We’re only what, 2 weeks into the season? Yeah, that’s right, and already it’s obvious(again) who will be crowned champions. Chelsea or Manchester United. It’s that simple, it’s that agravating.

I’m all about competition and it’s evident already that this season is going to be a two-horse race. Manchester United has only gotten better since they won the league title last year. Their one concern, Cristiano Ronaldo leaving, seems to have subsided and they are again playing great soccer.

As for Chelsea, they seem to be playing with an enormous chip on their shoulder. And they are playing well with it. After coming in second to United last year in the Premier League and losing in penalties in the Champions League final, they seem determined to reclaim those titles and hand United a little payback.

This is the thing, it’s not that United and Chelsea are so good, it’s that the rest of the league is so inconsistent. Arsenal seem to immature and young to ever make a title run for the next five years. It seems as if they are unwilling, or unable, to pay the money United and Chelsea have given out to keep up with the best. Liverpool seemed to be one of this year’s biggest threats but it seems to me that nothing has been done to be classed with Chelsea and Man United. Although they’ve shown hope so far this season, I don’t think it will last.

Listen, I know its early but let’s be frank here. Arsenal sucks, Tottenham is never good but not great, Liverpool just won’t make it and Manchester United has Cristiano Ronaldo. I’m praying that I’m wrong here and we’ll all look back at this post and laugh, but I’m afraid it won’t happen.

By Sean Connolly

In one of the most drawn out signings in recent memory, Ronaldinho has officially signed with AC Milan. It seems like such a long time ago when it was first said that Ronaldinho would be a part of AC Milan, and after several months and several teams getting involved it’s finally over with.

Many things have happened but in the end I have become a Rossonero player. I am happy to find so many Brazilians but also all the champions that wear the Rossoneri colors. I am really happy. After many years I am here. I am delighted to have arrived to AC Milan and I hope to be able to give a lot of joy to everyone.

Ronaldinho on Finally Signing With AC Milan

AC Milan’s new product will be shown off on Thursday as Ronaldinho will be welcomed with welcomed arms at the San Siro Stadium at 9:30 P.M. This tedious transfer hasn’t taken its toll though. Both Inter Milan, and Manchester City were very well involved in looking to pick up the once world’s greatest player. It has also affected other players who have been unsure where to go, with a portion of their decision in the hands of Ronaldinho. Emmanuel Adebayor seemed the likely choice for Milan but suddenly chose Ronaldinho over the Arsenal star. There has also been rumors that Frank Lampard and Ronaldinho wanted to join forces and that a trade could put those two together.

This transfer should open the flood gates for a lot of moves in the next week or two. It seemed like this and the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer seemed to be blocking the door for a lot of teams. Barcelona haven’t looked back on Ronaldinho as they themselves have signed Alexander Hleb to a 4 year deal from Arsenal.

Who are the losers in this move though? It has to be Manchester City. At one point it seemed imminent that Manchester City would in fact steal Ronaldinho from AC Milan and sign the star but even after offering more than the 21 million Euros that AC Milan will pay Ronaldinho, his heart is in Milan. Signing Ronaldinho looked like such a smart and promising move for Manchester City that would have garnered them much attraction and could possibly allow them to compete with Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United. Now, even after signing Brazilian Jo, things look bleak for Manchester City as they may need to pull out another blockbuster to bring them up the table.

What does moving to Serie A mean for Ronaldinho? Personally I think this is where it ends for the star. The league is way too strong defensively for Ronaldinho to pull out his magic and he will soon become an average player whose impact won’t reflect his paycheck. I think it’s time to bid Ronaldinho farewell as he will become lost in Italy.

By Sean Connolly

With a slap Didier Drogba shattered Chelsea’s dreams of winning the Champion’s League. Today’s game will go down in history as the best game in Champion’s League history and includes the worst mistake in soccer since Zidane’s headbutt in the 2006 World Cup Final.

Before I get into the finer things of the game let me sum up the final penalty kicks that made this game so exciting.

Tied after two overtime periods, penalty kicks were the only solution. At about half past one in Moscow, Russia both teams would have to fight through rain and try and take the cup. Both Chelsea and Manchester United made their first two shots convincingly. Then, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up for the third shot with the score still tied. Surprisingly, the best player in the world failed to step up and it’s all due to his dumb move that he thinks fools the keepers but in facts gives them a better chance. Ronaldo’s penalty approach has been talked about amongst fans and head officials in Europe as to whether it was legal or not. Either way the star stepped up, stopped, and then had his shot blocked by Petr Cech. This stop and go move could have easily cost Manchester United the title, and he should quickly get rid of it before it ends up costing United a game. The tension built up to the 5th and possibly final shot for the Chelsea Captain, John Terry. With rain pouring down in Russia, the captain had a chance to end the game and give Chelsea the cup. He slipped as he shot and forced the ball right, just glancing the outside of the post. Two feet to the right would have won the game with Van Der Sar diving to the opposite side. The conditions of the field were awful to begin with, and with heavy rain making the field worse, the captain’s left foot gave out just as he struck the ball forcing the shot wide. This mistake by John Terry opened the door for Manchester United. After a goal by Ryan Giggs, Nikolas Anelka who had come on late in the game would step up for Chelsea. Anelka went right, as did dutchman Edwin Van Der Sar and blocked the shot to the right. Anelka’s penalty was poorly taken with little strength and neither high nor low where Van Der Sar couldn’t reach. His approach was predictable, and you could see Van Der Sar begin to smile before the ball hit his hands. With that Manchester United had won the Champion’s League.

If you’re a Chelsea fan though, do not blame Nicolas Anelka for not going right, or John Terry for not being aware of the conditions of the field, blame Didier Drogba. Reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy where France Superstar Zinedine Zidane head butted Marco Materazzi and was sent off, Didier Drogba lost his head in a confrontation and decided to slap Manchester United player Nemanja Vidic. And the worst part is, it wasn’t even a good slap. If you’re going to slap someone to get sent off in the Champion’s League Final, make sure you get him good. At least Zidane’s headbutt was creative, I mean who headbutts someone in the chest anyway? Instead Drogba barely glanced Vidic’s chin right in front of the Referee, Lubos Michel. Michel immediately sent Drogba off as the game headed into penalty kicks. With the game obviously heading to extra time Drogba made the worst mistake of the game. To play for that long and get kicked out of the biggest game of your career over something so small and dumb is beyond me. Drogba’s character was shown in this game and it should definitely hurt him as trade rumors surround him.

Surely if Drogba was in the game in penalty kicks, Chelsea would have won. His stupid antics cost his team a win and should be looked at as the goat of this game. If Drogba was in the game John Terry would not be taking the 5th and final shot to win the game, but Drogba would be. Instead, John Terry, a defender, stepped up and missed. This will most likely be Drogba’s last game as a Chelsea player and Chelsea fans should be happy.

The drama of Drogba’s slap of Viddic and the final penalty kicks will definitely overshadow an amazing game throughout. The first goal was scored by star Cristiano Ronaldo from a beautiful cross from Wes Brown. Ronaldo lifted high above marker Michael Essien and buried the ball perfectly into the lower left corner. Frank Lampard, overcoming the death of his mother, buried a goal after a deflect fell right to his feet minutes before half time which turned the momentum around for Chelsea in the 2nd half. The 2nd half wasn’t as eventful as the first half until Drogba took a shot outside the 18 yard box that hit off the post. If that shot was two feet to the right it would have ended the game and gave Chelsea the title. And then later in the game with the ball floating around Manchester United’s box, Frank Lampard found the ball at his feet about eight yards from the goal. With his back turned to the goal, Lampard turned and shot and drilled the ball off the crossbar. Again, two feet lower the cup would have been Chelsea’s. So, in total Chelsea came up two feet shy of the cup on three different occasions. Tough luck.

It’s amazing how many players could have ended up being criticized and blamed if the game turned out differently. If Manchester United doesn’t win you could easily blame Ryan Giggs for missing a wide open shot within the six yard box. Giggs recieved a perfect pass with the goal wide open and instead of drilling the ball home with his right, he decided to try and nudge it in with the outside of his left. This gave time for John Terry to get back to the line and push the ball away with his head. And then you could blame Alex Ferguson for taking Scholes out and putting Giggs in. You could easily blame Cristiano Ronaldo for trying to be too fancy and missing a penalty. The stop and go move by Ronaldo was so overt that if it went in the referee would have disallowed it. With Anelka’s miss though, both Giggs and Ronaldo were vindicated, leaving Ronaldo weeping in the middle of the field like a baby after Van Der Sar saved it.

This was the best game I’ve seen since the 2006 World Cup Final, and there are a lot of elements that remind me of it. If you’re a Chelsea fan feel bad for John Terry and maybe Anelka, but make sure you blame Didier Drogba’s slap for losing this game.