'The Exhibition of Champions' at Wembley

Only 21 different clubs may have been privileged enough to lift the incredibly prestigious trophy, with pride, honour, passion, and the overwhelming feeling of greatness, but the European Cup and it's 56 dramatic and outstandingly entertaining finals, have created some amazing memories which will never, and can never be forgotten.

England has a proud tradition of Champions League finals, and while Liverpool,  Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are the only English clubs to have won the competition, London's Wembley Stadium has hosted an impressive 6 finals, the most recent of which Manchester United were defeated by four-time winners, Barcelona.

Now, to remember countless incredible memories that football fans from all eras may have experienced of the competition, Wembley Stadium is hosting an "Exhibition of Champions" which celebrates the 56 years of glorious European Football history. A stunning total of over 700 artefacts will be on display at Wembley - items belonging to legends of the game -  players considered as the greatest of their generation, including:

· The match balls from the last five finals
· Denis Law’s jersey from 1968
· The original Intercontinental Cup – valued at approximately £225,000
· Johan Cruyff’s jersey from 1972
· David Villa’s signed shirt from 2011
· Celtic signed frame from their 1967 victory
· Di Stefano’s 1959 jersey
· Van Basten’s jersey from 1990
· McGovern’s shirt from 1979
· Eusebio‘s shirt from 1963
· Zidane’s boots from 2002

It will also feature prize exhibits including inspirational Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard’s 2005 captain’s armband, David Beckham’s jersey from Manchester United’s nail biting victory in 1999 and Graeme Souness’ three winners’ medals from ’78, ’81 and ’84.

It is indeed a stunning collection of items, littered with some of the great names never mind from just European football, but names known all around the world. The astonishing reach that the competition has is emphasised by the television viewing figures; 300 million people worldwide tuned in to watch Barcelona take on Manchester United at Wembley in May 2011 - a record breaking amount of enthused football fans witnessing history.

The Wembley Stadium Tour has welcomed millions of sports fans since it first opened in 1978 and now from Monday visitors will be able to enjoy the   ‘Exhibition of Champions’ as well as the England changing rooms, players tunnel, trophy winner’s steps, press conference rooms and Wembley’s famous Royal Box.

To book a place on the Wembley Tour and see the ‘Exhibition of Champions’ visit www.wembleystadium.com/tours or call 0844 800 2755.

Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

Sneijder Confirms His Interest in Joining Man United

Wesley Sneijder has confirmed that he is interested in joining Manchester United this summer, but has moved to play down the chances of a transfer happening.

According to an ESPN translation, when Sneijder was asked whether or not he was interested in joining Manchester United, he said:

"Yes, but Manchester United haven't made an official approach yet. There have been unofficial talks, there have been contacts, but then there are always contacts."

These are indeed, promising words for Manchester United fans, especially those who are absolutely sure that Wesley Sneijder must be bought in to Old Trafford in order to keep up with title rivals and European rivals, in particular, Barcelona.

Most events in this long drawn out transfer saga, details have been very vague, and Sneijder continued in that vain, by saying, quite rightly, that there is a chance he could stay, just as there is a chance he could leave. The Dutch midfielder said:

"The situation is that I am now an Inter player, and chances are that I will still be that come August 31. There is also a chance I could leave. That isn't really down to me but the club. I think Inter have been very clear: if a good offer comes in, they have to let me go. 

"They don't want to lose me but there is a chance they will let me go. If something crosses my path, I have enough time to make my decision."

His tone seems to have changed only very slightly, in that he isn't claiming full comitment to Inter Milan, and is clearly considering his future. His view is, that it is down to the two clubs, Inter Milan and Manchester United coming to an agreement over him, which, despite rumours that it has happened, has not.

Sneijder gave very little away, and when he was asked if he would stay in the UK after the Netherlands friendly with England at Wembley (which has now been cancelled due to the London riots), for talks with Manchester United, he said:

"I don't know."

  Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

Watch: England 1 - 1 Ghana

[WATCH GOALS BELOW]
England put in an impressive performance against a determined, resilient and very well supported Ghana side and both teams left a vibrant Wembley stadium with a goal each. It was perhaps the deserved result in a well fought, passionate game fuelled with the huge vocal support from the fans, particularly the Ghanaians. 

Andy Carroll grabbed his first goal in an England shirt just before the end of the first half but it was cancelled out much to the delight of the African side who celebrated a last gasp winner thanks to the intricate silky skills of Assamoah Gyan who weaved the ball through the England defence to curl the ball round Joe Hart.

England put in a good performance, and should not be ashamed of a draw. It was a well played game of football in which Capello was able to learn a lot about the strength of his second - or "B" team. Downing was awarded man of the match and Ashley Young was also dangerous throughout - hitting the crossbar and having a long range shot well saved by Kingson. 

The night also saw the introduction of Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck who was eligible for both England and Ghana due to his Ghanaian parents and Manchester birth. His introduction was met by boos from Ghana fans, but with ten minutes to play he didn't have much chance to make an impact.

Watch the goals below:

Carroll Goal

Gyan Goal

Roy Keane to Take on Old Rivals in Cup Semi Final

Just as cup draws always seem to do, two former rivals will fight fiercely against each other once again. Former Manchester United captain, Roy Keane and his Ipswich side have been drawn against United's notorious rival in Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, while the former Birmingham owners will see their current club, West Ham take on their old side.

Keane was renowned for his highly competitive, and aggressive style of play - the perfect leader therefore, for a massive club, and his Ipswich players would probably tell you that he hasn't lost any of his massive passion for winning. In his playing days, there was no team that Keane loved beating more than Arsenal, so the Irishman will gratefully snatch the chance to re-live his United glory days and progress to the Carling Cup final.

Birmingham, who progressed to this stage thanks to a 2 - 1 win over bitter local rivals Aston Villa, have been drawn against lesser rivals; but rivals for a different reason. David Sullivan and David Gold owned Birmingham for 15 years, but left amid certain allegations in 2008 and admitted that:

"deep down the public have had enough of us".

Thanks to comments made by Gold, including calling the Birmingham chairman "disgusting" he was banned by Birmingham's ground, St Andrews for the recent Premier League match between the Blues and the Hammers, so it will be interesting to see the on the pitch battle between the two teams fighting for a cup fnal place.

There will be two legs to the semi final games, and the winners will book a place at Wembley on February 27th. The semi finals look like they will be entertaining games, but surely this cup is Arsenal's to lose as their biggest challengers, Manchester United, crashed out 4 - 0 in the quarter finals against West Ham.

Surely Wembley's Priority is Football?

The Wembley pitch. Once envied by managers and players, it is now the most disappointing pitches in England. And the most expensive.

After the Carling Cup Final this year, James Milner criticised the pitch saying that it was worse than lower league teams pitches. He emphasised how hard teams work to get to a final - only for it to be played on a terrible surface.

It apparently costs £100,000 to relay the pitch, and there is going to be a lot more relaying over the next few years. But not because of football. The pitch needs to be relayed because of other events such as concerts, American football, and racing events which ruin the pitch and leave it in horrible condition for the footballers.

Surely, the main reason for Wembley was to play football on it. Why then, do the footballers get the worst of it? Michael Owen was injured on it, pulling his hamstring, and therefore ruling him out of any World Cup hopes he had and many others have complained they felt much worse after playing on it. A serious injury could be caused from this pitch, and it could be a very valuable player who is the victim. In the FA Cup Final today perhaps.

On the world largest footballing stages, with the best players playing on it, it really needs to be sorted out - with football the main priority. It would save money, time and maybe even a professional footballers' career.