Transfer season: who will emerge the biggest winner in three-cornered ‘fight’?

THE transfer season has opened with a bang as Real Madrid looks to have claimed Kaka’s signature, with Chelsea launching a late and desperate bid.

Meanwhile, Manchester City has ‘stolen’ Gareth Barry from right under the noses of Liverpool, even though the Citizens are not even playing in the new Europa League, much less the Champions League football the England midfielder had previously said he craves.

The scene seems set for a three-corner battle among the cash-rich clubs Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the transfer market, making the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool look like paupers.

New Real president Florentino Perez is keen to revive his infamous Galacticos project at the Bernabeu, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso in his crosshairs.

On the other hand, City are continuing their rebuilding, following last season’s influx of oil money from the Middle East. On top of Robinho and Barry, the club is hoping to persuade Carlos Tevez to defect to the blue side of Manchester, along with Everton’s Joleon Lescott.

And meantime in London, Roman Abramovich has once again loosened his purse strings for Carlo Ancelotti, in an attempt to revitalise his ageing squad to clinch the Champions League trophy that he so covets.

It will be an interesting three months of transfer activity ahead, as big money gets thrown around carelessly by these three clubs. The question is – which of these three will come up tops by the end August?

Best player in the world – Messi or Iniesta?

Lionel Messi kisses his adidas F50i boots after scoring the second goal against Manchester United in the final. Will he be kissing the Fifa World Player of the Year plaque this December?

(Picture: Telegraph.co.uk)

IT WOULD be safe to say that Lionel Messi has clearly won his “duel” with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Champions League final yesterday morning, and will surely be a strong contender to succeed the Portuguese as the Fifa World Player of the Year this December.

But what of Andreas Iniesta, the quiet workhorse in the Barca engine room?

Wayne Rooney has proclaimed the 25-year-old as the best player in the world after the final, and it is not difficult to understand why.

The shy and unassuming playmaker had burst into mainstream consciousness during Euro08, where his playmaking skills were instrumental in guiding Spain to its first major international title in 44 years.

With Barca, Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez have been pulling all the strings in the midfield the entire season, with the Albacete native scoring the injury-time goal that brought the Catalans to the final.

There is no doubt that Messi – who scored the second goal in the final – possesses a wizardry and craft on the field that rarely comes about in football, but what about his “anti-galactico” team-mate, who had been the heartbeat of Barca’s midfield the entire season?

What would be the key clash in the Champs League final tomorrow morning?

ONE OF the most eagerly anticipated games of the season will take place later tomorrow morning, as Manchester United face Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome.

Both sides boasts of top players – such as Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – and reputations of playing beautiful, free-flowing football, even though United seems likely to adopt a defensive stance to frustrate Barcelona’s awesome strike-force (read Soccernet story on Sir Alex Ferguson’s comments here).

Looking at the possible line-ups for both teams, the clash between which two players is most likely to affect the outcome of the final?

Is it the midfield battle between Michael Carrick and Andreas Iniesta? Or is it the duel between Patrice Evra and Messi? Or maybe it’s between the determined British bulldog Rooney and the ageing but experience Carlos Puyol?

What are your thoughts?

Question of the Weekend (Champs League return legs)

Hi all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEKEND: For next week’s return legs of the Champs League semis, are Chelsea the favourites to win because Barcelona will miss the injured Rafael Marquez and suspended Carles Puyol, and can Arsenal upset Man United?

Cheers

Ernest Luis, The Postman, The New Paper

 

Will Rio’s absence swing the Premiership title race?

MANCHESTER United are one foot into the Champions League final, thanks to John O’Shea’s solitary goal in the first-leg semi-final at Old Trafford early this morning.

But the victory comes at a price, as centreback Rio Ferdinand could be out for the rest of the season with a cracked rib, pending further tests.

This comes at a time where United’s backline is just looking more confident following its recent shakiness, notably in games where Sir Alex Ferguson had to rely on central defensive pairings other than the usual Ferdinand-Vidic axis.

United are currently leading Liverpool by three points, with a game in hand, but United have some tough opponents in their remaining five league matches – against Manchester City at home on 10 May, and a home game against Arsenal the following weekend.

Given how United looked so frail without Ferdinand and Vidic together in the heart of defence, and how Liverpool have come into form in March, will Ferdinand’s injury swing the fate of the Premiership race this season yet again?

What would Fergie’s and Wenger’s starting lineups be like tomorrow morning?

(Picture: AFP)

SIR ALEX Ferguson and Arsene Wenger are set to renew their long-standing rivalry tomorrow morning (Singapore time) as Manchester United face Arsenal in the first-leg Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford.

The two managers have fought epic managerial battles since the Frenchman took charge of the London club in 1996, with sly jabs thrown in either direction from time to time.

And given the recent circumstances, it would be interesting to see how both managers will select their starting lineups.

For United, the spotlight will fall squarely on its front-line. United’s Wayne Rooney and company had to rely on the introduction of Carlos Tevez against Spurs to spark a stirring second-half comeback. The 4-2-4 formation – with Rooney, Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo – tore into the Lilywhites’ defence and put five past a hapless Heurelho Gomes, who had been outstanding in the first half.

United certainly need to score goals, given that they are again faced with the unfamiliar situation of playing at home in the first-leg, but Fergie will surely remember how Arsenal dominated the midfield in their 2-1 victory over the Red Devils earlier this season, and scheme to prevent a similar situation.

For Arsenal, changes are afoot, with Andrei Arshavin cup-tied and Robin van Persie and Eduardo doubtful due to injury. Wenger has been quoted as saying that he is considering moving Samir Nasri – the star of the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over United last November – to a central holding midfield position or the left flank to plug the gap left by Arshavin’s absence.

If you were Ferguson or Wenger, how would you select the players for your starting lineup, and what formation would you use?

Question of the Week (EPL world’s best league?)

HI all,

THE POSTMAN’S QUESTION OF THE WEEK: With three English teams in the Champions League semi-finals next week, and only Spain’s Barcelona challenging their might, is the English Premier League finally the best league in the world? Why or why not?

Cheers,

Ernest Luis, The Postman, The New Paper

Is United’s unpredictability harming them instead?

IT SUDDENLY struck me as I was watching the Porto-United game early this morning, and trying to look at the game from a tactical point of view.

Is it me or is United’s front-line resembling more and more like a disorganised volleyball formation? Let me explain.

You know how volleyball player rotate positions clockwise after gaining a serve? Well, watching United these days is something like that, only that it is not as systematic as volleyball.

It used to be just Cristiano Ronaldo switching flanks with Ryan Giggs/Park Ji-Sung/Nani, but these days you would see CR7 as the targetman, while Dimitar Berbatov in a deeper playmaking midfield position, while Rooney literally has a free role on the field.

Sure, this free-flowing, fast-switching strategy is cool and could theoretically confuse opposing defenders into conceding more spaces and opportunities than more traditional rigid formations, but is this laissez faire form of attacking football confusing United players as well?

How can United beat Porto at home tomorrow morning?

LIVERPOOL almost did it this morning, the question now is – can United muster one of their legendary comebacks against Porto tomorrow morning?

While the task that lies ahead of United does not seem as insurmountable as Liverpool’s – who had to win by at least three goals; or two goals, provided Liverpool scored four or more.

In contrast, United are going into the second leg level at 2-2, but the thing is: Porto have not lost to British opposition in the competition in 21 games. That is a record stretching back in 1967!

So if you were Sir Alex Ferguson, how would you line up your team tomorrow night to ensure United’s passage through to the next round?

Do bear in mind these facts:

– Rio Ferdinand is back in contention after injury, but could be rusty.
– Darren Fletcher has been ruled out by injury
– Anderson and Dimitar Berbatov are available
– Frederico Macheda scored two goals in two games, both coming on as late substitutes
– Cristiano Ronaldo has been lacklustre at best, although occasional flashes of brilliance saw him scoring goals against Aston Villa
– Gary Neville’s age and lack of pace was cruelly exposed by Hulk in the first leg

Reds vs Blues – the English version

THE question on the lips of most football fans by now is if Liverpool can mount another legendary comeback against Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge tomorrow morning.

Bearing in mind Liverpool’s poor record against Chelsea (they have never scored more than two goals against the Blues in recent seasons), and the fact that Chelsea are playing at home, there is still widespread optimism that Liverpool can overcome these extraordinary circumstances to advance to the semi-finals.

But who can fault the optimism? After all, several factors do work in Liverpool’s favour – the Miracle of Istanbul, the memory of Hillsborough, and – not least – the fact that Chelsea conceded three goals in eight minutes against Bolton over the weekend.

If you were Rafa Benitez, what would be your line-up and strategy to beat Chelsea by three goals?

Or if you prefer to in Guus Hiddink’s shoes: what would be your strategy to shackle Liverpool, bearing in mind that Liverpool will probably find ways to circumvent Michael Essien’s shackling of Steven Gerrard?