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With the January transfer window now open, the big question on everyone’s lips remains the same. Will Chelsea FC sign any players during the window? Their team is nowhere near full strength at the moment, and with an aging squad the problem may only get worse. In my opinion, they need to sign a couple of players at least. Due to their transfer embargo they won’t be able to sign any players until 2011 otherwise.

Their best players are out of action right now. Drogba (their best striker), Kalou, Mikel John Obi and Essien (their best defensive midfielder) are all at the African Cup of Nations for the entire month of January, and Nicholas Anelka (their second best striker) is out with an injury he recently picked up whilst training. Many fans have been left bewildered by Chelsea Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s comments that he would ‘streak on the pitch’ if he signed any players during this transfer window.

That being said, they are top of the English Premier League, so maybe Carlo Ancelotti (who is, lest we forget a proven winner wherever he’s been) knows exactly what he’s doing. In the F.A. Cup against Watford FC he played the young striker Daniel Sturridge up front and he repaid the manager’s faith in him by scoring two goals in a 5-0 win.

News has leaked out recently that Chelsea are looking to buy Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini from surprise Italian package Sampdoria. The deal would reportedly be for around £22 million pounds, although a potential stumbling block could be that Sampdoria would want Pazzini loaned back to them for the rest of the season.

Unquestionably the player has been a great invest for the Chelsea FC, being a tremendous striker and the type of player who needs no signal on the field to move along, but he is as well again and again in the headlines for polemic issues.

Drogba is bad tempered and has petulant personality. If you think that Rooney’s humor and Cristiano Ronaldo’ super-ego personalities can be difficult, imagine then Drogba’s situation having both Rooney and Ronaldo’s negative qualities.

On the past week, Drogba was charged with violent conduct during a League Cup game against Burnley FC. The problem was that while Burnley fans were throwing objects on the field after Drogba scored, he grabbed one of the objects (a coin) and threw it back at the supporter’s stands. If that was not enough, many saw him making obscene gestures at the people in the stands.

Due to his polemic long soccer trajectory, his case was taken seriously by the FA (Football Association) and after studying videos of the incident and talking to witnesses’ he received a 3 game suspension; as stated in the rule book players should not interact with fans in an aggressive approach.

Unfortunately this is not the first time Drogba is in the eye of the hurricane. During his second season with Chelsea, three years ago, he was accused of cheating to score in an encounter vs. Man City, as he used his hand to run the ball. There is also the issue many rivals have complained about, the «elbowing», which is something apparently he does during matches and thus some alleged he should be punished by FIFA. Back in the 2007/08 season he created chaos in the club after manager José Mourinho was release from duties, telling media he wanted to leave the club as well and complained about the clubs management. If all these problems were not enough on April 2008, he injured Man United’s defender Nemanja Vidi

John Obi Mikel of Nigeria and Lionel Messi of Argentina were both at the world youth championship (FIFA U-20) in Netherlands in 2005, where they both shone like a Million Stars, to the delight of soccer fans the world over.

Both players played as creative/attacking midfielders for their countries at the youth championship. Argentina eventually defeated Nigeria by 2-1 at the final to win the trophy; and Lionel Messi emerged the world’s best player, while John Obi Mikel was voted second best player at the U-20 level.

Five years after, the gulf between the two players has widened so much that one begins to wonder what has happened. The Argentine went to FC Barcelona thereafter and developed his skills further to the point of wining several domestic titles, 2 champions’ league titles, 1 club world cup, 1 Olympics gold medal, European footballer of the year, world footballer of the year, etc.

But the Nigerian made the mistake of his career by allowing his father to influence him in choosing to go to Chelsea FC of England. The only achievement he can boast of till date include a few FA cups, Carling cups and community shield cup. He just won his first league title with Chelsea this year.

What went wrong?

Lionel Messi carefully chose a club side that allowed him to develop further, and brought out the best in him. John Obi Mikel, on the other hand refused a bid from Manchester United that would have enabled him maintain his position as an attacking midfielder and develop his skills further. Instead, he chose to go to Chelsea FC because of the money involved. On getting to Chelsea, Coach Jose Maurinho turned him into a defensive midfielder, and his skills nosedived. During the period he has stayed in Chelsea, Man U has won 3 league titles, 1 club world cup, 1 champions’ league title, etc. Today, he regrets his decision: he would have won 3 league titles, 1 champions’ league, 1 club world cup, several FA cups and Carling cups by now with Man U. He would have also had the opportunity to shine better than he is doing right now and perhaps be close to Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi in terms of skill. But today, he is not in the top 50 players’ list. What an Irony!

In choosing a career, one should not consider only the monetary aspect; one should think of one’s opportunity to develop further, and when the place you intend to develop your career does not guarantee you that chance, you should look elsewhere.

Besides, you should not allow anybody to influence you when it comes to choosing your career. You know what you want; why don’t you go for that which would give you satisfaction? If you make any mistakes from the onset, you may end up regretting for life.

Arguably two of the best footballers of the current decade, both are, at glance, very similar players. They’re both attackers, great with a ball, and both play for a Spanish club. However there can only be one winner, so here’s the comparison: Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi

Lionel is only 24 years old and currently plays for fc Barcelona. Born in Rosario, Messi started playing football at the age of 5, under his father’s wings, at a local club. He then rolled into the Barca youth team where he worked his way up from C-B teams to the main squad in rapid pace. His debut in the highest class of football began at the age of 16, during a friendly against FC Porto.

Now in 2011 it’s time to analyse his style of play and it becomes crystal clear that he’s a master with the ball. Thanks to his short length and fast legs, any opponent will have a hard time keeping up with him. However unlike most magicians, he’s also a terrific team player.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano is 26 years old and is a Real Madrid player. Ronaldo started his career at Sporting (2002) and in 2003 he guided his team to a win against the big Manchester United. The players of Man U knew that they would rather play with him than against him, so they contracted Ronaldo for the start of the 2003 season. After countless of successes, he became the most expensive player ever when he transferred to Real Madrid in June of 2009, the price: 94 million euro.

Ronaldo is a very fast and strong player. He took sprint lessons from the Olympics champion and is clearly a player «from the streets», pulling more tricks with a ball than any party clown could ever aim for. This quality is further emphasised by a great shooting technique that makes him an excellent asset during set pieces.

Versus

Now it’s time to compare the two players and pinpoint a winner, in my respectful opinion. First it’s clear that both players are terrific assets to any team, and both share a lot of qualities. For one they can both outplay several opponents and make a difference when the opposition is tight.

However a winner has to be chosen and in my opinion that winner is Cristiano Ronaldo. At this point Messi might have the edge on the field, but Ronaldo has great free kicks and is clearly stronger physically. The trade off being that Messi is the better team player. I remember Ronaldo when he played for Manchester United and back then he was, without a doubt, the best player in the world. His way of attacking suited the wing-play of Manchester United perfectly, and while less obvious in Madrid’s style of play, his past years are to be considered. Also in Ronaldo’s favour is his great charisma off the pitch. Messi is a pure footballer and doesn’t have that same level of personality away from the field, something past greats (Cruijff, Maradona) did have.

And that’s it for this comparison. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi share a lot of qualities; especially the ball technique of both is ground breaking. And while Messi currently has the edge, in my opinion Ronaldo is the more complete footballer in the long haul, not partly thanks to his great charisma both on and off the pitch. However they’re both very young so in the coming years this slight favour can definitely swing both ways.

Ronaldo vs Messi

Firm followers of UEFA competitions and most especially the Champions League, can attest to the reality that there have been EPL sides in the semi-final of the champions league for the previous six seasons i.e. 2003-2009.
In the past six seasons, EPL sides regular in the champions league (Liverpool FC, Manchester United FC, Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC) have all some way featured in the semi-final of the champions league in the past six seasons, which made English and even foreigners marvel at their absence this season, in the semi-final of Europe’s elite club competition.

In 2005, Liverpool (the all red) and Chelsea (the true blues) locked horns in an entertaining semi-final with both sides led by managers who have managed his team for barely two seasons, Liverpool went on to win the encounter, after a closely contested semi-final match. Liverpool eventually emerged triumphant in that year’s Champions league, after defeating Ac-Milan in an epic final which saw one of the greatest comebacks in football history, 3-0 to 3-3 and then victory.

The proceeding year, Arsenal featured in both the Semi-final and final of the Champions league, to mark a turn-around in their footballing history, but were not so lucky to win the trophy after only qualifying for their first final match in the champions league. They battled with Barcelona in that year’s final, i.e. 2006 final, but got beaten by 2 goals to 1, with Jens Lehmann sent off in that match.

In 2007, Liverpool and Chelsea once again were drawn to do battle in the semi-final of the 2006/2007 season. With the first leg drawn to be played at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea had the opportunity of progressing, and they took full advantage of the home factor by defeating Liverpool by a lone goal after a highly contested fixture. At Anfield, Liverpool played with caution while also surging forward in search for the goal that will put them on level terms with Chelsea, luckily for Liverpool the goal came. A low cross from Steven «general» Gerard found an unmarked Daniel Agger, who sliced the ball through the bodies of Chelsea players and bang into the net early in the first half. Liverpool preserved the one goal lead even after 90 minutes until the extra time was over, then it was time for the ultimate decider; penalty kicks, Pepe Reina was the hero of the day as he saved the deciding spot kick to send Liverpool into the final for the second time in three seasons and a replay of 2005 final with AC-Milan, that dispatched Manchester United in the other semi-final clash by 5 goals to 3 on aggregate.

The final was a highly anticipated one, as two of Europe’s power houses in club football go head-to-head to decide the winner of the 2007 Champions League, eventually two Pippo Inzaghi goals, which made him the highest goal scorer in the Champions league, won Ac Milan the trophy for the seventh time in their footballing history.

The following year saw the best from English teams in the Champions League. All four English representatives made it to the quarter final, with three (Liverpool, after ousting Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United) out of the four progressing onto the semi-final, Liverpool were eventually dumped by fellow English team Chelsea. The progression of Chelsea into the final in 2008 was the first time they were playing in the Champions League’s final; they battled with Manchester United for the coveted trophy, matched United strength for strength, skill for skill, technique for technique, but were just unlucky to miss out in the spot kicks, as United went on to win their third and Sir Alex Ferguson’s second UEFA Champions League trophy, which also aided Cristiano Ronaldo in winning the world player of the year award.

The year 2009, saw a different football style displayed by a team. 2009 Champions League was won by Barcelona of Spain, after showing the footballing world how the game should be played; neat defending, accurate passing, and clinical finishing: characterized the play of Barcelona en-route to winning the trophy for the third time in their history, after triumphs in 1992 and 2006.

2010 came with a lot of promise for the English sides, after bright starts from all the sides in their respective groups; Liverpool won its first game against Debrecen at Anfield, by a lone goal scored by Dirk Kuyt, which made him the club’s third highest goal scorer in Europe with 12 goal to his name. Chelsea also won its first game against FC Porto by a lone goal scored Nicolas Anelka, in a dull encounter due to the water soaked pitch.

Manchester United didn’t do badly in its first game; same was the case for Arsenal, all the English representatives representing well to the delight of English stalwarts. Things started becoming shaky as the competition progressed further to its crucial stage. Liverpool were ousted very early in the competition, as they were ousted in the group phase, even before the last group game. The victory of Fiorentina over Olympique Lyonnais in the game before the last, meant Liverpool were forced to the Europa league were they have solace recently, making an impressive run to the semi-final, having not scored lower than three goals on aggregate in the previous rounds, i.e. round of 32, round of 16 and quarter final, which has earned them a clash with Athletico Madrid away in Spain.

Chelsea were next up for elimination, after a partly successful run in the group onto the round of 16. Chelsea had great scares during a few of their group phase games, Athletico Madrid away in Spain was one those, where they had to settle for a 2 all draw after going through Didier Drogba, only to see a Sergio Diego Aguero brace give Athletico the lead, but Drogba proved to be very clinical in finishing when he slotted his second past Athletico’s goal. The most surprising of Chelsea’s group phase result came on the last day of the group. Apoel Nicosia making only its debut in the Champions League held all conquering Chelsea, with a full first team squad, to a 2 all draw at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal had the most impressive group phase performance where they picked up 16 of the 18 available points in a group which consisted of Olympiakos, Standard Liege, and Az Alkmaar, which are low pedigree teams with frequent Champions League due to inability to make it through the preliminary.

Manchester United, I would say, had an indifferent group campaign. Had a great start, but flattered during the crucial mid games, needed the last game to confirm qualification but put threw any doubts into the thrash after a Michael Owen hat-trick cancelled out Edin Dzeko’s opening goal, for VFL Wolfsburg at Old Trafford.

With the progression of three tops teams from England into the round of 16, hopes and expectation were extremely high. The English teams, however, didn’t get the perfect draws, Chelsea were billed to face Inter-Milan, tutored by Jose Mourinho, Manchester United drawn to do battle with 7 times European champions, Ac-Milan, and Arsenal getting a re-match of the 2009 group game against Porto Fc, 2004 winners.

The first legs saw the English teams face real test of strength, skill and technique.

Manchester United were tested for all the mentioned above against Ac-Milan, first in Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro and then in Old Trafford, but then they emerged victorious on both legs, winning 7-2 on aggregate, with Wayne Rooney scoring four of the seven goals, i.e. 2 goals in each leg.

Arsenal had a similar situation, against Fc Porto, the Portuguese representatives giving them a good run for their money, most especially in Portugal, where the first leg was hosted, which Fc Porto won by 2 goals to 1, in a match which Porto’s second goal by Falcao, was a bit controversial, appearing to be an offside goal.

At Emirates stadium, Arsenal showed no mercy, firing 2 goals past Helton in goal for Porto in quick succession, and at half time, it was Arsenal 2 Porto 1. Porto started brightly in the second half of the game, attacking Arsenal from all angles of the pitch. As the game grew, Arsenal became for more confident, and began playing like the Arsenal we are use to watching in league games. Samri Nasri threw the Emirates into ecstasy, when he dribbled past three Porto defenders and slotted past helpless Helton, who tried to rush out to prevent the goal, but all to no avail. Super sub, Emmanuel Eboue, came on minutes later and sealed the victory, with a clean finish, after he outran the Porto defenders and was set up by Andre Arshavin, with only the keeper to beat, he rounded him neatly before netting Arsenal’s four to cap a fine performance from truly smoking gunners. Nicklas Bendtner, who had earlier netted 2 superb strikes, added a third to mark his first hat trick in his Arsenal career.

It wasn’t a bed of roses for Chelsea neither, as they had to suffer defeats in the hands of Inter-Milan on both legs, which put paid to their Champions League campaign. At the magnificent Giuseppe Meazza, Inter tested Chelsea for wits, work rate and technique, as both teams played out their lives to progress in the competition. Chelsea partly outplayed, but all the «ball possession» could not fetch them the win which they set out to achieve. The ball possession favoured Chelsea in the first leg match, but these were not translated into goals neither were they translated in the goal attempt, shot-on-goal, and so on. Of all the teams which started European campaign in September, Liverpool can be deduced to be the most disappointing of all, due to the fact that it was knocked out in the group phase.

Presently, there are only two English teams in European competition, Liverpool FC and Fulham FC and they both have interesting fixtures in the semi-final, having to face Athletico Madrid and Hamburg, respectively.

There is the possibility of an all English Europa league final, a feat which has not been achieved for over 6 seasons.
The absence of premier league teams In the semi-final of the champions league, in my own estimation, does not connote the fall of the premier league, rather the sole reason is the reality that we have come to face, which is the fact that teams form other countries have sat down and reviewed the methods of English teams, which they have applied, and it has worked magically and very effectively too.

English teams were neither totally outclassed, outpowered nor outplayed, but rather the element of luck was against them, and also the English teams have had a good run in the past, so let other teams enjoy same, so people won’t say the Champions league is an English competition. The English teams will rise up to take what’s rightfully theirs, which is the prestige it has earned over the years, a prestige which in my estimation, is in jeopardy considering the inability of making it to the semi-final of Europe’s elite club competition.

Upon this I settle, the absence of English teams in the semi-final of the champions league is by no means equal to the fall of the premier league, and besides which other league is so unpredictable as the premier league? A league where any team can beat any team, home or away; name the league.