The Fair Draw

The Fair Draw

The first leg of the game between Chelsea FC and Galatasaray AS, ended with a well played 'draw' at Istanbul, Turkey.  

The second leg between the two teams will be played at Stamford Bridge Stadium of London, on March 16, 2014. 

          Stamford Bridge Stadium, London

I wrote a blog a few days back titled: 

'The Chess Match Begins'

The link is attached below, please find it on this site, click on this site.

Back to today's blog:

Chelsea looked like they wanted the 'win' after scoring an early goal to make it 1 - 0, and afterwards created many quality chances to make it 2 - 0 or even 3 - 0, however, this did not happen.  The defensive vulnerability of Galatasaray was evident, and at 33th minute, Roberto Mancini, Gala's coach made a substitution for a 'defensive midfield', which changed the flow of the game, in their favor.  

The substitution for Galatasaray began many improved 'spell of attacks' on Chelsea's net, which finally gave the host a well deserved goal, to make it 1 - 1.  

          Roberto Mancini, with Jose Mourinho in the background

If 'luck' was in Gala's favor, I do believe that they deserved another goal for a 'win' in Istanbul. 

Chelsea FC has the advantage since they scored a crucial away goal, and therefore a 0 - 0 result in London will have them make it to the 'Last 8' of the UEFA Champions League.   

          Burak Yilmaz & Eden Hazard

This will be another 'well fought' tactical game, and in my opinion there will be a couple of goals scored, even though Jose Mourinho will try to have a Chelsea FC play defensively.  

Prediction by my 'heart' says: 2-1 for Galatasaray. 

Prediction by my 'mind' says: 2-1 for Chelsea. 

May it be an exciting game.  

Thank you for reading,

Ben

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, 

Third Time, in His Sight

Third Time, in His Sight 

Jose Mourinho, is the current Coach of Chelsea FC, of London, England.   He has a disciplined, 'no-nonsense' type of a coaching style.  

Mr Mourinho has unmatched success in the UEFA Champions League.  He has lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy, as a Coach with both:

FC Porto, of Portugal, in the year of 2004, &

FC Internazionale Milano, of Italy, in the year 2010. 

This year, he is trying to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, for the third time.  

No other coach has ever achieved this feat, ever. 

Chelsea FC is one of the last 16 teams remaining, and the next game will be against Galatasaray, of Istanbul.  

Will he be able to guide his team past Galatasaray, to make it to the semi-final? Most 'sport writers' believe he will.   

I will be interested to watch his progress in this years UEFA Champions League.  

Good luck 'the Special one', Jose Mourinho.  

Coach Sergen & Gaziantepspor

Coach Sergen & Gaziantepspor

Today, I would like to flow-up on a previous blog I wrote, titled 'Sergen the Coach'.  If you have not read this yet, please do, as it is an informative blog on the coach of Mr Sergen Yalcin. 

Mr Sergen Yalcin, has declared on January 3rd that he will continue to coach Gaziantepspor Soccer Team.  The team has 4 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss under him.  

Prior to becoming the coach, 'Gaziantep' was in last place of the 18 team standing of the 'Super Lig' of Turkish Futbol Federation (TFF).  Now the team is in a respectable '12', many points above the bottom 3 that would be regulated to a bottom division, at the end of the season. 

Therefore, I wish 'Coach Sergen' longevity and success in the future.  

Also, I would like to congratulate 'Gaziantepspor' for 'working-out' the 'money issues' with the coaching staff and players, to keep this brilliant young Coach, at the helm.  

Sincerely.  

Sergen the Coach

Sergen the Coach 

I wanted to write about a coach named Sergen Yalcin today. 

Why you ask?

I like to keep current in the game of soccer/football, and look for interesting stories within this sport.  

Here is an a good story, you will not have heard/read on many news channels. 

Sergen Yalcin become the coach of Gaziantepspor Soccer Team, 45 days ago. 

The soccer team fired the previous coach, due to unsuccessful results and ended in the bottom of an 18 team league titled, 'Super League' of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). 

Since taking over the club as a coach, Sergen Yalcin has won all 4 games in charge for Gaziantepspor.  This is very surprising, as all games were against difficult clubs.  

After 4 weeks, the team went from being 'last' in the table to now in 10th place.  

Here is where the story gets interesting.  

Mr Sergen Yalcin has stated this week that he will quiet his job as a coach after 2 weeks, which will be after the end of 2 games, since the players are not getting their salaries regularly.

After 2 weeks, there will be a 1 month vacation in the 'Super League' of TFF.  

My advise to the management of Gaziantepspor Football Team are:

- solve the financial problem within the club, 

- pay your employees salaries on time, 

- respect each other,

- act professionally,

- try to keep your current coach Sergen Yalcin, and 

- try to sign him for a minimum of 2 year contract. 

I do believe there is success in the future for this club, if the above 'points' are implemented.  

Thank you for reading. 

Preview, Galatasaray vs Real Madrid in November 2013

Preview, Galatasaray vs Real Madrid in November 2013

This game will be the 5'th for both teams, who are in Group 'B' of the UEFA Champions League.  Real Madrid is in first place with 10 points, and has guaranteed to make it to the coveted 'last 16' of this competition.  Galatasaray have 4 points, and is in second place, and requires a 'good game' to boost their confidence, and try to 'steal' a win, with a likelier result of a 'tie'.

          Real Madrid emblem

Coach Carlo Ancelotti of Real Madrid has confirmed today that the star player of Cristiano Ronaldo will miss this game due to an injury of a 'thigh problem'.  The news of Cristiano Ronaldo not playing in this game is good news for 'Gala'.  With him in the line-up, I would have given Gala 'no chance' of securing a point(s).  Without him, and other 'key' players not dressing-up for this game, I do believe it will be more of an 'even' competition.  

         Galatasaray emblem

The game will be played at Estadio Santiago Stadium in Madrid, on Wednesday November 27, 2013.  Make time to watch this game, as I believe it will be an exciting game.

Thank you for reading, 

Ben