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.