Galaxy MLS champions

This year's MLS final was a repeat of last year's final between LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamos, and it was to be David Beckham's last match for the LA Galaxy. Whatever one thinks of Beckham (a pretty boy, yes, but an outstanding footballer, fighter and representative for his country, whose career is one of the most interesting ever in football) undoubtedly Beckham has had a huge influence on the growth of the MLS.
And the final was indeed an exciting and high quality match. Houston was best in the first half, but Galaxy also had good chances with the incursions by Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan on the passing by Beckham and Juninho. Donovan missed a huge chance in the first half, so it was instead Calen Carr who brought Houston ahead in the last minute of the first half when Adam Moffat totally tore apart the defense on a great pass.
In the second half Galaxy put more pressure on Houston, and fifteen minutes into the second half Omar Gonzalez equalized on a header after a Juninho cross (Omar Gonzalez was the best player of the match). Soon after a Robbie Keane goal was annulled for off-side, but the way was clear, and a few minutes later Galaxy was awarded a penalty when a Dynamo defender made an illegal save in the area, and Landon Donovan scored, clearing himself for his first half miss.
After this it did not look as if Galaxy could be shaken, and in the last minutes of the match Robbie Keane scored the 3-1 goal on a penalty kick. It seemed a bit strange that they would not have let David Beckham kick as a last homage to the great Englishman.
Nevertheless, the victory, and the well-deserved title, David Beckham's second was surely homage enough!

Olympique Lyon- AC Milan

Olympique Lyon and AC Milan tied 0-0 in the first leg match of the Champions League Quarterfinal in Lyon. I had the pleasure to watch the game in a good old bar in Copenhagen with a good friend. In spite of this, the game was a bore. Lyon is not the same without Juninho, although they did play a fine game. In spite of Juninho being back for the next match, Lyon will have a really difficult time in Milan.

Best Player Top 10 of 2005

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to give my own personal compilation of top 10 football players of the year. Most of them are newcomers, but others were also on my 2004 list:

• 10) Didier Drogba: Chelsea has rightfully been criticized for playing overly defensive. But they still have a very powerful striking force, and the best one is Didier Drogba. This year, he has confirmed himself as one of the best strikers in the world. Furthermore, he has been part of the Ivory Coast team that qualified for their first World Cup ever.

• 9) Lionel Messi: The Argentinian youngster is certainly the newcomer of the year. He was the best player for Argentina's U-21 team that won the World Championship in the Netherlands in July. He had some problems starting in Barcelona, due to questions on his status as "extra-comunitario", but has shined since on the great Barcelona team. He will surely be a player to watch in 2006!

• 8) Juan Roman Riquelme: The former Barcelona player was a very important player in the Villarreal side that qualified for its first Champions League ever. At the time of writing, Villarreal had won their first round group in front of Benfica, Lille and mighty Manchester United, and is set to play Glasgow Rangers in the final-16 in February. Mr. Riquelme was also an important player of an Argentinian national team that had an excellent spring, becoming the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup after a marvelous 3-1 victory against Brazil, where Mr. Riquelme scored the second goal.

• 7) Michael Essien: His marvelous performance in Olympique Lyon in the spring, was rewarded with a highly anticipated change to Chelsea. In the London-team he has been an important defensive player, although his imagine has been tarnished by his recent violent tackles, particularly the one on Didi Hamann. However, it does not take away that he has had a wonderful year. He was furthermore an important player on the Ghana national team that qualified for its first World Cup ever.

• 6) Frank Lampard: Frank Lampard was also on last year's list. He has continued playing excellent on a Chelsea side that seems un-beatable. Also on the English national team, he has been one of the better-performing players on a team that had some difficulty qualifying for the World Cup.

• 5) Samuel Eto'o: Topscorer of last season's Spanish league with Barcelona, as well as the leading scorer at the end of the season, he has been another of the important player's on the great Catalan team this year. On another front, the World Cup dream faded for him and Cameroun, so he will be one of the missed great players next year in Germany.

• 4) Juninho: Has been marvelous in the strong Olympique Lyon team. They have been French champions as well as very strong in the Champions League, where a memorable 3-0 victory against Real Madrid gave them an early lead in a group they easily won. Mr. Juninho is probably the best free-kicker in the world at the moment, and in February, we will see his magic against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

• 3) Steven Gerrard: This was a marvelous year for Steven Gerrard. He was the captain of Liverpool's amazing victory in the Champions League final. There was much talk of him changing to a "bigger" club, but he has fortunately stayed in Liverpool. He has continued playing very well into the new season, and will be an important player as Liverpool try to defend their title, as well as for the English side in the World Cup.

• 2) Adriano: The Brazilian striker in Inter Milan is surely the best striker in the world at the moment. He scores many goals in the Italian league as well as in the Champions League. For Brazil he has also become the main striker, and he is specially remembered for his marvelous strike against Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup this summer.

• 1) Ronaldinho: The Brazilian was also top of my list in 2004. He has continued as a super-player this year, and now the titles have begun coming: with Barcelona he won the Spanish title, and with Brazil he both qualified for the World Cup and won the 2005 Confederations Cup. There is no doubt Mr. Ronaldinho will be a key player in both Barcelona and Brazil as they contend for Spanish title, Champions League and World Cup in 2006.

The list is as always difficult to complete, and is of course my own personal opinion. I would like to hear others though!

Confederations Cup: Brazil-Greece

I am currently on vacation. As usual, I am very bored. At least, there is the Confederations Cup to waste my time with. So far, every team has been a disappointment, except one: the defending World Champions of Brazil. Tonight they showed why South America is still completely dominant when it comes to football, by giving the European Champions from Greece a true footballing lesson. 3-0, with strikes from Inter's Adriano, Santos' Robinho and Lyon's Juninho, does not really do justice to the huge qualitative difference between the two teams.
While I hope that other teams will start showing what they are able to do, Brazil is so far the only one worth wasting my vacation on!