Ryan Giggs made history on Sunday 28th by becoming the oldest player to score a goal in the soccer category of an Olympic tournament. The Manchester United player was 38 years and 243 days old when he scored the goal with a header that helped the UK team to approach the quarterfinals.

However, Ryan Giggs name is not on people’s mouth because of his last goal, but because of a controversial political overtone. A Welsh player for the UK team Ryan Giggs, alongside his fellows Bellamy and Allen did not sing the ‘God Save the Queen’ anthem when it sounded, as the other members of the team did.

The UK national soccer team has 5 Welsh players, while the rest are English. It is well know that citizens from Scotland and Wales do not feel themselves as Brits, so that is the reason why Giggs and the others did not show much passion when the anthem was played. “It is a personal thing,” said the Manchester United player when asked about why he did not sing it. “’It’s difficult but it’s not an issue for us. It might be for other people but, once the game starts, we’re all pulling in the same direction and I think that’s the main thing,” he said to downplay the situation.

However this has not been the spark that provoked all the fires. Polemic started when the officials came up with the idea of having an UK soccer team for the London Olympics, something that has not happened since 1972, when the UK played its last official game in soccer.

Next the UK game against Uruguay will take place in the Millennium Stadium at Cardiff (Wales), so controversy may grow, since the national anthem may not be so warmly received in the Welsh capital. However, and despite not singing the anthem, soccer star Giggs has asked the Welsh fans to respect the UK colors: “I hope the National Anthem won’t get booed and I hope the fans will get behind us.”

A draw on Wednesday will be enough for UK to qualify to the quarter-final. However it will not be easy for the blues, especially taking into account that no one knows how the Welsh people will react, and whether they will, or won’t, support the UK team. Ryan Giggs has made the first step to look for a tacit agreement with the supporters despite his political beliefs.

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The Football Association of Wales revealed Sunday that football manager Gary Speed was found dead at 07:08 GMT on 27^th November at his home in Huntington, Chester.

Speed boasted an exemplary international career. Over a period of fifteen years, he won 85 caps for his country and also played for Leeds, Everton, Sheffield United, Newcastle and Bolton. After taking on his first managerial role with Sheffield United and accepting an MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football, he was appointed as Wales’ manager almost one year ago with the brief to prepare the senior squad for qualification to the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Cheshire police were called to Speed’s home in the morning of 27^th November after receiving information of a sudden death at an address in Huntington. A spokeswoman for Cheshire police announced that there were ‘no suspicious circumstances’ surrounding his death, and confirmed it to be an apparent suicide.

A minute’s silence was announced at the Premier League Swansea match against Aston Villa on Sunday, following which, supportive chants and rounds of applause resonated around the stadium.

Tributes to Speed began to pour in within minutes of hearing the news. Former team mate Ryan Giggs said: “I am totally devastated. Gary Speed was one of the nicest men in football and someone I am honoured to call a team-mate and friend. It goes without saying my thoughts are with his family at this tremendously sad time.”

Alan Shearer who played alongside Speed during his time at Newcastle said: “Gary was a magnificent person, bright, fun and a wonderful family man – he lit up every room he walked into.”

Comments however have not been restricted to those issued from former team mates. Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted that Speed was a ‘[f]antastic servant of Leeds’ and will be ‘[m]ourned by football’, with Welsh politicians Cheryl Gillian, Kirsty Williams and Carywn Jones also expressing their condolences.

The FAW also publically extended their sympathies. Speed leaves a wife and two children, and the FAW called for everyone to respect the family’s privacy at such a difficult time. They further commented that ‘this tragedy [...] is a huge loss not only for his family and friends but for the nation as a whole.’

Cheshire police confirmed that a family tribute will be released at a later date.

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Count Paul Ryan out of the presidential race, this time. Rep. Ryan (R-WI) has been floated as a possible presidential contender in an already overcrowded and strange field. But, the congressman says it isn’t happening.

Ryan issued a statement on Monday stating he appreciates supporters urging him to seek the 2012 nomination, but he hasn’t changed his mind about staying out of the race. Ryan is perhaps best known for his budget plan that would slash federal spending on various programs, including Medicare.

Ryan chairs the House Budget Committee. In his statement, he says he hopes the GOP will nominate a candidate committed to an agenda that “restores the promise and prosperity of our exceptional nation.”

Although it still appears that the GOP is searching for the one favorite candidate that could be the “savior.” Many thought Texas Governor Rick Perry would be that candidate but his new campaign has already run into a series of problems. Rumors last week surfaced stating that New Jersey governor Chris Christie would jump into the fold, but Christie’s camp has denied any plants to enter the race.

Meanwhile Rep. Ryan is trying to create more tax loopholes for his largest donors. For months, Ryan has argued that closing tax loopholes would help to pay for his proposed tax cuts in his budget plan.

“We’re talking about keeping revenues where they are, but having a better tax system to collect those revenues with an eye on economic growth and job creation,” he said during an April interview on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

He added, “You have to remember, the people in the top tax brackets are the ones who enjoy most of the loopholes and deductions.”

But, his record reflects a different attitude in general. Since Ryan was elected to Congress in 1998, he has tried to create an array of special loopholes specific for his top contributors. For example, S.C. Johnson & Son is one of Ryan’s biggest donors.

Ryan introduced two bills in May 2005 that would have granted the company special exemptions from tariffs. Specifically, his bills sought to suspend duties for imported components of “unique air freshener products … assembled by S.C. Johnson in the United States,” Ryan said during floor remarks at the time. Neither bill advanced.

A year later, Ryan put forward another bill to reduce the duty on S.C. Johnson cleaning appliances “capable of dispensing cleaning solution into a tub or shower enclosure using a button-activated, battery-powered piston pump controlled by a microchip.” That bill didn’t move.

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Tonight the Champions League Final saw the English and Spanish domestic trophy holders clash for the undisputed title of being the best team in Europe. Both teams entered the Final with 3 Champions League trophies to their name; to win this 4^th trophy would mean that they could take their place in history alongside the European legends of Liverpool,  Ajax, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.

Manchester United had the majority of the possession in the first 15 minutes, white shirts hounded the Barcelona defence but their attacks came to nothing more than a few brief encounters in and around the box.

Finally Barcelona got up to operating temperature and Pedro sent the ball wide after some quick football from David Villa and Xavi – there was much more of that to come.

Two more shots came from David Villa which went even closer than Pedro’s effort and Manchester United must have been yearning to get back to the possession they had enjoyed during the early minutes – Barcelona were settling into their ominously predictable, unpredictable forays from midfield.

United were not going to be spared from the brilliance of Lionel Messi it seemed, his first real action was to make four United players look like statues as he dribbled the ball past them. Minutes after, he was denied a clear shot on goal only by a perfect tackle from Vidic.

At this point Sir Alex Ferguson had left his seat and joined Pep Guardiola on the touchline to try command his men back on course. Whatever he was ordering was not in time to stop Pedro scoring first. A pass from Villa, probably not the most dangerous of the night so far, found its way to Pedro who had plenty of time to slot the ball into an opening at the near post.

After half an hour Barcelona had completed 265 passes compared to a mere 100 from Manchester United, however Wayne Rooney was about to show that his team was not fazed by the Barcelona possession. Great link-up play between Ryan Giggs and Rooney led to a shot being fired from 16 yards out which sailed past Victor Valdes and into the net. It was back to level again and game on.

The goal did not mark the start of a United charge, Barcelona still threatened. Iniesta launched a shot from range which wasn’t far off, but an even closer chance was at the very end of the half when Villa supplied a pass across the goal mouth which Messi at full stretch narrowly missed connecting with.

The half time whistle blew dead on the 45 minute mark. It was a half that was relentlessly quick, neither side had sought to reduce the tempo of the game and I’m sure the break came as an unwelcome distraction to two teams who both looked incredibly focussed.

After the resumption of play there was clearly little change in either of the teams tactics, neither manager had made a substitution and Barcelona were back on the offensive with United trying to break their spells of possession.

It was at this point in the game that Barcelona looked most menacing. Their pressure was relentless and tiring for the Manchester United defence who could not anticipate what was coming from a team who did not use a striker but instead attacked from midfield.

Lionel Messi scored his 53^rd goal of the season in the 53^rd minute in spectacular fashion, firing a shot from 25 yards out and past Edwin Van Der Sar who, on a better day, would have saved it. It really was an excellent goal from Messi, a player who has made excellence a habit – his manager was jubilant but seemed unsurprised at his prodigy’s goal.

Messi was fouled for the 3^rd time by Antonio Valencia who seemed intent on keeping him on the floor, but in typical fashion, the most prolific scorer in La Liga returned to his feet without complaint and proceeded to terrorise the Manchester defence and midfield.

Dani Alves received a yellow card just before 60 minutes for tripping Patrice Evra and soon after Micheal Carrick was booked for a very late tackle on Andres Iniesta. Overall, it was to be a very good performance from the Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai.

Barcelona had Manchester United in the corner, their constant attacks and swift passing left the English Champions looking punch drunk. Dani Alves could have delivered the knockout blow at 64 minutes after a Barcelona attack had left the United defence dangerously exposed.

Sir Alex Ferguson tried change his fortunes by removing the flagging full back Fabio and replacing him with Nani. No substitution could have prevented Iniesta’s shot in the 66^th minute however, it was a 20 yard curling strike which looped into the top corner, Van Der Sar could have done nothing this time.

The trophy engraver had probably started carving FC Barcelona’s name into the massive Champions League cup at this point – Man United showed no sign of getting back into the game.

The remaining 20 minutes were a little more contested, Giggs threatened and Nani shot but their attacks were not carried out with the relentless conviction Barcelona had displayed throughout.

Puyol came on after 87 minutes, the captain had played no starting role in the final but it was only right that such a key figure in their Champions League campaign was on the pitch to savour the moment the final whistle blew.

When it did Sir Alex Ferguson looked dejected but you could see that he knew his team had been wholly outclassed on the night – he would have to wait another year to play Barcelona, who would almost certainly be in the final if they remain at this exemplary standard.

I don’t think anybody would have left Wembley tonight feeling short changed, a ticket to the final bought a seat to witness some beautiful football. It is hard to see how anyone can come close to Barcelona in the near future if they can dispatch Manchester United with such ease.

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