Best of Europe

Well the the World Cup is about to start and before we all get carried away with the biggest sporting event on the planet I thought I would conclude the European Season. Football in Europe this year was amazing with Inter snatching a historic treble, as a result I thought I'd compile some sort of awards for the best we've seen this European season.

Best Teams:

1- Inter Milan: The obvious choice this season. They have played efficient football and managed a brilliant treble. Winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League. Although they have been a dominant force in Italy for the last 5 years or so, they struggled a bit this season and managed to close on the final day. Their main focus was the Champions League which had eluded them close to half a century. They managed a convincing win against Bayern in the final and were the best team in tournament beating Chelsea, Barca and Bayern to claim it!

2- Bayern Munchen: Missed out on a historic treble this season when they lost the champions league final. Bayern Managed to turn their season around after a slow start, more precisely after thrashing a sorry Juventus side in Turin to qualify to the knock out stage of the Champions League when they seemed dead and buried. They clinched a local double and are by far the best team in Germany and one of the best in Europe at the moment.

3- Fulham: Yes Fulham, the small London club captured the hearts of neutrals all over the world with their impressive run in the Europa Cup. Virtually an unknown quantity in European football, their most delusional fan could not have predicted they make it to the final. They beat cup holders Shakhtar, heavy weights Juventus in an unforgeable encounter and Bundesliga holders Wolfsburg. Their league standing suffered as a result of their impressive run but they still managed to hold on to their Premier League status. Sadly the fairly tail could not be completed as they lost the Europa Cup final 1-2 to Atletico Madrid after extra time.

Player of The Season:

You are probably thinking, Messi, Rooney or Ronaldo....although there is no question about their talents, they are not my picks.

1- Diego Milito: The Argentine striker has finally received his overdue credit. He has been one of Europe's most prolific strikers for sometime now, ever since arriving at Zaragoza from Racing Club. His first chance at a top team, the world has taken notice at last. He was instrumental in Jose Morinho's side. He scored 30 goals in all competitions and was always ever present in the big occasions. With a great eye for goal and a magnificent finish he has scored in every important game this season. The winner on the final day of Serie A against Siena, The winner in the Coppa Italia final against Roma and his brilliant brace against Bayern in the Champions League final. A truly magical season for him and hopefully more to come in the world cup.

2- Arjen Robben: The Dutch winger was deemed surplus to requirements at the Bernabeau having had a reputation of being injury prone and lacking natural fitness. I think Real Madrid should be banging their heads now. Robben reached his true potential this season and has become the world class player he was always meant to be. Bayern helped him stay fit and he repaid them and all football fans the world over with some cracking goals. The goals against Man United and Fiorentina were phenomenal. He helped Bayern to a local double and just missed on the Champions League. Watch out for Holland at the World Cup.

3- Didier Drogba: Struggled last season with injuries under Scolari but has returned to his form this season under Carlo Ancelotti. For me he is the best striker in the world. His combination of brute strength and sublime technical ability is unmatched. He won the Premier League's Top Scorer with 29 goals, edging out Wayne Rooney. He flourished in the new Chelsea system and played well with Anelka, although some people doubted they can play together for some reason? He helped Chelsea to their first ever league and cup double in England. Now if only Ericsson can get the best out of him for Cote D'Ivoire.

Honorable Mention: Wesley Sneijder had an excellent season too and was key in the Treble winning Inter side. Wenger said it best that next season he should go outside Real Madrid and see which players they decide to let go so he can buy them!

Manager of the Season:

There were so many candidates to choose from, so I'm just going to mention them all!

1- Jose Mourinho: Without a doubt, the special one was indeed the best manager in the world this season, leading Inter to an unmatched treble. He destroyed a great Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge and contained a breath taking Barca side at the Nou Camp with 10 men. His post match antics are a bit annoying to the neutral and his opponents a like, he is however, a brilliant tactician that gets the best out of his players. Although he has failed to win the hearts of the Italian Media and the public, his interviews for me were always a joy, just ask the English. Possibly the only man with enough character to deal with Perez and get Madrid back to their winning ways.

- Carlo Ancelotti: Tipped to fail because of his laid back personality, proved how good of a coach he is, given enough resources and support. Leading Chelsea to their first ever double. His team scored an all time record of 103 goals. Apparently pulled off the "very difficult" Anelka/Drogba combo with great ease:P. Berlusconi can you hear me?

- Harry Redknapp: Tottenham and not Man City finished 4th in the Premiere League and reached the Champions League. He was always looked at as a great wheeler and dealer in the transfer market, nothing more. He has proved to be a very good coach especially when it seemed impossible he could make it to 4th spot while having, Arsenal, Chelsea, United and City to play in the final 4 games. Spurs only lost to United and look forward to an exciting season.

- Roy Hodgson: Fulham played a European Cup final, need I say more?

- Louis Van Gaal: Won the Bundesliga and German Cup and lost the Champions League final against a great Inter side.

- Luigi Del Neri: Sampdoria are in the Champions League next season thanks to this man. He has turned them into a force to be reckoned with in Italy. He beat Milan and Roma in the closing stages of Serie A to end their title hopes. He will be coaching Juventus next season.

Honorable Mention: Claudio Ranieri restored Roma to it's winning ways.

Flops of the Season:

1- Real Madrid: A very easy choice given that they spent the budget of a small country on players and finished the season with...yup you guessed it, NOTHING!

2- Juventus: They finished seventh this season and will play in the Europa Cup qualifications believe it or not. Destroyed by Bayern in Turin, out classed by Fulham at Craven Cottage. They just seemed like a team with out purpose. It shows you how much the meddling of owners affects a club. How the mighty have fallen.

3- Liverpool: Tipped to go one better than last season and finally win the Premier League. They finished 7th and will play again in the Europa Cup next season. Poor decisions in the transfer market, injuries to key players and Rafa Benitez contributed to their downfall.

BRING ON THE WORLD CUP!

Nike: Write the Future

This is like one of the Best Football ads ever

Enjoy

Sorry Carlo

I cannot say I was not happy to see Ancelotti leave AC Milan at the end of last season. He had been at the San Siro for 8 years. He has won many trophies with Milan. 2 Champions League wins, 1 Coppa Italia, Italian Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, but with 1 Scudetto win in 8 nine years it was surely time to change.

I had grown tired of his unchanging ways and how it seemed he let his squad turn stagnant. Milan have become very predictable and frankly boring under Carlo. He seemed to be relying too much on Kaka'. Don't get me wrong with a player like Kaka' you would be foolish not have him as the centre of your team but at times during the last couple of years it seemed that we won only if Kaka was playing well! He also had a knack for acquiring over aged players. Favalli, Oddo to name a few. Since Kaka joined Milan, they have failed to acquire a single world class player. Gourcuff the obvious exception but they chased him out of San Siro. I blamed Ancelotti for everything. Things weren't always that way between me and Carlo though. He had the vision to change Pirlo from an attacking midfielder outcast at Inter to the world class player he is today. He also transformed the career of Seedorf who is now forever a legend in the Milan ranks. He made Kaka'. He played him straight from Brazil into the Milan first team. In my eyes he had left the team in shambles. I was wrong.

After seeing Milan this season and how Galliani and Berlusconi are running the club. Most noticeably their transfer policy and how they gave nothing to Leonardo to work with. I started feeling sympathy fro Ancelotti. How in gods name was he able to work with the two of them for so long? It is obvious to me now that there was no money to spend and Carlo had to make due with what was available. It seems to me now that he was actually more of a genius than I had thought. He deserved much more credit than I ever gave him. He was an underachiever in my book for years, but it turns out he is actually a great over achiever. With no money to spend it seemed he was very shrude in acquiring the out of contract and older players. He knew they could give him something for the short term. He kept star players happy for a very long time although it seemed they had a lot to feel disgruntled about. He was able to deal with Berlusconi for 8 years which is a trophy in itself. He was not without fault though. He alienated Gourcuff, one of the most talented young players in a generation. He gave too much control to Galliani in acquiring players, most noticeably Ronaldinho who it seemed Carlo was not convinced with. Regardless of everything I think I owe him an apology, not that he will ever read this:). Carlo's experience in Milan became an invaluable tool at Chelsea.

Ancelotti's appointment as Chelsea manager was met with some skepticism. After all a lot of people saw what I was previously talking about. The fair conclusion was made that being a Champions League ace, he was hired to bring European glory to the blues. He didn't. I recall the amount of abuse that was thrown Carlo's way once beaten by Mourniho's Inter at Stamford Bridge and again after losing at home to City. Ancelotti is a clam and collected man with an abundance of experience when dealing with star studded squads (Milan had a star studded squad once upon a time) and interfering presidents. In a turbulent season filled with ups and downs Carlo Ancelotti proved an invaluable asset. He was able to keep his squad together and lift them up time and time again even when players had more problems off the pitch than on it. He reinvigorated Malouda and turned him into the world beater he originally was tipped to be. Even when missing key players his tactical ability and depth in squad made him cruise by. Make no mistake Chelsea were the best team in the league this season. They did not win the Premier League because other teams were less consistent and going through a rough patch, mainly Manchester United. The Barclay's Premier League has become tougher than ever. As a result the so called big four don't get to enjoy the jolly rides they were accustomed to, just ask Liverpool. Carlo's Chelsea over came this in style. They destroyed their counterparts in the top four club beating Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool home and away. Chelsea won the league by playing record breaking attacking football. 103 goals in 1 season is a marvelous achievement. They put 7 past opposition three times and 8 on the final day of the season to clinch the title. Carlo Ancelotti has proved to be the man for the long haul, unaffected by setbacks through out the season and focused on the end game. Next Saturday Chelsea play Portsmouth in the FA Cup final, were Carlo Ancelotti has a chance to earn them an unprecedented double. Although a Pompey victory would be stuff of legend, I do feel Chelsea will win this. The days of the special one are now but a distant memory.

Spurs to the Champions League

Tottenham managed to secure their Champions League birth after securing a 1-0 victory over Man City at Eastlands. Too much money can't buy you everything after all.

Check out Redknapp getting soaked by his players

Congrats to Spurs, being an Arsenal fan makes a bit more difficult, but hell I'm not from England so it's easier:)

UEFA Champions League: The Semis

This week we were treated to two very highly tactical games of football. Both ties are far from over and I will be excited to see the conclusion come next week.

On Tuesday Inter took on Barcelona at the San Siro and two master tacticians in Mourinho and Guardiola took center stage. There is no doubt the the reigning European champions are favorites in all their games. Their philosophy of playing highly entertaining football has reached its peek under Guardiola last season with an unprecedented treble (actually six cups if you count the European Super-cup, Spanish Super-cup and the Club World Cup). Mourinho had other plans. No one would blame you in thinking that it's just another Barca route after Pedro scored the first goal. However you will have been gravely mistaken. Pedro, one of the break out stars this season, scored the opener in the first half after some great work by Maxwell on the left side. Pedro mind you had never scored a senior goal prior to this season. He has now scored in every competition he has played in and I think he is all but sure to be in Del Bosque's squad in the World Cup. Inter responded superbly and Diego Milito was always threatening with his great control and pace (not to mention his finishing ability). He missed a couple of chances but then provided the assist for Wesley Sneijder to even the game up. The second half was a much more tactical affair. Mourinho managed to close up space and pressure Barcelona all through the pitch. Messi was made to go deep to get the ball and found many bodies in front of him. He had no room to manoeuvre. Mourinho used the attributes of his team well. They are very much a physical team as they are technical and the likes of Zanetti, Maicon, Cambaisso, Motta and Stankovic bossed the Midfield and out powered Sergio, Xavi, Pedro and Messi. Inter scored the second goal from a Maicon tap in and Mourinho closed up the game after replacing Pandev with the excellent Stankovic who will be missed in the second leg. The third goal came via Milito after an excellent counter attack. Miltio could have been marginally offside but he deserved the goal. He was fantastic and like I've said before I rate him very highly. To me he is now one of the best strikers in the world and It would be a real shame not to see him in South Africa. He is better than all the big name forwards in the Argentina squad and yes he is better than his direct competitor Higauin. Barca had a clear penalty denied towards the end when Sneijder hacked down Dani Alves in the box, but like Mourinho had said it seems Barcelona have a short memory. In last year's semi final against Chelsea they escaped three clear cut penalties, one of which was a blatant handball by Pique. Mourinho learned his lesson after facing Barca twice in the group stage. He has managed to dismantle both Chelsea and Barcelona, but this tie is far from over. At the Nou Camp the Bluegrana are a different team. The size of the pitch will make it difficult to contain the likes of Messi but as always Jose will have a plan. Inter have a two goal advantage but I won't count Guardiolas men out just yet. Their home record has been unbelievable and they seem to score at will at the Nou Camp. I know I should not be supporting Inter as a Milan fan but they have grown on me in the Champions League and tactical master piece after another, how can I not enjoy their play? One last thing I have to say is that in my humble opinion Alves is one of the most overrated players in the world at the moment. He is a wing back that can't tackle or cross the ball. Maicon is twice the player he is or he ever will be.

The other semifinal between Bayern and Lyon might not have attracted much hype as both teams are not as flashy as Inter and Barcelona. The casual follower would not have cared to watch or even enjoyed the game had he did. The game however was won and controlled by the tactical master that is Louis Van Gaal. Lyon, make no mistake are not a weak team. They beat Liverpool at Anfield, Knocked out Real Madrid and won a close tie over Bordeuax who destroyed both Bayern and Juve earlier in the competition. Lyon had only conceded 6 goals in the competition so far. Bayern made them look like an average team. Right from the off Bayern controlled the game missing a number of chances but as the first half progressed Lyon started getting into the game. Towards the end of the half Ribery, who was having a good game thus far got rightly red carded for an over the top challenge on Lisandro. Robben was nowhere to be seen. Sissokho had the better of him. Bayern where down to ten men at half time and it didn't look good. The second half Van Gaal introduced Tymoschuck for Olic. Pundits and fans a like thougth Van Gaal was looking for a draw and not to concede an away goal. Well it did not look that way come the second half with Bayern dominating possession against 11 man Lyon. It seemed Lyon were the ones who had ten men. They did after a while, when Toulalan was sent off for 2 bookable offences. 10 against 10 Lyon had no chance. Claude Puel tried to shut things off by introducing Makoun but it had no effect. Robben now was running ragged, thanks to his ability but in no small part to Phillip Lahm. Germany's number one right back (miles better than Alves as well) continued to bomb forward at every opportunity down the right flank giving Robben more freedom to cut inside and use him as a decoy. The goal came just like that with Robben given time and space to unleash a left footed strike that took a slight deflection off Muller into the back of the net. Bayern could have won by a bigger margin if Muller and then Gomez had taken their chances. I got the feeling that Olic would have finished off one or two of those. Robben seemed to have another goal in him but Van Gaal took him off much to his contempt. I think the man was protecting him after putting in much effort and knowing his injury record he might have been right to do so. Bayern losing him and Ribery in France would have been a huge blow. This tie is not over yet but I think Bayern have a huge edge by not conceding an away goal. They also have a very good record away from home and Lyon will find it difficult to stop them from scoring. Anyone taking bets on Robben scoring in France?

Champions League Quarters

Football Battles are about to commence today and tomorrow. The quarters finals of the UEFA Champions League are kicking off with some mouth watering encounters too look forward too. Two games stick out from the draw, obviously Arsenal vs Barcelona and Bayern Munich vs Manchester United.

The latter will be a tightly contested affair. A lot of people don't give Bayern enough credit when it comes to European Cups. Sir Alex and United had better not underestimate the 4 time winners! United are on a role at the moment and after last weeks results I think they are now clear favorites to win the Premier League, unless Chelsea can beat them at Old Trafford on Saturday. The team as a whole is reaching it's top gear at the right time and with one of Europe most on from strikers leading the line in Wayne Rooney, they have a lot to be confident about. Hopefully too confident for their own good. They are facing experienced opposition and make no mistake this will not be the Milan games. Bayern have a very strong squad. They are only really weak in goal, Butt is not up to standard. Defensively they have been inconsistent but the returning DeMichelis will be a boost for the team. They have arguably two of the best wide players in the world in Ribery and Robbin and if the latter if fit for the clash tonight Gary Nevile will be looking forward to a miserable time. On their day these two are unstoppable and with Klose upfront to finish off their moves they will always be a threat. They have grit in midfield too with Van Bommel playing the role of the enforcer and the technically gifted Schweinstiger distributing play. This will be a real battle and I think Bayern may just pull it off.

The Arsenal/Barcelona clash is truly mouth watering. I have been excited ever since the draw was made. I would have definitely preferred that Arsenal play anyone else, CSKA to be more accurate but this clash just promises to be too good. The positive thing here is that the risk of the managers spoiling the game is almost non existent, both team are programmed to attack. They are almost identical to one another. They depend on ball possession with slick passing and incredible off the ball movement. I think Arsenal are the more on form team at the moment. Barcelona overall are having a bit of a dip with Messi the obvious exception. The midfield battle will be an exhilarating one. Cesc, Song and Diaby (Densilson) vs Iniesta, Xavi and Toure. On current form I'll give the edge to Arsenal, however this is not the full story. Although defensively Barca have been lacking a bit this season I don't feel Arsenal have the strikers to punish mistakes. Bendtner is on a good run but is he that good? Arshavin needs to be at his best if the Gunners are to fashion anything. Nasri too, but will Wenger surprise us with Theo? I think Theo would be useful at the Nou Camp with counters if Arsenal can get a positive result tomorrow. Defensively is where I think Arsenal are going to have the most trouble. Containing Messi is almost impossible these days. On an average day he is unplayable. Not sure if Arsenal would have it in them to stop him even if Gallas was playing. I think he will have a great time dribbling past Clichy today. Zlatan is another problem, his technical ability and physical presence are a huge threat but I think Sol can play a good game on him. As for Henry , I think it might be difficult for him to play at his best or maybe not since this is the Emirates and not Highbury. Overall I think Barcelona have more quality and killer instinct than Arsenal but don't underestimate the young gunners just yet! Iniesta is likely to miss the clash at the Emirates and Cesc is facing a late fitness test.

Badry, Referees and Zamalek

Last Thursday I watched Ahly take on Enppi in the Egyptian Premier League. Ahly managed to scrape a 2-1 win putting them 6 points clear at the top from second placed Zamalek with a game in hand. Ahly played extremely poorly and if not for a number of refereeing errors would have easily lost the match. Enppi scored 2 goals which were incorrectly disallowed for offside, but more on that later. The performance in itself was horrendous.

Not for the first time this season and especially in the second round of the competition Ahly has played aimlessly and extremely poorly. Hossam El Badry is yet to realize his starting eleven (or more accurately 13). The coach has changed around players and has rarely started with the same players for two games back to back. Some coaches do this to rest players and for squad rotation (Rafa Benitez comes to mind) but when you are leading the league and putting on OK performances why the confusion? Tactically we seem lacking too but this is not what I want to talk about today. I was always a bit critical of Badry, but was behind him as a new coach and for leading the team to top the league. After Thursday's game I have lost all respect for this man and I want to see him sacked sooner rather than later regardless of winning or losing the league! I have never seen watching football (and I watch my fair share of game:D) a manager react the way Badry did towards his players on every mistake or missed opportunity. The coach was swearing and shouting and waving his arms all through the game in disgust. The way he reacted after conceding the first goal was shocking to me. Slurring out words of disgust and looks of contempt. He even decided to swear at one of his strikers after missing a chance!! What kind of message does this send to the team and the fans? For starters he is the one who selected and trained these players. he has put them in the starting eleven. The way they play is first and foremost his responsibility and if it happens that certain individuals play poorly that's what you have the changing room for! Give them the hairdryer treatment in private. Players are human beings, if you insult them in public how the hell do you expect them to play for you?? Or was he just putting on a show for us viewers and off course his bosses too? Was he trying to tell us that this was not his fault by showing us that he wasn't OK with the performance? No matter what his reasons were for doing this , it is unacceptable. Being and Ahly fan all my life I take offense to what Hossam El Badry did. When you verbally insult your player you are actually insulting every fan and insulting the club itself! What he did during the game is just as equivalent as throwing your teams shirt on the floor after being substituted, remember what the board did to Hossam Hassan when he did this?

The fans started cheering to lift up the team after conceding the first goal against Enppi, they could see it was a horrendous defensive mistake yet they didn't care they got behind their team. What did the coach do? he abused his players. If Ahly management had some guts this man should be sacked out of respect for the players and the fans a like.

Refereeing has been a huge issue in Egypt the past couple of weeks or so. Things boiled over after the Ahly/Enppi game when the latter had 2 good goals disallowed. The thing is the referees are indeed making a lot of mistakes, but frankly this has been going on for years and years in Egypt. Overall though I think things have improved, they might be having more impact on games because they are making decisions. They are getting more involved, penalties, red cards and so on. Years back they usually did nothing, they would not dare give penalties in crucial matches or red cards, they wanted everything to just go smoothly. I remember Gamal El Ghandour (arguably Egypt's best ever referee) when he used to be in charge of Ahly/Zamalek derby games they always finished 0-0. He would blow for every single contact and their was never ever controversy because he never let the game flow to start with. One thing that has never changed for ages is that referees continue to favor both Ahly and Zamalek against lesser opposition. Alaa Sadek pointed this out and he was dead on. I would go a bit more and say that even in other games they tend to favor the more powerful club, this is unacceptable! Moreover they are the kind of referees who see how the game is going and base decisions on that, something must be done about this!

What is insane though is that the Zamalek board have the audacity to publish a formal letter on their official website saying that Egyptian referees favor Ahly and want to give them the league. Are they blind or do they just want to stir up feelings of injustice. I think Mamdouh Abass and co know very well that winning the league this season would be a miracle, even with Badry coaching Ahly, and they thought they might as well prepare excuses. Frankly they are either blind or clueless to attempt such an argument. I urge Zamalek fans not to fall for this hoax. Refereeing in Egypt favors both Ahly and Zamalek. Does everyone here have that short of a memory? A clear offside versus Arab Contractors at the end of the game gave Zamalek 3 points, no? Ismaily scored a clear goal against Zamalek that was given as a foul for no reason what so ever! The list goes on. Yeah the Zamalek board wanted to replay or worse get 3 points over Harass Al Hodod when they were beaten fair and square, over a technical error that had nothing to do with Harass. If anyone has a right to feel aggrieved it's teams like Ismaily, Enppi, Petrojet who have an actual chance to compete for the title if refs were fair. Also teams struggling for survival who lost points due to such bias. Wake up and smell the roses!