I guess most if not all fans of Manchester United and Chelsea wish the Champions League final was being played a little closer to home.

The decision to waive visa restrictions should have helped a bit but with flight and hotel prices rocketing an awful lot of fans who would have made the trip to Paris, say, are presumably going to stay at home.

Darren Ennis blogged here recently about the wisdom of awarding the final so far in advance, suggesting that the venue could be taken from a shortlist of candidates once we’ve reached the quarters or the semis, ensuring greater convenience for fans.

If UEFA decides to go that route, it could mean that this year’s final will be the second and last to be held in eastern Europe — at least for a long while to come — with English, Italian and Spanish clubs likely to dominate the latter stages for years to come.

The only other time UEFA has ventured out to eastern Europe for their showpiece final was in 1973 in Belgrade when a famous Ajax Amsterdam outfit led by Johan Cruyff clinched their third successive European crown with a 1-0 win over Juventus, whose number eight was a certain Fabio Capello.

Serbian websites describe the match, played in front of 93,500 fans crammed into Red Star’s stadium, as one of the most memorable sports events held in communist-era Yugoslavia.

The country was outside the iron curtain and those Ajax and Juve faithful who may have made the trip should have found it relatively easy to reach eastern Europe’s window to the west of the 1970s.

Now it’s off to Moscow, which may not be the easiest place to get to for English fans, but at least is original.

Or would you rather have had it at Wembley?

Zoran Milosavljevic, Belgrade

PHOTO: A leaf blower in use on the pitch at Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium, May 2, 2008. REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin

Scenes of riot police and bottle-throwing fans marred Wednesday’s UEFA Cup final in Manchester between Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg, who won 2-0. A Russian fan was also stabbed.

While police said it was only a small minority of supporters causing trouble, the sight of British football fans making headlines for the wrong reasons comes at just the wrong time – less than a week before tens of thousands of Chelsea and Manchester United followers head to Moscow for the Champions League final.

Should the Russian police be worrying about what might hit their capital city next week?

It seemed that Wednesday’s incidents were largely down to the breakdown of one of the big television screens in a fan park, so perhaps there is little to worry about.

Because of the visa issues and the expense of getting there, there are unlikely to be as many ticketless fans out on the streets in Moscow as there were in Manchester, but then again mix Russian vodka with those few trouble-seeking fans and things could turn nasty.

What do you think?    

The UEFA Cup final has thrown together two teams of contrasting styles, pitting free-scoring Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg , managed by Dutchman Dick Advocaat, against a defensively-solid Rangers team guided by Walter Smith.

Will that combination produce yet another classic at the showpiece at the City of Manchester stadium?

The last 10 finals since 1998 have been largely high-scoring affairs - averaging 3.9 goals per match. Who could forget Liverpool’s epic 5-4 win over Alaves, secured with a golden goal in 2001, or Porto’s 3-2 victory over Celtic two years later.

Zenit, even without suspended top scorer Pavel Pogrebynak for the final, have the potential to test the best club defences.

In 16 European games the Russians  have rammed in 29 goals, an impressive tally not lost on Smith, who believes Zenit would have more than held their own had they played Champions League football this season.

Zenit will play in Europe’s premier club competition next season, reward for winning the Russian title, but Advocaat must first hatch a plan to overcome a club he knows inside out having guided Rangers to two league titles between 1998 and 2002.

Rangers have found goals hard to come by since parachuting into the UEFA Cup from the Champions League, but with Spaniard Carlos Cuellar, named Scottish Football Writers’ Player of the Year, a rock at the back they do not concede many either.

The thousands of Rangers fans expected to pack the City of Manchester stadium won’t give a hoot if the Ibrox side repeat their semi-final penalty shootout win over Fiorentina when both sides cancelled each other out and failed to come up with a goal over a turgid two legs.

The omens for goals are not good though - the only previous European final held in Manchester - the 2002-03 Champions League decider between Juventus and AC Milan at Old Trafford - finished scoreless after 120 minutes.

PHOTO: Media crews film the UEFA cup at a news conference at the City of Manchester stadium in Manchester, northern England May 13, 2008. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

Footballers. If we aren’t reading about their exploits on the pitch, more often than not we can read about their exploits off it. Much is speculation and the rest can’t be mentioned before the watershed, but as I recently read, it’s not always bad.

West Ham United striker Craig Bellamy is more used to finding himself in hot water rather than hot weather, but following a recent trip to Sierra Leone, the Wales international has formed the Craig Bellamy Foundation there.

Bellamy’s 600,000 pound football academy is set to include 14 new leagues, 68 new boys’ teams and employ 141 managers and coaches.

So it’s not all fast cars, big houses and sordid parties after all then? In fact, if the media turned their focus away from the usual suspects, they would see a whole host of top players participating in worthwhile causes.

Portsmouth’s Nwankwo Kanu formed the Kanu Heart Foundation after having surgery on a hole in his heart during his early playing days. His charity arranged treatment for 250 African children with heart problems in 2007 and hopes to help 1,000 more this year.

Reading’s Bobby Convey regularly visits the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Lion Ward to spend time with sick children. He is not contracted or sponsored to do this and did the same thing earlier in his career while playing in the U.S. 

England international Frank Lampard is involved in a range of cancer charities, and has become an enthusiastic backer of Chelsea’s latest initiative with CLIC Sargent, Kick for Children with Cancer.

Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper about footballers ‘bad press’, Lampard said, “…People forget that we are young lads growing up. We all made mistakes. Life’s about learning from them. So many players I have come across are down-to-earth lads who want to help out.”

So should we give footballers a break? Or should more players be putting some of their efforts and mountains of cash into worthwhile causes?

Do you know of any players worthy of a mention? Let us know.

Neil Maidment, London

PHOTO: Wales’s Craig Bellamy in action against San Marino in a Euro 2008 qualifier Oct 17, 2007. REUTERS/Daniele la Monaca

After Manchester United beat Chelsea to the Premier League title, the Londoners hit back by signing Porto’s Jose Bosingwa in the first big transfer of the close season (although he can’t play in next Wednesday’s Champions League final obviously).

Vlog on the pitch regulars Owen Wyatt and Jon Bramley are joined by Tony Donovan to discuss last weekend’s final day of the English league season and look ahead to what could be the main transfers in the summer window.

Berbatov to United or Chelsea? Anelka on the move again? What about David Villa coming to England?

Let us know your thoughts. Leave comments below or make your own video, load it up to youtube or wherever tagged “vlog on the pitch” and if we like it, we’ll put it up here.

AC Milan midfielder Clarence Seedorf has pulled out of the provisional Dutch squad for Euro 2008 after falling out with coach Marco van Basten.

That got me thinking about other top players who won’t be in Austria and Switzerland in June. Mark van Bommel said a while back he wouldn’t play for Holland under Van Basten but Ruud van Nistelrooy is back after patching things up with the coach.

Apart from the England players who will miss the tournament because they didn’t qualify, Raul is looking increasingly unlikely to get into Spain’s squad. It is doubtful that both Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero will make the cut for Italy.

Oliver Kahn meanwhile quit Germany after the 2006 World Cup. Is there anyone else you think we will miss at Euro 2008?

Manchester City fans have always had a good line in terrace songs and their latest offering is “Hey Thaksin, Leave Our Sven Alone” to the tune of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”.      

They may still be singing about Eriksson in Europe next season, if Richard Dunne’s final day red card in the 8-1 humiliation at Middlesbrough doesn’t scupper an unlikely route into the UEFA Cup via the wacky Fair Play League.  

City are a less than angelic fifth in the Premier League’s Fair Play stats but the teams above them will all be in Europe anyway. To make matters worse, the system is not even as simple as red and yellow cards or fouls committed. At least that criteria would be black and white.

Instead, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers, who finished higher than City, have missed out on the UEFA Cup because they did not tick enough boxes for things like “respect towards opponents” and “positive play”.

City’s hapless defenders would receive glowing references from Middlesbrough’s forwards on the first point.      

Positive play? Well, they definitely can’t be accused of playing for a 0-0….so more credit there then.      

Maybe football should scrap the three points for a win system and just have two teams of show ponies prancing about the pitch while a panel of judges marks them for artistic merit and choreography…It would make more sense than the Fair Play charts.

Martyn Herman, London

They did it the hard way but Atletico finally managed to battle their way into the Champions League - well the qualifying round at least - after a 12 year absence.

Typically Sunday’s 1-0 win over Deportivo Coruna came with the usual dose of nail-biting, wincing and stomach churning that have made the Calderon such a stressful place to be in recent seasons.

Although the dependable Diego Forlan put Atletico ahead on the stroke of halftime, the team looked to be suffering a severe bout of stage fright in the final quarter and nearly threw it away as they watched the Galicians lay siege to their goal.

So it was with a mixture of joy and relief that Atletico secured their first top four finish since they did the double back in 1996.

It is about time too as the club’s claims to be one of the “equipos grandes” had begun to wear dangerously thin following a stream of morale-sapping disappointments and false dawns.

Atletico have always been one of La Liga’s big spenders but they have developed the unfortunate knack of buying expensive and selling cheap, recruiting sought-after players who then sink without trace while watching their discards turn into world beaters at other clubs.

This season seemed set up for the usual disappointment, what with the sale of iconic striker Fernando Torres to Liverpool and a massive outlay on new players such as Forlan, Jose Antonio Reyes, Simao Sabrosa, Raul Garcia and Luis Garcia. The club then appeared to have shot themselves in the foot when they decided to sell Maniche mid-season after he fell out with coach Javier Aguirre.

But for once, other results went Atletico’s way as their immediate rivals failed to take advantage of their slip-ups. They also had the good fortune to have one Sergio Aguero in their ranks. Shielded by Aguirre in his first season at the club, the 19-year-old Argentine came into his own following the departure of Torres and thrived alongside the selfless Forlan.

Aguero has racked up 18 goals this season, while Forlan has weighed in with another 16, so that despite losing their direction in midfield following Maniche’s exit and having one of the shakiest defences in the league, Atletico held on to ensure their return to the big time.

Some of the club’s success-starved fans used Sunday’s win as an excuse to celebrate at the Neptuno fountain in the centre of Madrid, but the more experienced of the Calderon faithful kept their feet on the ground.

“Just wait until we lose in the Champions League qualifiers and don’t even end up playing in Europe next season. That will be typical Atletico,” one fan said to me when I saw him this morning.

Simon Baskett, Madrid

PHOTO: Atletico players celebrate the win against Deportivo Coruna, May 11. REUTERS/Susana Vera

When Jose Mourinho burst onto the scene and Chelsea became the new force in English football, there were many who thought Alex Ferguson’s days as Manchester United boss were numbered.      

Those doubters are suddenly running for cover after the feisty Scot steered United to their 17th league title and the 10th of his glittering Old Trafford reign.      

Mourinho has long gone, Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is still fathoming the secret of the Premier League and new Chelsea manager Avram Grant could be on his way like Jose if Chelsea don’t win the Champions League.      

Men like Ferguson, and Arsene Wenger for that matter, don’t come around often. 

What marks them out above the rest is their ability to constantly evolve new teams while maintaining their own attractive brand of football. Like Bob Paisley at Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s they never make wholesale signings. They are masters at tweaking their squads, replacing wearing parts only when needed.    

Ferguson’s current crop are arguably his best ever side and, apart from a new right back, his transfer wish list will probably be a small one. 

While Cristiano Ronaldo, signed to replace David Beckham, has grabbed the headlines and sackloads of awards for his incredible goal haul, Ferguson’s lesser-hyped recruits have been just as vital to the end product. 

United’s attacking play has TV pundits drooling but their march to the title was built on rock solid defensive foundations.      

United conceded just 22 goals in their 38 Premier League matches, a club record, with Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand forming probably the best central defensive axis in the country.

Full back Patrice Evra has also displayed solid defensive qualities to go with his raids down the left wing. With such a miserly rearguard and the ball-retaining powers of Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick in midfield, Ferguson has been able to unleash his attacking options at will.      

Few neutrals begrudged United another title. Chelsea have proved as tough as old boots to beat, but they have rarely quickened the pulse this season.      

While United have been expansive, Chelsea have been attritional. United regularly blew teams away with attacking verve as Chelsea relied on hard graft and individual moments of brilliance.      

Neither method will be a guarantee of glory in Moscow next week when the two sides contest the Champions League final, but millions of armchair fans around the world will be hoping flair and style shine through.

Martyn Herman, London

Having won the previous two championships, you wouldn’t have expected Inter Milan to succumb to nerves in this season’s Italian title race.

Roberto Mancini’s side are doing their very best to throw the scudetto away. In February they were 11 points clear of AS Roma but after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Siena the gap is down to a point with one game to play.

Two weekends ago Inter could have wrapped up the championship against AC Milan. A 2-1 defeat by their city rivals was a nuisance, but Mancini said he always thought they’d be crowned against Siena.

Not so. Siena, who had nothing to play for, fought back from a goal down twice while Marco Materazzi then missed a penalty having argued with Julio Cruz about who should take it.

Inter were so desperate to grab a winner that team mates were getting in the way of each others shots and they nearly conceded at the other end. A group of angry fans waited for the team coach after the match and shouted “Get to work” at the stunned players.

But aren’t the supporters being a little hard on Inter? A closer analysis shows that this is the first proper title race this group of players have been in. Everyone remembers when Inter lost the title in 2002, but the team has changed quite a bit since then.

In 2006 Inter finished third and were awarded the scudetto in a courtroom when table toppers Juventus were demoted for match-fixing and Milan had points deducted.

Last season, Inter had no real challengers at all with Juve in Serie B, Milan docked points and AS Roma not quite title material.

This term, however, Roma have racked up more points and wins than ever before, even with Francesco Totti injured for much of the season.

Suddenly this Inter side are under pressure and it’s all new to them. Will they snap or just stumble over the line?

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: Marco Materazzi leaves the pitch at the end of Inter’s 2-2 Serie A draw with Siena, May 11. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini