Summer Transfer Romance

It's summertime, which means it's transfer season for the European clubs and leagues. Transfer season is just like a summer romance. Lots of break-ups and hook-ups are happening. Even more rumors of break-ups and hook-ups. Some are true, most are false. Some hearts are broken only to then be healed by the rumor of a new romance. Many new romances are full of hope and optimism. You don't quite know how it will play out in the long term, but it's the start of a budding relationship so you are excited and believe that only great things lie ahead. In a few months it could all end miserably. But at least for the time being, it's July and things look good.

Liverpool fans are really running the gauntlet of emotions this summer. Lots of signings, lots of departures. Not to mention the ongoing saga with Fernando Torres. He's the hot girl that is with you, but sort of has a wandering eye. On one hand you want to just say good riddance to her and that she should just leave if she wants to. You think you would be better off with someone that wants to be with you and just you. Plus, it's summer, so you feel confident of your possibilities. But on the other hand, she's really hot and you don't really want to let that go. Frankly I don't know where most Liverpool fans stand with the Torres issue. No team wants unhappy players. But can you really compete without Torres? Many fans may not like that he's looking elsewhere as they think that he should feel honored to play for the wonderful and storied Liverpoool. Whatever their outward opinion, I think deep down they know they need him and that they'll have to live with the wandering eye.

If you are a Barcelona fan, you have once again had a great summer. Barcelona is the guy that is dating the homecoming queen while also dating the head cheerleader and the dance team captain. He's also flirting with the other really hot girl that isn't involved in any outside activities, but is just hot. Basically, all the ladies want him. He's not cheating on any of them as he's not "exclusively" dating any one of them and they all know he has "friends" all over the place. And although he has all the attention he could want and any guy could need, it's rumored that the hot volleyball player (Cesc Fabregas) is now interested. He by no means needs the extra attention, but he still goes after it. Why? Because he knows she's interested and more importantly, because he can. Barcelona is completely stacked and loaded with talent. As great as Fabregas is, they don't really need him. But he, along with most every other worldclass player, seems to be interested in playing for Barcelona. Great coach. Great core of old and young talent. Great team chemistry. Summertime really couldn't be better in Barcelona.

It's hard if you are a Valencia fan. You sold your two best players: David Villa and David Silva. But you knew it was a long time coming as your team is broke. You are just glad they didn't have to sell the team altogether. The silver lining is that you qualified for the Champions League last year. So although your really hot girlfriend bolted on the first sunny day of summer, you are optimistic because you are heading to a new school this year where there is endless potential. But it's cautious optimism at best and basically just trying to cover up the lack of self-esteem. Poor Valenicia. They are holding on to their last string of hope. Hopefully things go well for them. At the same time though, without talent, they could bow out of the Champions League early and not finish at the top of La Liga and their financial woes could really get out of control. You hope for the best at a new school, but the anxiety of the unknown is enough to kill you and ruin your summer.

Real Madrid is having their typical summer. Just a cold, heartless player. Cruising the beach looking for the most attractive eye candy and going after it. Somehow (he's so smooth and has money) the ladies always want to take a ride and seem to wait in line for their turn. It's the most ridiculous summer romance. And it happens every year. He's the guy that goes off to some random summer camp every single week and woos a different girl. All the girls know that the relationship is likely going to be short lived and that they have tons of competition and that they will likely be an afterthought come fall, but they all are interested. Its uncanny. You see it happening year in and year out. You think that one summer he will calm down and maybe take a break and work with what he has and see if he can't take one of current flings and turn it into something meaningful. But nope, summer rolls around and just like the previous year, he heads to the beach or camp and starts the process all over again. Pushing out last year's talent for new, fresh, and often unproven faces.

Not quite sure what to make of Manchester City. He's pulling a Real Madrid and going after a new girl a week and trying to make the most of his summer. But there is a little more of a party edge or feel to it. Real is the guy that dates all of the girls seperately and tries to keep them isolated until they all meet up in the fall and everything blows up. Man City is the rich guy that is inviting all the girls over at the same time for the pool party and bbq. Everyone is having a great time. Which is all fine and good for the summer, but at some point this has to end poorly right? I mean, how many midfielders can one team sign? Are they going to start 5 midfielders and 4 forwards and just play with a sweeper and a goalie in the back? Maybe. Who knows? It's carefree Man City. Live for the moment. You have the money, so spend it. It's summer. You'll figure it out somehow in the fall. And somehow they probably will, and it will likely end up better than most other teams in Europe.

So here we are. There are still 3-4 weeks of summer left for most teams. Plenty of time to do some damage and break some hearts or take on a new romance. It's all very exciting and fun in July when it's warm and life is good. Hopefully the romance still exists come November when it starts to get cold and bleak. Nothing is worse than the temperatures dropping and realizing that your summer of love was just a bad romance. At least there is a bright side. If things are bad, you can always look towards the December transfer window and hope for a nice short holiday fling to come around and get you through the rest of winter.

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The Beautiful Chip Shot

While there is something to be said for a goal that is a rocket from outside the box, there is nothing quite like a beautiful chip shot. Maybe not as "exciting" but as demonstrated by David Villa yesterday in Valencia's 2-1 win over Getafe, it can be such a magnificent goal . As always, the play is started by a wonderful pass from David Silva - Villa's constant partner in crime. Villa has a breakaway, the goalie comes out to cut off the angle and challenge the play, Villa sizes up the situation and without taking a touch first he just gracefully lofts it over the goalie's head and into the back of the net. Calm. Smooth. Effortless.

The beautiful chip shot.

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La Liga Preview

Even though there are no English Premier League games this weekend, the chicos to the south still have some games going on. Here are some games worth interrupting your Valentine's weekend:

Real Madrid v. Xerez - There is always drama with Real Madrid. The drama queen, C. Ronaldo is back from his two game red card suspension. Although lowly Xerez is in last place and Real should easily beat them, it will be interesting to see how Real plays with Ronaldo back in the lineup. They were actually playing better without Ronaldo and had some incredible chemistry the past couple of days. Everyone looked like they were actually having fun.

Well, except for Raul. Looks like he's on his way out. This will deserve a future post of it's own. For now, I'll continue to pretend like it's not actually happening, even though I've known for awhile that this day was coming.

Also, Sergio Canales, an 18 year old star agreed to play with Real next season. He should fire his agent. Doesn't he know that if you want to play for Real, you first have to go to another team and become a huge star and then come over? He'll ride the bench for a year and then go out on loan.

Sporting Gijon v. Valencia - La Liga is essentially a two dog race. It's probably too late for Valencia to catch either Real Madrid or Barcelona, but they continue to do well despite having financial difficulties. I'm not sure how exciting this game will be, but if Valencia wants any chance to keep their star players, they need to keep winning and finish in the top three of the league.

The game of the weekend:

Atletico Madrid v. Barcelona - When these two teams met earlier in the season, Barcelona thumped Atletico 5-2. The games between these two teams are notoriously high scoring which is always entertaining.

A Barcelona game is always worth watching because of their dominance and their amazing team play on the field. Plus, they have Messi. The 5'7" beast that leads the leage in both goals and assists. Amazing. Plus, Barcelona is still undefeated in league play, so every game is compelling. I don't really think Atletico can beat Barcelona. Atletico has had quite a disappointing season. But they are playing at home and Barcelona is struggling with injuries so an Atletico win is possible. I wouldn't bet on it though.

Here is the little man doing his thing:

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Available: El Guaje

Available: World Class Striker David Villa a.k.a El Guaje ("the kid"). Comes equipped with diamond earrings, fashionable hair, skinny sideburns and a sweet flavor savor. Currently playing for cash strapped Valencia F.C. and has interest in playing for a top club in the Premier League. He had 28 goals in 33 league matches last year and has 12 in 14 games this year.

Suitors:

Where he should go: Liverpool. They need the help. A player like Villa would do wonders for their offensive attack. Defenses would no longer be able to mainly focus on Fernando Torres. Also, every Spanish National Team fan outside of Valencia would love this move as it would give El Nino ("the child" - Torres) and El Guaje ("the kid" - Villa) 6 months to play together and perfect their chemistry prior to the start of the World Cup. This move would be fantastic on many levels. Sadly, Liverpool is broke and can't really afford anyone right now.

Where he could go: Arsenal, Manchester United. Arsenal lost Robin Van Persie to injury and could use some help at forward. Manchester United brought on Michael Owen and Berbatov in the off-season to compliment Rooney at forward. Both Owen and Berbatov have been as helpful as a t-shirt in a blizzard. Unfortunately, both clubs are also cash strapped and probably won't make the move. Plus, both are currently 2nd and 3rd in the standing and can thus justify that they don't need to make the move. Of the two teams, Manchester United has more of a history of going out and spending the money to get players, so there is an outside chance he could end up with United, but they too are struggling financially so it's doubtful.

Where he would probably go: Where else? The boys with the deep pockets: Chelsea and Manchester City. Both teams have owners with an endless amount of money and both are more than willing to open their checkbooks.

Chelsea is currently sitting with a comfortable lead at the top of the Premier League and don't really need another player at the moment. They might just buy him just to show other teams that they have money when everyone else is struggling. They don't need him, so it wouldn't make too much sense, but anything is possible with their owner.

On the other hand, Manchester City does make sense. The owner is always willing to upgrade and mix things up. Just last week they replaced their manager despite having one of the better starts in club history. The owner is spending a ton of money and determined to finish within the top 4 of the Premier League. A couple years ago they spent a lot of money on Robinho, but he has greatly underperformed. Villa would be the perfect replacement and would likely be interested in the move because Man City has a legitimate chance at finishing at the top of the standings. They are currently sixth in the Premier League but only 3 points back from third place. If you have endless money like Man City, the move is almost a no brainer. Valencia needs to dump him because they need the money. They don't want to send him to another team in La Liga. Man City has a solid lineup, but adding David Villa up top with Adebayor easily makes them one of the favorites in the Premier League.

So make the move Man City. You have the money and could use him. He won't disappoint. Trust me, "the kid" is amazing.

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Probably not the real deal

Valencia suffered its first loss of the season Wednesday night. Valencia had a surprising start to the season by winning its first two games. No one expected much from Valencia this season with all of their off the field issues, evidenced by the fact that they tried to sell their two marquee players in the off season in order to save money. However, they started off with two strong wins which shouldn't be too surprising for any team with David Villa. The strong start created a little stir and excitement that perhaps Valencia was once again contender. The excitement was short lived after Valencia suffered a 2-2 draw on Sunday to lowly Sporting Gijon. That was followed by a 3-1 loss to Getafe on Wednesday. More importantly, it leaves Barcelona and Real Madrid as the only two undefeated teams left in La Liga.

It is of course far too early to make any conclusions about any particular team or the league in general, but Valencia was the lone bright spot in what has been an otherwise predictable start to the season for the Spanish league. It is hard to see great talent like David Silva and especially David Villa wasted on a club that does not play in the Champions League. A consolation would have been for Valencia to at least challenge in La Liga, despite being practically bankrupt financially.

Again, it is early in the season, but it is already looking like La Liga will be overlooked and overshadowed by the English Premier League. On the European stage everyone wants to know if Barcelona, which only looks improved from last year, will be able to dominate the rest of Europe. People are equally as curious to know if Real Madrid with their bottomless pockets, can actually buy themselves another championship. Unfortunately, there are no other teams left in La Liga. 8-10 years ago Valencia would have challenged for the top spot. Champions League qualifiers Atletico Madrid have had a dismal start in the league. Sevilla is decent again, but they wont be able to challenge the top two. Barcelona and Real should make waves on the european stage and they might make headlines when they clash for El Clasico twice this year, but otherwise, it will be a ho-hum year for La Liga. One can only hope that I'm wrong but it already appears that the gap between the top two and the rest of the league increased instead of decreased.

Contrary to La Liga, the EPL finally has contenders that are looking like legitimate threats to dethrone one of the Big 4. It has taken Man City a couple years, but they are proving that they can buy wins. Tottenham is already falling, but their start at least created story lines. Plus, with the early struggles from Arsenal and Liverpool, the door is at least open that another team might displace one of the four. In the end, the normal four might end up at the top. But at least as of right now, it isn't ridiculous to think that a team like Man City or Aston Villa could claim one of the top spots. Something that already can't be said about La Liga.

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