The prestigious league had a familiar name etched on its cup and Italy had its second footballing achievement in as many years. AC Milan were by far the best team in the Champions League and were deserved winners of the UEFA Champions League. They outplayed favorites Manchester United in the semis after doing away with Bayern Munich in the Quarterfinals. In the lead up to their final against Liverpool, there was a lot of talk of *that* night in Istanbul and when Kuyt scored in the 90 th minute, it almost seemed like fate was against Senor Berlusconi’s team. But it was nothing more than a consolation goal as the match ended 2-1. This was after the most vilified man in the Milan dressing room put them two ahead after some fortitous and opportunistic finishing. Inzaghi was his usual self. Diving, time wasting, being called offside a million times but fortunately for Milan, also deadly in his finishing. He may have won over a few fans with that display. On the whole, Liverpool were the better(with a very small b) team. Milan lacked the fluency like they did against Man Utd but this was as Ancelotti envisioned. Few teams play with flair against Benitez. He is a master tactician and despite Valdano’s ramblings, he is still one of the best managers in the world.

I got the feeling that Gerrard got carried away with his prematch comments. He should have learnt from Totti’s example that it is very easy to talk a good game. No disrespect to him, He is still the best english talent in the world, a list that includes a certain Man Utd striker.

However, no one would complain that Milan didn’t deserve the CL. They were brilliant in their style and execution, not a trait normally associated with the Italians . It is a good sign that for the second season running we have had attacking teams (more measured in the case of Milan) win the Champions League and although this may be a pipe dream, I hope this continues for the coming seasons. Tactical football may be effective but for a spectator, it is mind numbingly dull.
The European season is nearly over. Spain will go on for a few more weeks before they go into hibernation (or is that aestivation?). After that we may have to live off the crumbs that fall of the transfer table.

After 120 minutes of football that bordered on the tedium, we had a winner, and quite fittingly it was Chelsea’s man of the season who finished Manchester United off. The setting, the new Wembley , was spectacular but the football played sadly wasn’t, it hardly justified the occasion.

It was the case of who could wear out the other faster. I guess both team had their moments and neither team deserved to win it. The game had very few talking points, may be the Giggs incident is the only one. Ronaldo has proved the big game bottler again. Giggs had some sloppy moments. Rooney was better than the other two. But in a game in which cried out for the flair players of Manchester United to do something, they failed miserably. Chelsea used their usual power play game and got their result. Fair play. A word on Essien, I mean what a player! Not a club in Europe would not want his service.

Its bit of an anticlimax for Manchester United who could rightly feel that they have let things slip in the fag end of the season. As for Chelsea and Mourinho, I think Jose would do very well if he went inside and gave Drogba a big hug. Drogba has been the difference between a trophy less season and one with 2 cups. Whether it was enough to keep Jose’s job? I have my doubts.

< Video of Droba's Goal:
Video of Drogba’s Goal

Its time to look back at some of my predictions and how they went haywire. Seriously, I suck at these! The original post is here: Predictions

Arsenal (My Prediction- Fourth)

I got this one right. Arsenal ended the season at fourth place. A very disappointing season for the club and a poor start in the new stadium. Thierry Henry contributed practically nothing this year (due to a series of injuries). Ditto for Robbie Van Persie. They were pretty competitive against the the big teams (they took 6 points off United!) but poor away form and the inability to convert possession into goals resulted in a title no show.

A very disappointing run of form in the Champions League also resulted in getting knocked out by PSV Eindhoven. (how I relished that result!) A glorious run in the Carling cup was probably the only bright spot in an otherwise nothing season.

Expect the take over saga to run through the summer resulting in Kroenke winning full control and then promising a number of big signings for Wenger. Whether this team ever comes out of the “transition” period remains to be seen. A top quality striker is an absolute must during the transfer window.

Possible Transfers:

Arsene Wenger is expected to find his summer transfer budget this week. The club is doing well financially so Wenger would definitely be able to go after two or three players. And he needs some big signings to convince the likes of Fabregas and Henry. What will happen to Henry this year? Rumours are on that Barcelona are interested in getting Henry to Nou Camp. Samuel Etoo now seems certain to leave Barcelona and Arsenal’s style would suit him a lot more than those of Chelsea and Liverpool. Julio Baptista is definitely moving back to Madrid but whether Reyes will move in the opposite direction remains to be seen.

Liverpool (My prediction- Second)

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My original prediction was that Liverpool would run Chelsea close for the title. I expected Rafa Benitez to get it right in England after two attempts. But both haven’t happened. The Reds have lacked firepower up front and also creative wingers. That said, they are in the final of the one trophy that both Ferguson and Mourinho wanted more than anything else- the Champions League. Benitez will be looking to add one winger and one more striker during the summer. I expect him to offload Craig Bellamy to any team that will take him.

Benitez has proved his mastery in Europe but the fans want the league title more than anything else. Its close to two decades since Liverpool and have been crowned Champions of England and fans will undoubtedly be disappointed that the team is not even challenging for the title. But, the Champions League title could prove to be very sweet compensation.

Possible Transfers

Liverpool are expected to sign Brazilian youngster and Lucras Leiva. Funnily enough he is a holding midfielder. Liverpool really lack players in that position! But he has got to be one for the future, whether he adapts to life in England remains to be seen. It is very possible that Liverpool’s best signing of the season came in January when they signed on Mascherano from West Ham United. Liverpool have also signed Andriy Voronin from Bayern Leverkusen, he is expected to add much needed strike power to the squad.

What do Aston Villa , Liverpool and Manchester United all have in common? Yes, The common denominator in all these clubs is an American owner. And if Stan Kroenke has his way, Arsenal FC will join that ever growing list.

The opposition has been vehement, both from the fans and from the board. Although there has been some misguided thoughts that the takeover will allow Arsenal to mix it with the big boys. The takeover doesn’t make any sense. It does not make sense the business way, let me explain why.

For all of those misguided souls who think that Stan Kroenke is another Russian sugar daddy like Roman, face it, HE IS NOT. Period. He is not going to walk into the Arsenal boardroom with a blank cheque in hand and ask Peter Hill Wood or Danny Fiszman to fill out an amount they deem enough. As one person in put it “We (Arsenal) won’t be a rich man’s play thing, more likely we will be his wallet and washing machine”. Put in simple terms, he is simply going to burden the club with more loans and subsequent interest payments.

For all those people who know how businesses work you can skip this paragraph, for those of you who don’t read on. When a business makes money it puts money in the pockets of the owner. Then owner then decides whether he wants to buy a shiny new Mercedes and let the business stagnate or whether he wants to reinvest the money and make the business even bigger. The latter is the case with present board of directors of Arsenal.

The present board does not take home the profits instead they let club take whatever profits it generates. Will Stan the man do the same thing?? You are going to have a tough time to convince me that he will do the same thing. There is otherwise no incentive for him to cross the Atlantic.

And you saw this in our site first, Arsenal WILL be the richest club in the world next year this time. No, please stop laughing; I’m not delusional neither am I high. The half year figures for the month ending November is 100.8 million pounds. Compare this figure to the 57 million last year. 9 million pounds can be written off as non-football related income so that makes it 91 million pounds. Arsenal made 156 million for the whole of last year, if we were to extrapolate this figure Arsenal would end up with something like 200 million pounds this year. Add to this the cash injection of nearly 20 million to all premier league clubs the picture does look very rosy indeed.

The extra income is primary due to 3 million pounds match day income, naming rights and other merchandise. The 3 million is the highest anywhere in Europe. Obviously, being in London has its own advantages.

In layman terms

40 million extra in revenues + 20 million TV money – 17 million in loans repayment - Lot of money in increased player wages(Gallas, Henry etc) – Running costs of the stadium = A very rosy picture.

Of course the 260 million pounds is being repaid over 25 years and anything can happen between now and then maybe English football will face a total collapse like the Italian league. But by in large there are reasons to be optimistic.

Coming back to my original point, If at all Stan Kroenke takes over the club, the money is not going come out of his own pocket. He is going to borrow nearly 700 million pound which will be required to buy the club.

Who is going to repay all that money??? Of course its going to Arsenal Football Club.

Just because Kroenke has taken over are the clubs profit magically going to increase? Of course not!

So basically what will happen is that the repaying of the 700 million plus interests will eat into the profits that Arsenal will generate. Which means lesser resources to compete with, more loans to repay and in case some untoward happens its infinitely more damaging to the club.

This is not the last time we are going to hear of this story, I’m sure it’s going to take up a lot of column inches in the back pages in the summer. Most likely idle gossip but what make the equation interesting is Double-D (David Dein) has sided with the Yank and is his 14.6% stake in the club going to have a say? Time will answer that question. The other members of the board positively baulked at the very notion of an American owing the club and so have many of the fans.

So there, the fans, I think are far more concerned about the financial side of the Football Club rather than the sentimental side. Finally, for the fans, the welfare of the club is paramount. If Kroenke was good for the club he will be welcomed with open arms rather than with pickets saying “Go Away, Stan”.

For the second time in three years we are going to have a Liverpool vs Milan final in the UEFA Champions league. Milan confirmed their position in the final after thumping Manchester United 3-0 in Milan to win the tie on aggregate 5-3.

If the previous final is anything to go by, we can expect a treat. I expect Liverpool to win, they are much better (in Europe, mind you) than what they were two years back. The middle of the field looks very settled with Mascherano and Alonso. And of course Benitez really seems to have mastered tactics required for success in Europe. For both the clubs, this trophy represents the only chance to redeem what has otherwise been very disappointing seasons at club level.

Manchester United:

A woeful defense and players like Ronaldo going AWOL cut short any hopes of a final and a shot at a second treble. United now need to recover by Saturday when they play Manchester City in the derby. The league title is in their hands but will they slip up?

The best player in the world

Before the semifinals, there were two contenders for the best active footballer in the world. And over the two legs, Kaka has made that position his own. Of course, 1) Gattuso hacking down Ronaldo all over the park and 2) United’s terrible defense have certainly helped.

The Goals from the match:

First goal - KAKA

Second goal- SEEDORF

Third goal- GILARDINHO

Liverpool are through to the Final of the Champions league after defeating Chelsea on penalties. What a relief! This way we wont get to hear Jose Mourinho rave about he had led two different clubs to the Champions League title (not yet).

I expect United to go through tomorrow, a Liverpool vs United final in Athens will be absolutely cracking. But, with the Athens Police Force set to go on strike (for higher wages), this could turn into a big mess.

But for now, congratulations to Liverpool and the Kop!

You can watch the video of the highlights here: Highlights

You can watch the Penalty Kick Shoot Out Here:  Penalties

The English premier league had its proudest moment on Wednesday with three of its members participating in the Champions League. I don’t ever recall the English dominating the competition the way they have done this year. First was the way Barcelona were made to look ordinary by both Liverpool and Chelsea. Then there was Manchester United hammering Fransesco ‘Ferguson will know my name’ Totti’s Roma 7-1 in what was the performance of the season. However, I am not quick to jump on this EPL bandwagon. Barca had the post Champions league dip, Real Madrid are never this bad and to be honest the Italians were underrepresented without Juventus. Before all you Anglophiles brandish those knives I dont mean to say that EPL isn’t good, but I am more circumspect when it comes to the question which league is the best. I would have acceded if it weren’t for the same three clubs every year. As Phil Ball said in his article, its not the Chelsea’s that make the league, it’s the Villas and the Boro’s and they haven’t done diddley poo this year. [ More on this later]

The last two nights have been great for football. Tuesday brought the game of the season as Kaka and Ronaldo went head to head. You would be hard pressed to find two more productive players in the world. Yet, their gameplay is diametrically opposite. While Ronaldo relies on his flair and propensity for the spectacular, Kaka is the more direct, substance over showmanship type of player.

Ronaldo was shackled by a rigid Milan defense that allowed him very little space, but in the process allowed the other young wizard in the team to take centre stage. Rooney had his best match in the Champions league and his second goal showed the opportunistic side of his. His first time shot took everyone by surprise and it was a killer blow to a Milan team that looked good for the draw.

Chelsea Vs Liverpool

Chelsea and Liverpool didn’t provide anywhere close to the entertainment of the previous night but they were never billed to. But it was fascinating to see Pool go back to the KOP without an advantage. I don’t think Rafa has been in such a spot in a long time. Against Barca and PSV they played their second legs without much pressure. So, this would be their first real test.

My Predictions (If you want to make good money, bet against this spread)

Liverpool 1 - Chelsea 1

Milan 1 – Man Utd 2

Technorati Tags: Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea, Milan, Man Utd

You know when you have tooth-ache, you know when you suck on the tooth that it will ache but you still do it to check whether it still aches. Why am I saying this? Well, that experience is not too dissimilar from being an Arsenal fan at the moment; you don’t want to watch because it is painful to see them lose. But you still watch in the hope that things might click miraculously and they end up tonking some team. Unfortunately, things rarely happen that way, if ever.

The present day malaise has been blamed on many things, World cup hangover, moving to a new stadium, loss of some key players, over physicality of the other teams, fixture congestions among other things. Chelsea had a lot of players in the World cup so did ManU that dint stop them this season has it? The fixture list hasn’t been kind to any of the teams, when has it ever? It was always a reason to have a good moan about but never an excuse.

To be fair to Arsene, he has had his fair share of injuries. Henry has been practically out for the entire season. Robin Van Persie’s season has been stop start. So has been Gallas’. Our (Arsenal fans) argument has been if ManU had Rooney, Ronaldo and Vidic out for same amount of time would they have been the same team? The answer is probably is No. But are you in effect, admitting the rest of the squad is not good enough to overcome the likes of West Ham (twice!), Sheffield United, Everton and Bolton? After all they still have the best record against the so called “Big Four”.

Out of the cups in a cruel fashion, for the first time in a long time we don’t have anything to look forward to, we have always had a cup final, or a title race to look forward to. There is visible lack of motivation in the players in the last few games. You are waiting for a player to take the game by the scruff of the neck and that almost invariably never happens. If the players assume that they are going to finish 4th then this season is in very real danger of falling apart. Bolton and Everton are breathing down our necks, even Sp*rs can mount a late charge. 7th place for Arsenal, anyone?

Finishing in a champions league spot is paramount to the clubs fortunes, not only in the literal sense but also in terms of being to attract top talent to the club. How many top class players would want to come to a club who is not going to play in the Champions league? Not many I would think.

More worryingly for the fans is that Wenger seems to think that present squad is good enough to compete for the league and that he is not likely to add to the squad in the summer. It scares the living daylights out of me, seriously. Freddie seems to have lost it, I don’t even remember the last time he scored in the league. Hleb for all his close control and ball-skill is never likely to get you 10 goals a season. Baptista looks as though he was born yesterday, new born giraffe at that. I think it’s time we showed these 3 players the door. That leaves us with a couple of 19 year olds, a 17 year old and no wide player to speak of, hardly a mid-field that would leave the opposition quaking in their boots. Defence too needs some work but that will be a rant for another day, Up front this over reliance on Thierry Henry has all too readily been exposed this season. We must dread the day that we have to replace this demigod.

I’m sorry if I sound so negative in the post, I can’t feel anything but that. I am typing as I watch the Newcastle game, one of the most insipid performances I have seen from an Arsenal team in all these years of following them.

Among all the doom and gloom do we still have reason to be cheerful about, straws that we can clutch on to, to save our faces this season? Yes, we never have to seen Alexander Song in an Arsenal shirt again.Kidding, one bright spark has been the kids and their wonderfully fearless performance in the Carling cup, notably Liverpool, Everton and Sp*rs and the first half hour against Chelsea in the final. It augurs well for the future but most fans can be notoriously fickle and instant gratification is on top of every fan’s list. The “punctual trophy” can be hard to achieve, ask Fergie, he’ll let you know.Next season can’t surely be as bad, can it? Until then I’ ll be praying. *Enters meditative state again*

Vignesh

Vignesh is an avid Arsenal fan and loves an argument. So now would be a good time for all those Man U, Liverpool and Chelsea fans to rub it in.

[digg=http://digg.com/soccer/Arsenal_Debacle]

First off , I’m very disappointed with the Barcelona performance. They played like vagabond school kids, without any plan or design. Their attitude on the pitch also resembled the gypsies- straying away from assignments , losing sight of the ball and most importantly gifting away two goals. Barcelona issued a statement like Liverpool after a week of madness for both clubs, but unfortunately for all the cules out there, it was the wrong kind.

My friend had remarked ‘ Barcelona beat Barcelona, Liverpool just happened to be there’. I don’t entirely agree with this view but it does ring true when you see the goals that were conceded. The defending was god awful and the goalkeeper Victor Valdes had a nightmare game. Valdes was not the only one guilty of dropping the ball, Rijkaard’s over aggression in an attempt to overcompensate for the Samuel Eto’o debacle lost the second half of the game. He brought on Iniesta to replace Motta and that meant that there was no natural holding midfielder, despite the ineffective performance of the latter.I was surprised Crouch didn’t come on at that stage. It would have made matters worse for the Champions of Europe.. At one point Barca had Xavi, Messi, Deco and Iniesta on the pitch. Crouch could have really exploited that. In keeping with the dreadful season, Ronaldinho had a terrible time. Have players sorted out his style? It does look like that. Defenders are not really threatened when he runs at them. Messi was awful too. Not once did he go on those trademark mazy runs which I and the whole of Catalunya had hoped for.

For Liverpool, it couldn’t have been sweeter. Two people in the news for all the wrong reasons were the heroes- Bellamy and Riise. All credit to them. Barca were awful but Liverpool were remarkably organised and took on their more talented rivals to their face, without any acknowledgment of their supposed pedigree. Its not all gloom and doom for the Catalans and good football at Anfield could change the whole equation.

Through the encircling gloom, it must be realised that its just the first leg but few would bet against Rafa and the reds and even fewer after witnessing that disastrous display by the Best side in Europe.

Technorati Tags: Liverpool, Football, Barcelona, Ronaldinho, Bellamy, Gerrard, Riise,

It’s not always I use David Beckham in a footballing comparison. Although he has achieved a lot of success in his Manchester United, the coverage and the press he received were not reciprocal to his performances. He was the poster boy, who defined the word ‘metrosexual’ and a marketing team’s dream. On the pitch, his career had not met expectations. As captain, his team always fell short of the target. His career had stagnated after his move to Real Madrid and his only option was to take the 250mill $ sinecure that the idiots in LA had offered. But one aspect of his game and his personality merits respect. It was evident in the last month and for his entire career and that has been his impeccable sense of professionalism. When lesser players would have taken offense at the demotion to the reserves, Becks took it as a challenge to prove his coach wrong. He appeared everyday for training and not once did he complain about the treatment. He has since earned his recall and looks set to leave his club with his head held high.

But over the weekend, arguably the the best striker in the world showed why, it’s not always the talent that wins you admirers. Prone to the usual fit of rage, Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o lashed out at his coach Frank Rijkaard for being labeled a shame. Well, to be frank, your behaviour over the weekend was a disgrace. It doesn’t matter if there are only 2 minutes of playing time, when the manager asks you to come on , you do it. When the manager asks you to play blindfolded, you do it. It’s as simple as that, as long as he gets paid the big bucks and is held accountable for every wrong turn he takes, the manager is the Big kahuna.

This is just one of the many incidents that have littered Eto’o’s career. The man can turn a match on its head with his feet, but can also divide a club with his vicious tongue. Some criticize Rijkaard for coming hard on his leading striker in a press conference. This was aberrant from a man, who prefers to dish it out in the privacy of the locker room. But in this case, the reputation preceded the person. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Eto’o went as far as revealing divisions in the dressing room between the Rosell (ex vice president, Sandro Rosell) group and the Laporta clan and how the ‘gentle’ African had been made the scapegoat. But honest to god, what the hell has that got to do with you not wanting to play?

It also is very clear that Rosell sympathizers will be leaving the club soon, whether that includes Ronaldinho is anyone’s guess. Although the club is indebted to Rosell for his masterful engineering of the Ronaldinho transfer, his shadow has hung over this team for too long.

The one club that will be celebrating this are the Merseysiders. This couldn’t have come at a better time for them and the controversy looks set to rock the Catalan club for a few weeks. Expect a major clearout in the summer at Barcelona, starting with the African striker.

For now, Eto’o can learn a thing or two from David beckham 23.

Technorati Tags: David Beckham, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Samuel Eto’o, Frank Rijkaard