Euro Football Review, Wolfsburg Glory, Rookie Managers, and The Transfer Millions

Across Europe the wonder that is domesticated football has come to an end. So with the summer approaching many fans will look forward to a couple of months nervously waiting on their sides summer transfer activities.


In Germany Wolfsburg claimed their first Bundesliga crown on a nervy final day showdown with UEFA cup finalists Werder Bremen. The title race was between Wolfsburg & Bayern Munich; however the Wolves kept their cool and won the league in emphatic fashion in front of a sell out crowd at the Volkswagen Arena. They dispatched Bremen 5-1 with goals from the leagues top scorer Grafite and hotshot striker Edin Dzeko who is now surely on the radar of Europe’s elite clubs after banging in the goals all season. It was a fantastic leaving gift for departing Coach Felix Magath who is joining Schalke next season.

The main transfer gossip from the German league relates to French winger Franck Ribery and which side he will be turning out for next season, rumours suggest that the Frenchman nick named Scarface has a host of clubs after him, from Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid & Barcelona all after the pacy wingers signature for a reported €45million fee. Meanwhile some business has already been concluded with Werder Bremen’s talismanic midfielder Diego off to Juventus of Italy for a £20 million transfer.



In Italy and the title had been decided for sometime now with Inter a comfortable 10 points clear from nearest rivals Juventus. Jose Mourinho’s men again where the team to beat this season, with a perfect record in their home games at the San Siro the catalyst in delivering them their third straight domestic title. Elsewhere in Milan and the red side of the city where saying goodbye to club servant Paulo Maldini who played his last game for the Rossineri after twenty years at the club. The Rossineri also waved goodbye to manager Carlo Anchelotti who promptly was ushered into the
Chelsea hot seat by Russian billionaire Roman Abromovich who is desperate to get his hands on the Champions league title.

Inter Milan also moved quickly in the transfer market snapping up the services of Diego Milito & Thiago Motta from Genoa. Elsewhere and the transfer gossip rocking Italy is the shock transfer of Kaka to Real Madrid for a world record fee, the midfielder has been a long term target of the Madrista who are looking to create Los Galacticos mark two as former president Florentino Perez has been voted in again at the club.


Over to Spain and Barcelona charged to glory on all fronts winning an unprecedented treble in Pep Guardiola’s first season in charge. The Catalans took home the domestic double in the form of league and cup and also won the Champions League crown in Rome after a fantastic tactical display from the rookie Guardiola. Barca struck early on after a raft of pressure from United, the early goal took the emphasis away from the red Devils as Barca’s keep ball tactics worked to devastating effect. Andreas Iniesta ran the midfield that doubled their lead with an uncharacteristic Leo Messi header on the 70th minute.

The main transfer gossip in Spain relates to Valencia and striker David Villa who is being courted by a host of teams across Europe. Valencia are crippled by debt and owes over €650million to the tax man. So now they must sell of their star assets in the form of striker David Villa & midfielder David Silva. Real and Barca are surely at the front of the queue for the pair who have indicated a preference to stay at home. However that won’t stop the armours advances of Manchester United, Manchester City and even Liverpool who are tripping over themselves to sign up the Spanish stars.


In England and it was a case of the major domestic honours being shared between two of the big four again. This time it was Chelsea and Manchester United who took all the glory, and once again the big four retained the top four births in the league for the seventh year running. Manchester United strolled to the title again, even after heavy pressure from Liverpool, confirming champion’s status after a 0-0 draw with Arsenal. Chelsea also romped home to glory in the F.A cup after defeating Everton 2-1 at Wembley. Didier Drogba & Frank Lampard got the goals which ensured Guss Hiddink left Chelsea with a trophy before returning back to his job with the Russian national side.

At the other end of the table and Newcastle, Middlesbrough and West Brom all suffered relegation. Major transfer Gossip in England is focused mainly around the oil millions of Manchester City and ‘the richest club in the world’ have been linked with a whole range of players since the takeover last September. Recently the sky blues have been linked with Carlos Tevez, Everton defender Julian Lescott, and David Villa of Valencia.




Finally over to France and five years of Lyon domination are over as Bordeaux, won their first title in over a decade. The French title race had been of interest for some time as Lyon threw away a six point lead in February and finished up in third place. Bordeaux on the other hand completed a fantastic run of eleven consecutive victories to claim the title. Laurent Blanc dedicated the title to the fans in only his second season as a professional boss. Favouring the more autocratic English style of management Blanc has moulded a formidable side, with French Midfielder Yoann Gourcuff the star of the side.


European Talent Scout

With hundreds of millions of Euro’s being thrown about the Transfer market, I have a look at a few hidden gems, a couple of signings that could set Europe on fire soon.

Michel Bastos- The tricky Brazillian has a hammer of a left foot and has been scoring spectacualar goals for Lille in France. He’s only twenty five and has been attracting interest from the likes of Arsenal and Lyon.





Andreas Vasquez- Another South American import this time via Peru & Sweden. He’s a tricky midfielder with bags of pace, he is only 21 and still has plenty of time to develop, Stoke City and currently running the rule over the star.





Eljero Elia- Hailing from Holland and currently residing with Steve Mclaren’s F.C Twente side. The winger is a speed machine and aint shy in taking on defenders. He’s currently been looked at by PSV of Holland, however I wouldn’t be surprised if he moved to Germany as I hear wispers of strong intrest from Bayern Munich.