Sunday, May 06, 2007

Stand Up for the Champs

According to Manchester United fans today, all is correct once again in the footballing world. Chelsea's draw with Arsenal renders the Wednesday showdown at the Bridge meaningless and means United will take the pitch for the first time as champions against the former champions. The actual match today at the Emirates was terrific. Michael Essien was out of this world great and despite being down a man the Blues were all over Arsenal. Salomon Kalou was unlucky not to give Chelsea the win in the dying moments of the match. Were it not for a world class save by Jens Lehman we would be talking about a much different scenario midweek.

I have to give credit to United. They were absolutely deserving of this title. The squad did everything you would expect a champion to do. They blew teams out, they came from behind to win matches, they won when they were not at their best and they avoided a major points drought. The Christmas season is what probably did Chelsea in. The FA Cup final is still going to be a hotly contested affair as Jose Mourinho will likely rest his top players midweek.

Alex Ferguson came to England with the goal of dethroning Liverpool. He did just that and made Manchester United the most popular club on the planet. A few years ago he worried that the new millionaires at Chelsea would dominate England for the next decade, but put together a true squad to snatch the title from their hands. United have played epic football this season and deserve this moment.

In other places where champions have yet to be crowned, there was a dandy of a match played in Madrid today. Real Madrid v. Sevilla lived up to the hype as Real fought back from a goal down to really dominate the match and send a warning to leaders Barcelona that any slip and the title will return to Los Blancos. Fabio Capello has weathered the criticism and pressure at Madrid and has his club playing the best football in Spain right now. The ease with which they beat Sevilla was incredible. Don't let the 3-2 scoreline fool you, it was never that close once the second half got started.

Capello's decision to bring on Guti proved brilliant. The Real legend set up two goals, the first a stunning ball to Ruud van Nistelroy that the Dutchman finished with aplomb. I thought Real had one of the truly great matches of the past few seasons and they looked like a title worth side. Barca are getting points by the skin of their teeth and I believe will be lucky to finish on top. In fact, with Real now just two points behind them I wonder if the pressure will be too great and they drop a crucial point in the next couple weeks.

A few things stood out for me today. First, Robinho looks more dangerous than ever. The Brazilian is always on the attack and Sevilla's defense never looked sure how to handle him. Second, Fabio Cannavaro is still one of the top 3 defenders in the world. He didn't settle immediately in Spain, but over the past month he has just been a rock for Real Madrid and he was well deserving of his World Footballer of the Year award. Finally, David Beckham is going to be sorely missed next season. He may only have had one - maybe 2 - more legit seasons in the top leagues of Europe but the is still the best set piece man in the world. His work rate is great, and while he didn't have the best game today you could still see how wary Sevilla were everytime he was on the ball.

Will Capello stick around at Real or bolt for another job once the season is over? Could Juventus take him back or would he slide in at Chelsea were Mourinho to be fired? He has proven to be one of the best managers in the world this season and Real should come out right now and beg him to stay.

Finally, things are really heating up in Germany. Schalke are just a point ahead of Stuttgart and two ahead of Werder Bremen. Werder have had a few missed opportunities recently and can only blame their inability to seize the moment if the title goes to Schalke or Stuttgart. Schalke's Kevin Kuranyi is one player VoF cannot figure out. Is he world class? This season the answer would be Yes. In the past I was not sold on him but for me, right now there a just a few players I'd prefer on my squad before Kuranyi. All three contenders have potentially tricky matches next and Germany is a very exciting league to watch right now.

In other news, Roma sealed 2nd place in Italy and I say good for them. I am a huge Totti fan and love the squad Spaletti has at hand. With Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina all looking to make a title run next season Roma will have to spend this summer to bolster that side.

You know when you start looking at the MLS the football season is winding down. I guess the upside is the transfer window opens in about a month!

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