Football Not Soccer

After a series of big spending to recruit Hamburg’s German international defender Jerome Boateng and Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, Manchester City is not finished with its quest for world’s top players just yet. The recently closed the deal for David Silva, Spain’s top midfielder who is currently playing for Valencia. The transfer worth spectacularly £24 million, and is noted as one of the highest transfer value in Manchester City’s history.

Silva’s transfer to Manchester City is part of Roberto Mancini to make the team even more competitive in the Premier League. Mancini even stated how Silva is indeed the best midfielder in Europe and that having him on the team will boost City’s performances greatly. The only concern Mancini has regarding Silva’s place in the team would be the fact that he is relatively lightweight; some adjustments might be necessary before Silva can perform nicely for the team.

Silva officially signed a four-year contract with Manchester City, and stated how the main goals of him joining the team would be to help City gain a place in the Champions League.

“I will be happy if at the end we are in the Champions League – or if we win a trophy,” stated Silva on the team’s official website. Valencia is missing out on Silva’s ability to construct attacks and general assists for sure, especially after they also lose Spanish striker David Villa who left to join Barcelona earlier this year. It is in Manchester City’s utter benefit that Silva will not be playing for the team.

Manchester City’s manager Roberto Mancini is not showing any sign of stopping just yet. He continues to sign great players from all around the world. After a recently-closed deal to sign David Silva from Valencia, Mancini is now finalizing a deal with Lazio and plan to bring Aleksandar Kolarov to City this season. Aleksandar Kolarov is known as Serbia’s Roberto Carlos for all the right reason; he has the ability to strengthen the team’s defensive line as well as support attacks with powerful kicks when necessary.

It was also Aleksandar Kolarov who helped Serbia won the match against Germany in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Many critiques believe that it was that particular performance that attracts Mancini into signing the 24-year-old player. The £16 million transfer is a done deal, and Kolarov will indeed play for Manchester City starting this season.

Manchester City’s record breaking transfers is now totaling at £75 million after signing David Silva, Yaya Toure and Jerome Boateng. Both Siva and Toure cost £24 million; Silva was brought to City from Valencia, while Toure was transferred from Barcelona. Boateng, on the other hand, is brought to Manchester City with a transfer deal of £11 million.

With so many interesting players joining Manchester City, it is only natural that this Premier League team will be much more competitive against larger teams with higher spending budget. We will definitely see just how much improved the team is when Manchester City faces Tottenham at the beginning of this season’s Premier League.

After a series of bad performances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, England’s very own striker Emile Heskey officially announced his retirement from international football. The 32-year-old player was part of Fabio Capello’s squad in the world event and was one of the players who received heavy criticism during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Emile Heskey started his national team performances on his debut match against Hungary in 1999. Having played for England 62 times, Heskey scored a total of 7 goals. Even though he is retired from international football, he will still play for Aston Villa – as starters nonetheless – this season.

“I have enjoyed every moment of my England career and worn the shirt with pride,” stated Heskey when he made the official announcement. Playing for England was indeed his dream, and he accomplish that without hassle after showing superb performances in the Premier League.

Aside from playing the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Heskey also played for the England squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He was also part of the England squad in two European Championships in 2000 and 2004. He reached his top performances early, when England squad showed amazing performances in the 2002 World Cup. He started in every match and scored an amazing goal against Denmark. England was later on eliminated by Brazil in the quarter-final.

This season should be interesting for Heskey and Aston Villa fans. It is his chance to prove the critiques wrong, and he can do that with the help of fellow Aston Villa players.

The 2009-10 Premier League season is over, and the upcoming 2010-11 Premier League is just around the corner. It is very interesting to see several facts from last season and anticipate better things to happen next season. That is why in this part we are going to take a look at top players noted as Premier League top scorers for the 2009-10 season. Let’s get started, shall we?

Agbonlahor, a striker for Aston Villa, is in the 10th place of last season top scorer list, scoring 13 goals for the team in total. He is quickly followed by Adebayor, who played for Manchester City, with 14 goals scored last season. Adebayor is known to be a very productive player nonetheless, although last season wasn’t his best.

Cesc Fabregas is in 8th place with 15 goals. The young striker is now making a lot of highlights after his amazing performances in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Torres, a striker for Liverpool, is in 7th place with 18 goals. Defoe also scored 18 goals last season, and he is in 6th place; he plays for Tottenham and will be one of the highly anticipated players this season.

In fifth place, we have Lampard and his 22 goals for Chelsea. Teves, another great player who also performed spectacularly in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hold a record of 23 goals and is in 4th place. Sunderland’s striker Bent is in 3rd place with 24 goals, followed by Wayne Rooney in 2nd place with 26 goals. Topping this list is Didier Drogba with his amazing 29 goals for Chelsea.

The Premier League is restarting in August 2010, with top teams competing for this season’s league champion title. We will once again be able to see top teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, and many more compete this season. If you want to catch some of the first matches in this season’s Premier League, here are some of them you may want to check out.

The first match of this season is scheduled to play on August 14, 2010. It will be a match between Manchester City and Tottenham. The same day, you will also be able to catch a match between Aston Villa and West Ham United, followed by a match between Blackburn and Everton as well as a match between Bolton and Fulham.

If you are a fan of Chelsea, you can catch Chelsea vs. West Brom also on August 14, 2010. The next day, there’s a match between Liverpool and Arsenal; many critiques refer to this match as the first big match of the season, where two top teams in the British Premier League compete. Manchester United’s first match will be against Newcastle on August 16, 2010, concluding the first Premier League weekend of the season.

The betting opportunities are already open for the season, so be sure to check out the odds of these matches and spot the best money making opportunities of the season as early as possible. If you want to bet on this season’s Premier League outright, now would also be the best time to do it.