Yeaaaahhh! Barcelona Win the Champions League Finals!

Yes!

Barça have done it! They've beaten Manchester United's 25-game unbeaten streak, and have taken the silverware in the Champions League title!

Of course, the live video stream cut out while I was watching the game (thanks to our company's lousy server), so I was forced to follow the game by reading the live ticker and chatbox on the UEFA site... in between customers' calls, of course.

Just catching the video replay of Lionel Messi's 70th minute goal, wow! Will post a link once the phones stop ringing...

On being traitorous, or Go Barça!

I'm betraying my English ancestry.

For tomorrow's Champions League final, I'm cheering for Barcelona, and not Manchester United.

Don't get me wrong, I love Man U, or more appropriately, their history. Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best, Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, even Wayne Rooney are some of my favourite footballers. So, why cheer for Barça, then?

Simple.

It's for the simple fact that I absolutely loathe Cristiano Ronaldo with every fibre of my being.

That, and I actually follow Barcelona. Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry are two of my favourite footballers as well (honourable mentions going to Xavi, Carles Puyol and Samuel Eto'o).

So, long story short, Go Barça!

(Of course, I'd be cheering on Bayern Munich if Barça hadn't dismantled them in the semi-finals...)

The Volkswagens Cruise Home

C&S would like to extend our hearty congratulations to Vfl Wolfsburg, who are Bundesliga champions of the 2008-09 season!

Your handy dismantling of Werder Bremen was something to hear!

I caught snippets of the match, flipping back and forth from the match between Stuttgart (2006-07 champs) and my FC Bayern (2007-08 champs), who have "secured" their second place finish. Not the first place finish I'd hoped for, but that's the way the ball bounces... so to speak.

I also caught a few snippets of the match between Energie Cottbus and Bayer Leverkusen, which was interesting as well. FC Energie (for whom I've been secretly rooting in their relegation struggle) trounced the "Aspirins" 3-0, but it looks like they're going down to the 2.Liga next season. Well fought, boys, well fought.

Well, that's another Fußball season over. Time to focus on MLS, yardwork, and the Speakeasy. I'm gonna finish my Weißbier, head out for some breakfast, then weed my patio.

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Pins and Needles Time...

I won't be able to sleep tonight.

Bundesliga finals are tomorrow, and my Bayern boys are still mired in second place - and depending on tomorrow's outcome, will either be in first place or, well, I'd rather not think about that.

Either way, when all is said and done, I still have yardwork to do tomorrow. Whether or not I'm in a good mood while doing it is entirely up to Heyncke's squad...

Fußball, Weißbier, und Ich

Been busy with life outside of the 'sphere.

And by life, I mean Bundesliga soccer.

There are just two games left in the 2008-09 season, and my boys at Bayern München are battling it out with four other squads for the top spot! Gonna be a tough fight (the Wolfsburg juggernaut seems unstoppable) but I know my boys'll win it all. I'm also rooting for Energie Cottbus in their epic struggle to avoid relegation to the Zweite Liga.

Speaking of 2.Liga, I'm pulling for Hansa Rostock in their struggle to avoid relegation to the 3.Liga. Here's hoping they can keep the ship from sinking.

As for the 3.Liga, I'm not paying close attention, as my "other" favourite team, Eintracht Braunschweig, are mired in the middle of the table...

I'm gonna be on the edge of my seat for the next week. I'll be stocking up on Erdinger Weißbier (aus Bayern!) and tuning in to the live audio feeds, whether by piggybacked wifi connection or shortwave radio, which a friend of mine assures me is "very remotely possible".

Nothing's impossible. We're hackers. We'll make it work.