And they did just that by beating two powerhouse teams from the English Premier League, Chelsea FC and Man-U.

Giant killers, that is exactly what FC Barcelona has become after winning the 2009 UEFA Champions League. Nobody thought this team would even make it to the final game but after shocking Chelsea FC and following that up with a comfortable win over Manchester United to win the cup, I guess nobody would question this team’s resolve form now on.

In what has become another scintillating showcase of the finest footballers in the world, FC Barcelona dethroned Man-United to become the new champions of the UEFA Champions League, controlling the game from start to finish to beat the defending champs, 2-nil.

It was a disappointing end to what has been a promising campaign for Manchester United, looking to become the first side to retain the trophy in the Champions League era.

For some reason, Man-U just couldn’t get through the defense of the Spanish football giants and for the first time in quite a while, Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t get his team going. Instead, he was getting more and more frustrated as the clock continued to tick away with defeat looming.

Barcelona jumped on Man-U right from the get-go, coming up with the first goal of the game in the 10th minute after…

Barcelona FC clashing against Manchester United in the final of the UEFA Champions League was something that everyone was dreaming about.

Manchester United advanced to the 2009 UEFA Champions League final in Rome after convincingly beating Arsenal 4-1 on aggregate. The Red Devils had to wait 24 hours after triumphing at the Emirates to know who will be their opponents come May 27 at the Stadio Olimpico.

And with all the controversy one could ever think of, it was revealed to be Pep Guardiola’s Catalan Giants FC Barcelona, after the Blaugrana controversially ousted Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona and Manchester United are two clubs from two different countries with a completely different culture all together. However, history shows that as much as they have dissimilarities, they also have similarities, which give this UEFA Champions League final a real flavor of glamor and style.

This will be a battle between the young and the old, the inexperienced one and the wise one, the great…

That’s on May 27 for all you fans who love soccer.

Manchester and FC Barcelona have moved into the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final. Man-U dominated Arsenal 3-1 to win their second leg match while Barcelona shocked Chelsea with a 1-1 draw that gave them the aggregate victory based on away goals.

You read it, Barcelona FC denied us of a classic Man-U – Chelsea rivalry game for the UEFA Champions League title. Andres Iniesta scored in injury time for Barcelona as they got a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. Barcelona was down to 10 men at the time so the goal was even more unlikely. Chelsea FC had led since the 9th minute when Michael Essien scored. It looked like a sure win for the Blues when Barcelona’s Eric Abidal was sent off in the 66th minute. STILL, Barcelona was able to get the equalizer in injury time.

”We fought. Pep (Guardiola) rallied us well at halftime and we never gave up to the final whistle,” said Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o. ”This is from a season’s worth a work.” Chelsea FC complained about the refereeing in the game but they really have no one to blame but themselves. Giving up a goal in injury time when Barcelona was down to 10 men was inexcusable.

Barcelona will now advance to the Champions League Final on May 27, giving them enough time to get injured Thierry Henry back in the lineup. Barcelona will be playing for their third Champions League title after…

Of course, he knows more than anyone else, that nobody can get it right in Stamford Bridge but him.

And since Chelsea FC, after firing Luiz Felipe Scolari, would now have their third manager in the post Jose Mourinho era, Mourinho expects that he’ll return as manager of the Blues one day.

Currently, Jose Mourinho is doing a solid job as boss of Inter Milan but because of the successive failures all these managers have been experiencing with Chelsea FC, the ”Special One” ain’t shutting the door on his former club just yet. Hell, Blues fans want him back anyway once new manager Guus Hiddink steps aside.

”If you are asking me if you think one day I will return to Chelsea, I tell you ‘yes, I think so’, although I’m not saying when,” Jose Mourinho said.

”We were so happy together. Chelsea fans have a different feeling for me. It’s a different emotion with them. I always wish them well because they are a special club for me and I have special friends there. I belong to their story and they belong to my story. I hope they get back to what they were because the club has changed.”

Mourinho believes his former club is still suffering from the after effects of his departure. And although…

The Champions League tournament is down to eight teams, half of them coming from the English Premiership.

England should be feeling pretty good after four of their English football teams made it to the 2009 UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Defending champion Manchester United took out Inter Milan 2-0 to win 2-0 on aggregate while Premiership rivals; Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool also advanced.

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea FC and Liverpool are the big dogs of the Premiership and it was only fitting that all four of them got to the quarterfinals of the biggest football tournament of the year.

The Manchester United Red Devils were able to hold off Inter Milan to advance. ”It was one of those long European nights where you don’t know if you’re watching a game of football or watching a game of suicide,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said after the fixture.

”After scoring the first goal, I thought we would go on and kill them. But after going ahead we started trying to put icing on the cake and we were lucky to be in front at half-time.”

As stated, Man-U’s rivals from the Premiership also got through the Champions League quarterfinals…

It was sweet revenge for Sir Alex Ferguson and his Man-U contingent.

The 2009 UEFA Champions League just got interesting after Manchester United qualified for the quarter finals, earning a 2-0 win over Inter Milan and giving Ferguson a win over his rival, Jose Mourinho.

You see, Jose Mourinho, now with Inter Milan, has been kicking Ferguson’s ass for years when Mourinho was then with Chelsea FC. It was ironic that Ferguson was in a face-off with his old nemesis again and fortunately for Fergie, Manchester United managed to pull through this time around.

Thanks to strong early starts from Man-U in each of the two halves of the fixture, Manchester United defeated Inter Milan, 2-0, to earn the trip to the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League.

Nemanja Vidic came up with a header for Man-U early in the first half before Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the deal with another header early in the second. Of course, Old Trafford was more than happy to see their club moving on in the tournament, especially since it’s a win over Mourinho.

”My team was fantastic but they were not lucky,” Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho said.

There were times in the fixture that Inter Milan looked…

Of course, it’s still a little early to determine who’ll win the big one but still…

The Premiership has been dominated by Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in recent seasons. Liverpool wants to join those three teams and so far in the 2008 English Premier League, they have.

Liverpool is at the top of the mountain at this point and star Dirk Kuyt believes his team can stay there. ”Every three games we have a big game. We had Everton and PSV last week, and our target is just to win every game and try to be there by the end of the season.”

”But it was vital to keep pace with Chelsea before the internationals. We can leave with a good feeling.”

”We’ve already had one international break and we came back in our first game after it and beat Manchester United, so I wouldn’t say it comes at a bad time. Anyway, we don’t need any excuses. We’ll just keep on going and see how we do against Wigan in our next game.”

One problem for Liverpool is that they will be without defender Martin Skrtel for months after he suffered damage to his posterior cruciate ligament of his right knee.

”Martin underwent a scan this morning which showed…”

As if we care. For those of you who do, read on.

Many football teams playing in the 2008 English Premier League are dealing with injuries. Chelsea is at the top of the standings with their unbeaten start but they are already missing a number of their key players.

In their Champions League match with FCR Cluj, Chelsea was without Joe Cole, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole. What’s even worse is that they lost Didier Drogba to a knee injury in that match and he could be out of a while. John Terry and Alex were also hurt in that match.

”I need to think for the game on Sunday,” said manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. ”I have a few days to build the team again. I don’t know now what the possibilities I have for Sunday are.”

The injuries really could cause Chelsea to fall out of first place.

”If Didier is out for a while, we will have to pitch in with goals from all around the team, which we can do, though the situation is not ideal,” said midfielder Frank Lampard. ”The experience is not really there, but I believe the quality is.”

Sunderland, on the other hand, is still without striker Kenwyne Jones.

”Kenwyne’s making good progress,” Sunderland manager Roy Keane said. ”The surgeon is delighted with the way it is going. He’s working extremely hard to get back and is showing…”

”Kingdom of Newcastle?” I know, I know, that was a weak one.

Still, we are only starting with the 2008 English Premier League season and we already have one manager out of a job.

Reports claim Kevin Keegan is out as manager of Newcastle United following a meeting with the club’s directors. Keegan was reportedly unhappy about the ownership and was not willing to do much in the transfer market.

The transfer issue really came to a head a few weeks ago when Dennis Wise took over as executive director at Newcastle. Since that time, the team has been unable to sign any big names and Keegan was upset of the lack of action.

Kevin Keegan was welcomed back at Newcastle with open arms in January after Sam Allardyce was fired. Keegan first coached Newcastle in 1992 and did quite well at the helm. He resigned in 1997 and went on to manage Fulham, England and Manchester City.

To end the Keegan – Newcastle relationship again this way was funny to say the least. Obviously, fans of Newcastle are not happy with Keegan leaving. They were heard to be chanting ’sack the board’ during one of Newcastle’s fixtures.

Security guards had to force the fans to leave but obviously, tensions were high surrounding the departure of the…

And he’s not even playing for Chelsea then, in a freaking Premier League fixture.

Playing for Ghana in their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Libya, Chelsea FC midfielder Michael Essien suffered a knee injury that could keep him out for at least a few months.

The injury is a BIG BLOW for Chelsea too as they were hoping to keep up with Manchester United in the 2008 English Premier League season. With Essien out, ”keeping up” with Man-U should be the least of their problems. Hell, if they’re not careful, they could start talking about relegation and THAT will be a serious problem.

Manchester United has been denying Chelsea FC of titles for quite some time now and they were hoping that this season could be their time to return at the top of the food chain. With these developments, they just might have already bid the Premiership goodbye without Man-U doing anything yet.

”He has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo an operation as soon as the majority of the swelling has subsided. We expect this to happen in a week’s time,” Chelsea FC said. ”A return to full fitness is not expected for several months.”

And it seems the bad news doesn’t end for Chelsea. It seems the team…