Stepping up into his Shoes

Ligue 1 champions have yet to be decided on Sunday, 20 May as Montpellier and PSG are still battling for the championship glory. The former is trying to make history by winning its first ever Ligue 1 trophy and they are on the brink of making it with only a draw in their final game this Sunday even if PSG will win in their own game as well. A loss by Montpellier will hand over the advantage to PSG by way of goal difference superiority.

While the domestic league has almost ended in most part of Europe, preparations for Euro 2012 are also in the fast track. And match results predictions has become a style in many sports and in football using live creatures or animals of all shapes rose to fame when Paul the Octopus correctly predicted seven of Germany’s World Cup matches in 2010. Then eventually became more famous when he made it 8-0 in a row when he chose Spain to win in the World Cup finals.

The Euro 2012, co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland, will start on 8 June and I have read in news that Kiev’s city government reveals its own psychic creature in the form of an oracle hog who reportedly knew the mysteries of football. There was no reported name yet for this psychic pig and has yet to prove his telepathic ability but authorities believe that the pig has a snout for football. This pig, who was born and raised in Ukraine, is bidding to step into the shoes of Paul in predicting results at the Euro 2012 tournament. And this porky tipster should deliver good results to avoid being chopped, as pork is a famous local cuisine staple.


NB: Image from wikimedia commons.

The Title Race is not Over

The Qatari owned PSG stay afloat and move at the top for a day after a dramatic win at Valenciennes but Montpellier has reclaimed the lead a day later but the title race is not over yet since there are still two games left. A win by Montpellier and a loss by PSG on 13 May will automatically hand over the Ligue 1 title to the former.

PSG’s win last Wednesday at home to Saint-Etienne and a draw of Montpellier to Evian at home sparks a light of hope for PSG to possibly snatch the Ligue 1 title as the end of the season approaches. At the moment, both PSG and Montpellier are tied on points and goal difference but PSG has 7 more goal-scored than Montpellier. And if both finished with the same points and goal difference then PSG has more possibility of taking home the title.

Yet the title race is not contested by two teams only as third place Lille is knocking on its door with only 5 points adrift. Although it is just an outside chance of winning the title yet statistically they are still not out of the race as long as both PSG and Montpellier will lose their remaining two games or even a draw is enough to retain the championship title.

NB: Image from wikimedia commons.