Messi, Iniesta and Ronaldo

Should I get into this? just did. It is fascinating to watch the different contributions made by Messi and Ronaldo on the pitch in recent years, but I always thought that Iniesta is someone special, a gifted player. He has accomplished so much with club and country that not many soccer players get to do in their careers.
There is no doubt about Ronaldo and Messi about being shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon D'or 2012. In recent years this two icons of the game have accomplished so much for their respective clubs and for that reason fans and media create rivalry between the two. Ronaldo has won the ballon D'ore once and Messi three times and Iniesta none. The reason Iniesta has been in the shadows is simple, CR7 and Messi are goal machines, shattering records that have been untouched for decades, so there is no doubt about their candidacy for the most respective prize and individual award.

Iniesta is like that guy that doesn't talk much but when he talks everybody listens. Let me explain why... He has not scored or broken a record of goals and does not have many individual awards accumulated in his personal shelf but he is a guy that appears when his team needs him the most. Iniesta scored that iconic goal against Chelsea in 09 and FC Barcelona moved on to beat Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome. Since then, FC Barcelona's dominance in the soccer world has been extended. In the last World Cup, South Africa 2010, it was Iniesta that made the difference for Spain. In that final, Spain vs Holland, Iniesta scored the only goal of the game that made his country champions of the world, a championship that Spain has sandwiched with two Euro cups as well. So Iniesta is a World Cup winner, Ronaldo and Messi are not, for that reason I wouldn't be surprised if the FIFA Ballon D'or ends in the hands of this fascinating player.

Good Stuff Today in the Champions League

The cold weather was not a factor for FC Barcelona as they comfortably defeated Spartak Moscow 3-0 and get to advance in the round of 16. Barcelona opened the scoresheet with Dani Alves in minute 16 and by minute 39 the wonderful Messi was scoring his second goal of the night. By the way Messi's double puts him closer to break Muller's record of  85 goals in 1972, the most goals scored in one calendar year, the Argentine has 80 so far. It would be amazing if Messi could break that record in the next seven games left this year... Why not...

Another entertaining game was Valencia vs Bayern Munich as they draw 1-1 but the goalkeepers were busy stopping really good attempts from both side. However, the results ensure that both teams also qualified for the knock out stages, that's where things get even more entertaining. Sofiane Feghouli scored for Valencia and Thomas Muller equalized for Bayern. However, the participation of players such as Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Frank Ribery and Mario Gomes from the Bayern side and Ricardo Costa, Andres Guardado, Roberto Soldado from Valencia made the game very interesting to watch.

The blues were left feeling blue by Adrea Pirlo and company. That's right, Juventus defeated Chelsea 3-1. That results puts the blues in a tough position to qualify for the knock out stages. Chelsea was not able to connect the dots and capitalize on the few chances they had. But Juventus took advantage of the home game and inspired by loud chants of their fans opened the scoresheet at minute 38. It was a nice shot by Pirlo from outside the box that was deflected by Fabio Quagliarella and send it to the net. Next, Arturo Vidal put his name on the scoreboard with his goal at minute 61. Then it was Sebastian Giovinco that scored the third goal of the night via a nice through ball in midfield which the attacker managed to put in the net.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

After scoring four goals against England, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is making headlines across the soccer world. It was FIFA friendly matches across the globe this week and Ibrahimovic happen to steal the show with four goals in one game which is not easy to do at the national team level. His last goal was an amazing bicycle kick from thirty yards that puts Ibra on the spotlight for scoring one of the greatest goals of the year. The Swedish international at 31 is still one of the best striker in the world, and had a spectacular night at the new stadium the Friends Arena in Sweden.  Currently he plays for Paris Saint-Germain, but indeed he has had a great career playing for teams such as Inter, Juventus, Milan and FC Barcelona among others.

What's new in footynews?

Messi surpassed the legendary soccer star Pele in goals scored in one calendar year. That's correct, after a successful victory over Mallorca this past weekend FC Barcelona continues its winning streak so far in La Liga with Messi adding goals in its career. He scored two important goals that helped defeat Mallorca (4-2) and enable him to break Pele's record set in1958 with 75 goals in one calendar year. Messi has enough weeks to score 9 goals needed to break Gerd Muller's all time record of 85 goals set in 1972. There is no doubt that the Barcelona ace would be capable of passing Muller's record given that there is plenty of weeks left in this calendar year.

Ronaldo got elbowed but that did not stop him from scoring against Levante. It was not the best condition to play a soccer match, the pitch was fill with so much water that slowed the pace of Real Madrid. However, on minute 3, Ronaldo received a hard elbow from Navarro causing him to step to the sideline and get treatment as he was bleeding. Luckily it was not as bad as it seemed, and the Portuguese striker scored one goal in the first half. Real Madrid beat Mallorca 2-1 but it was a hard fought game as they scored the second goal in the last few minutes of the match.




Chelsea is in pain after their draw against Liverpool this weekend. In pain not only because they lost two points against Liverpool but also the injury that caused John Terry to leave the match after he collided with Luis Suarez. Terry was coming from a four match suspension, but with this injury he will likely spend more time off the pitch this season, a situation that will create a great challenge for Chelsea in their quest for the EPL title. Chelsea has 24 points so far, behind Manchester City with one point and Manchester United is at the top of the table with 27 points. Always fascinating stuff in the EPL given that there is not much gap between the teams at the top and the teams trailing them.

SLIDE TACKLE

BICYCLE KICK

Celtic did not park the bus

F.C. Barcelona At Glasgow

This was a spectacular game not only because of the atmosphere at Parkhead Stadium but also because Celtic is traditionally known a fighter fast team, and Wednesday night was not an exception. A header by Wanyama in minute 21 shock the visitors who usually kept possession of the ball most of the game. However, goals are the ones that define the game, and instead of Barca catching up Celtic would score a second goal at minute 83 as Anthony Watt captured a long ball that bounced off Xavi and run to effectively put the second one on the net. It wasn't a bad day for Barca at all, it's just that they were off target and Foster the Celtic goalkeeper did some world class saves that keep the visitors off the scoreboard. However, after many attempts and the constant movement of Barca did pay off in minute 90+ when Lionel Messi scored the only goal for the visitors. Celtic did not park the bus, meaning that they were not just playing defense and bunching up to defend their goal line but they were running the ball and constantly threatening Barca. It was definitely a great victory for Celtic FC given that it was the 125th anniversary of the club and they were happy to celebrate that by playing and defeating the Catalan giants. The victory was so meaningful for fans that even famous singer Rod Stewart had tears of joy at the end of the match. Barcelona still leading group G with 9 points followed by Celtic with 7. Most likely this two teams will move to the next round of the Champions League.

Ugly games, fun and weird day!

Why ugly games? Well, the scores do not reflect the outcome on the pitch.

Manchester United 2 vs Arsenal 0
Van Persie scored against his ex, his ex team that is. No mercy from Persie who spend 8 years with Arsenal. The Gunners visited Old Trafford to shake things up for the Red Devils. However, Man U opened the scoreboard in about 3 minutes of the first half with the agility of Robin Van Persie. It was painful for the Gunners to see their former striker score against them. It was a gift for RVP as the defender Thomas Vermaelen fail to clear the ball from the box, allowing RVP to put it in the lower right corner. There was not much creativity by both teams but some of the highlights include Rooney missed a penalty kick in minute 45+ and Patrice Evra scored the second goal for the Red Devils in minute 67. However, the Gunners would not back, and goalkeeper Javier de Gea helped the Red Devils maintain a clean sheet until minute 90+ when the visitors scored a deserved goal via the strike of Santi Cazorla.

FC Barcelona 3 vs Celta 1
The Catalans continue with an undefeated streak in La Liga, but this game should have had a different score as well. As usual, a spectacular atmosphere at Camp Nou, with thousands of fans chanting and displaying banners. FCB started with their fabulous passing skills to work on  and tried to open the scoreboard in the first 3 minutes with Fabregas trying a volley from 25 yards that goes wide. However, Celta had a fast pace, and in minute 19 they almost struck first when Alpas broke from the offside line and obliged keeper Victor Valdez to make a great save and to keep the scoresheet clean. Two minutes later, with a series of passes inside the box FCB struck first with Pedro crossing and Adriano sliding nicely to put it in the net. But Celta would strike back quickly, in an attack from right wing Lopez drove the ball forward and took a nice shot that was saved by Valez but Barmejo gets the rebound to make it 1-1. Yep, fans are like WHAT THE F#@# umm you get the idea. But a couple of minutes later FCB would get back in the lead with a nice give and go from Villa who passes it Iniesta to the left then Iniesta passed right back to Villa to make it 2-1. In minute 61, Jordi Alba made a nice goal getting around the goalkeeper after receiving a nice pass from Villa but i was clearly an offside. Messi did not score but it was always a threat for Celta .


Real Madrid 4 vs Zaragoza 0
This was game in which the host did not look good at the beginning. It was business as usual for los blancos at stadium Bernabeu, they were constantly attacking and pressuring on Zaragoza. But the visitors were putting up a good effort in keeping a clean scoresheet. But in minute 23 Zaragoza fail to clear a corner kick which Arbeloa headed in, it was blocked by goalkeeper Roberto, but Higuain was there to pick up the rebound. Two minutes later, as Madrid attacked from right, Angel de Maria took a shot that was blocked by Roberto but lucky di Maria as the ball landed in his feet for a rebound and Bam! Goal. Zaragoza was playing really good but were unable to find the net. Real Madrid added to the scoresheet on minute 89 and 90+ with Essien and Modric respectably. Ronaldo could not find the net this time, however he was constantly part of Real attempts against Zaragoza.


D.C. United 1 vs Red Bulls 1
I attended this game and it was a great atmosphere at the RFK stadium with the Screaming Eagles and the Barra Brava. This was a fun game to attend though it ended in a tie, when DC should have won it, but unfortunately Chris Pontius missed a penalty kick.

I had a little mishap early that day as I was planning to drive to the stadium but...
I found a little something in my car!

I was like ...................> what do I do?

After fixing my car I decided to take the metro

And then Finally at the stadium fun fun...
DC United played really good, created chances but unfortunately they couldn't find the net more than once... now we'll see what happens next week in New York facing the Red Bulls at their turf.

The Red Devils felt Blue in Overtime

What an explosive match this one was! The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge was impressive, the never-ending chants, the attacks and counter-attacks of each team. But at the end of the match Chelsea beat Manchester United 5-4 in overtime. At the end of the match the Red Devils were looking like this guy below.

And Chelsea was more like this one 

    

A classic match no doubt, but the ingredients were there: fast pace, goals, bookings, penalties and everything in between. After their defeat on Sunday 3-2 agains Man U, Chelsea would be looking for revenge at Stamford Bridge. However, it was a hell of a ride for the Blues because they were coming from behind as the Red Devils would not back down. Ryan Giggs opened the score sheet for Man U at minute 22 after a mistake by goalkeeper Petr Cech and defender Romeu. The pressure was on for the Blues, but they were always going forward and attacking, and at minute 31, a well-taken penalty by David Luiz would give Chelsea the equalizer. But at minute 43, another mistake by Chelsea, as Anderson gives a nice pass from half field to 'el chicharito' Hernandez who seems consistent in finding Chelsea's net. Again, the Blues were behind, but at minute 52 Chelsea levels again with a nice header by Gary Cahill. Not enough action yet! At minute 59, Nani scored a beautiful chipped goal which was a nice give and go teamwork with Anderson. But we're not done with goals yet! as the Blues would keep on the attack... And OMG! At minute 90+ a penalty given to Chelsea, and Eden Hazard makes it 3-3 and overtime here we go... In about five minutes Chelsea would make it 4-3 with a goal by Daniel Sturridge and they would be on the lead this time. But Chelsea is not done yet. After a series of yellow cards going in different directions, Ramires makes it 5-3 for the Blues but the Red Devils would find the net one more time via a penalty taken by Ryan Giggs. After this fierce classic battle, it was the Blues who defeated the Reds and get to move to the quarterfinals of the Capital One Cup. But what an exciting match this one was... And what an explosive atmosphere.