The World European Championships 2012

I feel like something of a failure, because I have failed to comment on that most dramatic of tournaments, the European Championships. If you need proof of just how great a competition it is, look at the way the entire world is enthralled - and that's without incorrectly adding the word "world" in front of it like some American sports might (you know who you are, Major League Baseball).

Anyway, what a great start to Euro 2012! My vote for goal of the tournament so far is this one by Blajsdfhdfus (or something like that) for Poland:



...but Van Persie's effort against Germany could run it close. Incidentally, the Group of Death is more than living up to its promise, and I'm excited for the conclusion.

England meanwhile, are chugging along happily, securing a draw against France, and looking to get a win against Sweden.

The biggest surprise however, has been Russia, who are looking really good so far. Dark horse? Maybe.

Meanwhile, Roberto Di Matteo was finally rewarded for winning the Champions League last season with a two year contract. This is the most exciting Chelsea management decision in years, so here's looking forward to next season!

...

That's all.

Manchester, What Are Your Plans for Thursday Nights?

In a somewhat hilarious turn of events, both Manchester teams got sent crashing out of the Champions League this last week, leaving just the two London clubs - Chelsea and Arsenal - alone to carry the mantle in Europe...or are they alone? Wait, isn't there another league that Manchesters United and City might feel more comfortable in? Ah but of course! The Europa League! Otherwise known as the greatest insult known to football, the Europa League is a competition that exists for the sole purpose of generating some extra money for UEFA and Channel 5. It is a wonderful competition, full of the clubs that just weren't good enough to make it into the Champions League; so of course, we must add to the pain of being knocked out in the first round of the Champions League, and throw those rejects in there as well! What joy it will bring to the rest of the country to see City and United playing on Thursday nights against teams such as Olimpi Rustavi and FK Minsk in front of a channel 5 audience! I can hardly wait!

As if to add insult to injury, Manchester City were also defeated today by none other than Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. This made Andre Villas Boas very happy, a message to his critics it seems:

"Are you not entertained?"

Mini Mourinho

I recently realised that the Premier League season is upon us (yobs permitting), and I have been remiss in failing to mention the (sort of) recent acquisition of one Andre Villas-Boas as the new Chelsea manager. So young and relatively inexperienced, he is something of an unknown quantity. However, having followed closely in one Jose Mourinho's footsteps at both Chelsea and F.C. Porto, I would like to say that I am more than happy to welcome our very own Mini Mourinho to the Chelsea management team - even if it's for no other reason than his looking rather good in a suit...



Let's hope that he's the master tactician that he promises to be!

Ugly Football Shirts

So last night I had this dream that Chelsea had changed their home kit to something similar to this, except with more red:

It was awful, I had to call Mum in England just to ask her to buy the old one before it ran out! For those of you who don't know, this is the old one, held beautifully by Fernando Torres.

Of course it could have been worse...

Or...

So I guess I should count myself lucky!

Do You Hear the Drums?

Anyone who hasn't been living under a metaphorical, Ihatefootball/thenews/anythingtopical/Idon'thatethemIjustliveinAmerica rock for the past few days will have heard about the transfer of Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea.

At the risk of revealing too much about myself, I am a Chelsea fan... so for me, this was pretty good news...

Excited as I was, it was only natural that I should share my feelings with those closest and dearest to me...so naturally I posted a link on Facebook. The results, however, were somewhat surprising. My Facebook friends definitely know more about soccer than I gave them credit for...and it wasn't the English ones. Football is definitely a growing sport in the States, and a large part that growth is happening here in Utah; I would say that this is partly down to the number of immigrants from Central and South America, and largely because of the number of people who move to all parts of the world (serving an LDS mission) for two years and then return with a new-found passion for the game of football.

For those of you who were under the previously mentioned rock, here is the brief version of the events of the past week:

Fernando Torres is one of the best strikers in the world. Part of Spain's World Cup winning team this summer, he is a true goal-machine and was a crucial part of Liverpool's first team. However, during the World Cup and even after, he suffered something of a prolonged post-injury slump in form. This transfer window, Chelsea pounced and shelled out £50million for him. Rip off? I don't think so. Despite his drop in form, Torres remains a quality forward and will continue to be so - you can't get rid of skill of that kind. At 26 years old, he is also relatively young for a footballer today, and far younger than most of his Chelsea team mates!

I for one, cannot wait to see what Torres can achieve with this Chelsea team and I will be watching eagerly on Sunday, along with the rest of the footballing world, to see what will happen when Chelsea showdown against Liverpool.