Football Special Report: Things to expect in 2011 (Part 1)
2010 was a great year for football as a whole. Granted, followers of the beautiful game have witnessed better World Cups than http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 2010, but it was a step in the right direction – first football World Cup in Africa.
Elsewhere, Inter Milan won a historic quintuple by winning almost everything – Nerazzurri lost European Super Cup to Atletico Madrid – there was to win on club level. Jose Mourinho etched his name in the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Inter-c39567 Milan hall of legends by bringing Champions
League trophy to the club. Nerazzurri were on a 46-year-old dry spell prior to their Santiago Bernabeu triumph over Bayern Munich.
Chelsea FC, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Barcelona-c39078, Bayern Munich and Olympique Marseille won their respective leagues while Real Madrid were the best losers. Los Merengues finished with a record 96 points yet lost the League to Barca who reined supreme with 99 points.
Where we all eagerly await the first dawn of 2011, Bettor.com outlines the things one should expect – some of them unlikely but probable – in 2011:
Kaka to Chelsea FC
The first on the list is a January transfer move of Real Madrid star Kaka. Florentino Perez had paid AC Milan top dollar just to land the Samba star but the playmaker’s spell in Madrid has been disappointing. Injuries have clearly played their part.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Réunion-c2989 with his former star. Considering the fact that Real are yet to see kaka in full flow, Perez will not be happy parting ways with the former Rossoneri no. 22.
Also, a reported 50 million Euros price tag is likely to be another decisive hurdle.
Nonetheless, anything can happen in football and a possible Kaka transfer cannot be completely discounted.
Roy Hodgson to get the sack
Roy took a modest Fulham outfit to the Europa League final last year. Even though Fulham lost the battle against Atletico Madrid, Hodgson’s efforts were enough to land him the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 hot-seat.
The Englishman was expected to earn the Champions League football with the Anfield based outfit but the manager is in all sorts of troubles as his side languishes 12th in the league, a mammoth 16 points off league leaders Manchester United. Worst
still is the club’s inability to register consecutive victories.
Bettor.com thinks Roy is a safe bet to get the sack before the end of season.
Manchester United fan revolt
The Glazers – Red Knights (Owners vs. Fans) battle over the summers was an intriguing affair that ultimately led to nothing. Reports that Red Knights made a bid of 1 billion pounds to buy the club outright are hard to believe but they do give an insight
into the loyalty and passion fans hold for the club.
The club spent precious little on transfers this season and many Red Devils’ faithful lest enraged with a poor transfer campaign. With legends such as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ryan-Giggs-c31985 set to retire in the coming seasons, United desperately need to buy young blood
as replacement. However, it’s highly unlikely that Glazers will sanction expensive purchases – http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gareth-Bale-c14422 for instance. In such turn of events, a Manchester United fan revolt (fans refusing to buy season tickets) can take place. It’s high time the supporters
show their true power.
Continued in Part 2...
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