We'll be back soon with an account of what we watched this past weekend, but first there are two matches later today that are worthy of your attention: Monday, August 22 Gamper Trophy (friendly), Barcelona-Napoli (2:30pmET, ESPN3.com): This is an annual pre-season friendly hosted by Barcelona each August, named after Joan (nee Hans) Gamper--a Swiss player and businessman, and founding member of FC Zurich. He moved to Barcelona in 1898, where he founded, played for, and then served as club president of FC Barcelona (cf. Chapter 4 of Jimmy Burns' definitive history of the club, Barça: A People's Passion). Aurilio De Laurentiis' Napoli goes into the Lion's Den to face Barcelona today For this trophy, Barcelona invites a club from outside Spain to play at the Camp Nou; the past few years have seen top clubs like AC Milan, Man City, Boca Junions, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, and Juventus
There are two big races that will be decided next year: Premiership Champions and the 2012 Presidential election. Though very different contests, each is important to people on either side of the Atlantic and the runners and riders in them are not too dissimilar either. The Reigning Champions - Manchester United/Barack Obama The ones to beat - the Championship Belt is fastened around their waists. But, as Shakespeare said: President Ferguson Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown Henry IV, Part II Sick and tired, and facing rebellion, King Henry IV is feeling the weight and pressures of his position, something with which the current President will be very familiar, not least in the last few months. Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United have been in this position many times before and are used to such expectations. The strengthening of their squad over the summer
It was shaping up to be a packed weekend, with some interesting EPL matchups and the start of the La Liga season in Spain. But alas, Spanish football is still in shambles, with the players on strike over unpaid wages. Hopefully that will be resolved over the coming week so that we'll see those interesting fixtures next weekend. In the meantime, let's take a look at the EPL games that we'll be watching--along with the FIFA U20 World Cup final: Saturday, August 20 EPL, Sunderland-Newcastle (7amET, ESPN3.com): An early kickoff for this edition of the Tyne-Wear derby. Last year this fixture resulted in a Sunderland suffering an embarrassing 5-1 thrashing--though Kevin Nolan scored 3 of those goals, and Andy Carroll was on the pitch for Newcastle as well. This year Sunderland is probably picked my most to finish above their cross-town rivals. See Coach Larry's thoughts on Sunderland following their draw with
Tears of joy from the masses It's easy to predict Liverpool running all over Arsenal, what with all the Reds' new signings and the Gunners' injuries, suspensions, and defections. Both teams will be cautious as they try to gel and avoid slipping further behind Manchester Red and Manchester Blue. Liverpool, with a couple injured exceptions, is stocked to the gills with players anxious to impress, while the news and the media—not always one in the same—would have you believe that Arsenal is decimated, dejected, and demoralized. (How a draw on the road and a win at home in 4 days, in the midst of so much speculation and criticism and supposed turmoil, are the signs of a damn crisis, I'll never know...) My guess is that pundits and fans alike are, from a Gunners point of view, much more pessimistic about Saturday's match than the Arsenal players and coaches are. One doesn't have to look too far into the past, no
Joey Barton welcomes Gervinho to life in the Premier League with an embrace Us Arsenal fans have been approaching the beginning of this new campaign with a sense of dread. On the field, the team fell of a cliff last spring--in quick sucession, they handed the Carling Cup to Birmingham in the waning minutes; got eliminated from the Champions League yet again by nemesis Barcelona, and fell from within striking distance of the top of the Premier League to barely hanging on to a Champions League spot. Then came the usual dreaded drama of off-season transfers. The Cesc-back-to-Barcelona negotiations dragged out all summer, until finally being consummated just yesterday. But worse than that (most Gunners fans had already bid adieu to their displaced Catalan captain), rivals Man City poached experience defender Gaël Clichy, and then came the disconcerting news that rising star Samir Nasri wanted out
Liverpool's Strikeforce: Luis Suarez & Andy Carroll I should have spent more time on Sunderland in my preview of their match versus Liverpool, but I didn't want to make it a season preview. They definitely need to add attacking options and put a leash on Lee Cattermole. But Stéphane Sessègnon is impressive; Ahmed Elmohamady, Kieran Richardson & Gyan are all big factors, and their back line was well organized, essentially making Andy Carroll irrelevant. Think they will finish 8-10. Liverpool still has a cutting edge problem, though they are more balanced then before. Suarez is a beast to play against. He uses his speed so well to play inside-out, and then he also has the "craftiness" to win penalties and kicks. He will for sure make a lot of enemies around the league. Dalglish played Luca Leiva, Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, and Charlie Adam (the latter three all newly
Where's the News Review, Myles? Nonstop bitching about one’s team evokes the sentiment: If you hate the team so much, don’t watch them. Of course, if you’re from North London and have been a lifetime supporter of Arsenal, for example, you’re not just going to up and change allegiances to Tottenham or Manchester United. But once you’ve griped once, twice, three times, you’re out. Move on and shut the hell up. But even more annoying are people who do not support the team, yet decide to tee off at every opportunity. Myles Palmer runs a site called Arsenal News Review. He is a very intelligent writer, clearly knows the ins and outs of the sport and has written professionally about the game for many years. He wrote a book on Arsene Wenger that is always one of featured links on the homepage. He admits openly that
Some quick thoughts on Klinsmann's debut as USMNT coach Wednesday night, against Mexico in Philly: 1) I liked how the jerseys were stripped of names, and numbers were somewhat "randomly" assigned. The message is something I loved doing when I coached: every spot is up for grabs, no one is assured anything. 2) Jurgen is channeling some Pia. His comments at half time with Rob Stone, and post match, all focused on the positive. One of the things that came out about Pia during WWC2011 was her philosophy of 80/20 positive/negative. Seems Jurgen, at least initially, is taking that tact. Whether that stays, who knows. I never saw a Bob Bradley halftime speech, but I suspect it was FAR less than 80/20 positive. 3) DON'T get too excited about that 2nd half. No Rafa Marquez made a HUGE difference on the Mexican defensive organization. Clearly they need to find a
