Daily Archives: January 28, 2013

Feature: Best Players of the First Month of 2013

  By O-Posts Team | January 28, 2013 - 20:53 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

Many international football fans and supporters decided that the top 5 football players of January and of this year so far come from three different leagues with La Liga as the prevailing one. The list was compiled according to the independent fans voting FootballTop.com.

 

FIFTH place of that list takes a glorious player and one of the best goalkeepers of the century, Gianluigi Buffon.

 

His actions were evaluated this year according to an increasing level of stability of Gianluigi, the captain of Juventus for many years, who was one of those to bring Juve to their current position never conceding more than one goal in a Serie A match except for the recent game against Sampdoria where Juve suffered a 1-2 away loss.

Stability of the keeper was confirmed by a new one year deal that Buffon signed with his club.

 

FOURTH place goes to Steven Gerrard, another leader, another irreplaceable man in his club.

 

Gerrard, aged 33, is still capable of delivering world class football. Gerrard isn’t already as fast and as he was during the Champions League final in Istanbul, he can’t play all possible and impossible positions on the field performing as a forward in one game and a flank defender in the next one as he did before.

In spite of that he decided to settle in defensive midfield in Brendan Rodgers’s tactical schemes to play on showing his best abilities splendidly assisting his teammates and fooling the defenders of the rivals.

 

THIRD place is taken by Iker Casillas, another one goalkeeper and captain that can’t be ever replaced by any other top footballer.

Yes, Jose Mourinho, this man can’t be substituted by any other world class goalkeeper be it Buffon or Cech because Iker Casillas=Real Madrid, and Real Madrid=Iker Casillas.

The statistics shows: owing to this very man Real Madrid conceded only one goal in past 5 games. The sad moment in Iker’s career is his recent injury. He broke an arm in a recent game against Valencia which required surgery.

The injury makes Iker miss the Copa del Rey semi-finals clash against Barcelona and the Champions League 1/8 finals fixture against Manchester United which signboard seems to have lost a pinch of its glance without Real Madrid’s captain.

 

This month Lionel Messi comes SECOND.

 

Regardless of the fact that Barcelona is top of La Liga the closes chasers are within an enormous distance away from the Catalan club both on the league table and in the quality of play Messi was still brilliant but not as brilliant as Ronaldo.

The effect of the fourth Ballon d’Or award makes itself felt when you understand that everything is accomplished and you can relax a bit and remain the second for just a while. Barcelona has a sensible advantage over Atlético Madrid and there is some time to relax and prepare for the Champions League challenge.

 

And finally, FIRST place goes to Cristiano Ronaldo who is and has always been outstanding.

 

Fast runner, stunning dribbler, splendid finisher, marvelous diver (who said that diving isn’t a profession?) – this player is good at everything.

But this month was exceptional for one reason. Cristiano has officially proved that he is a key element of Real Madrid’s striking force and that without his talent Mourinho’s attacking machine does not work properly.

A clear evidence of that fact was a game against Osasuna where Mourinho decided not to place Cristiano in the starting line-up and this move resulted in a boring 0-0 draw at Osasuna.

 

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Nicolas Anelka to Juve: Smart move by the Old Lady?

  By O-Posts Team | January 28, 2013 - 19:55 | , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment

It’s now only one week before the end of the January transfer window; Juventus have already announced the signing of Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente on a Bosman transfer, meaning that he will pen a four year deal with Juventus on the 1st July.

But what about now?

Juventus have had a shaky start to the New Year picking up only 6 points from 4 games, with the only win being a 4-0 demolition of Udinese. The main reason for Juventus dropping points is their striker’s inability to finish their chances. This is what began the sudden interest in Didier Drogba and Fernando Llorente.

This interest became more and more apparent as the January transfer window went on. However, nothing materialised. Some people believe that this is because of the financial commitment needed to obtain Drogba, which Juventus are, not as it seems, willing to do.

Then came the news that Didier Drogba’s teammate Nicholas Anelka was also looking for a change of scenery. Nicholas Anelka has played for a lot of major clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Real Madrid.

Whilst his commitment to certain clubs could be debated, his quality can’t. He’s a former Champions league winner which will obviously aid Juventus as they confirmed their place in the last 16 last December.

The opinion on Anelka’s 6 month loan transfer from Juventini is divided. Many are not happy with his loyalty and attitude in the past, this is in contrast to some that believe he will be a huge positive for the Old Lady as they look to retain the Scudetto and push on in Europe.

It is reported that this loan costs around €600,000 with add-on’s and a possibility for an extension. This could also mean that either Alessandro Matri or Fabio Quagliarella will be offloaded or sent out on loan by the end of this transfer window.

We can only wait to see what happens from here.

 

Written by Tom French

Follow him on Twitter @TomFrenchy91

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts

Drogba to Galatasaray: A Masterstroke By The Turkish Giants

  By O-Posts Team | January 28, 2013 - 19:34 | , , , , ,
1 Comment

It has been quite a month for Galatasaray and their fans. Firstly, the somewhat surprise signing of Inter Milan’s Dutch talisman Wesley Sneijder, swiftly followed by the news that Didier Drogba will now be joining the current Turkish champions, Galatasaray SK. Reportedly, Drogba has joined the club on an 18 month contract at a cost of £5 million from Shanghai Shenhua, a mere eight months after joining the Chinese club.

So why has Drogba decided to leave Shanghai? Well, he has only made eleven appearances, but has scored eight goals in that time. Nicolas Anelka’s move to Juventus which was confirmed just 24 hours before Drogba’s was led to many expecting Drogba to leave the club too. Shanghai are in a poor financial state in actuality, despite being in a supposedly healthy one this time last year when they signed Anelka and in June when they signed Drogba. Despite good form, it is clear it was not quite right for Drogba being in China.

So what is Galatasaray reasoning behind their second surprise signing of the January transfer window? Galatasaray’s owners have proved in recent years that they are willing to splash the cash for players in their late 20′s to early 30′s that are experienced in Europe’s top leagues, as shown by the signings of the likes of current club captain Hamit Altintop, Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Elmander, but few expected the signings of Drogba as well as Sneijder.

I feel Galatasaray are being somewhat disrespected though by both opposing club fans around the world and journalists. People talk as if Galatasaray and the Turkish league in general have no selling point, but the club and the league absolutely do. Galatasaray are a club with huge support both in Turkey and across Europe and the rest of the world.

Although the club and its fans in particular have attracted a fair amount of negative press headlines, the majority of their fans are peaceful, but still passionate. The roar that comes from the Turk telecom stadium when they score is immense, while the Istanbul derby against long standing rivals Fernebache are must see games.

When I first heard about the signing of Drogba by Galatasaray, I instantly thought of how the former Chelsea man and club legend Didier Drogba would fit into this Galatasaray team. Well, it is pretty simple really; he will lead the line alongside Galatasaray’s main man, striker and goal machine Burak Yilmaz.

Burak Yilmaz has been in magnificent form this season, especially in the UEFA Champions League. It was on match day 4 when the Turkish striker almost singlehandedly destroyed CFR Cluj in the game in Romania, with Burak Yilmaz scoring all three Galatasaray goals in the 3-1 win.

What really impressed me personally about this performance was the fact Yilmaz scored with a header, then with his right foot and finally his left foot, making his a perfect hatrick. With every goal he made it look so easy. Yilmaz also scored Galatasaray’s winner against Manchester United and their equaliser against Braga, and both goals went a huge way to securing round of sixteen qualification for the Turkish side. Yilmaz and Cristiano Ronaldo finished the group stage as equal top scorers.

Yilmaz, like Drogba, is a tall, but deceptively quick finisher. Drogba is a lot more muscular and uses his upper body strength more than Yilmaz does admittedly, but the point is that they share many common abilities. One problem that this could cause is that both players may well feel more comfortable up on their own, or with the more technically sound and versatile Johan Elmander, the ex-Bolton and Toulouse striker.

Drogba has previously struggled to be as effective and dangerous for opposition defences while with another striker, so Faith Terim may have to rearrange and reshuffle his side’s line up on a few occasions to compliment these two world class strikers.

Despite potential changes to the side’s line up and questions about Drogba’s ability to still perform on the world stage, I am confident he can help Galatasaray secure the Turkish league title (Galatasaray are currently five points ahead of closest rivals Fernebache who are in second) and perhaps secure some other trophies too in his time in Istanbul.

With Galatasaray still in the UEFA Champions League with two games against Schalke approaching, the club’s board are clearly aiming high. The idea of a midfield with Wesley Sneider and Hamit Altintop must have excited Drogba and they could be a team to really watch out for.

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

Follow him on Twitter @chelsealad1365

Please like O-Posts on Facebook

You can follow O-Posts on Twitter @OPosts