Champions League Final Preview - Manchester United

After a long season in Europe, we've had many teams reach new heights, as we saw Manchester City claim the FA Cup in England for their first trophy in 35 years and saw Lille win the French title for the first time in over 50 years. We also saw some teams return to familiar successes, as Milan triumphed in Italy once again for the 18th time, but for the first since 2004. Yet, there is still one game to be played that will be a defining game in the history for the season, and the two clubs involved.

The Champions League Final. The best of the best. The biggest game in world sport. Not only is it bigger than any Super Bowl, but it also is filled with more stars than a World Cup Final. Wembley Stadium will have the attention of those all around the world as Manchester United take on Barcelona this Saturday. Two teams, both looking to leave their imprint on history, will fight it out in what could be the most anticipated final in recent memory.

Manchester United overtook Liverpool as the most successful English club in history, with their 19th English league title. They held off the title charges of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City to do so. They did so with the help of the golden boot winner that only started 4 games in the league after Christmas, a £7 million scoring machine, a 40 year old goalkeeper and a midfield maestro in his 20th year with the first team. Yet, they feel like the biggest achievement is yet to come this season. This is how I see the team coming out:

Goalkeeper:

Edwin Van der Sar - He will be playing his last game in a United jersey, as the 40 year old Dutchman is set to retire following this season. He has been one of United's best players this season, making saves that goalkeepers can only dream about. He has been the rock at the back of the United defense all season. Dealing with family issues off the field has been a concern to Edwin, as his wife has struggled with illness, yet he has been able to succeed beyond imagination to help United to the Champions League Final. He will be key to United's success at Wembley, and will do all he can to keep the likes of the Barcelona greats out of the United net.

Defenders:

Rafael da Silva - I think Rafael should start as United's right back, if he is fit enough to do so. He has shut down the likes of Torres, Anelka, Bale and Van der Vaart in England all season, and I don't see any reason why he wouldn't add Villa or Messi to that list. He is a very quick player and has gained the experience this year to solidify this position for years to come.

Nemanja Vidic - If it weren't for Messi and Ronaldo's unbelievable scoring records this season, I would say Vidic should be World Player of the Year. He has taken the armband this season for United, and been unbelievable this season in that role. He has been more calm than in previous seasons, but still has the desire and strength at the back to give any forward a rough go. He also has the ability to score off of set plays as demonstrated in his winning goal vs Chelsea this season.

Rio Ferdinand - Although Rio has been criticized over the last couple years for being injury plagued or not good enough to play for United anymore, he has re-established himself in this team for the big games and I expect he and Vidic to be strong at the back together. His desire is demonstrated all over the back line and he is a great leader in this team.

Patrice Evra - In my opinion, Patrice is the best left back in the world. No one has the pace that he does to get up with the midfielders but also defend with the ability the he does. His crossing ability will be important and although Barcelona do not have many weak links, their right back position, has not been the best this season. It will be important that once United win the ball, Evra get involved in the attack to create chances for those up front.

Midfielders:

Antonio Valencia - Many thought Valencia's season could be over when he suffered severe ligament damage and a fractured ankle and was forced into immediate surgery to repair those injuries. However, he recovered very quickly and has been a much needed spark to United's end of season form. His crossing ability is unmatched in England, and he has the pace to beat any defender in a foot race. He also has the mentality and focus to defend, when needed, and this is the area in which I feel he gets the nod over Nani to start at Wembley.

Michael Carrick - Probably the most criticized United player since he was bought from Tottenham a few years back, Carrick has had by far his best season in a United shirt. His passing ability, but also his ability to plug up the middle will be very important against Barcelona. I expect him to play much more of a defending role in the midfield to stop the progress of Xavi and Iniesta, as well as their connections with Messi, Pedro and Villa up top. With the help of the two center backs, Carrick will be one of United's most important players on Saturday.

Ryan Giggs  - What is there to say about a guy that has played 20 years for the United first team? A guy that has won a record 12 Premier League titles, and yet was one of the best players in England, again. He may be the greatest ever to play in a United shirt. Nearly 900 appearances, and he is still going strong. His experience will be needed out on the pitch against Barcelona. He will look to win the ball off the Barcelona midfield, but as chances may be limited, he will combine with Rooney and the other United midfielders to take advantage of any Barcelona slip ups. His pace, at age 37, is remarkable and he will play a key role as he looks for his 3rd European Cup.

Ji-Sung Park - The energizer bunny of the team, Park seems to be running for 90 minutes, and never gets tired. His performance against Chelsea in the league, just two weeks ago, will be seen as one of the best in his career. He was always involved in tackles around the pitch, the first to the ball in nearly every circumstance and his ability to make some unbelievable passes was also shown, as United took the points that day. If they want to do the same against Barcelona, United will look to Park to get into the Barcelona midfield and disrupt Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets as they look to break down the United midfield. Park's energy will be important but he has also been known to score some big time goals in recent years (Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal, Chelsea) and could prove to have the decisive touch, come Saturday night.

Forwards:

Wayne Rooney - After a very slow start to the season, and the controversy about whether he would stay or go, to Manchester City of all teams, Rooney has found the form that United has been searching for, to help this team to the Final. Rio Ferdinand recently said, "We won the league the day that Rooney signed his new contract." He is so vital to this team, and although he has been a striker in the past, Wayne has found a new role in the team as somewhat of a withdrawn forward. I see him playing this same role on Saturday, in attempt to plug the Barcelona midfield as much as possible, but also as a quick link going forward with the United midfield, as soon as they win the ball.

Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez - Having been signed from Chivas for a whopping £7 million last summer, Chicharito was seen as a player to play much of this season in the Reserve team, hoping to adapt to England and the style of this game, with the chance of playing a few games. However, he has burst onto the scene in flying form and has 20 goals in all competitions. His finishing ability is second to none at the club and seems to have a nose for goal that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer once possessed for the club. At only 22 years, he has a long way to go, but this game is by far the biggest of his career. His humility and love for the team has set him on the right path at this great club. Puyol and Pique will have a hard time keeping him under wraps at Wembley.

The Bench:

Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Thomas Kuszczak, Chris Smalling, Nani, Paul Scholes, Anderson - I see a very attack oriented bench in case we have to chase the game late on against Barcelona. Those not included that may be on the bench come Saturday are Fabio da Silva, Darren Fletcher, Johnny Evans, or John O'Shea.

The Manager:

Sir Alex Ferguson - There is not much to say about Sir Alex, that hasn't been said somewhere else. But, he is the greatest manager of all time. Over 35 trophies with United, including 2 European Cups (1999, 2008). He is the master of getting the best out of a team. Many people have said that this United team "is the worst United team in recent memory," or that they "lack the firepower to win anything." Well, they won the record 19th title, and they are in the European Cup Final. Most of this can be attributed to the manager. There are none better than him, and he will have the tough task of fielding a team against this Barcelona side, "possibly the greatest football team of all time."

What an occasion it will be on Saturday, at Wembley. Manchester United, looking to claim the European Cup for the 4th time, 42 years after they did so at Wembley with the likes of Best, Charlton and Law. This United side looks to go down in the record books.

Champions League Returns!!!! The Knockout Stages!!!

So today marks the first knockout matches of the Champions League. They are two-legged ties, each team with the chance to play at home. UEFA has spread out the games a little bit more this year, opting to play this round with 2 games a day for 2 weeks, then have the return legs on the same schedule. Here are my predictions (my picks in bold):

Tottenham vs AC Milan
Valencia vs Schalke
Arsenal vs Barcelona
Roma vs Shaktar Donetsk
Copenhagen vs Chelsea
Lyon vs Real Madrid
Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich
Marseille vs Manchester United

I don't see too many upsets in this round. I think Barca will struggle more with Arsenal than most people think. I will pick a 4-3 aggregate score for that tie, but Barcelona to go through.

I think AC Milan will "upset" Tottenham, but really this shouldn't be considered an upset. Milan got second in the group, but I think they will batter Spurs at home today and then hold on in the second leg at White Hart Lane.

Some of the other ties that are interesting are Roma vs Shaktar and Lyon vs Real Madrid. Especially since Madrid was knocked out of the CL in this stage for the last 6 seasons, and last year at this stage by Lyon. Hopefully CR7 can carry his team into the next round.

Inter Milan and Bayern Munich is a rematch of last year's final but I don't see Inter having too much trouble with this. I will say 4-2 over the two legs, and expect Eto'o to play a big role.

I obviously hope Manchester United don't have any trouble, but its important that they (and Chelsea in their tie) have a solid performance in the first leg on the road, to guarantee their move into the last 8.

I Know the Score - January 15/16

After going a measly +15 in my last week of IKTS, another weekend brings another chance to gain some ground on the rest of my league. For the predictions this week, I have the following:

Chelsea 3 Blackburn 1 (Banker)
Manchester City 2 Wolves 1
Stoke City 1 Bolton 2
West Brom 1 Blackpool 1
Wigan 1 Fulham 1
West Ham 2 Arsenal 1

Birmingham 2 Aston Villa 2
Sunderland 2 Newcastle 0
Liverpool 2 Everton 1
Tottenham 1 Manchester United 3 (Insurance)

To throw in a few extra games I will make my picks for the NFL Divisional Round:

Baltimore Ravens 13 Pittsburgh Steelers 24
Green Bay Packers 27 Atlanta Falcons 21

Seattle Seahawks 17 Chicago Bears 31
New York Jets 13 New England Patriots 28

Until next week....

I Know the Score - January 4-5, 2011

So I decided to start posting my picks from I Know the Score for each premier league game to show how good (or bad) I do each week. For those of you that don't know what I Know the Score is, it's a free prediction game on www.premierleague.com that you pick the score of each game and get points based on how your prediction matches up against the actual score. Here is how the scoring works:

Correct Score: 30 points
Correct Draw: 20 points
Correct Goal Difference: 15 points
Correct Outcome: 10 points
Wrong Outcome: -10 points

You also have a banker bonus that you can place on any game that gives you either a x2 or x3 multiplier, depending on the difficulty of the pick. However, this can hurt you if you make a wrong pick, and you can get as much as -30 on a game if you pick the banker and get it wrong, but can also get as much as +90 if you pick the banker and get it right. There is also an insurance marker that protects you from any negative points on a match if you were to pick it wrong. Here are my picks for Gameweek 22:

Tuesday, February 4th

Blackpool 2 Birmingham 1
Fulham 1 West Brom 1
Manchester United 3 Stoke City 0 (Banker x2)

Wednesday, February 5th

Arsenal 2 Manchester City 2
Aston Villa 1 Sunderland 2
Newcastle 2 West Ham 0
Wolves 1 Chelsea 1 (Insurance)
Blackburn 1 Liverpool 1
Bolton 2 Wigan 0
Everton 1 Tottenham 1

So far, I am +310 on the season, which is about mid-table in both of the leagues (having missed the first two weeks of the season). Until next gameweek...

My Premier League Report and First XI...First Half

So it is nearly halfway through the season in England, with the exception of this coming weekend and some games to be made up due to weather. There have been many surprises to this point, both positive surprises but also many disappointments. For those of you who don't know (which is probably nobody who reads this on a regular basis), I am a big time United fan. So obviously, I am loving that. However, that isn't really that big of a surprise being that they have been there before. Three surprise stories so far in the Premiership are:


1.) Owen Coyle, Stuart Holden and the re-emergence of Bolton Wanderers - After Bolton's run in the 2007-2008 UEFA Cup, in which they earned a famous result away to Bayern, got the first ever European win at Red Star Belgrade (for any team), and defeated Atletico Madrid in the round of 32, they fell down and became a team that seemed to be struggling for survival year after year. Owen Coyle took over the team in January and revived the team from a near-bottom position last year to finish 14th and looking forward to this season. Bolton had one of the best transfer summers of any team in the Premier League, picking up American Stuart Holden, Martin Petrov and Rodrigo Moreno, which replenished their midfield options. They have picked up results against Manchester United, Everton and Aston Villa, while getting big victories against Newcastle and Tottenham. They currently sit 7th in the table, 1 point back of 5th, and have the 5th most goals scored and 5th highest goal differential. They were predicted by most people to finish in the bottom half of the table and while there is a lot left to be played for in England, Bolton looks to lock up another trip back in a European competition for the first time since that memorable run in 2008.

2.) Tottenham's Impressive Debut in the Champions League - With last year's strong finish to fourth, they qualified for their first ever UEFA Champions League. After they made it through a tough tie to qualify for the group stages, the draw put them against Defending European Champions, Inter Milan, as well as Dutch Champions FC Twente and a strong German outfit, Werder Bremen. Spurs were picked by most experts to go 2nd or 3rd in the group. However, with the help of Gareth Bale and new signing Rafael van der Vaart, Tottenham were able to get home wins against each team in their group, as well as 2 away results. The one game they didn't get a result from was away to Inter, in which they were down 4-0 after 30 minutes and came all the way back to 4-3 after a second half, Gareth Bale hat trick. They finished top of their group and were "rewarded" with a knockout stage tie with another Italian giant, AC Milan. Regardless of how they do against Milan, Tottenham can be proud of their performance thus far in their first ever Champions League.

3.) The Disappointment of West Ham - By no means were the Hammers supposed to be near top half finishers this season, but the start of the 2010-2011 season has been a complete embarrassment for the East London side. They are bottom of the table with only 13 points through 18 games. They have conceded the most goals, and have the worst goal differential of any team in the Premiership. Only one team has ever recovered from being bottom at Christmas, to survival at the end of the season (West Brom's Great Escape - 2005). It doesn't get any better, with talks of Avram Grant near the sack at the club. Although they were able to get a great 4-0 win against Manchester United, that did come in the Carling Cup and unfortunately does not help their league position at all. It is going to be a tough fight from now until May for West Ham.

Although I have not seen every game so far, however I have seen a lot, I feel I can pick a First XI team that represents the majority of performances this season. My team is as follows:

GK: Tim Howard (Everton)
DEF: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)
DEF: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
DEF: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
DEF: Gareth Bale (Tottenham)
MF: Samir Nasri (Arsenal)
MF: Stuart Holden (Bolton)
MF: Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham)
FWD: Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United)
FWD: Andy Carroll (Newcastle)
FWD: Danny Welbeck (Sunderland)

Subs: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Rafael da Silva (Manchester United), Johan Elmander (Bolton), Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

United Go Top, Sox Big Signings and Jimmer Goes Off...Again

Monday night marked the first Manchester United vs Arsenal matchup of the year, this one taking place at Old Trafford. There has always been a fierce rivalry between these teams, but over the last few years this rivalry has died down a bit. Yes, Arsenal has beaten United on a couple occasions, but they have not won a trophy in over five years and the battles that used to exist between Keane and Vieira have escaped the game a bit. Looking back at this rivalry over the years, I have to point out a few of my favorite games. I wasn't a fan of United until a couple months after this game (but I have watched the full replay on numerous occasions since then) but the 1999 FA Cup Semi-Final Replay comes to mind first. We all know about "that goal" by Giggs in extra time that sent United on their way to the first ever Treble in English Football. Another game that comes to mind is the 6-1 drubbing of Arsenal at Old Trafford in 2001. Dwight Yorke's first half hat trick sent United on their way to a great win. However, of all the great matches against the Arsenal, the match at Highbury in 2005 was absolutely unbeatable. Before the game even started, Vieira and Keane were getting at each other in the tunnel. The rest is just pure greatness. Check out the highlights of that game here:

United 4 Arsenal 2

A certain player, Cristiano Ronaldo, made a big impact and put his name on the international stage with 2 goals to lead United to victory. John O'Shea's reaction after scoring the last goal was absolute class. In recent years, the Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg victory at the Emirates was amazing as well, except when the referee sent off Fletcher for nearly a clean tackle. However, the 3-1 win was enough to send us to the European Cup Final.

Back to Monday's game, where United looked to go top of the table with a win, and Arsenal tried to keep top spot with a draw or a win. This game had a feel that was similar to some of the great games of the past; high intensity, tackles flying in, and great energy from the crowd. United got a first half goal from Ji-Sung Park, who tends to have a knack for finding the net in the big games. The second half was pretty dull, as United plugged up Arsenal's midfield and didn't let them have anything going forward. The back line of Evra, Rio, Vidic and Rafael shut down any attack from the Arsenal. United were awarded a penalty kick after a hand ball in the box by Gael Clichy. Rooney stepped up to take the kick but absolutely made a mess of it and took it well over the goal. It was a little upsetting to see Rooney miss that kick as he usually drills it low and hard into one of the corners, but in the end it didn't hurt United as they finished with a fairly comfortable 1-0 win. With the win, United go top of the table by 2 points ahead of Arsenal and City, and 3 points ahead of Cheslea, also still with a game in hand. I am very pleased to this point how United are performing in all competitions, with exception to the one game at West Ham in the Carling Cup. To have missed their best player for 2 months, and to be top of the table with a game in hand, it is very nice. With another big match this weekend at Chelsea, United could distance themselves even further from the rest of the league.

Switching sports, some other big news is coming from the Northeast, and specifically in Boston. The Red Sox have made their presence known in the off season with the signings on Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford. The signing of Crawford from the Rays did not surprise me, as the Sox had made it known that they were looking for an outfield bat. On the other hand, the money they have given Crawford did surprise me a bit. I don't believe that he is worth $140 million, but maybe if we had not offered him that, he would have gone to the Angels. I don't like the stuff people are saying about the Sox and comparing them to the Yankees, now that we have spent some real money on a guy. Everything about, "If you want to beat them, you have got to become them" is not true. We spent money on 2 guys, not nearly an entire squad. If we are to continue doing this over a few years, then maybe we can be considered on the same level as the Yanks, but for now, financially they are still miles ahead of everyone else. I do like the intentions of Theo Epstein, in that we do need some big names to become a legitimate contender for the World Series. Before the Sox signed Gonzalez, I had only heard the name, but didn't know anything past that. However, once I looked at his stats, especially playing in a pitcher's park in San Diego, this may be a bigger signing than Crawford. He is a 5-time All-Star, was 4th in the NL MVP voting last year, hit over .300 had over 30 home runs and had over 100 RBIs. In addition to his hitting, he is a great first basemen and this allows the Sox to put Youk back at third, where he is much better than he was at first (not to take anything away from his great defensive skills at first). There are still a few holes in the squad, namely a middle reliever and maybe a catcher, but with DP, Youk, and Ellsbury returning from injury, and these new signings, I really am looking forward to April when the season starts.

Lastly, there must be some mention made of Jimmer. Before this last week of games against Vermont and Arizona, Jimmer had been pretty solid to start the year. He was averaging about 20 points a game, which is a little lower than most would think, but his minutes were down because of the lesser opponents that the Cougars had faced. He has been recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the best players in the country and was even rewarded (or cursed?) by making the cover of an issue a few weeks back. He was voted the third best player in the country by fellow players and coaches. Wednesday's game against Vermont was his homecoming as it was played in Glenn Falls, NY, his hometown. This was well deserved for Jimmer after the years of hard work put into the program in Provo and he stood up tall for this occasion. He finished with 26 points and led the Cougars to a blowout victory. It was a great sight to see as he got a standing ovation from the New York crowd. On Saturday, the Cougars played in another neutral arena at Energy Solutions Arena vs the Arizona Wildcats. For those who don't remember, Jimmer dropped 49 on Arizona in Tuscon last year. There was a lot of anticipation for this game to see if he could even come close to that again. Arizona was 9-1 coming into this game and looked to pose a threat to BYU's undefeated season, to this point. However, from the start it seemed that BYU was going to runaway with this game. Jimmer was hot, and with some help from players like Jackson Emery, Noah Hartsock, and Charles Abouo, BYU extended their second half lead to over 20 points. Jimmer was consistent throughout and finished with 33 points. That total may have been higher had he not been pulled out with about 6 minutes to go. To watch this kid play is just pure joy. all the players on the court know that he is going to get the ball, and so most teams have double and triple teamed him any time he touches it. However, his range, his quickness and his ability make it nearly impossible for any team to stop him, especially if he is hot. BYU is 10-0 so far this season and ranked 16/18 in the polls. It will be fun to watch Jimmer and the rest of the Cougars this season. 

"Don't Give Up, Don't Ever Give Up"

So its is Jimmy V week on ESPN and I had to make mention of this. For those of you who don't know much about Jimmy Valvano, I will give you a little clip about him from his wiki page (I know, that's kind of lazy, but deal with it).

"While the head coach at North Carolina State University, he won the 1983 NCAA Basketball Tournament against high odds. Valvano is not only remembered for running up and down the court after winning the 1983 NCAA championship, seemingly in disbelief and looking for someone to hug, but also for his inspirational 1993 ESPY Awards speech^, given just eight weeks before he died of cancer."

Here is the video of Valvano after winning the 1983 title with NC State, (watch the ending for his reaction):

1983 National Championship

Later in life, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and was given 8 weeks to live. He fought through the battle of life and lasted nearly a year before losing the battle. In 1993, Valvano was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the first annual ESPY Awards. His acceptance speech will be quoted and remembered by all those involved with sports, for years to come. There are so many great parts to just highlight a few, so here is the video of the entire speech:

 
Jimmy V 1993 ESPY's Speech

Watch the whole thing, it is absolutely amazing the emotion he exhibits throughout the speech.

There is no way to explain this, but I hope this makes an impact on some of you, as it does every time I listen to it. What a great man, a legend that will live on forever.