Just like ten years ago, Girondins de Bordeaux lifted the French
championship ahead of Olympique Marseille, still cursed by that
1993 match-rigging scandal.
On the last day of the championship, Marseille still had a fighting
chance, in spite of lagging three points behind Bordeaux. The leaders
had to visit endangered Caen, who were certain to avoid relegation
by winning all three points, and Marseille knew they would be the
champions if Bordeaux lost and they defeated Valenciennes at home.
Motivated as they certainly were, Caen could not avoid defeat -
the 0-1 loss to Laurent Blanc's squad, making Marseille's 4-0 win
futile. Caen, for sure, were punished by relegation alongside Nantes
and Le Havre, while Olympique Lyon, after seven consecutive titles,
had to settle for third spot and a place in the Champions
League.
Exactly ten years ago, Marseille's previous effort to win Ligue
1 was also thwarted by Bordeaux, who won at Paris SG 3-2 in the
last minute to snatch the title from the southerners. OM are still
trophyless ever since they were caught fixing the match against
Valenciennes in the 1992/93 season, for which they had their title
revoked by the French FA.
Chelsea and Werder collect consolation prizes
Two big European teams frustrated in UEFA's competitions found
significant consolation this weekend in their national cups.
Chelsea managed to overcome Everton's early lead with goals from
Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard and crown their difficult season
with their fifth FA Cup win. Everton went ahead in the 25th second
through Louis Saha, but Guus Hiddink's magic worked this time and
made sure the Blues were the on the winning side.
"This is one of the greatest moments in my career. The European
Cup that I won with PSV (in 1988) was great too, but it is special
to win the FA Cup in the cradle
of football," said the Dutchman, who will sadly honour
his promise to leave the club at the end of the season.
The skipper John Terry and Lampard dedicated the win to Hiddink
as a farewell gift, as he is set to return to coaching Russia in
their World Cup qualifying
campaign. The forthcoming competition to fill the vacancy at
Stamford Bridge is certain to be exciting.
Just ten days after succumbing to Shahtar Donetsk in the UEFA
Cup final in Istanbul, Werder regained some of their pride by
beating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in the German DFB finals.
In front of 73,000 spectators, Werder won 1-0 thanks to a goal by
Mesut Ozil in the 58th minute. The Turk's shot deflected off Manuel
Friedrich, deceiving the keeper and reinforcing Bayer's reputation
as perennial losers.
This is Werder's sixth DFB trophy and the first since 2004. The
Greens are the second most successful team in this competition,
behind Bayern Munich who have 14 titles.
Niko Kovac calls it a day
The former Croatia skipper Niko Kovac (37) said goodbye to soccer
after 18 years of a distinguished career.
"I had planned to play another season, but I have changed my
mind after consulting the people from the club," said Kovac,
who spent the last three seasons at Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian
League.
Previously, Kovac played at Hertha, Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger
SV and Bayern, claiming 83 full caps with Croatia. Red Bull and
Bayern will stage a farewell game for their former player on July
10th. Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said he was saddened by Kovac's
decision.
"Niko was heart and soul of our national team, an out-and-out
professional, with whom I have been tremendously honoured to work."
Born in Berlin, like his younger brother Robert, Niko Kovac was
one of the several internationals recruited for Croatia service
from the large emigre population. Other players born abroad who
have worn Croatia's chequered shirt are Joe Simunic, Anthony Seric
and Joe Didulica (Australia), Ivan Rakitic and Mladen Petric (Switzerland)
and Ivan Klasnic (Germany). The next could be Bordeaux's 19-year-old
midfielder Gregory Sertic, who recently said he preferred his father's
country Croatia to his native France.
Zico believes Zhirkov will carve himself a spot at Chelsea
CSKA Moscow's coach, the legendary Brazilian Zico, trusts his
former player Yuri Zhirkov will be an important reinforcement for
Chelsea.
"He is a player of a high-level play. He will show all of his
potential in the powerful league like the Premiership,"
said Zico on the occasion of Zhirkov's announced transfer to Stamford
Bridge.
"I'm sure he will easily win a place in the first eleven. I
am not happy to lose such a player, but I cannot prevent his departure,"
added Zico, after the Russian daily Tvoi den (Your Day) broke
the news of Zhirkov's imminent signing by Chelsea.
Leonardo Araujo takes over Milan
The former Brazilian international, Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo,
is tipped to be the next coach of AC Milan, according to Gazzetta
dello Sport. The 1994 World Cup winner and one-time Milan star
has been working as sports director in Silvio Berlusconi's club
and will now move from upstairs to the bench. Another former Milan
player, Mauro Tassotti, will act as Leonardo's assistant, claims
Gazzetta.
This means Carlo Ancelotti's tenure at San Siro has come to an end,
mostly due to not having won a trophy after the World Club Cup in
December of 2007. Ancelotti had a wonderful career at Milan both
as a player and as a coach, as he became the first coach ever to
win two European Cups (now Champions Leagues) both in the playing
(1989 and 1990) and in the coaching role (2003 and 2007).
Nicknamed Carletto, Ancelotti has been very popular with the fans,
but lately a bit less so with the owner Berlusconi, whose recent
harsh statements about the coach were not merely accidental.
