Kenyan boy clips Barca’s wings

It wasn’t Messi as usual, nor was it Iniesta; this time football saw a completely new hero by the name Victor Wanyama in this week’s Champions League battle between Barcelona and Celtic.

Saturday, November 10, 2012
Ivan R. Mugisha

It wasn’t Messi as usual, nor was it Iniesta; this time football saw a completely new hero by the name Victor Wanyama in this week’s Champions League battle between Barcelona and Celtic.Honestly speaking, Barca’s invincibility had started to make their fixtures a boring time to look forward to. Those who don’t like Barca always hinged their hopes on the El Classico but ever to be disappointed by Real Madrid more often than not.Finally it wasn’t a big club that provided salvation but Celtic, the Scottish champions known for under achieving in Champions League. Barca’s 2-1 loss was made even sweeter by the fact that a Kenyan, Wanyama scored the opening goal.Man City must be wondering how others do itLife in the Champions League for Manchester City has been far from what they imagined. As one of the most expensively assembled teams, it’s kind of bizarre that Mancini’s men have failed to register even one win this season, amassing only two points from four games.Their position in Europe’s biggest club competition is shockingly unbelievable considering that they were crowned Premier League champions last season. As champions of arguably the most competitive league in the world, everybody expected them to perform a tad better than they are now.What is happening now probably indicates that they either were simply lucky to top the premier league last season, or they are just not that good… hype is the word.Liverpool and Arsenal, who is the bigger underachiever?Liverpool fans will always play the history card whereas Arsenal fans will assure us that they have participated in every Champions League.However, this is Liverpool’s third straight season without a top four finish and things seem not to be getting any better; they are languishing in 12th position with only two wins registered.To save his job, Brendan Rodgers will say "We are rebuilding”, although rebuilding doesn’t mean that they should lose that many games, for a club as big as Liverpool.On the other hand, Arsenal hasn’t won a trophy in eight years; for a perfect team in the 90s and early last decade, Wenger’s team has fallen way down that many fans are thinking of joining alternative teams (if they aren’t, they should think of it).Wenger is the highest paid coach in the Premier League, coupled with Arsenal having the most expensive match tickets. If Wenger was really mindful, he would concentrate on making Arsenal fans proud rather than concentrate on making profit.Who is the bigger underachiever?  I won’t judge, but one thing is for sure; both Liverpool and Arsenal are on an acute downward spiral.