Argentine ace and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has had quite a year. After leading Barcelona to an unprecedented treble in the Champions League, La Liga and Copa del Ray he is now up for both the Ballon d'Or (European footballer of the year) and the equally prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year.

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Who deserves the plaudits?

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Veteran Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs is one of five British footballers nominated for the 2009 European Player of the Year award.

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Too late the hero

So now that former European Footballer of the year has turned his back on Chelsea and his torrid spell in the English Premier League can we all agree that the transfer of the former AC Milan was a very poorly judged purchase or was the Ukrainian striker never really given a chance to shine?

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The draw for the group stage of the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League was held Thursday in Monaco. Last season's finalists face some tough going but they are not alone in that regard. FC Barcelona will begin their trophy defence in Group F with games against FC Internazionale Milano, FC Dynamo Kyiv and FC Rubin Kazan while some long away trips are looming for Manchester United FC who were drawn in a group with CSKA Moscow and Besiktas.

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This story is getting familiar as what was then just a breach is now seemingly a deluge.

Nemanja Vidic's agent has stated that it his client's "dream" to play for Barcelona. Vidic won every player category last season at Man Utd and his pairing with Rio Ferdinand was crucial to the club's reclaiming the Premiership.

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Last season I made the inspired prediction that Spurs would crack the top 4 and qualify for the Champions League. After watching them take around 23 matches to get their first point, I realised that my ability to forsee in football was still pretty bloody ropey. Previous failures included tipping Craig Bellamy to win European Footballer of the Year while at Liverpool and Colombia to win the World Cup in ‘94.

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Much has been written of Michael Owen's shock transfer to Manchester United. It seems bizarre that he was linked with the likes of Stoke and Hull before moving to the Premiership champions; but it actually makes perfect sense. For Phil Brown or Tony Pulis Owen would have been a massive risk, likely to blow their wage structure and be the focal point of their side, a signing they would live or die by.

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A gamblers spirit, it is said, is a necessary part of all human endeavour. For a man who by all accounts is a fan of a little gamble, which some, most notably the outspoken Wigan chairman Dave Whelan, have accused of him being too focused on, Michael Owen must appreciate that he must play the odds and take the plunge for his next bet, which could well determine how English football remembers one of it's favourite sons.

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Pain for the brain of every football fan...
1. Spokane Shadow, LA Galaxy, Seattle Sounders, San Jose Earthquakes, Houston Dynamo (current club). Whose playing career?
2. Which are the only three CONCACAF nations to reach a World Cup quarter final?
3. Who was the first British player to win the Champions League? Click to continue reading...

Word is the Saints could be bringing him back.
Sure he's not the European Footballer of the Year like he was as a player back in 1980, but he's a big name linked to a lowly League One team now.
Both sides of this one must be equally desperate. Click to continue reading...

May seem a bit far-fetched and have no basis in truth but there is a rumor going around that former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker, Fernando Morientes, may be making his way to Colorado. A fomer European Footballer of the Year, no less. I don't know about that but I do know that there will be another striker on his way to DSG Park in the not too distant future and it does appear that he will be from outside the MLS. Click to continue reading...

The ol' Englishman is dying to get away from Newcastle and back in the Premiership.
He's even got a company producing a brochure of propaganda highlights/information to send to prospective EPL buyers, including Aston Villa, Everton, Portsmouth and West Ham.

It is believed to be the first time in Premier League history that a player has produced his own prospectus to prompt a transfer.

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Reports in one English paper today suggest Everton may be about to gamble on Newcastle striker Michael Owen.
The one time European footballer of the year has been plagued with injury in recent years, since his arrival at St James' Park back in 2004, making only 77 appearances during his time on the North East. Click to continue reading...

What's next for the boy wonder?

I've had a running bet with a friend of mine that Michael Owen will go on and break Bobby Charlton's goal-scoring record for England. For as I can remember I have backed up my opinion and defended Owen, despite what ever adversity has faces him. But after Sunday, even I, an ardent Owen fan feel like it could really be the end for England's fourth top scorer.

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Many people have been filling our mailbox up with this report which states that Galaxy boss, Ruud Gullit is selling his house in LA. The speculation is that he is fed up with the Galaxy and MLS's parity based salary cap restrictions.

"For Beckham's boss, a change of galaxy
Who tells David Beckham what to do (besides a certain Spice Girl)?

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By Thomas Rooney What does the future hold for Ronaldinho? What a difference three years can make. Back in 2005, Brazil star Ronaldinho was the main man at Barcelona and was voted European footballer of the year. Now, he is... Click to continue reading...

Dynasties continued to dominate, as dynasties are apt to do, in 1975. Even though it seems odd to say that the Champions Cup, with a final between two teams from two of the top leagues in the world, was anti-climactic – so I won't – but the final did pit the ninth-place team from England against the tenth-place team in the Bundesliga. Click to continue reading...

The second-best player in Europe...
24 Ballon D'Or (European Footballer of the Year) Runners-up Who Never Did Win The Trophy
1. Billy Wright (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 1957
2. Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid) - 1960
3. Gianni Rivera (Milan) - 1960
4. Bobby Moore (West Ham United) - 1970
5. Click to continue reading...