Will Aston Villa qualify for Champions League this season?
Aston Villa moved up to third place in Premier League table after 2-1 win in the local derby against West Bromwhich Albion this afternoon.
Aston Villa are now one point behind Chelsea and three above Manchester United but with more games played. This is the 9th unbeaten game for Villa and with a little luck they could finish top four.
Usually the Champions League places were occupied each year by the Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal And Liverpool.
Last time when a different team occupied the Champions League place was in 2002-2003 season when Newcastle finished third. Since then only Everton had the chance once to play in Champions League but unfortunately for them Liverpool got the chance to defend the title and they finally played in Uefa Cup.
Now Villa could take advantage on the numerous injuries and the bad form that Arsenal is showing. The Gunners were saved by Nicklas Bendtner late strike in the match against Bolton Wanderers.
Manager Martin O’Neill’s contribution since he arrived at Villa Park is the most important factor in team evolution. The team started to trust in their chances and is playing better and better.
The team is young and if the key players are staying for a couple of years then they will surely succeed.
Even if they won’t qualify for Champions League this year they will be a difficult opponent for any team.
Who will be the next transfer for Manchester City?
Manchester City became one of the clubs with the biggest budgets in the World after being taken over by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.
Manchester City is trying to copy Chelsea’s model, who managed to dominate Premier League after only two years from club takeover by Abramovic. And the first move was Robinho, which they manage to steal from Real Madrid in front of Chelsea. The board promised at that time that it was only the beginning and the real transfers will be done this year.
There shortlist includes players from the best clubs in Europe but until now only Wayne Bridge from Chelsea was signed. The transfer amount has not been made public but it was probably around € 20 million.
There are also reports that there were offers, all rejected, for Buffon and Trezeguet from Juventus, Yaya Toure from Barcelona, Santa Cruz from Blackburn and lately for Zarate from Lazio.
Probably players like Buffon, Trezeguet or Toure, which are playing every year in Champions League, are difficult targets but for the rest the temptation is big.
But every man has a price, and there are players that would choose more money to the detriment of glory like it was the case for Robinho.
It remains to be seen which will be the next targets for Manchester City. The transfer window is just at the beginning and they have all the time to strengthen their team.
Beckham makes the debut at AC Milan
Even if it was a friendly, the game played by Milan against Hamburg in Dubai meant the official debut of David Beckham in “Diavolli” shirt.
Beckham had a good game before being substitute by Flamini at half-time because of the lack of fitness. Ancelotti was satisfied with Beckham evolution considering that he hasn’t played too much in the last two months.
Beckham is trying to regain his place into the England’s team and this loan to Milan seems to be the perfect move for him. The former England captain is on three-month loan from LA Galaxy. It is supposed that there is a clause in his contract that could allow him to continue with Milan.
Ancelotti is trying to build up a super team in Milan after the signings of Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and now Beckham. With Kaka they make a square of aces, players that have won the Golden Ball.
Beckham is one of the few football players that had the opportunity to play for one of the biggest teams in all three super leagues, England, Spain and Italy.
Like he admitted when arriving in Milan, this loan at Milan is a “dream come true” for Beckham. The move is profitable for both parts knowing the profit that he brings to every team where he plays, because of his image.
Even if the years have passed the fans continue to appreciate him and love to see him in action.
Beckham will definitley remain one of the most loved football players in the history because of his free-kicks and long passes, and a model for lots of children.
Is 2009 Barcelona’s year?
After the 3-1 victory against Mallorca, Barcelona extended their unbeaten record to 16 league matches and seems unstoppable at this moment.
Mallorca took the lead after Aduriz goal but Henry, Iniesta and Toure turned the match into their favor. This is the 14th victory in 17 games for Barcelona.
With this win Barcelona remains 11 points ahead of Valencia and 12 ahead Real Madrid, the champions of the last 2 seasons.
The attacking style of play practiced by Guardiola’s team attracted a lot of admirers including Maradona. The former Barcelona star player was present into the stands alongside Lionel Messi. Maradona had only words of praise for Guardiola and is confident that Barcelona will win the title this year.
Also Luis Fabiano from Sevilla thinks that Barcelona is too far this season and the rest of the teams will have to fight for the second place.
Everything goes well also in Champios League, where Barcelona finished the group first, and will play against Olympique Lyon in the second phase.
Barcelona is in great shape and has all the chances to repeat the 2005-2006 performance, when they managed to win both, Primera Division and Champions League.
