AFF SUZUKI CUP SEMIS ON

All roads lead to Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia tonight as the first leg of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup between Group B topnotcher Thailand and Group A second placer Indonesia unfolds. kickoff time is 8 pm (Manila time).

The Thais are coming into the game heavily favored after sweeping the group stages and having the biggest goal difference in the tourney so far with a total goals for of 11 against nil for goals against. The Indons on the other hand, finished the group stages with a record of two-wins, no-draw and a loss with a goal difference of 7-2. Expect a lot of fireworks as a very physical match in the offing between the two of the most popular squads in the Southeast Asian region.

Thai coach Peter Reid is not discounting of an Indon upset and is wary of the capablities of the hosts to turn the tables around. “Indonesia have the quality and very good pace upfront. They were quick during attacks and their striker, Bambang, is dangerous”, Reid said. At the same time he believes the homecrowd will play a vital factor in the opener, “The Indonesian crowd have been fantastic. It will be a big game atmosphere. As a player I used to enjoy the big games and I am sure my players will too. That’s football is all about. But in these games, it’s important not to panic.”

Indonesian coach Benny Dolo thinks that his team needs to improve their offensive attack and ability to score goals to secure an upset. “It’s our problem. In previous matches we wasted many chances in front of goal. The strikers have to improve and be sharper or it will be very difficult against Thailand,” Benny said.

The second leg of the Thailand-Indonesia series is scheduled on Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand. The other semis pairing will pit Group A winner Singapore against Group B runner-ups Vietnam with the first leg up for grabs tomorrow night in Vietnam. All the games can be seen live over Starsports on cable tv.

AT THE CROSSROAD

After 17 games, Chelsea had finally surrendered the over-all leadership in the Barclay's Premier League Sunday night (Manila time).

The Blues were held to a shocking 1-1 draw by lowly West Ham United at Stamford Bridge. It could had been more tragic for Luis Felipe Scolari's wards if not for the second half goal of Nicolas Anelka, which save the day for the Stamford Bridge outfit. West Ham United veteran Craig Bellamy opened up the scoring with a short stab in the 33rd minute. Anelka's 50th minute goal is his 16th for the current season and his 100th over-all in the Premier League.

Former Chelsea star Giofranco Zola, now the boss of the Hammers, outwitted Chelsea counterpart Scolari, who out of desperation made a crucial substitution at the start of the second half as he sent in Didier Drogba to replace defender Michael Ballack. But the move hardly made any difference as West Ham dictated the tempo throughout the match.

In a post-match statement, a dejected Scolari said it all, "Our home is Stamford Bridge, not away, and we need to be scoring more goals here. We are not shooting from outside the area enough and I need to work more with the players. Didier Drogba is in good condition and may play more in the next game, but the other players must cooperate because when he came on we lost the midfield." Clearly, he was referring to Chelsea deadshots Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Deco, all of whom were not playing above par in the last few matches.

The disappointing draw elevated Liverpool to the top of the standings with 38 points while Chelsea fell to second spot with 37 points. The Blues had garnered only 11 points in their last 6 matches. Zola cited team play as the vital point in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea, "The performance is outstanding and the point was totally deserved. We are improving but we do not play with the same freedom at home as we do away from home and we will fix that". When pressed about the coming January transfer window, Zola further quipped "We will not be selling our best players, but who are not playing in the first team may go".

The Blues diehards are expecting a lot this season from Scolari, the well-respected and highly regarded football guru, after the team's failure to bag the BPL and UEFA Champions League titles last year and Scolari better explore changes come January 2009 or else he may follow the footsteps of the team's former gaffer, Jose Mourinho.

HOUDINI ACT

Mexican side Pachuca made a virtuoso display of rising from the grave as they dealt African titlists Al Ahly of Egypt a 4-2 extension time defeat to barge into the semis of the FIFA Club World Cup 2008 in Japan Saturday.

The death defying act pulled off by Pachuca saw them trailed 2-0 at halftime.

But timely adjustments in both offense and defense turned the tables in favor of the Central Americans in the second half. Luis Montes put the Mexicans in the scoring ladder in the 47th minutes before Christian Gimenez equalized it for Pachuca in the 73rd minute to send the game into a 30 minute extension period. From thereon, there is no stopping the Pachuca juggernaut in the extra period as they blasted in two more goals courtesy of Damian Alvarez in the 98th minute and Gimenez again in the 110th minute to make it 4-2. It was a sorry defeat for Manuel Jose's wards as they failed to stop the momentum of Pachuca in the second half as well as in the extension time.

With the win, Pachuca will now play Ecuadorian powerhouse Liga De Quito in the semi finals Wednesday evening.

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Adelaide United will be in for a rough night as they play homeside Gamba Osaka of Japan tonight for the right to meet Manchester United in the semi finals. The Aussies earlier defeated Waitakere United of New Zealand, 2-1.

It will be a grudge rematch between Adelaide and Gamba as both squads battled it out last month for the two-legged AFC Champions League finals. The Japanese side won by an aggregate score of 5-0. Now, the Aussies are looking for payback time but it will be very difficult considering the home advatage of Gamba. But in football anything can happen and that is the beauty in "The Beautiful Game".

FINALLY, A FIRST FOR ENGLAND?

The entire football galaxy of Great Britain are pinning its hope on Manchester United to finally win a first-ever FIFA World Club championship for England.

Teams from South America had dominated the tournament since its inception in 2000. Last year, Italian powerhouse AC Milan finally put a halt to the latinos domination as they whipped Boca Juniors of Argentina in the finals.

This year, seven clubs representing their respective continents will battle it out for supremacy from December 11-21, 2008, in Japan. Aside from the Red Devils, the other contenders are Al Ahly (Africa), Adelaide United (Asia), Gamba Osaka (Asia), Pachuca (North and Central America), Waitakere United (Oceania) and Liga De Quito (South America).

Actually, the tourney had already started yesterday with Adelaide United drawing first blood with an opening-day win over Waitakere United, 2-1. Manchester United and Liga De Quito are already seeded in the semis leaving the five other squads to battle it out in the knockout quarter-final matches. The championship match will be played on December 21.

Expect no less than a battle royale among the continental champions and the bragging rights for the best football club in the World.

PIZZARO MASTERPIECE

German side Werder Bremen slew a big fish in their final game in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League as they downed Italian powerhouse Internazionale Milano, 2-1, Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, Manila time) at home. The victory earned Bremen a place in the UEFA Cup (soon to be renamed as UEFA Europa Cup) next year.

So dominant were Bremen as they displayed an awesome offensive game and kept Jose Mourinho's boys at bay with their relentless defense throughout the match. But the man of the hour for Bremen is Claudio Pizzaro. The 30 year old Peruvian National played aggressively in the box and had several attacks that almost netted goals for Bremen in the first half. Pizzaro finally broke the ice in the 63rd minute with an amazing goal and capped his performance in the 72nd minute with a great cross pass which find teammate Rosenberg, who easily connected to make it 2-0 for Bremen. Inter Milan's ace forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic close out the scoring with a late goal for the final tally.

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But who is Claudio Pizzaro? The Peruvian striker is currently being loaned by English giant Chelsea to Werder Bremen at the start of the 2008-09 campaign. He currently leads the team in goal scoring in the Bundsliga with 10 goals in 13 outings so far.

Pizzaro started out his career in 1996 with Deportivo Pesquero in the Peruvian Division One, wherein he finished the season with 11 goals in 42 games. He transferred to Alianza Lima the following campaign, where he pumped in 22 goals in 44 outings. He made his European debut in 2001 with Werder Bremen and spent 3 seasons in his first stop with the green outfit. He moved to Bayern Munich in 2001 and played 6 seasons thereat. Last year, Pizzaro played 21 matches for Chelsea and scored 2 goals for the Blues.

Pizzaro had seen action in 56 games for the Peruvian National team and so far has scored 13 goals in international matches. It will not be too long before Chelsea takes him back to Stamford Bridge to help the Blues in their campaign in the Premier League.

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After suffering a serious injury in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, super striker Michael Owen is back in his old-scoring way for Newcastle United in the Barclay's Premier League. Owen's remarkable recovery is the only bright spot for the magpies, who are mired in the lower half of the table with only 16 points in 16 matches so far.

Owen had scored a total of eight goals in nine games so far for Newcastle United in League play (8 matches) and League Cup (1 game) so far. Owen likewise is back in harness with the Three Lions National squad, in which he had tallied 40 goals to date.

With their current precarious league standing, the diehards in St. James Park are hoping that Owen can help turn around the fortunes of Newcastle United later in the season and avoid possible relegation play next campaign.

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Thailand displayed a powerful attacking game in dimantling Malaysia, 3-0, last night and swept Group B competition in the on-going AFF Suzuki Cup before an over-flowing homecrowd in Phuket.

The Thais under new coach, the former Sunderland and Manchester City top guru Peter Reid, dominated the very physical game, which was marred by a near free for all brought about by a Malaysian punch in the 2nd half. With the win, Thailand qualified for the four team semi finals and will play Group B second placer Indonesia in a home-and-away semis series. Group A topnotcher Singapore meets Group B runner-ups Vietnam in the other semis series.

Thailand capped their group stage play with an incredible 11 total goals and did not allow any goals from the opposition in 3 outings. They blanked Vietnam, 2-0, massacred Laos, 6-0 and finally Malaysia, 3-0.

Both semi-final pairings for sure will be one heckuva of a series and is really worth watching for. Are we in for a titanic finale between Thailand and Singapore? Let us just wait and see.

COSTLY WIN FOR ENGLAND

After more than a month of inactivity, it really feels good to be back! During my absence, I devoted too much time on my other blogsite which is exclusively NBA basketball. Anyway, I promise myself to make up for the lost time and hope that my return to share my views about the beautiful game, which is very close to my heart, will be on a regular basis. So my apology to all.

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England scored a 2-1 victory last Wednesday in a friendly match against Germany in the latter's home turf. West Ham United defender Matthew Upson and Chelsea skipper John Terry scored for the Three Lions squad while the lone goal scorer for the Germans is Patrick Helmes. But the win proved costly for manager Fabio Capello and England as it lost Arsenal wonder boy Theo Walcott to injury. Walcott suffered a shoulder dislocation during the practice of the Nationals before the Germany match. Walcott will definitely miss Arsenal's encounter against Manchester City on Saturday.

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Chelsea and Liverpool continues to lead the Premier League standings with identical 32 points apiece but defending champions Manchester United is slowly catching fire as the red devils now occupies the third spot with 24 points after a poor start early in the season. League sensation Hull City is at sixth place with 21 points. Threading the dangerous line for relegation are Blackburn (13 points), Tottenham (12 points) and West Brom Athletic (11 points).

Easy matches await the co-leaders this weekend as Chelsea plays Newcastle United and Liverpool goes up against Fulham.

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Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League resumes on November 25 with eight matches on top. Chelsea travels to play Bordeaux, CFR Cluj plays host to Roma, Panathinaikos will be at Internazionale, Bremen visits Anorthosis, Basel will be at Shakhtar, Barcelona pays a visit to Sporting, PSV goes to Atletico and Marseille will journey to Anfield to meet Liverpool.

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Diego Maradona's first ever game as National coach was a huge success as Argentina walloped Scotland, 1-0 in a friendly game last Wednesday at Hampden Park. Midfielder Maxi Rodriguez scored the winning goal early in the match at sixth minute. It can be recalled that Maradona's first ever international goal as a National player also came against the Scots in 1979 in Glasgow, Scotland.

IS HULL CITY FOR REAL?

Nobody gave them a chance from the start, and newly-promoted Hull City Tigers (coming from the 2nd Division Championship League) had taken the 2008-09 Barclays Premier League season by storm by currently occupying sole second spot in the standings with 14 points, behind only co-leaders Chelsea and Liverpool (17 points) after seven games played. UEFA Champions League titlist and BPL defending champs Manchester United is currently at sole fifth spot with only 11 points to date.

The team, which plays their home matches at the 25,000-seater Kingston Communications Stadium, had been the toast of the league this early in the season. Manager Phil Brown had done a tremendous job in steering the Tigers to their current form. They had so far submitted a 4-wins, 2-draws and 1-loss slate, capped by an earthshaking demolition of powerhouse Arsenal, 2-1.

Herewith is the current roster of league wonder Hull City :

1	Boaz Myhill	Goalkeeper
2	Nathan Doyle	Midfielder
3	Andy Dawson	Defender
4	Ian Ashbee	Midfielder
5	Wayne Brown	Defender
6	Michael Turner	Defender
7	Craig Fagan	Striker
8	Nick Barmby	Midfielder
9	Dean Windass	Striker
10	Deiberson Geovanni	Midfielder
11	Bryan Hughes	Midfielder
12	Matt Duke	Goalkeeper
13	Ryan France	Midfielder
14	Richard Garcia	Striker
15	Bernard Mendy	Defender
16	Peter Halmosi	Midfielder
17	Paul McShane (on loan from Sndrlnd )	Defender
18	Caleb Folan	Striker
19	John Welsh	Midfielder
20	George Boateng	Midfielder
21	Samuel Ricketts	Defender
22	Dean Marney	Midfielder
23	Marlon King (on loan from Wigan )	Striker
24	Kamil Zayatte (on loan from Yng Boy )	Defender
25	Daniel Cousin	Striker
26	Tony Warner	Goalkeeper
27	Nicky Featherstone	Midfielder
29	Matt Plummer	Defender
30	Anthony Gardner	Defender
31	Will Atkinson	Midfielder
32	James Bennett	Midfielder
33	Stelios Giannakopoulos	Midfielder
35	Liam Cooper	Defender
36	Jamie Devitt	Midfielder
37	Bill Law	Striker
38	Joe Lamplough	Defender
39	Steve Gardner	Defender
42	Nick McNamara	Midfielder
43	Tom Woodhead	Goalkeeper
	Michael Bridges (on loan to Carlsle )	Striker
	Ryan Kendall	Striker

MY GREATEST FOOTBALL MEMORIES

The year was 1978 and KBS-9 (now RPN-9) is bringing the World Cup of football live for the very first time on Philippine tv history, direct from Argentina. I was then a 13-year old kid, who was really fascinated by the tournament and the sport of football itself, that I kept on reading the local papers of World Cup stories days leading to its opening day. I even made a scrap book of the 1978 World Cup from newspaper clippings of headlines and photos.

I was in love with the Argentina team from the very beginning of the tournament. I knew that as hosts, they had a big chance of winning the plum. My early hero was striker Mario Kempes. The fair-haired forward was the lead man of Argentina mentor Cesar Luis Menotti, who himself is well-known as a chain smoker and hippified football guru. Aside from Kempes, other notable stalwarts of the team included skipper and sweeper Daniel Passarella, Osvaldo Ardiles, Leopoldo Luque and goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol. Then 17-year old wonderkid named Diego Maradona was left off from the 22-man selection. It was not all rosy for Argentina in the first round. After edging France, 2-1, they lost a 1-0 squeaker to Italy, powered by Roberto Bettega. Despite the loss, Menotti's boys made it to the 2nd round and started out strong as they demolished a hard-fighting Poland squad, 2-0. Next on the line is world powerhose and perennial South American arch-rivals Brazil. The atmosphere in the stadium in Rosario was electrifying as both teams badly needed a win to keep their hopes alive for a championship berth. The game ended in a scoreless draw. With their backs against the wall, Argentina needs to beat Peru by at least 4 goals to enter the finals. But lo and behold, they dismantled Peru by the score of 6-0. The result of that crucial match was full of controversy, as many believed the Peruvians deliberately threw the game. Many accused Argentine born-Peru goalie Quiroga played half-heartedly. But in the end, Argentina can not be denied of its place in history.

They will face 1974 runner-up Holland in the championship game. The venue was the Riverplate stadium in the capital city of Buenos Aires. Kempes immediately put the blue and white striped outfit ahead with a stunning goal in the 1st half. But Holland equalized with 10 minutes to go in the game with an incredible header from Dirk Nanninga. The game went into an overtime and that is where Kempes made himself a legend. First, he broke away from 3 Dutch defenders to score on a rebound off goalie Jan Jongbloed to make it 2-1 for Argentina. Then, with 5 minutes to go, Kempes set up Daneil Bertoni for another goal, clinching the game and the championship by the score of 3-1.

As I watch the game on our black and white tv then, I can't help but shed tears of joy as my beloved Argentina celebrate the victory with confetti raining throughout the Riverplate Stadium.

UEFA CHAMPS LEAGUE OPENER: LIVERPOOL, CHELSEA WAXES HOT; MAN U STILL STRUGGLING

English club powerhouses Chelsea and Liverpool brought their winning form from the Barclay's Premier League to the opening day of 2008-09 UEFA Champions League, while defending champs and reigning BPL titlist Manchester United continues to struggle.

Before an SRO-capacity crowd at Stamford Bridge, Luiz Felipe Scolari and his Chelsea squad made mincemeat of Bordeaux, 4-0. Superstar Frank Lampard open the scoring with a header off a beautiful cross from Jose Bosingwa in the 14th minute. It was followed by a Lampard cross to fellow English National Joe Cole, who headed in an incredible back spin to make it 2-0 in the 30th minute. Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka added 2 more goals for the blues to make it a rousing debut for the home team. However, manager Scolari remains cautious despite the rout, "it is important to start with a win because in this competition, you never know what will happen".

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Over in Marseille, France, reds captain Steven Gerrard made an his presence felt immediately, after a bout with injury, as he scored both goals in Liverpool's 2-1 opening day victory over the French outfit.

It was actually a come-from-behind win for the reds as Marseille open up the scoring with a 23rd minute goal from Lorik Cana. Then came Gerrard's magic wand as he booted in a 25-yard beauty in the 26th to tie the game. And just after 5 minutes, he scored the winner on a penalty shot, courtesy of Ronald Zubar's tripping foul on Liverpool forward Ryan Babel. Gerrard hardly showed any sign of his recent injury. "It was amazing! It shows the quality he has", said an ecstatic Rafa Benitez, the Liverpool boss, of Gerrard's outstanding performance.

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Cristiano Ronaldo's comeback from ankle injury hardly made any difference as Spain's Villareal shocked the Old Trafford die-hards as they held the heavily favored Manchester United to a scoreless draw. It was another lacklustre performance from the red devils, as they continue to find their winning form, which bugs them in the early part of the current Barclay's Premier League campaign.

Ronaldo actually did not start the game as he came in as a substitute in the 2nd half. Man U boss Sir Alex Ferguson did not want to risk another injury to the Potuguese superstar. It will be very interesting to find out how Man U performs on Sunday, September 21, as they play arch rivals Chelsea in the BPL.

RED HOT LIVERPOOL!

It was an awesome display of football power before an overflowing capacity crowd at their home stadium in Anfield, as Liverpool scored an emphatic 2-1 victory over the reigning UEFA Champions League titlist and defending Premier League champs, Manchester United last Saturday.

The Reds actually had a slow start as Man-U dictated the early part of the game, punctuated by a 3rd minute goal from striker Carlos Tevez, from an amazing deep cross pass from newly-signed Berbatov. Liverpool equalized on a 27th minute own goal from Man-U midfielder Wes Brown. From thereon, it was an all-Liverpool show as they dominated most of the ball possession until the final whistle.

Liverpool Boss Rafa Benitez pulled off another trick from his hat as he sent in forward Ryan Babel late in the final half. The Dutch scored the winning goal in the 67th minute. Man-U tried in vain in the hope of at least salvaging a draw, by playing aggressive offense late in the game, but to no avail.

With the win, Liverpool now shares the over-all lead in the primiership with Chelsea, both with 10 points after 4 games apiece early in the season. Benitez is hoping that the form showed by Liverpool against Man-U can be brought up to their coming UEFA Champions League stint, which kicks off on September 17 (Manila time). They travel to France to face powerhouse Marseille in their opening game.

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Chelsea matched Liverpool's great performance last Saturday, as they foiled the debut of the 32-million pound man Robinho, 3-1, to share the lead in the Premier League with the Anfield outfit at 10 points apiece.

Robinho, the Brazilian whiz kid, signed by Man City from Real Madrid on a British record-breaking price, scored his first goal in the premiership with a brilliant 13th minute free-kick to give Man City a 1-0 lead. But the blues immediately went back to work as they scored 3 successive goals thereafter, courtesy of old reliables Ricardo Carvalho, Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka.

With the loss, Manchester City now remains at the 4th spot of the standings with 6 points after 4 games. But still, Man City fans are looking up for a breakout season following Robinho's signing.

2008-09 UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE STARTS ON SEPTEMBER 17

The 2008-09 UEFA Champions League finally kicks-off on September 17 (Manila time) with an 8-game opening day schedule, which shall be followed by another 8-game roadshow the next day. Defending Champions and reigning Barclay Premier League titlist Manchester United opens up its defense against Villareal of Spain on the second day.

Group draws had already been completed for the 32 top European clubs, vying for the most prestigious continental club championship. The 8 groups are as followed :

GROUP A
CFR
Chelsea
Bordeaux
Roma

GROUP B
Anorthosis
Panathinaikos
Internazionale
Bremen

GROUP C
Sporting
Basel
Shakhtar
Barcelona

GROUP D
Liverpool
PSV
Atletico

Marseille

GROUP E
AaB
Manchester United
Villareal
Celtic

GROUP F
Fiorentina
Steaua
Bayern
Lyon

GROUP G
Arsenal
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kyiv

GROUP H
Bate
Juventus
Zenit
Real Madrid

Manchester United won last year's title at the expense of arch rivals Chelsea in an epic all-England finale in Moscow, which fergie's boys won on penalties. England will have 3 squads in the tournament, while other Euro powerhouses like Italy and Spain, will be bannered by 4 clubs each. Curiously, Germany will only have 2 teams entered in the said tourney.

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Chelsea, behind new manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, is setting the early pace in the Barclay Premier League. So far, the blues are occupying the top spot together with Liverpool at 7 points apiece. Chelsea walloped Portsmouth, 4-0 in its season opener followed by a 1-0 victory over Wigan. The team gave up its first against goal of the season to Tottenham Hotspurs in a 1-all draw.

It seems everything is going on smoothly with the Stamford Bridge outfit and Scolari is making the Chelsea fans forget about erstwhile top honcho Jose Mourinho with his aggressive style of attacking football. Ace star Frank Lampard's contractual problems is likewise a thing of the past as he continue to dish outstanding play, game after game, together with UEFA defensive player of the year John Terry and old reliables Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Joe Cole, Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole.

So to all red devil fanatics, watch out, Chelsea is out to slain the ghost of last season and reclaim the BPL crown from Manchester United!

TAKE YOUR PICK: PELE OR MARADONA?

This debate had been going on among football pundits for years, on who really is the best ever football player in the world? The picks were narrowed down to only 2 players, both of whom had caught the fancy of the entire soccer planet during their halcyon days, Brazlilian Edson Arantes do Nascimento or simply Pele, as he was globally known, and Argentine Diego Maradona.

Both players belong to different eras of "the beautiful game". Pele starred for three World cup victories for Brazil spanning three decades (late 50s, the 60s and early 70s), while Maradona led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup diadem. Pele has lived a clean life during and after his playing days. Maradona's life is as colorful as his playing career. Both wore the sacred No. 10 jersey and both their styles are flamboyant, always leaving the crowd in a state of frenzy after each game.

Unlike many current South American booters, Pele never played in the lucrative European circuit and instead, displayed his wares for the Santos club before his ever adorable countrymen in Brazil. He still holds the all-time leading goal scoring record for Santos with 1,265 markers in 1,345 games. He turned pro at the young age of 15. He closed out his career with the New York Cosmos squad in the now-defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1975. Pele first donned the National uniform at the tender age of 16 and scored 77 goals in 92 appearances for the Brazilian nationals.

Maradona played for three clubs during his checkered career. He started out with Boca Juniors in the Argentine pro league and later joined FC Barcelona in Spain and Napoli in Italy. He started out with the Argentina squad which won the World Cup youth championships in Japan in the early 80s and no one can ever forget his dazzling solo run in scoring the controversial "hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, which Argentina later won. He also won the tourney's Golden Ball award as best player. Over-all, he represented Argentina in four World Cup stints. It was not all rosy for Maradona as in 1991, he was banned from the game for 15 months due to failed drug test. He was banned for the second time during the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles for testing positive for ephedrine.

Pele, aside from his natural goal-scoring skills is the ultimate team man. He always made his teammates look better with is accurate passing. Maradona loves the spotlight, always the master showman for his team with his razzle-dazzle type of a game.

The whole world is very fortunate to witness the soccer expertise of these two great men and picking one over the other as to who is better will always be entailed with argument. So let's just put it this way, Pele and Maradona are the two greatest soccer players who had ever played.

WELCOME TO CAMPO DI CALCIO!

Hi there guys! Welcome to my personal blog site, which will solely touch on in the world's most popular sport, football or soccer. Anywhere you go, whether it's in Europe or Asia or Oceania or Latin and South America, football is the leading sport and way of life for people there at.

The 2008-09 season is now underway in the World's most popular football league, the Barclay's Premier League in England. Set to start anytime are the new seasons of Serie A in Italy, La Ligue in France, Bundesliga in Germany and of course, the most glamorous league in the planet, La Liga of Spain.

So sit back, relax and enjoy the season and we will be there where the action is and ready to bring you the sidelights and views of the world game!