7 STRANGE TEAMS/PLAYERS OF THE 2012 FOOTBALL ERA SO FAR
2012 Football Records So Far


The 2012 footballing season in my view has been the best i have ever seen in my 18 years of football viewing. It has produced drama by the bucket loads, and we are just in the middle of the year. There is absolutely no doubt that there is more and more expected to happen before the year comes to an end with more competitions to play.

It started like every other year, but surely, is going to end on a class of its own.. If football were connected to spirituality, i would have likened these strange football events these year to the signs of the end..

And if you are still wondering what i am talking about, check out my 7 strange football teams and players this year..

7.. ZAMBIA

By winning the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, Zambia has become only the second Southern African country to do so after South Africa hosted and won the 1996 fiesta. It is no mean feat performed by the Zambian senior football team, the Chipolopolo. It took them 55 years to achieve this result.
Besides, the continental conquest came 19 years after the tragic loss of a generation of their finest players off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, where the plane carrying the team, bound for a World Cup qualifying match in Senegal, plunged into the sea. Incidentally, the only survivor of that generation of players, skipper Kalusha Bwalya, led a second string side to the final of the 1994 edition in Tunisia, narrowly losing 2-1 to Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
Apart from their robust display characteristic of the African spirit and soccer tradition, the Chipolopolo showed a rare determination and technical depth, a result of years of focused planning and commitment. They succeeded against all odds, beating the overwhelming favourites, the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire, 7-6 on penalties, in a pulsating encounter the sort that was last seen at the 2002 finals between Cameroon and Senegal.
SOURCE: peoplesdaily-online.com



6.. CHELSEA
First was in The UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND OF 16 against Napoli FC:
An astonishing game, pulsating from end to end, shredding the nerves of all privileged to be present, was won by the team who believed most, who refused to give up. Chelsea kept the blue flag flying, keeping the battered Premier League standard still fluttering in the Champions League, because they kept going against all odds even after losing 3:1 on 1st leg. Even when Napoli started so threateningly, Chelsea rallied, scoring through Didier Drogba and John Terry.
Even when Gokhan Inler unleashed a shot that could have broken their resolve, let alone their net, Chelsea simply went again. Frank Lampard converted an emphatic penalty that carried the game into extra time.
When Branislav Ivanovic scored, Chelsea protected their slim advantage defiantly to join Manchester United’s class of 1957 and Leeds United’s 1992 vintage as the only English team to progress in the European Cup after losing the first leg by two or more goals.


Next was in the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI FINALS 2ND LEG against Barcelona
Ten Man Chelsea edges out 11 Men best team in the world, but the strange point in this game came when World best Lionel Messi missed a Penalty for Barcelona, and World best Flop; Torres sends his team to their 2nd UEFA Champions league Final to set up a meeting against host Bayern Munich.

5.. JUVENTUS
Champions Juventus broke AC Milan's record of 42 matches unbeaten and finished the league season undefeated with a 3-1 win over Atalanta on Sunday.
It was also the perfect send-off after 19 years with the Old Lady for club captain Alessandro Del Piero, who took the armband for the final time in a Serie A game in Juve's colours and netted his team's second goal, reports AFP.
Youngster Luca Marrone scored the opener and Andrea Barzagli netted a last-minute penalty as Juve finished the season with 84 points, four clear of last year's champions Milan.
The victory meant Juve took their unbeaten run in all competitions to 43 games, including the final match of last season, a record for an Italian team.
They also produced the first unbeaten Serie A campaign since Milan in 1992, and the first since Italy moved from an 18 to a 20-team league.
If they avoid defeat in next weekend's Cup final they will become the first team to go an entire season unbeaten in league and cup, although they were helped by not playing in Europe.
SOURCE: thisdaylive.com


4.. CRISTIANO RONALDO
Unquestionably the biggest reason for Real Madrid's goal tally this season is Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 created yet another record for himself as well.
With his opening goal in the Final Season Match against Mallorca in the19th minute, Ronaldo became the first player in history to score against all 19 Spanish teams in a single season.
Ronaldo finished with 46 goals, four behind Lionel Messi in the Pichichi race. In all competitions, Ronaldo scored 60 goals.

Cristiano has scored 23 goals away from home. Another historical record.
The trident Cristiano Benzema and Higuan have scored 118 goals in all competitions beating Barcelona's record of 100 goals (Henry, Messi, Eto'o)

What an incredible season for Cristiano Ronaldo
SOURCE: bleacherreport.com





3.. MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City scored twice in stoppage time to be crowned champions for the first time in 44 years as they beat Queen's Park Rangers to win the Premier League on goal difference from Manchester United.

In scenes of near bedlam, City looked to be suffering a dramatic collapse as QPR held on to an unlikely advantage (2:1) with United leading (1:0) at Sunderland.

With some City fans already leaving the stadium in tears, Edin Dzeko equalised in the second of five minutes of stoppage time (92mins) before Sergio Aguero scored the goal (94mins) that won the title. In history, there has never been anything like this before..

United and City's players and supporters travelled from one end of the emotional scale to the other in those vital seconds, providing a truly remarkable piece of football theatre and the most dramatic conclusion to a season in Premier League history.
SOURCE: bbc.co.uk/sport





2.. LIONEL KING MESSI
Barcelona's all-time top goalscorer at the age of 24, the Argentinian has exceeded even the wildest expectations

The first meeting Lionel Messi ever had with Pep Guardiola ended on a promise. "With me," the new Barcelona coach said, "you'll score three or four goals a game." Guardiola exaggerated for effect; the ridiculous thing is that he was not that far wrong. This season alone he made it 18th hat-trick of his career. Eighteen is a record.

He has broken every other record going. He now has 234 official goals for Barcelona, past César Rodríguez as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. He is just 24. At 24, in his eight seasons, Messi's record is better than the very best. At this stage, Maradona had 196, Ronaldo 153, Henry 226, Cruyff 229 and Charlton 133. George Best got 179 in 11 seasons.

Watch him and watch those numbers and their inexorable rise. The statistics are almost surreal, utterly stupid. They belong to a different era. He is on course to be the Champions League's top scorer for a fourth consecutive season. Last year he equalled the competition's best ever tally; he needs one to surpass it this year. He has already scored more goals in a season than anyone else in Spanish history and Europe. 72goals. This is His-story.


"If he carries on like this he will set records that no one will ever break, ever again," Guardiola said. "And he doesn't just score goles, he scoresgolazos." He doesn't just score goals, he gets assists too: 11, 10, 18 and 13 (with two months left) in the league in each of the last four seasons.
SOURCE: guardian.co.uk





1.. REAL MADRID
It is not even surprising anymore. The words "record broken" have been almost synonymous with Real Madrid this season.

In the final match of the season, Real clinched arguably the greatest season for any club in Primera Division history.

By beating Mallorca, they reached 100 points this year. That is one better than Barcelona's record of 99 points from the 2009-10 season.

One hundred points is the most for any major European league in history. They are also the first Spanish side to win 32 matches in a single campaign.

Additionally, Real Madrid have scored 121 goals, the most in history. The previous record of 108 goals was set in the 1989-90 season.

Below is a summary, and why i placed them first:

Real Madrid are the first team to achieve 100 points out of all the european major leagues, breaking Barcelona's record of 99.


The most wins in a league season with 32 out of 38, breaking Barcelona's record of 31.


Most goals away from home with 51 goals, breaking Barcelon's record of 49.


Most wins away from home 16, breaking Barcelona's record of 14.


Most goals in a single La Liga season 121.
SOURCE: bleacherreport.com