May
9
Grant Wishes For Playoff
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As the last day of the season nears, Chelsea fans and Coach Avram Grant are beginning to question the system. Currently the Blues and Manchester United are tied in standings, but by Premier League rules, a tie at the end of the season would be broken by goal difference. That is where the two clubs are not tied, or even near it. Manchester United currently has a goal difference of 56, which is virtually unreachable by Chelsea’s 39. The large gap is not necessarily due to better play by Manchester United. It has a lot to do with the different styles of offense as well as how their opponents play. Grant and Chelsea fans would much rather see a system like that in Italy, where a tie in standings would be broken by a playoff. In this situation it is clear why Chelsea would want such a rule, but Grant insists that even if his team wasn’t in this position he would support a playoff to break ties.
Either way, a rule change for this season is not going to happen and Chelsea will have to live with whatever happens this weekend. Manchester United currently has their destiny in their own hands as they go into their last game, against Wigan. If they beat Wigan the title is there’s. Thus far, Man U has been very strong against Wigan and they are certainly the favorite. The only way Chelsea can leave with the title is if Man U loses and they win. Both clubs (Chelsea and Man U) have played amazingly this season and it has created some great competition. It can be argued that Chelsea has played better recently, but by the rules Manchester United is in the better position. It will be interesting to see how things turn out come Sunday (when they both play their games) and the reactions to whatever the outcome is.
May
8
Francois Sterchele
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Francois Sterchele was pronounced dead early this morning when his car hit a tree. He was only twenty-six years old when he died and was one of the top Belgium strikers. He was Belgium’s top scorer in 06/07 when he scored 21 goals with Germinal Beerschot. He played a qualifier for the Belgium team during the Euro2008 qualifying matches against Portugal, and also made some other international appearances for his Belgium team.
This past season Sterchele was playing for Charleroi and although not as productive as a season as last year he still managed to score nine goals for the squad. Everyone on the team loved Sterchele and said he was one of the happiest players on the field and in the dressing room, and that it’s going to be dearly missed. The star Belgium striker was born in Liege and made his debut in 2003-2004.
Sterchele was still only twenty-six years old and was just getting to the top of his game. I feel he is going to be greatly missed in the world of soccer and especially in Belgium. I’m sure everyone in Belgium is missing Sterchele dearly already and I’m sure that feeling with last a long time. Someone as nice of person as Sterchele is hard to come by, and for something this tragic to happen to the Belgium striker is insane. It really shows you that something terrible and tragic can happen to the best of people at any given time with no warning. I know his lose is being felt worldwide with lots of Belgium citizens mourning over the loss in many countries and also many soccer fans. I can only wish his family, his team and country the best of luck with getting over this tragic time.
May
7
Real Madrid beats Barcelona
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Real Madrid topped of their La Liga championship with a 4-1 victory over their arch-rivals, Barcelona. Barcelona has now lost six of their last seven and sits at third place in the standings. Real just dominated this game and took advantage of Barcelona’s struggling defense. Raul and Arjen Robben started the scoring early and Gonzalo Higuain and Ruud van Nistelrooy would follow up with scores later in the game. Barcelona seemed intimidated and weak perhaps due to the absences of Samuel Eto’o (suspended), Deco (also suspended), Gabriel Milito, and Andres Iniesta (both injured.) Either way it was a disappointing and humiliating loss for the team.
Thierry Henry scored late for Barca, but to no avail. It made the loss no less painful with Barcelona’s cold streak still alive. With two matches remaining, Real Madrid is at the top of the standings with 81 points, followed by Villarreal at 71 and Barca at 64. With this loss Barca can no longer finish in second. It really couldn’t have gone much worse for Barcelona, who also got handed the sweep by their bitter enemies with this loss. On top of that they came into the game after Madrid secured their title, meaning that even the pre-game celebrations in and around the stadium were demeaning.
This is basically a low point for Barcelona as they eagerly anticipate the end of a horrible season. They hope to bounce back next year with new coach, Josef Guardiola. It is likely that many other changes will also be made to turn the team around. Guardiola is the current coach of Barcelona FC B (the reserve team) and management believes he is ready to take over the main team. Looking at this season in retrospect, there isn’t really a place where he can go other than up. There is no doubt the team will remember the miserable trip to Madrid this year as they try to win against them next year.
May
7
Best Goal At The Euros?
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Recently there was a poll on the Euro2008.com website that was looking to find out what the viewers believe is the best goal all-time to happen in the Euros. The winning goal ended up being a recent goal which makes sense as it’s still in peoples memories more and also most teenagers would remember this goal if they are soccer fans. The goal was scored at Euro1996 by Czech Republic midfielder Karel Poborsky in the quarter-finals against Portugal. The goal is famous for being the “lob” strike of the century and has been carried with him for over the past decade now. With the Euro2008 tournament about to commence this summer there is lots of expected goals to be coming. Although I don’t think well see a goal to beat Karel’s I do think there is going to be lots of scoring and many nice goals. The goal ended up with 54 percent of the voting which made it an easy decision for the best goal in the poll.
There were some other really great goals in the mixture to vote on, with 38 percent of the voted the amazing solo effort goal scored by Netherlands, Johan Cruyff’s. This goal leads all the way back to the 1976 UEFA Championships, and shows that not only the fresh goals are in people’s memory.
I actually wanted the Johan goal to win the survey but still happy to see Karel win the voting. I think the solo effort goal looked a lot sweeter then the other goal though but I think the survey is also a little biased as well. Quite a few younger people frequent surveys like that so it makes the survey not quite as telling as it should be and I believe if more average men voted on the best Euro goal that the 1976 goal would of won.
May
6
Are you one of the many people traveling across the globe to Russia to attend the UEFA Champions League Finals Match?
Well if you happen to be one of those people then you’ll be glad to know that to make the tournament more organized and efficient, you’ll be able to use your match ticket as a visa into Russia. Now this means you won’t need to get a travel visa to enter the country to watch the soccer match. With monstrous expectations for the match the UEFA planning committee wanted to make sure the tournament is going to be as organized as possible.
If you do have a match ticket then that will act as a visa exemption into the country for 72 hours, which is the ideal amount of time to watch the match and have some fun afterwards. To enter the country you’ll need your valid match ticket, valid passport and also need to fill out an immigration form. Upon completion of the form and pending you have the two valid pieces of information that you need then you’ll be granted access into the country from May 19th - May23rd.
Russia deserves a huge pat on the back for doing their best at making this an efficient and unforgettable event. Making the ticket act as a visa will save a lot of people the hassle of trying to find last minute documents so that they can watch the game. Typically countries don’t do this, but Russia decided it was in the best interest of them and also more importantly the fans who will be traveling to Russia to enjoy the game.
The match should be a great one featuring many of the elite players in the English league. It should be a treat for anyone lucky enough to be watching the game live, and now it’s been made a lot easier as well.
May
5
More National Championships
Filed Under Champions League, Premiership, Primera Division | Leave a Comment
Bayern Munich is the German Champion for the 21st time in their history. The celebrations started on Sunday after they secured the championship with a tie against VfL Wolfsburg. Munich has 67 points now, 10 ahead of second place Werder Bremen with only three games remaining. Bayern has now won the league, the German Cup, as well as the German League Cup this season.
With the blow of the final whistle the team and its fans began celebrating immediately. The players enjoyed spilling beer [and drinking it] on one another. Team chairman, Karl-Reinz Rummenigge was soaked as he spoke of the team’s success this season. He was optimistic of the future and hopes for a repeat next season.
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will not be around next year, instead leaving for the Switzerland team after June. He was still obviously very proud of his players and immensely happy for the victory which marks his 25th title as coach. The expectations were high and he was glad that the team overcame the pressure to win. The domestic victory was a good change of light after the team lost in the UEFA semi-final last Thursday.
Munich was not the only team to win their national championship yesterday. Real Madrid went through the same joyous celebration after their win against Osasuna yesterday, which secured their spot as the Spanish champions. Thousands of Real fans came together on the Cibeles fountain after the match overwhelmed with energy and happiness. The team now goes to face bitter enemies, Barcelona in a relaxed mood. This victory was especially great for Madrid fans because it ended Barcelona’s championship streak.
With the German and Spanish championships settled, most soccer fans are now turning their heads to the English (as well as the Champions League of course.) Manchester United and Chelsea are still in a deadlock which will be decided in next Sunday’s matches.
May
5
Greek club Olympiacos and their fans celebrated today winning their 11th Greek championship in the last 12 years with what has now become an annual fiesta at Karaiskaki stadium. For entertainment, a friendly game was played against Fitese but hardly anyone really cares about the final result which found the two teams tied with 1 goal each.
So far, Olympiacos had their best season performing well in Champions League and of course earning themselves another Greek championship title. They also have a chance of taking home the Hellas Online Cup with the final coming up soon against Northern Greek club Aris. This was not, however, a year with no controversies for the Piraeus club.
First, they had to let go of team coach Takis Lemonis after it looked like he had a hard time managing the team going in to the final stretch of the season; losing uncontested to English club Chelsea in Champions League play forced owner Kokalis to let Lemonis go. Moreover, Olympiacos finished the year two points ahead of second place AEK. The turning point which in the end also decided the winner was a decision by a panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, ruled out an appeal by another club, last-placed Apollon Kalamarias, which, had it been successful, would have cost Olympiacos three points and handed the title to AEK. It was ruled that Kalamaria used an ineligible player overturning the team’s initial win over Olympiacos by a 1-0 score.
The situation turned worse when Brazilian soccer star Rivaldo who spent 3 years playing for Olympiacos before moving to AEK last season claimed AEK as the true champions and threatened to leave the country because of what he considered to be an injustice. In the end, Oympiacos owner Kokalis served Rivaldo with a lawsuit over his statement; Greek courts will have to decide this one as well. Rivaldo went from being a fan favorite to one rather hated; I am certain that many of Olympiacos’ fans were chanting (in their heads) “Rivaldo cabron, saluda al campeon,” during the big party at Karaiskaki yesterday.
May
4
Zidane to manage QPR
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Rumors are that French International and soccer superstar Zinedine Zidane will be announced as the new manager for London club Queens Park Rangers. The rumors are based on words by QPR owner Flavio Briatore who has promised his team’s fans a big announcement before the last game of the season Sunday.
Frankly, QPR will need more than an inexperienced coach who does not speak a work of English in order to do better in the Championship next year. Unless this is nothing more than a marketing move similar to Beckham’s move to the United States, I see little merit in Zidane becoming QPR’s manager. Remember that the last we heard of him was the 2006 World Cup final when the French legend disappointed everyone received a red card in the final game costing his team the title as many have speculated since the incident (play the Zidane headbutt game.)
May
2
Gareth Barry to Liverpool?
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It has been confirmed that Liverpool has made an offer to Aston Villa for skipper Gareth Barry. The offer by the Reds currently consists of a player trade involving a few small names for the Lions’ captain. Although the original offer probably won’t go through, talks could start up between the two sides. The Villa chief has expressed interest in Liverpool Peter Crouch, who could somehow be brought onto the table. Goalkeeper Scott Carson (who Villa currently has on loan) and defender John Arne Riise could also be brought into a package.
Martin O’ Neill, manager of Villa, doesn’t want to see a deal involving Barry just yet, stating that Villa is “not a feeder club.” He is interested in having the skipper around for the remaining two years of his contract. Although such things are often said to keep the other team to raise their bid, the Villa coach may not be fibbing. He has expressed genuine interest in building up a strong club that can compete with the best of the Premier League. Gareth Barry is a valuable asset and any serious team would think twice before trading him.
The Lions seem like they will be evaluating the opportunity more before doing anything drastic. The team has yet to talk with Barry personally, which is an important part if they are going to exchange him since he would have to accept a contract termination to be traded. Such a termination, to O’ Neill’s dismay, may be possible due to Barry’s eagerness to get a Champions League victory. O’ Neill has tried to get his team up to par with “the Big Four,” but has failed thus far and Barry might just grab the opportunity of moving to one of the big clubs if given the chance. Then again, Martin O’ Neill does have the final call and at this point he doesn’t seem interested in Liverpool’s offer.
May
1
Chelsea and Liverpool played the second leg match of their semi-final battle against Liverpool yesterday, and with a pretty wide open affair the blue prevailed. Going into the game I was skeptical about who would win this match but clearly Chelsea was either more prepared or just came more ready to play. Frank Lampard had a lot to play for as his mother just passed away last week. He ended up netting a penalty shot well into the second half of the match. Only big play gamers can manage to come back from a family crisis like Lampard did and score an important goal to ensure his team moved onto the finals.
When the finals begin it will be Chelsea against Manchester United and although Chelsea beat Man U not long ago, I don’t think they will be able to win the championship. Manchester United has a lot more depth on their line-up and the loss that Manchester suffered against Chelsea will only fuel Manchester to play better and come more prepared. I think Chelsea would have a better chance coming into the game without have winning the previous match between the two teams. Although same say it was the confidence they needed I think it just fueled the anger behind Manchester.
The all English affair will be tense and heart wrenching but Manchester should prevail as champions this year. Ronaldo alone is enough to be a deciding factor without even mentioning Tevez. Chelsea has a lot of work in store for them and need to prepare very well for the coming match, which happens to be the most important match of the season for either team. If Chelsea were to upset Manchester in the finals Lampard will need to be the deciding factor on both sides of the field.