Now that almost all the leagues in the world have started, I have decided on my predictions for this season (barring injuries).
I will kick off with what many call the best league in the world, the Barclays Premier League:
1.Chelsea
Under the guidance of the controversial José Mourinho, I believe they will dominate.
2.Tottenham Hotspur
So long as they gel as a team with new players Erik Lamela, Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen and Paulinho (José Paulo Bezerra Maciel Júnior), they should be able to climb to second, even without Gareth Bale.
3.Manchester United
Unsuccessful transfer market bids have put David Moyes and United on the back foot, with only Marouane Fellaini joining the club.
4.Manchester City
A very consistent team, with a new boss and a couple of new strikers.
5.Liverpool
With Daniel Sturridge and Brendan Rodgers winning Player Of The Month and Manager Of The Month respectively, Liverpool will become a good team next season.
6. Arsenal
With Mesut Ozil’s arrival from Real Madrid the only signing for the new season, I don’t think Arsenal will be good enough this year.
For the Liga BBVA, I predict:
1.Real Madrid
With Carlo Ancelotti returning as manager, coupled with the major signings of Gareth Bale and Isco (Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez), Real Madrid fans should be in for a great season and a lot of success.
2.Barcelona
Barcelona have lost some of their magic; they are still a brilliant team but they are no longer powerful enough.
3.Atlético Madrid
Their game is based around David Villa and counter-attacking football, and they lacked class in their last two games against Barcelona, which drew 1-1 and 0-0 respectively.
In Fußball-Bundesliga:
1.Bayern Munich
With Pep Guardiola taking over as coach, I think Bayern will cruise to the title after a bit of competition from Dortmund.
2.Borussia Dortmund
Not too far behind Munich but still lagging slightly, although their new signings look exciting.
3.Hannover 96
With strong wins over Mainz and Schalke, they look competitive, but still have a way to go to catch up with Bayern and Dortmund.
And for Serie A:
1.Juventus
Have started off well and are only fifth on the table due to goal difference; they look set to take out another Serie A trophy.
2.AC Milan
With Kaká (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite) back controlling the midfield, and a strike force with Mario Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy and Robinho (Robson de Souza), Milan should improve again this season.
3.Napoli
Top of the table after two games, they have shown that they can do well without Edinson Cavani.
Finally, I think that Bayern Munich will take out the UEFA Champions League for the second year running, securing their position as one of the best Bayern teams ever.
Max Willis
Guest
Thanks AZ for your comment, i totally agree with most of your thinking and especially about the Serie A, i agree that the Serie A is also an open competition, at this stage anyone could win! WIth the Bundesliga, i wrote this article some time ago before the season has started, but from what i have seen, BVB look like a powerful side and a brilliant team to watch, thanks for reading my article!
j binnie
Guest
Andy - I would caution you again on your figures (32%).To satisfy myself I took a sample from last weekend's games & out of the 10 teams randomly sampled found that percentage figure to be 26%. Now that may not be seen to be a huge amount but in fact drops the "English content" in a 14 man squad from 5 down to 3.5. That factor is obviously what is worrying Messrs Dyke,Hoddle & Ferdinand, not me you will note, but 3 people highly involved in English football. Whether it is an excuse for England's poor international form or not does not matter one whit, they obviously are seeing it as a threat in the long term. By the way, as an aside, Reinaldos latest contract at $ 500,000 a week (reported) makes England's highest contract Rooney's $240,000 a week (reported) pale into insignificance. You will note I use the word "reported" I do not always believe these figures quoted in the popular media & I very much doubt any media buff would have access to the finer points of a player's contract or a club's transfer fee. Cheers & thanks for the comment jb
j binnie
Guest
AZ Thanks for the comment.The reasoning behind the growth of "foreign" players playing in the EPL & the Bundesliga are varied & well documented, both political (freedom of movement within Europe) & no doubt financial (as put by Andy) but that does not remove the underlying "threat" to both national teams. It is a simple mathematical problem involving numbers. Are you likely to get more good players progressing through to the top if your initial "group" is 100 or 1000?.There can only be one answer to that. The fact that Germany will, & have done in the past, emerge as favourites in any World Cup has nothing to do with numbers it can simply be put down to the available "player education" & also "player application" & we all know the reputation Germany has for being a clever race,as well as championing that human trait,discipline. The other thing I have to say is that I have nothing against HAL clubs importing players but do hope for 2 things,(1) they are good enough to raise the standard & appeal of the game & (2) The "practice" does not become so widespread as to affect our attempts at creating our own "good" players from within our system. No doubt a very fine balance. Cheers jb.
1860melbourne
Guest
Last season the champions in England. Germany, Spain, were decided by Christmas. Lets hope for a few exciting finishes this season.
Andy
Guest
Becaus England fieded 32% which is a lot less than half. But hey, don't let that cloud anyone's judgement. I also wouldn't buy English players astheir fees are ludicrous and the business of dealing for continental players makes much more sense. You can get a superior player for less than a British player in the Championship. It makes no sense.
AZ_RBB
Guest
EPL - incredibly open race. there are legitimate arguments for just about any of the top 6 based on current form. As an United supporter I feel that the great depth of our squad will shine during the busy New Year period. La Liga - Dependent enormously on the fitness of Messi. A lot of pundits are predicting an even larger gap between top 2 and the rest due to the massive exodus of players in the transfer window. Serie A - another wonderfully open competition. watched the first half of Juve v Inter over the weekend (watch the rest tonight) but what a game! will keenly follow Serie A this season. Bundesliga - going to come out and say that I believe BVB will win the title by at least 4 points. BVB are playing a beautiful brand of football at the moment. Hate to sound preachy but every football fan should be watching this team play.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Yet Germany will go into the World Cup as one of the favourites. The foreigner problem is just an excuse for England's less than impressive record in recent WCs. Also I remember around the 2006 WC in Germany they were trying to showcase their multicultural population by having a multicultural NT. Probably a conspiracy but I can imagine the domestic clubs might be recruiting with a bit of that in mind. Much like how A League clubs don't shy away from importing players from countries where a lot of their (potential) fans are from. Possibly all conspiracies but food for thought nonetheless.
Mazzalenko
Guest
Napoli 3rd behind Milan mate sorry your having a pull of the leg if you think that is going to be their final position. Napoli is sitting pretty on top after 3 rounds and whilst there is 35 rounds to go the pattern seems to be that Juve will challenge Napoli this season in Serie A whilst Milan with or without Kaka are going to be inconsistent.
j binnie
Guest
Max - maybe a week or so ago 3 men ,Dykes,Hoddle & Ferdinand came out & passed comment on how many "non- English" players were filling positions in the EPL. These observations attracted a bit of comment in these columns, not always in agreement that it actually was a problem as it had been suggested the HAL was heading in the same direction.This weekend a sample taken of 16 teams playing in the Bundesliga shows the "problem" may not be confined to England. Out of 224 players named in the 16 x14 man squads only 117 were German "natives".That reprsents nearly half of players in the German league come from elsewhere.!!!! jb