Kenangan Manchester United bersama Barcelona

Hubungan Sir Alex Ferguson dengan FC Barcelona secara tidak langsung cukup dekat. Sir Alex memenangkan Gelar Eropa pertamanya dengan merebut 1990/91 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup dengan mengalahkan Barcelona. Hubungan lain adalah, Final 1998/99 UEFA Champions League, MU mengalahkan Bayern Munchen 2-1 dengan 2 gol luar biasa Teddy Sheringham dan Ole Gunnar Solksjaer pada waktu injury time. Hal ini terjadi di Camp Nou, markas FC Barcelona. Sekarang Barcelona jugalah yang akan menentukan apakah MU akan kembali ke Final dan menjadikan All England Final tahun ini. Final sesama negara terakhir yang terjadi adalah ketika dua wakil Italia bertemu pada final tahun 2003 ketika AC Milan mengalahkan Juventus di Old Trafford, stadion kebanggaan Manchester United. Stadion kedua tim (MU dan Barca) membangkitkan kenangan tentang partai final bersejarah. 

MU dan Barcelona memiliki banyak kesamaan dalam hal permainan. Sama-sama mengusung sepak bola menyerang, memiliki basis supporter yang besar, dan sejarah sepakbola yang luar biasa. Salah seorang legenda Manchester United, Mark Hughes, sekarang pelatih Blackburn Rovers yang menahan MU 1-1 pada pertandingan English Premiere League Sabtu lalu, juga pernah bermain di Barcelona. Saat ini, kedua tim sama-sama mengandalkan pemain muda berbakat, Christiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney di MU. Bojan Krkic dan Lionel Messi di Barcelona. 

MU masih berpeluang meraih double winner. Pada akhir minggu, Konsentrasi MU di EPL juga masih akan terbagi dengan partai hidup mati melawan Chelsea di Stamford Bridge. Sedangkan peluang Barcelona untuk menjuarai La Liga sudah sangat menipis.

MU masih memiliki beberapa class of 99 yang memenangkan treble di Barcelona, seperti Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs dan Paul Scholes (Scholes tidak bermain di final karena menjalani hukuman akumulasi kartu ketika itu). Kombinasi semangat dan kecepatan pemain muda di topang dengan mental dan kedewasaan para senior, United sangat berpeluang memenangkan pertandingan kali ini. 

Paul Scholes pastinya tidak sabar untuk menantikan penampilan ke-100 nya di Champions League. Tepat di Nou Camp tempat Manchester United meraih Treble Winner, saat dia tidak dapat bermain ketika itu.

Kita nantikan.

"Lady Luck" Menjauhi Liverpool

Setelah dua kali “diuntungkan” dalam perempat final melawan Arsenal, kali ini Dewi Fortuna menjauhi Liverpool. Cross rendah Salomon Kalou menit ke-94 salah diantisipasi John Arne Riise yang menyebabkan gol bunuh diri ke gawang sendiri. John Arne Riise sendiri masuk sebagai pemain pengganti menggantikan Fabio Aurelio yang terlihat cedera pada menit ke-61.

Liverpool tampil menekan Chelsea pada babak pertama. Di bawah dukungan pemain ke-12, supporter Anfield Liverpool tampil menekan. Pada menit ke-43 Dirk Kuyt memanfaatkan kemelut di gawang Chelsea dengan sebuah tendangan voli keras dari jarak dekat, Kuyt membuat seluruh isi Stadion Anfield berteriak, 1-0!!!..

Gol diawali dari free kick cepat di lapangan tengah. Bola dari sisi kanan di cross oleh Kuyt. Terry menyundul bola ke luar kotak penalty. Lampard yang mendapat rebound bola dengan mudah di tackle oleh Xabi Alonso. Mascherano yang mendapat muntahan bola mencoba melakukan tendangan volley. Bola jatuh tepat ke jalur Kuyt yang akhirnya memasukkan bola ke gawang Chelsea.

Lampard yang selama sepekan terakhir tidak memperkuat Chelsea karena menemani orang tuanya yang sakit terlihat belum begitu fit. Namun, Lampard memuji konsentrasi dan stamina rekan-rekannya. Hasil 1-1 tentunya hasil yang sangat baik, mengingat minggu depan Chelsea akan menjamu Liverpool di Stamford Bridge.

Penggantian Jitu

Avram Grant sedikit di atas Rafa Benitez dalam memutuskan pergantian pemain. Gol John Arne Riise menit ke-94 melibatkan 3 pemain pengganti. Salomon Kalou yang masuk menit ke-63 menggantikan Joe Cole, mengirim umpan rendah dan tajam ke tiang dekat. Nicolas Anelka yang masuk menit ke-86 menggantikan Michael Ballack telah menunggu di tiang jauh, hal yang sangat menggangu konsentrasi John Arne Riise yang masuk menit ke-61 menggantikan Fabio Aurelio. Hasilnya, Riise salah antisipasi dan menyundul bola masuk ke gawang Pepe Reina.

Kali ini, Dewi Fortuna menjauhi Liverpool. Chelsea lagi-lagi mendapat gol dari bunuh diri lawan di kandangnya setelah sebelumnya Deivid juga melakukan hal yang sama pada perempat final.

Chelsea akan menjamu MU pada akhir minggu di EPL, dan kembali menghadapi Liverpool di kandang. Double winner masih sangat mungkin diraih oleh Chelsea.

Premier League Latest Score

Saturday, April 19 2008

Blackburn 1 - 1 Man Utd.
Fulham 0 - 2 Liverpool.
Arsenal 2 - 0 Reading.
Middlesbrough 0 - 1 Bolton.
West Ham 2 - 1 Derby.
Wigan 1 - 1 Tottenham.

Blackburn hold Man Utd 1-1, with many very bad referee decision. Next Week fixture will decide who will be the EPL champion this season. MU still 3 points above Chelsea. MU will away to Chelsea next Week. Both of them will also play in the Semi Finals of Champions League. MU and Chelsea must set their priority. Or both of them will not win the Champions League AGAIN.

Another Dramatic Late Goal : Munich scraped through to the SF's of the UEFA Cup

Thu, 10 Apr 23:05:00 2008

Favourites Bayern Munich through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup after a dramatic extra-time away goals win over Getafe.

Getafe played late six minutes of the game with 10 men but looked to be heading for a famous victory, only for Bayern to twice come back from the deafeated. First to force the game into extra time and then to snatch a last-gasp equaliser to level the match 3-3.
Last week hero, Midfielder Cosmin Contra put Getafe ahead with a solo goal just before half-time, but just as the home fans were celebrating a memorable victory. Bayern midfielder Franck Ribery equalised in the 88th minute.
Getafe went in front again at the start of extra time and goals from Francisco Casquero and substitute Braulio put them 3-1 up in 94th minute.
Luca Toni, pulled a goal back for Bayern late on in the second period and struck again at 120th minute, to make a memorable comeback for german side and secure his side a semi-final matches against Zenit St Petersburg.
Visiting Bayern fans reacted violently to the goal by tearing up seats at one end of the stadium before they were quelled by the police.
Getafe should have extended their lead midway through the second half when substitute Braulio sprinted clear and rounded Olver Kahn only to slip over on the wet turf as he lined up his shot.
Complete UEFA Cup Results :
April 10, 2008
Getafe 3 - 3 Bayern (Bayern through, aggregate 4-4 on away goal rules)
Contra 44', Casquero 92', Nobrega 94'.....Ribery 89', Toni, 115', 120'

PSV 0 - 2 Fiorentina (Fiorentina through , aggregate 3-1)
Mutu 38, 53

Sporting 0 - 2 Rangers (Rangers through, aggregate 2-0)
Darcheville 60, Whittaker 90'

Zenit St.Petersburg 0-1 Bayer Leverkusen (Zenit through, aggregate 4-2)
Bulykin 18'

Dino Fitriza

Gary Neville and Michael Silvestre comeback, Scholes still 99

World Class header by Carlos Tevez after good crosses from Owen Hargreaves in 70 minutes of play sealed MU progress to the Semi Final. Sir Alex rested Wayne Rooney, Christiano Ronaldo, and Paul Scholes in this match. They’ve been prepared for next English Premiere League heavyweight match against Arsenal. It means Scholes still can’t get his 100 performances in Champions League.

Played defensively, United put Hargreaves, Anderson and Michael Carrick in the middle, while Park Ji Sung and Ryan Giggs at the flanks. Carlos Tevez plays as alone striker. Edwin Van Der Sar still the goalkeeper. At Back four, Wes Brown, Gerard Pique, surprised start for Rio Ferdinand, and Michael Silvestre. Rio reported got a foot injury before. While In this game, Rio still looked in pain. Michael Silvestre comeback after his long term injury.

AS Roma play with Christiano Doni (GK), Christian Panucci, Phillipe Mexes, Juan, Marco Cassetti at defence. David Pizarro, Simone Perrotta and Daniele De Rossi play as Central Midfielders, Rodrigo Taddei and Mancini as flanks, Mirko Vucinic start up in front. AS Roma still without injured captain Francesco Totti.

AS Roma looks offensive, while Man Utd play a solid defence. In minutes 29, a drift run from Mancini on the left makes United in trouble, and a late tackle by Wes Brown inside the penalty box gives AS Roma a penalty. In Minutes 30, De Rossi steps up, and he blasts the penalty over the bar. Still 0-0. In 39’ Ferdinand looked discomfort with his injured foot. Rio Ferdinand has been TV main intention today, showing his bloodied foot and his discomfort looked face.

In 70’, a diving header goal by Carlos Tevez put MU leads 1-0, 3-0 in aggregate. While after secured the place in SF’s Sir Alex gives a warmly applauded comeback to MU captain, Gary Neville. Replacing Anderson in 81 minutes, Rio Ferdinand duly hands over the armband for Gary.

Another great victory for Man United, but sorry for Paul Scholes, he must waits for his 100 appearances in Champion’s League.

Dino Fitriza

Dino Fantasy Football Champions League Quarter Final 2nd Leg Prediction

Here are my predictions for Champios League QF 2nd Leg.
1. Chelsea vs Fenerbahce
Chelsea must win this match. 1-0 victory will make Chelsea through. I think Chelsea will win 2-0. Even without Peter Cech, Chelsea defence is one of the best, with Terry, Carvalho and Ashley Cole ready to play.
Final score 2-0. With Drogba, and J.Cole will likely to score.
2. Liverpool vs. Arsenal
It is a toughest match to predict. This team must played each other three times within 7 days. With previous 2 games ended up in 1-1 draw in Emirates Stadium. Liverpool is likely to win this narrow match. Arsenal concentration will also divided to their next fixtures at EPL, Away to Manchester United. Arsenal in a big trouble.
3. Barcelona vs. Schalke 04
Barcelona seem not consistent in La liga. in La Liga Last sunday, they were held 0-0 by Getafe, who also will play in midweek against Bundesliga Giant, Bayern Munchen in UEFA Cup. With Lionel Messi still out injured and Ronaldinho still can't find his best performance, i think Barcelona still can win this match. There will be an open play : 2-0, or 2-1 will be a good result for Barca.
4. Man Utd vs. AS Roma
MU will play without their best Centre Back duo, Vidic and Ferdinand. But Roma also will missed Francesco Totti. MU was played 2-2 against Middlesbrough last Sunday and in next Sunday will play a crucial match against "The Gunners" Arsenal. Their concentration will divided into 2 matches. But, with 2-0 home defeated last week, AS Roma will be in a big pressure . MU still can win this Match. With Christiano Ronaldo in his best performance, 2-1 will be a respectable result.

You can also access this game in
http://en.uclpredictor.uefa.com/M/home.mc
(Dino Fitriza)

Facts and figures about Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final Second Legs

Facts and figures about Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final, second legs.

LIVERPOOL V ARSENAL

Head-to-head record in Europe:

	Played	Wins	Draws	Loses	Goal	Con	Points
Arsenal	1	-	1	-	1	1	1
Liverpool	1	-	1	-	1	1	1

Previous game:

Champions League :

QF 2.04.08 Arsenal 1 Liverpool 1

Champions League 07-08 Leading scorers:

Liverpool - Steven Gerrard 5

Arsenal - Cesc Fabregas 4

Previous appearances in last four:

Champions League :

Liverpool 2, Arsenal 1

European Cup :

Liverpool 8, Arsenal 1

All European competitions :

Liverpool 14, Arsenal 6

* Liverpool, need just 0-0 draw to reach the semi-finals,

* Liverpool have kept clean sheets in their last five home games in English Premier League.

* The only English team to score at Anfield in six European games was Leeds United who won 1-0 in the 1971 Fairs Cup semi-finals.

* Liverpool have won 6 of their last 7 European home games and 10 of their last 12.

* Liverpool are unbeaten in their last 6 Champions League games and scored 20 goals and conceded only 2.

* Arsenal drew 1-1 away to Chelsea at the same stage of the competition four years ago, the only previous time they have been drawn against an English team in Europe.

* Arsenal have kept clean sheets in 11 of their last 15 European away games and have won 9 of the last 16.

* Arsenal, who must score to have a chance of advancing, have netted only once away in three Champions League quarter-finals - at Chelsea in 2004. Lost 1-0 to Valencia in 2001 and drew 0-0 with Juventus in 2006.

CHELSEA V FENERBAHCE

Head-to-head record:

	Played	Wins	Draws	Loses	Goal	Con	Points
Chelsea	1	-	-	1	1	2	-
Fenerbahce	1	1	-	-	2	1	3

Previous game:

Champions League :

QF 2.04.08 Fenerbahce 2 Chelsea 1

Champions League 07-08 Leading scorers:

Fenerbahce - Deivid 5

Chelsea - Didier Drogba 4

Previous appearances in last four:

Champions League - Chelsea 3 times, Fenerbahce 0

European Cup - Chelsea 3 times, Fenerbahce 0

All European competitions - Chelsea 8, Fenerbahce 0

* Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 10 Champions League home games, conceding a mere three goals. They have kept clean sheets in 11 of their last 15.

* Chelsea lost their last home game to a Turkish club. Besiktas won 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the 2003-04 season. Since then they have lost just one of 25 Champions League home matches.

* Chelsea need two goals to reach 100 scored in the Champions League in their 68th game.

* Fenerbahce are aiming to become only the second Turkish team to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup. Galatasaray were in the last four in 1989, losing to Steaua Bucharest.

* Fenerbahce lost on 4 of 6 previous visits to England and won just once - beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford in the 1996-97 season.

* Fenerbahce have won two of 16 Champions League away games, losing 11.

 

Game Fantasy Premier League WWW.CYKI.COM

Liga Inggris, yang dianggap sebagai salah satu liga terbaik di dunia. Memiliki berbagai magnet daya tarik tersendiri. Salah satunya adalah permainan Football Fantasy. Saat ini ada beberapa game Fantasy Premier League yang terkenal. Salah satunya adalah www.cyki.com.
Website ini menyediakan hadiah mingguan kepada pemenang tiap minggu yang dapat memperoleh poin tertinggi. Saya termasuk salah satu yang menggilai game ini. Saat ini, bermain dengan nama team Lefty Magic dengan Manager DINO FITRIZA, saya sendiri. saya menempati peringkat pertama www.cyki.com di Indonesia. Peringkat di dunia saat ini adalah peringkat ke 55. Dengan 5 minggu tersisa, Mudah2an Saya bisa menembus 25 besar dunia dan tetap bertahan di peringkat PERTAMA INDONESIA.
Untuk ikut bergabung dalam permainan ini dapat mengklik di www.cyki.com

MU dalam Bahaya

 

Setelah cedera yang menimpa Nemanja Vidic dalam pertandingan 8 besar Champion's League melawan AS Roma. MU kembali terancam kehilangan Rio Ferdinand. Rio mengalami cedera dalam pertandingan melawan Middlesbrough minggu, 6 April yang lalu. Dalam pertandingan yang berakhir 2-2 itu, Rio harus keluar menit ke-70 digantikan Gerard Pigue. Dipastikan dalam 2nd leg Champion's League melawan AS Roma, Rio tidak akan bermain.

MU dalam bahaya dengan hilangnya duo centre back terbaik mereka ini. Gameweek 34 melawan Arsenal di Old Trafford dan Gameweek 36 bertandang ke Chelsea akan menjadi ujian sesungguhnya MU. Juara EPL tahun ini sepertinya akan ditentukan pada Gameweek 36 ketika MU dijamu Chelsea.