After the First Leg....

The Champions League Semi-finals wrapped up their first leg yesterday in what has been some very good soccer. I wanted to look at the games and break them down individually and take a look at which teams have the advantage going into the second leg of games next week.

In the first game on Tuesday, Chelsea took on the top team recently in Athletico Madrid. Athletico has been streaking have scored in all their Champions league games thus far, and currently at the top of the Liga BBVA. They have been led by quality players in Koke, Diego Godin, Diego Costa, and Arda Turan. The team has looked extremely dangerous, having knocked off Barcelona in the previous stage. Chelsea on the other hand have been stumbling. They recently all but scratched their title hopes, by losing at home to Sunderland in a crushing BPL game. It was Jose Mourinho's first lose at home and he had a 77 game unbeaten streak snapped by a team that was at the bottom of the standings. The game was in Athleticos favor, as they were the home team. Chelsea came in and did what they are very famous for doing. They "parked the bus" which means they sat pretty much there entire team behind the ball and defended the entire game, in what ended as a 0-0 draw. This definitely favorites Chelsea now going into the second leg. They are in a prime position to make it to the Champions League Final for the 2nd time in 3 years. The one thing that is very worrisome is the fact that if Athletico gets one goal at Chelsea, that means they can move on with a draw, because they would have the away goal. It will be a very tense contest next week when these two teams meet in the second leg of the semi-finals.

The second game was the match up of the two world power houses, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Both teams are playing better soccer right now then any other team in the world. Bayern won the champions league last year and are looking to make it a second, while Real Madrid search for their first in 7 years. It was at the Santiago Bernebeau, the home of Real Madrid, and it was Real Madrid who managed to sneak away with the 1-0 victory. Bayern dominated the game and had more scoring chances and much more possession, but in the end the attacking force of Cristiano Ronaldo came through in the clutch for Real Madrid as he has done many times before.

Oldie But Goodie

The age old striker Dimitar Berbitav was at his old tricks again this past weekend. The former Manchester United and Fulham striker, who now plays for Monaco in the Ligue 1 in France, bagged the only goal of a 1-0 win. This win sealed a champion’s league spot for Monaco meet year. Berbitav made it look easy, just as he does on numerous amounts of goals. The striker in this instense had taken the ball from over the top and was a little outside the far right side of the six yard box. Berbitav brought the ball down and let it bounce, and with a cool and calm composure, he chipped it up and over the keeper and into the far post netting. The keeper could do nothing but swing at air as the Monaco fans watched in jubilation as the ball went in. Monaco continued to dominate the rest of the game and it was a shock to many that the game only ended 1-0 because there were so many chances that could have been put in the back of net. After the match Berbitav wanted to remind everyone out there who had written him off and forgotten about him that he was still around and just as sly and great a striker as ever.

Not only was this a great day for the individual player, but it was a great day for Monaco itself. Just a year removed from being promoted to the Ligue 1 from Ligue 2, the big French club made some major signings in the summer and has seen them pay dividends as the team has now clinched a spot in the 2014/2015 UEFA Champions league for the first time in over a decade. Not only that but they have risen to 2^nd in the Ligue 1 behind only the power house team of Paris Saint Germaine. This is an amazing story of just what having a lot of money in soccer can do for you as the club was able to rise from the bottom thanks in part to huge sponsorship deals that left a lot of money to be spent on much needed players. Key signings in the summer included former Athletico striker Falcao, as well as midfielder James Rodriguez. A big congrats to Monaco, and I'm very excited to see the commotion they can create in next year’s champions league.  It's something very exciting to look forward to.
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Team Review: Belgium

As the Fifa World Cup is fast approaching this coming June, I really wanted to start breaking down some of the national teams that will be seen on the big stage. Not only breaking down, but predicting the starting lineups before they are released for good at the end of May. When it came to picking a team for this first review I didn't have to rack my brain for too long. I decided to take a closer look at the country of Belgium. They are a very young team, and many people believe they are the dark horses of this years World Cup. We should all be looking for them to surprise a fair amount of us when it comes time for the tournament to kick off.

Now when we look deeper into the roster of the team the first thing you notice is how young it is. Every position is extremely young and talented meaning this won't be Belgium's last World Cup run for awhile. As for the personnel that they possess, they have some of the worlds top class young players. In goal, they have Simone Mignolet and Thebuis Courteius. Both keepers have led their respective teams Liverpool and Athletico Madrid to the top of their leagues and they are phenomenal keepers. In the backline Belgium possess from very solid defenders. Vertonghen, Vermaelan, and Kompany make up the core of this Belgium defense. The midfield and attack is even better than the defense. Players to note are Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard a 23 year old rising star who has been compared to both Messi and Ronaldo. They also have Axel Witsel, and Naingollen to finish up the midfield, and then up top the deadly duo of the young prodigies Benteke and Lukaku finishes up the team. This team is deep all the way through. They lack a little bit of depth that some of the other teams have, like the Spain's and Germanys of the world, but what they lack in depth they make up in a skill and young talent.

This is a team that may like the experience that older teams possess, but what they lack in experience is more than made up for in the talent of this squad. Like I said early I look for them to do big things at the upcoming World Cup and I can't wait to sit back and watch the young talent go to work.

The Future of Soccer in America

Ever since I've started soccer and to this very day, the United States has trailed in the rest of the worlds wake when it comes to soccer. In every other country around the world soccer is by far either the number one or number two sport in the country. In America its maybe the 4th, and even that might be stretching it a little bit. Not only are there many more soccer players and teams in other countries, but the quality of soccer doesn't even compare between the USA and the rest of the world. Now, this may be beginning to feel extremely negative, but I'm here to say that there is some hope. There has been a steady improvement from what soccer used to be, to what it is today in America.

Now a days, soccer is becoming much more popular, not only at the youth level but also from a fans point of view at a professional level. More teams are being added every year to the MLS (Major League Soccer) and more people are beginning to watch. A big help to this is the recent trend of some of the best players in the world coming over to play in the MLS once they finish their careers in Europe. Players like Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Clint Dempsey, and Jermaine Defoe have all come from playing over seas to finish their careers in the MLS. This adds a great deal of hype and popularity to the sport, which is much needed. As more kids continue to grow up around the game of soccer it will grow bigger than ever. The youth of America holds the fate of the future of soccer in their hands. They determine whether or not soccer prospers or fails in America. The more kids that begin to promote soccer and play it, the better reputation that the game will have. This is also helped on by the major players coming over to finish their careers in the United States. Hopefully a combination of the two things will see soccer soar.

With a growing pool of soccer players in America coupled with the increasing popularity of soccer in college as well as in the pros, it's not a surprise that soccer is making a case for one of the favorite sports in America. I mean after all it was only a matter of time before we caught on to the rest of the world, right?