- France were the clear favourites ahead of the game because of their splendid form in the group stages. Having said that, everyone knew Nigeria will be no pushovers!
by Divyam Arora France vs Nigeria
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by Divyam Arora Derailed Douchebaggery presents to you:
Pointers of the World Cup matches Germany vs Portugal · It’s even before kick-off and Michael Schumacher has already won half the battle for Germany. He is awake from his coma and continues further rehabilitation. · Kick off! by Divyam Arora Derailed Douchebaggery presents to you:
Pointers of the World Cup matches Spain vs Netherlands · Half time scoreline – Spain 1 – 1 Netherlands · Scorers: Alonso (27’ pen.) and Robin van Persie. (44’) by Divyam Arora Chelsea’s season came to a somewhat premature end when Arda Turan scored Atletico’s third goal on the night. The Blues were hoping to be in a European final for the third year in running. Atleti were brilliant on the night and fully deserve their place in the final. What will bother most Chelsea fans is how we conceded the goals. The first goal should have never been. From Ramires giving away a silly free kick to Cole’s failure to clear the ball in his own box. A string of errors were committed in the build-up. Then came a striker’s challenge in the box by Eto’o. The penalty made it very hard for Chelsea and from then on Atletico Madrid took full control of the game. Jose’s gamble to put Eto’o with 30 minutes remaining backfired. Definitely not a good night for him! Perhaps a bit more patient approach might have been fruitful. We have to give credit where it’s due and Atletico Madrid were simply the better team in this contest. Chelsea fans will now be left to ponder what next? The Premier League is as good as gone and now we’re out of the Champions League. Well, losing is a part of the game and you have to embrace it as well. But the most important thing after losing is getting back up. Recovery is the key. Blues faithful would love to see a reaction from the players in the next game and take the battle for the league right down to the wire. Won’t matter much for us as far as the Premier League crown goes, but then again, this was just supposed to be a build-up/transition phase for the next season. Not an excuse for letting the premiership slip out of our hands but this was always the objective in the first place. The fact that we were in the pole position and somehow blew it up is a different thing. I am sure that the players have gained good experience from this season. It might not have been the perfect season and Chelsea might go trophy less but we have lot to gain from this. This is pretty good for a transitional period. Fighting again for the league and back to the Champions League’s elite. Here, we a look at the key components of this season for Chelsea FC.
by Divyam Arora Arsenal’s Champions League challenge suffered a major setback after a 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich last night. Arsenal started the game brightly. They seemed up for the occasion and looked full of energy. They had 2-3 good chances within the first 20 minutes but failed to capitalize. In the end they were left to rue missed chances and the penalty miss form Mesut Özil as they failed crack open the Bavarian defence.
by Divyam Arora José Mourinho claimed his 100th victory in Premier League by winning 3-1 against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, just like he had got off the mark in 2004. He did so in record number of games. It took him 142 games to do so, beating Ferguson’s record of 162. As a testimonial of his contribution to the English game José received an award form Football Writers’ Association just hours after the game on Sunday.
by Divyam Arora This Champions League round of 16 draw confirmed a few things. (1) Manchester United always tend to get an easy draw. (2) Arsenal are always the unlucky ones. (3) They love pairing Chelsea with their own legends. Anyways, we have a couple of very interesting fixtures. Arsenal once again have the daunting task of going back to Allianz Arena. Manchester City play hosts to Barcelona in what promises to be one hell of a match. Tell you what; I’d place my bet on Manchester City to go through. And then we have the return of the king at Stamford Bridge. Here’s what it means for the English teams.
by Divyam Arora "It's all very well having a great pianist playing but it's no good if you haven't got anyone to get the piano on the stage in the first place, otherwise the pianist would be standing there with no bloody piano to play." Ian Holloway made the above comment in response to the criticism he received for playing too many defensive minded players. Not many people realize this, but it is these defensive that are given the thankless task of relentlessly closing down and chasing players, which eventually helps shape the outcome of the game. I guess, one could argue that the goalkeeper occupies the most important position on the pitch as even the slightest of errors can be fatal or the strikers who can single handedly fire a team to the title. But since the evolution of 'tiki-taka’ and possession football midfield has become THE crucial area, most matches are won and lost in midfield. And you can see the managers stacking up the midfield in the big matches. Jose did it against Manchester United, well that was a bit too much but he did get the result. You can see Brendan Rogers changing the formation to 3-5-2 to get a better hold in midfield. Most teams today have shifted to defensive midfield pair rather than just the one. Two central defensive midfielders provide a solid base for the playmakers to function upon and brings in a sense of solidity and organization in defense as well. The stock of central defensive midfielders has been on the rise even since evolution of modern football and indeed it has become the most important position.
by Divyam AroraIt was the night of 19th May 2012, the finale of what is the most coveted prize in club football, the Holy Grail, UEFA Champions League. The hopes of thousands of Chelsea fans were hanging on a knife-edge. 1-0 down at Bayern Munich's own backyard after a long night of football just trying to defend their way till the penalty shoot-out. A victory seemed unimaginable even for the biggest optimists. It was the prize that Chelsea craved and for so long. And after the heartbreak in Moscow, it all seemed like a lost cause. But there was no stopping Didier Drogba. He came running to the beautifully flighted ball by Mata and turned his body in the direction of the goal transferring all of his momentum as he met the ball and BANG, the ball flew in like a bullet. It had to be Drogba, the big man for the big occasions. No one else, mind you, no one could have scored that goal like that. And no, that wasn't it. He went on to score the deciding penalty that gave Chelsea its first ever Champions League. After he had been sent off in Moscow's showpiece and John Terry slipped to miss his penalty, this was meant to be. It was dramatic. It was box office. It was something that I can never put in words.
It was a grand send off for a man who had given it his all to win the competition and for once be crowned the champion of Europe. No matter how bad his form be, he always used to come alive in the big games. Cup final specialist is how he's known at Chelsea. Scored in every cup game at the new Wembley Stadium and stands tall as the Chelsea's leading scorer in Europe. He is also the 4th highest all time goal scorer for Chelsea FC. Twice African player of the year, featured in the FIFA Pro team, Golden Boot(s) & Man of the match in UEFA Champions League finale. Records are aplenty. He was the record transfer when he signed for Chelsea in 2004 for £24 million on this day nine years ago. He has given us all a lot of memories and some amazing goals. The goal against Barcelona, against Arsenal in the semi final of FA Cup and the long shot to complete the comeback against Everton specially comes to mind. Not to mention the great free kicks he has scored in the past including the ones against Tottenham & Hull City. by Divyam Arora Who says that dreams don't come true? Dante's did. And No, i'm not making a reference to Dante's Inferno or the poem. The night before Brazil's match against Italy, Dante dreamed that he'd score a goal in the upcoming match. He even bought 60 tickets to the game for his family. Little did he know that it was actually gonna happen. No, it wasn't a great goal but a goal nonetheless for a player who isn't even assured of a starting spot in his side. It was a magical moment in the Brazil international's career who won it all with FC Hollywood in the previous season. Now, the only question that remains to be seen is, Will Brazil's dreams come true as well?
So, will they win the Confederations Cup or will Spain run away with the prize once again? Well, That remains to be seen. For a country with expectations so huge that anything less than being the champions is considered a failure, its gonna be a mighty task upstaging the likes of Spain, Uruguay or even Italy. One thing is for sure, they need it the most. Given their country's economic turmoil and the protests going on throughout Brazil it would count as a major relief for the fans. People worship the game in Brazil and passion for the game is unparalleled. Brazil have an excellent chance given their squad. The quality and depth of the squad just amazes me. Players like Dante, Lucas Moura & Hernanes are warming the bench whilst Ramires, Coutinho & Rafael haven't even been called up for the cup! The first team is just oozing with quality and flair. Well, you might say that it is case with every Brazil team. But the team that went for the 2010 World Cup was miles behind this team. Their defence was too old and slow and midfield & attack were a no match. The Neymars, Oscars & Hulks have just lit up the competition with their flamboyance. Attack is the name of the game for Brazil. Though this Brazilian flair can be taken advantage of as their defence is known to crack open at crucial times. While, so far they have been good at it, conceding only two in 3 games. If you look at just the individuals, I'd say this Brazil are best team on the planet at present. But that's not how football works, It's a team sport and that's exactly why Spain have been so successful and even Italy have performed so well in the recent years. Spain have showcased the team effort brilliantly in the recent FIFA competitions. They have perfected tiki-taka and rotated the squad to good effect. Statistics show that they have completed a whopping 8.7 passes per minute in this edition of the Confederations Cup way ahead of second placed Brazil who could only manage 4.9 passes. Umm, Brilliant! I guess thats all one could say. A lot of the credit goes to Barcelona for that. But given Barcelona's poor season according to their expectations we can be in for a bit of surprise here. The players are now starting to grow old and as we saw are susceptible to pace. For all their amazing defensive records and the fact they haven't conceded a single goal in the knockout phases of any major tournament under Del Bosque, they might find it very hard against Brazil. Though their main weakness lies in attack, the loss of form for their strikers is a major concern. The fact that Casillas has been left at the bench by Mourinho throughout the season is also disturbing for the Spanish fans. |