In my last post, I was talking about United. Well speaking of United, Gabriel Heinze has been sent to Real Madrid. Heinze went to court trying to convince the jury to let him go to Liverpool but instead got the red light. Heinze made it pretty clear that he didn't want to stay at Old Trafford so he got shipped off to Real Madrid for about 12 million. In other Real Madrid news, La Liga opens its season up tomorrow with Real Madrid taking on Atletico Madrid. Madrid who lost key players such as Roberto Carlos and David Beckham but gaines players in Robben(from Chelsea), Heinze(United), Saviola(Barcelona) and Drenthe(Feyenoord), Pepe(FC Porto) and Sneijder(Ajax). So as you can see Real Madrid has added many players to the already star studded team that they had(Ruud Van Nistelrooi, Raul, Robinho, Cannavaro, Gago and Higuain).
However Madrid isn't the only team that bulked up, Barcelona obviously comes to mind. With an already power house team consisting of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o they added some help on their back line, midfield and yes even up front. Gabriel Milito(Zaragoza), Eric Abidal (Lyon), Yaya Toure (Monaco) and the biggest signing of the entire off season(along with Torres to Liverpool), Thierry Henry from Arsenal for 24 million pounds(32 million USD). Alongside young Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona is as "packed" as they come. So lets just say it will be an interesting season and thats without the usual upsets every now and then. As for who I think will win La Liga I'm gonna have to go with Barcelona. They came extremely close last season and lost because they didn't play too well the last few matches of the season. I think they're going to learn from their mistakes. So Barcelona as champions and I'm sticking to it! Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Put up or shut up
Its put up or shut up for Manchester United come Sunday when they face Tottenham. They drew their first 2 games and lost their last game with only 1 goal to show in 3 games. Needless to say if United drop this one, the chances of them retaining their championship are extremely slim. And of course its not good for my pool either. What with me having Cristiano Ronaldo(who's serving a 3 game suspention), Tevez who hasn't scored and Heizne who just got sent to Real Madrid.
If you look at the table you'll see that Manchester United are currently sitting in 16th place with 2 points where as Manchester City are sitting pretty in first with 9 points. With United's other 2 rivals Chelsea(2nd - 7 Points) and Liverpool(9th - 4 Points). Basically this means if United can snatch 3 points on Sunday they can move up to 5h place. Assuming that everyone else either draws or loses United can go anywhere between 11th place and 5th place. Which is alot better than the 16th place they are currently in. However, if United lose and Villa, Birmingham and Derby win... United will fall to before last place. So its a do or die situation. Time for the squad news... Saha will be on the bench for Sundays game, Brazilian international Anderson will start and Tevez will start aswell. Neville will miss another 2 weeks. So a mixture of good and bad news for United. Cristiano Ronaldo will miss this match and the following match due to the red card that he received. It's going to be an interesting week-end no doubt. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Interesting beginning for the champs...
As I'm typing this, Manchester United is currently standing in 12 place of the EPL. Surprisingly enough Chelsea is third, Manchester City second and Everton first. Of course chances are that will all change from week to week. However I would like to touch on one thing and that is Manchester United's current situation. What is their current situation? Well for one Saha is still injured, O.G.S is still injured, Rooney is injured, Ronaldo just picked up a red card and will miss the next 3 games and Giggs up front isn't going too well. Tevez will really need to explode alot sooner than expected and hopefully it'll come in his second match with Manchester United. Yup, that's right... In the derby match versus Manchester City. It usually takes a player a game or 2 or even 3 to really start gelling with the team but it's going to have to happen soon for Tevez. If United keep dropping points like these, they'll soon be out of the title race. A quick little note though, the last time United drew their first 2 games... Yup thats right... The treble! For those who don't know what the treble is it's winning your own league, your domestic cup and the UEFA Champions League all in the same season. So we'll just have to wait and see.
Onto the Champions League side now. Liverpool beat Toulouse 1-0, Celtic drew with Spartak Moscow 1-1, Weder Bremen beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1, Ajax dropped one at home where they lose 1-0 to Slavia Prague, Sevilla beat AEK 2-0 and Arsenal beat Sparta 2-0. I think all the "big" teams did what they were expected to do and that is win. Aside from Ajax who lost which could end up costing their dreams of playing in the Champions League this season. Liverpool can still end up out of the Champions League if they play pretty badly and lose 2-0, but chances are that won't happen. It's still early to talk, but with the way Barcelona has been playing in the pre-season they could very well end up winning it. Of course pre-season means nothing, but its still interesting. As usual there are the top contenders. Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid. Milan won it last season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, can they repeat? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't forget the derby match on Sunday where United need the crucial 3 points to atleast get back in the race! Also on Sunday Chelsea takes on Liverpool in what is always an interesting and important match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Onto the Champions League side now. Liverpool beat Toulouse 1-0, Celtic drew with Spartak Moscow 1-1, Weder Bremen beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1, Ajax dropped one at home where they lose 1-0 to Slavia Prague, Sevilla beat AEK 2-0 and Arsenal beat Sparta 2-0. I think all the "big" teams did what they were expected to do and that is win. Aside from Ajax who lost which could end up costing their dreams of playing in the Champions League this season. Liverpool can still end up out of the Champions League if they play pretty badly and lose 2-0, but chances are that won't happen. It's still early to talk, but with the way Barcelona has been playing in the pre-season they could very well end up winning it. Of course pre-season means nothing, but its still interesting. As usual there are the top contenders. Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid. Milan won it last season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, can they repeat? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't forget the derby match on Sunday where United need the crucial 3 points to atleast get back in the race! Also on Sunday Chelsea takes on Liverpool in what is always an interesting and important match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Rooney out, Tevez in, Heinze and Beckham
Well, the first week of the EPL is over. Liverpool pulled one out of a rabbit in the dying seconds, Chelsea won and United drew. And it gets worse for United. Aside from being 2 points behind Chelsea and Liverpool, they've now lost Rooney for 8 weeks. Thats 2 months of no Rooney which is a blow for United... But, it's not that bad. Or atleast shouldn't be. Carlos Tevez, Manchester United's new signing will make his Manchester United debut. Sir Alex wanted to wait until the derby versus Manchester City to play him, but we can't wait that long. Now the question is, how will Tevez do? Will it take him several matches until he starts scoring like when he was with West Ham or not? Fact is, if United draw or lose this match, its a very bad start for the current champs. Saha is still injured and so is O.G.S. They might get a few goals from Giggs and Ronaldo will be called upon to create some plays, but the man to watch will be Tevez. Will he play the full 90 minutes? Will he get subbed off? Who knows, all we know is that United spent just over 2 months trying to get Tevez and now they have him. Another thing is Sir Alex stated that Tevez will play Rooney's position, which means no change of tactics. Tevez makes his United debut tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves if he was worth the trouble or not.
Another question for United fans is Gabriel Heinze. He's going to court later this month where they'll either tell him to pack his bags and go to Liverpool or stay at United. As a United fan, I want Heinze to stay. As an Argentine fan I want Heinze to stay. But it's not up to me, heck its not even up to Heinze! Personally, I want him to stay at United because most of the fans seem to love him and he played very well for them last season. He's not the type of defender that will take the ball and run with it trying to create opportunities. And it shouldn't be either. He's a defender and tough one aswell. He likes to play physical and I think he fits in very well with United.
Ah, David Beckham. Well, he's signed the contract, he's collecting the money and he's giving a big "F You" to everyone. After what seems to be years and years of hype, will be displayed tomorrow. Beckham has missed every LA game this season(including pre-season) except for one where he played for 16 whole minutes! Yup, thats right, 16 minutes! Earlier today Beckham attented his first LA practice and stated that his ankle is 78% healed(the idiot couldn't just say 80%) and that he rpedicts he can play 45 minutes on Thursday. 45 freaking minutes. Beckham is the smartest man alive. Marry what was once something hot, thank God that girls find you attractive and sign a 250 million dollar contract with a company who runs a sport which has no future in that country. Then sit on your ass and collect the paychecks. Genius! Its genius I tell you. Now the guy will make his long awaited debut only to play 45 minutes. Can't get any smarter than that. I can't wait to see what all those fanboys have to say when Beckham dosn't start racking in those goals. And who can forget his England matches! Because the MLS is also FIFA ran, any England soccer match that is under FIFA's consent, Beckham becomes eligible to play. That means if England is playing in October, November, December(which I think they are due to Euro qualifiers), than Beckham will have to go play if called up. What does that mean? That means he's going to have to take a 10 hour flight from North America to Europe to go play. And AFTER the match, take another 10 hour flight back to North America and rest for a few days to a week and than go back to play in the MLS. All the while trying not to get injured. I swear to you, Beckham is probably the smartest player alive. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Another question for United fans is Gabriel Heinze. He's going to court later this month where they'll either tell him to pack his bags and go to Liverpool or stay at United. As a United fan, I want Heinze to stay. As an Argentine fan I want Heinze to stay. But it's not up to me, heck its not even up to Heinze! Personally, I want him to stay at United because most of the fans seem to love him and he played very well for them last season. He's not the type of defender that will take the ball and run with it trying to create opportunities. And it shouldn't be either. He's a defender and tough one aswell. He likes to play physical and I think he fits in very well with United.
Ah, David Beckham. Well, he's signed the contract, he's collecting the money and he's giving a big "F You" to everyone. After what seems to be years and years of hype, will be displayed tomorrow. Beckham has missed every LA game this season(including pre-season) except for one where he played for 16 whole minutes! Yup, thats right, 16 minutes! Earlier today Beckham attented his first LA practice and stated that his ankle is 78% healed(the idiot couldn't just say 80%) and that he rpedicts he can play 45 minutes on Thursday. 45 freaking minutes. Beckham is the smartest man alive. Marry what was once something hot, thank God that girls find you attractive and sign a 250 million dollar contract with a company who runs a sport which has no future in that country. Then sit on your ass and collect the paychecks. Genius! Its genius I tell you. Now the guy will make his long awaited debut only to play 45 minutes. Can't get any smarter than that. I can't wait to see what all those fanboys have to say when Beckham dosn't start racking in those goals. And who can forget his England matches! Because the MLS is also FIFA ran, any England soccer match that is under FIFA's consent, Beckham becomes eligible to play. That means if England is playing in October, November, December(which I think they are due to Euro qualifiers), than Beckham will have to go play if called up. What does that mean? That means he's going to have to take a 10 hour flight from North America to Europe to go play. And AFTER the match, take another 10 hour flight back to North America and rest for a few days to a week and than go back to play in the MLS. All the while trying not to get injured. I swear to you, Beckham is probably the smartest player alive. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Random Video #1
Since the video of the week didn't work out too well, I'll do Random Video's. In other words, I'll post videos every now and then.
This Random Video is about none other than the greatest soccer player that ever lived. Argentina's golden boy and favorite son... Diego Armando Maradona.
Beckham and Barcelona
So the almighty great David Beckham is in the States! Blah, he still sucks. Who ever thinks this guy will save the MLS or soccer all together in North America is stupid. Soccer will always be considered to be a 3rd rate sport in North America. ALWAYS. It'll be overshadowed much like it is now by baseball, North American football and hockey. One man cannot save a sport in a continent. Theres absolutely no way. But, I do applaud the MLS because I think they knew what they were getting. I think they knew that they were getting an injury proned Beckham who's past his prime. But thats not why they got him. They didn't want Beckham the player, they wanted Beckham the name. Outside the UK he's nothing. Hell, Madrid didn't even want him which is why they didn't want to re-sign him. 250 million for 5 years is too much for any player in any sport.
And to prove my theory that Beckham will not save soccer in North America, all you have to do is watch the Press Conference or just pictures from the Press Conference. 90% of the people at the Press Conference were teenage girls. And the other 10% was the Press, Beckham and his wife. Your gonna tell me the MLS will live because of teenage girls? Come on, give me a break. I can't believe I'm even wasting my time on this piece of crap.
Now onto something meaningful. Barcelona! It was their fault that they lost La Liga last season. They have no one else to blame but themselves. And in an attempt for Rijkaard to save his ass, he signed a few players. Thierry Henry, Eric Abidal and Gabriel Milito. Add that with the players from last season. Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o and you have one hell of an attack. Hopefully Ronaldinho can have a better season than last year for Barca. He was their highest goal scorer and as good as that sounds he had a bad year with them. Beginning of the season was bad for him and there were even reports of him putting on weight. Gotta love the media. I'm not sure at how Rijkaard will play his cards. Will he go with the same tactics as last season and sub on Henry with Eto'o every match? Or will we see Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Henry on the pitch. We'll, time will tell.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
And to prove my theory that Beckham will not save soccer in North America, all you have to do is watch the Press Conference or just pictures from the Press Conference. 90% of the people at the Press Conference were teenage girls. And the other 10% was the Press, Beckham and his wife. Your gonna tell me the MLS will live because of teenage girls? Come on, give me a break. I can't believe I'm even wasting my time on this piece of crap.
Now onto something meaningful. Barcelona! It was their fault that they lost La Liga last season. They have no one else to blame but themselves. And in an attempt for Rijkaard to save his ass, he signed a few players. Thierry Henry, Eric Abidal and Gabriel Milito. Add that with the players from last season. Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o and you have one hell of an attack. Hopefully Ronaldinho can have a better season than last year for Barca. He was their highest goal scorer and as good as that sounds he had a bad year with them. Beginning of the season was bad for him and there were even reports of him putting on weight. Gotta love the media. I'm not sure at how Rijkaard will play his cards. Will he go with the same tactics as last season and sub on Henry with Eto'o every match? Or will we see Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Henry on the pitch. We'll, time will tell.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
United Talks...
Well its been confirmed. Tevez is now gone to Manchester United. We could of made a soap opera over this damn case. This has been going on before the Copa America and now its finally over! Up front we'll have Rooney and Tevez(Saha is benched) and a supporting cast of one Cristiano Ronaldo. I can see United winning the EPL for a second consecutive year. But this year their aim should be for the Champions League. They lost in the Semi's last season to winners AC Milan and lost in the finals of the FA Cup to Chelsea. FA Cup is nothing compared to the Champions League, which is why I think they should concentrate on the Champions League alot more.
In other United news, Alan Smith has finally been traded aswell. This time to Newcastle. Lets face it, he did nothing for United, except for that 7-1 fiesta over Roma where just about everyone scored. I wold of maybe prefered to keep Saha instead, because they would of gotten more money for Saha, but whatever. Hopefully United(for their sake) aren't injury bound like last season.
Back to Argentine players, Gabriel Heinze is still trying to get out of United to Liverpool. I'm not sure how things will work out for him, but it seems as if he's going to stay at Old Trafford. If he does, hopefully all of this mess dosn't interfer with him getting the #1 spot at being LB. If he ends up going to Liverpool, atleast we'll know he'll more than likely get the starting position. Personally, I would like for him to stay at United because of the fan base he has and the love for Argentines there. Heck, they'd start chanting A-R-G-E-N-T-I-N-A during matches. But who knows, he might end up going to Liverpool... Either way, we'll find out soon. It seems as if the transfer deadline can't come here fast enough.
Something to think about, Inter beat United 3-2 on Wednesday in a pre-season friendly at Old Trafford. Inter didn't have all their key players, where as United was missing Anderson, Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Neville. But still, its something to think about. We'll have to watch Van Der Saar this season aswell, because the last few matches last season he was a total wreck and a half.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
In other United news, Alan Smith has finally been traded aswell. This time to Newcastle. Lets face it, he did nothing for United, except for that 7-1 fiesta over Roma where just about everyone scored. I wold of maybe prefered to keep Saha instead, because they would of gotten more money for Saha, but whatever. Hopefully United(for their sake) aren't injury bound like last season.
Back to Argentine players, Gabriel Heinze is still trying to get out of United to Liverpool. I'm not sure how things will work out for him, but it seems as if he's going to stay at Old Trafford. If he does, hopefully all of this mess dosn't interfer with him getting the #1 spot at being LB. If he ends up going to Liverpool, atleast we'll know he'll more than likely get the starting position. Personally, I would like for him to stay at United because of the fan base he has and the love for Argentines there. Heck, they'd start chanting A-R-G-E-N-T-I-N-A during matches. But who knows, he might end up going to Liverpool... Either way, we'll find out soon. It seems as if the transfer deadline can't come here fast enough.
Something to think about, Inter beat United 3-2 on Wednesday in a pre-season friendly at Old Trafford. Inter didn't have all their key players, where as United was missing Anderson, Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Neville. But still, its something to think about. We'll have to watch Van Der Saar this season aswell, because the last few matches last season he was a total wreck and a half.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
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