GREAT CAPTAINS: HOME AND AWAY

The upcoming premier league season will be bigger, better and much more interesting than last season, at least I think so. Yes, I know, we witnessed a new winner after a very long time, and yes, the premier league was won on the last day having gone all the way down to the wire, but I still think the battle-lines are already being defined. From the imminent departure of captain Robin Van Perfect(for Man United), to the signings of Kagawa & Hazard, to the awarding of a six-year contract to Vincent Kompany. Lets not forget the other potentially big deals coming up... Modric, Baines et al.

Influential Captain Kompany

Lets talk about captains though. They're important. They're influential. They lead by example. Everybody knows that right? Remember when Vidic got injured? See what happened to United... they conceded and kept conceding and lost the title to City eventually. Think Barca... Puyol got injured, Barca lost the title to Real Madrid. Look at Manchester City... Kompany got appointed captain, and the boy has led that team to their first title since 1968. I think we are now on the same page.

Lets narrow it down and talk about Kompany. The boy just signed a new six-year contract to keep him at City till he is 32. For a club(Manchester City) to show that much faith in a player(the captain, the leader, the Kompany), is reward enough for him being so influential. And deliver he has. Remember how he got the captaincy? Let me run that by you... Toure was made captain on signing for City from Arsenal, and then he was involved in that doping saga, so he was dropped as captain, upon which Tevez the prodigal son was appoined. We all know his story, don't we? Yeah... so in his absence, guess who was appointed? The Kompany. He's the only one player, who was not signed by Mancini, who has been shown favour, and still remains in the team. Think of Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Micah Richards, Mwaruwari(remember him?), Wayne Bridge. Even De Jong saw the better part of the bench for most of the second half of last season. The City captain is confident that he and Kompany(get it?) can build on last season's win. And I wouldn't doubt him. I just don't think United, Chelsea and Arsenal will let them

Closer Home... The Mashemeji Derby(GOR MAHIA vs AFC LEOPARDS) is around the corner. This is a rivalry that goes all the way back to when our grandfathers were still young men. It was a duel between Luo and Luhya. It has since become the biggest match in Kenyan football, since the tribal factor is gradually fading away, and the clubs are signing players from various parts of East Africa. Every time these two great rivals meet, it becomes a heated affair, as in every derby worldwide, with each one wanting to come out with the upper hand. It gets ugly at times. It has been suggested that extra security be provided during duels between these two rivals as some fans take it as the perfect time to wreak havoc.

The Mashemeji Derby

And as such, sometimes, it comes down to the captains of these teams. Remember the last time these two great rivals met? I'll refresh your memory. Most people in Kenya wanted Gor fans to be banned. Remember the clash at the stadium when the Gor fans started hurling stones into the pitch? It was the Gor captain who spoke to them amicably and they eventually stopped the chaos. And for that... we should respect and honour all responsible captains. Am sure our friend Carol Radull knows the guy and will pass our regards, right Carol?

So, to all who will be attending the Mashemeji derby, all the best. Enjoy the game. Most of all, be safe. That said, I cannot wait for the EPL to resume. The Supersport analysis is one of my favourite segments of soccer. 

Also, do not forget about the August 4th soccer Tweet up at Saint George Primary, Hurlingham. Its a free event, just show up, play soccer, meet and socialize with other peeps. Thats all. 

Enjoy yourselves. Lets talk more football another time, eh?

SOCCER TWEET-UP AUGUST

Are you bored with all the transfer rumors? Do you want to see real soccer? Do you wanna play soccer? Do you wanna meet soccer loving tweeps and socialize? Well if your answer was yes to any of the questions, then this soccer tweet up is for peeps like you. We love to watch, and love to play soccer... and socialize.

Saturday August 4th is going to be the next soccer tweet up. Royal Media staff and a few tweeps will be playing at Saint George Primary School. Arrival time is 11.00am and the games shall continue till about 2:30pm. Come meet and play against some of the tweeps you love to see on your timelines. The last time out we had so many I couldn't give them all a personal shout-out here.

Saint George Primary, for those who do not already know, is right next to Saint George's Girls High School. To get there from town, board a Number 8 or Number 46 matatu and alight at Chaka Place. From there, ask any one of the taxi guys where it is and you shall be directed. Its not too far from there. So... a brief run-down of that Saturday.

DATE:         4th August 2012
VENUE:     Saint George Primary
TIME:         11am to 2.30pm

PS: Bring a friend. The more the merrier. 

Remember, this is an open event and anyone(all genders) can and should feel free to attend. No money required... just your fare there and back to where you came from. Hopefully we will recover quickly from the soccer withdrawal soon. Feel free to contact @kevin_seth @sirfender or myself, @Arthurnyoiks regarding the tweet up. We are glad to help

The Extra-Terrestrial

The curtains have fallen on yet another illustrious career at Old Trafford. Plaudits have been coming through and I have felt that it would be less than philosophical if I wasn't to join in on them.

Ji Sung Park is the man, has been the man for Manchester United for the last seven years. He was the big game player for the Red Devils. Sides he tormented were the big boys. Running tirelessly around the Chelsea midfield, bossing around a subdued Liverpool team and to Arsenal he was a nemesis.

One of the things about him was his running. He kept going, and going, still going. A third lung, that's what they say he had. He rarely tired, and if he did it was because his opposition had already been substituted. His work ethic was impeccable. Any big game and right up there on the team sheet would be Park, along with Fletcher.

Humility to Park was a second nature. Never in the headlines for the wrong reasons but always for the right ones. He became the first Asian to win the Champions League during the 2007/2008 season albeit having been left out of the team by Sir Alex (a decision which he confessed was one of the hardest he had ever had to make).

And as if club football for Manchester United was not accolade enough, the Seoul Assassin went on to play 100 games for South Korea. His performances at the 2006 World Cup took South Korea to the quarter finals where they lost to finalists France. Fast forward to the 2010 World Cup where as captain of the national team he scored crucial goals leading the South Korean team to the round of 16.


 But nothing lasts forever. The time for a move has come, and he has taken it. QPR have struck gold in signing the hard working player. Off the bat they should just name him captain and try and bring glory to a captaincy that had recently been maligned by Barton.

As football fans, and especially Manchester United fans we wish him all the best in his endeavors  as he is one player who puts his all for the team.

J.S. PARK -_-

OLYMPICS FOOTBALL: Spain favourites again?

After claiming three relevant titles in succession, the out-of-this-world Spain team will be looking to extend their world reign even further when the Olympics games begin. I have to remind myself that am not a fan of theirs every time I find myself attracted to the poetry-in-motion kind of football that they play.

Forget the fact that a good number of them are from Barcelona, think about how much they have matured as a team.
Torres... rose through the ranks at Atletico Madrid, then joined Liverpool, and then became the most expensive commodity in English football when he joined Chelsea. Lets face it, you do not move to clubs of that calibre if you're not good. And he did repay his manager's faith well. Scored 3 goals when it was apparent that Spain would suffer without Villa
Fabregas... I can only say one word for this lad.... MATURITY. Leaves Barca, joins Arsenal, becomes very integral there, gets loved by the fans, then rejoins his boyhood team. He doesn't really pose that athletic figure of CR7, Torres, Balotelli etc. He's just a humble kid who plays some real good football. Plays a number of positions, CMF, DMF, Striker, Number 10 and he has delivered in all of them.
Silva... He was just another guy in the Spain squad, mostly starting on the bench. Now look what his move to Manchester City has turned him into... a star.
Alba... His left-back spot used to Capdevila's, if you remember, and now he has taken that spot from him. Plus he has just signed for Barcelona. Could life be any better for him??

The only person I don't see making it back into the squad is Puyol. As I mentioned earlier, it looked like Spain would struggle without Villa and Puyol, and well... they scored the most goals in the tournament, and conceded the least. In fact if I'm not wrong, the only goal they conceded was against Italy in the group stage. See how much better they get? Villa could still make it back... he is a goal scoring machine, everyone knows that.

In other news, a few days after Van Persie announced that he wouldn't be renewing his Arsenal contract, Marouane Chamakh is also looking for a move away from the Gunners. He wont hurt them much, that I know. Another player that is hot property right now is Modric. real Madrid want the kid so much... but if you ask me, that's the wrong career move. who is he going to bench at Madrid? Khedira? Alonso? The onlt way he can fit in is if Mourinho changes his formation and have him play as a Number 10. Inter Milan have released Lucio and Forlan, and the former immediately joined Juventus while the latter went to Brazil.

Back to Kenyan football, it looks like Gor Mahia are starting to get their form back and are going up the table again. They beat KCB 3-1 at city stadium. Midweek fixtures this week:

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Mathare United

v

Sofapaka

Nyayo

19:00

Friday 13 July 2012

AFC Leopards

v

City Stars

Nyayo

19:30

SOCCER Lowdown Post-Euros

While we were away, a whole lot happened in the football eh? AVB joined Spurs, Alba ditched United for Barca and Van Persie revealed he wont be playing for Arsenal another season after his contract expires. Now that... if you chose to overlook Spain's Euro 2012 victory, is cause for heads turning. before we turn heads... I know, we have not spoken football in a while. But here we are again.

So Spain won the Euros, and in emphatic fashion. Haven't seen such a convincing win in a long time. Although Spain did thrash Ireland 4-0 in the group stage. I have to be honest, when that match started, I wasn't in support of Spain but... things change. I enjoyed that match. Although I also felt a little pity on the Italians. You don't get to the final if you're a nobody, so for them to be punished like that... Spain had to be on another level of performance... they always are. WE ALL AGREE.

Elsewhere, Armin Van Buuren, hehe, just kidding... Andre Villas Boas is now Spurs manager, replacing the sacked Redknapp. Here's my concern, If Redknapp was fired, even after his team had qualified for Europe, how will AVB cope, especially with his managerial rookie mistakes? Also... will he sell Redknapp's stars? He has already signed Gylfi and I think it would be interesting to see how the future of Bale, Modric, Van Der Vaart looks like.

Arsenal: The future doesn't look to bright, neither is it too bleek for them. They have Podolski and Giroud if their problem is a striker. But if they're talking about how fond they had grown of RVP, then that's a problem. See where am going with this? Well, wherever he ends up, City, United, Juventus, Barca or even if he chooses to remain at Arsenal, I hope Giroud and Podolski can get RVP's goals.

Elsewhere on the transfer market, European clubs have been on a roll signing new players. PSG have snapped up Lavezzi from Napoli(I've already tried him on PES2012 ), Lucio left Inter for Juve, AC Milan snapped released Nesta and Seedorf and got the services of some youngsters. Juventus look like a more serious  prospect for next season. I also read that Inter is almost falling apart and that Diego Forlan will also be released.

In totally unrelated news... the SOCCER & SOCIAL soccer tweetup will be coming back again so keep your eyes out for the next one. Once I consult with some of the other guys, I will inform you football lovers.