Down to the wire!

That time of the year has arrived. The french league and the Dutch league are the only ones in which a champion has already been decided. The rest of the major leagues are still fighting it out to see who will be champions.

I don't particularly care which of Chelsea or United wins the EPL but it has been a very interesting year for a neutral. If either one of them lose this weekend and the other wins, a champion will be named.

In Germany, Bayern Munich has put a stronghold on the top of the table. They're most likely to win the league unless they find a way to shoot themselves in the foot.

For the longest time, the Serie A has been Inter Milan's to lose and that's still the case. They're one of few teams in Europe still fighting for a treble. They're most likely going to scoop up all the trophies they want under Jose Mourinho. Roma is going to push it to the end but there chances of winning the scudetto this year are very slim.

Of all the competitions, for me the most interesting battle is the one between Barcelona and Real Madrid. Madrid has the easier of the two, but Barcelona are probably going to lift the trophy if they get past a below par Sevilla side. It will definitely be a weekend worth watching.
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Inter seals finals berth as Liverpool fails to deliver.

It has been dubbed attack versus defense but in reality, it is simply tactical awareness versus passing. Barcelona has always been a great passing team, but it's not every day that they face a team that is as tactical as Inter Milan. In La Liga, teams aren't known for their defensive ability. The league has built a reputation for having some of the best passers in the world, but all that passing gets you nothing when you're facing a team as regimented as Inter. Jose Mourinho was always going to push his team to the champions league final and the difference between him and Guardiola is that his team has several plans and adapt to their situation and each game. Barca is known for playing beautiful football, but they're not Brazil and they must remember that if they're not out scoring their opponents then they need a plan B.

Over in England, Liverpool's season amounted to nothing once more. They're not likely to make it into the champions league next year and now they flopped when it came to making it in the Europa league. If they don't make some big changes before the start of the next season, Liverpool's decline will continue for the foreseeable future. Teams used to be afraid of coming to Anfield, but now no one takes the Mersey side team seriously. Congratulations to Fulham and Atletico Madrid for their achievements.
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Bayern books ticket to Bernabeu

Today Bayern Munich flexed their muscles and claimed a place in the Champions League final. Lyon never looked up to par against the Germans when they came out with their A-game.

Normally you'd expect either Arjen Robben or Frank Ribery to tear it up on the field, but today it wasn't the two usual suspects that carried the load. Ivica Olic brought the best he had to offer and bagged a treble against the unwilling french giants. To say Lyon were out of their element would be to put it lightly. They were served to the sword and has no answer for it. This loss proves that the french league teams are still a few quality players behind the rest of the big leagues. Some would argue that Bordeaux with the brilliant Blanc at the realm would have done better than Lyon but they must be reminded that it was Lyon who knocked Bordeaux out of the tournament and that says a lot.
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Barca's loss last night is proof that Barca's flaws are there to exploit.

Barcelona are not quite like the Arsenal invisibles of a few years ago in that their flaws are too easy to point out. They may still go on to win the return leg, but Inter showed yesterday that when barca are faced with a team that knows how to defend they don't really have a plan B.

Inter stuffed the game in a typically catenaccio fashion and took their chances on the counter attack. They did something the youngsters at Arsenal have always failed to do. They remained organized and followed their game plan despite what the blaugrana brought on them.

As for Barcelona, most of their fans don't want to accept that they were soundly beaten, but the truth is that Guardiola still has not brought much improvement to Rijkaard's team. The Dutch coach built this current Barca team and the style they play with and one would think the Spaniard would have introduced a plan B but he hasn't. When teams like Inter and Espanyol defend well and keep Barca from playing, they start to look like the youngsters at the Emirates, full of technique and finesse but without plan B or C.
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Barcelona struggles against Espanyol

Who would have thought that lowly Espanyol would frustrate mighty Barcelona. For some reason I'd like to think that Jose Mourinho was taking notes on how to keep the Catalans at bay.

This gives Real Madrid a sliver of hope for the title but a lot of that depends on Barcelona dropping a few more points. Real would still have to beat Valencia in order to get within a point of the current champions.
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Chelsea's loss has just made the premiership even more interesting.

just last week I was sure Chelsea was going to take the Premier League crown without much fuss after United drew with Blackburn and Arsenal lost to Spurs. But today, the less fancied londoners came out and showed the rest of the league how to go t Chelsea and make them earn their paychecks.

I can't say I wasn't surprised. Spurs have the talent to beat most teams and as Everton showed earlier in the season Chelsea are a team with flaws. When they are winning they can't seem to stop. But when they face a team more resilient then themselves, the Blues seem to lack the composure that Champions are made of. Spurs could have put the game beyond doubt but they couldn't manage to do it. Chelsea can't afford to lose another game, and they still have Liverpool to play. Chances are they are going to beat Liverpool but if they don't, United will be ready.
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Ajax' incredible late rise

This has been an amazing season of football. in most leagues in Europe there has been a clear leader for the entire season. But in holland things have been a little different. Though Twente has looked like the odds on favorite to win the title, their stutters have seen the amazing ajax team of this year climb to within a point of the leaders.

on pure talent alone Ajax deserves to win the title. Guys like Luis Suarez have been beyond superb. Though I'd love to see Steve McLaren and his Twente squad raise the trophy this year. I just don't think they're talented enough to survive in the Champions League. Whoever wins it would have deserved it, but it's great to see a team like Ajax make such a comeback after years of mediocrity.
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PFA player of the year

So the short list for PFA player of the year has come out and everyone's got an opinion on who should win the award this year. Many people will naturally think Wayne Rooney should take the gong for both the player of the year and the young player of the year. Rooney's been a great player this year but to think he is the best in the premier league is a bit too much.

Players like Drogba have been performing admirably albeit in a strong team. But the truth is that the best player this year has been Carlos Tevez. The Argentine has been phenomenal for City and has played a vital part in his team's success this year. While United might be the more known team and Rooney the more recognized player in England, Tevez is just a phenomenal winner. He has such a fighting spirit that when he's on the field something is bound to happen. He works hard on the field and does it with a happy face. On top of it all, Tevez is more technical then the english man. I hope they give the award to Tevez, but that's not likely to happen given that Rooney is a much improved player this year.
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Van Persie should have started as Arsenal throws away another chance to claw back Chelsea's grip in the title.

Van Persie's introduction Into the game today showed what a huge difference in talent there is between him and Bendtner. All throughout the game the Dane provided very little for the gunners in terms of substance and skill. Arsenal attacked and attacked but just couldn't quite put the ball in the back of the net. You can clearly see how differently the team plays with the Dutch striker in the game. That acrobatic volley he pulled off was one of the best I had ever seen and were it not for Gomes, Arsenal would have been back in the game even earlier. Today is a sad day in the sense that Arsenal lost the opportunity to get above United in second place and to be within three points of Chelsea. If the millionaires of Chelsea don't win the league at the end of the season, then they are simply the most inept assembly of expensive players in the world.
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It's time for Giovinco to run from Juventus

A lot can be said about young players needing to sit in the bench and learning from the older players, but when a player has shown that he is the real deal and ready to take in the responsibility but manager after manager refuse to play him, it's time for the player to do some growing up and move to a club where his talents are appreciated and where he will be given the chance to shine.

Giovinco has long been touted as the heir apparent of Del Piero, yet Juventus went and bought Diego last year from Bremen, which meant that the atomic ant had to endure another season sitting on the bench waiting for someone to get injured. Giovinco's talents are there for everyone to see, yet the coaches aren't willing to take a little risk. Even when things were going down the hill Ciro Ferrara refused to play him. And even Zacheroni has not played him when he was available as much as he should have. They fail to see the element of danger the youngster provides for the team. Diego, as phenomenal as he is, does not quite have the dribbling skills that Giovinco has. Diego is a playmaker, but that's where his tools end.

If he were at a club like Arsenal, Giovinco would be getting a lot of playing time and adding to the gunners' dangerous attack. Italians are notorious for not wanting to leave their country, but even in Italy there are teams where the youngster would flourish. At Roma he would be welcomed by Ranieri. Sampdoria and even Napoli and Genoa would make great use of the young Italian. Hopefully he matures fast and realizes that his future success is not at Juventus. Del Piero is the last great player that has been unearthed from Juventus' young side. The club has resorted to buying all their talent, including talent less shmucks like Amauri.
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And Real Madrid continues to suck.

I expected Real Madrid to show up and get some change out of Barcelona in today's classico, but the blancos of Madrid failed terribly at their task. You'd think by now they would have figured out how Barcelona plays, the very same way Chelsea figured out how Arsenal plays. Ronaldo and his teammates have had an awkward season, to put it nicely. But they looked like the one team capable of toppling the catalans. As it looks right now, Barcelona is going to win the liga for another season. One can always hope that the catalans lose a game to make things interesting but I doubt the viewing public is that lucky.
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The Liverpool way.

Liverpool seem to have this amazing way of pulling things out of nowhere. All year we've all seen their ship capsize continuously and it even seems as though they are going to relinquish their top 4 status this season. Though in thee long run they will likely return to the top with quick succession, for the moment they are the odd men out. But we should all be careful not to underestimate the Merseysiders. They know how to win and they know how to survive.

Despite all the distractions behind doors, Liverpool is in the semifinals of the Europa league. Though the competition might not be as lofty as the Champions League, it is the only European competition that still has English teams in it. The more important fact is that if Liverpool win this competition, they just might be able to squeeze themselves in the UEFA Champions League.
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Fulham and the Cinderella run

Fulham is far from being a fancy side. A team of hard workers coupled with a few players with ball playing skills is what Fulham has to offer. They have a striker in Zamora who might never play In a world cup but who has managed to provide them with crucial goals in their Europa cup run.

When Clint Dempsey got injured, it was assumed that Fulham night not be able to carry on but they've proved over and over that their team is not one based on a single player. Even if they don't make it to the final they've got to be proud about the work they've done this season. No one expected them to defeat a storied club such as Juventus, but they managed to do so. No one is going to claim that Fulham is ready to beat Barcelona anytime soon. But it must be said that Hodgson has his team going in the right direction as far as European pedigree is concerned.
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Oh Ferguson get over it.

Alex Ferguson has a problem with losing. That is why he has won so many trophies over the years. But that is also one of his flaws. He can never accept the fact that his team didn't perform as well as they could. Instead of looking at why his team failed, he focuses on what his opponents did wrong.

Rafael committed a foul in the game yesterday and Ferguson should have focused on what the youngster did and maybe help him so that he isn't in that position again, but instead the manager lashed out at the German team for asking the referee to send Rafael off.

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United falls and Lyon holds on.

It's not everyday that Manchester United loses a game but they fell short today again a Bayern Munich side that did just enough to go through to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League. United were always going to struggle a little with their star striker Wayne Rooney in the lineup. However they did well to surprise their audience with a performance that nearly made Rooney's absence irrelevant. But they failed at the last hurdle as Arjen Robben's strike proved to be the defining one. Nani must be commanded for his performance in the game, but he's no Cristiano Ronaldo and could not carry the team over the line all by himself.

In the battle of the french giants, Lyon is going through to the next round. This signals a return to form for the french side despite the fact that they lost tonight. They may find Bayern had to beat, but the fact that they made it this far is testament of their ability. Bordeaux cannot be seen as a failure, but this was their last chance if rumors are true. Blanc is said to be on his way to Sevilla and it won't take long before Gourcuff and Chamakh follow after him. The team may still prove to be a force in Europe, but without Le President behind them I just don't see how they'd he able to continue on the path they're on.
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Arsenal falls short again. What's next?

Facing the mighty Barcelona, Arsenal fell short once more in the Champions League. I'm one inclined to believe they would have succeeded this year had it not been for all the injuries they had. Barcelona are just too good at the moment for the young gunners. Wenger's project cannot be seen as a failure but this year should be a clear sign to him that he needs to clean house a bit and bring in strong reinforcements in order to complete for every trophy like Chelsea is able to do.

To begin with, he needs to being in Chamak from Bordeaux to provide a real threat inside the box. It's no secret how talented the striker is. And he's definitely better than Bendtner. He also has a never say die attitude about him and would go above and beyond to get the ball in the net. He could very well be the next great success a la Drogba.

Wenger also needs to shore up his defense. I would suggest he trades Silvestre in for Bolton's Gary Cahill. He would also do well to raid the french league for a defensive midfielder in the mould of Toulalan to add some grit to the squad.

The truth of the matter is that Wenger is not likely to buy anyone. He won't accept that his kids just aren't growing up fast enough. Alex Song is a great example of a Wenger project that grew up quick. Denilson and Walcott are great examples of his projects that haven't grown up yet. And I'm not sure they will grow up anytime soon.
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Inter just might go all the way.

For all the talk about how good Barca is, I'm beginning to think Jose Mourinho might pull off a great coup and win the Champions League this year. Their outstanding organization and defensive ability coupled with the attacking talents of their mids and forwards is going to give them the upper hand. As good as Barcelona is, they're not used to playing against teams that defend well. A team like Arsenal is going to come out and play back and forth because that's their style. But a team like Inter are going to just soak up the pressure for as long as it takes and then strike when you least expect it.
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MLS is becoming increasingly boring by the minute.

Admittedly, I've never been a big fan of MLS. I gave the league a chance when I was younger, but the older I got and started paying more attention to the other leagues in the world, the more I've realized that MLS just does not compare. There is no dynamism in the league. There are no players that make me look forward to watching in game day.

At least when I watch the Brazilian league I know that the likes of Hernanes and Neymar are bound to do something exciting. When I watch the Mexican league, I know the games are going to be end to end and full of technique. The European leagues provide a focus on tactics and an enormous amount of technically gifted players. MLS lovers will always talk about how young the league is, but at the end of the day, the league just isn't good enough. The teams all pretty much play like the U.S. national team. I don't know what it would take for me to fall in love with this league. The talent just isn't booming in the league and the foreign players the teams are attracting aren't giving their all.
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To the victor the spoils

I love seeing Manchester United lose. There is no getting around the elation that I feel when I see the red devils get a whooping, but there is nothing I love more than seeing Chelsea lose. And though I've gotten my gratification from seeing Chelsea lose to Inter Milan, I wanted more. I was really hoping for a draw between the top two teams in the Premier League.

It would have been better, despite chelsea's win, if Arsenal had picked up three points at Birmingham a week ago. But that's just the sort of season the gunners are having this year. As good as they are, the injuries have ruined their season. And every team who can't seem to pass the ball are content with hacking the gunners. Had they had Van Persie this season, they would have scored a lot more goals and certainly would not have lost to Chelsea and Manchester.

On another note, if Darren Bent hasn't punched his ticket to the World Cup by now I will be very shocked. He is one of the top performing Premier League strikers this year and even though he's not very good at penalty kicks, he puts the ball in the net on the regular and that's while playing for Sunderland, something he wasn't able to do at Tottenham. The Spurs on the other hand have all but handed 4th place to Manchester City. They still have to play Arsenal and Chelsea.

The citizen did good to take advantage of Burnley's complete collapse. The boys at Turf Moor haven't been the same since Coyle left for Bolton and they must now plan on how to come back up next year like Newcastle has done.

Here's hoping Fernando Torres tears it up tomorrow.
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Fabregas and the world cup.

Cesc Fabregas could miss the world cup after he fractured his fibula in the Barcelona game. It really sucks for the Arsenal captain since he is one of Spain's top midfielders. By the time he recovers from the injury, the World Cup squad would have already been selected and likely submitted to Fifa.

Spain is not like the U.S. Where there is a dearth of genuine talent. Spain is full of talented midfielders who are world beaters and it would not be fair for any player to sit at home while everyone hopes that Cesc gets healthy. Fabregas is a genuine talent and I really hoped to see him shine In South Africa, but if he isn't healthy and fit for the tournament, then spin have no choice but to replace him with someone else. Perhaps Everton's Mikel Arteta deserves a look right about now.
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Liverpool's infertile attack

A Benitez team is not likely to come out and batter they opponents as a Barcelona team might. All you have to do is look at his tenure at Valencia to figure out the type of game Rafa expects his teams to play. When it was announced that they were going to face Benfica, this writer knew Liverpool were going to have a hard time getting by. It is interesting that an old Benitez boy in the form of Pablo Aimar should be in the Benfica team. Even though the diminutive Argentine did not have the absolute best game of his life, there is no doubt he knew a thing or two about Benitez' tactics.

In modern day football, it doesn't really matter how great your players are, a lot of it comes down to the style the manager utilizes. A glance at the Liverpool squad shows a lot of players with attacking ability, but they ultimately lack the defensive discipline required to make Benitez' system work.

Liverpool may yet recover and defeat Benfica at Anfield, but there task is an enormous one. The Portuguese side is not likely to back down and defend, and the last thing Liverpool needs is to concede another goal.
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Arsenal barely holding on

Not too many people expected Arsenal to get anything out of Spanish giants Barcelona today, but the gunners have managed to get a tie. The downfall now is that barca could effectively win the two legged tie simply by holding the tie next week. If they were an Italian team we'd expect them to do just that. But Barcelona are not a defensive team and they will come out to play just as they did at the Emirates. That is their weakness. No one Will expect Arsenal to do anything, but the young gunners have a chance to haunt the holders at the nou camp.

If Arsenal are to win, they will have to do it without their talismanic skipper. Fabregas is suspended from the game and Arshavin and Gallas are both injured. The time has come for the likes of Samir Nasri and Song to pull together and show the spanish what the gunners are all about. It is time to put to bed the ghost of a final lost.
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Manchester United suffers defeat as Lyon wins part one of french battle!

It's not everyday that mighty Manchester United loses a game, especially in the Champions League where they seemed to have reigned supreme in past few years. The fact that they lost today is not a symbol of their downfall (they could still win the return leg at Old Trafford) but for the neutrals this defeat is a great result. Though United are great enough to go to the final, it would be great to see a team like Bayern make a return to it's greater heights.

On another note, it is great to see Lyon flexing it's muscles once more. They are too good a team to not succeed in the champions league all these years. The one sad note is that unless Lyon loses the return leg, it means that Bordeaux have proven once more to be nothing but pretenders. Lyon have been the best team in France for a few years now, and though Bordeaux has emerged from the dark ages, it is still clear who the strongest and more favored french side is.
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Jack Wilshere and the future

This week Bolton manager Owen Coyle stated that he would like to keep Jack Wilshere for another season. On the surface it sounds like a great idea for the English youngster to get more experience, the problem lies with the players that would surround him. Though I am inclined to believe that Coyle has good intentions, Bolton are a team of battering rams. Unless he does a complete reshaping of his squad then Wilshere is at a risk of becoming a battering ram and ultimately not be able to fit into the Arsenal squad. If I was advising Wenger I would dissuade him from letting Jack go back for another year.
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Know what you have

There are several things that make a good manager in this wonderful game of ours, and one of those things is knowing what sort of players you have.

Everyone with any sort of knowledge knows that Sebastian Giovinco is a great player. He might be slight in frame but he's quick with the ball at his feet and he's got great ball skills. I can't figure out why the managers at Juventus won't use him. First Ferrara ignored him and now the new manager Zacheroni is not too fond of him. What they don't realize is that playing him might be to their benefit. It's nearly the same situation over at Liverpool where Benitez is so cautious that he doesn't play Aquilani. Why buy a player like that if you're not going to play him? Same thing happened with Gourcuff at Milan. These managers need to become better at assessing the players they have, especially the Italian managers.
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