European Football
(Soccer) Preview
The season
has finally arrived! Most of the top
European leagues kick off their season openers this weekend, and I don’t think
there is anything more exciting in sports.
This year, I will attempt to not care so much about who wins or loses,
and just enjoy the football for the sport that it is! That said, here are some thoughts on what I’m
thinking for the 2014-15 football campaigns.
English Premier League:
Champions: Manchester
City
Rest of Top 4: Arsenal, Chelsea ,
Liverpool
European Places: Manchester
United, Everton, Tottenham
Mid-Table Obscurity: Aston Villa, Newcastle ,
Stoke City, West Ham
Safe for a Year: Southampton , QPR, Sunderland ,
Swansea City
Battling For Safety: West Bromwich , Crystal
Palace
Relegated: Leicester
City Hull
City Burnley .
Premier League Eleven: Lloris; Debuchy, Kompany, G.Cahill,
Kolarov; YaYa Toure, Ramsey; David Silva; Sergio Aguero, Rooney, Sturridge.
FA Cup: Tottenham
League Cup: Arsenal
Premier League Notes:
Now that the pecking order at Manchester
City Europe . They need a little more class on the edges of
their midfield... I really like what Wenger has done in this remodel. They can attack from all sides of the pitch
now, and the signing of Chambers was really underrated. He’ll provide width from both sides. If they
happen to crash out of Europe during qualifiers, they
can make a huge run at the league... I see Chelsea
doing a little flip-flop of the intentions of Arsenal. While I think they will be competitive in the
league, I think Mourinho wants to bring a Champions League trophy back to the
Bridge...4th will be the tightest race in my opinion. I think Liverpool ,
Manchester United, Everton and Tottenham could all be challenging for it by
season’s end. While I don’t think Liverpool
has the squad to challenge on two fronts, the goals of Sturridge could be
enough to lock up that final place...Aston Villa is my surprise package this
season. The youth is coming together
nicely, and there wasn’t any interest in their players this off-season. They should be focused and ready to challenge
for the top half... Newcastle had a
great transfer window, but I think there are a few inconsistencies in their
squad. They’re still missing that
firepower from midfield after the sale of Yohan Cabaye last January... I think Southampton
won’t have anything to worry about. They
replaced most of their youngsters sold, and they did it with players that will
fit into Koeman’s side. I expect them to
be safe with 5-6 weeks to go... QPR should also be in a similar situation. While Loic Remy will no longer be a part of the
club, they should have enough in the tank to stay in the Premier League this
season. Redknapp won’t let them go down
again... I thought Hull City
Bundesliga:
Champions: Bayern Munich
Rest of Top 4: Borussia Dortmund, FC Schalke, Vfl Wolfsburg
European Places: Bayer Leverkusen ,
Borussia Moenchengladbach
Mid-Table Obscurity: Werder Bremen ,
Hannover 96, Eintracht Frankfurt, Mainz
05
Safe for a Year: HSV, Hertha Berlin ,
1899 Hoffeinheim
Battling for Safety: Freiburg , Vfb
Stuttgart, FC Koln
Relegated: SC Paderborn ,
Augsburg
Bundesliga Eleven: Neuer; Alaba, Piszczek, Hummels,
Wollscheid; Schweinsteiger, Lars Bender; Robben, Gotze, Reus ;
Lewandowski
DFB Pokal: Bayern Munich
Bundesliga Notes: I
don’t think Bayern will miss Mario Mandzukic in the least, and perhaps this is
the year that endorses Lewandowski as one of the best players in the
world. He certainly has the skills to
reach that level, now he has the club. I
do think Toni Kroos will be missed, but Sebastian Rode and Thiago Alcantara
should fit in admirably...Dortmund had some sneaky good signings this summer,
but I think their problem is only that they are in the same league as Bayern
Munich. They should have the squad
though that could push them to a semi-finals place in Champions League as long
as Marco Reus and Mats Hummels are fit and productive...Wolfsburg
might be my surprise package across Europe this
year. While I don’t think they will
challenge for the Bundesliga title, they should challenge for a Champions
League place and may win the DFB Pokal trophy as well. They have one of the world’s brightest stars
in Kevin De Bruyne and with Luis Gustavo, Ivan Perisic and Joshua Guilavogui in
the midfield they may even push for second...the rest of the Bundesliga looks
pretty straight forward for once. There
are usually a surprise going both directions every season such as Schalke
finishing in 8th the same year they made the Champions League
semi-final, and HSV almost getting relegated a season ago. While I think neither circumstance happens
again, Stuttgart going down
wouldn’t be the biggest surprise. They
have been in the Bundesliga first division since 1977 and even won 3 titles
since then. But this current crop of
players leaves a lot to be desired, and I think Stuttgart
needs some fresh ideas as a club both on and off the pitch.
La Liga BBVA:
Champions: Real Madrid
Rest of Top 4: Atletico Madrid ,
Barcelona , Valencia
European Places: Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao
Mid-Table Obscurity: Espanyol, Getafe ,
Malaga , Levante, Villarreal
Safe for a Year: Deportivo La Coruna
Battling for Safety: Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano, Granada
Relegated: Elche ,
Almeria , Eibar
BBVA Eleven: der Stegen; Alba, Sergio Ramos, Miranda;
Iniesta, Arda Turan, Modric, Kroos; Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale.
Copa del Rey: Barcelona
BBVA Notes: Real Madrid
have very convincingly built up the best team in club football over the past
two seasons. It was just 24 months ago,
where it looked like Cristiano Ronaldo was running a one man show with the rest
of the team watching. Now with recent
signings Gareth Bale, Isco, Toni Kroos and James, there is no lack of attacking
power across the front line. I fully
expect them to be the world’s strongest team for a majority of the year, and
they could pull in a major trophy haul... I’m not sure what direction Barcelona
is heading. They are now entering the
‘peak’ years of Messi’s career and instead of building a team around him, they
decided to address their attack and help him up there instead. While the prospect of Neymar, Messi and Luis
Suarez scoring numerous goals is delectable, their back four leaves much to be
desired... I’m most impressed with
Atletico’s summer purchases. They have
brought in Mandzukic, Jan Oblak (A much underrated keeper), and my personal
favorite Antoine Griezmann. He could
reach the levels of a Franck Ribery or Arjen Robben very soon and should keep
the Atletico attack along with Arda Turan very strong...This is probably the
league among the top 4 that I pay the least amount of attention to, so my guess
for the 4th place spot is as good as any. Valencia
used to be a Champions League staple before their hiccup over the last five
years, but looking at their squad, they should be strong enough to put up a
fight with Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad for that final spot.
Serie A:
Champions: AS Roma
Rest of Top 4: Juventus, Inter Milan ,
Napoli
European Places: Fiorentina, Lazio
Mid-Table Obscurity: Udinese, Parma ,
Sampdoria, AC Milan
Safe for a Year: Atalanta, Hellas Verona ,
Chievo Verona, Torino
Battling for Safety: Genoa ,
Palermo , Empoli
Relegated: Cagliari ,
Cesena , Sassuolo
Serie A Eleven: De Sanctis; Benatia, Chellini, Vidic;
Hamsik, Pjanic, Pogba, Vidal, Honda; Iturbe, Klose
Coppa Italia: Lazio
Serie A Notes: Most followers of football will probably
think it’s laughable that I have given AS Roma the title over Juventus this
season, but I have two valid reasons for it.
First, I think that Roma made some of the best improvements to their
squad over the summer transfer window.
They were able to secure the signings of Ashley Cole, Radja Nainggolan,
Juan Iturbe and Leo Paredes without really weakening the squad at all. They
sold Dodo to Inter Milan for 8 million Euros and Michael Bradley to Toronto
for less than that. Second, Juventus is
really committed to making an impression on Europe this
year. They have been absolutely
fantastic in the Serie A these past 3 years, there is no doubt about that. But they haven’t qualified for a semi-final
in that time, and spent last season in the Europa League knockout rounds which
was quite a big blow. They stepped it up
by spending almost 40 million Euros on players this summer, but most of it was
experience which I believe to be an interest in a long European run... Milan
is falling apart. They can’t get any big
players interested in signing there anymore, and most of the talent has
left. If they can get productivity out
of Mario Balotelli and Stephan El Sharaawy this year, then they may leave as
well. If that happens, it could be a
long fall for the former European giants...
Champions League:
Semi-Final: Real Madrid
v Bayern Munich / Chelsea v
Manchester Utd (just kidding, obviously) v Juventus
Final: Real Madrid
v Chelsea
Winner: Real Madrid
Notes: Real Madrid
is one of the few teams in recent history (2008-12 Barcelona ,
2003-07 AC Milan) that has the squad capable of challenging for every trophy
and depth to overcome the most disastrous of injury lists. I might go one further and say they are
deeper than that AC Milan team, at least in the mid-field. If Sami Khedira and both Angel Di Maria stay,
there is no doubting the talents of this squad.
Neither player is penciled in the starting eleven as of right now; they
could probably walk into every club sans Chelsea and Bayern Munich. I almost believe Khedira would start ahead of
Nemanja Matic if picked for the biggest match.
Isco may get all of ten matches this season. In any case, it’s because of this and a huge
belief in the resurgence of one Iker Casillas that has me believing that Real
Madrid will host their 11th Champions Cup trophy... Bayern once
again looks to have a strong team, but I believe two things will keep them from
hoisting the trophy again. First, Pep
Guardiola who I believe has made this team less indomitable with his need for
high quantities of possession and opportunities. They were stronger when they defended and
pushed forward through counter-attacks and the like. Second, the midfield is slowly
weakening. While I like both the
signings of Sebastian Rode and Robert Lewandoski has a whole, they are missing
that extra piece of flair that Toni Kroos and Luis Gustavo brought on to the
pitch. I would like to have seen them
sign Julian Draxler or Wesley Sneijder to really give them that special
look. Especially if they are going to
become this possession-based side. While
Thiago Alcantara is on his way to becoming one of the world’s best, they are
missing that player through the center that can really make things happen. Thomas Muller will have to play there for now,
as his place up top has been taken... This is the year that I think Juventus
will really make a big play. The entire
summer brought forth the idea that they were planning on selling a top player
in order to balance the books. Both
Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba will be around for another season to help them push
on. The defense is still intact, and
Gianluigi Buffon is going to give it another go in goal. Andrea Pirlo appears ageless and they were
also able to add Alvaro Morata to attack to join up with Carlos Tevez and
Fernando Llorente. They should take a
little off of the gas in Serie A, just because they’ve been so strong there lately, and I think they make that extra little effort to get to the Champions
League semi-finals... Jose is building something special at Stamford
Bridge Europe in 2012 and finished in the
semi-finals last season. But with the
addition of Cesc Fabregas who has been one of the world’s best unless he sits
behind Xavi, they should go to that next level.
Having Fabregas will allow Ramires, Matic and John Obi Mikel to do what
they do best which is to break up attacks, and set Chelsea
on the run. I know some people have been
disappointed with the decisions of Jose, but it’s always been about his style,
and this Chelsea team is almost a
replica of what he had at Inter Milan.
If Diego Costa can do his best Diego Milito impression, there is no
reason for Chelsea not to be
challenging for this trophy.
My Favorite Eleven for the Season:
David De Gea (Manchester United) GK – Has really put himself
in the conversation for world’s best.
Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus) LB – Juventus uses him more as a
wing-back but he is an absolute joy to watch.
Thiago Silva (PSG) CB – It took awhile, but now I really
appreciate his calm approach to every attack. Gives PSG a chance at Europe .
Vincent Kompany (Manchester
City Anderlecht . I know his spell in Germany
was sub par, but he is one of the best of this era.
Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan) RB – Won’t be playing in Europe
this season, but I had really hoped Alex Ferguson had signed him in years
past. He’s an intriguing talent.
Paul Pogba (Juventus) CDM – I am obsessed. Looking forward to Juventus’ progress in the
Champions League with an eagerness I’ve never felt before. Not even with Edgar Davids and Zinedine
Zidane.
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) RM/LM – He’s always been one of
my favorites even considering his antics.
Never played for a club I’ve cared for, so this season should be fun.
Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United) LM/RM – If I’m Manchester
United, he is currently unsellable.
Maybe I’m jumping the gun, but I think that #11 suits him very well
indeed.
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund) CF – It’s been a long time
since I’ve known from the first second how good a player is going to be. I would say since the debut season of Wayne
Rooney or my year in Germany
watching Michael Ballack at the least. Reus
is made of the stuff of legends. Dortmund
still has a chance of European glory, essentially because of this guy.
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) ST – United fan or neutral,
I’ve always been a fan of his game. He
has a very unassuming style of play and makes the extraordinary out of the
ordinary. This really should be the year
of his culmination, I’m excited to see how he takes Manchester United into its
new era.
Zlatan Ibrahmovic (PSG) ST – I seriously, really wanted to
name one of my children after him once I saw his goal against England . Some would say it’s not even his greatest,
but it still gives me goosebumps/tears/butterflies when I watch it on
youtube. It really shows the beauty of
soccer summed compactly into a neat little box.
The joy, the passion, the inspiration, the creativity, the composure,
the risk, every little attribute that players strive for. If you get the chance this year, watch Zlatan
has much as you can. #DareToZlatan
No comments:
Post a Comment