Monterrey advances

Monterrey's bid for the Copa continued last night with a 4-4 draw with Chivas, winning the aggregate 8-5. Pay attention to the two Carlos Ochoa goals (first and last Monterrey goals) that were classic counter-strikes.

Ligue 1 Orange finale

It's a peculiar thing to start the review of the final day of the season in which the title was won by Lyon to note first, thankfully PSG was saved from relegation but such is the case. With PSG's noble victory 2-1 over Sochaux on the strength of Amare Diané two goals and Bordeaux and Lens 2-2 draw, PSG was saved.















Of course the real story was Lyon's victory which secured their seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title. Their 3-1 victory over Auxerre was never in-doubt as only a minute into the match Karim Benzema scored and the second was added by Fred ten minutes later.

On the opposite end of the table, Lens which had flown so high last year and bordered upon a Champions League spot is sent down to Ligue 2 with Strasbourg and Metz. It is a painful taste for Lens and hopefully a short-lived exodus. Equally said, PSG and Toulouse which look condemned pulled-off the Ligue 1 "great escape". From Ligue 2, Le Havre, Nantes and possibly the best excuse for a road-trip next season Grenoble.

In another odd side-story with Nancy seemingly having locked up third place and the final Champions League spot, they lost to Rennes 3-2 while Olympique Marseille beat Strasbourg 4-3 on two Djibril Cisse goals as well as one each by Sami Nasir and Mamadou Niang. With this swing, Marseille which seemed to have dropped any chance of the Champions League next season with squandered points finds itself in third place and in the Champions League. Allez l'OM Allez!

As an aside, Marseille, which is owned by Robert Louis-Dreyfus the CEO of Adidas-Salomon, unveiled it's kit for next season using a argyle-vest pattern a hint of things to come from Adidas. The jersey is available online now -
























































































Final table ~

	GP	Wins	Draws	Losses	Goals	Against	Total
Olympique Lyonnais	38	24	7	7	74	37	79
FC Girondins de Bordeaux	38	22	9	7	65	38	75
Olympique Marseille	38	17	11	10	58	45	62
AS Nancy Lorraine	38	15	15	8	44	31	60
Saint-Étienne Loire	38	16	10	12	47	34	58
Stade Rennais FC	38	16	10	12	47	44	58
Lille O.S.C.	38	13	18	7	45	32	57
Nice-Côte d'Azur	38	13	16	9	35	30	55
Le Mans	38	14	11	13	46	49	53
Lorient	38	12	16	10	32	35	52
SM Caen	38	13	12	13	48	53	51
AS Monaco FC	38	13	8	17	40	48	47
Valenciennes FC	38	12	9	17	42	40	45
Sochaux-Montbéliard	38	10	14	14	34	43	44
AJ Auxerre	38	12	8	18	33	52	44
Paris Saint-Germain	38	10	13	15	37	45	43
Toulouse FC	38	9	15	14	36	42	42
Racing Club de Lens	38	9	13	16	43	52	40
RC Strasbourg	38	9	8	21	34	60	35
FC Metz	38	5	9	24	28	64	24

FA Cup highlights

Fairwell to King Khan

Bayern Munich beat Herta Berlin 4-1 to conclude their Bundesliga winning season, which was a perfect send-off to Oliver Khan and Ottmar Hitzeld who are retiring. With three goals, once again by Luca Toni and the other from Franck Ribéry, cruised to victory on this final emotional day.

With a career that started with his debut for Karlsruher SC in 1987, Khan was replaced with one minute left to a resounding ovation.

Portsmouth win's FA Cup

Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth won the FA Cup in a 1-0 victory over Cardiff City at Wembley. The lone goal came from Nwankwo Kanu at the thirty-seventh minute in a tight defensive affair. Cardiff has had few chances although the play of seventeen year-old Welsh international, Aaron Ramsey has firmly established his extraordinary promise.

FA Cup final

In just under two hours Portsmouth and Cardiff City meet for a historic FA Cup final at Wembley.

It has been a stunning year for athletics in Wales and the Bluebirds look to continue this with their first FA Cup victory since 1927. Cardiff is naturally the underdog but hopefully will have the Robbie Fowler back for the match.

Harry Redknapp, the man who should be the head coach of England, will be without Jermain Defoe but will have David James and Sol Campbell back. This should be the crowning of Harry Redknapp as he leads Portsmouth to glory. For Cardiff to pull off an epic upset they will need to play a pack the midfield, a murderous challenge given the size of the Wembley pitch and counter-attack upon weakness. Hopefully, should Portsmouth raise the trophy, England will begin to realize they have their new leader and shockingly he hails from England.

Canada beats Sweden 5-4

In an incredible tight game, Canada scored four goals in the second period to lead them to a victory over the tough Swedish team 5-4 in the semi finals of the IIHF. The Dany Heatley, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash line is paying rich dividends and leading the charge for the Canadians.Canada now faces its arch-nemesis Russia in the Gold Medal game, after they beat Finland, on Sunday.