We're just over halfway through the season across Europe, and the continent's major clubs are either living up to expectations, overachieving or enduring disappointments.
Still, each and every one has gifted individuals, and it is those players who continue to try and drive their teams forward in a bid to reach new highs.
Who are the standout performers, though? And who is headed for their club's Player of the Year trophy?
It's a little easier to work out some over others, but here's our attempt.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2326867-every-major-european-teams-201415-player-of-the-season-so-far
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Inside Line: Manchester United Might Want Gareth Bale, but They Won't Get Him
Why do we keep reading about Manchester United's desire to sign Gareth Bale? Two words: Ed Woodward.
United's executive vice-chairman has a plan. It's not anything original, but it is certainly grandiose. Woodward's calculation is that spending big earns big in the modern football market. Specifically, spending big on the big-name players.
When Woodward watches Cristiano Ronaldo, he sees commercial revenue. And what propelled Woodward from his 2005 role helping the Glazer family with United's “financial planning” to his appointment as the club's chief executive in 2013 was an impressive ability to inflate commercial cash flow.
Under his stewardship, the club has landed record shirt sponsorship and kit deals and so many global, regional, media and financial “partners” they can't even be shown on a single page of the official website.There is no question that Manchester United sells and that Woodward has succeeded in selling it like no one before him. When it comes to buying, however, the 43-year-old chartered accountant is rather more derivative. Think Real Madrid. Think Galactico. Think of Woodward as a wannabe Florentino Perez.
Sir Alex Ferguson's net spend on transfer fees in his eight years working for the Glazers averaged out at under £20 million a season; Woodward has taken just three windows to negotiate several transfers worth more than that figure. When United's chief executive is asked about how far he is prepared to take the club's spending, he goes out of his way to emphasise its scale.
“The reality is that we're not afraid of spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market,” said Woodward in the summer. “Whether it's a record or not doesn't really resonate with us. There is no budget.
“I want us to win. I want to stop seeing the best players going to other clubs in Spain; I want us to stand out as the best club in the world. We’ll do absolutely everything we can to achieve that.”Ask those who know Perez well whether he'd take a quick profit on his gaudiest transfer, and the answer would be no way. Question him directly about selling to United and the reply is: “We have not received an offer from Manchester or any other club for Gareth Bale. We would never listen to any offer for Bale, no matter what the fee.”
As for Bale, he doesn't appear too enamoured with the idea of swapping the summit of European football for a club still struggling to keep Southampton below them and return to the Champions League.
“I am very happy in Madrid, a city, a climate and a club that I love,” Bale told Dubai TV a fortnight ago (via the Independent). “My contract ends in 2019, and I could sign a renewal. It has been a fantastic year for me. I wanted to come to Real Madrid to win titles and work alongside the best players and that is exactly what I have done in a single year.”
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2329389-inside-line-manchester-united-might-want-gareth-bale-but-they-wont-get-him
United's executive vice-chairman has a plan. It's not anything original, but it is certainly grandiose. Woodward's calculation is that spending big earns big in the modern football market. Specifically, spending big on the big-name players.
When Woodward watches Cristiano Ronaldo, he sees commercial revenue. And what propelled Woodward from his 2005 role helping the Glazer family with United's “financial planning” to his appointment as the club's chief executive in 2013 was an impressive ability to inflate commercial cash flow.
Under his stewardship, the club has landed record shirt sponsorship and kit deals and so many global, regional, media and financial “partners” they can't even be shown on a single page of the official website.There is no question that Manchester United sells and that Woodward has succeeded in selling it like no one before him. When it comes to buying, however, the 43-year-old chartered accountant is rather more derivative. Think Real Madrid. Think Galactico. Think of Woodward as a wannabe Florentino Perez.
Sir Alex Ferguson's net spend on transfer fees in his eight years working for the Glazers averaged out at under £20 million a season; Woodward has taken just three windows to negotiate several transfers worth more than that figure. When United's chief executive is asked about how far he is prepared to take the club's spending, he goes out of his way to emphasise its scale.
“The reality is that we're not afraid of spending significant amounts of money in the transfer market,” said Woodward in the summer. “Whether it's a record or not doesn't really resonate with us. There is no budget.
“I want us to win. I want to stop seeing the best players going to other clubs in Spain; I want us to stand out as the best club in the world. We’ll do absolutely everything we can to achieve that.”Ask those who know Perez well whether he'd take a quick profit on his gaudiest transfer, and the answer would be no way. Question him directly about selling to United and the reply is: “We have not received an offer from Manchester or any other club for Gareth Bale. We would never listen to any offer for Bale, no matter what the fee.”
As for Bale, he doesn't appear too enamoured with the idea of swapping the summit of European football for a club still struggling to keep Southampton below them and return to the Champions League.
“I am very happy in Madrid, a city, a climate and a club that I love,” Bale told Dubai TV a fortnight ago (via the Independent). “My contract ends in 2019, and I could sign a renewal. It has been a fantastic year for me. I wanted to come to Real Madrid to win titles and work alongside the best players and that is exactly what I have done in a single year.”
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2329389-inside-line-manchester-united-might-want-gareth-bale-but-they-wont-get-him
Elche vs. Barcelona: Score, Report and Reaction from Copa del Rey Game
Barcelona eased into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a routine 4-0 victory at Elche on Thursday night in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Fielding a weakened side consisting mainly of youngsters and fringe players, Barcelona went ahead in the 21st minute via Jeremy Mathieu's perfectly struck free-kick. Sergi Roberto doubled the lead 19 minutes later, and Pedro made it 3-0 from the penalty spot two minutes before the break.
The score remained the same until second-half stoppage time, when Adriano added Barca's fourth goal with a header.
With the 9-0 aggregate victory, Barcelona advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, where they will play Atletico Madrid. The same teams met last weekend in La Liga, Barcelona winning 3-1.
The Blaugrana return to league action on Sunday with a match at Deportivo de La Coruna. Luis Enrique's side currently sit second in the table, one point behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played one fewer game.
Elche, who are level on points with last-placed Granada, host Levante on Sunday.
Barcelona won the first leg 5-0 last week at the Camp Nou, making Thursday's second leg little more than a formality. Accordingly, Enrique changed all 11 starters from last week, handing rare first-team starts to youngsters Gerard Gumbau, Munir El Haddadi and Adama Traore.
Even without their biggest stars, Barca dominated proceedings from the opening whistle, as noted by football writer Kristan Heneage:Barca created a good chance in the eighth minute, as Roberto played an angled cross to the back post for Martin Montoya, who headed back into the middle. Montoya's header found Adriano, who scuffed a poor shot wide of the target.
The visitors remained in control and took the lead in the 21st minute. After Traore drew a foul well outside the box, Mathieu stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and curled in a sublime strike from distance to give Barca a 1-0 lead.
Barcelona added two more goals shortly before half-time. In the 40th minute, Roberto doubled the visitors' lead with a powerful effort from outside the box. Three minutes later, Pedro made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after Sergio Pelegrin fouled El Haddadi in the box.
Though the match was wrapped up by half-time, Barca continued to attack in the second half. In the 46th minute, Montoya and Roberto played a one-two along the edge of the box before Montoya blazed a shot wide of the target. Two minutes later, Roberto picked out Traore at the far post, who took a touch before shooting wide.
Multiple substitutions followed just past the hour mark. Barcelona introduced highly rated youngster Alen Halilovic for Traore in the 62nd minute, while Douglas replaced Montoya.
Halilovic came close to scoring in the 69th minute after teeing up his left foot along the edge of the box. But his curling effort bounced off the far post and away harmlessly.
Chances were scarce over the final 20 minutes. El Haddadi drew an easy save from Herrera with an angled shot from distance in the 76th minute. Four minutes from time, Barca defender Marc Bartra pushed forward before shooting high and wide.
Elche had a chance to score a later consolation goal, but Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen parried Alvaro's initial shot and then held Franco Fragapane's follow-up bid.
The match was all but finished, but Barca still had time to add a fourth goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Douglas set it up, crossing from the right to pick out Adriano's lateral run across the box. Adriano buried his header at the near post to complete a 4-0 victory.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331500-elche-vs-barcelona-score-report-and-reaction-from-copa-del-rey-game
Fielding a weakened side consisting mainly of youngsters and fringe players, Barcelona went ahead in the 21st minute via Jeremy Mathieu's perfectly struck free-kick. Sergi Roberto doubled the lead 19 minutes later, and Pedro made it 3-0 from the penalty spot two minutes before the break.
The score remained the same until second-half stoppage time, when Adriano added Barca's fourth goal with a header.
With the 9-0 aggregate victory, Barcelona advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, where they will play Atletico Madrid. The same teams met last weekend in La Liga, Barcelona winning 3-1.
The Blaugrana return to league action on Sunday with a match at Deportivo de La Coruna. Luis Enrique's side currently sit second in the table, one point behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played one fewer game.
Elche, who are level on points with last-placed Granada, host Levante on Sunday.
Barcelona won the first leg 5-0 last week at the Camp Nou, making Thursday's second leg little more than a formality. Accordingly, Enrique changed all 11 starters from last week, handing rare first-team starts to youngsters Gerard Gumbau, Munir El Haddadi and Adama Traore.
Even without their biggest stars, Barca dominated proceedings from the opening whistle, as noted by football writer Kristan Heneage:Barca created a good chance in the eighth minute, as Roberto played an angled cross to the back post for Martin Montoya, who headed back into the middle. Montoya's header found Adriano, who scuffed a poor shot wide of the target.
The visitors remained in control and took the lead in the 21st minute. After Traore drew a foul well outside the box, Mathieu stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and curled in a sublime strike from distance to give Barca a 1-0 lead.
Barcelona added two more goals shortly before half-time. In the 40th minute, Roberto doubled the visitors' lead with a powerful effort from outside the box. Three minutes later, Pedro made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after Sergio Pelegrin fouled El Haddadi in the box.
Though the match was wrapped up by half-time, Barca continued to attack in the second half. In the 46th minute, Montoya and Roberto played a one-two along the edge of the box before Montoya blazed a shot wide of the target. Two minutes later, Roberto picked out Traore at the far post, who took a touch before shooting wide.
Multiple substitutions followed just past the hour mark. Barcelona introduced highly rated youngster Alen Halilovic for Traore in the 62nd minute, while Douglas replaced Montoya.
Halilovic came close to scoring in the 69th minute after teeing up his left foot along the edge of the box. But his curling effort bounced off the far post and away harmlessly.
Chances were scarce over the final 20 minutes. El Haddadi drew an easy save from Herrera with an angled shot from distance in the 76th minute. Four minutes from time, Barca defender Marc Bartra pushed forward before shooting high and wide.
Elche had a chance to score a later consolation goal, but Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen parried Alvaro's initial shot and then held Franco Fragapane's follow-up bid.
The match was all but finished, but Barca still had time to add a fourth goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Douglas set it up, crossing from the right to pick out Adriano's lateral run across the box. Adriano buried his header at the near post to complete a 4-0 victory.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331500-elche-vs-barcelona-score-report-and-reaction-from-copa-del-rey-game
Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid: Derby Score, Grades, Reaction from Copa Del Rey
Fernando Torres scored in the first minute of each half as Atletico Madrid advanced to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on Thursday night in the second leg of their round-of-16 tie at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Atletico won the first leg 2-0 last week at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, setting up a potential thriller in the second leg. But Torres' first goal, with less than 50 seconds on the clock, reaffirmed Atletico's stranglehold on the tie.
Real equalised through Sergio Ramos in the 20th minute, but Torres struck again in the opening moments of the second half.
The hosts then drew level a second time via Cristiano Ronaldo in the 54th minute, but Atletico held firm for a 4-2 aggregate win over the final 35 minutes.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331286-real-madrid-vs-atletico-madrid-derby-score-grades-reaction-from-copa-del-rey
Atletico won the first leg 2-0 last week at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, setting up a potential thriller in the second leg. But Torres' first goal, with less than 50 seconds on the clock, reaffirmed Atletico's stranglehold on the tie.
Real equalised through Sergio Ramos in the 20th minute, but Torres struck again in the opening moments of the second half.
The hosts then drew level a second time via Cristiano Ronaldo in the 54th minute, but Atletico held firm for a 4-2 aggregate win over the final 35 minutes.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331286-real-madrid-vs-atletico-madrid-derby-score-grades-reaction-from-copa-del-rey
Packers or Colts: Which NFL Team Has Best Chance at a Postseason Road Upset?
Winning on the road in the NFL is never an easy task, especially at Gillette Stadium and CenturyLink Field. Those are the places the Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers will have to travel this weekend, respectively.
Which road team has the better shot at an upset in Conference Championship Weekend? What factors will come in to play?
Watch as Adam Lefkoe and Bleacher Report NFL Analysts Chris Simms and Jonathan Vilma discuss these teams in the video above
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331321-packers-or-colts-which-nfl-team-has-best-chance-at-a-postseason-road-upset
NFL Conference Championship Rapid-Fire Predictions
With the 2014-15 NFL divisional round in the books, we have a number of questions as we look ahead to the conference championships.
Who will have more receiving yards: Jermaine Kearse or Davante Adams? Will Andrew Luck and Tom Brady throw more than 105 pass attempts combined?
Watch as Adam Lefkoe goes in-depth with Bleacher Report NFL Analyst Chris Simms in the video above.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2327430-nfl-conference-championship-rapid-fire-predictions
NFL Conference Championship Game Picks: Will the Pats and Seahawks Roll?
Riffs, rants, observations and dissenting opinions from the voices in my head about the NFL's Final Four, with a big-picture look at the Patriots' place in history and a microscopic look at what the Packers must do to upset the Seahawks.
Lines for the games, as usual, are courtesy of Odds Shark. Times are Eastern. Unless otherwise stated, all stats are from Football Outsiders' internal database or the firewall-protected, media-only treasure trove NFLGSIS.com.Tom Landry led the Cowboys to the playoffs 18 times in 29 years (62.1 percent success rate). Don Shula led the Dolphins to the postseason 16 times in 26 years (61.5 percent) and did some very important things when coaching the Colts. To find coaches who colonized the playoffs more often than Belichick, you need to turn to civic institutions from an era in which a head coach might take over an expansion team and enjoy six full seasons of sub-.500 football while assembling his roster, or leap straight from Super Bowl glory into the driver's seat of a down-and-out franchise from a rival league.
Landry and Shula are men of Lombardi's time, not our time. And Belichick is still more ubiquitous than they are in the playoffs, from a percentage standpoint, though you can hack out 15-16 season chunks of Landry and Shula's careers (1966-82 for Landry, 1971-85 for Shula) that match Belichick's Patriots run.
Belichick tied Landry for the most playoff wins in NFL history with his 20th last week. His Patriots are a heavy favorite to claim the all-time record outright this week. It was both an impressive accomplishment and an easy one to take for granted.
Every time a Patriots veteran does something good in the playoffs, it establishes a milestone or sets a record. Tom Brady surpassed the career postseason mark for passing yards last week. Brady passed Joe Montana on the all-time postseason touchdown list with 46. Stephen Gostkowski became the seventh kicker in NFL history with 100 postseason points, and Gostkowski isn't even the kicker we think about when we think about Patriots history.
You get the point: The Patriots have been really good for a really long time under Belichick.Playoff familiarity has bred both playoff contempt and playoff complacency. The contempt is understandable. The Patriots are as irritating on the national level as the Landry Cowboys were, with Gronkowski erotica and Brady metrosexuality filling in for disco-dancing Farrah Fawcett-cloned cheerleaders. It does not help that Belichick is the Nixon to Lombardi's apolitical Kennedy. You can play the "Beli-cheat" card if you want—if Shula is doing it, I can't fault anyone else for doing it—but no one really hates the Patriots because of a decade-old scandal. They hate the Patriots because 14 years of success, combined with that Boston-media we win because we are smarter, more righteous or just better than you on some metaphysical level hagiography makes them easy to dislike.
Hating the Patriots is understandable, given the circumstances. Taking them for granted, however, would be a shame. We all had them penciled into this championship game the moment they lost the last championship game, or (at the latest) when they signed Darrelle Revis. Only the opponent is a surprise. Face it, we all went through the motions this season: the manufactured Chicken Little hysteria after the Chiefs loss, the perfunctory New Year's Eve style hoopla after Brady-Manning: The Final Chapter, ho-hum been-there-done-that wins against all the middleweights and divisional rivals.
The Patriots are the spouse who brings home the bacon and fries it up in the pan. But after 15 years, they needed to spice things up. And yes, there is something inherently squicky about this team that leans toward erotic prose.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2329652-nfl-conference-championship-game-picks-will-the-pats-and-seahawks-roll
Lines for the games, as usual, are courtesy of Odds Shark. Times are Eastern. Unless otherwise stated, all stats are from Football Outsiders' internal database or the firewall-protected, media-only treasure trove NFLGSIS.com.Tom Landry led the Cowboys to the playoffs 18 times in 29 years (62.1 percent success rate). Don Shula led the Dolphins to the postseason 16 times in 26 years (61.5 percent) and did some very important things when coaching the Colts. To find coaches who colonized the playoffs more often than Belichick, you need to turn to civic institutions from an era in which a head coach might take over an expansion team and enjoy six full seasons of sub-.500 football while assembling his roster, or leap straight from Super Bowl glory into the driver's seat of a down-and-out franchise from a rival league.
Landry and Shula are men of Lombardi's time, not our time. And Belichick is still more ubiquitous than they are in the playoffs, from a percentage standpoint, though you can hack out 15-16 season chunks of Landry and Shula's careers (1966-82 for Landry, 1971-85 for Shula) that match Belichick's Patriots run.
Belichick tied Landry for the most playoff wins in NFL history with his 20th last week. His Patriots are a heavy favorite to claim the all-time record outright this week. It was both an impressive accomplishment and an easy one to take for granted.
Every time a Patriots veteran does something good in the playoffs, it establishes a milestone or sets a record. Tom Brady surpassed the career postseason mark for passing yards last week. Brady passed Joe Montana on the all-time postseason touchdown list with 46. Stephen Gostkowski became the seventh kicker in NFL history with 100 postseason points, and Gostkowski isn't even the kicker we think about when we think about Patriots history.
You get the point: The Patriots have been really good for a really long time under Belichick.Playoff familiarity has bred both playoff contempt and playoff complacency. The contempt is understandable. The Patriots are as irritating on the national level as the Landry Cowboys were, with Gronkowski erotica and Brady metrosexuality filling in for disco-dancing Farrah Fawcett-cloned cheerleaders. It does not help that Belichick is the Nixon to Lombardi's apolitical Kennedy. You can play the "Beli-cheat" card if you want—if Shula is doing it, I can't fault anyone else for doing it—but no one really hates the Patriots because of a decade-old scandal. They hate the Patriots because 14 years of success, combined with that Boston-media we win because we are smarter, more righteous or just better than you on some metaphysical level hagiography makes them easy to dislike.
Hating the Patriots is understandable, given the circumstances. Taking them for granted, however, would be a shame. We all had them penciled into this championship game the moment they lost the last championship game, or (at the latest) when they signed Darrelle Revis. Only the opponent is a surprise. Face it, we all went through the motions this season: the manufactured Chicken Little hysteria after the Chiefs loss, the perfunctory New Year's Eve style hoopla after Brady-Manning: The Final Chapter, ho-hum been-there-done-that wins against all the middleweights and divisional rivals.
The Patriots are the spouse who brings home the bacon and fries it up in the pan. But after 15 years, they needed to spice things up. And yes, there is something inherently squicky about this team that leans toward erotic prose.
Source http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2329652-nfl-conference-championship-game-picks-will-the-pats-and-seahawks-roll
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