We are finally down to 16 clubs in the Champions League. Some of these draws look to be very exciting and could go either way, while others promise to be a one-sided affair.
Who will advance? Who will win it all?
Summer transfer window is closed, lots of money was spent and here’s who was paid the most.
| 1. Sergio Agüero | (Atletico Madrid – Manchester City) | €45 million |
| 2. Javier Pastore | (Palermo – Paris Saint Germain) | €43 million |
| 3. Radamel Falcao | (Porto – Atletico Madrid) | €40 million |
| 4. Fábio Coentrão | (Benfica – Real Madrid) | €30 million |
| 5. Cesc Fàbregas | (Arsenal – Barcelona) | €29 million |
| 6. Samir Nasri | (Arsenal – Manchester City) | €27.5 million |
| 7. Juan Mata | (Valencia – Chelsea) | €26.7 million |
| 8. Samuel Eto’o | (Inter Milan – Anzhi Makhachkala) | €26 million |
| 9. Alexis Sánchez | (Udinese – Barcelona) | €26 million |
| 10. Stewart Downing | (Aston Villa – Liverpool) | €22.8 million |
Money well spent?
6‘ 6″ German international Per Mertesacker will continue his career in Arsenal. He arrived in London earlier today for medical exams and is expected to sign by Thursday and make his debut as early as September 10th against Swansea City.
Werder Bremen is expected to get £10,000,000 while Mertesacker’s annual salary should be £4,700,000. Arsène Wenger is also bringing a Brazilian left-back André Santos for a reported £6,000,000 from Fenerbahce.
Arsenal needs new players, mainly no-nonsense defenders considering they got creamed 8:2 by Manchester United and that’s clearly what Wenger has in mind as well. Oh and since ticket sales actually do matter, they also signed Chu Young Park.
English Premier League continues full steam ahead and provides great games week after week. Today, I will focus on the top two.
Tottenham Hotspur – Manchester City (1:5) – not really much to say here other than once again, Man City is the team to keep an eye on, they will surprise many larger teams (their town neighbors), last season’s Champions League winners and few more. Also, Edin Džeko is firing on all cylinders, 4 goals today and 7 so far this season, simply amazing. He looks like he’s having fun and enjoying the game which (unlike last season) makes it look much easier.
Manchester United – Arsenal (8:2) – not much left to say, but Man Utd is going for their 20th title
Manchester United and Manchester City are the two dominant teams thus far. Chelsea is slowly waking up, but so far they have been more lucky than good.
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!
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.
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.
The best football league in the world has began their new season. English Premier League (EPL) or Barclays Premier League (as its been known for last 20 years) has been entertaining fans all around the world for decades with a physical no-nonsense approach to the sport which they (English) have also invented.
Having shared my affinities towards EPL up front it’s time to provide a brief review of some the games which took place this weekend.
First game first, Liverpool played a great first half then all of a sudden they went back to their play of season 2011, without ideas in the final third of the pitch, without creativity or attacking force.
Arsenal wasn’t impressive at all and now with losing both Fabregas to Barcelona and Nasri to Manchester City, Arsène Wenger better do something, QUICK! If he chooses not to then maybe Arsenal owners could finally send that long overdue “good bye” letter to Mr. Wenger. Arsenal is a club with too much history and fan base not to win anything for the seventh year straight.
Manchester United players are not clicking just yet, which can be attributed to a ton of traveling and games they have played over the past month or so (including their USA tour). It is important to note that both Vidic and Ferdinand ended their first game of the season early due to injuries which could be a massive problem if their stay off the pitch becomes prolonged. On the other hand, Manchester United can never be counted out as they have showed time and time again that they fight until the end and often score in the final minutes of the game. Also, their luck is nothing to discount considering today’s Ashley Young’s lucky double deflection to guide the ball in against West Brom for their 82nd minute winner.
Still waiting to see Manchester City play tomorrow against Swansea City, the team which has been spending money as if they own their private mint, with nothing to show for it. Has Roberto Mancini (who I really respect from his Inter Milan) days gotten into something he can’t sort out?
Last team which could make a difference in this year’s title run is Chelsea of course, and their first game of the season is scheduled for…today!? What! I missed that match completely, I guess I will need to look it up and see how they played, but considering the scoreless draw it looks like they are not completely aligned just yet. I expect them to do much better than last season.
Tottenham, Aston Villa, Stoke City and a few others could also throw their bids in for this seasons title or at least placement into the top third of the table to ensure Champions League or Europa League qualifiers which guarantees great football.
In summary, it is very early to judge teams’ true strength, but everything points towards another interesting season of the Premier League.
UPDATE on August 15, 2011 @ 8:58 pm: Finally watched Manchester City vs. Swansea City 4:0 (0:0) and must say that Man City will definitely be one of the teams fighting for the title. They started a bit slow (first 20 minutes or so) and then they took control of the game completely. Final score of 4:0 could have been even higher if the wasn’t for the woodwork and several great saves by Swansea’s goalkeeper. It’s too early to call, but Manchester City looked sharp.