Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties

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Nobody gave Chelsea a chance from the beginning of 2012 UEFA Champions’ League; they were not in their best shape. The highly favoured English teams like Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal FC all got knocked out before the quarter final stage and the Blues were left to redeem the image of EPL. Nobody believed they could get beyond the round of 16 after they were dealt a deadly blow by Napoli in their first leg match at Italy.

They remained dogged and determined. After losing by a whooping 3-1 at Italy, they came back to upturn the table at Stamford Bridge, winning by an unbelievable 4-1 to advance to the quarter final stage. They defeated Benfica away by 1-0, and also beat them 2-1 at Stamford Bridge (though Benfica were reduced to 10 men).

Their Semi final matches were dramatic as they defended gallantly against FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge and ended up winning the match by a lone goal. The second leg at Nou Camp saw Chelsea down to 10 men and losing by 2 goals in the first half. But they fought back and pulled a 2-2 draw against highly favoured Barca.

Soccer pundits still didn’t have faith in the Blues; they believed luck might not keep seeing them through. The fact they were to play the final at Allianz Arena, coupled with the fact they were playing against a highly experienced side made Chelsea clearly the underdogs. But it seemed that God was clearly with them, giving them victory where nobody expected them to succeed.

Munich came in with determination to win the match and be handed the trophy right in their own home. They bombarded Chelsea from the outset, with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery firing full cylinders from the right and left flanks respectively. But the Londoners held their ground; they defended their territory gallantly.

But after series of onslaught by the Munich side, Thomas Muller’s nodding in the 83rd minute caught Petr Cech pants down, putting the host team ahead. They had only 7 minutes to redeem themselves and Chelsea fought back, with the introduction of Fernando Torres who replaced Salomon Kalou. They finally got a corner kick in the 88th minute which was nodded in by Didier Drogba for an equalizer.

The match eventually went into extra time. Just in the 3rd minute of added time, Drogba stepped on Franck Ribery’s heel in the 18 yard box to give away a penalty to Munich. The resultant penalty was taken by Arjen Robben, but Petr Cech denied him the opportunity to celebrate as he stretched full length to save the kick.

The match eventually went into extra time and after 120 minutes of play, score line remained 1-1. The match had to be concluded on penalties. Juan Mata took the first kick for Chelsea but Manuel Neuer saved it, creating tension in the Blues’ camp. The kicks went on and at the end, Munich lost two kicks (Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ivica Olic) and Chelsea lost one (Juan Mata) to end score at 4-3 in favour of the London side.

Roberto Di Matteo suddenly rose from a villain to a hero; he did what the likes of jose Maurinho, Guus Hiddink, Avran Grant, Filipe Scolari, Carlo Ancelotti and Andrea Villas Boas could not do. He rose from being a failure in WestBromwich Albion to a Champions’ league winner. He ended up winning the doubles (having won the English FA Cup earlier) for the season. The coach soccer analysts said had no pedigree to lead the Blues suddenly succeeded where Man U, Manchester City and Arsene failed.

The happiest men of the night were arguably Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry. It was sweet victory as Drogba led his team mates in victory celebration, having scored a crucial equalizer and then the winning penalty for his team. There was no better way to celebrate. The likes of Arjen Robben, Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger couldn’t believe they just lost the trophy right in their backyard. They remained glued to the pitch.

Roman Abrahamovich was elated his dream of winning the Champions’ League finally came true courtesy of Roberto Di Matteo and his lads. Now that they’ve delivered, what happens to Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole? Should their contracts be renewed or should they leave on the expiration of their contracts?

Now that Di Matteo has proven to be a reliable coach, should Abrahamovich still sack him and get someone else to manage the team? He sure deserves to be retained since he was able to discover the magic wand needed for the team to succeed.

One thing is obvious; Chelsea needs more young talented players to beef up the attack, midfield and the defense if they hope to successfully defend the title next season. They need new hands to complement the efforts of the aging legs should they be retained.

What do you think? Should Roberto Di Matteo be confirmed as the coach of the team? Should Drogba, Terry, Lampard and Ashley Cole be shown the exit door or should they be retained? Kindly drop your comment here.

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Chelsea Win Champions League 2012; Beat Bayern Munich on Penalties

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10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark

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Nolan Ryan

Okay, Nolan Ryan is a bit of a throwback, and hasn't been in Major League Baseball since 1993, but when you consider a couple of things you'll see why he's easily on this list. Ryan entered the big leagues in September of 1966 as a right-handed pitcher with a lot of potential. During his 27-year career, Ryan had a record of 324-292 and threw 5,714 strikeouts, a standing MLB record.

While Ryan did throw seven no-hitters, an MLB record to this day, he never threw a perfect game and never won a Cy Young Award. But he did appear in a Major League game in four decades, could consistently throw over 100mph at his peak performance, and consistently was over 95mph over the age of 40.

Jamie Moyer

Another one of those four-decade guys; at age 49, Jamie Moyer is currently making a bid to make the Colorado Rockies as a relief pitcher. In fact, he struck out four in four perfect innings during a recent spring training game in Arizona against the San Francisco Giants.

He sat out last season and played analyst at ESPN while nursing a banged-up elbow. He last played in June of 2010 at the spry age of 47. I can't believe he's almost 50; I get tired just watching him pitch. Here's to old guys like Moyer. Cheers!

Chipper Jones

I was too young to remember Nolan Ryan's debut, and don't specifically remember Jamie Moyer entering the bigs, although I've watched a great deal of his career. I do remember the day Chipper Jones came in swinging because he was the youngest player in baseball on September 11, 1993.

Perhaps not the granddaddy of the list, at age 39 he looks as good as he did at age 21. His youthful good looks betray his age, and unless you know he's been in the Major Leagues for nearly 20 years—all of it with the Atlanta Braves—you'd never guess he's 39. Expect to see him in the broadcast booth after this year, his farewell season. I suspect at age 59 we'll be saying the same things about this youngster!

Derek Jeter

Easily one of the best looking guys to ever round the bases, Derek Jeter joined the New York Yankees in May of 1995, where's he remained as a fan-favorite ever since. He's also one of the greatest shortstops to ever play the game, evidenced by 12 All-Star games and 5 Golden Glove awards.

Jeter always seems to be in the gossip columns. After all, his penchant for celebrity women is well documented. There's been Mariah Carey, Miss Universe: Lara Dutta, Vanessa Minillo, Minka Kelly, Jessica Beal, Joy Enriquez, and Jordana Brewster. Whew! Where does this guy find time for baseball?

Anyway, at age 37 he looks like he's found the Fountain of Youth, and if his body holds out he could play baseball well into his 40's.

Andy Pettitte

What is it with the New York Yankees and youthful players? I mean we're talking about life in the Big Apple, and there's no way these guys aren't playing and living hard. Anyway, Andy Pettitte, lefty fire-baller for the Yankees probably still gets asked for ID when he hits the night clubs!

At age 39, he's still got what it takes to play the game with the big boys. Even though he announced his retirement last year, he's already been signed to a minor league contract in the Yankees organization for a whopping $2.5 million. He's expected to spend some time tuning-up before coming back to New York and joining the Yankees' regular rotation.

Tim Wakefield

From July 31, 1992 through September 25, 2011 Tim Wakefield's world famous knuckleballs fanned 2,156 batters. The slow-pitch was definitely the key to his longevity in the Major Leagues, but there's no accounting for the fact that every time this guy took the mound someone in the broadcast booth would comment on his youthful good looks.

Perhaps it was the fact that he generally rolled with his own personal catcher, because his knuckleball was so difficult to catch. That's enough to stroke any guy's ego, easily shedding the years as quickly as they fall out of the calendar.

Omar Vizquel

Here's one of those 44-year-old guys that make the 34-year-old guys a little nervous. Does he look younger than me? Will I look that good in ten years? Yes, and no, respectively. This Latino shortstop is arguably one of the greatest to ever play the game. He once went on a 95-game stretch without an error, and has a career fielding percentage of .985, which is the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop in Major League history.

No telling when this Venezuelan lothario is going to retire, but it won't ever be on the grounds that he just looks too old to play the game. This guy might truly be the Dick Clark of Major League baseball players.

Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell just retired at the age of 40 at the end of last season. He was immediately offered a front office job with the Milwaukee Brewers, a team he spent six of his 17 years with. The Brewers wer probably enthralled with his boyish appearance, and figured they'd get a good 40 more years out of him before he simply had to call it quits.

Counsell played for seven teams during his career, winning two World Series rings along with the NLCS MVP in 2001. Too bad this guy isn't going in front of the cameras. He'd easily be another fan-favorite for another 17 years. People would start talking about him and Dorian Gray in the same sentence!

Jim Thome

Listen up, kids. If you want to play a really long time, and want to look great doing it, take a page out of the Jim Thome playbook:

•Become a first baseman because it's closer to the dugout (less running to begin and end each inning).
•Hit lots of home runs (604) so you can just trot around the bases.
•Hit really well with runners on the bases (1,675 runs batted in), which means you can stroll to first base as the runner heading to home plate will draw all the attention from the defense. Still going strong at age 41, Jim Thome will lace them up once again with the Philadelphia Phillies where he's sure to make a big splash as the oldest first baseman in the league.

Jason Giambi

Say what you will about Jason Giambi, but this is a guy who's looked good every single day of his career. At age 41 (he's a few months younger than Thome); he'll once again be in the spotlight as the first baseman for the Colorado Rockies.

Over the years he's put on, and subsequently taken off, a little weight here and there, but it's never marred his perennial good looks. He'll be one of the big-leaguers who will retire when he feels darned good and ready to, and not a day before. A fan favorite for sure, he'll probably be around a few more seasons.

Can you think of any ageless baseball players I missed? Let me know in the comments below or via Twitter.

10 Baseball Players Who Age As Well As Dick Clark

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Preparing for The Big Game

Pin It Now! If you are an athlete or a sportsman or woman, then likely you will spend a lot of your time in training trying to improve your reactions, your strength, your running speed, your endurance etc etc. Preparation for a big game is something you should do continuously, but this becomes even more important in the build-up to the event itself and whether you play hockey or sprint, it's very important that you treat yourself correctly in these few days building up to the main event to ensure you are on top form. Here's what you need to do.,p> Rest
Training hard is advisable in the weeks leading up to an event or game. However in the few days before it's better to rest and give yourself some time to recover. Training is something that you can not cram in at the last minute and this means you don't want to suddenly hit the gym hard the night before your game. All this will accomplish is to make you tired and lethargic going into the event and will leave you with sore muscles.

When you train using resistance work this causes tiny tears to form in your muscles – aptly named 'microtears'. These tears are repaired by the body using amino acids that are sourced from the protein you eat, but this means that you need to rest to benefit from the training. Go into a game after training and you'll just be doing so with weakened and damaged muscles and you'll have increased your chances of pulling a muscle. And of course if you train too hard the day before then you'll also risk injury which is the last thing you want to do.

You also need to make sure that you rest psychologically, and it's important that you focus but also that you relax to make sure that you are on top form before the game. If you are too nervous and stressed it will affect your preparation and it will prevent you from getting the good night's sleep that you need to be on top form. If you're nervous then consider using cognitive restructuring techniques in order to help you relax. A great way to spend the night before a game or event is to relax reading a book (to keep your mind off of the event) and then go to bed early after a hot bath.

Diet
What you eat in the few days building up to your event is also very important. For instance if your event is going to last for a long amount of time then you might want to consider using some kind of carb loading. This essentially means that you will be eating carbohydrates in the form of complex sugars so that on the day your body has a wealth of energy sources to plunder to prevent you from tiring out too soon.

Likewise you should also ensure that you drink a lot of water and this can help you to stay hydrated which can further improve your performance and help prevent cramping. Something to avoid doing, however, is to eat anything too high in fat. Fat is very difficult for the body to digest compared to other food groups and this then means that you could risk going into the event feeling bloated and even suffering from indigestion.

Author Byline:- Chad Moreau being a fitness expert thinks online hockey training programs are the best way to get well trained. He also likes to share some of the good training programs on his blog.

Preparing for The Big Game

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Manchester City Win 2011/12 Barclays Premier League in Grand Style

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Manchester City has finally emerged the winners of the 2011/12 Barclays English Premier League season in what could best be described as the greatest dramatic comeback on the final day of the season. The matches between City and Queens Park Rangers, and the one between Manchester United and Sunderland were no doubt the most tensed as fans could hardly relax to enjoy the games. Everybody held on to his smart phone to hear what was happening from the other end.

United took the lead in through Wayne Rooney in the 20th minute of the first half of the match and maintained the goal till the very last blast of the whistle. Sunderland tried as much as possible to equal scores but that was impossible. Man. U looked good to clinch their 20th premiership title; they were sure of their victory over their host. They kept praying QPR should win or at least hold City to a draw.

Pablo Zabaleta put Manchester City on the lead in the 39th minute of the first half. Roberto Mancini’s lads had hoped to consolidate on their gains, but on resumption of the second half, their goal was cancelled out by Djibril Cisse who had latched on a loose ball that was headed backward by Joleon Lescott to drive a low shot behind Joe hart.

A moment later Joey Barton was shown the red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez by the edge of the 18 yard box. Down to 10 men, QPR resorted to defensive tactics, frustrating all moves by City to win the match. Even when ball possession was 80% - 20% in favour of the home side, QPR’s defense wall remained impregnable till the end of the 90 minutes.

While City were desperately fighting to score more goals, substitute Armand Traore gave a cross to Jamie Mackie who nodded it behind Joe hart thereby ensuring that 10-man QPR were in the lead once again. The result remained 2-1 in favour of the visitors for the rest of the second half.

Manchester United were already celebrating their victory and waiting for the final whistle signaling the end of the match between City and Rangers when something dramatic happened. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero scored two quick goals in the last few seconds of the added 5 minutes injury time to end the hopes of United.

Manchester City had just won their first EPL title in 44 years, their very first under Roberto mancini. The stadium went into ecstasy. Of course in a matter of seconds, reality dawned on their neighbours that the title was no longer within their reach. Everything changed in split seconds.

They worked hard for it; they believed in themselves that they could do it (according to their skipper Kompany). Malcini also added "I don't think I've ever seen a finale like this. We didn't deserve to lose. We had a lot of chances and we deserved to win the game and championship. It's fantastic for the club and the supporters after 44 years. It's been a crazy season and a crazy last minute."

Sir Alex Fergusson had this to say after City were declared champions, "It's a cruel way to lose the title. We've experienced many ups and downs in the 25 years I've been here, most of them have been great, we've won the title three times on the last day, today we nearly did it. "I'd like to say on behalf of Manchester United, congratulations to our neighbors -- a fantastic achievement to win the Premier League."

I think they truly deserved to be champions considering the fact they have the best attack and the best defense in the EPL this season. They scored a total of 93 goals and conceded 29, scoring the highest numbers and conceding the least.

Now they have qualified to represent England in the Champions’ league next season. It is no longer news that Mancini’s boys have won the EPL, and the question is no longer “Can Manchester City win the 2011/12 Premier League?” but now the question on everyone’s lips is “Can City successfully defend the title?” Whether they can defend the title or not the, only time shall tell.

Manchester City Win 2011/12 Barclays Premier League in Grand Style

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Who Wins The Barclays English Premier League 2012?

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The 2011/2012 Barclays English Premier League officially winds up today and the fate of some club sides would be determined at the end of the day. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers have been confirmed relegated to the lower division. Aside from the two, only Chelsea FC is sure of its position; win or lose, they are sure of remaining in the 6th position on the league table.

This season remains the most competitive in a decade with virtually every club side having to wait till the very last day of the league to know its fate. The greatest competition is among the top 5, with Manchester City and Manchester United with 86 points each in a world of their own, but having to wait till the final blast of the whistle to know who emerges the EPL champions.

This season remains very interesting because for the first time in several years, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are in serious contention for the 3rd place on the league table and also for a place in the UEFA Champions’ League for next season. As it stands now, no one is sure of the 3rd and 4th places yet.

Manchester City also is highly favoured to dethrone Manchester United after they successfully overcame the threat by Newcastle last week in a match soccer pundits believed would be the toughest for City. City proved everyone wrong by beating highly rated Newcastle side 2-0 in their own home. United now is depending on luck to upturn the table as the source of their confidence was frustrated. They had depended seriously on Newcastle to help them beat City but it didn’t work the way they expected.

The 3rd and 4th positions are still open and the battle seems to be fiercest here as Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are srambling to take the 3rd place. Should Arsenal lose or draw and Tottenham wins by as much as 2 goals they would automatically displace Arsenal from the 3rd position. Should Tottenham lose or draw and Newcastle wins even by a lone goal, they would also displace Tottenham from the 4th position. If Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both lose their matches and Newcastle wins, then Newcastle automatically takes the 3rd position and becomes guaranteed of a place in the Champions’ League.

Chelsea could still spring surprises to deny the other contenders of the 4th position. If they go ahead to win the Champions’ League in Munich on the 19th May, then they automatically qualify to represent England as the defending champions. In that case whosoever wins the 4th position on the league table would lose his chance and proceed to the Europa League. This is the more reason why the battle for 3rd place is so fierce because nobody wants to take chances.

What are we expecting?
Is this going to mark the arrival of a new giant in Manchester City? Should City win the League what would be of Manchester United and Chelsea who have exchanged this trophy between themselves in the past 7 seasons? Would City become perennial winners considering the array of stars they have or would their winning simply be a flash in the pan? Who joins Woverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn? Bolton or Queens park Rangers? These questions would surely have answers at the end of today.

What do you think? Who wins the EPL 2012? Who joins Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers on relegation?

Who Wins The Barclays English Premier League 2012?

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Life and Achievements of Rasheed Yekini

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Rasheed Yekini was one of the best strikers Nigeria ever had; his personal contributions to the Super Eagles secured the country a place at the FIFA Soccer World for the first time in USA’94 where he became the first Nigerian to score a world Cup goal.

Popularly called ‘Yeking’ in his hay days, he was one of the few players that sent cold sweat down the spines of their opponents whenever his name was mentioned. He had only 58 caps for his country and scored 37 goals, an average of 0.637 goals per match.

His achievements in the field of play earned him the ‘African Footballer of the Year’ award in 1993, making him the first Nigerian to achieve that feat. He consistently remained among the top scorers in all the Africa Cup of Nations tournaments he attended.

He had a wonderful professional career where he played in the Nigerian, Portuguese, Greek, Spanish, Swiss, Ivorian and Saudi Arabian leagues. Of particular interest was his scoring 34 goals in 32 matches for Vitoria Setubal to emerge the top scorer in the Portuguese League in the 1993/94 season.

Rasheed Yekini returned to the Nigerian Premier League where he had a brief romance with Julius Berger FC of Lagos and Gateway United FC of Abeokuta before he finally retired from the game that brought to stardom. By the time he returned to the Nigerian Premier League, he had already lost his goal scoring flairs; therefore the local fans could not really see much of him.

He had lived a secluded life since he was divorced in 1994; he lived with his two children and few tenants in his house at Ibadan in western Nigeria. It was even reported in the media later that he had run mad and was roaming the streets of Ibadan though no one could really verify the authenticity of the report.

The former African Footballer of the year died on Friday 4th may 2012 at a private hospital in Ibadan at the age of 48 years. He was buried in his home town Ira, Oyun Local Government Area of Kwara state in the North Central part of Nigeria.

He would fondly be remembered by football supporters in Nigeria, Africa and other parts of the globe where he plied his trade as a professional footballer. May his gentle soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty God. Adieu Rasheed Yekini.

Life and Achievements of Rasheed Yekini

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Chelsea Wins English FA Cup 2012

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It was celebration galore at Wembley stadium as Chelsea lifted the FA Cup for the 4th time in 6 years and their first major trophy under Roberto Di Matteo. Nobody gave them a chance considering their poor runs and their inconsistency in the league this season.

Ramires opened scoring for the Blues in the 11th minute after collecting Juan Mata’s pass from the midfield. The mercurial and fast paced midfielder simply outran Liverpool’s last standing defender Jose Enrique and drove a powerful shot that beat goal keeper Pepe Reina for the first goal. It would be recalled that his first goal was all they needed to qualify for the Champions’ league final at Camp Nou in their match against FC Barcelona last time.

It took Chelsea only 7 minutes on resumption of the second half to finish up their already started job. Didier Drogba scored the winning goal for the blues in the 52nd minute to become the first player to score a goal in 4 FA Cup finals in the 141 years history of the tournament. This victory also made it Ashley Cole’s 7th FA Cup title having won 3 with Arsenal FC previously.

Liverpool’s substitute, Andy Carroll pulled a goal back in the 64th minute but it was not enough to stop the Blues from winning the 2012 edition. The reds started to mount pressure in the second half of the match after the damage had been done. Andy Carroll almost got a second goal but his goal-bound header was saved by goal keeper Petr Cech before it could cross the goal line.

The London club now has silverware and has already qualified for the Champions’ League finals against Bayern Munich in Munich come 19th May 2012. They are also in the 6th place on the EPL table and can still play in Europe next season at least in the Europa League should they fail to lift the Champions’ League.

What happens if Di Matteo eventually wins the UEFA Champions’ League on the 19th of May in Germany? Would he then be confirmed as the Chief Coach of Chelsea or would Roman Abrahamovic still continue to search for a more experienced coach as many soccer pundits believe that Di Matteo does not have the pedigree to take the blues to greater heights?

Whatever be the case the coach has done remarkably well having won his first trophy with a team that was obviously in crisis when he took over from Andre Villas Boas few months ago. He has been able to return Chelsea to winning streaks again. Whether he remains at Stamford Bridge or not, he has proved his mettle and also proved a lot of pundits wrong.

Chelsea Wins English FA Cup 2012

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