Chelsea the new Champion of Europe.

           Didier Drogba scores from the spot & history is created for The Blues at Allianz Arena lastnight, they have won the 2011-12 Champions League after a gripping 4-3 win over Bayern Munich on penalties. Europe get new champions, Chelsea reach in the UEFA Champions League hall of fame, disaster for the German giant Bayern Munich in front of their homecrowd. It is the most awaited dreamfinal for the supporters of Bayern Munich, since this Champions league started they wanted to see their team to play the final in the home & lift the trophy. Since the 87^th minute of the match everything was going like fairytales for The Bavarians, but the African lion Didier Drogba spoilted the entire rhythm for the holders just after that, the Ivorian equalizes the match in the death of the schedule time, scores the decider in penalty shoot-out for the visitors, guides Chelsea towards their first ever major European triumph in front of their Russian owner Roman Abhrahimovic, puts the entire homecrowd into silence.

               The Bavarians does everything apart from winning the match only, just imagine in schedule 90 minutes Bayern have occupied 16 corners, failed to convert none of them while the Chelsea side managed to have 2 corners only, the scored from one of them. The German side started to dominate the entire midfield on behalf of Schweinsteiger, Ribery & Tony Croos from the beginning of the game. They had 57% ball possession while Chelsea had 43% only.

          Every article of creating a marvellous thriller was present in the Allianz Arena lastnight. Di Matteo changes his strategy relatively since last few matches, Chelsea are in a fair bit of open & aggressive, they always composed counter attacks & made a mess in Bayern defence several times & the Englishman Ashley Cole was reacting like a wall & leading the entire defence throughout the entire match in the absence of their captain John Terry

        Thomas Muller's 83rd minute header following a through ball from left side had earlier appeared likely to give Bayern victory on their home ground, Toni Kroos curled in a cross from the left and Cole seemed unaware of Muller's presence behind him at the back post as the Germany international's header bounced down and over Cech before going in off the underside of the crossbar.
       Bayern brought on Daniel van Buyten in a bid to shut the game down, but were punished with two minutes left when Drogba powerfully headed home at the near post from Chelsea's first corner of the game. Only for Drogba's stunning riposte to send the game into extra-time.Drogba blotted his copybook by conceding a penalty early into extra-time, only for Petr Cech to deny Arjen Robben Drogba completed his redemption by maintaining his composure in the shoot-out.
Di Matteo sent Chelsea out with a game-plan to contain Bayern and, for the most part, the policy worked as Jupp Heynckes' side sought to pick holes in a resolute defence.
Midway through the first half, Robben wriggled into space inside the box, but the former Chelsea winger was denied by a smart reaction stop from Cech, who diverted the ball onto the post.
Mario Gomez, who had scored 20 goals in his previous 17 Champions League appearances, was enduring a frustrating night and he skied over just before half-time as Bayern remained the dominant force.
The second half followed the same pattern as the first as a marginal offside decision against Franck Ribery went Chelsea's way when the French winger turned home the loose ball after Robben's shot had been blocked by Ashley Cole.
Drogba looked primed to go from hero to villain three minutes into extra-time when he tripped Ribery in the box, but Cech spared the striker as he kept out former team-mate Robben's low penalty.
After the extra time match heads towards tie-breaker, Bayern had numerous chances to wreck the dream of Chelsea, but they failed to utilised chances.

1.      Philipp Lahm takes the first penalty for Bayern and scores

2.      Juan Mata takes the first penalty for Chelsea and misses

3.      Mario Gomez takes the second penalty for Bayern and scores

4.      David Luiz takes the second penalty for Chelsea and scores

5.      Manuel Neuer takes the third penalty for Bayern and scores

6.      Frank Lampard takes the third penalty for Chelsea and scores

7.      Ivica Olic takes the forth for Bayern and misses

8.      Ashley Cole takes the forth for Chelsea and scores

9.      Bastian Schweinsteiger takes the last penalty for Bayern and misses

10.  Didier Drogba takes the last penalty for Chelsea and scores

Beating Bayern Munich in Allianz Arena is not a easy task for an opponent like Chelsea, it can be easily compared like killing a lion in its own den. Chelsea finish sixth, 25 points behind of champion Man City in EPL tally so this win was desperately needed for Chelsea for qualifying next year’s Champion League.

Who knows this win might convert interim Di Matteo to a permanent manager for the upcoming season, Drogba made the final swansong for Chelsea very well.

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UEFA Champions League Final the Final Frontier at Allianz Arena, Munich tonight

            Bayern Munich on their way to lift the trophy for fifth time in front of their home crowd at Allianz Arena, Munich while Chelsea is hunting for their maiden Champions League triumph, it has been the second appearance for Chelsea in the Champions League final. It may seem that Jupp Heynckes men have been handed a major advantage, playing what is effectively a dream home match to determine Europe’s elite club this season. Both the teams are here after knocking out two super opponents in the semis, Bayern have beaten the most successful club in Champions League history, nine times champion Real Madrid while Chelsea are here after winning the battle against the current champion & arguably world’s current best team Barcelona.

           However, this will bring added expectation and pressure to a situation that will already be filled with nervous tension. It could produce a very cagey affair if there is no early goal for the hosts, as Chelsea are likely to sit back and play to their own counter-attacking strengths, even more so than if the final were held in a neutral venue.

          Both the teams have lost in their previous Champions League finals. The Bavarians lost to Inter Milan in 2008 while the Blues were lost against Manchester in 2008. But the only previous meeting between these two sides saw The Blues overcome The Bavarians 6-5 over two legs in the quarterfinals in 2005.

         It can be a Hilarious task for Chelsea men to defeat the Bavarains in Allianz Arena but regarding their current form it has to be told that Chelsea is the better opponent for tonight’s final. The Blues have won the FA cup against Liverpool while the Bavarains lost to Borusia Dortmund in German cup final by a clear 2-5 margin.

        Both the teams are going to miss few of their key players in tonight’s final due to card problem, the hosts will miss Holger Badstuber, David Alaba & Luiz Gustavo while the visitors will also miss their captain John Terry, Ivanovic, Ramires & Meireles.

        Chelsea’s away form in the Champions League has been excellent since interim manager Roberto Di Matteo took charge of the team in mid-March. In his coaching Chelsea started their dreamrun by overturning the game against Napoli following a first leg 3-1 defeat in round of 16, they overturned the game in quarter stage against Benfica following an 1-0 defeat in first leg. The Blues only conceded 2 goals at the Nou Camp after playing with 10 men for over an hour in the semifinal was impressive.

        Bayern are very similar to Barca in that they like to dominate possession, while Chelsea will undoubtedly hold a very deep defensive line to counter the threat of Bayern’s pace and trickery on the wings in the form of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. The Dutchman will have a tough time getting the better of Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole though the England defender is consistently one of Chelsea’s best performers when it comes to the big occasions.

         Chelsea have also shown, in the Premier League, that when they travel away to face teams full of high quality players who like to play the ball quickly and keep possession (Arsenal and Tottenham), they revert to a very defensive formation and mentality.  At White Hart Lane they grabbed a 1-1 draw while at the Emirates Stadium the game finished goalless.

        Bayern Munich have produced a clean sheet in half of their Champions League games this season, precisely because of their ability to keep hold of the ball. They have also recorded an under 2.5 goal result in 9 out of the 14 matches. Mario Gomez tops the list of scoring most goals with Lionel Messi, both scored 12 goals in that tournament.

        The two biggest stars of the night in Munich, and potentially the main reason this game could end in under 2.5 goals being scored, is the respective goalkeepers of both clubs. Manuel Neuer’s first season as Bayern’s No1 has been a resounding success, culminating in the penalty shoot-out heroics in the semi-final against Real Madrid, and proving him to be one of the world’s best, alongside Iker Casillas and Gigi Buffon.Chelsea’s Petr Cech must also be considered on the shortlist of Europe’s finest Keepers, and he may need to be at his very best to keep the Bayern attack at bay on Saturday night.

          Bayern seems stronger as we take a look on their previous champions league records. They are four time European cup winners which included 1 time European Champions league title. (Champions league and European league are alike until Champions league was revised in 1992.) Altogether they have entered the final for 8 times, 4 times they had to satisfy with runner up. Their last defeat at final included a 2-0 loss against Inter Milan in Santiago Bernabou due to poor referring by Englishman Howard Webb.

           Chelsea has never experienced the taste of Champions league win. Their best performance on Champions league ever was in 2008, Moscow when they experienced defeat in the final against Manchester United in Penalties following a sent off of their superstar Didier Drogba in the dying moments of the game. In the schedule time two teams were unable to take the game to decision even after the extra period of time and the score was 1-1. Later Chelsea experienced loss in a 6-5 penalty goals in front of 67,000 audience.

Route to Final (knock out stages):
Bayern Munich
Round of 16:
Basel 1-0 Bayern, Bayern 7-0 Basel
Quarter Final:
Marseille 0-2 Bayern, Bayern 2-0 Marseille
Semi Final:
Bayern 2-1 Real Madrid, Real Madrid 2-1 Bayern (Bayern won 3-2 on penalties).
Chelsea:
Round of 16:
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 4-1 Napoli (AET)
Quarter Final:
Benfica 0-1 Chelsea, Chelsea 2-1 Benfica
Semi Final:
Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona, Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea

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Gerd Muller, best striker of EURO Cup 1972

     Gerd Muller the typical German striker scored the most number of goals in the fourth edition of EURO Cup held on Belgium on 1972. He guided his team West Germany (currently known as Germany) towards championship by scoring 4 goals on that tournament. He scored 2 goals against Soviet Union in the final of that tournament.

         West Germany reached the final for the first time by beating England in the quarter-finals and then the hosts, Belgium, in the semi-final. A 3-1 victory at Wembley in their first leg match against England allowed them to play out a goalless home leg and go through comfortably. Gerd Muller scored both goals for the Germans with a consolation goal from substitute Odilon Polleunis for the Belgians. In the final of EURO 1972 West Germany beat Soviet Union by a clear 3-0 margin, Gerd Muller was again the hero in the final by scoring two goals.

      Gerd Muller the Bayern Munich legend was known for his left foot & his bulldozing ability inside the 18 yard box. With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was one of the most successful goalscorers of his era. Muller  is now 8th on the list of all time international goalscorers despite playing fewer matches than every player in the top 15.

         He started his club career in 1861 Nordlingen, spent there for one season(1963-64) only, scored  51 goals in 31 matches. After that he joined in Bayern Munich, spent 16 years(1964-79) in Bayern, scored 398 goals in 453 matches. He ended his career in Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League, scored 38 goals in 71 matches in 3 seasons(1979-81) timeperiod. He scored an overall 487 goals in 555 matches in his club football career.

            In 1970 Muller was elected European Footballer of the Year after a successful season at Bayern Munich and scoring 10 goals at the 1970 World Cup. Muller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the tournament with a 14-goal total, a record that stood for 32 years until it was broken by Brazil's Ronaldo against Ghana in the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup. In 1999, Muller was voted ninth place in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS and he was voted thirteenth in the IFFHS' "World Player of the Century" election.
       After Muller ended his career in 1982, he fell into a slump and suffered from alcoholism. However, his former companions at Bayern Munich convinced him to go through alcohol rehabilitation. When he emerged, they gave him a job as a coach at Bayern Munich II, where he still works to this day.

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Dragan Dzajic, best striker of EURO Cup 1968

          Dragan Dzajic of Yugoslavia scored the most number of goals in the third edition of EURO Cup 1968 held in Italy. He might not make his team winner in the competition but tops the list of scoring most goals with 2 goals in his kitty. Euro 1968 was the year that the tournament changed its name from European Nations' Cup to European Championship.

          For the UEFA Euro 1968 Final, two matches were played to determine the Euro 1968 winners. The first match took place on June 8th. For a long time it looked as if a goal by Dragan Dzajic  would be enough to win the competition for Yugoslavia at the Stadio Olimpico. He put his side ahead before half-time and the score remained at 1-0 until ten minutes from the full-time whistle when Angelo Domenghini levelled for the Italians. Neither side could break the deadlock in extra-time so a replay was required and Italy were crowned Champions after beating the Yugoslav's 2-0 thanks to goals from Riva and Anastasi.

        Dragan Dzajic was born in Yugoslavia on 30^th May  1946. He started his career as a left winger is widely considered to have been one of the best Serbian football players to emerge from former Yugoslavia. Regarded as a preeminent and very proficient left winger, he is strongly reputed to have been one of the finest European players of his generation. Dzajic has been known for his "great crosses and passes, unstoppable dribbling with great pace, natural technique and some of the best left footed free kicks ever seen". Through soccer fanatics, Dzajic is viewed as perhaps one of the most underrated players in European football, partly because he played in Yugoslavia.

         Dragan Dzajic  was just 18 when he was first named to the Yugoslav national team. He made his debut on 17 June 1964 in a 2–1 defeat against Romania at the JNA Stadium in Belgrade. Dragan Dzajic  played 85 matches for his country (the most in the history of the Yugoslav national team) and scored 23 goals.

      Dragan Dzajic  played for Red Star Belgrade since 1961 to 1975 & scored  365 goals in 590 matches, after that  he went to SC Bastia for 1975 to 1977, scored 31 goals in 56 matches. In the end of his career he returned to Red Star Belgrade once again, spend there for one season only(1977-78), scored 5 goals in 25 matches.

         Dragan Dzajic  retired as a player in 1978, at age 32. In 1979 he returned to his club, serving as Red Star's technical director and then, from 1998, as the club's president, due to his poor health condition he resigned president post in 2004.

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Jesus Maria Pereda, best striker of EURO 1964

      Jesus Maria Pereda of Spain was one of the top scorer of  European Nation’s Cup 1964, currently known as EURO Cup held in Spain. He holds the record of scoring 2 goals alongwith Ferenc Bene and Dezso Novak (Hungary) (2 goals each). He was a star striker of Spain, guided his team towards their first EURO triumph.

        Jesus Maria Pereda Ruiz Temano was born at Medina Tomar in Spain on 15^th June 1938. He started his career as a midfielder. In his 16-year professional career, he played mainly for Barcelona, amassing La Liga totals of 197 games and 55 goals for four teams - including Real Madrid. In 1964, he helped Spain win the European Championship, being an international throughout the decade.

        In front of a boisterous Santiago Bernabeu crowd which included President Franco, the hosts took an early lead through Jesus Maria Pereda. The USSR were soon level courtesy of Galimzyan Khusainov but the winner came when Suarez sent another pass out to the right, Pereda crossed, and Marcelino's superb stooping header went low inside the near post. Even the great Lev Yashin, still superb at 34, was just a spectator.

       Although born in Medina de Pomar, Burgos, Castile and Leon, Pereda was raised in Balmaseda in Biscay, Basque Country and, as a schoolboy, he captained the provincial U-16 team. He began his senior career with Bilbao club SD Indautxu, where his teammates included veteran goalkeeper Raimundo Lezama and Miguel Jones, Pereda and Jones, and later a third club player, Jose Eulogio Garate, were all controversially rejected by Athletic Bilbao because of their birthplaces, with Pereda moving to Real Madrid and the others to Atletico Madrid.

     With the Merengues, Pereda only appeared in two La Liga games, scoring once in a 3–0 home win against Real Zaragoza, as the team won the national championship. During his spell in the Spanish capital, he was also loaned to Real Valladolid in Segunda Division - after falling out with coach Luis Carniglia- returning to the top flight with Sevilla FC, and scoring 11 goals in his first season.

      In the 1961 summer, Pereda joined FC Barcelona, going on to appear in 293 official games during eight years (104 goals). During that time, he won the Copa del Generalisimo twice, scoring the opening goal in the 1963 final, a 3–1 win against Zaragoza at the Camp Nou.

     Aged 31, Pereda left Barcelona and joined Catalonia neighbours CE Sabadell FC, appearing rarely during the top flight season. He closed out his career after two second level campaigns with RCD Mallorca.

    In 1995–96, Pereda had his first and only head coaching experience at club level, leading Xerez CD to the 11th position in Senguda Division B.

   Pereda scored six goals in 15 appearances for Spain during eight years. His debut was on 15 May 1960, in a 3–0 friendly win with England at the Santiago Bernabou Stadium.

   Two of Pereda's international goals came at the 1964 European Nations' Cup, in which he appeared alongside Barcelona teammate Joseph Maria Fuste, he scored in both the semi-final against Hungary and the final against the Soviet Union, as the national team won the tournament on home soil.

          During 15 years, Pereda managed both the Spanish under-20 and under-21 teams, leading the former side to the second place in the 1985 FIFA World Championship in the Soviet Union. In 1988, in was in charge of the Castile and Leon autonomous football team for one game, a 1–1 draw with Aragon. Four years later, he replaced Vicente Miera at the helm of the Spanish senior team for one match - he worked in his coaching staff as an assistant. The great legend passed away in the age of 73 at a hospital in Barcelona on 27^th September 2011.

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Viktor Ponedelnik best striker of EURO 1960

          Viktor Ponedelnik is a former Soviet Union player who scored the winning goal against Yugoslavia in the final of the inaugural edition of European Nations' Cup currently known as EURO Cup in Paris, France in 1960. The 1960 tournament, held in France, had 4 teams competing in the finals, out of 17 that entered the competition. He was one of the top scorer of that tournament with 2 goals in his kitty with four others, he tops the list with his own countrymen Valentin Ivanov, French international Frencouis Heutte & two other fellows from Czechoslovakia named Milan Galic & Drazan Jerkovic.

         The inaugural European Championships in 1960 marked the pinnacle of Soviet footballing achievement led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin. Easily progressing to the quarter-finals, the team were scheduled to face Spain, but due to the tensions of the Cold War, Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union, resulting in a walkover. In the semi-final, the Soviet team defeated Czechoslovakia 3–0 and reached the final, where they faced Yugoslavia.

         Yugoslavia took the lead through Milan Galic just before half time but Slava Metreveli equalised for the Soviet Union in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was level at 1–1 so the match went into extra time. With just seven minutes remaining of the second half of the extra time, Viktor Ponedelnik scored with a header to give the Soviets victory and they were crowned Euro 1960 winners.

          Viktor Vladimirovich Ponedelnik was born on May 22, 1937 in Rostov-on-Don is a former Soviet football player, regarded as one of the best strikers in Soviet football history.

           Ponedelnik first started playing for a local team, Rostselmash, in 1956, played 58 matches for Rostselmash & scored 32 goals. In 1958 he switched to SKA Rostov-on-Don for two years and was invited to join the Soviet national team. In 1961 he started to play with CSKA Moscow. He moved to SKA Rostov-on-Don for four years. In the end of his career he spent one year in CSKA Moscow. He played for his country for six years(1960-1966) only,  in his brief international career he scored a total of 20 goals(according to some accounts, 21) for his country in 29 matches.

         Ponedelnik retired in 1966 after gaining weight and undergoing surgery for appendicitis. In later years, Ponedelnik worked as a coach, a sports journalist, an editor of a sports publication, and an advisor to the President of the Russian Federation. He has received numerous awards for his contribution to Soviet and Russian sport. He is married and has three children and four grandchildren.

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