A Wonderful Day in Football

Ello all,

Isn't it great when all the work is done and you can sit down and just chill out?  I am finally finished studying and I took the day off to do what I do best - laze around and watch football.

And what a day it has been.  First, I woke to read that Toronto FC have signed a club favorite, Dwayne De Rasario.  What an amazing signing for the club. Not only is he an outstanding player, but also a local hero.  He will surely become a fan favorite.

I caught 3 games today. Yep.  3 games in one day.  JACKPOT!

10am Manchester City 0 - 1 Everton

What looked like a promising game from the start turned out to a scrappy stalemate.  Both City and Everton came out guns-a-blazing firing shots on net and playing some really nice end-to-end football.

Robinho showed a little bit of magic but once again his teammates incompetence (mostly all except for Wright-Phillips and Ireland) prevent City on really capitalizing on anything.

The two sides slugged it out through the second half and the game got uglier and uglier as it went on. Robinho was substituted for fear of an injury and it seemed certain each team was satisfied with a draw at this point.

But as it happens many times in football, the unexpected occurs.  Just as Everton were nicked 3 points in the closing seconds of the game last weekend by Aston Villa, this time David Moyes's men salvaged 3 precious points from Tim Cahill's last minute header.

What goes around comes around! Sorry Mr. Hughes.

12:30pm Tottenham Hotspur 0 - 0 Manchester United

This was a mesmerizing game that I really couldn't take my eyes off of.  The midfield work by both sides was outstanding and the constant booing of everyones favorite aloof Bulgarian striker made it all that more enjoyable.

The crowd really must have got under Berbatov's skin, because once again he failed to find the net on another occasion.

What really stood out in this match for me was 2 things:

• Gomes made some outstanding saves.  Perhaps he is starting to come out of his shell, and Spurs might not have to start searching for a better keeper come January.
• What if Luka Modric started scoring goals?  This guy could be so dangerous if he found the net.  Think Frank Lampard Euro 2004.

Overall it was an amazing game and Spurs stood firm to go into the Christmas season with the dignity of showing the world that they are much better without Berbatov.

Here are the highlights.

4pm  Barcelona 2 - 0 Real Madrid

El Classico was amazing.  The sheer quality of Barcelona has been awe-inspiring this season.  These guys have it all this season: strength, agility, speed and pure dynamism.  

Their ability to tackle and win the ball while losing possession on the attack sets them apart from any team out there now, and Messi is consistently showing that he is 100% pure class.

After a penalty was awarded, and Casillas made a set of outstanding saves.  He seemed to be the only thing working on Madrid though, and it was only a matter of minutes before Eto'o found the net, followed by an injury time goal by Messi to put the nail in the coffin for Madrid.