Liverpool Coach Kenny Dalgish Fired

Kenny Dalglish rescued Liverpool from possible relegation in 2011, but he was unable to push the team to a top-four finish this season.

Kenny Dalgish second stint as Liverpool manager ended Wednesday when he was fired following the club's disappointing eighth-place finish in the Premier League.Dalglish was in charge for fewer than 500 days, as club owners decided to terminate his contract despite having ended the team's six-year trophy drought with the League Cup triumph in February."Results in the Premier League have been disappointing and we believe to build on the progress that has already been made, we need to make a change," Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said.That decision was taken after Dalglish flew to Boston this week for an end-of-season review with the Boston Red Sox ownership group, which owns Liverpool.After the 2011 baseball season, the Red Sox hired a new manager in Bobby Valentine, after Terry Francona parted ways with the team.A League Cup triumph in February secured Liverpool's return to European play through the Europa League. Dalglish also took the team to the FA Cup final, but he fell short of the owner's target of finishing in the top four in the league as Liverpool went 14-14-10 and wound up 17 points behind fourth-place Tottenham. The Reds finished behind crosstown rival Everton for the first time since 2005 and only the second time since 1987."Whilst I am obviously disappointed to be leaving the football club, I can say that the matter has been handled by the owners and all concerned in an honorable, respectful and dignified way and reflects on the quality of the people involved," Dalglish said."I said when first approached about coming back as manager that I would always be of help if I can at any time and that offer remains the same," he added.Dalglish first left Liverpool in 1991 due to stress, less than a year after delivering the team's 18th -- and most recent -- top-flight title triumph in 1990.He was brought back to Anfield after a 20-year absence to replace Roy Hodgson in January 2011, when the club was in danger of being relegated from the top flight after being bought by the Fenway Sports Group.After lifting Liverpool from its perilous position to fifth place, Dalglish was given a three-year contract at the end of the season."Kenny came into the club as manager at our request at a time when Liverpool Football Club really needed him," Werner said. "He didn't ask to be manager; he was asked to assume the role. He did so because he knew the club needed him. He did more than anyone else to stabilize Liverpool over the past year and a half and to get us once again looking forward. We owe him a great debt of gratitude."Owner John Henry also paid tribute to Dalglish."Kenny will always be more than a championship-winning manager, more than a championship-winning star player," Henry said. "He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club. He has always put the Club and its supporters first. Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield."Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months."

Rio Ferdinand out Terry in of England Euro 2012 squad

Rio Ferdinand Man utd defender was the highest profile casualty on Wednesday Roy Hodgson focused on footballing matters as he explained the selection of John Terry and the omission of Rio Ferdinand in his England squad for this summer’s European Championship.Terry was selected despite the July court case awaiting him regarding allegations that he racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, which Terry denies.Ferdinand’s elder brother Rio being left out of the squad will help to avoid any tension that could have stemmed from the pair sharing a dressingroom in Poland and Ukraine.The impending court case also saw Terry stripped of the captaincy by the English Football Association, a decision which saw Fabio Capello resign his post and Hodgson eventually succeed him. Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard will captain England this summer.Hodgson said: “If we take the court case first of all, that’s obviously very unfortunate for him but we must emphasise he is an innocent man until such time as he is proven guilty.“My decision with John Terry was based purely on footballing matters, I was given a free hand as to the squad I picked.“I realised that when I selected him there would be people who would raise eyebrows but that’s the decision that I’ve made, that’s the decision I shall live with.”“I admire Rio Ferdinand as a player. I think he’s a fine footballer and I respect him, but I had to pick a squad with defenders I wanted to take to the Euros.”Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy were the two uncapped players to get Hodgson’s vote.“My decision with John Terry was based purely on footballing matters, I was given a free hand as to the squad I picked.“I realised that when I selected him there would be people who would raise eyebrows but that’s the decision that I’ve made, that’s the decision I shall live with.”He continued: “I selected John Terry for footballing reasons and I left out Rio Ferdinand for footballing reasons. I’ve spoken to both of them of course. I had to do that.“In the last couple of days I’ve spoken to both of them and explained to them why I’ve come to the decision.”Terry led Chelsea to FA Cup success and helped them reach the Champions League final as they rebuilt their season under interim manager Roberto Di Matteo.

ENGLAND SQUAD 

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Robert Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich). 
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man Utd), Joleon Lescott (Man City), John Terry (Chelsea). 
Midfielders: Gareth Barry (Man City), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Man City), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Man Utd). 
Forwards: Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd), Danny Welbeck (Man Utd), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham).

Lionel Messi wins European Golden Boot Award

The Barcelona forward has claimed the accolade for the continent's top league goalscorer, bagging himself a half century of strikes during the 2011-12 season.

Lionel Messi has won Europen Golden Boot Award  as the continent's top scorer.The Argentine superstar scored an incredible 50 league goals over the campaign, and finished the season four goals clear of nearest rival Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga.Messi failed to find the net on Saturday, as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Betis in Pep Guardiola's final league game in charge of the Catalans. But he could not be caught by Ronaldo, who netted just the one as Real Madrid beat Malaga 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.Robin van Persie ended the term  on 30 goals, but failed to find the net as Arsenal beat West Brom 3-2 at the Hawthorns to confirm the Gunners place in the Champions League next season.The Bundesliga came to a close last weekend, where Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Mario Gomez finished on 29 and 26 goals respectively.In fifth place, Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the first person to win the capocannoniere (Serie A's top scorer award) with two different clubs as he ended his campaign with 28 goals for Milan, despite not scoring in their 2-1 win at home to Novara.Wayne Rooney came in closely behind with 27 goals, as he bagged the winner in Manchester United's 1-0 win at Sunderland.Four players made up the rest of the places, all joined on 48 points for the season. Burak Yilmaz failed to find the net in Trabznspor's 1-1 draw with Besiktas on Friday as he ended the campaign with 32 goals.Bas Dost's season wrapped up last weekend as he helped Heerenveen to fifth in the Eredivisie with 32 strikes.Radamel Falcao ended his season on a high, as he scored a late winner for Atletico Madrid as they beat Villarreal to condemn the Yellow Submarine to relegation. He is joined at 24 goals with Diego Milito, who rounded off his superb 2012 with a penalty for Inter as they went down 3-1 to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

ATP Ranking After Madrid Championship :

English Premier League Final day Round Up :

Chelsea 2-1 Blackburn

The 1st 2-Half Goals By John Terry And Raul Meireles Ensured Chelsea A win Over BlackBurn.In the final Day Of Epl.The Blues, who play Bayern Munich in the Champions League final next week, took the lea d with a John Terry header in the 20th minute before Raul Meireles added a second 14 minutes later.Blackburn striker Yakubu reduced the deficit in the 60th minute with a header.

Norwich City 2-0 Aston Villa

Norwich completed a straightforward victory over Aston Villa to cap off an impressive return to the Barclays Premier League as they finished 12th in the table.The Canaries took the lead through Grant Holt, who scored his 15th League goal of the season, from a free-kick before Carlos Cuellar's mistake allowed Simeon Jackson to double the lead.Villa goalkeeper Shay Given produced a string of fine saves to deny the hosts from stretching their lead further.

Swansea City 1-0 Liverpool

Danny Graham scored the 100th goal of his career as Swansea finished their debut Barclays Premier League season on a high following a win over Liverpool as they secured 11th place in the table.The striker struck four minutes from full-time after turning in Angel Rangel's right-wing cross.Liverpool improved after the interval and Andy Carroll saw an overhead kick saved by Swans keeper Michel Vorm.

Wigan  Athletic    3-2  Wolves

Wigan secured their seventh victory in nine matches following an entertaining encounter against relegated Wolves.Matt Jarvis put the visitors in front in the ninth minute but the hosts hit back with two goals in three minutes through Franco di Santo and Emmerson Boyce.Boyce collected his second 11 minutes from full-time before Wolves striker Steven Fletcher's 86th-minute goal set up a tense finish.

West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Arsenal

Arsenal went ahead early at West Brom when Yossi Benayoun drilled in, but the Baggies scored twice in quick succession through Shane Long and Graham Dorrans to go 2-1 ahead.

Andre Santos rifled in a leveller to give Arsenal renewed hope, and defender Laurent Koscielny bundled in a second-half winner after a mistake from WBA keeper Marton Fulop.

Everton 3-1 Newcastle United

Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jelavic put the Toffees 2-0 up at half-time, and John Heitinga secured the points by heading in a right-wing cross after the break.

The Magpies pulled one back when Tony Hibbert headed into his own net, but it was not enough to get them back into the match.

Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Fulham


Tottenham secured fourth with a routine victory at White Hart Lane over Fulham, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring with only two minutes on the clock and Jermain Defoe wrapping it up just after the hour mark.

Stoke City 2-2 Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers needed a win to overtake QPR and could only draw 2-2 at Stoke City. The Trotters go down after 11 years in the top flight.As it stood at half-time, Bolton were safe having taken a 2-1 lead through a strike by Mark Davies and a freak goal by skipper Kevin Davies, while QPR were trailing 1-0 at Manchester City.But in one of the most dramatic 45 minutes in Barclays Premier League history, Djibril Cisse scored an equaliser for QPR and though Joey Barton was sent off, Jamie Mackie headed Mark Hughes' side in front to put the Londoners on course for safety.By the time Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero scored injury-time goals for Man City to beat QPR 3-2 and snatch the title, Jonathan Walters had already equalised for Stoke from the penalty spot to condemn Bolton to the drop.

Manchester City 3-2 QPR

Manchester City were crowned champions of the Barclays Premier League after an afternoon of astonishing drama at the Etihad Stadium.Roberto Mancini's side seemed to be destined for second place for much of the afternoon as Queens Park Rangers produced a display of resilience to thwart their opponents.The situation was desperate as the match at the Etihad Stadium moved into injury time.QPR, down to 10 men for the final 35 minutes of the match after Joey Barton's red card, were winning 2-1 and set to become the first side this season to beat City on their own patch.With 75 seconds of the five minutes of injury time elapsed Edin Dzeko fired in to level the match and set the tone for an astonishing finale.And with less than two minutes remaining, Sergio Aguero fired past Paddy Kenny from close range to spark massive celebrations in the stadium.

Sunderland 0-1 Manchester United

Manchester United were winning 1-0 at Sunderland thanks to Wayne Rooney's header - which meant City had to secure victory to win their first title in 44 years.With 75 seconds of the five minutes of injury time elapsed Edin Dzeko fired in to level the match and set the tone for an astonishing finale.And with less than two minutes remaining, Sergio Aguero fired past Paddy Kenny from close range to spark massive celebrations in the stadium.Rooney's goal, his 27th Barclays Premier League strike of the season, put them in pole position until Pablo Zabaleta gave City the lead on 39 minutes.But after the interval, Djibril Cisse pounced on a loose ball after Joleon Lescott's misjudged header and shot low past Joe Hart.QPR's task was made harder, however, when Joey Barton was sent off for an elbow on Carlos Tevez.Mark Hughes' side adopted a defensive formation - but they stunned the home fans on 66 minutes when Jamie Mackie headed in Armand Traore's cross.But with the seconds ticking away, there was still time for the remarkable turnaround, which gave City the three points and ensured they finished ahead of their neighbours - the first time in the history of the Premier League that goal difference has separated the top two teams.

SO FINALLY 2011-2012 EPL CHAMPIONS ARE MANCHESTER CITY.

Real Madrid La Liga win and 4-1 win makes La Liga History

Real Madrid Players Celebrates With La Liga Trophy.

Real Madrid capped it dominent  Spanish league campaign with a 4-1 win over Mallorca on Sunday to give the champions a record 100 points this season, while Villarreal and Sporting Gijon joined already relegated Racing Santander in being demoted to the second division.Jose Mourinho's Primera Division champions signed off for the summer with a typically imposing performance as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema set them on the way before half-time, with Mesut Ozil adding a second-half double.Gonzalo Castro replied for Mallorca, who entered the game with the hope that victory could carry them into a Europa League place but found their opponents determined to end the season in style.Ronaldo, Benzema and Ozil are primed to light up Euro 2012 this summer but before being able to consider the finals in Poland and Ukraine there was work to do for Mourinho's team, who have toppled Barcelona to take the league title by nine points.Approaching their final assignment on 97 points from 37 games, having lost just twice, Madrid never looked like easing into the summer.Ronaldo headed the home side ahead after 19 minutes when he met Marcelo's cross from the left, rising well to plant the ball into the right corner.It was 2-0 four minutes later after an intricate build-up led to a fine goal for Benzema, his 21st in the league this season.Benzema fed a smart ball into Ronaldo and kept running, with the ball relayed to Gonzalo Higuain and then into the path of the French striker who raced around the outside of the visiting defence and passed the ball into the bottom right.Dudu Aouate then denied both early scorers with saves in quick succession to keep Mallorca just two goals behind at the interval.Higuain laid the ball off to Ozil for Madrid's third goal, which came in the 49th minute, with the Germany international curling a shot into the far left corner from the edge of the penalty area.Castro drilled a fierce left-footed shot inside Iker Casillas' near right post to cut into Madrid's lead, but Ozil soon restored the three-goal cushion, expertly pulling away at the far post to meet another cross from Marcelo and sidefooting the ball on the volley across the six-yard box and into the left corner.Angel Di Maria came off the bench for the final 23 minutes and threatened to add a fifth Madrid goal but saw his long-range strike turned wide by Aouate.Madrid remained goal-hungry until the end but had to settle for four.

Man City Wins 1st English Premier League Title After 44 Years

Manchester City players Celebrating with the EPL trophy.

Manchester City secured a first English Title  in 44 years in extraordinary circumstances on Sunday as stoppage-time goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero snatched a 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers to deny Manchester United another championship.In a breathless, tension-wracked finale to one of the most dramatic and unpredictable seasons for decades, United's 1-0 win at Sunderland seemed to have sealed their 20th title but with the final whistle blown at the Stadium of Light, City produced a last twist.In the second of five minutes of stoppage time, substitute Dzeko rose to head City level against a QPR side who had struck twice after the break despite losing former City midfielder Joey Barton to a red card for elbowing Carlos Tevez.With just a minute of the season remaining, Aguero roared into the area to dispatch a right-foot shot past the diving Paddy Kenny for his 23rd league goal and the most precious of the 93 amassed by Roberto Mancini's City throughout the campaign.Both United and City finished on 89 points but City's superior goal difference of eight proved decisive as the English title was settled on goals, rather than points, for only the sixth time and the first since Arsenal edged out Liverpool on the final day of the 1989-90 season.As United's players trudged off at Sunderland contemplating a first trophyless season since 2004-05, the biggest party since 1968 kicked off for the long-suffering sky blue half of the city.After 44 years I dedicate this to all our supporters."Captain and central defensive rock Vincent Kompany, a 6 million pounds ($9.7 million) bargain in the estimated half a billion pounds invested on players since Abu Dhabi's Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought City in 2008, shared the feelings of most of the fans witnessing an afternoon of drama."I want to say it is the best moment of my life but if I'm honest then I would say please never again this way," he said."We have been so good at home all season but in the second half we just couldn't get through the QPR defence."Did I give up? No, I never stopped believing. When Edin Dzeko scored to make it 2-2, it reminded me of our late goals against Tottenham and Sunderland."

Roger Federer beats Tomas Berdych to win Madrid Open

Roger Federer came back from one set down to beat Tomas Berdych and win the Madrid Open 3-6 7-5 7-5.The win means Federer replaces as Rafael Nadal as number two in the world.Berdych had already beaten Federer twice this year, but the Swiss master got his own back on the controversial blue courts of Madrid.It's the eleventh time Federer has beaten Berdych, the world number six.Berdych broke his opponent in the second game and went on to win a close first set.Federer replied with two breaks in the second set to level the match.The Czech produced a couple of double faults as Federer took a 5-3 lead in the third.The 16 times grand slam champion let Berdych back in but at 6-5 he converted his fourth match point to claim the title.It was Federer's first game in 44 days and he had already been beaten twice by Berdych this year.The win, his third Madrid title and the 20th Masters tournament of his career, also earned Federer a framed Men In Black suit from actor Will Smith.