Many millions of grown men, and some women, will have been lamenting the end of their respective football seasons in the last couple of weeks and I myself am no different. Surely after watching dozens and dozens of games, be it at the ground or on the TV, we should be taking stock and looking forward to a break?!
Unfortunately it just doesn't really work that way, instead I have already found that I'm looking for what football there will still be to savour over the summer break. So far it's not looking that bad at all, there are of course the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches for England and the other home nations, as well as everyone else in the next couple of weeks. These days we should at least be looking forward to England matches again with some optimism.
If you're curious to scout for the future then there is of course the Under 21's European Championships, due to start on June 15th. England will face Spain and Germany in their group in what may be a salivating appetiser for future senior tournaments. At the very least there should be some decent football on show to whet the palette.
Meanwhile, though Europe may have wound up most of it's major leagues, barring the culmination of Ligue 1 and Serie A this weekend, there is plenty of other club football going. You may wish to replace the Italian Serie A with the Brazilian Série A, the top league in the country is only three games into the season and the injury ravaged Ronaldo (the proper one!) is enjoying an Indian summer with Corinthians. It may not be of an immense overall standard, but then again there will be plenty of skill and poise on show- you may get a heads up on who the next great young talents to emerge from South America will be.
Taking it down several pegs, there is the K-League in South Korea, where our very own Steve Rome is currently residing. Though he is very busy (and perhaps a little worried considering recent diplomatic failures between North and South), I hope he enlightens us with some more reports from the league that gives us their own version of the FA Cup, and ironically the Peace Cup. Their season has been under way for a couple of months now and it remains to be seen if it can drive Steve as mad as the Portuguese Liga Sagres does to our Ian Shine..
Coming back home, we still have our original FA Cup final to look forward to this coming weekend. Most neutrals will be intrigued to see if David Moyes can cement his reputation as the best manager outside of the top four, or if the genius Guus Hiddink can bequeath a fond farewell to his Chelsea resurrection. Either way I hope the traditional season finale will provide a fitting end to what has been an entertaining season on the whole, despite my own Arsenal frustrations. Like I say at the end of any such season, I'm sure we'll be close next year (closer I hope!).
As for last night’s spectacle in Rome, it wasn't a bad game but it was somewhat hollow. I, and I'm sure most others watching, were quite surprised by the contrast between Manchester United's impressive opening flourish and their damp squib of a performance after conceding the first goal. Perhaps the team had run out of any more comebacks or will, although I tend to hate those excuses, particularly when such a big game is concerned.
More to the point was Ferguson's own assessment, Barcelona were simply the better team. The way they held possession and passed the ball was sometimes staggering. I just hope that people now finally realise that Cristiano Ronaldo, as good as he is, should not be held up against Lionel Messi for measure. The combative Argentinian is clearly the one player to have come closest to the cursed mantle of being the 'next Maradona'. Still he has a long way to go to emulate the brilliant no. 10 of yesteryear, but Messi continues to grow in stature, skill and ability to do what other players can't.
So, if you are feeling stuck for what to do whilst your team is off sunning itself on some ridiculously expensive resort, take comfort in knowing that however desperate you become there will be some football out there to quench your thirst and exasperate your partner. Then again you could simply take a break like the professionals do, it might do you some good but it will be hard to resist the endless transfer gossip and stories. If that fails then you could take up another sport, I recommend the Ashes- maybe I'll see you in Cardiff for the first test, if we make it to day five!