International Friendlies and Transfers

I caught most of the England v Germany game, which promised all the usual drama between these exciting international sides. England looked really strong in the first half, taking the lead in the 9th minute on a goal by Frank Lampard setup by a nice run down the right flank by Micah Richards. Richards cut inside toward the goal box, beating a defender and drawing another out to create space for Lampard, who turned on the ball and blasted it past Lehmann, who I thought should have gotten to the shot. Nevertheless, a good goal for Lampard, who has been a bit hounded by the press recently. Shortly thereafter, in the 26th minute, Kevin Kuranyi scored off some poor goalkeeping by Paul Robinson who spilled the ball directly into Kuranyi's path. Germany took the lead off a beautiful strike by Christian Pander, who crushed the ball with his left from 30-35 yards out into the side netting, leaving Paul Robinson no chance at the ball. The second half slowed down, as both teams tightened at the back and England replaced Robinson with David James.
In other news, Gabriel Heinze and Arjen Robben have both left the Premiership for Real Madrid, for more than $60 million. I can't wait to see Arjen linking up with van Nistelrooy and Robinho in attack. I hate Heinze though and I hope he will conceded lots of goals in Champions League play and against Barca. I cannot wait for this weekend: Red Bull flugtag, EPL, Bundesliga and La Liga action, and no work. Good times.

Liverpool v Chelsea

The game started as it seems this matchup normally does, with strong possession play and most chances occurring off the counter. Liverpool controlled the play for most of the first half, although Gerrard seemed off his game with the foot injury. His shots from distance were off target and poor and he will need to regain form for Liverpool to win close matches like this one. Fernando Torres scored in his Enfield debut, controlling a strong forward ball to sneak it into the side netting underneath a diving Petr Cech. The second half saw more of the same, with Jermaine Pennant supplying good balls from the right wing. The referee made his presence felt, with what felt like a dozen yellow cards. The worst call of the game, however, came as a pass came in to Malouda who ran into Jamie Carragher and was awarded a penalty. Neither player touched the ball nor made an effort to play it. I was truly outraged, as Lampard coolly dispatched the penalty to tie the game. The air quickly left Liverpool's sails and the game slowly settled to a 1-1 draw. Good result for Liverpool but they could have done so much better.

Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen

In a highly anticipated match, Bayern stole the show in the second half. In the first half, Ribery scored off a penalty in the 31st minute. Klose was replaced with Hamit Altintop, a strong attacking midfielder who was purchased from Schalke 04. Altintop immediately made his presence felt, assiting Luca Toni in the 51st minute, exploiting a three on two breakaway as Werder tried to push forward in attack. Bayern continued to attack persistently. Following a Bremen corner, Ribery turned a fancy piece of skill, turning around Diego to spark a quick counter, ending in a nice cross from Toni to Altintop, who dispatched the ball to the far post. Andreas Ottl came on in the final ten minutes and, in the 87th minute, took a throw-in to the middle of the field and crushed the final goal into the upper-right hand corner. So far, it seems Ribery, Toni and Altintop have looked like the best strike force in Europe.  

Matchday 2 in the EPL

I had some issues with my pc at work yesterday and was not able to spend all of my time watching Man U take on Portsmouth. I did catch the second half of the Chelsea v Reading match, which saw Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba score on beautiful pieces of skill in the first five minutes, to overtake Reading's 1-0 lead. Chelsea continued to attack and looked particularly strong down the left flank, with Ashley Cole,Malouda and Solomon hooking up to feed the ball into Drogba and Lampard while creating chances for themselves. Malouda has quickly adapted to life at Stamford Bridge and it will be interesting to see his development this year, playing off of Ashley Cole, who arrived last year from crosstown rivals Arsenal. I'm particularly looking forward to Chelsea v Liverpool on Sunday. Portsmouth managed to come back to tie Manchester United, who have now only taken 2 points in as many games. They will have to regain some form, absent Wayne Rooney who will be out six weeks according to original reports. And Cristiano Ronaldo got sent off for a headbutt on Richard Hughes near the end of the match. Ronaldo will miss United's next three games, further compunding their difficulties in attack. As of right now, Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea are top of the table, with six points each. Of the players with two goals, Obafemi Martins of Newcastle United is definitely my favorite.

Bundesliga Kickoff: Stuttgart v Schalke 04

Unfortunately I was only able to catch the second half of this game, but thankfully it was the better half.  Schalke scored the opener on a deflection off a defender, carrying a 1-0 lead to the break.  Stuttgart tied the game on a Sami Khedira strike which curled under a diving Neuer into the lower-left corner of the net.  Just minutes later, on another wonderful piece of attacking football from Stuttgart, Neuer expertly blocked a shot from Cacau, only to chase the attacking player to the rebound and giving up a penaltyin the process.  Mexican Pavel Pardo converted, tricking Neuer into diving the wrong way, to give Stuttgart the lead at 2-1.  But Schalke 04 manager Mirko Slomka correctly subbed Kobiashvili for Ivan Rakitic in the 70th minute, who scored the equalizer in the 76th minute.  The intense form continued for the remainder of the match but ended in a draw.  Neuer looked okay in goal but the Schalke defense will have to improve if they hold hopes of winning the league against strong competition such as Bayern and Stuttgart.

Thanks for the Contribution

One of my secondary sources on football, and in particular, Arsenal, corrected part of my Arsenal post: Ljungberg's first name is Fredrik.  My apologies.  I'm posting his questions/comments below as I think they are strong points:

"-Can Eboue become a competent right winger? It looks like Wenger is thinking of starting Sagna at left back with Eboue in front of him."
-Can Hleb become a competent attacking midfielder? Wenger has been playing him in the middle behind a lone striker (RVR, Adebeyor or Da Silva). I've heard he's been playing well there. He's been a huge disappointment as an outside midfielder. I hope he can adjust and be productive in that new role. 
-Can anyone in the midfield score a damn goal?! I'm expecting big things from Rosicky this season. He's got the talent and he's a proven goalscorer. Look for him to notch 8-10 IF he can stay healthy. Fabregas will always be better at setting up goals than scoring them, but sooner or later he's going to develop into a more potent attacking threat. He's got a good shot from outside and he can beat defenders off the dribble. He's already such an amazing player for his age.
-Can Diaby or Gilberto Silva effectively play the holding midfield role? Gilberto is alternately brilliant and disastrous. Needs more consistency. Diaby is the future at that position (if Denilson, a more attacking midfielder, doesn't steal the midfield spot).
Can the defense defend set pieces and not give up dumb early goals? I have little faith. Our defense somehow seems weaker than the sum of its parts. I'm not persuaded that Wenger knows how to coach defenses well.
In a squad full of question marks, Bendtner and Walcott are perhaps the biggest. Either one could play a big role this season.
A lot of people are saying that Arsenal will struggle to finish fourth above Tottenham. I can see the logic, but I think they are really an unknown quantity going into this season. They could gel, feel liberated by the departure of Henry and challenge for the title. It's a distinct possibility. They have so much talent in their team. They're just so damn young! We'll know what they are capable of early in the season. If they get off to a bad start, I'm not sure they'll have the maturity to right the ship."

From Lucas Hollister

FA Community Shield

Manchester United v Chelsea - in this preseason closer between two of the most exciting soccer teams to watch, there have already been two beautiful goals. The first, scored by Ryan Giggs in the 35th minute, was set up masterfully down the left wing by Evra and Cristiano Ronaldo. Giggs, with his infinite class and patience, deftly redirected Evra's pass into the upperleft corner, leaving Cech no chance at the shot. In the 45th
minute, Chelsea struck back on a counterattack, with a sweet ball over the top to new signing Malouda, who fought off the attentions of Rio Ferdinand enough to slice the ball with the outside of his left foot, curling around Van der Sar to end up in the side netting. At this point, almost midway through the second half, it has been a well-fought match, with hard challenges and excellent wing play. Let's hope for a United victory, because I hate Jose Mourinho. Winning goal should be scored by Rooney. ~63rd minute