SO VERY UNEXPECTED

MANCHESTER UNITED AND BARCELONA FC's game was so unexpected. I was hoping for Manu to win though we can expect that both teams will give their all. Both teams came on very strong and this resulted to a draw.

Too bad for Cristiano Ronaldo - He missed a penalty kick which could've given the reds the lead.

Meanwhile, Eto'o warns ManU that they can score even in away games. Home or away, it doesn't matter. He says that they will score.

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SEMIFINALS First leg: Chelsea vs Liverpool

The semi finals are really filled with surprises. Everything was going well for Liverpool. They were leading 1-0 the whole game. The advantage came from Dirk Kuyt. It was a slight advantage and at any moment, the blues could've equalized at any time.

And equalize they did! Although this didn't come from any of their players. Five minutes into injury time, John Riise, Liverpool's defender, gave away an header own goal which gave the Blues a chance to get back in the game.

Chelsea's performance wasn't as high as we expected it to be. Even though they had some decent attempts, it was seen that they weren't in their zone.

Chelsea looked tentative with Frank Lampard's set-pieces unproductive and Petr Cech unusually hesitant between the sticks. - goal.com

It was seen that after the first half, Chelsea's team of top players were being overshadowed by Liverpool Mids Gerrard and Alonso, as they were the ones who were dictating the game's movement.


Here is something that's really inspirational.

The midfielder told LiverpoolFC.tv, "Obviously we're disappointed with the late goal but it's done. We've got to pick ourselves up. We've got to get a result at the weekend then give it everything we can at Stamford Bridge. We know this tie is not over.

"It's my job as captain to pick the boys up and make sure we're ready for next week.

"Let people say Chelsea are favourites, let them. We've got to block that out and do what we've got to do. We are confident we can beat Chelsea on their patch."

Take A Chance

He continued, "We've created the better chances against them here. I don't think Pepe had anything to do besides pick the ball out late doors.

"Petr Cech has had to pull off two or three great saves. To be honest, we'd have been disappointed if this game had ended 1-0 when it could have been 2-0."

"Criticism of Kuyt? I haven't heard him get any stick. We don't listen to any of that (the media). Dirk has been fantastic for us, he's worked his socks off for us again tonight and deserved his goal. He is well respected in the dressing room."

On Riise's own goal, he said, "These ties are decided on small details and Chelsea have had a bit of luck here at the end, but maybe we'll get that luck at Stamford Bridge. This team wins, loses and draws together.

"It's the second leg of the European Cup semi-final – if you can't motivate yourself for that you shouldn't be playing football." - Goal.com

The semifinal leg is already here. Ever player of every team should be able to play at that level. No matter what happens, may it good or bad, the players should be able to pick themselves up and get themselves ready for the next series of battles for the Cup.

Teams:

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Kuyt, Alonso, Mascherano, Babel, Gerrard, Torres.Subs: Itandje, Hyypia, Riise, Benayoun, Crouch, Pennant, Lucas.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Makelele, Ballack, Joe Cole, Drogba, Malouda.Subs: Hilario, Shevchenko, Obi, Kalou, Alex, Belletti, Anelka.

-goal.com

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The Semi Finals

This season's semi finals will be very exciting as the top clubs in the Uefa will be playing their hearts out for a slot in the Finals. It is true that the four teams remaining are really the best at this point in time and that what will happen in the next couple of day will be up to their "want" for the win. The championship will go to whoever really and whole-heartedly wants to win.

Well, for me, the championship will go to Manchester United since it was seen how much they wanted to get it. Although we won't know until we see the teams play in the semis

Go reds!

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I signed up for PPP!

A couple of weeks ago, summer break started. This thought was exciting at first, but after a few days of doing nothing, except for bumming around, I decided that I wanted to blog. So I signed up for blogger.com’s free blog hosting site. A few minutes later, I was writing reviews about anything football. After a while, I researched about blogging through google and I found out that I can actually earn money! I was surprised since never in my life have I thought that by merely blogging, I would be able to make some income. I then proceeded to go to Payperpost.com’s website. I was excited at the thought of making money through blogging. After signing up, I continued on to have my blog approved. That was it, I have entered the world of blog marketing/advertising.

A couple of days later, I found out through an email that my request wasn’t approved. I was puzzled because I didn’t know that there were requirements for a blog to be approved. For Payperpost to approve my blog, it had to be 30 days old and it had to contain at least 10 posts in that period. With this knowledge, I started to plant my blog with posts about what I thought about what was happening in the football scene.

Of course, it wasn’t all about the money, although it would be fun to blog about things that I love and earn some money from doing that. I started blogging about football, or soccer, as Americans call it, because it was something that I was truly passionate about. Ever since I stepped into the pitch, I had a hard time getting off it. Anyways, I learned, or rather the idea that I can earn and have fun was enforced into my mind.

After getting my blog approved, I felt the same excitement that I felt weeks before. I am really having fun writing about what I love and earning a little on the side!

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Sorry!

Guys!
I'm sorry I haven't been updating that much. I've been busy with some stuff. Well, I'll try to update as much as I can in the following months! Thanks!

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Latest UEFA FIXTURES

uefa.com



Liverpool VS Chelsea
Barcelona VS Man. United


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The Games Have Begun.

The games have truly begun! The first leg of the quarter finals, for Chelsea, Fenerbahce, Arsenal, and Liverpool, were nothing compared to what was witnessed in the second leg. The games were more intense and everyone was trying their best to fight for the ball.

There was one saying that I got from my coach in college. "Kung kaylangang magpakamatay para sa bola, gawin niyo!" This means that we should do whatever is needed to get the ball, provided that we don't play dirty.
This was really seen in how the players showed their hunger for the ball and the win. Even though Fenerbahce Istanbul and Arsenal FC lost in this game, they still showed top-quality football. It's just that they had a problem with goal conversion.

Chelsea FC vs Fenerbahce Istanbul

The match was started off by Chelsea's Michael Ballack when he converted a great header from a well placed free-kick by Frank Lampard. This started off Chelsea's momentum. As seen in the game, the first half was almost completely dominated by the Blues. After the 33rd minute, the shots on target was 4 for Chelsea and 0 for Fenerbahce. Fenerbahce's goal keeper was constantly bombarded by attempts from Drogba, J. Cole, who by the way almost goaled using an outside foot shot. There were also some attempts from Kalou, who was a regular threat with his dribbles and passes. On the Yellow Canary's side, there were also a few decent attempts from Alex and Lugano, although they weren't on target. I'm sure if they were on target, the ball would have passed through Chelsea keeper Cudicini. Speaking of Cudicini, he went out of the game because of a right hamstring injury, with Hilario, replacing him. Frank Lampard sealed the deal on the 87th minute by scoring a goal. The final result is 2-0, which sends Chelsea FC to their 4th UCL Semi-finals in 5 seasons.

Arsenal FC vs Liverpool FC

This was one for the books!
Abou Diaby opened the game with a goal that gave the Gunners an early lead. This gave Arsenal a much needed encouragement in their match against the club giant Liverpool FC. But then, Sami Hyypiä made the equalizer and put Liverpool back in the game. No one was able to stop the magnificent header. By this time everyone was in it for the win. 69 minutes into the game, Fernando Torres, who was playing in top form almost all season, converted and the Reds took on the League. The Gunners' Emmanuel Adebayor wouldn't stand for this and gave them leveled ground to play on. This was certainly anyone's game! Then suddenly, Kolo Toure was penalized for a foul which gave Steven Gerrard the chance to score the penalty. And score he did! This gave the Reds the edge to win the game. Babel ended the game by putting the cherry on top of a magnificent game.

All the teams faught and "died" for the ball. Each team showed that they deserved the semi-finals spotby bringing out their fiercest game. This night surely was a great one. We can expect better performances in the next matches.


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Cristiano Ronaldo: A show off?

- Manchester United FC's Official Site
04/04/2008 21:30, Report by Ben Hibbs
Carry on Ronaldo

Sir Alex Ferguson has defended Cristiano Ronaldo’s showmanship and insists the Portuguese winger would never disrespect his opponents.

Roma’s combative midfielder David Pizarro claimed the United star is “arrogant”. He was quoted in the English press, saying: "Despite the fact that he is a great champion, he is arrogant. This is the ugliest thing for a player. In the return leg, I will have something to say to him."

Sir Alex feels that Ronaldo’s flicks and tricks should be understood as an expression of talent rather than needless flamboyance. The same way a quick player uses his pace to the fullest, or a tough-tackling midfielder won’t pull out of a 50-50 challenge. Ronaldo’s skill is the only way he knows how to play.

“He just tries to express his talent,” said the United boss. “The boy has the confidence and courage to do it and, as far as I'm concerned, he can carry on doing that. People pay £40-£50 to see him play. That may be annoying to an opponent because he’s prepared to take the ball to them and show his talent.

“But at the end of the day he is a winner. You can’t kick him out of the game because he will always get up and play. The most important message he is giving out is that this is a great player that isn’t afraid to take the ball and beat men. That’s what he’s saying. And in whatever fashion he does it, I don’t care.

"It’s about having the ability and expression in his play to be able to do it. We encourage it with all the players here. In the modern day it’s a breath of fresh air to see players that won’t be intimidated by opponents. I say keep on doing it.”

Ronaldo’s fellow countryman, Nani, was accused by Arsene Wenger of disrespecting Arsenal’s players by juggling with the ball during United's 4-0 FA Cup win at Old Trafford earlier this year. At the time Sir Alex sympathised with Wenger, but has since watched the footage again and says there was nothing wrong with it.

“I looked at the video again, and I don’t see that Nani was showboating,” he said. “He was under pressure and he kept the ball up. I’ve seen many players do that. Thierry Henry did it against Southampton in a cup final if I remember correctly. We don’t encourage our players to humiliate opponents - that’s important. But fans want to see players show talent like his. It’s great to see players developing their game so that they can use skill in a big game. We don't want that to change.”

- Manchester United FC's Official Site

I agree with this article. He isn't showboating or disrespecting fellow players. He's just playing his own style of football, the way he has played since his career started. People shouldn't criticize him for doing what he loves, in style.

Side note:
Why is is that when Steve Nash, Lebron James, or even Michael Jordan did their creative jumps, passes, dunks and shots, they weren't accused of "disrespecting" their fellow players?

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Woes of the Red Devils

Manchester united's top defender, Rio Ferdinand, has just joined ManU's injury list. This happened while they were trying to get a decent lead in the Premier League in their match against Middlesbrough. This is truly a big blow for players of Old Trafford, now that they are in a high position in both the EPL and UCL. I think that this will increase their determination to win and to fight fiercer battles. I think that they will take this on as a road block that's waiting to be destroyed. We'll just have to see if the devils can rise from this and still perform their A-game.


With the absence of great players such as Ferdinand, Totti, Ronaldinho and Messi in this late stage of the UCL, we can expect more interesting games. We'll see if Barcelona and Manchester United will still have what it takes to push through the second match. We have seen Barcelona defeat Shalke; although this ended with a low final score of 1-0. Well, I think that we could expect scores like these since all of the teams are competent enough to reach the quarter finals.

This will surely be interesting.


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Let's "David Beckham" the Philippines.

When David Beckham went to the U.S., all of us were surprised. Many of us thought, "Why would he leave his top club, Real Madrid, to go to the U.S?" "What the hell is he thinking?" "How much did he get paid?" "What are his motives?" "He's out of his mind!"

Well, L.A. Galaxy, Beckham's club, got him to "take football in the U.S. to another level." They got him for the exposure. They got him so that American fans would come to watch MLS games. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it was a great step forward for Beckham. Even though he isn't seen that much anymore, since the more famous leagues(UEFA, English Premier League, Spanish Laliga, etc.) get more air-time through out the world, he made the humbling step to promote football in a place where Basketball, Hockey, Golf, and American Football are the top sports.

Now, if only the Philippines did something like that, get a well-known football player to play in loval leagues. That would surely promote football here. When the Younghusband brothers went here, football got a boost, but it only lasted for so long. If only the Philippines saw the potential opportunities in football, rather than looking blindly at basketball; if the Philippines saw the potential that our players had, especially the youth, then the Philippine football would be in a better state. I know that the Philippine football is a neglected sport that has a lot of potential and opportunities that's waiting to be tapped. If only.

Kudos to you David Beckham! Great work! Maybe you'll consider going here sometime! Haha

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UEFA QUARTER FINALS 2ND GAME FIXTURES

Here are the fixtures for the second game of three of the quarter finals of the UCL.
I hope that the matches will be better than what were shown last time!


-UEFA
Quarter-finals 2nd leg
8 Apr
Chelsea 20:45 Fenerbahçe
Liverpool 20:45 Arsenal
9 Apr
Barcelona 20:45 Schalke
Man. United 20:45 Roma


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What's up with Fenerbahce?

Fenerbahce Istanbul - Underdog, Overachieving

Fenerbahce Istanbul has really heated themselves up. They have gone through a lot in the UCL. Now, they are emerging as possibe champions in the league. Even with less super stars in their teams, compared to the others, they have responded to obstacles and downsides in their games with much intensity and determination. They are surely a force to reckon with and are a threat to the other clubs who are vying for the trophy. They prove that hard work and determination can defeat skill.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Fenerbahçe – Alex

Alex is a star. The Brazilian attacking midfielder failed to make a splash in his first spell in Europe, but he’s certainly made waves this time around. The Yellow Canaries’ No20 has been the star several times in Europe this season and is the man Chelsea need to watch. Having scored both goals against Besiktas at the weekend, he’s definitely in form.

-Goal.com

Team Line up:

Name and position	No	Joined in	Former team	Birth date	Citizenship
Goalkeepers
Volkan Demirel	1	2002	Kartalspor	27 October 1981
Serdar Kulbilge	22	2005	Bursaspor	7 July 1980
Volkan Babacan	88	2005	Fenerbahçe PAF	11 August 1988
Mert Günok	89	2007	Fenerbahçe PAF	1 March 1989
Defenders
Diego Lugano	2	2006	São Paulo	2 November 1980
Roberto Carlos	3	2007	Real Madrid	10 April 1973
Yasin Çakmak	5	2007	Çaykur Rizespor	6 January 1985
Wederson	6	2007	Ankaraspor	22 July 1981
Can Arat	17	2001	Fenerbahçe PAF	21 January 1984
Önder Turacı vice-	19	2004	Standard Liège	14 July 1981
Edu Dracena	36	2006	Cruzeiro	18 May 1981
Gökhan Gönül	77	2007	Gençlerbirliği OFTAŞ	4 April 1985
Midfielders
Stephen Appiah	4	2005	Juventus	24 December 1980
Kemal Aslan vice-	7	2003	Gaziantepspor	24 October 1981
Mehmet Aurélio	15	2003	Trabzonspor	15 December 1977
Ali Bilgin	18	2007	Antalyaspor	17 December 1981
Alex	20	2004	Cruzeiro	14 September 1977
Selçuk Şahin	21	2003	İstanbulspor	31 January 1981
Deniz Barış	24	2004	Gençlerbirliği	2 July 1977
Uğur Boral	25	2006	Gençlerbirliği	14 April 1982
Gürhan Gürsoy	32	2004	Adanaspor	24 September 1987
Claudio Maldonado	33	2008	Santos	3 January 1980
Strikers
Colin Kâzım-Richards	8	2007	Sheffield United	26 August 1986
Mateja Kežman	9	2006	Atlético Madrid	12 April 1979
Semih Şentürk vice-	23	1999	Fenerbahçe PAF	29 April 1983
İlhan Parlak	38	2007	Kayserispor	19 January 1987
Deivid	99	2006	Sporting Lisbon	22 October 1979

-Fenerbahce Istanbul Official Site

This is a video of the long-shot screamer of Deivid again Chelsea FC in the Quarter Finals League of UCL.






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