The Sun has not Yet set on the Old Empire

The Sun has not Yet set on the Old Empire

            The UEFA Champions league and the Europa League will be contested by four English club teams. Liverpool versus Tottenham for the champions league match and Arsenal against Chelsea for the Europa League. An astonishing feat for a league that has not had recent success in the Champions league. The last English team to win it was in the 2011-12 edition when Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout. Manchester United was the last English club to win the Europa League fairly recent as the red devils lifted the trophy in the 2016-17 season. Having all four teams be from one league in Europe is an impressive accomplishment that I can remember. The most recent kind of dominance in Europe by one league that comes to mind is during the 2013 to 2016 span when both European competitions were won by teams from La Liga. This will guarantee that the English premier league will secure a similar kind of dominance in Europe.

            It will come to know surprise to those who share the game watching experience with me that I am not too big on the English side as being thee best league, or top five in international competition. However, their recent run in Russia during the 2018 World Cup was an entertaining run and one worth acknowledging their great performance. This adds to it as I will concede that the English have gained traction in getting things right that past couple of years. Now for those who think I take the contrarian route in disliking the English have it quite wrong. I do not go against them simply because they are popular and well marketed league, hats off to them for it. My view has always been that I did not see the same thing that the fans of their respective teams saw in them. For example, I did go for the English national side during their run in the world cup because I enjoy a good underdog and redemption story like most fans. But, that is how I have always seen them.

            Now that that clarification is out of the way, back to the English being good in football. The Europa league will be contested by two sides that really did not look so great for the majority of their domestic campaigns. Chelsea brought in Mauricio Sarri to take the club to the next level and potentially challenge for the title. That did not go as planned. The Sarri ball side finished 3^rd in the league but it did seem as if the team regressed from the previous year and limped their way into third as neither of the other teams really wanted it either.

            Arsenal can be seen in a more positive and forgiving manner as the side was managed by a new coach in Unai Emery. Arsenal were and are currently in a rebuilding phase and at times showed the grit and resilience that was lacking under Arsene Wenger’s last few seasons in charged. Emery has given the Gunner’s faithful some hope for the club, if the board fully commits and gets behind their new manager, and confidence that he is the right man to lead the team back in the right direction.

            Both teams had their issue in their domestic campaigns, but little of that was visible during their European cup competition. Not sure if this is as impressive of an accolade given that both clubs are much more financially off then the rest of the teams that compete in Europe, but both Arsenal and Chelsea are teams that began their campaigns in the actual group stage of the tournament. Which has not been the case for the last six tournaments where at least one has been from the Champions league tournament. Now both teams could potentially be in the Champions league next year depending on the outcome in Baku.

            Liverpool and Tottenham will play in Madrid for the Champions League final. Liverpool just finished the league in second pushing Manchester City to a record run only to fall short off them by a point. Liverpool under Klopp is not really a surprise as I think most footballing fans will be aware on what kind of team Liverpool has become under the German manager. If Liverpool win on June 1^st they will become the third most successful club in the competition. They will go from 5 trophies to 6 placing them on clear of Bayern Munich who have 5 and one shy of second place AC Milan.

            Tottenham will have an opportunity to win their Champions league trophy and award Pochettino his first title with the club as well. The Argentine manager has done a phenomenal job guiding the club to their current position without any new signings this season. The club has transformed into a well playing side that has challenged the top clubs in England and Europe.

            Liverpool are heavy favorites, but Tottenham are not a club to be overlooked. Chelsea may have a great side compared to Arsenal based on player for player comparison by position, but Arsenal did not reach the final by accident. Tottenham will be without an inform Henry Kane who will most likely be available but will be a surprise if he starts. Liverpool at the moment look like the side that has not faults other than the mental fatigue that can be attributed from a hectic domestic season. Arsenal seem the weakest of the side simply because their defense is still awful and in desperate need of an upgrade over the summer. This season belongs to the English as their teams have demonstrated that they can play among the very best and have gifted us with two exciting finals that I will definitely watch.

Saturday Soccer Thoughts

Saturday Soccer Thoughts #1 (12/22/18)

               I watch too much soccer, which is not a real thing, but based on how many hours and my effort to plan my daily life around to watch football matches I needed a way to outwardly express some thoughts on what I just witnessed. Why? The main reason, pretty much the only reason, is that I do not have enough friends to talk about how passionate I am about soccer without potentially losing the limited number of human contacts I already possess.

              Arsenal defeated Burnley by a two goal margin, 3-1. Unai Emery’s men won the match after previously losing two consecutive to Southampton and Tottenham. Burnley was not happy with the match officiating but the creativeness of this Arsenal side was too match either way. My takeaway was that Mesut Ozil played the full match and was effective. Speculation around the London based club that Emery did not see Ozil in his plans, but it seems that those speculations have been put to rest for the moment, after all he started the German against a smaller club, no disrespect to Burnley.

              Crystal Palace shocked the football world by defeating Manchester City 3 goals to 2. Townsend with the goal of the year, it was a beautifully struck volley that gave the City goalkeeper no chance on reaching the well struck ball. This means that Liverpool now have a 4 point lead against Manchester City. Chelsea also experienced a set back with a 0-1 defeat to Leicester City.

              Manchester United scored 5 goals in the teams first match since the firing of Jose Mourinho. Cardiff City is not necessarily a premier league powerhouse, so one should not raise the expectations too high over the 5-1 result, but it is a free feeling that United fans and players should enjoy.

In La Liga, Real Betis drew against Eibar which will keep the Andalusia club in the Europa League position for now. Atheltico Madrid won their match against Espanyol to keep the pressure on FC Barcelona. The Catalan club also won their match against Celta de Vigo, 2-0, with goals from Dembele and Messi. Real Madrid where across the globe in the FIFA Club World Cup final against Al-Ain. Real Madrid came out victorious winning the tournament with a final score of 4-1.

              Bayern Munich defeated Frankfurt 3-0 to close the gap to 6 points on Borussia Dortmund who were also victorious from their Friday night match. Dortmund defeated Borussia Monchengladbach in a 1^st vs 2^nd place teams. The defeat drops Monchengladbach to 3^rd place in the Bundesliga and Bayern Munich moves up into second. RB Leipzig won 3-2 to keep pace with the top 3 clubs. Fortuna Dusseldorf have won their third league game in a row and are steadily moving away from the relegation zone.

 In the Serie A Inter Milan earned a point away from home against Chievo Verona, 1-1. Napoli won their match. AC Milan lost to Fiorentina by a score of 1-0, which could see Milan fall out of a European position if AS Roma defeat Juventus later on today in their match. Lazio won their match which makes them the sole possessor of the 4^th and final spot for the UEFA champions league group stage.

Arsenal is in top 4 hands

     Arsenal lost their first two games of the season against Sarri's Chelsea and Pep's Manchester City, two teams that are in realistic contentions to win the league this season. Since those two defeats Arsenal has won 7 straight matches in all competitions, they went undefeated for the month of September. Arsenal are in good hands.

     I had a few friends, Arsenal supporters, ask me about Unai Emery. I responded with a stereotypical safe answer "That he is a good coach and will play more structured than his predecessor, Wenger. To expect more emphasis on wins and points over style." I was asked, I am assuming, because most of my inner soccer circles know that I support the Spanish club Valencia, and wondered who Emery really was. I reassured them that he is good coach that can work within limits and punch above his team's weight every season.

     A quick Recap on Emery's career, he started coaching Almeria who he took to the first division in Spain and finished in the top 10 the following season. Valencia hired him as the club needed fresh ideas and a coach that would not burden their already dire financial situation. In his four seasons leading the helm in Valencia Emery finished 3rd three times following a 6th place finished in his first season.

     Why does this matter? Because there a similarities that might bring hope to Arsenal fans. Take a historical note for some context, when Emery was in charge of Valencia for those four years (2008-2012) it was during Pep's dominance with Barcelona and Real Madrid's acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo. This means that Emery with a cash restricted budget and forced to sell players such as David Villa, David Silva, and Mata guided Los Che to win the "other league"- the Spanish Media dubbed the 3rd place team as the "other winner" due to Barcelona and Real Madrid's dominance.

     The similarities I see with Arsenal are clearly mental fabrications with the only focal point being Unai Emery, but humor me. The English Premier league at the moment has two really good sides in Pep's Manchester City and Klopp's Liverpool, with Sarri at Chelsea having a really good start to the season as well. But the first two are the one's who have had time to mold their team and anything less than winning the league will be considered a failure. Where does this leave Arsenal? Well to Emery, in a very familiar situation.

     I am not disregarding Emery's other past work, in fact he replicated his understanding of coaching in La Liga when he returned from a horrible Stint in Russia to lead Sevilla to Europa League dominance while finishing in the top 5 in two of his three full seasons in charge. His time at Paris Saint-Germain is what probably exposed him to the rest of the footballing community that didn't follow La Liga aside from Barcelona and Real Madrid. I considered his time at PSG as an enigma due to the ridiculous expectations of a club attempting to splash their way to a Champions league with no real soccer foundation to sustain it.

    Arsenal will definitely not go undefeated for the rest of the year, but I wont be surprised if they can clinch a top 4 finish. At the start of the season, I was excited for the English Premier league more than usual due to the top 6 teams' managers. Pep at Manchester City, Klopp at Liverpool, Sarri at Chelsea, Pochettino at Tottenham, and Mourinho at Manchester United. In my mind Emery at Arsenal was the biggest improvement in relative terms as I consider him a top manager.

     Unai Emery doesn't have the budget restrictions at Arsenal he has had in Spain or the over the top expectations implemented at PSG. He acquired two young center midfielders that fit his approach to the game. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, who will work hard in the midfield of the pitch and that is what Emery wants. Emery is meticulous in his approach to managing the game and expects his team to work just as hard. With this approach Arsenal may not be the same free flowing stylistic team most fans associate with the badge, but they will be in the top 4 competing every year Emery is in charge.

    I know this may not be good enough for some Arsenal fans, but believe me when I say, it is better to have a ship navigated by a captain that can complete the voyage than a captain that will sink that ship to the depths of the ocean pretending to know where shore lies. Still not good enough? (Please see Manchester United.)