Bayern Munich are through to the Champions League final!
And when they were celebrating their monumental victory over the mighty
Barcelona, one over-zealous fan decided to join in!
Predictably, the pitch-side security took exception to this show of emotion,
and began to haul the fan off the pitch.
Franck Ribery, riding high on a wave of elation, attempted to quell the
guards, and to have them treat the fan gently.
With the security clearly not
ready to change policy, Ribery made sure the fan was ejected with the ultimate souvenir
- his semi-final winning, Barcelona vanquishing, match-day shirt.
The Champions League is the best football competition in the world for
one simple reason: It brings together Europe’s elite football teams, teams full
of talent and tantrums, brilliance and barbarism, and pits them against one
another in a glorious battle to the death. Each year the competition showcases
the world’s greatest football players, tactics and managers. Players such as
Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, Ribery, and Van Persie get to show off their
footballing gifts to millions of people, there is also the added bonus of Jose
Mourinho showing off his sociopathic dad routine, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s constant
‘wasp’ chewing.
This year promises to be a mouthwatering display of Europe’s finest, and
the footballing gods have delivered a Quarter final line-up of the highest calibre.
With matches such as Manchester United vs. Real Madrid and AC Milan vs. FC
Barcelona, football fans the world over are just waiting for January to tick
down.
Last year, the trophy was won by the least likely of winners, Chelsea,
who this year have already been knocked out of the competition, stopping them
from retaining the trophy for a consecutive year; a feat not achieved since, bar
AC Milan’s back to back victories in old European Cup format in 1989-90.
A Bit of History
Since the competition’s inception, there have been 22 different club
winners, with 12 winning the coveted trophy more than once. Real Madrid have
the highest affinity with the cup, with no less than 9 wins and 3 runners up
medals. AC Milan, interestingly, come a close second with 7 wins and 4 runners
up medals.
Madrid can lay claim to best goal scored in the final, with
Zinedine Zidane’s left footed volley from the edge of the penalty area against
Bayer Leverkusen in the 2001-2002 final.
2012/13 Competition
This season the competition has already knocked out a few possible
contenders for the trophy. Chelsea, as previously mentioned, were knocked out
in the group stages; and Manchester City, who were hoping to improve on last
season’s early knock out of the competition and finally mount a solid attack on
a first ever Champions League triumph, were once again an early casualty.
The once Dutch ‘giant’ Ajax were also knocked out during
the group stages, lagging behind Mourinho’s Real Madrid by a huge seven points.
Lille, last year’s Ligue 1 runners-up, finished bottom of Group F, winning only a
single match and losing every other.
This year’s last 16 will be a fascinating affair. With the reigning
champions already knocked out, and with the new footballing powers such as Shakhtar,
PSG and Dortmund attempting to
make the jump up the big boy’s table, who are flexing their muscles ready for
action - we will certainly be spoilt for choice come the 12th of Feb.
Links and Pictures: BBC Sport, The Daily Telegraph, talksport.co.uk, youtube.com, bleacherreport.com
So I begin, with Tottenham sailing into third place at the expense of Aston Villa. A Tottenham side full to the brim with rich attacking potential and invention, and a defense, so often an easy source for critisism, with enough to compliment. Emmanuel Adebayor scored the two goals, his second being one which any striker dreams of; the ultimate tap in. Spurs were omnipotent in their dismantling of Villa, a real signal of intent to all those who dare oppose their rise from non existence to real challengers this year.
I suppose I must liken myself to those men in white, as my humble blog takes form after much deliberation and stalling, much like the slow start exhibited by Tottenham. Yet, I imagined my rise to the medium of blogging to be on the back of a monumental win; one which has befallen many of the top teams this year. This season has already been one of the most interesting, debate-worthy and confusing of the Premier League's illustrious history - I hope my offerings provide at least two of those features!
Welcome to The Good, the Bad and the Ribery... It looks to be a bumpy ride!
