Milan's 4 - 0 defeat: How could that happen?

Posted on 12:45 PM No Comments
AC Milan is considered one of the great names in European Soccer. This club has won a lot of trophies in many competitions. Despite the fact that it lost 2 -3 to Manchester United at San Siro, many of its fans believe that the team will still go through to the next stage of European Champions League. However, as we know, Manchester United beat them 4 - 0 at Old Trafford in the second leg last Wednesday. Losing a match to a big team like Manchester United is quite acceptable, but losing 4 - 0 is a humiliation. So, how could that happen? In my opinion, there are two factors that cause Milan to suffer from such a big defeat.

First of all, they had to play the match with some of their key players out injured. Simply to say, they did not play with their best formation. At the back, Alessandro Nesta could not play due to injury and up front, the same thing happened to Alexandre Pato. With this unfavorable condition, It was very difficult to win the match against a team like Manchester United.

Next, They have no a creative playmaker that can orchestrate their play and open up United's defense. In that game, it was obvious that Milan lost the presence of Kaka in midfiled. Andrea Pirlo was too slow and was lack of vision toward the game, while Claerence Seedorf is too old to play in a high-speed and competitive match. In short, there was nobody in Milan's midfield that could take the role of their former star, Kaka.

In conclusion, with some players out injured and without a key player in midfield, it was understandable that Milan had to suffer from such a big defeat. I hope they can learn something from the match for the team's betterment so that in the future, they will never lose a game with such a big score line.
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Controversial Decisions in the UEFA Champions League Matches

Posted on 10:26 PM No Comments
Did you watch the UEFA Champions League matches between Bayern Muenchen vs Fiorentina and FC Porto vs Arsenal? If you did, you would see some controversial decisions made by the referees in those two matches. Let's find out what really happened in those matches and analyze the controversial decisions.

First was the match between Bayern Muenchen vs Fiorentina and the referee in charge was Tom Henning Ovrebo. Actually, the match started and went quite well. The two teams played an open football and attacked each other. Then, The first incident happened in 73rd minutes when Massimo Gobbi from Fiorentina was sent off for using his elbow to stop Arjen Robben. From the video replay, It was clear that it was just the slightest touch and purely accidental. The second incident happened in the last minute when Miroslav Klose scored the winning goal with a header. Again from the video replay, Klose was clearly in an off-side position before he headed the ball into the net.

Next was the match between FC Porto vs Arsenal and the referee in that match was Martin Hansson from Sweden. There was nothing wrong with the match until the referee awarded a free kick for Porto after Sol Campbell passed the ball back to his goalkeeper. Then, the free kick was taken quickly before Arsenal players prepared the man wall. It was the easiest goal ever. With no Arsenal players around, Falcao easily put the ball into the net. Despite the protest from Arsenal players, the referee allowed the goal for FC Porto.

In conclusion, we saw some controversial decisions made by two referees, Tom Henning Ovrebo and Martin Hansson. It was really ironic that in this level of competition, the referees still made wrong and controversial decisions. I think UEFA should do something about it so that the quality and prestige of the UEFA Champions League will get better in the future.
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Italian Teams vs English Teams in the UEFA Champions League: Clash of Titans

Posted on 6:18 PM No Comments
The drawing for the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League has decided that two Italian teams will meet two English teams. Those teams are Chelsea vs Inter Milan and Manchester United vs AC Milan. It is interesting to see the games because all four teams have a long tradition and great reputation in the UEFA Champions League. They are all considered giants in their respective countries. It is quite difficult to say which teams are going to win, but I think the English teams will be able to overcome their Italian oppositions. There are at least two reasons why I come up with that opinion.

First, The statistics in the last two years prove it. Let's look back at the game between Inter Milan vs Liverpool in 2007 - 2008 at the first knockout round. At that time, Liverpool won the games 2 - 0 at Anfield and 1 - 0 at Giusseppe Meazza stadium. Another example is the games in the same round between Arsenal vs AC Milan. Arsenal were held 0 - 0 at the Emirates but they beat AC Milan 2 - 0 at Giusseppe Meazza. Last year's Champions League result also told us the same story when Manchester United won 2 - 0 on aggregate over Inter Milan.

Next, English teams rely very much on stamina, speed and power. In other words, they are very physical teams. They always keep running and pass the ball quickly. In contrast, Italian teams tend to play a bit slower in building up an attack and focus more on accurate passing. So, when English teams speed up the tempo, Italian teams just cannot keep up with the pace of the game. It may keep them under pressure in the entire game. Consequently, it is more likely that English teams create more chances to score goals and win the game.

In brief, I believe that the English teams will be able to overcome their Italian oppositions in the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League. However, anything can still happen since the games haven't been played and the result is always unpredictable. So, everything still remains to be seen.

(picture of uefa champions league logo: http://en.wikipedia.org/)
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Los Galacticos II: Are they equal to Los Galacticos I?

Posted on 11:05 AM No Comments
"Los Galacticos" means the stars. When we talk about "Los Galacticos", automatically we talk about one of the biggest soccer clubs in Europe, Real Madrid FC. The term referred to that club about 4 or 5 years ago because it consisted of a lot of stars or great players. Those stars were in the shapes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldo. Madridistas or Real Madrid supporters used to name them "Los Galacticos I" but nowadays there are "Los Galacticos II" with different stars. Although both of them consist of a lot of great players but I think it's quite difficult for "Los Galacticos II" to match the achievement of "Los Galacticos I". Here are my reasons why I say so.

First of all, The stars in Los Galacticos II are relatively new in Spanish football so they still have to make some adjustments. For example, Ricardo Kaka, we know that he was a great playmaker when he played for AC Milan in Italy. He played as a central figure in Milan's midfield. However, Spanish football and Italian football are two different leagues and they have different styles of football. I think so far, Kaka and also many other new stars haven't shown their best forms in Real Madrid.

Next, so far they haven't been able to play well as a unit or as a team. They do score a lot of goals but I think many of the goals come from the stars' individual skills. Take a look at Cristiano Ronaldo's goals. Many of his goals come from free kicks or long-range shots, his special skill.

All in all, Eventhough Real Madrid are now named "Los Galacticos II", these stars are still unable to match with "Los Galacticos I" in terms of achievement and the way of play. They still have to work hard to prove that they deserve to be called "Los Galacticos II"
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The Targets of Many Big Clubs

Posted on 5:59 PM No Comments
In Europe, there are some great, talented and skillful players that have been the targets of many big clubs for the next transfer windows. The following names are some of them:

1. Sergio "Kun" Aguero: Sergio Leonel Aguero Del Castillo was born on 2 June 1988 in Quilmes, Argentina. The twenty-one-year-old Argentinian is a striker playing for Atletico Madrid in Spain. He is a small player only 1.72 m tall but he is a great striker for his club. He has great speed, low-centre gravity and goal-scoring instinct in front of goal. Some big clubs are interested in signing him, such as Chelsea or Manchester City.
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2. Edin Dzeko : Edin Dzeko was born on 17 March 1986 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. He plays as a striker for Vfl Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga. He is 1.92 m tall, quite tall for a striker. He is a prolific goal scorer for his club. With his height, he could jump higher than any defenders and score many goals with his head. At least, two big clubs are reported willing to sign him. Those two clubs are Manchester United and AC Milan.

3. Franck Ribery : Franck Ribery was born on 7 April 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. He plays as an attacking midfielder for his club, FC Bayern Muenchen. He is only 1.75 m tall but he is a quick player. He can run very fast when dribbling the ball. As a midfielder, He is quite productive in scoring goals. There are three big clubs interested in signing him. Those clubs are Barcelona, Real Madrid and Chelsea. Read More......

Manchester City could be the Next Chelsea

Posted on 5:02 PM No Comments
Do you like watching English Premier League? If you do, you will notice a team that can break the tradition in the Premiership. The team that I am trying to tell you is Manchester City Football Club. In the last five years, there was nothing special about this club. The old Manchester City was a just a mediocre club that had never reached the top position in the Premiership. Now Manchester City is totally a different club. Just like Chelsea 4 or 5 years ago, Manchester City has changed into a stronger club. I think there are three factors that trigger the change.

First of all, this club has a huge amount of budget to buy some new great players. Eversince Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan took over the club from the previous owner, he has bought several top-class players, such as Carlos Tevez and Robinho, to build a new Manchester City. He also built a new stadium, City of Manchester, that can seat more supporters than the old stadium. He has ambition that his club can be on the top flight like Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea.

Next, this club has bought some really quality players. Supported by a huge amount of budget from the new owner, this club has signed some great players, such as Robinho, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and some others are still on the list to be brought to the City of Manchester stadium. With the new squad, the team's performance on the field is really boosted. Those new players' contributions are undoubtedly equal to their expensive prices.

Finally, The club has Roberto Mancini, a new manager behind the team. We cannot argue his quality as a coach. With his managerial skill, he brought Intermilan to win Serie A championship title last season. He has already shown what his team can do by winning several matches, including a prestigious 2-1 win over their home rival, Manchester United, in the first leg of Carling Cup semifinal.

In conclusion, supported by those three factors, Manchester City could be one of the teams in the top flight of the Premiership. They have just started what Chelsea did 4 or 5 years ago. Let's just wait and see what this team can do in the future. Read More......

Barcelona is not unstoppable

Posted on 3:52 PM No Comments
Barcelona FC is one of the best teams in Europe. They proved it by winning a lot of trophies last year. Many people say that this team is a perfect team because the team consists of a lot of top-class players with great talents and skills. Every time they play, they always show the most entertaining football with one-two-touch football and quick, accurate passing. They usually win their games with big scorelines. Even so, it doesn't mean that they are not unstoppable. In my opinion, at least there are two ways to stop them.

First, be disciplined. Barcelona always play possession football in their games. They pass the ball from one player to another quickly, waiting for a gap in your team's defence. What you have to do is being disciplined. Apply combination of man-to-man marking and zonal marking. Don't let them have space to pass the ball in and around the penalty area. That way, you can minimize their threats and your goal will be safe.

Next, deploy quick players on the field. As I mentioned earlier that Barcelona always play possession football in their games, so they will never let your team to get a touch of the ball. In this case, you should wait patiently until Barcelona lose possession of the ball. When they do lose possession, pass the ball quickly and make Barcelona's players run and run. By doing so, you will see one or two gaps at Barcelona's defence. Then maximize the chance into a goal scoring opportunity.

So, although Barcelona is the best team in Europe or perhaps in the world, it doesn't mean that you cannot stop them. At least, there are two ways to stop them from playing their games. Being disciplined and deploying quick players are the ways to beat them. Read More......
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