UEFA Champions League Qualifications 2008

Real Madrid CF's Pepe defers to Portugal team-mate Ricardo Carvalho and Rio Ferdinand in selecting the centre-backs in his team of 2008. To view the nominees and cast your vote for the Team of 2008 click here.

uefa.com takes its pick of the top ten stories which caught the eye this week as Lionel Messi ushered in the new year with a hat-trick for FC Barcelona and Derby County FC welcomed the second coming of Clough.

Dubai may be packed with luxury hotels, but during AC Milan's stay there the words "five stars" were mainly used in reference to the midfield the Rossoneri could field against AS Roma following David Beckham's arrival. 

Ivan Klasnić admits he has not lived up to expectations at FC Nantes but the Croatia striker is ready to make amends when the Canaries play their first Ligue 1 game since the winter break at AS Monaco FC on Saturday.

Manchester United FC will look to close the gap on Chelsea FC when the two sides meet at Old Trafford on Sunday in a fixture that could go a long way to determining the destination of this season's Premier League title.

There is a Spanish flavour to Marcos Senna's team of 2008, with Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry the only non-Spaniards to make the cut. Check out his selection then vote for your Team of the Year 2008 here.

With a promising start to the season having been undermined by three successive defeats, Nihat Kahveci has called on his Villarreal CF team-mates to turn things around in Saturday's "six-pointer" at Valencia CF.

FC Shakhtar Donetsk, who are up against Tottenham Hotspur FC in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 next month, have recalled three players from loan spells, including Mexican international Nery Alberto Castillo.

The German Football Association has announced that Rainer Adrion will take charge of the national Under-21 team from 1 July 2009 – with Horst Hrubesch remaining in charge for June's European finals in Sweden.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibišević has been named Bosnia-Herzegovina's Player of the Year after a spectacular start to life in the Bundesliga while Grenoble Foot 38 coach Mehmed Baždarević was also honoured.

As a man who knows one or two things about scoring goals, Oleg Salenko believes his former club FC Dynamo Kyiv have made a shrewd appointment by installing the attack-minded Boris Ignatyev as Yuri Semin's assistant.

Jason Culina has announced his intention to leave PSV Eindhoven when his contract expires this summer and join Gold Coast United in his native Australia on a three-year deal.

Club Brugge KV have begun building for the future by signing promising midfielders Marc-André Kruska, 21, and 19-year-old Vadis Odjidja from German clubs BV Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV respectively.

PFC Neftçi coach Hans-Jürgen Gede is determined to make amends for the club's poor start in the Yuksek Liqa and has called for patience ahead of the resumption of the Azeri top flight next month.

Matthew Cassidy had been making his way up the ranks with Bolton Wanderers FC and the Republic of Ireland youth teams, so it was a surprise this summer when he opted to join Cypriot club Enosis Neon Paralimni FC.