Liverpool and Rafa Saga..

A few days ago, Rafa Benitez has condemned each and every player on the 2 - 0 lost Liverpool suffered to Fiorentina in the group stage of the Champions League match. He even pointed out that both Torres and skipper Gerrard are performing below par. He stated that the loss to Fiorentina is the worst Liverpool performance he have ever witnessed. Well get this Rafa, if your team is not performing up to expectations. The one person to be blame is you. No good managers will criticize their players in public, even if they underperform especially after one match of down fall. It is unnecessary to thrown criticism at your players after one match of football. It won’t do your team any good. It will jeopardize the confident of your players and affected the mood in the changing room.Evidently, managers the l ike of Arsene Wenger or Sir Alex Ferguson never accused of their players for such losses in public. There will always be other factors. The referee, the fans, conditions of the pitch, the weather, you name it. But never to criticize their own players, let alone pointed out names. Look what happen to Roy Keane during his time at Sunderland, his fault was being too honest. By blaming himself and his players to the media for not winning games. The tactics are wrong, the players are not doing their job and so forth. Sunderland conditions are worsening each week. Eventually Roy got the axe.

What have gotten the neutrals even more interested are two things. The way Rafa's tries to get into Alex Ferguson’s mind and for me personally, the failure to sign Gareth Barry. After Wenger and Ferguson have finally made peace, it doesn’t occur to me that there will be anymore mind games between premier league club managers. But besides all people, Rafa is the last one I expected to starts a row with Alex Ferguson. The man that have been behind the mind games for all this while. Gratefully, some of the needless comments that have been thrown by Benitez have fall to deaf ears of Ferguson. He may have thought that he is have gotten too old to be concerned by this or Arsene is the only worthy adversary to have an argument with.

Rafa’s reaction after failing signing Barry is a disgrace by accusing the England midfielder of being greedy. The logic explanation is this, buy only what you can afford. Barry is still a quality player and a world class passer of the ball. His value is justified for every penny. At first, Rafa tries to sell out Spanish ace, Xabi Alonso to Juventus to finance the acquisition of Barry. But that deal has somehow failed. Largely due to failure of setting the correct price for Alonso. Therefore, Barry is not signed and Alonso demotivated because he may thinks that he is no longer in Rafa’s plan. After the end of last season, Alonso relentlessly requested for a transfer. Real Madrid is interested and signed him for £30 million in August. Manchester City managed to capture the signature of Barry just after the season ended. Rafa has loss the two most inarguably world class midfielders resulting from poor management skills.

Rafa promises a new Liverpool for the Chelsea game. A loss against the Blues will certainly push out the Reds farther and farther away out the title race. For you Reds faithful, all that remain is hope that Rafa will get this one right. Read More!

Adebayor gets £25,000 fine

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been handed a suspended two-match ban and £25,000 fine by the Football Association for his controversial goal celebration against Arsenal last month.

Adebayor celebrates in front of Arsenal fans

The Togo striker ran the full length of the pitch at Eastlands to toast his goal in front of the Gunners' travelling support, provoking ugly scenes in the stands.

He apologised after the match and claimed his celebration was a reaction to the constant abuse meted out to him by the away fans throughout the game.

He has already missed three games after he was charged with violent conduct by the FA for a clash with Robin van Persie.

The Dutch forward appeared to have his face raked by Adebayor's studs. Cesc Fabregas also complained of rough treatment at Adebayor's hands during City's 4-2 win.

But now he has received a suspended sentence, Adebayor will be available for City's game with Aston Villa, which is live on ESPN UK on Monday night. As part of the verdict, he could be banned if he contravenes FA rules before December 2010.

City manager Mark Hughes said he was delighted with the verdict. "There has been a lot said and written about Emmanuel's goal celebration. We are just glad to put it all behind us now and I am relieved he will be able to play at Aston Villa on Monday night. Manu was in great form before his suspension and having him available again is a huge boost to us."

An FA statement read: "Emmanuel Adebayor has been fined £25,000 and given a suspended two match ban. At a Regulatory Commission hearing, Manchester City forward Emmanuel Adebayor was fined £25,000 and given a suspended two match ban.

"Adebayor admitted a charge of improper conduct relating to his goal celebration during City's match against Arsenal at the City of Manchester Stadium on 12 September. In reaching its decision the Commission took into account his admission of the charge, public apology and the extremely provocative nature of the abuse he received.

"However, the Commission also stated that players have a responsibility to conduct themselves in a proper manner and that such celebrations are unacceptable and have the potential to cause a serious public order incident. The two match ban was suspended until December 2010 and will be activated in the event of a similar breach of FA rules."

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The Rise and Rise of Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs may be 35 years old, but he sure doesn't play like it. On Wednesday, in Manchester United's Champions League game, the winger continued to exhibit his quality as he led the Red Devils to a comeback victory over Wolfsburg, and in the process reminded us all that he is still one of the world's best players.

To be fair, Giggs was one of many outstanding performers for Manchester United. Wayne Rooney showed off his usual mix of strength and skill at the top of the attack. Dimitar Berbatov came off the bench and injected life into the squad, dropping back to create numerous scoring opportunities for teammates. Anderson controlled possession in the central midfield throughout the evening, skillfully joining the attack when needed -- the Brazilian won the free kick that led to United's equalizer. And Michael Carrickstruck a fantastic curling shot to win the game 2-1. In short, it was a brilliant team effort by manager Alex Ferguson's men.

But, in my opinion, Giggs deserves the most praise due to his involvement in seemingly every dangerous opportunity created by United.

When Wolfsburg went up 1-0 early in the second half (through an Edin Dzeko goal), it was Giggs who led United's charge in search of an equalizer, getting past defenders, whipping crosses into the box and tracking back into his own half to restart attacks.

After falling behind to the Germans, it took United four minutes to draw level as Giggs found the back of the net on a set piece that took a fortuitous bounce off of a Wolfsburg defender. Fifteen minutes later, Giggs relied on pure skill and vision, not luck, to find Carrick with a simple yet perfect pass, which Carrick struck home brilliantly. Game United.

Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, much has been made of Rooney's becoming the centerpiece of this still-talented team. Rooney has been equal to the task, scoring six goals in seven Premier League games. But in recent games, Giggs has become the backbone of the squad, serving as the critical link between the midfield and the attack. At the start of the season this responsibility had fallen on Portuguese international Nani. But Nani's struggles left the door open for Giggs, who has stepped into the role and played some of the best soccer of the season.

What I find most impressive about this Manchester United team is that it still plays very attractive soccer despite the heavy losses it suffered this summer. This is a credit to the system developed by Sir Alex Ferguson, but also to players like Giggs who have filled significant voids left by Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Against Wolfsburg, United's attacking skill was best exhibited in a Giggs-led buildup that took place midway through the second half. With the score tied 1-1, the winger dispossessed a Wolfsburg player in the midfield. Then, advancing the ball diagonally, from left to right, he initiated a brilliant series of overlapping, triangular exchanges between himself, Antonio Valencia, Berbatov, Anderson, Rooney and Carrick. The buildup was a superb combination of short passes and off-ball movement, and almost yielded the go-ahead score for the Red Devils.

So while there are plenty of entertaining games across Europe this weekend, I will be sure to tune in to United's Saturday fixture against Sunderland to see if the Welshman will continue to delight.

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Hands of God Required

Maradona Calls on God to Save Argentina

Argentina coach Diego Maradona has called on God's hand to shield the South American country from World Cup elimination.

'The Beard (God) saved me many times, I hope he saves me this time too,' said Maradona, whose notorious 'Hand of God' goal during Argentina's 1986 quarter-final against England is one of the most talked about at a World Cup.

Argentina are fifth in the South American group, in the berth for a playoff against the team finishing fourth in the CONCACAF region. The top four go through automatically.

They face Peru and Uruguay in their final qualifiers next month, looking to at least remain where they are as they try to avoid missing the finals for the first time since 1970.

'We have to get it into our heads that these two matches are fundamental, that we can no longer go on giving things away like we did against Brazil,' Maradona told the local Cadena 3 broadcaster in an interview.

Argentina lost 3-1 at home to Brazil and 1-0 away to Paraguay earlier this month.

Maradona, who as captain led Argentina to victory in the 1986 tournament in Mexico, has often said God saved him when he put his life in danger over his drug and alcohol addictions.

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Argentine Elegance Vs Portuguese Whiz

The Argument on Who is Better. Leo Messi or C. Ronaldo?

YES

Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi are probably the top two players in the world at the moment even though they are still so young. There are many similarities between them but essentially the comparison comes down to a good big 'un against a good little 'un. And when you look at the goals he has scored this season, Ronaldo has moved ahead of Messi.

That is not to take anything away from the Barcelona player, who has had problems with his hamstrings and missed quite a chunk of the previous season. The fact that they have missed him so much shows how important he is. But anybody who has seen them both play this season would admit Ronaldo has been the better player.

It is harsh to criticise Ronaldo for not having performed in the big games at the highest level. Manchester United have won the league title, if not in Europe, and Messi was only evolving as a player when Barcelona won the Champions League two years ago.

The Premier League is a faster and fiercer environment to play in than the more technically oriented La Liga but since moving from Portugal Ronaldo has not lost his quick feet and has improved his skills in other areas vastly in the past two to three years.

He has matured; when he first came to Manchester United he was only a kid. His biggest weakness, besides the mental attitude to tackles coming in at him, used to be his heading ability. He is a tall lad and he was not as good in the air as he should have been but all that has changed as he has adapted to the Premier League and now it is another skill he has mastered.

Both players are blessed with unbelievably quick feet, have pace, love running at defenders, committing defenders, running from deep positions. From a dribbling point of view and in terms of skill and technique they are equal in their abilities. Messi is slighter, has a lower centre of gravity and so can argue that he is better in the tighter areas.

But I cannot believe how many goals Ronaldo has scored. He has become so much stronger in the past 12 to 18 months and it is that power which takes him past defenders. He wants to take them on and show how good he is. He has taken more of his opportunities than Messi this season and his ability to take freekicks and head the ball also give him the advantage. There is no question that he has been the best player in the world this season. Messi is up there but no one can get near Ronaldo on his current form.

NO

Even though he has been injured and missed a lot of games this season, for me Leo Messi is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo at the moment. Ronaldo is having an outstanding season but I don't fall into the trap of believing that because he is having a good nine months playing in the Premier League he is the world's best player.

We do tend to get a bit carried away in this country when we are praising players. Since I became involved with England in the 1970s we have always had good players but I don't understand why in the past three to four years those players have gone from being described as good to being described as world class. Those so-called world-class players have then not performed at a world-class level at major tournaments.

In Ronaldo's case he has the potential to be the best footballer in Europe or the world but needs to perform at the highest level over a number of years. I have heard him being talked of as betterthan George Best, which is not fair on either of them. Best may not have played at the top for as long as he should have done, but Ronaldo as yet only has the potential to be better.

I am certainly not criticising Ronaldo. Both he and Messi are extremely talented players. The reason people are comparing them is simply because they are a similar age, but they are very different. You may as well compare Pele with Platini.

One of Ronaldo's greatest attributes is his physique. As a manager you need your quota of 6ft-plus players to attack and defend at set pieces. At 6ft 1in Ronaldo is outstanding in the air, which is an ability that he has over Messi. Ronaldo also has fantastic pace and explosive shooting power and is a good crosser of the ball but he is not as clever as Messi in terms of his passing.

In possession of the ball Messi is much more perceptive: he can open teams up very intelligently and has great vision. Ronaldo prefers to dribble in bigger spaces while Messi is better in tighter areas — at times it appears as if the ball is stuck to his foot. He can suck in two or three players and teams always have to have at least one covering player on him. In tight areas he can get past the first player and then either do the same to the next or beat him with a pass.

Ronaldo's movement has improved this season but that is down to Sir Alex Ferguson, who has allowed him to play across the full width of the pitch. None of the greats of the game, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff or Platini, were restricted in their play either. Messi tends to operate predominantly on the right-hand side of a 4-3-3 so is slightly more restricted and has not had the opportunity to show as much of what he can do.

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Man Utd vs Arsenal 2009

United came from a goal down to beat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday and keep pace with league leaders Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

The victory – gained via a Wayne Rooney penalty and an Abou Diaby own goal – means Sir Alex’s men sit three points behind the London clubs in third place.

Rooney’s goal was his fourth in as many league games this season and restored parity after Andrey Arshavin had earlier given the Gunners the lead with a ferocious strike from distance. But United rallied, equalised and then took the lead just five minutes later when Diaby headed into his own net.
The Reds began the match with only seven of the 11 that started in last Saturday’s 5-0 win at Wigan. At the back, John O’Shea and Wes Brown came in for Gary Neville and Jonny Evans, while Sir Alex’s three-man midfield – Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick – meant Paul Scholes had to settle for a spot on the bench.

Wayne Rooney spearheaded the Reds’ attack, with Antonio Valencia and Nani flanking the Englishman.

And after an early spell of Arsenal possession, it was Rooney who fashioned United’s first chance, chipping cleverly over the Gunners’ defence to find Fletcher inside the area. The ball didn’t quite drop for the Scot, however, and his volley flashed over the bar.

Sir Alex's men soon settled and Valencia and Nani saw plenty of the ball. Indeed, it was from wide areas United looked most threatening, especially down Arsenal’s right side. Alexandre Song must have realised the same thing and did his best to curtail Valencia’s involvement with a crude challenge on 23 minutes before Arsenal almost took the lead through Robin van Persie and then Arshavin.

From certain angles it looked like Rooney had put the Reds in front on 33 minutes but his free-kick, which left Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia rooted to the spot, actually curled agonisingly wide of the right-hand post. Chances from open play were few and far between, with both teams uncharacteristically misplacing passes in midfield.

Hardly a classic encounter, then, although the game did spark into life on 40 minutes when Arshavin found space 25 yards from goal, looked up and lashed a blistering right-footed shot goalwards. Foster got both hands to the ball but the pace of the strike proved too much and the Gunners rocketed into the lead.

Nemanja Vidic wasted a chance to equalise on the stroke of half-time when he scuffed an effort from close range, so it was Arsene Wenger who was the happier manager as the teams trotted down the tunnel at the break.

Sir Alex can’t have been too displeased with the performance, as United – like Arsenal – emerged for the second period with the same starting XI. Things almost got worse for the Reds, though – only Foster’s sharp reflexes prevented van Persie from doubling the visitors' advantage. It could have so easily been 2-0, and again a minute later when Emmanuel Eboue’s poor first touch let him down at the far post.

Sloppy passing continued to plague the Reds… until Ryan Giggs threaded an inviting pass into the penalty area from just inside the Arsenal half. Rooney reached the ball slightly ahead of Gunners goalkeeper Almunia, whose momentum brought down the England striker for a penalty. The Reds’ no.10 – after declining the chance to score from the spot at Burnley earlier this season – stepped up himself to slot home calmly from 12 yards and silence the visitors’ hitherto vocal support.

Sensationally, United were ahead five minutes later, and in the most bizarre fashion. A wide free-kick from Ryan Giggs appeared to pose no danger as it arrived into the area, yet Abou Diaby inexplicably headed past Almunia and into his own net. It was as welcome a gift as Old Trafford has seen for some time, especially given how close Arsenal came to extending their lead just after the break. But you have to take your chances in football and sometimes, as United discovered today, a little bit of luck can make all the difference.

The Gunners rarely threatened after Diaby’s clanger, while United could have gone further ahead in the closing minutes through Dimitar Berbatov and Nani.The Bulgarian will no doubt claim he was the unlucky victim of an untimely bobble. Nani, however, blazed over from eight yards after testing Almunia with a strong initial shot.

There was a late scare for United fans in the sixth minute of injury time when Robin van Persie found the net but the referee's assistant correctly ruled William Gallas had been offside in the build-up. The decision infuriated Arsene Wenger, who was subsequently sent to the stands for his protests. His comical attempts to leave the dugout was the icing on the cake for United fans, who left the ground with smiles as big as the Stretford End. Read More!

Hail the New Champions of Europe. Barcelona!!

Fútbol Club Barcelona (Catalan pronunciation: [fudˈbɔɫ ˌklup bəɾsəˈlaonə], Spanish: [ˈfuðβol ˌkluβ barθeˈlona]), also known simply as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça (Catalan: [ˈbaɾsə], Spanish: [ˈbarsa]), is a sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is best known for its footballteam, which was founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, English and Spanish men led by Joan Gamper. The club has become a Catalaninstitution, hence the motto "Més que un club" (More than a club). The official Barça anthem is El Cant del Barça by Josep Maria Espinàs.

FC Barcelona is one of three clubs never to have been relegated from La Liga and the most successful club in Spanish football after Real Madrid, having won nineteen La Liga titles, a record twenty-five Spanish Cups, eight Spanish Super Cups, four Eva Duarte Cups and twoLeague Cups. They are also one of the most successful clubs in European football having won thirteen official major European trophies in total, including ten UEFA competitions. They have won three UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup) and three UEFA Super Cups. In 2009, Barcelona became the first club in Spain to win the treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League. The club is also the only European side to have played continental football in every season since its inception in 1955.

The club's stadium is the Camp Nou, the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 98,772 seats. Barcelona enjoys a high rate of popularity; about 25.7% of Spanish population support the club, while according to a recent survey Barcelona is the most popular football club in Europe with around 44.2 million fans. With 170,000 socis (members) in September 2009, the Catalan club is also placed among the top football clubs in the world with the most registered members, and the number of penyes, the officially-registered supporter clubs, reached the number of 1,888 worldwide in August 2009. The fans of FC Barcelona are known as culés. The club shares a great rivalry with Real Madrid and contest in one of the most famous football matches worldwide, known as El Clásico.

During the 2007–08 season, FC Barcelona was the third richest club in the world with a revenue of €308.8 million. It was also one of the founding members of the now-defunct G-14 group of the leading European football clubs and its modern replacement, the European Club Association. The club also operates a reserve team, FC Barcelona Atlètic, while there was a youth team until 2007, FC Barcelona C.

As of July 1, 2009, FC Barcelona was ranked first in UEFA team ranking. According to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), Barça has been the most consistently successful club in the world since the organisation began collecting statistics, in the period 1991-2008.

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The Transfer Market Ultimatum

The Transfer Market Ultimatum

The recent transfer market has illustrates one main thing. Spending power in an economic meltdown. Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid and newly acquired Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi group had shown no signs of slowing down in terms of buying new players. The recent signing of world player of the year, Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazilian playmaker Kaka which costs 80 million pounds and 60 million pounds respectively is an early indication of what the Bernabeu intends to achieve this new term, reviving the new era of 'Galaticos'. The reelection of former president, Florentino Perez promises one thing. To bring trophies back to the Bernabeu, and under the new reign of the galaticos, that promise seems prominent.

While many other clubs are struggling to meet the financial term this time around, Real Madrid and Manchester City financial superiority are yet to be challenged. Manchester City have spent more that

100 million pounds for the acquisition of Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Gareth Barry, adn Joanne Lescott. While Real Madrid also include Frenchmen Karim Benzema in their squad list with an additional and keep an close eye on French mercury, Frank Ribery. Madrid's spending spree are already reaching the 200 million pounds notch.

Sir Bobby Charlton described as the amount spent on Cristiano Ronaldo as 'vulgar'. It is hard to argue at a time when global economic conditions is at its worst. Spain alone are not in the best of economic conditions. Poverty and unemployment stills plague the nation. Therefore, it is hard to imagine that Madrid could still afford to spent million of pounds on players. Rumors has it that Madrid are willing to sell the Bernebaue to finance the buying of the new galaticos. If the rumors were true, this policy can be either too clever or too absurd, subjective on where Madrid's team lies on the table at the end of the season.

The argument is this, money couldn't guarantee success. What have been brought to the papers doesn't necessarily well translated on the pitch. A massive amount up to 200 million pounds on player's transfers will not only put pressure on the financial capabilities of a club, but could spell disaster in the long term as well. Just look at what happens to Leeds United, Newcastle United, Lazio and among other clubs that couldn't afford to turn the table of the financial side after spending more than they could pay. Relegation and financial drought is the price to pay. What will happen if Roman Abramovich or the Abu Dhabi group finally decided that its to let go of their respective clubs or football doesn't seem to interest them anymore. The fate of these clubs will be hanging in the balance.

What really should be appreciated is the way the traditional managers of football in trying to established a team by mixing youth and experienced players. Along the way, a few big names will be signed to add the in-depth strength of a team. Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson is the best example out there. They all know that Rome isn't built in a day.

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