As the anticipation looms over Old Trafford for this evening UEFA Champions league quarter final between Manchester United and Chelsea, will it be the Red Devils who once again triumph on the European stage?  Or, will it be Chelsea defy the odds to go one step closer to that allusive dream of European Glory? 

 
All English European fixtures over the years have delivered some memorable moments for both fans and neutrals alike.  This sent me delving into the archives to recall a few of the greatest over recent years.

 
Here is a brief rundown of what I believe to be a selection of the greatest to jog your memory;

Liverpool vs Chelsea, 2005, 1-0

Liverpool where the happier side stepping out onto the Anfield turf that night, having taken a 0-0 draw away from Stamford Bridge.  They knew it was their tie to throw away, although Chelsea at that time were considered favorites.  Memorable moments from this, the first in the Cheslea vs Liverpool Euro saga; four minutes from kick off Luis Garcia got the better of Cech to have his shot seemingly cleared off the line by William Gallas, not according to the match officials!  The goal that should not have stood (well, that is according the Jose Mourinho).  The 90 minutes or so that followed were spent with Liverpool on the back foot holding firm however for the win, and a place in the 2005 European Cup Final.  We all know what followed that year!!     

 
Liverpool vs Arsenal, 2008, 4-2

In a fixture that saw the two sides face up three times in only six days in the league and cup, the best was certainly saved for last.  Arsenal silenced the Anfield crowd taking an early lead  through Abou Diaby, before Sami Hyypia and Fernando Torres swung the tie back in Liverpool’s favor.  After the break the introduction of the electric Theo Walcott rejuvenated Arsenal, it was his mazy run that teed up Emmanuel Adebayor to set up a thrilling end to the Anfield leg.  Straight from the kick off Liverpool went down the other end and won a penalty which Steven Gerrard duly dispatched.  What followed was four minutes of end to end football that looked to difficult to call.  The game was wrapped up however by Ryan Babel who send 6,000 unhappy ‘gunners’ home with the bitter taste of European defeat.

Manchester United vs Chelsea, 2008, 1-1

The only final between two English clubs in the history of the competition, and the game that went right down to the wire. The most memorable moments form this clash; Cristiano Ronaldo’s early header to sending the United faithful into wonderland, this was followed by Frank Lampard’s dream shattering equalizer just before half-time.   Drogba sees red in extra-time, and Red Devils take home the trophy 6-5 on penalties!  Oh and just one more thing… The first true classic defender since Terry Butcher – John Terry reduced to tears after striking the post with the penalty that would have seen Chelsea crowned Champions of Europe for the first time in the clubs history.

Chelsea vs Liverpool, 2009, 4-4

Trailing 3-1 from the first leg at Anfield, Liverpool had a uphill struggle going into the second leg at Stamford bridge.  The most unforgettable moments form this game; first half goals from Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso to put Liverpool in the driving seat putting the scores level at 3-3 on aggregate, Pepe Reina gifting Chelsea away a way back in, before Alex (Goal of the game) and Frank Lampard looking to secure Chelsea safe passage to the semi final, with the score now sitting at 6-3.  Yet, Liverpool as we know aren’t likely to give up without a fight, goals from Lucas and Dirk Kuyt set up a nail biting climax with the Reds chasing only one goal that would book them a place in the next round!  Its wasn’t to be the fairytale finish however that Liverpool had become so accustom to over recent European evenings. The final hammer blow was dealt by Frank Lampard securing a 7-5 aggregate win for the Blues.       

All fantastic night of football, but we want to know your views on what you believe to be the greatest all English tie of recent years;

This week has been all about Richard Keys and Andy Gray, but we’re not going to get into the ins and outs of the sexism scandal described as “prehistoric banter”.

We want to know your views on who can fill the boots of Gray and Keys, who we’re without question very good at their jobs.

Most bookmakers have shortlisted possible replacements for the sacked Andy Gray but I’ve not come across any odds for Richard Keys as yet.

Your Views:

Happy New Year footy shirt fans… 

After a few weeks of eating turkey and what not it’s time to get back into the swing of things and it’s all been going on in the world of English football. Sackings, the return if King Kenny, Beckham mania is about to hit Spurs and footballers continue to use that tool that shouldn’t be used by tools, i’m talking about Twitter of course. 

You can only chuckle at this genius picture that Ryan Babel mocked up of Howard Webb in Man United shirt after Liverpool’s loss at Old Trafford yesterday. But seriously what was going through his head, yes it’s good banter, but there are professional ways to go about your business when you’re a ‘professional’ football player. People go on about footballers not being able to voice their opinion anymore, but to be honest what good has Babels outburst achieved? It’s taken the attention away from the Kings not so great return and Stevie G’s crunch on Michael Carrick plus he may even get a suspension, so on other thoughts… well done Ryan some Liverpool fans may say? 

Ryan Babel's Mock Up of Howard Webb in an Manchester United Shirt

On a lighter note but staying on the topic of referee’s who remembers this brilliant video of the camp crazy referee? and is he wearing a fake Manchester United football shirt? Let’s hope 2011 is a good year.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a merry Christmas. I hope you’ve all had as much fun reading FootballShirts.co.uk as we’ve had creating the site.

Thank you

As the New Year draws closer we thought it would make perfect sense to revitalize, the greatest free kick game of all time. Yep, we’re throwing it out there…

A drum roll please for none other than…

The Roberto Baggio Free kick game…

This iconic footy game has been around since back yonder, I’d put it in the same light as ‘Sensible Soccer’ , ‘PES’ and Fifa. I guarantee you’ll be clicking that mouse for hours!

This has to be the greatest free kick game ever made …

Whilst fans of most clubs would be excited to hear the news of an incredibly lucrative new sponsorship deal which will see the clubs coffers bolstered by an unprecedented £140 million. However Barcelona are not a normal club, and the fans see themselves as supporting more than a club, ‘mes que un club’.

To the fans of Barcelona FC the club represents centuries of struggle and the fight against the oppression of the Franco regime. The socio’s and fans of Barcelona around the world see the club as fighting the good fight and being untainted by the vulgarity of modern day sponsorship. Everyone knows that Barcelona have huge debts and losing more money than they are generating, but that’s nothing new and nor is it unique to Barcelona. So why have they decided to taint their history for the chance to recoup a fraction of their overall debt?

Fans in the ground have made their feelings clear on matchdays but one fan whose opinion commands more lines in the press than most has been particularly outspoken – Johan Cruyff. During a recent interview Johan had the following to say on the matter of the new Qatar foundation sponsorship deal.

“We are a unique club in the world; no one has kept their jersey intact throughout their history, yet have remained as competitive as they come. We have sold this uniqueness for about six per cent of our budget. I understand that we are currently losing more than we are earning. However, by selling the shirt it shows me that we are not being creative, and that we have become vulgar. If things are so bad, then we should cut out the deal we have with Unicef, and all the values it represents, because we pay them to carry the logo on our shirts.”

It is a shame to see one of the last bastions of footballing purity make a decision based on financial need rather than footballing soul. Once the Qatar foundation logo goes onto the shirt will Barcelona be the same club it was. Will it still be Mes Que Un Club.

Rugby shirt!! Isn’t this site supposed to be about football shirts? This is very true but if you attended a school like mine a rugby shirt was a football shirt. Reminiscing back to my school days, I distinctly remember having to wear an itchy unpractical reversible rugby shirt whatever the weather or sport and I’m pretty sure some schools still carry on this crazy tradition in the 21st Century.

So where does the origin of the Rugby shirt lie? At the Rugby School of course, the School house team was the first to take on a uniform in 1839 and the kit consisted of a velvet cap, along with white trousers and jerseys became traditional for players although each selected their own specific colors at this stage.

It wasn’t until 1871 that the first International rugby game took place and it was Scotland who we’re victorious in front of a 4,000 strong crowed versus England in Edinburgh. Check out how the sides lined up in their rugby jerseys.

The first England International Side - 1871

The first Scotalnd International Side - 1871

So anyway, we’ve got friends in high places at footballshirts.co.uk and ‘Back Door’ Steve our trusty contact at Canterbury has assured the days of itchy rugby jerseys are over. He’s even gone as far to say that a 21st century rugby jersey is equal to a modern day football shirt, if not better.

Well that certainly seems to be the case for Canterbury who haven’t had one of their shirts torn since 1976. With rich history and heritage Canterbury started producing high performance clothing in 1904, which was incidentally good enough to be worn by the Anzacs Army during WW1 and impressed the most successful rugby team in the world New Zealand. The All Blacks insisted their rugby gear was produced by Canterbury and as you can see from the image below they got their wish.

All Blacks

Over 100 years since Canterbury developed a kit for the All Blacks, they are still making the finest rugby gear in the word and this shown by the current world champions South Africa sporting the C’s of Canterbury.

South Africa World Champions

The rugby jersey has unquestionably evolved over the years to have more and more similarities to the modern day football shirt and Canterbury continue to develop high-spec, professional gear for international and club rugby teams playing at the top level.

WIN the London Wasps Home Rugby Shirt 2010/11

Adamant at showing the quality of the modern day rugby shirt to at least one footballshirts reader ‘Back Door’ Steve has kindly supplied us with the Latest Canterbury London Wasps Home Jersey…

In true footballshirts.co.uk style we’ve created a straightforward question so you can be entered into the draw to win a rugby shirt, not a football shirt.


The future looks bright for Canterbury and the rugby shirt!

You may think this is a crazy question, but I’m starting to believe it’s pretty much impossible to get hold of a Zilina shirt for the overseas fan. I understand that the Slovak champions haven’t had the greatest of Champions League campaigns with 0 points and 15 goals conceded with two games left to play. But they are one of the most successful clubs in Slovakia, having won five Slovak Superliga championships since the league’s introduction in 1993, so why is it so difficult to buy their shirt?

The MSK Zilina Club Shop

The answer to that question is anyone’s guess, but if you want to get your hands on their football shirt you’ll have to take a trip to the Stadium Pod Dubňom which more or less means “Stadium under the Duben Hill”.

If we are completely wrong and it is possible to purchase a MSK Zilina football shirt , please let us know…

Tomas Majtan of MSK Zilina tackles Nicolas Anelka

Tonight MSK Zilina take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and I don’t think they could have asked for a better time to play the English Champions. Chelsea have already qualified for the next stage of the competition and have recently had a slight dip in form, so can the Slovakian side reverse the 4-1 dubbing that they received at home earlier this year?

We know one thing here at footballshirts.co.uk if you fancy picking up the latest Chelsea footy gear you can grab it right here in the footballshirts shop.

Also if you fancy winning a few goodies head over to our twitter page to get involved…

If you’re yet stumble upon the footballshirts.co.uk Competitions Page, check out what’s up for grabs.

The 2010 Barclays Premier League season is now in full flow and if you want to WIN this years replica version of the Official Nike ball, you’ve only got 10 days left to enter!

Enter the Premier League Football Comp…

Premier League Ball 2010/11

How to Enter our Fantasy League…

FC United took on Rochdale at Spotland on Friday, 5 November 2010 and it was a dramatic last-gasp goal by Michael Norton put FC United of Manchester into the second round of the FA Cup with a stoppage-time win over Rochdale.

Rochdale AFC Home Shirt 2010/11

FC United Home Shirt 2010/12