Soccer Aid 2008

Soccer Aid is a football charity event which took place for the first time in the UK in May 2006. The event was set up by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes and the first game was played on May 27th 2006 to a crowd of 71 960 at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium. The football event is set up in order to raise money for the charity of UNICEF and so far over £2.5 million has in fact been raised for the cause.

On September 7th 2008 Soccer Aid took place for a second time at Wembley Stadium in London. Both events so far have been hosted by Ant and Dec. In 2006 Terry Venables took on the role of England manager whilst Ruud Gullit managed the Rest Of The World team; in 2008 however management changed and Harry Redknapp took over management duties for England whilst Kenny Dalglish managed the Rest Of The World.

Celebrities

- Kyran Bracken
- Craig David
- Angus Deayton
- Tom Felton
- Chris Fountain
- Gareth Gates
- Danny Jones
- Ben Shephard
- Hugo Speer
- Jamie Theakston
- Jonathan Wilkes

Legends

- Graeme Le Saux
- Jamie Redknapp
- David Seaman
- Alan Shearer
- Teddy Sheringham
- Des Walker

Celebrities

- Nicky Byrne
- Santiago Cabrera
- Alastair Campbell
- Gethin Jones
- Patrick Kielty
- Brian Lara
- Kenny Logan
- Gilles Marini
- Brian McFadden
- Gordon Ramsay
- Rodrigo Santoro

Legends

- Franco Baresi
- Paolo Di Canio
- Luis Figo
- Romario
- Ian Rush
- Jaap Stam
- Claudio Taffarel

Soccer Aid was a great game of football in 2006, in 2008 the event was even better however and it was difficult at times to tell the celebrities apart from the football pros themselves. McFly's Danny Jones had a brilliant game down the right wing, he actually floated a lovely ball in for England to get their third goal through an Alan Shearer header in fact so that of course was absolutely excellent to see.

The first team to score here was actually England, proving that England is in fact better than the Rest of the World at football (clearly not actually realistically true, but it was on this occasion). Alan Shearer went on a lovely flowing run and it actually looked as though he'd gone too far with the ball as he found himself pushed out to the line to the right hand side of the goal by the Rest of the World defence. Shearer passed the ball back to Sheringham however and Sheringham happily slapped the ball into the back of the net with a very nice precision shot. Sheringham was actually playing for Colchester in the Championship last season despite his age of 42; he's still a very good player and a fine striker of the ball also. So England were 1-0 up and very much had the advantage, the England old boys up front of Sheringham and Shearer were combining well and playing a good game together just about giving England the edge. Next to score was the Rest of the World through a lovely Paulo Di Canio goal however and that therefore evened the game up.

So with the score at 1-1 the game was back to where it started with the two team's level. It was anyone's game and either side could have taken the next goal. It was actually the Rest of the World that took the lead next and the goal came courtesy of Sex and the City movie star Gilles Marini. It actually looked like a mishit, it floated over David Seaman and into the back of the net however and that's all that really mattered. Mishit or not; Gilles Marini had scored at Wembley against England legend David Seaman and that's most definitely a memory for him to treasure for the rest of his life.

Just before half-time and England were 'controversially' awarded a penalty; I use the term controversially quite loosely here as in a friendly game for charity nothing is ever going to be particularly controversial. Alan Shearer dived over the leg of Jaap Stam, was awarded a penalty and put England back on level terms just before the half-time whistle was blown. It wasn't a penalty, it was a dive, ultimately it's a charity game however and the referee as such is never going to take things particularly seriously; it was a chance for fans favourite Alan Shearer to grab a goal and put his team into the lead, which he did. The highlight of the first half for me (and probably for most that watched the game) was seeing Craig David knock Jaap Stam on his backside. The two of them both went after the ball, collided, and whilst former R&B singing sensation Craig David remained on his feet; former Man United, Lazio and Dutch international hard man Jaap Stam was floored onto his bum. Craig David completely spooned his shot, it was still funny to see him knock Jaap Stam over however and was also incredibly unexpected.

As the second half began the score was once more level at 2-2, and changes were made to the goalkeepers of both teams. Legends Seaman and Taffarel left the field and on to replace them were celebrities Jamie Theakston and Patrick Kielty respectively; a fantastic opportunity for both teams to score many more goals. Di Canio instantly took advantage of the poor celebrity goalkeeper Theakston and dummied him, left Theakston on his backside, and then calmly slotted the ball home past two defenders. It was a fine bit of football from Di Canio, a great piece of play which allowed the Rest of the World to once more take the lead. It wasn't for long though as Alan Shearer then went on to score a wonderous header from a brilliant Danny Jones cross. Jones was tireless down the right wing, the best player on the field by far and a real credit to the England team. He might be a McFly man really, he could easily be a professional footballer at some level however and showed as much with his great game of football here. Shearer somehow managed to climb above Stam and took the header as though he is still footballing fresh; you would never have realised to watch him that it has now been two years since Shearer retired from the beautiful game. The game was now level yet again at 3-3 and you could tell that both managers wanted their teams to press forward and win this one.

Late on in the game and Jonathan Wilkes scored the winner through means of a free-kick. At first it looked as though Alan Shearer had got his head to it to knock it past Patrick Kielty for his hat-trick; he didn't though and it was in fact a Jonathan Wilkes goal. Wilkes actually scored the winning goal in 2006 and once more had managed it here; it was a great goal from the man and at the end of the game you could tell that he was overjoyed to have scored the winner.

So the game finished with a 4-3 win for England, it may only have been a charity game but there were a few players out there that really gave it their all. Danny Jones was simply brilliant and was my personal Man of the Match, Sheringham and Shearer combined together well, and Wilkes was always excellent also. Harry Potter's Tom Felton made me laugh as well; he wasn't very good, determined to get into the game at least a little however and darting all over the place in order to try and win the ball. He's not particularly powerful looking, it was a great David and Goliath moment when he slid into Alastair Campbell for a tackle however. He bounced off Campbell's legs like a fly would off a window, Campbell looked down at him unimpressed and Graeme Le Saux came across with a smirk on his face at the actions of young Tom Felton. Paulo Di Canio also played a great game, Romario was disappointing and never really got into the game; Di Canio is still an excellent player however and could easily still be playing at an adequate level of football. Jaap Stam still looks solid also, not quite the great player he once was, but still pretty special nonetheless.

It was a great entertaining game of football and all for a good cause too; UNICEF. Soccer Aid has so far raised over £2.5 million for the charity and will in the future no doubt continue to contribute more. It's a great little charity football event that Wilkes and Williams have organised; once that is always well worth watching, and this time around it was even better than last. The quality was of a higher standard and the game was a lot more entertaining to watch as a result. Who knows who may be playing next time round; David Beckham perhaps? As I say though; it was a great game and all for an excellent cause too... and best of all was the end result with England beating the Rest of the World; there's something you don't see every day in football!

Final Score: England 4 - 3 Rest of the World