Money over Tradition?

This past weekend, the second best league in the world was back. And how?

Real Madrid played Deportivo in the opening fixture of this season's La Liga. The galacticos had a chance to show what fans can expect for the rest of the season.

But, my attention was drawn not to the result and the performance, but to the goalscorers. One goalscorer in particular. Christiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo scored his first competitive goal for Madrid - from the penalty spot. Now, what bothers me is, why/how did Ronaldo get the nod to take the penalty over Raul who was the regular penalty taker for so many years? Raul is such an icon at Madrid that, even when Raul was not performing, he was not even considered for a transfer.

Has Ronaldo edged ahead of Raul as the first choice for taking penalties? Is this a marketing strategy for Madrid? Is there a clause in his contract regarding this? Who knows?

Alonso/Ribery another Ronaldo?

Disclaimer : I am not comparing the players.

All I am doing is trying to make sense of what is happening in the transfer market. Specifically, with respect to Real Madrid.

Madrid have been very open about their interests in Alonso and Ribery but neither Bayern nor Liverpool are refusing to budge. In both cases, it looks like the player wants to leave, but the manager/club do not want to sell.

Any dejavus?

Any ESP's on whats going to happen next season with Ribery/Alonso? (i.e. if it does not happen this season)

Now, besides the "Will he, wont he" sagas, I would like someone to define the term "tapping up". And can someone please tell me if it is legal? Or is it "officially" illegal? I, for one, am getting sick of it. Anyone care to join me?

R.I.P 4-4-2

A few years ago, if you even dare to suggest anything other than a 4-4-2 to a manager of a top club, he would look at you as if you are from Mars. Teams used to stick to 4-4-2 so much so that the game was crying out for a change.

And change it did. Nowadays, the top sides rarely play a 4-4-2 during the course of the game and almost definitely not from the start. And even if the sides do play a 4-4-2, you have players like Rooney, Kuyt, Henry, Ronaldo etc who can play anywhere in the final third. This is particularly necessary against a mid-table team(if you can call a team that) since they can mark the life out of you sometimes. You need players like the above mentioned to move around and create space for others. I was watching the Barca-Valencia game the other night and I was shocked to see Hleb in a central striker position sometimes.

Barca, Real, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Roma, Valencia are some of the top sides who rarely stick to a 4-4-2 formation in recent times. Even England has changed its formation from a traditional 4-4-2(which never seemed to work). Not that I call England a top side in terms of results.

There are downsides to not playing a 4-4-2 too. Players like Robbie Keane, Henry, Tevez etc may miss out because of the change in formation. Even Michael Owen was dropped from the England squad because, apparently, all he did was score goals.

Leave those kids alone...

Every once in a while, you read about this kid being the next Zidane and another kid being the next Ronaldo. After a few months, you hear some other kid being called the next Zidane. I dont know who this is an insult to. Zidane or the poor kids.

Lets get this straight. There is only one Zinedine Zidane. Just as there is only one Ronaldo. Are you doing justice to Zidane's career by calling some 13 yr old kid your successor? No offense to the kid, but look at what Zidane's achieved. And look at what the kid's achieved.

Can you imagine the hype a 13 yr old gets when he is publicly announced as the "next Zinedine Zidane"? How many next Zinedine Zidanes have actually gone on to become a Zinedine Zidane?

Being called the next Zidane, is it a boon or a pain? Its left for you to debate.

Moreover, I thought Zidane's kid was the next Zidane.