Monday Morning Papers 8.8

Sport.es: FC Barcelona: The Hour of Alexis and Messi: Two ¨signings¨ for the Supercopa that will start working out today. Alexis: ¨I can´t wait to start playing with Leo.¨ The Chilean arrived yesterday tired but hopeful to début on Sunday at the Bernabeu. Barca, Analysis of the Tour: Now everyone is at home. Lionel Messi: the Argentine wants to be decisive against Madrid. He has all week to put himself right. Cesc Fabregas: Cesc will not begin the Premier League, even Wenger confirms it. Real Madrid: Mourinho will have toconform with Adebayor. He will cost between 8 and 10 euros. Community Shield: City 2-3 Manchester United. De Gea won his first title and Kun did not play.

Marca.com: Real Madrid: 6...5...4...3..2...1... Supercopa!: At less than a week before the Clásico. euphoria at Real Madrid and doubts at Barca. The dressing room of the whites, unanimous: ¨We arrive stronger than they do.¨ Guardiola, preoccupied: ¨We are not at our maximum and we don´t have our tone.¨. The pre-season numbers don´t lie: Messi was missed and Benzema exploded. Without Messi, Real Madrid has scored 9 more goals than Barcelona.  Community Shield: City 2-3 Manchester United. De Gea won his first title and Kun did not premier.

Reaction: Ah, I love the whiff of football. Even with all the craziness in my life, all I have to read is crazy drivel from either dish-rag to get me pumped up. First of all for Sport: it will take more than a week for the best of both Alexis and Leo to take hold for FC Barcelona, so if Real Madrid have a hope to take any title from Barca this year it´s the equivalent of the Spanish Community Shield; a meaningless friendly in a certain sense. As for ¨El Caso Cesc¨, the clubs are posturing. Arsenal don´t really hope to retain the player do they? They had better not. I am sick of this story. Wenger, move on. Alright, on to Marca: Real Madrid do look to have been more impressive in their pre-season approach than Barcelona. They have scored more goals and their attack is sparkling, but don´t make the mistake of assuming that pre-season form necessarily translates into early season form once the whistle blows for the start of the new season. Real Madrid are still behind Barcelona even without Alexis Sanchez and if Cesc leaves Arsenal as expected? It will be a long season for Jose Mourinho´s charges. 

Stars that La Liga desperately need to stay

Yes, ultimately we know that either Barcelona or Real Madrid will win the 2011-2012 la liga title. At the end of the day however, there is still 18 other teams that are either fighting for a place in Europe or desperately trying to avoid getting relegated. In this post I'd like to look at some of the stars that do not belong to the top 2 that may be on their way out this summer. I'm am also trying to be hopeful that they would stay otherwise the league would lose interest.

Athletic Bilbao:

Iker Munain: The 18 year old winger has been an undisputed starter this season on the left wing under Joaquin Caparros. He has entertained viewers week in week out and is one of the rising stars of la liga

Javi Martinez: The 22 year old is a world cup winner and there is reportedly lots of interest in him from other teams. He has had a decent campaign so far and could be on the way out.

Fernando Llorente: The big number 9 is a wanted man over Europe especially in the Premier league. His dangerous ability to win headers and to fight at the end of crosses has got him 17 goals this season. Like all journalists, Tottenham Hotspur couldn't believe themselves when they had an astonishing £26 million bid turned down by Bilbo. However will they come back for the Basque striker in the summer? He doesn't mind staying at Bilbao but will champions league football or an increased wage lure him away from Spain? I must confess my opinion that it would be very hard for Athletic to hold on to their man.

Atletico Madrid:

Sergio Aguero: Kun has continued to carry Atletico this season with Forlan's departure looking very likely. Lots of teams are in for him because he's matured now and is a very good finisher. He looks very likely to stay after saying that he'd like to honor his current deal which lasts until 2014.

Diego Forlan: Back in July the idea struck me that la liga would feature the world cup's best player. This however has turned around completely on me. Forlan has mainly featured off the bench at this end of the season and judging by the behavior its clear to see that there has been some sort of falling out at Atletico. It is almost certain that he is headed for the exit door in the summer but I'd still be hopeful of him staying in Spain at least. La liga would loose a very good footballer if he goes.

David De Gea: Atletico's very young and promising keeper has got himself on the radar of many top clubs this season. Clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United who have goalkeeper problems have all confessed that he has the talent. The English media have begun to say that a deal with Manchester United will be completed within the next two weeks. It's certain that he has talent and plenty potential for the future, but is he good enough to become Manchester United's No.1? Honestly I think that he isn't ready for that big of a move as yet. He needs at least another year to gain some experience to be playing for such a big club.

Espanyol:

Jose Callejon: A former Real Madrid youth product, Callejon has lit up the Cornella -El Prat at times this season. By now Madrid maybe wondering how he was able to get away from their sights. The winger is very important if they are to improve next season, bearing in mind the fantastic start they had to this campaign.

Pablo Osvaldo: Osvaldo has been very impressive this season. A key player for them which almost booked a place in Europe next season. He has been so impressive, he's earned a special scouting visit from Harry Redknapp who traveled to watch the Buenos Aries born forward. Whether it's a done deal or not only time will tell, doing a bit of research, some websites are reporting that Osvaldo signed for 15.6 million to Tottenham Hotspur. It's most likely false but with Espanyol failing to secure a place in Europe, will Tottenham lure him away having already secured a place in the Europa League?

Sevilla:

Alvaro Negredo: Another one of the Madrid youth system, Negredo has bagged 18 goals for Sevilla this season. He has attracted alot of interest from the Premier League with most clubs looking for that extra foward. Unfortunate to be over-looked for Spain's successful world cup squad, may be the likes of Roman Abramovich are having serious conversations on whether to invest in him. However with Luis Fabiano gone back to Brazil, Sevilla will try very hard to keep their man for next season with the Europa League to look foward to.

Diego Capel: One from Sevilla's very own youth system, Capel has been impressive this season and he will have many managers pondering on whether to have the exciting winger in their side.

Diego Perotti: The young Argentine winger has attracted a lot of interest this season. Again its Harry Redknapp involved as he has showed his interest in the player. Spurs look to be invading Spain this summer as they fight for Champions League next year. Perotti is young and is an exciting prospect for the league in the future years if he stays.

Jesus Navas: The little right winger has been excellent for Sevilla this season. His quick dribling and ability to run at defenders is what a lot of teams are looking for, especially in the Premier League. Many of England's top clubs are desperately looking for extra width in their sides and they may turn towards the world cup winner for an answer.

Valencia:
Vincente Guaita: During the season established himself in the starting 11 but later replaced by Cesar. The 24 year old keeper has a bright future and with the arrival of Diego Alves from relegated Almeria, he may force a move to secure regular football. Lets hope that he stays in Spain rather than a move to another country.

Ever Banega: A long target of Liverpool, Benega was crucial to Valencia's 3rd place finish this year. With Liverpool given funds to spend in the summer and Arsenal needing to bring in new players after another trophy-less year, The Premier League might be his likely destination. Be assured though, that Valencia will do all they can to keep their current squad and build on it for next year.

Juan Mata: Valencia may be forced into selling their star as a payment of 20-30 million is believed to be needed for the servicing of the Mestalla. According to some football websites, this money can be acquired from the sale of Mata. Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool are believed to be interested in the world cup winner. Financial problems may yet again see Valencia lose a top player.

Villarreal:

Borja Valero: The surprising season that Borja has had was unpredictable considering that he was initially loaned out from West Bromich Albion. He has proved to be a key signing for the submarines and his deal has been made permanent to a 5 year contract. He looks almost certain to be a Villarreal player next year having only joined this season.

Giuseppe Rossi: By far the best spell in a Villarreal shirt for Rossi. Over 30 goals scored in all competitions this year, he is one of the hottest strikers around and is a wanted man all over Europe, especially in Italy where Milan, Inter and recently Roma are fighting for the signature of the future of the national team. He has not only performed admirably for his club, having reached the semis of the Europa League, but has also been a key player for Italy post world cup. A late equalizer against Germany and a goal vs Ukraine is what Cesare Prandelli was hoping for given the job of developing the new face of the Azzuri. At 24 he still has lots of years in him and could be a major star for whoever he plays.

As reported by Forza Futbol, there is set to be departures of Spanish players to other leagues where they can earn much more money. It is therefore important that the various clubs try their best to hold on to there stars otherwise television audience will suffer and so will the league. The situation with the television deals for the big 2 have to be resolved quickly and the weaker teams must ensure that they are financially stable so that they can challenge for titles. It is very important that these players stay to keep the league attractive for viewers world wide to watch.

Agüero to leave for Chelsea?

Every year, there are always reports that Sergio Agüero may be on his way to Chelsea. Most people may feel reading the topic that this is just another year where eventually el Kun ends up staying at Atletico. This summer though, may be different. As Chelsea look to splash the cash to develop a team around Fernando Torres, there has been talk of a strike partner for el Niño.

Atletico has continued to say that he will not leave the Vincente Calderon and that his contract runs till 2014. CEO Angel Gil Marin revealed that they'd receive offers from arch rivals Real Madrid over the sale of both Kun and Diego Forlan. He also revealed that Kun has a buy out clause of €45 million.

However as we saw with Torres, Roman Abramovich could splash the cash for Kun and a decent offer can see the Atletico striker move on to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea may look to offload their ageing stars such as Drogba, Anelka, Essien and Malouda. Some have already began to speculate that Carlo Ancelotti may go to Roma (a club he has wished to manage for some time) where their is another rebuilding project in progress and may take Drogba with him. On Chelsea's list are said to be the likes of Neymar, Sneidjer Ganso and the Atletico duo of David de Gea and Sergio Aguero.

Though Chelsea are looking at Neymar from Santos, they may elect to go for Aguero which would bring back the strike partnership of Torres and Aguero from the Atletico days which ended when Torres moved to Liverpool. Whatever happens in the summer, we already know that Atletico has got a tough time ahead in trying to keep their two stars : de Gea and Aguero

BEST XI of ROUND 19 in LA LIGA

The hallway point in La Liga and there were a lot of thrills, spills, and surprises. Let's take a look at who were the best of the bunch of this past weekend's matches.


GOALKEEPER

DAVID DE GEA (ATLETICO MADRID) had an incredible game against Mallorca. The score line is quite deceiving as this was a game of end to end attack. But De Gea kept out all of the Barallets dangerous shots including saving Pierre Webo's penalty.


DEFENSE

JAVIER CHICA (ESPANYOL), IVAN HERNANDEZ (SPORTING GIJON), CARLOS DIOGO (REAL ZARAGOZA) and JEREMY MATHIEU (VALENCIA)

Chica had a stellar game vs Sevilla. The Perico full back was immense, keeping out Sevilla's attacks especially on the wings. Young Hernandez had a howler last week, but solid this week in the rojiblanco defense, intervening at critical times against Trezeguet & Co at Hercules. Diogo is normally not mentioned in the best lists of late, but he played extremely well in the fog, hanging on to the 1 nil scoreline in a six pointer against Levante. Lastly, Valencia's Mathieu was brilliant in defense and attack and managed to slip in a goal from a very narrow angle.


MIDFIELD

PABLO PIATTI (ALMERIA), SERGIO BUSQUETS (BARCELONA), BORJA VALERO (VILLARREAL) and XABI PRIETO (REAL SOCIEDAD)

Little Piatti was amazing against the Madrid giants. He was the energizer bunny, causing mischief and 100% responsible for Almeria's goal. Busquets controlled and manhandled the Malaga midfield. He was a big part of the reason that the malagueños got very little time on the ball. Valero is just on fire this season. He was involved in every single goal in Villarreal's 4-2 thriller against Osasuna. When you think leader and Real Sociedad, only one name comes to mind, Xabi Prieto. He started the away goal fest against Getafe with a penalty and then executed the final pass on each subsequent goal.


STRIKE FORCE

JOSE MARIA CALLEJON (ESPANYOL) and DAVID VILLA (BARCELONA)

31 goals this week and both Callejon and Villa bagged two a piece. With Osvaldo missing, Callejon, normally a winger, stepped into some big boots, but was able to show his finishing skills in a critical game for the European dreaming, Espanyol. El Guaje is starting to warm up and fine tune is mind reading skills with Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Pedro. His goals looked so easy. You gotta love the nutmeg to Asenjo in the 2nd goal. Pure class.