BBC recently named Ryan Giggs their sports personality of the year. He is the first footballer to win since David Beckham in 2001. Giggs, who recently signed on for another season at United, has appeared in more games (all at united) than any other player in the history of the premier league.
He was compared to a young George Best when he turned pro 20 years ago. Today, he is just plain Giggsy. No one like him.
In case you needed a reminder…
The competition is only 6 years old, but its roots go back for decades. The tournament is, in theory, a year-end celebration of the world’s best football clubs. Champions from each continent are competing in the United Arab Emirates from December 9th – 19th. Competitors include:
FC Barcelona: Champions League Winners
Club Estudiantes de la Plata: Libertadores Cup winners
Aukland City FC: OFC Club Championship winners
Pohang Steelers: Asian Champions League winners
TP Mazembe: CAF Champions League winners
Atlante Futbol Club: CONCACAF Champions Cup winners
And representing the host nation will be Al Ahli FC.
MLS teams need to figure out how to be more competitive in CONCACAF cup competition. If America’s best club can make it into a tournament with the UEFA Champions League winners, club soccer in this country will flourish. In order to make this happen, American clubs need to rally together and figure out how to play more games in multiple tournaments. While base salary for MLS players is staggeringly low, the organizations must understand that more games will lead to more competition, which will (we have to believe it) bring more money and fan support to clubs.
The top two teams in each category will advance to the round of 16.
Juventus, Liverpool, and Atletico Madrid are officially bound for the Europa League.
Real Madrid put on an inspired performance against OM today to finish at the top of their group. Cristiano Ronaldo was brilliant, adding another 2 notches to his UCL belt.
Bayern Munich is back. Today’s 3-1 victory can be attributed to tough defense and chance-creation from midfield. Juventus started strong with a goal from Trezeguet, but ultimately fell to an overpowering Munich offense. The German club made it into the round of 16 without having to rely on an injured Franck Ribery.
Some people criticize Bayern for having lost their “guiding philosophy,” but I say it was alive and well today.
Here are the UCL fixtures for this week:
This is a cool tutorial on how to strike like CR9, presented by our friends at B/R and UEFA. Follow these steps, and you’ll have it down in no time! Well, maybe.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b1kXn
photo credit: Pierre-Phillipe Marcou/AFP
Today’s big matchups proved to be well balanced as top contenders Man U, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and AC Milan each earned a point in their respective outings. Many expected that Real Madrid would emerge victorious after an embarrassing 4-0 defeat in La Liga last week. Kaka, Higuain, and Benzema all came out shooting for Madrid in the first half, which resulted in a goal from Benzema in the 29th minute. Los Merengues lost stride after a beautiful penalty kick from Ronaldinho brought the score level just a few minutes later. (more…)
