Monday, December 27, 2010

6 Top January Transfers potentially in the move in next year

Here is the list of 6 top of players who potentially transfer to the new team in January. The list is made by Goal.com and those whose moves have already taken place - such as Ibrahim Affelay's to Barcelona.



1.   Carlos Tevez
(Manchester City)
Any club in the world would love to have Tevez and he, enigmatic and unique as ever, could take his pick of them.

Potential buyers: Any club would love him. Few could afford him. The difficulties around Carlitos' rights are well-known. Jose Mourinho wants a striker at Real Madrid, but is Tevez the man for that job?
2.    David Luiz
(Benfica
)
David Luiz has been in poor form since autumn and is now the subject of heavy criticism. He's also recently turned down a contract extension and could be on the move.

Potential buyers: Manchester City are thought to be in the lead.
3.     Glen Johnson
(Liverpool
)
Roy Hodgson is known to dislike Johnson  and would surely love to recoup some of his transfer fee in order to bring in some men of his own.
4.  Thiago Alcantara
(Barcelona)
His contract runs out in June 2011, and although there is a two-year option on it, it's not a given that the so-called "new Xavi" is going to stay at Camp Nou for long. He's very highly rated by fans and technical staff alike, so what is going on here is anyone's guess.

5.   Fabio Coentrao
(Benfica
)
One of the most sought-after left-backs in Europe, Fabio Coentrao will only leave Benfica for big bucks.
 
Potential buyers: AC Milan and Manchester United are said to be top of the list to sign the 22-year-old.


6.             Ronaldinho
(AC Milan)
His time in Europe appears to nearly be at an end. Ronaldinho apparently wishes to remain until the end of the season but AC Milan would be appreciated if he leaves earlier.

Potential buyers: The list pretty much begins and ends with Gremio. The club from Ronaldinho's home town of Porto Alegre have apparently lined up the funds already.
source: www.goal.com




Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Did FIFA Pick The Right Hosts For World Cup 2018 And 2022? (by goal.com)

Andrea Canales: Let's discuss the World Cup bid decisions of 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar, respectively. Was there really corruption? Is there a chance to clean up FIFA? When can the U.S. realistically bid for another World Cup?


Luis Bueno: It certainly seems like there was a lot of politicking by Qatar, but was it shady or just typical politics? Qatar reportedly gave the Argentine FA some $78 million. Does that count as politicking or is that buying votes? Qatar also hosted the recent Argentina-Brazil friendly and had many invited guests there that day, possibly hoping to either sway voters or seal the deal.

Seth Vertelney: Well that all depends if Julio Grondona (Argentina's rep on the Executive Committee) voted for Qatar, which, because it's FIFA, we will never actually know for sure.

Bueno: And not to mention they sponsored the African confederation's congress, the biggest meeting for that continent's soccer heads.

Canales: I just think FIFA is misguided. They not only went for the money bid, but they also went for the new, shiny, techie bid. They're not really thinking of the fans - fans who might get heatstroke waiting to enter the stadium.

Zac Lee Rigg
: I think the transparency issue Seth raises is pretty valid. Since it's such a small group, having votes made public and perhaps even arguments written out like in the Supreme Court would help. I have no qualms with going for legacy through technology and new markets, but I'd like to read the voters' opinions on why they opted for whom.

Canales
: Yeah, right now, FIFA is a riddle, wrapped in an enigma. Wait, that's been said of Russia. What about their bid? Was that a legit campaign?

Shane Evans: It's always legit with Roman Abramovich. That guy is squeaky clean.

Seth Vertelney: I have no issues with Russia actually.  I think they deserved it and they will run a solid World Cup.

Allen Ramsey
: Ever since the end of Rocky IV I've been cool with Russia.

Bueno
: I tend to agree. That's a new area of the world and they are big enough and diverse enough to be able to pull off a successful, unique and interesting World Cup.



Canales: I do think having two first-time hosts in a row is tough. It's not like either Russia or Qatar do a lot of hosting of international events, either.

Bueno: Well, Russia is hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics, which is far more than Qatar can say.

Ramsey: Does it matter? The winter Olympics is a one city thing. It really doesn't translate that well to having a good World Cup.

Rigg: Seth and Luis pointed out (via Twitter) that the host cities in Russia are closer together than if the U.S. had hosted, which I think is an interesting point. So it's not an overwhelming amount of travel.

Ramsey: And in Qatar, there really won't be any travel.

Canales
: That will be interesting.

Bueno: Russia has more than one city and doesn't have some arcane laws about women. And let's not forget Qatar's disdain of Israel.

Evans: I just find it crazy that they're building all of those stadiums and then bringing them down right after the tournament.

Vertelney: I'm not an architect, but.....how in the hell will that work?  Also, the idea of bringing some super high-tech soccer stadium to some underprivileged African country seems kind of....odd.

Bueno: Yeah, instead of these massive stadiums sitting unused in Qatar, they'll go to Zimbabwe and sit unused.

Canales: So much for a legacy, then.

Evans: How is the game supposed to stick in Qatar if the tournament is like a rental? I mean, that is FIFA's main reason for bringing it there, right?

Vertelney: No, it is to win Sepp Blatter a Nobel Prize.

Ramsey: I think FIFA just wanted it in that particular part of the world. They don't care if the game sticks in Qatar. Just so long as the Middle East gets the World Cup.

Bueno: Yeah, I think it's more like the tournament for the Middle East, and really, if you're going to host it there... well, actually, I don't think the Middle East is a good site for any sort of international tournament like this. 

However, my brother traveled abroad last year, to Egypt, Jordan and Israel and he said he felt safe, never felt threatened. He raved about Jordan and how nice of a place it was. So I know some of that fear/uncertainty of the Middle East as a region to visit is a bit unfounded, but still not sure about it being a great place to host the world for five weeks.

Canales
: I do think it's important to open people's minds, but it's also a soccer tournament.

Rigg: I've been all over Asia and I've never been murdered, so I'm not all that concerned.



Vertelney: Qatar said they will allow Israel to participate if they qualify, even though they don't recognize them as a country.  I wonder how welcome their fans would feel though if they do make it.

Bueno
: Would they even be allowed in? That would be something, Israel playing in Doha, getting soundly booed and jeered by the locals.

Evans: I mean, I just found out that Qatar had a team. Call it ignorance, that's fine.

Vertelney: I used to play against Qatar on FIFA when I wanted to score 35 goals in a game.

Canales: Well, it's likely that they won't make it out of the first round of the 2022 World Cup. But South Africa already broke that precedent. 

Evans: South Africa has notable players, though.

Bueno: Qatar has... um... well, they do have two Olympic bronze medals. That's the extent of their sporting accolades.

Vertelney
: According to Wikipedia, every player on their roster plays in the Qatari league except for one who plays in Egypt. 

Bueno: Their Qataris Abroad columns must be easy to write then.

Canales: Well, in the final analysis, did FIFA do the right thing? For 2018?

Bueno: I think England would have been ideal, but I don't think Russia is undeserving, and I think it will be interesting. 



igg: Did they do the right thing? Trying to punish media, no. But I don't think Russia is a bad choice.

Ramsey: I think they got it right. Russia and Qatar will be fine hosts.

Vertelney: Qatar is too risky for 2022.

Bueno: I would have liked to have seen Australia in 2022. If Australia would have won, there wouldn't have been this massive backlash. But it's tough to win when only Der Kaiser votes for you.

Vertelney: Who knows what the Middle East will look like in five years, let alone 12. That in and of itself should be enough to discourage votes.

Bueno: Unless of course you're getting wined and dined.

Evans: Will it even be called Qatar by the time the tournament is there?

Rigg: A Qatar couple just named their kid FIFA in honor of the World Cup vote. Maybe they could change the country's name to "Sepp"?

Evans: That'd definitely get him the Nobel Prize...

Vertelney: World Cup Sepp 2022. It's kind of already that, anyway



(source: www.goal.com)


And what do you think about the Russia with World Cup 2018 and Qatar World cup 2022???