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......
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