Hello everyone! It's nearing the end of the month of May which means... European club football is coming to a close for the season. Enter the prestigious pre-season tours, international commitments, the Confederations Cup, and of course the transfermarket Paper Chase! In the news...
SPAIN:
Ahead of their first match in Brazil for the Confederations Cup which will be played against Uruguay on 16 June, Spain will be playing two matches right here on US soil beginning on 8 June 2013! I am lucky enough to be a ticketholder for the match being hosted at Yankee Stadium in New York City!!!
CHELSEA:
Even bigger news (as if news like that can get much bigger), I attended this past weekend's match at the home of the New York Yankees which featured Manchester City and... CHELSEA!!!! What an incredible experience, I am not so sure I can put it into words! To see Juan Mata score an absolute beauty of a free-kick goal in an eight-goal thriller, as well as a Ramires hattrick... Magnificent. The amount of (Royal) blue in the crowd of nearly 40,000 was also uplifting, despite the loss 5-3, which followed a 4-3 defeat a few days prior in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It's a true shame that we couldn't leave the States with a win in either match but I must commend the Blues on a fantastic season, which concluded with a 3rd place finish in the Premiership and the Europa league trophy!! Well done, Blues.
UNITED STATES:
The United States, aside from hosting this past week's tour, intends to continue growing the sport of soccer/football. Manchester City announced their partnership with the New York Yankees to add a 20th team to the MLS league, NYCFC (New York City Football Club)! NYCFC will be the second team in the New York area with an MLS team and will join the following professional sports; American football (Giants, Jets), basketball (Knicks, Nets), and baseball (Yankees, Mets), in having two teams in New York (they will join the New York Red Bulls, which boasts players such as Thierry Henry and Digao, brother of Brazilian legend, Kaka).
Additionally, the US will host the newest preseason tournament, the 'Guinness International Champions Cup.' To my knowledge, schedules for the tournament, which begins on 27th July, will be released by tomorrow (29 May). Shortly after competing their match on Saturday, much to my excitement, Chelsea announced that they will participate in the tournament and therefore will be returning to the United States this summer!!! Up the Blues!!!! This is an especial treat for us American blues, though I fear for the amount of time (or rather, lack thereof) that the players will have to rest this summer, prior to next season. It has been such an incredibly long season for us, playing over 70 matches...
RAFA
...And having said that, it is such a pleasure to have seen the team managed by the ever-successful, Mr. Benitez. Rafa has recently been appointed the manager of Serie A runner's up, Napoli, and managed his last Chelsea match during the friendly this past Saturday in New York. A big thank you to Rafa and a congratulations to him on his newest job at Napoli, as well as his successful season in England, despite the hardships that accompanied him along the way...
JOSE
...and so I welcome (back) Jose Mourinho to the Bridge! I think I speak for the players and fans alike when I say that I am quite enthused to have the Special One headed back to the Bridge. Mourinho is reported to have signed a 4-year contract with the Blues and will be returning home to Stamford Bridge following the completion of the 12/13 La Liga season with Real Madrid.
RETIREMENTS...
The 2012/13 European club season says goodbye to many iconic names in the game of football;
Paulo Ferreira: The Blues' very own Portugese internationall will call this past season his last, as a Chelsea Blue. Congratulations Paulo on the beginning of this next stage in your life! :)
David Beckham: Need I say more? What a shock to have Mighty Becks call it the end, after his league win in France with Paris Saint-Germain this season. Well done, sir. A true legend. May tales of his infamous bent-like-Beckam strikes live on forever. He's truly set a standard of what it means to be a midfielder and a footballer.
Sir Alex Ferguson: When Fergie announced his retirement earlier this month, I'm not so sure that many people knew what to do. What is football without Sir Alex Ferguson?? What is Manchester United without this man at the helm? We'll only but wait and see. Congratulations to Sir Alex, on his unbounding, incomparable success.
FRANKIE:
So after much speculation, Super Frank has signed a one-year contract extension with the Blues. WOOHOO! After surpassing Bobby Tambling's incredible record as the Blues' all-time leading scorer with 203 goals, I think he has certainly earned his keep. Truly outstanding stuff from Mr. Lampard as of late. Pity us American Blues couldn't see him during this tour #CFCUSA
STILL THE CHAMPS
So in addition to the Chelsea/City friendly match, this past Saturday saw the crowning of the newest Champions of Europe, Bayern Munich. Well done, Bayern, and congratulations. We shall see you in the Super Cup ;) Even though the UCL trophy has been handed over (temporarily, of course), our win in this season's Europa League allows us to, technically, maintain our title as Champions of Europe, right? Excellent :)
INTERNATIONALS...
USA vs. Belgium (May 29) Blues to watch: Eden Hazard, of course. The hope is that he will be fit for this match... Should be an incredible friendly.
USA vs. Germany (June 2)
Brazil vs. England (June 2) Blues to watch: OUR SAMBA BOYS! David Luiz, Rami, Oscar... as well as our ENGLISH BOYS (doesn't quite have the same ring as Samba boys, eh?) But we should see Ashley Cole captaining a squad sure to include Gary Cahill and Super Frank.
Spain vs. Haiti (June 8) Blues to watch: Cesar Azpilicueta, Juan Mata, and Fernando Torres have all been called up to the Spanish provisional Confederations Cup squad! So, of course it is up to the discretion of Vincente del Bosque, but it is speculated that this is the roster to be used during Spain's two friendlies hosted in the US early next month. Hopefully we'll see the likes of each of our Blues throughout the Confeds and in these matches.
Brazil vs. France (June 9)
Spain vs. Republic of Ireland (June 11)
I wish you and the players a mighty grand and relaxing start to the summer, full of plenty entertaining international action and recovery (physically for the players, emotionally for the fans ;) It's been an incredible season for the Blues of London.