Euro Cup : Today

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be the 14th European Championship for national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament is being hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012. It is the first time that either nation has hosted the tournament. This bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee in 2007.
The final tournament features 16 nations, the last European Championship to do so (from Euro 2016 onward, there will be 24 finalists). Qualification was contested by 51 nations between August 2010 and November 2011 to join the two host nations in the tournament. The winner of the tournament gains automatic entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Brazil.

06/08		Poland	v.			Greece		‎-9:30 PM
06/09		Russia	v.			Czech Republic		‎-12:15 AM

Messi breaks Muller's scoring record

  Barcelona forward Lionel Messi beat the all-time European record for goals in a single season on Wednesday night as his hat-trick helped them to  4-1 win against Malaga.

Messi hit two penalties to tie the record and then slotted home his 68th goal of the season to overcome the 67 of Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller from the 1972-73 season.The Argentina World Player of the Year has now netted 46 goals in La Liga to put him two ahead of Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Pichichi trophy.Muller finished his career with 655 goals in 709 appearances and won the European Championship in 1972, followed by the 1974 World Cup.

Ronaldinho

         Ronaldinho is one of few Brazilian players to have          played at every international age level. He was part of the first Brazilian team to win the FIFA U-17 world championship in 1997, in which his first goal was a penalty against Australia in the first group match, which Brazil won 7–0. Ronaldinho finished with two goals and was awarded the Bronze Ball award as Brazil scored a total of twenty-one goals while only conceding two.

  1999 was a busy year for Ronaldinho in terms of international play. He took part in the 1999 FIFA world youth championship, scoring his first goal in Brazil's last group match. In the round of sixteen, he scored two first-half goals in a 4–0 win over Croatia, and finished with three goals as Brazil were eliminated by Uruguay in the quarterfinals. On 26 June, three days before the start of the 1999 Copa America, he earned his first cap for Brazil in a 3–0 win over Latvia, and he scored one goal during Brazil's victorious Copa América campaign. One week after the conclusion of the Copa América, he was called up for the 1999 Confederation cup, in which he scored in every match except the final, including a hat-trick in an 8–2 semifinal rout of Saudi Arabia. Ronaldinho did not score in the final, which Brazil lost 4–3 to Mexico. He won the Golden Ball award for the best player in tournament as well as the Golden Boot award for the tournament top-scorer.

I WAS BORN FOR SOCCER

    

    "I was born for soccer, just as Beethoven was born for music." Arrogant, pompous words. Except when they are spoken by Edson Arantes do Nascimento, the Brazilian genius known throughout the football world as Pele.

A veteran of four World Cups, scorer of 1,283 first-class goals - 12 of them in World Cup final tournaments - a member of those magical Brazilian squads that won soccer's greatest prize in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
But just as a collection of notes do not make a Beethoven symphony, statistics cannot capture the majesty of those glorious Brazilian sides. This was football played to a samba beat. Beautiful skills, astonishing speed and ball control - and of all those great players in the yellow and green shirts, Pele was the greatest of them all.
He was lithe, agile, strong and seemed to be able to make the ball do as he pleased. Blessed with a stunning shot and an ability to soar above defences, he was expected to perform some astonishing feat of trickery every time he was in possession.
And Brazil played such adventurous football, always attacking, constantly looking to score. Who can forget the rythmic chanting of their deliriously happy supporters? "Bra-zil, cha cha cha, Bra-zil, cha cha cha."
It was the 1962 World Cup in Chile when those chants were heard for the first time in Europe on TV and British fans were quick to copy. First club names were shouted out, followed by a burst of clapping. Soon the strains of "ee-ay-addeo" echoed round Football League grounds.
Three decades on, the chants may be different. But it was the Brazil of Pele which gave them to the world.

MESSI = GOAL...GOAL...GOAL...

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       Lionel Messi broke the scoring record for the elimination rounds of the Champions League when he scored during Barcelona’s away win against Bayer Leverkusen. The Germans were not spared Messi’s heroics as the Barca wizards scored near the end of the match to register his 19th goal in the knockout stages of Europe’s elite club competition.

The fact Messi has managed to score more than Real Madrid’s legend Raul and former Milan hero Andriy Shevchenko, both tied at 18 goals in the knockout phase, only adds to the Barca star’s growing legend at the age of 24. This is a testament not just to his prowess but also his ability to score on the big stage with 6 of his goals coming against some of Europe’s giants such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Messi scored two goals against each of those three clubs.

Some of his most remarkable feats came against English side Arsenal against whom he scored 6 goals. However, Messi is a big stage performer and he proved it by scoring in both finals against Manchester United.

Messi and his teammates might not be able to retain the La Liga title but Barca will likely lift the Copa del Rey and is a serious contender to go all the way in the Champions League. If the Catalans manage to win both trophies and miraculously recover to win La Liga then Messi will certainly be a big reason why Barca’s players were able to do so.

Even on a team with impressive players such as Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, Lionel remains a star cut above the rest. Messi’s heroic rise over the years has not made him arrogant or selfish. He is a great scorer but also a joy to watch with his dribbling skills as well as his selfless approach.

Messi is much more than just individualistic brilliance because he also has great team spirit and impressive work ethic. He has managed a total of 44 goals in the Champions League while providing his teammates with assists on 14 other occasions.

The Legend in football

Lionel Messi

    Lionel Andrés Messi born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for La Liga team Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Considered one of the best football players of his generation and frequently cited as the world's best contemporary player. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21 and won both by the age of 22. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal.

• Squad No: 10
• Position: Forward
• Age: 24
• Birth Date: Jun 24, 1987
• Birth Place: Rosario, Argentina
• Height: 5' 7'' (1.70m)
• Weight: 67 kg

INDIAN FOOTBALL

  India is hoping to boost the popularity of football by launching a new league that will feature veteran players like Robert Pires and Fabio Cannavaro.
A six-team league, modeled in part on cricket's successful Indian Premier League, is set to begin next month, and will also feature players like former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler and Argentina's Hernan Crespo alongside local talent.
The league is organized by Celebrity Management Group, which has signed a 30-year agreement with the Kolkata-based Indian Football Association to organize the event.