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Blue vs Red

It feels like this is a year of constant battle between blue and red.

First we had the general elections here, where the blue won against the red, in what turned out to be a closely fought encounter. In the English Premier League, the Red won against the Blue while in the Serie A the Blue (and Black) edged the Red (and yellow) to win the title. Again, the battles were very close.

Wednesday will again see Red vs Blue in the biggest European club .

A lot has been said about how Chelsea and Manchester United reached the final. A lot has been written to justify why either should win, or why either should lose. Now the spotlight turns on the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow for the encounter between two of the best clubs in the English Premier League.

This is the third time that two teams from one country will be battling for the title of European Champions. The previous two were Valencia against Real Madrid and Milan against Juventus. Both were boring.

One can't deny that this final is a confirmation of the strength of the English Premiership. For two consecutive seasons, three out of the four semi-finalists were English clubs. Last year Milan triumphed in Athens against Liverpool. This time the only ‘outsider' was Barcelona. This match was dubbed as the anticipated final just like last year's Milan vs Manchester Utd. The team that won that match, did actually lift the cup. If this is applied to this year, then it's Manchester United who will win the trophy. However there are so many other variables that these guesses and other forms of calculations will melt as soon as the referee will signal the kick-off.

This is Chelsea's first final. Most probably, it will be the last match in Blue for Grant and Drogba. They might want to leave Stamford Bridge on a high. They might be the ones who provide the extra push for the Blues to win. However one can't underestimate Man U's Cristiano Ronaldo, definitely the best player on earth. If he shines, the glitter will all go for him and the Red Devils. If not it will be another confirmation that this guy fails to make it in the most important matches.

Just one warning to Chelsea fans, in case they are winning by just one goal at the 89^th: the 1999 Champions League final,A 89^th minute: Bayern Munich 1 - Manchester United 0. 94^th Minute: Bayern Munich 1 - Manchester United 2. The reds let the devil out and overturned the result in what was a remarkable final.

Tragedy

While reading some sites on this event, I learnt that the flights with British supporters are expected to start to arrive at 9 a.m. The game is not scheduled to kick off until 10:45 p.m. Moscow time. This could be recipe for trouble, especially given the incidents that accompanied the UEFA cup final in the city of Manchester.

The same stadium was the venue of a tragedy in 1982, with many people losing their life during a match between Spartak Moscow and Dutch side Haarlem.

One hopes that this time round, Moscow will serve as a backdrop for a feast of sport and may the best win... hmmm I have my favourite team for this clash. I will be supporting the blues and at the same time I will be hoping for some magic from Cristiano Ronaldo.

We'll see...