Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
De Gea deal not solid.
Manchester United's need for a new goalkeeper is a major issue for the Red Devils right now. As Edwin van der Sar is retiring at the end of the season, Sir Alex Ferguson needs another man to fill the veteran Dutchman's gloves. Atheltico Madrid's David De Gea became Sir Alex's first choice.
Recently, it was revealed that while De Gea would like to sign a deal with the Reds, he could very well sign another deal with Athletico Madrid. More on this later.
Recently, it was revealed that while De Gea would like to sign a deal with the Reds, he could very well sign another deal with Athletico Madrid. More on this later.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Seasons ending, with surprising results
As the seasons or the European Leagues are winding down, most leagues already have a winner, but not every result was predicted last summer.
Spain (La Liga)
Ok, fine. No surprises here. The Catalans swiped their 21st title this season, finishing just 4 points above Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was La Liga's top scorer with 40 goals. This set a new record. Deportivo La Coruna, Hercules, and Almeria have been relegated to Division Segunda, and Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano, and Granada CF have been moved to La Liga.
Germany (Bundesliga)
France (Ligue 1)
Lille has been casually working its way up from a 10th place finish in the 2005-2006 season, and the hard work has finally paid off. Lille were crowned the champions of Ligue 1 for the 1st time since 1954, ahead of the last game of the season because their lead over everyone else was so large. Recently, Olyimpique Marseille knocked the deficit down to just 6 points, but its too late. Ligue 1's top scorer was Moussa Sow, and he had 22 goals, although that race is still in contention, being that Lorient's Kevin Gameiro has 21 goals, and both Lille and Lorient have 1 game left each. AS Monaco, Lens, and Arles have been relegated to Ligue 2, and Evian Thonon Gaillard, Dijon FCO, and AC Ajaccio have been added to Ligue 1.
England (Barclays Premier League)
Yet again, The Red Devils have triumphed. Chelsea's horrendous winter cost them dearly, and more or less handed United their 12th title, although Chelsea had a shot to pass United in the table. Chelsea lost to United 2-1, because referee Howard Webb is a known Red Devils supporter. The top scorer for Barclays this season was actually 2 players. Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez both scored 20 goals. However, Berbatov only took 98 shots, whereas Tevez took 120 shots. Blackpool, Birmingham, and West Ham United were all relegated to the npower Championship Division, and Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, and Welsh side Swansea City have all moved up to the Barclays Premier League.
Netherlands (Eredivisie)
Ajax Amsterdam claimed their first Eredivisie title since 2004, and just barely too. This is the club's 30th title since its founding in 1900. They finished just 2 points above FC Twente. Bjorn Vleminckx of NEC Nijmegen was the league's top scorer, with 23 goals. Excelsior, VVV Venlo, and Willem II Tilburg are in contest to not be relegated, and RKC Waalwijk, FC Zwolle, and Helmond Sport are the top 3 up for promotion.
Portugal (Premeira Liga)
No surprises here, FC Porto won the title, and SL Benfica came in 2nd place. Portimonenese and Naval 1o Maio have been relegated. Feirense and Gil Vicente have been brought up from the Liga de Honra.
Italy (Serie A)
To my knowledge, there is no official winner of the Serie A title, but AC Milan is currently leading the pack by 6 points. The Top scorer of the league is Udinese's captain, Antonio Di Natale. Sampdoria, Brescia, and Bari have been relegated, and Atalanta and Siena are being promoted. There is a playoff for the 3rd promotion spot.
Spain (La Liga)
Ok, fine. No surprises here. The Catalans swiped their 21st title this season, finishing just 4 points above Real Madrid. However, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was La Liga's top scorer with 40 goals. This set a new record. Deportivo La Coruna, Hercules, and Almeria have been relegated to Division Segunda, and Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano, and Granada CF have been moved to La Liga.
Germany (Bundesliga)
There is no official winner of the Bundesliga, but Borussia Dortmund is the unofficial winner. They won with a 7 point lead over 2nd place Bayer Leverkusen, who had a 3 point lead over perennial favorite Bayern Munich. Bayern's Mario Gomez was top scorer in the league with 28 goals. Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, and St. Pauli have been relegated, and Hertha Berlin, FC Augsburg, and VfL Bochum have been moved up to the Bundesliga.
France (Ligue 1)
Lille has been casually working its way up from a 10th place finish in the 2005-2006 season, and the hard work has finally paid off. Lille were crowned the champions of Ligue 1 for the 1st time since 1954, ahead of the last game of the season because their lead over everyone else was so large. Recently, Olyimpique Marseille knocked the deficit down to just 6 points, but its too late. Ligue 1's top scorer was Moussa Sow, and he had 22 goals, although that race is still in contention, being that Lorient's Kevin Gameiro has 21 goals, and both Lille and Lorient have 1 game left each. AS Monaco, Lens, and Arles have been relegated to Ligue 2, and Evian Thonon Gaillard, Dijon FCO, and AC Ajaccio have been added to Ligue 1.
England (Barclays Premier League)
Yet again, The Red Devils have triumphed. Chelsea's horrendous winter cost them dearly, and more or less handed United their 12th title, although Chelsea had a shot to pass United in the table. Chelsea lost to United 2-1, because referee Howard Webb is a known Red Devils supporter. The top scorer for Barclays this season was actually 2 players. Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov, and Manchester City's Carlos Tevez both scored 20 goals. However, Berbatov only took 98 shots, whereas Tevez took 120 shots. Blackpool, Birmingham, and West Ham United were all relegated to the npower Championship Division, and Queens Park Rangers, Norwich City, and Welsh side Swansea City have all moved up to the Barclays Premier League.
Netherlands (Eredivisie)
Ajax Amsterdam claimed their first Eredivisie title since 2004, and just barely too. This is the club's 30th title since its founding in 1900. They finished just 2 points above FC Twente. Bjorn Vleminckx of NEC Nijmegen was the league's top scorer, with 23 goals. Excelsior, VVV Venlo, and Willem II Tilburg are in contest to not be relegated, and RKC Waalwijk, FC Zwolle, and Helmond Sport are the top 3 up for promotion.
Portugal (Premeira Liga)
No surprises here, FC Porto won the title, and SL Benfica came in 2nd place. Portimonenese and Naval 1o Maio have been relegated. Feirense and Gil Vicente have been brought up from the Liga de Honra.
Italy (Serie A)
To my knowledge, there is no official winner of the Serie A title, but AC Milan is currently leading the pack by 6 points. The Top scorer of the league is Udinese's captain, Antonio Di Natale. Sampdoria, Brescia, and Bari have been relegated, and Atalanta and Siena are being promoted. There is a playoff for the 3rd promotion spot.
Let's save the game, yes?
For the 2nd time in 3 years, Manchester United and FC Barcelona are set to clash at for the Champions League title. In 2009, The Catalans took the title with a 2-0 victory at Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Barcelona was the home team, and Manchester United were designated as the away team.
This year, the final is at Wembley Stadium, home of the English National Team. I dont necessarily believe in home field advantage being a factor in sports, as any given team can win on any given day. Especially with Barcelona being the 'super-team' of our time, but going into the heart of English football must certainly be unnerving, even for the seemingly mechanical Catalans.
Even though I am a die-hard Chelsea fan, and an avid Red Devil hater, I must root for Manchester United in this match. Barcelona is honestly the killer of Spanish football. They win everything, and don't give any of the other teams in La Liga a chance to make a name for themselves in history. Real Madrid is a more human team, and I prefer them to Barcelona any day of the week. So, for the love of the game, LET'S GO MAN U!
Spaniard set to move to Old Trafford
As Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season, Sir Alex Ferguson had to find a replacement that could match the skill of the veteran Dutchman. The search resulted in him picking David De Gea of Athletico Madrid.
De Gea came out of the Athletico Madrid academy, and was known for playing for Spain's youth teams since the age of 16. Currently, he is 20-years-old and made 154 saves in 38 games. He also kept 11 clean sheets this season.
Personally, I think it will take a lot of work for someone to fill the gloves of van der Sar, especially for a 20 year old kid who plays for a club that spent its last few seasons out of the top 3 in La Liga. Also, Athletico's last game was a 4-3 win over 17th-placed Mallorca. Manchester United requires less goals to be allowed than that, so De Gea has his work cut out for him. Also, an aged van der Sar had 14 clean sheets in 33 games, which is better than De Gea's percentage. But, as a fan of the game, I wish him the best of luck.
De Gea came out of the Athletico Madrid academy, and was known for playing for Spain's youth teams since the age of 16. Currently, he is 20-years-old and made 154 saves in 38 games. He also kept 11 clean sheets this season.
Personally, I think it will take a lot of work for someone to fill the gloves of van der Sar, especially for a 20 year old kid who plays for a club that spent its last few seasons out of the top 3 in La Liga. Also, Athletico's last game was a 4-3 win over 17th-placed Mallorca. Manchester United requires less goals to be allowed than that, so De Gea has his work cut out for him. Also, an aged van der Sar had 14 clean sheets in 33 games, which is better than De Gea's percentage. But, as a fan of the game, I wish him the best of luck.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Udinese snub weakened football powers
Manchester City and Internazionale Milan were turned down by Udinese in a bid for the Udinese star Alexis Sanchez. An offer of €35 million was made, but turned down. Sanchez scored 12 goals in 31 appearances for Il Bianconeri.
Chelsea wheeling and dealing
Chelsea FC have re-signed defender Patrick van Aanholt. The Dutch international will be with the club for another 4 years, after spending the latter part of this season on loan to Leicester.
Europa League Final result
Spurs spurred on by mid-season skid
Tottenham Hotspur FC recently started re-stacking their roster after this season's 5th place finish. Tottenham have recently signed ex-Barca starlet Cristian Ceballos, and theres a chance of more signings to come.
In my opinion, the Spurs did a very good job this season, considering several disappointments.
Both Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe had disappointing campaigns with 4 goals a piece. Crouch even scored an own goal in a 0-1 loss to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. Gareth Bale had an injury-laden season, and is now out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
There was also talk of Roman Pavlyuchenko leaving White Hart Lane for a Russian club, but those ideas have been silent recently. Rafael van der Vaart, the club's leading scorer this season is happy where he is. The Dutchman is a key to the success of the club next season, and based on his desire to remain, the club will have a decent season next year.
Welshman Gareth Bale and Croatian sensation Luka Modric are definitely staying at the Lane, and the captain, Michael Dawson will be most likely as well.
In my opinion, the Spurs did a very good job this season, considering several disappointments.
Both Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe had disappointing campaigns with 4 goals a piece. Crouch even scored an own goal in a 0-1 loss to Manchester City at the City of Manchester Stadium. Gareth Bale had an injury-laden season, and is now out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
There was also talk of Roman Pavlyuchenko leaving White Hart Lane for a Russian club, but those ideas have been silent recently. Rafael van der Vaart, the club's leading scorer this season is happy where he is. The Dutchman is a key to the success of the club next season, and based on his desire to remain, the club will have a decent season next year.
Welshman Gareth Bale and Croatian sensation Luka Modric are definitely staying at the Lane, and the captain, Michael Dawson will be most likely as well.
Chelsea fire tool, look for actual manager.
On the final day of the Barclays Premier League season, Carlo Ancelotti sealed his fate by leading his team to loss at Goodison Park against Everton. The Blues controlled the majority of the possession (65%), and took more shots (24). Before the loss, Ancelotti stated in a press conference that he would like to remain at Chelsea. He also claimed that Chelsea didn't need to purchase any new players over the summer, but hinted at selling Michael Essien. Idiot. Chelsea's midfield is honestly the worst part of the team; the midfielders are good players, but I find they don't mesh well. They also lack creativity. With Ancelotti gone, The Blues look for a new manager. Guus Hiddink, the manager of the Turkish National team, and Andre Villas-Boas (Porto's manager) are the leading favorites to fill the role.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)