<p>It is quite early to discuss next season’s Champions League particularly with the World Cup looming ahead but Inter’s historic treble was much more than a great achievement. It proved once again how difficult it is to repeat as a champion in Europe’s elite club competition. For the Nerazzurri winning the Champions League is the ultimate experience having waited for more than four decades to repeat as champions of Europe.</p>
<p>President Massimo Moratti helped fund the building of the Nerazzurri squad and brought in Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho with the specific objective of bringing European glory to Milan considering the current Serie A title holder have not won the Champions League since the 1960s. Previous boss Roberto Mancini succeeded in breaking the dominance of Juventus and Milan since the early 1990s but failed to combine domestic success with an extended run in Europe’s elite competition as he never guided the Nerazzurri to the Final.</p>
<p>Mourinho succeeded in winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League yet he is racing to the exit door leaving the Nerazzurri in a delicate situation following the best season in the club’s history. Players such as Maicon and Diego Milito are now being linked with a move to Real Madrid which is Mourinho’s likely destination. It is only time before Mourinho is confirmed as the boss in Madrid unless he has a change of heart and opts to stay with the Nerazzurri. Other clubs are beginning to assess their chances of luring some of Inter’s key players to leave the peninsula as Arsenal have reportedly shown interest in goalkeeper Julio Cesar while Manchester City are looking to capture midfielder Esteban Cambiasso. These reports might not become reality but all these claims are a major distraction for a club celebrating a historic treble and with some of the star players headed to South Africa 2010.</p>
<p>Assuming Mourinho and some of the players jump ship, the Nerazzurri will be losing some key components while skipper Javier Zanetti is only getting older despite his consistent displays. Zanetti deserves credit for his fighting spirit and for putting in solid performances time and again despite his age. Below is a brief look at some of Inter’s main competitors for next season:</p>
<p><strong>Barcelona: </strong>The former holders were ousted by Inter and will be looking to regain their lost title. Barca are one of the most talented teams in the world with Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez leading the charge. Barca have added a star name in the shape of striker David Villa while the Catalans remain in pursuit of Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas. If they do sign Fabregas then the team will likely start the next La Liga season and Champions League campaign as one of the favourites.</p>
<p><strong>Real Madrid: </strong>The record winners of the Champions League will welcome with open arms Mourinho who has made it clear he will only leave the Nerazzurri for Madrid. In Madrid he will have greater individual talent to work with yet less of a cohesive unit and a weaker team spirit. Mourinho will be motivated to turn this team of stars into a strong and unified squad. Los Galacticos already have former Milan idol Kaka and world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks but it would not be a surprise if Mourinho asked for Maicon and Diego Milito to be signed from Inter. If they do, then Los Galacticos will be considered as a firm favourite considering they only missed on La Liga title by three points and many forget it does take time for news players to gel together.</p>
<p><strong>Chelsea: </strong>Ironically Mourinho was shown the doors at Stamford Bridge because he failed to bring European glory to the London club but he did punish his former&nbsp;employers by eliminating them in the knockout stages of the Champions League by beating them twice home and away. Chelsea hired former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti and the Italian succeeded in leading the Blues to a historic double&nbsp;by winning&nbsp;the Premier League and FA Cup in his first season in charge. Ancelotti made it clear his main objective for next season is to repeat the domestic double and to win in Europe. While Chelsea have a strong squad with experience and talent, the players as individuals are below the talent level of Spanish giants Real and Barca.</p>
<p><strong>Bayern Munich: </strong>Bayern proved they are a solid team after a slow start to the season and the final in Madrid was perhaps a small representation of their season as they only began to show their potential after conceding the first goal to Inter’s hero Milito. The Bavarians will have Arjen Robben (despite rumours linking him with Juventus; &nbsp;just unlikely to happen for a number of reasons) and French star Franck Ribery will apparently return after missing the Champions League final due to suspension. The Germans are a solid group but like Chelsea they are not on par with Real and Barca if individuals are compared on a position by position basis.</p>
<p><strong>Manchester United: </strong>Manchester have one of the best managers in Sir Alex Ferguson but he can certainly be stubborn leading him to make the odd mistake here and there, particularly when it comes to offloading certain players or refusing to bring in the appropriate players to replace outgoing stars. The Red Devils did not replace Cristiano Ronaldo and their challenge for Chelsea in the Premiership and before that in the Champions League tie against Bayern&nbsp;&nbsp;faltered once it became clear Wayne Rooney is carrying injury. If Manchester do not sign a couple of solid players, in particular one goal scorer to complement Rooney, then they will likely fall short in the early knockout stages with perhaps a quarter-final spot at best.</p>
<p>There are other less likely contenders but the strongest ones would be Italian duo Roma and Milan yet the two sides have a number of limitations such as their restricted budget for bringing in players and in the case of the Rossoneri an aging squad. Milan will need Brazilian stars Ronaldinho and Alexandre Pato to stay and will hope a capable coach will take charge at Milanello to promote a few promising players from the youth sector and sign a number of quality players to reinforce the team. As for Roma they have do not have a deep bench and their first team is often riddled with injuries due to the age of some key players such as Francesco Totti. It is unlikely either squad will win the Champions League but they can play the role of a spoiler if their stars remain healthy and fit.</p>
<p>It is quite hard to repeat in the Champions League as shown by the famous Milan side in the 1990s which dismantled Barca 4-0 in an epic encounter only to loss the next year in the final to Ajax Amsterdam who in turn were defeated the following year by Juventus. The Bianconeri would go on to play in two more consecutive finals yet the curse of repeating would also prove to be their downfall despite having the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero (at his peak).</p>
<p>	<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/3246497/">Team to Win Champions League Next Season?</a><span style="font-size:9px"><a href="http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/">online surveys</a></span></p>


What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League?

What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League? - World Soccer Talk

<p>La Liga leaders Barcelona escaped with a 3-2 win from Sevilla after what appeared to be a rout at one point turned into a nerve-wracking end to an entertaining match. On the other hand, Real Madrid dismantled Athletic Bilbao 5-1 to keep the pressure on leaders Barca with one point separating both sides. The title’s destination will be decided next weekend when the Catalans host Valladolid and Los Galacticos travel to play Malaga with two sides expected to win convincingly against the struggling sides as Valladolid and Malaga are fighting for survival with clubs placed 18th and 16th respectively in the league.</p>
<p>Despite the two clubs being at risk of relegation the firepower of Barca and Los Galacticos along with their defensive line ought to be more than capable of seeing off the two strugglers. The Catalans will once again rely on the goals and inspiration of Lionel Messi who opened the scoring against Sevilla while Los Blancos will look to their record signing Cristiano Ronaldo to provide the goals and added impetus to the club’s attack. Ironically, the Portuguese star also opened the scoring for Real and the two stars have duelled in the last two season over individual honours while this season has seen them go head-to-head on two occasions and compete over la Liga title.</p>
<p>Both title challengers are firing on all cylinders with Barca putting behind their disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Inter to dismantle Villarreal 4-1 and record a precious 3-2 win against Sevilla while Real inflicted the third home defeat on Mallorca in convincing manner following a 4-1 romp. While Los Galacticos have the best attack led by Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain who have combined for an impressive 51 goals in the league, Barca have the league’s best defensive record and their star player Messi has managed to score 31 la Liga goals.</p>
<p>The fact Real are still within a point of Barca is quite remarkable considering the Catalans have taken the six points from their two duals in El Clasico this season. Next weekend will witness the crowning of the league champions and it would be hard to bet against the Catalans retaining their title considering their stunning home form and the weak attacking record of the visitors who have scored a measly 37 times to rank as one of the league’s weakest attacking sides. Likewise, Los Galacticos will unlikely face difficulty in overcoming a Malaga side with 15 defeats in the current campaign and suffering from inconsistent form at home.</p>
<p>The title will go down the wire but unless Valladolid can spring a shocking result then the destination of the winner will be a mere formality as Barcelona will likely end up winning the match and celebrating a second consecutive la Liga championship at the Camp Nou.</p>
<p>	<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/3174765/">Will Barca Retain La Liga Title?</a><span style="font-size:9px"><a href="http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/">Market Research</a></span></p>


Barcelona & Real Madrid Win To Maintain Status Quo

Barcelona &amp; Real Madrid Win To Maintain Status Quo - World Soccer Talk

<p><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/CR.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3215" src="/files/2010/04/CR-300x264.jpg" alt="" width="243" height="214"></figure></div></a>Los Galacticos were able to defeat Valencia 2-0 courtesy of their two top scorers Gonzalo Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid have been heavily dependent on the duo to deliver the goals and achieve victories. When the two are having a relatively subdued match, Real tend to struggle as witnessed against Barcelona.</p>
<p>With the win Los Galacticos have cut the gap with Barca to a single point. Barcelona were able to manage a draw against Espanyol despite having a player sent-off. Dani Alves was given his marching orders after receiving two yellow cards. Barca have to play Inter in the Champions League and this could cause extra distractions for the Catalan club.</p>
<p>The remaining fixtures for both clubs reveal a tougher schedule for Barca because the Catalans have to travel to play both Villarreal and Sevilla while Real’s toughest match will be away to Mallorca. Can Ronaldo and Higuain help Los Galacticos stage a comeback after the disappointing El Clasico to claim la Liga title? The title is still Barca’s to lose and if Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez play to their best then it would be hard to see the Catalans throw away the title even with the tricky remaining schedule.</p>
<p><a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/3074667/">Will the title end up in Barcelona or Madrid?</a><span style="font-size:9px"><a href="http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/">online survey</a></span></p>


Real Madrid Close The Gap On Barcelona

Real Madrid Close The Gap On Barcelona - World Soccer Talk

<p><a href="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/RealMadrid.jpg"><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-3102" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/RealMadrid.jpg" alt="" width="360" height="259"></figure></div></a>The titans of Spanish football will face off next weekend at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in the traditional El Classico which will carry an even greater importance this&nbsp;time because it could decide the&nbsp;league&nbsp;title’s destination. The two clubs are tied on top of la Liga with the same number of points but Los Galacticos are one goal ahead in terms of the goals scored and conceded differential.</p>
<p>Barca have the stronger defensive line while the hosts who are led by record signing Cristiano Ronaldo have the better offensive record. While some might see this clash as a duel between Ronaldo and Barca’s Lionel Messi, this is far from the accurate truth as Los Galacticos have Gonzalo Higuain in their ranks and he is the club’s top scorer with 23 goals to Ronaldo’s 17. In Barca’s case Messi might be the star who is on a level above everyone else but his teammates have a crucial role and their contribution cannot be underestimated. Messi might be the top scorer in la Liga with a stunning ratio of 26 goals in 27 matches and he has provided 9 assists, but midfielder Xavi Hernandez and full-back Daniel Alves&nbsp;have both&nbsp;given 7 assists this season. Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has contributed 15 league goals including the important winner in the match between the two earlier this season.</p>
<p>Real Madrid have won all 15 of their home games so how will Barca cope with that and can they be the first to at least force a draw in Madrid? One key element for Barca will be how long their defenders can hold Real Madrid’s offensive weapons, particularly Ronaldo, in check. The responsibility will fall on the shoulders of club captain Carles Puyol who will have to lead the back-line by example and keep an eye on not just&nbsp; on goal scorers Ronaldo and Higuain, but also be aware of the danger posed by Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo and Rafael Van der Vaart who all have at least 5 assists or more.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Los Galacticos will rely on home court advantage having won all their games at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in la Liga as well as the marquee&nbsp;players mentioned above. In addition, the Real Madrid defenders will also play a massive role since they will have to contain not just Messi but Swedish striker Ibrahimovic, midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta among others. This is shaping up into a clash of epic proportions and the supporters of the beautiful game will be hoping for a spectacle filled with goals and punctuated by fair play.</p>
<p>For the fans of either club the focus will be on achieving victory in order to push ahead with the drive for the Spanish title. Barca would like to retain their crown while Real Madrid are hoping to justify all their spending which reached stratospheric proportions. To some it might be&nbsp; just about&nbsp;Ronaldo versus Messi but who will be celebrating at the end of the match could very well depend on the contribution of their teammates.</p>
<p><a href="http://answers.polldaddy.com/poll/3005598/">Will Real Madrid or Barcelona Win?</a><span style="font-size:9px"><a href="http://www.polldaddy.com">survey</a></span></p>


Real Madrid vs Barcelona: More Than C. Ronaldo against Messi!

Real Madrid vs Barcelona: More Than C. Ronaldo against Messi! - World Soccer Talk

<p><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2765" src="http://epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/02/Kaka.png" alt="Kaka" width="183" height="242"></figure></div>Brazilian star Kaka joined Los Galacticos from Milan prior to the start of the season in a staggering €68 million deal with is astronomical by all means. Real Madrid did pay more for Cristiano Ronaldo but that does not change the tremendous amount spent by Los Galacticos to acquire the services of the San Siro icon.</p>
<p>At one point this season, Kaka admitted he was relieved Ronaldo was signed for a higher fee as he was struggling to adjust to Spain’s la Liga. The Brazilian has still not hit stride and he seems to be having some difficulty blending in with the rest of the squad on the pitch. While with Milan he was at the fulcrum of the club’s attacking moves and he did not shy away from leading the club to glory in the Champions League in 2007. Kaka has won every major trophy available for football player and at 27-years-old he still has several years left in his tank.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the talented player his move to Madrid has not met the expectations of the club and supporters. There were rumours linking him with a move back to Italy to Serie A’s fallen giants Juventus during the previous week and prior to that speculation landed him a potentially shocking return to Milanello.</p>
<p>He has scored three times in 14 appearances in la Liga as Los Galacticos trail Barcelona in la Liga standings while he did not feature in the failed Copa del Rey campaign. Kaka has the rest of the season to excel in both la Liga and the Champions League but the question remains whether he is comfortable playing for the club or if he would prefer a move away from Madrid? It is unlikely the Brazilian will admit he is unhappy or seeking a move because it will be seen as a failure. Only time will tell what Kaka’s next move will be.</p>


Will Kaka Succeed With Real Madrid?

Will Kaka Succeed With Real Madrid? - World Soccer Talk

<div><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1883" src="/files/2009/09/Messi1-300x267.jpg" alt="Messi" width="300" height="267"></figure></div>After&nbsp;covering the Barcelona versus Real Madrid topic, it&nbsp;is only&nbsp;logical if&nbsp;Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were discussed due to their pivotal role in both teams. The two&nbsp;wingers are&nbsp;currently playing&nbsp;for two of the best clubs in Spain and two of the most popular outfits in the world.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Barca’s Lio Messi is a&nbsp; graceful and diminutive yet extremely skilled and fast player while Real Madrid’s Ronaldo is a well-built player who relies on sheer speed and power allied with a plethora of tricky moves up his sleeve to torment defenders. The Messi&nbsp;–&nbsp;Ronaldo comparison cannot be limited to just elegance&nbsp;against brute efficiency&nbsp;since the Portuguese player&nbsp;can&nbsp;showcase a <span>catalogue</span> of nifty moves. Though both can score from free-kicks, Ronaldo normally&nbsp;opts for&nbsp;power and precision at the expense of curling and placement of&nbsp;the ball which seem to be the preference of Messi.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The Argentine prodigy actually has a scoring ratio that&nbsp;surpasses that of the Portuguese star. That might come as a surprise to many but statistics cannot be argued with.&nbsp;Lio has scored 55 goals in 110 league appearances for Barca while Ronaldo registered 84 goals in 196 league matches for Manchester (he played for Sporting Lisbon prior to that). While Ronaldo’s <span>exploits</span> in the Premier League cannot be marginalised, Messi’s footwork and stunning contribution to the Barca cause is sometimes overlooked due to the presence of Samuel Eto’o (now with Inter) and Thierry Henry.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>Make no mistake, Messi was the driving force behind the Catalan club’s record-setting treble season despite Eto’o being the team’s top scorer. Ronaldo toyed with EPL defenders the past few years and in 2007-08 season had a remarkable 42 goal tally in all competitions for the Red Devils. Legendary&nbsp; United manager Alex Ferguson did not want to let go of his Portuguese&nbsp;kingpin last season because he&nbsp;realised how invaluable his input had been to bringing success to Old Trafford. Sir Alex&nbsp; finally&nbsp; had to let go this summer after Los Blancos&nbsp;offered a mind-boggling&nbsp;world record fee of $132 million for Ronaldo.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>In their professional career both have won the Champions League and multiple titles in one season. The experience factor might not&nbsp;favor&nbsp;one over the other&nbsp;and actually becomes less&nbsp;of an issue&nbsp;when you consider the talent on hand. However, one crucial element might be age since Messi is the younger of the two (By a couple of years and&nbsp;that can be significant for a player who is attack-minded) and still has time to improve and enter Argentine folklore along football greats such as Diego Maradona while Ronaldo is less likely to do so given the age of some of Portugal’s established players.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>One more advantage for Messi is that he has been with Barca all these years while this will be Ronaldo’s first season with Los Galacticos. The onus is on&nbsp;Ronaldo to deliver following his record&nbsp;move which, by itself, could&nbsp;turn out to be another&nbsp;factor&nbsp;working against&nbsp;him. If the&nbsp;burden of being the most expensive player, the&nbsp;pressure of having to live up to his exploits&nbsp;in England, and&nbsp;Portugal’s failures all begin to catch up with him then Ronaldo’s season could gradually fall below expectations.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The match-up between both squads could turn out to be uninspiring- just check the much anticipated Inter-Barca game which resulted in a scoreless draw, albeit not the worst one&nbsp;to watch with some&nbsp;neat moves from Xavi and Messi.&nbsp;The&nbsp;star&nbsp;who ends up winning La Liga&nbsp;or the Champions League and who ends up contributing more on&nbsp;route to victory will most likely prevail as the best in the world. Both superstars have a plethora of skilled players supporting them&nbsp;such as&nbsp;Kaka&nbsp;in the case of&nbsp;Real Madrid.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The presence of Kaka with Los Blancos might tip the balance in Ronaldo’s favor since&nbsp;the Brazilian&nbsp;maestro&nbsp;is better in comparison&nbsp;to Barca’s other&nbsp;star players. Upfront Real’s Karim Benzema and&nbsp; Barca’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic will probably struggle to deliver&nbsp;given their hefty price tag since both tend to struggle in big games. ‘Ibra’ has never scored against the top teams in Europe and has not left his imprint on the international level&nbsp;and the same applies to Benzema. That will leave more for Ronaldo and Messi to do though Cristiano can rely on the creativity and vision of Kaka.</div>
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>The two league games between Real Madrid&nbsp;and Barcelona&nbsp;could very well boil down to Ronaldo versus Messi though Kaka will&nbsp;likely have a big say.&nbsp;There will be a&nbsp;parade of stars if those&nbsp;two teams end up playing in the Santiago Bernabeu for the Champions League trophy come May 2010.&nbsp;&nbsp;Records and trophies aside, who would not want to have Messi or Ronaldo on his team?</div>


Messi Versus Ronaldo!

Messi Versus Ronaldo! - World Soccer Talk

<p><div><figure class="external-image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1868" src="/files/2009/09/Ronaldo-300x227.jpg" alt="SOCCER/" width="300" height="227"></figure></div>It is mouth-watering just to imagine a match featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Xabi Alonso and Karim Benzema taking on an opposing team which includes Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Xavi Hernandez and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to name just a few.</p>
<p>The dream of many football fanatics has come true following a spending frenzy by Los Blancos which included the record signing of Portuguese Ronaldo from Manchester United. The club obviously made other big name signings and also fortified its defense with the hope of challenging the Catalan club for honours both in Spain and Europe.</p>
<p>Barca did not hold back and retaliated by capturing Inter’s Ibrahimovic though that came at a steep price. Inter received star striker Samuel Eto’o in return in addition to&nbsp;a hefty payment for the Nerazzurri. The proud Catalan club still has plenty of weapons upfront besides the famous names mentioned above. Andres Iniesta has become an integral cog in the team’s free-flowing approach and often contributes with decisive balls from midfield while young striker Bojan Krkic is beginning to emerge as a threat. Krkic’s playing time will still be limited with the presence of Henry and Ibrahimovic yet he is sure to get regular cameo appearances under Coach Josep Guardiola’s stewardship.</p>
<p>Barca’s strengths are not limited to the frightening forward lineup or the midfield’s flair and solidity but also the defense’s compactness under the leadership of Carles Puyol. While Xavi and Iniesta supply the attackers with the ammunition to score goals, the energetic Yaya Toure supports the defense and covers the space left by the midfielders roaming forward. Captain Puyol marshals the defense and has found an able deputy in&nbsp;the form of Gerard Pique.</p>
<p>As for Los Galacticos, Kaka and Ronaldo pull the strings from midfield and move forward to support Captain Raul and French striker Karim Benzema. Behind them former Liverpool star Alonso ensures the team ticks like a well-oiled machine while Mahamadou Diarra recovers plenty of balls, breaks up opposition moves and offers cover for the defense. Iker Casillas remains a trustworthy goalkeeper between the posts and often performs incredible saves while Raul Albiol and Alvaro Arbeloa were brought in to strengthen the defensive line.</p>
<p>Real Madrid&nbsp;was not able to lure French International and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery leaving club President Florentino Perez visibly disappointed. While Barcelona appears to be more of a solid, free-flowing and united team, Los Blancos have yet to mesh together and are still reliant on individual talents and flashes of brilliance from stars such as Kaka.</p>
<p>So the question for La Liga and all football fans is probably best summed up in this question: Would you pick a cohesive yet very talented team like Barca or will you bet on Real Madrid winning titles through the contributions of the individual superstars? It is Barca’s impressive talent working for the collective&nbsp;good&nbsp;in a face-off with&nbsp;Real’s awfully talented superstars who are still relying on their skills to gel into a successful team.</p>
<p>Both Kaka and Ronaldo achieved success with their previous clubs but they have not played together prior to this season and Los Blancos have not won in Europe for a long time. On the other hand, Barca have won a historic treble last season and probably have the best player in the world at the moment in the shape of Leo Messi.</p>


Would You Pick Real Madrid Or Barcelona?

Would You Pick Real Madrid Or Barcelona? - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from Los Galacticos. Find out about all the news related to Los Galacticos on worldsoccertalk.com

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Los Galacticos"

News

What Next For Inter After Winning The Champions League?

News

Barcelona & Real Madrid Win To Maintain Status Quo

News

Real Madrid Close The Gap On Barcelona

News

Real Madrid vs Barcelona: More Than C. Ronaldo against Messi!

News

Will Kaka Succeed With Real Madrid?

News

Messi Versus Ronaldo!

News

Would You Pick Real Madrid Or Barcelona?