John Terrys injury was not as serious as first thought. First reports said he had broken his arm, but it turned out to be a dislocated elbow. John Terry would still play if he had lost a leg.
The Champions League is a development of the old European Cup. The competition was introduced in the 1950's, and was originally a straight knockout competition between the champions of all the European countries. Games were played over two legs until the final which was a one off game.
In the 1990's, the format was changed. The early stages were played as leagues of four teams with the top two progressing to the later stages. After a few years the competition was expanded. The highest ranked European leagues were allowed more than one entrant. Currently, England, Spain and Italy have four entrants, France, Germany and Portugal three, while Holland, Turkey, Ukraine and Scotland have two. All other nations have one entrant. The weaker teams play three knockout rounds to qualify for the group stages. There are then eight groups of four teams who each play home and away. The top two qualify for the last sixteen where the competition reverts to the straight knockout format, with two legged ties through to the final. The venue for the final is decided at the start of the season. Any European city with a suitable stadium may be chosen. Just working from memory, I can remember finals played in Moscow, Athens, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, Munich, Istanbul, Manchester, London and Rotterdam. This is how two English teams came to be playing a final on a rainy night in Moscow. For the purposes of television audiences across Europe, the match kicked off at midnight Moscow time.
The winners of the competition are the champions of Europe. The financial rewards to a club winning or even taking part in the competition are enormous. This has a knock on effect on domestic football. With four teams in England qualifying for next years competition, finishing fourth in the English Premier League is almost as important as being English Champions.
The final in Moscow was an excellent game. Manchester United were the better team in the first half. They went 1-0 up with a goal from Ronaldo. They then wasted two clear chances to increase the lead. Just before half time, Lampard scored for Chelsea against the run of play. In the second half Chelsea were well on top. They hit the post and crossbar but just couldn't finish the game. Extra time saw no more goals and so we went to penalties. After Ronaldo had missed for Man Utd, John Terry just needed to convert Chelsea's last penalty and they were champions. Terry slipped on the wet turf just as he struck the ball. The ball sliced wide and struck the post. In sudden death penalties, Anelka was unlucky enough to miss for Chelsea and Manchester United lifted the trophy for the third time. They join previous English winners Liverpool (five times), Nottingham Forest (two times) and Aston Villa (one time). Chelsea will have another chance next year. Their second place in the Premier League means that they join Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in the 2008/2009 competition.
it's always tough to lose by PK's. No offense to the English but you guys have terrible luck in shoot outs. I don't recall ever seeing England win one. On that note I would have had Ballack taken the final PK. I'm looking forward to the US-England match next week. We are bringing our first team so I'm looking for a good showing. Don't look now but we start qualifying for South Africa next month.
Yes, England have lost a few penalty shootouts. The record is:
Won
Spain 1996 European Championship Quarter Final
Lost
Germany 1990 World Cup Semi Final
Germany 1996 European Championship Semi Final
Argentina 1998 World Cup Second Round
Portugal 2004 European Championship Quarter Final
Portugal 2006 World Cup Quarter Final
Ballack took the first penalty for Chelsea and scored. The real culprit for Chelsea was Drogbha. He is a regular penalty taker and would have taken John Terrys penalty, but he was sent off near to the end of the game.
it's always tough to lose by PK's. No offense to the English but you guys have terrible luck in shoot outs. I don't recall ever seeing England win one. On that note I would have had Ballack taken the final PK. I'm looking forward to the US-England match next week. We are bringing our first team so I'm looking for a good showing. Don't look now but we start qualifying for South Africa next month.
Mike T.
Okay, where are we playing them "St. George flag" boys at, here in America or across the pond?
When will we know which teams have qualified for the World Cup?
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"States Rights are about States Wrongs" - Jesse Jackson
I'm looking forward to the US-England match next week.
I'd love to see the match on Wednesday.
In Europe people usually uderestimate American soccer, but you Americans managed to defeat our boys 3:0 this year
For more than a century, American boys grew up playing basketball, football and baseball. Many of the current generation grew up playing soccer as well. So American soccer teams will soon join the ranks of world class teams.
ole
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