Week 2 of 2012/2013 Season

Lovely weekend of football. Lots of rain in England, but still lovely weekend of football.

Let's start with Saturday. Two biggest games going on were Chelsea vs. Newcastle and Manchester United vs. Fulham. For the Chelsea vs. Newcastle game, Chelsea have won their first three games in a row. A 2-0 win against Wigan, a 4-2 win against Reading, and now a 2-0 in against Newcastle. The first goal was a penalty caused by a foul against Torres. Eden Hazard was the one who converted it, making it 1-0. At the end of the first half during stoppage time Torres scored the second goal which was assisted with a toe poke, heel poke, or whatever by Eden Hazard. Eden Hazard has so far had a really good start to the Premier League. I think he's has been involved with almost all 8 of the goals Chelsea has scored so far. To be more exact (not really) I think it's about 6-7 goals he's been involved with. Torres has been showing his old self. He's looking more confident in front of goal which means he's scoring more goals.  He doesn't have the lingering shadow of Drogba on his back this season, so this is a great time for his shine you know after a good ending of last season (winning the FA Cup, Champions League, and Euro 2012).

The second big game on Saturday was Manchester United vs. Fulham. The first to score the goal was Fulham, but at the 10th minute Robin van Persie scored his first goal for the Red Devils. Kagawa scored the second, and Rafael scored the third putting the Reds 3-1 in front. Unfortunately Vidic put in an own goal making it 3-2, but that's how the game ended. Manchester United won their second game of the Premier League. The biggest news out of that game is definitely Wayne Rooney's gash on his thigh. If you haven't seen it's a really big nasty one. It's so bad that it has caused him to be sidelined for about four weeks. I think someone stepped on him on accident and woosh, huge gash. If you are easily disturbed by blood and any type pictures like that, I suggest you NOT go and look it up.


So today, Sunday, there were a lot of big matches played too. Let's begin with the Premier League. games played by Arsenal vs. Stoke and Manchester City vs. Liverpool. The Arsenal game turned out to be another 0-0 draw for the Gunners. I watched a bit of that game, and a lot of them seem to be scared to shoot or something. Arsenal dominated that game, yet they were very hesitant to shoot. Arsenal are playing well, it's just their finishing needs a little work. I guess you could say they are feeling the effects of no Robin van Persie (who scored 40% of their goals). The Manchester City vs. Liverpool game was played at Anfield and that game also game to a 2-2 draw. Goals came from Skrtel, Yaya Toure, Suarez, and then Tevez in that order. There have been lots of surprises this season, and I pretty sure there are more to come.

Moving on to La Liga. Barcelona played an away game at Pamplona again Osasuna. Barcelona was behind 1-0 a majority of the game until Magical Messi came up and got 2 goals in the second half giving the Blaugrana the win for that night. On the other hand of things, Real Madrid LOST their match against Getafe. Like I was really surprised to hear that. Real Madrid were the first to score with a goal from Higuain, but two goals from Getafe put them in front and gave them the win. I'm not really sure why Khedira hasn't been playing which may be a reason why they lost. Another reason could be that Madrid are feeling the effects of not having Pepe as one of their central defenders. When he comes back to play maybe a lot of things will change.

A lot went on this weekend, and a lot of is going to go on next weekend. Stay tune to keep up what's happening in the footballing world!

Reflection of Super Copa Leg 1

The first El Clasico of the season hit off with a bang at the Camp Nou. Both Spanish Giants went out onto the field and played a typical and not so typical Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona game. The went onto a 3-2 in favor of Barcelona with goals from Pedro, Messi, and Xavi and from Ronaldo and Di Maria. Pepe wasn't able to play game due to an injury during the previous they played against Valencia. And we all know he always adds some type of impact to the game. The game did produce a lot of yellow cards, but luckily there were no red cards. In games like these there is usually a lot of tension first because this is probably the greatest rivalry in football and second a lot of the players on each team play together internationally (Higuain, Messi, Di Maria, and Mascherano for Argentina) and then you basically have more than half of the Spanish National Team who either player for Madrid or Barcelona.

One thing I want to point out is that Valdes made a big mistake in that game. A simple pass back from Mascherano was sent to Valdes, but the keeper over thought it to much. Di Maria was coming in on the attack, but he wasn't exactly putting much pressure on Valdes. It's understandable that Valdes is trying to play the Barcelona way, but because he was trying to set himself up (and with a bad touch) Di Maria took the mistake as a opportunity and a opportunity won. Valdes should have cleared the ball because Di Maria was right in front of him, and he should of known any small mistake LIKE a bad touch could be devastating which is what happened

The Super Copa winner is still in limbo. With a score of 3-2 anything can happen during the second leg which will be played at the Santiago Bernabeu. Madrid will have the advantage of the second-leg being a home game and all BUT still nothing is decided yet until next Thursday!

The Season has Begun!

Both seasons that I love to keep up with (EPL and La Liga) have begun finally. Most of the games have been played on Saturday (yesterday) and today some will be played on tomorrow (Monday). Here are the games that I've been able to keep up with so far are first the Arsenal vs. Sunderland game. This was a way for the new transfers, Podolski, Santi Carzola, and Giroud to show what they had. Unfortunately they weren't able to penetrate Sunderland's defense enough and the first game for the Gunners ended in a 0-0 tie. At least they got one point, but it isn't the three that they wanted. 

Chelsea vs. Wigan is another game that was played today. They were able to take the 3 points away with two goals, one from Ivanovic and the other from Lampard in the first half of the game. This was first Premier game for Hazard and he showed great skill that he has because he had a pretty good game. Oscar another young transfer was also able to make his debut and showed a pretty good performance. 

On the other side of things in England, the defending champions of the Premier League had a struggle during their first game. The newly promoted Southampton showed they weren't going to take the game lightly. They were the first to score which means Manchester City had some catching up to do. In the end City were able to take away a win by 3-2 with goals from Tevez, Dzeko, and Nasri. Hopefully this doesn't happen again in the near future for the them because that was one heck of a scary start for City. 

Manchester United will be playing Everton tomorrow. 

In Spanish news, both the Spanish giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid had their opening season games today. Real Madrid played Valencia FC and left the game with a 1-1 draw with Higuain scoring their only goal. Not something they wanted of course. On the other side of things FC Barcelona played Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou and beat them 5-1. The first goal came from the club captain Puyol during a corner kick from Xavi and then Sociedad drew the game 1-1 a few minutes later. The Catalan giants were going to take that and two goals from Messi and a goal from Pedro put the Blaugrana up 4-1 by half-time. The greatest thing is at the second half David Villa came onto the field after being sidelined from an injury since the Club World Cup in December 2011. What's even better is that he scored a goal and ended the game 5-1. This gives Tito Vilanova his first win of a La Liga season as the head coach. 

The first game is only the beginning and anything can happen during the season. But it's always good to start off the season with a win. It's a good moral booster and it helps set the tempo for what the season has in store. 

English Premier League vs. La Liga

 

These two leagues are probably the two most popular and competitive leagues there are. But which one is the best  league of the two? Each league is unique and play different styles of football. Here is what I think:

I think the English League is definitely more competitive than La Liga. If you think a little harder, there are multiple top clubs competing for the title such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and honestly it seems that most of the clubs have somewhat a fighting chance unlike La Liga. In La Liga it's literally two clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, fighting for first place, and everyone else trying to win third place. That's 2 large Spanish Clubs verses 5 large English Clubs. I'm not trying to say that the other Spanish Clubs can't compete, because they can, but until the La Liga tables fluctuate as much as the EPL table, then EPL wins for the most competitive league out there.

BUT who has the best teams in the world? This might a bit biased, but I believe that La Liga holds the two best teams in the world. To play in the two Spanish Giants it's almost a dream come true to many footballers. Some of the best players to ever play the sport had their best moments while they played in La Liga, like Zidane, Ronaldinho, Figo, etc. And currently the two best players right now (Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo) play in La Liga. So yes, I believe that La Liga has the best teams. Both clubs are very competitive in their league and in the Champions League (yes I know Chelsea AN ENGLISH CLUB won the most recent one, but BOTH Spanish giants were able to make it to the semi-finals, ok?)


I just want to mention though, that I don't think that English Clubs can't compete with the two Spanish Giants JUST because I say that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the best two teams. I'm just saying that Barcelona and Real Madrid are the best two teams. I believe that big English clubs can compete with the two teams and I have always believed that. AGAIN Chelsea has proven it this past May.


There is one more comparison that I would like to mention: the type of players each league produces. Right now, I think that Spain wins. They have produced and produce some of the best midfielders lately. And come to think of it, I really can't think of any English players that play in the Spanish League. But I know some Spanish players who played or play in the EPL. EXAMPLES WOULD BE:


David Silva (Manchester City)
Pepe Reina (Liverpool)
Fernando Torres (Chelsea)
Juan Mata (Chelsea)
Xabi Alonso (ex-Liverpool)
Cesc Fabregas (ex-Arsenal)
Alvaro Arbeloa (ex-Liverpool)
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal)
David de Gea (Manchester United)

This is only a small list of some current and recent Spanish players. The most recent English Players in La Liga were Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid) who only had 9 appearances for the club. He was then loaned off and then went back to the EPL. Then of course the very famous David Beckham (Real Madrid). Other than that, I don't know any English players. I think this goes to show that Spanish players are vital for teams. I think it's because of their midfield mastery and magic (cheesy I know) they bring to a game. Another reason there may not be many English players in La Liga could be because Spain and England have very different styles of play. England concentrates more on strength and La Liga is more finesse....patience.


So which league do I prefer the most.....I would actually have to say the EPL. Even though Barcelona is my favorite club team and I root for Spain, I chose the EPL because there is more competition between clubs. None the less though, I still love La Liga! I watch it just as often and always checking on updates about that league....but everyone likes more competition.

Truths and Rumors

TRUTHS: Chelsea have purchased the young and  upcoming Belgium Eden Hazard who seems to have a bright future in the football industry. He has definitely impressed many of the big clubs that were after him while he was Lille; now will he impress while he's in a big English football club?


Another truth, after the many issues with Eric Abidal, Barcelona have finally made a purchase for a left back. His name is Jordi Alba. If you watched the Euro 2012, you saw that the 23 year old impressed. He may be small but he is FAST. He has the energy and speed to run the pitch. And like I said before he even got a goal in the Euro 2012 final! Like many of the Barcelona players, he is a product from La Maisa so he has the Barca DNA in him. He really began his professional career when he played for Valencia FC and that's where he turned into the talented left full back he is today. Now he's back at his boyhood club and I'm pretty sure he's ready to impress.


Also other truths, Arsenal have made two big purchases, Lukas Podolski a forward who also plays on the wings and a straight up striker Olivier Giroud. Currently the contract issues with Arsenal's star Robin van Persie are unstable.


RUMORS: So the rumors can come true or never happen, but here is what's currently on the market. Chelsea are about to make another big move about 25million pounds for a Brazilian attacking midfield named Oscar. He is supposedly another up and rising star (only 20 years old), and if Chelsea can sign him he can show the footballing world what he has. (Chelsea, because of Roman Abramovich, have a lot of spending power on them).

Another rumor, and it seems like it's going to go through is that Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago from AC Milan are going to be moving to Paris-Saint Germain (PSG). The French club currently have the money and with money comes power. They are spending big this summer as we can see with the targets such as Ibra and Thiago.

Oh, Real Madrid hasn't made any purchases yet, but it seems that their target Luka Modric from Tottenham will be making the moved to the Spanish giants. This move seems inevitable, but nothing has been put and set in stone so until the papers say "REAL MADRID SIGN LUKA MODRIC" this is going to be a rumor. This also makes me think, what is going to happen to Kaka?

AND Newcastle seem to want Andy Carrol back, but Liverpool want a good 20 some million pounds for the guy.

NOW to the coaches. There have been lots of new changes for the next season and they are all truths.


Tito Vilanova has finally begun his run as the first-team head coach for FC Barcelona after Pep Guardiola resigned from his four year reign in La Liga. They are currently training and awaiting for their pre-season to begin. Liverpool has sacked Kenny Dalglish and has been replaced by Brendan Rodgers who was the former Swansea City coach. And in Tottenham news, Harry Redknapp has been sacked and  replaced by (surprisingly) Andres Villas-Boas. Yeah, you didn't think that he'd show up this fast after his minimal time at Chelsea. Speaking of Chelsea, Roman Abramovich made the right move and hired Roberto Di Matteo as the full time head coach.

There is definitely more to come! I wish I had blogged more this summer. But this is actually the third time I've actually turned on my computer this summer. Or is it the second?

Real Madrid Campeones

After a 3-0 win against Sevilla, Real Madrid have finally taken the Li Liga title. This a very big achievement for the team. For Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho, this is the first Spanish League they have ever won. Jose Mourinho has now won 7 league trophies, 2 from the Primera Liga, 2 From Seire A, 2 from the Premier League, and finally 1 from La Liga. I'll be honest I'm pretty impressed by that Mourinho. Now all he has to do is get another league trophy from La Liga so he can say that's he's won two league trophies from four leagues. If Mourinho really wants to make his career to an amazing, outstanding, out of the ordinary (which it basically is), he should try and manage teams in the Bundesliga and Ligue 1. To me if he can do that, I will consider him one of the best managers that has ever graced the name of football (he already is one), but I still prefer Guardiola over him. That's just me.

And for Cristiano Ronaldo, after being at the club for 3 years, he's finally able to claim a Spanish League trophy. He's now won 4 league trophies out his entire career, 3 from the EPL and one from La Liga. Will Ronaldo move on to different leagues to see if he can conquer them all? I'm not sure. He's 27 years old, so he still has some time to achieve amazing things, which he already has, breaking records winning awards, etc. etc.

As a Barcelona fan, it may be weird that I'm putting crowns and jewels on Real Madrid, but I respect them as a very good side in football. They have world class players that make up a world class team. I don't want to be ignorant and be that person who says "Real Madrid suck! Ronald sucks!" No. That's disrespectful and shows no class. And let's be honest, it's not true. Real Madrid is a club which always has real talent. And to recognize that, means I can respect the club. I don't have to like them, but they are a successful club that deserve the respect. (It's like you can respect someone's decision, but you may not like it). That's one reason I really like Barcelona, they don't take defeat light-heartily, but they do take defeat in grace. Instead of complaining and making outrageous comments, Barcelona move on and just continue to play and win. To me that's a great example, and as a fan on the sidelines I can show the same Barcelona attitude, by respecting other clubs instead of speaking trash about them. That's what I call Mes Que un Club!

UCL Final: Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea

Well what do you know the two teams that were expected to move on, Real Madrid and Barcelona, did NOT make it to the UCL final. I have got to say this is one heck of a surprise to me and I'm pretty sure to the whole footballing community. Real Madrid's game was a little more intense because the game had to go to penalty shoot out. Ronaldo and Kaka were both denied by Neuer and Sergio Ramos just BLASTED it over the crossbar. I honestly do not know what Ramos was thinking. It's kind of sad that Ozil and Benzema did not get to kick. Schweinsteiger, the German, sealed the deal for Bayern Munich sending them off to the final in MUNICH (how nice).  

I'm pretty sure no one expected the UEFA Champions League final to end up like this. Everyone pretty much expected FC Barcelona or Real Madrid to be in the finals, but noooooo. If anything, I'm very very glad that Real Madrid did not move on. If FC Barcelona aren't able to move one, Real Madrid shouldn't either. Both Spanish giants are out of the tournament and the final which is going to be on May 19th is going to be Chelsea vs Bayern Munich. 

Who am I going to root for? I wasn't sure about it, but I think I'm going to root for Bayern Munch. My reasons why I'm going to root for them? 1.) They beat Real Madrid, the rival team to Barcelona 2.) Chelsea beat Barcelona and kicked FCB out of the tournament 3.) I think that Munich will benefit due to the losses from Chelsea's squad 4.) Bayern Munich is not Barcelona, so parking the bus won't work on them 5.) Munich are at home, so they have the home advantage 

One Point

The race to claim the title in La Liga is high and alive between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. After beating Getafe 4-0 at home, Barcelona are only 1 point away from Los Blancos. Today Real Madrid are to play the Atletico Madrid which is going to be an intense derby for Atletico is a team that can surely compete with Madrid. Real Madrid is fighting for the title while Atletico are fighting for a place to play Europe. This is going to be one tough match. Even though Madrid has had a pretty good away form, Atletico still have the advantage of playing at home. We're just going to have to wait and see what will happen for this game!

 

     My prediction: Real Madrid 2-1 Atletico                                                           

League Round Up (April 6-8th)

Let's bring all the games into one big pile of closure by starting with the English Premier League. The battle between Manchester United and Manchester City for the title win just seems to fade farther and farther away from Mancini's reach. Manchester City played Arsenal at the Emirates stadium and took a harsh defeat with a late strike from Mikel Arteta losing 1-0. City are now 8 points away from United who secured a home win with goals from non other then Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes which gave them a 2-0 win over QPR. Mancini seems to still be having problems with the young Italian, Balotelli who received a red card during the Arsenal game. From different news sources, City are going to try and sell the controversial striker. It looks like Manchester United have the league title all wrapped up for the 20th time and only 6 more games to play in the league (unless some miraculously happens and Man. U drop a bunch of points, and Man. City win all their games). Chelsea who are continuing their good form (even though the game they played Wigan was NOT a very good performance) won at Stamford Bridge 2-, trying to secure a Champions League spot for next season. Tottenham try and keep their 4th place spot with a 0-0 tie when they played Sunderland. The Spurs taking only one point from the game, they are now two points behind Arsenal and only 3 points in front of Chelsea. Newcastle though is not far, with 56 points TIED with Chelsea. Six more games means a potential 18 more points for any of these teams. 

La Liga has become more and more tight lately. Real Madrid played Valencia this Sunday and were only able to take away 1 point from the Santiago Bernebeu with a tie of 0-0. It may have been European fatigue that has caused this tie between the two sides, but non the less, Madrid now only sit 4 points atop the tables when only a few weeks ago it was 10 points. Valencia were able to take a crucial 1 point and still in 3rd place but only 1 point of in front of Levante and 2 points from Malaga who still have to play Racing Santander Monday April 9th. If Malaga secure a win, they will be able to gain the 3rd place spot. But for the gap between Barcelona and Madrid to even shrink a little, Barcelona took on threatening relegation team Zaragoza and were able to take a 4-1 win, with goals from Puyol, Messi (2), and Pedro for Barcelona and Aranda for Zaragoza. The title race and places are still being fought for and there are still a few games to be played which can decide anything. For the title winner it may come down to the Clascio on April 22nd.  

The last league I'll be talking about is Serie A. The title race is still live and high paced with a 2-0 win for Juventus against Palermo. They sit atop of the table with 65 points only 1 point away from Milan's 64. Milan were not able to secure a win as they lost to 2-1 to Fiorentina at the San Siro.

With the Champions League semis still yet to be played and leagues are still hot and winnable, I believe that the end of each season for each league will be exciting to watch, and everyone should keep up to date and be posted on all things football. You can check out the links above to keep up with your favorite teams or leagues. If you go to the Football News Link there you can check out articles and opinions of all the different games and teams!

Real Madrid vs. Villarreal Draw 1-1

Yesterday (March 22nd, 2012) Real Madrid played Villarreal, and drew them 1-1. This game though had a lot of controversy with Ramos, Ozil and Mourinho all getting sent off leaving Madrid down to 9 players and no manager. Another issue is that Villarreal player Marco Ruben received two yellow cards (which everyone know equals a red card), but he was not sent off. Mourinho refused to give his post-match press conference, while Pepe called referee Paradas Romero a "son of a bitch" in which he was given a red card. So that's 3 essential players out for their next match against Real Sociedad (who are a pretty good team).

Yes, I will admit I am a FC Barcelona fan, BUT I'm not irrational. It was very obvious here Real Madrid did get robbed by the referee. Honestly the referee was handing out cards as if he were handing out free candy. I didn't get to watch the match, but I was able to see the overview of the match, and man did that ref give out cards. Also it is the referee's responsibility to make sure if a player gets two yellow cards, that player should get sent off (like Ramos). BUT that did not happen with Ruben who did get two yellow cards, and was left on the field. Real Madrid was down to 9 men and Villarreal had 11 men while they should of only had 10.

Again, I'm sorry for Real Madrid for getting duped, but then again I'm happy because now the gap between Barcelona and Real Madrid is only 6 points. There is one thing I don't understand though whenever I begin reading the comments of other articles. Everyone begins to blame FCB for the referee wrongs of the games of Real Madrid. Honestly I think people need to realize that refs sometimes just suck.