Is There Anybody Out There?

Well, mine has been an extended absence, so I think it's only appropriate to inquire if there's anyone out there. With the World Cup fast approaching, Champions League starting up again, and domestic leagues kicking it up into full throttle, I hope you are still out there. Out there or not, it's probably time to take a solid look at European football through the Champions League lens.

First off, you may not yet know, I certainly didn't (and UEFA seems to have done a poor job of advertising) Champions League has a brand spanking new schedule format. It's good for viewers, but questionable for the participating teams. Last year and in recent memory the round of sixteen would bless us with four games on Tuesday and four games on Wednesday, followed by a one week layover sans European footie. Now, this Tuesday will host two games (Lyon v. Real Madrid; AC Milan v. Manchester United) as will Wednesday (Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina; Porto v. Arsenal). Then, the following week, the first leg of the away matches are played, the second leg for Lyon, Real Madrid, AC Milan, and Manchester United is then completed the following week, and then the final second legs of the round of sixteen close out. In efect, we have a month of Champions League uninterrupted until the weeklong break between this round and the quarterfinals. As viewers this new format probably allows more people to watch more games. Whether or not the layovers and differing timetables for play between rounds affects the teams remains to be seen.

As for this week's matchups, an interesting pair. Oddly enough, Real Madrid may be the only true favorite in these first four games. Lyon lost Benzema this past summer, to Madrid no less, and last year also saw their six consecutive Ligue championships come to an end. They simply are not the team they once were. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, this Champions League's topscorer is back with MAdrid after injury and red card setbacks this season, and will add his usual pace and skill to the merengues. More worrying for the French side however, will be the return from injury of team top goalscorer Gonzalo Higuain, who is on pace to become a top European striker this year. Similarly Kaka seems to have shaken off his sports hernia and be finding his form. Nevermind that the Madrid back four have adapted remarkably well to losing Pepe, and the midfield is slowly becoming a unit capable of success despite, or perhaps because of their flexibility (Kaka, Granero, Guti, Van der Vaart, Lass, Xabi Alonso, et al. have all played and well this season). The team has Barcelona on its sights in la Liga, but the club from the capital makes no bits about it - May 22nd at the Bernabeu would be the sweetest reward for los blancos. All that said, Real has never beaten Lyon in the Champions League, and has not gotten past the round of sixteen in five years. With Benzema likely out for the first leg, and Lyon expected to be snow covered and at below freezing temperatures this Tuesday, don't count Lyon out yet, at least not on the first leg.

Meanwhile Manchester United has hoisted themselves to within one point of Chelsea after a draw at Aston Villa and a Chelsea loss to Everton courtesy of Landycakes and Louis Saha. But the red devils may be facing AC Milan at their most dangerous. Seemingly out of contention for the Serie A despite being only eight points behind Inter, the rossoneri have hardly sparkled this season. But they are European regulars, and you can bet Ronaldinho will play his best against top opposition like Manchester. Well, at least for a few minutes, though it doesn't take much more from the Brazilian. Huntelaar has also found the back of the net recently, and may be looking to prove he's not a player meant to play in the Dutch league exclusively. Nonetheless, Manchester will stand behind the man that's carried them this season, and in impressive fashion, Wayne Rooney. Almost a force of nature, Rooney has done nothing short of put the red devils on his back amidst a series of defensive injuries and an erratic midfield that sorely misses Cristiano Ronaldo. Certainly Rooney has seen more of goal without the Portuguese, but the team has felt the loss. Nani is hit or miss, Giggs is injured, and Valencia though pacey, still has not found his form. It will be interesting to see if Leonardo, with his job likely on the line, will be able to expose Manchester United weaknesses on the biggest stage. But with Manchester United given almost a full week off with no EPL this weekend, it is hard to pick against the devils over the two legs, though a tie or even a one goal loss isn't out of the question at the San Siro.

On Wednesday the matchups are bit less thrilling on paper, but may prove equally exciting on the pitch. Beating Liverpool 1-0 last week, Arsenal appeared to get themselves back in the title race, at six behind Chelsea aka Team Drogba. But Wenger's boys have yet to prove that they can beat the big boys around town, having dropped games to Manchester United and Chelsea before the Liverpool match, and not in hotly contested games. The loss of Van Persie has certainly hurt the gunners, but truth be told the trade off Wenger has made seems to be one of adding youth to lose meddle and confidence. These last two attributes seem absent from both Arsenal sides fielded against the top two. Simply put, the gunners lack the verve to run with the big boys, and Arshavin's absence for their clash against Porto will not help. In my opinion, the gunners also seem to lack a holding midfielder, as Diaby remains unconvincing, and that position would seem to be essential for a team who needs to maintain possession. So will Porto test Arsenal the way the other seventeen EPL teams test them, or the way Chelsea and Man. U. have? Though they sit third in the Portuguese League, Porto always come to play in Champions League, lest we forget that Porto's two European Cups are two more than Arsenal have managed. Moreover, Porto has absolutely demolished its opponents in recent weeks, and despit losing several key players this summer, Porto still has Hulk and always finds a way to find suitable replacement for losses. This team took eventual runners-up Manchester United to the brink last season, and will look to do the same against Arsenal. Both teams will look to pass and play openly, so this should be an entertaining match to say the least. Over two legs, I'd bet on Porto over Arsenal though.

Finally, the Bayern Munich v. Fiorentina matchup. Here's what you need to know. Fiorentina are doing dreadfully in the Serie A, and have lost their last two (1-0 losses to Inter and Roma). Bayern Munich have gotten Ribery back, he's in a contract year (just not with Bayern Munich) and Robben is on form. The Germans will surely prove too much for the Italians, and should win easily. But no one ever wins easily against an Itlaian side, do they? If Inter and Roma could be held to 1-0 wins, what are the chances Fiorentina arrives at Allianz Arena looking for a tie or 1-0 loss and gamble on their chances at the Artemio Franchi? I say high. Very high even. Will it work? Probably not, as Fiorentina's been off form recently and Bayern should have enough firepower to get through, but it'll be interesting.

Next week I'll get to that mouthwatering Chelsea v. Inter clash, and the other three, rather less interesting matchups.

In other news, The Copa del Rey will be played between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla on May 26, 2010, four days after the Champions League final. Both teams play attacking open football and have several world superstars on their rosters. If Real Madrid, Barcelona and maybe Valencia weren't going to be in the final, these would certainly be your top choices. It's been ten yars since Atletico played in a final, and almsot fifteen since they've won anything. Sevilla on the other hand, has battled Valencia in recent years to take that third Liga spot Atletico once held. In the last five years the sevillistas have won two UEFA Cups, a Copa del Rey, a Spanish Super Cup and a European Super Cup. It's hard to gauge form and injury status this far in advance, but Sevilla should be the slight favorites in what I suspect may be one of the last, if not the last, competitive matches before South Africa. Hopefully no players miss the final due to national team commitments.

This weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo returns to action at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday against Xerex. Meanwhile, Barcelona travel to the Vicente Calderon to face an Atletico team on the ascent. "On the ascent" for Atletico Madrid usually means "before the fall." But despite Atletico's ability be alternatively amazing or horrifying, Aguero and Forlan will be facing a depleted Barcelona defense (no Alves, Pique, Marquez, Abidal, Toure, or Chygrynsky) that may start a youth club player or a modified winger as a defender in Jeffren. While it's hard to see Barcelona lose a game, if ever there was a time...

A Quick Rundown of Thoughts

There has been a lot of soccer played recently in various competitions, ranging from internationals friendlies to the African Cup of Nations to league matches to all manner of domestic cup competitions.

So, here's some quick hitting thoughts about all that's been happening.

--Manchester United beat Arsenal 3-1 over the weekend, lead by a scintillating performance from Nani and Wayne Rooney as bullish as ever.

Nani may never become the next Ronaldo, and really, the whole talk about "Ronaldo who?" is nonsense, but that was about as close to replicating a Ronaldo performance as you get. Rooney meanwhile scares the daylights out of me because if he keeps this up, I do not want to see a just recovered Oguchi or slow footed Carlos Bocanegra having to contain him. Maybe they can do it, but he's single handedly keeping Man U in the EPL title race.

--Speaking of which, have you tried to keep up with the EPL table lately? I recently looked at the table and was stunned to see Arsenal on top! With all the cup competitions, they top teams haven't been on equal games in some time, but after today's Chelsea-Hill City draw, the top five have all played 24 games. Suddenly Chelsea's big lead is just two over Man U, while Arsenal are four points further back. Arsenal are not a title-worthy team. In the key games of their season, the Blues and Red Devils tore them apart. One of the small pleasures in life is seeing Arsene Wenger slumped over in his seat with that look of a bewildered and disconcerted look on his face.

--Liverpool continues to hang around in fifth place, one point behind Tottenham and tied on points with Man City, who have two games in hand, and one point ahead of Aston Villa, who have a game in hand. Liverpool has had quite the ignominious season so far, and it wouldn't surprise to see them drop out of a European spot altogether if Gerrard and Torres aren't healthy. Rafa Benetiz has long worn out his effectiveness and needs to go...

--...but he shouldn't go to Juventus. Juve has also had a disappointing season. Their campaign was probably doomed from the start by expectations that were far too high. Realistically no one should have expected a title challenge. Yet they too might miss out on Champions League football next year, after being embarrassed on the final match of group play by Bayern at home. Ciro Ferrara is probably a really nice guy, and could be a decent manager in the future, but he doesn't have the experience or gumption to direct a team as demanding as Juventus. It will be interesting to see how the season plays out under Alberto Zaccheroni. I will say that if Rafa comes to Turin, it would something to see him matching wits against Jose Mourinho again.

--Landon Donovan has put in some excellent early displays for Everton. It's always great to see an American so successful abroad, and it bodes well for South Africa this summer. I hope Everton tries to buy him from LA once his loan spell runs out, but we'll see. The Galaxy will probably play hard ball and demand a huge transfer considering his worth to the team. LA without Donovan are suddenly a last place team again, Beckham and a young and improving defense regardless.

--Meanwhile, the Serie A and La Liga have had far less exciting titles race so far. In Italy it's not so much a race between equals as it is all other teams running a Special Olympics race to Inter Milan's Usain Bolt. Their lead is only eight points, but has seemed much more than that. Inter may not inspire much admiration, and it certainly wouldn't surprise to see them lose to Chelsea in the Champions League, but they sure can dominate the boring Serie A. In Spain, Barcelona are still five points up on Real Madrid. I haven't followed it that closely, other than the countless articles that have been written, and will become nothing short of a cottage industry come this summer, about how Messi has shone for club but not country. The real disappointment in Spain is that the third place team is eight points below second place Real Madrid. So much for being more balanced at the top of the table.

--Finally, Egypt won the African Cup of Nations again, despite not qualifying for the World Cup again. That's three African championships in a row while not qualifying for the World Cup since 1990. That's quite amazing. I think that puts them squarely on notice for being huge chokers (they did after all beat Algeria 2-0 during group play only to lose the playoff match four days later). Can you even think of an equivalent? Sucks for them, but I suppose I can only thank them for letting Algeria into the World Cup draw. Just 128 more days...

Chelsea Victory Defines Early Season Title Race

Chelsea looked like potential champions all season until the week before the Liverpool game. But a loss to Wigan and an unimpressive win midweek in Champions League led to questions about the Blues heading into their clash with Liverpool. But a comfortable 2-0 win will quiet the critics for the moment.

Liverpool started the game on the front foot, and had occasional quality chances throughout. Most of those chances fell for super-striker Fernando Torres, just as the Reds would have hoped. But Torres seemed a touch off and did not convert either his free header from 12 yards out, or the bouncing ball that came to his left foot (or shin, as it turned out) while he was unmarked 15 yards from goal. Not Fernando's day. Otherwise, Chelsea's defense held firm, with John Terry clearly cross after cross and generally looking confident in leading the backline.

There was little doubt Chelsea's time was coming, as the chances they created increased in quality throughout the match. Finally, Deco played Drogba through on the wing, who found a streaking Anelka in front of goal. Anelka got behind Carragher and managed to keep the bouncing ball down rather than sending it over the crossbar. The second goal was a tap in for Malouda after Drogba again dispatched a helpless Carragher. Overall, the performance from the Liverpool central defense was actually an improvement, but was still not good enough against a side of Chelsea's quality.

Heading into the break for international play, the two sides are in two very different places. Chelsea now top the table by two points and have to be at least co-favorites with Manchester United. Drogba and Anelka continue to play well together, and refusing to deploy both of their talents at the same time for so long now seems silly. The defense is strong, with only six goals allowed, tied for lowest in the Premier League with Villa. The midfield looks solid, and there is quality on the bench. Hilario looked solid as well in relief of Cech. Chelsea is primed in both England and Europe.

For Liverpool, three losses in eight games leave them sixth in the table, and Villa is two points back with a game in hand. Their three losses came in the three matches they actually played quality opposition: Tottenham, Villa and Chelsea. They also lost midweek to Fiorentina and looked awful. Are they legitimate title contenders at this point? It's hard to say yes, and not just because of the results; Liverpool have problems all over the pitch, with the exception of striker and goalkeeper. Gerrard is the engine that makes the side go, and has been below par to this point. Lucas is awful. Why Benitez continues to put him out there every match is mystery, aside from a total lack of other options. Insert generic comment about missing Xabi Alonso here. One would presume that Aquilani would take Lucas' place in the lineup when healthy, but Aquilani is still a couple weeks away. The central defense is still a question mark and the defense in general lacks depth. Riera is inconsistent and can't find his way into the lineup regularly. The lack of attacking options on the bench was particularly highlighted by Rafa's last substitution at Stamford Bridge. Trailing 1-0 late, Benitez' final move was...to replace Insua at left back with Fabio Aurelio. At least Aureilo wasn't playing in midfield, like he did midweek in Champions League.

After the break, the next two matches for Liverpool are at surging Sunderland, currently sitting eighth in the table, and home for Manchester United. Another loss (or two) may bring an early end to any title aspirations. Likewise, the next two Champions League matches are against group leaders Lyon. It's not unthinkable that by early November, the goals for Liverpool this season may go from "winning the league and in Europe" to "retaining a Champions League spot". Even that last part may not be guaranteed. Tough times for Benitez, and the next month will define the season.

Elsewhere this weekend, United managed a late draw against the previously mentioned Sunderland side thanks to a deflected own goal. The Sunderland striker partnership of Darren Bent and Kenwyne Jones continue to cause havoc for defenses across England, and both scored in the match. Bent's strike was taken beautifully, and though there was some question of a foul on Jones' header against the goalkeeper I believe the referee appropriately did not blow his whistle, as Foster arrived late and did not deserve to be bailed out. Otherwise United struggled and probably didn't deserve a point. It's hard not to think of Chelsea as the favorites after this weekend.

Arsenal have missed their opportunites against other top flight competition, but no one plays more beautiful, flowing football in England than the Gunners. Their attacking display in a 6-2 victory over Blackburn was pure joy. Despite twice stunningly falling behind, Arsenal kept their nerve and kept pressing forward. The end result was a celebration of football to commerate Arsène Wenger becoming Arsenal's longest serving manager. As a neutral, it's hard not to admire Arsenal, once known for playing some of the ugliest football in England, but now created in Wenger's image as just the opposite.

As ARF mentioned, Man City and Villa drew Monday, a just outcome given the even nature of the contest. Villa are a solid side, but it's hard to imagine them legitimately threatening for the top four. I wouldn't say the same about City. Tottenham drew at Bolton, and sit third for the moment, but both City (even on points) and Arsenal (one behind) have a game in hand on Spurs. Portsmouth managed to win, though ARF's Championship diagnosis is surely correct. At least they've paid their wages now, and Saudi oil money is on the way. Hull also managed to win. Those two sides won't win on the same weekend very often. Burnley defeated Birmingham in a contest of newly promoted sides, and the Clarets are still perfect at home with four wins and sit in the top half of the table. Of course Hull started off hot last season and barely stayed up, so nothing is guaranteed.

Key matches two weeks from now: Villa hosts Chelsea on ESPN2 (at 7:45 ET, so set the DVR if you plan on sleeping in), while Liverpool must travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland. Darren Bent against Jamie Carragher should be enough to give Liverpool fans nightmares for the next two weeks.

United Finds Unlikely Victory

This weekend's premier EPL matchup didn't lack for drama, but it did lack a just result. Arsenal played better football and created more chances, but a penalty and an own goal saw United to a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Arsenal's goal came on a blistering strike from Andrei Arshavin. Impressive though it was, United keeper Ben Foster should have done better. That's par for the course for Foster, who simply doesn't play with world-class consistency the way the injured Edwin van der Sar does, though Foster does have flashes of brilliance. Arshavin's goal came just after there were questions of a penalty after Darren Fletcher's totally reckless challenge on the Russian in the box. Fletcher may have nicked the ball with his knee, which might have been the saving grace in the referee's mind. Earlier in the half Van Persie had a fantastic chance deflected away by Evra, and Arshavin had sent another shot just wide. Arsenal's lead was well-earned, and they easily could have added another goal.

The second half was more of the same in the opening moments, with Arshavin beautifully setting up Van Persie. This time Foster kept United in match with a fantastic back leg kick save that was purely instinctual. His counterpart Manuel Almunia managed to do the opposite a few minutes later when he rashly brought down Wayne Rooney after Rooney sent the ball by. Wenger later described the penalty as "Old Traffordish", and it does appear that Rooney anticipated the contact a bit. That said, Rooney likely would have gone down regardless, and Almunia's challenge completely missed the ball. That's a penalty whether or not Rooney made the most of it, and comparing it to Eduardo's total fabrication is ridiculous. Matters only got worse after Rooney hammered home the penalty opportunity, when a free kick saw Abou Diaby head the ball into his own net to put Arsenal behind for good. Diaby wasn't truly pressured, so his error was particularly egregious. United had two goals despite creating very little in the game, and were content to sit back with the lead. Having survived Van Persie's free kick coming off the crossbar, United even survived Arsenal picking the ball out of the net, when Gallas was (rightfully) adjudged to be offside and part of the play. To add to the indignity of it all, Wenger was then sent off in the final moments, though he has since received an apology. Little solace for Wenger, no doubt.

Wenger hasn't cooled down since the match, accusing Manchester United of "anti-football" for their persistent fouling. Wenger particularly focused on Fletcher, who committed six fouls while not picking up a booking, not to mention the penalty call that wasn't for tackling Arshavin. Wenger probably has point about Fletcher, though Van Persie also committed six fouls (but saw yellow), and about singling out Eduardo for diving when there are plenty of diving incidents to go around. Hopefully instead of practicing selective enforcement, UEFA will actually attempt to punish diving after the fact in order to discourage the practice. Ironically, the most blatant dive I saw this weekend was...Eboué for Arsenal, who was rightfully booked for his cynicism. Wenger should remove his focus from UEFA and focus on his side. As wonderfully as they've played, they managed to give away three crucial points at Old Trafford through unforced mistakes. Fortunate as United were, finding ways to win games they shouldn't is part of what makes them what they are. The young Gunners could use a little of that fortitude.

Despite the three points, Man U have their own problems. They've really only played one good half, when they scored the five goals against Wigan. Otherwise they've slogged through a match against newly promoted Birmingham, lost to Burnley, and been out-played by Arsenal at home. Their nine points are mostly the result of luck and guile. No one has come close to filling the Cristiano Ronaldo-sized hole in the lineup, with Valencia and Nani showing only inconsistent quality. Even Sir Alex's tactics were odd Saturday, leaving the effective if not spectacular Berbatov on the bench and playing Rooney alone up top. Despite the victory, it was hard to say this was a success, as Rooney wandered alone up front and created very little, Almunia's mistake on the penalty notwithstanding. Nor did this defensive alignment prevent Arsenal from creating their own quality chances. It was almost as if the lineup indicated Ferguson was afraid of Arsenal, something one would never expect from United at home (perhaps barring a visit from Barcelona, or now Real Madrid).

Elsewhere this weekend, Chelsea continues to roll on with an easy 3-0 victory over Burnley. At the moment Chelsea have beaten Hull, Sunderland, Fulham and Burnley, all teams that seem destined for the bottom half of the table. So perhaps one shouldn't be too impressed just yet. But Chelsea have taken a veteran, business-like attitude to their matches that serves them well. Chelsea are probably title favorites for the moment, but there's plenty more to learn about them. In similar fashion, though not quite as impressively, Manchester City continue to roll on thanks to Adebayor's rebirth, his goal the lone tally in a 1-0 victory at Portsmouth. Adebayor claims the City fans have made him a "special player." No doubt Arsenal fans are thrilled. And rounding out the still-perfect sides, Tottenham made it four wins in as many matches with a last minute strike from Aaron Lennon to defeat Birmingham 2-1. But the victory was marred by the injury to midfielder Luka Modric, who has a broken leg and is out at least six weeks. Spurs are already short in midfield depth, so it's hard to imagine their current place atop the table lasting much longer. But after last year's disaster start, it's hard for Spurs to complain.

Liverpool's title chances avoided (another) early disaster when they came back to win 3-2 at Bolton. Both of Bolton's goals were the result of some fairly pathetic defending. Zone marking was again partly to blame, but the real culprit was the willingness of the Liverpool players to stand there ball-watching. A high school coach would have been embarassed by the display. Liverpool did show resiliency, though not before they benefited from the sending off Sean Davis in the 54th minute. Davis grabbed Lucas in the first half, then tripped him from behind in the to earn the second booking. The trip appeared to be unintentional, so the booking was perhaps harsh, but it certainly stopped the threat and Davis never had any prayer of being near the ball. After Glen Johnson scored in the first half, Torres and Gerrard found answers in the second half. Torres was set up by a gorgeous chested ball from Kuyt, while Gerrard's half volley from 15 yards was trademark Stevie G. A day of survival for the Reds, who still haven't found their form.

Aston Villa appear to have found momentum from their shock victory at Anfield, dispatching a struggling Fulham side 2-0. And Everton finally found a result in a 2-1 victory over Wigan, finding three points after earning a 90th minute penalty. It still wasn't exactly impressive for a side with European aspirations. At least Everton will get Fulham after the international break, who look even worse. The two most interesting fixtures two weeks from now will be United traveling to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham, and Manchester City facing their first real test by hosting Arsenal. Attacking football, talented players, teams with something to prove: the City-Arsenal fixture should provide high entertainment.

The Latest Items of Interest

Rumor has it AC Milan will look to reinvest part of Kaka's signing fee in Arsenal man Cesc Fabregas. Would Arsene do it? Could Arsenal survive if they did?

Wenger appears to be having a much easier time of selling than buying. Chamakh is still in the air, and Arsenal's 5.5 million pound bid for Sevilla centerback Federico Fazio has been nixed by the player himself.

After only one victory in five preseason games, Rafa Benitez is worried about his Liverpool side. How Rafa could be surprised is the real question. Liverpool's let go of five players so far (Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso, Sami Hyypia, Sebastian Leto, Jermaine Pennant) and signed one - Glen Johnson. Even if all the players dropped weren't in the starting eleven, Rafa's gotten much thinner since the summer began, and I don't mean the man himself (though he too could do with some calorie counting by the looks of it).

The Guardian continues to preview the EPL team-by-team, in alphabetical order. Up for today: Chelsea. Go here, about mid-page and find the other previews published so far.

The pay scale at Barcelona looks much the way you'd expect it to look. After his new contract is signed, Messi will be the best paid player, directly above two men who used to be the best paid players at their respective clubs - Henry and Ibrahimovic. Then follow Alves and the players who brought the Euro 2008 back to Spain (Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and Co.). Finally, Bojan and Pique, the youth system's rising stars are cut above the last income bracket, the youth system's latest call ups.

Barcelona continues to market itself aggressively on their tour for United States domination. They're looking into Eva Longoria (Tony Parker and Thierry Henry are close friends) as a possible representative for the club in the U.S. Mia Hamm may also serve as an ambassador of some kind to the women's soccer movement. Finally, there's been quite a bit of talk of Barca's negotiations with Microsoft for a sponsorship deal. Of course, because Barca is "mes que un club" they're interested in collaborating with Bill Gate's charitable foundations. Cute.

Lovable losers Atletico de Madrid are winning somewhere, if not on the pitch. We've covered their always spectacular marketing campaigns within Spain on FutbolNation, but now there's further proof of Atletico's growing popularity (there are more masochists in this world than I thought). Since 2000 Atletico's fan clubs (penas) have increased by 145 clubs, bringing their total to 671 clubs, 26 located abroad. Since becoming an S.A.D. (Anonymous Sporting Society - a type of corporate entity like LLPs) in the 1991-92 season, the number of "abonados" (Atletico Madrid dues-paying club members) has increased from 13,571 to 48,371. While Atletico's surge in popularity can be attributed to their recent return to European play, the development of Aguero and Forlan up top, and their export of wunderkind Torres to Liverpool, at the end of the day this is a club that hasn't won a title in thirteen years. Not too shabby. Those ad campaigns are really paying off.

Speaking of marketing, this little interactive feature Marca put together about Cristiano Ronaldo is something ESPN or FoxSports could look into (hint: click on the red arrow on CR9's chest to access). Have you noticed ESPN's football coverage trying to make football look like a prepared play sport (ala NFL) by the somewhat ridiculous use of arrows and player shifting? I suppose it's not necessarily a bad thing, but if they're really trying to market the sport, wouldn't interactive features of this type really appeal to casual fans? Slick, informative, fun to watch - it adds a bit more to the discussion of why CR9 was so expensive, don't you think? Now imagine that ESPN puts one of these together for the top 50 players in the world and embeds it within a preview for a team's season. I know, I know, that'd be too crazy.

A Transfer! A Transfer! My Kingdom for a Transfer!

Finally! While the truly dramatic transfers of the season appear to have passed, the doldrums of July have passed and teams are making moves to improve going into the new season. Few teams (barring Chelsea) have made any kind of statement in their preseason matches yet, so the major currency in football news remains the shifting fortunes of teams and players.

You've already heard, and we've already opined on it here, but in case you missed it, Ibrahimovic signed with Barcelona and was presented before 50,000 fans, who apparanetly were ecstatic that their club was fleeced by Inter. Trust me when I say Real Madrid fans are happy too.

Defensive jack-of-all-trades Alvaro Arbeloa returns to Real Madrid, the club that formed him, for 4 million euros.

Keirrison of Palmeiras finally signed for Barcelona and was promptly loaned out to Benfica to cut his teeth in a European league and in European play.

Manchester City continue to singlehandedly disassemble Arsenal while Arsene Wenger sits back and watches. Kolo Toure's signing proves that Manchester City are aware of a thing called "defense" and that Wenger has no understanding that he's literally selling fourth place to all comers (but probably Man City) this offseason. An interesting article on the struggles facing Arsenal next season here. Trust me (again) when I tell you FutbolNation will be covering this topic soon - probably right after Wenger replaces Fabregas with a 12 year old from Madagascar who shows tons of promise.

Spanish international, deadbeat dad (twice!), and all-around low-class greaseball and scumbucket Dani Guiza will likely be moving from Fenerbahce to Lyon after the Turkish side accepted a 12 million euro offer for the striker. To be fair, the ex-Pichichi can put it in the back of the net.

Marseille has picked up Fernando Morientes on a free transfer. Even at 33 "el Moro" is a winner and should be able to help the French side in a limited role.

Tottenham has given up its efforts to sign lanky striker Huntelaar, and instead signed lanky striker Peter Crouch from Portsmouth.

Ahhhh. Well that felt good. Teams are getting better, teams are getting worse, but things are happening. Thank goodness. Want a bit more on the beautiful game?

WSC has a short bit on Argentine coaching legend and Chilean national team coach Marcelo Bielsa. If you've been following CONMEBOL qualifying, you know Chile is in the nascent stages of what could turn out to be a golden generation.

And in case you forgot, Sir Alex Ferguson still really dislikes Real Madrid. But then again, who hasn't Fergie hated at one time or another?

Arsenal Interest in Benzema

According to reports Arsenal may enter the race to swoop in and steal Karim Benzema for 30 million pounds.  Usually reluctant to spend, Arsene Wenger may have cash to spend and the need for a striker if Emmanuel Adebayor's long-rumored move to AC Milan goes through.  The signing of the French striker would represent an upgrade and would also deprive rival Manchester United of a player Sir Alex Ferguson has long coveted.

With an ample war chest available after recently offloading a certain petulant galactico, it will be interesting to see if Man U makes a big splash somewhere. With Benzema and David Villa seemingly preferring to land elsewhere, there have been few potential targets who could provide the goals the Red Devils will need to take back the Champions League crown and a fourth successive Premier League title.