Eintracht Frankfurt Champions

The two teams playing the Europa League final today are not usually considered amongst Europe's best, but both sides were deservedly in the final after a strong campaign.

On the one hand Eintracht Frankfurt may not have had a strong Bundesliga season, but they have shined in the Europa league: they won their group undefeated and went on to defeat Betis (Copa del Rey champions), FC Barcelona and West Ham to make it to the final.

On the other hand Glasgow Rangers had only finished second in their group, but went on to eliminated Borussia Dortmund, Red Star Belgrade, Braga and RB Leipzig.

Frankfurt seemed to have the edge at the start of the match, but it was Rangers who went ahead in the second half on a goal by Joe Aribo after some clumsy mistakes in the German defense. But only 10 minutes later Frankfurt deservedly equalised on a goal by the Colombian striker Rafael Santos Borré. The match ended 1-1, and despite chances to both sides, the game went into a nerve-wrecking penalty contest. 

It is often said the stars miss the crucial penalties, and in this case it was Rangers' star Aaron Ramsey who missed the penalty in an extremely poor shot. Rafael Santos Borré scored the final winning penalty, and ended up being the star for Eintracht Frankfurt's first international title since they won the UEFA Cup in 1980!

Pathetic Glasgow Rangers

In last seasons' UEFA Cup final the Russians of Zenit St. Petersburg were far superior to a poor Glasgow Rangers side.
With a new Champions League season starting, Glasgow Rangers had the opportunity to get a qualifier against the Danish champions AaB - all they had to do was defeat the Lithuanian champions, FBK Kaunas. One would expect that for a team like Glasgow Rangers this should not even be an issue, but in one of the first surprises of this seasons Champions League, the Lithuanians eliminated the UEFA Cup finalists.
On the one hand it is positive that we will have a team in the Champions League from such puny leagues as the Danish or Lithuanian, on the other hand it is pathetic that Glasgow Rangers can't manage to go through (all due respect to the Lithuanians).

Zenit St. Petersburg UEFA Cup Champions

One can only imagine the amounts of beer and vodka being drunk today in Manchester, as thousands of fans of Glasgow Rangers and Zenit St. Petersburg decended upon the English city to see their teams clash in the 2008 UEFA Cup final.
In reality, there was only one team on the pitch: the Russians deservedly won their first European title. They were far superior in every facet of the game to the overly defensive and boring Scots, and it was a victory for football that Zenit St. Petersburg won.
I must admit that I know little of the Russian team; first time I heard about them was last year, when they won the Russian league, and after a poor start in the UEFA cup, I don't think anybody would have expected them to win. But the team under Dick Advocaat has been impressive, in particularly against Bayern Munich, which was the first time I had the pleasure to watch them play.
I am certain that this is not the last time we have heard about the Russian team, but I will also be looking forward to seeing more of their players at this summer's European Championship, and against some better teams in next season's Champions League.
Until them, congratulations to Zenit, their fans, and cheers in vodka!

Olympique Lyon trashing Rangers

With all due respect to the many great fans of Glasgow Rangers, I must admit that I much prefer to see Olypique Lyon in the last-16 of the Champions League. I have for long admired the French champions, and in particular their deadly attacking weapon in the form of Juninho.
Nevertheless, I was expecting an all-exciting match tonight in Glasgow, where a tie would be enough to send Rangers through, after their (surprising) trashing of the French in Lyon earlier this year.
Although the early goal somewhat changed the game, and Rangers managed to put a steady pressure, besides one huge chance, it never really felt like Rangers would pull the trick. Instead, their defence was looking more and more shaky amid Lyon's deadly conterattacks, led by a marvelous young Benzema (I had never actually before seen him play, but I was overly impressed).
It is a pity for Rangers and their great fans, as they will be missed in the last-16. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to see the marvelous Lyon side, which surely will be a difficult adversary for any team.
Until next years Rangers!

Champions League

I was working; I was out in the bush, talking I don't know about what to some poor Africans. And I tell ya'all: seeing the results didn't excite me too much:

• Valencia lost to Roseborg (of all teams!)
• Liverpool is messing it all up by losing to Besiktas
• Chelsea beat Schalke
• Real Madrid defeated Olympiakos 4-2 even though being down 1-2
• Arsenal cruised through to a 7-0 (!) vistory against Sparta Prague.
• Inter defeated CSKA Moscow in Moscow.
• Roma defeated Sporting Lisbon 2-1.
  

On more positive news, Rangers continued being great by tying Barcelona 0-0; Sevilla beat Steaua Bucharest; Marseille tied FC Porto 1-1 and are in the game, and Manchester United defeated Dynamo Kiev away.

Loads of interesting matches! Hope I will be around to watch on 6-7 November!