At The End, Real Remain Kings of Europe

And so this year's Champions League final in Kiev came with Spanish giants, Real Madrid, again coming out on top with a handsome victory over premier league side Liverpool.

The 3-1 defeat of Jurgen Klopp's exciting side proved that their hunger for success remains unquenched and insatiable. They may have been disappointing this season in La Liga after finishing a distant 3rd but in Europe, they have always found a way to win.

In just two and a half years, Zidane has won the Champions League trophy 3 times thus surpassing the likes of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and even the great Sir Alex Ferguson who have all won the the trophy twice. A fantastic achievement.

As for Zidane's opposite number, Jurgen Klopp, it is yet another disappointing final loss. Klopp has now lost six of his seven major finals as a manager. 

While in charge of Borussia Dortmund, he lost 2 German Cup finals, 2 Champions League finals (Dortmund and Liverpool), one League Cup and one Europa League final (both with Liverpool). His sole Cup triumph is the German Cup in 2012.

His critics will consider him a serial under achiever at the biggest stage. In this year's Champions League final loss to Madrid however, it will be harsh to lay the blame on Klopp's game management. 

Even though many have identified the defence as Liverpool's biggest problem this season, an issue Klopp partially fixed with the signing of Dutchman, Virgil Van Dijk, from Southampton in January in a deal worth £75M Pounds. 

He has however, failed to correct the other part of the defence problem which turned out to be their Achilles heel- buying a decent goal keeper. 

Loris Karius' 2 goalkeeping errors in last Saturday's final proved pivotal and turned out to be gifts for a Madrid team who showed their experience and class at this level. A level Karius seemed out of his depth.

The first half was by no means a classic with Madrid wary of the pace of Liverpool's front 3 of Mane, Firmino and Salah. A trio that prior to this game had scored 29 goals in the competition. Madrid were in no mood to afford them the space to wreak havoc and so kept it tight.

The turning point came in the 31st minute when Salah had to come off after he injured his shoulder in a tumble with Sergio Ramos. Prior to his departure, Liverpool had been on top and were the better team. 

But after his exit, Real Madrid grew into the game and had a goal chalked off for offside after Benzema put the ball into the back of the net after Karius had saved well Ronaldo's header. Benzema was correctly adjudged to be offside. 

Benzema would not be denied however, as he in the 51st minute blocked Karius's poor throw with the ball rebounding and rolling agonisingly for the Liverpool faithful, into an empty net.

The lead didn't last long though, as Sadio Mane gave Liverpool hope by bundling home the equaliser after he met Lovren's header from a corner kick. It was his 10th Champions League goal in 11 games. He also became the fourth African player to score in an European Cup Final after Rabah Madjer, Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba.

Zidane sent on Gareth Bale in place of Isco and with his fourth touch, scored what is considered one of the best goals if not the best in Champions League finals history. An overhead kick which team mate Ronaldo would have been proud of was how Bale put Madrid back into the driving seat.

It was game set and match for Madrid in the latter stages as Karius came up with another clanger as he failed to hold a speculative 30 yard short from Gareth Bale and the ball spilled from his grasp into the back of the net.

It left the Madrid fans delirious while the Liverpool fans in tears. Klopp was stunned and the Liverpool players unable to lift themselves with defeat surely a certainty at that point.

The final whistle blew and Karius understandably was in tears. Sadly, none of his team mates were in the mood to show him any empathy. He was left alone to cry his heart out. It was the Real Madrid players, Bale inclusive, who finally went to console him. 

Karius humbly went back to the Liverpool fans shortly after in tears, hands raised in apology. How Liverpool fans, who would have been seething at that moment, would take this is left to be seen.

It is difficult to not see Klopp entering the transfer market this Summer to sign a world class goalkeeper. He was 2 goalkeeping howlers away from winning a famous Champions League title. 

A day in which many Liverpool fans believed was going to be a glorious one for the 5 time European Cup winners quickly become a nightmare. The omens were there, they had an entertaining team and they had the best player in the Premier League, Mohammed Salah. Sadly, it was not to be their night.

As for Karius, whether he remains the number one for Liverpool or not next season, he needs to bounce back from this disappointment and not let these mistakes define his career. 

Klopp is a few good signings away from really challenging for the premier league title and taking on Europe again. After this season's adventure, he seems most likely and best equipped to challenge Pep next season.

As for Madrid, a topsy turvy season has ended on another high. They have 3 UCL titles on the spin and their 4th in 5 years in a period that has had the best Barcelona team in generations. 

Zidane becomes the third manager to win the European Cup 3 times but the first to win it in 3 consecutive seasons.

He has a new challenge off the field though. Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo have hinted that they may want to leave the club. If this happens, a lot of rebuilding job would be required to maintain the level they are at the moment. 

Will we see the likes of Salah or Hazard moving to Spain if these noise (which we have heard before) turn out to be true?

 

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The Football Diary

The Premier League is back and returned with not too much of a bang on the opening weekend but it did bring up a shocking result and some entertainment.

With the arrival of superstar managers and players to the League coupled with the fact that most Premier League clubs have spent heavily this summer, the 2016/17 season is set to be one of the most keenly contested ever.

Leicester Start Defence of The Title On A Shaky Note.

The 5000-1 favourites last season surprised many when despite the odds, won the premier league title. Their manager, Claudio Ranieri, who was ridiculed because of his last job as Greece manager was tipped to get Leicester relegated after they just survived relegation the previous season under Nigel Pearson.

But he put his critics to shame and now the rest is history. 

A new season is here now and Leicester have strengthened their squad but have however, lost arguably their most important player in N'Golo Kante who moved to Chelsea and was in action for Chelsea as they defeated West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

Their opponents last weekend was Hull City who are in a shambles at the moment. Their manager Steve Bruce resigned after leading the team back to the Premier League the first time of asking. When they faced Leicester last weekend, they had only 13 fit senior players. Care taker boss, Mike Phelan, didn't bother to make any substitutions during the match.

But instead of allowing the gloom in the boardroom to affect them, the players led by Captain, Curties Davies, were  in inspirational form and shocked the Premier League defending champions with a 2-1 win. 

As any title winning manager knows, it is more difficult to retain a title than to win one. Ranieri has an uphill task in retaining the title if he actually believes he can. The big boys have strengthened and have attempted to poach his best players. So far, Riyadh Mahrez is still a target for Arsenal. Jamie Vardy though, has extended his contract after Arsenal also tried to sign him. 

Kante's absence was felt against Hull  and the new recruits have to quickly step up their game. The trusted senior players and spine of the team, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth,Vardy and Mahrez have to quickly discover their form if they don't want  to play catch up or worse, battle relegation...

Guardiola Starts Reign With Hard Fought Victory

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich  coach, Pep Guardiola, kicked off his reign as Manchester City boss with a last gasp victory over Sunderland as they laboured to a win with help from Sunderland defender, new signing Paddy McNair who put the ball behind his own net.

David Moyes was looking to stamp his influence on Sunderland and they typically provided gutsy performance which suggests that they might yet surprise some teams during the course of the season. Jermaine Defoe remains as dangerous as ever and who knows,  his former boss Sam Allardyce might yet extend an England invitation if his current form continues.

Guardiola would need time for his philosophy to take root at City. There will be bumpy roads along the way but he remains most bookies and pundits favourite to win the title. 

Then there is the situation of the future of some senior players. Joe Hart was on the bench in the game against Sunderland while Willy Caballero was given the nod and now rumours are rife that Joe Hart might eventually be sold if Guardiola is able to sign Barcelona's Claudio Bravo. Yaya Toure was not even in the match day squad so also Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala.

The Game Of The Weekend Lives Up To The Hype

The big game of the weekend was the fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool which was filled with great entertainment, wonderful goals and drama. 

Walcott missed a penalty, then found the back of the net shortly after. Phillipe Coutinho scored a contender for goal of the weekend with his excellent free kick to draw Liverpool level while Liverpool in the second half raced to a 4-1 lead With Sadio Mane scoring on his debut with a wonderful individual goal.

Then there was the Arsenal fight back which ended with Liverpool managing to hold on for a 4-3 win instead of strolling to victory.

Arsenal need to be commended for their fight back when all seemed to be lost and when it appeared they were in danger of another capitulation Arsenal fans are very familiar with. Liverpool without the injury prone Daniel Sturridge showed great attacking ability and if this game is used as a reference point, then expect Liverpool to score many goals this season under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp.

For Arsenal, the same old questions remain. The question of spending big and solving the striker situation remains unanswered. We should remember though, that in the last 4 seasons Arsenal have lost 3 of the opening fixtures at the Emirates but have still ended up in the top 4. If anything, expect the Gunners again to end up in the top 4.

Sparing A Thought For The Dream Team

Nigeria takes on Germany in the semi finals of the Olympics soccer event in midweek. Since it is unlikely the team will be able to stop the Germans from scoring, this is hoping the team will be clinical when the opportunities come and out score the German machine.

This is wishing Samson Siasia and John Obi Mikel the best of luck. They are going to need it.

Loyalty And Respect Are Dying Virtues In Football

We have apparently come to the end of two transfer sagas involving the exit of Real Madrid legend, Iker Casillas, and Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling as Casillas and Sterling are set to sign for FC Porto and Manchester City FC respectively. Sterling was snapped up by City for 49 million pounds while Casillas' deal with Porto is nearing conclusion.

However, the manner in which both players are parting ways with their former employers is a stark reminder of how brutal and ruthless the modern game has become.

Player loyalty is no longer fashionable. It's  all about getting the best deal possible not minding the fact that, had the club not put faith in the player when he was a nobody in the first place, he would not be in a position to hold the club to ransom.

Sadly, the clubs are getting in on the act as well. Clubs use a player and as soon as there is a hint of a decline in performance they discard the player in a heart beat. The years of service and sacrifice by the player is quickly forgotten.

The fans are not left out either. Depending on how messy the transfer of a star player to a rival team or any other team for that matter is, boos and jeers will be unleashed on the player whenever the star player comes to town. In some extreme cases, fans go ahead to issue death threats and even subject the player to all kinds of abuse.

We have seen it already. Peter Cech's move to Arsenal didn't go down well with Chelsea fans despite having the blessing of Roman Abramovich. Cech, after serving Chelsea for 11 years impeccably was branded a snake by disgruntled Chelsea fans and was even sent death threats.

Pray, what was Cech supposed to do? He lost his position due to no fault of his aside that he was on the wrong side of 30. He didn't go about lamenting to the media about the unfairness of Jose Mourinho's decision to place him on the bench as Thibaut Courtois' understudy.

And as he rightly stated, at this stage of his career, he needs to be playing regularly. So, a move to Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal, makes a lot of sense where he would be number 1.

Reports already have it that Raheem Sterling has been issued death threats already and the police are currently investigating the sources.

This is all coming as a result of Sterling's insistence on leaving Liverpool for a team that will be more competitive than Liverpool for titles. However, the manner in which he has rebelled and forced a move is unjustified and so it becomes understandable why Liverpool supporters are upset.

With the benefit of hindsight, it would have made more sense for Sterling to stall in signing a new contract and hand over a transfer request at the end of the season while acting professionally all the while instead of giving that BBC interview during the past season and then skipping out of pre-season training.

At the very worst, Liverpool would have had to sell him without any pressure from him next year when he would have one year left on his contract to the highest bidder. But Sterling as has become the trend in modern day football has acted unprofessionally in order to force a move to another club forgetting how he started out as a Liverpool player.

Casillas' scenario at Madrid is the direct opposite of  that of Sterling's at Liverpool. After serving Real Madrid for 25 years, 8 of which was at youth level, he is being practically forced out of the club with 2 years left on his contract. 

The fans again were also involved in his forced exit out of the club. He was jeered and booed many times by sections of Madrid fans through out the course of last season. This was no way to treat a hero and captain of the club. A player who has won 5 La Liga titles and 3 Champions league trophies with Madrid.

But his running battle with Florentino Perez, who often has the final say when he has disputes with club icons, was one that would only end this way because of his rapid decline in form. Make no mistake, Casillas is still a decent goalie, but he deserves better than this.

Reports have it that, the official Real Madrid twitter account unfollowed Iker Casillas a few hours after it was announced that he would be joining FC Porto. As insignificant as this seems, it speaks volumes about the lack of respect the Real Madrid establishment has for Iker Casillas.

The only reason the Casillas situation has been ugly is because money is involved. Casillas has been widely reported to have  insisted that a full compensation for the termination of his contract be paid before  he moves on. Madrid's reluctance to do so is what has made this transfer saga stink.

Now, a compromise has been reached in these 2 case scenarios. Casillas can now say his goodbyes and enter a new phase of his career with FC Porto while Sterling now has his 'dream move' to Manchester City. He now has his chance to challenge for trophies at a 'big club' and of course, make more money than he would have ever dreamed of. 

Fair to say however, that loyalty and respect is a dying attitude and value between clubs, players and fans in present day football because of the allure of monetary gain and glory.

Now that the Elections are over, can we have our football back?

The presidential elections have come and gone. General Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as winner of the elections and now the 'wind of change' will sweep the incumbent and outgoing president, Goodluck Jonathan out of office. 

I haven't published any posts recently because the mood of the nation was set on the conduct of the presidential elections. I doubt if anyone would have been willing to read any articles on football in Europe or anywhere else in the last couple of hours or days before the elections, Election Day proper and the days in which results were being collated. 

There was also excitement and tension in the land in anticipation of the announcement of the election results. Football to say the least, was the last thing in most people's minds. But now that the results have been announced, a winner has emerged which reflects the mood of the nation at this time as we grapple with the fall of the Naira and falling oil prices, we can now begin to relax.

And since the announcement, there has been celebrations all over the country, especially among president elect, Muhammadu Buhari's supporters. The celebrations are over or subsiding and we can now return our focus on other happenings around the world and football remains one of the pleasures  that can take our minds off the painful change that is coming for us Goodluck Jonathan supporters even though another round of elections are coming up  on the 11th of April with the Gubernatorial elections being the main event. 

While we were all awaiting the outcome of the election results, friendlies and Euro 2016 qualifiers were being played all around Europe. There were a few shocking results as Portugal lost at home in a friendly to Cape Verde Islands 0-2. Although the rest of the world may not  know much about the Cape Verde Islands, we in Africa know that Cape Verde is an emerging force in football in Africa at least and so, it may not be entirely shocking that Cape Verde shocked a mediocre Portuguese side who had Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Spain were also defeated by the Netherlands 2-0 in Amsterdam in a result that may not be entirely shocking but what would be worrisome for Spain and Vicente Del Bosque is how they can return Spain to the level where they dominated the planet for 6 straight years with a team which is arguably the best in the history of the game at international level.

The English Premier league resumes this weekend with the Arsenal-Liverpool fixture at the Emirates being the pick of the pack. The game is expected to be entertaining. We hope the game will live up to the hype. Arsenal are favourites to win since Liverpool will be missing a few key players including Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel. Liverpool know however, that if they hope to force their way into top 4 reckoning, this is a game they cannot afford to lose. Manchester United will be expected to defeat Aston Villa at Old Trafford and if Liverpool lose, it might be extremely difficult for them to catch up even though United have tough games against Manchester City and Chelsea to come respectively after their game against Aston Villa.

As the EPL begins to reach its climax, the fate of teams who are battling relegation and those seeking a place in Europe's premier club competition, the Champions League, might be cemented after this weekend's round of matches.

Welcome back EPL !