Sports Poets Society

Campioni della Premier o detentori della FA Cup? Domenica 10 agosto a Wembley, fra il Manchester City e l'Arsenal, ne resterà solo uno, e alzerà il Community Shield, primo trofeo della nuova stagione. O se preferite, l'ultimo di quella appena conclusa con la duplice festa di Pellegrini, l'Ingegnero laureato campione alla prima sessione di calcio inglese; e di Wenger, il Professore per la quinta volta re di coppa d'Inghilterra dopo 9 anni di bocciature. Stavolta, sul mercato il City lo ha fatto l'Arsenal con Alexis Sanchez, arrivato dal Barcellona per far posto a Luis Suarez. La partenza del Pistolero ex Liverpool cambierà gli equilibri in vetta alla Premier, e la gerarchia che nell'ultimo torneo ha visto i Gunners a lungo davanti per poi chiudere quarti - a meno 7 dal City - è tutta da ridefinire. Per colmare il gap, Wenger ha portato all'Emirates anche Debuchy e Chambers sulle fasce in difesa e in porta il colombiano Ospina, una delle rivelazioni al...

Despite signing their closest rivals’ top striker, Bayern won’t have it easy this term. Elsewhere, gobby gaffers and emerging wunderkinds prevail in the land of the World Cup winners... txt by FFT UK What’s new? For the first time in 45 years, we are going into a Bundesliga season without Uli Hoeness as a player, business manager or club president. The man who all but built the modern Bayern Munich reported to prison on June 2 to begin a 42-month sentence for tax evasion. It will be very strange indeed for German fans to not see Hoeness in the stands, read about him in the papers or listen to his sharp tongue on TV. Star signings After a one-year wait, Bayern finally got their man, with Polish striker Robert Lewandowski moving from Dortmund to Munich on a free transfer. The fact that Borussia made him sit out his contract never dampened his enthusiasm, as Lewandowski won the money, provided there’s no return of last year’s uncanny injury streak. Schalke are a season or ...

It’s hard to look past moneybags Monaco and PSG, but a high turnaround of coaches means the French league will boast lots of new faces in 2014-15 txt by FFT UK Star signings PSG’s mega £40m deal to prise Brazil centre-back David Luiz from Chelsea is the biggest deal of the summer so far. That figure alone represents the entire annual budget of several Ligue 1 clubs, neatly highlighting just how far ahead of the pack PSG and fellow money-men Monaco are. Expect Monaco to spend big again with Champions League football available – although owner Dmitry Rybolovlev’s reported £2.6bn divorce settlement could affect the club. The race for the title While romantics would love to see Marcelo Bielsa’s Marseille, the best-supported club in the land, take on the big boys, realistically it’s hard to see past another two-horse race, with Zlatan & Co. favourites. Led by former Sporting boss Leonardo Jardim, Monaco should provide a sterner test this time around. There was an 18-poin...

The race is on to see if anyone can stop all-conquering Ajax charging their way to yet another league title txt by FFT UK Star signings Ajax made the first big signing of the summer by bringing in the highly-rated 17-year-old striker Richairo Zivkovic from Groningen, the same journey made by Luis Suarez in 2007. Zivkovic will be joined in Amsterdam by defender Nick Viergever, who excelled at AZ Alkmaar last season, and Arek Milik, on loan from Bayer Leverkusen. PSV Eindhoven have lost Tim Matavz to Augsburg, while Feyenoord might only dip into the market if their World Cup stars are poached by bigger clubs. The race for the title Since Frank de Boer replaced Martin Jol at Ajax in 2010, the club have won the Eredivisie four times in a row. The Amsterdam outfit’s domination seems complete, but their biggest rivals have been knocking on the door. Last year, when Feyenoord finished four points back in second, the title was in the balance until the last few games. Battling ...