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...
Showing posts with label Aguero. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aguero. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Heads or Tails for Football in Madrid
This past week has only served to highlight the distance between the two Madrid teams and reinforce the depressed state of Atletico Madrid. This past weekend saw Valencia and Atletico square off in a matchup from which the rojiblancos desperately needed three points. Despite Kun Aguero putting the boys from Madrid up in Mestalla in the 7th minute, goals from Pablo Hernandez (25th) and Villa (27th) put the home team up in just over a minute. The game was marked by terrible defense and a chaotic pace that was more reminiscent of feeding frenzy footage on the Discovery Channel than a football match.
A win would have been too much reward for a Valencia side that has similar failings to Atletico (weak at back, thin squad) but whose strike force is in better current form (Villa/Mata/Silva v. Kun/Forlan). Maxi evened the game out in the 92nd, and the game would go final at 2-2. Meanwhile Real Madrid still hasn't quite figured out how they play, and went into the second half tied with recently ascended Tenerife, 0-0. As is the case among the Madrid press, they rang the alarm. This team, in light of the investment made, is terrible, doesn't know how to play, and is not as good as Barca.
Nevermind that they've been together far less time and are still getting the same results as Barca, someone needed fired to hear the reactionary Madrid press tell it. Neverthless, Pellegrini subbed in Kaka and Guti, and "voila!" Benzema scored a brace in eleven minutes time (47, 58) and Kaka got his just deserts by scoring the third in the 77th minute. While the press' exasperation is expected, sometimes the irrationality of the criticisms leveled at this Madrid side call into question the profesionalism and intelligence of Madrid's press corps. Reason, it seems, is superfluous in analyzing the team. That, however, is the burden of every large side, especially one that has just spend a country's GDP in signings.
At midweek, Atletico was put to the fire by a strong Porto side that exploited Atletico's meek defense and basically eliminated the rojiblancos from Europe barring a set of surprising results against Chelsea in their next two games against the Londoners. Atletico is bottom of their group, and at best will be hoping for Europa. Real Madrid are at the head of their group, but like the weekend looked similarly inept in the first 45 against Marseille. But three pieces of brilliance from CR9, one of which resulted in Kaka converting a penalty, and the dismantling was complete.
Unlike flipping a coin, the footballing stature in Madrid seems rather predictable with Real drawing heads, and Atletico always ending up tails. This applies to both Champions League groups or the table itself, where they sit 18th with three points.
More preoccupying for Real is the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to injury (on the midweek penalty tackle) that will keep him out of the Sevilla game. Sevilla currently sits three points behind Real and Barcelona in 3rd place, and looked impressive crushing Rangers 4-1 in Glasgow midweek and fourth place Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in San Mames last weekend. This is the first true test for a Real Madrid side that has a wonderful ability to strike and lots of "goal" as they say in Spanish, but has yet to prove that they're a footballing "machine." Sevilla on the other hand have established that they play from memory and are in fine form. Real's eighth consecutive win in all competitions, even with Ronaldo, was not guaranteed, and is less so without him. Real will have to see if it's up to the task of taking on another world class team in Sevilla. Expect alarms to go off if they lose, but an expected sigh if they win. Such is the plight of Real Madrid.
Atletico ... well I'm rather sure they'd be ecstatic to grab three points from a decent Zaragoza side and leave the bottom of the table. But smart money's on a tie if you ask me. And if so, Atletico will truly by coasting downhill without brakes. Forlan has re-signed this past week, but look for Kun Aguero to look for the door if Atletico continues on this path for the season. Indeed, it looks like another year of heads or tails in Madrid's footballing hierarchy.
A win would have been too much reward for a Valencia side that has similar failings to Atletico (weak at back, thin squad) but whose strike force is in better current form (Villa/Mata/Silva v. Kun/Forlan). Maxi evened the game out in the 92nd, and the game would go final at 2-2. Meanwhile Real Madrid still hasn't quite figured out how they play, and went into the second half tied with recently ascended Tenerife, 0-0. As is the case among the Madrid press, they rang the alarm. This team, in light of the investment made, is terrible, doesn't know how to play, and is not as good as Barca.
Nevermind that they've been together far less time and are still getting the same results as Barca, someone needed fired to hear the reactionary Madrid press tell it. Neverthless, Pellegrini subbed in Kaka and Guti, and "voila!" Benzema scored a brace in eleven minutes time (47, 58) and Kaka got his just deserts by scoring the third in the 77th minute. While the press' exasperation is expected, sometimes the irrationality of the criticisms leveled at this Madrid side call into question the profesionalism and intelligence of Madrid's press corps. Reason, it seems, is superfluous in analyzing the team. That, however, is the burden of every large side, especially one that has just spend a country's GDP in signings.
At midweek, Atletico was put to the fire by a strong Porto side that exploited Atletico's meek defense and basically eliminated the rojiblancos from Europe barring a set of surprising results against Chelsea in their next two games against the Londoners. Atletico is bottom of their group, and at best will be hoping for Europa. Real Madrid are at the head of their group, but like the weekend looked similarly inept in the first 45 against Marseille. But three pieces of brilliance from CR9, one of which resulted in Kaka converting a penalty, and the dismantling was complete.
Unlike flipping a coin, the footballing stature in Madrid seems rather predictable with Real drawing heads, and Atletico always ending up tails. This applies to both Champions League groups or the table itself, where they sit 18th with three points.
More preoccupying for Real is the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo to injury (on the midweek penalty tackle) that will keep him out of the Sevilla game. Sevilla currently sits three points behind Real and Barcelona in 3rd place, and looked impressive crushing Rangers 4-1 in Glasgow midweek and fourth place Athletic Bilbao 4-0 in San Mames last weekend. This is the first true test for a Real Madrid side that has a wonderful ability to strike and lots of "goal" as they say in Spanish, but has yet to prove that they're a footballing "machine." Sevilla on the other hand have established that they play from memory and are in fine form. Real's eighth consecutive win in all competitions, even with Ronaldo, was not guaranteed, and is less so without him. Real will have to see if it's up to the task of taking on another world class team in Sevilla. Expect alarms to go off if they lose, but an expected sigh if they win. Such is the plight of Real Madrid.
Atletico ... well I'm rather sure they'd be ecstatic to grab three points from a decent Zaragoza side and leave the bottom of the table. But smart money's on a tie if you ask me. And if so, Atletico will truly by coasting downhill without brakes. Forlan has re-signed this past week, but look for Kun Aguero to look for the door if Atletico continues on this path for the season. Indeed, it looks like another year of heads or tails in Madrid's footballing hierarchy.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Writing the Final Chapter on a Transfer Season
It's the first Monday in August and every team knows the window on improvement, banking, or whatever else a team desires is rapidly closing. The action will be fast and furious, especially in a summer that has seen most teams try and wait out the market because of Real Madrid's spending frenzy early on. Lots of rumors, but almost no moves yet, though we'd be expecting that to change quickly.
The news on Xabi Alonso's move to the White House is literally all over the place. Alternatively he has been signed, is very close with Real up to 30 million euros, or is moving farther away with Liverpool unwilling to move on the 40 million euro price tag. (In hilarious fashion, the link stating that Xabi might not be moving was replaced with one assuring that the English are reporting the move was complete for between 32 and 34 million euros). It appears Florentino's dream may be coming true, but one must wonder at what price.
Several sources are reporting that Chelsea has 118 million euros at is disposal and is looking to sign Aguero, Ribery, and Pirlo. Pirlo appears to be the most realistic aspiration, with Atletico directing all comers to the buyout clause on el Kun (60 million euros) and the Bayern Munich/Ribery/Real Madrid/90 million euro paradox being rather well advertised by now.
Wesley Sneijder has moved from the most likely to stay in the Bernabeu to the most likely to go. Pellegrini had wanted the Dutchman to stay, but it seems the final push for Xabi, and perhaps even a last ditch effort being prepared for Ribery have changed his mind. Not to mention the fact that Pellegrini has six surplus players to dispose of. Seriously linked with a move to Inter Milan this weekend, Sneijder is now looking at an offer from Peace Cup champions Aston Villa. Earlier this summer Chelsea and Liverpool were also suitors. There is still word that a Inter Milan loan is an option too.
Meanwhile, Chelsea look set to fight any overtures from Tottenham to sign Joe Cole. But just the interest in these moves from the likes of Tottenham and Aston Villa show that it's not just Manchester City that smells the blood in the water as Arsenal's lack of signings seem to open up that prized fourth spot.
Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh seems to have gotten the message about late summer last chances and has started doing his part to hasten a move to Arsenal. He is very unhappy with Les Girondin's attitude toward the move.
Barcelona keep pushing for Mascherano and Chygrynskiy. Liverpool's pitbull seems unlikely to move at this point, with Rafa pricing him at 50 million euros. The Shakhtar centerback's move has been complicated by his play in the Champions League qualifiers. Barcelona believe this should lower his price since he is cup-tied, while Shakhtar are sticking close to their original figure.
Gianfranco Zola, who played with Eidur Gudjohnsen at Chelsea, is seeking to sign the Icelandic striker for West Ham. The move could be completed this week, and means that Guddy is rethinking his early retirement on the Barcelona banch.
Why should the Eurpoeans have all the fun? Corinthians is interested in bringing Riquelme in to accompany fat Ronaldo (less fat now, post-liposuction). Now all they need to sign is a time machine.
FutbolNation will likely be previewing the EPL as well, but that's no reason to keep you from this well written team-by-team preview. First up: Arsenal.
The news on Xabi Alonso's move to the White House is literally all over the place. Alternatively he has been signed, is very close with Real up to 30 million euros, or is moving farther away with Liverpool unwilling to move on the 40 million euro price tag. (In hilarious fashion, the link stating that Xabi might not be moving was replaced with one assuring that the English are reporting the move was complete for between 32 and 34 million euros). It appears Florentino's dream may be coming true, but one must wonder at what price.
Several sources are reporting that Chelsea has 118 million euros at is disposal and is looking to sign Aguero, Ribery, and Pirlo. Pirlo appears to be the most realistic aspiration, with Atletico directing all comers to the buyout clause on el Kun (60 million euros) and the Bayern Munich/Ribery/Real Madrid/90 million euro paradox being rather well advertised by now.
Wesley Sneijder has moved from the most likely to stay in the Bernabeu to the most likely to go. Pellegrini had wanted the Dutchman to stay, but it seems the final push for Xabi, and perhaps even a last ditch effort being prepared for Ribery have changed his mind. Not to mention the fact that Pellegrini has six surplus players to dispose of. Seriously linked with a move to Inter Milan this weekend, Sneijder is now looking at an offer from Peace Cup champions Aston Villa. Earlier this summer Chelsea and Liverpool were also suitors. There is still word that a Inter Milan loan is an option too.
Meanwhile, Chelsea look set to fight any overtures from Tottenham to sign Joe Cole. But just the interest in these moves from the likes of Tottenham and Aston Villa show that it's not just Manchester City that smells the blood in the water as Arsenal's lack of signings seem to open up that prized fourth spot.
Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh seems to have gotten the message about late summer last chances and has started doing his part to hasten a move to Arsenal. He is very unhappy with Les Girondin's attitude toward the move.
Barcelona keep pushing for Mascherano and Chygrynskiy. Liverpool's pitbull seems unlikely to move at this point, with Rafa pricing him at 50 million euros. The Shakhtar centerback's move has been complicated by his play in the Champions League qualifiers. Barcelona believe this should lower his price since he is cup-tied, while Shakhtar are sticking close to their original figure.
Gianfranco Zola, who played with Eidur Gudjohnsen at Chelsea, is seeking to sign the Icelandic striker for West Ham. The move could be completed this week, and means that Guddy is rethinking his early retirement on the Barcelona banch.
Why should the Eurpoeans have all the fun? Corinthians is interested in bringing Riquelme in to accompany fat Ronaldo (less fat now, post-liposuction). Now all they need to sign is a time machine.
FutbolNation will likely be previewing the EPL as well, but that's no reason to keep you from this well written team-by-team preview. First up: Arsenal.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Weekend Transfer Rumors
Sitting at work? Bored, and anticipating the Fourth of July festivities to come? Well, it looks like our friends from across the pond have some fireworks of their lined up for this weekend, and several players could be celebrating their own personal independence shortly.
Brushing those tortured metaphors aside, let's get down to business.
Sir Alex Ferguson could be the biggest mover and shaker since Michael Owen appears to be on his way to Manchester United. He could sign as early as today. At first this move seems shocking and risky. But on second thought, if all Sir Alex wants out of Owen is an effective bench striker (let's assume he gets Tevez-like minutes) then Owen may be a good fit. In addition he may allow Ferguson to buy some more time for the development of Macheda and Wellbeck.
I still question Manchester United's insistence on signing a third starting striker though. Ferguson couldn't satisfy Tevez, who was a consummate professional while he was on the team. I guess Ferguson wants to keep playing Rooney out of position - reports indicate United are looking at both Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero and Confederations Cup topscorer and Sevilla's Luis Fabiano.
The offer for Aguero is reportedly 40 million pounds, or about 46 million euros. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo, however, appears to continue to refer interested teams to Aguero's buyout clause of 60 million euros. The offer for Fabiano is reportedly 16 million pounds, or 18 .6 million euros. This surpasses the reported bids made by AC Milan for the Brazilian striker. Let me just remark that while the age difference between the two strikers is notable (21 v. 28), the price gap seems a bit shocking. Fabiano has proven himself repeatedly with Sevilla, in both Spanish competitions and UEFA competitions, as well as with Brazil. Meanwhile, Aguero has played one season in Champions League, and is fast becoming best known for creating five scoring opportunities a game, and capitalizing on (maybe) one. It seems to me, Fabiano may be a bit undervalued and Aguero a bit overvalued.
That said, reports are that Atletico would like to sign Pirlo from Milan. Milan recently declared him transferable. Because of their financial circumstances, Atletico is going to need cash - but will it be Aguero-produced cash?
But let's stay in Manchester, but now with City. City is proving cachet and history and a Champions League berth are worth more than money and ambition to most top players. With Eto'o's signing in the ether, Chelsea recently disclosed that they rejected a 30 million pound bid for John Terry.
Sticking with the EPL and continuing our discussion of overrated strikers, Arsene Wenger has admitted that if Adebayor were to leave, despite his own desire that the Togo striker stay at Emirates, he was been eyeing Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh as a replacement. In the same article Wenger stated that he did not make an approach for Benzema because he never thought Lyon would sell him this year.
However, if Adebayor doesn't move to AC Milan, the Italian powerhouse are looking at Luis Fabiano, Huntelaar, and even Peter Crouch to make a move to the San Siro.
Meanwhile, Barcelona begin to make serious moves in the transfer market. Reports from England assure that Barca will make a serious bid for their own youth product and current Arsenal man Cesc Fabregas. Barca also remains infatuated with Liverpool's Argentine bulldog, Mascherano.
Barca's pursuit of David Villa also shifts into high gear, despite Valencia president Manueal Llorente's repeated assurances that there is no offer on the table for the striker, and he will not sell. Undeterred, earlier this week Barcelona Football Director Txiki Begiristain reportedly met with Villa in Asturias and reached an agreement with the player. Today, reports indicate that Barcelona has indeed made a formal offer for the striker. The offer? 40 million euros plus loaning expected Barcelona signing Keirrison and Uruguayan centerback Martin Caceres.
A brief aside, if I may. Valencia is in serious financial straits as a result of terrible management. Their players went without pay briefly this year. Construction on the team's new stadium, the "new Mestalla" has been halted. Sadly, it does not appear that the new management is much of an improvement. Llorente had reached an agreement with Real Madrid for Villa, which Llorente broke. Presumably, the interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, and Barcelona led Llorente to believe he could drive the price of Villa up substantially. Villa proceeded to state that he would not play outside of Spain. Real Madrid signed Benzema, a younger striker, for considerably cheaper than Villa. Llorente is now left with one suitor - Barcelona. If you ask me, Barcelona is offering an enormous amount considering that everyone knows Valencia is in serious trouble. More importantly, Llorente would be well served by deciding whether players are for sale or not, and coordinating his transfer policy with some semblance of logic and planning. Otherwise, a classic Liga team with exceptional talent may fall victim to a series of inept strongmen at the helm.
Anyway, back to Valencia and Barcelona. The Spanish champions are looking to sign ex-Real Madrid youth player and Valencia winger Mata after signing Villa. This appears related to the reiteration this week by Ribery that it was Real Madrid or nothing for him. Bayern, of course, responded, that it would be "nothing."
Speaking of which, Real Madrid has now signed the best player in the Serie A, EPL, and Ligue. So why not the best in the Bundesliga? The dominoes are starting to fall. Ribery told L'Equipe that he wanted to leave and would like to talk with the Bayern brass. Additionally, his attitude has been less than exemplary at practices. Shortly after the start of the second training session Ribery spoke with manager Van Gaal and left practice, ostensibly due to blisters.
There's a backstory here though. Ribery's wife, Wahiba, has not adapted to life in Munich, moving to Paris. As such, he'll only be able to see her and his daughters two months of the year. The assumption appears to be that she would move to the Spanish capital. Ribery, rumor has it, will or has made clear to Bayern that if they opt not to sell he will not renew his contract and stay until its end - January 1, 2011, leaving then, and for free.
Publicly, Florentino Perez has been pessimistic regarding the signing, reiterating that he accepts that Bayern simply does not want to sell. Nonetheless, the player seems willing to force his hand, it appears that Zidane's only mission for the summer is to get Ribery to Madrid, and France teammate Benzema has already said he'd like to play with his friend - well, let's just say this one could get ugly fast. Reports indicate Florentino is holding onto 55 million euros for the possible signing.
Despite earlier reports that Real Madrid youth product Negredo would stay if Van Nistlerooy and Huntelaar are sold, now Negredo appears to be the last shot Real have of signing Xabi Alonso. Real are also pursuing Valencia winger David Silva - I presume if Ribery were not to arrive. So, I'm a madridista, but even I have to ask - what the hell is going on here?
On other fronts:
Nakamura will be presented for Espanyol on the 13th of July, and the fanfare from the Japanese media should be intense.
Newly descended Real Betis and Lazio are in negotiations for Brazilian striker Oliveira. Oliveira blew Betis' chance to beat Barca this year on two terrible misses, and may be best remembered for his failure in Milan, as well as starting for both Zaragoza and Betis when they went down to the second division in consecutive years. I'm just saying, don't be surprised if Lazio goes down next year with Oliveira on the field.
Ironically, Lazio is also trying to snag Matuzalem from newly ascended Zaragoza.
On the international scene, Maradona has stated that he'll call up Higuain when "things are clear." What that means, no one knows. While Messi, Tevez, and his future son-in-law Aguero, carry a lot of weight, Higuain is fast becoming one of the premier Argentine strikers in the world. He's also notably more versatile as to positioning than all those listed barring Messi. How long Maradona will hold a grudge for his sitting out the U-21 World Cup in Canada? We'll soon find out. Though, judging by CONMEBOL qualifying, Maradona may not be Argentina's coach for much longer.
Want more? ESPN's Norman Hubbard writes an interesting piece on one of my favorite subjects - Spain/Liga v. England/EPL, here. Mandatory stab at Real Madrid included.
Also, mark your calendars, Fox Soccer will televise the Copa Libertadores final between Brazil's Cruzeiro and Argentina's Estudiantes live on the 8th and 15th of this month (home and away legs).
Brushing those tortured metaphors aside, let's get down to business.
Sir Alex Ferguson could be the biggest mover and shaker since Michael Owen appears to be on his way to Manchester United. He could sign as early as today. At first this move seems shocking and risky. But on second thought, if all Sir Alex wants out of Owen is an effective bench striker (let's assume he gets Tevez-like minutes) then Owen may be a good fit. In addition he may allow Ferguson to buy some more time for the development of Macheda and Wellbeck.
I still question Manchester United's insistence on signing a third starting striker though. Ferguson couldn't satisfy Tevez, who was a consummate professional while he was on the team. I guess Ferguson wants to keep playing Rooney out of position - reports indicate United are looking at both Atletico Madrid's Sergio Aguero and Confederations Cup topscorer and Sevilla's Luis Fabiano.
The offer for Aguero is reportedly 40 million pounds, or about 46 million euros. Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo, however, appears to continue to refer interested teams to Aguero's buyout clause of 60 million euros. The offer for Fabiano is reportedly 16 million pounds, or 18 .6 million euros. This surpasses the reported bids made by AC Milan for the Brazilian striker. Let me just remark that while the age difference between the two strikers is notable (21 v. 28), the price gap seems a bit shocking. Fabiano has proven himself repeatedly with Sevilla, in both Spanish competitions and UEFA competitions, as well as with Brazil. Meanwhile, Aguero has played one season in Champions League, and is fast becoming best known for creating five scoring opportunities a game, and capitalizing on (maybe) one. It seems to me, Fabiano may be a bit undervalued and Aguero a bit overvalued.
That said, reports are that Atletico would like to sign Pirlo from Milan. Milan recently declared him transferable. Because of their financial circumstances, Atletico is going to need cash - but will it be Aguero-produced cash?
But let's stay in Manchester, but now with City. City is proving cachet and history and a Champions League berth are worth more than money and ambition to most top players. With Eto'o's signing in the ether, Chelsea recently disclosed that they rejected a 30 million pound bid for John Terry.
Sticking with the EPL and continuing our discussion of overrated strikers, Arsene Wenger has admitted that if Adebayor were to leave, despite his own desire that the Togo striker stay at Emirates, he was been eyeing Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh as a replacement. In the same article Wenger stated that he did not make an approach for Benzema because he never thought Lyon would sell him this year.
However, if Adebayor doesn't move to AC Milan, the Italian powerhouse are looking at Luis Fabiano, Huntelaar, and even Peter Crouch to make a move to the San Siro.
Meanwhile, Barcelona begin to make serious moves in the transfer market. Reports from England assure that Barca will make a serious bid for their own youth product and current Arsenal man Cesc Fabregas. Barca also remains infatuated with Liverpool's Argentine bulldog, Mascherano.
Barca's pursuit of David Villa also shifts into high gear, despite Valencia president Manueal Llorente's repeated assurances that there is no offer on the table for the striker, and he will not sell. Undeterred, earlier this week Barcelona Football Director Txiki Begiristain reportedly met with Villa in Asturias and reached an agreement with the player. Today, reports indicate that Barcelona has indeed made a formal offer for the striker. The offer? 40 million euros plus loaning expected Barcelona signing Keirrison and Uruguayan centerback Martin Caceres.
A brief aside, if I may. Valencia is in serious financial straits as a result of terrible management. Their players went without pay briefly this year. Construction on the team's new stadium, the "new Mestalla" has been halted. Sadly, it does not appear that the new management is much of an improvement. Llorente had reached an agreement with Real Madrid for Villa, which Llorente broke. Presumably, the interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, and Barcelona led Llorente to believe he could drive the price of Villa up substantially. Villa proceeded to state that he would not play outside of Spain. Real Madrid signed Benzema, a younger striker, for considerably cheaper than Villa. Llorente is now left with one suitor - Barcelona. If you ask me, Barcelona is offering an enormous amount considering that everyone knows Valencia is in serious trouble. More importantly, Llorente would be well served by deciding whether players are for sale or not, and coordinating his transfer policy with some semblance of logic and planning. Otherwise, a classic Liga team with exceptional talent may fall victim to a series of inept strongmen at the helm.
Anyway, back to Valencia and Barcelona. The Spanish champions are looking to sign ex-Real Madrid youth player and Valencia winger Mata after signing Villa. This appears related to the reiteration this week by Ribery that it was Real Madrid or nothing for him. Bayern, of course, responded, that it would be "nothing."
Speaking of which, Real Madrid has now signed the best player in the Serie A, EPL, and Ligue. So why not the best in the Bundesliga? The dominoes are starting to fall. Ribery told L'Equipe that he wanted to leave and would like to talk with the Bayern brass. Additionally, his attitude has been less than exemplary at practices. Shortly after the start of the second training session Ribery spoke with manager Van Gaal and left practice, ostensibly due to blisters.
There's a backstory here though. Ribery's wife, Wahiba, has not adapted to life in Munich, moving to Paris. As such, he'll only be able to see her and his daughters two months of the year. The assumption appears to be that she would move to the Spanish capital. Ribery, rumor has it, will or has made clear to Bayern that if they opt not to sell he will not renew his contract and stay until its end - January 1, 2011, leaving then, and for free.
Publicly, Florentino Perez has been pessimistic regarding the signing, reiterating that he accepts that Bayern simply does not want to sell. Nonetheless, the player seems willing to force his hand, it appears that Zidane's only mission for the summer is to get Ribery to Madrid, and France teammate Benzema has already said he'd like to play with his friend - well, let's just say this one could get ugly fast. Reports indicate Florentino is holding onto 55 million euros for the possible signing.
Despite earlier reports that Real Madrid youth product Negredo would stay if Van Nistlerooy and Huntelaar are sold, now Negredo appears to be the last shot Real have of signing Xabi Alonso. Real are also pursuing Valencia winger David Silva - I presume if Ribery were not to arrive. So, I'm a madridista, but even I have to ask - what the hell is going on here?
On other fronts:
Nakamura will be presented for Espanyol on the 13th of July, and the fanfare from the Japanese media should be intense.
Newly descended Real Betis and Lazio are in negotiations for Brazilian striker Oliveira. Oliveira blew Betis' chance to beat Barca this year on two terrible misses, and may be best remembered for his failure in Milan, as well as starting for both Zaragoza and Betis when they went down to the second division in consecutive years. I'm just saying, don't be surprised if Lazio goes down next year with Oliveira on the field.
Ironically, Lazio is also trying to snag Matuzalem from newly ascended Zaragoza.
On the international scene, Maradona has stated that he'll call up Higuain when "things are clear." What that means, no one knows. While Messi, Tevez, and his future son-in-law Aguero, carry a lot of weight, Higuain is fast becoming one of the premier Argentine strikers in the world. He's also notably more versatile as to positioning than all those listed barring Messi. How long Maradona will hold a grudge for his sitting out the U-21 World Cup in Canada? We'll soon find out. Though, judging by CONMEBOL qualifying, Maradona may not be Argentina's coach for much longer.
Want more? ESPN's Norman Hubbard writes an interesting piece on one of my favorite subjects - Spain/Liga v. England/EPL, here. Mandatory stab at Real Madrid included.
Also, mark your calendars, Fox Soccer will televise the Copa Libertadores final between Brazil's Cruzeiro and Argentina's Estudiantes live on the 8th and 15th of this month (home and away legs).
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