Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

This is the million dollar question. It has been a question for about 2 or maybe 3 years now since Kaka's reign is over. And now, that the Champions League final is coming and both players will try to shine, many are revisitting this answerless question. Personally, I like Messi more. Perhaps I like him more because I can identify with him more. He is South American. He is short. He like to dribble around people. I love that!

However, I think that you cannot compare them. I know is hard not to. But I dont think you can. I think that they are different players with different qualities. So how can you compare them? I would like to specify the qualities that I like from each player. Ronaldo can score from free kicks, long distances and with the head. Messi cannot do that. On the other hand, Messi can go around 2-3 guys easy and plays the one short touch passes with excellence. Ronaldo cannot do that. Can you imagine if they both end up on the same team?

I think Ronaldo deserved to win the FIFA player of the year in 2008 for all the trophies he won for Manchester United. However, I think this will be Messi's year to shine. He already brought 2 trophies to Barcelona. Many are saying that Manchester United will defeat Barcelona in the final. I love both teams. I love their soccer. However, my preference is Barcelona because I enjoy to watch Messi and company more. It is very disappointing that Dani Alves will not play. I am crossing my fingers that we can see Henry and Iniesta. I strongly believe that if Barcelona is complete (even without Alves), they can defeat Manchester United. I will predict a 2-1 game in Barcelona's favor!

Finally, I will like to end with this note. To be quite honest, if they ask me to select ONE player for my team, ANY player. I would have to reject Ronaldo and even Messi. It would be very difficult to do that. I must say that I would pick Steven Gerrard. Why? They guy does everything. He is Liverpool. He defends, blocks, creates, passes, headers, scores, free kicks beautifully. In my opinion, he is not recognized as he should be. He should've won the FIFA player already and many times over.

I want to see comments!

Dont miss the Champions League final May 27, 2009 at 1:30pm Man U vs Barca!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Does Barcelona deserve to be in the 2009 Championes League final and will they win?

Many are saying Barcelona does not deserve to be in the final. I understand that many Chelsea fans are angry because the ref did not call at least 2 out of th 5 possible penalties. I understand because if the situation was reversed against Barcelona I would be angry too. I am not a Barcelona hardcore fan. I would not have been depressed if Chelsea would have won. I am a fan of beautiful football. I think Barcelona has the beautiful football that Chelsea doesnt. I believe Barcelona does deserve to be in the final.

Chelsea went to Barcelona to defend. Barcelona had more ball possession and more attack at the Camp Nou. I apologize to all Chelsea fans but Chelsea is a boring defensive team. Yes it is a technical and effective team but they are boring and not fun to watch. It is hard for any team to score when most of the Chelsea players are defending. Ball possesion and chancs of goals at the Camp Nou were clearly in favor of Barcelona.

Chelsea had another midset for the game at home. They wanted a goal or two. I was excited about this game. However, Barcelona had key people missing and it is not fun or fair to watch a game when one team has key people missing. Henry, Puyol, Marquez all injured. Toure had to play center back which put inexperienced Sergio in the middle. Chelsea had the advantage. Yet, still Barcelona had more ball possession than Chelsea. Yes Chelsea had more clear chances and I applaud them for this but I dont think is fair to say that Chelsea was a better team.

Finally, I think most would agree that Barcelona is a better team than Chelsea. The overall yearly performance of Barcelona is better than Chelsea's. Barcelona completely dominated the local league. Chelsea, on the other hand, is struggling to maintain the third place in England. If you compare the goals stats for both teams you will find that Barcelona has way more goals than Chelsea in Champions. Both teams have similar defensive stats (goals against) but if you compare the attack Barcelona is a better team.

Barcelona will be missing key people like Alves and Abidal for the final. Hopefully Henry and Iniesta will be there. If the team is nearly complete, this Barcelona will beat Manchester United. Barcelona has better chemistry than Manchester United. The Barca players know each other very well and know how to pass to each other. Man U is a technical effective team. They have Ronaldo for set pieces which Barcelona doesnt. Barca must neutralize Man U key players to win. I believe Barcelona can do this.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Intense 2009 YMCA indoor soccer playoffs!

Chicago and Evanston, IL
Monday April 20 2009
The Soccer Times

Intense 2009 YMCA indoor soccer playoffs!

Wow! Intense playoffs! This past week was full of intense soccer starting with Chelsea eliminating Liverpool in Champions League semi final after a draw 4-4 and one of the best games in this tournament. However, there was nothing like the YMCA playoffs! Many thought that our favorite team, Joga Bonito, was in trouble after finding out that their goalie Mauricio was absent during the beginning of their first quarter final game. However, Captain Carlos Quintero (who by the way is also Joga Bonito's Manager, El Presidente, Owner, Waterboy and Chauffer) put the gloves on and took on the new role of second goalkeeper for Joga Bonito. He had no problem and gave the team plenty of confidence (he only had to goalkeep for a few minutes until Mau got ready). Here is the review of the playoffs:

Quarter Final 5pm: Joga Bonito vs YMCA1
YMCA 1 had no trouble defeating the People's Republic in the preliminary game 4-1 at 2pm. As a result, Joga Bonito had to face YMCA 1 at 5pm. They had comfronted once before in the regular season and the victory went to Joga Bonito 8-1. There was no surprise to see that JB dominated the game and with goals from the deadly Rolando (4), Pablo (2), Carlos (2) and Tony (1) defeated the YMCA 1 with a score of 9-0.

Semi Final 7pm: Joga Bonito vs Willard Warriors
Willard Warriors were the next opponents after they defeated the Purple Phreaks in a rough Quarter Final 3-1. Willard Warriors was one of the most defensive teams in the tournament as they have an outstanding goal keeper. They do not have good shooters but they do have an excellent defense system that only allowed 4 goals in the regular season same as JB. These teams had faced once before in the regular season and JB could only defeat WW with one goal 1-0. JB's dynamic duo Pablo and Rolando were very marked during the game and could not get the ball in. JB figured out that the strategy was to give the ball back to those who are not marked so they could shoot. JB's centerback, Keith, took action and ripped an 100mph shot which almost burned the net. Later on, defensive winger, Tony, gave a breath of relief to JB when he scored the second a final goal. JB won 2-0. JB was going to the final again!

Semi Final 8pm: Buckyballs vs Chupacabra
Yes, Chupacabra! Unbelievable. Everyone thought that Buckyballs would have gone to the final one more time. Buckyballs and Chupacabra faced in the regular season and BB won 7-1 with no problem. JB defeated Chupabra 10-0 in the regular season. However, this Chupacabra team in the playoffs was a completely different team. They were full of energy and hope. Buckyballs started defeating them 1-0, then Chupacabra ties. BB scored again to make it 2-1, then CC ties again to make it 2-2. BB finally scored a third which many thought would be the end, then with 30 seconds to go CC scores and the 3-3 game goes to penalty kicks. Everyone was shocked when BB missed two penalties and CC scored all 3. The final score was 3-1 in favor of Chupacabra!

Final 9pm: Joga Bonito vs Chupacabra
JB was probably happy to face CC at the final instead of BB. They probably thought this would be an easy final. Wrong! JB dominated most of the game and began winning 1-0 by the foot of Rolando. However, a minute before the end of second half CC has a breakthrough and scores the tie. Half time: 1-1. You can see the crowd biting their nails. JB's Rolando scores again and there is some relief, but not for long. CC has another breakthrough and ties the game 2-2! Was this the same team that lost 10-0 in the regular season? Not anymore! You can see JB frustrated! They calmed down and played their game. Tony finds the net and is 3-2 in JB's favor. They know that one goal advantage is not enough in indoor soccer. Pablo takes a kick in, Rolando fakes, the ball goes in! 4-2 JB winning! They feel a little better now. Finally, Captain Carlos receives a pass and rips one in the low bottom corner to make it 5-2. He screams: Yes! Joga Bonito has made history! Joga Bonito has won the YMCA tournament! Joga Bonito undefeated Champions!

"This is the best day of my life!" Yells an emotional Captain Carlos, "Willard Warriors and Chupabra were unbelievable opponents. They gave us such a hard time. But we did it! And it was fun! I am extremely proud of all my teammates. They are all outstanding players. They gave everything on the court yesterday. Joga Bonito 2009 Champions!"

Joga Bonito's 2009 amazing records include:
- Only undefeated team in the tournament with 11 wins, 0 draws and 0 losses.
- Best offense: 77 goals in favor in 11 games (7 goals per game in average!), Buckyballs were second with 47 goals in favor!
- Best defense: 6 goals against in 11 games, Willard Warriors were second with 7 goals against!

Joga Bonito's history:
- Founded in 2006 under the name of Chicago F.C. by Carlos Quintero
- Change name to Joga Bonito and eliminated in quarter finals in 2006.
- Lost the final in 2007.
- Eliminated in quarter finals in 2008.
- The only team members who have played all seasons are the brothers Mauricio and Ernesto Pumarejo.

The Soccer Times would like to congratulate Joga Bonito as 2009 YMCA champions. We would also like to thank all the readers for following this amazing tournament with us. Looking forward to the 2010 season!



Carlos Quintero
Joga Bonito Owner/El Presidente/Manager/Captain/Water Boy/Chauffer... and second goalkeeper!
The Soccer Times Reporter