Tuesday 28 May 2013
Monday 27 May 2013
Thursday 2 May 2013
Barcelona vs. Bayern Munich, 2013 UEFA Champions League: Final score 0-3, Bavarians sensational
The Blaugrana never looked like they had a
chance to mount a comeback, and never came close to doing so against a
brilliant Bayern Munich side.
Those who
expected Barcelona to mount some sort of comeback on Wednesday night
will be sorely disappointed after the Blaugrana's lackluster display. Bayern Munich were every bit as good at the Camp Nou as they were at home, winning 3-0 on the night to defeat the Catalans 7-0 on aggregate.
It was apparent from the game's
outset that Barcelona had little to no chance of erasing the four goal
deficit in front of them. The first significant play of the match was a
backpass by Dani Alves
to Victor Valdes under heavy pressure, which the referee failed to
spot. While no goals were produced by either team in the first half,
that desperate backpass and all of the events that ensued in the the
period were a sign of things to come.
With Barcelona constantly
needing to take risks, Bayern had plenty of lanes to counter into. The
hosts were also very impatient and gave the ball away in dangerous areas
much more frequently than they used to. Only some brilliant defending
by Gerard Pique, on multiple occasions, kept the Bavarians from scoring in the first half and completely ending the tie. He blocked a shot by Philipp Lahm in the 10th minute, stripped Arjen Robben of the ball on a break in the 14th minute and cut out a dangerous cross by Lahm in the 20th.
Barcelona's only significant chance of the first half came on a 35-yard drive from Pedro, which Manuel Neuer didn't have much trouble with. With Lionel Messi
on the bench, they didn't appear to have any kind of bite, and given
how well Bayern's midfield and defense played, it's unlikely that Messi
would have made the difference.
Robben ended the tie for good just four minutes into the second half. After picking up a fantastic switch from David Alaba,
Robben cut inside from the right flank onto his favored left foot and
curled a gorgeous shot around Valdes into the side netting at the far
post, giving his side a 1-0 lead on the night. That goal meant that
Barcelona had an impossible six-goal margin to make up.
Things only got worse for the
Blaugrana. Pique, one of the only men for Barcelona who could honestly
say he'd played an excellent game up until the 72nd minute, turned in a
rather embarrassing own goal to add one more to Bayern's tally. He
attempted to cut out a Franck Ribery cross, but the ball hit off his knee and ricochet into the back of the net in comical fashion.
David Villa
struck the post with a header a couple of minutes after that, but the
next goal would belong to Bayern as well. Ribery was a major part of the
goal once again, beating Alves down the flank and putting in a cross
for Thomas Müller, who got up high enough to reach the ball and nod it
into the back of the net.
Bayern entered the game with
many of their stars facing potential suspension, but will head to
Wembley with their best possible squad intact. Lahm, Javi Martinez and Bastian Schweinsteiger
were all substituted off before they picked up a booking, while Dante
sat out this game with flu-like symptoms. Luis Gustavo, a substitute,
and Mario Gomez, who did not play, also kept themselves out of the book to remain available for the final.
Wednesday 1 May 2013
Manchester United's summer targets identified, reveals Ferguson
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he has already identified his summer transfer targets, and has begun work on strengthening his squad ahead of next season.
The 71-year-old believes Manchester United have a solid foundation to their squad but says the club will again try to be competitive in the transfer market after landing Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa last summer.
The Scot wants to compliment his young talent, who will mature over the next few years, with additional quality to help United retain their title against challenges from big spending Manchester City and Chelsea.
"Hopefully the players we bring into the club in the next year or so will be of the quality we need," Sir Alex told the club's official magazine.
"We're competitive in the market - we're not Chelsea or Manchester City in terms of money but we're competitive.
"We've been doing a bit of work on that over the last three or four months, targeting who the players are that we feel could enhance us, make us better or help us maintain the level we're at.
"You have to look at the structure of the club at present, in terms of the number of first-team players we have at 23 or under.
"David De Gea, Rafael, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Alex Buttner, Nick Powell, Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck. Shinji Kagawa and Chicharito are 24. Jonny Evans is 25 and Wayne Rooney is hitting his peak at 27.
"Older players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand may be coming towards the end of their careers, but these younger players are the foundation for the next five or six years, irrespective of the players breaking through, like Adnan Januzaj, the Belgian boy, who's really looking very good."
Bozo's Big Beautiful Ass (Donkey)
There was an old man named Bozo, and all he had was a female
donkey. One day he wins the lottery and gets $50,000. He doesn't know
what to do with his money, so he decides to spend a night in a five star
hotel. He asks for the finest room and starts going up the stairs with
his female donkey. The manager sees him and asks where he's going with
his donkey.
"Anywhere I go, she goes."
"I'm sorry, sir," said the manager, "but you can't take the donkey upstairs. Leave it down here with us and we'll take good care of her." So Bozo goes up to his room and opens the door. Everything is made of gold, there is a table full of food, and a huge television. He doesn't want to ruin anything so he takes his raggedy coat off and sleeps on the floor. The next morning the manager comes up to the room and asks how his night was.
''Great!'' replied Bozo. ''How much do I have to pay?'' he asks.
''One thousand dollars for the food.''
''But I haven't touched the food."
''It was right there, so you should have. Two thousand dollars for the TV."
''But I didn't even know how to turn the damn thing on!''
''It was there, so you should have. Five thousand for sleeping on the bed."
''But I slept on the floor!''
''It was there. Your total is eight thousand dollars."
''You owe me ten thousand dollars for screwing my donkey.''
''But sir, I didn't screw your donkey.''
''It was there. You should have!''
"Anywhere I go, she goes."
"I'm sorry, sir," said the manager, "but you can't take the donkey upstairs. Leave it down here with us and we'll take good care of her." So Bozo goes up to his room and opens the door. Everything is made of gold, there is a table full of food, and a huge television. He doesn't want to ruin anything so he takes his raggedy coat off and sleeps on the floor. The next morning the manager comes up to the room and asks how his night was.
''Great!'' replied Bozo. ''How much do I have to pay?'' he asks.
''One thousand dollars for the food.''
''But I haven't touched the food."
''It was right there, so you should have. Two thousand dollars for the TV."
''But I didn't even know how to turn the damn thing on!''
''It was there, so you should have. Five thousand for sleeping on the bed."
''But I slept on the floor!''
''It was there. Your total is eight thousand dollars."
''You owe me ten thousand dollars for screwing my donkey.''
''But sir, I didn't screw your donkey.''
''It was there. You should have!''
Mourinho & Falcao are Chelsea-bound
Jose Mourinho has agreed a deal to re-join Chelsea as their manager this summer – and is poised to bring €59 million striker Radamel Falcao with him.
Goal.com understands that the Real Madrid boss is expected to be unveiled in the Stamford Bridge hot seat at the end of the season following a breakthrough in negotiations with the club over the last week.
The Chelsea high command, led by Roman Abramovich, have been in talks with Mourinho’s camp for months about a sensational return for the man who led the club to two Premier League titles during his first spell in charge from 2004-2007.
Negotiations have centred on how much control Mourinho will have in recruiting players and staff, as well as his place in a management structure where low-profile technical director Michael Emenalo holds the levers of power.
It is believed that, following a series of twists and turns during discussions, an agreement in principle has been reached for the Portuguese to take over from interim manager Rafael Benitez this summer.
Mourinho is expected to put pen to paper and formalise the deal when he ends his three-year spell in Madrid at the end of next month.
A report in Germany last week claimed that Chelsea were on the brink of landing both Mourinho and Atletico Madrid’s spearhead Falcao.
Goal.com understands that the European champions have since made further progress with both deals and are confident that Mourinho will announce the prolific Colombian, who is also represented by super agent Jorge Mendes, as one of his first signings.
| BEN HAYWARD, GOAL.COM INTERNATIONAL |
| Jose Mourinho has
been here before. Just under three years ago, also at the Santiago
Bernabeu, the Portuguese lifted his second Champions League trophy, with
Inter, and then moved on straight away - just as he had done with Porto
six years earlier. After leading Inter to their first European Cup success since 1965, Mourinho revealed he was moving to Madrid, but was much more coy in the press room moments later. "I haven't decided yet," he told the international media. And in any case it would be hard to leave, because he loved Inter, he explained. But his mind had been made up and something similar happened on Tuesday night. "Would he be staying at Madrid?" he was asked. "Maybe not - I love to be where people love me to be," was his reply. So anywhere but Spain, then, given all the problems he has had with players, press and just about everybody else. Down in the press room itself, he was less forthcoming and claimed he may still be at the Spanish side next term. But he won't be. His earlier words gave the game away - he has never truly felt the love at Madrid and now is the time to move on to a place where he really does feel appreciated. So Chelsea seems ideal. |
Chelsea are prepared to allow the Belgian keeper to continue his development by staying in Madrid for another season if it eases Falcao's path to west London.
The Blues have made it clear that they are willing to activate the €59m release clause in the striker’s Atletico contract.
The deal is a complex one because of third-party ownership issues - with Mendes part of a consortium holding an interest in Falcao - but Chelsea have intensified their efforts to land the front man in a bid to ensure the transfer can be completed.
The London club have made Falcao a contract offer and it is believed that personal terms have already been agreed on a deal that is likely to make the striker one of the highest paid players in Premier League history.
Goal.com exclusively revealed in March that the former Porto man is chasing a deal worth around €295,000 per week.
Mourinho and senior Chelsea officials regard the Colombian, who has scored 32 goals in 36 games for Atletico this season, as an upgrade on current front men Fernando Torres and Demba Ba.
Falcao has the pedigree and star quality which Chelsea thought they had acquired with the £50m purchase of Torres in January 2010, but the Spaniard is now likely to be put up for sale to help fund the purchase of the player earmarked to be his replacement.
WELCOME TO THE MONTH OF MAY
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