By Sean Connolly

Soccer in America is rising, but it will never be where England is and yesterday’s game proved it. In a friendly match at Wembley Stadium in England, the U.S. soccer team came out flat and got straight up beat by a much better squad 2-0. Personally, I have been looking forward to this game thinking that the U.S. could pull out an upset. Unforunately that wasn’t the case.

This game was so frustrating for so many reasons if you’re a fan of American soccer. First off the game wasn’t even slightly competitive. England ran circles around the U.S. and not at one point were they ever in danger of falling behind. Without Landon Donavon in the lineup, pulled groin, the American side had no offense and couldn’t threaten at all. Being a fan of English soccer and American soccer, I have always dreamed of a true competitive rivalry between the two sides. Instead, England just proves that Americans can’t play soccer and will never be up to their level.

It seems whenever the U.S. is building up a solid team and garnering some respect in the soccer community, they are given a great challenge and they fail. In the 2006 World Cup against Germany U.S. again failed to make a significant impact on the biggest soccer stage.

In the game, John Terry made up for his missed penalty shot for Chelsea in last weeks championship final. He headed in a goal from a free kick from, ironically, the possible savior of U.S. soccer, David Beckham. Steven Gerard scored also as a simple triangle pass picked the U.S. defense apart and gave Gerard an easy break away.

Some good news came from this game though as Brian McBride, one of America’s greatest players, announced that he will be leaving Fulham F.C. in the English Premiership to come to the MLS. I guess he liked where the MLS was headed, and it would be great to see him on a team like the New York Red Bulls.

With the World Cup qualifiers coming up soon, the U.S. soccer team better get their act together and realize that the time is now to show the world that American soccer is for real. Beckham, the world’s biggest soccer star, is playing in the United States and all eyes are on the national team to perform. If they keep playing like this they will be lucky to make it to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Champion’s League Final, May 21st 2008

Manchester United-2 Chelsea-1

Yeah, that’s my prediction but with the way the Champion’s League has gone this year who knows. Manchester United, after wrapping up the Premier League title over the weekend, go into the final on May 21st with the most momentum. Alex Ferguson had an interesting way of explaining their momentum coming into the final in Moscow,

If we’d lost the title it would have been a great knock but we are bouncing into the Champions League final

Both Chelsea and Manchester United went into the final weekend of the season tied in points, but United’s win over Wigan Athletic, 2-0, and Chelsea’s 1-1 tie to Bolton gave United the cup. Chelsea goes into the final beat up after a long season of injuries and trade rumors that have slowed, but not stopped Chelsea. With questions surrounding Didier Drogba, and John Terry’s fitness coming into the match Chelsea will be coming into the game already down.

Although Drogba and Terry have confirmed that they will without a doubt be ready for the final, they will definitely not be 100%. Terry who dislocated his elbow on Sunday against Bolton and Drogba who hurt his knee assured the Chelsea faithful that they will be on the field when the whistle blows. This is what Drogba had to say about he and his captain,

He (Terry) will play in Moscow. No one wants to miss this gigantic match, the match of our careers.

There is less question about Terry who is arguably the toughest player in the world but more about Drogba. Drogba’s season has been riddled with knee injuries and it seems that he gets injured nearly every game. Drogba and Terry aren’t the only Chelsea stars who will be overcoming injuries for the final, Ricardo Carvhallo is also scheduled to come back after battling a back problem.

As for United, they come into the final relatively injury free and on fire. Cristiano Ronaldo won the English Player of the Year award after his most spectacular season yet. He has had 38 goals and has done nothing this year but prove he is the best in the world. His back to back awards as PFA Player of the year has made him the main target for Chelsea in the final. Ronaldo’s speed, agility, and sheer genius will be too much for Chelsea and their injuries. Chelsea will have to find a way to keep the ball on Frank Lampard’s feet and distribute vertically to Drogba to avoid Ronaldo. Against Barcelona, Ronaldo was given room to roam and just torched the Barcelona defense and midfield. Ronaldo is the key for Manchester United, and the only way Chelsea can prevent a Manchester United double will be to contain him. But, as I predicted before Chelsea will come up a goal shy and expect United to take home a 2-1 victory.

By Sean Connolly