Are Spanish players worth top money?

FERNANDO Torres questioned the disparity between the transfer value of Spanish players and ‘top drawer’ players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka, according to a Soccernet article last night. (read story here).

He commented that Spanish clubs are willing to pay top money for foreign players like Ronaldo, but not for domestic players such as David Silva, David Villa and Xavi Hernandez, despite Spain being “the best national team in the world”.

Do you think the likes of Torres, Silva and Villa deserve to be in the same bracket as Kaka, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when it comes to transfer value?

Ronny’s Real move – one step forward or two steps back?

ALONG with a sizable group of Man United fans here, I am SERIOUSLY happy that the talented but petulant Cristiano Ronaldo will finally be heading out of the Old Trafford doors, but too much have been written about that already.

Let’s put the focus on the man from Madeira instead.

Is he going to a better football club, a club that would make him better as a football player and win him more titles – individual and team?

If you were David Villa, where would you go?

AFTER securing Kaka’s signature on Monday, Real Madrid are turning their attention on Cristiano Ronaldo and David Villa, who scored a hat-trick against Azerbaijan earlier this week.

The Spanish hitman, who starred in last year’s Euro08, is also being pursued by Chelsea, who already have Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka on their books. The London club are also reportedly in the market for Franck Ribery and Alexandre Pato.

On the other hand, Real have Raul, Gonzalo Higuain, Arjen Robben and Javier Saviola, as well as new recruit Klass Jan Huntelaar, who moved in January.

With Valencia all but forced to sell their prized players due to their financial situation, Villa could be left with no choice but to leave the Spanish club, with Chelsea and Real being the frontrunners.

But if you were the 27-year-old, which club would you move to?

Who will be next in the Galacticos v2.0 line-up?

NEW Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has signalled his intention of rebuilding the ‘Galacticos’ era at the Bernabeu by signing Kaka on a world record transfer late last night (Singapore time).

The Brazilian superstar reportedly moved on a £56m transfer from Milan, eclipsing the £47m Real paid for Zinedine Zidane’s services in 2001, which is incidentally the last ‘Galacticos’ era under Perez.

Other than Kaka, Real are said to be after the likes of Franck Ribery, Nemanja Vidic, David Villa, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Silva and Xabi Alonso.

The question is – who are Real most likely to add next to their stable of overpaid superstars?

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?

Q & A with Letter of the Week Winner Eugene Chan

When and why did you become a Man United fan?
As far back as I can remember, I started supporting Manchester United in the 1992-1993 season. That was a special year being the first season of the Premier League and for United to finally be crowned champions after a long 26 year wait.
Obviously I didn’t know that then but I remember slowly following them on television with my family, attracted by their spirit and their will to always play attractive football. There was one more reason why that season was special. That year, the ‘King’ arrived – Eric Cantona joined United and the revolution started.

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?

Does Giggs deserve the PFA Player of the Year award this season?

VETERAN Manchester United player Ryan Giggs won the PFA Player of the Year award last night (Singapore time), one of the few awards that the Welshman had not won in his glittering career.

The 35-year-old beat United teammates Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar, as well as Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard to the award, adding to his two PFA young player awards among other team accolades.

While few will argue that the United vice-captain deserves some form of recognition for his achievements – he has 10 league titles to his name, and has won 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups and the Champions League twice in his 17-year United career – but does Giggs deserve the award this season?