Manchester United: Champions of Europe

This was one of the better matches I have watched for quite a while.

Ronaldo scored his first goal against Chelsea, Drogba picked up a very important Red Card, and Edwin Van Der Sar came up HUGE for Sir Alex and Manchester United.

Manchester United looked the better club in the first half; Chelsea looked better in the second half. I was worried once it came to extra time as Chelsea looked like they would get their goal. Once the extra time was started, I was even more worried as thought that it would come down to Ronaldo.

I figured that Ronaldo would take the fifth kick and blow it. I was off by two spots. When he took his shot in the third spot, I instantly remembered his blown PK take in Barcelona. Unfortunately, he blew it like he did in Barcelona. Luckily for him, it did not completely destroy his season.

So as John Terry set up to take his kick, I layed down and looked at the ceiling. I heard the kick and Tommy Smith say that it wasn't meant to be for Chelsea.

In all honesty... in a match between these two clubs, a match that ends in a 1-1 draw and goes to penalty kicks is probably the best way for their series to end.

I am going to enjoy this Championship by United. I think I will wear all of my United jerseys over the next five days to celebrate. That and drink alot of Boddingtons.

Congratulations to Manchester United, Sir Alex, the Glazers, the players and most importantly, the Manchester United supporters.

And there was much rejoicing!!!!

We should see a scene very similar to this on the 21st. Guys in red jersey's hoisting a trohpy. Gotta love a sight like that!

What a Goal!!! Manchester United vs. Arsenal: 4/13/2008

This was one wonderful goal to watch, ask the Arsenal wall, they all watched it too!

Manchester United 6 - 0 Newcastle United

Here is video of the 6 that Man Utd. dropped on Newcastle United.

Tevez the key to United Success.

Manchester United used a 6-0 drubbing of Newcastle United to carry them to the top of the Premier League table on Saturday. With a dour first half, Sir Alex’s men turned on the style and dropped 6 goals on a hapless Newcastle that failed to find any type of response. Yes, there were some horrid calls in the first half, namely the Giggs penalty that was never given and the off-sides call that canceled out the possible Michael Owen goal. Despite these officiating gaffs, United was able to put on a wonderful performance that displayed the essential parts of the side that looks to be staying atop the table.

Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his first United hat trick with three second half goals, increasing his season tally to 22 goals. He was a terror on the wings for the entire match. Despite his heroics and highlight reel goals, I would argue that the player who was most responsible for United’s victory wasn’t Ronaldo, but Carlos Tevez.

Tevez showed true grit and a bottomless amount of energy and hustle that few other United players exhibited on the pitch for an entire match Saturday. His prowess as a striker was evident when he was in the perfect position to get on the end of a Ryan Giggs pass that made the score line 2-0. Despite picking up a brace, Tevez’ best attributes on the day was that he continually tracked back into defense, snuffing out several Newcastle build ups. Whenever Patrice Evra move up into the attack, Tevez was there in the midfield providing cover for Evra’s side to ensure that Newcastle couldn’t exploit the absence on that side.

The addition of Carlos Tevez and his style of play has opened up the United offense in ways that a striker like Louis Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy never really could. Tevez’ play has been able to open up better and more scoring chances for Ronaldo, Rooney and the rest or United’s potent attack. I would argue that Ronaldo’s success this season might be a direct result of Tevez being in the line up. Having that trio on the pitch brings such a problem for opposing players and coaches to attempt to solve, one that they are failing to do.

Having Tevez in the line up allows United to compensate for matches when despite doing damn near everything right, Rooney fails to get on the score sheet, just as he did Saturday. When other clubs have their main striker fail to find the score sheet, they usually fail to get the full three points and a draw is usually their best bet. With Manchester United, with Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo, Rooney can have an off night and still see United pick up the three points. Before Tevez joined the club, if Rooney wasn’t on target, there had been matches where the result was in doubt. The Red Devils have a very different look to themselves with Tevez on the pitch, on that looks more confident and secure.

The summer transfer window saw Sir Alex bring in Nani, Andersen, Hargreaves and Tevez. All four have made huge contributions to the club, but Tevez seems to be the one player who is staking his claim to best new player for the club.

Weekend Update

I really hate not having the internet at home, as it cuts down on the amount of soccer info I get, especially on the weekends. Despite the lack of web access, I did get to catch several matches this weekend.

DC United picked up another three points with an early goal and some great work from Troy Perkins. I tell you, for my money, Troy is actually playing better this season than he did last season. His command of the 18 yard box and his effectiveness in the air have seen huge improvements over last season. His defensive line in front of him has also gotten alot better. DC United has not allowed a non-PK goal in their last five matches. It is a little sad to see Boswell sitting on the bench, but why mess with something that works?

Considering the depleted offensive unit that Soehn took to Toronto, I fully expected a 0-0 draw. I knew that our defense would be able to weather any type of storm that Toronto attempted to throw at the United goal and considering that Toronto can't score any better than a high school nerd, I figured we wouldn't leave Canada with anything less than a point. However, it was good to see that United has the ability to go against the run of play and steal goals, even when neither Moreno or Emillio are on the field.

DC United travels to Dallas for a match up with the Western Conference leaders Saturday night. Dallas will have had two weeks off, so I expect a very tough match up in Texas.

My other United, Manchester United, took the pitch Sunday in probably one of the worse situations that they could have been in. Having only taken 2 points from a total of 9 possible, United have already put themselves against the wall in the Premier League. Facing off against Tottemham, who were in just as bad a situation in the league, it was a must win for Sir Alex and his boys.

I was shocked at how bad United played. They never looked that threatening. I am trying to figure out what is really going on at Old Trafford? It was good to finally see Hargreaves get on the pitch and he looked good in his defensive midfield role, but despite the goal, United's other midfield signing, Nani, never really looked that interesting. I was disappointed with how Carrick was playing, almost resigning himself to sit back with Owen and just let Tevez, Scholes, Nani and Giggsy try and do the most in offense. I really, really think that United should look to try and bring in another striker. Saha seems to always be injured and Ole isn't that much better in the health department. SAF really only has Tevez and Rooney, who is out for a while with his broken foot. Is the transfer deadline closed? This would be the perfect situation for Rossi to be brought in...oh wait, they sold him. Nevermind.

Over in Deutschland, Bayern Munich rolled on to their third clean sheet victory of the Bundesliga season, dumping Hanover 3-0, to increase their goal differential to +10. Anyone who is set to play in the UEFA Cup should start looking for another way to get some silverware because I really don't see Bayern missing out on any of the three trophy's they are contenting for this season. I really hope that they have a home UEFA Cup match when I am in Munich for Oktoberfest this year, it will be great to see a match in Allianz Areana.

Final note, I am happy to see that Yallop decided that it would be better for Beckham to sit out the trip to Denver considering his ankle and recent playing time. It was also interesting to see that whether or not Beckham plays, it seems that the Galaxy are now bleeding 3-0 losses. Has anyone got a Yallop/Lalas countdown clock going?

Soccer News & Notes: 8/12/2007

Wayne Rooney Breaks foot, Manchester United held.
Manchester United were held 0-0 today against Reading at Old Trafford. Despite something along the lines of 70% of the possession during the match, United were unable to crack the Reading defense. Considering that Reading were able to hold United 1-1 twice last season, this seems like a fair result. United shouldn't have that much of a problem in the rest of the league.

Then again, with Wayne Rooney breaking his foot during the first half against Reading, the entire outlook for United might have to be re-examined. The addition of Carlos Tevez seems to be an even brighter point in the summer transfer market action now. During the match the announcers were listing off that Saha & Ole were down with injuries, so adding Rooney to that list isn't promising for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Steve McClaren is probably the only person who is going to be in more of a bind than SAF will be, as England really haven't any other options for striker in their upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers. The return of Michael Owen might be able to ease the pain of losing Rooney, but Owen has his own injury demons to deal with.

Bayern Munich start off Klose; 3-0 victory over Rostock
A very much retooled Bayern Munich dropped Hansa Rostock 3-0 in their Bundesliga opener Saturday behind two goals by new striker Miraslav Klose and one goal behind Italian striker Luca Toni. The Bayern defense looked very good in the match.

The inclusion of Ze Roberto, Frank Ribery, Toni and Klose showed to be an excellent grouping. Ribery was excellent in the midfield, especially working with German International Bastian Schweinsteiger. I'm not the only one picking Bayern to win the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the UEFA Cup this season.

USA vs. Mexico off; USA vs. Brazil on.
According to Washington Post uber Soccer Guru, Steve Goff, the September 9th away match in Azteca Stadium for the USA vs. Mexico has been canceled. Due to the cancellation, the USSF has been able to pull of a major coup and schedule a match in Chicago's Soldier Field against Brazil.

If this is in fact true, and Steve is rarely, rarely wrong, it is interesting. I have just as much mixed feelings about its cancellation as I did when the match itself was announced. The idea of getting our new guys and new look squad an away match in Azteca, in front of 110,000 Mexican fans would be huge in the way of getting them all ready for World Cup Qualifying and for playing in the World Cup. That said, having a third match against Mexico in one calendar year is a little over kill.

Playing against Brazil is another matter. I like this. I wish it could be held in Europe, but getting the Copa America Champions is a great match to line up. I am hoping that the USSF still gets a match scheduled for the Sept. 12 match date as well. Even if the match in the USA, get a match scheduled.

EPL Previews: Why Chelsea #1?

Ok, so the English Premier League kicks off its 2007-08 season tomorrow, so everyone and their second cousin is running out their predictions for how everyone will finish. I haven't really been thinking that much about it, but as I read more and more people listing Chelsea as their pick to finish on top, I get more and more confused.

Naturally as a Manchester United supporter, I think that they will repeat as champs. They finally did something about some of the dead weight this season by moving Richardson, Smith and that Italian American who I won't name. Further more, United finally did something that it hadn't done in quite a while, it brought in a number of reinforcements. These guys are going to finally allow Sir Alex Ferguson to do what Jose has been doing in London, which is rotate players in and out and not see Giggsy get gassed half way through the season or have a scoring slump when Wayne gets tossed from a match for spewing fourth 100 F-Bombs at a linesman in 30 seconds.

I think that Teves, Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson, mixed in with Carrick, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, Saha (if he is ever healthy), Park and the rest will be a much stronger side this season. That said, I don't think the new additions to Old Trafford will be the reason that Chelsea do not win the EPL Championship. They won't win because of who they won't have.

Chelsea really haven't set fire to the transfer market as they have in the past, which might actually be a good thing as it means that the Special One's side has mostly a year's worth of chemistry together. However, that chemistry might not hold up if some of those returning players don't even make the starting 11.

First off, look at their Field General, John Terry. Terry's health the last 12 months has been anything other than stellar. He was almost decapitated like a cast member of Highlander in the Carling Cup Final last year; he broke his foot against the LA Galaxy this summer and is now out for a month due to a knee injury. His defensive role can be covered by possibly the best signing Chelsea have done this summer with Israeli international Tal Ben Haim, but his lack of leadership is going to be sorely missed the beginning of the season.

Second, as of right now, the wonder cog of Chelsea's side last season, Arjen Robben seems to be heading to Real Madrid. If that actually does happen, who is going to be the kick start that Chelsea needs, which Robben provided last season? Granted if Chelsea storms every match they play and is up 3-0 by the 20th minute, then they might not need a spark like Robben, but considering my third reason for Chelsea not winning the title, I think that they will need him badly.

Third is because of the African Nations Championship. Chelsea's stand to lose Drogba, Essian, Obi Mikel & Kalou for an entire month. Chelsea will be facing matches against Reading, Tottenham & Liverpool over the same time that they might be without these guys. Drogba and Essian are the two largest losses here. Without these two, who will Jose put into their positions?

Considering the amount of pressure that Jose has been put under to win the UEFA Champions league, added to the midseason absence of his African players, I really cannot see how Chelsea will be able to keep up with Manchester United for the EPL title. United have routinely used the late December/early January time frame to make their run at the title. I see it happening again this season.

Soccer News & Notes: 7/19/2007

Heinze remaining with United
Sir Alex Ferguson announced that Gabriel Heinze will not be moving to Liverpool this summer. Manchester United rejected a £6 million offer for the Argentine defender.

This is a smart move in my opinion. Not only has Gabby shown through his work in the Copa America that he is still a world class defender, but he also came through in several clutch situations for United at the end of the EPL season last year. There was a spell where Heinze was just about the only fit defender SAF had in the squad. If United is truly going to make a run at the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup as they also defend their EPL Championship, they are going to need as many versatile players as possible. Keeping Heinze gives them a lot more depth in the defense.

Justin Moose goes under the knife.
DC United midfielder Justin Moose is recovering from Hernia surgery in Germany. He will be sidelined for about three weeks.

Hopefully this doesn't lead to more problems with the DC United bench. Yes Moose isn't one of the main players in the squad, but considering the number of matches that DC United will be playing over the next few weeks and our lack of depth, having a guy who would provide extra support out of action could be a problem. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

Chivas USA out of USOC
Chivas USA were bounced from the US Open Cup last night, 3-1 by the Seattle Sounders. The Sounders will face the Colorado Rapids in the next round of the tournament.

Are we seeing the first true signs of how MLS clubs just don't care about the USOC? According to the USOC website, out of a total 12* MLS clubs (yes I know that only eight took part in the fourth round) only three are left. If this type of result was seen in England, with only three EPL clubs remaining going into the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, the press would be murdering the EPL and the clubs. I would say that we have pretty good odds that we will see a non-MLS club win the USOC for only the second time since MLS has been formed. Somebody explain to both Gulati and Garber that having the MLS clubs piss this tournament away is actually a bad thing.

* Edit - I changed this to say 12 as Toronto FC does not take part.

United should buy him: Riquelme not returning to Villarreal

According to CNN/SI.com, Villarreal will not be bringing back Juan Roman Riquelme and will try ever attempt at selling him.

Manchester United, if they really want to pull anymore than a double next season, should do everything that they can to buy him. Having Riquelme in the midfield with Hargreaves, Scholes, & Carrick with Giggs, Ronaldo and Rooney available up front would be murder. United wouldn't even really need to try and get an other forward as Ronaldo would be able to play up front or a withdrawn forward full time.

Add Riquelme to the acquisition of Nani & Anderson along with the possibilty of Rossi returning to the squad should give SAF enough depth in the midfield and forward positions, something he was starting to worry about towards the end of the season.

United passed up the chance two seasons ago when Barcelona let him leave for Villarreal, hopefully they don't do the same this time.

Weekend thoughts: FA Cup, DC United & Other stuff.

So I went to Summers to watch the 2007 FA Cup Final along with about 200 or so other people. The match was ok, more of a boxing match with neither side really being able to take the other out. Ryan Giggs' no goal was hard to take as it looked from my seat like Cech had pulled the ball behind the line before Giggs hit him. Had that been the ruling, the match would have at least gone to PKs, which I would have favored Van Der Sar over Cech.

IMHO, neither side really showed that they deserved the win, more because they were too evenly matched. United had several good runs of play, but their passing wasn't the greatest. Several times Chelsea players only had to take an extra step to pick up the ball because a United player was just waiting for the ball or the pass was too soft. Chelsea on th eother hand looked like they were more comfortable putting as many people behind the ball as they could and hope to spring Drogba. Not sexy football, but Jose football.

Ronaldo, again, IMHO, failed to really show up. His judgement when he had the ball was very lax, trying to take on 100 Chelsea players instead of passing off to anyone of the other 10 red shirts out there. There were several times in my mind that had Ronaldo passed the ball, I think United would have had much better shots at the goal.

In anycase, both of these teams showed why they finished 1-2 and why the rest of the league was chasing them the entire season. I can't wait to see them face off in the Community Shield.

Later that day, DC United took on Toronto FC and picked up 3 vital points with a 2-1 victory. I was only able to watch the first half and I was really unhappy with what I saw. Maybe it was getting used to the carpet that they were playing on, but United's passing and effort wasn't that great. The second half seemed much better once Jamie was dropped into the midfield. I always thought that Jaime should have been dropped into the midfield and have United play a 4-4-2 with Eskandairian and Emilio up front, Moreno, Gomez, Fred and Olsen in the middle with Erpen, Boz, Namoff and Gros in the back. UNfortunately Esky is in Toronto so we haven't got him anymore, but that would have been my pick for this season.

DC United have another week before they face the defending MLS Cup Champs at RFK. Moreno will be out of that match, so it will be interesting to see if Soehn puts Fred or Kpene in the withdrawn forward slot. Considering how well Kpene has done in the last few matches, I would like to see him up front with Emilio.

So DC United are now in 5th place in the East, 3 points behind Chicago. Considering how New England and RBNY are collecting points hand over fist, this 3 match unbeaten streak couldn't have come at a better time. The Houston match should be a tough one and United follow it up with a trip out to HDC to take on the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy have been playing pretty good football, but they haven't been able to pick up any real points, pretty much like United. That match should be a sluggfest, especially if LA fail to pick up points today against Chivas USA or at the Rapids next week.

Manchester United vs AC Milan: Highlights

Here are several highlights from last night's UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 1st Leg at Old Trafford.

Champions League: Quick One

I followed the Manchester United vs. AC Milan match on-line, so I haven't any player performance comments for now. I am a little surprised at how well United seemed to do in the attack, at least for the first 15 or so minutes. It appeared that Milan was shocked as well.

I DVR'd the match, and I plan on watching it later tonight once I get home. After that I should have more in the way of my opinions.

3-2, it isn't that bad. It does make Milan have to come out and try and score in order to advance, which should give United a chance to get an away goal of their own. They will be without Evra regardless of his fitness as he picked up a Yellow card that will rule him out of the away leg. If Rio, Neville or Vidic don't return bye next week, the back line will look awfully thin.

Champions League Preview: Manchester United vs. AC Milan

So the UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals kicks off today at Old Trafford. United are at home with a less than first choice line up against a more than rested Italian side that aren't as strong as they used to be.

The biggest problem I see is that the United defense is in such horrible shape and they could get even worse by match time if Evra is ruled out of the match and Fletcher has to fill in for him. If that happens, all four first choice defenders would be in street close for this match, which is never a good sign in a European Semi-Final. I honestly see Evra being the entire lynch pin to how United does today. If he is fit enough to take the field, than I can see United pulling out a 2-0 or a 2-1 victory over AC Milan. The biggest issue is Evra.

With Heinze available to start on the left and O'Shea and Wes brown to fill in the middle, Evra will need fill in for the right side. Fletcher isn't a defender and regardless of how well he has done in the EPL at this position, you never want to have a guy start out of position in a European match. If Evra doesn't play and Fletcher is the right sided defender, than the Carrick and Scholes will have to play alot more defensively, which will cut the offense in half.

If Carrick and Scholes do not have to provide a greater amount of defensive support for the back four, than I see no reason for Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney and Smith to be able to create several chances and pick up a few goals. Carrick and Scholes are going to have to play the ball between the defense and the forwards much cleaner than they had been in the last few matches, as the Milan midfield will be a bit more of a annoyance than Watford, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough provided.

Assuming that Evra plays, I see more of a pressure offense from United. If Fletcher has to play instead of Evra, than I expect a more defensive United side, with more people behind the ball.

Prediction:
With Evra: Manchester United 3 - 0 AC Milan
Without Evra: Manchester United 2 - 1 AC Milan

Manchester United vs. Watford: FA Cup Semi-Final

Here is a goal highlight compalation from yesterday's FA Cup Semi-Final match up. Manchester United won 4-1 and will now face Chelsea at the new Wembly Stadium on May 19th. I got it circled on my calendar.

Manchester United vs. Roma Goals: 4/10/2007

Here are all 8 of the goals from yesterday's UEFA Champions League match at Old Trafford.

I am now hoping for a Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich Semi-Final. It is also looking like we should all be ready to see United play Chelsea three times in the month of May.

Weekend Update: A lot happening

Well, over the last week, a lot has happened over the world of football. The English FA Cup semi-finals are set; Mr. Fred goes to Washington; MLS gets more jersey sponsors.

FA Cup Semi-Finals
Both Manchester United and Chelsea continued their runs towards each other in the FA Cup, with both clubs winning their Quarter Final replays. Manchester United have the easier route as they will face Watford in the Semi-Finals, with Chelsea facing Blackburn.

I fully expect to see a Chelsea vs. Manchester United FA Cup final at the new Wembly Stadium this season. Unless Blackburn’s defense can hold against the seemingly resurgent Chelsea offense, Chelsea will go through. I can’t see Watford breaking down the United defense, nor do I see them really holding Rooney and Ronaldo from finding the back of the net. The FA should get their dream final, especially one that will highlight the opening of Wembly.

Fred joins DC United
DC United has signed Brazilian midfielder Fred from the Australian A-League. With the international transfer letter the only thing holding up Fred from starting for United against Chivas in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Semi-Final second leg, things are finally falling into place for DC United. All of the off season moves are starting to come into place and based on several reports, the offensive build up of the club is looking miles ahead of last years side. Hell, even without Fred, Emilio himself has raised the attacking bar for United.

Two more MLS Jersey Sponsorships
LA seemed to have been able to screw themselves out of a deal with Citibank and went with Herbalife for their jersey sponsorship. Toronto FC went with BMO Banking to sponsor their jerseys. Am I the only one who thinks LA’s jersey’s look stupid? At least there will be more money going into the clubs and giving other clubs a chance to get a better understanding of the deals.

USMNT Preview
I will have a preview for tomorrow’s USMNT match vs. Ecuador. The US roster looks interesting, I am very eager to see who gets the starting line-ups in this first match.

UEFA Champions League: Round of 16

Here are my picks for today’s matches:

Celtic vs. AC Milan:
Despite getting a good offensive result over the weekend, I have some doubt that Milan will be able to continue their goal scoring patterns. Celtic is running away with the SPL, but that really doesn’t say a lot for their form. I think that a 1-1 draw might be in the cards here.

PSV Eindhoven vs. Arsenal:
Arsenal played a 120 minute match last week, then played another spirited draw on Saturday. I am beginning to wonder if Arsene Wenger’s boys have anything left in the tank. A friend of mine of has season tickets at Emirates says that Arsenal will make it to the final and finish second in the EPL. I highly doubt either, especially if they have to keep playing replay matches in the FA Cup and have continue playing overtime matches. PSV are running away with the Eredivisie title and are coming off of a 2-0 victory over SC Heracles Almelo. As this is a home match for PSV, I feel that they might pull off a 1-0 or 2-0 victory.

Lille vs. Manchester United:
It has already been said that Lille need to play a perfect match in order to defeat United and I agree with this idea. United did stumble with their quest for the FA Cup over the weekend with a 1-1 draw against Reading, but in all honesty, United fielded a weaker side and didn’t have the best run of play against Reading, so a 1-1 draw isn’t the end of the world. Reading, IMHO is also a better club than Lille is, so with a full strength squad at his disposal, I fully expect Sir Alex Ferguson to get the best out of his boys. United should pick up a 2-0 victory.

Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich:
Wow, just a few years ago this would have been a dream match up that would have any football supporter drooling. Now the only thing people will be looking for is if the stadium opens up and swallows both clubs for their mediocrity. Bayern is one of my favorite clubs in Europe; however, I am really not that interested in this match up. UEFA should just call this one off, it could be the snoozer of the round. 0-0 draw.

Manchester United Video Highlights

Highlights from the Manchester United vs. Charlton match from the last weekend.

Weekend Soccer Wrap Up: 2/12/2007

Manchester United 2 – 0 Charlton
In the end of this match, United walked away with all three points and moved their magic number to 9 for the EPL championship. However, the beginning of the match seemed less likely to have this result. Not to say that United were lucky, but this was a different game for United when compared to their last two outings.

After the first 15 minutes, I was certain that the match would end up a 1-1 draw and the title race would be much tighter. However, despite all of the problems that United were having in the final third of the field, Charlton were having just a little more trouble finishing and getting their defense together. Park’s goal came more from a lack of aggression from the Charlton defense and goalkeeper than Evra’s cross or Park’s head. Ryan Giggs damn near made it 2-0 because he wanted the ball more than the Charlton defense. Fletcher’s goal was made out of the same premise, Charlton’s defenders were a step off their pursuit, which gave Rooney the chance to take his shot and still get his rebound for the cross.

I was pleased in the end of the match. United picked up the points, kept their third consecutive clean sheet and were able to give Saha a start, Carrick a full rest, Giggs only 60 minutes of work as well as Larsson 30 minutes of work. Damn near everyone got some time in or was rested enough.

This Saturday United host Reading in their FA Cup clash at Old Trafford. Van Der Sar is expected back and I hope to see a full line-up sent out for the opening whistle. Even though United have a 6 point lead in the league, bringing home the FA Cup should still be a priority. If keeping Ronaldo out until the last 30 minutes is possible, I would still be ok with that. It would give him some time on the pitch, yet keep him for the mid-week clash with Lille. I would also like to see Saha get his second straight start and have Larsson or Ole start along side him, keeping Rooney out until the Lille match.

Bayern Munich 1 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld
In a match of under achievers, Bayern finally put up a victory for the first time in five matches. Roy Makaay’s 9th minute goal sealed up Ottmar Hitzfeld’s first home match of the season. Bayern remain 4th in the Bundesliga with 37 points.

I sat down and watched the match on Gol TV and as the match unfolded, I was impressed for the first 15 minutes. Bayern were attacking well and actually should have definitely had two goals, maybe a third as well. After the first 15 minutes, the match really slowed down and was stagnate. Bayern’s defense wasn’t the most composed, yet they got the job done against a Bielefeld side that had their own finishing problems. If Bayern were facing any of the top three Bundesliga clubs, they would have surely lost 2-1.

Ottmar Hitzfeld has his work cut out for him. He has got to get Bayern up to at least 2nd place, which means they must overhaul the five point gap between them and Bremen. However, I have got to believe that Hitzfeld is primarily focused on the Champions League match up with Real Madrid. He has two more weeks to get his squad in order and get them playing his brand of football. If that doesn’t happen, Bayern will get dumped out of the Champions League, by a much more confused Real club. Bayern have one more Bundesliga match up this coming weekend against Alemania Aachen, so Hitzfeld has one more shot at getting his squad right.

Hopefully Hitzfeld can get his men to regroup and they can get a good result from the Aachen match and carry it over to their Champions League match up with Real. If not, Bayern look to finally be losing their position as top dog in the Fatherland.