World Football's Twitter Highlights of the Week
It's been a crazy week in world football with plenty of stories to keep us talking, despite most of the leagues in Europe having already finished.
Stories about this summer's latest transfers are beginning to gather pace, and clubs are beginning to decide on the changes that need to be implemented to change or maintain their fortunes.
Twitter, as has so often been the case, is usually the place to stay in touch with all the latest opinions on everything happening in world football. Here are a collection of the best tweets surrounding the main stories this week.
Neymar Signs for Barcelona from Santos
1 of 4Neymar made the announcement this week that he is to sign for Barcelona on Monday, ending a nine-year spell with Brazilian side Santos that has taken him to the top of world football.
The time is right for the 21-year-old Brazilian to come to Europe and fulfill even more of his outrageous potential.
Here are a few tweets that sum up the reaction to potentially the summer's biggest transfer.
"Neymar would bring a very different dimension to the team. The combination of Messi and Neymar will have Barcelona fans salivating. Excited!
"
"— Santo (@Zizouology) May 26, 2013"
"InfoPic - #Neymar stats vs Messi when he had exactly the same age. [via @barcastuff]twitter.com/BrazilStats/st…
— LeoMessiStat™ (@LeoMessiStat) May 26, 2013"
"FWIW, in 1st 5 club seasons Neymar has 138 goals in 229 games for Santos. Messi had 80 in 161 games for Barca.
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) May 26, 2013"
"PICTURE - Neymar kit with #11 on it, already being sold in Barcelona. twitter.com/BrazilStats/st…
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStats) May 26, 2013"
"From Romário to Neymar, the Brazilian tradition upfront at the Camp Nou ow.ly/lp3WY
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 26, 2013"
Bayern Munich Win the Champions League, Beat Dortmund 1-0 at Wembley
2 of 4Bayern Munich took European football's greatest prize on Saturday with victory at Wembley against their great domestic rivals, Borussia Dortmund.
Arjen Robben won it for FC Hollywood with a late goal, and Jupp Heynckes has delivered the most coveted prize of all just before he passes over the reins to Pep Guardiola.
Here is what Twitter had to say about the final.
"I am very happy about the victory of @fcbayern in yesterdays #uclfinal. On my way home now #redtrousers twitter.com/beckenbauer/st…
— Franz Beckenbauer (@beckenbauer) May 26, 2013"
"KINGS OF EUROPE! #MIASANCHAMPIONS twitter.com/FCBayern/statu…
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) May 25, 2013"
"Congratulations to FC Bayern München. Best team in Europe this year. They deserve to win the Champions League.
— Gerard Piqué (@3gerardpique) May 25, 2013"
"What a weekend for Germany...First Bayern wins CL in London and Nico Rosberg wins Monaco!!!!
"
"— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) May 26, 2013"
"If Chelsea appoint Jose Mourinho, this will the start to the European Season for Chelsea & Bayern! twitter.com/indexfootball/…
— Index Football(@indexfootball) May 26, 2013"
"Our captain!!! #MIASANCHAMPIONS twitter.com/berita_bayern/…
"
"— Berita Bayern (@berita_bayern) May 26, 2013"
"what a great CL final at Wembley today! Congrats to FC Bayern and big compliment to Borussia Dortmund for their great performance !!
"
"— Jürgen Klinsmann (@J_Klinsmann) May 25, 2013"
"Sir Alex Ferguson presented Robben with the MOTM award, following Bayern's CL Final win over over Dortmund. #MUFC twitter.com/MUnitedGirl/st…
— MUnitedGirl (@MUnitedGirl) May 25, 2013"
"Bayern win 2-1 but the Dortmund fans beat the Munich fans hands down! No contest.
"
"— Lee Westwood (@WestwoodLee) May 25, 2013"
"#UCL robben scores the winner for bayern Munich with the gayest goal ever seen in football history. twitter.com/stucrompton/st…
— just for a laugh (@stucrompton) May 25, 2013"
Lazio Beat Roma 1-0 in Coppa Italia Final
3 of 4A Senad Lulic goal gave Lazio a 1-0 victory in their own stadium on Sunday, beating eternal rivals Roma in the first Derby della Capitale to decide the Coppa Italia.
The Bosnian was superb throughout and deserved man of the match for his performance, while the Giallorossi failed to ever get started.
So Aurelio Andreazzoli failed to deliver the cup after stepping in to replace Zdenek Zeman as the club's interim manager, and the Giallorossi will have to regroup this summer in their bid to return to the pinnacle of Italian football.
Vladimir Petkovic has quietly done an excellent job for Lazio and will manage the side in the Europa League again as a result of this win.
"COPPA ITALIA Final Day!! Doesn't get bigger than an Eternal City Derby between Lazio and Roma at the Stadio Olympico. Rome will be bouncing!
— Nik Postinger (@TouchlineDrama) May 26, 2013"
"Happy for Petkovic. Fantastic job in 1st year as Lazio manager. Made sure team gave its all in Europa Lg too. Maybe cost them in league.
— Paolo Bandini (@Paolo_Bandini) May 26, 2013"
"Lazio win the Coppa Italia beating their great rivals Roma 1-0. Lulic the scorer. Totti walks off the field despondent.
— Just Football (@JustFootball) May 26, 2013"
"Desperately disappointed in Roma, who never even tried to win the final today, allowed Lazio to dictate from the off.
— Jack Rathborn (@jackrathborn) May 26, 2013"
Europa League Winners Will Receive Champions League Qualification from 2015
4 of 4Starting in 2015, the winners of the Europa League will receive qualification into the Champions League, a decision that, in theory, will make teams treat the tournament a lot more seriously.
Here is the reaction from Twitter:
"One of UEFA's best decisions - giving the Europa League winners Champions League qualification. It's an incentive the competition needed.
— Paul Burbidge (@Paul_Burbidge) May 24, 2013"
"From 2015/16, #UELfinal winners will be rewarded with a place in the next season's @championsleague play-offs - uefa.to/132OdAU
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 26, 2013"
"Europa League winner qualifies for Champions League starting in 2015-16; could be 5 UCL clubs from same league: uefa.to/132OdAT
— Paul Carr (@PCarrESPN) May 24, 2013"
