Tuesday, May 26, 2009



We all have been waiting for this one , 
27 Th  May And another European season will be over . You can't predict the winner , But one thing that you can assure is This one will be hell of a match . They all say The Champions League Finals are Boring , But Sir Alex Ferguson has tipped this one to be a cracker to say the least .
The European Campaign this year has seen some great matches . Bayern Munich Beating Sporting Lisbon on an aggregate of 12-1 over two legs in the Knockout Stages . The Legendary Quarter Final  Between Liverpool and Chelsea . Liverpool Knocking out Real . It has been Fantastic .



Team Mentalities :- 

Manchester United :-  Sir Alex Ferguson Must have his team in Mind , Who will play Who will Not , 10 out of 11 pick Themselves , With a toss between Tevez and Berbatov .With Fletcher Not playing due to Stupid , Stupid refereeing . United will play Anderson to Hold the Midfield and Provide a bit of Energy . But United's trump card  will be Counter Attacking Football . 
 All it takes a few seconds to score a goal . 
I predict  that united Will Play a 4- 5- 1 Formation .


Barcelona :-  barca Sure have  Some Defensive Worries , With AbidalSent off against chelsea . They will have to play  ageing Slyvinho against likes of C.Ronaldo which won't do any tricks for them , But now advantage with Barca is their three pronged attack , and more attacking Midfield . And of course the Lethal Weapon L . Messi . If They use the same strategy as United employed against chelsea last year , Playing Ronaldo AgainstEssien . And If they play Messi Against O'Shea . He could do some damage . One of Their Trump cards will be Xavi . He can keep the ball , Pass it well and united will have to do something to stop him . Barca Like to keep the ball and play with the Ball , Whereas United have one of the best counter attack. United would like to grab the ball as soon as possible and not allowbarca with their fanatics ! 

Men To watch 

United :- 
C . Ronaldo :- The World Player Of the year can Run Barca Rigged With his step overs , All he needs to do is score one like he did against Porto .

Nemanja Vidic :- Undoubtedly the Best Defender in the world  this season .

Wayne Rooney :- I bet my last penny He will try and Hold Messi Rather than Go On Attacking , After all as he says " Anything For the team , Gaffer " 

Barcelona :-  
L. Messi :- If United have World Player of The year , Barcelona have the strongest contender for next WPoY award .

Xavi :- He can hold their Midfield well as well as Run forward to grab on opportunities  !


C. Ronaldo Vs Messi  Will it be  ? 


 



Read it Up .

This article Surely Underestimates the two of them , but Everybody is going Gaga over Ron And Messi . No Its not C. Ronaldo Vs Messi . Its Manchester United Vs FC Barcelona 


Injuries And Suspensions :- 

Hargo , Brown ( Long Term Injuries ) , Foster ( 9 Weeks ) , Fletcher ( Stupid Red Card ) 
Ferdinand ( Will be Fit , SAF says that )
Marquez , Milito ( Long term Injuries ) , Alves , Abidal ( Suspended) 
Iniesta :- Back On Track
Henry :- No updates now , but Would , And Would Nots are doing Rounds 


Referee :-
With some of the " Worst " Decisions in Champions league Semi Finals This Year I expect UEFA to look into the matter , And After Striking out Some of the possibilities , We are Left with Mr. Busacca Massimo TheMost Probable guy to referee the Final, Switzerland . Who Refereed the Second leg of Porto - Manchester United at Dragao .  
 


Match Buildup :-
I have predicted many a things , But in Football and in particular CL final You cant Predict anything . Did Anyone predict Liverpool to win at Istanbul in after Being 3-0 Down ?
Did Anyone predict United to win In one of the Greatest of Comebacks , Scoring twice in Added time  ? 
All 22 Of them are going to play their Hearts Out , Its not Everyday you get to play in champions league final . You Just have to go and enjoy the match . United Want to prove that they have been the  best And they want to seal it off by wining their fourth European Title , And Barca Want to take their tally to 3 titles , With playing beautiful football whole season long . With Their Four of their best attackers . 
Both The teams have a point to prove their . 
Rome was not bilt in one day , But it will be Shocked in few hours . 


Where Can You watch the match ?

 
My Predictions : -  FC Barcelona 1 - 2 Manchester United ( 90 Minutes ) 
 However close it may be , I think United will overpower barcelona With strong counter attack     and at the same time Barcelonas weak defence . United Will overpower them . 
 It will be " Glory Glory Man United " heard at Rome

Monday, May 25, 2009

Manchester United worth their weight in Gold - 18 Carat

Yes, an unusual title for this write-up! But who will dare argue, Manchester United have proven beyond doubt that they are the best in the English Premier League once again or should I make it thrice again! Haha. They have proven to be the giants of the EPL by winning their 18th title and once again achieved a hat-trick to boot. They won it 3 years running in that magnificent period from 1999-2001, where they won the Champions League in 1999. This time around they have won the Champions League in 2008 and can make it 2 in row if they get the better of Barcelona in Rome.United didn’t have the best start to their campaign and drew at home to Newcastle (now relegated), Darren Fletcher got the equalizer in that game. Fletcher has been huge this season, so has Giggs, Rio, Vidic, Rooney, Tevez, Evra…in fact the whole team. It would be difficult to single out 1 player as all have contributed in every game. How can one forget the Kiko Macheda, who won us the games in the business end of the season against Aston Villa and Sunderland? We all knew it would a tough act for Ronaldo to follow on his 2007-08 season where he swept away all the awards that were to be won. Even though he began playing late this season he almost won the golden boot alongside Anelka (tipped him off the post by scoring against Sunderland this Sunday). Well that’s chicken-feed compared to the prize he is aiming for at Rome.

Chelsea have been blowing hot and cold under Scolari and were never going to be a threat to United, by the time Hiddink was in charge it was all but over for the blues. Liverpool – were the main title rivals this season and were in the running till the New Year began. They were on top of the league in the year end (with United away on Club World Cup duty). However, all the cheer for Merseyside was brushed aside in the New Year when United went top of the table. From then on there was no looking back as United perched themselves firmly at the summit.

What an amazing achievement, a hat-trick of trophies and a record equaling haul of trophies – 18! Liverpool has company, but the way I read it – its 11-0! Get a hold of that Merseyside. Sir Alex has no immediate plans of retirement and plans for no 19 are already in place. “Next year we are going for it again. It's a great side, a great squad. I could have picked two teams today. "..that’s Sir Alex Ferguson for you.

Julien Menezes
(Pics Courtesy - manutd.com and bbc.co.uk/sport)


Club World Champions and League Cup Winners

The stage couldn’t get bigger and the teams tougher. This is the place where one team – after winning the trophy could then call themselves “Kings of Club Football”. Manchester United had missed out on in 1999 and were all geared up this time around, they won the Intercontinental cup that year. The Champions of England and the Champions of Europe were on a mission to conquer the world – their playground – Japan!

The Premier League has been grueling enough, what with the FA Cup, Carling Cup and Champions League games. United would have loved to relax a bit. But when you are Manchester United and when you have Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, you stop at nothing. The finals was not a cake walk and Liga de Quito proved no push-over, which saw Nemanja Vidic see red, though 10 man United went on to win it by a solitary goal. A win nonetheless and another trophy in cabinet, a job well done and now back to the grind. Hey, hold on we are in the running for the Carling Cup too…After losing 1-0 to Derby in the Semi-final first leg, United romped home 4-2 at Old Trafford to set a date with Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham on March 1. The game was surprisingly goalless in the scheduled 90 minutes and even in extra time. It took a magnificent display by Ben Foster in goal to trump Tottenham 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out.

This is their 3rd League Cup and 3rd major trophy this season – Charity shield, Fifa World Club cup and the Carling cup. The class of 2008-09 is truly best of the best and they have many more goals to achieve. I must admit, it never felt so good being a United fan.

GLORY! GLORY! Man United!!

Julien Menezes
(Pictures courtesy – Fifa.com and Carling Cup website)