Spanish clubs succeed in the Champions League

On Wednesday, both Barcelona and Real Madrid played their quarter final matches in the Champions League, against Shahktar and Tottenham respectively.  Both came out with overwhelming victories.

Barcelona were strong favorites to win the match, as few thought that Shahktar Donetsk, despite leading the Ukrainian league by twelve points, could match up to the Spanish club.  The match played out as expected with very few surprises.  Barcelona quickly took control of the game, scoring their first goal after barely 90 seconds of playing.  Messi had broken into the goal area, and his deflected shot fell to Iniesta, who beat several defenders and kicked the ball into the net.  Barcelona went on to score four more goals, three of them coming in the second half.  Shahktar had several great chances to score.  They managed to pull a goal back, but by that time, they were already trailing by three goals.  The final score ended as 5 - 1.

Real Madrid also won a convincing victory against Tottenham Hotspurs, a club in the English Premier League.  This game was expected to have much more tension and competition, as both teams play a high level of soccer; however, Real Madrid managed to win by four goals.  Tottenham started off the game on a bad foot and perhaps were unlucky.  Peter Crouch, one of their key players, was dismissed in the 15th minute, after the referee showed him a red card for a reckless tackle.  Real Madrid took control of the game from then on.

Barcelona and Madrid still have to travel to Ukraine and England respectively to play the second leg of the quarterfinals, although it is doubtful that their opponents have the capability to overturn such large scorelines.  Their second matches are more of a formality than anything else.  Sports headlines have already proclaimed that these two teams have "the semis in their pocket."

In the likely case that both teams will progress, Barcelona and Real Madrid will be facing each other in the semi-finals and playing two legs.  When the league and the Spanish cup are included, Barcelona and Real Madrid will be playing each other a total of five times by the time the season ends.  These two clubs are fierce and hated rivals, so fans are guaranteed some exciting and intense matches! 

Are international friendlies necessary?

A few times each year, the managers for each country's national team will pick and choose players from different soccer clubs to participate in international friendlies.  The outcome of these friendlies have practically no importance since there is no championship to be won, and they do not affect a country's standing or ranking.  Often, the managers of the best soccer clubs in the world, such as Manchester United or FC Barcelona, hate international friendlies because many of their players receive a call up to play in the national team.  After the games, the players come back tired and can not play well in the league games.  On the other hand, the coaches of less important teams often benefit from international friendlies because not many of their players receive a call up, and thus, it becomes easier for them to defeat a team on a higher skill level.

Recently, Sir Alex Ferguson, the coach of Manchester United, gave a radio interview where he stated that, "I am all in favour of the competitions. The players should play in the major competitions; the European Championship, the World Cup."  Friendlies, however, are a different story.  He angrily branded these games as "a waste of time," when many of his key players were selected for England's game against Ghana.  Only a few days after his players come back, the team needs to prepare for a league game and an important game in the Champions League.  To him, it seems unnecessary to tire out his players when there is no feasible gain. 

Some suggest that national coaches should only be allowed to select a limited number of players from each soccer club to balance things out.  Others suggest getting rid of international friendlies altogether.  On the other hand, many citizens of each nation enjoy watching their national teams play.  Friendlies are another way to measure the progress of their national team.  What should people do??
     

Where is Mourinho headed next?

One of the most colorful and fascinating personalities in the soccer world is Jose Mourinho, known to some as an incredibly gifted coach and to others as a power-hungry egomaniac. 
Mourinho has a long list of past accomplishments to testify for his talents.  In 2004, he led FC Porto, a club often overlooked and with very little success on the international stage, to win the European Champions League.  He later moved on to Chelsea, with which he won two Premier League titles and several championships.  His most recent accomplishments came during his stay with Internazionale, when he won the league, the cup, and the Champions League all in one season.
Now Mourinho is currently leading the players at Real Madrid, where he faces the task of rebuilding a broken team and toppling the current champions Barcelona.  Mourinho's craving for success and power is well-known, and even before he has accomplished this task, he has already hinted at his next career move.
On his short trip to London, he recently announced "I miss England and my next job will be in England," Mourinho declares. "There is unfinished business. And I think England wants me back, no?"  When asked about Real Madrid, he speaks about his current club almost in the past tense. 
Many possibilities await him in England.  He could choose to reunite with Chelsea or take over rising clubs such as Spurs or Manchester City.  Whatever he chooses, it's certainly true that "England certainly wants more of his charisma, the adoration he inspires in players, and the newspapers he sells." 
 

Good News and Bad News

The past week for Barcelona has been eventful, full of ups and downs. 

On March 8th, Barcelona competed in a Champions League game against Arsenal, an English football club.  Barcelona had lost the first leg 2-1 in February, and thus, it needed to win in the second leg in order to move past the round of 16 and reach the quarterfinals.  Fortunately, for its fans, Barcelona won with a solid 3-1 victory.  Lionel Messi opened the scoring just before the start of half-time, and from then Barcelona seemed to haave control of the game.  Arsenal were showing little signs of attack, and their goal came out of nowhere, when Sergio Busquets accidentally shot the goal into his own net.  Thanks to Messi again and Xavi, Barcelona were able to clinch a victory with goals.  Congratulations!!

Unfortunately, Barcelona experienced a minor dip in form later this week when it played a league game against Sevilla, with the score ending as 1-1.  Again, Barcelona seeed to have control of the game when Bojan scored the opening goal; however, Jesus Nevas pulled back a point for Sevilla.  Despite controlling possession and attack, Barcelona were unable to capitalize on their chances. 

Barcelona is still ranked number 1, but now Real Madrid only lags five points behind.  This sign indicates that the league title is still up for grabs, and the coming weeks will be filled with intense games.   

Real Madrid crushes Malaga

Real Madrid have not played this well in a very long time.  After losing 5-0 to Barcelona at the end of November last year, Real Madrid have not been in consistent form.  They have played well in some games, but they have also dropped points on many other occasions.  In the month of January, they surprisngly lost to Osasuna, a very low-ranking team.  They also failed to beat Almeria and Deportivo, drawing 1-1 and 0-0 respectively. 

On Wednesday, March 3rd, however, they surprised their wins with a mindblowing 7-0 win.  Just before the half-hour mark, Karim Benzema kicked in the first goal and set Madrid on course to victory.  Less than 10 minutes later, Marcelo passed the ball to Di Maria, who managed to tuck it away in the net.  Marcelo himself later scored the third goal just before the referee blew the whistle for half-time.  The highlight of the second half was a hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo, who with this game finally ended his four-game scoring drought.  Benzema also added a goal to the tally, but fortunately for Malaga, the game was soon over.

To watch video higlights, visit http://lets-kickoff.blogspot.com/

Yeah, they did it!!!

 

A few weeks ago, many players from soccer clubs all over the world participated in international matches.  The majority of players from the Spanish national team come from Barcelona, and after the friendlies were over, many of the Barcelona players came back tired and worn out.  Unfortunately, their tiredness showed when the regular league games resumed.  Against Sporting Gijon on the 12th of February, Barcelona was unable to put together a good performance and instead, only earned a draw.  Even more tragic, Barcelona lost to Arsenal in the Champions League just four days later.  Many fans were worried about their team's form, but on Sunday Barcelona showed that they were heading back on track when they won a narrow victory against Athletic Bilboa.   

Barcelona's performance was decent, but far from perfect.  David Villa opened the scoring in just 4 minutes, but in the 49th minute, Andoni Iroala managed to equalize for Athletic Bilboa after the referee granted them a penalty.  Barcelona started frantically pouring forward and giving every effort that they got.  There were many frustrating moments and close calls, the viewers could sense both sides growing tense.  The game seemed destine for a draw, but a late goal from Lionel Messi in the 78th minute was enough for Barcelona to pull through with a victory.  

Hopefully, this win will give them enough confidence for their next league games, and when they play Arsenal again on March 8th!  Good luck!!!!

Champions League Week!

The Champions League is a competition that the best soccer clubs from Europe compete in each year.  This week the first eight teams played in four games, and next week, the remaining eight teams will play in the next four games.

On Monday, the English team Tottenham played against the Italian team AC Milan.  Since Tottenham had not played in the Champions League for a very long time, many had already written them off before the game even started.  Few expected them to progress very far in the competition, especially since they were not playing in their home stadium. 

Fortunately for Tottenham fans, their team managed to surprise everyone with a late victory, when Peter Crouch scored the only goal in the 80th minute.

Both teams had plenty of chances to score, and there were many close moments in the first and second half.  The goalkeepers on both sides were kept busy and made many dramatic saves that night.  Many players were dangerous and created clever plays and made skillful passes; however, the best man of the math that night was perhaps Tottenham's Aaron Lennnon.  On many occassions, his pace helped him to outmaneuver the defenders and terrorize the goalkeeper.  He was also instrumental in setting up the late goal, thanks to his fantastic run from the half-way line and then his inch-perfect pass to Peter Crouch.

Watch video highlights!  http://www.soccerly.com/ac-milan-tottenham-highlights/

France v Brazil 1-0

Since this week was filled with international friendlies, instead of writing about the Spanish league, I want to recap a game involving my favorite national team, France. 

You might have heard about their disastrous World Cup 2010 campaign; in fact, it might have been the worst showing for France in French football history.  One of the players, Nicolas Anelka, was involved in a dispute with the extremely unpopular and unsuccessful coach, Raymond Domenech.  As a result, Anelka was sent home early, and the rest of the French players decided to go on strike and refused to train. 

Many of the players received suspensions, and after France exited the World Cup, Domenech also lost his job.  Laurent Blanc, a former French player, became a new job.  Rebuilding the French team was an extremely difficult task, since France had been struggling to play well since 2006, after its best player Zinedine Zidane retired.

Beating Brazil, a highly-rated team, this week was a sign that the French team is beginning to regain its old form.  Both teams were pretty even in the beginning, but with France creating slightly more chances to score.  In the 40th minute, a Brazilian player was sent off for a rough tackle, and France started to take over.
Benzema scored the only goal for France in the 54th minute.  Brazil had a few chances to equalize, but France was able to hold on to the lead.

Video highlights from the game here.   

What Will Happen to Benzema?

Benzema holds a newspaper reporting his move to Madrid.

Karim Benzema was one of the new transfers last season, along with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, and Kaka, when Real Madrid decided to splurge over €200 million on world-class players.  The Frenchman was flourishing at Olympique Lyonnais, the club he had played for since 2004.  Naturally, many had high expectations for him when he joined the Real Madrid squad.  

Benzema in his Lyon jersey

Unfortunately for him, once at Madrid, he struggled to reproduce his old form.  This season he has spent much of his time on the sidelines or as a substitute.  On rare occasions he has showed glimpses of his brilliance.  The most recent example came last week when he scored the only goal to give Madrid a victory over Sevilla.  He also had other good games, such as when he scored three goals against Auxerre in the Champions League and again against Levante in the Copa del Rey.  Most of the time, however, he has been inconsistent and played without confidence.  

For that reason, the coach Jose Mourinho has often left him out from the starting line-up.  This pattern won’t change in the near future from the sign of things.  In fact, Benzema’s situation will probably worsen.  

Adebayor playing for FC Arsenal

Mourinho has been asking for a solid striker for many months now, and with the recent arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor, he finally got what he asked for.  Adebayor has not made his debut yet, but he has passed his medical with flying colors, being described as a “physical marvel.”  Competition could be detrimental for Benzema.  If he fails to play at his full potential, his playing time could be limited even more.  

The future for him is uncertain, and if Adebayor manages to outshine him, then his stay at Real Madrid might be over.    

Watch a compilation of Benzema's best goals at Lyon. 

England vs Spain

The most common argument in European football that has never been resolved involves both the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga.  Soccer fans can never agree on which one is superior to the other.


There exist a few noticeable differences in the two leagues.  One quick look at the ranking tables for the two competitions reveal perhaps the most obvious difference:  the competitive level.  In the English Premier League, many teams stand a chance at winning the trophy. Teams are separated from one another by only a few points, and thus, competition becomes extremely tight and intense. Just by losing one game, a team can suffer significant damage to their chances of a trophy, and the ranking table can change dramatically.

On the other hand, the competition in the Spanish league centers only around the two main teams, Barcelona and Madrid, and it has become nearly impossible for any other team to the win the championship. While Barcelona is only ahead of Madrid by a few points, the third position team, Villareal, is nine points behind Madrid, and the number difference tends to grow as the season progresses. In fact, last season, both Madrid and Barcelona finished over twenty points above the number three team that year, Valencia. The Spanish league has often received criticism for being too unevenly balanced, and for this reason, some argue that the English league is superior.


Fans of the Spanish league, however, claim that Spanish soccer teams have a much better playing style than the English ones. In Spain, style is very important. Fans not only want their teams to score goals, but to also play beautifully. Making good passes and counter-attacks are very important. The English League places a much greater emphasis on physicality. The soccer games tend to have more tackles and clashes, and the playing style is more rough.

Many other differences exist between the two teams. In the end, there is no clear answer, and everything comes down to personal taste!

Winter Champions: The Competitiveness of the Spanish League

The current season of the Spanish league, known as La Liga to soccer fans, is now just about halfway done, and two teams stand far above the rest.  First comes Barcelona, which is currently sitting at the number one position on the league table and surely enjoying their status as "Winter Champions".  Although this title is nothing official--it simply means that this team was leading at the end of the year--Barcelona broke records this year by accumulating a total of 52 points.  Out of the 19 league games played, they have won an impressive 17, drawn once, and suffered only one defeat.  

Behind them in the number two rank is Real Madrid, trailing by a mere four points. Although Madrid has repeatedly pulled out strong displays this season, their record is not up to par with Barcelona's. Out of their 19 games, they have won only 15, drawn thrice, and conceded a humiliating defeat to Barcelona, losing 5 goals to none. Needless to say, competition between these two teams is fierce, and it is not uncommon for tension between fans to erupt into fights.

The past weekend, both Barcelona and Madrid played their 19^th game. Barcelona destroyed their opponents Malaga, netting in four goals. Madrid, however, experienced an unexpected blip in their form. They struggled against Almeria, a rather low-ranking team, and came out with a draw, earning only one point from this game. Although they did not lose the match, according to the Spanish media, they might as well. For both Madrid and Barcelona, a draw has become the new lose because even a tiny slip-up might ultimately cost them the champions title at the end of the season. After Madrid “lost” their game, much of the Spanish press labeled it as “the game that lost them the league.”