Chelsea captain John Terry (Zumapress)

With the World Cup coming to a close in exciting fashion it’s hard to look to the future. However spare your energy and let me get your EPL juices flowing. The 1053 goals scored last season is the highest in recent history. Will the trend continue? I believe so with players like Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Didier Drogba , and Darren Bent.

These are just a few of the stars climbing the all time scoring list led by Alan Shearer’s seemingly unreachable 260 goals. He racked up 148 of those with the newly promoted Newcastle United. Will they become an easy target for goals galore like Burnley or stun their opponents like Birmingham City? Other newcomers West Bromwich Albion and Blackpool will hope to continue their fine play and avoid relegation.

Charlie Adam features for Blackpool’s midfield and scored an impressive 18 goals in the championship. While Newcastle features English born Kevin Nolan in their midfield. A player racking up a respectable 17 goals in 44 appearances.

Will these Midfielders be a threat in their new turf? Or will it be a new striker that emerges for the World to enjoy. Either way it will be a pleasure to see some new clubs battle it out in the highly competitive league.

Transfer rumors are also flying which intensifies the hype around the upcoming season. With several big clubs already making moves there is no doubt your favorite side will have some new faces. Many will hope the additions aren’t at the cost of their beloved stars.

Liverpool have yet to release Torres or Gerrard but Benayoun has already been dealt. Manchester City meanwhile are shaking the pitch by bringing in stars Yaya Toure, David Silva, and Jerome Boateng.


Are two Toure’s better than one? We’ll surely see, but the big spenders will have to fight in order to advance higher on the table. Man. United are taking a different approach and producing some capital. Selling off Ben Foster and the unused Zoran Tosic seem like good moves.

How will newly added defender Chris Smalling fare? At the age of 20 playing for the Red Devils will be a pressure cooker. Arsenal meanwhile have laid back only signing Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.

Seeing how the six foot striker transitions will surely be fun to watch. More moves are on the way in the EPL so stay tuned!

Simply Futbol wants to welcome Matt Mariconi to our team. He will be covering the Premiership for us as well as various other leagues around the  world.  You can also check him out on Twitter.

EPL 2010/11: What's to come?

The title race has again been thrown wide open by the events of another weekend, in what is becoming one of the most exciting run-ins for many seasons.

Having beaten Manchester United last weekend and apparently sown the whole shebang up, Chelsea’s hard-fought for four point cushion has been cut to one again, and again at the hands of an impressive Tottenham team.

Last week, Tottenham effectively ended their North London rivals Arsenal’s title bid, and this week White hart Lane proved an equally difficult place for the Blues to visit.

Celebrated for their classy attacking style, Spurs are beginning to discover a bit of a backbone, defending strongly and attacking quickly on the break, and appear to be relishing the contests against the big teams – Manchester United await.

Chelsea’s chief tormentor was Welsh international Gareth Bale, whose pace forced a penalty for Jermain Defoe and who scored the second himself. Frank Lampard scored a late consolation goal for the Blues. Their misery was compounded by a sending off for John Terry after a second yellow card. For Terry the season gets longer and longer, bearing in mind that he has so far this year been stripped of the England captaincy, failed to conceal news of an affair with a teammate’s partner, been caught in other nefarious business dealings by a newspaper “sting” and managed to run over a club security guard in his 4x4.

Another team who are reluctant to make the running is Arsenal. In the face of the turmoil at White Hart Lane, Arsene Wenger’s men found themselves in the position of being able to claw back three points on Chelsea by beating strugglers Wigan the day after. Two nil up with ten minutes to go and it seemed to be job done, until Wigan scored three times in eight minutes, including the by now obligatory comedy goalkeeping moment from the hapless Lucas Fabianski. A goalkeeper is surely top of the summer shopping list…

Meanwhile, champions United toughed out a tense Manchester derby and took the spoils with a Paul Scholes header in the 93rd minute. “Fergie Time” jokes and comments about the game not being over until the red-faced Scotsman sings are by now commonplace, but still United continue to clinch tight matches with last minute winners.

With the exception of Rooney, United are a shadow of their former selves but do appear to want (really want) to win this title, in spite of being second best to Chelsea for most of the campaign. Another league championship would be the record breaking 19th title which one suspects may be their driving force. In truth, they have at times seemed like a team playing by memory, but with the experience of Scholes, Giggs and Neville coming to the fore, and with Sir Alex still at the helm, what memories they have…

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Does anyone really want to win the Premiership?

Lineups:

Manchester City: Given – Kompany, Kolo Toure, Wayne Bridge, Onuoha – Barry, De Jong, Bellamy, Johnson – Tevez and Adebayor

Manchester United: Van der Sar – Vidid, Evans, Evra, Neville – Schole, Fletcher, Gibson, Giggs – Valencia, Rooney

Both teams respected each other a bit too much, and it seemed like the game was just destined to finish goalless. But, in the last 17 seconds of the 3 additional minutes of ET, Paul Scholes broke the deadlock with a gasping header and gave United a victory, scoring his 149th goal with the United jersey.

After the match United head coach Sir Alex Ferguson made the following statement in regards to Paul Scholes: “I decided to put Scholes a bit further forward and it paid off. He was the man of the match today, he was wonderful, and he’s such a skilful player.”

He also added the fact that if they would have not won things could have complicated, speacially with a ten-man Chelsea being defeated by spurs. Chelsea has a one point lead now, instead of four.

Paul Scholes saves Manchester United in the derby

The buzz in the Mexican media is evident and if one were to read all the headlines coming out of the Aztec media there is a sense of pride in the transfer of Javier Hernández to Manchester United.

For many, he might not have needed the Mexican media machine or his position at Chivas to really make a leap of this level. He is sincerely that good and his potential became reality very quickly in his first two years fresh out of the Sacred Flock's youth system.

There was a certain buzz all throughout the Manchester United camp as they signed a player that will have the possibility of replacing Dimitar Berbatov.

He is doing what only two other players have done in the history of Aztec ball- play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.  This is an honor held only by Hugo Sánchez (Real Madrid) and Rafael Márquez (Barcelona).  We all know what paths they have etched in world football.   Many expect him to do great things in England; a place that has seen players like Jared Borgetti fail miserably with much lesser clubs.

His talent was overshadowed by injury as well as the emergence of Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos in the 2005 U-17 World Cup. Hernández was present two years later at the U-20 held in Canada. For the Aztecs he was a welcome addition to the nucleus of the U-17 side that won it all in Peru. That was the first "Chicharito"sighting.

For many, Hernández will be more like Márquez and Sánchez than Borgetti or Cuahtémoc Blanco (Valladolid).  He is one of the few Mexican players to have, literally, all of the tools to be successful on the pitch.

So what type of player exactly did Alex Ferguson sign and what are these tools I am talking about?

First of all, "Chicharito" Hernández is explosive off the dribble. He can blow by defenders from all angles and come at you from different positions if need be. Coming from the right, Hernández will give that support to Wayne Rooney and open even more space for the Premiership's leading scorer- that's a scary thought.

He has the potential to give the Manchester attack a semblance on offense of a consistent threat since Berbatov has failed to do so. 

He creates space with his dribble.  "Chicharito"can changed directions at the drop of a dime.  He can turn a tiny crease in the defense into a gaping hole with just one cutback.   He will be a huge beneficiary of the tough marking that Wayne Rooney endures to make a name for himself, and then feed Rooney after defenses adjust to him.

He is one of those players that plays for his team and that is something that can pay dividends.

"(Chicharito) has great human qualities and is a very good footballer as well."- Chivas coach José Luis Real

Physically, although he seems fragile, he has a low center of gravity which allows his to remain on his feet. This will neutralize the Premiership defenders that will try to out-body him. He has enough smarts 

He is very effective in the air as he can attack the ball. So if there are any taller defenders underestimating "Chicharito", they could be in for a big surprise.

Most importantly, they are getting a player that has the game in his DNA. His grandfather and father have fed him the game since he was in the womb and that does say a great deal. He will adapt well as his close circle has helped him remain focused in his young career.

This influence reflectos on the pitch in the way he carries himself.  Respectful, hard worker, but most of all... hungry for success.  

Accolades have come his way since he has stolen the spotlight in Mexico:

"A potent version of Hugo Sánchez... but without the prepotence."

"A good version of Borja"

"An improved Luis García"

For some those names might mean little, but to his game it is a roadmap that could guide him to success in a league that is as competitive as the Premiership.

Some might not think that is important, but it is. Having a grandfather that played in the 1954 World Cup as well as a father that played in 1986, that is enough help to help him overcome anything that Manchester can throw his way.

If United are patient with Hernández, like that have been with other talented youngsters that have stepped foot onto the Theatre of Dreams, they could witness a player that will accustom fans to be shocked. Of course, there will be a period of adaptation that he will have to endure, but if you know anything about this kid is that he is as mentally strong as they get.

For those of you who might doubt him taking the pressure of the expectations, well one thing is for sure... he handled the Mexican media quite well. Let's be honest the press there pick fights and try to chum the waters as good as any English reporter out there.

Still he was able to succeed and even excel in his humble and respectful ways. The media have actually become his best ally based on his merits on the pitch.

For Manchester fans this could be a refreshing site as he brings a sense of humility to the game. And that could be the first step in enamoring a group of fickle fans.

Manchester have Hernández... so what do they have?

A Mexican football player makes history again.

This time Chivas star Javier Hernández is picked up and will apply his craft in one of the most competitive leagues and biggest clubs in the world.

Javier came out of Chivas youth system and showed a great deal of potential After scoring 11 goals in 16 matches in the second half of 2009, Hernández ended up as the third leading scorer in Mexico. He truly broke out in the Bicentenario 2010 tournament socring six goals in his first two matches. Arguably the hottest player in the Mexican league, "Chicharito"has made waves with club and country and found himself on the radar with several European clubs like PSV and reigning Bundesliga champs Wolfsburg.

"Chicharito" (The Little Pea) was nicknamed after his father, Javier Hernández who was part of Mexico's 1986 World Cup team alongside Hugo Sánchez, Tomás Boy, Carlos Hermosillo, and Luis Fernando Tena.

Hernández, 21, will join the Red Devils in July after his participation in the world and as soon as he obtains a work permit in the UK. Signing terms on the agreement were not disclosed.

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Manchester sign Chicharito Hernandez

Even though he will not be present on the pitch at the Camp Nou on Tuesday against Arsenal, Gerard Piqué made headlines on Monday as he presented his new autobiography "El Viaje de Ida Y Vuelta" (The Roundtrip).

In this book Piqué talks about his experience from his beginnings at Barcelona's youth academy and his move to Manchester United then his eventual return to Catalunya with a pit stop in Zaragoza.

"It narrates the story of a dream come true. It's about the adventures of a boy that wants to for Barcelona's first team above everything else. In the end he achieves that; but lots of things happen along the way, like having to go to Manchester United," said Piqué.

In an interview with Catalan daily Sport, Piqué also mentions that he owes his success in the past two seasons to Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola.   He mentioned how much then-rookie coach Guardiola risked by putting an inexperienced Piqué out on the pitch.  From that point the hometown boy emerged from youth product to one of the best central defenders in the game. Piqué's  2009 calendar year was dream-like as he was part of a Blaugrana side that became the first Spanish team to win the treble and first European team to ever win six trophies in one year.

"From a football standpoint, (Pep) gave me everything.  I will never be able to repay him for risking himself with me.  I understand that my return to Barcelona was not normal after playing so few minutes at Manchester."- Gerard Piqué

This book has only come out in Catalan but there should be editions in English and Spanish coming months, so when that does occur... we will review that book for you here on Simply Futbol as we did so with others in the past.

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Piqué presents his autobiography and thanks Pep

Ivica Olic and Franck Ribéry celebrate after Bayern Munich scored the game-winner against Manchester United (AP)

It was 1999, in reverse at the Allianz Arena. Bayern Munich as well as Louis van Gaal were able to mildly avenge their losses to Manchester United 11 years ago. Remember, Van Gaal was the coach of Barcelona that same year and the Red Devils eliminated the Blaugrana en route to their second European title.

In the first minute, Manchester United once again proved to everyone why they are a team that will never forgive their opponents' mistakes.

The masked man, Martín De Michelis slipped and Wayne Rooney scored his 34th goal of the season tapping a volley past Hans-Jörg Butt to open the scoring after only 84 seconds.

From that point on Alex Ferguson went to their 4-4-1-1 and allowed Bayern Munich to battle back in the match.

They took advantage of the spaces that the English champs allowed them. The Bavarian giants took the game to Manchester and kept going after the first goal that would give them some life once again.

An organized backline along with an inspired Edwin van der Sar helped United's road goal seem almost insurmountable until Franck Ribéry's freekick in the 77th minute that deflected off of Wayne Rooney's foot and into the back of the net.

In the end, the team that worked harder ended up winning and Ivica Olic's goal in the 92nd minute was a tribute to that persistent attitude. After what seemed to be another subdued attack and the match looked to end up being a draw; the Croatian international dashed into the box and took the ball away from Patrice Evra. He would coldly beat van der Sar for the eventual game-winner.

To make matters worse for Sir Alex, Wayne Rooney would injure his ankle and air raid sirens sounded all over English football as this injury could end up being the most talked about in the British Isles since David Beckham broke his foot back in 2002.

Meanwhile the two best teams of the past three years in France faced off and the match at the Stade Gerland lived up to the hype.

Lyon take foothold in French encounter
Meanwhile Lyon and Bordeaux would duke it out in order to become the first team since Monaco to reach the Champions League semifinals.

Lisandro López and Michel Bastos gave Diego Maradona and Dunga more of a headache after his performance in Lyon's 3-1 win over Bordeaux. The former Racing man scored a brace and was a man in the box constantly being a threat to Cédric Carrasso's goal.

Marouane Chamakh equalized in the 14th minute when he headed home a beautiful cross past Hugo Lloris, who would become one of the stars of the match as he made spectacular save after spectacular save in order to keep "The Kids" in the game.

This was not the case for Bordeaux's defense, who let them down with very basic mistakes. Case and point, in the 32nd minute Brazilian international Michel Bastos would take advantage of a misplayed ball by Benoit Trémoulinas and he would drill the ball to Carrasso's back post for the eventual game-winner.

Lisandro would make it 3-1 on a penalty kick. They would now take this advantage to Stade Chaban Delmas and play try to reach the semis of Europe's most important club competition for the first time ever.

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Champions League goes from 1999 to 2004

The UEFA Champions League draw for the Quarterfinals took place this friday, in Switzerland. And Oh boy do we have some good matches ahead.

QUARTERFINALS:
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v F.C. Barcelona
Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow

SEMIFINALS
Bayern Munich v Manchester United winner vs. Lyon v Bordeaux winner
Inter Milan v. CSKA Moscow winner vs. Arsenal v F.C. Barcelona winner

The home team in the finals will either be Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Lyon or Bordeaux.

The match will be played on May 22nd in the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.

UEFA Champions League Draw

English international Michael Owen with Real Madrid(Wikimedia)

Michael Owen has had a brilliant career, but people know that it was his injuries that hindered him from becoming one of those players that marked a generation.

The Manchester United striker will not be a part of Fabio Capello's plans as it was announced on Friday that he will have to undergo surgery to repair damage that he suffered in his hamstring during the final of the Carling Cup this past Sunday.

"It was a big blow for (Michael)," said Alex Ferguson in a press conference. This news rocked the Manchester United camp as Owen finally settled into his role of supersub for Wayne Rooney. Ferguson mentioned the fact that the severity of the injury was greater than expected.

Owen was becoming a contributor and added depth to the Red Devils bench as a replacement for Carlos Tevez. In his limited appearances due to injury (19) he was able to score three goals. Owen is scheduled for surgery on Monday.

This is not the first time that the English international suffered an injury which kept him out of World Cup play. In the 2006 edition, Owen suffered a severe knee injury in the fourth minute of final group stage match against Sweden.

The former Liverpool star came onto the international scene as England's teenage superstar and made a name for himself especially in the second round match against Argentina as he scored one of the best goals of France'98.

In 2001, Owen led Liverpool to the FA Cup as he served up one of the greatest individual performances seen by the Anfield faithful.

Owen currently finds himself in fourth place all-time on the Three Lions scoring list with 40 goals. He is just behind Jimmy Greaves (44), Gary Lineker (48), and Sir Bobby Charlton (49).

Owen season and World Cup dreams end

As was reported in the past weeks, Manchester United will have changes to new season's kit. For staters, insurer Aon will replace AIG due the economic hard time that the latter has fallen under.

Manchester's jersey will not look what many sites had posted in the previous weeks and months leading to the summer break. Instead the jersey will have a black V incorporated into the shirt's design as well as a round collar similar to Barcelona's away jersey.

Manchester United Jersey Undergoes Changes

It was a matter of time before the inevitable happened, but the day has come. Manchester Unied announced earlier on Thursday that reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo will be packing his bags and heading to Real Madrid.

That is the second blockbuster signing of the second Florentino Pérez regime in La Casa Blanca. According to Spanish sports daily As the operation is a done deal but it will not be made official until June 30th.

The £80 million (€93 million, US$131 million) offer is by far the new world record in transfers, surpassing the €75 million that Real Madrid paid for Zinedine Zidane back in 2001.

United fans, what will happen to the Red Devils next season without CR7? Madrid fans, do you like what is going on at Valdebebas as the second era of Galácticos is alive and well? Let us know what is YOU think?

The Second Galático Has Landed

The 2008-09 UEFA Champions League Final features the matchup everyone wanted to see:

Futbol Club Barcelona (ESP) vs. Manchester United Football Club (ENG)

After months of matches and controversy the Champions League final has arrived. Its Spain vs. England, La Liga vs. Premiership, and Champion vs. Champion. Stadio Olimpico in Roma, Italy will be host to the most anticipated UCL Final in a long time. Let's breakdown the game with its key components that should make this match compelling.

Goalkeepers:
Barcelona's Victor Valdes is a much better athlete that Man U's Edwin Van Der Sar, however the Barca stopper is prone to mindless errors and with a depleted and makeshift backline Valdes will have to be flawless. Van Der Sar is solid but not spectacular while Valdes has made some massive saves this season.
Edge: Futbol Club Barcelona

Defensive Backline:
Manchester United's backline has been solid but they were exposed a bit by Porto's attack in the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in 1st leg of their quarterfinal tie. However Man U's likely backline of Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, and O'Shea is more reliable than the makeshift backline that Pep Guardiola will have to put together for the final due to the absence of Eric Abidal & Dani Alves.
Edge: Manchester United Football Club

Midfield:
Manchester United has little midfield shuffling to do compared to Barcelona. The Blaugrana will probably start Sergi Busquets in the middle with Xavi & Andres Iniesta in their normal spots. Sergi's presence in that spot is due to the possibility of regular midfielders Seydou Keita & Yaya Toure playing in Barca's backline. Man U will be without Darren Fletcher for the final but his absence could mean that Ryan Giggs could possibly be in the starting 11. If that's the case its a huge boost for The Red Devils.
Edge: Manchester United Football Club

Attack:
Barcelona has the best attack in the world. The trio of Messi, Eto'o, Henry with the sharp passing & play of Barcelona MVP Andres Iniesta is the most devastating the footballing world has seen in a long time. Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez, and Rooney are excellent but they don't scare defenses to the level that Barca's does. Man U's backline has not seen an attack like Barca's all season.
Edge: Futbol Club Barcelona

Coaching:
Sir Alex Ferguson vs. Josep Guardiola. Old vs. New. SAF has been a manager for 35 years, JG for 1. This is Sir Alex's 3rd UCL Final and this is Guardiola's 1st. So you think that Man U's iconic coach would have a massive edge but Guardiola has proven to be brilliant this season. The Catalan coach has managed to put his team in a position for a never been done treble for a Spanish club despite injuries and pressure. The coaching chess match is one of the great storylines of this final but Sir Alex is an all-time great and you can never discount an all-time great.
Edge: Manchester United Football Club

History:
Manchester United and Barcelona have faced each other nine times in European competitions: three times in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and six times in the Champions League. Of those nine matches, Manchester United have three wins to Barcelona's two, with four matches ending in draws. Manchester United are 3-0 in European Champions Clubs' Cup/Champions League Finals while Barcelona is 2-3 in Finals of the same competition.
Edge: Manchester United Football Club

Prediction:
3 is the magic number. If both sides score more than 3 goals advantage Barca, if both sides score less than 3 goals advantage Man U. Barcelona's style of play is to dominate possession add that to their speed advantage in attack and Man U's backline will be in for a rough night. Man U's midfield will have to defend more than they have had to all season so The Red Devils will have to be precise on the counter. All indications from both sides are that they will both press and go after goal and that favors Blaugrana.
Futbol Club Barcelona 3 - 2 Manchester United Football Club

Probable Lineups:
Barcelona (4-3-3) - DT: Josep Guardiola
GK: Victor Valdes
Defense: LB - Seydou Keita, CB - Pique, Yaya Toure, RB - Puyol
Midfield: RCM - Xavi, CM - Sergi Busquets, LCM - Iniesta
Attack: RS - Messi, ST - Eto'o, LS - Henry

Manchester United (4-4-2) - DT: Alex Ferguson
GK: Van Der Sar
Defense: RB - Evra, CB - Vidic, Ferdinand, LB - O'Shea
Midfield: RM - Park, CM - Carrick, Anderson, LM - Giggs
Forwards: RF - C. Ronaldo, LF - Rooney

2008-09 Champions League Final Preview

It's been a long season, but they always are. This Sunday was the last in the BPL season where Manchester United retained their crown as champions. Yes there was competition, no we did not run away with the league. Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal they all had a chance but didn't take their chances when the opportunities arouse. Taking their chances, that is among others one thing that Manchester United does time and time again. When it comes to the Champions League we haven't always taken our chances but lately we have been spot on. Not since the 1989-1990 season has a team retained their Champions League title in consecutive years and not since the inception of the Champions League in 1992 from the European Champion Clubs' Cup has it been done. The task is a tall order that falls on the shoulders of Ronaldo, Rooney, Carrick, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Park, Giggs, Tevez, O'Shea and Van der Sar. Can you tell that is my starting eleven. Well I can't be certain that Park, Giggs, Tevez or O'Shea will start so insert your choice of player.

Barcelona have a fine team, very fine. Messi, Xavi, Eto'o, Henry, Iniesta and the list goes on. We know who they are, we know the football they play. We've held them before, true it was a different team last season but we've done it before. Now we don't need to just hold them we need to beat them. Rome is the place of the battle and one that Manchester United are going there to win. We have the firepower, so do Barcelona, we have the midfielders, so do Barcelona. I believe we have a better defense than Barcelona and a better goalkeeper. For us to win we need everyone on their A game.

I usually don't like writing pieces like this. I am a very superstitious person when it comes to sports, especially football. I will not predict a score, but I do believe in my team and will say we will make history and be Champions again.

Hannah Lee is the co-host and Ms. Everthang on the Forza Futbol podcast. You can listen to her and "El Presidente" Mando on the site's podcast every week.

Let us know what you think about Hannah's opinion.

Man Utd. Is Going To Repeat

Manchester United Practice...

Ferguson: ¨I have a feeling that the final will be low-scoring.¨

Van der Sar: ¨Move up...up... closer¨

Doodle of the Day

After a short hiatus... The Mad About Fútbol Show is back.

George and Juan do the duo version of the show where they look at the incredible and controversial end of the return leg of the Champions League semifinal at Stamford Bridge. The guys also talk about the the upcoming Copa Libertadores knockout stages as well as other things that occur in South America.


Show 12.1

Mad About Futbol Show 12

Arsenal:
1 Almunia, 40 Gibbs, 20 Djourou, 5 Touré, 3 Sagna; 8 Nasri, 17 Song, 4 Fábregas; 11 van Persie, 14 Walcott, 25 Adebayor

Manchester United:
1 Van der Sar, 3 Evra, 15 Vidic, 5 Ferdinand, 22 O'Shea, 8 Anderson, 16 Carrick, 24 Fletcher, 13 Park, 7 Cristiano Ronaldo, 10 Rooney





TV:
ESPN 2, ESPN 360, ESPN Deportes-s

Radio:
Sirius 125, ESPN Deportes Radio (Sirius 91)-s

Confirmed Lineups: Arsenal-Manchester

It is hard to separate the difference between the bubble that is football at its highest level and the reality of the world right now. I read Spanish news everyday and the headlines are very similar to those here in the United States.

Apparently Real Madrid were the affected by a Madoff-type Ponzi scandal. They seemed to be According to Cadena Ser El Larguero Real Madrid received a €70 million credit from Banco Santander. This money is in an effort to obtain Manchester United star and reigning World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo this coming summer. Based on this line of credit, it seems like the Portuguese international will most likely be wearing white next season.

Part of me says that Madrid is a step closer towards getting their man and this whole saga can come to an end. Another part sees this as the microcosm of why the economies around the world are in the crapper. Although they have seen increased profitability in Chile and the further aperture of the Asian market, things are not so good for them in Spain. The news could not have come out at a worse time when Spain´s economic situation gets more dire by the day for one of the biggest banks in the Europe Union. Banco Santander announced last week that their attributable profit fell and are about to announce the loss of 300 jobs in the consumer finance division as a result of a ¨reorganization¨ that is taking place in that end of the bank.

Part of me wants to say, ¨screw Real Madrid or any other club that gets a line of credit like this¨. Screw the people that approved this loan. Banks like Santander and BBVA are reluctant to lend money to people because of fears that they would have their bottom line affected. This all occurred after Spanish Prime Minister Jose María Rodríguez Zapater scolded them in a

I feel bad for Juan Doe. The one that is struggling to make ends meet. The family that is rejected a loan to buy their house and be able to raise their family with dignity. Worst of all, this money does not stay in Spain. The money is going to England as a pit stop and into the pockets of Manchester United who have to pay off significant interests on the loan that the Glazers got for their hostile take over of the Mancunian side. This could be money that could be helped in generating more jobs in a country that has the highest percentage of unemployment in the entire European Union (over 14%).

I mean now is not the time to use money for matters such as these. The economics of the world do not allow rich bastards like these to use up what little credit and resources there are in order to fulfill these fantasy football circle jerk sessions. Maybe Vicente Boluda should check out the streets of Madrid and other small towns that are being affected by the financial irresponsibility.

What do you think about Madrid´s line of credit for Cristiano Ronaldo?

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