Ibrahimovic To Manchester City

AC Milan megastar Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the latest player to be linked with a Milan exit. Football rumors as you know can sometimes stretch the truth and when it comes to Manchester City, anyone who is a world renowned football player is a target for the newly crowned Premier League Champions.

This week Milan`s top scorer Ibrahimovic is said to be on his way to the Etihad, which would see him link up with old boss Roberto Mancini who managed Zlatan at Inter Milan. The big swedish international scored a total of 28 legue goals this season for the Rossoneri doubling last years tally of 14 in Serie A. In the 2010/11 campaign Ibra was clearing a huge signing having agreed a load deal from Spainish giants Barcelona. He was given a red card and a 3 match ban nearing the end of last year, only to return and suffer the same embarrassment being given a second red card. Dispite the match bans and a sometimes laid back attitude. Zlatan was clearly AC Milan`s biggest player and helped them to their first scudetto since 2004.

Ibra was Serie A`s 2011/12 top scorer with 28 goal

AC Milan paid £24 Million for the former Inter and Juventus player, having seen what he can deliver after loaning him from Barcelona in 2011.  Although after Milan finished only 2nd in Serie A this year losing out to rivals Juventus, things are already changing at Milan, with 5 players set to retire and with the squad in need of a major rebuild.

There are romors of a fall out between Milan`s boss Massimiliano Allegri and there top scorer Ibrahimovic. However both the Manager and Zlatan have denied this. Also it is said that Zlatan is only suited to Serie A and could be a flop in the premier league should he make the move, with many Fans from England not rating him very highly. Overal i think Man City shouldn`t take the risk, now having the stature of one of the biggest clubs in the world and Champions League football next year, with Man Citys money they should now have the lucturly of picking any player they want in world football. With the exceptions of the onces that can`t be got, but we all know who they are. Ibrahimovic is so important to Milan, so what is wrong with staying in your comfort zone.

I give Zlatan Ibrahimovic  9.2/10

An all round striker and Milan`s top player along with Silva.

+ His hold up play and strength make him hard to get off the ball.

+ Has a rocket of a shot on him and great finishing ability

- Can sometimes be lazy and doesn`t work as hard for the team, aswell as only really testing him self in Serie A and a not so good spell at Barcelona, dispute giving them goals, he wasn`t made for the Spainish giants.

Napoli Coppa Italia 2012

Who would have thought 2012 would produce such a great aray of shocking results. We all know that anyone can beat anyone in football but after Man City`s great title winning game against QPR and Chelsea`s amazing resistance to Bayern Munich in winning the Champions League. Surely Juventus (a team that didn`t lose a single game all season in Serie A) must prevent any more suprises.

I`m sorry to say but Napoli had the whole game, for a team that plays on the counter and loves to take in presure, they were all over Juventus and deserved their win. Napoli last won the Copa back in 1987, and having missed out on a champions league place this year, Napoli`s season was looking to be not what many had in mind.

Beating Man City out of the group stage and getting a good win against Chelsea in Europe was the best they had in them it appeared. Now surely there season has finished on a high and a trophy.

                               Napoli celebrating their first Copa since 1987


Napoli`s returning form to Serie A after their shocking lose to Chelsea seemed to take alot out of them, and they did struggle for a while, and maybe that`s why they finished the season only 5th. However with a team that is very well rounded and with a massive lift in winning the Copa Italian, maybe Napoli can press on and push for a Champions League place in 2012/13.

AC Milan`s Retiring Legends

The 2011/12 campaign for Milan was a struggle in Serie A and a constant battle to maintain the fitness of many players. With Juventus not losing a single league game, it would have taken more than Milan`s efforts in 2010/11 to compete with an amazing Juve side. Although Milan were very close to retaining their title.

Massimiliano Allegri job seems to be safe dispite the rumors, however Milan do need to move forward and strengthen their squad if they are to complete for Serie A next year. The one thing in my mind that Milan didn`t need was 5 veteran senior team players retiring all at the same time. With Inzaghi, Gattuso, Nesta and Van Bommel all set to retire and Seedorf leaving in the summer, what do Milan do. Sure they buy and replace but in doing so it`s almost creating a whole new team that may take time to settle and gel. Players like Cassano, Flamini and Ambrosini are not 100% reliable when it comes to fitness anyway, and with Pato in bad form and also another player prone to injury, Milan`s chances of taking that top spot seem slim.

                           Rino will be hanging up his boots aswell as many others


Milan have already added 2 midfield players to their new spuad, Bakaye Traore and Riccardo Montolivo. Lets face it it`s been a long time coming that Milan needed a clear out, but who would have thought it would come all at once!?

The one thing Milan need to make sure is that Ibra and Thiago Silva go nowhere. The best 2 players by far at the San Siro. While Robinho (who has a much more team working style to his game now) should stay. The last thing Milan need is to copy Inter and change managers every few months, the feeling is that depending on Milan`s signings it could define next years season.

Wesley Sneijder To Manchester Utd

Wesley Sneijder. Dutch Champions Ajax, Spainish giants Real Madrid and the more the achieved Inter Milan of Italy. Wesley seems to have done it all. Won the best trophys, worked with the best players and managers and now at 27 years old he is one of the best, but not this year. Inter Milan finished 6th and they had 3 different managers. With Mourinho gone it looks to be a while before Inter take that top spot in Serie A again, no champions league football next year for Inter or Wesley Sniejder. Rated as one of the best playmakers around.

Manchester utd no longer champions of England and with Citys mega rick stars winning the premier league, surely now Man utd have sturn challenges to face next season, with Chelsea also finishing the season on a high with a double. A new manager at both Chelsea and Liverpool could cause united problem. There players aren`t the best bunch that we have ever seen, but for the future they do have some exiting prospects. It`s the midfield that concerns alot of fans and me being a united fan, i`d like to see a big signing or two.

Last years campaign for Inter was not the best, although Leonardo did manage to stear them back up the table, they lost out to the new look squad of AC Milan. The italian giants had dominated Serie A for 5 years before last years 2nd place finish. This season was a slow start, now on there third coach of the season they are starting to look the more fliud and determind dispite finishing 6th and new manager Andrea Stramaccioni only taking a caretaker role.

                               Sneijder`s 2011/12 campaign was not his finest.


Harsh to say that Sneijder`s season was terrible, when ofcourse there was a few injury problems for him, another thing both Manchester clubs will take in to consideration. Even though the stats for Inter and Sneijer suggest that they were better off when he didn`t play, he always seemed to make the team tick when he did play, he loves shooting when ever he gets the chance, he is not afraid to shoot with either foot, and playing in the centre just behind the striker(s) means he doesn`t need to cut inside like players such as Messi or Robben. For me Wesley is just as good as Xavi and Iniesta. He is smart, has great control and amazing passing with both feet.

It seems that Wesley Sneijder has failed to go a whole season playing 30 games or more and that`s the only thing i think Man utd should be worried about, his fitness. However he seems now to be fully fit once again and i`m sure he will shine at the Euros in which he plays an important role in a very good team.

Man utd need a new Paul Scholes, and they will find that and more in Wesley, he has the experience now to make any team a good one. This could be utd`s last chance season to sign him. If he does well with Holland in the Euros (Holland being ranked highly) then citys mega rich arab owners could decide he will be the perfect player for them. Or a good start next season at Inter could sway him in to committing to the club. Either way i see Sneijder as a must buy for utd. Fergie should pay 30-40 Million £ to make sure they get him, or he will have to risk spreading his money to strengthen other areas of the squad and try to once again out class City, who have clearly the better side now. We all love Scholes, but at his age and the rich competitiveness of City, maybe he would have been better off buying Wesley.

I give Wesley Sneijder 9.7/10
In that playmaking role he is a world class player.

+ Passing is amazing, short or long and with both feet
+ Shooting, he has a bullet of a shot on him, he can curl when taking a softer free kick, or smash one from 30 yards.
+ Works hard, tracks back, not fast but he has a steady amount of pace when he breaks.
- Injurys sometimes means that he takes time to settle back in and he has not played anything over 30 league games for Inter since his move from Real Madrid.

Neymar To Real Madrid

Neymar is in my opinion the biggest Brazilian talent since Robinho, however i`m sure Neymar will reach even further heights than Robinho and dare i say Ronaldo. He`s almost identical to Robinho, he`s fast, agile and very skillful. Some question his strength and for me his overall lack teamwork would not really suit a club like Barcelona. Why doesn`t Neymar decide to apply his trade in a a top European team?
Is it all part of his plan to become a Santos legend or is the he advice of Pele and many others than Neymar is very wisely listening to. After all Champions league football is what all top footballers want.

2012 and Neymar has now overtaken a few records including Robinho`s goal scoring record. He`s a Brazilian international with alot of potential, but we already know that, i knew it when he was 16 years old, but ask people who Neymar is and most of them won`t know, the Brazilian league is very huge, but not to European football fans.

A great example of who really are the best players of all time is better tested with who delivers at the very top, Neymar might be a bag of tricks again most Brazilian side but can he do it again the best?

Neymar and Messi after Barcelona`s 4-0 thrashing of Santos

To be fair Messi is more experienced and he has a great team around him, but did Neymar even put up a fight? Santos were always going to be second favourites to Barcelona for the World Club Cup.

With a little more time and growth Neymar could take his game to the next level, but experience with Santos will be limited and given the high amount of clubs willing you shed out huge money for top players it could be only a matter of time before Neymar joins one of europes elite.

Real Madrid having just won La liga and with Pep Guardiola stepping down as Barcelona coach, Jose` Mourinho will feel that his much matured and ever growing Real Madrid Side has a great chance of over taking Barcelona as the dominant force in Spain and a player like Neymar would only strengthen the team. A team that in all fairness doesn`t rely on team work as much as there bitter rivals.

I`d say with the long history of Brazilian talant going to Madrid and the less physical side of La Liga, neymar`s top pick for a 2012/13 move would be REAL MADRID, or he may yet decide to say with Santos to further his carrer, or even stay and become a club legend. In my opinion i think it won`t be to long until we see him in the white of REAL.

Introduction

My name is Nathan Gordon and i am football crazy. My main passion is football, and the idea of having a BLOG that focuses only on that is a idea that i hope to share with every football nutter out there.

My blog will be updated regularly, i hope you will join me in taking part in every football event in the world, from latest transfers to the euros. The main league that i plan to talk about mainly is Italy`s very own SERIE A. A league that i feel is highly under rated and very exciting to watch.

With so many players out there and so many opinions it`s hard to predict where of if they will move this year. Or maybe next year. I`d like to dedicate my time to make sure transfer news is updated on this blog. I`d love to add my own thoughts aswell to the transfer market. At some point i`d love to make FOOTBALL MANAGER come into my blog`s topic. A game that i love to play, FM can be a real addiction, and is a game that has no real limits or flaws.

Euro 2012 is another big event that i`ll be discussing. Top scorers, best players and ofcourse the eventual cup winners. The main thing is why on earth to England rank so high, 4th favorites. I don`t think so.

Thankyou for joining me and reading my posts, my days will be filled with football knowledge and your opinions of the footballing world.