CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL PREVIEW

We are but a day away from perhaps the greatest ever night in European Football. To win this great championship is the benchmark for any great team. Its when you have to give everything you got, the guts, the intestinal fortitude, You have to die out there. This is it, Liverpool are gone but both Chelsea and Man Utd will want this more than anything. Especially THE MANCS. This is what Sir Alex wants. The final swansong to his glittering career Its about being crowned champions



To me though I think the nite will be settled by Individuals. I have nominated the following from the MANCS. First up is Obviously Christiano Ronaldo. Now Penaltino has not yet come big against the best.This is the time to stamp his authority on the game and claim his place. His first time to win a major tournament. Undoubtedly the lity has had a belter of a season. He has pace , skill and is complete.Will this be his night. He certainly will have everything to prove on the worlds biggest stage. Then again he could be lining up in the race with Drogba on being the best Diver

In any competition..U gotta be defensively Sound. Il be the first to admit I was wrong about Vidic but with Chelsea in all likelyhood lining up a 4-5-1 formation The Vidic, Drogba battle could be key. A sound performance from the Man Utd Rearguard could be key.

The Mancs also have players that can change a game with one moment of brilliance. Sometimes its that moment that can win a Cup Final.Giggs,Scholes, Tevez, Rooney. The Mancs are not shy in the flair department



For Chelsea though my feeling tells me that Ballack is gonna come big tomorow night. He has been in scintilating form in Europe. Wednesday night is gonna be his night, Ballack is hungry for success. And this is the man that could break the Ali's hearts Wednesday Night. Whats more is Ballack has the pedigree of taking ownership of the night



On a night like that You need a man with total Heart. And Chelsea have that in JT. Terry is a rock. Many dont rate him but I do. Total committment. And He could make Penaltino Cry. JT IS ALL

HEART.AND ALL HEART IS WHAT YOU NEED.

Last but not least there is the Drog. A complete striker and an even bigger Diver. But his threat cannot go unoticed and Im sure the Mancs are ware of his power and danger. If the Drog clicks, Chelsea have the edge. And with a midfield backing of Lampard, Joe Cole,Essien and Ballack, the blues have the firepower



Sir Bobby Hopeful Of 'Sensational' Final
Manchester United legend has given his thoughts on Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson and the showpiece that is the upcoming Champions League final...

United square off against Chelsea in Moscow for what should be a highly absorbing encounter. However, many predict it will be tight, tactical and not the best entertainment.Sir Bobby begs to differ: "There will be goals. Each side has a healthy respect for each other and will know that if they make a mistake or have a lapse of concentration that it will disastrous. Both teams will be going for it. It should be sensational."It will be Chelsea's first ever final in their history, but it's the Blues' players who, between them, have more experience of having played in previous finals.Notably, it is the first final for United's Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese international has built on his outstanding season last year and bordered on superhuman this campaign, having broken the 40-goal barrier and poised to make a clean sweep of all the annual individual honours.That said, he still has several detractors, who criticise his lack of big game mentality or proficiency. Charlton declared that should he get a goal that aids a win in Moscow, he will go down as one of the greatest players of all time."If Ronaldo scores in the Champions League final and we are able to win, I think he'll be hailed as one of the best footballers we've ever seen," said Sir Bobby."He has a vision and a drive. He knows he's a good player. Maybe he thinks he's the best playerand maybe he is. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea try to hold him."If it's Ronaldo's first, it is second time around for Sir Alex, who masterminded the 1999 treble, in which the Champions League win was the crown jewel. The Scotsman has overseen era after era at Old Trafford with admirable enthusiasm and minimal dips in form and honours. He is fast cementing himself as one of, if not the greatest manager of all time."He's just as smart and as sharp as he's ever been as a football manager," said Charlton of Sir Alex."For him it's always the new challenger. New money coming in - Russian money to Chelsea, Thai money, American money. They're investing in our game here and it's changing all the time, but he's ready for them."Should it prove to be Sir Alex's second, it will be United's third. The first came in 1968 - 10 years after the Munich air disaster - an aeroplane crash that killed a generation of players many believe could have challenged for top honours in Europe themselves.Charlton added: "There is a bit of emotion for Manchester United actually being in the Champions League final on the 50th anniversary when these players died going into Europe, because it was those players pioneering the actual competition that got things going.

"Brian O'Ryan, Goal.com
Below I have included some of the videos that couls set the tone of what can be expected in terms of atmosphere





Man Utd Song TAKE ME HOME




GLORY GLORY MAN UTD




This song dedicated to the MANCS.A GREAT VIDEO.ENJOY IT U MUGGS




chelsea songs




SUPER 14 UPDATE
By ZK

pictures: courtesy of Marianne

I caught the Lions Stormers match live and I have to say I was despretaly screaming for the Lions to win or hold the Stormers only to a 4 point win. I wanted my Sharks to go through and damn did the Lions come to the party. Sadly in yet another game in which they played outstanding rugby they were on the loosing side. Two tries in the second half gave the Stormers their win but take nothing away from the Lions. Seth says it doesn't matter they still lost but the thing is they could have won and comfortably as well. They Held the Stormers for most of the match and shire brilliance by the Lion flanks and a sturdy defence from their forwards ensured that they lost marginally. All I can say is in the Currie Cup I sure would be scared of them. The Lions are managing to come together as strong team leading up to the domestic competition. Even with four points in the bag I'm sure the Stormers dressing room was pure raw nerves till the final of the match between the Sharks and Chiefs which was played later.
Lions 13 – 22 Stormers

The Bulls mmmm won. Yes finally they resoundingly beat the Cheetahs. Killa must sure have been a happy chappy hearing his team won. Their fourth win at the end of the Super 14 tournament must make them another happy team going into the Currie Cup. Amazingly the Bulls were 10-3 down after 20 minutes after the Cheetahs scored the first two tries of the match, both by centre JW Jonker, before running riot to take the lead by half time (18-17) and then adding 42 more points in the second half. The Bulls displayed pace and plenty of guile in the backs -- making their early-season blundering all the more unaccountable. Wings Akona Ndungane and Bryan Habana each got two tries as the ball flashed wide and for the first time this season the Bulls resembled the team who charged to the title so impressively last year. However it came too late and the Bulls ended the season in tenth place -- having outscored the Stormers and Sharks in terms of tries.

Cheetahs 20 – 60 Bulls
Anyone who saw me watching the Sharks match would have told you I had completely lost it by the time they had to play. I was having such blonde moment and could not work out by how much they needed to win if they didn't walk away with five points in the bag after watching the Stormers win. I kept screaming at the screen hoping the referee would hear me as I picked up Chiefs infringements on Shark players. (I think I completely lost it as I was seeing things that were not there!!!!)
The Sharks sounded a loud warning to the other teams still in contention as they powered into the Vodacom Super 14 semifinals with an impressive 47-25 win over the Chiefs. We attacked better and made use of every opportunity to get more points on the board. Once the momentum was going there was no looking back. A friend made a comment that "they must have made the Chiefs off"… I highly doubt it. The way the forward piled on the pressure and the wings came to the action was a new Shark side that is hungry for the win. Waratahs we face in the semis and though they may have beaten us a few weeks earlier, this new look team a hungry for some flesh…Waratah Flesh!!!
Sharks 47 – 25 Chiefs


Reds 11 – 18 Waratahs

Crusaders lost but theory is they resting all their big guns for the semi… I pity their opponents. (The Hurricanes)
Crusaders 14 – 26 Highlanders

Force29 – 22 Brumbies
Blues 19 – 17 Hurricanes

1.Crusaders 52
2.Waratahs 43
3. The Sharks 42
4.Hurricanes 41
5.Vodacom Stormers 41
6.Blues 40
7.Chiefs 34
8.Western Force 33
9. Brumbies 30
10. Vodacom Bulls 28
11. Highlanders 19
12. Reds 18
13. Vodacom Cheetahs 13
14. Auto & General Lions 12

On a different note…
The Bok side has been chosen but don't forget that's in only a training a squad and the real test comes when the final 22 need to be chosen.

Its good to see more players of colour as well as the hardened older players. Lets see what De Villiers will bring now to the game…

Q: What's your take on the squad chosen so far?


BUNDESLIGA UPDATE
By The Killa

LEAGUE TABLE
1. Bayern Munich 76
2. Werder Bremen66
3. Schalke 04 64
4.Hamburg 54
5. Wolfsburg 54

Top Goalscorers
1.Luca Toni Bayern Munich 24
2.Mario Gomez VfB Stuttgart 19
3.Kevin Kuranyi Schalke 04 15
4. Markus Rosenberg Werder Bremen 14
Ivica Olic Hamburg SV 14
6.Diego Werder Bremen 13
Marko Pantelic Hertha Berlin 13
Mladen Petric Borussia Dortmund 13
Stanislav Sestak VfL Bochum 13
10. Rafael Van der Vaart Hamburg SV 12


DISCIPLINE

1 Mihai Tararache MSV Duisburg 13 yellow, 1 red 15 points
2. Stanislav Angelov Energie Cottbus11 0 11
Tomasz Zdebel VfL Bochum 11 0 11

SPANISH LA LIGA UPDATE

BY IRFAAN ADAM

Barca and Valencia end off on a high

What a performance!!! Gio Dos Santos proved why he is one of the worlds highly rated youngsters on Saturday night. He helped himself to a hat rick against the already relegated Murcia. Frank Rijkaard's side brought the curtain down on a disappointing season with a display inspired by their Mexican lytie.Barca actually fell behind, as Juan Ochoa headed the hosts into a 16thminute lead.However, the tie was turned on its head during a nine-minute spell in which the Catalan giants scored three goals. Henry and Eto’o also getting onto the scoresheet, as they wrapped up a 5-3 win.

It was disappointing to see a team like Zaragoza getting relegated. All they needed was to avoid defeat at Mallorca and they were safe. But they met up with Daniel Guiza and company.Guiza gave the hosts an early lead but Milan’s flop Ricardo Oliveracancelled it out. a glancing header from Pierre Webo and last-gaspclose-range effort from Gonzalo Castro clinched the win for Mallorca.Oliveira then side-footed home a second for the visitors deep into injurytime although there was no fairytale ending and Zaragoza find themselves in the second division.Champions Real Madrid's season has ended on a high note following a 5-2 win over Levante at Santiago Bernabeu. A brace each by Ruud Van Nistelrooyand Sergio Ramos and a stunning free kick by Wesley Sneijder, getting the 3 points.Second-placed Villarreal ended their impressive campaign on the winning note courtesy of a 2-0 success at Deportivo La Coruna.Valencia's shit season has ended on a high note following a 3-1 successover Atletico Madrid at the Mestalla.David Villa might have scored his last 2 goals for the club. Sergio Agueroscoring his 19th goal of the season for Atletico.Valencia, who only avoided relegation last weekend, finished with 51points and will play in next season's Uefa Cup after winning the Copa delRey title.
Transfer Rumours
Barcelona are reportedly tracking Arsenal trio Robin van Persie, TheoWalcott and Alexander Hleb.Tottenham remain favourites to sign Samuel Eto'o after bidding £24m forthe Barcelona striker - £8m more than AC and Inter Milan.Barcelona have also agreed a £6m fee with Manchester United for21-year-old defender Gerard Pique.

Everton want to bid £11m for Valencia winger Joaquin.Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has reassured fans he is not planning to join Real Madrid.Manchester United target Daniel Alves has hinted he could leave Sevilla.