This Is It!

By Lee | May 21st, 2008 | 2 Comments »

After a long and grueling campaign, the Champions League final-the most watched sports event of the year, is an all English affair for the very first time. Chelsea and Manchester United, the Red Sox and Yankees of English football, battle in Moscow at Luzhniki Stadium in a game that will be watched by more than a billion people.

The two sides finished neck and neck in the Premiership this year with Manchester United edging out the Blues by two points on the seasons last day. Chelsea is in their first European Cup final and Manchester United are looking for their third overall and first since their amazing extra time comeback in the 1999 final against Bayern Munich in Barcelona.

This game features the surefire FIFA World Player of the Year and the most hated man in football, Cristiano Ronaldo for Manchester United and the dynamic sniper from the Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba of Chelsea-who may have the worst haircut in the world. These two stars have led the Premiership in goals each of the last two years and are looking for the Champions League crown to solidify their legacies among the games greats.

Of course there are many stars for each team as well. Manchester United features stars like Englishman Wayne Rooney and Argentinian Carlos Tevez-another finalist for worst hair, as well as Captain Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes among many others.

Chelsea features some of the most high priced talent around with Englishmen Frank Lampard, Captain John Terry, Joe Cole and the banged up Ashley Cole. They also feature German Michael Ballack, Ghanaian International Michael Essien and a host of others including the great Andriy Shevchenko who has been mainly relegated to the bench this year and will look to make a splash if given an opportunity tonight.

The game also feuatures the worlds best known manager in United’s Sir Alex Ferguson, a staple of Manchester United for decades. Chelsea counters with the embattled Israeli Avram Grant who took over from Jose Mourinho earlier this season and will look to keep his job and accomplish something the the feisty Mourinho never could-win the Champions League.

I am very excited and have been looking forward to this game for a long time. It kills me as most of you know that these are my two most hated teams as I am an Arsenal fan but I will be openly rooting for their cross London rivals Chelsea. I probably hate the just a tad less the ManU so although this hurts, Go Blues!