Arsenal
The FA Cup 2007/08 semi-finals are served: Portsmouth v Barnsley and Cardiff City v West Bromwich Albion will play on April 5. Both matches as well as the Final match on May 17 will be played at the new Wembley Stadium.
But let us took a brief look at the rich history of the oldest and best domestic Cup competition in the world created on 20th July 1871 after a proposal by FA Honorary Secretary Charles Alcock when he said: “It is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association, for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete”. The competition was finally approved three months later. The original trophy, much smaller than the present one, was made by Messrs Martin, Hall & Co. and cost £20. In 1895 , after Aston Villa had won the competition, the cup was stolen from the window of a firm of football outfitters in Birmingham where it had been placed on display. It was never recovered. Manchester United have won the Cup the most times (11), followed by Arsenal (10) and Tottenham Hotspur (8). 42 different clubs have won it. In January 1922 the Duke of York, later to become King George VI, cut the first turf to mark the beginning of the building of Wembley Stadium and it was completed in under a year at a cost of £750,000. The Cup Final was played each year at Wembley Stadium except the war years until 2000.
The new Wembley hosted its first Final in 2007. Sir Bobby Robson, a Cup winner as Ipswich Town’s manager, once said: “The FA Cup Final is the greatest single match outside the World Cup Final - and it’s ours”.
With four Premier League clubs through to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League the question today is: Will two English teams attend the Final in Moscow next May? The prospect of Liverpool meeting Manchester United or a London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, as in the last eight in 2003/04, is one for which the players would rather wait. Save it for the semis or Moscow is the general consensus.
It is the first time four sides from one country have reached the last eight and it is a measure of the Premier League’s dominance that two sides were able to win in San Siro to advance. No English side had ever beaten Milan there before Arsenal knocked out them last week and Liverpool’s victory against Inter was their first in the famous stadium, albeit at only the second attempt.
In 2003 three Italian teams reached the semi-finals, with Juventus and Milan ultimately contesting the final in Manchester. With the financial riches on offer, packed stadiums and the lure of European success, there is no doubting why the Premier League attracts the world’s top players. But there is a downside to this success. In the second legs only two English players started in Liverpool’s win at Inter, four in Chelsea’s victory against Olympiacos, none in Arsenal’s San Siro triumph and four in United’s defeat of Olympique Lyonnais.
That, though, is a matter for another day. For the moment, one man at least is looking forward to the possibility of facing off with the likes of Arsène Wenger and Rafael Benítez on an even bigger stage. “We will relish the chance to face another English team in the quarter-finals if that happens,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “But it doesn’t really matter who you play in the quarter-finals, they’re all going
After the matches played last Tuesday and Wednesday, Barcelona, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Rome, Ferenbahçe and Schalke 04 are already qualified for last-eight games of Champions League 2007/08. Internazionale and Liverpool will play on March 11 to decide the last team to be qualified for this phase which corresponding matches (as well as possible semi-finals) will be draw on Friday March 14 in Nyon.
But one of the important facts is that Lionel Messi will miss both legs of FC Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie after being ruled out for six weeks with a torn thigh muscle. The 22-year-old Argentinean was forced to leave the pitch 38 minutes into Tuesday night’s 1-0 win against Celtic FC, which completed a 4-2 aggregate victory for Frank Rijkaard’s side. Suffering the damage during a sprint, Messi left the field in distress having also torn muscle in his left thigh in a league game against Valencia CF in December, an injury which resulted in a one-month absence from the first team.
Club doctors have ruled Messi out for six weeks, meaning he will miss a crucial period with Barça still in the running for three trophies. He is expected to miss six Liga First Division games, both legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals and he will also stop his career to obtain the tittle of maximum scorer where he is now on top together with Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United with 6 goals each. He will also miss the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia and also the final on April 16, should Barça make it.
What are you going to do next Saturday? If you like good football, you’ve got an appointment at 15.00 hrs in the Emirates Stadium (London). The team in Europe that is playing football better (Arsenal) against a team that has recently changed his manager, and from now on, will try to play more entertaining football (and have better results, that would not be very difficult…). In conclusion, Arsenal against Newcastle, a great match!
Arsenal come from defeating Fulham 0-3, in Craven Cottage, one of the London derbies. Especially superb was the striker Emmanuel Adebayor, that was considered by Jimmy Bullard (a Fulham player) as “a monster”. He scored a fantastic goal after raising above all Fulham defenders’ head. His extremely easyness for jumping really high has an explanation, as the Arsenal’s forward said, “When I was young, I used to suspend a ball from the ceiling in my mum’s house (in Togo), and see if I could jump high enough to head it, I would shorten the string attached to the ball and try to leap even higher”. A part from being very tall (190 cm), he stays in the air (as high as possible) in a wondreful way, heading balls that much players would not reach. Bullard also said about Arsenal: “They are awesome to watch and awesome to play against… There isn’t really a weak point in their game”.
Newcastle, that has changed the manager recently, has substituted Sam Allardyce, after a very bad first leg of Premier league, for Kevin Keegan (”King Kev”), who played in Newcastle some years ago and leaving a great impression in St. James’ Park. This substitution, a part form giving fresh air in the club, would give, in theory, a better position in the league (improving the way of playing, making it more entertaining). A possibility that encourage Newcastle fans is the incorporation of Alan Shearer, a symbol for the “magpies” (Newcastle fans), as an important member of the staff. The last man-of-the-match (against Bolton) was the goalkeeper: Shay Given, that made a perfect match. His actuation gives hope to a team, that is really needed of hope!