Beckham returns to the Champions League : The only remaining Englishman

With so many of the English teams dominating Europe in the last few years, who would have thought that there would be no English team in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League? And you would be more surprised to know that the only Englishman left in Europe's elite cup tournament, is the 37 year old David Beckham.

It was in 2010, when Beckham had last played in the Champions League, when he faced Manchester United at Old Trafford while played for AC Milan, losing 4-0. Since 2010, Beckham moved back to LA Galaxy after his loan spell with AC Milan.

After completing his 5 year long contract with LA Galaxy, he made the long awaited switch back to Europe with the cash-rich Paris Saint Germain in January. Although the didn't play in the Champions League round of 16, after gaining the required fitness his time had come. PSG were scheduled to face Barcelona on the 2nd of April, 2013, and with everybody's eyes on the team sheet, the good news came with Beckham in the starting line up to face Barcelona

It was the time, the whole of the footballing world turned into a PSG fan base. Yeah! Just to support Beckham. Well, at least that's what it seemed on most of the social networking sites. After more than 2 years out of the Champions League, he did quite a good job in midfield for PSG, although he played in a slightly different role in defensive midfield and with some pin point passing, he did show he is still Champions League quality. Had a decent first half but as the game went  into the second half, his legs gave away and was substituted in the 70th min.

Although most of the footballing world thought it was a decent performance, one of France's leading sports newspaper didn't think so. L'Equipe gave Beckham a rating of 3/10. Saying his selection was a gamble and surprise. No one really cared as every footballing fan was happy to see Beckham back in the Champions League.

With Beckham back in Europe's elite competition, there are talks going on of Beckham being included back in the England squad, and considering the current quality of the England squad, Beckham could be give a try, and why not?

Former manager Alex Ferguson said that he "practised with a discipline to achieve an accuracy that other players wouldn't care about." Well, that's the reason he's back at the center stage.

Beckham's Champions League stats

Manchester United

Played - 85

Goals - 15

Real Madrid

Played - 28

Goals - 2

AC Milan

Played - 2

Goals - 0

PSG

Played - 1

Goals - 0

Total played - 116

Total goals - 18

Champions League Draw: What to expect?

The Champions League draw for the round of 16 is out is out. Well, but still, it's a long way till the matches are played. The matches are to be played on Feb 12-20(1st leg) & March 5-12(2nd leg) 

Schedule

Galatasaray v Schalke

(February 20 and March 12)

Celtic v Juventus

(February 12 and March 6)

Arsenal v Bayern Munich 

(February 19 and March 13)

Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund

(February 13 and March 5)

AC Milan v Barcelona

(February 20 and March 12)

Real Madrid v Manchester United

(February 13, March 5)

Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain

(February 12 and March 6)

Porto v Malaga

(February 19 and March 13)

Pick of the Ties?

Real Madrid vs Manchester United. The 2nd leg is at Old Trafford, pundits say is an advantage, but I'm not very sure. There is always more of a concern of conceding away goals in the 2nd leg than the 1st leg, because you can't do anything about it as there is no 3rd leg to counter effect, unlike the when the 1st leg, u can counter it in the 2nd leg. I usually prefer the Home game being 1st. But sometimes all that matters it quality.

Another fact is the Real Madrid have faced United twice in the Champions League knockout phase and have kicked the out of the competition on both occasions. 

Also no for getting it will be the return of Ronaldo to the theatre of  Dreams. Wonder how will the crowd react to his homecoming.

Other ties

Not many must have noticed but the other match the excites me is Shaktar vs Dortmund. Shaktar were fantastic in the group stages. They did well where the group included the defending Champs Chelsea and Italian giants Juventus. Quite keen to see how William fares, seems like a good footballer.

Dortmund on the other hand were in the group of death, consisting of the English Champions Manchester City, Spanish champions Real Madrid and Dutch champions Ajax. Before the start of the season I expected Ajax to finish in the bottom two, but surprisingly, they topped it. Although, they aren't doing that well in the German league, but they seem to have set their sights on gaining Champions League glory this season.

Milan vs Barcelona is another big club match. Messi scoring in almost every game, Barcelona topping the group stages, and Barcelona just dropping 2 points all season in the LaLiga, Barcelona seem favorites again.

Arsenal play Bayern Munich. With Arsenal struggling in the league, losing their goal scoring machine Van Persie to Manchester United has created distress among the Arsenal faithfully, some even prompting Wenger to resign. On the other hand, Bayern are enjoying themselves in the German league. Although there seems little doubt that Bayern will go through, Arsenal can still put a challenge with the signing of some good players.

For the remaining ties I pick Schalke, Juventus, PSG and Porto to go through

Some incredible stats of Messi in the Champions League!

Another good night for Barcelona and another good night for Leo Messi, after scoring a brace for Barcelona in their 3-0 win over Spartak Moscow in Russia. This takes him to the 2nd position on the list of all time top scorer in the Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds) along with Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Very hard to believe that he is only 25 years of age.

Champions League stats for Messi
Matches               - 73
Goals                   - 56
Goal-Match ratio   - 0.77

The only person having scored more goals more than Messi is Raul, who played for Real Madrid and Schalke, and scored 71 goals in 144 games. Messi top scored last season in the Champions League. In the current season, Messi is the joint top scorer with 5 goals, and no one can bet against him this season also. Also in the list of all time top scorers, only Alfred Di Stefano has a better match-goal ratio with 0.88. And people wondering about Cristiano Ronaldo, he is not far off with 43 goals in 84 games.

Considering the team Messi plays for, the form he is in and the type of player he is, looks like he is on the way to become the All time top scorer in the Champions League. Not to forget he's only 25.

Some amazing achievements by Messi in the Champions League/ European Cup
a) Leo Messi is also the only person to have top scored in 4 consecutive season from 2008-09 till the 20011-12 season

b) Messi is only one of the four players who has scored 3 hat tricks in the Champions League

c) Messi is the only player to score 2 hat tricks in 1 Champions League season (2011-12)

d) Messi and Di Stefano are the only players to top score in a season with 14 goals

e) Messi is only one of eleven players to score 5 goals in a single match

What an amazing player he is. As a footballing fan, you can only hope that he continues to break all records.

Snopp Dogg to invest in a Champions League club?

Interesting news coming in that the ever so popular American rapper Snopp Dogg said he wants to invest in a football club. Yes! Not American football, but a real football club. And just as when you think it's one of the big clubs he wants to invest in, like Barcelona or Real Madrid, but no. The club that caught his eye is the Scottish club Celtic

He said: “I got a lot of interest in soccer. It’s not a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in sports teams but it is a new thing for hip hop stars to invest in soccer teams.

“I didn’t catch the whole Barcelona game but I watched the highlights. I know Barcelona are
a big deal, and it shows Celtic are a big deal as well.

“I see how passionate Celtic fans are about their team and I could see myself making an investment if any of the board wanted to sell.

“I haven’t really thought how much. I don’t need to run a soccer club but enough of a percentage to get me on the board so I can be heard.

“I want to bring a bit of Snoop to things.

“I am passionate about my sport. The boxes at Celtic would never be the same once I have hosted a party there.”

So, it wouldn't be a bad deal would it? After all it's Snopp Dogg. He's estimated to be worth some $120+ million. Move over he has even consulted David Beckham for advice and even said he could make efforts to sign David Beckham. Not bad for a club of Celtic's stature. So if the deal goes ahead, Beckham could be back in the U.K only with a different team. 

So, yeah, it's the magic of the UEFA Champions League. We love it. Now, Snopp Dogg loves it. hopefully, he invests in the club and make it a better club from what it is now and more over it could play catalyst for other celebrities to invests in European clubs.

Celtic fans, do you like it?

Messi or Ronaldo? Who is better

Before that let us consider some stats

Leo Messi
Age : 25

Club appearances : 346
Club goals : 273

Country appearances : 75
Country goals : 31

Cristiano Ronaldo

Age : 27

Club appearances : 484
Club goals : 288

Country appearances : 100
Country goals : 37

To start off, I think both Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the most extra-ordinary players currently playing. Considering the stats, Messi at the age of 25 and Ronaldo at the age of 27 are both in their  prime. When you see the club stats, it comes to one's notice that Messi has a better Appearance to goal ratio compared to Ronaldo, while it's more or less even when it comes to country stats

Now when to look at the club careers, it more suits Messi because he has only played for one club all his life, so there doesn't arise a question of adjustment, secondly, Messi has always played for an established team and always in his preferable position. Hence, it has only aided his and therefore has never been on the back-foot  At the same time when you look at Ronaldo's club career, he has played in total for 3 clubs, Portugal's Sporting Lisbon, then Manchester United and later on for Real Madrid. This also includes 3 different countries, Portugal, England and Spain. But whichever place he has played his trend, he has always impressed. Secondly, he is also used to playing in many positions. I remember him playing on the right wing, left wing as well as a striker. That shows his versatility.

When it comes to proving one's self, both Messi and Ronaldo have done it in their own ways. Messi has won many individual trophies and team trophies too. But what I think is the highlight of his game is that he understands the game around himself. His dribbling in combination with his passing has made him impeccable. When it comes to playing with Barcelona, he has played always in compliance of his team's style of play. Xavi, Iniesta have always been auxiliary to his game. Over the last few years he has also improved his finishing which is why he has been the top scorer in the last couple of years. And more importantly he has always delivered when needed. 

Ronaldo on the other hand has won lesser individual and team trophies compared to Messi, but that doesn't take anything away from him. Ronaldo is a player who can carry an entire team on his shoulder. I remember when he played for Manchester United and at times he won games single handed, something which Messi can do, but to a lesser extent. Considering his playing attributes, one can say the he is one of the best headers of the ball, I've never seen anyone better. He has slightly more speed than Messi, which usually helps on one on one situations.

What personally I feel is that Messi is the most naturally talented footballer on the planet currently, where as Ronaldo has up-ed his game through his dedicated hard work as also proved himself as an on field leader. Nevertheless, both are great footballers and can easily be said that any one of them could easily dominate the world of football, if the other one wouldn't exist. Another important thing is that both of them have been injury free for most of their careers. Both deserve to be where they are and currently play for the world's best two club - Barcelona and Real Madrid, and rightly so.

Club stats for previous 5 seasons

Leo Messi :

2008-09 - Apps : 51  Goals : 38

2009-10 - Apps : 53  Goals : 47

2010-11 - Apps : 55  Goals : 53

2011-12 - Apps : 60  Goals : 73

2012-13 - Apps : 17  Goals : 20 (ongoing)

Cristiano Ronaldo :

2008-09 - Apps : 53  Goals : 26

2009-10 - Apps : 35  Goals : 33

2010-11 - Apps : 54  Goals : 53

2011-12 - Apps : 55  Goals : 60

2012-13 - Apps : 17  Goals : 19 (ongoing)

So it is upto you to decide who is better than the other..