UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First Leg: Chelsea 1 - 0 Juventus

One Straight point. I did not expect this first leg result. I was expecting a 0 - 0. Drogba put in an early goal, and that could just manage to take Chelsea through to the next round.

Guus Hiddink will be a happy man. There is always the fear of Juve squeezing a draw back home. And this victory will put that fear behind. Juve will have to attack now, atleast in the last 30 minutes. And judging by the first leg, blocking delPiero and Nedved could be an easier assignment to take care of for Guus than we'd have imagined. But then, accept the bitter piil, Chelsea were more unconvincing than ever before at Stamford Bridge, and that is a point of concern for the English Club.

That could well be the case Ranieri will be dreaming about.. Yet another such display from Chelsea. He has a biggg task on his hands, and unless Chelsea fail to deliver miserably, he can kiss this league Goodbye. Add to it the not so convincing recent home record for the Italians. The only thing he can harp on is the second place in Serie - A, ahead of AC Milan. If they can manage that, why not this! Also, Nedved will be ready to give his best ahead of his retirement. So, Juve can turn out to be that magic pot which doesn't even know what it will throw up next!

My Prediction. Chelsea's through, either with a draw or with an Anelka brace.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Manchester United FC 0 - 0 FC Internazionale Milano

Manchester United, going by reviews, looked every bit the better side at Milan, but the fact is, it could not get that elusive away-goal. Several media reports claim SAF won the first round against Jose Mourinho in this bout, but I seriously doubt it. Going by the game, yes. Going by results, No. Because at the end of it all, Results are all that matter.

Starting with Mourinho's side. Inter has got a consistent away record of late, winning all of their recent matches. Mourinho has been there at Old Trafford and done that before. Zlatan, for the second leg, should be in a freaking kicking mood, after he was criticised for failing 'again' against an English side. He's netted 14 times in the Serie-A this season so far and that's not bad by any yardstick. If I were SAF, I'd watch out. And I bet he will, too. Other people who could prove decisive are Zanetti and Cesar, with Cesar widely believed to be on top of his game, and a better bet than Edwin van Der Sar at the moment. One match of importance, leading up to the second leg, could be the upcoming Roma - Inter match this week.

ManU has been equally consistent of late too, if not better. Rooney, Ronaldo and Berbatov should prove a very tough challenge for the Inter defence, but given that Inter would look at drawing the match, if they get away with an early goal, it is ManU's defence that comes under the scanner. Again here, we are looking at consistency and a team that is setting a record of sorts with the number of clean sheets this season. Van der sar will be the key on the European Night, one more time.

ManU are comfortably placed, but one shocker of a strike from Zlatan or Adriano or the solid old Inter horses in the Midfield could just seal it then and there.

Prediction? Fingers crossed, that's all.

All the Best to Jose Mourinho, though. If he can pull this rabbit, he is most definitely "the Special One" out there.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

First leg : Arsenal 1 - 0 Roma

We start with Arsene Wenger's side. A side, I'd say, that is very low on Morale and confidence, whatever you may say. A match without Fabregas or Arshavin will not be their pick, but it has to stay that way. Bendtner, though better than Ade, is misfiring more often than not, and that should remain on the top of Arsene's to-do list before sending the team out for the second leg. Arsenal's defence has been outstanding, to say the least. But their strikers find it increasingly difficult with every game. Eduardo's return match was the only saving grace. If he's in shape for the second leg without any further injuries, Arsenal could walk away with the away goal and the progression. If not, it's going to be a tough encounter.

Roma, on the other hand, have lost one and drawn one match out of the last two games away from home in Serie-A, but have convincingly won their home fixtures. This should be their confidence booster. When a club like Atalanta (the last game away from home) could beat them 3 - 0, Arsenal could manage only a 1 - 0. Oh, but I am not sure if they played their full strength in that league match. Roma has proven in the past that they could be deadly in set pieces, and given Chelsea found it hard at Rome last time it went there, we are in for a Roma Special!

My Prediction for the Second Leg.

It's either

Arsenal 0 - 0 Roma
(or)
Arsenal 1 - 1 Roma

Either way, We can hope to see more of RVP this year in Europe.

Gavin Strachan - Kids training

One useful post from Gavin Strachan for BBC..

Check it out

Arsenal 4 - 0 Cardiff

Eduardo : I am back!

Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Manchester United, December 13, 2008

TOTTENHAM VS MAN-U : Second half : A minute by minute attempt...

Fantastic first half. All credit to Tevez, Rio, Ronaldo, Modric, Huddlestone, Dawson and Lennon. The rest of them, let's say, were just running around.
Brilliant moments in set pieces, so typical of Tottenham games. Hope Roman puts the numerals on the charts!

Tottenham looks vulnerable. ManU defence looks solid. But things don't work out that way all the time.
Van der Sar makes difficult saves look like routine practice moves.

51': Rafael looks like a lost school kid.
53': Dawson saves the moment yet again.. Yet another corner for ManU.
53': Wonderful Ronaldo shot. Wait, is that NOt a goal? Damn.. Superb shot, by the way.
57': yet another ManU corner wasted. Where the heck is Modric?
58': Berbatov is taking things to his heart.. nah, that takes his cool, composed style away..
60': Tottenham throws the possession away.
61': Park shoots into Gomes!
62': rafael gives a good positional Xmas gift to Tottenham.
63': If that isn't a great save from Van der sar!! Classic tap.
64': tevez takes charge.
65': every time te ball touches your feet, you can hear a "Boo" from the crowd... Ask berbatov how this is done..
67': Modric is in great touch. bad news for united.
68': Rafael gives it away.. yet again. ManU regains possession, Ronaldo mistakes a pool of rain water for a swimming pool. No foul against tottenham as expected.
69': giggs the great is in for Tevez.
71': ManU threatens..
72': great save, Gomes. Spurs holding on..
74': Ronaldo is trying to score, Berbatov is, too, but he's trying fans' patience.. :D Rioooo! Great attempt.Missed by a few millimetres.
75': Spurs' corner
76': No, Lennon. That's not how you do it.
77': Dawson rocks. Probably the tenth block of the day. Carrick shoots! Gomes disposes..
78': Bent is offside. There goes the possession again.
79': Tottenham is getting bored with ManU corners.
80': Weak shot from Bent?
80': Dawson rocks. Stops Ronaldo one more time with a cool tackle. Whoa, that's rare.. Ronaldo admits it.
81': O'hara(spurs) keeps the ball.
82': Park gets a throw in for ManU.
83': Great shot from Park! Better save from Gomes.
83': giggs corner , to Gomes, to Lennon, . A Zokora throw in. To Scholes! Rafael gives it away..
84': Modric hits the top of the net!!!!!!
85': Bentley, Lennon, O'hara , throw in, Bent, goal kick..Good show anyway, guys! Few more minutes!
86': A typical ManU buildup! A berbatov offside takes some pressure off Spurs.
87': Ronaldo falls. Dawson pleads innocence. Referee not convinced. Decides on Guilty. Ronaldo free kick.
88': Deflection! Away! Corner. Cleared. Scholes takes the ball back.. Shows why he's an expert!
89': ManU plays around centreline, right end, Ronaldo. Good ploy to take Ronaldo to that position. Giggsie free kick. or Ronaldo's?
90': GOMES PICKS A RABBIT OUT OF THIN AIR! Great save, corner.
91': bentley clears.
92': Spurs clear the ball.. Back in the D. Cleared. Great cross from Rio. Carrick gives it away. A typical ManU late 'spur'. ;)
93': There's Dawson, two more defenders. Clear. Tottenham's happy with just clearing the ball. Gomes stops a potential 3 point mega-blunder.
Pheee.. Whistle blown. White Hart Lane's full of smiling faces!

0-0. That puts ManU alongside Liverpool & Arsenal who've also drawn today against Hull and Boro respectively..

We are closer to El Clasico now. Two more hours :)

Ronnie Ronnie Yes Papa...

I don't know if I can survive without air, but I sure can't without Football. Reading football news (epl and bundesliga, in particular) is like breathing to me, and the air of late, is polluted..

Wherever I go, whatever I read. It's been a case of CR7 and the Golden Ball. "Is it justified, is it not?" "Doesn't he dive?" "Does he eat Chicken?" "Does he sleep with his thumb in his mouth?" Sheez, guys. Let him do whateva he likes! There are so many beautiful things to discuss about in Football, folks. Why is everything filled with him? But then, I wanted to write this out.

Is he comparable to the likes of Pele? - A BIG NO.
Is Messi? - Maybe, but not yet. He's got the class, but he's got to play the top games and influence 'em. And he's the most promising player on the cards.
Is Kaka? - he is God, but he isn't consistent.

Back to Ronnie, in the "Hand-of-God" match as it is known now, the referee should have handed him the red card when he clapped at the referee for giving a foul against him, which he thoroughly deserved. As far as the Handball is concerned, Whether he tried to gain an advantage or not, he had to be given a yellow according to rules. Posts by some major news networks on why the Referee didn't use "common sense" to realise he didn't gain anything out of it, should realise one thing. He is not Special. Rules DO apply to him.

I absolutely adore the way he moves the ball as if it was just another part of his body, but heck, the expressions that he wears on his face as if he was 'wronged' everytime a decision went against him (while he deserved it in at least 90% of the cases), are despicable, to say the least.

What amuses me most is how he's got so many fans out there who'd actually go to the extent of trusting his "whistle-story" and scorning anyone else who wouldn't.. I am sure he and other players would have just headed the ball in, whistle or no-whistle. This is just one incident that doesn't deserve any media-hype, but then, the way people defend him is sick.

Fergie is rightly criticised everywhere, but for the wrong reasons.

He's done nothing wrong in backing Ronnie's story. Every Manager should and would back his players in public and take him to task only inside the walls of Old Trafford. But he doesn't seem to be getting anywhere behind the walls. CR7's antics are only on the rise.

Ballon D'Or. 42 goals in one season. Forty-two! Throw in his selfishness, diving, penalty taking, no-assist-I-am-Scoring attitude, 42 is still BIG. He deserves the award this year, at least for that number.

But the best in the world? Nah.. 'Look at his skills, Look at his skills', shout the fans. Skill makes you skilled, not Great. A player's greatness comes not only from how many goals he scored, but from how he plays, how he treats his fellow players, how he fits into the team, how he treats his opponents (maybe not this ;)), how he respects the rules, the referee and how honest he is. For all Ronaldo is and is not, he is not "Best-player-in-the world" material to me.

I'd rate atleast 5 players above him at the moment. At least.

He's the best in the world , if Football had been a One-on-One game instead of a team game where scoring goals and earning awards were much more important than playing the game for the love of it.

Heck, many think awards, money and goals are all Football is about. A corporate view, perhaps. Ends justifying the methods.. That's why they support him so blindly and can not understand why some people don't rate CR7 among Legends.

Lo, the method is the Game. And some players stamp on it.