Cast your mind back to May 2009, Manchester United were comprehensively and soundly trounced in Rome by a magical Barcelona side, inspired by Xavi and Iniesta. For many, the lack of quality in the centre of the park was plain to see, Carrick looked lethargic and unsure of himself, Fletcher was missed, this, a surprise in itself. Club legends, Giggs and Scholes were ineffective and nowhere to be seen.
The class of the Manchester United midfield is weak in comparison their Premier League rivals, Chelsea with Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Liverpool have Mascherano, Aquilani and Gerrard respectively. Carrick, Fletcher and Scholes just do not compare.
Some of you may cry, “You forgot about Owen Hargreaves!” Indeed I did, mainly due to the length of time he has been injured and latest estimates say he will return around Christmas.
With the transfer window almost closed there are no centre midfielders in sight. So I put it to you that, Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira or just plain Anderson will flourish this season.
In my opinion, Anderson possesses all the qualities to become a top class midfielder, he has pace, acceleration, strength, a strong positional sense coupled with the ability to thread through a match winning final ball. He is a combatitive all action midfielder, beginning his career further up the park, he has since developed a very useful defensive side to an already impressive array of attacking talents.
Anderson reminds me a little of Kaka but with a hint of Roy Keane, obviously these are massively talented players, whose level of ability he has not yet reached, but I think he can and has to an extent combined the best parts of their respective games.
He can sit in front of the defence and play a disciplined role, spreading passes to his teammates further up the field. He can also play as an attacking midfielder, a place where he is most comfortable. In this position he offers all the samba skills you can want – just ask Cesc Fabregas – he has vision, dribbling skills and an eye for goal.
The single shortfall of Anderson’s game, and it is a rather large one, is his uncanny ability to do everything right in the lead up to a shot then fluff the final act, footballs have been found as far away as China. Seemingly he did not bring his shooting boots to Old Trafford.
But I have hopes he can eradicate this untimely habit throughout the forthcoming season, and if pre-season is anything to go by we are in for a few treats, as his sublime free-kick against Boca Juniors was a joy to behold.
I think this could be the season where stamps his authority on this Manchester United side, he has already shown in the past he can mix it up with the big boys dominating in games against Fabregas and Steven Gerrard during his first season with United. He may just prove that there is infact life after a certain Portuguese.
Tuesday 25 August 2009
Thursday 20 August 2009
How Will Milan, Juventus and Inter Fare This Season?
As the Serie A season draws upon us, I thought it was about time I produced my thoughts on the upcoming season and the summer gone. I will begin with the big three Juventus, Inter and Milan, and assess how they will do in the coming nine months.
I will start with champions Internazionale, who on the back of a 4th successive Scudetto sold their most prized asset in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While I am sad to see the wonderfully talented Swede leave, I do think Inter have managed to achieve a magnificent deal for themselves. Samuel Eto’o will score goals that is of no doubt, and the €40 million will come in handy when purchasing a trequartista.
Inter will no longer be relying on one player to win them games, in addition they should also play more as a unit than happened last season. Jose Mourinho has also bolstered this defence with Lucio, who is a monster of a centre-back who can add extra steel to an already impressive back-line.
The one aspect that is missing from the team is a bit of creativity in the middle of the park, a fact that has been documented for the entire summer. Thiago Motta was brought in from Genoa, and in Esteban Cambiassio they have one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. An old style number 10 is a must for Mourinho and many have been linked to the club, Wesley Sneijder has looked the most likely in recent weeks.
Inter look just as strong as previous years and it is up to their rivals in the championship to up their game, something that Juventus have done over the summer. Bringing in Diego, Felipe Melo Jose Caceres and Fabio Cannavaro. Bear in mind talented coach Ciro Ferrara has had a full pre-season under his belt; the omens look good for La Vecchia Signora.
Ferrara also has a number of young Juventino to call upon; Claudio Marchisio has established himself in the first eleven and also on the fringes of the Azzurri starting line-up. Paolo De Ceglie has also the potential to be a very good player for Juve, while the super-talented Sebastian Giovinco should get more of a chance to showcase is talent under Ferrara. The 4-3-1-2 brought in to accommodate Diego also suits Giovinco to the ground.
The acquisitions, development of the squad and hunger that they no doubt will possess under Ferrara make Juventus my tip to end the Biscione’s grip on the Scudetto.
AC Milan in stark contrast to their rivals have had a chaotic summer, only winning one pre-season friendly – on penalties – summer recruits have been few and far between, plus a lack of quality is apparent. New coach Leonardo hasn’t convinced during the summer, though I did have high hopes for him, and to an extent still do, I think he is being hampered by the clubs hierarchy.
Milan will be relying on a number of Brazilians this season, the aforementioned Leonardo, Thiago Silva, who was brought in during the January transfer window but unable to play due to EU player regulations, Pato, a player that at times showed signs of the absolute brilliance be posses last season and one Ronaldo de Assis Moreira or Ronaldinho to you and me.
The Milan number 80 has been placed as the centre of the team, Silvio Berlusconi made him stand on a table and pronounce to his teammates he will be a ‘better’ player and person this year. Leonardo will use a 4-3-1-2 system and build his team round the mercurial talent. Everything is there for Ronaldinho to get somewhere close to his best having gone through three years of relative mediocrity.
As a fan I am worried about the club, Jan-Klass Huntelaar is the only signing of quality brought in, Kaka sold and Maldini retired. Milan have failed to address any of the issues that have plagued them over the last year and it seems a year of underachievement beckons for myself and my fellow Diavolo.
Also there will be a full preview of Serie A on the Italian Football FanCast this week… Join myself, Dave, Aymen and Kris for all the latest happenings in Serie A.
I will start with champions Internazionale, who on the back of a 4th successive Scudetto sold their most prized asset in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While I am sad to see the wonderfully talented Swede leave, I do think Inter have managed to achieve a magnificent deal for themselves. Samuel Eto’o will score goals that is of no doubt, and the €40 million will come in handy when purchasing a trequartista.
Inter will no longer be relying on one player to win them games, in addition they should also play more as a unit than happened last season. Jose Mourinho has also bolstered this defence with Lucio, who is a monster of a centre-back who can add extra steel to an already impressive back-line.
The one aspect that is missing from the team is a bit of creativity in the middle of the park, a fact that has been documented for the entire summer. Thiago Motta was brought in from Genoa, and in Esteban Cambiassio they have one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. An old style number 10 is a must for Mourinho and many have been linked to the club, Wesley Sneijder has looked the most likely in recent weeks.
Inter look just as strong as previous years and it is up to their rivals in the championship to up their game, something that Juventus have done over the summer. Bringing in Diego, Felipe Melo Jose Caceres and Fabio Cannavaro. Bear in mind talented coach Ciro Ferrara has had a full pre-season under his belt; the omens look good for La Vecchia Signora.
Ferrara also has a number of young Juventino to call upon; Claudio Marchisio has established himself in the first eleven and also on the fringes of the Azzurri starting line-up. Paolo De Ceglie has also the potential to be a very good player for Juve, while the super-talented Sebastian Giovinco should get more of a chance to showcase is talent under Ferrara. The 4-3-1-2 brought in to accommodate Diego also suits Giovinco to the ground.
The acquisitions, development of the squad and hunger that they no doubt will possess under Ferrara make Juventus my tip to end the Biscione’s grip on the Scudetto.
AC Milan in stark contrast to their rivals have had a chaotic summer, only winning one pre-season friendly – on penalties – summer recruits have been few and far between, plus a lack of quality is apparent. New coach Leonardo hasn’t convinced during the summer, though I did have high hopes for him, and to an extent still do, I think he is being hampered by the clubs hierarchy.
Milan will be relying on a number of Brazilians this season, the aforementioned Leonardo, Thiago Silva, who was brought in during the January transfer window but unable to play due to EU player regulations, Pato, a player that at times showed signs of the absolute brilliance be posses last season and one Ronaldo de Assis Moreira or Ronaldinho to you and me.
The Milan number 80 has been placed as the centre of the team, Silvio Berlusconi made him stand on a table and pronounce to his teammates he will be a ‘better’ player and person this year. Leonardo will use a 4-3-1-2 system and build his team round the mercurial talent. Everything is there for Ronaldinho to get somewhere close to his best having gone through three years of relative mediocrity.
As a fan I am worried about the club, Jan-Klass Huntelaar is the only signing of quality brought in, Kaka sold and Maldini retired. Milan have failed to address any of the issues that have plagued them over the last year and it seems a year of underachievement beckons for myself and my fellow Diavolo.
Also there will be a full preview of Serie A on the Italian Football FanCast this week… Join myself, Dave, Aymen and Kris for all the latest happenings in Serie A.
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