Ah, yes. It's that time of year again. Once again, the season opener of the FA Premier League is upon us, the Community Shield. This year, it's a fan favorite, Manchester United and Chelsea will kick the season off in style. These two teams have been here before many times and both have lifted this trophy multiple times. Both teams however, start this season off with a new look. No more Ronaldo and Tevez for United, and for Chelsea, it is the beginning of the Carlo Ancelotti era.
Ancelotti is changing Chelsea's tactics from the often utilized 4-3-3 formation of Mourinho, Grant, Scolari, and Hiddink to a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. United have used this formation for years, and it has worked for them. I believe Chelsea will be much better this season, and that might prove to be a bad thing for United. Ancelotti is the best full time manager they have had since Mourinho left. Scolari is a good manager, but his style did not
translate to the Premier League, and he alienated one of his best
players in Didier Drogba. Hiddink was a great coach, but his loyalties were with the Ruskies, which is something you have to admire. A coach who is actually willing to see out his contract? Imagine that, but I digress...
Although this game is technically an exhibition, it always brings about a certain excitement and usually is a great prelude to the season to follow. For United, it started a great season last year that led to a domestic double and a Fifa Club World Cup championship.
Who wins today? For some reason, I am leaning towards Chelsea, but my bias feelings toward Manchester Untied make my pick United 3 Chealsea 2, with a goal from Michael Owen. (I hope there are that many goals!)
This season has a very nationalistic vibe for me, as I will be following many compatriots this year. As a dual citizen of Ecuador and the USA, the Premiership is starting to see the qualities in players from both of these rising footy nations. Ecuador, who have qualified for the last two World Cups in a row and have had some very impressive WC qualifying results lately, (including a 2-0 blanking of the Argentines, take that Messi) have had 4 players brought into the English top flight this season.
The most prolific signing was that of Antonio Valencia from Wigan to Manchester United, and the winger from the streets of Lago Agrio, Ecuador has not failed to impress in the preseason. He scored on his debut against Boca Juniors, and he has made defenders from some of the best teams from across the globe look silly so far. Defenders from Boca, Bayern, and Valencia have all fallen victim to the player that I have nicknamed "el correcamino" or the roadrunner. I think it sounds good. Thoughts from those in the bloggosphere? Anyway, I will be watching young Antonio very intently this year, and United fans should really like to hear quotes like this from their new man: "He’s Cristiano Ronaldo, I’m Antonio Valencia... My way of playing is different. We don’t have anything in common. I’m just happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and the important thing is to be on the pitch." This kid is gonna be special; watch this space. Valencia isn't the only Ecuadorean who will be plying his trade in the Prem this season. Birmingham had added striker Christian Benitez and Giovanny Espinoza, and Burnley added 19 year old wunderkid Fernando Guerrero. This truly is the golden age of Ecuadorean footy.
As for the other country that makes up one half of my genetic makeup, it has finally happened. The true future of US Soccer, (no, for the last time it is not Freddy f@#$%* Adu, so sorry Hartzells, I know you guys have the Freddy man crush, but he's done and dusted, and he can't even legally have a beer in the USA yet) Jozy Altidore, has finally made it to the Prem with the Hull City Tigers. The man who lifted the spirits of many a US footy fan with his display at the Confed Cup amidst a sea of Vuvuzelas will now be plying his trade in the best league in the world. This has been a long time coming, and Altidore is one of the USA's top attacking players after Donovan and Dempsey, and he needed this for his career. As for Mr. Donovan, (going back to my last post) his proposed move to Livorno is off because the Italian club could not give him the money he wanted (and probably deserved), but Ricardo Clark will still be joining Livorno in January, after the MLS season is over and he has had some time to rest.
This year, ESPN has hopped on the Cristiano Ronaldo/Leonel Messi bandwagon and has purchased rights to show 25+ La Liga games on ESPN2 on saturday and Sunday mornings. This is good because it makes the game accesible to an entirely new audience, and I don't have to listen to that clown on GolTV Ray Hudson. I understand being excited about the beautiful game, but this guy takes it to a whole new and annoying level. Hopefully, ESPN will put Derek Rae on these games because he is, without a doubt, the best footy commentator on the planet. Whatever happens, the coming European footy season promises to be just as great as last season and maybe better. Get ready footy fans, the season gets underway in less then two hours, and remember, for the best footy commentary from Yanks on the web, bring it back to the Hartzell-Franco Football Forum.
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