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jeudi 6 juin 2013

AppId is over the quota
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The world of football on Twitter is as rife as ever.

For a lot of football fans, the domestic season is now over (mostly in Europe). However, Twitter shows no signs of slowing down in bringing all the latest news and insight into the world of football.

Let’s start with last weekend’s captivating Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Lauded from all corners, the Germans put on a spectacular show—both the fans and the players. The match was a spectacle to behold and the football didn’t let anyone down, either.

It was tense, passionate, combative and sprinkled with skill, but ultimately, it would be Bayern Munich who would prevail with a last-gasp Arjen Robben winner to snatch it from their rivals.

Dortmund remained pragmatic in defeat, although it was a tough one to take. Their official English-speaking Twitter account had this to say after the clash.

From Champions League to Championship playoff final, it was Crystal Palace who took the spoils of war in the world’s most lucrative football match at Wembley.

The red and yellow of Munich and Dortmund swapped for the red and yellow of Crystal Palace and Watford, as the two London sides battled for a place in the Premier League next season.

With an increase in gate receipts, added revenue for televised matches and the parachute payment scheme, it’s reported the game is worth somewhere in the region of £120 million.

Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha took most of the spotlight, as he played possibly his last game for the Eagles before heading to Manchester United.

It was befitting that he was involved in the goal, winning the penalty for Kevin Phillips to dispatch against the club where it all began for him.

Zaha’s move to United was confirmed in January, but with the European season now virtually over, transfer news will dominate the backpages of papers.

Twitter, too, is inundated with news filtering through at a steady pace of transfer speculation.

Possibly the biggest news to be confirmed so far is the move of Jose Mourinho to Chelsea, although for most football fans or anyone who has been in earshot of a sports news channel in recent times, this hardly comes as a surprise.

He will be reunited with his former employers in a deal thought to be around £40 million over a four-year period.

One of the other big names to leave Spain is Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. The goal machine was linked with a host of top European clubs, but it was ambitious French side Monaco—who, admittedly, have incredible financial backing—who sealed the deal.

The deal to take the striker from Atletico Madrid is thought to be worth a reported £50 million.

Monaco is rising like a phoenix from the ashes having won the League 2 title last season. Falcao is one of several newcomers to the south coast side who will be a force to be reckoned with next season.

A player who looks like he is not going anywhere, though, is Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The diminutive playmaker had been heavily linked with a move back to England, but top Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has informed otherwise.

Chelsea and Manchester City went stateside for a postseason (preseason?) tour. Playing two exhibition style friendly matches in St Louis and New York, the first encounter saw Chelsea take a 3-0 lead only to be beaten 4-3, and Man City wrapped up the mini-series with a 5-3 win at Yankees Stadium in New York.

Speaking of the New York Yankees, the Citizens had other interests in New York aside from the friendly match, announcing their deal with the baseball team to start up their own MLS franchise for 2015.

Staying with the MLS, the L.A. Galaxy made great strides in the battle to rid homophobia from football by signing gay player Robbie Rogers. Just four months after coming out, Rogers made his debut for the L.A. Galaxy in a 4-0 win over Seattle Sounders.

While they were celebrating the arrival of one new player, another former player was hanging up his boots for good, as David Beckham bowed out of professional football this week.

OK, this wasn’t in the last week, but for the benefit of humour, this tweet had to be included. English League One side Leyton Orient tweeted this comment just before what was set to be Beckham’s last ever appearance for PSG against Lorient.

Over to South America, where the big news is that Neymar is finally set to fly the coup. He will link up with Barcelona in the summer and play upfront with Lionel Messi in what promises to be a devastating attacking lineup.

Barca were humbled by Bayern Munich in the Champions League losing 7-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals, so this move looks like a clear signal of intent from the champions of Spain.

Brazil’s friendly with England will go ahead despite a court ruling judging the iconic Maracana stadium to be unsuitable for play. The decision was overturned in a matter of hours, so the match will take place (Neymar is likely to play some part in the tie).

There were several friendlies played all over the world this week.

A historic game took place at Wembley—which had one of its busiest weeks in hosting some of the world’s biggest matches—with England playing Ireland for the first time since 1995.

There was a fairly subdued atmosphere in a match that saw the rivals play out a fairly drab 1-1 draw.

There was, however, a great game being played on the same night in Cleveland, Ohio. USA took on Belgium in a thrilling encounter that saw the emerging European powerhouse come out on top 4-2.

There were some positives for the U.S., although, as CNN reported, manager Jurgen Klinsmann struggled to find any. But pitting their wits against one of the forces of European football is a decent barometer for the team and will go a long way in helping to gauge the level they are at in world football.

So even with most domestic seasons over, there has still been an exorbitant amount of football-related happenings for Twitter to curate and nourish us with.

From transfer sagas to lively friendly matches and the world’s most lucrative football game taking place, Twitter has served us well in feeding football fans’ appetites. Next week should be just as busy, so keep your eye out for the next instalment.  

Publié par à 09:01
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