Germany vs Portugal

Germans began from where they left off in the previous world cup. Billed as the high profile fixture in this group it did live up to it with the number of goals produced. We have seen everything in this match from goals, attractive football, individual brilliance and of course the moment of madness from Pepe. This game was easy as it gets. Sometimes coaches don't want that to happen as they would want their team to be tested against full strength oppositions. Remember Van Gaal telling the same when the Dutch had a friendly match against Wales just before the start of the world cup.

Taking nothing away from the Germans, the match was over in the first half itself. All the thrill was blown away after the red card incident. I am not debating that the result would have been different had Pepe not been sent off but it played a part in making this a one sided match. I felt that Portugal would have created problems for Germany if they were playing with eleven men. Pepe can't argue the card because he was at fault. Irresponsible when you consider the experience he has but not unexpected behavior from him. End of discussion. Players must play for the team and it was stupid to behave like the way he did. Portugal were left with no other option than to limit the damage and Ronaldo was left stranded and frustrated. There was not much he could do when your teammate lets you down.

In the end it was Muller who stole the show. Three good goals on his way to first hat-trick of his career and showing good signs of yet again on his way to become the top scorer in the world cup. The red card in a way did not help people like us to exactly judge the team. They created so many opportunities to score goals but at the same time will be thinking about the wastefulness in front of the goal. This can be a cause of concern for them in the later stages of the tournament. They might not find themselves in a position similar to what they had against Portugal. Towards the final stages of the match Portugal did test the German back line but they were far from creating any real havoc.

Joachim Low must be proud of his boys performance but deep inside he mind be thinking what happened in the last world cup. They had a similar start last time around and Low will be hoping his team can continue this form right through the tournament. They started as one of the pre-tournament favorites and they are certainly living up to it. Germans have unfinished business and they mean it.

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Argentina vs Bosnia Herzegovina

One of the tournament favorites, boasting the services of the best player in the world in Lionel Messi along with some incredible talents like Aguero, Higuain, Di Maria much was expected from the boys in La Albiceleste.  With the talent available at disposal fans must be wondering what happened in the first half of this match. The answer from the coach was funny. He started with five at the back as a caution against the threat from the tall Bosnian players. Here is a coach who has enough players capable of scoring goals against any team but just did not trust the attacking quality available. I would never understand even if it was against Netherlands or Germany let alone a real surprise considering the fact Bosnia are playing their first world cup.

I am not underestimating Bosnia but it was evident throughout the match that Argentina struggled to impose themselves on their opponents.Much of that was down to the negative tactical setup by the Argentina coach. With five at the back they did not have control in midfield. Messi was playing far too deep for my liking. He was forced to come deep into their half because he was not getting enough support from midfield as Argentina were outnumbered in that area. The link up was not seen and each time Messi was on the ball there were two or three opposition players around him. He and Aguero was left alone most of the time. Bosnia played really well and was unlucky not to score in the first half. It was unthinkable that they had better shots on goal than their counterparts.

Things did improve in the second half once Gago came on. Messi took more control of the game and eventually paid off with what was an important goal not just for his team but personally as well. He is under so much pressure to perform for his team at this world cup after the disappointments of the last one. For that to happen and for Argentina to have any hope of going all the way in the tournament the coach must make sure that he makes use of Messi to the maximum. For that to happen the tactics must change in a way that he benefits from the players around him.

It is fair thinking from the coach they defend well as a team which was their shortcoming in South Africa. At the same time he should not forget or discount the firepower upfront that is more than capable of winning any football match. The coach was trying to win the match in his own half when the real action should have happened up front in the opposition box. Along with defensive stability it is goals that ultimately win any football matches and Argentina should concentrate more on that in the next couple of games before the knockout stage. Remember attack is the best form of defense. With so many good players Sabella must decided to attack. When you do that against your opposition you create mistakes from your opposite team and that's where you create opportunity. Maybe they might peak at the right time.

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England vs Italy

For the shocking scoreline between Netherlands and Spain this match too was up there with its unpredictability not for the scoreline but for the attacking play displayed by the two teams. This was expected to be the match that will see two cautious teams considering their past history.

Credit must be given to both the coaches for setting up their teams the way they did. England especially benefited by putting faith in youngsters. Before the start of the game there were calls from all corners asking Hodgson to start Frank Lampard in midfield. But with Gerrard a surety to start being the captain and the better player credit must be given to Hodgson for starting Henderson to partner Gerrard in the middle. With Sterling up front Henderson provides them that energy required in midfield. It was clearly evident from the match how much the team benefited as a whole. The pace of Sterling and Welbeck created trouble for the Italian defense but sadly they could not capitalize it to convert it as goals. It was real end to end stuff and pleasing stuff. It was sad that England could not get something out of the game.

Italy was equally impressive with their attacking display. Perhaps that was the surprise everyone felt during the game. The England equalizer was because of the lack in concentration in Italian defense. Perhaps they missed the experience of their captain in goal. Talking about goalkeeper Sirigu standing in for Buffon did his job well. As expected Pirlo was instrumental for them in midfield. They are now in a good position to go through this group.

England were disappointed with the result but I feel they should stay positive. If England can display the same attacking abilities going forward they can get some good results in the tournament. But the real problem lies elsewhere. With Italy and Costa Rica getting the result they were looking for in the first match it remains to be seen how those to play out when they face each other. The only thing I didn't like was England complain about their result against Italy. They must remember that it was not too long ago when they too have enjoyed days when their opposition created flurry of chances to win but they came out with victors by odd goal. You can't be sorry losers when you are at the receiving end.

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Spain vs Netherlands Review

Expecting a draw in this game I was not surprised with the victory for the Dutch. However the scoreline was unimaginable. The dutch were criticized for the way they played the 2010 world cup final but they made up for it. Earlier in the first half it seemed like going the old way but after the first fifteen minutes both team got settled. Spain though were dominant from that point but what the dutch did well was that they did not just sit back and defend. When they had the possession they did create problem in the Spanish penalty box.

The goal did help Spain but it was sorry to see another player diving to earn a penalty.We saw UEFA having an official near the penalty boxes in the champions league to guide the referee. I don't know if having another official would have helped avoid that penalty but maybe FIFA could have taken a chance. In the end it did not matter much. Even after Spain scored the dutch did not lose their way. In fact they kept on pressing for that equalizer that they managed to achieve courtesy of individual brilliance from Van Persie.

Second half was completely different. What we saw was two teams trying to get maximum points from the match and in the process the dutch were taking the game back to the Spanish.  So what went right for the Dutch? It will be easier to say what went right for Dutch than to say what went wrong for the Spaniards. The answer is simple. The best way to play Spain is to attack them. Perhaps it took the dutch some time to find out how some teams took that approach against Barcelona and that paid off. The same was evident against Brazil in the confederations cup final and Del Bosque might have missed a trick or two after Brazil final. Soon after scoring their second goal the Dutch gradually increased their confidence and went for an all out attack. Attacking football was at its very best and once the third goal went in Spain knew what was on the cards for them. By the time Del Bosque reacted with his substitutions it was all over. It was not as if Spain played really badly to lose by that scoreline but somehow cannot justify their second half performances.

Diego Costa the main talking point before the world cup and the match flopped brilliantly. He might be wondering about his allegiance switch. Still remember his first game for Spain when he struggled to adapt with the style and don't be surprised to see him on the bench for the next match. In the end it was Spain's biggest defeat in tournaments which raises serious questions on whether they are capable of bouncing back after such a big defeat. Let's wait and see if they make a comeback and those are qualities expected from world champions. They must introspect what went wrong because time is running out quickly and it doesn't get easier from now on.

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Brazil vs Croatia Review

                              Scolari and his players will be relieved that the match is over and they won it. In the end the 3-1 scoreline does not reflect the true nature of the match and was cruel to Croatia. Having said that overall when you look back at the match the host nation deserved to collect their three points.

                              Credit must be given to Croatia for the way they played his match. They were really threatening on counter attack and whenever they had the ball caused problems for the Brazilian defense. On the other hand the duo of Neymar and Oscar  were absolutely brilliant. Then again so much was their talent going forward Croatia did exploit Brazil's frailties in defending.

                              Football fans will be disappointed withe the way Fred won the penalty. It was no where near a penalty, Fred went down so easily and should have been yellow carded for diving. The resultant penalty was not convincing and I really wish Neymar the best if he gets the chance to take another one. Croatia can take positives from the game and can fancy themselves getting through this group. On the other hand Brazil's run of opening match victories at the world cup continues but though the hosts demonstrated good football their defensive problems at the back casts serious doubts whether they can be world champions.

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Brazuka

                       Football fans across the world were waiting for this day. Yes, the world cup is back and what more can you ask if it is happening in the country that breath and live by the game. This time it is different though with noises arising from within in a wrong way in form of strikes, incomplete stadium works not to forget those workers who lost their lives in the process of making this event a grand success. This has not been an easy ride for Brazil while authorities will be hoping the performances of the team can help settle all these issues.

                       Put aside those issues and we are in for a cracking month of excitement. Being host nation puts enormous amount of pressure on Brazil but my feeling is that they will get past Croatia without any major hiccups. It is crucial that they get a good start in the match as well as the tournament and am quite sure that Scolari will have the same in his mind.

                       On the other hand fans will be waiting for individual stars to perform well at this tournament. The likes of Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo, Rooney have all promised but failed to live up to expectations in the past. They will surely have something to say at this tournament. At the same time I feel sympathetic for those who missed the great stage due to injury. It was sad to see some quality players missing through injury and not because their team did not qualify like sweden. Having said that there are far too much quality players to keep you up an jumping throughout the next one month.

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Barca vs Milan: First Leg

The whole footballing world was in shock after last Wednesday with Barca losing to Milan at the San Siro. It was not that Barca were unbeatable and everyone expected Milan to play the same way as they did with the blueprint of last year's Stamford Bridge and Celtic Park this term. In the end they are a team of humans and even though it is a shock when they lose a game considering the level at which they play, this game was entirely different from the other two. The manner in which they lost the game was disappointing. Last year when they lost to Chelsea in that away match they had no less than 20 shots on target. Even against Celtic they had plenty of opportunities to score.

If you look at the statistics from the Milan match you can see that they only had three shots on target which was shocking. They didn't do well keeping the possession either. There were far too many instances when they gave the ball away and was struggling to stick with it for a long time as they normally do. When they had the ball they failed to move the ball quickly. You can see that Milan outplayed them with the amount of balls won back. Normally you see this side creating more than a handful of chances but this time they just struggled to breakdown the Milan defense.

Something was missing from the side on the night. The players might have been tired or has teams find a way to beat this Barcelona side. Some have even started asking whether this is the end of and era. Not many teams have find a way to beat them. I wont say that Chelsea beat them rather I would say that Barca wasted all the chances to score. Even in the second leg Barca were superior. The next question "Is it the end of an era?." Definitely not. You look at the ages of those players and apart from Puyol and maybe Xavi all others could go on for many years to come.

My view is that they missed Tito Vilanova very much during the match. I can recall a match earlier in the season when things were not going right Vilanova changed the formation and then suddenly Barca took control of the match which they eventually won. When you encounter opposition such as this you need to make some tactical changes during the match when things are not going your way. You can have your manager speaking to you before the match but sometimes his presence on the field makes that difference. Another critic is that they don't have a plan B. But I think the form of Alexis is hurting them. He is one player who can run at the defence and dribble past them with ease which we are not seeing much at the moment from Alexis. He must get his confidence back and repay the faith his manager is showing in him. Also we normally see Cesc getting in runs into the box which was also missing on that night.

We can expect nothing different in the second leg from Milan and they can afford to easily sit back and defend and then counter attack. Barcelona will once again have all the possession and the width of the pitch and their quick passing will be beneficial and crucial. Two goals down in the first leg is a mountain to climb. As Xavi said the other day this team is yet to have an incredible comeback win. They normally don't put themselves in such situations but here is a chance for them to show. It will be very hard for them to overturn that scoreline in their favor in the second leg. But you can never write off this Barcelona side, Can you?.

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Ballon D'or: Messi es que

91 goals in an year, 73 in one season, 14 goals in UCL, golden boot, assists to teammates and adding to that the wonderful way in which he plays the game, the Ballon D'or for the fourth time in as many years has gone to the right man. If that was not enough then I doubt what else should. Iniesta and Ronaldo would be proud to be among the top three but it is just a fact that Messi is in a different league on his own.

So what separates him from the rest. He is a great example to the youngsters who want to play this game. That does not mean you should imitate him because you will never be able to do that. His ability to find his own team player with a pass, not to forget that he always tries to remain on his feet even under a challenge rather than the Oscar winning play acting that we normally see in other players and the sheer quality and ability to do mesmerizing this on his own to change the game completely, he deserves every accolades that comes his way. He show how to behave on and off the field. Even after all these awards he keeps his feet on the ground.

It was a good shout in fact a great challenge that Ronaldo has put up against his competitors. He had a real good chance to win the award but you just cannot turn blind to what Messi has done. Some may argue that Ronaldo won more in terms of trophies but those guys wont be able to argue with the final result. It was clearly evident from the amount of vote each of them got and more importantly the difference in vote that Messi got when compared to the other two.

There were some argument on whether Iniesta would have been up there. When you look at his performance in Euro and the magical things he did for Barcelona I think he really worth his place in the top three. When it comes to a situation surrounded by three to four players he just finds it very easy to get out of them with the ball sticking to his feet. He is one such player who does not get the credit he deserves. Being among the top three is a recognition of how well he has done.

The organization which has come up with the award had a huge list from which they selected the final three among which the best player was to be selected. When you have a final list of Messi, Iniesta and Ronaldo there were some who came up with some bizarre selection. The voting procedure has to be bit more logical if it has to preserve its elegance. I can understand when Barca players vote for Messi or Iniesta and Madrid players for Ronaldo but some international coaches have made some illogical selection. There were some who selected Pirlo and Van Persie among others. I agree they had an excellent year and are top quality players but clearly they were not among the top three. The top three without any argument was those three Messi, Iniesta and Ronaldo. Clearly you have to vote for one among those three. This award will be considered of little importance if the organization does not do something about it. For the time being lets forget about it.

We will see what happens to the voting procedure next year but till then we can relish the moments these three wonderful players gave us to watch. We are lucky to live in this generation and can proudly say that we watched them play. Till the next Ballon D'or lets just enjoy the way they play this beautiful game.

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Roman does it again

It comes as no surprise that Roman Abramovich has sacked Roberto Di Matteo (RDM). This time it is not a mistake to sack him rather the mistake was done earlier in the season when he handed over the reins to RDM. Common sense did not prevail for Roman at the right time. What a fall for RDM who has lifted the UCL in May this year and it would not have been even in his wild dreams that he would be in this position come November. I was always of the opinion that RDM still lacked that quality to succeed at a big club like Chelsea. Tactically he was not good this season during difficult situations and did not do any wonder changes. After all he has not proved anything and a full season was always going to be his biggest challenge. The success he had with them came without any pressure at all as he was just asked to steady the ship and the champions league was a bonus.

What will Roman do from here? He definitely has more than one option. He always wanted Guardiola to take the post. So the first option is Guardiola. If Pep says no and that he wanted to continue his sabbatical then the second option arises. Clearly if Roman wants to try and get Pep next summer then he will again look for someone to steady the ship till next May. Now there wont be many high profile names willing to do so given the fact that they will eventually be replaced by Pep or even before that if results don't go right. Next option will be to get a high profile coach on a lengthy contract. Sadly not many are available at the moment and it is not in Chelsea's genes that they give an opportunity to some one young and be patient with him.

Let's look out for couple of options he has.

1. Rafa Benitez
            Benitez has been linked with chelsea in the past. Some people might be raising their eyebrows here when they hear about Rafa. But look he is a good coach with plenty of experience and he would be a good option to have. Everyone would argue with me pointing at Liverpool but you must acknowledge the fact that the season before he was sacked they came second in the league and they were really unlucky not to have won it. Not to forget the UCL they won before. The mistake Rafa did was the way he handled Alonso which eventually led to Alonso moving to Spain. And then in Italy he inherited an old team and one without much motivation having won everything the previous season and it always takes time to build another one. Look at Inter now and they have not gone any better. So I strongly believe Rafa should be given a chance. He might be only available on a two or three year deal as I don't believe that he would be open to the idea of being in charge only for someone else to take over.

2. Mourinho
            Recently he was in the news after his family were spotted in London. But I really dont think he would come and join in the middle of the season. He is masterminding his ext from Spain and has been going on for a while. But he wont be available until next summer which he has told openly. The coming summer will be very interesting in terms of some managerial positions at various clubs. Manchester City might need one as well as Arsenal unless they win at least one trophy this season and chelsea being in the situation they are in now it must be very interesting not to mention Manchester United.

Now lets look at Roberto and his future. Well he added one UCL to his CV which will make few clubs to show interest in him. He should accept his luck over the last 8 months. My opinion is that he is always a mid table team manager where the pressure will be much lower. QPR and Southampton might be tempted to go for him now and maybe couple of clubs from Italy as well. Lets see who acts first.

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Euro 2012: Preview

Another football gala that is coming around in a couple of days time and there seems to be not that much amount of excitement even just days before the kickoff of the event. I have not seen the sort of enthusiasm that we expect from the players, add to it some sort of rift in certain camps. The latest saga of match fixing allegations in Italy did the help the cause any further.

One main reason for all these low key factor is to deal with the hard long season that all these players had and how much they value the tournament. With the Olympics coming up followed by the start of next season maybe the players are not so focused. Or it may be that players consider the champions league as the most glamorous event of this sport. Let's keep those issues aside and focus on the platter that we are about to be served. I will be having an insight into some of the top teams and who I feel are the real contenders to lift the cup.

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GROUP A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

               It's a good group for the co-host to be in. I am not saying that it will be easy for them but then when you consider the other groups this can be one of those open groups where any team can qualify for the knockout round. Playing at the home and in front of the home supporters Poland will definitely be looking to qualify for the next stage.

Greece as we all know sprung a major surprise when they beat the Portugese to win this tournament years ago. Will they be able to do it the same way as they did that time. I don't think so but they might have the fare share of deciding who will qualify to the next round.

Russia: Coached by Dick Advocat they have a great chance of qualifying for the next round and they have couple of good players and the discipline is always there when coached by Advocatt. I expect them to have a good tournament.

Czech Republic: They are the ones who will be struggling in this group.

KNOCKOUT QUALIFIERS: Russia, Poland
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GROUP B - Group of Death:  Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal

Well what a group we have got here. All the matches will be exciting to watch and there will definitely be a huge disappointment for one big team here. And for me we have got two contenders in this group.

              Netherlands for me is a real contender to lift the trophy come the end of the tournament. They are scoring goals for fun and have a very strong team. They have the quality and talent and the world cup disappointment will definitely be in their minds.  You look at the squad and all the players are in excellent form. Van Persie and Huntelaar has been free flowing in scoring goals in their respective leagues and Robben is also in exciting form. He will be looking to erase his Champions league setback. This can be the generation where the Dutch can win a major trophy.

              Denmark will struggle with the other three teams around and all of them will be looking to score maximum points against Denmark and then take it from there. I feel pity for them as I cant see them scoring points against any of their opponents and it will be an early exit for them.

              Germany is the second contender in the group I was talking about. If they play to the full potential then the can really be a handful for other teams. It all depends on how well and quickly they can gel together an the football they played during the world cup was breathtaking. The only issue that they may be worried of will be the goal scoring department which I think they have to distribute well across the team.

              Portugal as always will be depending on their talisman Ronaldo and I think we can see they will be over dependent on him and can be the real problem. There are other exciting players for them but I cant see them going past the Dutch or the Germans. They will be looking for a points against those two teams to combine with a victory against Denmark to progress through to the next round.

KNOCKOUT QUALIFIERS: Netherlands, Germany
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GROUP C - Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland, Croatia

                The reigning champions Spain are favorite to defend their title but sadly I don't see that happening this time around. They will miss Carlos Puyol than David Villa becasuse we all know the influence that Puyol has when he plays for the team. Their successes in the previous edition and also in the world cup had a lot to say about the binding between the players in the team which is not the case this time around. The players from Barcelona and Real Madrid are having some real problems when they come in the national side. That area would have been taken care with the presence of Puyol. But without his presence it could be a rela problem. Perhaps the federation has identified the problem and that could be the reason they asked Puyol and Villa whether they will be able to join the squad. Also the fatigue issue will play a major part as I believe the Barcelona and Real Madrid players are very tired. Most of the teams will be playing Spain the way Chelsea played the semifinal against Barcelona but I think when you look at the national team they have got that width and pace to damage other teams. But one just cant rule them out of contention.  Can we?.

                 Italy has been rocked by the match fixing allegations that surfaced recently and there was even talk of boycotting the tournament. They are one team who knows how to win football matches by playing their own way. Other teams should not expect them to play any different and they are more than capable of surprising other teams. I would say they will be the dark horses for this edition though they are not the favorites. I would choose Italy to go through from this group not because they have the right team but because I don't feel the other teams have the quality to topple them.

                 I wonder whether all the confidence that Rep. of Ireland gained after getting qualified for the tournament has gone missing after the thrashing by Netherlands. It was such a devastating loss and I do wonder how the players will take it going into a big tournament like this. They might be looking to finish third in the group as they themselves know the big task that lie ahead of them to progress through.

                  Croatia is not the team that we all started looking and considered very seriously earlier. They have not got quality players like Sukar but the likes of Modric, Kalinic and Jelavic can more than capable of causing other teams some trouble.

KNOCKOUT QUALIFIERS: Spain, Italy
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GROUP D - Ukraine, Sweden, France, England

                    Ukraine is not a team that would cause much of a threat to other teams nut I can see them scoring some points which will eventually decide the group.

                    How many times we have seen Sweden playing in the same group as that of England. I think they are kind of a bogey team for England and the English have always struggled to find a way past Sweden.  Sweden will be really hard to beat and I fancy their chances to go through to the next round.

                    Under Blanc France have resurrected themselves quite a bit after those big saga at the world cup. I felt that the players who did those antics during that tournament should not have ever played for the national team again. But past is past and now they have a balanced team and under Blanc they have the discipline that keeps them away from all other things in mind. They can go a long way in the tournament.

                    England is in total disarray I would say. First they lost their coach months before the tournament and then their federation took hell lot of a time to appoint the next one to make the job much harder for the incoming one to select a team with just two weeks to go. Then they have some injury issues as well. There has been talk in the English media about using the same approach as Chelsea did. But I think they will find teams that can really hurt them in other ways too. Not every team except Spain will play the similar way to that of Barcelona. And their two recent friendly matches were not convincing either. I don't really fancy any chances for this side.

KNOCKOUT QUALIFIERS: France, Sweden

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FINAL: Germany vs Netherlands

WINNERS: GERMANY

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Lets hope that it will be a cracker of a spectacle in the next few weeks and lets not forget and hope that some new talents will pop up during the course of the tournament to make it more interesting to see the clubs who will get interested in those players.

I will be back with preview and review of some important matches. Catch u later guys...

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Manchester City: Rising of the Blue Moon

The 47 year wait is finally over for all Manchester City fans. When Sergio Aguero scored the winner in the final minute of the extra on May 13 it certainly gave the fans a lot to celebrate and also a statement to their neighbor as well as other rivals in the league. They made life difficult for themselves in that match mainly because of the fact that the players have never been in a situation like that before. There were some good quality players but the pressure really got to them and as time passed by they panicked. Credit goes to them as they kept trying and trying and their stronger squad meant that Mancini could call the likes of Dzeko and Balotelli from the bench to change the game.

Mancini must be given lot of credit as he had to handle plenty of issues within the team than there was from the rival teams. He had to deal with a rebel in Tevez and defend a never improving Balotelli. The season started well for them and in between they lost their way a bit due to the issues mentioned earlier and then Mancini was clever enough to realize that he could not take risk anymore when the goals were really drying up front. That was the reason he called up Tevez back and he persisted with Balotelli. He has scored some really important goals for them during the season. Missing Yaya Toure during the African Cup of Nations was another reason for their slight blip in between. Othrewise it has been a perfect season for them.

They did the double over Manchester United and Spurs, they had wins against Chelsea and Arsenal which makes the tally against the top rivals to 24 out of a maximum of 30 points available. That is quite an impressive stat. Overall when you look back at the season City has played good football than their rivals and scored more goals and they deserved to win the league.

Everyone is speaking on whether the tide is turning but it is too early to comment on that. It is difficult to reach the top and win it but it is even more difficult to stay at the top. The consistency is a great factor and United have been doing it again and again. Now it is City's chance to show that sort of intention and ambition to remain at the top and there are challenges to it though.

Mancini will be faced with some difficult decisions to make. Will he keep Tevez and Balotelli at the club for next season. With some new signings to be made can he keep the camp happy enough. There has been some small issues here and there and not every player was happy. Some may even leave for more first team football. Couple of their players are linked with other big clubs across Eurpoe and it would be interesting to see how the club react. It might not happen this year but when it does we will talk about it. There is going to be competition for them in the transfer market as well, they have got enough money to buy any players but must be careful with UEFA's Financial Fair Play coming into effect soon. At the moment they can attract players with money but once FFP comes into effect they might find it difficult to match every players demands they are in for. Suddenly things could turn out to be worse for them.

At the moment City can enjoy their title victory they fully deserve and along with their rival teams are also building strong squads and the battle will definitely be even more harder for them. All the teams will be looking to them as the team to beat next season. It's only been few weeks the season has got over but I just can't wait for it to start over again...

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Chelsea's Champion's League victory and Di Matteo's Chances

Chelsea fans and Abramovich are absolutely delighted with the victory in the Champion's league final over Bayern Munich. It was a roller coaster ride for them right throughout the campaign. They have experienced plenty of ups and downs in the season and no one expected them to do the cup double. Congrats to them for winning the cup.

Now let me get into some details on Chelsea's season. Champions league finals are expected to be the finest spectacle but it wont turn out to be like that every time. Chelsea fans are happy in winning but I am sure majority of them would not be happy in the way the team played their football or if anyone has doubt better ask the owner. As needed for every team there was luck involved and this year was Chelsea's and they had plenty right from the quarterfinals.

I would be surprised to see Abramovic give Di Matteo the full time job. The reason is simple. Remember the owner once said that he want chelsea to play the barcelona way with Chelsea regarded as the "Barcelona in Blue". Sadly I don't see this happening under Di Matteo to say the least. You may tell me that he delivered the cup double and he did what AVB could not do it. I would disagree with that argument.

Can you tell me the difference between AVB and Di Matteo. I think both are excellent coaches but RDM had the support of the senior players who were willing to give their 100 percent which is such a huge factor in a football club. Why did they give 100 per cent to RDM. That was because they considered AVB as an outsider, senior players not giving the coach respect and they knew they can't do the same thing to RDM because he has seen and played for this club before them. The players acted they were above the club and the owner is partly to blame for the whole fiasco. Roman should not have let down the coach he admired and spend so much money to bring from Porto. He should have supported his coach which he did not. Now he is in a spot of bother to get the right coach even after winning  the champions league because he know RDM is not the right man for the job. Whoever the coach is if he does not have the players support then he is destined to fall be it Guardiola or Mourinho or even others. And then you see low profile coaches succeed. The reason: mutual respect and understanding.

Chelsea players are the one's who are to be blamed here. I give them the credit for winning the cup but they must be ashamed of themselves with their attitude they have shown towards AVB. The so called senior players nexus in Chelsea made life difficult for AVB. Terry must be ashamed of how he conducted himself right throughout the season. Everyone will remember his injury for the match against Napoli. He ruled himself out for the second leg only to miraculously come out and play the second leg once AVB was sacked. Then again in the semifinal second leg against Barcelona he got himself send off thereby letting his team down.  That is awful behavior and the club really should not have let this happen (I mean the politics he played against AVB). The club have to decide whether the likes of Terry and Lampard is bigger or whether the club is bigger than them. If RDM is given the job will he be gutsy enough to drop those two players from the regular starting eleven. Will Terry and Lampard accept the decision to play a role from the bench? If they can't then will they adopt a similar position they took against AVB to force RDM out. That will be really interesting.

Now is there any chance Roman might give the job to RDM this season and then get in Guardiola next season. Will he take a chance with RDM because next season it will be even more difficult for Chelsea with RDM and then if they finish outside the top four again then his decision will backfire. I don't think they will again go out and win the champions league every year to knock out the team which finishes fourth every time. That is just not going to happen. Some top coaches have declined to take the job at Chelsea due to the  owner's impatience. I think now that his long term obsession of winning the Champions league is attained, the owner must be patient enough, which he barely has to rebuild a new squad to challenge for the top glory in the coming seasons. For that to happen there must be some serious overhauling of the squad with a new coach coming in.

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Tito Vilanova: The Continuity is here

Barcelona was quick to act in selecting Tito Vilanova as the new coach of the team. I think they have followed the same path as well as their predecessors in selecting a coach to obtain the continuity that we are talking about here.

I think it is a good appointment but it is completely a different challenge that lies ahead of him. I believe this is a team that need some fresh faces in there at the moment. When I say changes I think the team need to have a plan B for the way we play the game because teams are now willing to play deep in their half and defend with 10 men. They are looking not to concede any goals and may be once if they get a break then they can nick in the odd goal to win the game. So the first challenge is to have a plan B as well to combat teams like those. I am not saying that the current system does not work, it is wonderful. This is where I meant that new faces are required like two very fast wingers on either side who can dribble past the defenders as well. That will give the team another attacking style as well.

The team always defend as a whole. The work rate that this team puts forward in each and every match is amazing and I think there is a need for a new center back as a long term replacement for talisman Puyol. I am not going to mention any names in here but they need some fresh faces. The club have plenty of youngsters in their ranks but we nee to give them time to develop in the first team and till then we need other's to push through the challenge. That is the reason I feel the need to buy new players as well.

Another challenge facing Tito is how the players are going to react under him. Since he is a familiar face in the dressing room I don't feel it would be a real problem. I have seen some responses on how he will treat messi as a player and how the relationship between them will go on from here. They are mature enough to take care. One of the greatest strength of this team has been it's unity among the players which has been very good. You look at the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta to name a few among them and they have grown up together from their young age and that certainly is an advantage. There were occasions when the dressing room was getting disturbed with big ego's like Eto'o, Ibrahimovic and pep did well enough to get rid of them quickly as possible. So in future Tito has to make sure that he does has a control over how he deals with the players and it's effect in the dressing room. It will be interesting to see.

Another big name signing Cesc has not made that sort of impact one would have thought he would make for this team. Others may argue that he has scored goals and has been excellent going forward. But you guys should know one thing that this team is not just about attacking football. It is about the collective defending that they do when they lose the ball. To be frank Cesc hasn't been very good at that and certainly that affected the team composition and the way they played n some games. Even Cesc would accept that fact. It is a challenge for Tito as well as Cesc on what role he should play. No doubt here as he will have to continuously improve on his defensive side of the things.

Pep has been wonderful with the B team players and as I mentioned in my earlier topic on Pep it was during his tenure the highest number of B team players got their chance to perform in first team. Does the same goes for Tito as well. If he know the Barca way then he will have to consider the youngsters because the tradition of the club says so. And during his appointment as coach the president announced that we always look inside for the best possible resource.

Another greater challenge is the one from outside and that comes from the greatest rival's coach. You know whom I am talking about here. Yes there will be plenty of mind games and talking going to be there next season from Mourinho and it will be interesting to see how Tito deals with him. Pep has been excellent in the way he handled him in the media and there was one occasion when pep was angry during the press conference and he took Mourinho on and that really lifted the players as well. So I guess there will be similar moments in the coming season and we all know what happened in the season opening Spanish Super Cup last season. If Barca wins the Copa Del Ray this week then the same teams will be playing next season's opener Spanish Super Cup. It will be interesting.

The appointment is made and now Tito has to take this challenge further forward and there is huge pressure on him because the demands are very high and a club like the stature of Barca wont accept another season without major addition to the trophy cabinet. All the best Tito.

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Pep Guardiola: The Golden Years of Barca

The whole world know what pep has done for Barcelona football club. It has been an amazing last four years where some exceptional football was played by the team and that was rewarded by some trophy galore. Initially when Frank Rijkaard was dismissed and the appointment was made I really did not believe that he was the right choice. The first three matches under pep did not go well and my fear was that we got it wrong.

And then the rest is history. Pep did not look back so did the team, club and it's fans. The team have only lost 14 matches in four years under his guidance and he has won us 13 titles which is truly incredible. The team did it in style by playing the way which has been the barca way. It has been a complete domination both in the league as well as across Europe and clubs across Europe have set barca as the benchmark. It may seem beautiful and attractive to see them play but it is not as easy as it looks. It is very difficult to produce that sort of football week in week out and the credit must go to the players and the coach and the barca way that they follow. 

His main quality was that he got the respect of the players and he always had the trust in the squad and not even once he spoke against the players in a way it would have a negative effect on them. He always put his trust on the players and was really happy with them. There were occasions when there was pressure coming to the players and he was quick to react by taking the attack to the opposition. One of the main reason for this though may be the fact that he has managed most of the players in the barca b squad. He had a deep understanding and since he knew the inside out of barca it was in a way very easy for him to pass his ideas to the team.

We must also give him the credit for giving us a player that we all mesmerize of at this moment. Yes, I am talking about our own Leo Messi. I am not saying that he is responsible for what messi is now but he was the one who changed messi's role in this barca side and made him the prolific goal scorer he is now. Messi I am sure would have reached this height anyway but credit goes to pep as well the way he handled the player.

Moreover it was during his tenure we have seen more number of barca b players getting into the first team. The likes of pedro, busquets, cuenca, tello, thiago are all very talented players who came to the first team under his leadership. They all have excelled under him once again reminding me of the fact that he was very lucky to have worked with some of them in the B squad. Well then that was always the barca way where the club always produce good quality youngsters coming through the ranks and the first team always have majority academy players.

He also showed how tough and serious he was taking the job once he was appointed the coach of this team.  Just after taking charge he was brave enough to remove some bad apples in the dressing room that was causing some trouble for the team. And not only that he did show us that he was right in his decision.

Looking back at the years passed by I take this opportunity to thank Pep Guardiola for the wonderful job he has done on this team and the effect he had on the club. I was personally disappointed when he announced that he was leaving the club. I respect his decision. He left through the front door. Gracies Pep....We love you a lot.

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