Yearender soccer: Glory for Spain and Messi but problems never far away
Updated: 2012-12-25 16:33
(Agencies)
|
|||||||||||
Divine inspiration
Chelsea, who finished sixth in the Premier League in May, went on to Munich for the Champions League final.
Written off by virtually all of Europe's media before they played Barcelona, they again confounded the critics by beating Bayern Munich on penalties in their own stadium to become the first London club to lift the European Cup in its 57-year history.
Despite also winning the FA Cup, it was not a year without huge problems for the now deposed European champions, who are owned and run by the ruthless billionaire Roman Abramovich.
Six months after leading the club to the greatest night in their 107-year history, coach Roberto Di Matteo was cast aside by the Russian - just before Chelsea became the first defending champions to be eliminated from the group stage of the competition.
Their tilt at the world club title also ended in failure when they lost to Corinthians.
Their triumphs were further blemished by racist controversies involving captain John Terry - found guilty and banned by the English FA despite being cleared in an earlier court case - and unfounded allegations made by the club against Premier League and FIFA referee Mark Clattenburg.
Related Stories
Messi breaks record with 86th goal of year 2012-12-10 05:33
Another defeat for Chelsea, another promise to fight on 2012-12-18 08:02
Chelsea's Terry banned for four matches 2012-09-28 09:43
Messi, Ronaldo and Iniesta vie for Ballon d’Or 2012-11-30 09:28
Ronaldo, Messi hit record 41-goal mark 2012-04-16 07:58
234 a new Messi Marvel 2012-03-22 07:56
Today's Top News
President Xi confident in recovery from quake
H7N9 update: 104 cases, 21 deaths
Telecom workers restore links
Coal mine blast kills 18 in Jilin
Intl scholarship puts China on the map
More bird flu patients discharged
Gold loses sheen, but still a safe bet
US 'turns blind eye to human rights'
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
All-out efforts to save lives |
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
Poultry industry under pressure |
'Spring' in the air for NGOs? |
Boy set to drive Chinese golf |
Latest technology gets people talking |