Irony's A Bitch For Poor Old Jose

Jose Mourinho's gone mad. FINALLY.

After the dreadful Champions League semi-final last night Mourinho arrived at the traditional press conference infuriated. He was raging. Literally raging. He went as far to say that Barcelona's defeat of Chelsea in the CL semi's back in 2009 was a "scandal".

Mourinho, who had been sent the stands for mouthing the words "well done" to the 4th official, was borderline psychotic in his approach to the press and when he was pressed on how he thought the ref did he simply replied:

"I am disgusted at the world we live in. No one has any chance against Barca. Where does all this power come from? To win like this is very nasty'

'if i say what i think about uefa my career finishes here. But i leave a question, why?! Why Obrevo? Why tonight?

It was rather ironic that Mourinho complained about the referee as he had said on Tuesday that Pep was a manager who wants referees to get decisions wrong.

"I am not asking the referee to help my team. If the referee is good everyone will be happy - except Guardiola. He wants them to get it wrong."

"This is something I have never seen in the world of football."

Managerial counter-part Pepe Guardiola refused to be drawn into the hole Mourinho had dug for himself and chose to focus on the football rather than what happened elsewhere, particularly the lorryloads of theatrics that went on. He said:

"Reaction to rant of Mourinho about the referees and Barcelona? Have nothing to say."

"We're 90 minutes away from CL final, we're trying to get there."

The match itself had been severely starved of quality and had it not been for a late Lionel Messi show, it would have been known as - what the twittersphere began to label it - El Crappico. Foul, after foul, after foul, it nearly became an all-out brawl as both sides saw red either side of half-time. Barcelona substitute keeper Pinto was involved in a half-time scrap with Alvaro Arbeloa when he saw red and midway through the second-half Real Madrid defender-turned-holding-midfielder Pepe challenged for the ball with Dani Alves, who went down on the ground in a heap and the result was inevitable, a red card for Pepe.

The two Spainsh giants have now played each other four times this season with Barca prevailing twice, Madrid once and a draw in the League which basically has the league in Barca's hands for yet another season . With yet another El Classico to come next Wednesday you can only hope that a repeat of this El Farcico could turn the worlds most looked forward to clash into nothing but another 'one of those matches'.

Ozil Delighted At Madrid

Mesut Ozil yesterday shone a light on his career short at Madrid, which has yet to last 6 months, but he's claimed he's delighted at the opportunity given to him by Jose Mournho. He was one of the stars to feature at this years World Cup, earning him worldwide recognition and as a result, securing a move to the Bernabeau.

(Translation was given in Spanish so sorry if it's sketchy).

“I have adapted fast. I have had the support of my family who was with me the first weeks. Everything is very familiar. The training are taken in serious, but we passed it well together outside the field”

Ozil has claimed that Real Madrid is "one of the greater clubs of the world"  and Ozil still has "dreams to fulfill" as he aims to become one of the worlds greatest in the game.

  "The long term objective is to be one of the best ones of the world. For that reason I took the step to come to Madrid, because I want to continue evolving here, with Mourinho”.

It's noticed from this interview that Ozil is thoroughly enjoying life in Madrid and he wants to continue to aim for trophies in the future with Real Madrid. Talking to "Weekly XL" he recalled the day he received the call from Mourinho, asking him to join Real Madrid.

 

 “I am very to taste with my new trainer, and not only because it has gained many titles with several equipment. In order to come here most important it was the conversation with him when it was in the Werder Bremen. It said to me it at all costs loved that me in the equipment. It lasted half an hour, three quarters, by telephone. It convinced to me and for that reason I am here.

 

Real Madrid End 2010 On A High

8-0. Yes, that's right. No error. Last night at the Bernabeau, Real Madrid lined up to bow out of 2010 in style and were ruthless from the word go as they demolished lowly ranked Levante. As soon as Benzema shot narrowly wide in the second there was a sense of excitement at the Bernabeau and it was a sign of more to come.

Ronaldo & Angel Di Maria were among the stars tearing apart a dismal Levante team with Asier Del Horno their only real threat.

The Galacticos have responded in spectacular form from their 5-0 drubbing from current champions Barcelona just over two weeks ago, with four wins out four and now looking like title contenders again.

Ronaldo & Benzema netted hat tricks each with Pedro Leon & Mesut Ozil grabbing a goal as well. Los Blancos were ruthlessly ripping Levante to pieces, with the side from Valencia struggling to get going in the game.

Benzema was spectacular in the first half bagging a brace along with Ozil and Ronaldo getting on the scoresheet and come the stroke of half time it was 4-0.

Real Madrid started the second half steadily and it wasn't until the 69th minute that they increased their lead. The jack of all trades Di Maria sent Karim Benzema through on goal and he made no mistake with a sublime finish, further increasing Levante's woes.

It was 6-0 when Di Maria again was instrumental as he rolled a ball through to Ronaldo who sent the ball past Munua. It was 7-0 just two minutes later as Ronaldo completed his hat trick as Benzema's pass evaded the defence and Ronaldo again scored, bringing his tally to 25 for the season. And just minutes after that Madrid made sure there would be no consolation for Levante as Pedro Leon rounded the keeper and slotted home into an empty net to round off a humiliating night for the visitors.

Brief Thoughts On The Champions League Last 16 Draw

Earlier today UEFA contested the draw for the Champions League Last 16 and as always they dished up some mouth-watering ties. Arsenal vs Barcelona is BY FAR the most anticipated crunch match and Arsenal didn't do themselves any favours by finishing second in their group. Manchester United & Chelsea received kind fixtures, drawing Marseille & FC Copenhagen respectively. There is also a rematch of last seasons final with Inter taking on Bayern Munich. High Flying Tottenham drew AC Milan who wobbled through their group.

Arsenal must surely be worried considering they drew the almighty Barcelona. In recent years Barcelona have established themselves as the 'passing' perfectionists and they play a simliar footballing side with Arsenal arguably the most entertaining Premier League side to watch. I'm predicting an exciting encounter with Barca slightly edging the Gunners. Who knows, we might even have 'The Messi Show" again!

Champions League first timers Tottenham face a difficult visit to the San Siro but if they perform like they did against last seasons champions Inter Milan they could be in with a real shout. They are also the Champions League's top scorers, with a tally of 18 and with the likes of Rafa Van Der Vaart, Jermain Defoe & Luka Modric, I can see them cruising into the quarter finals and set up a potential visit to the Nou Camp.

Here is the full draw in chronological order:

AS Roma  vs FC Shakhtar Donetsk 
AC Milan  vs Tottenham Hotspur FC
Valencia CF  vs FC Schalke 04 
FC Internazionale Milano  vs FC Bayern München 
Olympique Lyonnais  vs Real Madrid CF
Arsenal FC  vs FC Barcelona 
Olympique de Marseille  vs Manchester United FC 
FC København  vs Chelsea FC

Mesut Ozil - A Player Profile

Mesut Ozil was born 15^th October 1988 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. He quickly established himself as a key player to Gelsenkirchen team and he continued to play for an array of teams until Shalke 04 came knocking. He grasped the opportunity with both hands and joined them in 2005 when he was only 17. He originally came in as a replacement for the suspended Lincoln and excelled against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. His talent was extraordinary and he was immediately asserted into the first team. Unfortunately he fell out with the club staff at Shalke and in January 2008 he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of €4.3 million signing a 3 year contract. He was the ideal replacement for Brazilian Diego who had departed Bremen to join Serie A big guns Juventus. He didn’t get much playing time in that first season due to arriving in the January transfer window but in his second season he impressed, helping Werder to the last ever UEFA Cup as they eventually lost out to Shaktar Donetsk. He continued to impress and by the end of his second season he had grabbed an impressive 3 goals and 15 assists as he was proving to be a real hit with the fans. His third and final season at Werder Bremen was what got him noticed on the international scene as he sensationally scored 9 goals and provided 21 assists in 31 appearances.

He was chosen for the German national side to contest at the U-21 European Championships and he was key to their success leading them to victory at the final over England 4-0. He was rapidly evolving as an outstanding individual player and within 2 years he was contesting for the national side. The German U-21 coach Horst Hrubesch paid tribute to Ozil and he was famously quoted to have said, “We in Germany are prone to rave about foreign players. We praise Wayne Rooney to the heavens, likewise (Cristiano) Ronaldo or Messi. But we have our own Messi. Our Messi is Ozil”

It was at the World Cup 2010 at which he marked his territory and became a household name. He continually performed miraculously as he helped Germany in finishing third. He featured in all of Germany’s group games and even scored a fantastic volley to secure a 1-0 win over Ghana. He was again instrumental in the Germans demolition of struggling England as he provided the cross of Thomas Muller to round of an inspirational 4-1 over the English. He received endless praise for his World Cup displays and he was shortlisted for the ‘Golden Ball’ award at the World Cup and he was also shortlisted as a nominee for the Ballon D’or.

After the World Cup he attracted global media attention as people were debating where he would go next. He decided to move to Real Madrid ignoring the pleas from Manchester United & Chelsea. In 15 appearances so far (as of 12^th December 2010) for the Galactico’s Ozil boasts 5 goals and 9 assists to his name.

What's Next For Edin Dzecko?

Who is Edin Dzecko you ask? Unless you've been living in a bubble you would have noticed that he is a dominant character in the German Bundesliga. He and Brazilian striker Grafite have proved more than a handful for defenders worldwide. He's established himself as a striker for VFL Wolfsburg and he recently broke Wolfburg's goal scoring record. His strengths are most definitely centered around his aerial prowess and his positioning is very good. Although, what he does need to improve on his temperament issues, as Wayne Rooney once had to issue.

He's been linked to clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham, big spenders Manchester City and most recently Real Madrid but he has signed a deal extending his stay at the German champions until 2013 however a big move is still on the cards. A move could be made for him this coming transfer window with Manchester City very interested in his services and he would be an ideal replacement for the furious Tevez.  It was reported today that Dzecko had contacted City himself in a plea to move to Eastlands in the January transfer window. The guardian reported that he sent a hand-written letter to Eastland's officials appealing to them to make a bid. He would arrive as either a replacement or partner for City talisman Carlos Tevez.

 Personally, I don't think he'd find a starting place at Chelsea and he wouldn't be needed at White Hart Line extending the on going strikers list to 6 with Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe & Pavuylchenko currently challenging for starting places.

Dzecko has scored 8 goals in 15 appearances this season for Wolfsburg. Between him and the explosive Grafite they have formed the best partnership arguably to have ever existed in the German Bundesliga. In his 3 years at VFL Wolfsburg he has scored 59 goals in 96 appearances, surpassing the previous record holder Diego Klimowicz who had netted 57 in 146.