Until I watched CD Numanica beat Barcelona, this was the upset of the weekend, and it still might be if you consider this match took place at the San Siro.  AC Milan dropped their opener to Bologna, a side I pegged to struggle to stay up this season.  The Rossoneri responded to an early goal from Marco Di Vaio with a goal through Massimo Ambrossini just before half-time, but Carlo Ancelotti’s second half substitutions seemed to slow the team down, and Milan eventually capitulated to a 79th minute goal from Francesco Valiani.

To me, Carlo Ancelotti’s substitutions were as interesting as the Milan loss, probably because I see them as being a major contributor to it.

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The European Match of the Week is in Serie A, where Juventus starts their march towards recapturing the Scudetto against an Adrian Mutu-less Fiorentina side.  We’ve seen examples in the Bundesliga (Diego, Werder Bremen) and the Premiership (Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal) of what one player can mean to a team, but Mutu’s meaning to Fiorentina might prove to be just as large.  Continue Reading »

Now everything makes sense. It took us three weeks, but that Ligue 1 I grew to love last year is back. The top three in the table are Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. I exhale in relief.

Okay, so maybe I wasn’t too concerned about the state of Ligue 1 without the typically successful clubs at the top. In fact, I wasn’t phased at all, but I am eager for the start of what looks to be a three team championship race. There yet isn’t sufficient distance between Bordeaux (third, as of now) and the rest of the table, but with the three at the top looking at another relatively easy week this weekend, that distance may be coming.

As for the pretenders from last week, Grenoble never threatened Lyon, losing 2-0 after going down six minutes into the match, and Monaco’s lacking attack could not get three points at him from Caen. This week, Grenoble and Monaco face each other, meaning at last one will have trouble keeping up, while two other teams on the heals of the top three (Nice and Valenciennes) are also matched-up. This might be the week that gap starts to form.

But for all this talk about how the top of the table is shaping up, the match of the week involved two teams who currently rank no higher than tenth. Rennes put in two injury time goes to take three points over Lille, the first win for either club, in one of those matches that leaves a neutral slack jawed. Did that just happen?

With Week 2 done and gone, French clubs shifted focus to the continent, where Marseille finished qualifying for Champions League only to see them slotting into the group that got Atletico Madrid from Pot 4. That meant they would be in the deepest group, joined by Liverpool and PSV Eindhoven, in a quartet that gives them a chance to move on. Lyon and Bordeaux each get tougher groups, and some think Lyon’s to be as deep as Marseille’s.

In UEFA Cup qualifying, Rennes was able to overcome a one goal deficit after their first leg against Norway’s Stabaek. The join Paris St. Germain, Nancy, and St. Etienne in awaiting tomorrow’s UEFA Cup draw for the first round. With none of those four playing that well at the season’s start, they will be hoping to avoid some of the draw’s giants: AC Milan, Schalke 04, Benfica, Valencia, Galatasaray, and Manchester City.

Just kidding about City.

Karim Benzema has already risen to the top of the league in goals, the only player to reach three. Without being the best player in any individual week, he has been the league’s overall best player thus far and continue to raise his international profile. With a goal in France’s friendly last week against Sweden, Benzema already has four total goals this season. This week at St. Etienne, he will have his work cut out, though Les Verts have been allowing a goal a match through three.

And in Ligue 1, the sack race is over. Nantes fired Michel der Zakarian earlier this week after the promoted club found themselves at the bottom of the table after three games. Given the timing, Nantes seems to have had to beat Bordeaux, at Bordeaux, last weekend to keep his job. Clearly, getting the club promoted last season was not enough, and I wish whoever replaces him the best of luck. Your goal, apparently, is not staying up. It’s catching Marseille.

WFP Ligue 1 Club Rankings

	Rank	Last Week	Club
	1	1	Marseille A workmanlike win on the road at Le Havre saw them held under four goals for the first time this season. The team has played two Champions Legaue qualifiers during this opening stretch and will be happy to get Sochaux this week and then the international break. Their reward: a tough but winnable Champions League group.
	2	2	Lyon Popped the Grenoble bobble and assumed their place atop the league. They might also want to Marseille return to “form” a bit, as right now it looks like Claude Puel will have a fight in Le Championnat. That fight has been compounded by a tough Champions League group, getting Bayern Munich, Steaua Bucharest, and Fiorentina.
	3	3	Bordeaux Got back to their winning ways this week following a shock loss the week before to PSG. They got, for them, a horrible Champions League draw, a solid third best team behind Chelsea and AS Roma. Good luck with that, Laurent Blanc.
	4	9	Valenciennes This is will be a team that I’m biased towards all year on the back of a preseason prediction, but a strong home result versus Lorient this weekend justifies my faith. For now.
	5	6	Le Mans There were a series of clubs I was down on coming into the season, and Le Mans was one, but their last two weeks - particularly this week’s win over St. Etienne - has opened my eyes. They have no truly bad results on their resume and have won two in a row. They’ve been strong
	6	4	Caen Another club I was unsure about at season’s start. I’m not as high on them as I am Le Mans, and their ranking here reflects a general uncertainty with those below them.
	7	12	Monaco Have drawn two in a row after beating PSG to open the season. They have only three goals in three matches and lack dynamism in their attack.
	8	7	Paris St. Germain A lot of this ranking is based on their win two weeks ago over Bordeaux, the only loss any of the top three have been given. Their result against Sochaux was disappointing, but when penalty kicks are involved, I give extra consideration.
	9	5	Lorient Only Nancy has scored fewer goals than Lorient, but with a win at Le Mans and a draw versus Lyon, they could be ranked higher. Once they find some goals, I’ll move them up.
	10	13	St. Etienne I can’t shake the feeling that this team should be better. They should be scoring more goals, but they were shut out in each of their road appearances: at Valenviennes, at Le Mans. According to these rankings, that’s a bit of a tough schedule, and having taken care of business in their one home fixture, they get ranked in the middle of the table.
	11	8	Grenoble Lyon made it clear they had no business at the top of the table, but it was good while it lasted. They still have a ways to go to be back in a relegation battle, but for a team that was barely promoted, it’s a smashing start.
	12	10	Rennes This team hass been all over the place. They got that miracle draw in Week 1 against Marseille - the only points the leaders have failed to get - and then lost to Grenoble. They beat Lille this weak, but as they have been in the UEFA Cup, their Ligue 1 performances have been all over the place.
	13	11	Toulouse A 0-0 draw at Nancy could prove a strong result come April and May, and for a team that will struggle to stay up, it’s a great point.
	14	14	Le Havre Good on them to hold Marseille to one goal, the first time this year a team has contained them. The team also drew over 16,000 tot he match, a fine turnout.
	15	17	Nice This is the team with the greatest disparity between actual table ranking and WSP rankings. They have two wins, but they are against Nancy and Auxerre. They have allowed Nancy’s only goal. As of now, I don’t see it.
	16	19	Lille A tough loss to Rennes this week as Stade came back with two goals very late, doing their best Liverpool impressive, to take all the points. They are ranked a couple of spots higher here than they sit in the table, but I feel like I might be being generous.
	17	15	Auxerre Auxerre gets ranked behind two teams who have not won a match because their win was two weeks ago and they have looked terrible since. Playing Marseill and Nice might have something to do with that, but with their only win coming against Nantes, there is not telling. They have given up the most goals in the league.
	18	20	Sochaux Got a draw agaist Paris St.-Germain after a very disppointing start to the season, but their only goal came from the penalty spot. Had they not gotten that call, they would be without a point for the season. They did show some life on Saturday, though, and Michel Flaubert was mad to work for PSG’s point. If they can carry that over into next week and find another goal scorer besides Mevlut Erding, they can still turn this around.
	19	18	Nancy One goal in three matches and their best results being draws against Toulouse and Lille gives them nothing attractive for their resume. Until they can show an ability to score goals, it is hard to take them seriously. Replicating last year’s surprise result is a long way away.
	20	16	Nantes Amongst the teams at the bottom the table, they have done the least to recommend themselves. Part of that is uninspired play. Part of that is the schedule. No matter. Three games was too few to just their coach, and it serves them right that Alain Perrin has no interest in this ship.

Like Armand Traore loan to Portsmouth last week, Philipe Senderos has become a happy casualty of Arsene Wenger’s mysterious fascination with Mikael Silvestre. The 23-year-old Swiss center back has been loaned out to Milan for the year after falling to sixth on the Arsenal depth chart.   At Milan, Senderos will have a chance a meaningful playing time, as a combination of injury, age, and lack of quality will put him into the mix.  He has to be encouraged by the move.

For Arsenal, getting Senderos a year’s playing time at an elite club while retaining his rights is good development for what’s still a young player. I am not a big fan of Senderos, but he has all the physical skills, even if he does seems to rarely use them. He had a horrible game in the second match of the Champions League quarterfinals, an unforgettable match which saw Ryan Babel draw that miracle penalty (oh, how I wish I had this blog back then) which put the Gunners out. He immediately lost his spot at the back to Alexander Song and looks unlikely to regain Arsene Wenger’s confidence.

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I miss Jose Mourinho in the Premiership, think he’s a great coach, and still wonder why Chelsea would let him go without having somebody like a Luiz Felipe Scolari ready to replace him immediately. It’s all working out fine at Stamford Bridge (even if the firing may have cost them three trophies last season), but my English language league lots a lot of entertainment value when Mourinho went east. Nobody combines honesty, humor, and arrogance more brilliantly than The Special One.

Those qualities are in full view in Mourinho’s comments on Andriy Shevchenko. Continue Reading »

The liberation of Andriy Shevchenko is complete, with the player making a permanent move to AC Milan today. Whereas the move to the San Siro was thought to be a loan, it was confirmed that the Rossoneri have fully acquired the Ukrainian striker’s rights.

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Andriy Shevchenko remains in a quagmire at Chelsea, a part-time (at best player) who is more likely to fill recently departed Claudio Pizarro’s shoes (at the bottom of the depth chart) than Nicolas Anelka’s, let alone Didier Drogba’s.  With Luiz Felipe Scolari coming in an looking less likely to simultaneously use two strikers, Shevchenko looks unlikely to get the 24 appearances he got last season.  Thanks to his continued success at the international level for the Ukraine (for whom he scored four goals in eight appearances last season), there remains a legion of Shevchenko backers clammoring for his liberation from Stamford Bridge.

The largest contingent of his fans remain in Milan, where Shevchenko’s glory years are still held in esteem.  While AC Milan spent the summer wooing Emmanuel Adebayor and new the eventually acquired Ronaldinho, many wondered why the currently-cash-conscious club did not bring Shevchenko, who would likely be cheaper, back.  Sheva is only two seasons removed from scoring 19 goals in Serie A for the Rossoneri.  At 31 and with his international form hinting at remaining talent, it’s not unreasonable to assume he could contribute.

That Milan-backer dream is still alive.  Continue Reading »

What once was a summer in which Manchester City would transcend from their city’s second team into a club that would make the top four a top five now rests its salvage from failure on one player:  Roque Santa Cruz.  Whereas City was once thought to be in the lead for former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho (who ended up with AC Milan), City manager Mark Hughes has now gone back to what he knows, a former star, in the hopes that the Blues’ season can be salvaged.

One the edge of qualification last season, City has expected to be a UEFA Cup contender this year.  They have made it into the tournament via Fair Play and now have a taste of continental football, but their personnel still does not match their owner’s lofty expectations.  With the exception of Jô, acquired from CSKA Moscow, Manchester City remains roughly the same bunch of players who disappointed at the close fo last season and contributed to Sven-Goran Eriksson’s firing.  Tottenham and Newcastle have closed the gap between them and Citeh, while only Blackburn finished higher and has fallen.

With the Rovers having lost David Bentley and Brad Friedel, City hopes that Roque Santa  Cruz can also be had.  That, however, is where Blackburn seems to be drawing the line, with Paul Ince ready to hold tight to his best player, the last Rover relic from a team that finished in seventh place a year ago.

As they currently sit, both teams seem lower-mid table squads.  The result seems begrudgingly acceptable to the Rovers, who seem willing to tough out a season adjusting to life under a first year manager without two of last season’s cornerstones.  For City, though, it would be a vast disappointment, a result that seemed unlikely back in those days when Mark Hughes was freshly inked and Ronaldinho had no other options.

Though his signing would likely not matter as it concerns qualifying for European football, gettin Santa Cruz from Blackburn would at least keep Manchester City on the map.  They could say they brought in a star player, that they acquired a top-flight strike tandem.  That’s as close to salvaging the summer as they are going to get.

Links

Blackburn Rovers stand firm over Roque bid
Rovers Reject Hughes’ Roque Bid

One week after being on the verge of a move to AS Roma, Fiorentina star striker Adrian Mutu has signed an extension with La Viola that will keep him at the club through the summer of 2012. The extension contains a raise on his salary of about ten percent, making this contract extension less of an upgrade for the Romanian star and more of a pledge. Mutu’s reputation suffered a bit during the Roma ordeal because he had said, shortly before, that he wanted to stay at Fiorentina for life. Upset La Viola fans might want to note that their star has essentially taken less money to finish out his career with their club.

It is unlikely to assuage those committed to bitterness towards Mutu.   Thankfully, those seem relatively few.  For many fans, it is hard to think if terms of sympathy as it concerns a “mere” ten percent wage.  Over the next few seasons, as star players are signed or re-upped at their clubs, La Viola fans might want to note the find of money that Mutu passed up.  It will be notable.

But with the contract issue behind player and club, Fiorentina can now concentrate on their Champions League qualifying match-up against Slavia Prague.  Due to start in just under two weeks, Fiorentina has a difficult match-up against the Czech Republic club.  If Fiorentina can not solve problems at the back that have manifest  during the preseason, they will lose this tie.  The gap between Fiorentina (the fourth place team from Serie A) and the champions of the Grambrinus liga is not so big that Cesare Prandelli’s team can afford to be off their game.

Regardless of how they perform in Champions League, Fiorentina can use the knowledge that Mutu will be in fold to focus on re-qualifying for Champions League:  finishing in Serie A’s top four.  Inter has struggled to find their rhythm while implementing Jose Mourinho’s new system while AC Milan has looked old and thin.  In the early going, those two look most vulnerable, but Fiorentina must be ready from the get-go as they host Juventus in Round 1.

With the Mutu saga now over, Prandelli can stay preparing his team for their fights.

Links
Mutu Extends Fiorentina Contract
Mutu Signs Contract Extension
Mutu to extend La Viola deal

Luiz Felipe Scolari has ruled star striker Didier Drogba out of Chelsea’s season opener against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge on August 17.

Drogba has been sidelined all preseason with a knee injury that has been slow to recover.  The current prognosis has the Ivorian returning for Chelsea’s third Premiership match, their derby against Tottenham on August 31.  This would mean he would also miss the Blues’ trip to Wigan on the 24th.

Scolari said that he will be cautious with Drogba’s health, a position enabled by the resurgent former of Niclas Anelka, about to start his first full season with the club.  With Chelsea’s other Ivorian star Salomon Kalou in Beijing representing the Ivory Coast the the Olympics, Scolari stands to start Florent Malouda and Joe Cole in the wings of Anelka.

Drogba missed half of Chelsea’s Premiership fixtures last season with an array of knocks.  The Blues’ lineup with noticeably dependent on him, relying on their target man as their main means of transitioning out of their own end.  This season, with the acquisition of Deco, Scolari opening up Chelsea’s style, and Michael Essien no longer splitting his time between midfield and right back, Chelsea should be better equipped to handle Drogba’s absence.  If Anelka can carry over his preseason form into August 17th’s match with Portsmouth, Drogba’s absence could be completely mitigated.

Drogba’s injury further complicates his unsettled status at the Bridge.  Throughout the summer, Drogba had been linked with a move away from London, though no firm offers materialized from the likes of Inter Milan, AC Milan and Barcelona.  Chelsea has since offered their best scoring threat a contract extension which Drogba is yet to sign (though there are reports will will sign the deal this week).

Another injury-laden season for the 30-year-old, who has a particularly physical style of play, would only complicate Drogba’s already tenuous situation with the club.

Quotes
“Didier will not play in our first game against Portsmouth and will probably miss the second against Wigan. If there are no more problems he should be ready for the game after that.” - Scolari
“But when you have a knee injury, you just never know.” - Scolari
“He’s getting better and is working with a fitness coach back at the training ground. I hope he will be ready to start training next week. But he will not play until he is in good condition.” - Scolari
“If there are no more problems he should be ready for the game after that, Tottenham on 31 August.” - Scolari

Links
Drogba ruled out of season opener
Anelka hoping to fill void
Drogba likely to miss opening two matches
Drogba to miss start of the season
Drogba to miss start of season
Drogba ruled out of Chelsea’s season opener
Drogba out of opener
Drogba will miss start of season
Striker blow for opening day
Drogba to miss start of Premier League season
Drogba to miss start of season