Football 011 – Page 6 – All about REAL football, all the time

2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage

Groups are set and here they are:

Group A
Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)
PAOK FC (GRE)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL)

Group B
FC København (DEN)
R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
Hannover 96 (GER)
FC Vorskla Poltava (UKR)

Group C
PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)
FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU)
Legia Warszawa (POL)

Group D
Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR)
S.S. Lazio (ITA)
FC Zürich (SUI)
FC Vaslui (ROU)

Group E
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Stoke City FC (ENG)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group F
Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Athletic Club (ESP)
FC Salzburg (AUT)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Group G
AZ Alkmaar (NED)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR)
FK Austria Wien (AUT)
Malmö FF (SWE)

Group H
SC Braga (POR)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
Birmingham City FC (ENG)
NK Maribor (SVN)

Group I
Club Atlético de Madrid (ESP)
Udinese Calcio (ITA)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA)
FC Sion (SUI)

Group J
FC Schalke 04 (GER)
FC Steaua Bucureşti (ROU)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)
AEK Larnaca FC (CYP)

Group K
FC Twente (NED)
Fulham FC (ENG)
Odense BK (DEN)
Wisła Kraków (POL)

Group L
RSC Anderlecht (BEL)
AEK Athens FC (GRE)
FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)
SK Sturm Graz (AUT)

So who do YOU think will advance out of each of the groups to the next round?

Here are my predictions:

Group A – Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) and FC Rubin Kazan (RUS)

Group B – R. Standard de Liège (BEL) and Hannover 96 (GER)

Group C – PSV Eindhoven (NED) and Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group D – Sporting Clube de Portugal (POR) and S.S. Lazio (ITA)

Group E – Stoke City FC (ENG) and Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC (ISR)

Group F – Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA) and ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK)

Group G – FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) and Malmö FF (SWE)

Group H – SC Braga (POR) and Birmingham City FC (ENG)

Group I – Udinese Calcio (ITA) and Stade Rennais FC (FRA)

Group J – FC Schalke 04 (GER) and Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR)

Group K – Fulham FC (ENG) and Wisła Kraków (POL)

Group L – RSC Anderlecht (BEL) and FC Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS)

2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage

Groups are set and here they are:

Group A
FC Bayern München (GER)
Villarreal CF (ESP)
Manchester City FC (ENG)
SSC Napoli (ITA)

Group B
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
LOSC Lille Métropole (FRA)
Trabzonspor AŞ (TUR)

Group C
Manchester United FC (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR)
FC Basel 1893 (SUI)
FC Oţelul Galaţi (ROU)

Group D
Real Madrid CF (ESP)
Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)
AFC Ajax (NED)
GNK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)

Group E
Chelsea FC (ENG)
Valencia CF (ESP)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
KRC Genk (BEL)

Group F
Arsenal FC (ENG)
Olympique de Marseille (FRA)
Olympiacos FC (GRE)
Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Group G
FC Porto (POR)
FC Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
FC Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)
APOEL FC (CYP)

Group H
FC Barcelona (ESP)
AC Milan (ITA)
FC BATE Borisov (BLR)
FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)

So who do YOU think will advance out of each of the groups to the round of 16?

Here are my predictions:

Group A – FC Bayern München (GER) and Manchester City FC (ENG)

Group B – FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) and PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)

Group C – Manchester United FC (ENG) and SL Benfica (POR)

Group D – Real Madrid CF (ESP) and Olympique Lyonnais (FRA)

Group E – Chelsea FC (ENG) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)

Group F – Arsenal FC (ENG) and Borussia Dortmund (GER)

Group G – FC Porto (POR) and FC Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)

Group H – FC Barcelona (ESP) and AC Milan (ITA)

Stefan Savić matches Manchester City colors

First impression if often the most important one. As we can see, Stefan Savić another recent acquisition of Roberto Mancini from Partizan Belgrade is well aware of that and he’s taking no chances in selecting the color of his new ride. Unlike some of his predecessors who made mistakes of driving red cars (in case you didn’t know there’s another football club in Manchester whose color is red 😉 ) Stefan decided to go with blue, the color of his new club. Selecting the make of the car was a bit more difficult, but he settled on a Bentley Continental. Price? A bargain for a Man City footballer at a range of €150,000 to €200,000.

All nonsense aside, Stefan is a great central defender, very young and will undoubtedly truly earn his place in Man City and I have no doubts that he will become a fan favorite.

Samir Nasri signs for Manchester City

Samir Nasri signs for Manchester City for a reported £22,000,000 transfer fee. Nasri was recently offered a £90,000 per week contract to stay at Arsenal which he turned down, so it’s expected that he’s salary will nearly double at Manchester City.

Considering he joined Arsenal in 2008 for £15,800,000 from the financial standpoint it looks like Arsène Wenger profited and made a good decision. On the other hand, having lost both of his main midfielders, Fabregas and now Nasri could Arsenal really afford not to spend? In tough economic times (for most at least) not spending money on lavish and newsworthy transfers has been his M.O., but could he continue to do and still expect to win the ever elusive title? I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, watching them lose to Liverpool at home three days ago made me believe that it is time for Wenger to leave. He’s been at Arsenal for 15 years now and while he probably believes he could, not everybody can deliver like Sir Alex Ferguson and leave a winning legacy (Ferguson joined Manchester United when they had 7 titles, last season they won their 19th!). If Arsenal (read: Arsène Wenger) doesn’t bring in at least one great player at each of the lines (defense, midfield, attack) they have nothing to look forward to this season.

I know it’s still too early to make predictions, but Manchester United looks sharp and ready; Manchester City is not too far behind (even though they will need to sell some players soon); Liverpool hasn’t been impressive but even so they beat Arsenal 0:2; Bolton Wanderers’ have been a real breath of fresh air so far and the list goes on. In short, unless they invest Arsenal will not finish this season in the top third come May of 2012. Mark my words!

ESPN’s ScoreCenter iPhone app

ESPN Score Center iPhone app — Screenshot 1

Looking for a way to have football scores on the go and have an iPhone? If so, give ESPN’s Score Center a try.

As you can see in [Screenshot 1] you can pick your favorite competitions based on countries, leagues, UEFA and FIFA cups,…you can even add other sports such as tennis, basketball, boxing, MMA, hockey, rugby (and that other version with pads 😉 ) to name a few.

The app allows you to select your favorite teams so that their matches are visually more noticeable and easily located. You can also set up alerts for your teams; single games or breaking news. It’s an amazing app that simply works and provides the latest football info in the palm of your hand. On the other hand, there’s always room for improvement and the major one I’m looking forward in future releases is integration of video highlights which I’m sure is not far behind.

Once you select the game of choice [Screenshot 2] you will see a breakdown of the most important info such as ball possession, cards, who scored and when along several other items. Everything is visible on one screen and very nicely formatted. But the app doesn’t stop there…if you want more info, just click on “Recap”.

Clicking onto “Recap” as pictured in [Screenshot 3] will provide a brief summary of the game; timeline of the match and placements of shots and goals. Everything you need (except the above mentioned video highlights) is available in this app and it is all FREE!

In summary, a very useful app to keep track of scores of your favorite teams when away from television or a quality internet stream. If you know of other great apps please let me know.

Note: ESPN’s ScoreCenter app is also available for Android based devices on Android Market.

UEFA Europa League: Shamrock Rovers FC – FK Partizan 1:1 (0:1)

Partizan has a way of playing with my nerves and driving me crazy at times and they certainly didn’t “disappoint” this time. They tied Shamrock Rovers in Dublin, Ireland which is actually a fair result considering they played well and dominated the first half and then started messing things up during the second half.
Rematch is on August 25th in Belgrade where I expect Partizan to win in front of some 30,000 fans (Grobari) and qualify into the UEFA Europa League.

Here are the goals from the match:

Diego Forlan signs for Inter Milan

Against...and now he will play for Inter

Fresh of the presses! Diego Forlan signs for Inter Milan. He’s an amazing player and a welcome fresh addition to Inter’s stale side. Also, this move further supports that Eto’o is on his way to Anzhi Makhachkala (highest bidder).

On the other side, Atletico Madrid lost both Forlan and Aguero…ooops! Don’t expect that team to do much this season – sorry Atletic fans.

I wonder who’s the next big transfer?

Emmanuel Adebayor on loan to Tottenham

It’s tough to find your place in starting 11 of Manchester City these days. This becomes even more difficult for a forward whose direct competitors are likes of Tevez, Džeko, Aguero and Balotelli which is why Emmanuel Adebayor will not be returning from his loan to Real Madrid.

He’s actually expected to join Tottenham this week on another loan and make his debut against Manchester United on Monday night. I’ve mentioned Robbie Keane leaving to LA Galaxy which is probably why Harry Redknapp decided to strengthen his attack with Adebayor.

Rumors on the deal are that Man City will pay half of the £170,000 per week wages for the duration of the loan, with Spurs having the option of buying Adebayor for £12 million at the end of the season. Tottenham will also pay a loan fee to Man City which is believed to be at least £2 million.

Now, let me take a minute to share my impressions of Adebayor who is undoubtedly a player for some of the top clubs. He played well in Arsenal, but left it for money and hopes that he will become a part of this “dream team” sponsored by the new Manchester City owners which quickly proved not to be the case. He didn’t provide enough value when compared to his other attacking colleagues so he was sent to Real Madrid. There he didn’t “obey” José Mourinho‘s TEAM/RESULT FIRST mentality and is now let go to join another team, most likely Tottenam.

He’s been searching for his rightful place on a team ever since he left Arsenal and I think that this it’s time to seize this opportunity and prove that he’s not just a big, physical guy upfront, but that he can actually contribute to his new team, score goals and provide assists. Let’s hope he has a great season, as I believe that he truly deserves it.

On the other hand, this move could spark another transfer, that of Peter Crouch to Stoke City, but it’s way too early to even speculate on that just yet. Other transfers in and out of Spurs are also quite possible which could include Defoe and Pavyluchenko on one side with Odemwingie, Rossi and Falcao on the other.

Things are heating up in European leagues and this will certainly be another great year for football.

Eto’o voyage from Spain to Italy to Russia

Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o is reportedly on the verge of signing for a Russian team, Anzhi Makhachkala (say that 5 times fast).

There are two versions of the upcoming medical exam. According to first, it is supposed to take place tomorrow in Rome. The other one says that Eto’o will go through medical on Thursday in Russia. Either way, it’s almost certain that he’s leaving Inter and when someone offers (a rumored) little under $500,000 per week who could say no. Yes, you have read that correctly my friends, $2,000,000 per month – would you say no to that payday? I didn’t think so.

After all, football at the highest level is business, it’s all about ROI, money and revenue. Samuel Eto’o played for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter (and a few smaller clubs); won the Champions League and really doesn’t have much left to prove to anyone. Furthermore, he’s in his 30’s and this is his last opportunity to really cash in, so I wish him good luck.

He’s an entertaining player to watch, dynamic, and I’m sure that he will do well in the ever improving Russian Premier League. I completely understand his decision and as a friend of mine likes to say, “you really can’t knock his hustle.” 🙂

Barcelona: Fabregas is back and here to stay

Another transfer (two years in the making) is finally complete.
Cesc Fàbregas signed a 5 year deal with Barcelona, club he left for Arsenal back in 2003. His new “sale” price to leave Barcelona again is set at €200 million – I guess he’s not going anywhere before summer of 2016. By the way, some 30,000 fans attended his signing. Insane!

Somehow I don’t think he’s worth all this money and I expect him to have difficulties proving he deserves the spot in Barcelona’s starting 11. That’s just me, time will tell if he is worth the investment. In any event, it adds more excitement to the world of football.