THE LEGEND OF JOSE MOURINHO

 

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"I have never seen fans as amazing as the Roma supporters. Jose 'Harry Potter' Mourinho, their coach, sets high standards," as Mourinho stated last week before being sacked by A.S. Roma. What sets Mourinho apart from other supposedly world-class managers is his ability to succeed with a meagre budget and mediocre players, boost the club's expectations, and then get fired when they think they have a world-class squad. Be it Manchester United, Tottenham or Roma, the same has happened again and again. To be honest most of the managers won't even take a chance on offers with mediocre clubs if they don't have sufficient funds.

Don Carlo Anceloti, a world-class coach, went from being an incompetent and inept coach at Everton to becoming a successful coach at Real Madrid with a roster full of elite players and unwavering board support. How many coaches today will be able to do what Mourinho achieved with a meager budget and mediocre players he persuaded to sign free transfers to Roma? Recall that he led Roma to the Europa League final and presented them with their first European championship. Jose Harry Potter Mourinho. The moniker suits him well. 

GOOD LUCK JOSE

 

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With A.S. Roma now sitting ninth in Serie A, José Mourinho has been fired as their manager. The decision was made in response to the 3-1 loss at Milan on Sunday and the Coppa Italia exit in the derby against Lazio on Wednesday. 

Interestingly, Mourinho took over at Roma in 2021 and won the Europa Conference League in 2022, which was the team's first trophy in 14 years. He also advanced to the Europa League final the previous season, where Sevilla defeated his team on penalties. Plus, in his two complete Serie A seasons with Roma, he finished sixth in both the occasions.

After finishing second in their Europa League Group behind Slavia Prague, Mourinho leaves the team today. Next month, Roma will play Feyenoord in the Europa League Round of 32. To be honest it is the worst possible time to sack a manager.  The man who won them trophies have been sacked at such a crucial juncture. 

Good Luck Jose for your future endeavors. And for A.S. Roma I will say that only God can save this Club from the imminent disaster.   

REAL MADRID REGAINS SUPER CUP

 

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In January 2023, F.C. Barcelona defeated Galacticos 3-1 to win the Spanish Super Cup. It was indeed a humiliating defeat for the men in white and they wanted a redemption. However, this was not going to be an easy task for them. Furthermore, Real Madrid were to face their city-rivals Atlético Madrid in the Semi-final of the Super Cup. Over the past few decades there have been innumerable classic matches between these two powerhouses of Madrid. So, everyone was expecting one more classic. 

And to the delight of all football fans, the Semi-final turned out to be one. At one stage Real Madrid were trailing behind 2-3 and only 5 minutes remained in the game. But this is when Real Madrid made a comeback as they always do. In the nick of time, they equalized and took the game to extra time eventually winning the game 5-3. It was indeed a statement of intent from Los Blancos. The never die attitude came at the forefront again as they defied all odds to win this high-stake game. 

However, the task was not over yet. The Men in White were to face their arch-rival F.C. Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup. The same team which defeated them in the previous final. However Real Madrid too were in their best of form. So, everyone was expecting a close contest between these two giants of world football. However, Vini Jr.  had some other plans. He scored a brilliant hattrick as Real Madrid blew Barcelona 4-1 to regain the Spanish Super Cup. The redemption was well and truly complete. 

THE LEGEND OF FARMER'S LEAGUE

 

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Even though the French National Team is one of the strongest teams in World Football, but their Clubs are not. Barring Paris Saint Germain, no other French Club has performed consistently on the European as well as on the National Stage. In the 2016-17 Season, A.S. Monaco did win the Ligue 1 Title and also reached the Champions League Semi-final, but since then they are on a constant decline. Lille won the 2020-21 Ligue 1 Title, but even they are struggling to keep up their performance.

In the last 12 years, PSG has won 9 Ligue 1 titles are on route to win their 10th. So, one can easily figure out why we call Ligue 1 a Farmer's League. However even Paris Saint Germain have not performed well on the European Stage. They have never won a Champions League Trophy. Their best performance stand outs to be the Finalist of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League Edition. So, on the big stage even they have a tendency to choke.

However, on the National Level they keep on adding trophies. Their recent being a 2-0 win over Toulouse F.C. to win the Trophée des Champions. However, a win in a minnow's league will bring them no glory unless they perform in the games which eventually matters the most. 

THE MIGHTY KEV IS BACK

 

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In the 2023 FA Community Shield match against Arsenal, Kevin De Bruyne entered as a substitute and failed to score a penalty, allowing the Gunners to win the game 4-1 in the penalty shootout. The misery for Super Kev continued as on August 11, during the first league match of the season against Burnley, he experienced a recurrence of a hamstring injury. It was then confirmed that he will miss four to five months of play.

This was a big setback for the defending champions. However, the depth of the Manchester City squad is such that the Men are Blue are still very much in the title race despite missing out their star player. Interestingly Kevin De Bruyne is back with the squad now. So, the title race is going to heat up gain.  

As Jürgen Klopp said it right, “Kevin De Bruyne is warming up. The whole country is starting to shake.”

To be honest this is how time changes. In 2016 when Manchester City signed Kevin De Bruyne the media dubbed him as a flop signing. However today the entire country is shaking with the name of Kevin De Bruyne. 

The Mighty Kevin De Bruyne is Back to take English Football by storm again. 

THE LEGEND OF CRISTIANO RONALDO

 

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2022 was a year which no Cristiano Fan would like to remember. It was indeed an horrendous year for their idol who suffered setbacks and defeats in both personal and professional sphere. In the beginning of the year, Ronaldo lost his infant child. A Trauma which will stay life-long. At that time everyone stood with Cristiano except his own club. The Red Devils had the audacity to question the intention and motives of a man who is considered as one of the greatest footballers of all time. 

The insult did not stop here as he was regularly benched by the new clown of Manchester. Yes. I will call him a clown. A man who cannot manage big players is certainly not a manager. Furthermore Cris tried his best to win the FIFA World Cup for his side, but failed to do so as the Portuguese were knocked out by the Moroccans in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Eventually on 30th December, 2022 Ronaldo signed a contract with Al Nassr and moved to Saudi Arabia. Many considered him as a failed aged footballer who has left Europe for money.  However his move to Saudi triggered a storm as we saw many big names joining him. But, what happened next was something we always expect of CR7. 

With his club and his country, Cristiano Ronaldo ended 2023 as the world's top scorer. Ronaldo overtook such players as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland when he scored his 54th goal in Al-Nassr's thrilling 4-1 triumph over Al-Taawoun. Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have both scored 52 goals for their clubs and countries, and Haaland, the prolific goal scorer for Manchester City, finished the year with 50 goals. Now leading the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot race with 20 goals in 19 appearances this season is Cristiano Ronaldo. Al-Nassr is now in second place in the league standings, seven points behind champions Al-Hilal, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's outstanding play.

The Legend is Back to where he Belong. The Top of the Table. 

THE RIVALRY

 

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In October 2015, Jürgen Klopp was appointed as the manager of the Liverpool Football Club. Whereas in the summer of 2016, Manchester City appointed Pep Guardiola as their manager. It is pertinent to note that Liverpool F.C. was not in their best of shape. On the other hand, Manchester City did win League title a couple of years ago, but it was not a dominant force in European Football. Hence both managers had a task in hand.

And boy! After 8 years we can say what a change both of them have brought in their respective clubs. Today Manchester City is the most strongest football club in the world. In the past 7 seasons they have won 5 League Titles, 2 F.A. Cups and 4 Carabao Cups. Furthermore in the 2022-23 season the Men in Blue completed a Historic Treble of UEFA Champions League, Premier League and F.A. Cup. A feat. which only Manchester United has achieved in England.

On the other hand, Jürgen Klopp has too made Liverpool a dominant force in European Football. Furthermore it is pertinent to note that Klopp had a tougher task than Pep as he was required to completely overhaul the Liverpool squad. However despite all setbacks, the Men in Red ended their 30 years League Title drought in 2020 as Klopp guided them to their maiden Premier League Trophy. Apart from that they also won the prestigious UEFA Champions League in 2019. In addition to this, they have also won multiple knock out tournaments. 

However something which every football fan will always remember is the title race between Liverpool and Manchester City in 2018-19 and 2021-22 seasons. Both the clubs went hammer and tongs to each other. Though Manchester City ended up being the winners in both the occasions, but it was one hell of a show.

Today we are again heading towards a similar situation in the Premier League. Who will win this time? The answer lies in the womb of time. But, this is for certain that this great rivalry is about to have one more interesting chapter. 

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

 

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The last few years have been not that great for the Chelsea Fans. After all, Chelsea Football Club had one of its worst seasons of the twenty-first century during the 2022–2023 campaign. The fans sighed with relief as the season concluded since it meant that the bloodshed would eventually stop. During the Summer Break there were hirings and changes in managerial staff which gave a glimmer of hope even though the expectations weren't too great.

However, after the first half of the 2023-24 season, one will say that everything is not well in the Stamford Bridge. Yes. We are playing the Semi-Finals of the Carabao Cup. But, after 20 games we lie 10th in the Premier League. This is simply unacceptable. The Club which has won 5 Premier League Titles is now struggling to qualify for European Football. 

I don't know when the things will improve. But, for the time being we are following the footsteps of Burnley and Watford. I wonder if the same continues for a few more months then we might end up competing in the relegation battle.