We're at a point in the calendar year where the football activity is a little dried up. Yes, there is the CONCACAF Gold Cup to feel good about, as North American nations attempt to prove their worth before the inevitable USA-Mexico final. And MLS is in midseason or thereabouts, but as I watch Sky Sports News I am starting to build a little excitement as I see the European clubs are getting together for their preseason training. Nothing says the new European club season is upon us like a few hundred Milan supporters standing around Milanello vehemently protesting the sale of Kaka to Real Madrid.
So as the stars are coming back from their respective holidays and preparing for the upcoming season, it's time to answer the five interesting questions that will probably come up.
1. So every year there is the "it" team in England that is supposed to be a threat to the so called "Big Four" of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Who really has the best shot this year?
This question comes up every year for the past few years or so. With the activity that was occurring in 2008-09, many felt that there were a couple teams that were capable of giving the top four in England a run for their money. Tottenham had bought some of the trendy players like Modric and Pavlyuchenko only to be in the bottom half for most of the season. Aston Villa really was looking the part until their lack of depth caught up to them and were inevitably found out. Manchester City made a big splash last season signing Robinho, but the team's away form was too poor to make an impact.
All three of those teams will again be chasing the Champions League places again next season, in the hopes that one of the big teams will have enough of a dip in form to fall off. City is spending big and made some nice additions with players like Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz (Carlos Tevez is not too far behind). Aston Villa and Tottenham have done very little to build their squads. Then there is the steady hand of David Moyes' Everton side. The Toffees are solid in defense with players like Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka, not to mention goalkeeper Tim Howard. They have players like Howard, Neville, and Saha who have experience playing in the big four sides. Finally, in addition to Tim Cahill, they will get Mikel Arteta back, who was mising for most of last season as the team was coming together to grab the 5th spot in the Premier League last season. And if they can get Jo on a permanent deal from Manchester City, this could be a team that none of the Big Four want to deal with.
That said, there is too much quality and talent at Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal for it to be done in 2009-10. Everton will pose a bigger threat than Manchester City because of the consistency in their squad.
2. Will Barcelona be able to repeat as Champions League winners?
The Blaugrana won the 2009 UEFA Champions League in style, dismantling Manchester United in the final and basically crushing everything in their path. Over 150 goals in all competitions is a remarkable feat. They are a side with four of the best players in the World in Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Eto'o. Taking the ball off of them is enough of a chore.
No one has been able to repeat as European Cup Winners since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990. Since then, on only four occasions have the holders reached the Final the following year (Milan in 1995, Ajax in 1996, Juventus in 1997, and Manchester United in 2009). There are going to be so many distractions in the coming season for Pep Guardiola's men, not to mention the fixture pileup they'll have to endure after returning from the World Club Cup in this December. There's also that matter of their El Clasico rival making all these big signings.
What will make repeating as champions just as challenging though, is the blueprint for how to play Barcelona. Guus Hiddink was on to something when he employed a rigid set of tactics over the two-legged semifinal of the Champions League, and his Chelsea team was about 2 minutes away from a 2008 final rematch with Manchester United. Expect to see many teams attempt the same tactical approach in hopes of nicking a result from Barca.
Barcelona will be among the favorites to win this year's Champions League, but history is against them.
3. Is there a Serie A team capable of ending Inter's run of four consecutive Scudetti?
Inter Milan have taken control of the Serie A, yet it really is questionable whether or not this is a true dynasty in Italian football. The first of these four titles was won in the courts while the second was won because all of their title rivals had to start the season on a points penalty (Juventus was relegated to Serie B for their role in
Calcioppoli). They had to win their third straight title on the last day, overcoming a hard-charging Roma side. All that said, their fourth title was well deserved as they held a 10 point gap over Juventus and AC Milan. On the fact that they are the Champions four years running, you could say this is a dynasty in Italian football.
Looking at the contenders for the season, the team that will have the best shot at catching Inter is Juventus. The Bianconeri say farewell to Pavel Nedved, but bring in a quality playmaker in Diego to keep the ball rolling. They are deep at the striker position in players like Del Piero, Amauri, Trezeguet, and Iaquinta. In addition to Diego, they have a rising star in Sebastian Giovinco to pull the strings. Sissoko made strides this season as a midfield stopper, and they have reliable defenders like Chiellini, Legrottaglie, and Cannavaro. Not to mention some goalkeeper named Buffon. The one thing working against The Old Lady is the inexperience at manager with Ciro Ferrara in his first year in charge at a major level. It worked for Guardiola at Barcelona, so why not let lightning strike again (though personally I'm hoping it strikes with Leonardo at Milan).
4. Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema, how good will the new Galacticos of Real Madrid really be?
Florentino Perez has come in and splashed a lot of money around to lure players to the Bernabeu, as he said he would when he took over the Presidency of Real Madrid. $131 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, $92 million for Kaka, and under $60 million for Karim Benzema. But before everyone just punks out to the White House, consider the fact that Perez has not really done a whole lot to shore up the Real Madrid defense. Raul Albiol coming over from a Valencia side that conceded 68 goals last season in all competitions won't be the answer. Consider that Los Merengues had 8 matches last season against teams in next season's Champions League. They won one of those games and lost the other seven, while getting outscored 23-8 in the process.
What also remains to be seen is who manager Manuel Pellegrini will deem surplus to requirements at the Spanish capital. This team seemed like it was built on Dutch imports (Robben, Sneijder, Drenthe, van der Vaart, van Nistelrooy, and Huntelaar) and the possibility is there that all six of these players could be moved this summer. Iker Casillas has had some brilliant matches in goal for club and country but he has shown vulnerability, and as I mentioned the backline is still an issue (Pepe, Metzelder, and Heinze are among players who have been inconsistent while Sergio Ramos can tend to be out of control). Mr. Perez, Mr. Valdano, and Mr. Pellegrini better be wise in shaping this team chemistry.
All that said, you have to factor in Real Madrid to win something. There might be too much competition to win their 10th European Cup this season (though they will be highly motivated with next season's final in Madrid) but you have to think they'll at least win something domestically. The key is all those superstars being okay with the fact that there is only one ball out there.
5. American defender Oguchi Onyewu joins AC Milan. Was this Milan taking care of a need for a bargain? Or are we seeing a trend with American players breaking into bigger clubs?
I had to rub my eyes a little bit when I saw on AC Milan's website that they acquired Gooch on a free. This deal worked on a lot of different levels for the Rossoneri. First, they are in transition with their back line, particularly their center of defense. It's not known how Nesta will recover, Bonera is a decent player but inconsistent, Thiago Silva has talent but unproven, and Kaladze has really struggled to maintain top form and keep from injury as well. Next, Onyewu qualifies as an EU player (clubs are limited to the number of non-European Union players they can have in their squad) as he has a Belgian passport. Additionally, there was no transfer fee as Onyewu's contract with Standard Liege had expired.
If you look at the last few years, we're starting to experience Americans getting into bigger clubs. It is difficult to measure whether or not this is a legitamate trend though. Tim Howard was Manchester United's #1, and is now the starter at Everton (5th in the Premier League and FA Cup finalist). Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan are both at Aston Villa, Landon Donovan had a loan spell at Bayern Munich, Sasha Kljestan had a trial at Celtic, and Maurice Edu is having some success at Rangers. The addition of Gooch to a side like Milan is another step in this process. If Team USA should have a reasonably successful run in South Africa 2010, you could see one or two players getting an opportunity with one of the Champions League regulars. Time will tell, but the quality of the game in the U.S. has taken significant strides, and the World is taking notice.
Comments and criticisms are welcome, let me know what you think.
