Neymar Transfer Investigation

The controversy surrounding the transfer of Brazilian superstar Neymar to Spanish Liga football club Barcelona is to be investigated by a Spanish court, as it was announced today (Thursday).

Neymar was in June unveiled as a €57.1m ($77.7m) signing from Brazilian Campeonato Serie A club Santos, but the precise terms of the deal were not revealed at the time with Barcelona citing a confidentiality agreement. However, Barcelona last week revealed that it paid €40m to a company owned by the parents of Neymar as part of the transfer deal to acquire the Brazilian forward.

The exact terms of the transfer have come under increasing scrutiny in recent months and Barcelona said that the payment of €40m to N&N Consultoria Esportiva and Empresarial Ltd was disclosed “from the first moment” as part of the €57.1m total transfer fee for Neymar. Sao Paulo-based N&N is reportedly owned by the 21-year-old’s parents and Spanish state prosecutors backed a legal challenge launched by club member Jordi Cases, who had demanded clarity over the terms of the transfer.

Prosecutors called for a hearing after having decided that there were sufficient grounds to believe there could be a case of “contractual simulation,” and the Reuters news agency today said that Judge Pablo Ruz had decided to open a hearing. The judge will seek more information from Neymar, Santos and Barcelona, while a decision will be made at a later date over whether club president Sandro Rosell will be called in person to provide evidence. On the basis of the evidence already received, an order from the judge on Wednesday stated: “It leads to the conclusion that the facts given by the complainant are plausible in being a crime of misappropriation as laid down in article 252 of the penal code.”

Today’s development comes after Monday’s press conference to unveil Barcelona’s plans for the redevelopment of its Nou Camp stadium was dominated by questions concerning the Neymar deal. Spanish newspaper El Mundo had earlier claimed that the transfer was actually worth €95m and Rosell on Monday said that he would be willing to give evidence in a bid to clear his name.

Whether or not this Neymar case is turning into a huge scandal is beside the fact that he is one of the best young footballers in todays game and this should not be used against him to tarnish his image.

What Juan Mata's Transfer Means for Chelsea

All you've heard in the last few days from the soccer world is all the hype and controversy surrounding the huge money deal proposed by Manchester United for Chelsea FC's midfielder Juan Mata. Everywhere I've looked I've seen news about this transfer, and being a Chelsea fan myself I have a lot of mixed feelings on the topic.

My first reaction to this big transfer deal was shock and awe at how dumb Jose Mourinho the manager of Chelsea could be. If you look at the last two seasons at Chelsea, Mata has arguably been the best player at the club, and therefore I couldn't see why Mourinho would be willing to let him go, especially to a club like Manchester United. The English Premier League is all to familiar with letting great players go to their bitter rival teams. As I thought about it more I just couldn't figure out what was going on, until I listened to a reporter interview Jose Mourinho on Fox Soccer Channel. As he was being interviewed he was asked what he was thinking when it came to the transfer of Juan Mata. With cool composure he looked the camera in the eye and told the reporter that even though Mata had been such a vital role in the system in previous years, Chelsea had reached a new era and they had younger, and more talented players that he wanted to build the team around. When I heard this it all made a lot more sense. As a manager if you have such a talented side as Chelsea does, then you're faced with the tough reality that eventually players will come in and that means other players have to be shown the exit. For me as a Chelsea fan, I trust Jose Mourinho enough to know that if he says he has plans for the team that don't revolve around Mata then he knows exactly what he's doing and has an even better plan following the Spaniards leave.

So for all those Chelsea fans out there worried about this capsizing Chelsea's chances this season, worry no longer. Have faith in Mourinho and understand that the club is moving on to bigger and better things, even if it means doing it without one of the teams top players.

Iago Aspas, The Future

Iago Aspas hasn't enjoy a great season so far for Liverpool. The former Celta Vigo striker has struggled to adjust to the pace that the Premier League brings and is currently used as a backup or reserve for main strikers Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. Due to this Aspas has gotten very few chances to shine in the spotlight at Liverpool this season.

The Spaniard who joined Liverpool in the summer, found it difficult to fit into the new system of Brendan Rodgers, the recently hired Liverpool manager. He has only made five league starts this season and has yet to score his debut goal. This is rather shocking considering how much Liverpool paid to bring him in.

The 26-year-old also suffered an injury which further made life difficult for him at Anfield. Aspas has however, showed a hint of what he can do, after scoring against Oldham in the FA Cup third round tie.

There were some suggestions about sending him on a loan to Swansea City but Liverpool have rejected such ideas. Recently though, a club from the La Liga in Spain, Valencia, has made a bid to try to bring in Iago Aspas.

While a loan move would be ideal for Aspas as he needs game time under his belt to boost his confidence, its a bit of a loss to Liverpool after they had brought him in expecting much better. Secondly, Daniel Sturridge is fit again and will be in action soon, so, his chances of playing in his preferred position will be limited even more than before.

Having said all this, Liverpool should not entertain such ideas of letting him go out on loan. Liverpool do not possess a huge squad and Rodgers certainly cannot take the risk, if one of his main strikers get injured again, as they have so often done so far this season. He is the only reliable cover for the Reds at present, and it's essential that Liverpool keeps a back up striker.

Will a move to Spain solve his problem? He would need to play in this new league to get adjusted to the condition and system of Spanish Soccer. So, taking all factors considered, it seems highly unlikely, that Liverpool would allow Aspas to join Valencia on loan.

World Cup Draws: Reactions

Just a few weeks ago was a huge day for soccer fans worldwide. People from every stretch of the globe tuned in to see just exactly how the FIFA World Cup group draw would go down in Brazil. The anticipation was high as fans and players a like waited to see just exactly where their country would be placed in the 32 team, 8 group, world tournament. After much festive dancing and celebration, the draw finally kicked off and finished with some surprising results.

Every year in the world cup there are the easy groups and then there are the group/s rightly nicknamed "The Group of Death". These groups are usually comprised of some of the top nations in the world all in one group in the world cup, making for some very interesting games. Lets start by taking a look at where some of the good teams ended up and where these groups of death are at. In group A, the host country Brazil has to play Croatia, Mexico, and Cameroon, and it should make for a pretty easy group. Moving on to group B we have the two finalists from last years world cup in the same group. Holland and Spain accompany Chile and Australia in group B. In group C we have Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan. This group could shape up to be a very difficult one with plenty of teams that could put up a strong fight. In group D we then have our first group of death with England, Uruguay, Italy, and then Costa Rica. England, Uruguay, and Italy are all top 15 teams in the world and that makes this group extremely tough  to get out of. Skipping ahead to group G is where we see the second group of death, where Germany, Ghana, Portugal, and the United States are all paired up in the same group. This is the worst possible group in the entire world cup and it should be a big concern for the United States. The final group of the tournament is group H and this is by far the easiest group in the tournament. The only team that I could see going far in this group is Belgium and they are with Algeria, Russia, and Korea Republic. Belgium pulled an extremely easy group and if they don't go through that would be very disappointing.

Now I've gone through all the teams that are going to be at the world cup and I'm extremely excited to watch this competition. It should be great fun and I can't wait to see which team will be able to call themselves the best in the world!

United's Terrible Season Continues

David Moyes continues to rewrite the record books at Manchester United, and not in a good way, as United lost for the third consecutive time, 2-1 at Sunderland in their League Cup semi-final, first leg. The defeat meant that United have lost three in a row for the first time since 2001.

Ryan Giggs, who had earlier hit the crossbar, gifted Sunderland the lead with an own goal right before halftime, and despite Nemanja Vidic equalizing early in the second half, Fabio Borini’s 65th-minute penalty gave the Premier League‘s bottom club the victory.

Having eliminated Chelsea in the previous round, Sunderland remain on course to reach a first domestic cup final since 1992, when they lost to Liverpool in the FA Cup final. For United manager David Moyes, however, the gloom grows ever darker, with his hopes of claiming a piece of major domestic silverware in his maiden season severely compromised ahead of the second leg on 22 January.

Eager to exploit any uncertainty in the visiting ranks, Sunderland looked to get balls into the box at the earliest opportunity and saw Borini drag an early shot wide from just outside the area. However, emboldened by the purposeful running of Adnan Januzaj, United began to assert control of the game.
Giggs sent a deflected 25-yard shot against the crossbar, while Januzaj had a goal ruled out for offside and Vidic planted a header wide from a corner shortly before half-time. Sunderland emerged unscathed, though, and in first-half stoppage time they exploited defensive inattention from United to go ahead.

From Sebastian Larsson’s deep free-kick, Wes Brown stole in behind Michael Carrick to volley the ball back across goal, and in attempting to prevent Phil Bardsley from prodding home, Giggs succeeded only in scoring himself.

The timing of the goal was a sucker-punch, but United regrouped at the interval and equalised within seven minutes of kick-off in the second period. Tom Cleverley curled a left-wing corner to the back post and Vidic outjumped former team-mates Brown and John O’Shea to power a header past Vito Mannone.

For the umpteenth time this season, however, United’s momentum was to desert them. Jonny Evans had to hobble off with an injury, and after Borini had sliced wide and Larsson had drawn a sharp save from visiting goalkeeper David de Gea, Sunderland restored their lead.

Cleverley was adjudged to have impeded Adam Johnson as he tore into the penalty area and after referee Andre Marriner pointed to the spot, Borini calmly lifted the ball past De Gea from 12 yards.
Scorer of a brace on his previous visit to the Stadium of Light, Januzaj carried the fight to Sunderland again, shooting narrowly off target on three occasions, but even their new boy wonder could not rescue United.

As United lose yet another game in their disappointing 2013-2014 campaign, the question rings through everyone's ears. When will we see the departure of David Moyes?

Winter Olympics

I know you probably all have seen the commercials when watching TV. These ads are continuously reminding us that one of the worlds greatest sports events in history is due to start in less than 4 months. This event as you can probably tell from the title is non other than the Winter Olympic games. The games are being held in Sochi, Russia and are scheduled to take place between February 7th and February 24th. As many of you know there are the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. Every two years the games switch to the other seasonal games. For the Winter Olympics there are a lot of pretty uncommon sports and I'd say the winter olympics are genuinely less common than the Summer games. Although this may be the case, it doesn't mean to say that the Winter Games are boring. They are quite the opposite in fact. I'm going to try to introduce some of the big olympic sports as well as a few of the other less known ones.

For starters we have the main sports like skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, skating, and maybe even bob sledding for you enthusiasts out there. These are all fun because they're very action packed sports, except skating, with lots of excitement that really pleases viewers. Skiing is broken into many different categories like cross country, alpine, ski jumping, free style, and even snowboarding falls in this category. Skating is also broken down into different events including figure skating, short track speed skating, and long track speed skating. These events and a few of the others listed above comprise the main events of the Winter Olympic Games. These events are the most popular by far.

Now lets move onto some of the less popular games. These are ones that maybe don't get televised as often or at the normal viewing hours, but nonetheless they still provide very good entertainment for anyone interested. A few of these smaller events are curling, luge, and biathlon. Personally I haven't seen many of these events, but the ones I have seen in my short time watching the Winter Olympics these events have been very exciting to watch. Biathlon is one example. It is a very interesting sport in the fact that it combines rifle shooting with cross country skiing. Now doesn't that sound interesting.

I hope I did well in informing on some of what the Winter Olympic games has to offer and hopefully this convinces you to watch one of the Worlds biggest sporting events!

Early Bloomers in the NBA

The NBA season has finally kicked off and every team in the league has played at least one game. There have already been some fun games to watch as well as big performances in the first games. I'm going to talk about a few of the early risers that could potentially continue there early season form.

The first player that played nicely in his first game of the new season is Tristan Thompson. The power forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers scored 18 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in his first game. He is a avid scorer who will get significant minutes in Cleveland.

The biggest performance of the first games in the NBA has to be given to Michael Carter-Williams of the Philadelphia 76'ers. Not only did his team beat the Miami Heat, but MCW added 22 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, and 9 steals. There is no doubt that he will remain as the starting point guard in Philly. Hopefully this promising rookie can continue the amazing performance he had in game 1.

The final big performer of the first games is Alec Burks the point guard from the Utah Jazz. In the season opener he scored 24 points, had 6 assists, and 6 rebounds. He is still a relatively young player in the league and his stock will only continue to rise if he keeps putting up performances like this.

So that concludes a few of my impressive performances from a couple of early risers in the league. At the beginning of any sports season it's always very interesting to see who will be the dark horse and come out of no where to have an amazing year. Who knows maybe one of the guys I mentioned above could be the dark horse of the NBA this season. I guess only time will tell.