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(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — As red-and-white ticker tape flew into the rainy sky at Old Trafford, a beaming Alex Ferguson hoisted up the Premier League trophy for a 13th and final time.

Behind Britain’s most successful football manager stood his jubilant squad of players, dancing to a soundtrack of “Champions, Champions” being belted out by more than 76,000 fans.

It was the end of an era at Manchester United on Sunday as Ferguson took charge of his final home match of a club he has led for nearly 27 years. And he had a 38th piece of major silverware to celebrate it with.

There were no tears from Ferguson — although he came close at times during an emotional five-minute speech to the crowd. Instead, just pure happiness and satisfaction. The smile never left his face.

“You have been the most fantastic experience of my life,” Ferguson said. “Thank you.

“My retirement doesn’t mean the end of my life with the club. I will be able to enjoy watching them rather than suffering with them.”

Sunday’s game against Swansea was more a party, a tribute to Ferguson’s achievements, than a football match. The final score was 2-1 to United, but that barely registered.

From the moment he emerged from the tunnel before kickoff to a guard of honour from both teams, to the moment he took the microphone and addressed his adoring supporters for one final time, this was one long celebration.

Old Trafford has never seen such emotions, such warmth, such an explosion of elation.

“I just want to say thank you once again from all the Ferguson family,” he said, pointing to his wife Cathy and grandkids. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Ferguson stunned the world by announcing Wednesday that he would be bringing his managerial career to a close at the end of the season. And he finally gave the reasons behind his decision, which he said he made at Christmas.

“Things changed when Cathy’s sister died,” Ferguson said in a TV interview. “She is isolated a lot now. I owe [Cathy] a lot of my own time. For 47 years, she has been the leader of the family, looked after our three sons, sacrificed herself for me. Now she has all her grandchildren.

“She lost her best friend, her sister Bridget, so that was important. Also, I wanted to go out a winner. That’s the most important thing I’ve wanted to be.”

The Associated Press was unable to report from Old Trafford on Sunday because of what the club said was high demand from rights holders for press tribune access. This report is based on television coverage.

Ferguson will always be a winner — 13 league titles, two Champions League titles, five FA Cups and four League Cups is testament to that. That Rio Ferdinand slammed home a volley in the 87th minute against Swansea to clinch Ferguson’s final home victory in his 1,499th game as United manager summed up the determination and drive embedded in the Scot’s teams down the years.

He began the day posing for pictures with ball boys in the depths of Old Trafford, his place of work since 1986.

‘Fergie rules’

Then came his first appearance in front of the crowd, striding through the guard of honour and applauding fans, with a sea of red flags and a mosaic with the words “Champions 2013″ providing an eye-catching backdrop.

“Fergie Rules,” read one banner. “Sir Alex – Immortal,” read another in the Stretford End.

He had almost reached the centre of the pitch before he turned to make his way to the dugout, stopping briefly to sign autographs and to wave to fans.

During the match, Ferguson was his usual self — furiously chewing gum, leaping to his feet to contest a refereeing decision, checking his watch. All the hallmarks that make Ferguson who he is.

After the fulltime whistle, he slowly made his way to the centre circle as his players and coaching staff left the stage to the man everyone had come to see.

“I have absolutely no script in my mind. I am just going to ramble on and hope I get to the core of what this football club has meant to me,” Ferguson said.

He paused throughout his speech as fans sang his name. Assistant coach Mike Phelan wiped tears from his eyes.

“If you think about it, those last-minute goals, the comebacks, even the defeats, are all part of this great football club of ours,” Ferguson said. “It’s been an unbelievable experience for all of us. So thank you for that. And also, I’d like to remind you that when we had bad times here, the club stood by me, all my staff stood by me, the players stood by me. Your job now is to stand by our new manager.”

That man, David Moyes, was about 30 miles away taking charge of his last home game as Everton manager before taking over at United on July 1. He has a near impossible task, replacing the irreplaceable.

Ferguson left the pitch to more applause and chants, only to return minutes later for the trophy celebration. The Premier League trophy, bedecked in black, white and red ribbons, was handed to Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic, who immediately turned to Ferguson and placed it in his hands.

For one final time, Ferguson lifted it high.

The perfect afternoon. A perfect 27 years.

Messi injury does not dampen Barcelona celebration: La Liga

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Not even an injury to Lionel Messi in the 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid on Sunday could dampen Barcelona’s celebrations at winning its 22nd Spanish league title.

Messi started his first match in six rounds because of a recurring right hamstring injury, but he left the field in the 68th minute with Barcelona trailing 1-0 to Radamel Falcao’s 52-minute goal and having made all three substitutions.

However, Alexis Sanchez levelled in the 72nd and Atletico midfielder Gabi Fernandez scored an own goal in the 80th to restart Barcelona’s party for winning the title that was clinched when Real Madrid drew late Saturday.

Barcelona’s hard-fought win keeps it on pace to match Madrid’s record haul of 100 points from last season. The Catalan club needs to win its remaining three matches to reach the mark.

Messi’s early finish to the match meant he finally failed to find the net after having scored in a record 21 consecutive Spanish league appearances, smashing the old milestone that stood at 10.

Atletico’s players lined up to pay tribute to Barcelona with a guard of honour before the match. But with coach Diego Simeone declining to rest his starters for the Copa del Rey final against Madrid on Friday, it was clear they were aiming to spoil the visitors’ title celebrations.

True to style, Barcelona controlled possession in the first half, but it was unable to convert any chances.

Forward Cristian Tello went the closest when he picked up a loose ball on the left side of the area and flashed a curling strike just past the far post in first-half injury time.

Messi also threatened with his dribbling through the middle, but the Argentina forward sent his best chance on goal sailing high over the bar.

Barcelona lost right back Dani Alves to an apparent injury in the 42nd minute, with Marc Bartra replacing him.

Bartra’s poor pass led to Atletico going in front. Gabi set up Falcao after falling to the ground, leaving the Colombia striker to size up goalkeeper Jose Pinto and drive the ball under him for his 27th league goal this season.

When Messi walked off, seemingly to be checked by team doctors in the changing room, Atletico looked poised to seal the win as it had an extra man, the lead, and no Messi to worry about.

But Alexis linked up with Cesc Fabregas after a harmless throw-in, working a one-two combination to break down Atletico’s defence before poking the ball home.

Messi returned to the bench in street clothes to watch his teammates’ complete their comeback with a little bit of luck, David Villa’s off-target strike taking a deflection off Gabi and squeezing into the net.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Roberto Soldado scored twice to lead Valencia to a 4-0 win at Rayo Vallecano, provisionally lifting the team into fourth place and giving it control of Spain’s final Champions League berth.

Valencia moved one point ahead of Real Sociedad before the Basque club hosts Granada on Monday.

Barcelona, Madrid, and Atletico Madrid have already locked up the other three Champions League berths.

Real Betis, meanwhile, kept Celta Vigo in the relegation zone with a 1-0.

Palermo, Siena relegated: Serie A

Palermo was relegated from Serie A after losing 1-0 to Fiorentina from former player Luca Toni’s goal on Sunday.

The result left the Sicilian side five points behind 17th-place Genoa, which drew 0-0 at home to Inter Milan. With one round remaining, Torino also secured safety with a 1-1 draw at Chievo Verona. It is six points above Palermo.

Genoa’s result meant Siena was also relegated, without kicking a ball. It later lost 2-1 at second-place Napoli. Palermo and Siena join already relegated Pescara in Serie B next season.

Fiorentina moved two points behind AC Milan in the race for third spot, ensuring the battle for the Champions League qualifying spot goes down to the final round. Roma drew 0-0 at 10-man Milan in a match which was briefly suspended in the second half because of racist chanting directed at Italy striker Mario Balotelli by the visiting Roma fans.

Sulley Muntari was sent off at the end of the first half for placing his hands on the referee in an attempt to prevent the official from booking Balotelli.

Roma captain Francesco Totti was also shown a straight red card after elbowing Philippe Mexes in stoppage time.

With top-flight safety at stake, all three relegation matches kicked off at lunchtime.

Torino had slipped closer to danger after picking up just two points from the previous seven rounds and things got worse when it found itself 1-0 down inside 10 minutes.

Cyril Thereau took advantage of Valerio Di Cesare’s slip to fire across goal into the far corner from a tight angle.

However, Torino levelled nine minutes later when Alessio Cerci converted a penalty after Dario Dainelli tripped Angelo Ogbonna. Torino should have been awarded another penalty in the second half for a poor tackle by Bostjan Cesar on Ogbonna, but the referee waved away the appeals.

In Tuscany, Toni came back to haunt Palermo.

Toni scored 30 league goals in his first season at Palermo, to fire them into the top flight in 2004 for the first time in 31 years. The Italian striker then helped the side qualify for Europe before departing for his first spell at Fiorentina.

He scored four minutes from halftime. Borja Valero sent Juan Cuadrado down the right flank and his cross to the far post allowed Toni to slot home from close range. Fabrizio Miccoli’s free kick flew inches wide of the post for Palermo in the final minutes.

Injury-hit Inter had lost seven of its past nine matches to leave them out of Europe next season for the first time in 14 years. Goalkeeper Samir Handanovic kept Inter in the match with several stunning saves. And Inter almost snatched all three points when Tommaso Rocchi spun round to smash a curling shot off the crossbar.

Udinese a step closer to Europa League

Udinese moved a step closer to securing the last Europa League spot after it beat Atalanta 2-1 for a record seventh successive victory. Antonio Di Natale, who hit the crossbar in the opening minutes, scored both goals for Udinese after Giuseppe De Luca’s opener.

There was bad news for Udinese as Di Natale was stretchered off with a knee injury shortly before full time.

Lazio remained two points behind Udinese after a 2-0 win over Sampdoria.

Sergio Floccari scored the opener and Antonio Candreva sealed the result with a cheeky chipped penalty after a clumsy challenge by Daniele Gastaldello on Ogenyi Onazi.

Sampdoria’s Renan was sent off moments earlier for saying something to the referee.

Siena had been fighting against relegation since a six-point penalty for its part in the betting scandal was imposed at the beginning of the season. It was playing for little more than pride against Napoli and took the lead through Fabrizio Grillo, on his Serie A debut.

Edinson Cavani, who had hit the woodwork twice and had a goal ruled out for offside, levelled before Marek Hamsik won the match for Napoli in stoppage time.

Elsewhere, goals from Saphir Taider and Davide Moscardelli gave Bologna a 2-0 win at Parma.

Soccer Sunday’s Results

England – Premier League
FT Stoke 1 – 2 Tottenham
FT Everton 2 – 0 West Ham
FT Fulham 1 – 3 Liverpool
FT Norwich 4 – 0 West Bromwich Albion
FT Queens Park Rangers 1 – 2 Newcastle United
FT Sunderland 1 – 1 Southampton
FT Manchester United 2 – 1 Swansea

England – Championship Play Off
FT Watford 3 – 1 Leicester

Italy – Serie A
FT Chievo 1 – 1 Torino
FT Fiorentina 1 – 0 Palermo
FT Genoa 0 – 0 Inter
FT Lazio 2 – 0 Sampdoria
FT Udinese 2 – 1 Atalanta
FT SSC Napoli 2 – 1 Siena
FT Parma 0 – 2 Bologna
FT AC Milan 0 – 0 Roma

Spain – Liga BBVA
FT Rayo Vallecano 0 – 4 Valencia
FT Betis 1 – 0 Celta Vigo
FT Atletico Madrid 1 – 2 Barcelona
FT Malaga 0 – 0 Sevilla

Spain – Liga Adelante
FT Alcorcon 1 – 3 Villarreal
FT Santander 1 – 0 Real Madrid Castilla

Germany – 2. Bundesliga
FT Aalen 3 – 0 Dynamo Dresden
FT Aue 0 – 1 Ingolstadt
FT Cottbus 3 – 0 Sandhausen
FT FC Cologne 1 – 2 Hertha Berlin
FT FSV Frankfurt 2 – 1 Bochum
FT Paderborn 2 – 0 1860 Munchen
FT Regensburg 1 – 3 Kaiserslautern
FT St. Pauli 5 – 1 Braunschweig
FT Union Berlin 2 – 1 Duisburg

Germany – Regionalliga Bayern
FT Greuther Furth II 0 – 1 FV Illertissen
FT Nürnberg II 2 – 0 SpVgg Bayern Hof
FT B.Munchen II 2 – 0 TSV Rain/Lech

Germany – Regionalliga Nord
FT TSV Havelse 0 – 0 St.Pauli II
FT Victoria Hamburg 4 – 1 Goslarer SC
FT Neumunster 2 – 0 BSV Rehden
FT Oldenburg 1 – 3 Werder Bremen II

Germany – Regionalliga Nordost
FT Hertha Berlin II 2 – 0 Berliner AK 07
FT RasenBallsport Leipzig 0 – 0 FSV Zwickau

Germany – Regionalliga West
FT Leverkusen II 3 – 0 Oberhausen
FT SC Verl 1 – 2 Borussia Monchengladbach II
FT Siegen 0 – 1 Sportfreunde Lotte
FT VfB Hüls 1 – 0 FC Kray
FT Velbert 1 – 1 Bochum II

France – Ligue 1
FT Lorient 3 – 1 Saint Etienne
FT Evian Thonon Gaillard 4 – 0 Nice
FT Lyon 0 – 1 Paris Saint Germain

Soccer Recap: Sir Alex bids adieu on a high note as Man U beats Swansea is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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