Barcelona, Real Madrid and Schalke 04 all but booked their places after first leg goal fests against Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham and Inter Milan respectively but Chelsea only trailed Manchester United by one goal when they visited Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Chelsea were abysmal, and the 1-0 result on the night leaves plenty of questions but as yet, no answers.  Carlo Ancelotti surprised everyone, possibly including his players, by playing a 4-3-2-1 formation, once referred to as ‘the Christmas Tree formation’ by then England manager Terry Venables.  Frank Lampard played a more advanced role tucked in alongside Nicolas Anelka behind the lone striker, Fernando Torres while Didier Drogba started the match on the subs bench!

Not surprisingly Frank Lampard had a poor game and no effect on the match whatsoever. Drogba replaced Torres at half-time but the whole team were poor.  If only they hadn’t of sacked Ray Wilkins earlier in the season Ancelotti could have brought him on to replace any one of the midfield players.

Whether or not Ancelotti is being told to play Torres, I don’t expect he will be making the decision next season.  Rumours suggest Carlo Ancelotti is going to Roma in the summer and once again Roman Abramovich and Chelsea will no doubt be looking for a high profile manager to supply a quick fix rather than a long term strategy.

Spurs on the other hand put on a great performance that left their supporters cheering them on until the final whistle even when Heurelho Gomes fumbled a Christiano Ronaldo shot for Real Madrid to win 1-0 on the night and 5-0 over two legs. Tottenham now need to secure fourth place in the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League, if they are going to continue their progress under Harry Redknapp.

Manchester United have come unstuck in Champions League semi-finals against German opposition in the past including Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich, so will be weary of Schalke 04.  But the other semi-final is a mouth-watering prospect as Real Madrid play Barcelona.

Pepe Guardiola still has Barcelona playing at the peak of their game and for that reason they have remained favourites to win the Champions League all season.  However, if there’s one manager that can work out how to stop and beat Barcelona, it’s Jose Mourinho.  He managed to stifle Barca last season with an Inter Milan side that I believe were inferior to Real Madrid. And just to rub salt in Chelsea’s wounds, who would bet against Jose Mourinho being the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs?

I am going to stick my neck out and say I think Real Madrid will beat Manchester United in the Champions League Final at Wembley on 28th May.

Ten victories and two draws in La Liga is pretty much what we have come to expect from Mourinho and this season Real Madrid have predictably tightened up their defence while still scoring for fun at the other end.

Xabi Alonso has noticeably taken on more responsibility in the anchor role and Brazilian full back Marcelo has become more disciplined, focusing more on his defensive play than his obvious attacking abilities.

Up front Cristiano Ronaldo has been given a more central role for Madrid and is in the form of his life, scoring fourteen goals in twelve games for the team, his focus is on getting into the box and scoring rather than spending time out on the wing.

There is little to choose between the two teams currently sitting comfortably atop of La Liga, Barcelona trail by just one point, having scored the same amount of goals (33) and conceded two more (8).

David Villa has settled into his striking role at Barcelona as well as expected managing 46 shots so far this season, twenty five on target and scoring six goals.

But no doubt all eyes will be on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in tonight’s game, both players are on top of their game and this will hopefully be a game decided by a magical moment from one or the other of them.

Messi has continued his consistent goal scoring form throughout the season in both La Liga and Champions League, with 46 goals to his name between November 2009 and October 2010.

During that period Messi has scored a goal in every 81 minutes of play, followed closely by Ronaldo who has scored in every 91 minutes of play.

But it is easy to get carried away comparing the two current greatest footballers in the world and often in these games they are stifled by the opposing team which isn’t surprising when you consider the quality of players on show.

I have to go for Real Madrid tonight, only because of the tactical nous of Mourinho who knows how to get a result against Barcelona. Pep Guardiola is no slouch of course and will attempt to win the game by doing what Barca do best, playing sexy football and taking their chances.

But Spurs fans will be happy to see their summer signing Rafael Van der Vaart gatecrashing the Top 100 following his early season prowess for the North Londoners, a move which will probably surprise his former employers at Real Madrid.

Van der Vaart moves up from 503rd to 83rd on the back of his superb start to the season at White Hart Lane and not just for his goal scoring heroics, he also has a 91% success rate with his defensive tackles, winning ten out of eleven attempts so far in Premier and Champions League football.

The Premier League provides no less than eight of the top performers at this stage with Didier Drogba the highest ranking in fourth place. La Liga and the Bundesliga provide five apiece, Arjen Robben continuing his superb form at Bayern Munich to claim the third place in the player rankings.

CASTROL RANKINGS – TOP 20

The likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Fernando Torres and Lionel Messi failed to deliver on the biggest stage of all, though it’s worth noting the close attention Messi received that stopped him and that Torres was not match fit.  France, Italy and England above all other nations had a shocking World Cup and should all learn from Germany who gambled with a more youthful team.

The final was not a goal fest but I personally really enjoyed it.  Yes 4-3 would have been more exciting but apart from Holland’s bully-boy tactics, the match was brimming with attacking world class talent. Snyder, Robben and Van Persie for the Netherlands and Iniesta, Xavi and Villa for Spain.  The match was like a game of chess, each team attempting to outwit the opponent and building up play rather than toe-punting the ball around like headless English chickens.

As with each major football tournament where some players fail to deliver, a star or two are born.  Mezut Ouzil who apparently was courted by Manchester United before he signed to German club Werder Bremen in 2008 was as good as anyone in the 2010 World Cup and was unheard of outside Germany before the tournament began.  They will be lucky to hold on to him and resist the big money offers.  By contrast, David Villa had been touted as a world class striker for the past few seasons but he chose the World Cup stage to deliver.  No doubt Barcelona was very pleased to complete the signing before he scored five goals to share the Golden Boot.

I was surprised to see both Argentina and Brazil lose to Germany and Holland respectively at the quarter-final stage and am sure both countries will do better and be led by new managers at the next World Cup which is to be held in Brazil.

So by way of a 2010 South Africa World Cup roundup, here are a few awards:

My favourite goal of the World Cup was Giovanni Van Bronckhorst long range thunderbolt for Holland against Uruguay.

Best players of the tournament: David Villa, Diego Forlan, Wes Snyder, Mezut Ouzil & Andres Iniesta

Most surprising team performance: Ghana & Germany

Most underused commentary: “that was a great touch by Wayne Rooney”

Best team: Spain

And finally, here’s my 2010 World Cup XI

Goalkeeper: Castillas (Spain)

Defenders: Lahm (Germany), Lucio (Brazil), Puyol (Spain), Van Bronckhorst (Holland)

Midfield: Van Bommel (Holland), Ouzil (Germany), Iniesta (Spain), Snyder (Holland)

Forwards: Villa (Spain), Suarez (Uruguay), Robben (Holland)

A:3K is a unique and ultimate football challenge, bringing together six of the most exciting players currently playing in England and Spain and putting them through a series of challenges to determine the winner.

The players who will battle it out for the crown are Manchester United and England talisman Wayne Rooney, Real Madrid and Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, Arsenal and Spain star Cesc Fabregas, Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard and Barcelona and Spain hitman David Villa.

The event takes place at London’s prestigious O2 Arena on July 17th allowing fans to witness the breathtaking skills of their favourite players in the comfort of a theatre.

In fact a theatre is a fitting venue for this gladiatorial sports exhibition, designed to test the fitness levels as well as the skills of the players involved.

Each of the footballers will be put through five challenges;

Power: designed to test which of the contestants can strike the ball hardest

Curve: Will test the players accuracy when shooting on goal

Precision: Another accuracy test, this one relating to crossing of the ball from distance

Control: Will see how well the players contend with receiving a pass and using the ball effectively

Attack: Which will see the six contestants take each other on in an everyman for himself challenge

There will be no points awarded for diving skills in this tournament!

The player winning most points during the five challenges, will be crowned the A:3K King!

If you fancy some football with a difference and seeing some of the hottest headed players in a more relaxed atmosphere, A:3K tickets are now available for this unique event.

A:3K tickets are offered by viagogo where every A:3K transaction is 100% guaranteed to be safe and secure. As well as making it easy and simple to buy A:3K tickets or sell A:3K tickets, viagogo ensure their safe and prompt delivery with online tracking.

Florentino Perez and Jorge Valdano should surely know that this man will not lie down and be told who, or indeed how to play. He is his own man, much to the chagrin of Roman Abramovic, whose own ego couldn’t allow Mourinho to dictate matters at the club Roman so lovingly bought with his ‘dirty money’.

Moratti in a sense was the perfect owner for Mourinho, a powerful, yet understanding owner who knew when to open his wallet to keep Jose happy, and knew not to tamper in personnel issues on the pitch; are you listening Berlusconi, concentrate on embarrassing your people and leave Milan alone.

Alas the Italian press, combined with Mourinho’s satisfaction at having done all he can do at Inter Milan, means Mourinho will go from a situation where the club, owner, players and supporters loved him; to a situation where only the supporters and some players will love him.

As far as Perez sitting back while Jose does his thing, don’t think for one second Marca won’t get on his back and wedge a rod between manager and board. This is the same paper who forced the removal of Manuel Pellegrini, even though Real Madrid achieved a record number of goals and points this season.

Only Barcelona’s near perfect performances kept them from winning La Liga. They had decided long ago that Pellegrini should go, and they didn’t want to lose face by changing their minds. Marca are so narrow minded, that even if Real had brought home the league; they would have still called for his head, and Perez is too weak not to listen to the press.

But it gets worse, players like Cristiano Ronaldo don’t do defensive football, and Mourinho had Samuel Eto’o tracking back all the way through the Champions League final; and all season for that matter. Here is a proven goal scorer who has been relegated to a defensive wide forward playing under Mourinho. Sure he did it, but can you see Ronaldo and Kaka chasing down opposition full backs in their own half?  Come to that, as football fans, do we want them to?

These are gifted attacking players who provide magic and get you goals, but not for Mourinho.

Things are about to get very tense in the Madrid, and given that I don’t see Portugal going far in the World Cup this summer, there is going to be one unhappy Real Madrid number 9 come the start of the season, and if Mourinho doesn’t manage things just right, one of them will have to go; and given Real Madrid’s record with managers, Jose Mourinho might find himself back in the English Premiership sooner, rather than later.

castrol rankings

Designed to add substance to arguments across the UK over who is the best footballer in Europe, the Castrol Rankings use objective analysis and 100% accurate data to measure every pass, every tackle and every single move of over 2000 players and games every year, which means that the Castrol Ranking are based on actual performance.

Thierry Henry’s efforts in front of goal are what have made him the stand-out player of the last year. The French international scored five goals and provided three assists during Barca’s successful Champions League campaign and has contributed a further 18 goals and eight assists in La Liga during the 12-month period all of which have helped him become the world’s best performing player.

The key to Henry’s success has been the accuracy of his shooting with the forward finding the target with an impressive 70% of his shots compared to an average of 42% across the five main European leagues.

Surprisingly, the Premier League contributes only five players to the Castrol Rankings Top 20. However, further analysis shows that the English league has more players (33) in the top 100 than any of the five major leagues.

The Top 20 Players in the Castrol Rankings September 2009:

Watch Cristiano Ronaldo at the Castrol Rankings Top 20 Player Launch:

But why is it that when Man City offered £100 million for Kaka, the majority of English football pundits, commentators and overpaid ex-footballers shook their heads and frowned at the idea that Manchester City were prepared to pay such a large amount of money for any one player.  But £80 million for Cristiano Ronaldo between Real Madrid and Manchester United has not received the same level of criticism?

I believe there are equal measures of hypocracy and snobbery.  It’s okay for Real Madrid and Manchester United  because they are two of the biggest clubs in the world.  As Alex Ferguson likes to tell the media when playing mind games against Chelsea, ‘Manchester United has history!’

And like when Roman Abramovich made Chelsea the richest club in the world with his own money, the Manchester City owner and member of the Arab Abu Dhabi royal family, 38 year-old Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has unfairly been discrimated against as the richest clubs in the world have always paid large sums of money to prize the best players away from other teams.  It’s just not fair that someone can bully Ferguson and Manchester United around, is it?

There is an obvious elitist factor at play. Furthermore, surely it’s more acceptable for Manchester City and Chelsea to pay large sums of money for top players in this current climate than it is the likes of Manchester United.  Afterall, the Glazer Family bought Man United with borrowed money and have saddled that great club with allegedly £511 million of debt.  The sale of Ronaldo will not even pay 50% of this year’s interest repayment on Manchester United’s loans which allegedly stands at £45.5 million.

Kaka is one of the best players in the world.  But £56 million paid to AC Milan for the young Brazilian midfield playmaker, compared to £80 million for Ronaldo,  is a bargain.  Bayern Munich’s Frank Ribery and Liverpool’s Xavi Alonso were also on Florentino Perez’s wishlist at a recent press conference.  Those players have also been courted by Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively.

This summer’s transfer market has just got exciting.  Real Madrid have the money and the history to buy more top players, while Manchester City are going to find it more difficult to persuade the best players in the world to join them unless they are pushing 30 and are content with a massive weekly pay check and no European medals next season.

Manchester United will I assume look to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, maybe with someone like Frank Ribery; and if Carlos Tevez leaves Old Trafford they will most definitely need another striker to play alongside Wayne Rooney.  How about Stewart Downing and Jermain Defoe?

Arsenal need to strengthen their squad if they are prepared to put up a reasonable fight to stay in the ‘big four’ and Chelsea will have offered Carlo Ancelotti a reasonable amount of money to rebuild an aging team, if they are to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership or the Champions League.

Exciting times ahead this summer.

Perez arrived with his first aquisition, fans favourite Zinedine Zidane as an advisor and immediately set about installing a new coach to replace the departing Juande Ramos at the club. Villareal coach Manuel Pelligrini who is the longest serving coach in Spain’s top flight having spent the previous five seasons with the ‘Yellow Submarines’ has been announced as Ramos’s replacement.

The 55 year old Chilean will cost Real Madrid around 4million euros in compensation to Villareal.

Madrid have been a poor second best to Barcelona this season, the Catalan giants winning trophies on three fronts, while last seasons La Liga champions have struggled to find their game.  Perez is anxious to return Real Madrid to their previous glory and has promised fans that he will move heaven and earth to bring the worlds best players to the Bernabeu once again.

On Spanish TV last night, Perez spoke about his love of Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Frank Ribery and of course Cristiano Ronaldo, but was also realistic enough to suggest that Madrid would need to sell up to ten of their squad to enable them to bring in six new players.

Surprisingly the new Real Madrid President added that despite his love of Ronaldo who would be a ‘model signing’, he is unaware of any contractual agreement having been made by the player and former president of the club.

In the first 10 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United had three efforts on goal, as they pinned a startled Barcelona back into their own half.  With three of their four first team defenders missing through injury or suspension and Thierry Henry and Andres Iniesta passing late fitness test, like many people I spoke to, I expected Man Utd to beat Barcelona.

But after soaking up the pressure for 10 minutes Barcelona swept forward in a free flowing counter attack that resulted in Samuel Eto’o tricking his way past Nemanja Vidic and beating Edwin Van Der Sar at his near post.

From then on Barcelona bossed the midfield, and with it the entire game.  Ryan Giggs and Anderson were midfield pedestrians as they watched the stars of the show – Iniesta and Xavi.

In the semi-finals, Manchester United absolutely annihilated a good Arsenal team, while Chelsea contained Barcelona over two legs by cancelling out Barcelona’s midfield dominance, short passing ‘give and go’ style of total football, and most importantly man-marked Lionel Messi out of the game.  Barcelona had one chance in the second leg against Chelsea, and scored.

Though Man Utd have played for much of the season with a solid defence, it is not their way to cancel out another team in the way Chelsea did against Barca.  Manchester United’s philosophy is to score more goals than their opponents.  But Barcelona gave them little opportunity to do that, and in the second half, with United having to sacrifice a more balanced formation for attacking options, United became more exposed, leaving Lionel Messi to punish them in the way he was not able to do against Chelsea.

With second half substitutes Carlos Tevez & Dimitri Berbatov joining Wayne Rooney & Cristiano Ronaldo, and Man Utd looking like they might get back into the game, Barcelona hit them on the counter attack again, resulting in a sublime header by Lionel Messi from a Xavi cross.

As the final whistle blew I have never seen the Manchester United players look so shocked.  They don’t get beaten that often.  But more over, I have never seen them totally outplayed before, which I think was the reason for the stunned expressions. That said it was great to see both Alex Ferguson and the players being so magnanimous in defeat.  Ronaldo was last to collect a losers medal and made a point of shaking hands with the Barca players, as they waited in line to receive their winners medals.  A close up of a sincere Alex Ferguson applauding Barcelona as they received medals from Michel Platini.  I know Chelsea’s fury was aimed at the referee and not Barcelona in the semi-finals, but admitting defeat to a better team so soon after the event is a great advert for the game.

So, will Cristiano Ronaldo be facing Lionel Messi again next season?  Victory in the Champions League gave Barcelona their first ever treble, along with the La Liga title and the Spanish Cup and Pep Guardiola his second winners’ medal – he also won the trophy in 1992 as a Barcelona player.

Their closest rivals, Real Madrid need to rebuild if they are to seriously challenge Barcelona domestically, next season.  No doubt the ‘Ronaldo to Real’ will once again be alive and kicking by the time you read this.