L’Equipe a French sports journalist initiated the “European Cup” in the year of 1955. The tournament was formally known as “The European Cup” and was renamed “The UEFA Champions League” during the 1992-1993 season. The competition is now managed by the Union of European Football Association (UEFA). It is a seasonal competition where 32 of the best clubs from all over Europe compete to become the best soccer club in the whole of Europe. The clubs compete to achieve the most coveted title in football, “The European Champion Clubs Cup” as it is now known. The matches take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays all around Europe. The winners of this tournament qualify for the International Cup, which is played against the winners of South America’s official league “Copa Libertadores”. Real Madrid CF was the first team to win the European Cup, since then they have won the league eight times. This includes the five consecutive wins from 1955-1956 to 1959-1960.

So what is it that makes the tournament so special?

The top domestic clubs of every European country that are members of the UEFA are allowed to play the game. The only country not participating in the competition has been Liechtenstein, as they do not have a domestic league.

The game has evolved a lot since L’Equipe initiated it. He wanted to have an all-European club competition while the UEFA’s founder members wanted to have an all-European national competition. In 1992-1993 not only did the name of the tournament change, the way it was organized was also different. An initial group stage was introduced in addition to the knockout matches, and a qualifying round was introduced. This was done so that more teams from other nations of Europe could participate. The number of teams participating shot up from eight teams to thirty-two teams. Now, even clubs that finish from second to fourth in the most competitive domestic leagues are also eligible to participate in the tournament. UEFA coefficient is the basis on which the associations are ranked. This is done to obtain the number of places in the competition for every association.

The tournament is divided into stages:

The group stage: qualifying stage.

The knockout stage: second round, quarter, semi and the finals.

The group stage consists of eight groups each comprising of four teams. In the group stages the teams have to qualify against three other teams to make it to the top of the group. The first and second teams in each group qualify to play the second round, which is a knockout round. Each team has to play twice, (once at home and once away) at every stage except the finals. The final does not have the two-leg system. The venue for the final is decided by UEFA two years in advance.

The introduction of the group stages helped clubs and players alike to learn and understand the way clubs and players of various other nations played soccer.

Why do people love to watch the UEFA Champions League?

The UEFA Champions League is the best place where millions of people get to watch their favourite players like Cristiano Ronado, Ronaldinho, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, well known as Kaka in action. People not only get to watch their favorite players but they also get to watch the best clubs from all over Europe compete against each other throughout the year.

The Manchester United Football Club is an English Club that was formed in 1878 and was formally known as Newton Heath LYR(Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). They have been nicknamed the “Red Devils” and “United”. Their home ground is the Old Trafford stadium located in Greater Manchester. The capacity of this stadium is 76,312 and is of only two stadiums in England, which have been given the UEFA 5-star rating. The current chairmen of the club are Joel and Avram Glazer and Sir Alex Ferguson has been the manager of the club for the past 20 years and the current captain is Gary Neville.

Manchester United have had to fight their way to the top to be the best soccer team in England. They have had their share of hurdles in the past like the bombing on Old Trafford during the Second World War and the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of eight players of United when the British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on take-off at Munich, Germany. Manchester United were recently defeated in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on the 2nd of May 2007 by AC Milan where Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite A.K.A Kaka scored the opening goal of the match only to defeat United by 3-0 at San Siro. But one should not forget that Manchester United is the first and only team to win the Treble. They did this in the year of 1998-99, when the Red Devils won the Premier league on the final day by defeating Tottenham Hotspurs 2-1, which was enough to put them ahead of Arsenal who defeated Aston Villa 1-0. United won 2-0 against Newcastle United in the finals of the FA Cup. United also went on to win the UEFA Champions League by defeating Bayern Munich in the final 2-1 during injury time. This was considered to be one of the greatest comebacks ever witnessed in the history of football. The Red Devils have won the English Premier league 16 times, the FA Cup 11 times (a record), the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League Cup twice and the Intercontinental Cup and the European Super Cup once.

Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign Ronaldinho in the year of 2003, but the deal fell through. This was because the Manchester United and PSG could not agree upon the fee and lost the bid to FC Barcelona who signed Ronaldinho for £50million Manchester United’s current first team line up consists of goalkeeper Edwin van der sar; defenders Gary Neville (captain), Patrice Evra, Gabriel Heinz, Rio Ferdinand; midfielders Michael Carrick, Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs (vice captain) and forwards like Wayne Rooney and Luis Saha. Their current starting line up has skilled substitutes on the bench comprising of players from all over the world. They are the Premier League Champions of 2007 with only one match to go in this season and Chelsea six points behind them at second place. Manchester United is to face Chelsea in the finals of the FA Cup on the 19th May 2007 at the new Wembley Stadium.

Considering The Red Devils achievements in the past and the way they have grown as a soccer club and the way they have handled the difficult situations, they can be considered as the greatest soccer club of all time.

When playing Soccer, both fans and the players know that it takes more than kicking the ball around. The basics of soccer involve all the mumbo jumbo of stamina, skill, teamwork, practice etc. But when running and controlling the ball, which this ‘beautiful game’ is all about, it comes down to the boots, widely known as cleats and studs in North America. Because of the different surfaces that soccer can be played on there is an assortment of cleats to choose from. The soccer boots support a player and not using the right ones makes the players lose balance. Without this balance, it is near impossible to play good soccer, leave alone professional football and so the boots are essential for any player’s performance. From the conventional sneakers to the innovatory Adidas Copa Mundial, the gamut is limitless, making it an overwhelming decision even for a pro to pick the right one.

Selecting a soccer boot involves technicality and not wearing the right one is as good as playing in high heels. If picking the right boots burns a hole in the pocket, its advantage is felt when on the field. For the amateurs, the traditional sneakers or the cheap synthetic plastic uppers maybe feasible, but the experienced professionals need to buy the latest modular boots or the kangaroo leather uppers. With players like Christiano Ronaldo renowned for impressive footwork, tricks and skill on the ball to stay at the top of his game, his Nike Mercurial Vapor III (MVIII) Football Boots play an important role. With soft or firm ground sole plates, the lightweight-construction of the boots really work for Ronaldo. They assist him in sprinting and covering more distance and as frequently as possible. The boots have other features that enhance footwork control, as well as better flexibility, a technology developed by Nike known as ‘Speed Last’ for better comfort and maximum speed benefit.

Even Ronaldinho has his custom made shoe by Nike, known as the Nike Tiempo Ronaldinho. It is based on the traditional styled foot boot, but has an improved outsole and a larger sweet spot and Ronaldinho himself has stated, “With the way I play, I needed a bigger sweet spot,” and this shows that the boots have an effect on the game. The shoes worn by other such athletes are top of the line and custom made for the players, like ‘Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite’ aka Kaka, the Brazilian Mid fielder, who wears the Adidas +Predator Absolute which gives him the necessary handling, speed and power. Kaka even has “I belong to Jesus” on the tongue of his shoe, but that is his faith and not a shoe enhancement.

So when selecting soccer boots, the pitch has to be taken into consideration. The synthetic pitches require an underfoot that will give a better grip for better foot work. The astro turf trainers would be perfect because of their short rubber studs. And on fields of dry grass, moulded studs or bladed studs would be appropriate, since they are a bit longer and give a better grip on grass than trainers and once again, are much more comfortable on such pitches. Removable studs are apt for muddy pitches since they give a better grip on soft ground.

Futsal is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese words fútbol sala/de salón and futebol de salão respectively, which in English mean indoor football. Hence, futsal is a type of indoor football(soccer). It is the only indoor soccer game approved by FIFA. FIFA has been holding the Futsal World Cup since 1989. It played between two teams of five players each, including a goalkeeper. It comprises of two halfs of 20 minutes each. The pitch of futsal is similar to that of the normal soccer pitch only smaller in dimensions (25 meters minimum and 42 meters maximum in length), roughly the size of a basketball court. Futsal is different to the American five-a-side football. The main point of difference being that in futsal there is no dasher board. It is a much more suprerior game in terms of techniques and ball handling and is a complete skill game.

The ball used in futsal is smaller than the ball used in the normal soccer game and it is much heavier too. The weight of the ball does not allow it to bounce much. The ball has 30% less bounce as compared to the normal soccer ball. Hence, this forces the players to rely on their skills and not the bounce of the ball to shoot or pass the ball. As there is no dasher board to bang the ball against, the players have to rely on their passing and tackling skills. The pitch in futsal is small and maintaining ball possession becomes difficult, this enhances ones distributional skill. Futsal improves the mental ability of the players as they have to think a couple of steps ahead and have to use one touch passing at times, as there is less space for movement. It relies on quick thinking of the player and improves ones split second decision making abilities. Futsal helps in making a better team player, as it involves a lot of accurate player to player passing, which is necessary if the team wants to keep possession of the ball. Hence, it enhances the players close quarter footwork. It also helps in increasing ones shooting skills as the off target shots will not rebound against a wall and the goal is much smaller than the usual soccer goal. Many shots are taken during the game; this in turn boosts the player’s confidence of shooting. The game of futsal also helps in improving the goalkeeper’s skills, as he cannot touch the ball with his hands whenever the ball is passed back to him. The ball can be passed back to the goalkeeper only once during the entire course of the game. Futsal also decreases the amount of foul play, as the players are not allowed sliding tackles and shoulder pushes. There is also a five foul limit and players are not allowed to make a wall when the free kick on the sixth foul is being taken. This confirms the fact that futsal improves the mental state of the player with the physical side too.

Young players develop their reflexes, quick thinking ability and passing and shooting skills much better with futsal. It thus helps to improve the overall fundamentals of soccer with more effect. Some of the greatest Brazilian players like Bebeto, Pele, Ronaldo, Socrates, Zico owe their ball handling skills to the game of futsal. Even the current upcoming stars and skilled players like and too have played futsal in their youth.