Saturday, 23rd August 2008
Spoilt for choice
I don’t think there was any room for any withdrawal symptoms for sport lovers this summer. The European Championships, the F1 races and the Olympic Games offered enthusiasts action and reasons to discuss what they’re passionate about. The continuous rumours and announcements which are normally associated with the football transfer market weren’t lacking this year either.
But I still think that nothing replaces the action and drama that are associated with the English Premier League (which started off last week) and the Italian Serie A (to start next week).
The start of the various domestic leagues is a sign that I will soon be enjoying Winter. I look forward for those Saturday and Sunday afternoons when I’ll be zapping the TV to be updated with what’s going on in Italy and England.
The first day of the English Premiership confirmed that Chelsea is a force to be reckoned with. The team’s resounding 4-0 victory against Portsmouth was a warning to Manchester United, that Chelsea’s dull period could be over. If the team manage to secure the services of Robinho, then I think that Scolari’s debut season will be victorious. We’re still at the beginning of the season, however Scolari looks like to have injected the Brazilian flair in his side.
The champions, on the other side, started on a rather low note. Again we’re still at the initial outings, yet Manchester United failed to impress. This weekend Liverpool (who also started their campaign with a victory) will host Middlesbrough in what I believe should be the match of the day. Portsmouth will have the chance to make up for their dismal start by playing Manchester United on Monday. We’ll see if this weekend will determine if Chelsea will be setting the pace for the season to come.
Italia
Roma and Inter will give life to another fixed feature of the Italian season. The Italian Super Cup will once again see these two teams battling each other. Roma and Inter have have featured in many finals in Italian football and no real supremacy has been established by any. Although Inter have failed to impress me so far, and I am not being biased, we have to watch out for the highly emotive reasons which drive the Giallorossi in their encounter.
The death of the Roma’s president Franco Sensi would provide additional motivation to Roma which has, by far, been the best Italian club in the past two years.
International encounters
Just in case one didn’t have enough of football this summer, during the past seven days, we had a series of international friendly matches. Italy saw the return of Marcello Lippi. Whoever watched the match on the Italian channel could not but notice the pathetic commentary which focused on how good Lippi was, that if Italy lost it would not be a tragedy, as after all Lippi started his previous campaign with a loss against Iceland and then guided the team to the World Cup victory.
The English media wasn’t very kind to Fabio Capello. There was a lot of criticism on his team’s performance. Sometimes, I think that the term ‘friendly’ is wrong. There are no more friendly matches. Each team wants to win, to avoid media criticism. At the end of the day, the friendly matches are there to try schemes, players and tactics.
I guess 2010, though not far, is still a long way and as such there should be enough time for coaches to build up teams which win the prestigious awards rather than the summer friendly games.
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Comments
I implied on Roma's elimination in the CL, just to show the person who I had commented to, that Inter were eliminated earlier than them. In fact I had stated that "I am a Juventus FC fan and an anti-Inter fan too..."
Zenith, I only saw their game against Bayern and the final against Rangers (which in my opinion, Fiorentina should have been there). Re Barcelona, I followed them last season, but to tell you the truth, I did not like them, they lost too many points and did not play that well as in the previous years.
Well, good footballing season to you and hope to hear from you soon!!!
we're talking about sports, we're obviouisly both fanatics, what i said was a figure of speech and not intended to offend....appologies there.
You implied a lot about Roma in your comment, suggesting that they did really well in the CL etc etc, whereas Inter were knocked out in the second round, so obviously you were bigging us up and in my opinion you were comparing like for like, because you didn't mention any other team, like Barcelona, or even Zenit St. Petersburg, who spring to mind as being teams who are really good to watch.
Again, sorry if i offended, but come on, this isn't a court room! lets not be so eager to climb to the moral high-ground!
"If you call the drivel that Roma (my own team) played over the past two years the best in italy and you can compare it with the football that Arsenal play then i'm afraid you seriously need your head examined."
First of all, I think you should have some respect in responding to persons who submitted their humble opinion and you don't even know. By the way my head is OK, maybe you should not been so prompt in your reply and read my comment well. I said the following:
"In my opinion, Roma and Arsenal played the best football during last season in Italy and England, although it's not always the best football shown on the pitch that brings trophies home!!! "
Therefore, to explain better, I did NOT COMPARE Roma's style of play with that of Arsenal. I just said that Roma in Italy and Arsenal in England played the best football in their RESPECTIVE countries.
Thanks and regards.
Liam, if one doesn't agree with what you say or feel, doesn't necessary mean that s/he's in need of any form of check-up.
Thanks for your explanation. I also agree with your analysis on Arsenal's quality and level of football. I think that both Roma and Arsenal shared the same kind of problems, i.e. depth in the squad.
Jes
I happen to be a die-hard Milan fan. At the same time, however I don't like to pick up on Inter's "successes".
Although Inter did win the leagues, I rarely enjoyed Inter's way of playing football. One has to see what flavours Mourinho is to add to his new team.
Jes
If you call the drivel that Roma (my own team) played over the past two years the best in italy and you can compare it with the football that Arsenal play then i'm afraid you seriously need your head examined.
None of the italian teams have played much good football if we're honest with each other; Therefore one has to say that the team who brought home the bacon should deserve all the credit and in this case its Inter....no question.
I am a Juventus FC fan and an anti-Inter fan too (so that I declare my interests).
I think that part of your quote is not fully correct. As far as I know, the Italian Supercup 2007 was won by Roma (De Rossi's penalty) and the Coppa Italia 2007 was also won by Roma (2-1). Inter only won the Italian League (by a mere win at the last day against a weakened Parma side - and thanks to Ibrahimovic - an ex-Juve star - sold on sale in view of Calciopoli).
In the champions League, if I'm not mistaken, Inter were outsted in the second round, whereas Roma were eliminated by the eventual winners. So where's the difference and all the cups won in the last two years you're referring to?
In my opinion, Roma and Arsenal played the best football during last season in Italy and England, although it's not always the best football shown on the pitch that brings trophies home!!!
And this is not sour grapes?
either i) you don't understand anything about football... which you do so it is not the case, or
ii) you did not watch any Italian seria a games over the last two years ... which you did or most plausible:-
iii) you are a die-hard Milan fan who hates Inter picking up all the trophies as they are presently doing.
Guess its (iii)!!!
I respect the fact that your opinion differs to mine. I still believe that, in the long run, Roma played better football then any other club in ITALY. The only failure Roma had, was a short substitute bench.
Jes
I'm a Roma FAN and even i disagree with that!
I think the Italian media have the right to pontificate Lippi since they stunningly won the world cup with him...if you want to hear really pathetic commentry then try listening to the arrogance spouted by the English commentators whenever an English club is competing in Europe.