About to get PAID

Aside from determining a champion, a major subplot of the World Cup finals is the emergence of world-class young talent.  Players stepping out of the shadows on this stage tend to earn themselves enormous contracts as the biggest club’s in Europe look to gain in quality and notoriety by snapping up those players who make their mark on the world stage.  After a breakout campaign that made German supporters forget all about injured captain Michael Ballack, 21 year old phenom Mesut Ozil recently became one of this summer’s biggest transfer signings, having been lured to Real Madrid by new manager Jose Mourinho.  Ozil departs Werder Bremen following a summer where most major clubs made their pitch for one of world soccer’s brightest young talents.  Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Barcelona were all rumored to have tabled enormous bids before Ozil made his final choice to take up residence at the Santiago Bernabeu in Spain’s capital city.

Isn't that special

With the beginning of La Liga play just around the corner and renewed expectations of Champions League glory higher than ever, Mourinho has proven yet again that despite his self-aggrandizing speech, his “The Special One” nickname is incredibly apt.  After all this is the manager who took new money Chelsea on a dynastic tirade through England and departed the West London club only to win the Scudetto with Inter Milan in 2009 before completing the treble this past season (League, Cup and Champions League winners in the same year).  And before all of those successes, there is the small matter of the Champions League title he won with Porto in 2004.  Their only defeat of that competition came at the hands of… Real Madrid.  It seems only fitting that with nothing left to win, Mourinho is trying to do it all again in a new league, with the biggest club in Europe, having to overtake Barcelona in the process.

Not a bad signing

In his first transfer window at the controls of Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho has put a stamp on the club very reminiscent of his early dealings with Chelsea.  Before his hands were tied and he was forced to accept aging superstars like Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack, Mourinho splashed owner Roman Abramovich’s cash on loads of young talent in an effort to build a balanced side that could compete at the highest level for years.  This was no Man City hatchet job, buying everything in site, throwing them on the pitch and praying for results.  There was method and purpose in his decision-making and while certain big name signings never panned out during their time with the Blues; Mateja Kezman, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Arjen Robben, Mourinho managed to build himself a backbone of talent that led Chelsea to greatness for many years in Petr Cech, Didier Drogba, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien, Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel.  With this group, Mourinho helped himself to two Premier League titles to go with an FA Cup and a League Cup.

I'm too special for my suit

Fast forward to summer 2010 and Mourinho finds himself in arguably the most challenging job in world soccer.  He replaces Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, whose sacking after one season would be shocking in most situations, considering that his side maintained such splendid league form that their two-horse race with Barcelona stretched the point gap between second and third to an obscenely large 25 points.  Pellegrini’s dismissal and the recent lack of hardware has made the Real Madrid job the ultimate pressure cooker of “WIN NOW” mentality. Tack on a lengthy injury spell on the sidelines for Brazilian superstar Kaka and already the newly appointed manager has an enormous mountain to climb, both domestically and in European competition.  This is not to say that should Mourinho fail to capture the Champions League or La Liga glory in his first attempt that he too will be on the chopping block after only one season.  His pedigree alone has earned him the chance to establish himself, select his players and build a team, but if the results do not follow swiftly, relations in Madrid could deteriorate rapidly.

Talk about special

Getting off to a fast start in his new role, Mourinho has gone out and assembled an exceptional collection of new players for the upcoming season.  In addition to Mesut Ozil, Real have captured powerful German midfielder Sami Khedira (another player who had an immense World Cup) from Stuttgart, highly regarded Argentine winger Angel di Maria from Benfica and setup a reunion with former Chelsea security blanket Ricardo Carvalho.  Throw into the mix Sergio Canales and Pedro Leon, two highly talented homegrown youth players being given their official promotion to first team soccer, and it is clear that Real Madrid is a much deeper side, a direct reaction to their most recent early Champions League exit.  With a grueling domestic season ahead, all the time chasing Barcelona, creating depth within his squad is paramount and all of Mourinho’s new signings can slot into Madrid’s starting eleven without breaking stride, regardless of the competition.

Mark your calendars

Whether or not Real Madrid can overtake Barcelona remains to be seen, but anyone hoping for parity across the Spanish table this year looks to be in for a disappointing season.  However, this year’s edition of El Clasico looks set to be one of the best yet.  On Sunday, 28 November 2010, Real Madrid visits Barcelona and the return leg in Madrid takes place on Sunday, 17 April 2011.  It would be hard to imagine anything other than those two ties deciding the Spanish Champion for the 2010-2011 season.

Spain – AKA: La Furia Roja

Much concern mounted weeks leading to the World Cup with several key players injured for Spain. After their demolition of Poland 6-0 and convincing performances by newly recovered El Nino Ferando Torres and Francesc “Cesc” Fabregas one week before World Cup, the 2008 Euro Champions are is expected to open in great form.

Coach: Vicente del Bosque — Former Real Madrid coach (1999-2003). Took reigns of the Spanish team immediately after their Euro 2008 win.

Players to watch:

Fernando Torres – Striker – Liverpool star, fresh off the injury list.
David Villa – Striker – New Barcelona purchase.  One of Spain’s most deadly strikers
Xavi Hernandez – Center Mid – Barcelona midfielder, considered by many, Messi’s secret weapon.
Cesc Fabregas – Center Mid – Arsenal midfielder, looking to make the move to Barca this Summer.
… rest of the team

Strengths:
Tough defense, masters of the midfield, and world-caliber strikers. Well rounded.

Weaknesses:
… I’ll get back to you on this.

Switzerland – AKA: Schweizer Nati

With their young side taking the U-17 World Cup, Switzerland has begun boasts a fleet of maturing players with lineage. With qualification coming easy for the Schweizer Nati, many expect to see them advance from the group stage.

Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld — Almost 30 years of coaching history. Took over the Swiss National team in 2008.

Players to watch:

Alexander Frei – Striker – Swiss footballer with FC Basel

Strengths:
Organized midfield

Weaknesses:
Lacking in an organized attack.

Prediction:

Let’s reference the historical data, Spain has always played well in group stages. While I’d like to say they should demolish the Swiss, we’ve only seen convincing wins thus far from Germany and South Korea. I’ll give them the win, but it won’t come easy against a team that performed well to qualify.

Match result – Spain 2 – Switzerland 0

wah.

The $80 million man was sent off for the 2^nd time this season in Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Malaga on Sunday. Ronaldo saw straight red for an elbow to the face of Patrick Mtiliga that broke Mtiliga’s nose and will force the defender to miss about three weeks. The elbow did not seem intentional, Ronaldo was trying to break away from the tackle (and slight shirt pull) of the defender. But he still made clean contact as he swung his elbow back and Mtiliga dropped like a ton of bricks and came up bleeding. The red card may be a little harsh considering the lack of intent and the fact that Ronaldo had not been booked in the match previously. But it is my understanding that players must be in control of their body and Ronaldo definitely did swing his elbow back wildly to escape the tackle. But my issue with the incident is the way Ronaldo has reacted in the press.

He has called the decision to send him off “shameful” and a “disgrace”. And today, he went on to rail against diving in La Liga, claiming that he was taught while in England to try to remain on his feet, and that is all he was doing when he hit Mtiliga. He has claimed, “”It was a shameful decision to send me off for that because all I was doing was trying was to hold the player off and it’s because I was educated not to dive and cheat in England.”  Ronaldo crying out against diving?  Really?  The pot calling the kettle black doesn’t even do it justice. Until his last days playing under Sir Rosy Cheeks, Ronaldo kept his reputation for going to ground too easily. And now we are supposed to believe him when he says “”Now I get really angry when I see other players cheating.”

Ronaldo did apologize to Mtiliga after the match, claiming the elbow was not intentional. And that is probably true. But he also claims “”It’s not my fault. He’s a little guy, about 5ft 7in, and that meant I caught his nose by accident.”  Even after he apologizes he finds a way to belittle his opponent and sound like an asshole.

The Spanish press is not impressed with the temper of the Portuguese star. The red card came in the 70^th minute with Madrid having the game pretty much in the bag. Ronaldo had even scored both the goals, including a fabulous side footed half volley in the first half. Malaga currently rank 16^th in the league, having only won 3 games from 19. Ronaldo’s first dismissal of the season came when he was shown two yellow cards in a game against 15^th place Almeria, including one yellow for removing his shirt after scoring. The press called out the star on Monday claming [this is his] “”umpteenth act of idiocy this season” and “Cristiano Ronaldo, again angel and demon” and “Doctor Cristiano and Mister Ronaldo”. Marca columnist Roberto Palomar even called out the star by saying “Anyone who gets sent off against Almeria and Malaga with the match already won is a fool.”

No one can question the skill of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a superb player with so much natural ability. But until he begins acting like a professional (or hell, even an adult) he will have to answer questions about his mentality and his commitment to his team. He will be suspended for at least one match with Madrid already missing some of their attacking options having just sold Ruud van Nistelrooy to Hamburg and Gonzalo Higuain still out with an injury. Madrid currently sit 2^nd behind rivals Barcelona, 5 pts adrift of the team that has yet to lose a match in La Liga this year.

Although no date is official, the Timao site is reporting an August date.  The difficulty lies in the fact that it is a World Cup year and the annual South American club competition, The Copa Libertadores being held in August of which the Timao are sure to capture.  The date for that cup’s finals has been set for August 18th.

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Top Ten (from previous post)

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This team is certainly well on its way to being competitive, at least on paper, but there are still many holes to fill. Some of these holes will inevitably be filled during the upcoming MLS SuperDraft, where the Union holds the first overall pick, but the big question is whether or not the organization will take the plunge on a Designated Player (you know, like that Beckham dude).

Let’s have a look at a few of the possibilities coming out of Europe.

Raul to MLS? Open the wallet.

Raul Gonzalez, Real Madrid

Raul is an interesting case, because the impact he would make is hard to predict. He was a world-class player in his prime, and still has Galactico status in Madrid but is finding it harder to get himself on the team sheet ahead of the likes of Higuain and Benzema, and it will only get harder still. Spanish paper Mundo Deportivo has him leaving for MLS at the end of this season, despite one year remaining on his contract.

The Goal.com story goes on to link him to the Union, seemingly on the basis that they are in fact, an MLS soccer team. Raul will cost a lot of money, is known have a bit of an ego, and it is unknown whether he will be motivated and score goals without both the adoring crowds and top-class service he gets playing for Los Blancos. Despite these reservations, there is no doubt he would be an instant draw and shirt-salesman, and I mean, c’mon, it’s the Raul! Kidding aside, I think Raul will end up in MLS, but that the Union will ultimately be priced out.

Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira, Inter Milan

It might seem crazy to use a DP slot on a defensive midfielder, but Vieira could well command that type of salary, so he’s included here. The former Arsenal captain is now 33, minus a half step, and can hardly get a game for the Nerazzurri and their stacked midfield. Interest from EPL clubs (including a possible reunion with Arsenal) has cooled, and he will be out of contract at the end of the Serie A season. Based on quotes from this past September 2, he seems to have more than a passing interest in making a move to MLS, and at this stage of his career it would make a lot of sense for both sides. I’d like this move for a few reasons. He has lost a bit of pace but remains a tough-tackling physical presence in the center of midfield and would need no adjustment to that side of the game. He also has a good range of passing and is very composed on the ball (something lacking in many MLS players). His experience and leadership would make Peter Novak’s job easier, and of course he would have one of his countrymen, Le Toux, to bust out the Français with.

Alessandro Del Piero looks back on 500+ Juventus appearances.

Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus

A bona fide legend for Juventus, Italy, and world soccer in general, Del Piero would be a massive signing for any MLS team. He is much more of a creator than a Raul, and doesn’t rely on service to get goals (like his trademark nasty free kicks). My money would be on him retiring with his beloved Juve, but he has been linked with a move to MLS several times in the past few years. Juve fans can attest that even at 35 he can still really play, and he is a passionate and committed footballer that would be unlikely to just dog it and collect a check in MLS. That check, however, is where the problem lies for the Union. It’s gonna be a big fat greasy one, what with him already being one of the highest paid players in Italy. He would be a big draw, sell a lot of shirts and likely score some great goals, but I’d put this as least likely of the three.

Quite frankly, any of these players would be a reach for the Union, and many MLS teams in general, at least for this season. I think we are more likely to see someone from the Argentine or Mexican league be the Union’s first DP (a post on that coming soon). But the odds of at least one of these players making at least to MLS are high, and you never know, maybe one of these characters will be suiting up for the blue and…is it gold? I think it’s gold…

Not only has Ronaldo’s been forced to hang out with supermodels, he had to leave beautiful Manchester for dreary Madrid because his agent got him the biggest transfer deal in the history of transfer deals.

And not a moment too soon. After personally winning the Ballon d’Or and being declared the FIFA World Player of the Year, the crappy team he had been stuck with before the transfer could only manage to win the Community Shield, the FIFA Club World Cup, the League Cup and it’s third consecutive league championship yet somehow got knocked out of the FA Cup and lost the Champions League final.

And he’s got those 3000 situps to do every day, all of which is no consolation for a dodgy ankle.

And then last Sunday, he gets sent off in Real Madrid’s 4-2 victory over Almeria.

It wasn’t his fault that he took off his shirt after scoring a goal – should a man be given a yellow card simply because the fans wish to admire his admittedly very attractive abs? What’s the point of doing all of those situps if a man can’t share the results with an adoring public?

And what if a man takes a penalty kick that is then saved by the keeper only to have a teammate put the ball in net? Can a man be blamed for wanting a moment of quiet, thoughtful contemplation and introspection to ponder what might have been rather than join his teammates in celebration?

And if a man is guilty of, as in the words of his coach, being “involved in a series of fouls” and then receives a second yellow card for “kicking out” at an opposition player who is clearly a vastly inferior player in terms of footballing skill, size of paycheck, physical attractiveness, the number of cars in his garage and who also happens to play on a much smaller club, what is that man to think when his coach then says of him that he is “nevertheless a creative player who doesn’t deserve to be sent off” since “other players make many more fouls and never see a red card”? It can all be very confusing to a man.

Well, all a man can do is apologize and admit that he is “human” and that he “made a mistake,” that he too has “flaws.” That said, what can a man do but then emphasize that he is a “professional” and a “perfectionist” who “doesn’t like to miss or lose.”

For when he does that man feels “sad.”

Poor man.

Posted via web from The Philly Soccer Page