Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

In many ways Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the protypical modern soccer player. Tall, strong, athletic and, perhaps most importantly, has almost no loyalty to his club. One-man clubs are becoming more and more rare as the years go by, but Zlatan is almost truly an example of a soccer mercenary. He’s played for six teams since 2004 and is the world’s most expensive player in history in terms of collective transfer fees.

Juventus fans will remember him for winning two Serie A titles, albeit taken away as a result of Calciopoli scandal. After the trials Ibrahimovic famously said, “Referees did us favors? Oh come on! We fought hard on the pitch. We risked our legs and did it all without any help from referees. It’s all a load of crap”. However only a few weeks later he was sold to archrivals Inter Milan. Since then he has gone from strength to strength winning the Serie A title three times with Inter Milan and once with AC Milan along with a Liga title with Barcelona.
His supremacy in the Serie A was finally undone by none other than Juventus, reinvigorated by the hiring of club legend Antonio Conte, who went undefeated throughout the league and won it from AC Milan. Afterwards Ibrahimovic moved to newly cash-rich club Paris Saint-Germain in a double swoop for him and teammate Thiago Silva. This year he leads the Champion’s League in assists while also is on his way to finishing as Ligue 1 top scorer and winning the title as well.

Lately there has been talk of a reunion of Ibrahimovic and Juventus and it appears that the player is becoming open to the idea of a return to the club where he first made his name. On paper, it appears to be the perfect signing for Juventus; they have badly needed a true striker to put away the large number of chances their midfield creates and their inefficiency in front of goal is very well-known. In fact, the lack of a true striker has hindered Juventus from winning the league outright last year and was a major factor in their loss to Bayern Munich in the Champion’s League quarterfinal. Ibrahimovic would immediately bring some pedigree to the front line while also having the ability to put the chances given to him. He also has excellent hold-up play and would be able to bring and use the wingers around him.

However Juventus should be warned before bringing Ibra back to Turin. For one, Ibrahimovic has never been one to play as just an out-and-out striker and demands to have the ball and be the centerpiece of a team. While this has been effective in winning league titles, Ibrahimovic’s team seem to have a knack for not being able to get far in the Champion’s League and for good reason. Despite popular belief that he is just a big-game flop, what most teams realize when playing a team with Ibra on it, is that if they take him out of the game, his team will run out of ideas and lose simply because they have no Plan B if their usual chucking of the ball up field to Ibrahimovic fails.

Therefore to bring in Ibrahimovic would require a change of tactics, but also it would change the locker room spirit. Juventus’ locker room now consists of a tightly knit group of players who fight tooth and nail for Conte and never relent in their work ethic and refuse to be taken down by any hindrances, exemplified by their strong form while Conte served a six-month suspension from the bench. Ibrahimovic is more of me-first player and wont back down for any coach, and as a result this could lead him to being a misfit and an outcast among the players and coaches. The same happened in Barcelona when Ibrahimovic was eventually relegated to the bench and sold just a year after becoming Barcelona’s record transfer purchase.

While a player of Ibrahimovic’s pedigree and talent is something any team would want on theirs, his selfish attitude is something against what is being valued among the current Juventus set-up. Veterans in the mold of Pirlo should be the focus of Juventus and while Llorente is an excellent addition, if Juventus are really want to find a world-class striker they should look no further than Napoli hitman Edinson Cavani who has the work rate, pace and finishing ability that Juventus desperately needs and he comes much younger than Ibrahimovic, being 26 to Ibra’s 31. His price tag however is much higher, but Juventus should find some way to bring him into the team. As for Ibrahimovic, sometimes it’s better to let go of the past.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

The UEFA Champion’s League is one of the world’s most watched and anticipated tournaments, by fans and players alike. Not only does winning the coveted ‘Big Ears’ trophy mean putting your name into club folklore for the players and coaches but it also means large increases in cash revenues from bonuses, gate receipts, etc. A prime example is Chelsea, whom have been tightening their transfer purses, but suddenly after winning last year’s Champion’s League went on a spending spree of over 80 million euros, bringing in the likes of Eden Hazard, Victor Moses, Oscar, amongst other players.

Forgotten in all this is Europe’s second competition, its ‘ugly sister’; the Europa League. Originally called the UEFA Cup, UEFA changed the name two years ago in order to garner more interest into the tournament but almost to no avail. Clubs and players avoid the competition at all costs, while the bigger clubs look to participating in the tournament as a disgrace and more of a nuisance than anything with true prestige worth winning. This is not more evident in any of Europe’s big leagues than the Serie A. No team from Serie A has participated in the Europa League final since 1998-99 when Parma defeated Marseille 3-0 at the Luzhniki Stadium. What is shocking is that in the previous 10 years before this, seven Serie A teams won the UEFA Cup, while five were runner-ups including four finals in which it was an all Serie A affair. In fact the Serie A boasts the most winners (9) and their six runner-ups participants to the Bundesliga’s eight. Also, Juventus and Inter Milan are the have each won three times, tied with Liverpool for the most in the tournament’s history.

So why has Serie A suddenly gone missing? It is not for lack of quality teams in the league with Lazio and Inter Milan participating in this year’s tournament, with also Juventus and AC Milan also taking part in recent years. So if it is not a lack of excellent teams, why is Serie A not excelling in Europe’s second tournament.
The first is that the Champion’s League once used to only consist of only champion’s of each country’s respective leagues. Thus it was extremely difficult to reach the tournament, and the UEFA Cup was regarded as a tournament that consistently had the best teams in the world and therefore the quality of soccer and competition was at an elite level unlike today, with all due respect to the tournament. For example, if in the old format, the Europe League this year would’ve consisted of Barcelona, AC Milan, Napoli, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. No one in today’s world would’ve missed such mouth-watering clashes.

However in the 1990s, UEFA changed the format to include more teams, along with a group phase and now the top three leagues in the world have as many as four teams participating in the tournament every year while others have from three to one representative in the league. Since this was done, the UEFA Cup gradually started to lose its luster and prestige and slowly its importance started to die in the eyes of the club and players.

It is because of this lose of prestige that Serie A clubs, indeed most of Serie A fans, look at the Europa League with disdain and don’t care much for how their teams fare in the tournament. In fact, at times it appears that fans are relived that the nuisance of Thursday night soccer is no longer on their schedule.

Another main issue is the timing of the tournament. In order to avoid clashing with the big name Champion’s League, the Europa League has games on Thursday nights, which can be difficult for teams and players as some of them will have league games on Fridays and Saturdays, leaving many players with only one day of rest before training in preparations of league games. With the amount of games a player can play a year increasing more and more to sometimes over 60-70 games a year, the risk of injury and fatigue rises exponentially.

Which brings us to another major issue that Serie A clubs and fans have; injuries. Too many times in the Europa League players are getting injured and fans and club hierarchy both appear to feel that the low prestige of the tournament and the consequent jeopardizing of their league hopes is not worth the risk of losing your star players.

To find examples of this thinking, one only needs to look at Tottenham and Inter Milan from this year’s Europa League. Tottenham’s star player and the newly crowned PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale suffered an ankle injury against Lyon and this in turn threatened Tottenham’s hopes of reaching a top-four spot and the Champion’s League football it represents. Their form has suffered as a immediate result and surely the coach Andre Villas-Boas must be ruing the injury to Bale if they do not reach the Champion’s League next year, especially since it could directly impact Bale’s departure.

Inter Milan has also suffered via a devastating injury of their own in top striker Diego Milito. Although Inter Milan has hit some extreme heights (ending Juventus’ 49-game league unbeaten streak) and some very spectacular lows (dreadful run of form since), Diego Milito was one of the lone shining lights in a campaign full of pain and hope. Scoring nine goals in the 20 appearances in the league, Milito succumbed to a horrific cruciate ligament injury in the Round of 32 matchup against CFR Cluj. This injury typically takes about 6 months to a year to recover from, while some touted that it could be a career-ending injury for the 33-year old. Ever since Inter Milan have suffered offensively and while Rodrigo Palacio has performed honorably in his stead before suffering an injury of his own, they have not been the same team since.

Once all these factors are looked at its not hard to understand why the Europa League is basically non-existent in the eyes of Serie A clubs. However it has impacted the Serie A in a major way, as their terrible results in the Europa League have demoted them into fourth place in the coefficients UEFA ranking, and more importantly removed one Champion’s League spot leaving them at three teams. Therefore perhaps for the sake of the greater good of Serie A, teams should hold the tournament with more prestige but you’d be hard-pressed to find a team willing to take a potential hit for the league.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

On July 4, 2012 German international Lukas Podolski, he of 103 caps at just 27 years of age, joined Arsenal FC to the joy of Gunner fans everywhere. August 7, 2012 Spanish international Santi Cazorla, winner of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 and 48 caps, makes the surprise move from Malaga to Arsenal FC to complete a summer in which Podolski and Ligue 1 top scorer Olivier Giroud joined the club.

After a slow start to the season that began with two goalless draws to both Sunderland and Stoke City; Arsenal defeated Liverpool 2-0 and smashed Southampton for 6 while also defeating Montpellier Herault SC in their Champion’s League opener and tying last year’s Premier League champions thanks to a late goal by defender Laurent Koscielny. Arsenal are so far unbeaten in the Premier League and now hold the 5th spot and are only 4 points behind league leaders Chelsea.

In the summer Arsene Wenger went against the grain and bought a duo of proven and experienced players. With the addition of Lukas Podolski he now has a winger that can provide a healthy amount of goals while threatening defenses with his pace and direct running and dribbling. Cazorla is versatile attacking midfielder that can play on both flanks as a winger or through the middle while providing a threat from set pieces and defense-splitting passes. Giroud has endured a hard start but it is expected that he will adapt soon and once he does he will provide Arsenal with another goal threat.

With the German backbone of Podolski and Per Mertesacker, Wenger now has players that will be efficient in possession and go about their assignments every game without issues while also providing the cool heads so often associated with Germans. In having a midfield that consists of vice-captain Mikel Arteta and Cazorla, Arsenal have a deep-lying playmaker and attacking midfielder that are very comfortable in possession and able to pick out holes in the defense with passes that set up strikers with goals on a platter. These types of players are so central to the Barcelona and Spanish tiki-taka system, the deep-lying playmaker being in the form of Xabi Alonso or Xavi, and the attacking midfielder being David Silva or Iniesta. Wenger is even attempting the ‘false nine’ system Barcelona uses with Lionel Messi and Spain used to win Euro 2012 with former Gunner Cesc Fabregas. It was used to devastating effect against Southampton with Gervinho, the ‘false nine’, scoring two goals and Arsenal wreaking havoc on their defense.

Due to their new Spanish and German presence; Arsenal are able to grind out victories that in the past would usually have held them to a frustrating draw or a devastating loss. The Montpellier game was one such example of Arsenal not being able to play well, and while in the past they would lose after falling behind so early in an away game, they somehow they ended up winning thanks to goals from Podolski and Gervinho. The Manchester City game was also an example of Arsenal dominating proceedings but unable to get that goal until Cazorla’s power drive lead to the corner from which they were able to equalize late in the game.

Winning games from behind and also getting goals to draw something out of a frustrating game is the hallmark of a championship team. They cannot always be pretty and too often in the past Arsenal was unable to win games that they could not dominate or start off clinical in.

But we’ve seen this all before haven’t we?

In the past seasons (with the exception of last season’s terrible start), Arsenal always started strong and would seem to be genuinely threatening for all trophies, but come crunch time in February-April they would hit a dreadful run of form and find themselves without anything to show for their hard work. It’s been seven long years since the last trophy entered Arsenal’s big cabinet and the frustration is starting to show in fans.

Once again we are hit with the optimism that this is the year that Arsenal will finally come through and challenge for the honors come May, but we need to be cautious. The previous failures could be attributed to the youth and inexperience of Arsene’s team but that is now more than covered due to the presence of such experienced internationals as Cazorla, Mertesacker, Podolski, and Tomas Rosicky who between them have an incredible 320 caps. This type of experience is invaluable and may prove to be the difference this time around. This time around, it may be Arsenal who finally has the last laugh.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Last summer Eden Hazard was already coveted by just about all the top teams in Europe, after what had been an incredible year for the young Belgian who won lead OSC Lille to the Ligue 1 title in France while being named Ligue 1 Player of the Year. He shut down all interest by declaring that he would at least play one more year in order to increase his development. Incredibly, he out-did himself as he won the Ligue 1 Player of the Year, while scoring more goals and assists than he did the year before. He may not have won the Ligue 1 title again, but he was once again given the pick of the cream of Europe’s elite.

For many months he led everyone on a merry-go-round, teasing teams in a way that has never really been seen before. One day it was Arsenal, then it would be Chelsea, no maybe Real Madrid, but he likes Italy and Inter Milan, oh it would be one of the Manchester clubs. Finally he announced on Twitter that he made a decision and later that day it was confirmed that he joined Champion’s League victors Chelsea.

It was not only their recent European success that brought him to Chelsea, although it did play a major role in the transfer, but also the promise of a starting berth as well as a chance to truly compete year in and year out for the top titles that would allow him to enter the elite class of players in the world; something he claimed that he was in company with.

He impressed in the preseason and although the Community Shield game against Manchester City was not one of his best, including a laughable attempt on a back-heel that left him on the ground, he has started the Premiership in dazzling fashion. His fancy footwork won him two penalties in the first two games, in almost identical fashion, and he went on to assist 5 of Chelsea’s first six goals. The games came against a weak Wigan side and a newly promoted Reading, and while it did appear that Chelsea was winning because Hazard’s brilliance was overshadowing the cracks in the team, the game against Newcastle was another test altogether. This was a top-four team for a long time, and had a deadly duo in attack and a formidable defense.

Incredibly, Hazard increased his performance levels even more. He opened his Chelsea scoring account when he dispatched a penalty and then near the end of the half found Torres with an incredible back-heel assist that would the most ardent critics stare in awe. He was all over the pitch, and his passes and dribbling abilities were all brought into focus in front of a very demanding home crowd and an extremely demanding owner.

Hazard’s signing has also been a major help into freeing Juan Mata; who was last year’s most creative outlet for Chelsea. Mata was eventually double-covered most games and his influence in the second half of the season waned as pressure was increased on him by opponents as well as fatigue finally caught up to the former Real Madrid youth player. In some games he was shunned to the wing, where his impact has been less impactful as his best position is when he is in the ‘hole’ behind the striker supplying balls to the his wingers and No. 9.

Hazard’s ability to cut in from the wing and supply through balls to his teammates, shoot at goal, or blast past defenders with a spurn of pace has given them an extra dimension of attack on the wing that has not been replaced since the departure of Arjen Robben to Real Madrid in 2007.

Mata’s combinations last year with Torres were already seemingly the start of something special, but now the addition of Hazard has made this a more dangerous attacking unit. Once one of Oscar, Moses, or Marin is added to that equation defenses may be lucky if they are not run ragged by the interchanging players going all over the field and all over the place. Hazard made his expectations seemingly impossibly high when he teased half of Europe all year; and incredibly he appears to be making his price tag and expectations seem like a bargain for Chelsea. England and Europe have just been given a Hazard-ous warning.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

In the summer of 2010, Leonardo was fired from the club due to poor form in the last few games and apparently a fractious relationship with Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. Milan began the hunt for a new coach while stressing that they would need to cut costs and would not be making any major signings. In the end, Berlusconi could not resist as he brought in Ibrahimovic and Robinho; from Barcelona and Manchester City respectively. And the new head coach that would lead them was: Massimiliano Allegri of Cagliari.

The announcement left many fans all over the world saying “Who?” and they would not be wrong. Cagliari had pulled off some good results, but never qualified for the Champion’s League, or Uefa Cup, with Allegri. Yet Milan vice president Adriano Galliani heralded his ‘excellent credentials’ and wonderful team-building abilities. The truth was that Milan had brought in an average coach who had a team that managed to stay in the Italian top flight for a few years on a cheap salary.

And now, two years later, Allegri has done truly nothing to alleviate the criticism pointed at him. Yes he did bring Milan their first Serie A title since 2003, but that was more the work of Calcio superman Zlatan Ibrahimovic than it was Allegri’s skillful management of games.

In fact his management of games has been anything less than skillful. Throughout the season he made questionable calls in terms of tactics and playing personnel. The team was demolished by newcomers Tottenham in the Champion’s League and they barely were able to win the Serie A. In truth if it were not for Ibrahimovic’s one-man heroics, as well as the shambolic defending that came as a result of the gung-ho approach of Leonardo (who had crossed city lines and joined rivals Inter Milan), then Milan would not have won the Serie A.

The Serie A championship was seen as a personal victory for Galliani who claimed this was justification that the appointment of Allegri was an inspired one. But the following Serie A campaign was not the same. As Ibrahimovic suffered some early problems, Milan started to slip behind their rivals. In truth they did come back, and even held a 5 point advantage near the end, but this was once again the work of Ibrahimovic rather than Allegri.

Once again his management was called into question as his top defender Thiago Silva was surprisingly called into the starting line-up in a match against Roma, even though he was freshly recovered from an injury. What confounded everyone more was that the game was just three days before an important first leg Champion’s League quarter-final against defending champions FC Barcelona.

In the game warm-up Thiago Silva pulled up with an injury and was ruled out of that game as well as both legs against Barcelona. Surely risking your best defender before the two biggest games of the season against the best club in the world would be something most coaches would never do? Earlier in the round of 16, Allegri almost lost a 4-0 advantage to Arsenal in the first HALF. He even named two goalkeepers to the substitutes’ bench; an absolute no in soccer.

Allegri’s continued belief in playing Bonera is one of the most baffling decisions by any head coach. Bonera has never been, and will never be, a world-class or even good defender. He always seems to commit very costly error and his tackles and pace have been slow and not effective. By any elite team standards, he should be the absolute last resort for a head coach in the back.

Milan’s maiden game of the 2012-13 Serie A season was an example of this, and what is more confusing is that Allegri left Cristian Zapata on the bench and paired Bonera and Yepes. Later on in the match he replaced the energetic Robinho, who was having a good game and one of his only players who was threatening the Sampdoria defense, with Urby Emmanuelson. Emmanuelson went on to have little effect on the proceedings as Sampdoria defeated AC Milan on their return from relegation.

The Milan board is also to blame for their horrendous start to the season since their cost-saving techniques over the last few years have left them with a shadow of a great team. The board cannot hope to realistically challenge for the Serie A title against a great Juventus side, while the Champion’s League is also impossible to reach, when they sell so many players and are left with a squad with the likes of Bonera in central defense (again why is he even playing?) and many other players playing with little to no drive or creativity.

This team lacks in creativity in the final third, pace in the back, clinical strikers, and so on. The problems are too numerous and the blame cannot fall on Allegri for not being able to challenge for the title. He must be blamed for the terrible form and tactical decision that he has done in the last few years, but if Milan should find a new coach the objective should be to reach a Champion’s League spot and keep generating income from that. Even third place is a stretch but the team does have enough talent that it should not be losing to the likes of Sampdoria and Bologna.

If Milan’s financial situation has become so dire as claimed, then the club needs to invest into its club networking system and start buying players on the cheap that will develop into supestars, much like Udinese’s model, but the difference should be that Milan should not begin having a reputation of being a selling club. They need to embark on a major rebuilding program that they should’ve started after the Kaka sale in 2010, but instead they bought the ‘quick fix’ that is Serie A master Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He is gone and so in the world’s best defender so now it is time for the board to stop with the claims of Milan’s past greatness and move on figuring out how to make Milan an elite team again. This all should be headed with a realistic timeframe from the board as well as a new coach, because Allegri should not be coaching a team of Milan’s standards. He is an average coach that is coaching a very much average team.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Serie A has been having a bad year by most people’s standards. Some of the most well known names, such as AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva along with Napoli’s Ezequiel Lavezzi to Paris-Saint Germain, have left the Calcio without many of their most recognizable stars. Juventus have been able to strengthen themselves well in the summer and look poised to defend their Serie A title while also prepared to make an impact on the Champion’s League two years on from their last appearance. Roma have also been able to strengthen adequately, and Inter look set to get out of the shambles of the last two years and prepare to challenge Juventus along with Napoli.

Through all this Fiorentina has been left out of the limelight but have gone on an excellent transfer campaign and may yet prove another challenge for the traditional powerhouses to beat. They capitalized on Villareal’s  demotion from the Liga by buying versatile defender Gonzalo Rodriguez and creative attacking midfielder Borja Valero. The former Real Madrid cantero has been on good form in the last few years which has earned him a call-up to the Spanish national team in 2011 and even had him linked temporarily with a return to Real Madrid.

They were also able to bolster their attack with the addition of out-of-favor striker Mounir El Hamdoui from Ajax and Francesco Della Rocca on loan from Palermo. They appear set to hold on to Stevan Jovetic despite bids from both Juventus and Manchester City, but Valero should be able to fill the second striker position should he leave. Starlet Adem Ljajic is an excellent prospect who should benefit from this supporting cast, and while Juan Vargas’s form has dipped somewhat in the last year; his ability is without question and he is an excellent player on the left.

One of the best moves of the year is also their purchases of deep-lying playmakers Alberto Aquilani and David Pizarro from Liverpool and Roma respectively. These are two excellent players who can provide defensive cover in the back while also providing a creative outlet from deep to instigate attacks. Aquilani’s injury history is well documented, but Pizarro is more than able to cover for him if he should be injured and he did impress for AC Milan last year and Juventus the year before; the only reason he was not bought was because of the high fee Liverpool demanded for him. Pizarro fell out of favor last year in Roma with head coach Luis Enrique, but played well while on loan the second half of last season to Manchester City.

The other department that was fortified was in goal, with the loan move for Emiliano Viviano and bringing in the experienced Cristiano Lupatelli to compete with the young Neto are all excellent moves. Neto is 23, and will benefit from learning from Lupatelli and especially Viviano. Viviano has been heralded as Buffon’s successor and Italy’s future No. 1 in the coming years and has even filled in for him when he suffered injury problems in the last two years. He has proven to be a more than able deputy and is an excellent prospect that is sure to protect the Fiorentina goal.

All in all, while Fiorentina has been flying under the radar this summer with its purchases new coach Vincenzo Montella has to be commended for the team he has brought together. If the new players gel well, he could make a team that could threaten Italy’s top teams and qualify for the Champion’s League. Fiorentina may not be making headlines now, but come the end of this season they may turn a few heads.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

On  May 23^rd, 2007 AC Milan’s ageless wonder captain Paolo Maldini lifted the UEFA Champion League trophy in Athens after they defeated Liverpool 2-1, laying to rest the demons of the 2005 Champion’s League Final. Kaka incredible form in the competition not only left him top scorer of the Champion’s League, but also would give him the FIFA World Player of the Year award. The Milan starting eleven that day was the oldest in Champion’s League Final history, and Paolo Maldini the oldest ever to play in it at 38 years and 331 days old.

It showed as the next year the AC Milan team failed to register any meaningful impact in the Champion’s League and their fifth place finish ensured they didn’t even qualify for the Champion’s League, with them having to suffer the indignity of playing in Europe’s second-tier club competition; the UEFA Cup. Carlo Ancelotti was removed as head coach and Leonardo was promoted in his place. Even that was not enough, and in the summer of 2009 Perez’s spending spree brought star midfielder Kaka to Real Madrid for a world record 56 million pounds.

The club clearly did not plan for Kaka’s departure from the club and failed to properly invest in the squad with the money from the purchase and AC Milan were not able to win any trophies the next year.  Leonardo was removed and Massimiliano Allegri was appointed in his place; a surprise choice by many. With the club was still in dire need of reinforcements they secured the signings of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Robinho; the later two in the last weeks of the transfer window as what was praised by Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani as a ‘heroic’ intervention by Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. In January they also signed Antonion Cassano, Mark Van Bommel and Urby Emanuelson and went on to win their first Serie A title since the 2003-04 season. With further signings such as Phillipe Mexes and Taye Taiwo signed in the summer, it was believed that AC Milan had finally turned a corner and would be on the rise again. It proved to be a false dawn.

Their demise began with the same summer after they had won their Serie A title and inexplicably released Andrea Pirlo. They believed that his ability to influence to pitch from deep was waning and renewing his contract was not seen as a priority. Juventus saw their opportunity and snatched Pirlo on a Bosman transfer and a reinvigorated squad with a hungry and fresh Andrea Pirlo in the engine room went on to pip Milan to the Serie A title, while remaining undefeated the entire season. Pirlo further made Milan rue their mistake by leading Italy all the way to the Euro 2012 final while his run of form had some people even calling for him to be a Ballon D’Or contender.

Milan were then left to finally feel the consequences of continually keeping their aging players without serious investment in younger players as first team players such as Mark Van Bommel, Clarence Seedorf, Massimo Oddo, Filippo Inzaghi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Gennaro Gattuso, and Alessandro Nesta all left the club or retired while Alberto Aquilano and Maxi Lopez returned to their parent clubs from their loans.

While these departures were significant for the team, the incoming arrivals of Sulley Muntari, Riccardo Montolivo, Bakaye Traore and Francesco Acerbi and the loan deals of Cristian Zapata and Kevin Constant meant that the team would not be too weakened for the new season. A large bid from Paris-Saint Germain for star defender Thiago Silva was turned down and he signed a new long-term contract in what was another ‘heroic’ act by Silvio Berlusconi.

Then a few weeks later, a massive bid for both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva was accepted and Milan were suddenly devoid of their two world-class players. Pazzini was brought in to help in the striker department but he is not a genuine goal threat without good and constant service. Milan’s strikeforce now compromises of a constantly injured forward (Pato) and an inconsistent winger (Robinho). If Milan were to sell for big money, why reject the huge PSG bid for Pato in Janurary? Surely he was more replaceable than Ibrahimovic due to his medical history.

Milan’s midfield is still short of ideas after Pirlo’s departure. Ambrosini still has some years left though he cannot be considered a sure-fire starter, with his injury past also a major factor in this, Nocerino is an excellent industrious player but he is not creative enough for Milan. Mathieu Flamini also has an injury-riddled past, while Milan will be without the services of Sulley Muntari for some time due to his knee injury. Ricardo Montolivo adds more steel than guile to their midfield as well. Therefor it will be on the shoulders of Kevin-Prince Boateng to be the creative force on the Milan team, and even he has had problems with hamstring injuries. Milan are trying to bring Kaka back, but even this won’t paper over the cracks.

The defense is suddenly very thin without Silva and Nesta as Mexes’s lack of pace was exposed in Euro 2012, and while Zapata may prove to be an excellent purchase and Acerbi may prove an excellent signing for the future the back-ups consist of Mario Yepes and Daniele Bonera; hardly world-class stoppers by anyone’s count. The fullbacks consist more of converted wingers than actual defenders as Luca Antonini only impresses in some games and Djamel Mesbah’s best games came as a left winger rather than left fullback.

It is like the Kaka sale all over again, Milan sold their top stars in order to balance the books but don’t appear to have planned for their departures once again. Galliani loves to remind us of Milan’s storied past and bulging trophy cabinet, but perhaps he needs to be reminded of the mistakes as well.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

On May 22^nd, 2010 a smiling Massimo Moratti had one arm draped over his head coach Jose Mourinho, the man who just delivered the title Moratti craved; the UEFA Champion’s League. It ended a 45 year wait, one that Moratti’s father delivered back in 1965. In the postgame conference, Mourinho announced he would resign to work with Real Madrid and he has enjoyed more success as his well-drilled team dethroned Guardiola’s mighty Barcelona to win the Liga in style.

But what of the club he left behind? Rafael Benitez joined from Liverpool, and despite bringing home the Italian Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, he was fired at the midway point as Inter fell 13 points behind league leaders AC Milan. Leonardo was brought in and helped them to achieve a 2^nd place finish but left at the end of the year after some abysmal defending, notably the 5-2 loss at home to Schalke in the Champion’s League. At the beginning of the year Gian Piero Gasperini was appointed head coach but was fired a few games into his tenure after a dismal return of results left them near the relegation zone and Claudio Ranieri was brought into the club in order to stabilize the fast deteriorating Inter team. All was good for a few months until once again bad form hit the team and Moratti appointed relatively unknown youth coach Andrea Stramaccioni as caretaker.

Stramaccioni was able to get a few good results and Moratti then appointed him full-time manager and Inter have started to rebuild the team through a more sensible, and prudent, approach. Out went the deadweight players such as Cordoba, Lucio (although Lucio has some good years left), and Forlan, while the team was strengthened via youth and experience with Matias Silvestre, Samir Handanovic, Rodrigo Palacio, Gaby Mudingayi, and Juan brought it. Walter Gargano was also recently loaned to them from Napoli for a 1.5 million euro fee, with an option to make it permanent for 5 million at the end of the year.

These were all excellent signings as a new goalkeeper was needed to replace Julio Cesar, who has become a shell of his 2010 self, and a new defender as well since it was clear that the Lucio and Samuel partnership, while powerful, lacked pace and would be getting too old. Juan is also an excellent signing who should be able to form an excellent backline whilst learning under the tutelage of Walter Samuel. Mudingayi gives more solidity to the midfield while Palacio has added some much needed pace to the Inter frontline. Gargano may also turn out to be one of the best signings of the year as he was perhaps Serie A’s most underrated midfielder for the last few years as his work in midfield was one of the main factors behind Napoli’s recent resurgence.

Inter’s recent acquisition of Antonio Cassano and 7 million euros in exchange for striker Pazzini was also an excellent move on their part. Pazzini can be an excellent striker who can score in bunches, but he desperately requires then services of a creative midfielders and support strikers that will give him service. Cassano can add another dimension of attack to Inter, something Inter desperately needed in the last two years as they depended heavily on Wesley Sneijder in their Champion’s League winning campaign in 2010. His creativity can help to get Inter out of tight spots when Sneijder is unable to.

After a period of turmoil that led to FIVE different managers since the departure of Jose Mourinho two years ago, Inter seemed to have hit rock bottom and fallen out of Italy, and indeed Europe’s, top teams. It appears that under the appointment of Stramaccioni, provided he continues to have Moratti’s patience and support, Inter have turned a new leaf and may rise again. They aren’t likely to threaten Juventus’s title, but while one Milan team is faltering, it appears the other is one the rise again.

Follow @GhellaiMahmoud

Today Barcelona have confirmed the 15 million pound purchase of Arsenal midfielder Alex Song, and while it proves that Tito is heading in the right direction in regards of how to improve the Barca team, it was a misguided purchase. Over the years of Guardiola’s highly successful reign, the one issue that has been painstakingly clear is the lack of depth on the Barcelona team, especially in the defensive end. Both Champion’s League finals featured a Barca defense that used defensive midfielders as unorthodox centerbacks; in 2009 it was Yaya Toure in central defense and in 2011 it was Mascherano. Although later Mascherano would prove to be a more than capable centerback, at the time his best position was as a defensive midfielder and playing at the back was somewhat new to him.

Guardiola’s critics will contend that he has failed spectacularly in the transfer signings, with many of them going to waste. This can be evidenced with the 15 million euro signing of Alexander Hleb, the 16.5 million euro signing of martin Caceres, 8 million euros for Henrique, the absurd buy of Dmytro Chygrynskiy for 25 million euros and of course the 69 million euros paid for Inter Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Guardiola’s only success and major spending came in the offensive side of the ball as he was able to purchase Cesc Fabregas, David Villa, and Alexis Sanchez and all to devastating effect. But other than the successful purchases of Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano; Pep has neglected the defensive side of the Barcelona team which has always come to haunt them down as the season progresses despite their success.

Tito Vilanova has wasted no time in remedying the issues left by his predeccessor as his first two purchases as head coach of Barcelona were defensive players; Jordi Alba and Alex Song, from Valencia and Arsenal respectively. While the Alba purchase may prove to be the signing of the year in La Liga, the same cannot be said for Alex Song. The truth is that Song is not an excellent anchorman by any means, and while he has provided cover in defense for Arsenal in the past, he has not been the best solution in the back. In truth, this year was his first year playing well for Arsenal and this was mostly exemplified by his assist tally of 14. But make no mistake, he is a defensive midfielder first and it is here that he has often flattered to deceive.

One only needs to look at the numbers in order to see how weak Arsenal has been on the defensive side of the ball. Since Gilberto Silva left Arsenal has allowed more than 170 goals in the league, and while the Arsenal defense was not the greatest, blame has to be laid at Alex Song for not protecting them as well as he should. He is more eager to help on offense, and has even had issues in the past regarding laziness and a perceived lack of motivation at times. This simply will not do at Barcelona as one of the main aspects of their gameplan is an unrelenting pressing of the opposing team in order to get the ball back into their possession.

If this is so, was Song the right purchase for Barcelona? He certainly was a cheaper option than the other one that was mooted; Atheltic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez. Martinez’s buyout clause is valued at about 40 million euros and Atheltic’s board has been adamant that he will not be sold for less than that amount. Bayern Munich, after initially claiming they would not ‘pay over odds’ for the player, gave in and has had their offer accepted as they try to finalize the deal in the coming days. Barcelona’s financial woes are well known, but the positives that came with Javi Martinez are sure to justify the heft price tag, even if it meant dipping into next year’s transfer funds.

Javi Martinez is equally adept at playing both centerback and as a defensive midfielder. He is an excellent ball winner and recycles possession well while also tirelessly pressuring the opposing players into losing possession. If that does not highlight his worth, the fact that he was on the winning World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012 squads means that he has spent time playing and practicing with the Barcelona players themselves and in their system as well. His meager amount of playing time should be serve as a testament to the depth of quality of the Spanish squad rather than his personal abilities. In fact, Fabregas was hardly able to get into the first-team until Vicente Del Bosque started utilizing the ‘false-nine’ system in Euro 2012. The fact that Del Bosque has still seen fit to keep calling up Martinez shows that he has belief that he will eventually fill in a role in the future with the squad. Martinez has also spent time in the league as well, and knows the opponents and teams very well.

Tito’s inheritance of Guardiola’s squad has come with incredible pressure to match the immense achievements of his predecessor, who won 14 out of a possible 19 titles. Already we can see that Vilanova has earmarked where he can improve the squad in order to cope with the heavy burden on his shoulders and while investing in defense was the right direction to go, Song has all the signs of a player who may not have the major impact that many people believe.

Last night, the La Liga campaign for the big two started off with defending champions Real Madrid hosting Valencia while Tito Vilanova’s official coaching debut would begin with a game against Real Sociedad. While Mourinho’s men were held to a 1-1 stalemate, it was Barcelona who impressed with a 5-1 thrashing of Sociedad. Christian Tello was the star of the match and it appears he has matured from last season and able to make a serious push this year for a first-team spot.

What caught the eye more was his partnership with Jordi Alba, which almost seemed telepathic. Barcelona’s tiki-taka passing system and dominant possession of the ball also depends on their full-backs to act as auxiliary wingers to provide width and spread the defense until they use their passes to get into the box. That is why Dani Alves has been used to devastating effect with his pace, positioning, and attacking prowess proving a vital asset to the Barcelona machine.

Needless to say, Barcelona have not been so lucky on the other side of the field. Abidal didn’t have the pace or attacking ability of Alves, though his defense has proved vital at times. And while Maxwell was an excellent left-back, he didn’t fit in the system perfectly and his opportunities were too few as Abidal was preferred over him. Adriano was more of a jack-of-all-trades player who was signed to cover the right and left wing spots as well as both full-back positions, but he is not the solution.

In Jordi Alba, Barcelona appears to have found a solution to their left-back problems for many years. Alba is a former La Masia graduate, so he fits almost seamlessly into the Barca system. The Sociedad game is only one example, but one only has to look at his performance in Euro 2012 to see how well integrated he is for the system. In the tournament his form made it appear as if he has been playing with Spain for years, not in his first senior international tournament. His boundless energy also showcases his ability to play in offense and still cover for his defensive duties as well. This was again proven by the fact that he played the Euro 2012, then the Olympic games for Spain and then returned to play for Barcelona with almost no rest at all. One can only hope that he does not suffer a fatigue burnout as the season progresses. Should he need rest, Adriano is more than able deputy.

If he is able to work in tandem with David Villa, Alexis Sanchez, or Pedro as well as he was able to with Tello then Barcelona’s foes should be wary. It appears the Barcelona warmachine has just added the crucial missing weapon and with vengeance on its mind after losing out on the Champion’s League and then the Liga to eternal rivals Real Madrid on the back of a Clasico defeat in the Camp Nou, talk of Barca’s demise are unfounded. Europe should shudder.