Paul Scholes Pensiun

Melalui situs resmi Manchester United (MU), Paul Scholes (36) menyatakan berhenti bermain dari panggung sepak bola profesional dan itu berlaku segera setelah pengumuman dibuat. Mulai musim depan, Scholes akan memainkan peran sebagai pelatih bagi MU.

"Say bukan orang yang suka bicara banyak, tetapi saya dengan jujur mengatakan bahwa bermain sepak bola adalah sesuatu yang ingin saya lakukan dan memiliki karier panjang dan sukses di Manchester United merupakan kehormatan besar," ujar Scholes.

"Ini bukan keputusan yang saya ambil dengan mudah, tetapi saya merasa sekarang adalah waktu yang tepat bagi saya berhenti bermain. Menjadi bagian dari tim yang membantu klub meraih gelar (Premier League) ke-19 adalah kebanggaan tersendiri."

"Saya ingin berterima kasih kepada suporter atas dukungan mereka yang luar biasa sepanjang karier saya. Saya juga ingin berterima kasih kepada semua pelatih dan pemain yang pernah bekerja sama dengan saya selama bertahun-tahun."

"Terutama, saya ingin berterima kasih kepada Sir Alex (Ferguson) karena telah menjadi manajer yang luar biasa. Sejak hari pertama aku bergabung dengan klub ini, pintunya selalu terbuka dan saya tahu tim ini akan terus memenangi trofi di bawah kepemimpinannya," tutur Scholes.

Menanggapi keputusan Scholes, manajer Alex Ferguson mengatakan, "Apa lagi yang bisa saya katakan mengenai Scholes yang belum pernah saya katakan. Kami akan kehilangan pemain yang luar biasa. Paul selalu berkomitmen penuh kepada klub ini dan saya senang ia akan menjadi staf pelatih mulai musim depan.

"Paul telah menjadi pemain yang inspirasional bagi pemain dari semua generasi dan kami semua tahu itu akan berlanjut dalam peran barunya," tambah Ferguson.

Scholes telah membela tim utama MU sejak 1994. Ia telah bermain sebanyak 676 kali dan mencetak 150 gol. Ia ikut membantu MU meraih sepuluh gelar Premier League, dua trofi Liga Champions, satu trofi Piala Dunia Antarklub, tiga Piala FA, dan sejumlah trofi lain

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Eto'o Menjadi Pahlawan Inter

Inter Milan sukses mempertahankan Coppa Italia setelah membekuk Palermo di final. Samuel Eto’o menjadi bintang di Olimpico Roma.

I Nerazzurri menyabet gelar tunggal musim ini berkat kemenangan 3-1 atas Palermo, sekaligus membawa gelar copa ketujuh sepanjang sejarah tim. Eto’o kembali membuktikan kelasnya dengan membukukan dua gol (26’ & 77’) yang kemudian disempurnakan Diego Milito saat injury time. Palermo hanya mampu memperkecil keunggulan di menit 88 berkat gol Ezequiel Munoz.

Leonardo Araujo membuat kejutan saat mengumumkan starting XI pemain beberapa saat sebelum kick off. Wesley Sneijder dan bek muda Andrea Ranocchia masuk dalam pemain starter.

Padahal sebelumnya kondisi keduanya diragukan tampil akibat cedera. Inter memang sempat mengonfirmasi akan memainkan Sneijder dan Ranocchia, namun hanya sebagai pemain pengganti.

Palermo sebenernya tampil mendominasi jalannya pertandingan. Javier Pastore dkk sudah menyerang sejak peluit kick off dibunyikan. Sejumlah peluang diciptakan Palermo, sayang buruknya penyelesaian akhir membuat gawang Julio Cesar tetap aman.

Inter justru unggul lebih dulu melalui serangan balik cepat. Sneijder yang menjadi motor serangan Inter sukses menusuk lini belakang Palermo untuk memberikan passing kepada Eto’o. Tanpa menemui banyak kesulitan striker Kamerun melepaskan tembakan ge gawang Salvatore Sirigu.

Inter dipaksa bermain bertahan menyusul agresifnya serangan Palermo. Cesar harus jatuh bangun demi menyelamatkan gawang dari gempuran Pastore dkk. Namun, hingga turun minum skor 1-0 tak berubah.

Tak banyak perubahan di babak kedua. Palermo tetap tampil menekan demi mengejar defisit gol. Berbekal pengalaman, La Beneamata mampu menjaga konsentrasi di lini belakang.

Asyik menyerang lagi-lagi harus dibayar mahal tim besutan Delio Rossi. Aksi Sneijder – Eto’o kembali membuat barisan belakang Rosanero tak berdaya di 13 menit sisa pertandingan.

Munoz sempat membuka harapan ketika sundulannya yang memanfaatkan tendangan sudut bersarang di jala Cesar. Ironisnya Munoz langsung diusir wasit menyusul kartu kuning kedua yang diterimanya pasca mencetak gol. Milito akhirnya menyempurnakan kemenangan Inter di masa injury time.

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Barcelona 3 United 1

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and admit defeat.

The Reds could hardly have prepared better, and even dominated the game's early stages, but at Wembley on Saturday night Barcelona proved why so many regard them as the best footballing team on the planet.

They're certainly champions of Europe. That much is certain now. Not even Wayne Rooney's first-half equaliser, after Pedro had put the Spanish side ahead, blunted their relentless passing game for long.

And yet there can be no shame in defeat. Not to this Barcelona side, a group of players that will surely go down as one of the most talented sides ever assembled.

This is a team that boasts, arguably, three of the best five players in the world, a side that battered Real Madrid 5-0 earlier this season in a performance that prompted Rooney to stand and applaud in his own living room.

Perhaps in years to come Rooney will admire Barcelona's performance in this match, too. At Wembley on Saturday there was only disappointment, punctuated briefly when he curled home from 15 yards to ignite hope. After that, though, Rooney, like most of his team-mates, struggled to make an impact.

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Stoke city 3 - Arsenal 1, Report

Arsène Wenger’s side were not completely out of the running when they arrived at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday but Stoke inflicted their seventh defeat of the season - and there’s no way back from that.

Kenwyne Jones got the first – although he knew little about it – after poor defending from a free kick and former Gunner Jermaine Pennant delivered the killer blow with a deflected shot over Wojciech Szczesny.

Robin van Persie spurned two good chances before giving the visitors a glimmer of hope with a fine strike 10 minutes from time. But Jon Walters responded within seconds to snuff out any chance of a comeback. 

Arsenal could have few complaints. They were off-colour for most of this contest and once again made life tough for themselves with a handful of basic errors. 

The target now is to secure third place and the automatic Champions League spot it brings. Manchester City are five points adrift with a game in hand, so Arsène Wenger’s side still have work to do before their summer holidays.

The Frenchman waited on the outcome of two late fitness tests before finalising his line-up for this trip to Staffordshire. Johan Djourou passed his but Gael Clichy failed his so Kieran Gibbsstepped in at left back. Thomas Vermaelen, the likely replacement for Djourou, had to settle for a place on the bench as he returned to the squad for the first time since August. 

With Cesc Fabregas (thigh), Samir Nasri(hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) all sidelined,Andrey Arshavin came into the starting XI whileAaron Ramsey continued in midfield after his match-winning contribution against Manchester United last weekend. 

Predictably, much of the pre-match hype centred around the Welshman’s reunion with Ryan Shawcross 15 months after the Stoke captain broke his leg. Disappointingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, Ramsey was jeered by the home fans. Wenger had predicted before the match that a return to the scene of his “car accident” would aid Ramsey’s mental rehabilitation. He certainly played as if his mind had been cleansed.

It was Ramsey’s fellow midfielder, Jack Wilshere, who took the fight to Stoke in the opening stages. His persistence set up a half-chance for Arshavin inside 90 seconds but the Russian skewed his shot wide of the near post. After six minutes Ramsey prodded the ball through to Van Persie but the Dutchman took time to adjust his feet and could only stab wastefully over the bar.

Arsenal’s brisk, breezy start augured well but it soon petered out in even breezier conditions that made life difficult for both sides. Frustratingly, the visitors regularly found themselves on the edge of the Stoke box but lacked the invention and sharpness to create chances.

You could have forgiven Stoke for having one eye on next Saturday’s FA Cup Final - they have already lost Matthew Etherington to injury – but the hosts soon awoke from their slumber. 

Pennant was the catalyst. The former Arsenal winger hooked one effort wide while Szczesny was caught out of position and then delivered the free kick from which Jones gave Stoke the lead in the 27th minute. 

It was a poor goal from Arsenal’s perspective. Arshavin conceded a soft free kick for a push, the cross was not cleared at the near post and Jones, whose run had not been tracked, saw the ball bounce off his chest and into the net. Before this game 56 per cent of the goals conceded by Arsenal this season had come from set-pieces – that statistic has crept up again.

Six minutes before the break it got worse. This time Pennant got away from Bacary Sagna and advanced as Arsenal’s centre backs backed off. Eventually Djourou came out to challenge but he only succeeded in deflecting Pennant’s fierce shot over Szczesny. 

Walters hit the crossbar from an acute angle moments later after a slip from Song and half-time probably came at a good time for the visitors. When they emerged from the interval they had two new strikers on the pitch – Nicklas Bendtner andMarouane Chamakh. 

Both had a sight of goal early in the second half, Chamakh scuffing wide from a decent position and Bendtner curling an effort just off target. Nonetheless, Arsenal looked far more lively.

But Stoke weren’t done. It needed a great block from Sagna to deny Rory Delap while Szczesny saved brilliantly from Glenn Whelan after he burst through on goal.

When Van Persie stepped on the ball and fell over it seemed to sum up Arsenal’s day and the Dutchman’s woes continued when he was denied by Asmir Begovic’s point-blank save after Bendtner had played him through.

Van Persie did get the goal he deserved with 10 minutes left – taking him to 20 for the season – with a vicious right-foot shot from the edge of the box. But that glimmer of hope faded within 60 seconds after a poor clearance from Djourou was collected by Walters and smashed past Szczesny.

It was the final word on a forgettable day for Arsenal.

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