The Marriage of Joseph Guardiola

The Marriage of Joseph Guardiola 

Joseph (Pep) Guardiola has married his partner of Cristina Serra on Thursday, May 29, 2014.  The couple have been in a relationship for more then 20 years. 

       the happy couple 

The current coach of Bayern Munich and his partner chose a low-key marriage in their special day at Matadepera of Catalonia, Spain. 

The couple, together with their three young children and their parents, held a small ceremony making their union official.

I wanted to wish them the very best and say my sincere congratulations. 

Good luck in the future. 

Thank you, 

Rest in Peace Tito

Rest in Peace Tito

Today, is a sad day, we have lost a gentleman to 'cancer'.   

Rest in Peace, Tito Vilanova.  

(Allah'tan rahmet diliyorum).

          Tito Vilanova 

Sincerely, 

Ben

😥

Smooth Playmaker of Mesut Ozil

Smooth Playmaker of Mesut Ozil

Arsenal Soccer Club's best player and recent addition from Real Madrid FC, the one and only Mesut Ozil is reportedly set to be the target of a bid from Barcelona FC over the summer season. 

     Arsenal's Mesut O

The former Real Madrid playmaker, who arrived at Arsenal for a club record transfer fee of 42.5 Million Pound, could be the subject of a 30 Million Pound bid, plus a couple of players from the Catalan powerhouse.  

My opinion of the move would make sense for Barcelona FC, and here is my explanation. 

Barcelona's current midfield players are aging, plus they are a team built on passing the ball.  Anyone who watches soccer knows that one of best, if not the best passer and playmaker out there currently, is Mesut Ozil.  He would be a perfect fit for Barcelona's reliance of the ball eventually ending on Lionel Messi's foot, then the back of the net, but first the pass needs to get to Messi.  

Also, throughout the season, it became clearly obvious that aging playmakers mentioned in the above paragraph were relied upon to heavily this season, with no clear option to interchange them throughout the season at Barcelona FC. 

     Real Madrid's Mesut O

According to BTV’s ‘La Porteria’ program Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta is looking to ensure the long-term success of the club by making waves in the summer transfer market, with Mesut Ozil being their top priority. 

It is unlikely that Arsenal would sell Mesut Ozil after only one season with the club; however there are clear signs of Barcelona wanting to spend money to continue their success in European Football.  Barcelona FC have 'money' and 'ambition' and no trophies after the end of 2013-2014 Football season. 

Sincerely,

Ben

🤓

Last Eight

Last Eight

The UEFA Champions League for the 2013 - 2014 season has proceeded to the Quarter-Finals (Last Eight).  The teams remaining are the following:

     Bayern Munich

Real Madrid (Spain)

Barcelona (Spain)

Athletico Madrid (Spain)

Bayern Munich (Germany)

Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

Manchester United (England)

Chelsea (England)

Paris St Germain (France)

     Barcelona

The draw for the matchups have settled, and they are:

Chelsea vs Paris St Germain

Manchester United vs Bayern Munich

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

Barcelona vs Athletico Madrid

     Real Madrid

I'm very interested to see who will make it to the 'last four' of this prestiges tournament.  

What is your prediction for the 'last four'?

Sincerely, 

Exciting Wednesday Football Games

Exciting Wednesday Football Games

Today, the following games were played:

Barcelona FC, 2 vs Manchester City, 1 (3 - 1) &

Paris St Germain, 2 vs Bayern Leverkusen, 1 (6 - 2) 

the next 2 teams out of the eventual 8, to make it to the Quarter Finals (last 8) of the UEFA Champions League are therefore:

          Barcelona FC

          Paris St Germain

Therefore, with the games played from yesterday, 4 out of the 8 teams are known:

Athletico Madrid,

Bayern Munich,

Barcelona FC, &

Paris St Germain

Congratulations to these soccer/football clubs.  

 Next weeks games are:

Real Madrid vs Schalke 04,

Chelsea FC vs Galatasaray,

Manchester United  vs Olympiacos

Borrusia Dortmund vs Zenit

Interesting games coming our way.  

Thank you, 

Coolest Teams to Support in Football

Coolest Teams to Support in Football

The 'Bleacher Report' magazine reported the '10 coolest teams to support in football'; and I have attached the link for you below:

          the champions

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1893299-ranking-the-10-coolest-teams-to-support-in-world-football/page/11

I am extremely happy with this list, since the team I have supported for over 4 decades is on the list; the name of the team is,

Galatasaray

The list is below:

10.  Celtic FC

9.  Sao Paulo FC

8.  S.L Benfics

7.  Arsenal 

6.  Galatasaray FK

5.  Athletic Bilbao

4.  Borussia Dortmund

3.  Boca Juniors

2.  FC St. Pauli

1.  SSC Napoli

What team would you have liked to see on this list? I'm surprised Real Madrid FC and Barcelona are not on this list. 

Thank you. 

Odds & Champions League of 2014

Odds & Champions League of 2014

The teams that are remaining in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League are listed below.  Beside the each 'mighty' team, I have included the 'odds' given by:

www.williamhill.com

to win this prestigious trophy, here they are:

1. Bayern Munich 11/4

2. Real Madrid 9/2 

3. Barcelona 11/2

4. Borussia Dortmund 10/1

5. Chelsea 10/1

6. Manchester United 10/1

7.  Athletico Madrid 14/1

8.  Paris Saint Germain 14/1

9.  Manchester City 16/1

10. Arsenal 33/1

11. AC Milan 66/1

12. Bayer Leverkusen 100/1

13. Galatasaray 150/1

14. Zenit St Petersburg 250/1

15. Olympics 500/1

16. Schalke 04 500/1

Now, I'd like to bring to your attention another 'bet' taking place in the webpage of:

www.skybet.com

on the team to reach the finals in May 2013, again, here they are:

1. Bayern Munich 6/5

2. Real Madrid 2/1

3. Barcelona 9/4

4. Borussia Dortmund 11/2

5. Chelsea 6/1

6. Athletico Madrid 6/1

7. Paris Saint Germain 13/2

8. Manchester United 13/2

9. Manchester City 13/2

10. Arsenal 12/1

11. AC Milan 28/1

12. Bayer Leverkusen 66/1

13. Galatasaray 80/1

14. Schalke 04 100/1

15. Zenit St Petersburg 100/1

16. Olympics 200/1

I am following this tournament, since I like to watch the game, plus an added bonus is that the team I support, Galatasaray, has made it this far.  

As we can all see in the above 'odds', chances are very low that 'Gala' will progress further in this difficult tournament.

But there is always 'HOPE'.  

Next matchup for Gala is against Chelsea FC.  I am hoping that the 'underdog' will prevail to make it past the 'London' club.

I will analyze this matchup numerous times over the coming months since the 'head to head', knockout games will not be played until February 18 and March 11, 2014, respectively. 

Thank you for reading, please visit again in the future.