The retirement of Paul Scholes. 5/31/2011.

The Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, who played through years and years of glory at the top of world football seems to be making a move to the coaching staff of the same side (possibly a reserve side position but details have yet to come out). While it seemed of late that he was getting phased out, he still performed when given the chance. He had thanks for everyone including the coach and the fans as he takes a step away from the thing he loves: playing football. He appeared 676 times in his time with the last coming on as a substitute in Saturday's Champions League Final against Barcelona. Having won the Premier League 10 times with Manchester United and conquering Europe in 2008, he really has had a brilliant career. It all started with his coming through the United ranks during the early-90's. Scholes joins a list of great players who have showcased for the Red Devils and England; he will be missed by teammates and opponents alike!

Looking forward to Euro 2012 Qualifying for June 3rd.

Well Group A showcases with Kazakhstan playing Azerbaijan, arch-rivals Austria taking on Germany, and Belgium will try and manage against Turkey. For Group C, the Faroe Islands will host Slovenia while Italy hope to continue their winning ways and defeat Estonia. Meanwhile, in Group D, Romania take on Bosnia and Herzegovina while Belarus will see how they can do against France. Group E has Moldova playing host to Sweden while San Marino host the other Nordic nation of Finland. Croatia and Georgia face off for Group F action while Group I competition consists of Liechtenstein v.s. Lithuania. All in all it looks like it'll be a great day of competitive football! Now then, how about some predictions? First off, in Group A, the two teams bringing up the rear, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, will only be playing for pride when they face off but I could see Azerbaijan leading when the final whistle blows. Between Austria and Germany, Der Nationalmannschaft of Germany would be the team I would tip to win the match-up. Moving on to the game between Belgium and Turkey, despite the fact that the Belgians are above their opponents in the table, the Turks really shouldn't be beaten by the small nation. Meanwhile, the Faroe Islands v.s. Slovenia really should be the visitors' game as the Island team has taken only 1 point from 5 games! Over in Italy on the other hand, the home side would be quite surprised if they lost to currently mid-table Estonia when the two face-off. Over in Group D, when Romania welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina I could see the match ending in a draw. However, if I had to pick a side it would probably be the home side of Romania since Bosnia and Herzegovina were just barely able to edge the Romanians 2-1 when  the two sides met in the industrial city Zenica of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other Group D match on the 3rd will be between the two leaders of the group: France and Belarus. Both sides actually look pretty good with the second-place Belarus  team hosting the Group leaders. While Belarus did beat the French on their own soil in the first match of qualification, that was shortly after the French had a disastrous World Cup. Since then? They have yet to be defeated in European Cup Qualifying. For this reason I would tip the French to win. Over in Group E, Moldova's match against Sweden will probably be just as close as their first leg battle. However, I would predict the Swedes will be victorious as they have only been defeated by the Netherlands. The other match-up, between San Marino and Finland, should really go in Finland's favor despite the fact that they are only one game better than their opponents. Even if they are playing in San Marino, expect a similar number of goals as we saw in the 8-0 slaughter on the 17th of November 2010. Moving on to Group F now, where Croatia and Georgia will face off. The fact that Georgia won their last encounter 1-0 may not initially bode well, but I think the Croats will turn it around at home and at the very least earn a draw. Last but not least, Group I's showdown between Liechtenstein and Lithuania is most likely going to go the visitor's way as Lithuania have faced Spain twice and still have more points in the table (though still not enough too take them anywhere but second from bottom.) A draw could very well be on the cards. Best of luck to all teams though!

Women's U-19 Championship! 5/30/2011.

It was an exciting day in the second qualifying round as Italy edged Russia 2-1 thanks to goals from Katia Coppola in the 3rd minute and Lisa Alborghetti in the 56th. The one Russian goal came from Nadezhda Koltakova in the 13th minute which set the two sides level at the half. The score, however, only scratches the surface of how many opportunities there were in an entertaining match. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the home side thrashed Belgium 4-1. Eseossa Aigbogun and Corina Saner both struck in the first half to make it 2-0 at the half. Maria-Laura Aga then slotted one home for Belgium in the 58th before Michelle Probst and Nadine Fassler struck in the 89th and 93rd minutes respectively to sink any Belgian chances of victory or even a draw. Germany v.s. Norway was a closer affair, though the home side still owned the pitch when the final whistle blew and 3-1 was the scoreline. Isabella Schmid scored in the 26th minute to give the Germans a relatively early lead but Melissa Bjanesoy then equalized for the Norwegians in the 35th. With the half approaching and the sides still level, Lena Lotzen struck a goal just before the half-time whistle blew to giver Germany a 2-1 lead into the break. The second half on the other hand, was a lot less active with only Anja Hegenauer's 93rd minute goal breaking the deadlock as Germany walked away with the win. Finally, in Spain, the only game where the home side was not victorious! By this I mean there was no one to break the tie as Spain and the Netherlands were level 1-1 after Naiara Beristain struck gold in the 11th for the home side. The Dutch had to wait until the second half to equalize though, but equalize they did: Pia Rijsdijk slotting home in the 49th to put it all on the line once more. However, the only thing to happen after the second goal was the yellow-carding of Spain's Leila Ouahabi in the 67th.

Barcelona v.s. Manchester Champions League Final: 5/28/2011!

Well it was a grand affair between Barcelona of Spain and Manchester United of England at Wembley Stadium in London despite the fact that the pre-game show was a little befuddling. It was a fast paced games with Barcelona controlling the possession. At the half it was 1-1 thanks to goals first for Barcelona: from Pedro Rodriguez, and then for Manchester: from Wayne Rooney. However, the second half really opened up, for one side at least. Barcelona pushed on for a 3-1 lead thanks to goals from Lionel Messi in the 54th and David Villa in the 69th. All in all though, it was a great performance from both sides with Wayne Rooney scoring a beauty and all of the Barcelona goals just breath-taking. The only blemishes on the game came from Antonio Valencia who went in with some rough challenges on many players including Messi but he wasn't able to bully the Catalan side! Last but not least, a fond farewell to Edwin van der Sar, who will be retiring after the match! He played a good game and had a fantastic career! Congratulations to Barcelona and all of the other competitors for the great performances!

Some domestic results: 5/27/2011.

In Russia's domestic league, Lokomotiv Moskva were edged 1-2 by Anzhi after Rasim Tagirbekov and Mbark Boussoufa slotted home once each to put the away side firmly into the lead. Anzhi's Joao Carlos was then red carded in the 90th resulting in Dmitry Sychev's 91st minute penalty goal which made the match seem closer than it was. Moving on, Rubin hammered Tom 4-1 thanks to goals from Aleksander Ryazantsev and Aleksey Medvedev before Tom's Sergey Skoblyakov scored the team's first and last goal in the 38th. Christian Noboa struck home for Rubin in the 58th while Bebars Natcho did the same from the penalty spot in the 75th to finish the beating of their opposition. Last but not least, Spartak Nalchik tied with opponents Terek 2-2 as Adnan Zahirovic and Mauricio struck one for each side in the 33rd and 38th minutes respectively to put the sides at 1-1. However, just before half time Leandro scored an own goal giving Terek a 2-1 lead into the half. However, Nalchik were saved from the clutches of defeat by Roman Kontsedalov's 71st minute strike which leveled the sides 2-2. That scoreline was not broken by either side before the full-time whistle blew. Finally, in Bulgaria, Levski and Montana faced off in what ended up being a rather one-sided match: Minev, Dembele, and Yovov were the scorers for the home side as they destroyed their opposition 3-0. However, at the half it was only 1-0 following Minev's 31st minute strike! In fact, it was only in the 65th minute when Levski began to break away: once through Dembele in the 65th and again by Yovov a minute later to crown a well-deserved three points for the current second-place side. (Litex currently leads the league by two points.)

Women's Champions League Final! 5/26/2011.

It was a rather one-sided match that saw the new queens of Europe become Lyon after they played and won a spirited match against Potsdam. The French side defeated the Germans in England by a margin of 2-0 after Wendie Renard had put them into the lead in the 27th minute from a corner while Lara Dickenmann tacked on a second in the 85th to really put the match out of Potsdam's reach. Dickenmann's strike came after she controlled the ball with her right foot and slotted home with her left. It was a remarkable end to a great Women's Championship! Congratulations to Lyon and all of the other contenders for the breathtaking performances!

Europa League Final! 5/18/2011.

It was a close battle in Dublin between the two Portuguese sides Porto and Braga but, at the end of the 90 minutes, Porto were above their competition 1-0. Falcao was the man who scored for them, just before half-time in the 44th minute. The rest of the game was made up of yellow cards though, as the combined total for both sides registered 8. Both sides pressured despite the fact that it was a defensive effort from both sides. In total their were only four shots on target. Interestingly, Braga had three shots while Porto had only one of the four. No matter, the Portuguese champions will also be the Europa League Champions so congrats to them and all sides that participated!

Some other season conclusions. 5/17/2011,

First of all, in South Korea's K-League, Pohang Steelers currently sit on top after a come from behind victory over Jeonbuk Motors with a score of 3-2. In Iran, Sepahan grabbed the title once more with a draw at Persepolis enough to earn them a record three titles. Second and third meanwhile are still up in the air between Esteghlal and Zob Ahan. Esteghlal currently leads Zob Ahan by two points. Meanwhile, in Japan, Kashiwa Reysol furthered their title credentials with a 3-0 victory over Albirex Niigata. Sanfrecce Hiroshima leapfrogged into second following their 3-2 defeat of Yokohama F Marinos. Over in China, Guangzhou Yiyao won their fifth game of seven as they defeated Henan Construction 3-1. In Uzbekistan, Bunyodkor remain two points in the lead following a 3-1 victory over Kyzylkum. Bunyodkor have also reached the AFC Champions League Round of 16 so congrats to them! Meanwhile, second-place Nasaf scored twice as they defeated Mashal 2-0. In third, Pakhtakor defeated Navbahor 2-1 to solidify their position. Finally, India looks on as East Bengal have boosted their title credentials with a 3-2 win over fellow title aspirants Dempo. Churchill Brothers lead East Bengal on goal difference while Salgaocar are three points ahead. East Bengal though, have several games in hand so it will be an interesting title race to the finish! Good luck all sides!

That Argentine we all know.

Nope, it is not Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, or Juan Roman Riquelme; rather, it is Diego Maradonna in the news again! The former great player who coached Argentina in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has a new contract: in Dubai. Earlier today the club Al-Wasl announced that he'd be leading them for the next two seasons. While he was linked with moves to England and Iran, he has finally decided to try his hand in the U.A.E. His coaching history isn't extensive, though I wish him lots of luck in his latest endeavor!

U-17 European Final and some of the last domestic action. 5/15/2011.

Well Germany did put up a fight, going ahead twice, but it was for naught as the Netherlands crushed their rivals 5-2 by the time the final whistle blew. Samed Yesil put Germany ahead in the 8th minute to get the game off to a quick start. Tonny Trindade de Vilhena equalized 15 minutes later to keep the Oranje in the game. Okan Aydin then put Germany ahead once more, in the 32nd. However, de Vilhena struck again for Holland to keep the Germans at bay. His goal came 2 minutes after Aydin's. The sides thus went into half-time level. Who knows what happened between the two halves but the Netherlands dominated the second half: Memphis Depay and Terence Kongolo scored a goal a piece early on while Kyle Ebecilio scored the fifth later on to end an explosive performance. This was the Netherlands' first U-17 title. Domestically, Scotland have Rangers in front of Celtic in the table 93 to 92. Despite Celtic's recent good form, they couldn't make up their one point deficit. Celtic did crush Motherwell 4-0, but Rangers performed well too: winning 5-1 over Kilmarnock. In Sweden, Malmo edged Orebro 2-1 thanks to Guillermo Molins' 62nd and 80th minute strikes. Orebro had started the match in the lead though, thanks to Valdet Rama's 37th minute strike. Molins struck both of his goals in the second half. In the Netherlands, Ajax actually sprinted to the finish and surged into the top table position as they defeated FC Twente 3-1. Siem de Jong struck the first goal while Denny Landzaat scored an own goal early in the second half. Theo Janssen scored for Twente finally though, but de Jong slotted home again to end it for Twente's chances. In England, Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2-1, Newcastle actually tied with Chelsea 2-2, Liverpool lost to Tottenham 0-2, while Wigan edged West Ham 3-2. Finally, in Italy, Napoli and Inter will only be playing for pride today as Milan have sealed the title while Napoli will remain at best a point behind Inter Milan. Catania actually beat Roma 2-1 thanks to goals from Bergessio and Gomez. Parma edged Juventus thanks to Sebastian Geovinco's goal.

Mostly English news... 5/14/2011.

First off: Manchester City secured their first piece of silverware in my lifetime with a 1-0 victory over Stoke in the FA Cup Final. Yaya Toure was the man who slotted home in the second-half to give the lesser of the Manchester sides a deserved piece of history. The other side from Manchester, United that is, officially won the Premier League today with a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. Blackpool and Wolves both salvaged their seasons too. In Germany, Eintracht Frankfurt will be just one of the teams that will be relegated as they lost 3-1 to a vibrant table-topping Borussia Dortmund.

U-17 Championships of Europe 5/12/2011. Friendly competition in Spain too.

It was an intense set of matches today with the Netherlands edging England 1-0. Kyle Ebecilio scored the massively important goal in the 26th minute to put the Oranje into the Final. England had only a couple of chances with none of them real opportunities as the Dutch essentially dominated the semi-final fixture. In the other leg, Denmark were beaten quite soundly, and surprisingly, by Germany 2-0. Kaan Ayhan struck in the 58th to put the Germans ahead after a relatively uneventful second half. Nils Quaschner then struck in the 70th minute to seal the deal for a promising German side. With these results, the Final is set-up between neighbors and rivals Germany and the Netherlands for this Sunday. Best of luck to both sides! I would predict that the Dutch will continue their impressive run of form though a German victory would be very welcome! In other news, Iker Casillas, the goalie and captain of Real Madrid congratulated big rivals Barcelona on winning their 21st La Liga title. This show of good sportsmanship has been unfortunately lacking of late and the fact that Spaniards can still stand up and congratulate each other after several intense rivalry matches in the recent history bodes well for the world's game as a whole.

Domestic conclusions and otherwise. 5/11/2011.

Well today in Scotland Celtic's coach was attacked by a fan bu that didn't stop the B'hoys from destroying Hearts 0-3. Gary Hooper struck twice and Kris Commons scored the third before being sent off. The result forces Celtic and Rangers to play for it all in the last games of the season for the respective sides. Inverness defeated Hibernian 2-0 thanks to Richie Foran and Nick Ross' goals in the 42nd and 51st minutes. Motherwell and Kilmarnock finished 1-1 with Steve Jones opening the scoring in the 8th minute for the home side and Willy Aubameyang equalizing for the away side in the 49th to lock the sides level when the final whistle blew. Down in Spain, Barcelona have officially done what has been on everyone's minds: they have won their third consecutive La Liga title! A draw with Levante was all they needed and that's what they got (1-1 away to Levante) to put Real Madrid and their other opponents to bed until next season!

U-17 Championships in Serbia and Mexico!

It's been going on for a while now but things are really starting to heat up in the U-17 European Championship as England defeated the hosts Serbia 3-0 today. Bradley Smith scored the first goal, in the 7th minute, before Hallam Hope struck a double between the 9th and 18th minutes to make it 3-0 before the half. The second half brought no more goals as England held on for a good win and a place in the semi-finals. However, the top of Group A is occupied by Denmark who finish the stage undefeated having beaten France 1-0 earlier today. Christian Norgaard was the man who eliminated France with his 65th minute strike and kept the Dane's perfect record in tact. In Group B, the Netherlands sit on top with 2 wins and a draw having drawn 0-0 with the Czech Republic while Germany have managed to occupy second place in the group when it matters, beating Romania 0-1 to just barely make it into the semi-finals. The German's record has been anything less than impressive though, having won once, drawn once, and opening the tournament with a 0-2 loss to the Netherlands. Denmark should have no problem when they face Germany and the Netherlands v.s. England will probably end with Denmark and the Netherlands in the Final. Onwards and upwards and best of luck to all of the teams! In other news, the 2011 U-17 World Cup in Mexico is also set to kick off with the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands all qualifying thanks to their European performances. Other teams competing in Mexico 2011 are: Australia, Japan, Uzbekistan, and North Korea from the AFC; Burkina Faso, Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Rwanda from CAF; the U.S.A., Canada, Jamaica, and Panama represent CONCACAF; New Zealand is the sole representative of the OFC organization; CONMEBOL has Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Uruguay; while the hosts Mexico round out the competition. To be sure it should be a great set of games over the summer and I wish the best of luck to all of the teams!

Domestic action all over Europe! 5/8/2011.

Let's start in the Nordic nation of Sweden where the only victory of the day was by Trelleborg who beat Mjallby 1-0 thanks to Johan Nilsson Guiomar's 57th minute goal. On the other hand, Syrianska v.s. Malmo ended 0-0. In Spain, Barcelona beat Espanyol 2-0 due to strikes from Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique in the 29th and 47th minutes respectively. Mallorca and Villarreal ended 0-0 while Osasuna defeated Zaragoza 1-3. This was accomplished despite falling behind in the 16th minute after Lafita had put Zaragoza in the lead. Javier Camunas and Sergio Fernandez scored within eight minutes of each other (62nd and 70th respectively) while Kike Sola slotted home the death blow in the 80th minute. Over the border in Portugal, Academica and Braga played out a 0-0 game while Porto and Pacos de Ferreira also ended level, but 3-3 rather than 0-0. Falcao put Porto into the lead in the 8th with a fine strike. Hulk then tacked on a second in the 42nd, just before stoppage time. Pizzi struck three in for Pacos de Ferreira in the second half to level the sides after Falcao had slotted home in the 53rd. Rio Ave on the other hand were edged out by Benfica 1-2 with the Eagles going 2-0 up through Oscar Cardozo before Braga struck in the 88th minute to make it a 2-1 game and a photo-finish. Finally, Sporting were edged by Vitoria FC 0-1 after Jailson struck in the 55th minute for the away side. In England, Manchester United solidified their position at the top of the English table with their 2-1 win over Chelsea in Manchester. Javier Hernandez struck in the 1st minute of the match while Nemanja Vidic struck in the 23rd to put the ball in Chelsea's court. Frank Lampard dutifully slotted home once, but it wasn't enough as the Blues were beaten. Stoke were also tremendously successful today, winning 3-1 over Arsenal as Kenwyne Jones and Jermaine Pennant struck once each before Arsenal's Robin van Persie slotted home to make it a 2-1 game in the 81st. Jonathan Walters struck for Stoke in the next minute to make it 3-1 when the final whistle blew. Last but not least, Wolves beat West Brom 3-1 going 3-0 up before Peter Odemwingie finally gave West Brom their first goal. Wolves were helped along by two goals from Steven Fletcher on either side of Adlene Guedioura's 28th minute goal. Up north in Scotland, Celtic beat Kilmarnock 0-2 with goals from Scott Brown and Kris Commons. It begs the question of why couldn't the B'hoys do that in their last game?! Anyway, in Italy, Udinese defeated Lazio 2-1 as Antonio di Natale striking twice before Libor Kozak scored one for the away side. Lecce were successful at home too, defeating Napoli 2-1 with Daniele Corvia opening the scoring in the 49th from the spot before being sent off in the 54th. Giuseppe Mascara then brought the away side level in the 67th before Edinson Cavani was given a red in the 74th to put the two sides on equal numbers manpower-wise. Javier Chevanton then scored in the 88th to make it 2-1 when the game ended. Inter defeated Fiorentina 3-1 putting the Milanese club firmly in second place with a 4 point lead over third place Napoli.

Europa League 5/6/2011.

Well it was almost bound to be an all Portuguese affair as three of the four semi-finalists were from Portugal. However, the teams were a little surprising: Braga actually managed to edge by Benfica after a 2-1 first leg. The second leg ended in Braga's favor though, Custodio's 19th minute header enough to push the smaller side into their first Final on goal difference.The rest of the game was less beautiful though, with 7 yellows handed out throughout the game. In the other Semi, Villarreal won the battle but lost the war as they fell 4-7 on aggregate after winning 3-2 hosting Porto. Cani struck in 17th to make it 1-0 early on for the home side before Porto's Hulk slotted home in the 39th to draw the sides level for half time. In the second half, Falcao struck in the 48th to further put down the Spanish club's chances of winning. However, the Yellow Submarines fought on, scoring through Joan Capdevilla and Giuseppe Rossi within 5 minutes to put them in the lead for this match; but they were forced to realize the inevitable: SC Braga and FC Porto will play each other in Dublin for the Europa League trophy!

Manchester United v.s. Schalke 5/4/2011.

Well Manchester United had a 2-0 lead not too long after the 30th minute thanks to Antonio Valencia and Darron Gibson's respective strikes. This made it even more of a losing battle for the small German side Schalke who then scored their first and last goal of the tie through José Manuel Jurado to make it 2-1. United then received a trio of yellow cards before the half to force them into a more ginger style of play. Nonetheless, Anderson struck a pair in the second half to make the aggregate scoreline 6-1 when the final whistle blew as Manchester United solidified what we already really knew from the first leg: Manchester United will join Barcelona in the Champions League Final later this month in what is sure to be an extremely exciting match!

Champions League Semi-final 5/3/2011.

Well in the second leg of the Champions League Semi-final between Barcelona and Real Madrid, Barcelona won the day despite drawing 1-1 with their rivals. With a final score of 3-1 on aggregate, the Catalans can be proud of kicking out the Madrid side and getting to the Finals once more! There they will probably be facing Manchester United, unless Schalke somehow pull off an incredible comeback against the English side in England. In the match today Barcelona scored first, through Pedro Rodriguez, in the 54th minute to the praise of the stadium. However, 10 minutes later Real were drawn level thanks to a good effort from Marcelo which was the last goal of a close game.

Futsal upset and domestic activity 5/1/2011.

In the Futsal European Final, Sporting Lisbon of Portugal were showed up quite handily by tournament debutantes Montesilvano by a scoreline of 2-5. They slotted home four times in the first half without response. In the second half, Montesilvano scored their fifth goal, a penalty in the 29th. Then and only then were Sporting able to score, twice within seven minutes to make the game seem somewhat competitive when it really wasn't. Montesilvano's victory was well deserved for the hard-fighting Italian side. Meanwhile, on the pitch in Sweden, Helsingborg and Hacken tied 1-1 with all of the goals coming within 5 minutes. Mathias Ranegie put Hacken in the lead in the 61st. However, Alexander Gerndt struck for Helsingborg three minutes later to tie the game with a deadlock that wasn't broken. Kalmar defeated Syrianska 2-0 thanks to two late goals from Daniel Mendes and Ricardo Santos. Trelleborg were able to edge Djurgarden 3-2 with Fredrik Jensen striking Trelleborg's first two goals while Philip Hellqvist struck Djurgarden's two only goals. Down in Portugal, Vitoria are losing at home against Porto 0-2 after first scoring an own goal and then Nicolas Otamendi struck the first legitimate goal. Olhanense on the hand scored a last minute goal to take a point away from their encounter with Benfica as the game ended 1-1. Franco Jara had put Benfica ahead emphatically in the 4th minute. The Eagles held that lead for the whole game until Djalmir equalized in the 90th minute to the delight of the home fans.Up in Scotland, Celtic destroyed Dundee United 4-1 in their match today. Once more, there were goals at the death but this time they were pointless as Celtic ran away with the three points. Down in England, Arsenal edged Manchester United 1-0 thanks to a goal from Aaron Ramsey in the 56th minute. Liverpool crushed Newcastle 3-0 with goals from Maxi Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt, and Luis Suarez. Manchester City edged West Ham 2-1 while Birmingham and Wolves tied 1-1. Finally, in Italy, Milan beat Bologna 1-0 thanks to Mathieu Flamini's 8th minute goal. Fiorentina and Udinese had a ton of goals in their game but the home side won definitively: 5-2! Bari and Roma were tied 2-2 as I posted this.