2010-2011 football (soccer) thread - Page 4

The Gunners ended the year losing 3 out of their last 5 games and finished 3rd in the EPL. In the champions league they ran into powerhouse Barcelona and hats off to the boys for staying true to their colors and playing attacking football, in the end they were simply out gunned in the two leg affair losing 6-3 on aggregate. People need to realize though that out of all the big clubs in Europe last season, Arsenal was the most injury plagued and that 2nd leg vs. Barca was played with their two best scoring threats sidelined. Enough about last year though this upcoming season looked promising until that Fabregas’ branding incident at the Spain victory parade, he has been hammered in the press for it but it wasn’t his fault and really no matter how he reacted he would have received some criticism but I would have liked to see him take that shit off and stomp on it but whatever all will be forgiven if Cesc is still in our colors this season. He is the key to our entire season I believe, if he’s healthy then id take our chances against any of those teams above but without him I think it will be a long season. The good news is we are still a very young team and as always Wenger has us playing that quick short passing football that the Gunners have become famous for. Now worst case scenario is we do lose Fabregas the man that pulls all the strings in midfield, it would certainly end any title hopes but Mr. Wenger is in the running for acquiring the talents of young Mesmul Ozil. The kid showcased his talents on the world’s biggest stage and was one of the standout players of the tournament and would be welcomed with open arms at the Emirates. The last thing id like to address is the terrible showing Van Persie had at the world cup, which has a lot of people concerned but I think people are forgetting that he came back from a 5 month layoff, you can’t recapture your form in such a short time. I think anyone who still has any doubts just needs to be reminded of what a talent he is, so just go ahead and YouTube some Van Persie videos and put those to rest

I think it’s fair to say that they over achieved in Europe last season, domestically they will always be the favourites, but they have had trouble attracting big names in the past to come play for a great team who is playing in a league that just doesn’t have the same money and pull as the big three. Anyone who saw them play last season saw how great they are going forward with two of the most dangerous wingers in the world in Ribery and Robben they were able to hurt teams from both sides and down the middle. Who knows how that final plays out with Ribery in the line-up but we will never find out and we may not get to see it this season either, as the rumours about him leaving are as loud as ever. Even if he does go the likes of Muller, Schweinsteigger and Lahm are all coming of terrific showings at the world cup with the 20 year old Muller winning not only the young player of the tournament award but the Golden Boot as well. After such a spectacular performance its no surprise that the big clubs are knocking on the door but people seem to forget that German born players rarely take their talents outside the country. Ballack was an exception but most of them love it at Bayern and they grow up dreaming to play at Bayern and not clubs like Real Madrid, so why I believe that they probably will lose Ribery they are going to keep the rest of their strong players and once again be a force in Europe.

For now I have them here just because the owner whose name is so long that I will just refer to him as the Sheik is looking to bring in more big names. The problem is who wants to go play at Man City? you would think anyone if the price is right, but remember last year Kaka refused to join them even though he was offered more money than at Madrid. Not only that, but guys like Tevez are rumoured to want out as well. So it all depends on how this transfer window plays out guys like Higuain, David Silva, Torres, Dzeko and Ibrahimovic could find the lure of cash to hard to resist. I think the most important decision Man City has to make involves Robinho who is currently on loan at Santos. He is easily amongst the top 5 most talented players in the world he was picked by Pele as his successor and he has shown his brilliance both at Madrid and for his country Brazil. If you watched Brazil at this world cup you saw just how quick and gifted of a player he is and he was good at Man City the first season he came over. However with the injuries he eventually fell out of favour with his coach Mancini. So now the question is will they be able to reconcile or will they look to cash in with him on the open market. Everyone agrees that they are a better team with him but if they don’t want him and he doesn’t want to be there, then stop wasting our time and send him to another big club in Europe because I don’t want to be deprived watching one of the best footballers in the world because he’s playing in some 2nd class league.

The face of football for the Giallorossi for the past decade has been Francesco Totti joining the club at the age of 16 he even played in their youth system meaning Roma Football is all he has known his whole life, now 33 its safe to say that the best years are behind him. After being ignored by the Italian national team following the 2006 world cup Totti decided to retire from international play in 2007 and with Roma having a difficult time in the European competitions his global recognition has suffered. He no longer is the impact player he once was and that’s mainly due to the loss in speed but his technique and craftiness is second to none and he still was tied for the team lead in goals last season with 14. Vucinic the man he was tied with has moved on to Man City leaving a big void up front. Adriano is currently on the books of Roma, will he be able to recapture the form he once had at Inter? or will Roma have to look somewhere else for a replacement, who they get or the kind of Adriano that shows up will greatly determine just how much of a threat they are this season.

Looking back at the last decade it’s hard to say who the best team in Europe was but a case can be made that it was Milan. Barca, Man U and Milan have all won the coveted European crown twice in that span but it was the Rossoneri who were closest to doing it three times blowing a 3-0 lead in the 2nd half to eventually lose on penalties to Liverpool. In the past couple of years they have been rebuilding well more like reloading for the future because this is one of the world’s biggest clubs and they can bring in young talent in a hurry. Losing Kaka might have been the trigger but the retirement of Maldini signifies that its the start of a new era. The likes of Nesta, Gattuso, Pirlo, Inzaghi and Seedorf who were all central figures in winning those titles are now nearing the latter stages of their career. The future is bright though and the one shining brightest is Alexander Pato, he may not be the biggest or strongest forward but by god he’s the quickest. Overlooked by Dunga for the 2010 world cup he will be a beast in Brazil 2014. Rumours are that fellow country man Robinho is set to make the move from Man City, if this does happen and if we care to remember that the once greatest footballer in the world Ronaldinho is still on the team as well, then Milan should have plenty of firepower and flare going forward. So much for Italy being the no fun league.