Manchester United, the Champions of England!

Champions: Manchester United (87 points)
2nd Place: Chelsea (85 points)
Champions League Places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool
UEFA Cup Places: Everton, Portsmouth/Cardiff City (Winners of FA Cup), Tottenham Spurs
Carling Cup Winners: Tottenham Spurs
Relegated: Reading, Birmingham City, Derby County
Top Goal Scorers : Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, 31 goals in 34 matches); Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal, 24 goals in 36 matches); Fernando Torres (Liverpool, 24 goals in 33 matches)
Best Offensive Team: Manchester United (80 goals in 38 matches)
Best Defensive Team: Manchester United (22 goals in 38 matches)

Ten and counting….

Manchester United snatched their 17th English title and the 10th in last 16 Premiership campaigns under Sir Alex Ferguson on the weekend. In one of the most thrilling Premiership seasons, Manchester United displayed their array of the young and the old in their 2-0 victory against Wigan. 23-year old Cristiano Ronaldo playing his 5th season in England scored the opening goal from the penalty spot thus increasing his tally for the season to an incredible 41 goals, while the coup de grace was delivered by veteran 34-year old Ryan Giggs who was playing in his 758th game for Manchester United equaling the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton’s record for maximum games played in the Manchester United jersey. Chelsea failed on the final hurdle ending their game to Bolton Wanderers at 1-1 and are also worried about John Terry’s availability for the Champions League final after his clash with Cech left him being taken off the field on a stretcher. And even though, Chelsea have a chance to turn this season into a special one if they manage to get the upper hand on Manchester United in Moscow, as far as the English Premiership is concerned few will disagree that the best team has clinched the title.
With 80 goals scored and 22 goals conceded, Manchester United have been sensational on all areas of the pitch consistently through the season. And even though they had one of their worst beginnings to the 16th Premiership season (2 points in 3 games), a run of eight successive wins after that and another run of six successive victories as they reached towards the end, coupled with Arsenal’s dismal run at the finish line pushed them closer towards the top. Chelsea stood firmly between them and the title of Champions, however, and a 2-1 victory for the Blues at Stamford Bridge tied the two teams on points with just two matches remaining. But there is no better team around Europe that knows how to get the job done than Alex Ferguson’s team and that is what they did in their final two matches of the season thus claiming back-to-back titles. The up-front trio of Ronaldo (31 goals), Tevez (14 goals) and Rooney (12 goals) have been nothing short of breathtaking most of the times, but the part played by center-back Rio Fedinand, Vidic, Evra and Hargreaves to keep the opponents at bay is of no less value. A team effort it truly has been and another feather on their illustrious cap they truly deserve….
A look at the manner in which the Big Four of the Premiership fought for the Premiership title.

On the final day there was another winner, one from London, the team of Fulham who completed an unbelievable comeback and will be playing Premiership football next season for the 9th consecutive year. Roy Hodgson indeed carried out a remarkable turnaround since joining the club in December 2007 when they were deeply rooted in the relegation zone. But three consecutive victories at the end of the campaign has pulled them out of the mire and ensured a great escape. Reading who finished eight last season are back into the Championship after only two years in the Premiership. And they will be joined by Birmingham City and Derby County who conceded 89 goals and managed just 11 points to earn the status of the worst team to have ever played in the Premiership. Everton clinched the UEFA Cup spot with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

In the end there are tears of joy for some, tears of sorrow for others, ecstasy for some, while pain for others, as yet another Premiership season concludes in style! Well done, Manchester United, the worthy champions of England!

Last Day will decide in Italy and France…

One match remains…and just like in the Premiership, the champion of Italy will be crowned on the final day and not sooner! Needing just one win of their last three matches, Inter Milan have managed to lose and draw their last two games and will travel to relegation-threatened Parma in search of that elusive victory that will crown them the Italian champions for the third year in a row. On their heels are Roma who have grabbed the maximum 6 points from their last two games and trail Inter Milan by just a point before their final match too against relegation-battlers Catania. Inter will be kicking themselves to not have clinched the title this weekend as they twice took the lead against Siena only to see scores being leveled each time and had Materazzi’s penalty saved 13 minutes from time, the final result thus being 2-2. It will be do-or-die time for Inter Milan and Roma next weekend as they battle for the Championship crown. But the losers will have another opportunity to gain revenge as the Coppa Italia final will be contested between these two rivals again. The neutrals might prefer both the clubs taking home a trophy each in the same fashion as last season when Inter Milan edged Roma for the League title but Roma defeated Inter in the finals to lift the Italian Cup.
There is also a lot more to play for on the final day in the Serie A as Inter’s neighbours AC Milan are struggling to find a Champions League berth after their defeat against Napoli. Milan are now trailing Fiorentina by two points for the fourth position in the League table. Wonder how Milan will be able to attract big names that are being linked to them in recent weeks if they fail to qualify for Champions League next season! And that is why Flamini’s reasons for quitting Arsenal, ‘due to the pain of missing out on the Premiership title’, come as a surprise with Milan nowhere close to winning anything themselves this season. Maybe footballers should be more honest in saying that they received better contracts from the other team. On the relegation front, Livorno became the first team to be going down to Serie B. Catania, Parma and Empoli will battle it out on the last day to avoid joining Livorno.

Another major European League battle will be decided on the last day of the season. Lyon and Bordeuax both won their respective matches to keep the Ligue One battle on. Lyon, in search of a historic 7th successive League title, won against Nancy 1-0, the solitary goal was an own goal from Nancy’s defender Andre Luiz. Lyon have been jittery as they inch closer towards the finish line with 9 points from a maximum of 18 while Bordueax have notched up 15 points in the same number of games. Lyon will travel to Auxerre on the last day who have ensured their safety. Bordueax face a trip to RC Lens who are fighting to avoid the relegation drop and will need to get better results than Toulouse and PSG to ensure safety. PSG, just a point above safety, face an unthinkable nightmare of falling into the second division after a spell of more than two and a half decades in top-flight football. A lot at stake on the last day in France….

In Scotland, Rangers and Celtic are both keeping up the pressure on each other. Celtic currently have a 4-point lead over Rangers but while Celtic have only one game remaining, Rangers have still three more to play in the league. In Bundesliga, Bayern Munich have already been crowned champions but their latest victory against MSV Duisburg relegated the latter to second-tier of German football. Hansa Rostock will be joining Duisburg after their 1-2 defeat to Leverkusen. Either of Nurnberg or Arminia Bielefeld will be relegated on the last day.

And finally…the axe fell down on Frank Rijkaard, the current Barcelona manger, after his side’s 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid during mid-week. A second season in a row without a trophy seems to be uncalled for in a gigantic club like Barcelona and his previous exploits of two successive league titles and Champions League glory have quickly been forgotten. Josep Guardiola who spent 11 years as a Barcelona player and has even captained the Catalan giants will take over reigns from Rijkaard next season onwards.

The Final Frontier…

Match No. 38! And yet the Premier League trophy remains unhanded, still un-kissed, its final destination unknown. The debate refuses to cease on whether the trophy will be staying at Old Trafford or making its way to Stamford Bridge. The colour that will sweep England is still questioned, will it be Red or will it Blue! On Sunday, on the final day, the Champion will be known…

But in the 16-year old history of the Premiership this isn’t the first time that English football had to wait with bated breath until the final game to crown its Champion. Travel back in time to the third Premiership battle, the season 1994-95. Manchester United were hunting for their third successive title while Blackburn Rovers wished to move a rank up from last season’s runners-up finish. With an 8-point lead and six games only remaining, Blackburn looked certain to accomplish this feat. But it wasn’t going to be that simple! Manchester United clawed their way back and before the last match of the 42-game season ManU trailed Blackburn by just two points.
On the final day, Kenny Dalglish took his Rovers team to his former club Liverpool while Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United traveled to Upton Park to face Harry Redknapp’s West Ham. It was Alan Shearer who opened the scoring for Blackburn but Liverpool were back on level terms with a goal from John Barnes. And then a late goal from Jamie Redknapp gave Liverpool a 2-1 win and left the destiny of the Premiership title at Upton Park. Liverpool had done Manchester United a favor and a victory for the Red Devils would have pushed them above Blackburn. In their battle against West Ham, the opening goal by Michael Hughes for the Hammers had been cancelled by Brian McClair for ManU. Successive attacks by Alex Ferguson’s men were then heroically kept at bay by West Ham’s keeper Ludek Miklosko to end the match in a 1-1 draw sparking wild celebrations amongst the Rovers fan as they dramatically clinched their first title since 1914!

Just a year later, the drama went down to the final day once again. Alex Ferguson was hoping to reverse the misery of the previous season, and battling it along with him was Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United. Manchester United were trailing Newcastle by 12 points by January but another splendid fight from ManU, similar to the one they had given Blackburn the previous year, reduced the gap between the top two. On the final day, unlike last year, Manchester United now led Newcastle United by two points.
Manchester United traveled to Middlesbrough to take on former player Bryan Robson’s team in their last match while Newcastle played hosts to Tottenham Spurs. There was not much drama as last year as Manchester United comfortably defeated Middlesbrough 3-0 with goals from David May, ex-Newcastle player Andy Cole and Ryan Giggs. Newcastle did not give themselves any outside chance as well by finishing their final match of the season at 1-1. The title was back at Old Trafford!

Three seasons later, it was back to a nail-biting finale for the Premiership. Not surprisingly, Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were in the middle of the action trying to keep out Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal from winning back-to-back titles. With four games remaining, both Manchester United and Arsenal were tied on 69 points. But ManU dropped two points when their next match ended in a 1-1 draw against Leeds and gave Arsenal a two-point lead. But Leeds were responsible again for creating turbulence in the title race when they won the penultimate match of the season against Arsenal 1-0. The balance was tilted in Manchester United’s favor with a narrow lead of one point. On the final day, Manchester United hosted who else but Arsenal’s greatest rivals Tottenham Spurs managed by Arsenal’s former manager George Graham while Arsenal took on Aston Villa. The drama began with Spurs taking the lead in the first-half against ManU and a possibility of scales tilting in Arsenal’s favor rising. But just before half-time David Beckham equalized for Manchester while minutes into the second-half Andy Cole scored the second goal giving Manchester United a 2-1 lead. At Highbury, Arsenal took the lead with Kanu’s goal in the second-half. The Arsenal faithful prayed for a Spurs goal but the Gods did not oblige and even though both ManU and Arsenal won their respective matches it was Feguson’s Manchester United that succeeded in yet another final day drama!

And Alex Ferguson will have to do it all over again but this time a new adversary stands against him in the form of Chelsea’s Avram Grant. An adversary who will meet him again in Moscow for the Champions League final.

It is the closest title race for the Premiership crown ever and going by history it will be a hell of a night on Sunday! Choose your colours…

The Big Four!

Kevin Keegan after his side’s defeat to Chelsea in a candid interview mentioned the domination of the Big Four in the Premiership, viz. Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. He said that at best Newcastle can try to win the other league that is going on within the Premier League, i.e., the fight to finish fifth and earn a spot in the UEFA Cup competition. How true are these words by Keegan? Will the Premiership title remain a contest between these four teams year after year? Or do the others have a shot at it? The answers can be explored by looking at the changes that have occurred at the top over the history of the Premiership.

The Premiership began in the year 1992 taking the place of the old football League Division One. The first year saw Manchester United bagging their first Premiership title comfortably. For the next few years, the main title contenders used to be Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. Blackburn won the title in 1994-95 season and Newcastle under Keegan came agonizingly close in the next year only to squander a 10-point lead to ManU. The 1996-97 title was also grabbed by Manchester United and Newcastle finished runners-up for a second time. Blackburn Rovers had started slipping by then after the sale of Alan Shearer to Newcastle and they finished 13th in the 1996-97 season. In the first five years of the Premiership, 8 different teams had finished in the top four but the Champions League slots at that time were limited to two for English clubs.

The 1997-98 season saw the emergence of Arsenal under Arsene Wenger and the rise of one of the current ‘Big Four’. They won the title that year and interestingly, the top four in the table were Arsenal, ManU, Liverpool and Chelsea! But it was also the emergence of Leeds United who finished fifth that caught the eye, for next season they moved a berth higher and became one of the title aspirants. In this season, the top three English clubs were given the chance to play in the Champions League.
Liverpool under Houllier started growing in strength from the next season onwards. They were title contenders for most part of the season along with Leeds but the real tussle continued between Manchester United and Arsenal. Newcastle under Bryan Robson then started to challenge for the title in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons and qualified for the Champions League in both these seasons. Yet the title was distributed between Arsenal and Manchester United only. The second five-year period in the Premiership thus saw 6 different teams finishing in the top four. Manchester United and Arsenal finished in the top four in each of the seasons in that period while Liverpool was in the top four in all but one season.

The 2002-03 season was once again contested between Arsenal and ManU with Alex Ferguson’s team clinching the top honors. The next season brought Roman Abramovich to Chelsea and thus began the rise of the last of the Big Four. They finished runners-up to Arsenal in 2003-04 but with the arrival of Jose Mourinho Chelsea won the next two league titles. The domination of the Big Four had begun. Or had it? In 2004-05, it was not Liverpool but their local rivals Everton who clinched the final Champions League spot. Liverpool though won the Champions League to qualify for the competition in the next season. Everton’s run in the European competition was short-lived as they were knocked out in the qualifying stage thus not making it to the group stages.
The last three seasons have seen the Big Four continue fighting for the league honors and no one apart from them has broken into the top four. But is the gap widening between these four teams and the rest of the League? It appears so but that may not be the case. While Everton broke into the top four in 2005, Tottenham almost edged out Arsenal in 2006 only to be denied by a defeat in the final game.

There is a massive gap financially between the top four and the rest of the league, no doubt about that. But this gap does not necessarily have to show on the pitch. The likes of Everton under Moyes and Spurs under Jol have given the Big Four a run for their money. And another case could be the FA Cup finals this season that will not be contested for the first time by any team of the Big Four since 1990-91 final between Spurs and Nottingham Forest. The key towards managing to grab the kind of money the top clubs earn is to qualify for Champions League. A spot in the UEFA Cup does not even come close to the big bucks a sustained run in the Champions League can bring. The winners of last year’s Champions League earned around 39 million euros in prize money compared to 7 million euros for the UEFA Cup winners. And to grab that spot in the top European competition, a team needs an ambitious manager who has a stable team built around a nucleus of players and a fair amount of luck so that there are no long-term injuries. Everton look the most likely team to break into the Big Four and it would be great if the likes of Keegan would not end their team’s chances even before the campaign kicks off.

The Premiership history tells us that there have been changes at the top, and with time and patience other clubs have managed to rise to the top levels and challenge for the title while the old ones have fallen down hard. Usually it has been change in personnel either in the squad or the management that has led to inconsistencies. So the emergence of the Big Four does not imply a complete domination of the Premiership but just needs a rallying call for the others to forego their attack on the fifth spot and instead penetrate into the top!

Real Madrid, take a bow!

Barcelona won their fixture against Valencia 6-0 to finally show their class. Villarreal won 2-0 against Getafe to stay close to the league leaders. But it was Real Madrid who stole the show! This giant of a club went to Osasuna knowing that a victory would guarantee them the Spanish title. But it was a drab affair in the first-half that ended goalless and led to conspiracy theorists speaking about Madrid wanting to postpone the title win for the next match against Barcelona. Well, this is how the second half-unfolded….
46’ : Fabio Cannovaro sent-off! Within seconds of restart, the experienced Real Madrid made a reckless and unnecessary challenge to earn his second booking of the night and leave Madrid with only ten men on the field.
65’ : Raul is replaced with Gonzalo Higuain, the star for Madrid in the last couple of matches.
83’ : Osasuna lead 1-0! Heinze is deemed correctly by the referee to have used his hand while clearing the ball in the penalty area. Francisco Punal steps up to take the penalty kick and coolly slots it straight through the middle to give Osasuna the lead and leaving many guessing the importance of the upcoming fixture between Madrid and Barca.
88’ : Madrid equalize! Real Madrid proved why they are worthy contenders for the crown of Champions. With only 9 players on the pitch (one player was on the sidelines getting treatment), a lovely free-kick from the side of the penalty area was headed into the side netting by the Dutchman Arjen Robben.
89’ : 2-1 to Madrid as super-sub delivers! With glory beckoning, Higuan smashed the winning goal from the right-side of the penalty area to allow the Madrid fans to uncork the champagne. It is Higuain’s third goal in as many matches, all coming from the bench.
And with the final whistle, the Madrid players and supporters were driven to ecstasy after clinching their 31st Spanish title and back-to-back titles. An important one for Bernd Schuster as well in his debut season at Madrid!
It has been a season of master class displays from the Spanish giants which has included 25 wins from 35 matches so far. It required a better head-to-head record last season to edge the title from Barcelona, but it has been a comfortable ride this season with the title already in the bag with 3 games still remaining. Madrid have been in the pole position since the second game of the season and no team has been able to give them a serious threat. An 8-match winning streak in the middle of the campaign helped them consolidate their lead and despite a hiccup after that which saw 5 defeats in the next 8 games, Madrid’s superiority has never been in doubt. 17 league goals from Raul, their talisman and 12 goals from the currently injured Van Nistelrooy along with solid performances from the defenders such as Cannavaro, Heinze and Ramos and a world-class keeper in Casillas makes Madrid the best team both offensively and defensively in Spain. Kudos to Real Madrid!!

It was a night of celebrations in Munich, Germany as well as a goalless draw for Bayern Munich away to Wolfsburg was enough for them to seal their 21st title with 3 matches still left to play. After finishing fourth last season, Ottmar Hitzfeld on his return has managed to assemble a star-studded team that has caught the eyes of many in Europe. With a resolute defence that has conceded only 18 goals in 31 matches in the league, quality midfielders like Ribery, Van Bommel and Ze Roberto and Luca Toni upfront spearheading the attack (21 league goals), Munich’s domination in the Bundesliga comes as no surprise. They had a strong run-in in the UEFA Cup as well reaching upto the semifinals of the competition which finally ended against Zenit St. Petersburg.

With interests being shown by many clubs in Europe for the Munich players, especially Luca Toni, it is imperative for Bayern to hold onto them as so to continue their domestic dominance and carry it into the European arena as well. They will be without the services of legend Oliver Kahn, though, who is hanging up his gloves after this season. An eighth title for Kahn and he is going out in style! So let the party begin for Bayern Munich are the champions of Germany!!

One win is all they need...

Manchester United are just a win away from reclaiming their title in what has been a spectacular Premiership season. If Chelsea lose at Newcastle on Monday night, Manchester United could be kicking off their final game at Wigan as the Champions. But the story is as much dramatic at the top as it is at the bottom. A win for Bolton Wanderers, their third in the last four games, has pushed them away from the relegation battle and guarantees them yet another season in the top flight. Fulham continue their sensational recovery and their first back-to-back win in the Premiership since year 2006 puts their destiny in their own hands as they are now just a place above the bottom three. With 9 points captured from a maximum 12, Fulham’s 2-0 win over Birmingham pushes them from the 19th spot to 17th in the table. The final day will decide the destiny for the bottom clubs as to which two will be joining Derby in the Championship next season. Last day fixtures are: Birmingham vs Blackburn, Derby vs Reading, Portsmouth vs Fulham.
The Premiership next season will be seeing the navy blue and white of West Bromwich Albion and the red and white of Stoke City. The Baggies (West Brom) clinched the Championship title with a 2-0 victory over QPR. And a goalless draw for Stoke against Leicester City was enough for the second-oldest Football league team to reach to the top tier of English football after a spell of 23 years! An emotional night indeed at the Britannia Stadium as the home supporters celebrated promotion, their rivals Leicester City were relegated to the third tier for the first time in the club’s history. It is a devastating time for the club’s supporters who had been relegated from the Premiership back in 2004 along with Leeds United and now move to League One. Leeds, on the other hand, could be making a return to the Championship as they battle it out with three other teams in the League One playoffs.

Rangers had a tough week in the SPL despite their heroics in Europe. In their 61st game of the season already, Rangers were held by Hibernian to a 0-0 scoreline while Celtic’s victory the previous day leaves Walter Smith fuming over the lack of break his players are getting for important games. Rangers have 7 more games remaining that include two cup finals while Celtic have only two more League fixtures left. Rangers need to utilize every ounce of strength left in them so that a sensational campaign does not end in shatters. The Spaniard Carlos Cuellar, Rangers defender, scooped the Scottish Football Writers' Player of the Year award to add to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League's Player of the Season award he has already won. No surprises there!

AC Milan played their part in the Italian Serie A by defeating rivals Inter Milan 2-1 with goals from Inzaghi and Kaka thus not allowing Inter to claim the title this week. Roma keep up the pressure with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sampdoria. Inter need only one win in the remaining two games to be crowned as champions. Milan’s victory also pushes them a point above Fiorentina for the final Champions League spot.
A dramatic injury-time winner from Ducasse helped Bordeaux to a 2-1 win away to Marseille and reduces Lyon’s lead to only 2 points with 2 games remaining. This one is going down to the wire….

And to wrap up, Jens Lehmann played his final game for Arsenal in their 1-0 victory against Everton. The German shot-stopper who will decide his future after the Euro matches was given a standing ovation by the Arsenal faithful at the Emirates Stadium after the match. He will be best remembered for his sensational performance in Arsenal’s 2006 Champions League campaign when he went for more than 500 minutes without conceding a goal and also became the first player to be sent off in a Champions League final. A job well done by the German international!
Lehmann’s teammate Flamini is reported to have agreed to a four-year deal with Milan. Woah!! http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3519560,00.html

England’s Top 2 are Europe’s Top 2!

2000, Real Madrid v/s Valenica, an all-Spanish final…. 2003, AC Milan v/s Juventus, an all-Italian final…. 2008, Manchester United v/s Chelsea, finally an all-English affair!

Barcelona could have been the only road-block to an all-English final for the first time in the history of the European Cup. But the long-serving servant of ManU, Paul Scholes smashed a splendid goal in the second leg and the only goal over 180 minutes of football to dislodge Barcelona and send them home wondering about the many changes that would definitely take place over the summer after a trophyless season. It was a moment to relish for Scholes to put ManU in their third European final especially since he had missed the dramatic 1999 cup win due to suspension.

And not surprisingly it is Chelsea who once again stand between Manchester United and the trophy. The rivalry between these two teams has been on the rise since Mourinho’s arrival. Last season, United derailed Chelsea’s dreams of winning a hattrick of Premiership titles but Chelsea went on to defeat them in the FA Cup final to salvage some pride. This season too Chelsea have come close to denting United’s title ambitions and they will relish to be the thorn in United’s neck at Moscow as well.
A memorable semi-final clash with Liverpool showed the character of the Blues and their desire to win their first ever European trophy. The last seven clashes between Chelsea and Liverpool prior to the midweek game had resulted in a meager 5 goals. All that was forgotten and the flood gates opened up in a thrilling 3-2 win for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with 3 of these 5 goals being scored in extra time! Chelsea fans’ hearts will go out to Frank Lampard whose mother passed away last week yet he stepped up and scored a crucial goal from the penalty spot in extra time.
And now as action in the Premiership race comes to a boiling finale, the season will still not be over for these two English clubs as Moscow awaits….

In the UEFA Cup semi-final, it was a night of firsts for the Russian Champions Zenit St. Petersburg. They handed German giants Bayern Munich a lesson in football with a 4-0 thrashing at home that ensured their entry into their first ever European Cup final. A splendid night for Dick Advocaat’s team indeed! But striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, one of the goal scorers, will be kicking himself for picking up an unnecessary booking that puts him out of the finals at Manchester.
And the team to meet them in the finals is Advocaat’s former club Rangers from Scotland. One cannot speak highly enough of Walter Smith’s men. They were the epitome of resilience and fortitude against Fiorentina who sent wave after wave of attack but could not break the Rangers’ defence. Carlos Cueller who had a sensational game in defence alongwith Weir had to deal with 29 attempts at goal by Fiorentina compared to 7 for Rangers. And even though Cousin, the Rangers forward got himself stupidly sent off in extra time, Rangers hung onto a goalless draw and took the game to penalties. After Vieri (Fiorentina) skied his penalty over the bar Novo slotted in his kick calmly to put them into their first European final and their third final of this season itself. Rangers’ phenomenal season continues!

So be sure that you have no pending work on these all-important dates….

Wednesday 14th May – Zenit St. Petersburg v/s Rangers (UEFA Cup Finals)
Wednesday 21st May – Manchester United v/s Chelsea (Champions League Finals)

PFA Awards Night

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United deservedly scooped his second successive PFA Player of the Year award. Fransesc Fabregas of Arsenal was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Ronaldo is 23 while Fabregas is just 20…. there is still a lot of magic to be seen from this duo!

The team of the year was announced as well and there are not many surprises.

GK : David James (Portsmouth)
DF : Barcary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (ManU), Nemanja Vidic (ManU), Gael Clichy (Arsenal)
MF : Cristiano Ronaldo (ManU), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
FW : Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

If this team were to ever step on the field together, God only save the opposition from humiliation!
The only note of surprise is the lack of any Chelsea player in the line-up but this could be due to injuries to their key players for certain long spells that kept them on the sidelines.

To read more about the Team of the Year, you can go to the following story by SkySports

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11662_3469616,00.html

The Challengers 2 – 1 The Champions

How close can championship races get? Year 1989, Arsenal scored the all-important second goal in the dying minutes to beat Liverpool 2-0 and snatch the title from Liverpool on 'goals scored'. Year 1999, Manchester United won the title from Arsenal by just a point by defeating Spurs 2-1 on the last day. Nine years later, and we could be witnessing another title race that will go down to the wire. It could have been less complex though had ManU managed to hang on at 1-1 against Chelsea in their weekend clash. But it was a controversial penalty awarded to Chelsea that was coolly slotted home by Ballack for his second of the game that ties the top two English clubs at 81 points apiece though keeps the Red Devils on top only because of their mammoth goal difference. Even though Ferguson is worried about the penalty decisions going against him, one wonders about the kind of team he had set up for the last two matches. The team at Nou Camp seemed willing to take a draw even before kickoff and the mentality of the team at Stamford Bridge was not much different. Ferguson will have to bring the hunger and desire back in his team which has been such an important catalyst for their success so far this season. Will he regret his team selections in these all-important matches? The answer isn’t faraway….

In another top of the table clash, it was Celtic who emulated Chelsea in Scotland by defeating Rangers 3-2 and put a 5 point lead at the top though Rangers have 3 games in hand. But with Rangers still battling for glory in three competitions, Celtic will be hoping for more slipups from their arch rivals who have obtained just 1 point from their last 3 games compared to Celtic’s 9 points. Will the dream of a quadruple end in shambles for Rangers? The answer isn’t faraway….

Inter Milan continue their impressive form at the top with a 2-1 win against Cagliari, their fourth successive victory, but cannot claim the title yet as Roma grabbed their 3 points with a 4-1 victory over Torino. Interestingly, Inter have the opportunity to clinch the title in style if they could carve out a victory in their next game against….AC Milan in the Milan derby! The bottom of the table has got tighter as Parma have now been pushed into the last 3. The bottom 7 clubs are separated by only 5 points with 3 games remaining. Woah, that’s close! Will Inter be crowned champions next week or will Milan play party-poopers? The answer isn’t faraway….

The tale in Spain was no different this weekend. Real Madrid are surging towards the finish line and there is no one to challenge them at the season’s end. While it was a 3-0 victory for the Champions with goals from Saviola, Robben and Higuain, and a 1-0 victory for Villareal to procrastinate Madrid’s celebrations, it was yet more misery endured by the Barcelona supporters. A 2-0 defeat inflicted by Deportivo leaves the Catalan giants with just 1 win out of their last 9 league games (L L D W L D D D L). Madrid would be crowned champions if they were to win at Osasuna next week and this would result in Barcelona having to give the guard of honor to the Champions when Madrid host Barca on the 7th. Nothing more humiliating for a Barcelona supporter! Things have turned towards the brighter side for Valencia who sacked Ronald Koeman after a string of poor results. A 3-0 win on the weekend under temporary coach Salvador Gonazlez puts them 4 points over the drop zone and lets the Valencia supporters breathe freely for the moment at least. Will Madrid clinch their 31st title at Osasuna next week? The answer isn’t faraway….

And finally, mid-week holds in store crucial semi-final matches in the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Which teams will take a step further towards the coveted European trophies? The answer isn’t faraway….

Too many draws in Europe

The focus shifted to the European arena during the week as the first leg of the semifinal clashes of both the European competitions were played out. Eight teams fought to cement their place in the finals and move a step closer to claiming the European titles. But after the first round the spectators are still clueless as all the four matches ending in draws.
In the Champions League the key moments to note are an own goal and a missed penalty. Liverpool playing hosts to Chelsea took the lead just before half time with Dirk Kuyt’s scrappy effort. And it seemed that with Liverpool’s rigid defence that would be the only goal of the game. It wasn’t! Liverpool who had knocked out Arsenal with 2 late goals, conceded one to Chelsea in the cruellest of fashions. With 94 minutes on the clock and the referee about to end the four minutes injury time play any minute, Kalou whipped in a low cross in the Liverpool box that Riise tried to clear with his head only to see it sneak past Reina for an own goal and a narrow advantage for Chelsea to carry home. Not surprisingly Benitez was left red-faced and questioning the four minutes added on by the referee.

While it was late drama at Anfield, the Nou Camp saw a sensational opening couple of minutes. Manchester United won a penalty early on and up stepped Ronaldo to add yet another feather to his overflowing cap. But shockingly Ronaldo saw his penalty hit the post and harmlessly roll out. Not many would have bet on such a thing happening! The game after that was not much different from a tactical chess match. With Barcelona enjoying as much as 70% possession, ManU’s tactics were clear that they were happy to just shut out Barca and try to snatch one on the break. That didn’t happen though, and the night ended goalless.

The UEFA Cup also had its moment of drama in the match between Bayern Munich and Zenit St. Petersburg. The absence of Luca Toni for the home team did not seem to affect their treble aspirations as they took the lead with Ribery’s penalty in the 19th minute. But the game turned in the Russians’ favour when Lucio ended up following Riise’s example and headed in his own net. The match ended 1-1 giving the Russians a slight edge. In the second semi-final, Rangers and Fiorentina were unable to break each other down ending the game goalless. Rangers, aspiring to lift four trophies at the end of the season, will now have to manage to find the back of the net in Italy next week.

PSV Eindhoven, the Champions of Netherlands!

Champions: PSV Eindhoven
2nd Place: Ajax
Relegated: Excelsior
Top Goal Scorers : Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax, 33 goals in 33 matches); Blaise N'Kufo (FC Twente, 21 goals in 30 matches)
Best Offensive Team: Ajax (94 goals in 34 matches)
Best Defensive Team: PSV Eindhoven (24 goals in 34 matches)

Blackburn do Chelsea a favor

It is never over until it is over! A line that has epitomized great sporting moments throughout history. And it will be restated many times over by the Chelsea fans this week before the big match-up at Stamford Bridge. The forthcoming ‘Clash of the Titans’ could have been more in favor of the Blues had Blackburn managed to hang onto their unexpected lead against Manchester United on the weekend. But Carlos Tevez salvaged a point with a late header that keeps them 3 points above Chelsea and more importantly would keep them on top even if they were to lose in London thanks to their massive goal difference. A mouth-watering clash surely awaits football fans next weekend!
The derby at Villa Park was a no-contest, on the other hand, as Aston Villa edged out their local rivals Birmingham City 5-1 to make a push for a fifth place finish but left Birmingham helplessly gasping for air as Bolton’s 1-0 victory puts Birmingham into the relegation zone with only three games remaining.

The 5-1 scoreline told of another tale in Spain as Bilbao thrashed Valencia at the Estadio San Mames leaving the 2004 UEFA Cup winners just 2 points above the relegation zone. Valencia who had finished fourth last season, are currently fifth from the bottom and it seems Ronald Koeman could be facing the axe soon despite winning the first trophy for the club in four years in the Coppa del Ray competition. For a club that boasts of players such as Villa, Morientes, Baraja, Joaquin, relegation could lead to a massive exodus from the club. Valencia are not the only star-studded club facing problems though. Barcelona, despite the return of Messi drew their third game in a row and are now pinning all their hopes on the Champions League semi-final clash against Manchester United. The Spanish title run is almost over with Real Madrid grabbing 3 points away at Racing Sanatander and 6 points from the remaining five games would see them comfortably lift their 31st Spanish title.

The 1-1 draw against relegation-battlers Livorno sees Roma not only lose steam in their bid to overthrow Inter Milan from the top but also lose their inspirational skipper Totti for the rest of the season and also the beginning of the next. Totti has ruptured his cruciate knee ligament that puts him out of action for four months. A big blow! Inter’s 1-0 victory puts them 6 points above Roma and in pole position to retain their title.

In Netherlands, the championship is definitely over and PSV Eindhoven have clinched their fourth consecutive title. Requiring only a point on the final day, PSV went a step further to win 1-0 against Vitesse with a goal from substitute Danko Lazovich. Ajax did their best winning 5-1 against Heracles but in the end it was not good enough. The final goal for Ajax was scored by defender Johnny Heitinger who will be departing to Atletico Madrid next season in a 10 million euros transfer. Ajax-veteran Edgar Davids announced that he is “98 percent certain” of retiring at the end of this season.
It required a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory for Rangers to knock out St. Johnstone and reach the Scottish Cup finals thus keeping a dramatic quadruple still in sight. Having already won the CIS Insurance Cup, Rangers are favorites to win the Scottish championship and also face Fiorentina in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.

And finally in a bizarre game in the Serie A, relegation-threatened Parma not only lost 2-1 to Napoli but also lost 3 of their players to red cards! And guess what… Napoli had a player sent off as well that resulted in the game ending with 18 players only!! The heat is on in Italy as the bottom four teams are within just a point of each other. On the positive side, Del Piero and Kaka each scored a hat-trick for their respective sides giving their fans something to oooh and aaah about…..

PSV celebrations kept on hold!

As the football seasons across Europe are reaching a climatic finale, the football schedules continue to cram up leaving little breathing space. And one slip up here or there could mean the end of an entire year’s efforts. That wasn’t the case with Ajax when they took on FC Groningen on Wednesday in their rescheduled match knowing fully well that any other result apart from a win would mean handing the title to league leaders PSV Eindhoven. A goal in each half eased them to a 2-1 victory that keeps celebrations at PSV on hold. The final set of matches will be placed on Sunday when PSV travel away to Vitesse needing just a draw to clinch their fourth consecutive title. Ajax will have to rely on their players to grind another victory and pray to the Gods that PSV fail in their venture, in which case Ajax could out jump PSV based on goal difference. Remember last year when Ajax lost the title to PSV by a goal difference of one!! A thrilling Sunday awaits….

A last-gasp 93rd minute winner by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink sees Celtic defeat big-time rivals 2-1 and curtail Rangers’ lead at the top to just a point, though they have two games in hand over Celtic. Rangers are still the favorites to grab the title back from Celtic but a match-up between these two giants of Scottish football on 27th could spice up proceedings.
3-1 was the scoreline at Munich as Bayern Munich comfortably continue their journey towards the German title. And guess who added another two goals to his tally…..that’s right, Luca Toni, once again! The Italian cannot stop scoring at the moment but not many are complaining. Another inspirational Italian keeps Roma’s dreams alive of lifting two trophies at the end of the campaign. Captain Francesco Totti fired in a 30-yard winner to edge out Catania in the first-leg of the semi-finals of Coppa Italia. Inter, on the other hand, where held to a disappointing goalless draw at home against Lazio.

Moving off the pitch… Marco Van Basten has offered Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp a role as trainee coach at Ajax. Van Basten, currently manager of Holland, will be in-charge of Ajax post-Euro 2008. Bergkamp had started his career from Ajax at a time when Van Basten was a legend at the Amsterdam Arena. Soon Dennis Bergkamp etched his name in the hearts of the Ajax supporters by scoring a century of goals during his time in Holland. If Bergkamp were to accept this role, we could soon be having a brilliant manager in the making! Will keep you all updated on this one….

A late addition but an important one... Valencia beat Getafe 3-1 in the finals of the Coppa del Ray to salvage some pride from a miserable season and also guarantee European football for the next season.

Red Devils Rejoice!!

2-1! The final score at Old Trafford! A result that leaves one team galloping towards the Premiership title but halts the dreams and ambitions of another. Arsenal managed to squander their lead for the 4th time in their last 6 matches ending yet another title charge. Two set-piece goals from the talismanic Ronaldo and Hargreaves edged out the opener from Adebayor exposing the fragilities in Arsenal’s defence. 8 points from the last 8 Premiership matches (D D D D L W D L) does not present a pretty picture for the Gunners and looks even woeful when compared to Manchester United’s 22 points in the same number of matches (W W W W W W D W) and Chelsea’s 20 points (W W W D W W W D). Even the most optimistic Arsenal supporter will now be looking forward to the next season for this 3-year trophy-less run to end.
The Premiership marathon is left with only two runners now. And Sir Alex Ferguson believes that wins in their next two matches will be enough to bring the Premiership title to Old Trafford for the 10th time. Avram Grant in his first season in the post-Mourinho era remains optimistic and stated after the 1-1 draw against Wigan that “We are still in it and we will keep on fighting.” The 26th of this month (Chelsea v/s ManU) might be the Judgment Day in this engrossing saga!

In Spain, Real Madrid continue to extend their lead at the top. A goal from Sneijder was enough for them to see off Murcia. Barcelona faltered yet again in a season that looked so bright at the beginning with the signing of Thierry Henry but has delivered nothing so far. A goal in the first minute by Eto’o was not enough as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Recreativo leaving them 9 points behind Madrid. With only one win in their last seven league matches the much awaited clash with Madrid on 7th May could be just a formality. Reports flying around on possible departures of Ronaldinho and Henry also do not help Barcelona in their preparation for the semi-final clash with Manchester United next week.

Italian Serie A sees the top contenders continuing the title chase with sound victories. Internazionale maintain their 4-point lead over Roma with a 2-0 victory over Fiorentina while Roma came from a goal down to beat Udinese 3-1. In Germany, Bayern Munich smashed five goals past Dortmund to add to a wonderful week which has already seen their entry to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup thanks to a dramatic comeback against Getafe. Luca Toni continues his impressive display adding another brace taking his tally to 28 goals from 34 appearances for the German club.
Elsewhere, Lyon were held to a draw and saw their lead cut to four points in their hunt for a 7th consecutive Ligue One title. PSV Eindhoven may be holding the trophy in their hand soon though. A point in their final game will be enough to clinch the title.

And on a final note… a weekend that saw most of the League front-runners make a stronger claim to the title, it was celebrations for the small football club of Swansea City. The Swans earned promotion from League One to the English Championship and will be entering the second tier of English football after a spell of 24 years. A truly magnificent performance and congratulations to the Swans faithful!