Nerves before the Fury!!

After much consideration i've decided to write my latest entry on the eve of a big night of football. Depending on results, i'll possibly do 1 more before i go away to spain for 7 days.

Anyhoo, all the nerves and tension that comes with a quarterfinal appearance is upon me. For whatever reason (if any are logical!!) i can't see Barca just merely strolling through Milan. Milan have an old team nowadays and the fact Thiago Silva will be missing for them can only be seen as a bonus for the Blaugrana. BUT, and its a huge BUT, Milano have some exciting talent going forwards and they appear to be fit for this match. The class act that is Seedorf is back fit, KP Boateng is unusual in style but highly effective and Robinho back fit again. Of course i've left the cream of their crop till last......Zlatan Ibrahimovic. This is a controversial footballer over the past 10 years or so, however he still remains one of my players to watch. His workrate is laughable but his skill and touch is magical. For whatever reason at Barca, it didn't work out for him but don't assume he's taken a step backwards moving to Milan. He's merely gone back to a country he loves, a style of football that suits and the general Italian public have taken to him.

Barca will have the usual suspects lurking with intent in Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc etc etc. Oh yeah and a little man called Messi. Enough has been said by me about him and his standing in the game. This is just another game for him and my money will be on Milan doing all they can to put him out of the 2nd leg next week.

The other crucial match tonight is a small derby match from my home county.....Sheffield United (the pigs, blunts, grunters etc) vs Chesterfield. Chessie are coming off a huge win for them at Wembley in the JP Trophy and surely confidence will be sky high for their 1st league game since. Its a MASSIVE match for us Sheffield Wednesday fans as this is, yet again, a game in hand the pigs have on us. If they win or draw then they move back above us in the hunt for promotion. If they lose (please dear lord) then we stay above them and are equal on games played. This is why it is huge tonight.

My Canucks team also play tonight and as the regular season draws to a close, momentum has to be taken into the playoffs. We've stumbled a bit over past weeks and our main offensive threat has been put on injury status due to a shocking hit which has resulted in his concussion. From somewhere the nucks have got to get the scoring machine running again and after a huge win vs the Kings (thanks to Luongo's masterclass!) my bet is on us now going on a run.

Adios amigos

Well, well, well
Just a couple of days ago i started this blog and finished the first post talking about Lionel Messi. Its just a few hours since 'the flea' broke Cesar's goalscoring record for FC Barcelona and i thought i'd take a small moment of my time to write a little congrats note. Well done Leo!!!! At the age of 24 and becoming the all-time top goalscorer for a club as large as Barca, is truely a stunning feat. How many more will he score?? How many hat tricks will he score in his career? These are all questions that will now be asked of him but the question that really pisses me off is: When will he win a World Cup?? What nonsense is this!! He has won 3 champions league's and, to me, they are just as difficult as winning a world cup (maybe even more so). True Legend

And a little note on my first love, Sheffield Wednesday. After a fantastic performance and victory last saturday we came crashing back down to earth with a bump last night. We lacked any sort of belief which is surprising and we didnt seem to have any sort of gameplan after we conceded. Somehow we managed to scramble a draw but for a side wanting promotion, i don't think a draw was good enough. Anyway, the great thing about sport is in a few days they will all have an opportunity to add, or make amends.

Ciao

So here we go. First post of my new blog!! How terribly exciting!
Firstly just let me pass on my thoughts and prayers for a young footballer who is fighting for his life in London: Fabrice Muamba. He collapsed onto the ground during a football match between Bolton (his club) and Spurs. Thankfully the paramedics got to him quickly and did everything they could to keep him here. He's now fighting for his life so i'd like to say Keep Fighting Fabrice!!

This is a bit cheeky of me but first blog nerves are getting the better of me, so.......

Lastly, i'd like to have my say over a discussion i have had with friends. Whether Lionel Messi is the greatest ever?? Let me just say, that i believe he is the best of his generation, we cannot and must not say he is the best ever. Or even he might be the best ever. Football is all about generations, from the great teams of the past to the current best. All you can ever be is the best of your time and that's where i would place Messi. He's special, talented but lets not forget he plays in the best current team aswell. The likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, David Villa, Carles Puyol etc etc help him on a daily basis and no 1 man can ever win a match. Its a team sport made up of workers brushed with talent. The thing that makes Messi stand out is his standing as a human being. For a man of 24 he is as level headed and down to earth as any 'superstar' of sport. In 5 years time, will we have another to talk about like Messi?

Ciao for now
PS