Rafael Benitez is back.. with Chelsea

I don't know whether it's good news or bad news, but it's confirmed that the former Champions League winner with Liverpool, Rafael Benitez has been appointed as the next manager at Chelsea. The contract is an 18-month long one, which allows Benitez to stay with the defending Champions in the Champions League till the end of next season.

From what reactions of the fans and pundits is that most of the weren't happy with Benitez's appointment, especially the Chelsea fans, who were over-ambitious in the prospect of landing a bigger manager.

Pep Guardiola was also tipped to become the next Chelsea manager. But it is reported that he turned down the Chelsea offer. Her is what his agent had to say "Pep Guardiola will not decide anything before January. I was with him in New York a fortnight ago and he told me that until January or February he will not decide if he is going to go back to coaching and which team he will choose."

He continued: "It does not matter what happens [in the meantime], before that period he will not make any decision about any club or national team."
He added: "Pep will make the decision himself, he has the personality to do that. He is with his family right now, resting, reading, enjoying his hobbies, watching football and in January he will start to think about what team he could be at next season."

So did Benitez say regarding his appointment? "I think it's a top side who want to challenge for trophies. We will think about one game at a time so we'll just try to win the next game." Regarding fans protest, he said, "The fans all want the same thing as the manager - and that's to win games."

Benitez profile
Born - Madrid, Spain
Age  - 52
Teams managed - 
1994–1995    Real Madrid B
1995–1996    Real Valladolid
1996–1997    Osasuna
1997–1999    Extremadura
2000–2001    Tenerife
2001–2004    Valencia
2004–2010    Liverpool
2010             Internazionale

Win percentage (Major clubs)
Valencia         - 53.37%
Liverpool         - 55.43%
Internazionale - 48%

Achievements (Major clubs)
Valencia         - 2 La Liga titles, 1 UEFA Cup
Liverpool         - 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 FA Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup
Internazionale - 1 SuperCoppa, 1 FIFA Club World Cup

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.

Chelsea out of the Champions League? Here are the possibilities..

Before Tuesday night games were played out, everything seemed good for Chelsea with 7 points, Shaktar Donetsk also with 7 points, and Juventus win 6 points. Little did footballing fans know how the table would turn out to be after the round 5 matches were played.

With focus on the Juventus-Chelsea game in Turin, it seemed to go well for Chelsea in the first half, until Fabio Quagliarella scored for Juventus in the 38th min. It was a well deserved lead as Juventus did look sharp all game. So it ended 1-0 to Juventus in the first half. With the commencement of the second half, hopes of all the few Chelsea fans who traveled to the Juventus stadium were dashed when Vidal scored to make it 2-0. A deflected goal, but nevertheless Vidal was one of the brightest players on the field. And with now way back for Chelsea, Sebastian Giovinco made it 3-0 in injury time and the match ended 3-0 much to the disappointment of the Chelsea supporters.

Looking at the stats, Chelsea did have more possession  than Juventus overall, with 55% of the ball, although Chelsea were slow on the ball, and therefore lacked the cutting edge. Juventus had a bulk of shots on target with over 12 shots, while Chelsea had a mere 2 shots on target. So, once again it is proved that no matter how much possession, doesn't mean you'd score the goals. Chelsea proved it last season against Barcelona in the Champions League final, and now Juventus against Chelsea themselves.

In the other match, Shaktar vs Nordsjælland, Shaktar won 5-2 but were criticized for scoring a goal from a drop ball situation, where a Shaktar player was to pass the ball back to the opposition goalkeeper, but just before the ball could reach the goalkeeper, a Shaktar player collected the ball and put it in the back of the net. No fair play, huh?

So, this is how it stands in the group

Group Table

Club                         P    G    W    D    L    GD
Shakhtar Donetsk    10      5    3     1    1      5
Juventus                   9      5    2     3     0     7
Chelsea FC               7     5    2     1     2      1
FC Nordsjælland       1      5    0     1     4    -13

So, the question is what can we expect on the final day of the Champions League group stage?

It's Chelsea vs FC Nordsjælland at Stamford Bridge and Shaktar Donetsk vs Juventus at the Donbass Arena. With Chelsea playing at home and Nordsjælland with only 1 point from 5 Champions League games. Fans could expect a Chelsea win. Although in the other group game, it's much more tighter.

The Permutations

So,if Chelsea want to progress further, they must win. 

a) If Chelsea win, and Juventus & Shaktar draw.

Shaktar   - 11 points

Juventus -  10 points

Chelsea  - 10 points

Shaktar and Juventus qualify, unless Chelsea beat Nordsjælland by 7 goals to get a better GD than Juventus, then Shaktar and Chelsea qualify

b) If Chelsea win, and also Shaktar win vs Juventus.

Shaktar   - 13 points

Chelsea  - 10 points

Juventus  - 9 points

Shaktar and Chelsea qualify

c) If Chelsea win, and also Shaktar lose vs Juventus.

Juventus - 12 points

Shaktar   - 10 points

Chelsea  - 10 points

Juventus qualify. Depending on how many goals Chelsea beat Nordsjælland and by how many goals Shaktar lose, Chelsea or Shaktar qualify

d) If Chelsea draw or lose their game, inevitably, Shaktar and Juventus qualify.

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?

Gerrard's 100 England cap.. but Ibra steals the show

Very few people get to represent their country for the 100th time. Steven Gerrard is one of them. Before him only 5 other players have made 100+ appearances for England. Peter Shilton with the most appearances with 125, followed by David Beckam, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Billy Wright.

Although 100 caps for any player is incredible, great. But can we say the same for Steven Gerrard? Legend? The answer is No. Yes, he is a remarkable player but most of his better performances have come for club rather than country. One may remember Gerrard's goal against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, or the goal against West Ham in the FA Cup final in 2006.. which has great significance and won trophies for Liverpool. Can you say the same about Gerrard's performances for England? Probably not

This what Gerrard had to say, 'To be here on the eve of 100 is an unbelievable achievement for me and my family. When I speak about it the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

'There have been great players before me and ones I've played with who haven't got to that milestone. It's very flattering.'

Talking about England's 5-1 victory against Germany in Munich in 2001,

'I'd probably say that's the strongest England team I've played in,' said Gerrard. 'It had great balance between young and  experienced players. We had some world-class players.

'I know the "Golden Generation" gets spoken about, which is  something I don't really like, but when you look at that team from front to back it was really strong.

'That group of players under-achieved at big tournaments. That team should certainly have got to a semi-final.

'We were unlucky at times in the penalty shootouts but that's certainly a regret. That group of players should've done better.' 

He also admitted that he doesn't consider himself a hero for England and suggests that the only heroes that England had were the 11 players who won the World Cup in 1966. So it was Gerrard who captained out England against Sweden at the Friends Arena on the 14th of November 2012, marking his 100th appearance for England. Sweden won the game 4-2, nevertheless, it was a captains performance against Sweden with his swift passing also assisting England's 2nd goal. 

But probably a night to forget for all English fans as the star of the show was the Swedish captain, Zlatan Ibrahimovic who scored all the 4 goals for Sweden, and the most memorable one was the overhead kick out from 30 yards into an empty net. After the game, Gerrard himself admitted that it was probably the best goal he had ever seen.

Gerrard's current stats
Debut : Vs Ukraine on 31th May 2000

First goal : Vs Germany in the 5-1 win in 2001

Appearances : 100
Goals : 19

Wayne Rooney - Already a Legend?

I have been a Wayne Rooney fan ever since I have started watching football, and after all the football he has played over the years, it's surprising to know he just turned 27 on the 24th of October 2012, Even at 27, he is regarded as one of the all time greats for club and country.

Somethings that many people wouldn't know is that Wayne Rooney is of Irish descent, but born in the city of Liverpool. He grew up supporting the blue half of Liverpool, that is Everton. When aged 9, playing for Copplehouse boys' club, he scored a record 99 goals in that season. Later was spotted by an Everton scout. As a 11 year old he even stood as a mascot for the Everton-Liverpool derby.

Wayne is such a talented footballer that at the age of 15 played for the Everton under 19s. He even led the Everton youth team to the FA youth cup final in 2002 In the same season he was an unused substitute for the game against Southampton. Next season, at the age of 16, was promoted to the first team and made his debut against Tottenham, becoming the second youngest player to play for the senior Everton side. He scored his first ever goal against Wrexham in the League Cu, but it was against Arsenal in the Premier League that he announced himself when he scored the last minute winner, ending Arsenal's 30 game unbeaten run and also becoming the youngest Premier League scorer at that time. Incredible, isn't it?

Later in 2004 he joined Manchester United for £25.6 million and again announced himself in great style with a hat-trick against Fenerbahce in the Champions League. Since then with many ups and downs he has gone on to win 4 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League title(including 3 finals), 1 Club World Cup and 2 League Cups. During this process, he has already made more than 450 club appearances(both Everton and Manchester United) with over 200 goals. He also won 3 'goal of the season award', with the latest one coming in the 2010-11 season when he scored that incredible over-head kick against Manchester City in the Premier League at Old Trafford. Although my favorite Wayne Rooney goal is the volley against Newcastle in April 2005. He also has made 78 appearances for England with 32 goals. Wayne's also been nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon D'or making him the only Englishman on the shortlist.

Wayne ranks 5th in the all time top scorers for England and 4th in the list for all time top scorers for Manchester United.

Currently, I think both Wayne Rooney and Robin Van Persie share a great partnership up top for Manchester United. #Deadly. And his new role of playing deeper in the midfield excites me too. The good thing is that both of these players are interchangeable and that only aids his game. A versatile player and even tracks backs once he loses the ball - not many players are that dedicated. One word to describe Wayne? - ' Warrior'.

Another fact is that both Wayne Rooney's son Kai and Leo Messi's son Thiago share the same birthday - 2nd November. #Legends.