<div id="attachment_32533" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Photo by _ankor</div>
On the face of it, Mario Balotelli is exactly the type of player I, as a thoroughbred American sports fan, should hate: an aloof, cold, joyless sourpuss who even at twenty years old possesses the trappings of a career mercenary.&nbsp; When Super Mario scores, he celebrates with the excitement one expresses when their doctor starts throwing around words like “terminal” or “malignant” or “herpes.”
He can be both inscrutable and excessively candid, as evidenced by his incredibly honest assessment of his first season in England after turning in a Man of the Match performance which lifted Manchester City to its first grip on hardware in forty painful years.&nbsp; His talent is as limitless as his ability to shock and offend stodgy football pundits who took no time in branding him an embarrassment to the sport after an audacious (understatement)…perhaps woefully misguided (closer)…OK borderline psychotic (BINGO) backheel shot attempt during a preseason friendly which did not hit the target.
Taylor Twellman’s comments on ESPN’s broadcast immediately smacked me as remiscient of Joe Buck’s infamous righteous indignation at Randy Moss’ pantomooning Packers fans after scoring a touchdown in a playoff game.&nbsp; Twellman stated that Mario was a disgrace and could not be counted on to perform in big games.&nbsp; This is funny for a few reasons, not least of which is Twellman’s residency on American soccer’s own Buffalo Bills, losing several title games including one at home in New England.&nbsp; Balotelli’s FA Cup winner’s medal and youth fly directly in the face of Twellman’s criticism, and his implication that a truly meaningless match against the LA Galaxy has any bearing on Balotelli’s ability to perform in the EPL as well as the Champions League this season or any other season is laughable at best.

For my money, sports need real characters, especially villains to balance all the hero worship, and I’d always rather my villain perpetrate his villainy on the field (Reggie Miller) as opposed to off (Mike Tyson, Ray Lewis, Michael Vick), and at the very least mostly non-violently (Dennis Rodman).&nbsp; The history of professional sports is littered with brash, cocky upstarts who challenge preconceived notions of how an athlete should behave: from Muhammad Ali to Joe Namath, Pete Rose (not a great example) all the way up to Gazza or Eric Cantona.
And while I can’t really wrap my head around or speak with any authority about being African-born nor raised in Italy by Italians, the combination has undoubtedly created a highly entertaining and intriguing brand of crazy/genius.&nbsp; His blowup on the sidelines at Roberto Mancini, while inappropriately public, can be seen more as a father/son type clash as opposed to just another simple tale of a spoiled athlete throwing a tantrum (see Owens, Terrell).&nbsp; After being marginalized at Inter Milan by Jose Mourinho, Balotelli elected to leave for City to follow Mancini, a man he regards as a father figure.&nbsp; Additionally, if he really believed he had been whistled for offsides anyway, than the criticism of Balotelli becomes even thinner, and his indignation at being swiftly substituted makes much more sense.&nbsp; However, even as an ardent Balotelli fan, I’m not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt in this case, either.
The issue that most people lose sight of is one of our absolute favorite aspects and joys of football: talking about football.&nbsp; If nothing else, Balotelli is an excellent topic of football conversation.&nbsp; He is a genuine heel in a world of purported babyfaces.&nbsp; The scandals regarding personal conduct in the EPL, especially those involving locker room betrayal, can no longer remain hidden despite the best PR efforts.&nbsp; Captains of championship teams ought to be revered, yet equally shameless and shameful actions can’t completely sway public opinions far enough to say, “This guy is just a bad person.”&nbsp; It really is a shame when a player we just don’t understand is demonized when there are no shortage of plain terrible human beings plying their trade in the EPL (see FC, Chelsea).
At just twenty-one years old when this year’s campaign begins, his eccentricities have a decade to bloom, and for my part I cannot wait to see what Super Mario’s future holds.

In Defense of Mario Balotelli - World Soccer Talk

In Defense of Mario Balotelli

<div id="attachment_33222" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Photo by ahisgett</div>
Before we all look forward to the new season and what it promises us, I’ve decided to take a look back at West Brom’s remarkable finish to last season’s campaign, in which they picked up 14 points out of an available 24 from their last six matches to guarantee another year in England’s Premier League.
West Brom started the season at the foot of the table, but by the end of it, they had managed to finish 11th, the Baggies’ best finish to a campaign in almost thirty years (they had ended the 1982/83 campaign in 11th also). It was a phenomenal achievement considering it was their return to the top-flight, having bounced straight back up from the Championship, and it consolidated their status as England’s premier ‘yo-yo’ club. Between 2002 and 2010, they were promoted to England’s top tier four times and relegated back to the Championship three times, with 2011 being the first year since 1999 that they were not involved in either a promotion or a relegation battle. It was a refreshing sight to see West Brom perform so well last season, at times challenging for Europe, and it’s one that will live long in the memories of die-hard Baggies fans. They saw them claim hard-earned but deserved victories over top sides such as Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as doing the double over Merseysiders Everton, with an aggregate score of 5-1 to accomodate their impressive performances.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo prepared for their return to the Premier League by snapping up eleven players – some who had previous experience in the Premier League, some not – with transfer fees accumulating to £3.3m (excluding the 5 undisclosed fee’s paid for further players). One of these players took to his first season in English football like a duck to water. It was Nigerian international Peter Odemwingie, who had previously played for Lille and more recently Lokomotiv Moscow, before sealing a move to the Midlands in mid August. Odemwingie competed in his first game for the Baggies just a day after his arrival and by the end of the game, he had already won over the hearts of the West Brom faithful with a neat finish (and winner) ten minutes from time. Little did they know that Peter Odemwingie would later go on to break their record for most goals in a league campaign, amassing a grand total of 15 goals from just 32 games, breaking the previous record set by Robert Earnshaw (11) in the 2004/05 season. This feat by Peter was rewarded by Australian confectionary business owner and Albion fan Spencer Samaroo, who had promised Peter — should he score 15 goals — that he’d shower him with a hamper of Australia’s finest chocolates.

The results those first few weeks upon the Baggies’ return were magnificent, with the small exception of a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea the opening weekend. After that defeat, they lost only once in the subsequent eleven games, including remarkable victories over Manchester City and Arsenal in successive games. At the end of October, they were sitting pretty, happily occupying a Europa League place. Yes, it may have been beyond belief but this wasn’t neccesarilly an act of disillusion to West Brom supporters. For god sake, they beat Arsenal and Manchester City! Only Aston Villa and Manchester United managed to repeat that feat.
That defeat to Blackpool signalled a terrible run as they only picked up two wins in the following thirteen games. And how did they end this horrible form? With a coincidental home win over Blackpool of course, followed by an even more coincidental winless streak of six further games. However, it was during that first ill-fated run that saw West Brom relieve Roberto Di Matteo of his duties and appoint Roy Hodgson as boss until the end of the 2011/12 campaign. The move itself was a perilous one, considering the Brit had led Liverpool down a dark path the first half of the season, but all was forgotten by the time he took over the reins at the Hawthorns. His first game resulted in a 1-1 draw with fellow relegation contenders Wolverhampton Wanderers and followed that up with another score draw against Tony Pulis’ Stoke. He then led the Baggies to a well-deserved win away to Birmingham, a draw with Arsenal and yet another victory over his previous employers, Liverpool. West Brom were once again on the up and by the middle of April they were coasting, lying in 11th and 6 points clear of nearest relegation strugglers Blackpool. Copious amounts of praise were heaped on Roy Hodgson and the team and by the time May rolled around they were practically guaranteed of survival. A phenomenal job was achieved by Hodgson and it seemed that he was finally the one to get the best of this bunch of players.
PASSES
 
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As the above diagram shows, West Brom’s passing completion was one of the main reasons why they finished in such a high position. Their 78% was among one of the best in the Premier League, behind only Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham. They finished above the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle, who could only manage 77% and 76% respectively. Jerome Thomas was one of the Baggies’ most successful passers of the ball. He managed to find a teammate in 730 of his 930 attempted passes – a 78% success rate. Youssuf Mulumbu, West Brom’s most successful passer, completed 1352 of his 1612 attempted passes – a whopping 84% success rate and among the best in the Premier League, matching that of Tottenham’s Luka Modric and Jack Wilshere and bettering the efforts of Cesc Fabregas, Joey Barton and Charlie Adam. Surprisingly enough West Brom were also one of the highest scoring teams in last years campaign – in at 7th, netting 56 goals, which was above the likes of Tottenham, Everton and even Blackpool. This was partially down to West Brom’s magnificent successful final third passes in which they completed 2318 of the attempted 3469 passes (67%). This landed them in 5th, shared with Spurs, and only below the new ‘big four’ (Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea – in that order). Mulumbu again led the way for the Baggies as his 72% was one of the best among the team.
<div id="attachment_33215" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/key-passes-per-game1.png"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-33215" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-33215" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20110725_WST_33209_key-passes-per-game1.webp&amp;width=500&amp;height=128" alt="" width="500" height="128"></figure></div></a>Click image for larger view.</div>
West Brom’s Chris Brunt was also one of the top 10 passers in the Premier League last season as shown by the table above. Brunt mainly operated on the right of the Baggies midfield and had featured heavily in the ‘Key Passes’ section, averaging a brilliant 2.53 key passes per game. Brunt also came in 3rd in the ‘Total Key Passes” area where he only ranked behind Chelsea’s Florent Malouda and Bolton’s Kevin Davies. Being above the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Steven Gerrard and Rafael Van Der Vaart demonstrated his importance to the Albion team.
Brunt, often the creative hub behind the West Brom team, also racked up 9 assists, levelling that of Joey Barton and only lagging behind Nani and&nbsp; Cesc Fabregas, who finished on 14 on 11 respectively. Brunt often likes shooting from distance and it shows here as his Shots p/g (per game) is among the top three in the table. He almost doubles Joey Barton’s efforts who averaged a merely 1.1 per game. Brunt’s 40 passes per game was bettered only by Youssuf Mulumbu for the Baggies (47), yet another example of his significant importance to the side. He also created the third most scoring chances (86) in the Premier League last season, coming behind only (again) Florent Malouda (117) and Kevin Davies (91).
GOALS
 
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West Brom scored 56 goals in all last season in the Premier League and they depended heavily on newly-acquired striker Peter Odemwingie to bang in the goals. His 15 goals (27% of the teams goals in all) were a significant factor in why they finished so high in the league last term. Of Odemwingie’s 15 league goals, he scored 7 with his left-foot, demonstrating his versatility as a two-footed player. The closest Baggies goalscorer to Nigerian was again the magnificent Youssuf Mulumbu, who managed to bag 7 in 34 appearances. The closest Albion forward to Odemwingie in scoring terms was Frenchman Marc-Antonie Fortuné who scored just 2 goals in 14 appearances (and 11 as a sub) and the on-loan Arsenal man Carlos Vela who netted impressively twice in 3 appearances (5 as a sub). Odemwingie’s creativity was also on display as he assisted in 7 of West Brom’s goals last season, only behind Chris Brunt who finished on 9.
DEFENSE
With Scott Carson having left for Bursaspor, Welshman Boaz Myhill now has the chance to consolidate his place among the starting XI. Last season Carson’s form became riddled with errors (5 errors leading to goals in 32 appearances) and questions were raised over whether he was actually fit to continue as keeper. Boaz Myhill began 6 games for the Baggies last season and conceded 13 goals – 5 of them from outside the box. He made no defensive errors and also carried out 10 saves. The former Hull City Player of the Year is a more than capable replacement for Carson and with Hodgson yet to purchase a new keeper, Myhill looks set to begin the campaign between the sticks.
Next season the West Brom defence also needs to pay particular attention to set-pieces as they conceded the most goals from set-pieces (30) in the League last season.&nbsp; The Albion back-four shifted 71 goals last term, boasting the worst defence in the Premier League. Youssuf Mulumbu was also top of the charts – but this time for all the wrong reasons – as he was sent off twice, nestling in at the top of the table, with the likes of Lee Cattermole and Laurent Koscielny.

West Bromwich Albion: A Season to Remember for the Baggies - World Soccer Talk

West Bromwich Albion: A Season to Remember for the Baggies

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<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>Photo by Jan S0L0</div>
When Mesut Ozil joined Real Madrid this past summer, some wondered who he was and where he had come from, especially considering his dazzling performances in South Africa.
Mesut Ozil was born 15th October 1988 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. He quickly established himself as a key player to the Gelsenkirchen team and he continued to play for an array of teams until Schalke&nbsp;04 came knocking. He grasped the opportunity with both hands and joined them in 2005 when he was only 17. He originally came in as a replacement for the suspended Lincoln and excelled against Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. His talent was extraordinary and he was immediately asserted into the first team.
Unfortunately he fell out with the club staff at Schalke and in January 2008 he moved to Werder Bremen for a reported fee of €4.3 million, signing a 3 year contract. He was the ideal replacement for Brazilian Diego who had departed Bremen to join Serie A big guns Juventus. He didn’t get much playing time in that first season due to arriving in the January transfer window but in his second season he impressed, helping Werder to the last ever UEFA Cup as they eventually lost out to Shakhtar Donetsk. He continued to impress and by the end of his second season he had grabbed an impressive 3 goals and 15 assists as he was proving to be a real hit with the fans. His third and final season at Werder Bremen was what got him noticed on the international scene as he sensationally scored 9 goals and provided 21 assists in 31 appearances.
He was chosen for the German national side to contest at the U-21 European Championships and he was key to their success leading them to victory at the final over England 4-0. He was rapidly evolving as an outstanding individual player and within 2 years he was contesting for the national side. The German U-21 coach Horst Hrubesch paid tribute to Ozil and he was famously quoted to have said, “We in Germany are prone to rave about foreign players. We praise Wayne Rooney to the heavens, likewise (Cristiano) Ronaldo or Messi. But we have our own Messi. Our Messi is Ozil.”
It was at the World Cup 2010 at which he marked his territory and became a household name. He continually performed miraculously as he helped Germany in finishing third. He featured in all of Germany’s group games and even scored a fantastic volley to secure a 1-0 win over Ghana. He was again instrumental in the Germans demolition of struggling England as he provided the cross of Thomas Muller to round off an inspirational 4-1 win over the English. He received endless praise for his World Cup displays and he was shortlisted for the ‘Golden Ball’ award at the World Cup and he was also shortlisted as a nominee for the Ballon D’or.
After the World Cup he attracted global media attention as people were debating where he would go next. He decided to move to Real Madrid ignoring the pleas from Manchester United and Chelsea. In 16 appearances so far in La Liga (as of 12th December 2010) for the Galactico’s, Ozil boasts 4 goals and 6 assists to his name.
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Player Profile of Mesut Ozil, Germany’s Messi - World Soccer Talk

Player Profile of Mesut Ozil, Germany’s Messi

As yet another fantastic year of football comes to an end, I took a look at what made this year’s highlight reel.
Match Of The Year
Tottenham 3-1 Inter Milan
<a href="http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyOeiR-69I/AAAAAAAAAGY/k6gC_C68beE/s1600/Gareth%252BBale%252BTottenham%252BHotspur%252Bv%252BFC%252BInternazionale%252BjPo-cqzmoKfl.jpg" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyOeiR-69I/AAAAAAAAAGY/k6gC_C68beE/s1600/Gareth%252BBale%252BTottenham%252BHotspur%252Bv%252BFC%252BInternazionale%252BjPo-cqzmoKfl.jpg" target="_blank"></a></figure></div>
What a bloody match. As debutants of the world’s finest European competition, Spurs were paired with last years champions Inter Milan, FC Twente and Werder Bremen. They were not expected to progress from the group. But, as we have come to learn since September, Spurs can take on anyone on their day and they defied the odds to top their group, only losing once in the process.
This match was the return fixture of that fateful night at the San Siro, with the presence of a certain Mr Bale earning credibility for Spurs. Bale was again phenomenal in this match at White Hart Lane, setting up two and starring in a rather marvelous performance to beat Inter Milan.
Player Of The Year

Florent Malouda
I was forced to think long and hard about this one. On one hand we had the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Xavi, etc. who perform superbly year in, year out. Then we have the players who have really come on as their own, and I decided to go with the latter, since the others have received huge amounts of praise over the years.
Malouda had not really established himself come 2009 and that was a big year for him. He proved to be a massive hit with the fans upon his arrival from Lyon. Last season he finished with a fine goal to assist ratio, netting 16 and assisting 14. Prior to January 2010 he had not been such a success, but hard work finally paid off when he helped Chelsea to a Premier League and FA Cup double, finally regaining what was rightfully theirs, following a tight campaign with arch rivals Manchester United.
Goal Of The Year
Matty Burrows – Glentoran
Irish football goes relatively unnoticed these days but one goal changed it all back in October. In a match between Glentoran and Portadown, the home side were continually pushing for an equaliser, and in the 92nd minute they scored what proved to be football’s goal of the year. The extent of the goal was exquisite. A cross was delivered for Matt Burrows and with his back to goal, he rather optimistically, attempted a back heel volley. Usually such an attempt would end up soaring high and wide but somehow he managed to perfect it and the video itself became a massive hit on YouTube, racking up more than 4 million hits.
Messi and Co. eat your hearts out:
Moment Of 2010
Year Of The Pigeon
It inevitably summed up England’s world cup campaign. In the dire match that was England vs Algeria, a pigeon seemed to have perched itself on top of the Algerian goal, as it sensed there it would be no sense of danger throughout the 90 minutes. England lacked any real venom going forward and in truth never looked like scoring. When the final whistle went, Algeria celebrated like they had won the World Cup, holding on for a famous 0-0 draw against a country in decline.
<a href="http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyFnpRUgkI/AAAAAAAAAGU/iPE5pOw220s/s1600/4712962300_8d4a6fe9b4.jpg" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyFnpRUgkI/AAAAAAAAAGU/iPE5pOw220s/s1600/4712962300_8d4a6fe9b4.jpg" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20101231_WST_28150_4712962300_8d4a6fe9b4.webp&amp;width=320&amp;height=180" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="180"></a></figure></div>
Best Signing Of 2010
Rafael Van Der Vaart – Real Madrid to Tottenham
Virtually a last minute signing for Harry Redknapp, Van Der Vaart proved imperious from the off. He quickly established himself as a fan favourite with 6 goals in as many games. Unfortunately, injuries have hurt his goalscoring record, for the time being and he returned to action on fine form, grabbing a double against a weak Aston Villa side taking his tally to 8 goals and 4 assists for this seasons campaign.
Worst Signing Of 2010
Joe Cole – Chelsea to Liverpool
<a href="http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyRQLit8mI/AAAAAAAAAGg/uh1vrps-q10/s1600/Joe%252BCole%252BEverton%252Bv%252BLiverpool%252BPremier%252BLeague%252B15eKZexGM-8l.jpg" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyRQLit8mI/AAAAAAAAAGg/uh1vrps-q10/s1600/Joe%252BCole%252BEverton%252Bv%252BLiverpool%252BPremier%252BLeague%252B15eKZexGM-8l.jpg" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20101231_WST_28150_Joe%252BCole%252BEverton%252Bv%252BLiverpool%252BPremier%252BLeague%252B15eKZexGM-8l.webp&amp;width=320&amp;height=220" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="220"></a></figure></div>
Cole’s career took a turn for the worst after Chelsea declined to extend his contract. He was snapped up by Liverpool, which was labelled as the “bargain buy” of the season but a red card against Arsenal on his Premier League debut for the Merseysiders didn’t do his confidence a whole lot of good. As a result, Cole lost his place in the team, and he has resorted to taking up a spot on the bench, not what he had intended upon arriving at Anfield.
 

Worst Moment 2010
Mike Ashley Sacks Toon Manager Chris Hughton
Mike Ashley’s decision to sack Chris Hughton sparked outrage amongst the world of football after Hughton had guided the Magpies to a solid tenth in the league. Football fans worldwide were shocked as he was the one who guided Newcastle to Championship glory, directly after they had gone down. This was news to Hughton who recalled being called into chairman Daniel Levy’s office along with goalkeeping coach Paul Barron and was unexpectedly given the boot.
Ashley appointed Alan Pardrew as Hughton’s successor and has had a mixed spell since taking over, beating Liverpool but also losing to Tottenham and Manchester City.
 

Best Moment 2010
Spain Win World Cup
<a href="http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyQvL1kSMI/AAAAAAAAAGc/5H7F87mjO-8/s1600/Iker-Casillas-415.jpg" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com/_RBz9aJ7HY8U/TRyQvL1kSMI/AAAAAAAAAGc/5H7F87mjO-8/s1600/Iker-Casillas-415.jpg" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20101231_WST_28150_Iker-Casillas-415.webp&amp;width=320&amp;height=205" border="0" alt="" width="320" height="205"></a></figure></div>
It was delight for Vincente Del Bosque and Spain as they won their first ever World Cup this past June. They also broke a few more records in the process, being the only side to win the World Cup after losing their first match. They also posted the record by winning the World Cup with the least amount of goals, only managing 8 goals, with hitman David Villa netting 5.
Iniesta became a hero in the eyes of the Spaniards after he sent the fans into jubilation following his 116th minute winner. It was ecstasy for Spain and agony for Holland as they also were competing for a first World Cup.
You can follow me on&nbsp;<a href="http:\/\/twitter.com/#%21/Dylaan_95" target="_blank">twitter</a> or you can visit&nbsp;<a href="http:\/\/onthenoggin.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my blog</a> as I give updates on what’s going on around the footballing world.

2010 Soccer Year In Review: The Highs and Lows - World Soccer Talk

2010 Soccer Year In Review: The Highs and Lows

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Gai Assulin was born in Nahariya on the 9th of April 1991 and signed for Manchester City from Barcelona in December, 2010.&nbsp;He is one of Israel’s exceptional young talents that exist among football today.
Assulin started his career at the footballing school of Hapoel Haifa. When he was just seven years old, Assulin moved to the Bietar Tubruk youth ranks. He was rapidly evolving as a fine individual talent and at the age of 12, his team coach, Shlomo Scharf proposed to Assulin’s parents to consider taking their son to try out for the FC Barcelona youth team. They accepted the proposal and were delighted to find out that Gai was chosen for the youth squad.
The hard work finally paid off for Gai Assulin as he graduated to the FC Barcelona ‘B’ team at the start of August 2007, and was offered a new contract, senior contract and his buy-out clause was beefed up to €20 million. Gai Assulin was living the dream and got his first taste of first team football in September of that year, when he made an appearance in the 46th minute against Girona FC in the semi-final of the Copa Catalunya.

Unfortunately just as he was beginning to prove himself he struggled with injuries during the 2008/09 season. He worked hard over that year regaining form &amp; fitness, which saw him receive an invitation from first team coach Pep Guardiola to participate in pre-season matches with Barcelona. He featured in 3 of Barcelona’s six pre-season friendlies playing against Tottenham Hotspur, Al-Alhy &amp; Manchester City. He continued to impress and made his debut start for Guardiola’s side, competing against Cultural Leonesa in late 2009. Because of the lengthy 2009/10 season Pep Guardiola rested several key players and introduced four Barca ‘B’ players which included Assulin.
Unfortunately for Gai, Barca had no reason to extend his contract and it was announced by mutual consent on 1st of July 2010 that Assulin would be leaving the club. Gai was often linked to Premier League clubs with Arsenal, Blackburn and Tottenham interested in his services. On October 8th 2010 it was reported that Assulin had joined big spenders Manchester City but the contract was a trial for the time being. He was in and out of Eastlands until finally he was signed early this week on a two and a half year deal.
Assulin was delighted and he said, “I had heard a lot about City, and as soon as I saw the club I wanted to stay. I’m at a great club and I hope to be here a long time. I have to take my opportunity and learn every day in training.”
Assulin also became noticed on an international scale for the Israel national side, becoming their youngest ever player, capped two weeks before his 17th birthday, when he trotted out against Chile in 2008. To this day, that has been his only national cap.
Here’s a video of Assulin in action:
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Who Is Gai Assulin, Manchester City&#039;s New Signing? - World Soccer Talk

Who Is Gai Assulin, Manchester City's New Signing?

<a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/news/joe-cole-liverpool-2010/image/9960143?term=joe+cole" target="_blank"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/view.picapp.com/pictures.photo/news/joe-cole-liverpool-2010/image/9960143?term=joe+cole" target="_blank"></a></figure></div>
Joe Cole is currently playing for Liverpool and the England national team.
As a youngster Joe Cole was widely regarded as the hottest prospect in English football and was compared to the likes of Paul Gascoine. He famously scored seven goals in an 8-0 win over the Spanish under-18 national side. He established himself as a West Ham regular at the tender age of 17 and by the age of 21 he was captaining the Hammers. In 2003, and over 100 appearances later, the Hammers were fighting desperately for Premier League survival. Joe unfortunately couldn’t keep his beloved Hammers up and he was approached toward the end of 2003 by Chelsea at the start of the Roman Abramovich era.
He signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2003 for a fee of 6.6 million pounds sterling. As soon as he arrived his place was under threat from the likes of Damien Duff and Arjen Robben. He fell out of favor with Claudio Ranieri and was forced to settle on the bench for the 2003/04 season. When Ranieri left he was replaced by ‘The Special One’ Jose Mourinho who opened the door for Cole. Mind you, there was also the factor that Damien Duff and Robben were injured for large chunks of the season. When given the chance Joe Cole showed glimpses of the form that made him ‘Hammer of the year 2003’. Joe scored a goal in the 3-0 rout over Manchester United at the end of the 2004/05 season. He continued to impress and was influential in Chelsea’s 2005/06 season, as the Blues retained the title. He was proving himself as a massive threat throughout the Premiership but once again dipped in form and was left to warm the bench for the 2008/09 &amp; 2009/10 seasons.

Chelsea refused to offer Joe Cole a contract extension and so he left them in July 2010 to join rivals Liverpool on a free transfer. His first match was against Rabonstki as a qualifier for the Europa League and he showed he still had it by displaying a man of the match performance setting up David Ngog as Liverpool romped to a 2-0 win.
His Premier League debut with Liverpool was far from impressive as he was sent off for a two footed lunge on Arsenal’s Lorient Koscielny on the stroke of half time. When he returned, he failed to rediscover that form that he displayed at Rabotnicki as he was once again relegated to the bench as Maxi Rodriguez took his place.
Over the past couple of years Joe Cole has disintegrated into nothing with his overall play disappointing as he lacks that killer instinct he once had. What was once promised to be one of the best English players had evaporated by his middle twenties. He is still only 29 and maybe there is more to come but he is most definitely past his prime. He lacks the pace that he used to possess and his ball skills have vanished. I used to watch Chelsea all the time as his mesmerising pace caused all defenders a problem and he was a thorn in any Premier League side that came against him. Numerous injuries have contributed to his downfall and unfortunately he will never be the same player he used to be.

The Rise and Fall of Joe Cole: A Player Profile - World Soccer Talk

The Rise and Fall of Joe Cole: A Player Profile

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The Rise and Fall of Joe Cole: A Player Profile