A massive crowd present at the London Wembley Stadium witnessed Manchester United retain the England’s League Cup as they defeated Aston Villa 2-1. The header by Rooney was his 28th goal of the season and also proved to be decisive in the end. Rooney was relieved to have scored the winning goal although he admitted that he had some difficulty with his sore knee.

Aston villa took an early lead in the match with the help of James Milner’s goal which came in the fifth minute. Michael Owen though leveled the score in the 12th minute but he had to leave the field in the 42nd minute due to his hamstring injury.

Manchester United had begun their encounter without Rooney and Michael Owen had taken the responsibility of the club’s attack with Berbatov. The sudden departure of Owen meant that Rooney had to step in to the field and this proved a blessing in disguise for Manchester United. Rooney also created another chance that was narrowly missed in the dying moments of the match. The wonderful display of the English Premier League champions of last season means that they retain the Carling Cup.

Meanwhile, Vahid Halilhodzic, the manager of the Ivory Coast was fired due to the poor performance of his team in African Cup of Nations that was held in January. Ivory Coast had a poor show in the tournament and did not even reach the semi-finals. The President of the Ivorian Football Federation, Jacques Anouma declared that there would be an announcement made very soon about the new manager of the team.

The current champions Barcelona finished with a 1-1 draw against Stuttgart in the Champions League clash. Stuttgart took the lead in the match with the help of the header by Brazilian striker Cacau but Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Barcelona leveled the score with a crucial goal. The draw means that Stuttgart now has the difficult task of scoring in the Camp Nou if they are to reach the quarterfinals.

Barcelona seemed to be missing the boat in the first half of the match. However, they were able to make a strong comeback in the second half. Andres Iniesta of Barcelona accepted that their team really found it tough going in the initial stages of the match and though they were delighted at the outcome of this encounter they still have another tough one coming ahead.

Andoni Zubizarreta, the former goalkeeper of Barca and Spain felt that Barcelona played like real champions putting their character and quality on display. The crowd gathered at the Mercedes-Benz Arena went absolutely crazy with the kind of intensity that was shown by Stuttgart as they fiercely attacked the Barcelona team. 

After the initial frenzy, Barcelona took full control of the match with the second half seeing them have over 63 percent of possession with the Stuttgart players looking tired from their first half exertions. There was also a weird incident just 20 minutes before time when a shot by Ibrahamovic seemed to have hit Cristian Molinaro’s arm but there was no penalty given by the referee.

Following a meeting with the manager of the English soccer team, Fabio Capello, the captain of the England Team, John Terry was stripped of from captaining his side. Fabio Capello’s decision came in the light of the allegations that Terry was going around with the ex-partner of his former teammate.

John Terry though seemed upbeat and said that he would continue to give everything for the national side. Terry, a father of two children admitted to having no problem with the decision of his manager saying he respects it.

Vanessa Perroncel, the woman with whom Terry has been alleged to have an affair has though not given her version to the media. Perroncel, the ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, the England defender seemed really astonished when she was told about the sacking of Terry as the captain. 

Perroncel has been at the receiving end of the speculation and comment made by the media and she felt hard done by it. She also cleared that most of the material which is in the press is not true at all. The false claims and the media glare have caused much pressure to her family she added.

She was very upset with the media as she felt it was trying to pore over her private life along with that of her family. The lingerie model said that her son was her main concern. She also made it very clear that she would not be explaining anything to the media. John Terry and Wayne Bridge played together for Chelsea in the English Premier League before Bridge was bought by Manchester City.

It was a cakewalk for the Chelsea team as they defeated Cardiff by 4-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals that was played on Saturday. The team was at its brilliant best in the second half of the match. The fifth round match of the Premier League leaders ended with a score of 1-1 at the first half when the Michael Chopra scored the equalizer to the second minute goal of Didier Drogba. However, Chelsea took full control of the match with Ballack, Sturridge and Kalou all coming to the party and scoring a goal each to extend the club’s undefeated homerun to a total of 37 matches.

The assistant manager of the Club, Ray Wilkins admitted that the team had to face a lot of trouble in the first half of the match, but they succeeded to take control of the proceedings in the second half. Meanwhile the clash between the Manchester United and Stoke ended in a draw while Portsmouth earned a 4-1 victory over their rival Southampton. Jimmy Kebe of Reading scored one of the fastest goals of the tournament but could not prevent the draw with West Bromwich Albion.

Birmingham managed to get the better of Derby thanks to the last minute winner by Liam Ridgewell. The elimination of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal from the FA Cup meant that Chelsea was the only top club in action on the weekend. Chelsea was without the services of their captain John Terry and Ashley Cole in the match.

Putting aside the controversy surrounding his personal life, John Terry, the Chelsea captain ensured that his team went to the number one position in the Premier League by scoring the final goal in the team’s victory at Burnley which finished with a score line of 2-1. Terry’s position as the captain of the English team was being questioned following the publications in the newspaper about his alleged fling with Wayne Bridge. However, his header which came just eight minutes before the final whistle silenced all his critics. 

Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of the Chelsea team was ecstatic at the performance of the captain and termed him as a fantastic player. He also said that Terry was an important member of the team and that all of Chelsea supports him. Nicolas Anelka gave Chelsea the lead in the 27th minute while just after seven minutes, Terry taking a challenge on Robbie Blake was booked by the referee.

The equalizer from Burnley came in the 50th minute and was scored by Steven Fletcher. The victory for Chelsea ensured that they would remain at the top of the table despite of the outcome of the match between Arsenal and Manchester United.

The draw at Birmingham meant that Tottenham would stay at fourth position in the league. Meanwhile, both Liverpool and Aston Villa won their matches to sustain the pressure on Spurs. The 2-2 draw between Hull and Wolves meant that Hull remained in the relegation zone. The star for the Everton team was Tim Cahill as usual as he scored the sixth goal of the season.

Real Madrid which is undoubtedly the richest football team in the world suffered their third defeat of the season when they lost 1-0 to Athletic Club Bilbao in San Mames stadium. Unlike the multi-million Euro team, the Athletics does not have the star power and have also spent just 2 million Euros this season. Majority of the members of the Athletic team are from the Basque district which also explains their wonderful relationship with the fans.

There was some early action in the match and the goal from the Athletic striker Fernando Llorente in the second minute of the tie proved to be the decisive strike. The striker used the corner which was taken by Fran Yeste to score the only goal of the match which proved to be the difference between the two sides by heading it beautifully after getting the better of the Real Madrid mid-fielder Lassana Diarra. The Athletic received a tremendous amount of support from the crowd in San Mames and seemed in total control of the game right from the beginning.

Real Madrid did get some momentum in the later part of the match and Karim Benzema, the French striker even threatened to level the score just before half time. The atmosphere was electric in the second half as the crowd sat expecting a fight back from Real Madrid with Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo looking for the equalizer. However, both Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo looked off colour and it did make a major difference to the eventual score.

The recent earthquake in Haiti resulted in the death of over 200,000 people and has also rendered more than three million people homeless. It has led to a nightmarish situation in the poorest country of the Western Hemisphere. In order to lend a helping hand to the victims of this disaster over 80 soccer greats of all times from around 17 countries played a charity match in Lisbon. The match was played at Luz stadium with tickets costing 10 euros each.

The Seventh edition of the tournament called the “Match Against the Poverty” saw Zinedine Zidane of France gearing up against Brazil’s Ronaldo Luis Nazario to raise money for the global effort of eradicating poverty. The tournament is organized by the United Nations Development Programme. Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General was all praise for the relief efforts and sporting world for the solidarity that they have shown during such troubled times. The message of the UN Secretary General was delivered by Wilfried Lemke, the special advisor of Ban and he agreed that this year’s match was indeed more significant as its proceeds would help the Haitians who need help.

The United Nations appreciated the help that has been offered by the star players as this is least that could be done for the people of a country who have lost everything. Ban also urged the people through his message to remember the victims of the attack that took place in Pakistan and Angola. He requested the world of sports and its fans to contribute in the efforts of United Nations who are helping the people of Haiti to get over the disaster and rebuild a new life.

The unfortunate attack on the convoy of Togo’s team on Friday has led to the disqualification of the national football team from the African Cup of Nations. The deadly attack happened in Cabinda. The assistant coach and the media officer of the team were killed and Kodjovi “Dodji” Obilale, the goalkeeper of the team was gravely injured.

There have been reports that the goalkeeper is out of any danger though he still requires a respirator to breathe. The responsibility of the attack was claimed by the rebel group called FLEC who suggested that their target was actually the police convoy and they had no intentions to attack the Togolese players. The attack has been taken as an isolated incident and the Angolan government has promised the security of the other teams. The matches scheduled in Cabinda province would be played as scheduled. According to news reports, several players of the Togo team wanted to play but the team was recalled by the Togolese government.

The team on their failure to appear against Ghana was officially disqualified. The attack has made Togolese look for difficult answers like whether the attack was preventable. The team was travelling by bus when they could have chosen the air and the decision of the Angolan government to stage matches in the trouble hit region of Cabinda are some of the other questions that are haunting the Togolese off late. There are also speculations about the cup being cancelled.

Sunday saw one of the biggest upsets of the FA Cup when Leeds knocked Manchester United out of the competition. Leeds thanks to the 19th minute goal by Jermaine Beckford won their first game at the Old Trafford after 1981. No other team had been able to knock Manchester United out of the third round apart from Bournemouth who achieved the feat in 1984. Alex Ferguson took charge of the Manchester United in 1986 and since then the club has been able to get their hands on the trophy on as many as five occasions and hold a record 11 FA Cup triumphs overall.

Leeds who has just one FA Cup title has a tough draw ahead in the next round to Tottenham. The once powerful team slipped though when they were hit by some major financial troubles. The poor performance by the Premier League Champions of the last three seasons had Ferguson scathing. The defeat came as a big shock for Ferguson who had not expected it at all. He admitted that Leeds played like tigers, which was expected of every team in a FA Cup tie. He also said that the Beckford’s great pace had his team napping and felt very disappointed at the loss.

Chelsea on the other hand had a comprehensive victory over Watford as they defeated them 5-0 to make it to the fourth round of the competitions. Daniel Sturridge scored two goals while Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard had one each and the other one came from John Eustace of Watford when he put the ball into his own net.

Cristiano Ronaldo admitted that he wants Wayne Rooney to join Real Madrid in order to put up a great show in La Liga. The former playmaker of Manchester United felt to continue the success achieved in other competitions, it is important that Rooney joins him at Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney together form a lethal combination which can give nightmares to most defenders over the world. The admirable abilities of the duo on the pitch can fool best of the defences and it is simply impossible to contain both of them when they are in full flow.

There were speculations that Cristiano Ronaldo would not be able to make it big in La Liga when he moved to Real Madrid after leaving Manchester united. But, Cristiano Ronaldo has proved everybody wrong with wonderful display of his skills and though he has not been in action for more than two months, he still remains the most dangerous player for Los Blanco. He has already scored 13 goals for Real Madrid, 7 of which have come in the 8 La Liga matches that he has appeared in so far.

The Portuguese star is very optimistic about his future with Real Madrid. Although, Real Madrid has spend a phenomenal amount of money to rope in some of the biggest stars like Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso last summer, speculations are that the club is planning to buy the services of Sergio Aguero of Ateltico Madrid and only time would tell if Rooney is also on that list and if Criastino Ronaldo’s wish comes true.