football génie de Lionel Messi

Historique cette année 2009 pour le FC Barcelone ! Six titres glanés : la Ligue des champions, Supercoupe d'Europe, Championnat d'Espagne, Coupe d'Espagne, Supercoupe d'Espagne, Mondial des clubs. Au-delà des titres, les Blaugrana ont pratiqué le football le plus abouti, souvent illuminé par les éclairs de génie de Lionel Messi. Entre les dribbles, les passes décisives, les buts du prodige argentin, les commentateurs espagnols ont eu moult occasions cette année de s'époumoner avec les «Messi, Messi, Messi...» et autres «Messi, Messi, gol, gol, gol, gol, goooooooool».
Ovationnés au coeur de l'hiver par les supporters... adversaires
«El Pulga» (la puce) a brillé de janvier à décembre. Premier match de l'année 2009, huitième de finale aller de la Coupe du Roi sur la pelouse de Vicente Calderon face à l'Atletico Madrid. Résultat ? Victoire barcelonaise (1-3) et triplé de Messi. Impressionnés, les supporters madrilènes ovationnent même l'Argentin de 22 ans lorsqu'il est remplacé par Pedro à la 81e minute. Quelques jours plus tard, les fans d'Osasuna restent bouches bées et l'applaudissent après l'avoir vu inscrire un but d'un tir puissant décoché hors de la surface. Ainsi de suite. En février, il inscrit le 5000e but du Barça face à Santander. En mars, Leo participe (un but) au festival barcelonais devant Lyon en huitième de finale retour de la Ligue des champions (5-2, aller 1-1). En avril, toujours en C1, en quart de finale aller cette fois, il s'offre un doublé face au Bayern Munich (4-0 puis 1-1 au retour à Munich).
Les moissons printanières et estivales
Mai constitue l'apogée de la saison du lutin de Rosario. Un doublé lors du 6-2 infligé au Real Madrid à Santiago-Bernabeu. Un but lors de la finale de la Coupe du Roi face à l'Atletico Bilbao (4-1). Une passe décisive pour Iniesta dans le temps additionnel de la demi-finale retour de la C1 à Chelsea (1-1, aller 0-0). Le titre de champion d'Espagne. Et cette finale de la Ligue des champions à Rome face à Manchester United. Les Barcelonais dominent les débats et le score (1-0, but d'Eto'o). Puis survient la 70e minute. Centre de Xavi, Messi - et ses 1,69m - s'élève plus haut que Ferdinand (1,89m) et Van der Sar (1,97m) pour catapulter de la tête le ballon dans les filets mancuniens. Enorme ! Déjà trois titres. Mais le Barça et Messi ne sont pas rassasiés. Le 23 août, lors de la finale retour de la Supercoupe d'Espagne, le lutin s'offre un doublé et un nouveau trophée (3-0, aller 2-1). La quête de la Supercoupe d'Europe face au Chakhtior Donetsk est plus laborieuse mais le cinquième trophée de l'année est bien dans l'escarcelle catalane (1-0 a.p.).
Des turbulences automnales à l'Histoire à la mi-décembre
Septembre et octobre sont plus difficiles. Si tout roule en Liga, la phase de poules de la Ligue des champions se révèle plus ardue que prévue. En sélection, Messi est méconnaissable. Finalement, l'Albiceleste décroche sur le fil son ticket pour la Coupe du monde 2010 en Afrique du Sud. Soulagé, le lutin argentin revient en Catalogne (re)gonflé et enchaîne les performances de haut vol.Cerise sur le gâteau barcelonais. Le Mondial des clubs mi-décembre à Abou Dhabi. Le Barça et son Ballon d'Or France Football 2009 ne ratent pas l'occasion d'entrer dans l'Histoire en remportant leur sixième titre de l'année. Le club catalan inscrit pour la première fois son nom au palmarès de cette Coupe du monde des clubs en s'imposant en finale face aux Argentins d'Estudiantes La Plata (2-1 ap.) grâce à un but de la poitrine de... Lionel Messi. Comme un symbole. G.C.

Giflés la saison passée au Stadium, les Girondins de Bordeaux ont ramené un inestimable succès de leur déplacement à Toulouse (2-1) ce mercredi. Une prestation en demi-teinte qui permet malgré tout au champion de France de creuser un écart de neuf points sur Lille, son nouveau dauphin. (Photo Presse-Sports)
Leur dernier voyage à Toulouse ne s'était pas passé pour le mieux... Balayés (3-0) le 7 mars dernier sur la pelouse du Stadium, les Girondins de Bordeaux ne sont pas retombés dans un piège de nouveau tendu par les hommes d'Alain Casanova. Bousculés dans le jeu et dans les intentions par des Toulousains sans cesse au pressing, le patron de la Ligue 1 a plié face aux Violets, mais n'a jamais rompu. Rapidement menés au score sur une frappe de Machado (4e) à l'entrée de la surface, les Girondins sont rapidement parvenus à recoller au tableau d'affichage par l'intermédiaire de Chamakh (8e), pour son sixième but de la saison en Championnat. Un retour éclair qui a ainsi permis aux Bordelais de ne pas tergiverser après cette ouverture du score dès la première action des joueurs de Haute-Garonne.
Carrasso maîtrise Gignac
Bien que dominés par une formation toulousaine très en jambes, les Aquitains ont tout de même su porter l'estocade en seconde période à la suite d'un coup-franc de Wendel (75e) dévié par Fofana dans ses propres filets ! Sauvés à deux reprises par Cédric Carrasso, seul face à Gignac (60e, 83e), les Girondins ont su profiter de la « réussite du champion » au cours de cette affiche, à l'image de ce penalty non sifflé malgré une faute de main de Chamakh (80e) dans la surface, ou encore de la pléiade d'actions manquées par le TFC dans les dernières minutes de la rencontre. Un huitième succès de rang qui permet plus que jamais à Bordeaux, leader avec neuf unités d'avance sur le LOSC après 19 journées, de survoler tranquillement la Ligue 1 en cette période de fêtes de fin d'année. De quoi partir des vacances l'esprit totalement libéré !

football Dutch Strikers: Is Kuyt Ready to Take Lead?

Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt (in a red shirt) is just 3.24 points from the top spot in the FTBL ranking of Dutch forwards, with rival Robin van Persie of Arsenal now sidelined by injury. Can he rise to the top?
Kuyt’s plank to beat in the next game is a high 21 rating points. To overcome such a plank, he will need a win coupled with at least a goal. Liverpool’s next opponent, Portsmouth, despite sitting at the bottom of the Premier League table, were able to put up quite stiff opposition against No.1 Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and only narrowly lost 1:2. At home, we reckon, Pompei will be a much more difficult side to beat.
Even if he fails this weekend, the Dutch international will have another try when Liverpool host third-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers. Kuyt will face a plank of just 6 rating points to beat then. But it will be good to win first this coming weekend against Portsmouth to avoid letting the gap with van Persie further widen.

Arsenal back in the title race - Wenger

A second-half comeback at Anfield on Sunday climaxed with Andrey Arshavin lashing in the winner off an upright winner to move the Gunners six points behind leaders Chelsea and with a game in hand.

It was just a fortnight ago that Arsenal were written off as title challengers after a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea left Wenger's side trailing their London rivals by 11 points.

The Frenchman feels his team are now back in the hunt for the title and expects several clubs to mount a challenge for the title this season.

"A fear of winning the big games after losing to Chelsea and United was a factor in the first half," said Wenger.

"We brought that into the game, but once we had nothing to lose in the second half, we controlled the game.

"We were a bit lucky with our first goal, but the fear was in the Liverpool camp in the second half. It was an outstanding second goal and from then on Liverpool's pace dropped. Afterwards we were not under any real threat.

"For us, it gets us back into it. Mathematically we're in a good position again, especially with our game in hand.

"We knew with what happened with the results yesterday (Saturday), that we needed to win here. We did so and that's something very positive. Now it is down to consistency.

"Whoever wins this league is going to be the one capable of being really consistent and no-one has done that yet.

"But I don't think it is a three-horse race, because there are the likes of Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City in there too."

Wenger offered words of consolation to vanquished opponents Liverpool, who he believes will get stronger as the season progresses.

''Liverpool are a good side and when they find their confidence they can beat anyone in the league," he said. "They have Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard back, Alberto Aquilani will get fitter and many teams will drop points at Anfield. They played in the first half with an impressive level of performance.''

football Chamakh, le vrai patron

Dimanche soir, Bordeaux a parfaitement négocié son déplacement à Lyon (0-1) pour le compte de la 17e journée de Ligue 1, notamment grâce une prestation convaincante en deuxième période. Mais, tout au long du match, le travail accompli par Marouane Chamakh aux avant-postes a encore une fois grandement aidé les troupes de Laurent Blanc à aller de l'avant. Buteur en fin de match, l'international marocain reste dans la lignée de ses performances lors de la saison écoulée.

L'Olympique Lyonnais a Lisandro Lopez, mais les Girondins de Bordeaux ont Marouane Chamakh... Dimanche soir, lors du duel entre les deux formations en clôture de la 17e journée de Ligue 1, l'attaquant qui a déjà coûté 24 millions d'euros au club rhodanien a été complètement éclipsé par la défense adverse, ce que n'ont pas réussi à faire Jean-Alain Boumsong et consorts avec Marouane Chamakh, pur produit du centre de formation bordelais.

L'homme à tout (bien) faire

Tous deux alignés seuls en pointe de leur bloc-équipe, les deux joueurs ont connu une soirée contrastée, éreintante et usante pour l'un, brillante pour l'autre. Durant tout le match, l'international marocain n'a pas cessé de proposer, de créer, de tenter pour aider les siens à faire la différence au tableau d'affichage. Finalement, il s'est lui-même chargé de sceller le sort de la rencontre, dans un style qui lui est propre, tout en engagement et en discernement (85e).

Triste client des gazettes durant l'intersaison, la faute à une volonté affichée de quitter le Haillan pour découvrir de nouveau horizons, le Lion de l'Atlas a dû digérer son transfert avorté pour se remettre au travail. Désormais, le pseudo-clash avec son président, Jean-Louis Triaud, est oublié et Chamakh flambe à nouveau sur les pelouse de Ligue 1 et de Ligue des Champions, là où, en 2008-2009, il avait notamment inscrit 16 buts.

Dimanche soir, le principal intéressé a marqué sa 7e réalisation depuis le début de saison toutes compétitions confondues et monte clairement en puissance. A bientôt 26 ans, le Bordelais a su, avec les années, se rendre indispensable et faire évoluer son jeu. Du simple attaquant combatif qu'il était il y a encore trois ans, incapable de marquer plus de 10 pions en championnat par saison, le n°29 est devenu un joueur ultra-complet.

Triaud a évité le fiasco

Dominateur dans le jeu aérien, rapide, doué techniquement, précieux dos au but, excellent remiseur et très présent dans la zone de vérité adverse, Marouane Chamakh a déjà fait taire ses détracteurs cette saison, ceux-là même qui disaient de lui que l'exercice précédent était une simple période de sur-régime. Celle-ci semble donc se prolonger, et ce n'est pas l'arrière-garde rhodanienne qui dira le contraire...

A l'heure actuelle, le champion de France 2009 est, sans doute possible, l'attaquant le plus complet du championnat, ce qui ne fera sans doute jamais de lui le meilleur buteur mais continuera de lui assurer un rôle-clef. Laurent Blanc et le président Triaud ne s'y étaient pas trompés lorsque, l'été dernier, ils avaient assuré qu'ils ne souhaitaient pas voir leur joueur rejoindre une équipe telle que West Ham United ou Sunderland.

Imaginez un peu le gâchis que cela aurait été de voir Marouane Chamakh chez les Hammers ou les Black Cats, alors qu'il a, depuis le mois d'août dernier, aidé son club à mettre la Juventus de Turin ou Lyon à terre. Rien que ça... Sans nul doute, le natif de Tonnens peut être reconnaissant à ses mentors. Reste que, malgré sa grand forme actuelle, de nombreuses interrogations subsistent concernant son avenir en Gironde.

2010 ou l'exode ?

En fin de contrat en juin 2010, le Marocain s'est vu proposer une prolongation de contrat qu'il n'a, pour l'heure, pas acceptée. Et, s'il continue sur ce rythme, nul doute qu'Arsenal ne sera plus le seul gros calibre intéressé par le profil du Bordelais dans les semaines à venir. Le club au Scapulaire verrait alors partir l'un de ses fleurons pour rien, à moins bien sûr que, à la manière d'un Samir Nasri (OM) ou d'un Seydou Keita (Lens), il ne prolonge son bail pour permettre à son club formateur de toucher un petit pactole lors de son départ.

Quoi qu'il en soit, les supporters girondins et les fans de football en général se doivent de continuer à apprécier les sorties de Chamakh et des siens car l'été 2010 pourrait être meurtrier pour les pensionnaires de Chaban-Delmas. Yoann Gourcuff, on le sait, devrait quitter la France après la Coupe du monde 2010, alors que Laurent Blanc pourrait être amené à prendre les rênes de l'équipe de France. Et si, en plus de cela, Marouane Chamakh pliait bagage, l'avenir des Girondins s'assombrirait très nettement...

Chamakh, le vrai patron

Dimanche soir, Bordeaux a parfaitement négocié son déplacement à Lyon (0-1) pour le compte de la 17e journée de Ligue 1, notamment grâce une prestation convaincante en deuxième période. Mais, tout au long du match, le travail accompli par Marouane Chamakh aux avant-postes a encore une fois grandement aidé les troupes de Laurent Blanc à aller de l'avant. Buteur en fin de match, l'international marocain reste dans la lignée de ses performances lors de la saison écoulée.

L'Olympique Lyonnais a Lisandro Lopez, mais les Girondins de Bordeaux ont Marouane Chamakh... Dimanche soir, lors du duel entre les deux formations en clôture de la 17e journée de Ligue 1, l'attaquant qui a déjà coûté 24 millions d'euros au club rhodanien a été complètement éclipsé par la défense adverse, ce que n'ont pas réussi à faire Jean-Alain Boumsong et consorts avec Marouane Chamakh, pur produit du centre de formation bordelais.

L'homme à tout (bien) faire

Tous deux alignés seuls en pointe de leur bloc-équipe, les deux joueurs ont connu une soirée contrastée, éreintante et usante pour l'un, brillante pour l'autre. Durant tout le match, l'international marocain n'a pas cessé de proposer, de créer, de tenter pour aider les siens à faire la différence au tableau d'affichage. Finalement, il s'est lui-même chargé de sceller le sort de la rencontre, dans un style qui lui est propre, tout en engagement et en discernement (85e).

Triste client des gazettes durant l'intersaison, la faute à une volonté affichée de quitter le Haillan pour découvrir de nouveau horizons, le Lion de l'Atlas a dû digérer son transfert avorté pour se remettre au travail. Désormais, le pseudo-clash avec son président, Jean-Louis Triaud, est oublié et Chamakh flambe à nouveau sur les pelouse de Ligue 1 et de Ligue des Champions, là où, en 2008-2009, il avait notamment inscrit 16 buts.

Dimanche soir, le principal intéressé a marqué sa 7e réalisation depuis le début de saison toutes compétitions confondues et monte clairement en puissance. A bientôt 26 ans, le Bordelais a su, avec les années, se rendre indispensable et faire évoluer son jeu. Du simple attaquant combatif qu'il était il y a encore trois ans, incapable de marquer plus de 10 pions en championnat par saison, le n°29 est devenu un joueur ultra-complet.

Triaud a évité le fiasco

Dominateur dans le jeu aérien, rapide, doué techniquement, précieux dos au but, excellent remiseur et très présent dans la zone de vérité adverse, Marouane Chamakh a déjà fait taire ses détracteurs cette saison, ceux-là même qui disaient de lui que l'exercice précédent était une simple période de sur-régime. Celle-ci semble donc se prolonger, et ce n'est pas l'arrière-garde rhodanienne qui dira le contraire...

A l'heure actuelle, le champion de France 2009 est, sans doute possible, l'attaquant le plus complet du championnat, ce qui ne fera sans doute jamais de lui le meilleur buteur mais continuera de lui assurer un rôle-clef. Laurent Blanc et le président Triaud ne s'y étaient pas trompés lorsque, l'été dernier, ils avaient assuré qu'ils ne souhaitaient pas voir leur joueur rejoindre une équipe telle que West Ham United ou Sunderland.

Imaginez un peu le gâchis que cela aurait été de voir Marouane Chamakh chez les Hammers ou les Black Cats, alors qu'il a, depuis le mois d'août dernier, aidé son club à mettre la Juventus de Turin ou Lyon à terre. Rien que ça... Sans nul doute, le natif de Tonnens peut être reconnaissant à ses mentors. Reste que, malgré sa grand forme actuelle, de nombreuses interrogations subsistent concernant son avenir en Gironde.

2010 ou l'exode ?

En fin de contrat en juin 2010, le Marocain s'est vu proposer une prolongation de contrat qu'il n'a, pour l'heure, pas acceptée. Et, s'il continue sur ce rythme, nul doute qu'Arsenal ne sera plus le seul gros calibre intéressé par le profil du Bordelais dans les semaines à venir. Le club au Scapulaire verrait alors partir l'un de ses fleurons pour rien, à moins bien sûr que, à la manière d'un Samir Nasri (OM) ou d'un Seydou Keita (Lens), il ne prolonge son bail pour permettre à son club formateur de toucher un petit pactole lors de son départ.

Quoi qu'il en soit, les supporters girondins et les fans de football en général se doivent de continuer à apprécier les sorties de Chamakh et des siens car l'été 2010 pourrait être meurtrier pour les pensionnaires de Chaban-Delmas. Yoann Gourcuff, on le sait, devrait quitter la France après la Coupe du monde 2010, alors que Laurent Blanc pourrait être amené à prendre les rênes de l'équipe de France. Et si, en plus de cela, Marouane Chamakh pliait bagage, l'avenir des Girondins s'assombrirait très nettement...

football Yaya Touré Too Good for Bench Role at Barcelona

Earlier this week, FC Barcelona midfielder Yaya Touré told the media that: “I am happy at Barcelona and there is no bigger club than this one.” While Touré’s statement may be true in regards to the stature of Barcelona, but he is certainly not pleased with the amount of playing time he has received of late.

The Côte d'Ivoire international was an integral part of Barcelona’s run to the “Triplete” last season (La Liga, Copa del Rey, and Champions League) particularly in the latter stages of the Champions League when he was employed as an emergency center back.

He flourished in an unfamiliar role, winning the battle against international teammate Didier Drogba in the semifinal before have little trouble with Wayne Rooney and his mates in the final.

This season, the former Monaco star suffered from a bout of swine flu, but even before coming down with H1N1 Touré was not even a regular. Since returning, the Ivorian found himself on the bench as an unused substitute in a tough away match against Deportivo La Caruna, but was given a run out against last placed Xerez.

A player of Touré’s pedigree should be rested for relatively easy matches, such as those against Xerez, and used against Champions League contenders, not vice-versa.

What makes Yaya’s sporadic playing time even more surprising (he has just nine starts in all competitions) is that the man often charged with taking his place, Sergio Busquets, has struggled.

Back in September, Touré was on the bench during a home game against Atletico Madrid and Busquets was handed a starting role by Pep Guardiola. Busquets sent a headed back pass towards Victor Valdes that came up woefully short. Sergio “Kun” Aguero picked up the gift and scored, at the time cutting Barcelona’s lead to 2-1.

Although the Blaugrana went on to win the game 5-2, the score was not a proper representation of the match.

This past weekend, in the Riazor against Deportivo, Busquets pulled off an equally pathetic back pass towards Valdes, allowing Adrián to nip and tie the game at one.

Busquets may well be the future of Barcelona, but the 21 year old has shown that he is not Barcelona’s present, especially in big matches. Although the Catalan did put in a good shift in the Champions League Final against Manchester United last season, he has often failed to stand up to the test against some of the top clubs around Europe.

In Spain’s Gran Clásico , Sergio was sent off for a deliberate handball, and Guardiola was forced to bring on Touré to help preserve the lead.

It looks as though Yaya will return to the Barcelona starting 11 against Dynamo Kiev, a match he described as a “cup final”, but if he is does not feature on a more regular basis, no one can blame Touré for wanting to leave the Camp Nou, perhaps to join his brother Kolo at Manchester City or his cross town rival, Manchester United.

Guardiola must also remember that Touré’s versatility is not the only thing he offers Barcelona. He is also one of the tallest players (6’3”) on an otherwise diminutive line up. His height has helped Yaya become instrumental at defending set pieces since his arrival in Catalonia.

Although hardly a prolific scorer, Touré at least offers a powerful shot from long range, particularly in his days in Greece with Olympiakos and in France with Monaco.

Hopefully, for the sake of Barcelona and Touré Guardiola will put the Côte d'Ivoire star in his line up because he would be a monumental loss for the European Champions.

football Manchester United: Ferguson To Blame for Tactical Imbalance

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson again complained about not being granted enough injury time, but his tactics throughout the match Saturday are what sent United packing.

Apparently believing the hype of certain outlying individual performances over the past few weeks saw Ferguson start the home match against mid-table Aston Villa with an overly cautious 4-5-1 approach, with several players again expected to play better than they generally are.

Ferguson believed a starting eleven featuring Wayne Rooney uncomfortably alone up top, Ryan Giggs as the central creative driver, with only Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park to overlap would be enough to beat Brad Friedel, arguably the best goalkeeper in the top flight over the last decade.

But the manager's reliance on Giggs and Rooney as the source for impetus and innovation going forward indicates as much of his crooked perception in his own players' form as bringing on Michael Owen when United desperately needed a goal.

The stubborn persistence of this tactic employed will see United lose out to Chelsea for this seasons' EPL crown, as most followers already predict.

The inoften times Giggs unlocks a defense or confuses a defender are happily exaggerated in the general public, leading to a surprising growth in legend for the Welshman over the past few seasons.

But his growth is mainly in legend only, for his inability to boss games, much less hold on to the ball consistently or express himself physically, are eagerly overlooked in favor of the outlying occurrences of any successes.

Rooney, by this account, is having another inconsistent season fluctuating from mediocre to only above average. Despite the incessant hype and world-wide adoration from the casualist of fans, his most explosive years in the top flight trace back to wearing a blue shirt or in his earliest United campaigns.

Then he wasn't robotically trained to pickup the ball left of center, inevitably going to his right without faking or attempting any sort of guile to pass square or backwards.

Rooney past used to duck his shoulder, shrug off defenders, and both belt and curl shots from range past pony-tailed goalkeepers. But in the Youtube era, his reputation precedes him each match, and defenders know his disinclination to attack them head-on, use his left foot, or dribble to his left side.

Simply put, when a forward players' greatest asset is his penchant for tracking back, or the intangible "heart" he posesses, there is quality and potential being masked and left wanting.

There's less doubt that Rooney can be more than a serviceable striker for a perennial global top-five club but certainly not playing alone up top in a pedestrian formation formation usually reserved for away matches at Europe's continental giants.

Ferguson's player selection didn't help Rooney's or United's cause.

Although fully fit, Dimitar Berbatov was left on the bench, despite having recovered from a knee injury that interrupted a run of fine form for the Bulgarian. Ferguson said recently that he was "completely satisfied" with the classy linchpin, but his selection doesn't mirror his spoken platitudes.

Berba returned from injury Nov. 28 against Portsmouth as an unused substitute. He then started the following match, running the game against Tottenham for the first 60 minutes before inexplicably only appearing as a sub in the last two matches.

Without Ronaldo to beat defenders and create space, United need their best creative players in their spine, and Berbatov has proven this year to be their absolute best in that regard.

The United head coach also optioned Park Ji-Sung on the wing across from Valencia, who, despite improving, is consistently expected to do too much going forward.

But most of Park's value to United went awash when Ronaldo left. The Korean's purpose at the club was to defend as much as Ronaldo attacked, compensating for the void left by the former Ballon d'Or winner whenever he burst forward.

Without such an ostensible attacking winger to foil, there's no real reason for the clumsy but tenacious Park to be gifted a start in a side gravely lacking in verve. Like a poor man's Rooney, Park's best quality is his engine and back-tracking, useful attributes—when you need them.

The complete exclusion of the spider Gabirel Obertan, who has only impressed in his spotty performances this season, shows a crotchety reluctance by Ferguson to give the young, dynamic attacker a starting berth, a philosophy contrary to the manager's supposed motus operandum as a promoter of younger talent.

And when it all went wrong Saturday night, the knighted gaffer continued to err in reason. Instead of finally and mercifully pairing Rooney and Berbatov together to field his most attacking, flowing side—duly assuaging the audience's expectation for enterprising football at Old Trafford—Sir Alex replaced Giggs with Owen.

But despite what recent headlines read, a happenstance hat-trick in a European rubber match has not warped Owen back to 1998 as a prime finisher and shifty runner. Until he consistently resembles a predator, he can't be expected to patch over his manager's tactical mistakes, saving matches after they're already lost.

If he is to be the ace in the hole for United's current campaign, Alex Ferguson is clearly believing too much of what he's been reading.

football No Ronaldo? No Messi? The Premier League Remains The Best In The World

When the shortlist for the Ballon d'or was announced earlier this year, many journalists hailed the end of the Premier League's status of 'Best League in the World'. This came just months after Real Madrid and Barcelona splashed over £270M on players all over Europe. The results of the competition only served to further this view; the top seven players all plied their trade outside of England and Wayne Rooney, the Premiership's highest scoring player, accumulated a mere 35 points. Lionel Messi gained 473.

The Premier League, however, has never been more competitive, and therefore stronger. Chelsea, widely touted to run away with the league this year, have already been beaten three times and after the calamitous defensive display on Saturday afternoon, look as frail as anyone at the back. Manchester United, after the loss of Ronaldo and subsequently Carlos Tevez, have been defeated four times, the long-considered number of defeats that a team is considered to be able to suffer and yet still win the title.

Likewise Arsenal have also lost four times, however after the comeback away at struggling Liverpool are still considered to be in the running for the Premiership crown. Despite this, Aston Villa, Spurs and Manchester City are all widely tipped to take one, if not two of the coveted Champions League from England's traditional 'big four'. Villa beating Champions Manchester United this weekend to go third in the table, a week after Chelsea's loss at Manchester City. Everyone is capable of beating everyone.

La Liga, league of the world stars and extortionately expensive players; tells a very predictable story. Barcelona and Real Madrid are running away with the league, with just two losses between them. Sevilla are trying to keep the pace, but its difficult to look beyond either of the traditional giants for the Championship come the end of the season. The two sides may have the best players in the world, but all this means is that the rest of the division finds it difficult to compete. The usual chasing cohort of Atletico, Sevilla, Valencia and Villarreal are split up, and are not on the same level as their corresponding clubs in England, in terms of spending power or class of player. Indeed, Atletico's star player Sergio Aguero appears to be on the verge of joining Chelsea for £40M this January.

On the European front, with the exception of Liverpool, English teams have breezed through the group stages, which is more than can be said for the mess that Barcelona made of qualifying and the difficulty with which Real Madrid dealt with the aging giant of A.C Milan. Atletico Madrid's well documented problems left them scraping into the Europa League over Cypriots APOEL with just 3 points. Only the fore mentioned Sevilla qualified comfortably, however that was all that could be expected from a group containing Rangers, Stuttgart and Unirea Urziceni.

The semi-finalists of this seasons Champions League may indeed go a long way to determining which League is indeed superior; if the Spanish can keep all three teams in the competition to the last four then the power may have been swung the way of Spain. Until then, the predictability of La Liga will always render it second to the Premiership, and even, on a competitive scale, the Bundesliga. This view was compounded by the reaction from La Liga directors to Florentino Perez's latest declaration that there should be games held at a time to suit the Asian market. The notion has been rejected on the grounds that outside of Real-Barca, La Liga holds little allure amongst global fans in comparison to the Premier League.

Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea

Although Jose Mourinho had not actually been the manager of Chelsea that long, he arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2004, his departure by mutual consent this week certainly feels like the end of an era.

Love him or loathe him he has certainly left his mark on Chelsea and the English game and proved himself one of the games' biggest characters.

Mourinho was the man chosen by Chelsea's ridiculously rich owner Roman Abramovich to turn Chelsea into a world power and he could not be accused of failing in the task.

In his three seasons at the club Chelsea won two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup. Although they failed to lift the Champions League in that time victories over the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Valencia in the knockout stages highlighted the fact that the club had established itself among Europe's elite.

Yet somehow this did not seem enough to satisfy his employers. Dissatisfaction with the teams' style of play, or apparent lack of it, was voiced by the owner while for his part Jose Mourinho became increasingly disaffected with appointments within the club which he felt infringed on his authority.

The arrival of Frank Arnesen as Chief Scout with apparent influence over who the club signed was a particular bone of contention with Mourinho and the presence of Michael Ballack and Andrei Schevchenko at Stamford Bridge, apparently on the wishes of Abramovich not Mourinho, provided an open sore between the two parties.

Indeed few people will be surprised at this weeks' turn of events given what has happened over the past year or so.

In looking back over Jose Mourinho's time in England it cannot be denied that he has made a massive impact and achieved a great deal. The trophies he brought to Stamford Bridge can always be degraded by the assessment that Ambramovich's money was the main factor behind the success but they still needed winning.

Mourinho's impact was not confined to the pitch either. Off the pitch his opinions and comments provided the media with a constant stream of great copy and kept football followers everywhere supplied with a topic of conversation.

It became impossible not to have a decided opinion one way or the other about the outspoken manager, although it was possible to find yourself changing your own opinion of him from one pole to the other pretty frequently.

Mourinho breezed into England and immediately informed the assembled press that he was not arrogant but belived he was a special one.

The press loved it and from that day forward Mourinho was labelled as "The Special One." You got the feeling that Jose loved it too and, at this point, so did everyone else at Chelsea.

When Jose Mourinho arrived the club had all the money but they had to step out of the massive shadows cast over them, close at home, by Arsenal and, further away but with an even bigger shadow, Manchester United.

Suddenly they seemed to have someone whose profile and charisma could dwarf anything their rivals could muster. Mourinho wasn't slow to blow his own trumpet but he had a track record to back it up as well.

His success at Porto had been huge and had culminated in leading them to a Champions League triumph. Memories were still fresh in this country of his sprint down the touchline at Old Trafford as Porto knocked Manchester United out of the competition on their way to that success.

No wonder everyone at Chelsea had a spring in their step at the arrival of such a man.

Nothing happened to shatter the myth once the football got under way either. Chelsea ran away with the Premier League title, won the League Cup as well and made it to the Champions League semi finals.

Having already wrapped up their league triumph Chelsea went to Old Trafford and spanked United 3-1. Heady days.

The season afterwards the title was retained with a minimum of fuss. The team had become unbeatable at Stamford Bridge and none of their supposed rivals could muster a realistic challenge. This success was clinched with a 3-0 drubbing of Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. Heady days.

It was at this stage that the powers that be at Chelsea began falling out of love with their special manager. Winning was suddenly deemed not enough.

There had been some criticism of the somewhat functional way in which Chelsea went about beating the opposition. It was more surprising when the same noises began being made within the club, and they sounded much louder.

Perhaps it was the shadow of Arsenal and Manchester United still extending over the threshold of Stamford Bridge.

Chief Executive Peter Kenyon, who had defected from Old Trafford for Chelsea, had made noises about Chelsea overtaking United as a global brand, Abramovich apparently hankered over a team in blue that played with the flair and verve of these two clubs.