Page 5 - Monthly Archives: September 2015

After eight games we assess the situation and ask Can Poland top Euro 2016 Qualifying Group D? When Poland beat Germany in an early Euro 2016 qualifying match last October, the White Eagles took an unexpected lead in qualifying Group D. Germany had been the heavy favorites to dominate Group D-and indeed, the entire Euro 2016 tournament-thanks to their recent World Cup victory. But the German side's loss against Poland showed weakness, and gave fans in the Poland home shirt 2014 2015 hope that their soccer squad might be able to pull off an upset and win their qualifying group.

On September 4th, as each team in Group D played their seventh qualifying games for next year's European Championship (of a total 10), Poland

Mario Balotelli has perhaps had the most confounding career of any currently active football player. Still just 25, the Italian striker has played for five different soccer clubs since starting his senior career back in 2006. A youth star at Lumezzane, Balotelli has spent most of the past decade ping-ponging back and forth between the English Premier League and the Serie A division in his native Italy. Now as Mario Balotelli returns to AC Milan we ask is this fresh start full of potential greatness?

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Balotelli's Troubled Career

From 2007 to 2010, he was a promising young presence at Internazionale, scoring 28 goals across 86 overall appearances. For the 2010 2011 campaign, he transferred to Manchester City on a €21.8 million signing, going on to play two and a half

With the football season begun, and excitement buzzing can Juventus' deadline day transfers kick-start another fantastic season for the Zebra's? Juventus were remarkable in the 2014 2015 season, not only navigating their way to the top of the Serie A table for the fourth year running, but also managing victories in the Italian Cup and Super Cup, not to mention a runner-up finish in the UEFA Champions League. Add the fact that five Juventus players were shortlisted for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award-more than any other football club on the continent-and the Zebras should have been headed for a great season in 2015 2016.

Then again, Juventus might have been hit harder during the summer transfer window than

After suffering high-profile losses against Manchester City and Crystal Palace in the first month of the 2015 2016 English Premier League (as well as an unexpected opening week draw with Swansea City), Chelsea football club are looking like they might be in trouble. But outside of a key signing of Barcelona secret weapon Pedro, the reigning EPL champions aren't likely to see much help from their summer transfer slate-which unlike the transfer arrival lists at Manchester City, Man United, and even Liverpool-is lacking in big names. So could Chelsea's summer transfer window 2015 activity have been more productive?

Staying Frugal

The 20 Premier League football clubs spent a combined total of £870 million on transfers this summer-with Manchester City leading the way with a spending total of £160 million. Man United weren't all that far behind, spending £139 million on their own summer transfer window.

Chelsea, meanwhile,

There was a point not too long ago when soccer fans around England (and indeed, globally) were speculating about whether or not Arsenal might have a chance to contend for the 2015 2016 Premier League title. At this point, The Gunners haven't won the English Premier League since the 2003 2004 season, but a successful run in 2014 2015 (including a third-place EPL finish and titles in both the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield) showed that the wearers of the Arsenal home shirt 2015 2016 might finally be ready to claim the spot at the zenith of English football. But has Arsenal's non-existent summer transfer activity put paid to those hopes already?

Now, after a solid but unremarkable season start (Arsenal went two wins, one draw, and one loss in the first month of EPL competition), it looks like the Gunners might have to wait for another year to make a play at the league's top spot. That feeling is only emphasized further by the fact that manager Arsene Wenger did next to nothing during

Is Louis van Gaal out of his mind? Are Manchester United just throwing money around because they can? What is going on? Who is Anthony Martial the new signing from AS Monaco?

Those were just a few of the questions being posed by fans and football media alike on deadline day, as Manchester United announced the transfer of French teenager Anthony Martial to Old Trafford. Normally, a promising young player like Martial (a 19-year-old forward who has played for Monaco since 2013) would net a fairly modest transfer fee.

Not so in this case, though: despite the fact that Martial has played a total of 72 games in his senior soccer career-and despite the fact that he's only netted 15 goals along the way-Louis van Gaal paid a reported £36 million to bring Martial to England. That number could-and according Monaco VP Vadim Vasilyev, will-rise to just shy of £58 million, with "very realistic" bonuses taken into account.

Borussia Dortmund didn't have the most eventful deadline day on Monday, September 1^st, as the summer transfer window skittered to a close. A deal to transfer winger Kevin Grosskreutz to Galatasaray was reportedly blocked by FIFA, while talks with Manchester United about a possible transfer out for Marco Reus were also apparently on the table. In the end, though, both Reus and Grosskreutz will be sticking around at BVB until January or beyond, while Adnan Januzaj heads to Borussia Dortmund, from Manchester United, the forward will don the Borussia Dortmund home shirt 2015 2016 on a season-long basis.

A Loan with No Permanent Potential?

The word on Dortmund's deadline day loan deal for Adnan Januzaj is that he will be playing for the German soccer club until May, but will inevitably return to Old Trafford once the 2015 2016 season closes out. In other words, there is no section included in his loan contract that

For Saint Etienne Ligue 1 2015 - 2016 play has got off to a slow start, losing their first match 1-2 at Toulouse, and settling for a 1-1 draw against Bordeaux in their first game at home. But following a strong run in 2014 2015, could Saint Etienne surprise us all this year with a push toward the top three?

Needless to say, fans in the Saint Etienne home shirt 2015 2016 would love to believe that their football club might have a chance at a title run this year. The Greens remain the most decorated soccer team in Ligue 1 history, having won the national French football championship title on 10 occasions. The next most successful club, Olympique Marseille, have only won nine.

A Long Title Draught

Unlike Olympique Marseille, though-who won their most recent Ligue 1 trophy in 2010-Saint Etienne have now spent decades languishing in a long title draught. Indeed, the Greens haven't been able to claim victory in the French

It happens every year: whether clubs are refurbishing their stadiums (as Liverpool is doing with Anfield) or planning wholesale moves to new ones (like AC Milan, who are preparing to leave San Siro once they've built a new venue), some fans decry the decisions as desecrations of club identity. It's not difficult to see why. Over the years, a stadium truly becomes a part of a football club, just like players, jerseys, and fans do. But why do football stadiums earn this kind of attachment from fans and players alike when they are really just venues or stages for the games and moments that will truly define a club's legacy?

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Why Football Stadiums Matter

The connections that fans have with their favorite team's stadium can also bleed onto the field and affect the players.

As it is reported that Manchester City spends over £160 million this summer we assess the value of the signings they've made. In June, when Manchester City signed Raheem Sterling from Liverpool for a transfer fee of £44 million (plus £5 million in add-ons), the deal made headlines as the second most expensive transfer fee ever paid by a Premier League club. (The record belongs to Manchester United, who paid £59.7 million to bring Angel di Maria to England from Real Madrid a year ago.) Just a few months later, with deadline day looming for the summer 2015 transfer window, Man City grabbed headlines once again for paying the second highest transfer fee in English football history-this time in the form of a reported £55 million deal to sign Kevin de Bruyne from German club Wolfsburg.

Looking Good

For those keeping score, that means Manchester City broke their own transfer fee record not once, but twice over