Barcelona v Manchester United - UEFA Champions League Final
First of all both Man United and Barcelona are fantastic teams, true champions with loads of stars playing for them – its going to be one incredible festival!! Cant wait..
Man Utd seemed to have the easier route to the final, beating the German team Schalke fairly convincingly 6-1 on aggregate. Whilst Barcelona battled against their Spanish rivals, Real Madrid in the semi-finals. The first round was won by Barcelona 2-0, but not without controversy. Real Madrid forced a draw during the second leg, but it was too much for them to come back from 2-0 down on aggregate and win by more than 2 goals away at Barcelona.
Some may question Barcelona’s tactics during their semi against Real Madrid, but they wont care they are in the final of one of football’s biggest events – the UEFA Champions League 2011 and they wont mind what people say about them.
Perhaps it was because Barcelona have Unicef on their shirts and are seen as the do-gooders, whilst Real Madrid have sponsorship from bwin, a gambling and betting company... Who knows?? Conspiracy theorists if you really want to look into it further then make the most of it and get some great casino bonuses whilst you are there at some of the best online casinos.
Might even fancy a few shillings on the final myself...
There were accusations of racism, UEFA dished out fines and suspensions to both teams and Madrid’s coach José Mourinho, who was dismissed from the bench, made inappropriate (according to UEFA that is...) statements at the post match interview.
In short, the semi-final was not the best advertisement for sportsmanship. UEFA have disciplined, European football will continue and onwards to the UEFA Champions League Final 2011, Wembley, London – May 28.
It's Manchester United's title to lose
With four months still to go before we know who will be lifting the Premier League trophy, it seems that few are betting against Manchester United winning the title back.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men are sitting pretty at the top of the table, level on points with neighbours Manchester City, however, the Old Trafford club have two games in hand.
Arsenal lie in 3rd place, two points behind United, but Arsene Wenger's side have played a game more than the Red Devils.
Chelsea have slipped down the table and at this stage, they would be doing fairly well to finish in the top 4 with Tottenham breathing down their necks.
Given the fact United have yet to hit top gear this season, it all seems to point towards them winning yet another Premier League title.
It is quite scary to think that, arguably their best player, Wayne Rooney, has scored just two Premier League goals this season and yet they remain unbeaten in 21 league games.
United are, unsurprisingly, favourites with all the bookies and sportsbooks to claim their 13th Premier League title.
So is it United's title to lose? Feel free to leave your comments below!
Premier League 2010/2011 Preview
So we are now less than two weeks away from the kick-off of the 2010/2011 Premier League season and I'm sure, like me, you are all getting very excited.
There are three clubs, in my opinion, who have a real chance of lifting the title come the end of the season. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal.
Many believe Manchester City may challenge for the title this season given the vast amounts of money they have spent over the last few weeks. David Silva, Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure have all arrived at Eastlands this summer and if you have been keeping up with the sports news of late, you will know that City's spending may not be over just yet.
I personally don't believe they have what it takes to go all the way this season and I think they would be doing well to finish in the top four this time around.
If I had to put my money on any team, I would probably bet on Chelsea to retain their Premier League crown.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, there are a large number of teams who could easily be relegated this season. Blackpool will probably finish rock bottom with West Brom just above them in 19th and then it will be intriguing to see who finishes in the place above them. It really could be any number of six or seven teams who finish 18th but if I had to choose one, I would have to go with Birmingham.
We all love picking our squads for a fantasy soccer game before the season starts and one player I suggest you have in your team this season is Liverpool's Joe Cole. I am convinced he will be a big success at Anfield and I can see him scoring loads of goals this season.
The Transfer Window is now SHUT
After two months, the transfer window has today slammed shut. What a transfer window, eh?
Obviously the big spenders in the Premier League were Manchester City, spending over £115 million. Mark Hughes was certainly given to freedom to spend money left, right and centre, building almost a fantasy football team in the process.
It seems the majority of football news in Europe has surrounded Real Madrid this summer. The Spanish giants have spent nearly a quarter of a billion pounds on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka. Many football betting experts believe Real may be the team to beat in the Champions League this season and personally, I agree with them.
Elsewhere in the transfer window, Tottenham completed a transfer deadline day deal, bringing Portsmouth midfieder Niko Kranjcar to Fratton Park. Kranjcar became the second Portsmouth player to join Harry Redknapp at Spurs, following the arrival of Peter Crouch earlier this summer.