Copa Del Rey Champions!

After what seemed to be a pretty mediocre season for FC Barcelona, they were able to end it with the Copa Del Rey trophy and send Josep Guardiola off on a happy note. A double from Pedro and another goal from Messi were made in the first half and clenched the final for FC Barcelona against Atletic Bilbao.

You have got to admit, this season has not been easy for Barcelona. They were kicked out of the Champions League semi-finals by Chelsea and they lost the league to their greatest rival Real Madrid. BUT on a happier note, they were able to end the season with 4 trophies, The European Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana, the FIFA Club World Cup, and the Copa Del Rey. Of course Barcelona wanted La Liga and the Champions League and you people out there, don't forget that Barcelona is bringing it back next season. You just wait and see.

Congrats Barcelona! Thank you Guardiola for your hard work and good luck Vilnova for next season! I can't wait to see all the transfers this summer!

Xavi Hernandez

If you don't know who Xavi is, you've obviously been living under a football rock for years. He's considered one of the best midfielders to have ever played the game and I can't agree less. I'm not sure how to explain it, but he's what keeps the team, FC Barcelona, ticking. His vision, excellent passing, and unbelievable control makes him an outstanding playmaker. He is so vital to both FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. He's had a pretty amazing career winning every prestigious competition including the World Cup. At the age of 32, I would say he's had a very, very successful career.


Why am I even posting about this guy? Well first off he's probably one of my favorite players ever. I think I might like him better than Messi and that says a lot. If I could play like any footballer in the world, I would like to play like Xavi. His style of play is.....simply sophisticated. All he does it look for space. He uses that space to exploit his opponent and once he finds it, it can really hurt the other side.That's why one of his nicknames it The Puppet Master. The second reason I'm writing about him is because of his age. Like I said before he's at the age of 32 which is the wrong side of 30 in the footballing community. He still may have 2-4 years if he's able to stay in good shape. Other than that, he may have to retire soon and that will be a sad, sad day for many FC Barcelona fans.

So what does his age have to do with this post? Well as he ages, he'll eventually have to retire and then what? What is he going to do with his life? This is what I'm hoping will happen (a dream that will hopefully come true). He takes 2-3 years of sabbatical from football. Stay and hang with family and not have to worry about the complications of football. BUT I do want him to come back to the footballing world, especially FC Barcelona. I really want him to get a job there, if anything become a coach. He can begin working with the younger kids, you know the youth system, and eventually work his way up to be manager of the first team. That's what I really want, him to become manager of the first team. He has such incredible outlook on the game, I just want to see how he would use it to conduct the team plus he already has the Barca DNA embedded into him, so he knows how Barca plays. That's my hope, my dream for him one day. I would love, love, love to see him become manager of the first team. But there is still a lot of time and it could never happen. I mean I don't know why it wouldn't. He seems like the manager type, he just does. What would be even more awesome would be when Iniesta retires he could work with Xavi, you know become his right hand man. It would be like Xavi is Guardiola and Iniesta is Vilanova. Do know how awesome that would be? Then again guys, this is just a wish that is waiting to happen.

Chelsea are Champions League Winners!

It's quite unbelievable actually. Chelsea are the UEFA Champions League Winners and this is their first. (I bet you no one expected this at all this season). After a really tough season, Chelsea were able to tough it out and win both the FA Cup and Champions League. That means they qualify for next years Champions League and Tottenham, who are in fourth place in the Premier League, are kicked out.

The game was a brutal game. Bayern were at home and hoping everything would just go their way. It was at first when Mueller put a goal in, but at the 88' Drogba equalized and the game had to go into overtime and eventually penalty kicks. In the end, Drogba put the last penalty kick in and finalized the win for Chelsea. This was definitely a blow to the German side and I am really, really sad because I was rooting for them, but it sometimes luck really is the deciding factor on who wins or lose. In a way I really don't think Chelsea should have won. I just don't. It could be because I was rooting for Bayern Munich or Bayern Munich did a better job. Chelsea has luck. That have an ass load of it. 

Well we're going to have to wait till next year to see what happens. Anything can change. The status of whether Di Matteo will finally become Chelsea's head coach has still been undecided. Roman make a smart choice for once and appoint him as head coach. He brought this Chelsea team, who was falling apart, to be winners of the FA Cup and champions of Europe. What more could you possibly want? 

I couldn't watch the whole game through. I get really, really anxious and it can get really ugly at times. I could only watch parts of it. But I did see the end, and well that's it. Chelsea are winners. Congratulations Chelsea for becoming champions of Europe, sorry for the loss Bayern Munich, but good job! 

They Called it Survival Sunday

This Sunday couldn't have been a more exciting day of football. So many teams fighting for top spots and trying to resist relegation. The most exciting battle though was the one between Manchester City vs. Manchester United. Today was the day that decided who would win the Premier League Title. Guess what? Manchester City won! The season has been a crazy, crazy, season and the match between Man. City and QPR was a great one to end it off. Manchester United won their game with a goal from Rooney, but that wasn't enough and The Reds end their season trophy-less.

Now the game, The Citizens vs. QPR was ridiculous! A goal from Pablo Zabaleta put City up 1-0 making the game look like it was going City's way (the whole game City has 80% of possession). But at the 48', QPR equalized with a goal from Cisse and a bad clearance from Lescott.  Man. City's title hopes looked a bit out of reach. At the 55', QPR's captain Joey Barton elbowed Tevez in the face and was sent off with a red card. Through all the hustle and bustle he also kneed or kicked Kun Aguero which also made his look like he had no class, but that didn't stop QPR. By the 66', QPR scored again and were in front 2-1 with a header from Jamie Mackie. The Citizens needed 2 goals to win and that seemed almost impossible. I'm guessing that Man. City really, really wanted it because a brilliant corner was taken by David Silva and the ball was headed in by Edin Dzeko at the 90+2' (there were 5mins of stoppage time and City needed one more goal to win it). And here it came, Kun Aguero takes the final shot at 90+4', putting his team up 3-2 and sealed the title win for Manchester City after 44 years! Luckily for QPR (who were fighting relegation), were able to stay in the Premier league due to the Bolton Wanderers tie verses Stoke City.

Here are the updates for the other teams. Arsenal needed a win to secure a third place spot in which they did. Tottenham also won, but the only way they could reach the third place spot was if Arsenal had lost. So the Spurs' final spot is fourth. Newcastle lost to Everton, so Newcastle is in 5th place. Chelsea won their game against Blackburn who were already set for relegation, so Chelsea are 6th place which qualifies them for the Europa league, unless they win the Champions League and qualify for that competition.

So here is are the top ten of the Premier league and the Bottom three (you can click on the picture to see the whole table). I cannot say how happy I am for Manchester City. I was sitting in a restaurant which was playing ESPN soccer and that's when I heard the news. I got a little carried away, but who cares!

Euro 2012

 

The next big thing football this this summer is the Euro 2012. Held by UEFA and also know as the European Football Championship, this tournament takes the top European countries and they compete for final say of "We are the best European football country in the world!" (for now). Different powerhouse/favorites for tournaments are Spain (current champions), Germany and the Netherlands.

Here are some fun facts about the UEFA Euro Championship

DID YOU KNOW...?

• Germany is the country who holds the most trophies, with 3
• France and Spain are tied for second place of most trophies. Each country holds 2
• Other winners include Italy, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Denmark and Greece (all with 1 trophy).
• This tournament is held every 4 years on the even number that is between World Cups
• Last tournament was held in Switzerland and Austria in 2008 where Spain beat Germany 1-0 and were crowned champions 
• The winners are able to compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup, but are not forced to play in it. 
• The trophy is made out of sterling silver. The names of the winning countries are inscribed on the back of the trophy 
• Henri Delaunay was the man who came up with the tournament. He passed away before the first tournament was ever played. His son became in charge of it. The trophy is named after Henri Delaunay. 

Who are you going to root for? I'm probably going to root for Spain because a lot of my favorite players play for Spain, and I just like watching the Spanish league, etc. etc. But we're just going to have to wait and see what happens. 

One Emotional Weekend

I must say this was probably my favorite weekend of football out of this whole season. It began with the Chelsea vs. Liverpool, FA Cup final. I was rooting for Chelsea, because I personally do not like Suarez....so go Blues! And what do you know, the Blues won! Two goals, one from Ramires and Drogaba. Andy Carroll also got on the score sheet, but it wasn't enough to take the FA trophy away from Chelsea. THOUGH there was a controversial goal in which Carroll heads in the ball, but the ref says that it didn't pass the line. But none the less, Cech made a great save and kept Chelsea in the game until the last minute. Now it's off to the Champions League, and to win that competition is super, super important. If they win the Champions League final, they can say they've had a pretty successful season after all they've been through. I mean if they can take home two prestigious trophies, the FA Cup the Champions League, how can you say that's not a successful season? Second they would automatically qualify for the Champions League next year. That seems to be their only chance to to qualify for the most prestigious tournament in Europe because they are in 6th place in the EPL. (I'm still rooting for Bayern Munich for the Champions League Final though).

Speaking of the EPL, the title race between United and City is STILL ON. Manchester City played first, away at Newcastle. Newcastle are a very strong side, and they were fighting in hopes of breaking into the top three. Unfortunately (and fortunately), Newcastle lost and Manchester City was able to win 2-0 with both goals from Yaya Toure. On the other ends of things, Manchester United played Swansea City and they stayed in the title race with a 2-0 also, with goals from Scholes and Young. It seems that the title race is really going to be decided based on the last game of the season. Manchester City are to play QPR and Manchester Untied are to play Sunderland. Let's see how this turns out.

And in Serie A, the final winners of the league or Scudetto is Juventus! Juventus were able to take a 2-0 from Cagliari. While they were playing, the Milan derby (Inter vs. AC Milan) was going on and AC Milan lost to Inter 4-2, which caused the title to slip out of their hands. Finally after years of waiting, Juventus are finally Champions of Serie A, again.

Now to La Liga (this is where I got emotional). It was FC Barcelona vs. Espanyol (the Catalan derby). FC Barcelona was able to take a 4-0, all goals from the one and only Lionel Messi. A freekick, two spot kicks, and a great run gave him 50 goals during the La Liga season and a total of 72 goals during a European season. The Atomic Flea still has two more games to bag more goals. It's like he's unstoppable. But during the game and after the game is what got to me. This game was not only special because it was the Catalan derby, but also Josep Guardiola's last game at the Camp Nou as Barcelona's manager. When Messi scored his 4th goal, he went to Guardiola and gave him, I guess a farewell./thank you hug which was joined by the rest of his teammates. Now that's what I call mes que un club. After the match was the most emotional part. This was Guardiola finally saying goodbye as the manager to the supporters at the Camp Nou. I can't really explain it, but you can watch this video and see what I mean. You don' need to be able to understand Catalan to get the gist or the emotion, all you got to do is watch and be a supporter of FC Barcelona to understand. That's all. I've got to say a 4-0 win is a great way to send Guardiola off. Gracies Pep!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH GUARDIOLA'S FAREWELL TO THE CAMP NOU 

Chelsea in 6th place

Since the 2-0 lose against Newcastle, it looks like Chelsea will be ending the season in 6th place. If you watched the Chelsea vs. Newcastle game, you will know that the two goals Cisse scored were brilliant goals. They were absolutely brilliant, especially the second goal. The second goal really made you go "Holy mother of God." If you don't believe me, just see for yourself

CLICK HERE TO SEE CHESEA vs. NEWCASTLE HIGHLIGHTS 

On another note. Because Chelsea weren't able to take a win from this match, I'm pretty sure that their season is going to end not being able to secure a spot for a Champions league spot. At least they'll be able to play in the Europa League. The rest of the season now, what they have to look forward to is the FA Cup final against Liverpool and the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich. Those two competitions are definitely something they can look forward too. After what Chelsea have been through this season, if they can take the FA Cup and Champions League Final, I would say they had a pretty good season. Next season they can always start fresh, and if Di Matteo stays, there is nothing that Chelsea cannot do. 

Now looking at the standings of the EPL, Newcastle and Tottenham are both tied with 65 points each. The games this weekend (Tottenham vs. Aston Villa and Newcastle vs. Manchester City) are going to be vital games to determine who might get the fourth place spot. Arsenal must watch out too. They need to win their game against Norwich City this Saturday. I've got to say, this weekend of football is going to be really intense. Everyone is fighting to keep their spots and others are fighting to take spots. I'm not predicting anything, but this is what I WANT to happen. 

• I want Arsenal to win their game and eventually secure the third spot in the league 
• I hope that Manchester City wins so they have a chance to beat Manchester United in the league (so that means Newcastle needs to lose) 
• I actually hope that Tottenham lose because if that happens, there is a chance that Bale could move to Barcelona. 

Selfish I know, but hey everyone has their own opinions. 

Real Madrid Campeones

After a 3-0 win against Sevilla, Real Madrid have finally taken the Li Liga title. This a very big achievement for the team. For Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, this is the first Spanish League they have ever won. Jose Mourinho has now won 7 league trophies, 2 from the Primera Liga, 2 From Seire A, 2 from the Premier League, and finally 1 from La Liga. I'll be honest I'm pretty impressed by that Mourinho. Now all he has to do is get another league trophy from La Liga so he can say that's he's won two league trophies from four leagues. If Mourinho really wants to make his career to an amazing, outstanding, out of the ordinary (which it basically is), he should try and manage teams in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1. To me if he can do that, I will consider him one of the best managers that has ever graced the name of football (he already is one), but I still prefer Guardiola over him. That's just me.

And for Cristiano Ronaldo, after being at the club for 3 years, he's finally able to claim a Spanish League trophy. He's now won 4 league trophies out his entire career, 3 from the EPL and one from La Liga. Will Ronaldo move on to different leagues to see if he can conquer them all? I'm not sure. He's 27 years old, so he still has some time to achieve amazing things, which he already has, breaking records winning awards, etc. etc.

As a Barcelona fan, it may be weird that I'm putting crowns and jewels on Real Madrid, but I respect them as a very good side in football. They have world class players that make up a world class team. I don't want to be ignorant and be that person who says "Real Madrid suck! Ronald sucks!" No. That's disrespectful and shows no class. And let's be honest, it's not true. Real Madrid is a club which always has real talent. And to recognize that, means I can respect the club. I don't have to like them, but they are a successful club that deserve the respect. (It's like you can respect someone's decision, but you may not like it). That's one reason I really like Barcelona, they don't take defeat light-heartily, but they do take defeat in grace. Instead of complaining and making outrageous comments, Barcelona move on and just continue to play and win. To me that's a great example, and as a fan on the sidelines I can show the same Barcelona attitude, by respecting other clubs instead of speaking trash about them. That's what I call Mes Que un Club!

Recharging would do well

I'm pretty sure that anyone involved in the footballing community knows that Guardiola is resigning now. After four years managing at the Camp Nou, he's finally taking a break. At first when I heard this and when many others heard this, we were very sad about it. But recently I have been watching old videos of Guardiola and comparing them to this year's season. Guardiola is a very verbal, enthusiastic, passionate man when it comes to football. When you watch old videos of his previous seasons his arms are flaring, he's shouting, directing....it's controlled chaos basically. But this season he didn't seem the same. He just didn't. I mean in the press conference when he announced his resignation he explain how he is tired and that he needs to recharge his batter. By comparing old to new videos....you can kind of see that. Plus the man is a getting a bunch of gray hairs. If you compared hair color form 2008 and then 2012, you can see a major difference. Maybe you don't agree with Guardiola's resignation, but hey check out this video of him when he was just beginning and compare him to today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TIauBPkTD8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d-MyRCG7wg&feature=related

Vincent Kompany Seals the Deal (sort of)

The next biggest derby, after El Clasico is probably Manchester City vs. Manchester United. Played at the Ethiad Stadium yesterday, Manchester City was able to take home a win, stay undefeated at home, and take the number one spot on the Premier League table. It wasn't as exciting a game as the 6-1 thrashing in the beginning of the year. Only one goal was scored before the second half ended. A great corner served by David Silva was found by Vincent Kompany, the club's captain, who lost his marker and blasted a beautiful header into the goal! From then on the game moved on from nowhere and ended in a 1-0 win for Manchester City.

During the game there was an interesting little spat between Mancini and Ferguson. I'm not sure what they were talking about, but they were making mocking hand gestures and not really presenting themselves well. The players behaved better then them. Maybe it was the pressure of the game. I mean this game (kind of) decided the title winner.


But is the title race still over? There are two games left in the season. The Citizens are to play Newcastle United who are fighting for the fourth spot and then QPR. The Reds have to play Swansea and Sunderland. If Manchester City really wants to win the league they will need to win the next two games. There are no rooms for slip ups. Currently the two teams are even on points, both with 83. The only thing splits them apart is the goal difference. City have 61 and United have 53. That's 8 goals. If both United and City were to win the next two games, United would have to beat their opponents 7-0 or 8-0 just to break that goal difference.

The season for the Premier League is coming to an end, but many teams are still battling it out till the last minute of the last game.