Ways To Sport

Barcelona were crowned as the champions of Europe over the weekend. Barcelona are the best team I’ve ever observed compete in the Champions League and this got me thinking about creating a team that could topple this group. Consequently I decided to make a starting lineup that finest counteracts the Barcelona squad.

The squad is picked as if there had been a game tomorrow and everyone is healthy. Of course, none of the players can be on Barcelona. When picking my squad, I wanted the following issues: defensive strength, capability to hold possession, speedy and ruthless counter attacking. With that in mind here is my lineup.

GK: Iker Casillas (Actual Madrid, SPAIN)
I nearly went with Neuer as the starter, but Casillas is better coming off his line and despite the fact that Neuer might be slightly much better at crosses, that talent seems less necessary against a Barcelona side that maintain it on the ground.

RB: Maicon (Internazionale, BRAZIL)
Maicon is strong defensively and he will be able to push up into attack and overload against the left back, which will be the weakest position on the field for Barcelona.

CB: Ricardo Carvalho (Actual Madrid, PORTUGAL)
Carvalho reads the game well and he is capable of putting in the challenging tackle when he requirements to. He is composed on the ball and he has massive game experience.

CB: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United, SERBIA)
When it comes to defending, there is no 1 better in the world and Vidic is capable of generating those last ditch tackles. The concern could be playing the ball out of the back, but he will snuff out chances to make it worthwhile.

LB: Ashley Cole (Chelsea, ENGLAND)
This was close as Marcelo from Real Madrid was practically my pick. Nevertheless, Marcelo is too effortlessly caught out of position, although Cole is beginning to show signs of aging, but he is still my pick at left back.

CM: Yaya Toure (Manchester City, IVORY COAST)
Toure has experience of playing against these guys in practice. Nevertheless, his physicality would trigger difficulties for really a couple of of the Barcelona defenders, but Toure has shown the capability to make a tackle. Toure’s desire to push up may possibly be a bit of a issue which is why I strong considdered Esteban Cambiasso as a lot more of a stay at property midfielder.

CM: Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich, GERMANY)
Schweinsteiger is a superb passer of the ball and he will be able to control the game when this group has the ball. His passing is key to attempt to limit the possession disparity that always seems present. Schweinsteiger is also a great tackler so he won’t be overrun on the defensive side either.

AM: Wesley Sneijder (Internazionale, HOLLAND)
Sneijder is most likely the closest thing to Xavi other than Xavi and Iniesta. He pushes forward nicely and is a danger on set piece service. The only question might be that he occasionally doesn’t do the defensive work.

RW: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, HOLLAND)
Robben has the pace to trigger difficulties and he can exploit the left back spot. He isn’t the greatest defender on the wing, but he should force back the left back as he will play nearly as a second forward.

LW: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, ENGLAND)
Rooney was the source of all of United’s attacks and his capability to do the defensive work is valuable as he will be utilized to check Dani Alves. I even although difficult about putting him in the Sneijder’s spot and moving Ronaldo out to the wing and utilizing Didier Drogba up front. Even so, Alves wants to be stopped, and Rooney is the man for the job.

ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (Actual Madrid, PORTUGAL)
When it comes to finishing, Ronaldo is 1 of the very best. He is harmful on set pieces both on headers and shots. He has the pace to unlock the counter attack and the ruthlessness to do so. The only poor factor is Ronaldo doesn’t really function as a target man which is frequently valuable against Barcelona and why I was tempted to push Drogba into the side.

Even with this group, I would still anticipate them to concede the majority of possession as it is unclear no matter whether the forwards have the work rate to pressure Barcelona high up the pitch. Nevertheless, this group is meant to frustrate Barcelona’s attack and punish them on the counter. So, this is my lineup to play against Barcelona, but left me know yours.

Share and Enjoy:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

Paul Scholes retired right now ending a 17 year career as a 1 club man with Manchester United. He will join their coaching staff at Old Trafford. The announcement was not fully surprising given his unwillingness to sign a new contract. He will usually be remembered as a great footballer and for me, as my favorite player, I will miss seeing those gorgeous cross field passes that would land at the player’s feet.

There have been a lot of tribute videos, but this is 1 of the better ones. My fondest memories of him had been his goals against Manchester City last season and the objective against Barcelona that sent them to the Champions League final. Nonetheless, this is in addition to a number of top quality long distance strikes. Regardless of the goals, I will often remember his passes, the slight bits of magic. My favorite was probably his little chip to Rooney against AC Milan in the 2007 Champions League. It was the deft touch that truly set him apart from most other midfielders in the Premier League era. United will now look to replace him, and it will be a tough job there are couple of players that have the passing and vision that Scholes had even in is final season.

Scholes has left me with so many fond memories and for that I thank him.

Share and Take pleasure in:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

Ligue 1 was the last of the large leagues to finish up. The league started off with a tight group with only Arles falling off the pace early. However, Lille emerged as the front runners and won the league for the initial time since 1953-54 season. Marseille and Lyon finished behind them in the Champions League spots while Paris Saint-Germain, Sochaux and Rennes taking the Europa League spots. At the bottom, Arles, Lens, and 2004 Champions League finalist Monaco were relegated.

Player Of The Season: Gervinho (Lille)
Eden Hazard and Moussa Sow obtain most of the publicity for Lille’s title win, but Gervinho deserves plaudits as he was the man that created opportunities for them as teams couldn’t solely focus on stopping the just those two. He ended the season with 15 goals and 10 assists. He might not have the hype of the other two, but every little thing was easier for Sow and Hazard with Gervinho producing.

Manager Of The Season: Rudi Garcia (Lille)
Lille had been the clear selections here as they ended a long title drought and even added a Coupe de France to their trophy cabinet this season. Lille are an impressive attacking side and a lot of that can be put down to Garcia’s coaching as he has built not only a winning side, but a side that wins in style.

Finest XI:
Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris (Lyon, FRANCE)
Defenders: Stephane Mbia (Marseille, CAMEROON), Adil Rami (Lille, FRANCE), Mamadou Sakho (Paris Saint-Germain, FRANCE), Taye Taiwo (Marseille, NIGERIA)
Midfielders: Eden Hazard (Lille, BELGIUM), Marvin Martin (Sochaux, FRANCE), Nene (Paris Saint-Germain, BRAZIL)
Forwards: Kevin Gamiero (Lorient, FRANCE), Gervinho (Lille, IVORY COAST), Moussa Sow (Lille, SENEGAL)

Nene was a breakout star in the initial half of the season, but faded a bit in the second although Marvin Martin is a rising star as he led the league in assists as he pulled Sochaux up into an Europa League spot.

Biggest Surprise: Sochaux
Sochaux were virtually relegated last season and there were massive question marks about their offense, but with Martin emerging as a playmaker, the team were easily secure from relegation and face a new challenge next season with a league and European camapign.

Biggest Disappointment: Monaco
Monaco have been struggling the past couple of seasons, but they constantly seemed to be too huge of a club to be relegated. However, their time ran out this season as they could in no way string enough performances together to get themselves totally free of the relegation zone.

Predictions:
The predictions weren’t too great. I predicted Lyon as the champion followed by Marseille and Bordeaux. Lille had been in my Europa League spots with Auxerre and Rennes. Bordeaux and Auxerre had underwhelming seasons. At the bottom, Arles was spot on although Brest and and Saint Etienne had been secure, despite the fact that Brest did come close to going down. As for leading goal scorer, two of my candidates, such as my pick, had been sold between the time of my predictions and the end of the August transfer window. My remaining candidate Lisandro Lopez was third, but Moussa Sow ought to have been mentioned as the spearhead for the Lille attack.

Share and Get pleasure from:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

Barcelona are champions of Europe once more. They defeated Manchester United at Wembley getting objectives from Pedro, Lionel Messi, and David Villa while United only got a goal from Wayne Rooney to cancel Pedro’s opener. Barcelona’s performance once again showed they were a class above the rest of the teams in the world.

United tried to rattle Barcelona early but after about 10 minutes, Barcelona settled in and dominated possession. United were pinned back and it was no surprise that they fell behind. Rooney’s equalizer re-energized United as they got to halftime at 1-1. Nevertheless, Messi and Villa put it away with two objectives in the second half both coming off strikes from distance and United had been left chasing the ball.

It was just an additional fantastic performance by Barcelona who had been merely too very good. There were tiny errors on each and every of the objectives, but the win was about sustained pressure rather than those individual errors. Iniesta and Messi were superb finding space in the midfield to operate as United struggled to close them down.

For United, they played courageously and were kept in the game by solid defending and a fast counter by way of Rooney in Giggs, but the team was in no way able to really match Barcelona in the midfield, and were constantly feeding off scraps to generate their own offense.

The question now is where this Barcelona team stands in terms of history. They are certainly in consideration for the finest squad and the question could now be how lengthy they can keep up their run.

Share and Appreciate:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

The Premier League was an exciting season with lots of wins by the lower teams such as Wolverhampton who had been relegated beating each of the top 3. In the end, Manchester United took the title with Manchester City pushing into the top four along with Chelsea and Arsenal. Tottenham are headed to Europa to be joined by Birmingham (Carling Cup winners), Stoke City (FA Cup runner’s up), and Fulham (FIFA Fair Play). At the bottom, Birmingham, Blackpool and West Ham were all relegated. Here are the end of season awards.

Player Of The Year: Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)
The player of the season award has been handed out to 3 different folks such as Gareth Bale and Scott Parker. Bale had a very good half a season whilst Parker was instrumental for West Ham when they won, but they were the worst team in the league. For me, it has been clear for a whilst that Vidic was the player of the season as now offensive player had sustained success all season and Vidic was the rock for the Champions.

Manager Of The Year: Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)
There are a couple of other candidates here. Roberto Mancini did a excellent job bringing the team together, but still had a poor record against the other top teams. Roy Hodgson did a great job saving West Brom, but only did so soon after being fired by Liverpool. Kenny Daglish revived Liverpool, but when it came to performing from star to finish, Ferguson is the deserved winner in taking United to the top.

Very best XI:
Goalkeeper: Joe Hart (Manchester City, ENGLAND)
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton, ENGLAND), Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea, SERBIA), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City, BELGIUM), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United, SERBIA)
Midfielders: Luka Modric (Tottenham, CROATIA), Nani (Manchester United, PORTUGAL), Yaya Toure (Manchester City, IVORY COAST), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal, ENGLAND)
Forwards: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City, ARGENTINA), Robin van Persie (Arsenal, HOLLAND)

It may be a bit strange that Dimitar Berbatov didn’t make this squad, but his lack of playing time down the stretch sort of dooms him. Goalkeeper was a tough option with Hart just edging out Van der Sar and Cech. Yet another player that would have created this squad if it had been only for the second half of the season would have been Luis Suarez, but with only a half season, he didn’t do very enough.

Biggest Surprise: Blackpool
Blackpool could have been relegated, but they had been expected to be historically bad closer to the Derby County side in 2007-08. However, they went down of the last day as they couldn’t hold a two-1 benefit on the road against the eventual champions. Several will be sad that they have gone down, but they far surpassed folks’s expectations for the team.

Biggest Disappointment: Birmingham
Birmingham were suffering second season syndrome right after becoming in the top half following becoming promoted last season. However, the Carling Cup win could have been a chance to energize them for a stretch run, but instead they fell apart and had been relegated. It was a disappointing season as they continued to struggle to score goals as new signing Nicolas Zigic struggled. In contrast to Blackpool, several had been not sad to see Birmingham go down and their somewhat negative tactics could have price them in the end.

Predictions:
My predictions weren’t too poor as I predicted the Champion, top four and top seven properly. My order was a bit off with Arsenal coming in second and City in fourth. I also picked Liverpool to finish ahead of Tottenham in fifth.

In the relegation zone, I picked Blackpool correctly, but went with West Brom and Wolves who both were safe. Nevertheless, to my credit, I did mention Birmingham as a dark horse to get relegated, but West Ham weren’t on my radar at all.

Lastly, for top scorer, I went with Drogba and was thinking of Torres as an option as nicely. Berbatov wasn’t on my radar despite the fact that I thought he was primed for a great season. Carlos Tevez was amongst my candidates, but missed on this one as Drogba had a sub par season that is only partially explained by his bout with malaria.

Share and Enjoy:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

The table is sort of shaping up even though given the number of games palyed is so uneven among the teams that it is hard to evaluate as Los Angeles have played 14 games while Actual Salt Lake only have 8. Either way, here is a look at this week’s games.

Gameweek 11 Picks:
Toronto FC vs. Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia still don’t have their offense going and they will only be able to earn a point at Toronto. Toronto FC 1, Philadelphia Union 1

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. New York Red Bulls
Vancouver’s defense frailties perfectly play into the hands of New York who will control the game and break down Vancouver. New York Red Bulls 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 1

Columbus vs. Chivas USA
Both of these teams are much better defensively than they are going forward which leads to a scoreless draw. Columbus , Chivas USA

New England vs. Los Angeles
Los Angeles will have Beckham back in this game and he really should have a great battle with Shalrie Joseph in the midfield. New England will be on the back foot, but they will do sufficient to earn a draw. New England 1, Los Angeles 1

Chicago vs. San Jose
San Jose have suddenly found life and they will look to get some valuable road points. Chicago could falter at home, but San Jose will do enough to earn a draw behind Wondolowski. Chicago two, San Jose 2

Houston vs. FC Dallas
Houston compete, but seem to be dropping points with defensive lapses. They ought to be focused for this game against FC Dallas and they will earn a win in the rivalry. Houston 1, FC Dallas

Colorado vs. Kansas City
Teal Bunbury wasn’t selected for the Gold Cup and that could motivate him to choose up his form. Nevertheless, Colorado will maintain him in check in this game as they get the house win. Colorado 2, Kansas City 1

Real Salt Lake vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Salt Lake seem to be discovering their form even though replacing Morales is not fairly total. Seattle have controlled games, but are also struggling to get the objectives. This will be an attractive passing display, and Salt Lake will win it. Real Salt Lake 2, Seattle Sounders FC

Portland Timbers vs. DC United
Portland have been unbeatable at house and DC United won’t be the team to alter that. Portland Timbers 3, DC United 1

Chivas USA vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
Chivas USA play well at house and they will defend against the effective Vancouver offense. It will be an intriguing contrast of styles which favors the house side. Chivas USA two, Vancouver Whitecaps 1

Last Week: 8-3
Total: 50-47

Share and Get pleasure from:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

The game has lastly arrived. Two of the biggest clubs in the world will square off once again for the Champions League title at Wembley right after facing each other two years ago in Rome. Barcelona enter this game with far far more hype than their last game and are the clear favorites. United have been rebuilt from that time with the loss or Ronaldo and Tevez, but they have been a tough team to defeat.

Here is a closer look at the game.

Formations:

Left back is the large question with Abidal, Adriano, and Maxwell all returning from injuries. Abidal is the top option when fully fit, but since returning from having a tumor removed, it is tough to tell how ready he will be.

The appropriate back spot is a race between Fabio, Rafael, and John O’Shea with O’Shea being the most steady, but least attacking choice. The team has been assumed to be taking a 4-4-1-1, but they could got to a four-3-two-1 with Fletcher taking the spot of Hernandez, but the four-four-1-1 has worked nicely for them, so expect it to be employed.

Match-Ups:
Lionel Messi vs. Michael Carrick/Nemanja Vidic
Ferguson came out and stated the team is not specifically planning on how to deal with Messi, but that is an exaggeration if not totally false. The massive question will be who marks Messi. Does Carrick sink bank or does Vidic push up or both? Carrick sinking back opens up space for Iniesta and Xavi to operate which is a danger. Vidic pushing up makes leaves space for midfielder runs from Pedro to locate a lot more space and isolation against Rio Ferdinand. It will be a team effort, but how United deal with Messi will be key.

Sergio Busquets vs. Wayne Rooney
Rooney will check back and his most likely job will be to hassle Busquets. Though Busquets is not as creative as Iniesta or Xavi, he has improved his passing significantly since 2009 and is far more than capable of distributing the ball. If Rooney can hassle him, Barcelona may not be as no cost flowing as they are generally.

Eric Abidal vs. Antonio Valencia
Whoever plays left back will be the weak link for the squad and Valencia’s return to form for United has seen him demolish left backs including Ashley Cole. Valencia will have defensive responsibilities, but his capability to break out of the back quickly will be just as valuable and he is almost certainly Barcelona’s biggest defensive concern.

Differences From 2009
Zonalmarking.net did a great analysis of the 2009 final. Here are parts 1 and 2. This outlines a lot of the tactical aspects of that game.

The large differences for me is that Barcelona are far better at pressing up the field and winning the ball back. Nonetheless, I will say at times they miss Eto’o and his directness as they can overpass the ball at times.

For United, they don’t have the goal scoring machine that is Ronaldo, but the team is far better defensively on the wings and with Hernandez, the team has better team speed. Valencia and Hernandez are both lightning quick and may possibly be able to expose a Barcelona defense that isn’t the fastest (Alves excluded) and like to play a high line.

Prediction
Since 2009, Barcelona have emerged as one of the finest footballing sides ever while United have been described as 1 of the worst champion sides in the Ferguson era. Even so, United do have a couple weapons that might make them greater at coping with Barcelona’s attacking and striking back on the counter.

With all that being said, the men and women who seem to be trying to push United as sort of favorites have gone a small overboard. United may possibly put up a much better fight than one may well think, but they are by no indicates the favorites.

Like each and every game against Barcelona, the initial goal will be vital. If Barcelona get it, they will be able to pass the ball around without any will need to attack even though United scoring could force Barcelona to attack recklessly.

In the end, I expect Carrick and Giggs to struggle in midfield even with aid from Rooney, but when they get the ball, I expect them to go for Valencia and Hernandez at each chance. Barcelona will probe and will likely focus on the correct back position of United. With this method, both teams will trigger some issues, so it could come down to finishing and Villa has had just an average season for Barcelona with his finishing although Hernandez has been deadly for United.

This game will be close and I truly anticipate it to go to extra time, but Barcelona’s possession is relentless and it will give them the victory even though United will get their chances, but United will eventually wear down. Barcelona 2, Manchester United 1

Share and Take pleasure in:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

La Liga was a two way battle with Barcelona and Real Madrid battling it out just before Barcelona ultimately pulled away at the end of the season. Valencia and Villarreal established themselves just behind them although Sevilla, Atletico, and Athletic Bilbao took the Europa League spots with the initial struggling to live up to their talent level. At the bottom, Deportivo La Coruna, Hercules, and Almeria had been all relegated.

Player Of The Year: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Messi vs. Ronaldo is often going to be there and even although Ronaldo won the scoring title, Messi was the palyer of the season producing far more and overall having a better all around impact on a team that did end up winning the title fairly comfortably.

Manager Of The Year: Unai Emery (Valencia)
As constantly, the title winner like Pep Guardiola deserves some recognition, but Emery deserves credit as they sold David Villa and Silva and Emery reinvested the income adding players like Aritz Arduriz and Roberto Soldado. Emery deserves a lot of credit for creating this as a team that didn’t have stars to look to for moments of magic. Emery is a rising coaching star, even tabbed as a future Span coach, and this season he showed a lot.

Best XI:
Goalkeeper: Carlos Kameni (Esapnyol, CAMEROON)
Defenders: Dani Alves (Barcelona, BRAZIL), Ricardo Carvalho (Actual Madrid, PORTUGAL), Marcelo (Actual Madrid, BRAZIL), Gerard Pique (Barcelona, SPAIN)
Midfielders: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, SPAIN), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona, SPAIN), Xavi (Barcelona, SPAIN)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona, ARGENTINA), Cristiano Ronaldo (Actual Madrid, PORTUGAL), Guiseppe Rossi (Villarreal, ITALY)

This team is pretty obscene as it is absolutely nothing but Real Madrid and Barcelona teams except at goalie and Rossi, and I gave it to Kameni primarily because he actually had to do function on a routine basis. Some other players that deserve recognition are Borja Valero on Villarreal, Ever Banega on Valencia, Jose Antonio Reyes and Aguero on Atletico Madrid.

Greatest Surprise: Levante
They came into the league as a promoted side and had been even challenging for a Europa League spot until falling short at the end. They had been a powerful side as they had been carried by Felipe Caicedo. One more surprise has to be Malaga who worked their way out of the relegation zone under the Manuel Pelligrini.

Greatest Disappointment: Deportivo La Coruna
Deportivo were in the Champions League semifinals in 2004, but things have changed over the years and they have fallen down the table and this year they fell out of the league as they simply could not score goals. They suffered injuries, but this was an additional season where they couldn’t score a lot of goals. Mallorca are also a team that struggld as they fell from 5th to 17th which might have been expected given the monetary sturggles they had last season that forced them to not be granted a license to play in Europe.

Predictions:
The predictions weren’t terrible as I did get the top 7 right with the only differences becoming that I picked Madrid to win the title whilst I predicted Atletico to finish in the top four instead of Villarreal. In the relegation zone, I predicted Hercules, but Levante and Racing Santander had been clear instead of Deportivo and Almeria. As for the top scorer, I predicted Messi, but Ronaldo’s late surge allowed him to take top scorer.

Share and Appreciate:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

With the end of the Premier League campaign, it is time to look back at each of these teams as nicely as top performers on each and every season. Here is a look from the bottom to the top.

West Ham: Scott Parker
Scott Parker was a candidate for player of the season and even won amongst the Football Writer’s award. He was tremendous showing the spirit of a team that was usually fighting a losing battle. Parker is likely to move on and numerous of the top teams are interested in him.

Blackpool: Charlie Adam
Adam was a set piece specialist and scored large goals that nearly saw Blackpool survive. He was in high demand in January, and he will undoubtedly be on the move with Blackpool going down.

Birmingham Ben Foster
It’s not a very good sign that Ben Foster was the standout for Birmingham. Nevertheless, their attack was anemic and Scott Dann’s late season injury began to even show cracks in the defense that Foster had to cover for. Foster showed his ability when he was given consistent starts, but could likely be on the move again.

Wolverhampton Matthew Jarvis
Wolves in no way seemed to have many players settled but Jarvis was solid for this group giving them good wing play pretty much each game. If he had been paired with a much more prolific striker, he could have had a far far better season statistically, but he is a reason that Wolves got enough goals to steer clear of relegation.
Wigan Athletic: Charles N’Zogbia

Blackburn: Christopher Samba
Ryan Nelsen had an injury plagued season and therefore it was up to Samba to hold down the defense. He did that, but he also continued his capability to score on set pieces. Samba could be on the move as well, but with out him, Blackburn likely would have been heading down.

Bolton: Gary Cahill
Bolton were impressive before a poor late season spell that saw them fall all the way to 14th. Up until then, Stuart Holden was a powerful candidate for Bolton’s player of the season and it is no surprise that his absence began the team’s fall even with Daniel Sturridge scoring the objectives. Nonetheless, Cahill was the more consistent presence in the team and is my player of the season for Bolton.

Stoke City: Matthew Etherington
THe FA Cup was a massive component of their season and it is a shame that Etherington was injured for the final as he was the teams most creative player. He is challenging working and runs at defenders although pumping in crosses. These fit perfectly into Stoke’s style and Etherington was the consistent performer for this team.
Newcastle: Kevin Nolan

West Bromwich Albion: Peter Odemwingie
West Brom improved their defense under Roy Hodgson, but it was Odemwingie who carried the offense as one of the bargains of the season. He scored 15 goals and gave West Brom the push they required as pulled away from the relegation zone.

Sunderland: Asamoah Gyan
Sunderland struggled right after the loss of Darren Bent, but the guy they needed to cover for them was Gyan who was the focal point of their offense. Jordan Henderson was one more stand-out but when this team required goals, Gyan was the 1 who stepped up for the team.

Aston Villa: Stewart Downing
Villa had been a strange team as they had a late push that leaves them in the top half. They brought in some younger players but it was the consistent service of Stewart Downing that kept the team from ever falling into the relegation zone as they never got consistent form from their strikers.

Fulham: Clint Dempsey
The loss of Bobby Zamora was a blow to their season, but Dempsey stepped up and provided the objectives in his absence. Dempsey continues to get better every season and this year he was the leader of the team.

Everton: Leighton Baines
Everton struggled with injuries, but Baines emerged as one of the best fullbacks this season as he provided goals, assists and was solid defensively. He was the one consistent in a team that once once more struggled at the commence of the season.

Liverpool: Lucas Leiva
Luis Suarez is a reasonable candidate as the player of the season in the second half for Liverpool, but Leiva emerged as a top midfielder this season. He may not have quite the passing range of Xabi Alonso, but he replaced Mascherano and became the leader of a midfield as he was superb linking the defense to offense.

Tottenham: Luka Modric
Bale and van der Vaart were up for the awards, but neither was as consistent and essential as Luka Modric specially when you don’t consist of the Champions League performances. Modric has grown into 1 of the very best midfielders in the Premier League right after early struggles in his initial season in the EPL.

Arsenal: Jack Wilshere
Cesc Fabregas has been the leader of the team, but had a terrible season. Robin van Persie had extraordinary moments but had too numerous injuries. Samir Nasri had a excellent very first half of the season, but faded in the second half. Their 1 rock was Jack Wilshere who had some growing pains but is already emerging as the heart of the team.

Manchester City: Yaya Toure
Kompany was the leader of the defense, but Yaya Toure was their big time player. He scored the objectives in the large games and he emerged as an attacking force. He still struggled at times, but when Toure was on, Man City was nearly unstoppable.

Chelsea: Branislav Ivanovic
Chelsea in no way actually had any constant performers as everybody seemed to struggle at some point in the season. Nonetheless, Ivanovic was 1 of their most consistent performers in the back line along with John Terry. However, Ivanovic’s versatility to play in the center and right side of defense makes him the far more useful player to the team.

Manchester United: Nemanja Vidic
Vidic was the rock for the team in the back as he had constant alter in defensive partners. United’s attack was also carried out by committee as diverse players stepped up at different points in the season. With the lack of consistency of some, Vidic was there player of the season.

Share and Take pleasure in:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.

Italy finished up their league and despite the fact that the two Milan teams finished at the leading, there had been a couple of surprises at the leading with Napoli and Udinese obtaining third and fourth. Juventus continued their struggle as they fell short of European football with Lazio, Palermo, and Roma taking the Europa League spots. At the bottom, Bari, Brescia, and Sampdoria beign relegated. Here are the end of season awards for the Serie A season.

Player Of The Year: Thiago Silva (AC Milan)
AC Milan road a solid defense to the title and the massive reason was Silva who was able to hold down a defense as he showed more composure in his second season in the league. He is the beginning of the rejuvenation procedure at AC Milan, but he was the finest centerback in the league this year.

Manager Of The Year: Francesco Guidolin (Udinese)
Massimiliano Allegri is a leading candidate as AC Milan got a title, but Guidolin guiding Udinese to fourth was a lot more impressive. The primary reason is because AC Milan was able to reinforce their squad with income although Udinese had to replace Simone Pepe and Gaetano D’Agostino. Given the offseason modifications, Guidolin’s ability to make it function and push a team that got off to a slow commence into a Champions League spot is an impressive feat.

Very best XI:
Goalkeeper: Christian Abbiati (AC Milan, ITALY)
Defenders: Ignazio Abate (AC Milan, ITALY), Thiago Silva (AC Milan, BRAZIL), Cristian Zapata (Udinese, COLOMBIA)
Midfielders: Andrea Cossu (Cagliari, ITALY), Hernanes (Lazio, BRAZIL), Javier Pastore (Palermo, ARGENTINA), Alexis Sanchez (Udinese, CHILE)
Forwards: Edinson Cavani (Napoli, URUGUAY), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese, ITALY), Samuel Eto’o (Internazionale, CAMEROON)

Milan’s defenders are everywhere in the team and in a league that lacks wingers, it is no surprise that there are no true wingers in this group with Sanchez the closest, but he often plays as a forward. Cavani may possibly have been the surprise as he was the very best newcomer as he got off to an amazing begin for Napoli.

Biggest Surprise: Udinese
As previously stated, Udinese got a huge season from everyone. They got large seasons from players like Kwadwo Asamoah and Armero and Isla were incredible on the wings. They are a team that will struggle to maintain together over the summer, but the team barely survived relegation last season and they turned that into the leading four finish.

Biggest Disappointment: Sampdoria
Sampdoria nearly created it into the Champions League at the begin of the season, but they ended it going down. They sold Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini which had their goals dry up, but they in no way got it together as they were not only relegated, but they did not put up a lot a fight either.

Predictions:
My predictions were sort of awful as I got none of the relegation teams correct and predicted Inter as the winner. I did predict Napoli becoming in the top four but also had Juventus, Sampdoria, and Fiorentina in the top 7. Even so, these predictions had been made just before Sampdoria sold their striker force. Top scorer was also a poor prediction as I went with Fabio Quagliarella, who proceeded to get injured in January and only ended with 9 objectives in 17 games.

Share and Take pleasure in:

Eat. Sleep. Soccer.