What will happen with Pep Guardiola after his departure from Catalunya!

It was a dim day for soccer fans and critics all over, as Pep Guardiola announced his official resignation from the Barcelona franchise that he has made so successful and world renowned.  Pep started in 2009, when the franchise was in a shambles after Ronaldhino's departure to Italian nemesis AC Milan and it seemed as though the club would drown in a lake of doubt and uncertainty as many clubs do after a player of Ronaldhino's stature leaves.  It is a trend that occurs as often as the rain in England.  For instance, after Zinedine Zidane left Real Madrid, the franchise almost took five years to climb its way back to the top of the Spanish Primera's league table. 


Pep injected a different type of strategy into a club with a very bland past such as his abolition of the central midfielder in the formation and his unorthodox formations such as the 4-2-4-1. 


Pep managed to pick the club up from the basements of the football world into the elite of FIFA.  His accomplishments are truly remarkable.  Pep lifted 13 trophies including three Champions League wins and three Spainish Primera league titles.  Pep made a timid 21 year old Messi into an ineluctable attacker who became as confident as a college jock.  Pep helped Messi on and off the field and managed to conserve Messi's humble attitude, even with the never-ending spotlight being shined on the Argentinian.


His adieu to the game brought tears to the Catalonians eyes and surprised many people.  The move illustrates Pep's need for perfection and impulsiveness.  It is rare that you see such a successful Coach leave a club because of a second place finish and a Champions League elimination, many managers just dream to get into the Champions League.


Pep said in an interview that "Every day during four years, the demands are very high, the pressure, the necessary energy to push the players and enjoy it," said the 41-year-old Guardiola, a former Barcelona midfielder. "I need to rest and move away."  There is no doubt that Barcelona fans are without a doubt the most demanding soccer fans in the world.  They expect greatness for their beloved club and anything that does not meet their god-like requirements is a worry to them.  Pep delivered under the pressure, but it is understandable that he needs some time to get away from Camp Nou and its absurdity.


In December 2011, rumours had surfaced that Pep Guardiola would replace Portuguese manager, André Villa, after his atrocious stint with Chelsea.  Chelsea decided to hire Italian international, Roberto Di Matteo, to take the reins of this mule-like franchise and its capricious squad with the likes of Didier Drogba, Fernando Torres and always scandalous, John Terry.  Pep extinguished the rumours this week by saying he would not be behind the bench for another year at least.


Pep gave Barcelona an absolute rule of the Football world and a team capable of winning countless trophies.  He leaves Barcelona as their most charismatic, unorthodox and accomplished manager to ever set foot on the grounds of Camp Nou!


                                                 
Pep Guardiola dropping a bomb on the Football world with the news of his resignation on April 27,2012.

Didier Drogba, a skilled Football player and an even better actor!

                                    

As Chelsea’s forward, Didier Drogba’s contract runs down to its final leg, Chelsea will be forced to make the decision of whether to let go of a player who has almost been moulded into the club’s history or should they meet his demands and offer him a new two year contract which would most certainly ensure that Chelsea is the only club for which he will play.

The Barcelona vs. Chelsea match on Wednesday was perhaps one of the most unexpected upsets as Chelsea somehow managed to hold Barcelona’s tyrannical offence off the score sheet, despite the Catalonians hitting the wood work twice.

Drogba was picked over the capricious striker, Fernando Torres.  Di matteo’s decision showed that the club still has faith in the Ivory Coast international even with his aging legs. Drogba proved his worth as he scored Chelsea’s most important goal of the season. 

Barcelona’s woes started when their most valuable player, Lionel Messi, appeared to have forgotten where his legs were as he stumbled awkwardly. 

A few minutes later, Messi uncharacteristically gave the ball away to Frank Lampard.  Lampard took full advantage of Messi’s rare mistake as he made a brilliant pass to Ramires. 

In a desperate attempt to solve Barcelona’s defence, Ramires chipped the ball in Drogba’s direction. Drogba was being marked by Carlos Puyol and Javier Mascherano.  Like a black panther searching for its prey, Drogba crept away from the Spaniard and Argentinian and pounced on the ball and beat goalkeeper, Victor Valdes, who was as helpless as a lost child.

The goal gave Chelsea hope and something to aspire to as they now hold a one goal lead over Barcelona in the first leg.

Drogba’s goal was definitely the highlight of the game, but he will make headlines for other actions which occurred during the game.

In his later years, Drogba has become notorious for being a diver.  During Wednesday’s game against Barcelona, Drogba was sprawling around like never before and his Hollywood acting reached an inappropriate level for a Football match.  Drogba not only angered the Catalonians, but also embarrassed his own team by falling on every patch of Stamford Bridge’s pitch.

Drogba brought up a bigger issue in soccer and illustrated one of the terrible flaws of the professional game.  Drogba showed that he can be an effective weapon and that he belongs in Chelsea’s infantry, but he will need to make some significant changes in his style of play if he wants to leave the game as a respected player known for his achievements, not his acting.

As Chelsea prepares for its trip to Camp Nou in Barcelona, they will need to be as good as they can possibly be and Drogba needs to realise that this is an occasion to prove his worth to the blues.

Chelsea has yearned for consistency this year and if Drogba can regain his ability to be an elite striker, Chelsea has a chance of lifting the U.E.F.A. Trophy.

Drogba needs to stop trying to win an Oscar and focus on beating defenders with his skill rather than his acting!

Drgba celebrating after scoring the winning goal against Barcelona on Wednesday!

The most under appreciated members of the team are always the goalkeepers.  Here is a compilation highlighting the best saves by the men between the posts!

A rollercoaster of a season!

As the Barclays Premier League progresses and nears to the season end with only nine games remaining, most soccer fans can agree that the 2011-2012 season has been the most aberrant season to date.

 First Chelsea, a usual top four finisher, has failed to maintain any type of consistency and is struggling just to secure a place in the top four.  After firing Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea hired Porto boss, Andre Villa Boas.  Andre’s goal was to rebuild the franchise and make room for younger players such as Daniel Stouridge.  Chelsea’s team was similar to soccer’s senior’s home with 9 out of 10 players being over the ripe age of 30.  Even the younger players did not agree with his unorthodox methods and mutiny quickly arose in the locker room.  Lampard publicly criticized Andre and Didier Drogba had not a trace of effort in his atrocious Premier League campaign.

Another team that has flabbergasted the futbol world for all the wrong reasons is Liverpool.  They have only been able to satisfy the Anfield crowd twice at home and their play and attitude has been anything but stellar.  The team has been beaten to the ground by many scandals involving Luis Suarez, Kenny Danglish, Pepe Reina and Andy Caroll.  The team would have more success as a reality show than a soccer team. 

Luis Suarez fed the British paparazzi a three course meal with his alleged racist remarks to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and Pepe which gave them one more reason to beat them to the ground by fighting a Tottenham fan in a local tavern.

A resurgent Arsenal has been one of the biggest stories in the Premier League.  The Gunners started the year off terribly ranking 17^th after 6 games.  The Gunners managed to climb back into the Champions League picture and currently sit third place in the league table.

Many of these stories found themselves on the news for weeks, but without a doubt the most significant change in the Barclays Premier League this season is New Castle United’s rebirth.  The club has demonstrated their potential to be a top four team in the Premier League and have crushed all the critics’ doubts from last year.

At the end of last season, English striker Andy Carroll decided to leave St. James Park’s grounds for a move to Anfield.  New Castle United manager, Alan Pardew seemed in disbelief with Andy Carroll’s rash decision.  The manager was caught flatfooted and was unable to immediately react.

Fortunately, all of New Castle’s squad seemed extremely determined and devoted to the club’s success.  The club finds themselves tied for fourth place with Tottenham at fifty nine points to show for the season.

One of the biggest reasons for New Castle’s triumph is Senegalese striker, Demba Ba.  The 26 year- old striker has 14 goals and is fifth place in the scoring race.  Ba uses his six foot two frame has proved to be a nightmare for defenders to contain and it seems he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. 

Another factor in New Castle’s resurgence is newly acquired striker, Papa Cisse.  Papa was bought for just nine million pounds on January 14^th and seems to be a blockbuster deal. 

Carroll’s departure from the club has turned out to be a great move for the Toons financially and on the pitch.  Carroll cost the club 35 million pounds and Cisse only cost 9 million.  The club now has 26 million dollars to spend and Liverpool is paying top dollar for a striker who has only scored five goals in 36 appearances. Cisse has found the back of the net in each one of his eight appearances with a tally of nine goals to mark his formidable debut at St. James Park.

The last reason that New Castle has been able to compete with the big boys has been Ben Arfa’s change in attitude and solid relationship with fellow forwards, Demba Ba and Papa Cisse.  Arfa seems to have matured from last season.  Last season,  Arfa’s arrogance seemed to have gotten the best of him as he received more than ten bookings and his temper resembled that of a spoiled five year old.

NewCastle’s center midfielder, Tioté says “I see a bright future for the team and it would mean the world to our loyal fans if we managed to finish in the top four.”

Unlike most Premier league clubs, New Castle prioritizes scouting and avoids large transfer fees unlike Liverpool or Manchester City.  New Castle has developped players such as Yohan Cabaye, Peter Lovenkrands, Gabriel Obertan and of course Ben Arfa.

It looks like the Toons’ tactics are beginning to pay off and their future is extremely promising compared to Premier League giants such as Chelsea and Liverpool and their rise to the Champions’ League seems inevitable.

                                         Demba Ba heading  the ball against Liverpool!

Wayne Rooney a force to be reckoned with?

 

Wayne Rooney is  excellent form in Manchester United's march to a 20th Premier Arguably the best striker to ever wear a Manchester United jersey, Rooney’s future has not always seemed so bright.

September 3, 2010 a call girl in London, stepped forward and contacted a London news paper to reveal she had been having an affair with the soccer titan.  The news shocked all of England, but what was even more terrible was that his wife Colleen, had been pregnant during the affair.  Of course the news spread like the black plague.  Even Rooney’s most loyal fans began to question Rooney’s abhorrent actions.

The tabloids seemed to be getting to Rooney as he only found the net twice in October and was erased from the scoring sheet during the month of November.

On December 14^th Rooney commented for the first time on the matter of his affair and admitted to cheating on his pregnant wife.

Rooney seemed to be losing his carnivorous appetite to find the back of the net and his play seemed to be anything, but the quality of a soccer legend.

Fortunately, Rooney managed to mend his relationship with his wife and thankfully his concentration and eagerness returned to him!  Rooney scored league high 14 goals in February, 2011, ever since Rooney has continued on the right path.

United has moved five points clear of local rival Manchester City with seven rounds left largely on the back of Rooney's eight goals in his past seven matches, taking his tally to 28 in all competitions this season and 175 overall, a monstrous total.

Prior to the visit of relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers to Old Trafford on Sunday, Rooney is four goals behind George Best and Dennis Viollet, who are tied for third in United's list.

"I've seen about the all-time scoring record and a few people have reminded me of it as well, but I'm still a long, long way away from Sir Bobby (Charlton, on 249 goals) and Denis Law (on 237),'' Rooney said.

"I'm obviously proud to be up there and be in touching distance of some legends of the club. Hopefully I can overtake them soon.''

If United wins an eighth consecutive league match, City will battle third-place Arsenal later Sunday with an eight-point deficit - having obtained a five-point lead back in December.

"I don't think this championship is finished,'' City manager Roberto Mancini said Thursday. "If they (United) win all their games, they deserve to win the title.''

City, chasing a first English title since 1968, has won just one of its past four games and  failed to  maintain it's lossless home record after a dissapointing match against Sunderland, where they tied 3-3.  The road ahead looks rocky for city as Aguero struggles to maintain his brilliant form because of an ankle injury.

Wayne Rooney after scoring against arch rivals Arsenal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H4w2cRLwY8
Top 50 goals of all time! Great video!