Super Cup Blues

The wait is finally over....

 

Super Cup 2012

With the thrilling conclusion of the UEFA Super Cup yesterday, the Champions League season has returned with a bang. The game between European Champions Bayern Munich and Europa League Champions Chelsea started off a bit slow, but ended in a thrilling penalty shoot out. Chelsea, off of their high of receiving a wonderful draw the day before for the upcoming CL season as well as with the singing of Cameroon srtiker Samuel Et'o started the game off with nothing but confidence. And even with the loss, it was still worlds better than last years Super Cup, when they got thrashed and frankly embarrassed by Falcao and Athletico Madrid. Unfortunately for Chelsea, it still wasn't their year to lift the Super Cup, loosing the game 4-5 on penalty kicks. 

Though Chelsea didn't go home with the cup, they have nothing to be ashamed of. It was a wonderful game against a challenging opponent. Both goals, by Fernando Torres and Eden Hazard were beauties and keeper Petr Cech was definitely the star of the Chelsea side that day. Jose Mourino was even quoted the next say saying that the better team had lost, which is wonderful support from a manager just starting back up with the club. Not to mention, Chelsea were playing with 10 men for quite a portion of the game. Ramires was sent off in the 85th with a second yellow for a challenge. Especially after the train wreck that was last years Super Cup, Chelsea are definitely moving up and are should look forward to a thrilling Champions League campaign. 

Bayern of course didn't play horrible either. The German Champions will surely be contenders for the trophy again this year as well, especially under the direction of Pep Guardiola. UEFA player of the year Franc Ribbery led his team to victory with the tying goal in the 47th minute which led to the extra time. After a goal by Hazard in the 93rd, Chelsea nearly had it in the bag, until a goal by Javi Martinez in the 120th minute of extra time led to the penalty shootout. Chelsea were a mere 30 seconds away from victory until Martinez snatched it away. The penalty shoot out, like all of them, was a nail biter. Arguably, two of the best keepers in the world went head to head in the hopes of victory. One after the other, both the Bayern and Chelsea players shot and made every one. The score was 5-4 Bayern with one Chelsea shooter left, Romelu Lukaku. Unlike his idol before him, Dider Drogba, Lukaku was not so fortunate, awkwardly shooting right down the center into keeper Manuel Nuer's arms. It was all over. Another Super Cup loss for the Blues from London. Oh well, on to the CL group stages! 

What a draw!

Though the Super Cup was played in Prague this year, the UEFA Champions League draw, as always was in Monaco. Overall, the draw pretty much went one of two ways for teams. You either loved it or you hated it. Though its debatable this year, my group of death is definitely group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, Celtic, and Ajax. However, group F: Arsenal, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, and Napoli, and group B: Real Madrid, Juventus, Galatassary, and FC Copenhagen are no walks in the park either. Chelsea and Manchester United were both handed fabulous draws, and should sail easily into the knockout stages. Chelsea's toughest opponent in group E will probably be Shalke, especially now with their recent purchase of AC Milan mid fielder Kevin Prince-Boatang. Manchester United's tough opponent will be German side Bayer Leverkusen. Manchester City have been dawn into group D: along with defending European Champions Bayern Munich, and with the way their season has been going so far, isn't saying much for their chances in advancing. 

But of course we all know, good draw or bad, the only thing that matters is how you play come game time. And especially in this league nothing is written in stone, one second can change everything. Who knows what's going to happen next? No one, and thats what makes the Champions League so exciting. The best of the best compete against one another to be crowned Kings of Europe. Personally, I couldn't be more excited! The Champions League is my absolute favorite and I can't wait until the group stages start in September! We're in for an incredible 2013-2014 season, who will take it all? The road to Lisbon starts here! Lets go!

Calcio Queen 

Transfer Gossip

Oh those lonely days of Summer....

The summer can be a boring time for any football fan. We're all counting down the days until the club season returns to us once again while trying to keep ourselves occupied with whatever international games are on to tide us over. This year we had the Confederations Cup, Brazil beat Spain in the final. Which was pretty interesting. The side with automatic entrance into the competition was the team that ended up winning. It was Brazil though, they've been beginning to improve again with things only looking up as the 2014 World Cup approaches. On average host countries always end up out performing expectations anyway, and in this case its Brazil. Real 2014 World Cup contenders in my opinion. Speaking of the World Cup we still have qualifying going on in all major confederations as well. That can be interesting sometimes, but ehhhh, no surprises there. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is coming up as well. A competition that holds a special place in my heart. This will be the USA's year...mark my words!!!
However, the thing that is most exciting to us, the thing that really keeps us on our toes all summer long is most definitely the transfer rumors. All of a sudden the football world feels like we're all in high school again. Who's unhappy at their club? What players are in contact with what clubs? Who can meet who's asking price? Nobody knows what to believe until the ink is on that dotted line. But until any transfer is official, its always fun to speculate what's going to happen. Here are some that caught my eye this week, as well as some of the major topics of the summer.

Jody Altidore to Sunderland

His first spell in the epl was a disappointment. Since then, he's made a move in a more positive direction but is he ready yet to make it to first team football in England? He was leading scorer for his club AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league this season and has finally found a place for himself in the lineup under Klinsman after quite a lengthy absence. But is he really ready to be put up against the likes of a strong Man U or Chelsea side? He's still young, perhaps first team play in a championship side would be better suited for him but at the same time you'll never know until you try. He wasn't performing for country and then all of a sudden this form has finally found him. Maybe he should take advantage of it and throw caution to the wind and see what his chances are in this Sunderland side. It is definitely going to be a shock at first. The Dutch league is nothing compared to England, but if he can keep up he could possibly thrive. Hopefully this new found form isn't just a burst of energy ready to die out. Clint Dempsey is getting pretty lonely in England.

Where is David Villa going?

There are so many rumors about where Villa will be playing football next season. Will it be at Barca? In my opinion most likely. As much of a legend this guy is he isn't the player he used to be. Not because of a lost form like some people, he's just outdated. Other people are better than him and that's the issue. Why else would barca want to unload him? He's dead weight on their over talented side and they're just hoping to get some money for his name. The rumors of him going to Arsenal or Spurs seem a bit ridiculous to me. If Villa is going anywhere it's going to be to a league other than the epl or to a side that doesn't have any major stars. But then again, a team like that wouldn't be able to afford him, which is why I feel like next season villa will continue to warm the barca bench.


Bale to Madrid?

I really feel like this would be a great match, but will it happen? I'm still not sure. I feel like the only thing that would stop this move from happening would be Tottenham not wanting to let him go. They've gotten themselves in the position that he is their whole team basically. With the loss of Bale, Tottenham would have no one to carry the team. And after all of the progress they've made over the past few years is the money that they would get for him going to be worth it? Doubtful. Tottenham have one thing on their mind, Champions League football, and bale is the only way that they're going to get there. They have been so close these past few seasons that they can taste it. Even making it through to the knockout stages from the qualification rounds a few years back. Tottenham have been moving up and with the sale of Bale they would definitely be moving in the wrong direction. But we of course live in a time where that doesn't really matter anymore. If Bale personally wants trophies and he's got the talent, he's gonna move to a club that can guarantee him that. Should Spurs sell Bale? Hell no! Will he end up leavening? That depends on his loyalty to the club.


The Cavani Debacle
Yes. This has officially turned into a debacle. Where on earth is this guy going! Is he leaving? I'm almost positive. But where? Who knows? A few weeks ago it seemed he sealed a deal to Chelsea. But it seems like now that may not work out. Psg has been thrown into the mix and they seem to be the frontrunners with Ibra possibly moving to Monaco. I've said it once and ill say it a million times. The epl is the best league in the world. It's the most competitive, the most cut throat, the most difficult. Sure, Cavani would be great at Psg, they've got a great side. But league 1? If Cavani wants to be one of the best footballers in the world, getting lost in the French league isn't going to get him there. His friend Javier Pastore knows that story all too well. I'm not being biased as a Chelsea fan saying that that is he best fit for him, but it really is. Unless he can't cut it in the epl and he turns into another Fernando Torres problem, he's exactly what Chelsea needs. A strong center forward that gets goals. Chelsea hasn't had one since Drogba left. They've added some amazing players since the loss of Drogba, but still no one has been able to fill the void that he left yet. Cavani could be that guy. I've been hearing rumors of Lewandowski making a move to Chelsea. Another attacking midfielder is the last thing that they need. All of their goals already come from the super talented attacking mids they already have. Why would they create more competition for first team play by buying players that do things existing players already do exceptionally well. Lewandowski needs to go to Bayern Munich, or Manchester United. (Okay, hopefully not Man U) 

Arrivederci Roberto

Roman ruling with an iron fist yet again....

I, along with pretty much every other Chelsea fan around the world woke up with quite a shock this morning. After Chelsea's performance against Juventus yesterday we all knew something had to change, but RDM? It all seems pretty harsh doesn't it? People have been yelling for his sacking ever since our downward spiral began a few weeks ago, but I really don't think anyone thought Roman would do it so suddenly. We didn't even get to say a proper goodbye. This one is for you Robbie, the man who led us to lift the Champions League trophy merely six months ago. You will be missed by many. 

Now I could go on all day about how much I respect the guy, I mean he won us the Champions League, but what's done is done. Papa Roman is the one with the wallet and he's the one who makes the decisions, it doesn't mater if we like it or not. This is the big question, WHAT'S NEXT? Pep? Rafa? Pep doesn't want to come until January and Rafa said he could manage until then but people really are ignoring the larger issue. The immediate future. We play City on SUNDAY. In what world could Roman think it would be a good idea to sack RDM 3 days before one of the most important league games of the season???? Who will lead us then? We are 3 points behind United and 4 behind City, this game is a must win, no other result will do. The City game is all that is on my mind right now, and with our team pretty much in ruins what could possibly happen next?

I really don't want to address the Juve game yesterday...but I must. It was a turning point, and it will forever go down in history. If Chelsea doesn't qualify for the knockout round, it will be the first time EVER that the defending champions get knocked out in the group stages. That is not a title that I want for my team, especially since we worked so hard to earn the title Champions of Europe. We have a striker problem, we know this. Torres has been given sooooooooooooo many opportunities. I can't even take it anymore, my days of defending him are over. RDM didn't take a risk not starting him yesterday, he doesn't provide goals, he doesn't deserve to start. Is it RDM's fault that he doesn't have another striker to put in his place? No. Sturridge was injured. Having Hazard, Oscar, and Mata play their attacking midfield positions without the center striker up top was his only option. If it had worked out and we had won, he would have been a genius. Unfortunately, it didn't, and it was his head on the chopping block.

I guess there isn't anything we can do at the moment but look to the future. We have City on Sunday and the Club World Cup in January. We earned a spot in that competition, its too bad that RDM couldn't stick around to lead us through that as well. I don't think that Roman is going to persuade Guardiola to come back to coaching immediately. So we are going to have to suffer with an interim manager until he is ready. Maybe Rafa Benitez. I just don't understand Roman at all. Yes, Guardiola is amazing, he did incredible things at Barcelona but he isn't a miracle worker. I mean does Roman think that just with this new manager things will turn around over night? That as soon as we get Pep we will win every competition on the planet? Now, I'm not hating on Barcelona, they're a great side, but our two league are completely different. The Premier League is the most competitive league in the world, much more difficult to win than La Liga, I don't care what anyone says. If Pep does make his way over to Stamford Bridge, he has a huge job ahead of him. One that apparently if he doesn't get exactly right, his fate will be the same as so many managers before him under Roman's rule.

Chelsea have yet to name who will take his place, and I can barley stand it. If there is someone who can get that fire burning in Torres again maybe it could be Benitez. But is he really going to take the job just until Guardiola is available? I hope not, I would hope we have more respect for him than that. I am a die hard Chelsea fan and I always will be no matter what. Managers come and go, even owners come and go, but my team will always remain.

Europa League Madnessss!!!

Okay...maybe not madness per se, but there we some great moments.

Yes, perhaps a drawback to UEFA's match schedule could possibly be that after two days of unbelievable Champions League play, we must then watch one mashed up day of the Europa League. But there is never a tournament too boring for the Calcio Queen! Now, I couldn't watch every single match but, the ones I did catch were pretty good, especially the Liverpool-Young Boys match up, as exciting as I predicted. But perhaps the most exciting match of all was Calcio Queen v Computer, one that I indeed came out the loser. I unsuccessfully attempted to get a stream of the Napoli game that wasn't blurry and in some strange language. After a frustrating 30 min I gave up and put my full attention on watching Liverpool, which turned out to not be such a bad idea. Napoli ended up beating AIK 4-0. 

Yes, a win for Napoli, I could not be happier! A hat trick by Eduardo Vargas was only made that much sweeter with an additional goal by Blerim Dzemaili in the 91st minute. But, what seemed like what would be a perfect start to their Europa League campaign was marred by a red card for Marek Hamsik in the 75th minute, suspending him from the next match. That really is a huge loss, he is one of my favorite players and an important part of the Napoli side. Also in Italy, Inter Milan were held to a 2-2 draw by Rubin Kazan. Yuto Nagatomo was the savior there, scoring the equalizer in the 92nd minute earning the point for Milan. That, however, wasn't the only close call in Italy today. Udinese drew 1-1 with Anzhi with a goal from the incredible Antonio Di Natale in the 92nd minute. 

Now on to the English clubs. I could not be happier with Liverpool's performance today!! Like many teams, their star players were left on the sidelines to give some new comers their first starts. It was a high intensity match and I was very entertained throughout. The final score ended up being 5-3 Liverpool. Young Boys started off a bit shaky, scoring an own goal in the 4th minute to give Liverpool an early lead. After that, it was an up and down battle for the win right until the end. Young Boys equalized with a goal from Raphael Nuzzolo in the 38th, only to be countered two minutes later in the 40th with a goal for Liverpool from Andre Wisdom. Though the 2-1 Liverpool lead at halftime would have been perfectly fine, it didn't end there.The scorer of the own goal, Juhani Ojala redeemed himself in the 53th with a goal for Young Boys, which was made only that much better with another goal 10 minutes later from Gonzalo Zarate. Liverpool were now down 3-2, something big needed to happen, and boy did it! Sebastian Coates scored from range in the 67th, which from a glance, looked like it was nudged in by Borini, but it was proved a bit later that he missed the ball completely and the goal was given to Coates. It didn't matter though, Liverpool got the goal and it was tied at 3. Then, proof that subs really do make a difference, after coming on in the 67th for Oussama Assaidi, Jonjo Shelvey scored 2 more goals for Liverpool in the 76th and 88th securing the win for Liverpool in Switzerland. If there was any team that needed a win this week, it was them. Good job Liverpool! I have been waiting so long to say that! 

Not such great things can be said about the Tottenham-Lazio game, which ended in London with  0-0 draw. Clint Dempsey got the start for his new side, which I loved, its great seeing Americans in huge competitions like this, however, the Spurs other American, Brad Freidel was on the bench and Hugo Lloris was given the start in goal. This has caused quite a bit of controversy lately. If Freidel is doing consistently well in goal, then there really isn't any reason to change him. However, Lloris is amazing, he captains France and is one of the greats for them in goal. He is quite younger than Freidel, and AVB says that Lloris was bought for the future to be put in the goal at Tottenham. My opinion is that Tottenham is struggling and Lloris is too good to be sitting on the bench, and honestly, I think the people at Spurs know that. No matter what their statement is, I don't think that Lloris is going to be anybody's backup, certainly not until Brad Freidel decides to retire. But this match was pretty bad, and once again, it sucks to be Tottenham. There were two disallowed goals, one was from Clint Dempsey and was ruled off sides by the ref. It didn't look off to me, nor to anyone else, but what the ref says goes. The second came off a header, with a whistle for a foul against the offense right before the ball went into the back of the net. I was expecting more from Lazio, but a point on the road is definitely better than a loss.  

This weekend....

Is really going to be a good one back in the prem! I'll be watching Chelsea v Stoke on Saturday, but Sunday is definitely the big day. Liverpool v Manchester United and right after Arsenal v Manchester City. Those matches will be so incredible, I can't wait!! It was a busy week in the soccer world, I hope you enjoyed it. As always, may your days be as beautiful as the game we love so much! Ciao!!

Calcio Queen 

Europa League Time!!

I just love weeks like these!! Great matches on almost every day of the week!! Today starts the UEFA Europa League campaign, which means another day of some really competitive fixtures. Defending champs and Super Cup winners Atletico Madrid will be starting the defense of their title against Hapoel Tel-Aviv, lets see how many goals Falcao will get today. Here's a never ending list it seems of todays fixtures. Enjoy!!

1:00 pm EST

Liverpool v Young Boys
Udinese v Anzhi Makhachkala
Hapoel Tel-Aviv v Atletico Madrid
Viktoria Plzen v Academica de Coimbra
AEL v Borussia Monchengladbach
Fenerbahce v Marseille
Bordeaux v Club Brugge
Maritimo v Newcastle United
FC Copenhagen v Molde
Stuttgart v Steaua Bucuresti
Dnipro v PSV Eindhoven
Napoli v AIK

3:05 pm EST

Racing Genk v Videoton FC Fehervar
Sporting Lisbon v FC Basel
Inter Milan v FK Rubin Kazan
Partizan Belgrade v Neftchi
Athletic Bilbao v Hapoel Kiryat Shmona
Lyon v Sparta Prague
NK Maribor v Panathinaikos
Tottenham v Lazio
Bayer Leverkusen v FC Metalist Kharkiv
Rapid Vienna v Rosenborg
Levante v Helsinborg
Twente Enschede v Hannover 96

Always a bit overwhelming, but with a huge amount of games like this, there is bound to be a few surprises! I'm looking forward to watching the incredible Miroslav Klose and Lazio take on AVB and Tottenham, also my favorite Italian side Napoli!! The Liverpool-Young Boys match should be great as well, I remember watching the Young Boys from Bern a few years ago in qualification and they were impressive. No matter which match you choose (and there are quite a few) no doubt it will be amazing! Ciao

Calcio Queen 

Noite do OSCAR!!!!!!!

Too bad the final result was a draw....

Yes...no matter what the final result was tonight at the bridge I am still dedicating this blog entry to Oscar. Chelsea's Brazilian savior! It was his first start for Chelsea, first goal for Chelsea (and then second) and first Champions League appearance. His goals were the only 2 of the game and our 1 point is owed to that kid (I don't care that he's only a year younger than me...he looks like he's 12). Now I was clearly watching the Chelsea match...I would have given anything to be at Stamford Bridge tonight, so I'll start there.

The start of the Champions League season always seems to be a bittersweet one for Chelsea fans, though this time there was a different feeling. We are defending our title. Now I'm used to not seeing Drogba in the first few games, in the past years he was always serving some sort of suspension from the previous season at the beginning of the group stages. However, this time, Drogba would never be coming back, and instead, a kid who looked like this game was a bit past his bedtime was wearing the number 11 for Chelsea. Now, Oscar had subbed in a few times so far this season, and I thought he was pretty good, but a CL start against defending Italian champions Juventus? Interesting choice RDM. Well, even though we only managed a draw, Oscar impressed me, and I applaud RDM for taking the chance. Juve was going to be a tough game anyway. Italians are known for having the best defense in the world, and some of the problems that Chelsea ran into were due to that. Giorgio Chiellini alone is one of the best defenders in the world, it was going to be difficult either way, this is the Champions League its not meant to be easy. Chelsea had a good first half, Ramires, Oscar, and Hazard had some amazing crosses into the box, but it was hard for Torres to convert them into goals. He has struggled since coming to Chelsea and a wall of huge Italian defenders wasn't helping that situation. Neither side played badly per se. There were mistakes made by both sides. The midfield was a bit sloppy all together. Balls were given away countless times by both sides. Also, there were a lot of missed opportunities by both sides. A free kick by Andrea Pirlo in the 41st went wide, from an angle he's known to score from. Also, in the 21st Claudio Marchisio had an incredible opportunity on side while the Chelsea defense thought he was off, that shot was blocked by Cech. Chelsea had chances to up the score as well, Lampard hit an amazing free kick from 22 yards out in the 51st which was blocked by Buffon. RDM chose to liven things up in the midfield by replacing Ramires for Ryan Bertrand in the 59th and Oscar in the 73rd for Juan Mata. Mata is known to be creative in the midfield and was involved several times in the few minutes that he played. After two unbelievable goals by Oscar, two minutes apart, in the 31st and 33rd a limping Arturo Vidal scored one for Juve in the 38th, and sub Fabio Quagliarella scored the equalizer in the 80th. Each team took home one point, and though Chelsea won every single home game in the CL last season, this was still a good result. Juve was always going to be a tough game, I said it as soon as I saw the draw. A point against the second best team in the group is still good, Chelsea can't dwell on it, its time to move on. Elsewhere in group E, Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk beat Danish champions Nordsjalland, earning them the top spot in the group. 

After a shaky start, Barcelona beat Spartak Moscow 3-2. Pique went off injured in the 12th minute, followed by a goal for Barca from Tello. Only to be equalized in the 29th by Dani Alves scoring an own goal. Romulo scored in the 59th for Moscow giving them the lead, for a little at least. The always incredible Messi scored in the 72nd and 80th securing the win for Barca. Also in group G, Celtic and Benfica each earned a point with a 0-0 draw. 

In group F, Bayern Munich beat Valencia with a goal in the 38th from Schweinsteiger and one in the 76th from Toni Kroos. Valencia did manage to get one right at the end from Nelson Valdez in the 91st. There was a bit of drama at the end of this one as well, with Adil Rami getting a second yellow in the 3rd minute of stoppage time earning him a red and an exclusion from their next match against Lillie. Unfortunately, Mario Mandzukic missed the penalty, but Bayern didn't need it with the final result ending with a 2-1 win for the Germans. The other match in the group ended with a 3-1 win for BATE Borisov against French side Lille

Manchester United also started their Champions League campaign with a win over Galatasaray from a Michael Carrick goal in the 7th minute. Also in group H, CFR Cluj-Napoca beat Braga 2-0 earning themselves 3 points as well. 

Heres a look at the tables now...

Group E

Shakhtar Donetsk                                       3pts

Juventus                                                      1pt

Chelsea                                                       1pt

Nordsjaelland                                              0pts

Group F

BATE                                                         3pts

Bayern Munich                                          3pts

Valencia                                                    0pts

Lillie                                                          0pts

Group G

Barcelona                                                  3pts

Benfica                                                      1pt

Celtic                                                        1pt

Spartak Moscow                                        0pts

Group H

CFR Cluj                                                    3pts

Manchester United                                    3pts

Galatasaray                                               0pts

Braga                                                        0pts 

Even though my Chelsea got a draw, today was still an exciting day! Its just the beginning of the group stages and we still have a lot more Champions League soccer to go! Tomorrow is the start of the Europa League season. Liverpool will be playing Young Boys and my favorite Italian side, Napoli will be beginning their campaign against AIK. Also, Tottenham will be playing Lazio which should be a good game. The Europa league is full of great teams, like Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Newcastle, Udinese, Lyon, and countless others. Too bad they all have to play on the same day! Oh well, that just guarantees tomorrow will be just as exciting as today! Ciao!!!

Calcio Queen 

And Now For Round Two!!!!!

Another day, another load of exciting games to watch!! 

I am so excited for day 2 of the UEFA Champions League!! Especially because my team is playing!! Playing to defend our title we are!!! Here's a list of today's schedule. Enjoy!!  

Chelsea v Juventus

Shakhtar Donetsk v FC Nordsjelland

Bayern Munich v Valencia

Lille v BATE Borisov

Barcelona v Spartak Moscow

Celtic v Benfica

Braga v CFR Cluj-Napoca

Manchester United v Galatasaray

We've got a great bunch of games to watch today!!! The Chelsea game is definitely the best out of this group, but Bayern-Valencia is a great match up too. Its is going to be a fantastic day! Can't wait for the results! Enjoy!!

74TAKYWT8VBN