2008/2009 was all-in-all Barcelona’s season. Pep Guardiola led his childhood club to glory like no other manager had done before him.

United on the other hand, weren’t too bad the whole season. They were back again in the UEFA Champions League final to defend the title that they had won last year against Chelsea.

08/09 Champions League for Manchester United

In 2008/09, Manchester United were in a rather easy group with Villarreal, Aalborg and Celtic. Four draws and two wins saw them top the group and move on to the first knockout stage.

They had Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan in the Round of 16. Julio Cesar saved the day at San Siro but United was too much to handle at the Old Trafford. United went through 2-0 on aggregate.

Porto caused some concerns for Alex Ferguson when they managed a 2-2 draw in Old Trafford in the quarterfinals. But a 1-0 away win guaranteed a place in the semifinal.

Arsenal was the semifinal opponents and United supporters were sure that United have the Gunners in their pocket for this one. United lived up to expectations and a 4-1 aggregate win awarded them a place in the final against the mighty Barcelona.

2008/2009 Champions League Semifinal: Manchester United vs Arsenal

08/09 Champions League for Barcelona

Barca, however, had a relatively easier start to the Champions League. Sporting, Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel didn’t cause them much trouble in group stages and a 6-3 aggregate win over Lyon in the Round of 16 meant it was all a walk in the park.

The quarterfinal opponents were Jurgen Klinsmann’s Bayern Munich. 4-0 at Nou Camp meant Guardiola’s men could just defend in the away leg. Aggregate score was 5-1.

The semifinal against Chelsea saw a lot of drama as Champions League was closing in on another all-English final. Actually a replay of last year’s final to be exact.

But Andres Iniesta’s late goal in the second leg meant Barca goes through to the final on away goals with the scores tied 1-1 over two legs.

2008/2009 Champions League Semifinal: Chelsea vs Barcelona

The Final

The final saw the beautiful Barca undone the moment of magic from Paul Scholes a year ago in 90 minutes.

Except the first few minutes of attack from the Red Devils, it was mostly one way traffic – the other way.

After a slow start, Barcelona had taken control of possession and Samuel Eto’o struck on the ten minute mark with a close-range near-post shot going just past Edwin van der Sar.

Then as the legs got tired, Barcelona’s young ace Lionel Messi rose between two of the best defenders, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to meet a cross and seal the game 2-0.

Whistle was blown and the Barcelona was crowned the 2009 UEFA Champions League champion.

2009 Champions League Final: Barcelona vs Manchester United

Teams in 08/09

Back in 08/09, Barcelona had a make-shift defense with Dani Alves and Eric Abidal missing. Yaya Toure was moved back to fill out the central defensive duties as Carles Puyol covered for Alves. Youngster Sergio Busquets was given the opportunity to perform at such a huge stage, so early in his career.

Xavi and Iniesta completed the midfield with Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry as wide forwards and Eto’o up ahead.

Manchester United, to start off with, still had Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. CR started and Tevez was brought on in the 46th minute for Anderson (because unlike in the FIFA game, Anderson can’t take on the prowess of Xavi and Iniesta).

Also van der Sar, Ryan Giggs and Scholes were young-er. Dimitar Berbatov was considered a very expensive goal-scorer. His going rate at that time was something like five or six million a goal.

Teams in 10/11

Since the match hasn’t been played yet, I will not be able to glorify Barcelona even more in a handful of paragraphs. So lets jump to the current squads:

Barcelona squad:
As we have noticed during the El Clasicos that Barcelona lack the depth in their squad. Throwing lots of high-importance fixtures their way seems to be the only way to beat them; as Real Madrid conducted the experiment.

In the final on 28th May, however, we expect that Barcelona will not have that problem.

Samuel Eto’o, Theirry Henry and Yaya Toure might be missing but Gerard Pique will be playing (hopefully) and up front, we have witnessed Pedro to have taken the step up. Also, the addition of David Villa to the ranks will somewhat fill the space Eto’o left behind.

Busquets will be available as well and now he has picked up a couple of years of experience and taken some acting classes.

Manchester United squad:
Squad depth is certainly not the issue with United.

Ronaldo and Tevez might not be here but they have been replaced with Berbatov and Javier Hernandez. Also, Wayne Rooney is coming back to form.

Nani and Antonio Valencia have both done a fine job on the wings. Two players who didn’t take the part in the 2009 final. Nani was on the bench and was left on the bench.

This year Ferguson has a fantastic team. A team full of talent and flair. But the actual question is, will Ferguson’s tactics this time be good enough to overcome Barcelona’s?

United fans will say yes and come up with a hundred theories, Barca/United haters will say yes/no and add a hate-comment to it and Barca fans will say no and come up with a hundred theories.

One thing that should be learned from the 08/09 final is that if you’re going to attack Barca early then you better as hell score. If they get the ball off you, you’ll be running around like a dog all day.

What else has changed?

In 08/09, Guardiola was new and no one had quite figured it out how to play against Barcelona. It has been three years since and we have seen Barcelona get defeated at the hands of a very few.

But one thing is for sure. Teams are building confidence in what little hope they see of beating Barcelona. They have realized that no matter how well rehearsed and efficient Barcelona are, they can be beaten.

Their terrific form over three seasons is also getting on other people’s nerves topped up with the on-field theatrics of Busquets and Pedro – mainly Busquets.

Alex Ferguson is one of the most experienced and seasoned tactician and with rumors circulating of his retirement, he will definitely want to give fans the Champions League glory to top off the 19th title and rub it in Liverpool’s face a bit more.

And Guardiola knows that very well.

Road to London

Barcelona had Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan and Panathinaikos in Group D, where they eased through to the Round of 16. The much debatable match against Arsenal ended in a close 4-3 aggregate to Barca’s favor.

The quarterfinal was a rather easy draw, Shakhtar Donetsk were no match for the Catalan giants as they won the two-legged tie 6-1.

The semifinal was a part of the four El Clasicos to be played in 18 days. With Madrid drawing the first and winning the second, it seemed like Mourinho has finally overthrown Barca.

Barcelona won 2-0 at Santiago Bernabeu and drew 1-1 at home. Theatrics from both side saw people flame the two teams and mainly Barcelona between the two legs. I know that doesn’t sound right, but that is what happened.

The away leg surely made the critics silent as Barcelona players stayed on their feet (or tried to) and Madrid players repeatedly got away without getting a second booking.

On the flip side, Manchester United had a relatively tougher group. In Group C, they were joined by Valencia, Rangers and Bursaspor. But it was like a piece of cake.

In the Round of 16, Marseille fell to United 2-1 on aggregate. United won both legs of the quarterfinal against Chelsea and won the tie 3-1.

The semifinal was won before the first whistle blew. Even though Schalke had overcome defending champions Inter Milan but so did Tottenham.

United made the win official right in the first leg away from home by winning 2-0 at Veltins Arena. The two-legged match ended 6-1.

Semifinal decides the winner?

Let me take you back to 2008 UEFA Champions League final. Manchester United vs Chelsea. I won’t talk about the 2007 final because justice was done that day to AC Milan.

United faced Barcelona in the semifinal and won with just one goal scored by Scholes from long range. Chelsea faced Liverpool in the semifinal and they managed to overcome the Reds 4-3 in extra time. United won.

In 2009, Barcelona faced Chelsea in a crunching 1-1 draw over two legs and away goals rule deciding the winner. United scored three away goals against Arsenal in their semi. Barca won.

In 2010, even though Bayern Munich had won the Round of 16 (against Fiorentina) and the quarterfinal (against United) on away goals but both the time they managed three away goals. In the semifinal, Bayern won 4-0 over two legs against Lyon. Inter Milan on the other hand had to stop Barcelona from scoring two goals at the Nou Camp. Inter won.

Non-football reference: India beat fierce arch rival Pakistan in the 2011 Cricket World Cup semifinal and went on to win the cup. Like you care, right?

The 2011 CL Final

Barcelona have played against Real Madrid in the semifinal and came away as 3-1 winners after being considered slight underdogs in a long, long time. United has had an easy road to the final comparatively. You can argue but you know Schalke starts with a Madrid-reject (so did Inter though).

Prediction: Odds point towards Barcelona taking the trophy again but all I know is that it will be a tightly contested match with Barcelona somehow winning the night.

Lets just say that it will be kind of like Spain vs England.

Disclaimer: Forgive me, I am a Barcelona fan.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

If you think 2010 was not good for English football, for French football it was even worse.

Apart from Lyon and Bordeaux locking horns in the Champions League quarterfinal and the former reaching the semi, their international football was just unbelievable.

In 2006, Zinedine Zidane took France to the final and the same was expected from Henry specially with Franck Ribery now having four years of experience on his back.

A scandal exploded and everything was in ruins. Furthermore, training ground and dressing room incidents was the icing on the top.

In all this ruckus, the only thing to stable was their WAGs. Even for Ribery, things seem normal on the outside.

So, here are the French WAGs:

1. Patrice Evra (Manchester United) – married to Sandra


What a hot pair of sunglasses!

2. Philippe Mexes (Roma) – has two children with his girlfriend, Carla


Carla and Mexes have two children together

3. Anthony Reveillere (Lyon) – has two children with his wife, Caroline
4. Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich) – married to Wahiba Ribery, accused to have solicited Zahia Dehar


Mrs. Ribery is very kind

5. Samir Nasri (Arsenal) – in a relationship with Tatiana Golovin


In case you didn't notice, she is a French tennis star

6. Florent Malouda (Chelsea) – has three daughters with wife, Florencia


Florent & Florencia fleeing fluently & flawlessly

7. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – linked with a mystery girl, denied any sexual relations with Zahia Dehar


HELLO there!

8. Yohan Cabaye (Lille) – married to Fiona
9. Sidney Govou (Panathinaikos) – has a daughter with ex-girlfriend Pascale, also involved in the Zahia Dehra case


Would you solicit this minor?

10. Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos) – married to Jude Littler


Djibril and Jude

11. Bonus:

• Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls) – formerly married to Claire Merry, currently dating Andrea Rajacic


While Thierry and Andrea pucker up, look at the guy on the top-left

• Zinedine Zidane – married to Veronique Fernandez


The Zinedine Zidane and his missus

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

As the footballing sphere bids farewell to one of it’s greatest ever patrons, legendary Brazilian forward Ronaldo, we good folk at Soccerlens thought it high time to compile a concise list of our top five ‘strikers in world football’ – with the only stipulation being that any nominee must have played ‘up top’ and have had been in their prime at some point during the last two decades.

Plus, I’m talking real, bona fide strikers here. None of your new-fangled free-radical trequartistas are available for inclusion, capiche?

So Messi? C-Ron? Gary Taylor-Fletcher? Jog on lads.

Believe me. It wasn’t a particularly easy task to whittle down the long-list (hence the myriad of ‘honourable mentions at the foot of the page!), but eventually – after several long hours spent watching endless reels of grainy, awful Euro House-laden compilation videos – we managed to arrive at our choice quintet.

In reverse order…

5. Filippo Inzaghi, 37, Italy (Career; 1991-present):

If anyone embodies just what an ‘out-and-out’ striker should encompass, it’s AC Milan’s resident poacher incarnate – a man so enamoured with the tenuous art of the four-yard tap-in that he screams himself hoarse after notching every single one, and it just so happens that there have been quite a few down the years.

Despite possessing fairly limited all-round ability, Super Pippo is an arch-scavenger, well-versed in slipping fleet-footed past his foes and seemingly blessed with almost unparalleled levels of serendipity when it comes to simply ‘turning up in the right place at the right time’.

Aside from being a World Cup winner and a double Champions League winner, Inzaghi is currently the most prolific goal-scorer (tied on 70 goals with Raul, who may just feature a little lower down the list) in European club competition and the third top goal-scorer in Milan’s history behind Gunnar Nordahl and Andriy Shevchenko – though he has played significantly fewer games for the Rossoneri than either of the two players above him.

He’s also netted a record ten Serie A hat-tricks, a record three Champions League hat-tricks and…phew!… is the oldest player to have scored in the Champions League at the grand old age of 37 years and 85 days.

Oh, and he’s also a 5th class knight of the Italian Republic.

Not bad for a spindly lad that was apparently ‘born offside’.

4. Romario, 45, Brazil (1985-2009):

The man that Johan Cruyff dubbed ‘the genius of the goal area’ scored a self-proclaimed, and often disputed, tally of 1000+ goals during his career, and many of the game’s most illustrious names have followed Cruyff in freely tooting the Brazilian strikers horn, in fact fellow Barcelona alumni Diego Maradona once went on record as saying Romario should be the ‘first pick in any dream team’.

There were no overly-fancy tricks, no endless parade of superfluous step-overs, just a razor-edged striker’s instinct and an unswerving ability to finish from all angles.

Yes, he could be a stubborn, egotistical little so-and-so when it suited him (e.g, when forced to suffer the ignominy of having to turn up to training), but on his day (e.g, at the apex of Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning side) he was untouchable.

3. Raul Gonzalez, 33, Spain (1994-present):

If Inzaghi embodies the breed, perhaps Raul represents the purest ‘out-and-out’ striker that football has ever seen.

The Spaniard currently holds the record for all-time Real Madrid appearances and it just so happens that in those 741 games, he’s found the back of the net on no fewer than 323 occasions – also a Real Madrid record -  and it’s perhaps also worth mentioning that he’s Spain’s all-time top-scorer (44 goals in 102 caps) as well.

A clinical, gifted and still criminally underrated forward, Raul is surely one of the greatest strikers never to have been honoured with the FIFA Player of the Year award and sadly, with his career now winding down in Germany with Schalke, only a minor miracle will see that oversight addressed.

2. Thierry Henry, 33, France (1994-present):

It took a while to get there, but when Thierry Henry reached his peak for Arsenal at the turn of the millennium, my goodness were all of his previous false-starts forgotten in a jiffy.

In his pomp, Henry played with an aloof swagger that only the truly gifted can pull off convincingly without looking like a bit of an Emmanuel Adebayor. Shots were clipped, curled and placed – never hammered blindly – touches were loving, delicate and precise, his effortless skill flowed freely and under no circumstances did he ever get his crisp white shorts muddy.

Not only was he responsible for a fairly high percentage of the greatest goals the Premier League has ever seen, being the sporting chap that he is (unless you ask the Irish, of course!), Henry also found time to ridiculously fluff the odd tacked-on sitter – y’know, just to remind us all that he was human after all.

1. Ronaldo, 34, Brazil (1993-2011):

Since 1993, Ronaldo’s scoring record reads something akin to 44 goals in 44 games for Cruzeiro, 54 goals in 57 for PSV, 47 goals in 49 for Barcelona, 59 goals in 99 for Inter, 104 goals in 187 for Real Madrid, 9 goals in 20 for AC Milan, 35 goals in 69 for Corinthians, 62 goals in 97 for Brazil so, bearing in mind that his knees began to give way somewhere around 1999 (his second season at Inter), it’s little wonder that he earned himself the nickname ‘O Fenomeno’ during the course of his glittering, goal-studded career.

Now, admittedly my Portuguese isn’t as good as it should be, but I’m pretty sure that constantly being referred to as a fenomeno is a fairly positive thing.

The original (and the best by a country mile) Ronaldo was one of the very few players I truly idolised as a young sapling, and the accompanying stories of transsexual discretion and bloated physical decline should never serve to shroud the fact that Senhor Nazario de Lima was truly one of the game’s unimpeachable greats.

A modern-day legend, the 34-year-old striker hung up his old R9′s for the last time on Monday, staving off the tears as he announced to the world that he  had finally been forced to accept he had ‘lost his fight with his body’.

So long Ronaldo, muito obrigado for everything old bean…

Honourable mentions: Gabriel Batistuta, Jurgen Klinsmann, Alan Shearer, Hernan Crespo, Samuel Eto’o, Dennis Bergkamp, Henrik Larsson, Eric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Andriy Shevchenko, Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero.

Spotted a glaring omission? Feel free to leave your suggestions (or your very own top 5) in the comments box below…

More from the Soccerlens Archives:

3 Up Front’s Top 5 Strikers Of Last 20 Years
Football Legends: The Forwards.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Note: We do NOT cater viewers looking for hot US soccer MALE players.

Major League Soccer is still a very small league as compared the to giants in Europe. But since, MLS is based in the United States, there is a lot of money to be spent but rules are put in place to stop the clubs from spending like Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Some of the biggest names of the world of soccer have ended their careers in MLS or plan to do so as it provides them a place where their high wage demands can be met and their presence in the league will improve the quality of the league. It is also a PR stunt, to be honest.

David Beckham is one of the biggest names in soccer, he plays for LA Galaxy in the MLS. Following his footsteps, Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez landed themselves a deal with New York Red Bulls and moved from Barcelona to the MLS.

As MLS is starting to get some recognition in soccer, the overall quality of the players is improving helping the US develop better players for themselves. Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey have set the bar for their future generations and also proven their mettle in Everton, Villarreal and Fulham respectively.

Good for soccer, right? But do you know what is good for players? Soccer WAGs! That’s right!

And here are the three biggest WAGs in the USA:

Bianca Kajlich – married to Landon Donovan
Bianca Kajlich was born in March 1977 and she is an actress and have done roles in both TV and film.

Some of her famous roles were in Bring It On (2000), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and on TV, she was in Boston Public and Dawson’s Creek.

In December 2006, Bianca and Donovan got married and they live in Manhattan Beach, California.

Claire Merry – ex-wife of Thierry Henry
The English model met Thierry while shooting an advert for Renault in 2001, while Henry was playing for Arsenal. The two got married in 2003.

But in 2007, shortly after Henry moved to the Spanish giants Barcelona, he was accused of having an affair with a make-up artist and consequently, Claire wanted out. She did not just wanted a simple divorce. She wanted a £10 million settlement with the divorce.

That was half the money Henry had and obviously, she got it. They had a daughter together in May 2005 named her Tea (I hope it’s a French name).

Victoria Beckham – married to David Beckham
Spice Girls. Posh. David Beckham. That pretty much sums up the life of Victoria. Or does it?

Spice Girls rose to fame in the 90s and boy, were they the best girl band ever or what! Everybody liked different Spice Girls for different reasons. David Beckham like Posh for obvious reasons.

Pulling off one of the biggest stunts in PR history, the heartthrob of millions of English women and some men probably, Mr. David Beckham, married the heartthrob of millions of men world over.

They met in 1997 at a charity football match, got engaged in 1998 and married in 1999. They’ve had three children in their 11 years of marraige: Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James and Cruz David Beckham. The Beckham’s are said to be expecting the fourth.

So yeah, I was right. That pretty much sums up the life of Victoria.

This is it. But this is not completely it. This is only it for the WAGs. We still have to look at some of the hottest US soccer athletes now.

Ella Masar – Chicago Red Stars, US
The 24 year old forward was born in Illinois and started her youth career in Illinois Fighting Illini. Her senior career started from Windy City Bluez. Moving from one team to another, she is currently playing Chicago Red Stars.

She made her international debut for the United States senior team against Germany in October 2009, coming in as a second half substitute.

Heather Mitts – Philadelphia Independence, US
Born in 1978, Heather started playing football in 1996 for the University of Florida. She made the move to the senior teams in 2000 and started playing for Tampa Bay Extreme.

Also in 1999, she made her international debut for the US women’s national team. She has won two Olympic gold medals as a member of the team in 2004 and 2008.

Heather is currently playing for Philadelphia Independence in the WPS.

Hope Solo – Atlanta Beat, US
Hope Solo was born in 1981 in Washington and she probably one of the best women’s goalkeeper ever. She has went on for 1,054 minutes without conceding a goal – a streak that ended in a 4-1 victory against France.

Hope started her professional career in 2003 with Philadelphia Charge but she had already debuted for the national women’s team of US in 2000. She is currently playing for Atlanta Beat in the WPS.

There you have it. WAGs of the players playing in the US and some of the hot women’s footballers from the US. What more could you ask for?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Below you’ll find a list of the all-time top scorers in the Premier League. More specifically, you’ll find every Premier League player in the 100 club, meaning they’ve scored 100 Premier League goals or more.

The top five Premier League goal scorers get their own little write up and a link to video of their goals. Everyone outside of that gets just their name, the clubs they played and scored for (or club, in the case of Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Matt LeTissier) and, of course, their total number of Premier League goals.

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1. Alan Shearer – 260 Premier League Goals

Alan Shearer, OBE, was born on 13th August 1970. Having started his career at Southampton, he went on to become one of the most prolific scorers of all time with Blackburn and his beloved Newcastle.

Great in the air, predatory from close range and deadly from distance, Shearer was at one time the complete striker. A series of knee injuries robbed him of some pace, but Shearer adapted his game in his later years and continued to find the net.

After the first ten years of the Premier League, Shearer was named as the outstanding player of the decade. He is also listed in the FIFA 100 greatest living footballers.

Shearer played 63 times for England, scoring 30 goals. He captained the side on 34 occasions.

Now working as a pundit on BBC television’s Match of the Day, Shearer had a brief spell as Newcastle United manager in 2008/9, when he took charge for the last eight games but was unable to save the club from relegation.

• Alan Shearer Goals (YouTube)

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2. Andy Cole – 187 Premier League Goals

Andy Cole, or Andrew Cole, as he now prefers to be called was born on 15th October 1971. He began his career with Arsenal, but played just one game before moving to Bristol City. His goal scoring exploits for The Robins caught the attention of Kevin Keegan at Newcastle, who signed the striker in 1993. Cole partnered Peter Beardsley, won the First Division and continued scoring in the Premier League for he following two seasons.

He was sold controversially to Manchester United in 1995, where he went on to achieve huge success. He was the top scorer in Europe for United in the treble winning season of 1998-99, a season in which he and Dwight Yorke contributed 53 goals between them overall. Cole scored the goal that won the Premier League title, and the goal that took them to the Champions League final. He has five Premier League winners medals, one Champions League winners medal and two FA Cup winners medals.

Since leaving United Cole has played at Blackburn, Fulham, Mancheser City, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Sunderland, without quite recapturing his best goal scoring form. Cole finished his career with a loan move to Burnley and a brief spell at Nottingham Forest before retiring in 2008.

Cole was awarded the PFA Young player of the year award in 1994, and played 15 games for Engand, scoring just one goal.

• Andy Cole Goals (YouTube)

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3. Thierry Henry – 174 Premier League Goals

Thierry Henry was born on 17th August 1977. He moved to Arsenal after a relatively successful career in France and Italy, but was regarded by many as an overrated wide player. Arsene Wenger converted Henry to be a striker and the rest, as they say, is history. Pacy, classy, goalscoring history.

Henry’s goals won the Premier League twice for Arsenal, including the 30 league goals he scored as Arsenal’s famous Invincibles went the entire 2003/4 season unbeaten. Henry was twice awarded the PFA Players Player of the Year award, and also won the Football Writers Player of the Year award on two occasions.

For France, Henry scored 51 goals in 123 appearances and has World Cup and European Championship winners medals.

Henry left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, where he won La Liga, the Champions League, Copa Del Rey and the Club World Cup. He currently plays for New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

• Thierry Henry Goals (YouTube)

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4. Robbie Fowler – 163 Premier League Goals

Robbie Fowler was born on 9th April 1975. He grew up in Toxteth, a rough area of Liverpool, and went on to become one of the best players ever to represent the Reds. In 1995 and 1996 he was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Renowned for his natural finishing ability, in 1994 Fowler scored three times in 4 minutes, 33 seconds against Arsenal, still the fastest hat-trick in Premier League history. His goal scoring exploits were always matched by the controversy surrounding him. He was particularly criticised when after scoring a goal he pretended to snort the paint from the six yard line, following rumours of a cocaine addiction. Presenting his backside to Graeme Le Saux, rumoured to be gay, was also an episode that Fowler should not be proud of.

Fowler left Liverpool for Leeds United and then Manchester City, but was back at Anfield for one more year in 2006/7. Fowler went on to play for Cardiff City and Blackburn Rovers before moving to Australia in 2009, where he played a season for North Queensland Fury before moving to current club Perth Glory.

Fowler played 26 times for England scoring 7 goals.

• Robbie Fowler Goals (YouTube)

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5a. Les Ferdinand – 149 Premier League Goals

Les Ferdinand, MBE, was born on 8th December 1966. He began his career scoring goals galore for lower league Hayes, and continued to do so wherever he went. His first big move was to top flight Queens Park Rangers, where he spent eight years banging in goals from 1987 to 1995 before earning a high profile move to Newcastle United. On Tyneside, Ferdinand developed a frightening strike partnership with Alan Shearer.

Like Shearer, Ferdinand was the complete package. Fast, strong, deadly in front of goal, and absolutely unbeatable in the air. After two years at Newcastle he moved on to Tottenham, where he spent six successful years before playing for West Ham, Leicester, Bolton and Reading.

Ferdinand was awarded the PFA players player award in 1996 and scored 5 goals for England gaining 17 caps.

• Les Ferdinand Goals (YouTube)

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5b. Michael Owen – 149 Premier League Goals

Michael James Owen was born on 14th December, 1979 in Chester, England. He is the son of a former forward of the 1970s, Terry Owen.

Michael Owen began his youth career in Liverpool in 1991. He progressed through the ranks and on his debut with the senior team in 1997, he scored. In his first full season in the English Premier League, he finished the season as the joint top-scorer with 18 goals.

Liverpool won a cup treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and the Football League Cup and Owen was awarded the Ballon d’Or. He went on to score 118 goals for the Reds in the Premier League.

In 2004, Owen moved to Real Madrid and was frequently used as a substitute. The following season, he returned to England to Newcastle United with the highest goals scored to number of minutes played ration in Spain.

He scored another 26 Premier League goals for Newcastle until he was picked up as a back-up striker by Alex Ferguson. To this day, he plays for Manchester United.

• Michael Owen Goals (YouTube)

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Rest of the EPL 100 Club:

• Teddy Sherringham (Notts Forrest, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, West Ham) 147
• Frank Lampard (West Ham United, Chelsea) 139
• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (Leeds United, Chelsea, Middlesborough) 127
• Dwight Yorke (Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sunderland) 123
• Robbie Keane (Coventry City, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, Tottenham, West Ham) 123
• Nicolas Anelka (Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Bolton Wanderers, Chelsea) 123
• Wayne Rooney (Everton, Manchester United) 119
• Emile Heskey (Leicester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Wigan, Aston Villa) 117
• Ian Wright (Arsenal, West Ham) 113
• Dion Dublin (Manchester United, Coventry, Aston Villa) 111
• Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) 110
• Paul Scholes (Manchester United) 102
• Matthew Le Tissier (Southampton) 101

Graham Fisher writes at www.viewsofafan.org

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Pele vs. Diego Maradona

Brazil’s #10 vs. Argentina’s #10. The man who won three World Cups versus the man who won the World Cup almost single-handedly (pun intended). The man who became a football ambassador and businessman versus the man who became a drug-taking, journalist-shooting controversy. It’s the classic player vs. player rivalry.

Which is weird. Because for all the debate about who was better and all the harsh words exchanged (and there have definitely been some harsh words) these men never met on the field, and their careers only overlapped at the very edges. In 1977, a 37-year-old Pele was finishing his playing career with the New York Cosmos while a 16-year-old Diego Maradona was just starting out with Argentinos Juniors. They didn’t even play the same position.

The only reason this rivalry exists is that Pele and Diego Maradona are recognized as the two greatest players of all time. But rather than leave it at that, both men seem possessed by a powerful need to be recognized as THE greatest player of all time, and each seems unable to escape the shadow of the other.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Leo Messi

The Pele vs. Maradona argument may be impossible to solve, but Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Leo Messi is different. The two players are similar in age, somewhat similar in style and – most importantly – are in direct competition with one another. When Real Madrid play Barcelona in La Liga, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Leo Messi.

They will come face to face (injury and suspension permitting) at least twice a year, and in between those games they’re already engaged is a sort of endless shootout, registering almost comical numbers of goals against La Liga’s lesser lights.

You could argue they represent different things. Ronaldo the arrogant big money signing always looking to do something flash, Messi the humble homegrown talent happy to submit himself to the team ethic. But why bother creating a false mythology when over the coming seasons we’re hopefully going to witness two players inspire each other to greatness, taking it in turns to raise the bar and then raise it again. When it’s all over, we could be looking back on the greatest player vs. player rivalry of all time.

Steven Gerrard vs. Frank Lampard

Two attacking midfielders, both of whom score goals from long range, neither of whom likes to defend. They can’t play together. They can play together. They can’t play together. They can play together. Gerrard and/or Lampard was and is the eternal question of the England midfield. In hindsight, they clearly couldn’t, at least if you use the functionality of England’s midfield at major tournaments as a yardstick.

But the question that still remains unanswered is: If England can only pick one, who should it be?

Gerd Müller vs. Jupp Heynckes vs. Klaus Fischer

The three highest scorers in Bundesliga history are Gerd Müller with 365, Klaus Fischer with 268 and Jupp Heynckes with 220. Great stats, but what makes it all the more amazing is that Müller, Fischer and Heynckes all played in the Bundesliga at the same time, specifically from the late 1960s through to the end of the 1970s. That’s what you call a shootout.

Bayern Munich striker Müller was the clear victor in this three-way rivalry, finishing as Bundesliga top scorer a remarkable four times and sharing the honour three times. But throughout that period Fischer was scoring constantly for 1860 München and Schalke 04, as was Heynckes for Hannover 96 and Borrusia Mönchengladbach, either breathing down Müller’s neck or even outscoring him, as Heynckes did in 1975 and Fischer did in 1976.

Roy Keane vs. Patrick Vieira

The Premier League in the late 1990s and early 2000s was all about Manchester United vs. Arsenal. And Manchester United vs. Arsenal was all about Roy Keane vs. Patrick Vieira. Two warrior-like leaders, but also two men who could play a bit as well put a nasty tackle in.

When two competitors like this square-up, you know it’s going to get tasty, with battles on the pitch, fights in the tunnel, and Keane’s legendary line of pre-match questioning: “If you love Senegal so much, why don’t you go play for them?”

Ruud van Nistelrooy vs. Thierry Henry

While Keane and Vieira were seeing who could shout the loudest and who could kick each other the hardest, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry were busy scoring goals. The first few seasons of the new millennium were all about which of these two strikers could fire their team to victory. RvN with his positioning, power and ruthless finishing, or TH14 with his lightning pace and ability to beat a keeper one one one.

Both men won titles and both scored ridiculous numbers of goals, each pushed a little harder by the other. Van Nistelrooy scored 44 in all competitions in 2002/3, while Henry replied with 39 the next season as Arsenal won the Premier League unbeaten. In a nice little parallel, the two moved to Spain within a season of each other, van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid in 2006 followed by Henry to Barcelona in 2007.

Gigi Buffon vs Iker Casillas

With all due respect to Petr Cech and others, these are the two great goalkeepers of the modern era. Men who’ve maintained the highest standards for club and country, and produced save after save after save.

How do we decide between them? Buffon is arguably better at organizing his defence and commanding his box. Casillas is arguably better at making those seemingly impossible game-changing saves. But that’s not to say that either is weak in any department.

Casillas now has the superior medal collection after equaling Buffon’s World Cup win in 2010, but also having two Champions League and a European Championship winners medal to polish as well. But Buffon is still a Serie A and World Cup winner, and may have even more medals had he not shown impeccable loyalty to Juventus after their court-ordered relegation in 2006.

So how do we choose? How about we don’t, and just honour Buffon and Casillas as the two greatest goalkeepers of the modern era instead.

Oliver Kahn vs. Jens Lehmann

Though similar in age (Kahn is just five months older) Lehmann was long Kahn’s understudy for the German national team. And this was fine with everyone because Kahn was outstanding, especially at the 2002 World Cup, where he captained the team to second place. But when Juergen Klinsmann took over as Germany coach in 2004, he relieved Kahn of the armband and announced that Kahn and Lehmann would be competing for the #1 jersey when Germany hosted World Cup 2006. Kahn was not amused.

The two men sniped as they passed the jersey back and forth, with Lehmann eventually emerging victorious by a narrow margin. There was brief harmony during the World Cup when Lehmann famously won a penalty shootout for Germany, and praise from Kahn, and a nice moment when Kahn played for the final time and captained the team in the third place playoff. But verbal hostilities resumed soon after World Cup 2006 with Lehmann saying Kahn takes himself far too seriously and Kahn mocking Lehmann for losing his Arsenal shirt to Manuel Almunia. Long may it continue.

Ronaldinho vs. Zinedine Zidane

The Messi and Ronaldo of their day. Around the middle of the 2000s, Ronaldinho and Zidane were the playmakers for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively. Both were masters of the unexpected, but there was never any animosity between the two, mostly because Zidane was an old bald man nearing retirement while Ronaldinho was a smiling buck-toothed innocent who liked to dance.

But this rivalry makes the list because in early 2005 someone invented YouTube, which meant that everyone in the internet-connected world was legally obliged to make a Ronaldinho vs. Zidane compilation video (preferably set to music) so that we could all compare the two men’s audacious flicks and tricks side by side in a series of pixelated showcases. Who was better? Who cares! Just click play and enjoy.

Alessandro Del Piero vs. Francesco Totti

The two grand old #10s of Italian football. Two men who have become symbols of the teams they’ve served for nearly two decades. Del Piero at Juventus and Francesco Totti at Roma. Both men hold the records for appearances and goals scored for their respective teams. Fans of those two clubs will argue about which player is better until the end of time, but the players themselves seem content to bask in some mutual appreciation. Here’s what Del Piero had to say about Totti before a game in early 2010:

With Francesco we have been teammates on the national team. I emphasize teammates and not rivals. We are very different, but we have many things in common. We won the World Cup together and those memories will bind us forever. But above all with our clubs we have been, and will be, adversaries. I think that a champion becomes great due to the great opponents he faces. For this I will be happy, tomorrow night (Saturday), to shake the hand of Francesco.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Nearly ten fallow years have passed since the Football Association (FA) purchased 300-odd acres of rural Staffordshire in 2001 with the ‘express’ intent of developing a footballing ‘centre of excellence’ in the heart of England, akin to the elite Clairefontaine academy that has proved to be such a valuable asset to the French national team in recent history.

Various setbacks ensued but, an entire decade on, building work has finally been given the green-light to commence on the Burton site in January by the FA Board, with both their Professional… and National Games… arms guaranteeing to financially underwrite the development of the new ‘National Football Centre’ – which has since been christened ‘St George’s Park’.

The FA initially paid a little over £25 million for the Burton site and, as of yesterday, have confirmed that another £80 million will be made available through themselves, their sponsors and their commercial partners to transform the semi-vacant acreage into the new hub of English football.

As well as being home to 24 affiliated England teams using 12 outfield all-turf pitches, St George’s Park will also incorporate a Hilton hotel, the new League Managers Association HQ, a state-of-the-art sports medicine and performance research centre and extensive coaching facilities and on-site quarters.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five, FA board member and chairman of the National Football Centre board David Sheepshanks listed the new venture’s vital statistics:

“St George’s Park will be the hub to a workforce of 1,400 FA coach educators, who will train in the region of 250,000 coaches by 2018. These coaches will work in their local clubs and communities reaching upwards of seven million participants, engaging and inspiring the next generation of players.

It will also be an internationally-leading sports medicine and performance research centre; a training home to enhance international team development and an inspirational hub for everyone involved in football from the grassroots to elite.

Today’s decision (to begin building work) means that we can open in 2012 and help to deliver the first exciting legacy of a golden summer for sport in this country. St George’s Park will be accessible to all, aspirational, educational, sustainable and iconic – a truly national centre for our national game, in the heart of England.”

The National Football Centre is now tentatively scheduled to open in the summer of 2012 though, if the ridiculously convoluted timescale of the FA’s £757 million ‘New Wembley’ endeavour is anything to go by, we can probably expect to see the ribbon being cut at Burton just as the next ice age sets in.

Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka are both Clairefontaine alumni

Given the overwhelmingly positive effect that the Clairefontaine production line (and others like it across Europe) has had on the French national side, it’s hard not to foresee St George’s Park having a similar sway on England’s ailing senior set-up at some point in the intermediate future – that said, you can’t help but feel it’s being rubber-stamped about a decade or so too late.

Clairfontaine has seen the likes of Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and  William Gallas graduate since it’s inception in 1988, a period of time that can best be described as ‘fairly barren’ from an English perspective.

Granted, there has also been a considerable flock of ‘lesser lights’ (Jeremie Aliadiere instantly springs to mind) pass through the academy, but the salient fact is that their world-class coaching staff are directly responsible for the early development of many of Les Bleu‘s genuine international stars – listing World Cup winners amongst that number. Need I say more?

As well as preparing England’s foetal youngsters for the rigours of international football, Burton will provide a central hub to improve the fairly dismal and routine standard coaching in this country.

The only way to produce a continuous run of high quality players is to have high quality coaches as a bells-and-whistles academy can’t function properly if it isn’t optimally staffed.

If the FA finally get the developmental infrastructure right then the England set-up should theoretically be able to allow their current stable of coaching staff and potential managers to begin to rival their European counterparts, meaning that the need for another foreign coach to be placed in charge of the national side should be eliminated entirely.

In short, the new National Football Centre in Burton is not merely an important element of England’s future, it’s absolutely essential if the national side are to harbour any realistic dreams of regaining the swathes of ground that have been yielded to their European rivals over the past ten years.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Ever since he signed for the club as a wide-eyed 16-year-old back in January of 2006, Arsenal prodigy Theo Walcott has been systematically lauded as the natural successor to Thierry Henry‘s considerable mantle at the club and, by proxy, unfairly derided for his continuing failure to do so.

Often seen as manager Arsene Wenger‘s youth-orientated folly personified, Walcott’s injury-strewn and inconsistent development attracted increasing criticism as the years wore on, as the ‘next big thing’ that the expectant English nation had promised themselves endured false start after false start – the yawning gap between his undoubted athleticism and his footballing nous often providing calamitous results.

However, now aged 21, Walcott is the exact same age that a certain Frenchman was when he joined Arsenal from Juventus in 1999.

Henry was arguably entrenched in premature decline during his ill-fated time in Serie A, fading from view whilst posted out on the Old Lady’s right wing, watching his form dwindle almost as quickly as his previously burgeoning reputation.

Wenger then took a calculated gamble on the player which he had rated so highly as a 15-year-old at Monaco and the rest, as they say, is 226-goal Premier League history.

Arsene Wenger and Theo Walcott in 2006

With Arsenal preparing for their Champions League game with Shakhtar Donetsk tonight, Wenger held his obligatory press conference to outline the depleted side that he plans to field against the Ukrainians – no Cesc Fabregas (hamstring), Alex Song (calf), Andrey Arshavin (virus) or Denilson (groin) – but, upon prompting, also felt the need to draw parallels between Walcott and the player that his young nonpareil has aped most throughout his career to date:

“Theo would love to play in the middle. Don’t forget that when Thierry Henry came here, he was a winger. When I played Henry as a central striker, he said to me: ‘But I can’t score goals.’

It’s difficult to compare the similarities – is Thierry a replica of Theo? Is Theo a replica of Thierry? No. But they have in common tremendous pace, they are good finishers and both are intelligent.”

Before making the move to a more central role, Henry was stationed on the flanks by Wenger thus training him to incisively cut inside from wider positions – a telling hallmark of his later play.

Given his four-year headstart on Henry, Wenger hinted that he believes Walcott may also be teetering on the verge of making the move into a move advanced position:

“[Walcott] is very close to playing that striker role. You know the two goals he scored against Newcastle [in the League Cup last week], they were typical of a striker who plays on a counter-attack.

But when I play with only one up front you like a guy who is good in the air sometimes, [for] when you kick it longer.

He can be prolific as once he is a yard in front of the defender, who can catch him? It looks to me that Theo has a calmness in front of goal. Before he rushed his decision, but now he is different.”

And with six well-taken goals in all competitions already this campaign, it’s hard to argue that particular strand of logic.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry in his pomp

The emergence of what I’ll loosely refer to as the 4-2-3-1 formation in European football (think Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Germany et al) has meant that the out-and-out striker is no longer playing such an influential role within any given side employing the tactic as was once the case – with the focus now being on the three floating trequartistas that usually play in support of a lone central forward.

The knock-on effect of this shift of influence is that the role of the central ‘target man’ role now requires a more refined and specific set of attributes than he ever has done previously. Deploying a lumpen giant with his elbows in everybody’s eye sockets or a flat-out, purposeless speed merchant just doesn’t cut it anymore.

In the 4-2-3-1, the striker is no longer relied upon for goals, but for holding up play, introducing others into attacking moves, pulling defenses around with tireless channel-furrowing and providing the main aerial focal point.

Walcott excels at curving runs from relatively wide positions in behind high defensive lines then basically tear-arsing toward goal at an unmatchable pace, leaving himself with plenty of time to decide what he intends to do once he gets there – a style of play which Wenger has struggled to nurture is far more suited to a supporting attacker rather than a wily (and spatially dynamic) centre forward.

Walcott has already come a long way in his current berth and, if I had any tangible say in the matter, I’d advise him to stay right (awful pun fully intended) where he is.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Football is a global game, and whatever your views might be on money in football, there’s no denying that football as a sport has produced many celebrities. These have been, more often than not, iconic figures who brought about positive change through their success, although many have been happy to parlay their fame into money (and there’s nothing wrong with that!).

So who’s the top dog in football right now? Who are the biggest, brightest, shiniest starts in the people’s game? Have a look at the list below, and then share your thoughts in the comments.

David Beckham

The Godfather of self-publicity, Goldenballs has taken the world by storm and astutely cultivated ‘friendships’ with countless movers and shakers from the world of showbiz and politics alike. The first player to transform himself into a global brand.

Lionel Messi

Wholesome, devout and not half bad with the ball at his feet, the little Argie is an advertiser’s wet dream. Messi may not be the most charismatic individual but he lets his football do the talking while his agents continue to strike multi-million endorsement deals.

Roman Abramovich

The Russian oligarch may not actively court publicity but whenever he does put his head above the parapet, he’s news. Abramovich changed the football landscape when he bought Chelsea and his air of mystery has only heightened his myth.

Jose Mourinho

The Special One is like a cult leader, hypnotising his disciples with a heady mixture of personality and arrogance. Mourinho plays the media like a fiddle as we wait on his every word with bated breath.

Wayne Rooney

Wazza may look like Shrek but England’s desperate need for a national icon to succeed Beckham has propelled the irate Scouser into the football celebrity elite and with mates like 50 Cent and The Stereophonics, he’s already mixing in showbiz circles.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Gay icon and female heartthrob, fashion designer and top footballer, is there no end to The Winker’s talents? Appearing with Homer in Nike’s recent World Cup advert took his global celebrity to a new level.

Maradona

Love him or loathe him, Maradona still bestrides the football world like a crazed colossus. A living saint in Argentina, neither time nor controversy has diminished his legend and his every move remains headline news.

Ryan Giggs

Giggs’ longevity at the highest level has earned him a reputation as the game’s elder statesman and there’s surely no fan in the world who hasn’t heard of the flying Welshman. His name check on The Simpsons says it all.

Thierry Henry

His playing powers may have dramatically declined since his heyday but Henry remains one of the game’s most bankable assets and his recent switch to the MLS will see him following in Beckham’s footsteps and trying to break America.

Kaka

The Brazilian’s a good-looking but clean cut fella and, like Messi, he’s perfect for flogging anything from Playstation games to energy drinks. Brazilian players are ten-a-penny in Europe these days but the Real Madrid star remains the most famous of them all.

Written by Iain Spragg, published author, respected sports writer and co-founder of Sports Media Solutions.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Forbes’ inaugural SportsMoney 50-50 list (a system used to rank the 50 most valuable teams and the 50 most valuable athletes across all world sport) were announced yesterday and, whilst the individual standings were stacked heavily in favour of American sports stars (NBA players occupy 14 slots, NFL players 9), there are six footballers that feature in the top 50.

Despite his various recent infidelities, golfing icon Tiger Woods tops the list with an estimated annual income of over $100 million (thanks to his lucrative tie-ins with Nike and Gillette amongst others) with boxer Floyd Mayweather Jnr and basketball player Kobe Bryant making up the top three.

It should come as no surprise that topping the footballers’ standings (though only making fifth position in the list proper, one place behind golfer Phil Mickelson) is one David Beckham, who has become somewhat of a one-man global super-brand over the past decade of his career – raking in nearly $44 million in endorsements and salaries from high-profile companies such as Adidas and Yahoo!.

Here’s how the sextuplet of footballing superstars fared in comparison to one another…

1. David Beckham, LA Galaxy (5th on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $43.7 million (£28.6 million) / Age: 35

Beckham is currently overseeing the development of a range of underwear and fragrances that will bear his name, so we can expect his income to swell further over the next couple of years.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid (13th on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $35.8 million (£23.4 million) / Age: 25

Ronaldo is currently the world’s most expensive player having transferred from Manchester United to Real for $132 million, but the Portuguese forward did not receive a cut of the fee.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi

3. Lionel Messi, Barcelona (26th on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $27 million (£17.7 million) / Age: 23

Despite his relatively tender years, Barca’s diminutive Argentinian winger already has $multi-million sponsorship deals with Adidas, Gillette, Konami and Pepsi.

4. Kaka, Real Madrid (31st on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $25.6 million (£16.7 million) / Age: 28

The Brazilian didn’t enjoy the best of seasons at the Bernabeu last term, but his endorsement deals with Sony and Adidas (amongst many others) will go someway to softening the blow.

5. Ronaldinho, AC Milan (32nd on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $25.1 million (£16.4 million) / Age: 30

The buck-toothed show pony is a shadow of the player he once was, but his image still sells – especially in his homeland of Brazil.

6. Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls (39th on Forbes’ list)

Estimated income: $23.5 million (£15.4 million) / Age: 33

Henry can already count Reebok and Gillette amongst his current cache of sponsors, but his recent move to the MLS will provide vast scope for further additions.

* * * * *

Please note that Forbes’ calculations are based solely on the individual’s sponsorship revenue, and the income figures displayed do not include club salaries and/or bonuses.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News