Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
Drogba´s departure a blow for Africa
Celebrations down London´s King’s Road would have been matched for fervour and passion by those in Abidjan on Saturday night as Didier Drogba delivered for Chelsea.
The pride of an African striking the decisive blow on one of world football’s biggest stages has been reflected across the continent in the post UEFA Champions League final coverage.
It is typical of the forgiving nature of Africa that Drogba’s horrid penalty miss for his country in February’s African Nations Cup final against Zambia has been quickly forgotten amid all the euphoria.
His super hero status will have been completely restored by the role he played in the match in Munich; the late equaliser with that thumping header and then the calmness of converting the all-important kick in the shootout (especially having given away a missed penalty in extra time).
For years, Drogba has been a visible symbol of African potential and a powerful force for good in his own country, beset and beleaguered in recent years by civil strife.
But the news he is leaving Chelsea means African football faces losing the last of a trio of effective international ambassadors.
John Terry – dedicated follower of fashion
Despite all the bling, the big watches and fast cars, the brand management and media training, there is still one thing that, without fail, can expose the true nature of soccer players.
Winning.
As Didier Drogba stroked home the winning penalty against Bayern Munich in Saturday’s Champions league final and the blue-clad parts of the stadium exploded, the studied cool of the young Chelsea millionaires went out the window.
Shirts came off. Spain’s Fernando Torres wrapped a scarf around his head, looking for all the world like a British tourist trying to avoid the worst effects of the sun on the Costa Del Sol.
David Luiz donned a T-shirt and a blue-and-white stovepipe hat; curls flowing from under it, the effect was that of a soccer-playing Slash, the former Guns ‘n Roses guitarist.
Others wrapped themselves in the flags of their nations thrown to them by the crowd.
Mr Chelsea enjoys a glory night but might not stay for long
Roberto Di Matteo can now claim the title of “Mr Chelsea” with as much justification as any of the club’s great players of the past or indeed some of the players who on Saturday helped Chelsea become European champions for the first time.
The 41-year-old interim manager has transformed their season which ended with the most glorious success in their 107-year history as Chelsea became the first London club ever to lift the European Cup following their 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich.
The issue now is whether his reign as interim manager ends with his departure from the club because billionaire owner Roman Abramovich wants a more glitzy big name manager, or whether this triumph, two weeks after Chelsea won the FA Cup, will persuade Abramovich that Di Matteo is the man for the job longterm.
Beaten Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes was in no doubt what Abramovich should do: “If I was the club owner I would give him a three year deal today,” he said after his side’s shattering defeat in their own stadium.
The Russian billionaire, who has invested hundreds of millions in Chelsea since he bought the club in 2003, has dreamed of winning the European Cup from the day he took control and was ecstatic as his players collected the trophy at the end of an astonishing night When he also personally lifted the trophy.
Whether Di Matteo masterminded the victory, or Chelsea rode their luck in the face of relentless Bayern pressure, is open to debate, but there is no doubt he breathed new life into a team failing badly until he took over from Andre Villas-Boas at the beginning of March.
Chelsea have now lost only three times in 21 matches since he took control and they are now officially the best team in Europe, even if they could only finish sixth in the Premier League.
Champions League final live blog – Bayern Munich v Chelsea
We will bring you all the latest buildup, goals, news and photos from Saturday’s showpiece European soccer match. Just click on the link below to join in.
http://live.reuters.com/Event/Champions_League_final_-__Bayern_Munich_v_Chelsea
Superbowl is not the greatest show on earth
North Americans call it “the greatest show on earth” but in reality not much of the world is really paying attention to the Super Bowl.
Sunday’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints will be broadcast in 230 countries and territories but the evidence indicates that in most parts of the world few people will be organizing their days around the game.
Once regularly described as having a “potential global audience of a billion,” conjuring up images of sports bars around the world packed with NFL fans tucking into chicken wings, the figures indicate something different.
The annual survey by Initiative Futures Sports and Entertainment showed last year’s Super Bowl was beaten into top spot in annual sports events, for the first time, by the final of European soccer’s Champions League. Last year there was no soccer World Cup or Olympics which regularly beat Super Bowl.
Last year’s Super Bowl was watched by a global audience of 162 million but the vast majority of those tuning in were in the United States with neighbors Canada and Mexico the next biggest markets.
There is no doubt Super Bowl is the biggest sports and television event in the United States but it is limited in its global impact by a kickoff time which is unsociable in many parts of the world and rules that casual fans find unfathomable.
I used to watch the NFL, and I still sometimes watch the CFL (that’s the Canadian version, for any who don’t know). I used to even like it.
But now? I’ve moved on. It’s very overrated. For example, there was a study done by the Wall Street Journal that pointed out how little of a game was actually played. Their number was 11 minutes. That’s 11 minutes of action in a game that claims to be 60 minutes long. Heck, there were 17 minutes of replays. More replays than actual play is just…well, boring. I turned on the Super Bowl, left it on while I used my computer for about 10 minutes, then turned it off because of how boring it was. There’s as much downtime as in Baseball, and that’s saying something.
So Cyrus_Roy, I can tell you most of the rules, and I don’t care about the attention it gets (hockey gets more all year, except for the super bowl, and that’s what I love). I can even tell you that the NFL rules originated because the field at…Harvard, I believe…anyways, it was smaller than the field at McGill University, in Montreal. The first game in the US was played between the 2 schools, and they had to modify the rules because of the smaller field, and then they chose to change a couple other rules (rules that were never changed in Canada, such as the number of downs or the size of the ball).
So I’ll complain about the NFL because it’s a boring sport played with a lot of overweight people. It’s a game that is popular because of the amount of advertising they can fit into it (which is also why soccer is not popular in the US), and because people like to see hard hits and collisions. I cannot, and will not, deny the skill of the athletes to do what they do, but I also can’t be bothered to watch it.
-Kevin
p.s. The Champions League is only in Europe, so other places have no reason to watch it other than the skill of the players. The World Cup final is a better comparison, and it demolishes the Super Bowl every time.
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
What price Barca retaining the trophy in the Bernabeu?
Manchester United palpably failed to become the first team to retain the European Cup in the Champions League era but few would bet against Barcelona managing the feat next season.
And where would be the perfect place for Pep Guardiola's stylish side to achieve it? The Nou Camp? No, next year's final is in Madrid and the Barca fans I spoke to in Rome after the game could not think of a better venue to show their rivals and world football that they are undisputed kings.
May 22 next year is a long time to wait for the first Saturday final but Guardiola will quickly turn his attention to that quest once he recovers from all-night revelry. (When he was hurled into the air by his players during the on-pitch celebrations, he looked a little scared their weary limbs would not support him).
What's scarier still is that Barca easily overcame United 2-0 without needing to play especially well.
Barca were definitely not at their best in the semi-final with Chelsea and yet still they went on to complete the first ever Spanish treble.
Guardiola is 38 and in his first season in charge. He must think this management game is easy, and I guess it can be when you have players of the class of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. (Were Inieista and Henry ever really doubts for the final? They looked in fine fettle to me)
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Barcelona beat Manchester United — your views
Barcelona deposed Manchester United as European champions with an outstanding 2-0 victory in the Champions League final at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Samuel Eto'o struck the opener after 10 minutes when he cut in from the right past Nemanja Vidic with surprising ease and his low shot beat United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at his near post. Xavi cracked a free kick against a United post at the start of the second half before Lionel Messi sealed the win after 70 minutes when he scored with a beautifully timed header from Xavi's cross.
It was a curiously subdued performance from United, while Barcelona got full value for a performance that was thoroughly professional but hardly brilliant.
Alex Ferguson was content to say the best team won. Do you agree? Let us know in the comments.
PHOTO: Barcelona's Xavi (R) and Victor Valdes celebrate victory over Manchester United. REUTERS/Albert Gea
Arkadi, we have reported on this tragic story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feeda rticle/8529398
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Champions League final: Barcelona 2 Manchester United 0
Pre-match:
Now the teams are in, and there are no big surprises (see below) here's Mike Collett's view from the press seats at the Stadio Olimpico:
Manchester United first out to warm up with 40 minutes to go before kickoff -- wearing royal blue tops and white shorts with thousands of fans sainging "Glory Glory Man United..."
Barcelona following them out a couple of minutes later in vivid orange tops reminiscint of the colour they wore when they first won the European Cup in 1992 .... Weather absolutely fantastic, sky still blue, can hardly hear myself talk to colleagues next to me!
No small-talk in the back room for UEFA president Michel Platini, who is out in his seat already. Platini, of course, has decided that this will be the last CL final to be played in midweek. From next season in Madrid the final will be played on a Saturday. Platini wants more familiies and children to have the chance to see the match live and thinks a midweek final restricts schoolkids from going. What about the cost of the tickets?
And this from Mark: The "opening ceremony" starting with what looks like about 50 women dressed in red and green wearing swimming caps and holding shields. Quite what that has to do with Rome or soccer, no one is quite sure...
Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 5-Carles Puyol, 24-Yaya Toure, 3-Gerard Pique, 16-Silvinho; 28-Sergio Busquets, 6-Xavi, 8-Andres Iniesta; 10-Lional Messi, 9-Samuel Eto'o, 14-Thierry Henry.
half time and United look like they are chasing shadows….awful. my only saving grace is i predicted Utd to go 1-0 down and win 2-1. Unless Tevez comes on & Scholes, take the useless (never scored a goal) Anderson off and Park who (for a change) looks all at sea, Utd will lose easily. barca do not look great but United look worse than Crewe Alex!!
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
Who will be the Angels and Demons in Rome?
The new Angels and Demons movie is based in Rome so it got us thinking who might end up being an angel or a demon after Wednesday's Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.
Will one of the goalkeepers drop a clanger or will Cristiano Ronaldo belt one in again from 40 metres? It's a big pitch at the Stadio Olimpico, but I can see Lionel Messi running the length of it with the ball at his feet...
from Reuters Soccer Blog:
A Champions League final with no fear of failure… It could be a classic
Major finals featuring the best teams and the best players, the ones we talk up in advance as being for the connoisseur, often turn out to be the most disappointing, don't they? Maybe it's stage fright, too much respect for the opposition or the stakes being just too high, but great teams often seem to save their worst football for finals.
There are exceptions, of course. The 2005 Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool produced exquisite football in the first half from the Italians, and drama that will live long in the minds of anyone who watched it as Liverpool came back.
But when you look back on other Champions League and World Cup finals, how many can you remember for the quality of the football more than the result itself?
There was little on show in last year's game between Manchester United and Chelsea so why are so many people expecting this year's contest between United and Barcelona to be so different?
I think there is a reason, and I hope I'm proved right by the events on Wednesday in Rome.
A football match can be ruined by almost anything but the surest route to a damp squib is fear of failure.
Neither side on Wednesday has any need to fear the consequences of a defeat. They're both at the top of the tree domestically, and both have had recent experience of winning the Champions League. It goes without saying they'll be desperate to win, but no one's job will be on the line, no project will stand or fall by this one result. Both teams will expect to be back in another Champions League final soon enough.
Thanks for spotting that, Cash. I’ve changed it in the post above but with a note pointing down here. 2003 was a good year for Milan (though a pretty poor final as I recall…)
