It may not be as well known, or receive the same global attention, as England’s FA Cup, or even Spain’s Copa del Rey, but the Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, affectionately known as the Scottish Cup, dates back to 1873-74, making it the oldest national and football competition in the world.
Leicester City lifted the Barclays Premier League trophy this past weekend. Their achievement of transforming from a bottom half side in the league to Champions of England in just one season is the stuff of magic, fairy tales, heroic feats, and any other oft-used sports and literature related cliche. However, and I don’t mean to burst the Leicester City underdog bubble already, it’s unlikely to happen in any of the tops leagues in Europe again for awhile, and the main reason is of course, money.
PSV Eindhoven have successfully defended their Eredivisie title after a dramatic final day in the Netherlands. Ajax were on top by goal difference and only needed a win against 17th placed De Graafschap to seal the title. It seemed a simple enough proposition, but Frank De Boer's side faltered dramatically and only managed to draw 1-1, leaving the door open for Eindhoven to clinch it.
It's pretty safe to say that unless you're a Chelsea fan, you probably hate Diego Costa. His mastery of the dark arts of football tends to rub a lot of people the wrong way. He is the pantomime villain of the Premier League, the Loki of the world's game, the Iago to the Othello that is the Premier League referee.
On the score sheet, it will go down as Fernando's own goal due to deflection, but it was Gareth Bale's run and chip that got the scoring going in the last match of the Champions League semi finals. Real Madrid scored in the 20th minute and held on to defeat Manchester City 1 - 0 to advance to the Champions League final. Both teams traded chances as Bale hit the woodwork and Aguero had a shot just inches over the bar.
The city will be divided as Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid will face off in Milan on May 28th.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid faced off today in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals. Atletico Madrid took a 1-0 aggregate lead into Allianz Arena, however 31 minutes in, Xabi Alonso's free kick equalized that advantage. Antoine Griezmann's 54th minute goal tied the match at 1 and gave Atleti the lead on aggregate. Lewandowski added a header in the 74th, but Griezmann's goal was the tiebreaker. Atletico advance to the finals and await the winner of Manchester City and Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich vs. Atletico Madrid
Alonso 31'
Last week, Mexico National Team and Benfica striker Raul Jimenez kept Benfica in the Premeira Liga title race with a superb goal in the 73rd minute to beat Rio Ave.
This week, Jimenez sent Benfica into the final of the Taca la Liga (Portuguese League Cup) with a 71st minute.
Hector Herrera's play was the lone bright spot for Porto this Saturday in a 3-1 loss to Sporting CP.
Herrera, who sported the captain's armband, converted a penalty for Porto, who are now basically guaranteed third place in the Premeira Liga, 13 points behind Sporting CP and 10 points ahead of Braga.
Good news for Real Madrid fans: Cristiano Ronaldo is back in training. The club announced their superstar Portuguese winger completed a training session Monday, leaving the door open for the Ballon d'Or runner-up to take the pitch in the Champions League later this week.
Jamie Vardy has been announced as the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year for 2015-16. The award is voted upon by approximately 400 journalists who make up the FWA.
Vardy has had a quite a year. He has been the face of Leicester's fairy tale run, scoring 22 goals in 36 appearances, and he broke Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League games earlier this season.