viernes, 14 de enero de 2011

Gooooaaaal! Spurs really need to win this one - The Province

Fourth-place Tottenham host Premier League leaders Manchester United on Sunday, and if Spurs hope to challenge for the title, then this is a game they need to win. Spurs trail United by eight points, and have traditionally struggled to win big games like this.

We are now past the halfway mark of the season, and United remain undefeated with 12 wins and eight draws. Their last league loss was April 2010 against Chelsea, putting them undefeated in 25 matches. The last Premier League team to go undefeated all season was Arsenal in 2004, and it's one of the few feats that Sir Alex Ferguson has never accomplished in his two dozen years in the English game.

United though have managed only two wins on the road this season, and Sunday's clash at Spurs is one of several tough away encounters they still have to face. In the coming months, United will also play away to Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as Liverpool, who have a good home record.

DERBY DAYS

Helping to heat up the Premiership action on Sunday are three big derbies. First up is Birmingham hosting Aston Villa, looking to beat their bitter rivals in league play for the first time in nearly six years. Both teams are in relegation territory. Birmingham will have newly signed winger David Bentley in the squad for this game, as he begins a six-month loan deal from Tottenham.

In the north of England, Sunderland host Newcastle looking to avenge their humiliating 5-1 loss on Halloween. The Black Cats have an excellent home record and could possibly overtake Chelsea with a win.

Finally, there is the huge Liverpool derby, with Kenny Dalglish making his return to Anfield as coach for the first time in nearly twenty years. After away losses to Manchester United and Blackpool, Dalglish is looking for his first win in his new tenure with the club. Nothing would be sweeter than doing it against old rivals Everton.

BREAK OVER

In Germany, the Bundesliga's winter break is finally at an end, with runaway leaders Borussia Dortmund hosting third-place Bayer Leverkusen today. Over the first half of the season, Dortmund built up an impressive 10-point lead thanks to a 15-match unbeaten run which included 14 wins! They started the season, however, with a loss, and that was against Leverkusen, who hope they can repeat the feat with the season now restarting after nearly four weeks off.

Leverkusen know how hard it can be to maintain momentum to start the new year. They were leading the league at this time last season, and saw their advantage slip away, as Bayern Munich eventually overtook them. Now they hope to do the same to Dortmund, and will be counting on the return from injury of captain Michael Ballack to provide added inspiration.

FIRST DRAFT

I was in Baltimore on Thursday taking part in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, where the Whitecaps FC had the No. 1 overall pick, and it was quite the experience. It was all very well done, and definitely on a major league scale.

Player drafts are a distinctly North American aspect of professional sport, as teams here typically wait until players are out of college before signing them.

In top European leagues, though, you won't find a lot of players with university degrees, as professional clubs there prefer to sign players at a much younger age. Both approaches have their merits.

A number of eyebrows were raised when we made our first pick in the MLS draft, as we went the more traditional European route and selected 17-year-old Omar Salgado, instead of one of the top college graduates. Salgado is a rising star on the U.S. U-20 team, and we think he was the best prospect. Time will tell if we made the right choice.

Bob Lenarduzzi is president of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. For information on Whitecaps FC summer camps visit www.whitecapsfc.com/camps or call (778) 330-1354.

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