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If you look back to 2002 FIFA World Cup, you can see a talented team in Turkey which ended up winning third place in the tournament, the best ever result by any Turkish team in a major football tournament. Following the success of 2002 world cup, Turkey lost the momentum in the next four years failing to qualify for EURO 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. So, since the dreamy finish at 2002 World Cup, Turkey is going to have their next big tournament in EURO 2008, which begins from 7 June 2008. So, it seems Turkey has got to revive their performance and regain their pride at the big stage. In this mission, Turkey is getting Fatih Terim as coach who in his first spell as Turkey coach led Turkey to qualify for EURO 1996, first time Turkey played in EURO competition. So, Turkish fans are hoping Turkey will revitalize their lost pride in EURO 2008 tournament.

In Euro 2008 tournament, Turkey was drawn in Group A where they will meet host Switzerland, last tournament’s beaten finalists Portugal and Europe’s emerging team Czech Republic. So, it is clear that reaching the knock out stage would not be easy for Turkey, as Portugal and Czech Republic are expected to form a tough challenge for Turkey, while Switzerland might play inspirational football in front of the home crowd. Here, it is noteworthy to mention that Turkey failed to qualify for 2006 World Cup begin lost to Switzerland on away goals. Considering all these things, it is apparent that Turkey has to show a solid performance in order to make it to the next round of EURO 2008.

Turkey in UEFA Euro Competition

This is going to be the third tournament for Turkey in Euro competition, 1996 and 2000 being the previous two tournaments Turkey took part. In 1996, Turkey failed to impress losing all the group stage games without scoring any goals. However, Turkey made a solid come back making the quarter finals thanks to a win, a draw and a defeat in the group stage. However, their run ended in the quarter final, being defeated by Portugal 2-0. So, ahead of Euro 2008, Turkish fans are hoping that Turkey would replicate their Euro 2000 success, if not go beyond.

Fatih Terim announced the 26-men preliminary squad of Turkey for Euro 2008 tournament. Three players will be dropped from the squad when Terim will declare the 23-men squad by May 28. The biggest and surprising omission of the preliminary squad is Turkey’s star striker and their all time leading goal scorer Hakan Sukur. He is one of the star footballers emerged in last one decade in world football. In the absence of Sukur, goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber might wear the captain’s armband during Euro 2008 competition. Here, I am giving the 26-men preliminary squad of Turkey from turks.us:

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahce), Rustu Recber (Besiktas), Tolga Zengin (Trabzonspor).

Defenders: Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sabri Sarioglu (Galatasaray), Gokhan Zan (Besiktas), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Emre Asik (Ankaraspor), Servet Cetin (Galatasaray), Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray), Ugur Boral (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Mehmet Topal (Galatasaray), Tumer Metin (Larissa), Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munchen), Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray), Kazim Kazim (Fenerbahce) Tuncay Sanli (Middlesbrough FC), Arda Turan (Galatasaray), Emre Belozoglu (Newcastle United FC), Yildiray
Basturk (VfB Stuttgart).

Forwards: Gokdeniz Karadeniz (Rubin Kazan), Nihat Kahveci (Villarreal CF), Semih Senturk (Fenerbahce), Halil Altintop (Schalke 04), Mevlut Erdinc (Sochaux).

Striker Nihat Kahveci is perhaps the main strength of Turkish attack. In fact, in absence of Hakan Sukur, Turkish fans will look at Nihat Kahveci to fill up the void left by Sukur. The current Villarreal striker has been regularly scoring in La Liga and finding the goals easy to come by these days. He is in good form which could be a big relief for Turkish fans. There is someone whom you should watch out in Euro 2008: Gokdeniz Karadeniz. This playmaker is currently playing for Russian club Rubin Kazan. Both Gokdeniz and Kahveci are expected to be in the fore front of the Turkish attack. They have a very experienced goalkeeper too. So, the Altintop brothers are also there to serve their best to Turkey in Euro 2008. I think, Turkey has a balanced squad and could be a threat for any side if they can play their natural football. However, the absence of Hakan Sukur could be felt too. Overall, I think, Turkey has a good chance in Euro 2008 tournament.

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Portugal is one of the big names in world football and undoubtedly one of the football powers in Europe. With the kick off day of EURO 2008 approaching, Portugal is now gearing up for winning their first ever title in a major football tournament. Actually, Portugal’s success in international stage was never consistent. In the 60’s, Portugal emerged as a big power thanks to the stars like Eusébio, then in the 80’s they appeared to bounce back in the list of elite names of world football. Finally, Portugal restored their past glory in the last one decade thanks to their widely known ‘Golden Generation’ consisted of the stars like Luis Figo, Rui Costa, Sérgio Conceição, Vítor Baía etc. However, still Portugal has not won any major titles in football. Portugal finished fourth in 2006 FIFA World Cup, which is their second best success after Eusébio’s Portugal became third in 1966 FIFA World Cup. In Euro 2004, Portugal played their first ever final in any major international football tournament, but they failed to win the final being defeated to Greece 1-0. So, Portugal is going to play EURO 2008 as the runner up of its previous competition.

Portugal is drawn in Group A, where they have to face host Switzerland, Czech Republic and Turkey. So, it is sure that Portugal will find it very challenging to make it to the quarter final from this group, though it is true that Portugal starts the tournament as the most favorite in Group A. Portugal got the ticket of EURO 2008 finishing second in Group A of Euro 2008 qualifying round, behind Poland. Czech Republic is considered as a strong side of Europe now, while the third place winner of 2002 World Cup, Turkey, is also a strong competitor for a quarter final place from Group A. Switzerland is the host country who will be inspired by the home fans to play their best. So, Portugal has to face a number of strong challenges to reach the next round of EURO 2008 tournament. Here, I am giving the group stage schedule of Portugal in EURO 2008:

Now, let us have a look at the squad by decaled by Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari for the upcoming Euro 2008 competition. You know that Portugal’s Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is always driven for win and holds a positive outlook always in his style of playing. I think, the 23-men squad he announced recently is perfect for his style of football. There is at least a notable omission. Midfielder Maniche has been opted out of the squad. The former Porto and Benfica midfielder is currently playing on loan at Inter Milan from Athletico Madrid. Though his performance at Inter is not that bad, Scolari was not impressed with his form. The Brazilian coach, I think, has formed a relatively young side ahead of the European championship. The coach denied giving any reason behind the omission of Maniche, who scored a number of important goals for Portugal including the winner in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over Holland in the semi final of Euro 2004, and another winning goal for Portugal against Holland in the quarter final of 2006 world cup. In fact, Scolari dropped about half of the squad played during Euro 2004 tournament.

Well, almost all the members of Portugal’s golden generation have gone into retirement including Luis Figo. So, Euro 2008 is going to be the first major tournament for Portugal with the players of new generation. So, it would be interesting to see if Portugal can continue their momentum that their golden generation brought over the last one decade.

The Portugal squad for Euro 2008 includes a number of young players from U-21 squad. However, the good thing is that most of the young players are not inexperienced vastly because of their vivid presence for the last few seasons in different European domestic leagues. Cristiano Ronaldo is perhaps the main strength of Portugal squad. The winger is now at his prime form becoming the highest goal scorer of English Premier League this season and scored 42 goals overall for Manchester United. Nani is another attacking winger who also had a good season at Manchester United.

Portugal’s main strength lies in their attack. With the likes of Ronaldo and Nani along with experienced players like Nuno Gomes, Simão Sabrosa, Portugal has an excellent front line. Porto striker Ricardo Quaresma, Werder Bremen ‘s Hugo Almeida and Hélder Postiga are young and experienced. Ricardo Quaresma is expected to be a key player for Portugal in the tournament.

In the absence of Figo, it would be very tough to get someone to fill up the gap in the Portugal midfield. However, there are a number of talented players like Deco, Petit, who will retire from international football after the tournament. Ronaldo and Nani will be in the two wings, while Nuno Gomes might play up front or could play as a deep lying midfielder or deep lying centre forward.

Portugal defense consists of some experienced players. Ricardo Carvalho, Fernando Meira could be the main strength in the central defense with the options like Pepe in hand. However, many think that their defense often becomes exposed to the opposition. Miguel, Bruno Alves, Paulo Ferreira and José Bosingwa are the options for right back, while I can see a void in the left back position. I think, this is the main weakness of Portugal squad.

For goalkeeper, I think, Portugal has one of the most formidable keepers in Europe. Ricardo Pereira is specialists for penalty shootouts and he has saved Portugal a number of times in the past at bigger stages. So, I think, with a seemingly problematic defense, Ricardo has to be at his prime during the tournament in order to bring notable success for Portugal in Euro 2008 competition. Here, I am giving the full list of Portugal squad for Euro 2008 from uk.eurosport:

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Real Betis), Quim Silva (Benfica), Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders: Miguel Monteiro (Valencia), Jose Bosingwa (Porto), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Bruno Alves (Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista)

Midfielders: Raul Meireles (Porto), Joao Moutinho (Sporting), Deco (Barcelona), Armando Petit (Benfica), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Nani (Manchester United)

Forwards: Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Ricardo Quaresma (Porto), Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Helder Postiga (Panathinaikos)

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EURO 2008 gets underway from 7 June 2008. After FIFA World Cup, ERUO is considered to be the most popular and highlighted football tournaments across the world. EURO 2008 will be organized jointly in Austria and Switzerland. This the second time, the most popular European football tournament is going to be hosted by two countries, after EURO 2000 being held jointly by Belgium and Netherlands.

There will be 16 teams in the competition, and except Austria and Switzerland, who automatically qualified for the tournament, all other 14 teams have gone through the qualifying round to reach the final of EURO 2008. The participating teams will be divided into four groups of four teams in the group stage. Two teams from each group will make it to the quarter final of EURO 2008. From the quarter final stage, the tournament will follow knock out system.

Here, in this blog we will be reviewing the squads of all the 16 participating teams of EURO 2008 before the tournament kicks off. In this post, I am going to review the squad of Czech Republic:

Czech Republic may not be a football power in the world, but in Europe, they are considered as one of the good sides. Czech Republic’s performance in the recent EURO tournaments is excellent. Czech Republic started emerging as a high profile side in Europe since they reached the final of 1996 EURO competition where they were beaten by. However, they failed to impress four years later in EURO 2000, but again they bounced back in EURO 2004 reaching the semi final of the tournament. However, their performance in FIFA World Cup is not up to the mark as they could not even get into the second round of 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Czech Republic is placed in Group A of EURO 2008 along with host Switzerland, Portugal and Turkey. So, it is, for sure, that this would not be easy for Czech Republic to become one of the two teams to enter into the quarter final from Group A. With Portugal being the most favorite in the group, it seems that Turkey would be the main competitor of Czech Republic for the second place in the group. Well, you should not forget that Czech Republic was the champion of Group D in EURO 2008 qualifying round, leaving European giant Germany in the second place. So, you can not say that last tournament’s beaten finalist Portugal is guaranteed the top place in Group A. Moreover, Switzerland will try their best to get into the next round as they have home advantage in the tournament. So, it seems that Czech Republic will have to play their best to secure a place in the quarter final. Now, let us have a look at the 23-man squad of Czech Republic for the tournament.

If you are a fan of Czech Republic, then it is definitely bad news for you to know that Czech Republic will be without their regular captain Tomas Rosicky, who underwent a surgery to his knee recently. The side will also miss their star player Pavel Nedved, who failed to impress Coach Karel Brueckner to make it to the 23-men primary squad. Last but not the least; Czech Republic midfielder Daniel Pudil has been out of the tournament being fallen in an injury, even though he was able to win a place in the 23-men squad. Karel Brueckner has called Rudolf Skacel to replace Daniel Pudil in the primary squad. The final squad will be announced on May 28. Here, I am giving the list of the 23-men primary squad of Czech Republic for EURO 2008 from socceramerica website:

CZECH ROSTER:
Goalkeepers: Jaromir Blazek (Nuremberg, Germany), Petr Cech (Chelsea, England), Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht, Belgium).
Defenders: Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, Italy), Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan, Italy), Michal Kadlec (Sparta Prague), Tomas Sivok (Sparta Prague), Radoslav Kovac (Spartak Moscow), Zdenek Pospech (FC Copenhagen, Denmark), David Rozehnal (Lazio, Italy), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina, Italy)
Midfielders: Tomas Galasek (Nuremberg, Germany), David Jarolim (Hamburg, Germany), Marek Matejovsky (Reading, England), Jaroslav Plasil (Osasuna, Spain), Jan Polak (Anderlecht, Belgium), Rudolf Skacel (Hertha BSC Berlin on loan from Southampton), Libor Sionko (FC Copenhagen, Denmark), Stanislav Vlcek (Anderlecht, Belgium).
Strikers: Milan Baros (Portsmouth, England), Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Jan Koller (Nuremberg, Germany), Vaclav Sverkos (Banik Ostrava).

The only new face in primary squad is Banik Ostrava striker Vaclav Sverkos. There are some high profile footballers in the squad, despite the absent of Rosicky and Nedved. Goal keeper Petr Cech is experienced and could be impressive in the goal. Newcastle United defender David Rozehnal, midfielder Marek Matejovsky (Reading) are very successful in their club career. If you are an avid fan of football, then you may not need any introduction for striker Milan Baros, who is currently playing for Portsmouth on loan from Olympique Lyonnais. The former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker is going to lead Czech Republic attack in the tournament. Fellow striker Martin Fenin is very talented and has all the quality to watch out during the tournament. Though he has not got his first goal for Czech Republic, the 21-year old could get it at the big stage of EURO 2008.

Czech Republic is going to play a friendly match against Lithuania at home before coach Brueckner declares the final squad. Now, let us see who will be in the final squad of Czech Republic for EURO 2008. Let’s wait and see who are going to impress Coach Karel Brueckner.

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Thrilling, exciting, mind blowing, nail beating, what else you can find to term the match by. The first ‘all English’ Champions League final will, for sure, be remembered by the football fans for many years, not only for being ‘all English’ final, but also for the excitement and thrill it created among the players and fans from the beginning to the end. Manchester United has won the third Champions League title, second under Sir Alex Ferguson, beating English Premier League rival Chelsea in penalty shoot out.

From the very beginning both the clubs tried to dominate the match and fans of both sides were treated with flurry of attacks on every now and then. It was too difficult to say which team was dominating when during the first half. Cristiano Ronaldo opened scoring in the 26^th minute, when his superb header took Chelsea net, giving no chance to goal keeper Petr Cech. Thanks to the well-executed head of Ronaldo, it seemed Manchester United was going to dominate in the match. However, Chelsea continued attacking Manchester United half with creating a number of chances, but lacked well execution. It was not until 45 minute, Chelsea got the equalizer thanks to English midfielder Frank Lampard.

To be honest, the second half seemed a bit less dramatic compared to the first half, though both sides tried their best to create chances. Once, Manchester United hit Chelsea post. Didier Drogba was threatening in the Manchester United half consistently, but Ferdinand, Vidic were up to the mark to restrict the Ivorian striker. However, the best chance of the second half came for Manchester United, when a Ryan Giggs shot was unbelievingly saved by Chelsea captain John Terry. Actually, I did not see many saves like this by a centre defender that Terry did during the second half of the match. That time, who knew that Terry was going to turn into the villain of the night in the end. The math remained 1-1 till the full time and entered into extra time.

Attacking, counter-attacking continued from both sides in the extra time. A shot again hit the goal post, but this time Chelsea was unlucky as Drogba’s shot was restricted by Manchester United goal bar. In the 25^th minute of Extra Time, Drogba was sent off following a physical clash with an opposition player. Chelsea turned into a 10 men team. Extra Time finished too, but score remained 1-1.

More of drama was still left until then. Both the club missed one of the first five penalty shoot outs. Cristiano Ronaldo missed Manchester United’s third shot with a poor taking. Then comes another part of the drama, when John Terry missed the last shot of Chelsea, which would have brought the first ever Champions League title for Chelsea. Terry could not take the shot properly, being slipped a bit the moment before taking the shot, consequently Van der Sar stopped it easily. So, the match entered into sudden death and it created a deadly experience for Chelsea captain John Terry, who left the field crying at the end of the match. In sudden death, both sides scored from their first shot, thanks to Anderson and Kalou. In the second shot, Ryan Giggs scored for Manchester United, but French striker Anelka failed to score for Chelsea. That was enough to make Van der Sar the HERO of the night, giving a relief to Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed the only shot for Manchester United.

At last, I would like to say that both teams played superb and presented with a fantastic match for the fans. However, Manchester United was a little bit lucky to win the title. To me, that was the difference in the match.

In my earlier article, I talked about the possible squad of Chelsea for tonight’s Champions League match against Manchester United. Now, I am going to write on possible squad of Manchester United that would face Chelsea at the Luzhniki stadium of Moscow tonight. This is going to be the first Champions League final in which two English clubs are going to take on each other.

Here, I am giving a probable squad of Manchester United that I found in a vitalfootball article. Here is the squad:

Probable Squad of Manchester United from Vitalfootball:

Van der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez

It seems to be a 4-3-3 formation that is really very attacking and well-suited for Manchester United squad. However, I do not totally agree with the starting line up given in Vitalfootball. Here is my explanation:

Goal Keeper

The Dutch goal keeper is very effective in this kind of big matches thanks to his huge experience.

Defense

I agree with the back four given in the line up. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are impressive in the central defense, while Patrice Evra, in the left back, and Wes Brown, in the right back, are expected to be in starting line up.

Midfield

I think, Rooney and Paul Scholes are pretty much effective in the midfield. Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick both are holding midfielder. I do not think that they should play together in the starting line up. Rather either Hargreaves or Carrick should be in the starting line up, while Rooney is in the right wing. However, it is very difficult to choose someone for the left wing. I do not think that Wayne Rooney should play wide in the wing. At the beginning of the season, Rooney played in the left wing for some matches, but all those efforts went wrong. To me, either Ryan Giggs or Anderson should be included in the starting line up, while Nani could come in as a substitute to scale up their attack in the second half.

Striker

I think, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez could make a threatening combination in the up front of Manchester United. However, I prefer either Rooney or Tevez playing as a deep-lying centre forward, which would make it a 4-4-1-1 formation and make a link between midfield and attack, bringing a good variation in their attack in the match.

Chelsea and Manchester United are going to take one each other in the much-awaited final of Champions League tonight at the Luzhniki Stadium of Moscow, Russia. You know that this is going to be first ever final of Champions league that features two English clubs. Except the ankle injury of Ashley Cole, both teams go head to head with full strength squad. Here, in this entry, I am writing about the probable squad of Chelsea that will face Manchester United tonight.

While browsing though net, I came across the possible squads of the two sides given in a Reuters article. Here, I am stating the possible Chelsea squad from that article:

Possible Squad of Chelsea from Reuters:

1-Petr Cech; 4-Michael Essien, 26-John Terry, 6-Ricardo Carvalho, 3-Ashley Cole; 10-Joe Cole, 13-Michael Ballack, 4-Claude Makelele, 8-Frank Lampard; 11-Didier Drogba, 21-Salomon Kalou

Well, to be honest, I do not totally agree with this line up. Here is my explanation:

Goal Keeper:

Petr Cech is the automatic choice and he has been playing successfully under the Chelsea goal bar. However, he has to be at his best to stave off the challenge from Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo etc.

Defense

I totally agree with the back four given in the Reuters article. Carvalho and Terry have made an effective combination in the central defense of Chelsea. In the left back, Ashley Cole is appropriate. However, if he can not recover from his ankle injury, then Wayne Bridge would come to replace him in the left back position. Michael Essien has the versatility to play in the midfield too. However, sporting him in the right back position brings variation in its attack, allowing Essien go up overlapping the midfielders that could well deceive the opposition midfielders and defenders.

Midfield

In the midfield of Chelsea, I think, Florent Malouda should be given the left wing position, because I think, he is more effective than Salomon Kalou. Kalou could be well-fitted in a 4-3-3 position. I agree that Claude Makelele should be included as the holding midfielder. With the presence of Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard in the midfield along with right wing Joe Cole, it seems that Salomon Kalou seems to be put in as the long striker. However, I think, if Avram Grant plays Ballack as a deep-lying central forward, it would effective for Chelsea.

Striker

There is no doubt, Didier Drogba deserves a place up front. If Kalou is put as a striker then, I think, it could be effective. That means, it would be a 4-4-2 formation. However, Nicolas Anelka or Andriy Shevchenko has the ability to make a partnership with Didier Drogba in the front of Chelsea.

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Manchester united is the Champion of UEFA Champions League 2008.
Chelsea (1) (5)—– Manchester United (1) (6)
14th penalty: Anelka took it and missed and Man Utd is the champion of Champions lague
13th Penalty: Gigs took it and scored
12th penalty: Kalou took it and scored. Score is now 5-5
11th penalty: Anderson took it and scvored. man Utd leading 5-4
10 th Penalty: John Terry took it and missed. So, sudden death now
9th Penalty: Nani took it and scored. Score is 4-4
8th penalty: Ashley Cole took it and scored. Chelsea is now leading by 4-3
7th peanlty: Man Utd hargrevs scored and now score 3-3
6th Penalty: Chelsea number 8 scored and Chelsea now leading 3-2
5th Penalty: Ronaldo took and missed. Saved by Chelsea goalkeeper. Score is still 2-2
4th penalty: Chelsea number 35 took and scored easily.
3rd Penalty: karric scored for Man Utd and leading by 2-1
2nd Penalty: Balack took it and scored. Score now 1-1
1st Penalty: Tevez scores for Man Utd.
Penalty shootout will begin now.
Penalty shootout in few minutes.

It will be now decided by penalty shootout. Be with us.
ET 34 minutes: Perhaps last attack from Man Utd. Change of player for Chelsea.
ET 30 minutes: 30 minutes finished. Now, 2 minutes of added time.
ET 28 minutes: CHelsea attacked now man Utd on attack.
ET Minutes26: Can you imagine that the incident that led to Drogba started from a throwin. Tevez of Man Utd shown yellow card too.
ET 25 minutes: Players of two sides are excited and Drogba of Chelsea is shown red card. Chelsea is now with 10 players.
22 minutes: Freekick for Chelsea
20 Minutes: 10 minutes left. Are we heading for penalty shoot out?
18 minutes: Freekick for Man Utd
ET 16 minutes: Extra time second half has just started.
ET 15 minutes: First half has finsihed of extra time. Second 15 minutes will start in 1 minute
ET 12 minutes: Lovely run from Tevez but in the shot was weak and easily collected by Chelsea goalkeeper
ET 10 minutes: Manchester United just missed an easy opportunity. Of course, you have to give a lot of credit to John Terry for clearing the ball by header off the line
ET 9 minutes: Change of player for Chelsea. Anelka has come in place of JOe Cole
ET 7 minutes: Corner for CHelsea.
ET 4 minutes: Bad luck for Chelsea. The shot of Lampard hit the Man Utd goalpost. Real bad luck.
ET 2 minutes: Change of player for Chelsea. Kalou comes in place of Maluda
ET 1 minute: Extra time has started and Man Utd on attack
Extra Time Coming Up within a few minutes. PLease, subscribe to the blog feed free by submitting ur email in the above box
92 minutes: Full time has finished. Now, 30 minutes of extra time. Be with us for extra time.
90 minutes: 90 minutes has finished and 2 added minutes to be played now
87 minutes: Recording breaking moment for Ryan Giggs. He is now the highest appeared player for Man Utd. CHange of player for Man Utd.
85 minutes: Chelsea had a freekick. Just 5 minutes+ added time left
83 minutes: Drogba again thereatened but Balckh could not shot well.
80 minutes: Chelsea again came close.
78 minutes: Real bad luck for Chelsea. The shot of Drogba defeated everyone but hit the goalpost of ManChester United. Really bad luck.
76 minutes: Is the match heading for extra time or even penalty shootout?
74 minutes: ANother corner for Man Utd
70 minutes: Corner for Man Utd
67 minutes: Good spell in the match for Chelsea. Chelsea has corner now
64 minutes: Freekick for Chelsea again.
62 minutes: freekick for Chelsea
60 minutes: Another corner for CHelsea. Chelsea is playing better in the second half.
57 minutes: Corner for Chelsea.
55 minutes: Now, a lovely attack from Chelsea but the shot was too high
54 minutes: Lovely attack from na Utd but the cross pass was too long
51 minutes: Good attack from CHelsea but Joe Cole could not do better
49 minutes: Man Utd in attack
46 minutes: Second half has started. First atttack from Chelsea.
Second half will start within 1 minute. Be with us for live updates.
First half has finished. Come back within a few minutes for second half action
45 minutes: Chelsea has equalized thanks to Lampard. It was a lucky goal for Chelsea against the current of the match. NOw, score is 1-1
43 minutes: Freekick for Chelsea and Ferdinand of United shown yellow card for a fowl against Lampard.
42 minutes: Man Utd missed another chance. Teves just failed to score from few meters from the goal post
41 minutes: Freekick for Manchester United
38 minutes: Freekick for Man Utd.
35 minutes: Two saves from Chelsea goalkeeper in just 5 seconds. Man Utd perhaps lost the best chance of the match and it can become veyr costly for them. Man Utd has a corner.
33 minutes: CHelsea got a good cahnce. CHelsea has a corner now. Good save from Man Utd goalkeepr
30 minutes: Another attack from man Utd.
28 minutes: It was 8th goal of Ronaldo in Champions League this season. man Utd fans are very happy now and singing.
26 minutes: Manchester United has scored first goal thanks to Ronaldo. Man Utd is leading 1-0.
23 minutes: Corner for Chelsea but JOhn Terry could not do anything
22 minutes: Yellow card shown to Macalali of Chelsea and Scholes of Manchester United.
19 minutes: Corner for Man Utd but did not threaten Chelsea. Now freekick for Man U
17 minutes: Freekick for Chelsea.
15 minutes: I am a bit disappointed wtih the match so far. No real attack from any of them until now.
13 minutes: man Utd attacked but Chelsea defense easily stoped
10 minutes: Good attack from Chelsea but bad finsihing in the end
7 minutes: Chelsea attacked but offside.
5 minutes: man Utd attacked but Ronaldo could not keep the ball in the end
2 Minutes: Freekick for Man Utd from within their own half
0 minutes: The match has started now. Be with us for live updates.
The match will start within a minute or two. So, be with us.
Around 10 minutes left. So, dont go anywhere and read some entries from this blog
The match is going to start after 20 minutes. So, read some other entries of this blog.
The final match of Champions League 2007-2008 is going to take place tonight at the Luzhniki Stadium of Moscow. For the first time in the history of Champions League, two English clubs, Chelsea and Manchester United, are going to face each other in a Champions League final.

The match kicks off at 19:45 BST (22:45 Moscow Time). Here, in this post entry, we will be providing live score and updates of the match with text commentary. So, be our guest during the match and enjoy the live score and updates of the match. What you need is to refresh the page after every few minutes to get the updated score of the match.

If you want to get live score and updates of Chelsea vs Manchester United final match of Champions League with text commentary, then visit the following link:

Chelsea vs Manchester United Champions League: Live Score and Update

If you are a football fan, then I do fell your current excitement over the tonight’s Champions League showdown between Chelsea and Manchester United. British football fans are preparing a celebrating bash in Moscow now. The match will take place at the Luzhniki stadium of Moscow, Russia. The match kicks off at 19:45 BST (22:45 Moscow Time). This is the centre of all attention in the football world at this moment. Here, I am giving some latest news regarding the squads of both sides.

Chelsea left back Ashley Cole has suffered a heavy blow to his right ankle during a practice session on Tuesday. Having sprayed and strapped up his ankle, Ashley Cole later joined the final training session. However, he is not yet confirmed for the starting line up of Chelsea, though Chelsea has not left their hope on Cole. If Cole can not recover his injury and miss out the starting line up, then Wayne Bridge would come in to play in the left back position of Chelsea.

However, the good news for Chelsea is that Captain John Terry has recovered from the elbow injury he sustained in the last match of premier league. His central midfield partner, Ricardo Carvalho has also got over the injury problem, while striker Didier Drogba is fit enough to take up his job of a lone striker up front of Chelsea attack.

Manchester United has no major injury news at this moment. However, alike Chelsea, Manchester United left Nemanja Vidic may have problem as he sat out during the final practice session of Manchester United on Tuesday. The Serbian left back picked up a facial injury during his side’s 1-2 defeat to Chelsea last month in premier league. However, there may not have anything serious with Vidic because nothing is officially disclosed until now.

So, both sides seem to have full strength squad barring Ashley Cole’s ankle injury of last night. It is definitely good news for the managers of both sides because they have many options now ahead of the match.

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If you want to get live score and updates of Chelsea vs Manchester United final match of Champions League with Text commentary, then visit the following link:

Chelsea vs Manchester United Champions League: Live Score and Update

Football fans around the world are now eagerly waiting for the mouth watering Champions league match. There are only few hours left before two English clubs, Chelsea and Manchester United, take on each other in the final match of Champions League 2007-2008.

This is the first time tow English clubs are going to face each other in the final of Champions League. Thus, the match has already been termed as a historic match. The match takes place at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia tonight. It kicks off at 19:45 BST (22:45 Moscow Time). The whole football world is now being moved by this mouth watering clash.

Match: Chelsea vs Manchester United, Champions League 2007-2008 Final

Venue: Luzhniki Stadium

Date: 21 May 2008, Wednesday

Time: 19:45 BST (22:45 Moscow Time)

Live on TV and Radio: Sky Sports, BBC Radio Five Live, Ten Sports

Champions League Final Venue: Luzhniki Stadium

Luzhniki Stadium is the biggest stadium of Russia in terms of seating capacity. With 84,745 all-covered seats, the stadium features all the modern facilities to organize an international match. Luzhniki Stadium uses an artificial pitch in order to assimilate with the clod climatic condition of Russia. However, the upcoming Chelsea vs Manchester United match is going to be held on grass field.

Timing of Chelsea vs Manchester United Champions League Final

I know that many of you are interested to know the time of the Chelsea vs Manchester United match. The match is going to begin at 22:45 of local time. According to British Standard Time (BST), the match kicks off at 19:45 BST. If you are interested to know the timing of Russia in accordance to GMT, then click here.

If you want to get live score and updates of Chelsea vs Manchester United final match of Champions League with Text commentary, then visit the following link:

Chelsea vs Manchester United Champions League: Live Score and Update

Chelsea and Manchester United go head to head tomorrow in a much awaiting final match of Champions League. This mouth watering match will take place tomorrow at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. The match kicks off at 19:45 BST (22:45 Moscow Time). Fans are very much excited for this match. This is the first time two English clubs are facing each other in a Champions League final. So, naturally British fans are too much excited over the match. However, it does not mean that only British or European fans have interest towards this match. Rather, the match is now the center of all attention in the football world. Football fans around all parts of the world are interested about this match.

It is true that many British fans are going to enjoy the match in Moscow. However, not many fans from other parts of the world will do so, despite huge attraction for the match. So, television channels are the only way to enjoy the match for those people. In Asia and Middle East, you may not find any big football power, but the sport football itself is enough to move the football crazy fans of this region. Thinking off the passionate football fans, Ten Sports television channel is going to broadcast the match live for its viewers across Asia and Middle East.

It is big news for the football fans of Asia and Middle East. Both Chelsea and Manchester United have huge fan following in Asia and Middle East. So, go and visit the TV Schedule page of Ten Sports to know the timing of the match.