The Fußball Chatter

Luka Modric beat former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as he was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year award for his exploits in the 2017/18 season.   The awards were held yesterday during the draw for the UEFA Champions League. Cristiano Ronaldo was the favorite to win the award given his productive season for Los Blancos scoring 15 goals in the UCL while Mohamed Salah had a fantastic debut season for Liverpool scoring over 40 goals in all competitions last season with 10 in the UCL. Modric was the outsider in winning the award which is a testament of the success and attention the Croatian has given over the past few months. Modric also led his country Croatia to the World Cup Final in July winning the Golden Ball award for Best Player. For the other awards, Keylor Navas was awarded Best Goalkeeper, Sergio Ramos was awarded Best Defender and Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded Best Forward by UEFA. 

With the qualifiers already completed, the draw for the UEFA Champions League were held on Thursday for the final 32 as each side will know who they will face in the group stage and the beginning of another season of Europe's biggest club competition with the prize being a place in the Final at Madrid. This is a preview of each group and the teams likely to go through. Group A- Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, AS Monaco & Club Brugge Atletico Madrid are the heavy favourites to win this group given their experience, improved attacking flair and ruggedness. Given how successful Diego Simeone has been in Europe winning the Europa League and taking Atletico to two UCL Finals. They should win this group. Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco are likely to battle it out for second while Club Brugge is likely to finish bottom of the group. Both Dortmund and Monaco will be looking for improvement in the UCL this season as they were both eliminated from the group stage last seaso

Six games were played today for Match-day 3 of the Premier League. Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers as they defending champions dropped points for the first time this season. Some teams were naughty for the referee to take action as four reds were shown today. Two in the game between Everton and AFC Bournemouth with Richarlison and Adam Smith receiving their marching orders. Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town remain winless with a goalless draw while Arsenal got their first win of the season at home against West Ham United. Liverpool took advantage of City dropping points winning 1-0 against Brighton to top the table. Here are the four things learned from today’s action. Wolves frustrate the holders Wolves are hyped up following their exploits at the Championship but in the Premier League, you’re in a big pond going against the big fish which they have faced with 1 point from a possible 6 in their 2 games. So not many fancied their cha

Manchester City and Manchester United were in action today as the defending champions faced Huddersfield Town at the Etihad while the Red Devils travelled to the Amex to face Brighton and Hove Albion. Burnley were also in action as they face Watford. It was a mixed day for the Manchester clubs. Manchester City annihilated Huddersfield winning the game 6-1 with Sergio Aguero scoring his 9th hat-trick in the Premier League. United were in the receiving end of a shock defeat losing to Brighton 3-2 with goals from Glenn Murray, Shane Duffy and Pascal Gross. Watford made it two wins out of two beating Sean Dyche’s side 3-1. Here are the three things from today’s matches. City The Machine Manchester City put Huddersfield Town to the sword with such a commanding performance that displayed how much of a machine Pep Guardiola has made them. Losing Kevin De Bryune for about three months through injury, they did not miss him one bit showing how deadly and clinical they are. Starting wit

Gameweek 2 of the Premier League kicked out with Cardiff City against Newcastle United at the Cardiff City Stadium. The game ended goalless with Newcastle going down to ten men with Isaac Hayden receiving his marching orders. Four games were played from 3pm with Tottenham Hotspur maintaining their 100 percent record in the league winning against Fulham 3-1. Everton and Bournemouth also maintained their perfect record with wins while Leicester City and Everton got their first wins of the season at home against Wolves and Southampton. The 5:30 kick-off was a London Derby as Chelsea faced Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Sarri got the better of Emery as the Blues went out 3-2 winners with Emery already experiencing back-to-back defeats at the job. Here are the five things learned from the games today. Dominant Chelsea The tie between Chelsea and Arsenal saw the new managers face one another and Sarri looks to have already stamped his blueprint on his Chelsea side. The Blues outplayed

Goalkeepers today are now being demanded to do more than just be a shot-keeper. They are required to play a part in a team’s build-up, have good ball control to release pressure and be a good distributor in finding their man or play a quick transition from defence to attack. This is the role of the ‘Sweeper Keeper. They have been a trend in how teams want to play especially within the past decade. Pep Guardiola controversial removed Joe Hart when he came to Manchester City and signed two goalkeepers, Claudio Bravo and Ederson. Liverpool broke the transfer fee for a goalkeeper by signing Alisson from AS Roma as he suits Klopp’s style of play in making quick transitions before Chelsea broke that record in signing Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao. Petr Cech, a veteran in the game, was demanded to play out from the back by Unai Emery in Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City which he received criticism. So sweeper keepers are the in-thing but what is its origins and why is it

Serie A makes its return this weekend as to see who will reign supreme in Italy. Serie A has seen a resurgence in recent years following financial instability, match-fixing scandals, fading superstars and failing to match the standards of other leagues in Europe like the Premier League, La Liga and the Bundesliga. Now, Italian clubs are becoming more competitive in the Champions League and the Europa League and breaking the traditional stereotype of being a defensive league as teams are now playing in a more expansive way. So this is a preview of the 2018/2019 Serie A season specifically these teams in their chances this season for the Scudetto and what we should look out for. Juventus, AS Roma, Napoli, Lazio, Inter Milan and AC Milan. AC Milan AC Milan since the turn of the 2010s have fallen into obscurity. They haven’t won the Scudetto since 2011 and haven’t played in the Champions League since 2014. They have also struggled financially over the years as they were recently

Julen Lopetegui ended his first competitive game in defeat as Atletico Madrid beat their city rivals Real Madrid 4-2 winning the UEFA Super Cup. This was Madrid’s first game without Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo starting Bale and Benzema together as well as Keylor Navas in goal as Thibaut Courtois wasn’t part of the matchday squad. Antoine Griezmann started for Atletico after winning the World Cup with France while Thomas Lemar and Rodri were given their full debuts. Diego Simeone was in the stands as his four-match ban by UEFA continues leaving his assistant German Burgos with the responsibilities on the touchline. The match was held at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia. Atletico took the lead in less than a minute from Diego Costa winning a header from Sergio Ramos before scoring from a tight angle. Real equalized before half-time when Karim Benzema headed the ball from a cross by Gareth Bale. The UEFA Champions League winners then took the lead from a penalty wh

Victor Moses Quits on the Super Eagles Chelsea winger Victor Moses has announced that he will no longer by part of the Nigerian setup. The news was released on Wednesday evening coming as a shock to many Nigerian football fans, as Moses made his debut for the Super Eagles in 2012, winning 37 caps and is only 27. He made the announcement through his Twitter handle stating how privileged he is to have worn the jersey and the good memories he has had with the national team but deciding to focus on his club career and making way for young talent. “I would like to announce that after much thought I have made the decision to retire from playing international football. I have experienced some of the best moments of my life wearing the Super Eagles shirt and have memories with me that will last a lifetime,” he said. “However, I feel that now is the right time to stay away in order to be able to focus fully on my club career and my young family, as well as to allow the next generation o

French midfielder Steven Nzonzi has completed his move from Sevilla to AS Roma on Tuesday. The deal is around €32 million, which was the release clause on his contract at Seville and had two years remaining. Speaking on Roma TV, the 29-year-old stated "I'm very happy to be here and to be a Roma player. I really felt the club wanted me to come. This is why I am here, and I'm happy to join such a big club. The move also reunites Nzonzi with Roma's Sporting Director Monchi, who brought in the former Blackurn player from Stoke City to Sevilla in 2015. Nzonzi added "Yes, Monchi signed me from Sevilla. He helped a lot when I was there. We always had a lot of respect for each other and he helped me a lot at Sevilla, so I'm very happy to be here and work with him again." Nzonzi was previously linked to Arsenal and is the 12th signing Roma has made this transfer window bringing in Justin Kluivert, Ante Coric, Davide Santon, Javier Pastore and Robin Olsen. R

The Spanish La Liga makes its return on Friday. Barcelona and Real Madrid will be at the top competing for the league title while Atletico Madrid could make a strong title challenge this season. Sevilla and Valencia would be competing for that final Champions League spot while the likes of Celta Vigo, Real Sociedad and Villarreal would be competing for a place in Europe this season. Athletic Bilbao will be looking to bounce back from their underwhelming season finishing 16th and can Girona stay up after a great first season finishing 10th?These are thoughts and questions we hope will be answered in May. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are no doubt the big guns as I look through their chances of winning the title this season. Barcelona The defending champions had a fairly successful season in 2017/2018 winning the league as well as the Copa del Rey. However, they blew their chance of making history as the only team in La Liga to go through a season unbeaten losing t

Mario Mandzukic has announced his international retirement from the Croatian National Team on Tuesday. The decision came after the World Cup where he led Croatia to a World Cup Final. The Juventus striker made the announcement from his Instagram handle. He stated, “We lived our dream, made a historic result and felt the love of our fans, there’s no ideal time for departure.”  He later added, “If we could, I believe we all would play for Croatia as long as we live because there is no bigger pride than that. However, I feel that for me that moment is now. That I gave my best and I contributed to the biggest success in Croatian football.” Mario Mandzukic made his international debut in November 2007 against Macedonia scoring his first goal for Croatia in a 4-1 defeat against England. Part of Croatia’s ‘golden generation’, he went on play 89 times for the ‘Vatreni’ scoring 33 times. He’s the second all-time leading goal-scorer for Croatia behind Davor Suker. Mandzukic was an integral pl

The Premier League continued today as Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all kicked off their Premier League campaigns today. Liverpool played against West Ham at Anfield and it was light work from the Reds as they beat the Hammers with a comprehensive 4-0 win with Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Daniel Sturridge getting into the scoresheet. Arsenal started off their league campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City. Raheem Sterling and Bernando Silva were the goal-scorers for the Citizens as Guardiola is looking to back-to-back league titles; the first since Manchester United between 2007 to 2009. Burnley and Southampton were also in action today with both sides sharing the points as the game ended goalless. The first round of games is now completed with 37 games still yet to be played. Here were the three main talking points for today’s games. Naby is worth the wait Naby Keita finally made his Premier League debut today. It was a year-long for the Guinean after s