Chelsea:The dream comes true

Chelsea have proved to the world that they are currently the best team in England, on a glorious day where they have won 8-0 to Wigan Athletic to become the champions of EPL this season, while Manchester United's 4-0 win over Stoke City doesn't give any meaning to the Red Devils as they have failed to cross over Chelsea in the league position.

It's bitterly disappointed for Man Utd after they have lost to Chelsea in both two matches of the season, while Liverpool and Wigan were two teams which they depended most to stop Chelsea from collecting three points straight, have also lost to Chelsea. This season, Man Utd seemed not so strong after selling Ronaldo to Real Madrid, but at some times, they have proved that they are still strong for the title challenge with the help of increasing-form Rooney and Nani. They have been such a great force for Man Utd, and not to forget the veterans-Giggs and Scholes as they have shown that there were no boundaries for the veteran players to show their quality; they played like they were just 20's.

For me, Alex Ferguson has made many mistakes that lead them to defeat in EPL and European Champions League this season.

From my observations on several matches this season, Ferguson was wrong to put Gary Neville to play in such important matches,where Man Utd have lost, such as Man Utd vs Chelsea and Man Utd vs Everton.

The reasons are, Neville failed to deliver crosses well, he is too slow while moving with the ball, he can't deliver good passes to midfield, he has lack presence on the pitch and the biggest failure is;he has failed to keep his position well while moving forward,and it bring weakness to the defender's line.

Ferguson also need to give the chance to the good prospects like Gabriel Obertan and Darron Gibson to play more, rather than Michael Carrick. Gabriel Obertan is great for Man Utd. He is fast,he has some beautiful skills, he has a very good dribbling ability, he can also deliver good and sharp crosses,although he can't shoot well in front of the goal. I'm confident he can create many chances in one match, but only if he play more.

Gibson has also been brilliant for Man Utd,scored some great goals, but Ferguson loves to choose Carrick rather than Gibson, for the reason which nobody knows.

I think that, Luis Valencia should be replaced with a greater player, maybe from Spain or Brazil, because his styles are same in all games, and the opponent will read him easily;that's the reason why Ronaldo is being missed by the Man Utd fans. The rumors saying that Man Utd are dealing to get David Silva and Douglas Costa, are great for Man Utd loyal fans, but how true the rumors are,only Ferguson knows.

As a Manchester United fan, I felt too sad after the match of the season on last night, but I feel my spirit jumps up as the World Cup comes closer. I choose Argentina to go at least to the semi final of the World Cup.

World Cup 2010 Groups Draw

Forget about EPL title race, Spanish Premier League, or the summer transfers, now focus on the World Cup cup groups drawn yesterday.

The most attractive group, for me, is group G where Brazil have been drawn along with Portugal, while Argentina could have an easy path to the second stage, as the teams drawn in group B seem not so strong.

The fire colds down

Liverpool has failed to accomplish the 'Manchester United mission'. Steven Gerrard made a mistake to allow Didier Drogba to get a simple opening goal. The goal has disturbed the morale of the Liverpool players for the remaining time.

Liverpool has made so many mistakes along the game, either made by their defenders, midfielders or attackers. They depended more on Gerrard, and he seemed can't finish the job well as there were no other players can help him well. While moving with the ball, the other players didn't get closer, and it made the condition hard for the attacker to get through Chelsea defenders.

Liverpool players also did not keep on their position well, and because of it, Liverpool can't keep the position well. They also delivered high passes to get through the defenders, but that were wrong techniques as the players found themselves hard to collect the passes well

However, Chelsea have to remember, they are not the champions yet. They need to defeat Wigan. On paper, everybody knows that Chelsea will win the match, but nobody knows how the match will be. But the match is not going to be a very difficult match for Chelsea, but it will be a very big problem if they take the match too easy.

Embarrassing moment for Barcelona

Embarrassing. That is a correct word that perfectly describe Barcelona, as they have admitted that their tactics are the best in the world, only because they won to Man Utd last season.

With the big nose pointed to the sky, Barca have shown a great game play against Inter Milan,changing their plan a little bit by forcing Ibrahimovic to play more on the right-sided wing,while pushing Messi to play more in the center. They've got so many chances, but Julio Cesar was a very great keeper, acted as a savior for Inter Milan.

The game was too boring, Barca played with the same style as usual, setting 4-3-3 formation as their key to play against Inter. Having Pedro and Yaya Toure in the squad was a big mistake for Barcelona, because Pedro can't deliver beautiful crosses from the left side of the field, as he failed to use his left leg well. Yaya Toure also have made wrong desicions by shooting fromdistance, but all shoots were off-targeted.

However, well done to Gerard Pique for his turning-skill before scoring the single goal of the game. I think that Pique should have played as a midfielder, not a defender, but thanks to Man Utd for polishing his talent.

Inter Milan also got great defenders like Lucio, Samuel, Zanetti, and Maicon whose being the great wall for Inter Milan. Maicon is a great player with the ability to defend and attack well, and he also has made the difference to the squad. He is the most brilliant player of Inter Milan.

Don't forget to watch the highlights of the game on your left hand side of this page. ENJOY!

Barcelona Tactics (Formation,Passing,and Attacking)

Formation

Barca uses 4-3-3 formation in all their matches. The formation contains 4 defenders, 3 midfielders, 2 wingers and a striker.
Goalkeeper : Victor Valdes
Fullback Left : Eric Abidal
Fullback Right : Dani Alves
Central Defenders : Gerard Pique
Carles Puyol (C)
Midfielders : Iniesta,Xavi,Seidou Keita
Winger (Right) : Lionel Messi
Winger (Left) : Pedro/Henry
Striker : Ibrahimovic

Passing Style
Barca usually use direct low pass between the team-mates. The players get two touches of the ball before they pass the ball to the other players.(They stop the ball passed by the other player, then they now have two choices;either pass the ball,or run with the ball)

In this team,they will use Xavi to do a great through pass to the forwards, and iniesta to dribble more with the ball at the midfield. The midfielders will coorporate with the fullbacks in attacking phase.They will use the through ball to move the ball to the wings. Then the fullbacks will move forward and pick up the ball.

Below is an example of barcelona passing style.


Barca will always switch the sides to look for the chance and availability to bring the ball upfront.They will pass to the left side of the field or the right side of the field.
Barca prefer to do through passes to pass the ball from the midfielder to the attackers,while from the wings,low crosses were chosen to pass the ball to the striker. Rarely the players use high pass,because the players can easily get the ball if low passes are used.

Attacking
In attacking phase, there are two defenders would be allowed to go forward to join the attack:which are left-sided and right-sided fullbacks. The function of the fullbacks moving forward are to cover up the wings when they are not in their position.

The midfielders usually will stay in the center to handle up the job from the midfield.When the ball comes,the midfielders will have three choices;pass the ball,dribble with the ball or make a shoot from outside the box. Barca hate to do attacking such in rush,so they have taken a safe way by moving the ball among the players,before they make a through ball to the strikers and wingers,after realising that the space between the opponent's defender is big.However,the ability of the players will decide which action should be taken by the players.The player like iniesta,would have dribble to find the space before pass the ball back,while the player like Xavi who has known as the 'master of pinpoint passer',would like to give the beautiful passes to the attackers,which can break the defenders of the opponent side into two parts.

The wingers are likely to dribble and cut inside,where they can shoot by using their preferred foot.They are always coorperating with the fullbacks to cover up their positions when they are cutting inside.Messi is used on the right sided wing,so that he can shoot more by using his preferred-left foot,while henry is used as the left winger,so that he can use his right foot.However,when the ball reaches to the feet of the wingers,they may have two choices,either cut inside or pass the ball to the nearest helping fullbacks.The fullbacks are the one who will give the cross over the head height to the attackers.

Striker will only move in the front,waiting for a great pass from the other players,but the striker should have a great creativity and dribbling ability to get past the defenders.Ibrahimovic is a great striker who is able to finish the high pass,and collect the ball easily,using his tall body.He has a great pace,and he is also a frightening sharpshooter.

- Iniesta (AM) move forward to the left,and the defenders will get closer to him,then he will passthe ball to Xavi(Right MC),when the space between the defenders get bigger.

-Xavi will bring the ball a little bit forward and use a through pass to pass the ball to Ibrahimovic(S) or Messi(WGR) or Dani Alves(FBL) depends on the condition.

-Messi will run to the left and try to cut inside to the penalty box.If it is difficult to get inside the box,he will pass the ball to the midfielders back.Sometimes,he moves forward from the right side and try to get a low pass to Ibrahimovic.

-Henry(WGL) will run forward on the left,pick up the ball and try a cross to the center,or try to cut inside like Messi does.If he cuts inside,he will try to shoot from distance.

-Ibrahimovic will stand by the left side of the penalty area,and if the ball reaches upfront,he will run to the right to pick up the ball.

The title race is still open

Man Utd exerted more pressure on Chelsea by winning 3-1 against Tottenham Hotspur in the past match, but Chelsea have shown their potential to be the champions by winning 7-0 to Stoke City.

Separated by only one point,any mistakes made by Chelsea would allow Man Utd to have the chance to win the league.

7 goals scored by Salomon Kalou, Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge have warned the other club of their power to grab the title from Man Utd.

Look left, and check out the highlights.