The end of another week

Well….It’s been a while since I updated my blog.

A few things have happened since then. The weather is slowly but surely improving down here on the Costa Del Sol. Temperatures are on the rise and as I type this the sun is shining.

According to the Spanish Met Agency February was the wettest on record in 30 years and to be honest I’d have to say March hasn’t seen much of an improvement.

King Juan Carlos inaugurated the new Terminal 3 at Malaga Airport last week, Monday March 17^th, with Queen Sofia also present. The New Terminal has been built at a substantial cost of €1.8 Million and put’s it on more or less a par with Barcelona’s ‘El Prat’ & Madrid’s ‘Barajas’ airports.

It will be interesting to see how it copes with demand during the high summer season.

It has so far not suffered any major hiccups, unlike London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 launch.

I watched the last of the UEFA Champions League 1^st Knockout Rounds to be played this week. On Tuesday night I saw Chelsea eliminated at the hands of a familiar foe in Jose Mourinho. Despite having home advantage in the 2^nd leg I was impressed with Inter and particularly with their Dutch playmaker, Wesley Sneijder. Mourinhos tactical game plan was spot on, not surprising really since if anyone knew how to play Chelsea it would be the man who led them to back to back titles during his stint in English football.

It got me thinking that despite having a wealthy benefactor in Roman Abramovich, money doesn’t always guarantee you success but it certainly goes a long way! Abramovich’s obsession with wanting to win Europe’s top prize borders on Sir Alex Fergusons obsession before he won his first European cup in 1999

24 hours later after the Chelsea saga I watched the defending European Champions, Barcelona, thrash German club Stuttgart 4-0 at the Nou Camp. Barcelona play with a certain style and swagger that is very pleasing on the eye and Lionel Messi, whom I believe is the best player in world footballer, opened the scoring in the first 15 minutes with  a sensational goal the floodgates opened thereafter.

The highly anticipated draw for the UEFA Champions League quarter finals Draw was made today. And it certainly threw up some very mouth watering ties;

Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) v FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA)
FC Bayern München (GER) v Manchester United FC (ENG)

Arsenal FC (ENG) v FC Barcelona (ESP, holders)

FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) v PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)

As a Man Utd fan I was inundated with emails and text messages from friends, some who are non-utd Supporters, with the feeling that Utd had been very fortuitous to have avoided the big guns of Barcelona, Internazionale and the only other English representation in Arsenal. Not only that but should Utd make it past Bayern Munich, a repeat of the epic 1999 European Cup Final, then they would play the winner of the all French tie of Lyon V Bordeaux.

I admit that United have been given a kind draw but like most mangers would say there are no easy ties at this stage of the competition. It’s worth noting that this is the first time in 3 years that only two clubs from England qualified for the Q-finals down from the usual 3 sometimes even 4!

Perhaps this could prove that English club dominance in the competition is diminishing. Remember an English club has reached the final every year since 2005, and in 2008 it was an all English Final with Manchester Utd & Chelsea, and I still believe that trend to continue this year.

Anyway the weekend is almost upon us and I am heading out to the local Chinese restaurant, ‘The Golden Sun’, for dinner tonight. It’s excellent value for money and always busy even in the low season

Sunday however will be the day of reckoning for me as Man Utd play Liverpool at Old Trafford hoping to avenge the dreadful 4-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of their great rivals a year ago. I get nervous when theses fixtures take place and Sunday will be no different.

I have decided to take the plunge and watch it in a local bar with a Liverpool Supporting friend. Depending on the outcome I will let you know if it was the right decision or not!

I am also looking forward to hearing the chancellor’s budget speech, which takes place next Wednesday. In the meantime I wish you all a lovely weekend J