The Usual and a New Spin

As always, this weekend was packed with games in the EPL with really no surprises in any of the usuual results. Fortunately for league chasers, Man U and Arsenal, Chelsea was only able to gain one point at St. Andrews against Birmingham while both "chasers" were able to gain valuable results; Man U won 3-1 over Hull today with Rooney being the hero and Arsenal gained a clean-sheet with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.
In addition to my write-ups for each post, I will now also be adding "the cleat of the post" for each post. It will feature a new/ redesigned cleat that has either been an attention grabber or a cleat that is yet to be released on the market. Furthermore, for those interested the best place to check for complete and thorough reviews of new cleats is at Footy Boots or Eurosport.

Cleat of the post: Nike Total 90 Laser III

World Cup Draw

Yesterday, the 32 teams that qualified for the 2010 World Cup were drawn into their groups. Each of the 8 groups, A-H, has four teams who will play each other in round robin style with the top two teams in each group advancing. This year, USA was fortunate enough to receive a somewhat favorable group with competition coming from England, Algeria, Slovenia. This year's "group of death" is group G with Brazil, Portugal, Korea DPR, and the Ivory Coast.

Below are the 32 teams in their groups:
Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France (or should some of us prefer to say Ireland)

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
Korea Republic
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
Korea DPR
Ivory Coast
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

France and Ireland "hand of god"

Less than one week ago, France and Ireland finished with a 1-1 tie in a world cup qualifier which meant that France would advance and not Ireland. However, Ireland should have really walked away with the win because France's goal. all began with a Thierry Henry hand ball and then a pass for a tap in goal. So, why is there so much of an issue here as to why this game should be replayed or not. On one hand under FIFA rules, once a game has finished then it cannot be overturned which is the exact case here. And therefore the only fair way to give a fair result for this game is to replay it but FIFA doesn't want to do that. But even Henry thinks that this is a good idea. Furthermore, I personally feel that the game should absolutely be replayed because of the circumstances; this is a world cup qualifier. Let's say that France goes on to win then everyone, forever, will say, they should never had qualified it should have been. Ireland. Hence, it seems pretty clear that a replay is necessary but we will all have to wait a little longer to see what FIFA has decided.

Eduardo to continue stay at Arsenal

Earlier this week, Gunner striker Eduardo agreed to sign a long term contract with the Gunners. Although suffering the severe leg injury just last year, he has returned to excellent form. He is performing pretty well with 18 goals in 48 games; obviously not too many but he will certainly be back to his prior form in not to long. Arsenal head coach, Wenger, has praised him on many occasions as well speaking highly of his strength and courage to be able to return to play after such a severe injury. Best of luck to Eduardo in his future endeavors at the Emirates as Arsenal are currently placed in second in the EPL and look to advance to 1st over the Blues.

Also, this has been a week full of World Cup qualification matches with only months remaining before the kick of off the 2010 World Cup. For the full schedule as well as results, please visit the ESPNsoccer link to the left.

The Blues defeat the Red Devils

As we all know, every match up between Manchester United and Chelsea is never any easy walk in the park. The intensity, tempo, and urgency will always be there. There is no doubt that if you are in England, it's one game for which you know if you are going to attend, your tickets are actually cheap for what an experience one can achieve.
In this November game, unfortunately Manchester United would not be the victors. Instead, at Stamford Bridge, captain John Terry gave his side the game winner to put his squad clear in first by five points over Ferguson's side. However, what makes this game even more interesting is Ferguson's accusations against, yet again, a ref. As a player myself, I can totally understand the coach being extremely frustrated with the ref. However, it gets to a point where every time you lose and you blame the ref people don't start losing faith in the ref's but rather than you. Even as a Manchester United fan I am going to say I am getting a bit annoyed with Ferguson's complaining. Why can't he just accept that it's the players and coaches that win and lose games, not refs. Let's just hope that in the future things will pan out much better for Manchester United.

Beckham will return to AC Milan; EPL Review

After what seems like almost a year now, it has been confirmed that Beckham will in fact return to AC Milan this January where he will hope to once again make a positive difference in the Italian side. However, I once again return to my prior post regarding Beckham's initial move from the Galaxy to Milan last year. Here is the link to that:
http://soccerupdate.blogspot.com/2009/02/things-in-europe-and-especially-england.html

In the EPL, it seems that year after year it is the exact same teams who are in the exact same places and the exact same places in the season. Chelsea is in first with 27 points, Man U in second with 25 points, Arsenal in third with 22 points, and both Man City and Tottenham tied for fourth with 19 points each. I guess, this year, the only real difference is Man City. One thing that can certainly be said about City is that Robinho and Tevez are a duo that are making a big difference for that side and of course along with Adebayor and Wright-Phillips. But as all my avid readers know, I am a true Man U fan and they will always be first in my mind (corny, yes, but needed to be said and clarified).

Rooney and many others out with injuries

Last weekend England took on Ukraine in a World Cup Qualifier in which Rooney sustained a calf injury that will now be keeping him out of Manchester United's game against Bolton tomorrow. Furthermore, Manchester United would naturally fall back on Berbatov to take Rooney's spot however, Berbatov won't be available due to a birth in his family. Fortunately van der Sar will be returning in goal after returning from a hand injury he suffered earlier in the season. Currently, it seems as if Man U is injury ridden yet hopefully this won't stop them from remaining right behind Chelsea at the top of the league.
Just as Man U seems to be suffering some key injuries, so is Liverpool. With both Torres and Gerrard being ruled out of their matchup against Sunderland this weekend, we may witness some interesting results this weekend. It seems that international play has been affecting the players in terms of their abilities to play with their club teams as is always the case with pre- World Cup matches. Hopefully, the players are saving up for what will hopefully be an even better World Cup than in 2006.

Barcelona still undefeated + Chelsea Return to The Top

Today Chelsea moved into first and two points ahead of Manchester United as the held Liverpool to zero goals while Malouda and Anelka put in 1 a piece, both in the second half.
However, more interestingly are the standings in Spain. Altough Real Madrid had acquired Ronaldo and Kaká over the summer, they are still unable to move ahead of always powerful FC Barcelona who just beat Almeria 1-0 yesterday. Real Madrdid on the other hand dropped three points to Sevilla FC today with only Pepe scoring for the away side. Perhaps this can be attested to the fact that Ronaldo has picked up an ankle injury keeping him from playing and perhaps deteriorating the confidence in his team. Hopefully he gets better, however Barcelona are in formidable form so it will be tough to catch them as Messi and Ibrahimovic (seen below) continue to score goals for Barcelona.

Man U has big turnaround while Drogba continues to lead Chelsea to Victory

This Past Wednesday, Man U had an embarrassing 1-0 loss to new Premier League team, Burnley. Although Man U did have a chance to tie up the game right before the half, Carrick was unlucky a missed his PK. However, Yesterday they were able to really turn things around against Wigan. The had an emphatic win with the final score resulting, 5-0. Goals came from Rooney (2), Berbatov, Owen, and in the 90th minute from Nani. It seems that Man U is still able to keep in relatively good form without Cristiano Ronaldo. Although Ferdinand did get hurt in training earlier this week, Man U will certainly be the team to watch - it seems as if this is one of those seasons for them that could either be really good or really bad. Only time will tell.

At the top of the table and currently tied for first with Tottenham are the Blue's. At the moment, it seems as if Didier Drogba really is the magic person on the team. After he came off of an okay season in 08/09, he has certainly turned things around and gotten off to a fabulous start. Out of the team's seven goal total, Drogba is responsible for 3 of them. Things are certainly looking bright for Ancelotti's squad.

Furthermore, with Hull's new addition of American Jozy Altidore, Hull has finally gotten their first win of the season. Altidore was able to make his debut an excellent one by assisting Ghilas in the 61st minute - only 1 minute after he had gotten onto the field. Hopefully this will improve America's soccer image and this certainly is one of those steps that we, Americans, needed for our progress.

Hull's Jozy Altidore

EPL Week 2 Schedule

I thought we could have a little blast in the past before we get started talking about this season.

In the first week of this season, just about every time did well enough to get favorable results. However, Arsenal were able to thoroughly embarrass Everton, at home in Goodison Park, 6-1.

At the moment, Chelsea is trailing Sunderland 1-0 30 minutes into the game and Wigan is trailing Wolverhampton 1-0 while also being 30 minutes into the game.

Here is the schedule for the remainder of the week.
- Note, Arsenal vs Bolton, West Ham vs. Aston Villa, and Fulham vs Blackburn have all been postponed for a later date (they were all scheduled to play today)

Tomorrow - 19th
2:45 pm ET Birmingham v Portsmouth
2:45 pm ET Hull City v Tottenham Hotspur
2:45 pm ET Burnley v Manchester United
3:00 pm ET Liverpool v Stoke City
Postp. Manchester City v Everton

Saturday - 22nd
10:00 am ET Arsenal v Portsmouth
10:00 am ET Birmingham v Stoke
10:00 am ET Hull City v Bolton
10:00 am ET Sunderland v Blackburn
10:00 am ET Manchester City v Wolverhampton
10:00 am ET Wigan Athletic v Manchester United

Sunday - 23rd
8:30 am ET West Ham United v Tottenham
10:00 am ET Burnley v Everton
11:00 am ET Fulham v Chelsea

*all game schedules are from ESPNsoccernet.com

A slight deviation from European Soccer

As all of us Northern Americans know, just this past Wednesday, USA traveled south to take on Mexico in one of their many World Cup Qualifying games. I was fortunate enough to be in Mexico and watch the game on a big screen with tons of other Mexicans - quite an experience.

Early in the game, Davies did well to collect the ball about 25 to 30 yards from the goal and take a few touches before placing the ball in the right hand side of the goal. However, it didn't take Mexico much longer to score an amazing goal 20/ 25 yards outside the goal. The US defense didn't step to the ball and Mexico's Castro hit a rocket of a shot off the crossbar and down into the goal to level the game at 1-1.

For the next 60 minutes, things went back and forth between the US and Mexico with each team creating some chances however being unable to capitalize on them. Yet, Mexico was able to score yet again in the 81st minute. And of course it was because of the US defense's mistake. Sabah received a deflected pass right on top of the six and literally, had 5 seconds from when the ball was passes to when it went into the net. Clearly, the US failed to step up to the ball and defend Sabah. On a more entertaining note, as I sat in the bar with these Mexican fans, the second the goal erupted I myself thought I was in a stadium. These fans were jumping and falling out of their seats with excitement and making so much noise. It was excellent until they started to make fun of the US by doing the wave - 4 times.

Let's just hope the US doesn't continue this trend of losing anymore.

AC Milan, let down

Last week, I was lucky enough to go watch AC Milan play Inter Milan at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. With all the hype, I expected to watch a very spectacular and interesting game. However, that was not the case. Both teams played most of their non-starters and only played the starters in the remaining 25 minutes or so of the game. Fortunately for Inter, Milito was able to score early on in the game by defeating new AC Milan player, Oguchi Onyewu 1-on-1. Later on in the match, he would score again to make it two games for him on the day. Inter certainly controlled most of the game with AC Milan producing minimal opportunities.

However, although they game may not have been the most fascinating and exciting to watch, it was good to see a few typical American things in what was supposed to be an Italian atmosphere. First, the whole crowd got the wave started. For all of us who watch European games, we know that the wave is never done during a soccer game. And second, the ref had to mess up giving a card to no one other than Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho was supposed to be given a yellow but by mistake the ref gave him a red, took it back, and then gave a yellow. Classic.

Inter Milan and AC Milan Training

Today, I was fortunate enough to be able to head over to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA to watch the two Italian powerhouses train before their game on Sunday, July, 26th. I will also be at the game and will have a write up of it tomorrow. For now though, I thought I would fall back on the good old cliche, a picture speaks a thousand words. Below you can see some pictures of the training session that I took. Enjoy!
Inter Milan






















AC Milan

How about a debate?

I thought this would be a good time to maybe have a discussion regarding what is keeping the US teams, specifically those in the MLS, from being able to compete with other European teams. Personally, I have seen that many of these coaches who do end up coming to America are those either who have grown up on our soil or those that were unable to play in the premier leagues, but instead the division 2 teams. I guess those guys were missing out on something and therefore when they are teaching us, players, we are missing that one key element that is keeping us out of being able to compete.
Please feel free to leave comments even if you disagree or disagree with me; I'm interested to see what everyone has to say.

For transfers over this summer and other news, check out the links on the right.

AC Milan acquire Onyewu

Earlier today, AC Milan gained US defender Oguchi Onyewu from Standard Liege on a 3 year deal. Certainly, this move will be very beneficial for US Soccer to spread. Hopefully with more Americans moving overseas, more European players will come to play in the US to help raise our standard of play. Hopefully Onyewu will be just as successful as Dempsey has been at Fulham and he will make the US proud. Good luck Onyewu!

Man Utd and other Transfers and Ribery/ Real Madrid

Man Utd is now with one less striker as Tevez is now a member of Man City. No one can blame him for he did receive minimal playing time as a Red Devil even though he was able to produce results when he did step on the pitch. We will all certainly be able to see him in the 2010 World Cup as he teams up with Messi to help lead Argentina to victory.
However, Man Utd has now picked up not only veteran striker and now former Newcastle star Michael Owen, but they have also acquired Antonio Valencia from Wigan. He will most probably fill in the empty spot left behind from Cristiano Ronaldo's departure for Real Madrid.

With Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká already on the move to Real Madrid, another stand out player may be joining them, French international, Ribery. Apparently, there has been much rumor about such a move which has caused tension and disturbance in the Bayern Munich club for not only the coaches but also for Ribery and the other players. If Ribery does end up moving to the Spanish club, Real Madrid will certainly be filled with superstars. Yet, it seems that any time a team is filled with 11 superstars, they suffer. Not because of the quality of play but rather because the team chemistry always seems to lack. Maybe it would be better if Ribery were to stay in Germany.

All Transfers can be found at the following link/page:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/transfers/transfer?cc=5901

A Truly spectacular game... and other news

Amazing!!! First the US beats Spain and now they hold off Brazil for a good 46 minutes. Not only that, but in the first half, they were dominant with goals coming from both Dempsey (3 goals in the tournament) and Donovan. The US truly played some unreal soccer. For those Brazil fans, there was certainly much reason to be nervous yet anxious.
As we all know, Brazil simply never gives up. They play with style and flair and they make up some of the best talent in the world. After only 1 minute into the second half, Luis Fabiano scored to bring the lead down to one. And only 27 minutes later, the game was tied up with another goal by Fabiano (his fifth in the tournament). As time continued to shorten, the energy in the players and the stadium seemed to become more anxious and tense. The teams certainly did not want to be forced to play at least another 30 minutes with five games already under the belt. Fortunately for Brazil, captain Lucio came to the rescue. Although he had picked up a yellow card earlier, he did not allow that to affect his game; he scored an excellent goal off of a corner kick to give Brazil the winner.
However, important to note is that the US has come a long way. Just over a week ago, the US had lost 3-0 in group play to the Brazilians. Yet, the US didn't give up. As we all saw, they came back to defeat Spain and make it into the finals. Best of luck to the US in the World Cup!
Check out these highlights below. (ABD= US and BRE= Brazil)



In the consolation match, Spain barely managed to get the win over South Africa with a 3-2 win in extra-time.
Goals:
Spain - Daniel Güiza (87, 88), Xabi Alonso (106)
SA - Katlego Mphela (73, 90)

Other news in Europe:
Eto'o: Man City has made the biggest offer to buy Eto'o from Barca (to date). The 28-year-old scored 36 goals in all competitions - not bad to also add he scored in the Champions League final which helped lift his team over Man Utd. It will definitely be interesting to see where he heads next season.

A Semi-Final to be remembered.

I will begin by saying, WOW!!! I certainly did not see it coming and I am sure many of others didn't either. The USA didn't just win by a thin lead, it was somewhat convincing. Although both the American goals were scored due to the errors of the Spanish defense, a win is a win and there is nothing that can be done about it. However, I truly do feel bad for Sergio Ramos. Although he may have been the cause for Dempsey's second goal, it cannot be refuted that he is still an extremely good player; he did not realize that Dempsey was behind him, yet then again I question, why take the touch over simply clearing it out? This will be a question still to be answered for a very long time.



In the other semi-final, Brazil did not have the easiest of wins. In fact, there were multiple times where it seemed as if South Africa could have taken the lead and possibly gotten the win. Although they lost, this only proves that many more positive things are to come from the team that was not even expected to make it to the Semi's.

I am looking forward to what may be another upset for the USA. Don't miss it, tomorrow at 2:30 PM EST on ESPN and Univision.

Group B Results from Confederations Cup

In what turned out to be two one-sided games, little did I suspect Italy to lose so badly to Brazil. It wasn't one nothing or two nothing; it was a three nothing win with only domination floating in the air. Brazil scored all three of its goals in the first half between the 36th and 44th minute. Two goals came from Fabiano and one own goal from Dossena.



In the other match in Group B, USA was able to take a commanding lead over Egypt and win 3-0. More impressively though, USA (prior to this game) was in last place of the group with little hope of making it past this stage, but with their only win and Italy's loss, they were able to advance due to the goal differentials and head to head matches.

Potential Move for Tevez; Spain Truly is Unstoppable

With Cristiano Ronaldo now on his way to the Bernabéu (Real Madrid's home), Manchester United may also see another one of their stars heading out the doors. This time round it's Tevez. the 25 year-old Argentinian international feels that since he is not the most wanted player* by Manchester United, he would be very happy with a transfer. Currently, he has received interest from Manchester City and Chelsea. If he does in fact head to one of these clubs then we will be bound to see home on the other side of what are both intense and emotional rivalries.

Confederation Cup News, Results, Schedule
For those of you who are Spanish supporters like myself, Spain has officially broken and set a new world record. With their 15th straight international win (over South Africa, 2-0) they are now the world record holders. However, more interestingly was what happened during the game. In the 50th minute, David Villa was rewarded a penalty kick due to a ridiculous challenge from South African defender Aaron Moekena. Unfortunately, Villa was denied the game by an excellent save from Khune. Nevertheless, just one minute later, Villa would score and regain the well deserved goal. And exactly 20 minutes later Llorente also helped himself to a goal after subbing out Torres in the 59th minute.
An interesting stat: Together, Spain and South Africa only had fifteen shots.

Clearly, if Spain continues to perform in the fashion they have done up to this point, I don't see why they can't win this Cup to add to their 2008 European Championship. Hopefully, Torres can also put in some goals to help Spain lift up another trophy before they take on the 2010 World Cup next summer.

Other Scores Today:
Iraq 0-0 New Zealand

Upcoming Games:
2:30 PM - Sunday Italy vs. Brazil (ESPN)
2:30 PM - Sunday Egypt vs. USA (ESPN2)
2:30 PM - Wednesday Semi-Final 1
2:30 PM - Thursday Semi-Final 2
9:00 AM - Sunday (6/28) Consolation
2:30 PM - Sunday (6/28) Final

Unstoppable Spain and Drogba's Ban

With Spain's 1-0 victory today over Iraq, they have now placed themselves in excellent position. They now qualify for the semi-final position in the Confederations Cup and they also extend a world record. This was their 14th consecutive International win which means they now share the world record with Brazil, France, and Australia. Furthermore, they are now 1 game away from tying the world record for longest undefeated streak of 35 games (which is currently held by Brazil).

With good news, it seems that there is always bad news. And such is the case with Didier Drogba. He is officially been given a four game European ban by UEFA for his verbal assault on the referee during the match between Chelsea and FC Barcelona. He also has a two-game ban that is now suspended for two years.

A Very Neccesary Post...

Sorry to all my followers and readers for not updating this blog in such a long time - I have become bogged down during the finals two months or school, but now I am done. So, here is an update of all the good stuff that has happened so far.

1. Manchester United lost to FC Barcelona in the final of the UEFA Championship. There is a simple reason for this; Man U dominated in the first ten minutes but could not stay consistent throughout the game. As soon as Eto'o was able to dribble through Man U's defense and score, things really looked gloomy and dull for Man U. Messi would go on to score a fantastic header that required true athleticism. (The link is attached below)
2. Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has now left and joined the other top in La Liga, Real Madrid. Furthermore, Kaká has also joined Real Madrid, however, having a team full of superstars is not always the best. As we have seen with Chelsea, they may have a lot of extremely good players, but they it seems that they never are able to do enough to win it all.
3. USA soccer continues to lose to European countries as they just did yesterday by losing 3-1 to Italy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOLCH11XGO8&feature=related

Excitement rises as the season winds down

For many of us, yesterday's Liverpool game certainly stirred things up. Not only was Liverpool able to gain the three necessary points against Fulham in a 1-0 win, but they were also able to reclaim their position atop the table. Certainly, this put lots of pressure on Man U to win their game today because if they did not, then even with a tie they would be trailing behind Liverpool, by at best, 1 point.
Fortunately, Man U was able to beat 5th place Villa 2-0 and reclaim 1st. However, they are only 1 point ahead. While Liverpool has continued their fabulous form, Man United has only regained it and once can only hope that things will stay with this. But as always, their are variables in this "equation." Things to keep in mind:
1. there are 8 games remaining which means that there are 24 points up for grabs.
2. Man U will not play Chelsea, Liverpool, or Villa again.
3. The remaining games for Liverpool and Chelsea are fairly easy except for Arsenal - all 3 teams are yet to play their final matches against Wenger's side.
4. All teams in contention are very close in points earned.

As we can see, the road to the League title will be very tough and demanding, but if Man U regains its excellent form and consistency then they will once again win.

CAF WC Results

Ivory Coast 5-0 Malawi
Ghana 1-0 Benin
Egypt 1-1 Zambia
Mozambique 0-0 Nigeria

The Ivory Coast - Malawi game almost did not happen because Ivory Coast fans collapsed a wall which resulted in 19 dead fans. Furthermore, a riot almost broke out which forced Ivory Coast police to release tear gas and therefore a "stampede" of people were leaving the stadium which resulted in more than 100 injuries. Of those 100, many are suspected to be quite severe.

Enjoyment for Beckham and Sadness for Man U

In today's game between England and Slovakia, Beckham claimed his 109th appearance for his side and in addition, now holds the record while beating out Bobby Moore's record of 108 appearances. Not only did Beckham make his 109th appearance, but he also helped out with the scoring. He assisted Rooney in the 70th minute to help England take a 2-0 lead which they would continue to expand up to the final minute of the game. Goals came in the 7th, 70th, 82nd, and 90th minutes by Emile, Rooney, Lampard, and Rooney respectively.

Other UEFA WC results:
Latvia 4-0 Luxembourg
Germany 4-0 Liechtenstein
Denmark 3-0 Malta
Netherlands 3-0 Scotland
Russia 2-0 Azerbaijan
Switzerland 2-0 Moldova
Finland 2-0 Wales
Italy 2-0 Montenegro
Hungary 1-0 Albania
France 1-0 Lithuania
Spain 1-0 Turkey
Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-2 Belgium
Northern Ireland 3-2 Poland
Serbia 3-2 Romania
Cyprus 2-1 Georgia
Armenia 2-2 Estonia
Israel 1-1 Greece
Ireland 1-1 Bulgaria
Slovenia 0-0 Czech Republic
Portugal 0-0 Sweden

While England enjoyed a great win today, Man U continues to have a gloomy cloud hanging above their heads. According to Sir Alex Ferguson's son Darren, he believes his father is ready to quit after this season. But Darren also says that there is a small chance Sir Alex Ferguson will remain for one more season if things don't turn out well for Man U. Darren also made it clear that sir Alex Ferguson does not have any health issues which would cause him to leave the game. We, as in Man U fans, can only hope that whenever Sir Alex Ferguson does leave, we will be getting a very good manager to replace him to continue the Man United legacy.

Need for some major updates

Sorry to any of my followers for not giving updates.
In the past week or so, Manchester United have fallen in form; they have lost to Liverpool and Fulham, 4-1 and 2-0, respectively. In both these games, Man U has been awarded red cards on behalf of Vidic against Liverpool and Rooney against Fulham. Obviously, the cards have not helped them. Furthermore, because of these two losses, Man U is now only 1 point ahead of now 2nd place Liverpool (65 v 64).

Unlike Man U, Liverpool have recently been doing amazingly well. In their past two games against Man U and Villa, they have scored a total, 9 goals and only given up 1. Congrats got to them and head coach Benitez.

As for Hiddink's Blues, things looked god, at first. On March 15th, they played Man City and gained a much needed win over them. However, this past Saturday was quite bleak for them; they fell 1-0 to the Hotspur's. With only gaining three points in two games this meant that they would not only drop down to third place, but also be three points behind Liverpool and four behind Man U.

With only 9 games remaining for Man U and 8 for Liverpool and Chelsea, one can hope that Man U returns to their prior, excellent form and ride out the season to victory and hopefully a first place finish in the Champions League.

Man U In Great Form

Over the past week or so, Man U has simply been unstoppable. With the team currently four points ahead of Chelsea, there is definitely need for explanation of what has happened. Looking back to last Tuesday, the Red Devils took on Internaziionale. Both teams did not have a large number of shots and to add to this low stat, Inter did not have single shot on net whereas Man U only had 5. Clearly, the teams were able to get into the attack at least a decent amount, but neither team was able to actually capitalize on their opportunities. The game would end 0-0 with both sides disappointed to not be able to leave the game with 3 points. An interesting fact between Ferguson and Inter manager Mourinho is that Ferguson has only been able to get 1 win out of 13 games against Mourinho.

Man U's next game was this past Sunday against Tottenham in the Carling Cup final. During this game, Ferguson was not playing his usual starters because he did not want them to be injured or tired before their next game which is tomorrow. he also wanted to give some playing time to the younger and less experienced players on the team. Once again, Man U ended the game in a 0-0 tie, but the game would head into overtime. Even after overtime, neither team was able to score and the game finally ended with penalty kicks. However, prior to the penalty kicks, back up keeper Foster took a quick look on his ipod which contained video of Tottenham Hotspur players taking penalty kicks. After viewing these videos, Foster was able to used what he had just learned and apply it to the game to help his side win the cup. the Fa tried to press chargers against Foster's use of the ipod but could not pass it because there were no rules that went against what Foster did.

Earlier today, Man U beat Newcastle United 2-1 with goals from striker duo Rooney and Berbatov. With the win, Man U now goes 7 points clear of Chelsea and keeps Newcastle at bay in 16th place. Let's continue to watch as Man U looks to once again lift the trophy!!!

Important Updates in England

Just moments ago, the Liverpool - Man City match just finished. It ended in a 1-1 draw which means that Man U is now 9 points ahead of Liverpool with both teams having played 26 games. Man City opened up the scoring in the second half on behalf of Liverpool defender Arbeloa on an own-goal in the 49th minute. Liverpool was able to tie up the game in the 78th minute with a goal from Holland International forward, Dirk Kuyt. This certainly is not how Liverpool wanted to end the game because now they must work even harder to catch up to Man U to even think about winning the league. There's no doubt in my mind that for the remainder of the season, the importance of every game will continue to rise and hopefully the quality of play will increase. I am looking forward to watching some very great soccer games in the weeks to come.

Other scores:
Fulham 2 - 0 WBA
Newcastle 0 - 0 Everton (currently at half time)

Espanyol Upsets Barcelona and more...

In the Barcelon, Espanyol derby match at Camp Nou, a major upset took place. First place Barcelona lost to 18th place Espanyol, 2-1. Iván De la Peña would score two for the visitors and Toure would respond to the two 50th minute goals with one for himself in the 60th. Although Barcelona may have lost to a much weaker team, they are still able to remain in first place, but they are now only 7 points ahead of Real Madrid. As for Espanyol, not much really changed for them besides their pride and happiness for being able to defeat an extremely talented team with superstars in just about every position.

Today, Man U further extended their lead with a win over the Rovers. At half-time, the score was level at 1, but at the 60th minute a penalty was given up by the Rovers and resulted in Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the pk. If Man U continues to just barely get wins, it is going to be disastrous fr them later on in the season and could possibly lead to Liverpool wining the league which I know, I don't want to happen.

Today, Hiddink had his first game as Chelsea manager which in fact proved to be nicely for him. Although the team may not have played the most beautiful soccer, they got what they really needed to keep themselves in the race for the title; a win. Not only did they get the win, but they also ended Aston Villa's 13 game undefeated streak. Anelka was the one to be congratulated for scoring about 20 minutes into the game. Hopefully, we will see a change in Chelsea's performances and possible success for them and new manager Hiddink. (Chelsea 1 - 0 Aston Villa)

Other scores in England - no matter what the result, everyone stayed in the same position in the table:
Bolton 2 - 1 West Ham
Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Wigan
Stoke 2 - 2 Portsmouth
Arsenal 0 - 0 Sunderland

Progress for the Red Devils

In the premier league contest today between Fulham and Man U, the Red Devils were able to take away three points from the game. It only took 12 minutes for Man U to open their scoring with a shot from veteran Paul Scholes; he only needs 2 more to eclipse the century mark for goals in the Premier League. 18 minutes later, striker Berbatov also capitalized on his opportunity to put Man U up by 2 before entering the half. Mid-way through the second half, Rooney would also get a goal to seal the win. For Man U it was an enjoyable result with hopefully more to come. As manager Ferguson said, it's all about the mental strength of the players. With the win, they now go 5 points clear ahead of Liverpool. With only 13 games to go and 39 points up for grabs, it does look very hopeful that Man U will once again win the title.

Scholes during the Man U vs. Barcelona Championship game last year.














Over the past few days, I have become aware of some extremely funny videos on youtube that some of you may find very appealing. Check them out. Here is the link to one of them:

Chelsea gains Hiddink and Eduardo returns for Arsenal

Exactly 1 week ago, Chelsea sacked Scolari for how the team was doing in the league. Now, a week later Anelka and Drogba finally discuss how had Scolari played them together, the results could have been better. Wait a minute. Your telling me that it took these two guys this long for them to announce that had Scolari played them together, he would not have been sacked. Why didn't they speak earlier?
As a result, Chelsea have now hired Russian head coach Hiddink. He will be taking over for the remainder of Chelsea's season with hopes to possibly winning the league although it may be somewhat of a stretch. Hiddink has been given honorary South Korean citizenship, an offer to be officially Russian and even a political campaign for him to be Australian prime minister. Clearly, this man has gained loads of respect from his people, but can he turn the Blues into a championship side again or will Man U take the league once again?

As for Arsenal and Wenger, they certainly will be glad to have Eduardo back on the field. About one year ago, Eduardo went down due to a brutal slide tackle and was forced to have surgery and regain strength for this amount of time (1 year). However, he made sure is presence was more than just appreciated, In Arsenal's game against Cardiff City, Eduardo was able to score two and end with a fabulous day. Hopefully, this young Arsenal squad will develop some more and definitely be contenders for the league in years to come.

An Update on Man U and Arsenal

In the Man U, West Ham clash, it was a game that looked as if neither side would be able to come away with three points. Just after an hour of play, Ryan Giggs was able to put away a nice shot past West Ham keeper, Robert Green. However, Giggs' shot was not the only one from Ferguson's side. The 20 total shots (with a pathetic 3 on target) cam from Red Devils veteran, Paul Scholes as well as midfield sensation, Cristiano Ronaldo. All in all, probably not the most exciting game to watch, but for Man U and their fans alike, an excellent result on the day; 3 points to go 2 points clear ahead of Rivals Liverpool. These two rivals will be meeting at Old Trafford on March 14th - definitely a game to be watched!

Also today Arsenal battled it out at White Heart Lane against Tottenham. In a first half that ended sorely for Arsenal, with a red card handed out by referee Mike Dean to midfielder Eboue, Arsenal was forced to hold off Tottenham for another 45 minutes. Although Tottenham may have had the upper hand in this match with the extra man, they were unable to capitalize on any chances just as Arsenal was reduced to few and futile chances. With these games completed, the standings are still not finalized in any way.

Man U - 56 points
Liverpool - 54 points
Aston Villa - 51 points
Chelsea - 49 points
Arsenal - 44 points

Things in Europe (and especially England) are changing. Good or Bad?

Let's just say that Man U is no longer at the top of the Premiership. With three key games played today, the top four in the premier league seems to constantly be shifting. Just keep on reading to learn more about what has been going on!

Today, Liverpool was able to just barely beat Portsmouth to go ahead of Man U in the league by one point. In a game that was 2-2 up until stoppage time was still yet to be decided. With only moments left, Rafael Benitez's side, Liverpool, was able to create a chance for striker, Fernando Torres, to score on Portsmouth. After only being on the pitch for 14 minutes, it really goes to show that a pair of fresh legs can really make a difference in the game. Personally, with nothing against Liverpool striker Babel, had Torres never come one then maybe the game would have ended in a tie and things would be entirely different. With that said, such can be seen of the Blues.

In Chelsea's second match against Hull this season, Chelsea really did not play well. With Hull truly playing with their hearts, the were able to hold Luis Scolari's side to a draw. There really is nothing more to be said; Hull played well, but were unable to score and Chelsea simply did neither of those. In fact, their fans let them know that as they booed their own side at the end of the game.

The third and final major match of today was between Aston Villa and the Blackburn Rovers. Some of you may be wondering why I acknowledge such a game. First off, Aston Villa is one of the more surprising sides this year. They have actually been very successful on the road his year with a second place record for away games; 9W - OD - 3L. Clearly, a very potent record. Furthermore, with their win over Blackburn, they were able to slip into 3rd overall in the league and push the Blues down to 4th. For Aston Villa, the goals during the game are accredited to Milner (27th minute) and Agbonlahor (90th minute).


For those who have been following Italian soccer, you are probably hearing about Beckham's hopes to stay at AC Milan. I felt as if this is good topic for me to post my personal opinion on such. Personally, I am totally against Beckham doing this. Yes, he may still be a very good player, but I thought he originally came to the USA to get away from European soccer since he was too old to keep up with it? What happened there? Secondly, when he signed with the LA Galaxy, he forced the club to make him captain and give up so much more just so that they could acquire him. Now he feels like he has the right to simply turn his back upon them.

This is what I hate about some professional athletes. For example, Plexico Burres and the shooting incident as well as Michael Phelp's and the pictures. Seriously, just because you are a superstar doesn't mean you can break the law and turn your back on people who have done so much for you.

Final scores from today:
Liverpool 3-2 Portsmouth
Aston Villa 2-0 Blackburn
Manchester City 1-0 Middlesbrough
Everton 3-0 Bolton
Sunderland 2-0 Stoke
Newcastle 3-2 WBA
Chelsea 0-0 Hull

Sunday Feb. 8th (Home vs. Away):
Tottenham vs. Arsenal 8:30 EST - Look to possibly see new signing, Andrei, on the field.

West Ham vs. Man U 11:00 EST - Hopefully Man U will regain their number 1 spot in the league by going two points ahead of Liverpool with a win against West Ham.

Man U, what? #1!

That's right. Man U is back in top form and leading the way in the Premiership. After 3 well hard fought and well deserved wins, Man U has finally gone in clear first with a one point gap over Liverpool and two over Chelsea. With a five game winning streak, it does not look like West Brom can stop them on the 27th.
In those five games, Man U came away with a huge win over rivals Chelsea; 3-0. Scoring came from Vidic, Rooney, and Berbatov (respectively). Although, Man U came away with a big win, the score does not tell the true nature of the game. Chelsea in fact had many opportunities to capitalize on their chances (specifically, Drogba), but they simply could not hit the target. The game gave way for criticism to former Portuguese National team head coach Felipe Scolari. What has he done with the team? What is going on? These are only a few of the many questions being asked of him.
The past five games have allowed for a total of 7 goals: Berbatov - 3, Rooney - 2, Tevez - 1, and Vidic - 1. Best wishes to the Red Devils as they continue with their league successes.
GO MAN U! MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW!

Ferguson getting picked on

For those of you who have been following the news lately, you may have heard that Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has made statements (which seem to be supported by former refs as well) that Ferguson seems to be able to get away with anything he says to refs. I agree that this may be true and that the FA needs to be doing something about it, but I ask, why has it taken this long for someone to finally speak out about this? If it was such a big deal then why didn't anyone say anythig earlier? I feel that there is definately something more to this than just anger at a double standard.