Can the Gunners break the curse?

Arsenal Football Club just beat Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. They won 2-1 in the second leg at the Bernabéu Stadium last week after winning 3-0 at home in London the prior week. This win secured Arsenal's place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2009. This victory over the Spaniards was very unexpected. Real Madrid is by far the best team in Champions League history. They are, many would argue, the best team in the world and have the best player in the world in Kylian Mbappé. Despite these odds against them, Arsenal just beat Real Madrid not once, but twice in a row. After completing this 5-1 aggregate victory they now face French team Paris Saint-Germain F.C (PSG) in a two legged Semi Final, at home on April 28th and away in Paris on May 7th. 

Manchester dominance of English Football continues

Manchester, a city in the north of England, has a proud football (soccer) tradition. There are two professional teams based in the city. Manchester United Football Club is commonly referred to as Man United, or just United.  United's nickname is the Red Devils and they were founded in 1878.  In 1880, Manchester City Football Club was founded.  They are referred to as Man City, or just City.  I've written about these two teams before, for good reason.  Last year Man City won the "continental treble" - the English Premier League, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League final.  The only other English team to have achieved that are their local rivals, Man United.

A Humble Southern Hemisphere Hero #1: Leo Messi

Lionel "Leo" Messi may be a global icon today, but once upon a time he was a young boy with big dreams in a small town in Argentina called Rosario. At that time Argentinian economy was not doing well and the people were suffering. In Rosario itself the unemployment rate around then was at least 20%. Messi was born in 1987, the third child out of four in his family. His parents both had blue collar jobs and they lived a humble life. Young Leo followed his brother and cousins to play football (soccer) every day. It was Messi's grandmother that eventually bought the young man his first football boots when he was 8 years old.  

Manchester City win league and FA cup and are on the verge of historic treble in Europe

There is a town in the north of England where soccer (“football” in the UK) is religion. The town is Manchester.  There are two main rival teams there that compete in the English Premier League, the highest professional soccer league in Britain with only the best club teams playing in it. If ticket prices and club valuations and player salaries are anything to go by then, all things equal, the English Premier League is probably the strongest and most competitive sports league in the world, of any sport.