managed in Catalonia meant they needed just a single goal to nil victory at home, but Barcelona's late equaliser after Khalid Boulahrouz's early opener seemed to be the end of their fairy story, but Miroslav Klose scored a dramatic winner four minutes from time which sent the German's through and on the road to Anfield. They take on French outfit Lyon who themselves had to make sure of their progression after Manchester United, renowened for their ability to turn football matches around in an instant, scored twice to equal the aggeragate score before Lyon new boy Diego scored twice to make sure they advanced safely. It wont be easy, but hero Klose, who seems to have stolen the limelight that belonged to Croatian partner Ivan Klasnic at the start of the season, is prepared for the worst and sees his team going all the way. "We're into the semi-finals now and any team, whatever their quality should believe they can go on and win the competition once they get this far. We wont just feel proud for reaching such a late stage and settle for it. We're going out to beat Lyon and then Arsenal or Real Madrid in the final. Especially as we just beat Barcelona having lost the first game, we always have a chance of winning this great competition. It does reflect how substantially competitive it is here in ECS with just two of the major clubs our of four teams occupie the semi-finals. Obviously Lyon are probably considered by most as one of the top teams, but they aren't quite yet up there with the likes of Arsenal and Real Madrid. It would be quite disappointing if it was one of those two that went on to win the Cup after such a wonderful tournament has unfolded regarding the smaller clubs who've all made a brilliant effort to progress as far as they can." Klose is now joint top scorer in the Cup equal on six goals with Arsenal's Thierry Henry. He's also hoping to rob the golden boot from the Frenchman en route to the final with Bremen. His eye for goal has been more prolific in the Cup whereas Klasnic has scored better in the league despite dipping in form regarding goals in recent weeks. Thomas Schaaf isn't worried about his two K's though and see's them as one of the deadliest partnerships in ECS. Statistically, he is correct. The Klasnic and Klose combination have netted a total of 20 goals in all competitions while Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and Carlos Tevez are just ahead of them with a total of 26 goals. AC Milan's Fernando Torres and Andriy Shevchenko also just come ahead of Schaaf's boys with a grand total of 25 goals. It's something to really take note of as Werder Bremen, technically mere outsiders compared to the reputations and qualities of AC Milan and Barcelona and to be just trailing marginly by 5 to 6 goals regarding the team's strike forces is an achievement in itself. DEFENDERS

SO, WHAT WAS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? VICENTE finally confirmed his Valencia departure early last week with a money plus part-exchange deal allowing him to join Italian giants AC Milan. So far the Spanish international has already been removed from the ECS Cup in his Milan early days at the hands of Arsenal who performed a 3-0 mauling of them on Vicente's debut, ironically. The speculation surrounding Vicente's future has been one of the top stories for weeks. AC Milan have been keeping tabs on him after failing in numerous attempts to land the player. Valencia also failed in several shots at signing Milan's cultured defender Jaap Stam. The two sides managed to agree a deal eventually involving both players. Vicente signed a four-year deal with Milan as Jaap Stam went to Spain signing a two-year deal. The structured and finalised deal was reported to be around £13,500,000 plus the Dutch centre back, Stam. Stam's u-turn has naturally caused fury among Ajax after he promised a return to them to end his career after his time was up at Milan. The addition of Vicente will no doubt boost the incredible midfield options Carlo Ancelotti has at his disposal and boasts one of the most formiddable line-ups and overall squads in the league. On paper at least anyway as his capture has appeared to make not even the slightest of affects in team performances as they crashed out of the Cup at the hands of the Gunners. Ancelotti is under intense pressure to deliver in ECS despite his big spending in the transfer market which has seen Fernando Torres and David Beckham come in for a combined £35,000,000 along with Christoph Metzelder and now Vicente, who he's been trying to sign since the start of May. Milan have struggled to show their true winning form despite only losing two games, but their four draws have prevented them mounting a higher position in the table and they've been inconsistent in their matches. Their Italian counterparts Juventus lead the pack and are five points ahead of Milan. It's not an impossible mission, but with the league table being so open, like any other contender, Ancelotti is looking to clinch the first ECS league championship. Pre-season signing David Beckham hailed the capture of Vicente and the England captain regarded him as one of the most exciting wingers in the game.