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The Galloping Major is dead . Yes friends, the legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas is no more. He died today at 6 am GMT in a Budapest hospital, having been in intensive care since the 13th of September. He was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease since the dawn of the 21st century.

The man is as revered in the world of soccer as Don Bradman in the game of cricket. He was born on the 2nd of April 1927. That year was also the year when Cardiff City won the FA Cup, the only non -English club to do so.  A possible indicator that the baby was definitely going to make waves in the footballing world.

Puskas started off with Hungarian club Kispest, which later became Honved after it was taken over the Hungarian ministry of Defence. He helped the club to 5 Hungarian league titles, and was top scorer in any league in Europe in1948 with 50 goals. He had a thunderous left foot which repeatedly found the back of the net, and his presence on the pitch always signalled trouble for opposition defenders.

Puskas scored on his national debut in a 5-2 win against Austria. He played 84 games and scored 83, averaging almost a goal a game. Along with Zoltan Czibor, Sandor Kocsis, Jozsef Bozsik, Puskas formed the core of the Hungarian team which dominated world football in the late fourties and early fifties. Their dazzling tyle of play led them to be called the Magic Magyars and they are widely regarded as the best team never to have won a World Cup. Puskas led his side to the gold medal in the 52 Olympics in Helsinki. The English team of the 50’s will not have too many fond memories of them for the Magic Magyars hammered them 6-3 and 7-1 in England, thereby becoming the first foreign team to beat England twice in their own den. They had an unbeaten 32 game run which was halted in the 1954 World Cup final where they lost to the Germans. Puskas , despite no being fully fit scored once, and had a goal disallowed 2 minutes before the final whistle.

The Hungarian revolution in 1956, just before the home leg against Athletic Bilbao in the first round of the European Cup made Puskas leave Hungary. He faced a FIFA ban for the next two years which made his few games played for Espanyol unofficial. At the age of 31, he joined the Los Merengues in Madrid. He and Alfredo di Stefano formed a lethal striking combination and opposition defenders ran for cover as goals started to rain for Real Madrid from all directions.

He scored 4 in the 1960 European cup final, a 7-3 win over German club Eimtracht Frankfurt, a game considered to be one of the best in European history. He won 4 ” Pichichis” for Real Madrid, and went on to become one of the club legends. He also scored 2 hattricks against the club’s most famous rival,FC Barcelona.

Puskas also played for Spain in the 1962 World Cup, where he did not manage to score.

Puskas guided Panathanaikos to the European Cup final in 1971 as manager, and also went on to coach his beloved Hungary.

He was voted as the 20th Century’s sixth best player by the International Federation for Footballing History and Statistics.

Adieu Puskas Ocsi…You will be forever in our hearts.

Real Madrid 1-0 Steaua Bucharest( Banel Nicolita OG)

Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 Dinamo Kiev (Karim Benzema)

The two results mean that Group E’s qualifiers are determined- RM and Lyon go through.Lyon are yet to concede a goal this season in the CL.
Man Utd 0-1 FC Copenhagen ( Marcus Allback) 

Benfica 3-0 Celtic ( Caldwell OG, Nuno Gomes, Karyaka) 

Bad day for both British sides. Benfica are now two points away from Celtic. Gary Caldwell had an absolute nightmare of a game. Swedish striker Marcus Allback , with his and Copenhagen’s first goal in the CL, ensures that United still have work to do.

CSKA 0-0 Arsenal

FC Porto 3-1 Hamburg ( Gonzalez, Lopez, Bruno Moraes/ Rafael Van derVaart) 

CSKA stay on top of the group, with Porto and Arsenal equal on points. One tough group this one….

AC Milan 4-1 Anderlecht ( Kaka*3,  Gilardino/ Juhasz)

AEK 1-0 Lille ( Liberopoulos) 

 Milan have almost assured themselves of a spot in the last 16 with this win. AEK keep their hopes alive by winning in Athens.

  I received a lot of hits from the king of search engines from users wanting a review of the game. They were actually directed to my review of the leg at Stamford Bridge. Anyway here we go with a review of the game at Nou Camp.

The Nou Camp can be a difficult place to play in, especially for visiting teams, more so if they are English. No English team has ever won on Catalan soil FYI . And at the end of the game, Drog the Dog’s injury time equaliser robbed Barcelona of a win and ensured that the Blues stayed on top of Group A. Drogba was the same man who found the back of the net a fortnight ago at the Bridge, and the Ivory Coast striker slid the ball past Valdes in the dying seconds, with John Terry assisting .

The game was an ill tempered one, with 10 yellow cards being flashed. 6 of them went to Chelsea, and one of them ensured that Frank Lampard will not play on matchday 5.

Barcelona took the lead through Portuguese midfielder Deco in the third minute, who dashed down the left, cut in and sent a right footed shot past Hilario. Hilario then produced a superb save from a Xavi shot, which was made by a Ronaldinho pass. Valdes himself  saved Arjen Robben and Michael Essien’s efforts to keep the Catalans ahead. Referee Stefano Farina had a hard time in the first half, with tackles and pushes all over the place. Barcelona even thought Ashley Cole should have been sent off, but it later emerged that his supposed to be first card was for Lampard.

Frank Lampard equalised for Chelsea in the 51st minute, producing an splendid chip over Victor Valdes  from the tightest of angles. But Barcelona took the lead only 6 minutes later through former Blues player Eidur Gudjohnsen. Ronaldinho skipped past Boulahrouz on the left flank, and sent in a cross for the Icelandic striker to find the net from close range.

Gudjohnsen however, was stretchered off the field 15 minutes from time, after a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho lead to him falling awkwardly.

Drogba’s goal means that Bremen, who won 3-0 at Levski Sofia, are ahead by 2 points from Barcelona. Riijkard’s side will now have their work cut out to qualify from Group A

Click here for the review of the game on October 31: FC Barcelona vs Chelsea review

This game was one of the most eagerly awaited ones on matchday 3 of the Champions League given the rivalry between these two outstanding teams and their managers– and at the end of it, it was Jose Mourinho who walked off with a smile on his face.

Chelsea played extremely well and thoroughly deserved their victory. They kept the midfield packed and rarely allowed the Catalans to get into the attacking third of the midfield. As soon as a Barcelona player got hold of the ball in the Chelsea half, several Blue shirts would hound him like wolves. As a result, Barcelona never got the space they needed to orchestrate their moves, and they got strangled. They never troubled Chelsea, despite having more possession. Boulahrouz marked Ronaldinho extremely well, and the Brazilian did not have much of an impact on the game. Hilario didn’t have too many saves to make, and the ones he had to didn’t trouble him too much at all, barring the Messi one.

Chelsea were swift on the counterattack, but were guilty of being offside once too many. Drogba’s goal was another excellent strike from the Ivorian, remniscient of the strike against the Reds in the Premiership not too long ago. Shevchenko had a couple of very glorious opportunities to end his drought, but he couldn’t convert them. Earlier in the game, Marquez put in a great last ditch tackle to deny the Ukranian, and later his shot was off target. Chelsea had many chances to double or even triple, but Valdez produced some brilliant saves to keep the margin at 1.

In the end, the better side did win. Kudos to the Blues on their win

Other Champions League results-

Bordeaux 0-1 Liverpool (Peter Crouch)

Galatarasay 1-2 PSV Eindhoven ( Ilic, Jan Kromkamp, Aruna Kone )

Inter Milan 2-1 Spartak Moscow( Julio Cruz*2, Pavluchenko)

Important win for Inter after having lost their first two games.

Olympiakos 0-1 Roma ( Perrotta)

Sporting 0-1 Bayern Munich ( Bastian Schweinsteiger)

Schweinsteiger got sent off too

Valencia 2-0 Shakhtar ( David Villa Sanchez*2)

Werder Bremen 2-0 Levski Sofia ( Naldo, Diego)

This story is about two days old, but my admiration for this man goes back much deeper than that. He belongs to a rare breed, technically gifted midfielders without speed. And with the retirement of “Romy” as Riquelme is called, the best among that rare breed is gone.

Many of you must be aware of the man’s career path. For those who do not , here is a quick recap –Argentinos Juniors-Boca-Barcelona-Villareal.

Riquelme has always performed well under conditions where he is allowed freedom to the play the way he wants and where he is surrounded by people from the place he calls home. It is precisely for this reason that he flourished at Boca and Villareal and was a bit of a misfit at Barcelona. He was brought to the Nou Camp with high expectations, and he did not adjust very fast to the new surroundings, which led to his exit from there. One must also remember that it was his exit which enabled the entry of a certain Ronaldinho from Paris St Germain.

Riquelme is probably best described as a tactical playmaker, possessing immense vision. He does not run past defenders,he splits them with his precise passing. He sees opportunities where others do not, which is the hallmark of a great player.

Because of the way he is, Riquelme either played a prominent role in the Argentinian squad ( 2006) or he doesn’t play at all (2002). He has also been accused of underperforming on big occasions. Fans will remember his missed penalty against Arsenal at El Madrigal in last year’s Champions League semifinal. That kick if convereted could have sent the Yellow Submarines into the final.

Riquelme has cited family reasons for his retirement but he will continue to play for Villareal. Best of luck, Juan and may you continue to weave your magic.

12th September 2006

Group A :

Chelsea 2-0 Werder Bremen ( M.Essien, Michael Ballack)

Barcelona 5-0 Levski Sofia (Andreas Iniesta, Ludovic Giuly, Carles Puyol, Samuel Eto’o. Ronaldinho)

Group B: 

Sporting Lisbon 1-0 Inter (Marco Caniera)

Bayern Munich 4-0 Spartak Moscow (Pizarro, Roque Santa Cruz, Bastian Schweinsteiger,Hasan Salihamidzic )

Group C:

PSV Eindoven 0-0 Liverpool

Galatasaray 0-0 FC Girondins de Bordeaux

Group D: 

Olympiakos Pireaus 2-4 Valencia ( M Konstantinou ,N Castillo//, Fernando Morientes*3, Raul Abiol)

As Roma 4-0 Shakhtar Donetsk ( Rodrigo Taddei, Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi, David Marcelo Cortez Pizarro)

Nothing unexpected from most of the games, except for the loss for Inter. Liverpool’s draw was expected given that PSV were at home and most of the Merseysiders weren’t in their peak condition.

13th September 2006

 Group E :

Dinamo Kiev 1-4 Steaua Bucharest (Serhiy Rebrov//Ghionea, Badea, Niculae Dica*2)

Lyon 2-0 Real Madrid ( Fred, Tiago)

Group F : 

Manchester United 3-2 Celtic ( Louis Saha*2,  Ole Gunnar Solskjaer//Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, Shunsuke Nakamura)

Kobenhavn 0-0 FC Benfica

Group G:

FC Porto 0-0 Spartak Moscow

Arsenal 2-1 Hamburger SV  ( Gilberto Silva, Tomas Rosicky/ Sanogo)

Group H:

Anderlecht 1-1 Lille (Pareja// Fauverque)

AC Milan 3-0 AEK Athens ( Inzaghi, Gourcuff,  Kaka)

Nice to see young Gourcuff net one. United might have well won 7-2 against Celtic if they had taken more of their chances.

And…Real Madrid can’t just appear to break the jinx at the Stade Gerland..can they?? Lyon once more proving that they can beat the best in Europe on their given day.

Sevilla added the European Super Cup when they beat compatriots and Champions League winners Barcelona 3-0 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.

The result came as a bit of an upset for the Catalans ,who were looking for their fourth piece of silverware in as many months. Brazilian midfielder Renato started the scoring in the 6th minute. Former Tottenham striker Frederic Kanoute added a second just before half time. Italian Enzo Moresca scored from the spot 2 minutes from time to seal the victory. Moresca scored 2 when Sevilla thrashed Middlesbrough 4-0 in the Uefa Cup final,which was Steve Mclaren’s last game in charge of the Riverside club.

Group A:

Barcelona

Chelsea

Bremen

Levski Sofia

A mini group of death?? Possible.People would tip Barcelona and Chelsea to go through but do not underestimate Werder Bremen. Bremen have lost Micoud to Bordeaux,but they still have some fine players in Klose,Klasnic,Borowski etc..If Bremen do play upto their potential we could see a surprise in this group

Group B:

Inter Milan

Bayern Munich

Sporting Lisbon

Spartak Moscow

Shouldn’t be much of a headache for the current Italian and German champions to go through. Going to play in the freezing climes of Moscow may represent a challenge though

Group C:

Liverpool

PSV

Bordeaux

Galatasaray

The second spot is up for grabs here.PSV are the sole representatives of the Dutch after FC Copenhagen stunned Ajax . Bordeaux have some good players,Micoud and Denilson being examples. Galatarasay are no newbies to European competition and will be a force to reckon with.

Group D:

Valencia

Roma

Olympiakos

Shakhtar Donetsk

I do not see major problems for Valencia or Roma to go through from this group.I’d back the Greeks to go into the UEFA cup

Group E:

Real Madrid

Lyon

Steaua Bucharest

Dinamo Kiev

Madrid will be keen to avenge their 3-0 loss to hands of Lyon last season.Lyon had an even more heartbreaking exit to the Rossoneri in the quarters last time around.Both of these teams to go through.

Group F:

Manchester United

Celtic

Benfica

FC Copenhagen

Tricky group for United.On paper neither of the remaining three teams have real big names,but as a unit they canplay very effectively. United need to play well to win this. Benfica to take the next spot ahead of Celtic for me.

Group G:

Arsenal

Porto

CSKA Moscow

Hamburg

This IMO is a real group of death. Porto are no bunnies,CSKA were European Cup winners in 2005 and Hamburg are a rising force in the Bundesliga. Arsene Wenger and his boys will have to be very wary of the three other teams.

( edit Arsenal have signed a Brazilian medio by the name of Denilson–http://sportsunlimited.wordpress.com/2006/09/02/arsenal-sign-denilson/)

Group H:

AC Milan

Lille

AEK Athens

Anderlecht

The simplest group,some would say. It definitely looks like that for Milan,who lost at the semifinal stage last season. No major worries for Carlo Ancelotti and a spot in the last 16 is virtually guaranteed. Lille were not at all bad last season in Europe and I back them to make the knockout stages.

Liverpool drew with Maccabi Haifa away 1-1 to go into the group stages on a 3-2 aggregate.The game was not actually a home game for the Israelis though,with it being played in the Ukranian capital of Kiev.

Nir Davidovich put up a fine show in the first half to deny Liverpool and a Peter Crouch goal in the second half calmed their nerves. Robert Colautti equalised 9 minutes later but the Reds held on for a draw.

Other scores:

Osasuna 1-1 Hamburg

R.S.Belgrade 1-  2 AC Milan

Benfica 3- 0 Austria Vienna

Valencia 2-0 Salzburg

Dinamo Zagreb 0—3 Arsenal

After a goalless first half,the Gunners scored thrice in the second half.Cesc Fabregas celebrated his 100th appearance for the Londoners with a brace and Robin Van Persie scored the third

Austria Vienna 1-1 SL Benfica

Nuno Gomes scored for Benfica while Joecyln Blanchard equalised for the Austrians