Champions' League 2010 - 2011... Group A

Now that the draw is done, let's take one group at a time and (since this is my blog,) I'll share a few words on how I want things to go about and if the odds are on my side for that.

Urm, Group A to begin with!

Inter Milan
SV Werder Bremen
Tottenham Hotspur
FC Twente

My pre-draw wish was to see Inter-Real-Spurs-Twente (the strongest possible group? - taking the English and Spanish teams out in Pot 1 for Real & Spurs) in the same group. Three fourths of it coming true isn't that bad, is it? Now that I think about it, this is a better group. Much as I'd like to see what Mourinho will do with Real, Werder Bremen's game is something I've loved (in the past). Results (I don't see many games anymore...) don't seem to favour them after Diego's Italian transfer - they needed a high-voltage surge to end up third last season. Struggling to beat Sampdoria and a 1-4 loss to Hoffenheim is a bad start, but Werder Bremen are a strong team even without Mesut Ozil, no doubt - and have it in them to run through Tottenham or Twente.

FC Twente are strong (supposedly) and on a roll, and since I don't know much about them, I'd rather wait and watch what happens. It'd be interesting to see how Inter fare without the One - it is still an awesome team anyway. One part of me wants Inter to die out in the group stage while another wants Inter to progress and get butchered by Bayern (as Capt.Haddock would put it, "Revenge! Revenge! REVENGE!"). Tottenham, urm, completes this awesome set - and hence most of us will get to watch the other three teams on TV! It is a strong team and can even beat Inter on their day, but yea, that still sounds like a fairy tale to me, given their off-the-scale unpredictability.

Who I want to progress: Bremen, Spurs
Who will (prediction) : Inter, Spurs
Underdogs: FC Twente
What's awesome about Group A: Four strong teams

Idho vanduten...

When I stopped playing football by the end of 1997 (yea, a couple of years after I started - not like a career or anything, he he), I knew what I was getting into. My instructor had asked me to keep exercising and if not, I would become fat, especially around the belly portion, once I finished growing taller.

Anyone who has seen me in the past four or five years can say whether I worked on his advice. :)

I was back on the field today after seven years (thirteen, if you count playing for a team) and realized a lot of things.

a) I have a serious respiratory issue I am planning to overlook for the moment.
b) I am planning to run and explore as much as possible.
c) I can still bend the ball.
d) Most importantly, I was of the opinion that my football 'skills' (if I may use that word) would have gone down exponentially since '97. I was either wrong about the exponential function back then, or we have reached infinity. Yes, I am back at zero. In fact, zero is over rating it.
e) I can't run continuously for even five minutes now.
f) I should.
g) Total distance covered was at least four kilometres (including the 8-6 end-to-end on the basketball court).
h) This is just as fun as it was.

Much thanks to Lian and Devabasu for letting me in first.

Bayern beats Lyon, reaches UCL 2010 finals

Bayern beat Lyon with what I'd call a clinical precision to reach Bernabeu. As Munich, and for that matter, the whole of Germany want Bayern to lift the trophy, one thing that runs in their favor is the improvement in their game over the course of UCL. For one, they've stopped losing second legs.

Moving on to my rater,

Lyon:
Lloris - He wasn't at his usual best
Reveillere - Clubs out there, buy him!
Cris - Poor guy. But why do a Sreesanth?!!
Boumsong - Who?
Cissokho - Boy was he in a dangerous mood! bad!
(Gomis 46 - Good)
Gonalons - Good
Makoun - Missed the chance to create an impact.
Govou - Awesome a minute. Awful the next.
Delgado - Is this the Delgado we knew? No.
(Pjanic 69) - Not good.
Michel Bastos - Well, u miss that kick at that position, u go home.
Lopez - Shouldn't cry. Not his fault they lost. He didn't even see much of the ball.
(Ederson 79) - What miracle could he have possibly done?

Bayern Munich:
Butt - Wait. Did he save that? Did HJB save that?!
Lahm - Uber cool. With Robben, the combo that the opposing UCL finalists shud study in detail.
Van Buyten - Play around for 45'
(Demichelis 46) - The next 45'
Badstuber - Didn't get too many chances to live up to his 'name'
Contento - Ich bin contento with his performance :)
Robben - Not at his best, but still dangerous.
(Klose 76) - Match practice
Schweinsteiger - Awesome
(Alaba 78) - Match practice
Van Bommel - Awesome
Altintop - Whatay pass for the second goal. A2wesome.
Muller - Good game except for the early miss
Olic - Hattrick. Need I say any more?

Off to sleep. Have a really bad shoulder. Thanks for the game guys.

~Peace~

Bayern - Lyon, 1st leg, Semifinal UCL 2009-10 - review

I came home at 1.15 AM (90 minutes back) after a rather long work-day, just in time for the second half of the first leg Semi between Bayern and Lyon. Tymoschuk was replacing Ivica Olic while Muller was already in. Wondered what tragedy would want a forward to be replaced by someone not-so-forwardish. Three minutes into the second half, I was wondering why Schweini had to run so much and be everywhere and still have too many Lyon players around him. Only when Toulalan got his first yellow, the commentator mentioned the Red card for Ribery. What?

From the replays, looks like he deserved it.

Ten on eleven is a scary prospect. van Gaal made one correct substitution after quite a while. Muller playing a lone CF with Schweini moving to his natural position was another positive move. But clearly, the day belonged to one Arjen Robben from the Netherlands. Beating one of the world's best keepers in Lloris isn't easy, even if aided by luck. He deserved a goal for his play, though. There was talk in the commentary box about Bastian missing chances in the first half but turning around so effectively in the second. I'd say that happens when there's no Ribery he has to adjust to.

Bayern just showed other teams how to play with ten men against eleven...and not lose and blame it on the card later. Superior possession with I think three to four times the no of passes, great running except for a coupla losers, really good overall. I want to know the distance covered by Schweini. He was freakin everywhere today. 'Supreme presence on the field', as the commentator put it.

Gomez, the worst forward in the history of the game, played at his best and had so many Gomez moments that I lost count of them. Bayern and Germany are probably the only teams in the world who could have such a joker on their side and still win. Robben would cry for two days at the 'shockingly innovative' Gomez header. Schweini passed a perfect ball to him around 70'. Any striker in the world would have turned around. Gomez back-passed it to a LYON player. Repeated it again at 83' or 85'. After a save by Lloris off Robben, the ball was well on its way to get Bayern a corner. But oh yea, Gomez flew in to save the ball and try to score. He saved a corner for Lyon as the bloody guy was offside. I was like FTW! And hey Barca fans, you call Ibra's performance bad?? If Ibra's bad, this guy is tragedy to the power of catastrophe. Why Gomez would come on with Klose on the bench is something only van Gaal can answer. Why gomez would come on in the first place is for everyone to solve. Is he related to Gerd Muller or Beckenbauer?

Anyway, I couldn't have picked a better half to watch this week. Here's hoping I watch both matches completely next week. Lyon's a scary side with amazing talent. Didn't know they had Delgado, Toulalan, pjanic, Makoun, Lissandro and Lloris. No wonder they beat Madrid.

Player rater (for second half alone):

22 Butt - Not as bad as usual. There was this one time though, when he thought he was a spectator and did nothing when Lyon attacked. Thankfully, nothing happened.
05 Van Buyten - Good. Wasn't threatened at all.
06 Demichelis - Awesome.
21 Lahm - Awesome.
26 Contento - Not much to do
07 Ribery (red) - Didn't see him play
23 Pranjic (yellow) - Didn't see much of him (Gomez 63 - He deserves a separate post)
31 Schweinsteiger - God
10 Robben - God 2.0 (Altintop 85 - Not much to do)
11 Olic - Didn't see him play (Tymoschuk 46 - Good. Especially the assist)
25 Muller - Had a couple of Gomez moments. Btw, that's an insult. How much more could Lahm have done there??? Trying to move back that way? Gimme a break.

01 Lloris - Awesome
03 Cris - Good
13 Reveillere - Didn't know who he was
20 Cissokho - Good
06 Kallstrom - Not bad
08 Pjanic - didn't see much of him (Makoun 55 - Good)
10 Ederson - Didn't see much of him (Michel Bastos 71 (yellow) - Average)
28 Toulalan (yellow, red) - Unlucky chap
41 Gonalons - Who?
09 Lopez - He didn't have much attacking to do today
19 Delgado - Awesome any day (Govou 79 - had a good chance towards the end. Mis-hit.)

C ya next week! Cricket till then.

Arsenal vs Chelsea Feb 7, 2010

And we begin. (Popular demand) :))

Warning: Updates are quicker than that of BBC or related sites. But definitely not as detailed.

The first five minutes have largely been Chelsea's...

8th min. DROGBA scores. Superb corner. Superb flick. Arsenal is indeed Drogba's bunny.
10' Strong interception by Chelsea. Drogba wastes it. Stamford bridge sure'd look ominous to Wenger now!
11' Arsenal are visibly shaken, just like what happens whenever a major team scores against them.
12' Can Arshavin and Cesc do anything to turn this around?
13' The way Chelsea play reminds me of the Champions league Semifinal against Barcelona last year. Pure class. Not something I've seen from them since then. How did this happen?
15' Nasri sure doesn't look like the man for the job. Malouda looks like the one.
16' Drogba's offside by an inch. Arsenal survives... Meanwhile, Cesc is no match for Cech at the other end.

Hi to our first visitor Ivan :)

17' Cech saves the day for Chelsea. Arshavin almost scores.
19': @Ivan's comment. Personally, I don't care about his personal life. He plays like God.
20': Cech is too much to take for Arsenal. Got a feeling the Blues have slowed down. Their defence is coming into play.
21': Arsenal has been having the ball for the last 5 minutes.
22' DROGBA SCORES. Lampard begins the journey , takes it through and pushes it to Drogba who fires it, yes, literally fires it past Almunia. Almunia is not good enough for this. He was clueless.
25': Arsenal are figuring out what's happening. Cech on the other side and the score would have been a different story.
26': Chelsea lead 2 - 0 and that only tells us how strong Arsenal's defence is.
28': Sixty seconds of possession for Arsenal after a while
30': There's a replay of that Drogba tornado on TV. The cameramen can't get enough of it, we can't get enough of it. Awesome finish. Great job by Frank Lampard too.
32': Ashely Cole almost scores. Again. Corner.
33': Malouda takes the corner. It's looming around the Arsenal goal and oh, Anelka is... you know, offside.
34': Ivanovic and Carvalho have been the only defenders tested today. terry's been having it easy and Ashley Cole is almost playing LW.
36': lampard is handling too many roles with elan there. Seriously happy at this performance from the Blues. Still a bright chance for a Champions' League victory for an English side, I must say. If only they had Rooney alongside Drogba, I wouldn't have even a doubt.
38': @Ivan. Walcott runs behind Ashley Cole. This game is one example of how good Ashley cole can get.
39': Malouda magic. Not much follow up.
39': Ballack is surprised at Arsenal defenders bumping into each other and Drogba almost places it at Anelka's feet to fire. Another time, it would be a goal.

Would love more followers. Seriously.

41': Nasri gets the better of Ivanovic for the first time today.
42': Now we know why Chelsea bought Malouda. Devastating. He could be. He spins like Shakthimaan and ta da, he is already beyond you.
44': Arshavin doesn't come close to even teasing Terry. Is this the Andrei we knew?
45': The commentator says it all. Terry reads Sagna's mind.
46': Ivanovic brings Cesc down. Intentionally. Lucky to get away without a card.

2 extra minutes before the break.

47': HEAD ON COLLISION. Malouda and Vermaelen. Blood. Gore. Malouda was just too fast / very dangerously daring and Vermaelen was just too complacent. Vermaelen's floored. Malouda walks on with blood flowing from his head.

HT Chelsea ahead by two goals.

John Dykes: Arsenal swept aside! When have we seen that before?
Fellow commentator: Last week, against Manchester United...

Really, what happened to Arsenal? Andrei is not at his creative best. Walcott and Diaby look silly, Gallas and Vermaelen are the only defenders, Sagna is a pushover. What is going on, Mr.Wenger?

For England in SA, Terry (despite all the news around him) and A.Cole are a must! Combine that with Rio and we have an unbreakable defence of 3. 3 - 4 - 3 is an option Capello should consider strongly, perhaps? or 3 - 5- 2, going by Rooney's form...

46': Second Half is ON
46': Walcott gets the ball out of play from his own possession. Silly or what? Slipped, actually.
47': 46th was an Arsenal minute. A snake without its teeth would be a good analogy. No?
48': Gallas could have easily hit the ball anywhere he wanted. Instead, it's a corner. Brilliant corner by Lampard. No one utilizes it.Headed away.
49': Chelsea not playing as a team yet in this half. Arsenal couldn't have it any better.
50': Cech still looks impossible for Arsenal.
51': Drogba is down. Perfect start for Arsenal, seriously.
53': Too many fouls from Chelsea in eight minutes, me thinks.
54': Ashley Cole stops what would have been a killer pass.
55': Almunia is lucky. A rolling ball and he struggles to latch on to it. He does it at the end though.

@Mayil Arsenal are confused.

56': Anelka humiliates great play from Ivanovic and lampard. Lampard especially. Humiliates is the word.
58': Strange that Almunia hits a long shot to terry on the right half with all Reds on the other half...
59': Moments of brilliance from Drogba at one end and Ballack at the other.
60': The ball is in Chelsea's half. No, not joking. Nasri hesitates at teh crucial moment and loses it.
61': Terry's injured there or what? Limps.
62': Ballack's good at interceptions. Too good in this match, at least.
63': Drogba's passes are all killer. ALL of them. Chelsea haven't been good enough to use em. Lampard was running too fast for that pass. A second slower and it would be at the back of the net. Only a matter of time beofre it's three, if it goes on like this.
64': Walcott's off. Bendtner's in. And yes, terry's injured.
Much needed change for Arsenal. but Bendtner?
66': Nasri's not giving Cech any problems.
67': Interception header by Diaby. Yes.
67': A limping Terry's faster than Arsenal. #quote
68': What was between Drogba and Cesc? Was typing and missed it.
69': Carvalho brings Bendtner down just outside the box. Free kick from the line. Cesc vs Cech.
69': PETER CECH is the DUDE of the hour.
70': AGAIN. CECH saves AGAIN. He is beyond Human. A few saves in this match have been of the "How in the world did he stop that?" type.
72': Clichy proves he is equal to Anelka.Not a great achievemnt looking at how Anelka's been playing today.
73': Almunia's brave enough to walk outside the box. Ha.
74': Rosicky for Diaby and Eboue for Sagna. Now Wenger's talking! Wait a minute, did he read my blog?
76': Corner for Chelsea. Malouda. ballack heads it into the stands. Wenger's been a busy man today shouting at people.
77': Super pass from Eboue to Bendtner, and like all passes to Bendtner, wasted.
78': Eboue beginning to threaten Chelsea. They should look at isolating him.
79': Zhirkov's ready to come in.
80': Arsenal had a chance there. Pucca header from fabregas. If only it hadn't been Bendtner!
81': Like I worried, Bendtner's as much of a problem for Arsenal as is Mikel. Zhirkov on for Ballack. Ovation.
82: Good recovery from Lampard after a stumble. Free kick for Chelsea.
83': OFF THE POST!!! BRILLIANT SHOT!! ALMOST A HATTRICK. Almunia could do nothing there. Noone else could have.
85': Another freekick. cesc feels chelsea doesn't deserve it. I didn't see. Anelks misses again.
86': Eboue and cesc are the only good things Wenger can take away from this match. and someone remind him, Bendtner's a waste.
87': Good one here. J Cole for Anelka. Another goal on the cards now, I think.
88': yellow for Zhirkov. Deservedly. Vermaelen will have that first half souvenir from Malouda for a while, I think.
89': Lampard and Gallas push each other. Whatay fun.
90': Fabregas comes close. Was twenty inches from taking a clean sheet away from Cech.
91': Kalou for Drogba. Standing Ovation.
92': Zhirkov's not a great replacement for Ballack. Yet to see him at his best for Chelsea.
93': Brilliant attempt to get the ball to Rosicky from Arshavin, but the name's Cole, Ashley Cole.

Hullo visitors?

94': Wenger's upset, and he has been so for a while now. Ashley Cole stops anything that comes in to the box. Saves a lot of trouble for Cech.
96': Er. How many added minutes are there, by the way?

CHELSEA WIN 2 - 0 largely due to an amazing display of football in the first half that left half of Arsenal wishing they weren't there.