ManU: English Champs!

Even though Chelsea won their final game, it was still Manchester United who went home with the title and the trophy! Kudos to the REDS! UNITED!

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The aftermath

SEMI-FINALS: THE AFTERMATH

After the Semi-finals of UEFA, only two teams were left: Manchester United and Chelsea FC.

Before anything else, I would like to comment on Cristiano Ronaldo. I don't know what's happening to him. Before the semi-finals, he was a very intense player, but now, I don't know what's up with him. Maybe he's just saving his strength for the Finals? We don't know. But for me, I want to see the Ronaldo that played with fiery rage a couple of fixtures back. If he is truly the best player of our generation, he better show that he deserves the title. Don't get me wrong. I like Cristiano Ronaldo, but it just pains me to witness only above average performance from a very very excellent player.

Anyways! I guess Eto'o's claim that they will score against Manchester in their away game was not fulfilled as they lost because of Scholes' magnificent long-shot.
Final score was (1-0)

Chelsea has really made a comeback. They showed that they were not just some team that was there to fill up the space. They showed that they can stand up from disaster games(Fenerbahce 1st leg) in a past. And now, they beat Liverpool, even when people thought that they won't be coming back from their poor performance in the first leg. Drogba, who scored 2 goals, and Lampard, who scored 1 (at last), certainly stepped up and put out an amazing performance. At first, I thought that Liverpool will be the one to advance because they started out strong. I guess Chelsea proved me wrong. They beat the team that defeated them and went on to collect the Championship Trophy two seasons ago. Final score was (3-2).

The finals are next. Who will win? Both of the teams are the best, or else they wouldn't be in this stage.

My bet is Manchester United! Although the finals isn't only for one game. Each game should be looked at one at a time. It was proved in the past that the outcome of one game does not decide the outcome of the next.

Well I guess only time will tell who will be this year's Champion!


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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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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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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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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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HOORAY for BARCELONA FC and MANCHESTER UNITED FC!

2:30 a.m. Philippine time.

As I opened my TV, I asked myself, "How will I be able to watch two games at the same time?!" Without another TV unit to spare, I didn't have much choice but to use the jump function. It was the Barcelona v Shalke game on Star Sports and the ManU v Roma on ESPN.

I was shocked to discover that Barcelona, the team clad with orange jerseys, wasn't going to have Ronaldinho and Messi in their line up and that Eto'o just came from a fitness test. It's sad to know that they weren't going to play in Barcelona's 6th Quarter Final game since the start of UEFA Champions League. My alarm also went up when I heard that Totti wasn't going to play as well. These were going to be exciting matches.

BARCELONA FC v SHALKE FC
The game started with a very calm atmosphere. Both teams weren't showing much intensity against each other. For a few minutes, the game was showered with mediocre plays, fouls, etc. But then, out of nowhere, Barca's striker Bojan Krkic found a chance to convert and he did, giving his team the lead. Of course, I wasn't able to see this at it's exact time of happening because I was thinking watching the ManU-Roma game that time. So I quickly switched back to Barcelona's game. A few minutes after Krkic's goal, the Shalke players tried to get some for their team with Kuranyi's attempt on the 16' and Westermann's on the 20' but their efforts were futile and were stopped by Barcelona's goal keeper. That was about it. A series of failed attempts stemming from excellent plays followed. I was disappointed to see that Henry wasn't able to convert since I was hoping to see some from him. Nonetheless, over-all, I was happy to see that my team pick for this match won, even without key players Ronaldinho and Messi.

MANCHESTER UNITED FC vs AS ROMA
STADIO OLIMPICO - The game started with a much higher intensity compared to the other match. I observed that even without the Roma striker Totti, the Red Devils were having a hard start. They weren't making an effective impact in the front third. There were a couple of below average through balls and goal attempts. An example was Anderson's long range attempt which passed high above his opponent's goal. On the other hand, AS Roma was playing very well despite having their star player sit this game out. Roma's Mirko Vucinic was playing really well and was showing his opponents that he was a threat to the ManU defense. They were showing a lot of short one-twos which definitely gave Manchester United some trouble. I thought that AS Roma might get a chance to win this one. Then, on the 39' minute, Wayne Rooney made an excellent cross which was converted by the Portuguese player, Cristiano Ronaldo. This gave the Red Devils a boost in morale. This was soon to be followed by another goal from Rooney, who was, by the way, showing excellent performance in this game. AS Roma wasn't able to get back up after the the second goal.

These were exciting games but it was quite hard to watch both games alternately. I'm hoping that the next matches of this Match day will be better.

My bets: Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC.

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ROMA FC vs MANCHESTER UNITED: Who's up for the win?

Seeing this match in the upcoming fixtures in UEFA.com made me feel very excited. Not only will we see a high-quality game but we will also see fierce competition and hopefully, fiercer determination from both sides. In the past few games of Man Untd and AS Roma, it was seen that the Red Devils dominated the action in the pitch. One game was last April 10, 07, when ManU defeated AS Roma, two to one. Cristiano Ronaldo's attacks were enough to render their opponents helpless to the seemingly unending wave of attacks. Another one was on October 2, 2007, when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the game, making the Red Devils the winners.

The question is: who's got the greater desire for the win? We all know that both teams want to win. But will certain factors increase or hinder their drive for the win?

In AC Roma's case, I am kind of sure that they would try to take this opportunity to "get back" at the Reds for their defeats in the past few games. although even with this drive, they still run the risk of being intimidated by the excellent players of ManU, Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes, etc., and hide back underneath their stone.

In Manchester United's case, it is true that they have overcome their opponents quite a number of times already. Although not really winning convincingly, I'm sure that they have sent a message across the pitch: that they won't be giving less than a hundred percent in every game. Will this be enough to make them advance in the next matchday with flying colors? Of course, they run the risk of being too over confident since they have won their past matches.

Who will win? My bet is on the Reds.

What's yours?

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UEFA Fixtures to look forward to!

Quarter Finals 1st Leg
April 1

AS Roma vs Manchester United


Schalke vs Barcelona

April 2

Arsenal vs Liverpool


Fenerbahce vs Chelsea


Stay tuned!

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HOT FIXTURES last March 23, 08

Last, March 23, 08, the biggest clubs in the English Premiere League clashed heads. The fixtures were Manchester United vs Livepool FC and Arsenal FC vs Chelsea FC. From the moment the fixtures were announced, I heard a lot of commotion here in the Philippines since these were the most favorite clubs in the Barclays League. My personal bets were ManU and Chelsea.

I) MANCHESTER UNITED vs LIVERPOOL FC
Manchester United, a club consisting of hard-working talented players suchg as Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest scorer this season, Wayne Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, etc, was a favorite for me. Among the clubs in the English Premiere League, this club was the most appealling. This year, one of the big wins of ManU was against Arsenal FC, where they beat them, through the efforts of Nani, and the others, even when C. Ronaldo wasn't playing. Even though I knew that whenever Ronaldo or Rooney received the ball, something sweet was going to happen. No doubt, they are one of the best teams in this league. These fueled my liking for Manchester United.

Even though there were these factors, we still can't disregard the fact that Liverpool FC also had amazing players such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerard, Crouch, Kuyt, and Carragher. Gerard, a crowd favorite, is known for his stunning long-shots and pin-point passes. This, in combination with Torres, or the other strikers, can be quite deadly.

Every time these two clubs faced each other, even since 1983, they showed great sportsmanship and creativity that only the top clubs could show. Their games were very fast-paced in terms of scoring opportunities, plays, and possession skills. It's no wonder people flock to the stadiums just to see them play.

This particular match didn't go well for the Reds, with a final score of 3-0, favoring ManU. Everyone expected a better game from them. Manchester United showed that they deserved the win through showing fierce determination and skill. Liverpool needs to step up and not let things like this happen again.

II) CHELSEA FC vs ARSENAL FC

This was a match that made fans think about certain things about their clubs. For one thing, even though Chelsea FC had a roster full of superstars, would they be able to keep it together and not try to step over each other in search for the spotlight? Or would Arsenal, a team full uf you players, be able to stop the Blues' no-lose streak at Stamford Bridge? Those were some of the questions that came to my mind when i was setting a bet with my brother.
My personal bet was Chelsea FC. Not only did they have amazing strikers at the top, they also had a wide array of top-class performers in the mid and in the bottom third. Lampard, Terry, and the others were a serious threat to the Gunners. I was also very confident in Terry's ability to hold the team together, as well as his defensive line. I was confident that Didier Drogba would convert whenever he was served top-quality settings. So the outcome of the match, 2-1, in favor of Chelsea, was of no surprise to me.

Even though these were the turn outs, the teams still showed the viewers what English Football is all about.

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