VAN PERSIE TRANSFER COZ AN IMPRESSION............

Frank Isola: Robin van Persie's transfer has echoes of Dwight Howard's Lakers trade

The rich getting richer is a constant theme in every sport, with Robin van Persie's transfer to Manchester United the rule rather than the exception

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Robin van Persie became the world’s most famous substitute on Monday at Goodison Park, a title the Dutch striker won’t be holding for much longer, that’s for sure.

With Manchester United struggling to score goals and fighting to reclaim its place as the top dog in the Premier League, Sir Alex Ferguson will pair Van Persie with Wayne Rooney sooner than later.
And if it makes Arsenal supporters feel any better, at least Arsenal managed to draw with Sunderland last weekend despite not finding the back of the net. Man U failed to score against Everton and is not only goalless but winless as well despite adding Van Persie to its already deep and talented roster.

Arsenal should enjoy the moment while it lasts because Manchester United won’t stay down very long. The move to buy Van Persie was about winning trophies in the present and future. This is what the free-spending clubs with deep pockets and a tradition of winning do in the months after a crosstown rival – in this case Manchester City – steals its thunder.

Having been in London for the Olympics and following the Van Persie saga up close, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Manchester United’s play for Van Persie and the Los Angeles Lakers' play for Dwight Howard. The two biggest transactions of the summer took place within days of one another, and in theory, in the same city.

The NBA players were on the verge of winning a gold medal at the Olympics when the story broke about Howard being traded from the Orlando Magic to the Lakers. Kobe Bryant could barely contain his excitement as the rich got richer in the NBA. The same was true of Man United securing Van Persie, the top goalscorer in the EPL last season.

Howard puts the Lakers that much closer to winning an NBA championship while Van Persie could be the missing piece that leads to a Champions League title for United. And if you are a basketball fan in Salt Lake City or a football supporter of Queens Park Rangers, you have that same sinking feeling; so much for competitive balance in world where money talks.

It’s somewhat ironic that both Howard and Van Persie never led their former teams to a championship. They have something else in common, of course: both forced their way out of town and ended up with a better club and increased their chances of winning a trophy.

If Van Persie helps United to a Champions League title in May at Wembley, no one will care that his exit from the Emirates was ugly and left Arsenal fans disenchanted. He’ll be a winner and Sir Alex a genius. The EPL is just like every major sports league in the United States; in order to compete, one must spend. Think of the money Man City spent in order to reach the top for the first time in four decades. Chelsea captured its first Champions League title by raiding clubs all over Europe for their top players.

Van Persie understands the landscape. He knew that Arsenal would use its resources to take that next step, which is why he wanted out. Manchester United lost the league title in the final minutes of the season and had a disappointing run in the Champions League. Second best is never good enough at Old Trafford. The same applies to the Lakers and the Yankees.

No one ever said that that spending wads of cash on players guarantees you a title, but it certainly gives you a chance. Van Persie, the world’s most famous sub, knows that better than anyone.

IT'S DO OR DIE CLASH IN ESPANA; TITO VILLANOVA WILL HE SHAKE HANDS WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE?

Supercopa Preview: Barcelona - Real Madrid

While tensions between the two coaches have cooled since last August's acrimonious meeting, they will want to make a statement of intent by winning the season's first Clasico derby

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PROBABLE LINEUPS

BARCELONA Valdes Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Alba Xavi, Busquets, FabregasPedro, Messi, Iniesta

REAL MADRID Casillas Arbeloa, Albiol, Ramos, Marcelo  Khedira, AlonsoDi Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo Higuain

Alex Song could go straight into Barcelona's squad to face Real Madrid in the Supercopa first leg on Thursday, after the midfielder completed his transfer from Arsenal.

Alexis Sanchez, Andres Iniesta and Gerard Pique are all pushing for starts, while David Villa is set to be named on the bench again, despite his return from an eight-month injury lay-off in Sunday's Liga victory over Real Sociedad.

Thiago Alcantara remains the Catalan side's only absentee as he continues his recovery from a tibia injury.

Real Madrid defender Pepe looks certain to miss the trip to Camp Nou after suffering a nasty collision with team-mate Iker Casillas during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Valencia, although the injury is not deemed to be serious.

Raul Albiol is expected to deputize for the Portugal international in defense, while Marcelo, Sami Khedira and Karim Benzema are all hoping to earn recalls to the starting XI.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Barcelona is meeting Real Madrid for the 220th time in all competitions, with the Catalan giants tallying 86 wins to Madrid's 87.

• The Blaugrana have lost just once in their last eight meetings with Real in all competitions (W4, D3, L1).

• Barca has won the last three editions of the Supercopa with victories over Madrid (2011), Sevilla (2010) and Athletic Bilbao (2009), respectively.

• Lionel Messi (pictured right) has scored 13 goals in 19 Clasico encounters across all competitions. Only Cesar Rodriguez has scored more for Barcelona against Madrid (14).

• Real Madrid has lost just once under Jose Mourinho in its last four trips to Camp Nou (W1 D2 L1).

• Mourinho's overall record in El Clasico matches reads W2 D4 L5.

• Eight of the last 10 red cards in Clasico encounters have been handed to Madrid players.

• Cristiano Ronaldo has scored six goals in 16 previous meetings with Barca, including his time at Manchester United.

INTER AND AC MILAN ON PLAYERS SWAP

Official: Inter and AC Milan finalize Cassano-Pazzini swap
The former Sampdoria striker will ply his trade under Massimiliano Allegri as of the coming season, while his former Blucerchiati teammate has moved in the opposite direction.

AC Milan has confirmed that it has completed the signing of Giampaolo Pazzini from Inter, in exchange for Antonio Cassano.
DON'T MISS
Cassano-Pazzini deal nears completion

Reports in Italy have also suggested that the Rossoneri have paid their city rival an additional 7 million euros for the transfer to go through.

Both clubs already reached an agreement over a swap on Monday evening, with both players undergoing medicals at their respective new clubs the following day, and the deal has now been made official.

Milan was in the market for a new target man following the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Paris Saint-Germain, and head coach Massimiliano Allegri has now got his man in Pazzini.

The 28-year-old was no longer needed at Inter as Andrea Stramaccioni did not see the forward in his first-team plans, and he will now continue his career with the red side of San Siro.

Cassano, meanwhile, filed a transfer request as he felt Milan showed a lack of ambition by letting go of several key players this summer, and has jumped at the opportunity of joining the club he supported as a child.

The Italy forward, 30, has signed on with Inter until the summer of 2014 and was welcomed by Stramaccioni and captain Javier Zanetti on the training pitch on Wednesday morning.

NEW HOLDINNG MIDFIELD SIGNING IS A MUST DO FOR SIR ALEX BUT ALSO THE CENTRAL DEFENSIVE ROLE HAS TO BE REVIEWED

Manchester United defensive shortage to continue for 'a couple of weeks'

Sir Alex Ferguson does not expect the likes of Jonny Evans to return to the side in time to face Fulham on Saturday, with Michael Carrick likely to continue at center back

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he will have to continue to put out a makeshift defense for at least "a couple of weeks".

Injuries have put Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones all out of action for the start of the Red Devils' season, with Nemanja Vidic partnered by midfielder Michael Carrick at center back in the 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday.

And the Scottish boss conceded that the pair are likely to be needed again, along with winger Antonio Valencia at right back, for Fulham's visit on Saturday.

"I don't think any of them [the injured defenders] will be fit for Saturday," Sir Alex told MUTV.

"Hopefully Jonny Evans is getting near. Obvoiusly we've got a good week's training now and that will bring him on a good bit.

"Hopefully in a couple of weeks we should be okay.

"Michael Carrick's not used to playing as a center back but he did all right, he did fine. He applied himself well [against Everton] - they all did."

Having lost their opening game of the Premier League season, last year's runners-up must now look to open their account against the Cottagers, who put five goals past Norwich City on Saturday.

PEPE A SETBACK FOR MOURINHO AS LESS THAN 48HRS BEFORE SUPERCOPA

The powerful defender has not sustained any serious damage in Sunday's draw against Valencia, but will sit out Thursday's game as a precautionary measure

Aug 21, 2012 7:20:00 AM

 

Pepe, tras el choque con Casillas

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will have to do without the services of Portugal internationalPepe in the upcoming Spanish Supercopa match away against Barcelona, as the defender recovers from a head injury, according to AS.

The center back picked up the knock in Madrid's 1-1 La Liga draw with Valencia at the weekend, and spent Sunday night in hospital undergoing a series of tests.

"Normally, with a head injury, we have the player under observation for 24 hours. More importantly, we brought him to the hospital where we could carry out the necessary tests, all of which have come out okay," club doctor Carlos Diez was quoted as saying on the club's official website.

"He spent Sunday night under observation and everything is very good. We have decided, with the help of Real Madrid’s medical services, that the player could be discharged from the hospital without any problem."

Even though all of the tests came out negative, and Pepe was discharged on Monday, he will not feature in the first leg of the Supercup tie against Madrid's arch rival.

MAROUNE FELLAINI RUINS ROBIN VAN PERFECT DEBUT,AS UNITED CONCEDE DEFEAT.

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Conventional wisdom would hold that Paul Scholes, one of the greatest playmakers of all-time, was the most accomplished midfielder on the field when Everton played Manchester United on Monday. New United recruit Shinji Kagawa was surely the most technically gifted. And Tom Cleverley, playing alongside the aforementioned two, has to be one of the hottest young midfielders in the game.

Yet all of those claims, while underpinned by merit, would sell short another man, playing for the opposition.

Marouane Fellaini.

Because Fellaini is the most dominant midfielder in the English Premier League. Not the best, not the most talented, but the most capable of swaying the outcome of a game. There, it’s been said.

Entering his fifth season for Everton at just 24 years of age, Fellaini is surely the league’s most underrated player, working, naturally, for the league’s most underrated club. Fellaini, who was born to Moroccan parents in the forgettable working-class Etterbeek neighborhood of Brussels, is most easily described as an old-fashioned box-to-box midfielder.

But then that too, is to sell him short.

He is, in fact, part target man, part ball winner, part attacking midfielder and part wig model. It’s that mound of hair that makes him distinctive, forming a giant afro, which bobs along as he rushes from challenge to challenge or collapses temporarily when he heads the ball. Yet for “The Perminator”, it’s his combination of skill, length and strength that makes him remarkable.

At a very noticeable pre-hair six-foot-five – he is usually surrounded by a gaggle of midfielders who couldn’t see over a six-foot wall on the tips of their toes – Fellaini is as deft a technician as players half his size. Yet in spite of his play and appearance, he is somehow overlooked. In conversations about the game’s best midfielders, he is seldom mentioned.

This is Fellaini’s historical plight. His father, Abdellatif, played professionally as a goalkeeper in the 1970s and settled in Belgium. Marouane joined the Anderlecht academy when he was seven but was put on a team for lowly-regarded prospects. So at 10 he left and bounced between three more clubs, looking for appreciation for his unorthodox game, until, finally, he signed with Standard Liège at 17 in 2004.

He made the first squad in 2006 and by 2007 was a target for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. He held off on a move to United and signed a new contract. The next summer, having just won Standard’s first league title in 25 years alongside U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu, he was sold to Everton for some $25 million, a Toffee and Belgian record.


Always rated but never fully appreciated, due partly to several long-term injuries, Monday’s 1-0 upset win over United was a coming-out party, of sorts, more or less in the making since Fellaini walked away from Anderlecht 14 years ago.

Everton’s inexhaustible pillar in a frenetic, hard-fought game, Fellaini played in the hole behind striker Nikica Jelavic. His performance elucidated why Everton was happy to let Tim Cahill, the long-time incumbent of that position, leave for the New York Red Bulls.

Using his hold-up play to enable chances for teammates – and himself, like a first-half run by the back line that resulted in a dink off the post – but distributing and covering ground on defense too, Fellaini was immense long before the 57th minute, when he scored the game’s only goal. Even though the entire stadium knew who the corner kick would be aimed towards, Fellaini cut towards the first post, casually vaulted over Michael Carrick, and cushioned the ball low into the net with his luscious curls. He celebrated by demonstratively running his forearm over his ‘fro.

He stole the show on a night when two hugely hyped United signings, Kagawa and Robin van Persie – total fee $65 million – made their debuts and was substituted off to a raucous ovation and adoring embraces from teammates in the 92nd minute.

Fellaini is a secret hiding in plain view no longer. The word, like his hair, is out there

WHATS NEXT FOR ARSENAL AFTER LOSING VAN PERSIE,WILL SONG BE THE NEXT?

Manchester United have announced the signing of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on a four-year contract.

The Dutchman’s future has been under scrutiny for weeks after he revealed he wouldn’t be signing a new contract at the Emirates, and several clubs were vying for his signature.

However, United agreed a fee with the Gunners on Wednesday and the striker headed north to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms.

United have now announced on ManUtd.com that van Persie passed his medical and agreed terms on a four-year contract, with the deal being completed in time for him to make his debut against Everton on Monday night.

On the deal Sir Alex Ferguson told the clubs official website:

“Robin is a world-class striker with a proven record in England and in European football. His talents need no introduction to our fans – he has scored a number of goals against us in some classic battles with his former club. His movement, finishing and all-round ability are outstanding.”

Robin van Persie said it’s an honor for him to be signing for United and he looks forward to competing for trophies

The Catalan club sent vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu to London earlier this week to negotiate a deal for the Cameroon international, which appears to be gaining pace.

Barcelona see Song as the perfect replacement for Seydou Keita who left the club earlier this summer and Wenger admitted to reporters on Friday morning that he could lose the midfielder.

When asked about Song leaving and the possibility of signing Real Madrid’s Nuri Sahin to replace him, Wenger said: “Both could happen, but my focus is on theSunderland game (on Saturday).

“Midfield is an area where we have much more freedom to make decisions.”

Negotiations continue then over Song’s proposed move to Barcelona and Inside Spanish Football will keep you updated on the situation.

Vermaelen confirmed as new Arsenal captain

BY JURGEN EMMANUEL
Thomas Vermaelen is the new Arsenal captain.

The Belgian centre back wore the armband in pre-season and Arsène Wenger has confirmed that he will take on the job permanently after the Club agreed terms to sell Robin van Persie to Manchester United.

Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta has succeeded Vermaelen as Arsenal's vice-captain.

"It is Vermaelen and Arteta," said Wenger at his pre-match press conference on Friday. 

"Vermaelen was vice-captain, so it is a quick decision. I think we have many potential captains in the squad, but at the moment it will be like that.