We waited a long time for the of the UEFA Champions League Final, and last weekend it arrived in all its glory.  Around 26 teams had been competing for the cup but in the packed stadium in Berlin, only two were remaining. For the fifth time, Barcelona came out as the winners. The stadium The stadium that was used for the final is situated in western Berlin. It is quite old and was built for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was drawn and designed by Werner March, a local architect, and could initially take 100,000 spectators. Since 1963 it has been the home of Hertha Berlin, when the German permier league "Bundesliga" was founded. During the 1974 FIFA World Cup, it was the biggest stadium and hosted three matches. In the UEFA cup finals, about 75,000 people were watching in the stadium. The game In the final of the Champions Leauge, the Spanish team Barcelona played the Italian team Juventus.  The star players were Messi, a Forward from Barcelona, and Tevez, a striker from Juventus. These teams qualified for the champions league final because they play a tactical game and of course they are two of the best teams in the world, but in the end it was Barcelona who went home with the cup after scoring three great goals against a single goal from Juventus. By Hugo and Freddie

As a Chelsea fan, of course I love to write about the title that we have lifted recently. Since week one of the league, Chelsea has been on top of the ladder and has only suffered three losses and nine draws. The last match was the best. Responding to a corner, Hazard the Hero took a great header at the centre of the box...and scored! Hazard had in that moment headed in the goal that would win the match; the goal that would win the league! Chelsea finished as much as eight points ahead of the team in 2nd place (Manchester City), and 12 points ahead of 3rd place (Arsenal). As the winner, Chelsea took £99 million worth of prize money. By George  

The world-famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has won the prestigious French prize Ballon d'Or - again! This year was the third time he could lift the golden trophy into the air during the recent glamorous prize gala in Paris. Before telling you why Ronaldo is such a great left winger, first a few words about the prize itself: The Ballon d' Or  means "golden football" in French, and it has been given to the world's best footballer since 1956. It is definitely the coolest prize for an individual footballer to win. Ronaldo's previous club was Manchester United here in the UK, but in 2009-10 he moved to his current club Real Madrid, which plays in the Spanish Liga BBVA. He is considered the world's best footballer because of his ball skills, pace and stamina. When he does not score the goals himself, he is great at setting up for others to make his team win. Ronaldo has helped Real Madrid to success both in the Spanish Liga and abroad. By Freddie and Hugo          

I bet you have heard all about the Tour de France. But have you ever heard of the Tour de Yorkshire? The famous Tour de France is a competition where steely cyclists bike some 3500 km through the French countryside and up and down steep mountains during three summer weeks every year. It is considered one of the toughest biking races in the world and it has taken place for over 100 years. Tour de Yorkshire is less known, to say the least. It all started last year, when the first stage of Tour de France in fact was held in English Yorkshire. The distance run in the Midlands worked really well for the cyclists, so this year the organizers in Yorkshire have launched their own race, the Tour de Yorkshire. Participants can choose how far they want to cycle. They pick a distance of either 50 km, 108 km or 140 km. There is also a women's event and they all cycle 50 km. What is great about the Tour de Yorkshire? It is a unique event for a lot of different people to come together. Men and women, as well as professionals and just sporty amateurs. The same routes will be used for everyone. The race will take place on May 1-3 this year, and consists of three "etappes", one for each day. Organizers expect thousands of people to turn up, both as participants and spectators. By Ed

Everyone knows who the English mid-fielder Steven Gerrard, who plays for Liverpool is, even those who are not so into football. He used to be a real hero. But now, his fans are very disappointed with him. Recently, Gerrard announced that he was leaving Liverpool to join a club on the "wrong side" of the Atlantic, where they call football soccer. From next season, he will play for Los Angeles Galaxy, a team in the American Major League Soccer (MLS). As the oldest player in the Liverpool squad, he may have felt he needed to think of a move to not have to sit on the bench. Steven Gerrard has been part and parcel of Liverpool football for a long time. It is the club he played with as a boy, and on the 4th of February this year, he made his 700th appearance, now as captain of the team. It was a match against Bolton and Liverpool won 1-2. The fans over here want to keep him doing just that: entertain the audience with his great game, and secure goals for the club. There is a good chance though, that Gerrard will put on the red shirt again in the future. The coaches in Liverpool have said that he is always welcome back - that he is part of the family - and that loans from MLS to European clubs are not uncommon. What do you say? Take the vote below.  

The title is right. The coach who helped QPR into the Champions League, Harry Redknapp, is leaving. He himself says it is because of a knee operation. Others say it is because the team is not playing well enough right now. Very peculiar news indeed, that has sparked a lot of speculation. Reknapp himself claims there is a good reason for his departure. The coach, who used to be a player himself, and has coached many good teams, such as for example Tottenham, says he simply can't cope with the job due to his bad knees. A good illustration of just how much trouble they make him, is that when he was going out for dinner, he had to take a taxi between the Grosvenor Hotel and the Dorchester Hotel, situated less than half a mile apart. He started off with the best intentions of having a short stroll, but had to stop after 50 yards down Park Lane. And this was before his left knee went, too. That is Redknapp's story. Others are saying that Redknapp quits due to pressure from QPR's manager Tony Fernandes. The team has been struggling lately, at the bottom of the Premier League table, and maybe the coach has not been up for the job? Both Fernandes and Redknapp deny this, but fans and others keep discussing it. Whichever was the reason for him leaving, Redknapp will be missed by many in QPR. Luckily, there are two new managers lined up, who could be up for the job: Michael Laudrup and Tim Sherwood. By George B

The Champions League is a competition where the 32 best teams in Europe compete. To win this prestigious tournament is to be the best of the best in Europe and possibly, the whole world. In this championship, great teams will play each other, which makes it a lot of fun to watch. Barcelona vs Real Madrid, Bayern Munchen vs Chelsea and many more. The teams have to be good, but they also have to avoid making mistakes that may hurt them later on in the tournament. For example, if the players are not following the rules, the referee may hold up a yellow or a red card to them on the field. A player may have tackled someone unfairly, or may have protested against a verdict in an impolite way. To get a red card means that the player may not be allowed to play for two games. They get sent off from the game that they're playing and miss the next one. This year's Champion's League started in August and the final will be played on June 6 next year. Right now, the teams are playing in groups. Only after that, in the spring time, will the knock-out begin. At the bottom of this article, you can see which teams are fighting each other in the group play. The ingredients to win a game are: 1 great keeper, 4 super defenders, 3 amazing mids and 3 attackers. We are going to create a voting poll where you (the readers) can vote for the ultimate Champions League team, put together by members of all teams. Below are our suggestions which are the best players in each category: Which goalkeeper do you want on your champions league dream team? 1. Manuel Neuer 2. Iker Casillas 3. Gianluigi Buffon 4. Thibaut Courtois Which back four do you want in your champions league dream team? 1. Thiago Silva 2. Pique 3. Phillip Lahm 4. Vincent Kompany 5. Segio Ramos 6. Dani Alves 7. Vidic 8. John Terry 9. Mats Hummles 10. Busquets Which three midfielders do you want in your champions league dream team? 1. Iniesta 2. Xavi 3. Yaya Toure 4. Eden Hazard 5. James Rodríguez 6. Gareth Bale 7. Vidal 8.Pirlo 9.Bastain Schwinetiger 10.Frank Ribbery Which three forwards do you want on your champions league dream team? 1. Sergio Agüero 2. Lionel Messi 3. Christiano Ronaldo 4.Neymar 5.Suarez 6.Benzema 7.Diego Costa 8.Sanchez Rules for voting: You can vote for 1 goalie,1 defender,1 midfielder and 1 forward. We are looking forward to seeing the results. We will post them in a later update. And here are the groups, for your information: GROUP A (Position, Team, Played, Points) 1. Atl Madrid, 6, 13 2. Olympiakos, 6, 10 3. Juventus, 6, 9 4. Malmö FF, 6, 3 GROUP B 1. Real Madrid, 6, 18 2. FC Basel, 6, 7 3. Liverpool, 6, 5 4. Ludo Razgd, 6, 4 GROUP C 1. Monaco, 6, 11 2. bayer levkn 6, 10 3. Zenit St P, 6, 7 4. Benfica, 6, 5 GROUP D 1. Borossa Dortmund, 6, 13 2. Arsenal, 6,13 3. Anderlecht, 6, 6 4. Galatasaray, 6,1 GROUP E 1. Bayern Munchen, 5, 12 2. Roma,5,5 3. CSKA,5,5 4. Manchester City, 5, 5 GROUP F 1. Paris St G, 5, 13 2. Barcelona, 5, 12 3. Ajax, 5, 2 4. Apoelo Nic, 5, 1 GROUP G 1. Chelsea,5,11 2. Schalke,4,5 3. Sporting,4,4 4. NK Maribor,4,3 GROUP H 1. FC Porto,5,13 2. Shakt Donsk,5,8 3. BATE Bor,5,4 4. Ath Bilbao,5,3

Australian batsman Phillip Hughes is dead after a deadly knock in the neck from a cricket ball. The 25 year old died after 2 days in a coma. After the accident on the field, he was treated in St Vincent's Hospital, but it was too late to rescue him. This has led people to discuss the need of drastic changes to the cricketing kit-helmets.  The team captain, Michael Clarke, was left devastated as he was a very close friend to Hughes. In addition, friends and family are mourning as well. The batsman was laid to rest in his home town in Macksville, with about 5000 attending the funeral. His death stunned Australia and the funeral was broadcast life to millions of people. Michael Clarke praised Hughes by saying: -He was a man whose soul enriched us all and our lives. Phillip's spirit is now a part of our game forever. The tragic event on the cricket field took place on Tuesday 25th of November and Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, described the funeral service as very sad. R.I.P. By Edward

Barnes Elms on a cold Sunday morning. Boys and girls are chasing that elusive white and black ball. KICK, TACKLE, KICK, SHOOT, SCORE! Everyone of them is wondering whether their work will be worth it and they will become a professional. But the path from Barnes Elms to the big stadiums of Europe is long and full of pitfalls. The first step for many young players is to join a football academy. Below we have gathered some common questions and answers about academies. What exactly is a football academy? Academies are special training schemes set up by clubs to help them develop young players. All Premiership clubs have them. Other League clubs run either Academies or Centres of Excellence, which are run the same way. Many non-league clubs also run their own development schemes or community projects. Do I have to be a certain age to attend an academy? A player must be at least nine years old but many clubs - such as Arsenal and Crystal Palace - have "development groups" which cater for even younger players. Do I have to be close to the academy to play? Yes, there are rules around this. You have to live in the local area to be able to play. Under 12's must live maximum 1 hour away from the clubs training ground. U13-16s can live up to 90 minutes away. What happens when I get into a club? Liverpool's academy opened in 2000 Between the ages of nine and 16 you will be asked to sign "schoolboy forms", a sort of mini contract that runs for one or two years. These then get renewed if the club is happy with your performance. Once you are 16, the club will decide whether it wants you to stay on and join its Youth Training Scheme. The fight for academy places are fierce since there are very few places. Crystal Palace for example only takes about six trainees every year.  If you are lucky to get selected, you will be offered a scholarship (which means you get paid), that can last up to three years. During that dime, you are expected to progress from the academy's Youth team to the Reserve team, just below the A-team. Technically, you can sign a professional contract at 17, which Wayne Rooney did. He is very much an exception though, and premiership clubs often have Under-21 teams to bridge the gap between the Reserve team and the First team. This means that most players will have to wait until they are 19 before finding out whether they have a future at the club. A young player at West Ham shows off his skills What does life at an academy look like? At the Crystal Palace Academy, youngsters train three times a week - one and a half hours on Tuesday evenings and Thursday evenings and an hour on Saturday mornings. One boy at Barnes Primary School, Julian Roberts, is in fact part of that team. On Sundays, the team plays matches against other Academy teams. That means getting up early in the morning to play up to 28 games every season. You have to be dedicated! In matches for the U9s, 10s and 11s, the matches are played eight-a-side, moving up to the regular 11-a-side numbers from the age of 12. Academy players are given all-round assistance Work is also required outside the regular training sessions. Players are given "homework", for example ball exercises and other physical training, that they can do at home. Their parents may also given advice on what to eat, and how to prepare the mind for games ahead. Players are also encouraged to take part in other sports to broaden their abilities. If you have made it this far, and you are close to turning 16, the club will sit down with you and your parents to talk about the future. It is important to find a way how to be able to continue school studies in a good way, parallel to the football. You may even have to move closer to the club to be able to do this. And if I get rejected...? Look around in your club - how many of your friends would not like to be signed by Liverpool or Arsenal? A quick scan should tell you that you have to be realistic. And former Fulham scout Roger Skyrme says like this to the BBC: -Never lose faith in your ability, but do be prepared to move down a level. One example of someone who stepped down, but later became very successful, is Darren Peacock. He was rejected by Bristol Rovers before going on to take part in about 200 Premiership matches for clubs such as Newcastle, West Ham and Blackburn. If you really want to become a professional footballer, an academy may be a very good start. But prepare for tough competition. By Hugo

A cricket game. One ball. One life. Throw the ball! Throw the ball! The bowler does what his audience tells him to. Suddenly the batter is  on the ground. Silence. Two days later Phillip was in hospital-but nothing could help him. It was not the bowlers fault. It was no-ones fault. Phillip died from brain damage. One of the last things we heard was that his brain was bleeding badly. His friends and family were devastated. Phillip and the bowler were Best Friends at the time, and he was especially devastated. I am feeling very sorry for Phillip, and I hope you are too. By Lou Lou