FA Cup shot a century in the making
Non-league club Lincoln City, which hasn’t made it this far in 115 years, will face Burnley
The FA Cup fifth round is this weekend as we are down to the final 16 teams. This round has taken an interesting shape as the eight remaining Premier League teams each face a side from a lower league. So we could potentially have all Premier League teams in the quarter-finals or, with eight upsets, no Premier League teams in the last eight!
This round is also notable as it’s the first time that two non-league sides have made it this far. Lincoln City is in the fifth round for the first time in 115 years, while fellow part-timers Sutton United are in uncharted territory. Sutton United has the biggest chance to play giant killers Monday as they host Arsenal. The Gunners are still licking their wounds from a humiliating 5-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich and have now lost three of their last four games in all competitions. Going out against Sutton United on top of that would be a big blow.
Lincoln City, meanwhile, hosts Burnley, a team coming off a very strong Premier League performance in which they held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw. Burnley features veteran bad boy Joey Barton, as well as a recent addition to the Canadian national team in Scott Arfield. The 28-year-old Scottish-born midfielder is able to play for Canada as his father is from Toronto. Arfield made his Canadian debut at B.C. Place last March against Mexico.
Mid-table Burnley is heavily favoured to beat Lincoln City Saturday, especially after the non-league side sold top scorer Theo Robinson to Southend two weeks ago.
It’s a knockout
The UEFA Champions League round of 16 continues next week with four more first-leg encounters. The games we saw this week were dominated by the home teams, including Paris Saint-Germain’s crushing 4-0 win over Barcelona, as well as Bayern Munich demolishing Arsenal 5-1.
Tuesday’s games have Manchester City hosting French league leader Monaco, while Atletico Madrid visits Bayer Leverkusen. Monaco scoring hero Radamel Falcao is no stranger to Manchester, as he spent a disappointing season playing for Man United two years ago.
On Wednesday, struggling Premier League champion Leicester City will need to find a way to turn it on away to a very capable Sevilla side. Porto hosts Italian champion Juventus in the other match.
Also Wednesday, there is CONCACAF Champions League action as Whitecaps FC visits the New York Red Bulls in our much-anticipated first-leg quarter-final clash. You know who I’ll be cheering for in that one.
Oh Canada
The CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship tournament kicks off Friday in Costa Rica with Canada one of 12 nations looking to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Canada plays Honduras on Friday, Mexico on Monday and concludes play in Group A Thursday against Antigua and Barbuda. The top two teams in each group advance to the next stage, so Friday’s clash against Honduras should be the key match for Canada.
The Canadian squad includes Whitecaps FC 2 right-back Kadin Chung and Whitecaps U-18 Residency goalkeeper Thomas Hasal. He’s a graduate of the Whitecaps FC Saskatchewan Academy Centre. Also on the team are former Whitecaps Residency graduates Aymar Sigue and Dario Zanatta.
The tournament runs until March 5 and matches will be streamed at facebook.com/concacafcom.
Sick seats
Juventus last week won 2-0 away to Serie A newcomers Crotone, who play in the southern region of Calabria. The match was sold out, but that didn’t stop one Juventus fan from trying to see the game first-hand. Next to Crotone’s Ezio Scida stadium sits the local hospital and from some rooms you can get a good view of the pitch. So one desperate fan pretended to be sick and tried to get himself admitted! But hospital staff was not fooled and is quite familiar with the tricks fans try to pull. Staff doesn’t even allow visitors into the hospital on match day. The fan was disappointed, but his team won in the end.
Bob Lenarduzzi is president of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Tickets: visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets