Kolo Toure Given 6 Month Ban For Failed Drugs Test

Toure can resume playing in early September

Kolo Toure has been banned from all football for 6 months after failing a drugs test in February.

The Manchester City defender has been banned for 6 months in total, although the ban has been backdated to March 2nd, meaning he will be eligible to play again on September 2nd, just 3 weeks into the new season. Toure claimed that he failed the test due to taking one of his wife's dietary pills, but was still found guilty of using a banned substance.

The Ivory Coast man missed the crucial Champions League run in for his club, who ended the season in 3rd place, 9 points behind eventual champions Manchester United and will now miss pre-season with the club too. However, rival fans will be furious over the matter as he is banned during the close season - where he wouldn't of been playing football anyway.

Fans of neighbours Manchester United will be especially upset at the decision, after their defender Rio Ferdinand was banned for 8 months mid-season for MISSING a drugs test - which he later passed. Paddy Kenny was banned 2 years ago for 9 months for taking a banned substance which was in cough medicine.

Rio Ferdinand was banned for 8 months for missing a drugs test

Toure, who signed for City in a £15M move from Arsenal could have faced a ban of up to 2 years for this offence, and will feel he's gotten away lightly with the decision of 6 months including the pre-season months.

However, a decision was made during the hearing at Wembley - which lasted nearly 10 hours - that the player will be subject to target testing for a period of 2 years starting immediately.

The FA statement read;

"Manchester City defender Kolo Toure was today suspended following an Independent regulatory Commission hearing at Wembley. Toure was handed a six month suspension, commencing from 2 March 2011. The player is also to be target tested for a period of two years from 26 May 2011. The criterion in assessing any reduction in what would otherwise be the minimum penalty of two years’ suspension is the player’s degree of fault. The player accepted he was at fault and with that concession we agree. He was at fault in the limited and perfunctory efforts he made in relation to the water tablets; the checks he made in relation to those tablets were inadequate and fell some way below what it would be reasonable to expect of a professional footballer in these circumstances." 

Transfer Rumour Mill (Pre-Window)

Sergio Aguero has asked to leave Atletico Madrid, but where will he go?

   This summer transfer window is the most anticipated window in years, as top clubs look to strengthen and top players look to move on. I look at the biggest stories circulating this week pre-window, and give my opinion on what will happen/how they will all turn out.

Sergio Aguero has officially asked to leave Atletico Madrid this summer, citing "sporting reasons" as the issue. He said in a statement he released via his official website on Sunday evening;

"I have expressed to Atleti my desire to leave. I've asked to receive, unconditionally, the offers that come from other clubs. I also want to say that this decision has been in progress for some time. The issue was even discussed and agreed with Atleti last year when I renewed my contract. I wanted to sign and renew my contract as a way to give back to the club what they have given me. I then had the promise of the club that they would not impede my departure in June 2011.”

Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan have all been linked with the Argentine forward, who had his release clause lowered from €52M to €45M (£39.8M) when he signed his new contract in January. Real Madrid are currently favourites, despite the player's promise to never sign for Atletico's city rivals. Manchester City are just behind them, along with Chelsea, Liverpool and Inter Milan.

I honestly have no idea where he's going to end up, but Manchester City look the most likely. They can afford his wages, can promise Champions League football and the lure of inevitable trophies on the horizon are sure to be a massive lure. All I know is, wherever he ends up - it will be the signing of the summer.

David De Gea will be Manchester United's #1 next season

   On the subject of Atletico Madrid, they are also set to lose their #1 Goalkeeper this summer as David De Gea has agreed to sign for Manchester United this summer in a £17M move. The young Spaniard was seen as the perfect replacement to Edwin Van Der Sar, who will retire after Saturday's Champions League Final and Ferguson was delighted that the deal was close to being wrapped up. 

"We've been working on it for quite a while, we identified him a while back as one we should go for. He's a young goalkeeper, very quick, with good composure and presence. He's an outstanding replacement for Edwin van der Sar. We were looking for someone with the same types of qualities. One great quality Edwin always had was his composure and organisational ability. David De Gea is very similar that way."

   I personally think this is a super signing for Manchester United. If he manages to adapt to the league quickly, which he shouldn't struggle with too much considering he's moving with his entire family and girlfriend to Manchester, then he could prove to be United's number 1 for the next 15 years and that could be a very good thing for the stability of the club.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all interested in West Ham skipper

   After West Ham's relegation from the Premier League, and the admission by the club's owners that the teams internationals will be allowed to leave the club, the chase for Scott Parker has heated up considerably. Spurs were interested in January and I have it on good authority that they have renewed their interest this summer. Liverpool and Arsenal however are also interested this time and all have made offers between £8M-12M although the club have rejected the offers and are holding out for as close to £15M as they can get.

I personally think he'll end up at Spurs due to 'Arry's love of central midfielders and the likelihood that their could be an exodus of players at White Hart Lane over the summer. The fee will be about £14M and it will be a 3 year contract if all goes to plan, although nothing has been agreed as of yet - between Spurs and the player or between Spurs and West Ham.

Also, according to other news stories this week in tabloids and internet rumours alike;

Gael Clichy wants out of Arsenal according to numerous sources after negotiations of a new contract apparently broke down. The Frenchman has a year to run on his current deal.

Samir Nasri is apparently on his way out of the Emirates too for the same reason as Clichy. However, Patrice Evra has apparently been trying to lure the midfielder to Old Trafford with some text messages according to L'Equipe.

Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that he will in fact remain at Old Trafford for the remainder of his contract at least, which runs out next summer.

Fabio Coentrao is reportedly the subject of a £22M bid from Liverpool for his services. He is also a target for Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Eljero Elia is reportedly a target for Kenny Dalglish's new Anfield revolution as the club look to bring in some traditional wingers.

Joey Barton will not be offered a new contract after his current deal expires next summer, so he may be sold this summer so they don't miss out on any potential transfer fee.

Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop have been confirmed as Real Madrid players for the forthcoming seaosn.

Barcelona are attempting to lure former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi to the Camp Nou in a €30M  move from Villarreal.

Manchester United's Greatest Premier League Team?

   After Manchester United's record breaking title win at Ewood Park last Saturday afternoon, all the talk has been about United's playing squad and manager. This squad was deemed one of the worst in Sir Alex's reign as manager, yet it has just won a record 19th league title and is in the final of the UEFA Champions League. So if this was the weakest, what was the strongest? I look at the best 18 players to play for Manchester United in the Premier League since its inception in 1992 and a closer look at Sir Alex Ferguson's incredible Premiership record.

Starting XI [4-4-2]

Goalkeeper

Peter Schmeichel

Games: 252 | Goals: 1

The Great Dane as he was known to his beloved fans, Peter Schmeichel is without doubt Manchester United's greatest ever Premier League goalkeeper. There from the start in 1992 until he left for a new challenge in 1999, the Danish international notched up 252 games, and also won 5 Premier League trophies as well as numerous other trophies for the club.

Right Back

Gary Neville

Games: 400 | Goals: 5

Gary Neville is arguably Manchester United's greatest ever right back, and having made his Premier League debut for the Red Devils in the 1993/94 season, he played his entire career for the Old Trafford club and only retired in February 2011 after playing an incredible 400 league games for the club. He won the Premier League an amazing 8 times, two of those while he was captain.

Left Back

Denis Irwin

Games: 296 | Goals: 22

Denis Irwin is Manchester United's most successful left back in their history, having won 19 trophies with the club during his 12 years here. He was an expert with free-kicks and penalties, and was Manchester United's first choice left back well into his thirties. The Republic of Ireland defender won 7 Premier League trophies during his time at Old Trafford and is regarded by Sir Alex Ferguson as "pound for pound, my greatest ever signing".

Centre Back

Nemanja Vidic*

Games: 160 | Goals: 16

Nemanja Vidic is a no nonsense central defender and is current captain of Manchester United Football Club. A £7M signing from Spartak Moscow, he has formed a formidable partnership at the heart of the defence with Rio Ferdinand and has won 4 Premier League trophies, including this seasons win which will be his first as captain.

Centre Back

Gary Pallister

Games: 317 | Goals: 12

Gary Pallister was at the heart of the Manchester United defence for 9 years and was part of the defence that dominated the English Premier League for the first years after its inception in 1992. After forming a solid pairing with Steve Bruce he won 4 Premier League titles with Manchester United before moving back to Middlesbrough to retire. 

Right Midfield

David Beckham

Games: 265 | Goals: 62

David Beckham just edges out Cristiano Ronaldo to the right midfield spot, due to his success and incredible partnership with Gary Neville on the right hand side of the pitch for Manchester United, not to mention his incredible ability to pass a ball with sublime accuracy from 60 yards away and his dead ball specialities. The former England captain played 265 times for Manchester United in the Premier League and won 6 Premier League titles as well as numerous other trophies with his boyhood club. Beckham moved on to Real Madrid from United in 2003, and currently plays for LA Galaxy in the MLS.

Left Midfield

Ryan Giggs

Games: 573 | Goals: 105

Arguably Manchester United's greatest ever player. The Welsh wizard is our all time top appearance maker, the Premier League's all time top appearance maker and possibly the greatest outfield player to ever grace the Premier League stage. He incredibly has more Premier League titles than any other club put together, at 12 and has won many more trophies during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. Currently bossing the midfields for United at the tender age of just 37, he is sure to go down as one of the greatest British footballers of all time. Arise, Sir Ryan Giggs.

Central Midfield

Paul Scholes

Games: 465 | Goals: 102

The Ginger Prince is possibly Manchester United's greatest central midfielder in Premier League history, with over 100 goals for the club in the league and 9 Premier League winners medals to his name. He has transformed his game with age, from goalscoring midfielder - to deep lying play maker pinging passes 40 yards with absolute precision. Expected to retire at the end of this season, he is guaranteed his place in Manchester United and Premier League history folklore. 

Central Midfield

Roy Keane (C)

Games: 326 | Goals: 33

Manchester United's most successful Premier League captain with 7 Premier League wins to his name and over 300 appearances in the competition for the club. The midfield enforcer was a key figure throughout his time at the club holding the midfield but also chipping in with his fair share of goals. Always vocal, not scared of anyone and it ultimately led to his downfall as he left Old Trafford on a sour note, but still in all the fans hearts.

Striker

Eric Cantona

Games: 143 | Goals: 64

Eric Cantona, the King of Old Trafford. Only played for Manchester United for 5 seasons before calling an end to his career shockingly, but is still regarded as one of our best strikers in recent memory. Cantona made the Number 7 shirt his own during his spell at the club and was also captain at the club during his final year. His memorable goals and character have kept him in the heart of the fans to this day, so he was an automatic choice in the striker position.

Striker

Ruud Van Nistelrooy

Games: 150 | Goals: 95

Ruud Van Nistelrooy is possibly Manchester United's most prolific goalscorer in Premier League history, having scored an incredible 95 goals in 150 league games over 5 seasons in the competition. The Dutch striker joined for £19M from PSV Eindhoven and had an immediate impact scoring 23 league goals in his debut season and kept up the goals throughout his spell. The perfect poacher, and a perfect partner for the King.

Substitutes

Edwin Van Der Sar

Games:  185*

Greatest goalkeeper Manchester United have had this century. Will be sadly missed when he retires at the end of the season. The Dutchman has won 4 Premier League titles with the Old Trafford club.

Steve Bruce

Games: 143

A superb captain during his 4 seasons in the Premier League, and was the captain for the majority of the first Premier League season due to Captain Marvel Bryan Robson being injured for much of the campaign. The now Sunderland manager won 3 Premier League trophies with the Red Devils.

Patrice Evra

Games: 168*

Manchester United's current first choice left back has been a great servant to the club since signing for £5.5M from Monaco. The Frenchman has won 4 Premier League trophies so far during his time at the club, and will look to add to that tally again next season.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Games: 196

The Portuguese winger is the best player Old Trafford has seen in recent memory and only just missed out on the starting line up. He scored an incredible 84 Premier League goals in his 6 seasons at the club, 30 of those coming in his penultimate season. He moved to Real Madrid for a World Record £80M after winning his 3rd Premier League title.

Bryan Robson

Games: 29

Didn't manage more than half a season in the two Premier League seasons he was a Manchester United player, but you can't not have Captain Marvel in the squad considering he won the trophy on both occasions. Manchester United's longest serving captain, he scored 2 Premier League goals before leaving for Middlesbrough.

Ole Gunnar Solsksjaer

Games: 231

The Baby Faced Assassin scored 91 Premier League goals during his 12 seasons with the club, although he didn't take part at all in 2 of those seasons through injury. Remembered for his winning goal in the dying minutes of the 99 Champions League final, he will always be remembered as Manchester United's super sub and as a lethal finisher. He won 6 Premier League trophies during his time at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney

Games: 216

The England striker joined Manchester United as a teenage sensation for £30M and is the new king of the Stretford End. He has scored 103 league goals for the club including the penalty that clinched the record 19th league title vs Blackburn last weekend. A superstar, and a legend in the making at Old Trafford has won 4 Premier League trophies, and wants many more.

Manager

 

MAN UTD IN PL: THE NUMBERS*

733 matches

132 players used

471 wins

158 draws

104 defeats

1448 goals scored

625 goals conceded

1571 points won

Top Scorers: Giggs (105), Scholes (102), Rooney (102)

Most Appearances: Giggs (573), Scholes (465), G Neville (400)

Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in the history of the Premier League. He has won 12 of the 19 Premier League titles and has rebuilt squad after squad. He has single handedly turned Manchester United into the most successful English team in history, taking them from 7 league titles, and surpassing arch rivals Liverpool's total of 18 and now sits on 19. He's still going strong, what will he get to before he hangs up his chalkboard and takes a seat in the retirement chair. 

* Numbers are correct as of May 18th 2011

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi - Who's Better?

Two of the best - but who's better?

   Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are without doubt the two best professional football players on the planet at the moment. Ronaldo has scored 46 goals in 51 games this seaon for Real Madrid in all competitions and is currently the leading goalscorer in La Liga with 33 goals in 31 games. He has 10 assists in all competitions too and is the focal point of the majority of Real Madrid attacks. Lionel Messi on the other other hand has scored 49 goals in 51 games and is currently second place in the race for the Pachichi with 31 goals in 32 games.The Argentine also has an incredible 25 assists in all competitions for Barcelona this season.

   

   Real Madrid currently trail Barcelona in the league by 8 points with 3 games to go, and Barcelona can claim their 3rd successive La Liga crown with a draw next weekend, and are in the Champions League Final at Wembley where they will face Ronaldo's former club Manchester United. This season, Real Madrid have won the Copa Del Rey (beating Barcelona 1-0 AET in the final) and went out in the semi-finals to Barcelona (3-1 agg) in the Champions League.

   Both players have played in all 5 'El Clasico' matches this season. Ronaldo has 2 goals and 0 assists in those 5 games, while Messi has 3 goals and 2 assists in the 5 games. When you look at the stats alone, Messi is greater but what about when you go in depth?

Cristiano Ronaldo

   Cristiano Ronaldo has been in superb form for Real Madrid this season, and the main reason for this is the brilliance of Jose Mourinho. Although Ronaldo was a massive success in his first season at the Bernabeu, Mourinho has move him over to the left hand side and given his fellow countryman a free role to drift along the frontline and cause havoc, and it has worked very well. The fluidity of Real Madrid's front line has helped Ronaldo to score a record amount of goals and win his first trophy at the club in his 2 year spell at the club.

   With Ronaldo constantly drifting from the left hand side to cut in and shoot or to pick up the ball in another position, it allowed Marcelo to cause havoc too. Ronaldo is the focal point of all Madrid attacks. At home, they like to control the game and he is usually the first man Xabi Alonso and Mesut Ozil look for when they have the ball and averages 4.4 shots per game this season. Real Madrid have scored 87 league goals this season, and Ronaldo has 33 of those goals, with the nearest man to him in the Real Madrid team being Karim Benzema with 12 - showing his clear superiority within the Real Madrid team.

Records Broken

   Ronaldo this season broke an incredible record for Real Madrid, surpassing the great Brazilian Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano. Cristiano Ronaldo reached 66 goals for Real Madrid in 62 games for the 9 time European Champions. It took Ruud Van Nistelrooy 92 games and the Brazilian Ronaldo 94 games to reach the same feat for the same club.

   Ronaldo is currently on 33 league goals for the club this season, with 3 games to go in the campaign. The league record held by Telmo Zarra and Hugo Sanchez is 38 goals, so Ronaldo is still capable of breaking that record this season. He is also the man with the most hat-tricks in a single season in La Liga for Real Madrid, having scored 5 hat-tricks this season (vs Racing Santander, vs Athletic Bilbao, vs Villarreal, vs Malaga, vs Sevilla), including 2 four goal hauls (Racing Santander and Sevilla).

Lionel Messi

   Lionel Messi's form has continued on from his amazing season last season. He bagged 47 goals last year and this year so far has bagged 49 (52 if you count his hat-trick in the Super Cup Final). He has 25 assists in all competitions and this all comes from him playing through the middle of Barcelona's traditional front 3. Pep Guardiola made the decision after playing him through the middle for a short period last season when Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn't firing and he managed to end his season with a total bettered only around Europe by Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez who had 49 goals last year for Ajax.

   Messi has been playing as a Deep Lying Forward (False 9) but without anyone ahead of him which is why it's so difficult to pick him up. His amazing dribbling abilities and sensational strength for a small man make his feats even more incredible. While he is also capable of starting out on the wing with David Villa playing through the middle, and with Pedro, Iniesta, Xavi and Dani Alves all attacking too - Barcelona don't rely on him nearly as much. Barcelona's play revolves around the short passing of Xavi and the running of Iniesta and Messi. Barcelona have scored 91 league goals this season, and Messi has 31 of those goals while he has assisted another 18 of them.

Broken Records

   Messi broke some records this season too, although his were more nationwide than within the team. If you count the hat-trick he scored in the Super Cup final second leg - the Argentine magician has scored 52 goals this season in all competitions, surpassing the 49 goals scored by Ferenc Puskas.

   In the year 2010, Lionel Messi scored his 100th and his 150th goals for Barcelona, as well as winning his second straight Ballon D'or and World Player of the Year award. Scarily, at the age of just 23, Messi is already Barcelona's 3rd all time highest goalscorer behind just Kubala and Cesar.

Strengths and Weaknesses

   Ronaldo and Messi are very similar players, however both players have different kinds of weaknesses. Both are incredible dribblers of the ball, with incredible speed and a fantastic ability to score goals from wherever they are on the pitch. 

   Ronaldo possesses the better physical stats, standing at over 6 foot tall and being very muscular as well as having phenomenal power to shoot with both feet and an incredible ability to leap and head the ball with great power and accuracy. Messi on the other hand possesses a greater first touch, a better centre of gravity as well as being strong enough to ride tackles. Another thing about Messi is the fact that he doesn't complain when he's fouled or go down easily, which is one of Cristiano Ronaldo's biggest criticism's. 

   Another thing that is clear for everyone to see between them is that Ronaldo has a massive ego, while Lionel Messi is as humble as pie. Eidur Gudjohnsen put it perfectly while recently doing some punditry for Sky Sports;

"When you're around Ronaldo, you know you're in the presence of a superstar. With Messi, he's just any young player who wants to get better and better - even though he's already one of - if not THE the best."

   Another difference between the two is the paths their career's have taken. Cristiano Ronaldo has played for 3 different clubs, raking in a mass £92.75M in transfer fees over his career (£12.75M from Sporting to Manchester United, and £80M from Manchester United to Real Madrid). When Ronaldo was at Sporting, he wasn't in the first team regularly but everyone knew he was going to be a star. He played in a pre-season friendly vs Manchester United and totally battered them. At that point, Sir Alex Ferguson made the decision to sign him. The Portugal captain then plied his trade at Old Trafford for 6 years (03-09) and went from flairy teenager, to best player in the world. He played 292 games for Manchester United in all competitions, scoring 118 goals and getting 61 assists. During his time there, he won 3 Premier League Titles, 1 Champions League, 1 FA Cup, 2 League Cups, 1 Community Shield and 1 World Club Cup. He then signed for Manuel Pellegrini's Real Madrid, fulfilling a lifelong dream, and hit the ground running. He made a massive impact in his first season at the club, and although it ended trophyless - he bagged 33 goals in 35 games and 6 assists in his debut season, showing he can adapt to any league and still be prolific.

   Lionel Messi on the other hand, joined Barcelona at the age of 12 and has come up through 'La Masia' and coming up alongside players such as Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Samuel Eto'o, Giovani Dos Santos, Bojan and others. He's been involved in the Barcelona set up since before he was a teenager and even in the youth team he was the focal point of everything due to his incredible talent for such a young player. He made his first team debut as a substitute in the Catalunia derby vs Espanyol at the tender age of 17 years and 114 days. He has played 267 times for Barcelona since that day, and has scored 179 goals for Barcelona - their 3rd highest goalscorer of all time. 

Conclusion

   For me, Cristiano Ronaldo is the more complete player of the two. His strength, and all around attacking player is just amazing. However, Lionel Messi is the better professional and team player. If you want someone who can play the team game perfectly, while being capable of coming up with moments of magic when necessary, the Messi is your guy. Whereas if you want a player who can score all types of goals, all the time regardless of where he's playing and just a pure powerhouse with some of the fanciest footwork ever, then Ronaldo is your guy. Messi is without doubt one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch, with Ronaldo alongside him. In my opinion however, and I know a lot of people won't agree with me - Ronaldo just edges him. He's shown it on every stage possible, scoring at World Cups, Champions League finals, cup finals in England and Spain and setting up goals too. For me the fact he did it on different stages says leaps about him, and until Messi is out of his comfort zone doing what he does it's hard to see him leaping Ronaldo in my eyes.

But that's just my opinion...

World Players of the Year 2008, 2009, 2010

Simulation: The Beautiful Game, Played In A Horrible Way..

   Football is the most popular sport in the world, with some of the most skilled competitors and best athlete's in any sport taking part. A sport in which some players loved so much that they literally died playing it (Marc Vivien Foe and Daniel Jarque to name two). It's a game that when played at it's best and most beautiful is so entertaining and unpredictable that you daren't take your eyes off it from fear that you may miss a game changing decision. However, in everything amazing, there is always a small group of individuals who ruin the fun for everyone else.

   Simulation is a growing topic in football, which is getting more and more publicity as the days go by and seasons pass. It's always happened in football, but more so in the last 3 seasons or so. The first high profile case was Brazilian born Croatian striker Eduardo decided to take a tumble in the UEFA Champions League qualifier against Celtic. He went down under no contact at all, and conned the referee into giving his side a penalty. Arsenal went on to go through comfortably in the end, but Eduardo's dive was what took the headlines over both legs and the rest of Arsenal and Eduardo's campaign. Celtic made a complaint to UEFA, who responded by handing the Arsenal hitman a two-match ban for 'deceiving the referee'. At that point, the football world thought that finally these cheaters were going to get their comeuppance. However, nearly 3 seasons on, we're still seeing it occur in the game we all love. In fact, it's so bad that it's almost becoming expected in games, and while the FA would rather charge players for 'tweeting' than diving, an end to this doesn't seem likely any time soon.

Eduardo takes a dive for Arsenal, winning a penalty for his side while conning the referee in the process.

   Last month, fans and pundits alike were treated to the fantastic news that we would be able to witness 4 'El Clasico' matches within the space of just 18 days. 1 league match, 1 King's Cup Final and a two legged Champions League Semi-Final. Not many bigger stages possible for a series of matches, regarded as two of the best teams in the world competing for National Pride, bragging rights and trophies. Two of the best managers in world football, two of the greatest starting XI's in world football meant that this series of games had all the makings to be a terrific occasion for every football fan in the world, regardless of whether they were a Barcelona fan, Real Madrid fan or just a neutral. However, what happened in the first 3 of these 4 games has been the complete opposite to what we all expected.

   The first game was the league game at the Bernabeu. Real Madrid named a defensive line up, despite possessing some of the best attacking players in the world within their ranks. Barcelona went with their regular, expected line up. The stage was set for a fantastic game of football, especially with the league table as it was and the result in the reverse fixture earlier in the season (Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid). However, what ensued was a game filled with "fouls", complaining and whining to the referee. Barcelona players rushed around the referee at every given opportunity in order to try and gain an advantage, and players to the floor rolling around as if they were on fire at the faintest of touches. Real Madrid weren't much better, with players rolling around trying to get fans riled up and onto their side even more so. The game ended with Real Madrid having 10 men and both side's goals coming from the penalty spot controversially. Real Madrid's penalty kick came with 8 minutes to go, when Marcelo ran through and looked to be clipped by Dani Alves, although video replays showed that contact was minimal and Marcelo could easily have stayed on his feet.

   The second game was the Copa Del Rey final, played at the Mestalla in Valencia. This game was much more of the same, with 50 fouls in total (split 26-24) and only 1 goal in 120 minutes of football. Ronaldo scored the goal in extra time, a sublime header into the top corner from 12 yards out. Once again Real Madrid finished up with 10 men after Angel Di Maria was sent off in the dying minutes of the game after a wreckless tackle on Messi earned him a second yellow card.

   The third game of the four game series was the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League Semi-Final, once again at the Bernabeu. This was a fiery affair with 3 red cards and a 2-0 win for the visitors after a controversial red card. It all kicked off midway through the first half when Pedro ran into Alvaro Arbeloa, and proceeded to roll around on the floor as if he'd been shot. Barcelona players/staff began screaming at the officials almost demanding a red card for the Real Madrid defender. After that all hell broke loose, with Sergio Busquets at the centre of it. Lassana Diarra backed into Busquets and put his hand on the Barcelona man's chest, however Busquets suddenly collapsed to the floor in a heap clutching at his face - and getting Diarra booked in the process. At half time, the two teams brawled on their way down the tunnel, which resulted in Barcelona's substitute goalkeeper getting sent off and Sergio Busquets allegedly calling Marcelo a 'monkey' - an incident which has since been reported and thrown out by Real Madrid and UEFA respectively. The Portuguese hardman went in for the ball, foot up level with Alves' (although admittedly his studs were showing) and brushed the shin of Dani Alves. For some reason though, the Barcelona man decided to collapse in a heap to the floor, and clutch his shin while constantly rolling around on the floor. No less than 7 Barcelona players rushed around the referee waving imaginary cards and screaming for Pepe to get sent off, including Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes who had sprinted 30 yards to state his case. It clearly worked as referee Wolfgang Stark sent off Pepe.

Pepe had managed to keep Lionel Messi quiet all night, but as soon as he was sent off Messi ran riot scoring a tap in from 4 yards out and a magical goal which saw him dance past 5 Real Madrid players before slotting past Casillas with his 'weaker' foot.

   Two sensational goals in two seperate games, however all 3 games are remembered for different forms of simulation. Surely, by punishing players every time they dive/simulate they will eventually get the message and stop diving. So how about it FA, FIFA and UEFA. Instead of clamping down on inappropriate 'tweets' and language, crack down on the real matters at hand. Ban anyone that simulates for 3 games, and within a month it would be gone. Sounds simple enough to me...