These two days were intense and wonderful. Neither the people who worked on the nor the protagonists of the day will forget them easily. Let’s revisit them through these pictures.

May 14th – The Indesit Football Talents Arrive

Our winners received a true VIP entrance at the Royal Garden Hotel in London, with flashbulbs, video cameras and staff attention– the whole works!

After time for a nap, a shower, or a stroll around Hyde Park, the evening’s programme began. We  met up for a cocktail and to sign the “Heroes’ Wall”, our winner’s first step at becoming legends among legends.

The doors opened and we found ourselves in a sumptuously decorated room. Our winners spread out among the tables– their first real chance to really meet and study each other. The lights dimmed, and the 4 coaches were introduced: Robert Pires, Daniele Massaro, Gianfranco Zola and Jean George Papin. They would train Arsenal F.C., A.C. Milan, Paris Saint Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk, respectively. Our players crossed their fingers before finding out which jerseys they would be sporting for the event, and which of the four legends would guide their way to Indesit Football Talents victory.

After a delicious dinner and some relaxing conversation, it was time to get serious. The teams were announced, the jerseys handed out and the players retreated with their coaches to study tactics for the next day’s matches.

May 15th – The final at Emirates Stadium

Our winners woke up early and ate a light breakfast, before climbing into their buses, just like professional teams. Their arrival at Emirates Stadium was marked by ominous grey skies that promise everything and nothing…

The teams went onto the field to train before the final. Despite the awful weather, the stadium was beautiful and the atmosphere was full of energy. 

It wouldn’t be a true final without an official photoshoot (and some candids along the way) and a team lunch. It’s the perfect chance for last minute advice and encouragement from the coaches.

And at last, game time! We started off with Shakhtar-Arsenal and Milan-PSG. Our Indesit Football Talents held nothing back on the field, and played with astounding enthusiasm and excitement. Winners Milan and Arsenal faced off in the final round, while Arsenal and PSG battled it out for third and fourth place.

PSG took the victory in their match against Arsenal. The final score was  2-1, but the important thing was having played and given everything to the match. The final hug between the coaches spoke volumes about the great sportsmanship between the teams.

The final seemed almost scripted for maximum drama. The unpredictable London weather contributed a hearty hailstorm, just to make things a bit more atmospheric. Despite the conditions, the two teams battled it out with courage, mastery, and consistent fair play. Marco Duravia won the day for the Indesit Football Talents Milan team, under Massaro’s leadership.

Next came the official prize ceremony, more photoshoots, and handshakes. Once all the formality was over and done with, time for relaxation, laughter and celebration!

We moved over to the Hard Rock Cafè to toast the day and have some fun. The goodby party was also the chance to give out the special prizes.

Here they are:

Best Goalkeeper: Camisola Bruno – AC Milan
Best Defender: Kuzo Alexandre – Paris Saint-Germain
Best Midfielder: Narbutovskihh Sergei – Arsenal FC
Best Striker: Gaur Aaron Singh – Arsenal FC
Best Female Player: Mahfoud Medina – Arsenal FC
Best Player of the Tournament: Duravia Marco – AC Milan
Indesit Washing Machine Prize Draw: Hitchen John Andrew – Arsenal FC.

The night was still young for some of our players, while others went back to the hotel to rest after an unforgettable day of intense playing on the pitch at Emirates Stadium. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We’d like to send our special thanks to our bloggers for having come along with us on this fantastic experience and for having spent these two days with us and Indesit Football Talents.

And finally, we wouldn’t be able to end this post without dedicating it to our winners. Great job, guys! Our true compliments to all of our Indesit Football Talents!

Over the next few days we’ll publish more videos, photos and exclusive content about the contest. Keep on following!

Image Source: Marc Tacoma, Flickr

The shaggy-haired defender has been a fixture on the Spanish team since his first game against the Netherlands in 2000. Since then, he has served on the national team more than 100 times, starting most matches and even subbing in as captain in Iker Castillas’ absence during the 2009 FIFA Confederations match.

His most memorable moment certainly came during the 2010 World Cup semifinal, where his headed goal brought La Roja a 1-0 victory over Germany. He played all 120 minutes of the final against the Netherlands, and helped bring about their 1-0 victory. Here’s footage of his famous goal against Germany:

Beyond his national triumphs, Puyol has also cut quite the figure during his club career at FC Barcelona. He was named club captain in 2003, and helped guide the team to the power position it occupies today. Often described as the “heart of the team”, he is reknowned for his ruggedness, determination and intense discipline. Though he may not have the showmanship of some of his teammates, his dedication to the game provides them the support they need to truly shine. His focus is on glory for the team, rather than the individual player.

These traits have served him well for almost 400 appearances for his club, and are the same that will ensure him a rapid recovery time before he’s back on the field. In the meantime, here are some career highlights to tide you over.

Image credit: Jan S0l0, Flickr.

Iker Casillas

Casillas heads up this list because he is arguably the best goalkeeper on the field today. He’s been decorated a near-obscene amount of times, and proudly holds the title of most-capped goalkeeper of all time in UEFA and most-capped player overall for the Spanish team. On and off the field, his talent and artistry is undeniable. Here are some career highlights:

Gianluca Buffon

Juventus’ goalie is Casillas’ rival for best goalkeeper playing today. He tops most lists of greatest goalkeepers in history, and his fine performance on the field at the end of 2011 brought him further into Juventus fans’ favour. He has been making major waves on the international scene since being crowned World’s Best Goalkeeper in 2003/2004. Here are some of his best saves:

Jan Tomaszewski

Tomaszewski has had a uniquely varied career, making the hop from clownish goalie to serious politician after his retirement from sports. Still, he will eternally be commemorated in football history as “The Man That Stopped England” after his amazing performance in the 1974 World Cup.

Michel Preud’homme

The underdog of this listing, Preud’homme caused a bit of an uproar when he won the Yashin Award for best goalkeeper in 1994. At that point he was well into his thirties, and had never played outside of Belgium. All the years he had clocked at KV Mechelen hardly counted on to people focused on the international scene. Still, he brought an unmistakable style and talent to his game that begged for recognition. Here are some of his best saves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzDXGngEEhg

Lev Yashin

We’ve written about the Black Spider before . Suffice it to say that he set the standard for great goalkeepers everywhere, creating a whole new class with his near-psychic abilities. The man invented goalkeeper sweeping, and is the only keeper to receive the prestigious Ballon d’Or. Let’s take a look at some of his triumphs:

These are obviously just a few of the greats. Who else do you think belongs on this list?

Image Credit: Lee Jordan, Flickr

Recent events made us think about how fans across Europe show their passion.  In Genoa, for instance, supporters’ fury with their team’s 0-4 loss against Siena interrupted play for almost an hour:

On the very same day, Wolverhampton Wanderer fans greeted their team with a truly heartwarming round of applause after their 0-2 loss to Manchester bumped them out of Premiere League:

The responses in these two stadiums sheds a special light on the nature of fandom around the world. In some places, supporters refuse to accept the reality of defeat. In other cases, fans place more weight on a sense of community. The Wolves’ supporters, for instance, showed the pride that came from being a fan, regardless of the match outcome.

We’ve seen before in England, such as three years ago when Newcastle (now in the running for qualification to the next Champions League) was sent down, and further back with Coventry. In each case, fans ignored their team’s defeat and applauded their players, promising that they would be back. Even if this return still hasn’t happened, it’s the fandom that counts.

Football is made up of victories and defeats. When our team is down, it’s much better to follow the example of Wolverhampton fans, rather than the Genova supporters who interrupted the match. What are your thoughts on this?

Image Credits: Aleksandr Osipov, Flickr

The first tournament, in 1960, featured a memorable semi-final between France and Yugoslavia. After 55 minutes, France was leading 4-2, but Yugoslavia rallied, scoring 3 goals in five minutes for a famous 5-4 victory, although they were later beaten by the USSR in the final.

Eight years later, the final was between West Germany and Czechoslovakia and it ended 2-2. The game went to a penalty shootout where Panenka scored his now famous spot kick.

28 years later, Russia and the Czech Republic faced off at Euro ‘96. The Russians were almost out of the tournament, while the Czechs needed at least a draw to qualify from the group stage. An 89th minute goal from Vladimir Smicer at Anfield, secured the Czech republic a 3-3 draw, from where they kicked on and reached the final of the tournament:

Four years later, a Yugoslavia game saw another incredible comeback – though this time it was a good result for them. Savo Milosevic scored twice as they came back from 3-0 down against Slovenia to secure a draw. Here’s his first goal:

And the equaliser:

Yugoslavia also starred in the last game of the group stage. Spain were behind going into injury time, but scored twice including in the 96th minute to progress to the knockout stages:

And finally we’re going back to a match a mere 4 years ago. Croatia and Turkey saw an incredible quarterfinal, with two goals right at the end of extra time. A 122nd minute equalizer forced penalties, where Turkey progressed.

But what makes the Euros is the consistency of quality, every match is exciting. Get ready, it’s going to be brilliant.

Within the historic Barça-Real rivalry, there has been a smaller current rivalry, between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the two best players in the world. Both have great class, technique, speed, and acceleration, added to a definite propensity for scoring as many goals as possible. With both banging in goals every week, it’s intriguing to see who will win the Golden Boot.

Earlier in the week Messi struck twice against Zaragoza, to take his total to 38, but Ronaldo’s hat-trick last night helped him re-take the lead, with a staggering 40 goals this season. To put that into context, Robin van Persie has had a brilliant season and is still 11 goals behind.

Ronaldo took the Golden Boot last year, and Messi won in 2010 – who will win this year?

A look at their greatest goals from the season comes no closer to answering the question – both are superb. Here’s Ronaldo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwzbUc8P74E

And Leo Messi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_z00GqRXGo

Phenomenal.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar has come into his own since signing with Schalke 04, showing the world his true abilities. He came up through Ajax and attracted a lot of attention back in summer 2008. The next January he went to Real Madrid, but quickly left to go Milan. At both club, Huntelaar never really seemed to click, despite the 8 goals he scored out of out of 20 games while at Real, and the 7 goals scored during his season with Milan.

Image Credit: xtranews, Flickr

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival at Milan, it was time for Huntelaar to move on, so he packed his bags and made for Gelsenkirchen in 2010. At Schalke, Huntelaar has found an ideal set of circumstances. He has a special on-field chemistry with Raul, who he already played with at Madrid.

His first goal with his new team wasn’t enough to prevent defeat to Dortmund but Huntelaar went on to score 8 League goals during and 3 in the Champions League, which took Schalke to the semifinals, a good return for his first season in Germany. Klaas played a particularly significant role in the Cup, scoring two goals in the final helping his side to a 5-0 victory over Duisburg. Here was his first goal during the game, which set the stage for the rest of the match:

But it’s been this year, in his second season, where Huntelaar has really excelled. This year, a Huntelaar hat-trick helped Schalke to beat Dortmund, and he’s scored further hat-tricks against Teningen, Stuttgart, and HJK Helsinki. His stats are phenomenal: 23 goals in the Bundesliga and 13 goals in 11 games in the Europa League.

In this video, we see the first 26 goals scored by Huntelaar this season:

Schalke’s not the only team depending on him—at the end of the season the Dutch national team will also be hoping to use him to try and win EURO 2012. Judging by Huntelaar’s form, they’ll have a good chance.

Image Credit: Goulao, Flickr.

The rivalry between the two teams has a great history. They first faced off on April 28, 1912, with Benfica prevailing 8-2. This rivalry also underlines the contrast between the teams’ home cities: Porto, an industrial city in the North of the country, against Lisbon, the country’s capital, rich with history and culture. For years Benfica dominated the rivalry, but in the past twenty years Porto have been on top.
Benfica still hold an overall lead over their rivals with 32 championship wins against Porto’s 25, and 25 national cups against Porto’s 16. On the international scene, however, Porto reigns supreme, with 7 successes (including last year’s Europe League) against Benfica’s 2.
Over the past few years, the rivalry has been personified by two legendary players, Benfica’s Joao Pinto and Porto’s Paulinho Santos. Despite having been teammates on the Portuguese national team, the two players have never missed a chance to declare their dislike for one another. It’s clear that their teams’ rivalry certainly plays a large part in this!
This year, Benfica seemed set on taking the Portuguese title but Porto have rebounded admirably over the past few weeks. After this weekend’s video, team president Pinto da Costa has declared that his team will win the title again this season. Do you believe him? Or do you think that Benfica can recover?
Maybe the highlights of this weekend’s game will help you make up your mind…

Image Credit: wonker, Flickr

The rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham is one of many that can be found in London, due to the multitude of football teams. But it’s the North London D­­erby which has a particularly captivating history, beginning with Arsenal’s move to Highbury in 1913, and gaining in significance after Arsenal’s promotion to the old First Division.

Tottenham’s biggest defeat was their 6-0 loss to Arsenal in 1935, while they managed to beat Arsenal 5-0 in 1983.  The match with the most goals was just a few years ago, during the 2004-05 season, with Arsenal coming out winners by the unlikely score of 5-4:

Arsenal and Tottenham’s history is also marked by players who passed from one team to the other. Adebayor, for instance, spared no mercy for his former team from the penalty spot on Sunday. Another, William Gallas, who captained Arsenal, joined Spurs last season – but not before playing in one of the most memorable derbies of all time: 2008’s 4-4 draw at the Emirates.

In general, Arsenal have been the winners of the Derby. Out of 172 matches they have won 72, drawn 47 and lost just 53. Despite this, Spurs fans have their fond memories as well, such as the 2008 Carling Cup semi-final:

Although Arsenal scored five goals in 28 minutes on Sunday, in the 1983-4 season the goals came even quicker at Highbury: Arsenal won 3-2, in a game marked by four goals in as many minutes during the second half:

In other words, a long history, rich with excitement and memorable matches. This year Tottenham are trying to become the premier team in North London. Despite this, Sunday’s match shows it’s still all to play for.

Image Source: Globalite, Flickr

The other time this happened was during the 2010 Champions League quarter-final when he scored 4 goals against Arsenal:

But it’s not only Messi who has managed this feat. For instance, in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen all managed to pull it off twice. Here you can see the four goals Solskjaer scored in just ten minutes against  Nottingham Forest.

There was a similar incident recently in Serie A: Inter striker Diego Milito scored four goals against Palermo but this still wasn’t enough as the game finished 4-4:

In the Champions League, Italian teams have often provided great service to their strikers. Simone Inzaghi from Lazio and Andry Shevchenko from Milan scored 4 goals in 2000 and 2004 respectively, against Marseilles and Fenerbahce. Simone was often overshadowed by his more successful brother, Filippo, but not in this instance:

Other players have scored 4 goals during a Champions League game. Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who scored four times for Sparta Prague in 2004 while playing for Manchester United, and Dado Prso , the Croatian striker who scored four of the goals during Monaco’s legendary 8-3 victory over Deportivo in 2003.

It just goes to show that although Messi is the best, this achievement isn’t all that rare. Are there any instances which you remember of this happening?