The UEFA Champions League group stage draw to a close this week with some choice ties for some of Europe’s largest clubs. Group A’s second spot is open for to play for with Bayern Munich topping the table with 13 points and thus having already qualified. Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City have been dominant in the Barclay’s Premier League but they have found their first season in the Champions League something of an eye opener.
The UEFA Euro 2012 groups draw has taken place and thrown the world some potentially mouth-watering early ties. Below you will see a list of all four groups and how the 16 teams line up. From the graphic above, you can see that every team has bet their entire economic survival on the tournament; such is the nature of the modern capitalist system – with it being so Gung Ho and fancy-free, why not? Unfortunately nations such as Turkey (and others who haven’t made it to the finals) have been politically dissolved and are currently having their borders annexed by the European Union. Hey, football is more important than life and or death, or cake. Supposedly.
Our minds have been blown here at World Cup Statistics. You can see a picture below, of Grandmaster Franco: The Lord Dominion of this site, with his ethereal mindscape becoming physical. This only ever happens when Sir Alex Ferguson picks Darron Gibson for his Manchester United matchday team, so you should be aware of the important of the revelation that has hit us as we sit pouring over Europe’s footysoccerball results and news.
It seems Mr. Jose Mourinho, the manager of Real Madrid, had a masterplan. This plan was to play for a draw in the Champions League semi-final 1st leg at home, and then score away to their opponents, Barcelona. It kinda worked, that’s the thing. It was telling that the 2nd leg finished 1-1. Real Madrid were, of course, outplayed, but they scored and away goal. They also ‘had a go,’ they tried to attack Barcelona but not in the gung-ho fashion that saw them battered 5-0 earlier in the season.
Oh dear. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. We weren’t supposed to see a bunch of highly-paid, diving, moaning, unscrupulous footballers trying their hardest to disgrace themselves in any way possible in the name of victory. Is victory worth your soul? Apparently it is.
The Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona was supposed to the creme de la creme of football; the ultimate in theory, thought, passion, technicality, expertise and glory. We didn’t see that. We saw something else. We saw a gross adherence to one’s own vulgar sense of self – a self that doesn’t care about the millions of people watching the world’s favourite game; a self whose dishonesty is considered just as key a skill as accurate passing.
Manchester United have all but made their passage to the 2011 Champions League final a certainty with a 2-0 victory over Schalke 04 in the semi-final 1st leg in Gelsenkirchen.
Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney scored United’s goals in the second-half of a game that could very well be the most one-sided semi-final tie held in the cup’s recent history.
As the 2010/11 season starts to draw to a close in most leagues across Europe, we are left questioning whether or not seasons following a World Cup are as riddled with the kind of football we would wish, or does a summer tournament shatter even the most gifted of stars? If you take a look at La Liga’s finest, it’s plain to see that the sparkling Barcelona are completely exhausted with most of their players having been present in Africa last year. Of course, many would point to Pep Guardiola’s obviously thin squad as a prime cause for the club’s over-use of the same players week in, week out, but the point still stands: Does international football prove detrimental to our domestic games and if so, should something be done about it?
Yesterday Bayern won 3:0 against the former season champion Wolfsburg with an extraordinary playing Arjen Robben who just arrived from Real Madrid on Friday.
Chelsea beat Manchester Utd on penalties in the Community sheild at Wembly. Chelsea prosperd 4-1 on penalties with Solamen Kalou scoring the final penalty.
Goals from Nani, Carvalho, Lampard and Wayne Rooney gave a 2-2 scoreline at full time.
Juventus have made the transfer complete of Brazilian tough tackeler Felipe Melo from Fiorentina.
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