Soccer Portal

This weekend brought an end to the Nike Premier Cup 2010, and once again and not for the first time, it was Spanish fans and players celebrating at the end as FC Barcelona claimed victory over the Mexican side Pachuca FC 3-1 in the final held at Manchester United's ground Old Trafford.

From the earlier report on the tournament we were focusing on the two English representatives, who were Manchester United and Newcastle United. Manchester United did finish top of their group above the winners FC Barcelona with 3 wins out of 4 matches, and Newcastle finishing second in their group behind the beaten finalist Pachuca FC. The quarter finals however would see both English teams get knocked out in the harshest way as both were defeated on penalties. Manchester United losing to FC Porto 1-3 after a 0-0 draw and Newcastle United losing to the Chilean team Colo Colo 5-4 on penalties after the match finished 1-1. One bright note that can be taken away from this final is that Newcastle United’s Adam Campbell ended with the MVP award for Most Valuable Player in the tournament. The Newcastle striker finished the tournament as joint top goal scorer, netting 6 times before his team were knocked out by Colo Colo. This award has been won in the past by players such as Carlos Tevez, Andreas Iniesta and Fernando Torres so if Campbell goes on to follow the tradition it can only be good news for both his club, Newcastle United, and his country England.