How exciting, actual soccer matches were played today. I'd felt like a gossip writer covering the summer transfer window, but today the headline goes to Manchester City's 2-0 defeat of EB/Streymur. Petrov and Hamann scored the goals and really they should tacked on a few more. City has such an early start because they qualified for the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play League, a feat they will be unlikely to accomplish under Mark Hughes. Hughes started his new £19 million signing Jo who impressed, but was unable to find the back of the net. The 250 traveling supporters who cheered them on will probably run into the players celebrating their victory at one of the two bars on the islands(kidding). City has an impressive combination of veterans and young talent, and it will be interesting to see how Hughes uses them. At Blackburn he took no prisoners and made the other team earn their way up the pitch, while on the other end his wingers would try to cross the ball into the box and convert set pieces. In Johnson, Ireland, Petrov and Elano he has a midfield that can pass the ball forward and take on defenders. They are very strong defensively, though there has been talk about bringing Friedel down from Blackburn to give Hart and Schmeichel more time to develope. City has struggled to find a consistent strikeforce with Castillo, Bojinov, Samaras, Corradi, Benjani, Vassell and Bianchi all struggling to fill the position. Jo should be an automatic starter and it will be interesting to see if Hughes tries to find him a partner or opts for a 4-5-1. He probably wishes Roque Santa Cruz had come with him. With all the money he has invested, former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shiniwatra will expect to qualify for Europe through a place at the top of the table or Cup win.
There was also a bizarre development in the future of Samuel Eto'o today. Eto'o has been told he is free to leave, but Barcelona say they are yet to receive any firm offers for the three-time African Player of the Year. His attitude is not always the best, but there is no doubting his skill so it's a wonder that nobody has made a bid yet. That may change as the number one club in Uzbekistan(yes Uzbekistan), Kuruvchi, have reportedly made a $40 million offer for Eto'o. Kuruvchi will face Iran's Saipa in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League in September, but surely this is a ploy by Eto'o to get other teams interested. Chelsea seem more interested in Robinho, but with Calderon demanding an exorbitant fee it might be time to consider Eto'o again. There were also rumors that he might be involved in a swap for Adebayor, with his pace and ability on the ball he would fit in perfectly with the Gunners. At 27 he may be too old for Arsene Wenger(ageist). That being said, I would put good money that he won't be playing in Uzbekistan next year.In Olympics news, the United States unveiled their 18 man squad today. I'll do a big Olympics preview before the games begin, today I'll just congratulate Brian McBride on making it to the team. He has been great for the national team, and anyone who watched him at Fulham last year knows that he is a warrior. The American woman's team suffered a serious blow when Abby Wambach broke her leg in a friendly last night. She is one of the best players in the world, and is the leading goal scorer on the squad. The U.S. women's team has gone through a lot of turmoil in recent years and this will make it hard for them to try and get back to their winning ways.
One Liners
- Keane bids for four Tottenham players, trying to get money together for the other seven
- Stoke to sign Kitson for £5 million, having a red head doubles their chance of relegation
- Ferguson admits to making a major bid for player, forces us to play the guessing game
- Ramos coy about strike duo's future, is White Hart Lane the new London Stock Exchange?
- Del Bosque might recall Raul, Spanish excited for coach to put them on wrong track again
