Another transfer window has come and gone… and what do the football clubs of the world have to show for it? Not a whole lot, to be completely honest. But as with all transfer windows, there are winners… and there are losers.
First, the former: The Winners
Inter Milan:
Kenyan McDonald Mariga, signed with the Nerazzuri after being pursued by multiple squads in the Premiership, and Serie A. Mancini’s departure to cross-town rivals AC Milan has likely ensured that the young midfielder will see quite a bit of pitch time under Jose Mourinho’s watch. Mourinho and company should also be happy about the shipping out of little used, and aging midfielder, Patrick Viera in addition to the loan agreement worked out for underachieving Luis Jiminez. All and all, a productive window for the Italian outfit.
Newly acquired by Fulham, Stefano Okaka showed the Cottagers just what they can expect come next weekend when he suits up for the West London outfit. In his last appearance for Roma before going on loan to the Premier League, the young Italian made a ridiculous heel flick goal on a play that would piss the majority of managers off to no-end… unless, like in this case, it works, and makes them scratch their head for sending him on loan in the first place.
I have had a few days to mull this over… and I still cannot believe that Ruud van Nistelrooy has opted to join German club Hamburg SV, instead of bowing to one of his many potential suitors in England. In doing so he may just have sealed his fate as another past-his prime striker, doomed to finish out his career shrouded in the anonymity of sub-par football league play.
The NFL season is over and the playoffs are ready to begin. It’s time to put all that talk of undefeated teams and the whole Bret Favre saga behind us as we focus on games that now are now meaningful. With football having a one game do or die system, us fans will be in for a treat.
I am here to make my picks. I’ll go beyond this weekend and make my picks for the whole playoff bracket. It’ll be fast and simple and keep you from boredom with stats and numbers.
Hey Landon: Welcome to Merseyside. The blue half of Liverpool has reason to ‘celebrate’ in the young January transfer window, as Everton has claimed the first semi-big name on the market. The loan agreement could not have worked out any better for The Toffees as they will receive a relatively good, pacey striker, with the ability to pot goals for the comparably low wages paid to MLS players. If it works, and he consistently thumps the back of the net, the Everton brain trust will look like geniuses, and if he doesn’t… well, at least they didn’t go out and break the bank, leading to an annual loss of nearly 97 million pounds (I’m talking to you Manchester City). Thats all well and fantastic for the boys in blue, though is it a good move for Donovan? Read the rest of this entry »
In 2009 we saw numerous young talents blossom. Alexandre Pato enjoyed his first full Serie A season with great success. Arsenal’s young gunners continued to thrive under the knowing gaze of Arsene Wenger. And Gonzalo Higuain, Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero showed Europeans why they should fear Argentina’s attack come summer 2010.
Thats all well and good… but I think it is time to look to the future. Namely, what budding starlets stand to make themselves household names over the next year (or few years). The following is a list of young football phenoms (all U-21) who I predict will have a serious impact on their respective teams, and thus the trajectory of their career over the next year, and for the future. Please note that I have left out the likes of Bojan, Tony Kroos and Gareth Bale (among others) due to the fact that while they will continue to grow and flourish with their squads, they have, for the most part secured a role on their squad, and are already looked upon as starting XI or role players.
Lets take a look at the list:
Honourable Mention: Jack Wilshere – MF – Arsenal – England
Sorry Jack, much like Arsene, I just didn’t know how to fit you into the lineup. Maybe next year.
10: Franco Di Santo – ST – Chelsea – Argentina
Although he has already played 16 games plus with the big club, the young Argentinian has not been as prolific has he was once professed to become. However, he is currently on loan at Blackburn, which will enable him to increase his playing time 10 fold when cutting his teeth in the EPL. Look for Di Santo to establish himself in the second half of the 2009/2010 season
Coutinho Bravo
9: Phillipe Coutinho – MF Vasco Da Gama – Brasil/Dominic Aidiyah – ST- Milan – Ghana
Ladies and gents, we have a tie for 9th. It was both difficult to select and difficult to cut these two players as they have yet to prove themselves in a truly dominant fashion. The 20 year old Ghanaian has been toiling away in Norway over the past few seasons while his younger Brasilian counterpart his biding his time in Brasil with Vasco until he is legally entitled to play in Italy. Both will heading to Milan come January, the former AC and the later t0 Inter, and for the life of me, I dont know who will make the bigger impact first.
Steve Yzerman has the toughest job in Canada. Yzerman is in charge of the selection of the Canadian Men’s hockey team that will represent the country in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The highly anticipated announcement will be made tomorrow. It seems every major Canadian sports network has made their picks on who should represent Team Canada, so I guess it won’t hurt to put our two cents in as well.
Without further adieu, here are my thoughts on who should be a part of Team Canada in their quest for Olympic gold!
New Jersey goaltender, Martin Brodeur, has set the NHL record tonight for most career shutouts in a 4-0 victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. To me, Marty is the best goalie to ever play the game, but this shutout will only further prove to the nay-sayers that it’s hard to continue to think otherwise. I want to take a look at some of the career stats and milestones that he has set over the course of his tenure in the NHL. After all, numbers do speak for themselves.
Brodeur has won at least 35 games in every season between 1996-1997 and 2007-2008 (missed most of the season last year due to injury), and is the only goalie in NHL history with seven 40-win seasons. He has won the Vezina trophy four-times, earned All-Star recognition 12 times, and was a Calder Trophy winner (Rookie of the Year) in 1994. Brodeur has won multiple Stanley Cups and is a Gold Medal Olympian.
Not to mention the fact that he holds the records for most wins, (580) most games played (1,030+) and now most shutouts (104).
In nearly any other country on the planet, Mario Balotelli would be considered one of the most promising young football talents around. In fact, in most countries he would most likely be named one of the strikers, and possibly even a member of a national squad’s starting XI, come the World Cup next summer. Too bad the young black phenom is Italian.
While everything seems to be pointing to greener pastures in Leaf land, for one player this current win streak and good play is a little bittersweet. That player is Luke Schenn. Schenn is coming off of a stellar rookie season but is currently sitting in the press box as a result of playing himself out of the starting lineup. If the Leafs continue to play well and improve defensively, it will be hard to imagine Schenn being insterted into the NHL lineup again. There is also the consideration that surprise standout Carl Gunnarsson will return from injury shortly. He has definitely played better than Schenn this season and as a result will likely get the edge when he returns. With that being said, the Leafs cannot have their #5 pick from 2008, their prized stallion, their future captain sitting in the press box and not developing.
Posted by Robert Greco 
