Soccer Archive
David Beckham has a history of going out on top.
In 2003, during his final season with Manchester United, he captured the English Premier League title. He then abandoned the program he was developed by and began his professional career with after 10 years with the club and his home country of England for a big payday with Real Madrid in Spain.
He spent 4 seasons in Spain. Then he shocked the world by announcing that he was leaving Europe to play on the smaller fields and smaller stage of the MLS. But before he left, he lead Real Madrid to the 2006-2007 league title.
In 115 years, English Premier League staple Arsenal has never suffered a loss like this. Yesterday, their nightmares became reality, as they lost 8-2. To make matters worse, the loss came at the hands of their bitter rivals: Manchester United.
“You feel humiliated when you concede eight goals,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “It was a terrible day for us, it was a combination of an under-strength team and weakness.”
This weakness is something that Arsenal knows all too much about as of late. Allowing eight goals (three of which came at the hands of polarizing forward Wayne Rooney) is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems surrounding the storied club. Earlier this month, team captain Cesc Fabregas left the Arsenal to play in his hometown team Barcelona of the Spanish League. The club also lost Samir Nasri to a place where he could hurt his former club: Manchester City. Defections are something that Arsenal has become accustomed to since loosing Thierry Henry years ago to Real Madrid.
No, I’m not speaking figuratively that the team did something wrong on the pitch. No player was thrown literally under a bus either; but something of value was. After winning the Copa del Rey trophy on Cristiano Ronaldo’s header in extra-time, the players of Real Madrid were justifiably celebrating when the unthinkable happened. During the celebration defender Sergio Ramos lost his grip on the trophy and it fell under the team bus. The 33-pound trophy was subsequently run over. The pieces were gathered by emergency personnel.This is Madrid’s 18th domestic cup and their first since 1994. It is the first championship for their coach as well. You think that those things considered, they would have been more careful with the trophy. Also, it is hard to imagine how the trophy got under the moving bus. I doubt the players were hanging it out the window as that would be hard to imagine a trophy that stands over 3 feet would fit. Either way the negligence with which the trophy was treated is somewhat alarming.