The English Premier League kicks off this weekend. Let's travel the Globe and talk about it.

By Money Mike

The English Premier League kicks off its 2011-2012 season this weekend and I know a lot of you are excited to see your teams fight for the title, others are just making a big deal over nothing (Arsenal fans) while the rest of you folks hope your team avoids relegation at the end of the season (Fans of Swansea City, Norwich, Queens Park Rangers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wigan Athletic, etc.), but none of that matters right now. Right now, it's pretty much just a meet and greet kind of thing, every one starts even, new stars coming in and all of that. So I'm gonna go through all of this years Premier League teams and give a info on each of them, maybe give them a key for this season and also talk about the new players on each team because there were some crazy ass moves made during the offseason, especially from Arsenal. So let's go through and preview each team.

Arsenal:

Well let me tell you something if you're gonna spend big money on youngsters, you might as well put them on the pitch. Mark Chamberlain, a former Portsmouth winger, back in June said he was eager for his son to join Arsenal as soon as possible to continue his development. And earlier this week they went big and signed his son. 17-year old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from League One side Southampton for about 12 million pounds. To be honest, I like this move. I know he was only a rookie last season but look at the numbers. 34 matches played and 9 goals scored. For a 17-year old, those are good numbers. Now can he make that transition to the Premier League level? And I think he can. Another big money signing was Gervinho from Lille OSC in France, he's the answer up front, so Robin van Persie won't be the lonely stoner up front. You know what, every time something happens, Arsenal fans just have to be negative about it. Talk about drunk ass people who know nothing about the hard work being put together by the front office. Comeon guys, quit you whining and get ready for a new season.

Key additions: Carl Jenkinson (Charlton Athletic), Gervinho (Lille OSC), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton)

Aston Villa:

Well this team have had their ups and downs, but they are entering their 24th consecutive season of top flight "football". They hired Alex McLeish as their new manager during the offseason and in the process, picked up Goalkeeper Shay Given and Midfielder Charles N'Zogbia. I think Fabian Delph will play a key role in the midfield. Eric Lichaj should get more playing time defensively for the Villains. Of course they'll have Darren Bent up front with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey as well as Stephen Ireland. If Ireland get his head straight, I think Villa will contend for a UEFA Champions League spot for next season.

Key additions: Shay Given (Manchester City), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan Athletic)

Blackburn Rovers:

Here's a team with a long history, Blackburn Rovers. They are in their 124th year of existence. And they're are one of only four teams that have won a Premier League Title. Blackburn is not gonna come close this year. It'll be mid-table mediocrity for them.

Key additions: David Goodwillie (Dundee United), Radoslav Petrovic (Partazian)

Bolton Wanderers:

Well this will be a record setting year for Bolton. You know what that record will be? The 73rd time they will compete at the top level without winning the title.

Key additions: Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa), Chris Eagles (Burnley), Tyrone Mears (Burnley)

Chelsea:

Here's a team that will contend for sure. Chelsea FC. This team pretty much blew their quest to defend their title last season and they ended up firing their manager Carlo Ancelotti. No real key additions for the summer. The lineup pretty much will look the same with Didier Drogba, Nicholas Alnelka, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ramires, Saloman Kalou, etc.

Key additions: none

Everton:

Now this team will struggle. Everton finished in a bad position last year and didn't make any moves to help with that. They have good players, they're just outcoached.

Key additions: none

Fulham:

Speaking of sluggish teams we're gonna go to Fulham. The only reason they qualified for Europe last season was because England was rewarded a fair play prize. Clint Dempsey might as well pack it up and look for a new team. But seriously, Fulham need to step their game up.

Key additions: John Arne Riise (AS Roma)

Liverpool:

Well this is a sorry ass team here. Liverpool. I mean, you have a team that on paper is supposed to contend for the Premier League title and you don't even qualify for Europe. They're a bunch of pretenders. So many players wasting their life over there. Pack it up people. LIVERPOOL SUCKS!!

Key additions: Charlie Adam (Blackpool), Stewart Downing (Aston Villa)

Manchester City:

Speaking of sorry ass teams. This team just spends too much damn money. I mean really, you got enough big money players to contend for the title with your arch rivals. Why do you need more? Manchester City need to light up. Seriously. You got Zabaleta, you got Julian Lescott, you got Adam Johnson, you got David Silva, you got Dzeko, I mean god damn, you wanna go bankrupt?

Key additions: Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Sergio Aguero (Athletico Madrid)

Manchester United:

Manchester United. The New York Yankees of soccer. This team won their 4th title in 5 years last season and are looking to keep the title run going this season. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, defender Gary Neiville and midfielder Paul Scholes all retired, but Man U never rebuild, they reload. During the offseason, they aquired kepper David de Gea from Athletico Madrid and defender Phil Jones from Blackburn and Ashley Young from Aston Villa. This is a dangerous attacking minded team with Wayne Rooney, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov.

Key additions: David de Gea (Athletico Madrid), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers)

Newcastle United:

Well Newcastle had a pretty good year in their return to top flight football last year. This team is going through a drought themselves. No Major trophies in over 30 years.

Key additions: Yohan Cabaye (Lille OSC), Demba Ba (West Ham United), Gabriel Oberton (Manchester United)

Norwich City:

What a run it has been for Norwich. Two years ago, refresh my memory, I believe this team was in the First Division and now they made a run all the way through the Championship and are now in the Premier League. But I think the Premier League is too much for them, I see them going down this year.

Key additions: James Vaughan (Everton), Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United; loan), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham Hotspur; loan)

Queens Park Rangers:

Queens Park Rangers, another newly promoted team. I don't think it will be that great of a season for them, but I don't think they will finish in the bottom three at the end of the season.

Key additions: Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff City), Kieron Dyer (West Ham United), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham United), D.J. Campbell (Blackpool), Bruno Perone (Tombense)

Stoke City:

Stoke City, the FA Cup runners up, getting ready for another challenging season. Just escaping relegation last year.

Key additions: Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham Hotspur), Matthew Upson (West Ham United).

Sunderland:

The Black Cats had a busy offseason bringing in players, getting rid of players. Let's see if it pays off for them this season.

Key additions: Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI), Ji Dong-Won (Chunnam Dragons), Craig Gardner (Birmingham City), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham City), Wes Brown (Manchester United), John O'Shea (Manchester United), David Vaughan (Blackpool)

Swansea City:

This is Swansea's third year of top flight football and they'll end up suffering a drop to the Championship. I they'll be relegated this year.

Key additions: Michel Vorm (Utrecht), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle United), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough)

Tottenham Hotspur:

Do you think I'm gonna waste my time talking about them? I'm an Arsenal fan. TOTTENHAM SUCKS!!

Key additions: none

West Bromwich Albion:

West Brom had a shaky preseason. I don't know, I think they'll be fighting for Safety this season.

Key additions: Ben Foster (Birmingham City; loan), Zoltan Gera (Fulham), Marton Fulop (Ipswich Town)

Wigan Athletic:

I don't like their chances of Safety. They just barely made it last year but this season? ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no. I pick Wigan as the third team that will be relegated.

Key additions: Ali Al-Habsi (Bolton Wanderers), David Jones (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Nouha Dicko (Strasbourg)

Wolverhampton Wanderers:

Finally, the last team to talk about is Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves just survived the drop on the final day of last season. I think they'll fight for safety again and this time, not on the last day of the season, maybe with 3 weeks to go.

Key additions: Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham Hotspur), Dorus de Vries (Swansea City), Roger Johnson (Birmingham City)

Manchester United just too much for the Sounders

By Money Mike

In front of a crowd of 67,052, Manchester United score 6 second half goals and spank the Seattle Sounders by a score of 7-0. This is the only friendly match the Sounders have this season. There was quite a bit of Red in support of Manchester United. There are still match day scarfs from last nights match available to purchase online at soundersfc.com. As a matter of fact, you can still purchase scarves from previous friendly matches against Chivas de Guadalajara, Boca Juniors and of course they're still selling the scarves from 09' against Chelsea and Barcelona. The only matchday scarf I have is from July 28th of last year when the Colorado Rapids came to town. That was the match I went to. I didn't get one from the April 9th game against Chicago which was the fifth game of the 2011 season. The only time you'll expect me to purchase another one is if I'm attending an international friendly match or maybe a Champions League match (if they sell them during that time).

As you can see on the picture, they brought the Premier League trophy out on to the field as both teams entered the XBOX Pitch at CenturyLink Field. Now this was weird. I know they're a big club and all, but I didn't see Barcelona do that in 09' following their La Liga title. But captain Nemanja Vidic carried the trophy out onto the pitch with his walking buddy.

United opened up the scoring in the 15th minute. Patrice Evra made a run from his left back spot and was found by Ashley Young. Evra sent in a drivin cross and somehow the ball fell to Michael Owen for the opening goal.

Now this is one thing you Sounder fans don't understand, and that is player development. Why the hell would Sigi Schmid leave his first team out there in the 2nd half of a friendly match just because they were down 1-0? Comeon that's just stupid. Of course he would put in Michael Tetteh, David Estrada, Mike Seamon, Miguel Montano, etc.

In the 49th minute, a beautiful ball by Nani found Mame Biram Diouf who made one touch to get around backup goalkeeper Terry Boss, then settled, then tapped the ball into an empty net to make it 2-0.

In the 51st, again it was Nani who was the provider. This time he set up Wayne Rooney who ripped the ball into the top corner. Rooney wasn't done there, he added another goal in the 69th minute, rolling the ball into the top corner. Rooney wasn't done there, he was found off a driven cross by Gabriel Oberton in the 72nd minute for his 3rd goal of the game, also known as a hat trick. Oberton would get on the scoresheet in the 88th minute and that's how the friendly would end.

The Sounders resume competitive play on July 26th when they head to Panama for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round against San Francisco F.C.

Scoring summary:

Manchester United - Michael Owen (Patrice Evra, Ashley Young) 15'

Manchester United - Mame Biram Diouf (unassisted) 49'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (Nani) 51'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (unassisted) 69'

Manchester United - Park Ji-Sung (Wayne Rooney) 71'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (Gabriel Oberton) 72'

Manchester United - Gabriel Oberton (unassisted) 88'

Lineups:

Manchester United - Anders Lindegarrd (Ben Amos 46'); Rafael da Silva, Nemanja Vidic (Jonny Evans 56'), Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra (Fabio da Silva 56'); Nani (Gabriel Oberton 56'), Anderson, Ryan Giggs (Park Ji-Sung 46'), Ashley Young (Michael Carrick 66'); Michael Owen (Mame Biram Diouf 46'), Federico Mecheda (Wayne Rooney 46')

Seattle Sounders FC - Kasey Keller (Terry Boss 46'); James Riley (David Estrada 73'), Jeff Parke (Michael Tetteh 64'), Patrick Ianni (Taylor Graham 64'), Leonardo Gonzalez (Zach Scott 46'); Mauro Rosales (Servando Carrasco 46'), Osvaldo Alonso (Brad Evans 46') (Mike Seamon 64'), Erik Friberg (Pat Noonan 46') (Mrisho Ngassa 76'), Alvaro Fernandez (Lamar Neagle 46') (O'Brian White 76'); Roger Levesque (Nate Jaqua 46') (Miguel Montano 76'), Fredy Montero (Mike Fucito 46')

Barcelona claim their 4th Champions League title.

By Money Mike

In front of over 86,000 fans at Wembley Stadium and over 300,000,000 viewers around the world watching the match live on TV, Barcelona came out on top with goals by Pedro Rodriguez, Lionel Messi and David Villa as they defeat Manchester United 3-1. You look at the final stats and you'll be like, "what the f***!!". Shot attempts; Barcelona - 22, Manchester United - 4. Fouls; Manchester United - 16, Barcelona - 5. Time of Possession; Barcelona - 70%, Manchester United - 30%. You look at the stats and you can definitely say that Manchester United deserved to lose this one.

In the early stages of the match, despite Barcelona having more possession of the ball, Manchester United we're putting a lot of pressure on goalkeeper Victor Valdes and they nearly broke through when Gerard Pique's backpass was nearly taken away by Chicharito Hernandez, but Valdes scrambled to clear the ball out of danger.

In the 15th minute, United got caught and were lucky to get away with it. Xavi with a chip into the danger area which found Pedro, who nipped in at the near post, but his touch just went wide of goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who was playing in his final game of his career. About five minutes later, David Villa tested van der Sar with a right footed effort from the edge of the area, but van der Sar kept it in front of him, it wasn't easy though.

In the 27th minute, Barcelona drew first blood as Xavi and Pedro hooked up again and this time a settle pass by Xavi did the trick. Xavi got behind Michael Carrick and slotted the ball trough to Pedro, who had plenty of time to set up and strike it low into the near post as van der Sar had no clue where he was going and Barcelona took a 1-0 lead.

In the 33rd minute, Manchester United came right back to level it up. Fabio won the ball after a good challenge on, I believe it was Sergio Busquets and fed it to Wayne Rooney who had room to run at the Barcelona defense. Rooney slotted it to Ryan Giggs who looked to have been in an offside position on the pass, but the linesman kept his flag down and Ryan Giggs fed it back to Rooney at the top of the area for a first time hit into the left corner to level it up at one. Rooney has picked up his game lately and started scoring a lot of goals again after all the criticism early in the season.

In the second half, the equalizer didn't seem to hurt Barcelona as they started to pour a lot of pressure on the Red Devil defense early and often and in the 54th minute, they got rewarded for it.

Andres Iniesta fed the ball to Lionel Messi who took a couple of touches before ripping a low left foot drive through the back line and past Edwin van der Sar to put Barcelona ahead to good. It was Messi's 53rd goal in all compititions this season and his 1st on English soil. 15 minutes later, Barcelona put the match out of reach......

In the 69th minute, David Villa curled a right footed effort over van der Sar and into the back of the net to claim the Champions League title for Barcelona and end all arguements that the Barcelona squad from 2010-2011 are one of the great teams that have ever played the game.

My thoughts on this match:

Now, this isn't the first UEFA Champions League that I've watched, but this is the first UEFA Champions League final that I've watched on live TV. There were a lot of things about this final that were way different than the group stage matches and the knockout round matches. This match was played on a Saturday just a week after the conclusion of the Premier League season, and normally, the Champions League matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which they still are, but starting last season, the final itself was played on a Saturday, but I didn't keep any track of that. I mean I wasn't really paying attention to the schedule, so I ended up missing that match. Before then, the final was played on a Wednesday, so unless I was sick, there would be no way I would catch it live, and watching replays on ESPN Classic were boring because I already knew who won those matches. So, I think it's good that they started scheduling finals on a Saturday. And also, I think this match was worth watching.

Scoring summary:

Barcelona - Pedro Rodriguez (Xavi) 27'

Manchester United - Wayne Rooney (Ryan Giggs) 33'

Barcelona - Lionel Messi (Andres Iniesta) 54'

Barcelona - David Villa (Sergio Busquets) 59'

Misconduct summary:

Barcelona - Dani Alves (caution; Reckless tackle) 60'

Manchester United - Michael Carrick (caution; Reckless tackle) 61'

Manchester United - Antonio Valencia (caution; Barging over an opponent) 79'

Barcelona - Victor Valdes (caution; Delaying a restart) 85'

Lineups:

Barcelona - Victor Valdes; Dani Alves (Carles Puyol 88'), Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, Eric Abidal; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta; Pedro Rodriguez (Ibrahim Afellay 90'), David Villa (Seydou Keita 86'), Lionel Messi

Manchester United - Edwin van der Sar; Fabio (Nani 69'), Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra; Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick (Paul Scholes 77'), Ryan Giggs, Park Ji-Sung; Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney

A couple of match previews for Saturday. Sounders vs Real Salt Lake + Manchester United vs Barcelona

By Money Mike

The Seattle Sounders head to Rio Tinto Stadium to face CONCACAF Champions League runners-up Real Salt Lake, who have still not lost a league match at Rio Tinto during regular season play. Last year, they nearly suffered that first loss against the Sounders in week three when Steve Zakuani and Tyrone Marshall scored for the Sounders, but goals by Will Johnson and Alvaro Saborio kept Salt Lake's unbeaten run in tact. These two sides draw both of their matches last season after each coming away with a split in 2009. Salt Lake's Arturo Alvarez and Alvaro Saborio are both on international duty and won't be with the club this weekend.

Injury report:

Seattle Sounders FC - Really, no new injuries here. Sigi Schmid says Brad Evans will be available for Saturdays match after recovering from a adductor strain

Real Salt Lake - The men out for Real Salt Lake are Javier Morales with a left ankle fracture dislocation and Paulo Jr. with a right hip flexor strain. Danny Toia is listed as questionable with a left ankle sprain. Fabian Espindola has a right hamstring strain and is listed as probable and Collen Warner is also listed as probable with a left ankle sprain.

Key matchups:

Will Johnson vs Osvaldo Alonso - I think this is a real midfield battle between one of the greatest goalscoring midfielders I've seen (Will Johnson) and a guy who has played more of a defensive midfield role (Osvaldo Alonso). I don't see why these two won't be matching up against eachother.

Fredy Montero vs Jamison Olave - Now these two players know each other very well. They're both from Colombia. They both were teammates at Deportivo Cali. And now, these two are matching up against each other again. I think this matchup decides it with Fredy still due for a breakout game.

Manchester United vs Barcelona:

Here's a match that all of you should catch at 11:30am on FOX. Manchester United and Barcelona, the UEFA Champions League final at Wembly Stadium in London, England. I'm definitely watching this match because you have a two teams with lots of firepower on their team, with Lionel Messi, David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez for Barcelona and on the other side with Manchester United, you got Chicharito Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Nani and all those guys. So, it's gonna be a busy soccer day, with the Sounders and RSL and Manchester United and Barcelona. We also have the friendly match here in Seattle with Mexico and Ecuador, but won't be able to catch that one, so apologies to all of you that were expecting a recap of that match. The only ones that will be recapped tomorrow are Seattle against Salt Lake and Manchester United against Barcelona.

Premier League, La Liga and Serie A titles have been clinched last week + a lot more. What's going on around the world in soccer? Let's find out.

By Money Mike

So lately I've been talking about the Sounders with the preview's and the recaps, the MLS SuperDraft, the Re-entry draft and I blogged a couple of English soccer matches, but those two were "I was bored out of my mind" type of things. But yeah, we had some big events that happened this week and there will be more of that later this month with the UEFA Champions League Final the international friendly matches including one here in Seattle between Mexico and Ecuador. So how about a we take a trip around the world and see whats been going on in soccer, and with this blog, who needs passports? lol.

England:

So let's start off in England. Manchester United, they have captured their 4th Premier League title in 5 years, their 12th Premier League title which is the most, and their 19th League Title overall which is a new record held by Liverpool who had 18. A 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers secured the title for the Red Devils, they will celebrate their title in the final week of the Season next week at home against Blackpool who are in danger of relegation. And let's talk about that. Going into the final week of the season, there are five teams that will fight to try to stay in the top flight next season. West Ham United were relegated after losing 3-2 to Wigan Athletic and shortly after, they fired head coach Avram Grant which they should've done at the start of January as everybody would've expected. The entire staff has done an awful job handling the team this season and the Hammers just got hammered this season. The fans deserve a lot better than this.

Spain:

Barcelona are La Liga Champions again, this is their 3rd in a row again with rivals Real Madrid coming close, but not close enough. With one game still to go for them in the League, until the Champions League final, I expect them to bench all of their starters unless one of them are suspended for the final because if you lose a key player to injury and you lose the final, fans will just want you fired. Lionel Messi led his team again with 31 goals in La Liga and 52 goals in all competitions. Hercules C.F., who shocked Barcelona on their home ground earlier in the season, are officially relegated this season as well as Almeria. I got a glimpse of the La Liga Fair play table which is sort of a Sportsmanship thing, and you look at it...wow. Real Sociedad have the most pathetic fans in Spain, because of them, Sociedad have been tagged with Altercations four times this season. That's just ridiculous.

Italy:

Going into the 2010-2011 season, Inter Milan have won 5 Italian Serie A titles in a row and were looking to extend their streak to 6. However, with key acquisitions like former Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Kevin-Prince Boateng, A.C. Milan came through and clinced the Serie A title, ending their Arch Rivals streak of 5 in a row. Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Alexandre Pato each finished with 14 goals on the year. Also, you got to say, no Inter Milan fan likes Zlatan Ibrahimovic anymore after playing for A.C. Milan. Kevin-Prince Boateng lit up the celebration with his Michael Jackson dance routine, as seen on the picture. Sampdoria, Brescia and A.S. Bari are relegated and won't be in the Serie A next season. The most embarrasing team in the Serie A is Juventus, they are just getting weak every single year. Especially since returing to the Serie A in 07-08 since being deducted all of their points in 05-06 for a match fixing scandal. They need to start going to their youth system and give the young players a chance to play, not their oldass players like Buffon and Del Piero.

Mexico's 23-man squad for May 28:

So the Mexican national team just announced their squad for their friendly match against Ecuador on May 28 which will take place at Qwest Field in Seattle. My guess is that they'll take the tarp off the upper deck and the bleachers, I don't know for sure. But anyway, the squad includes Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, however he will not make the trip to Seattle for the friendly match because of the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona, so all of you Chicharito fans, you guys will have to wait till' Manchester United come to town for a friendly match with the Seattle Sounders. Let's look at the rest of the squad......

Goalkeepers: Guillermo Ochoa (Club America, Mexico), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca, Mexico), Jose de Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul, Mexico)

Defenders: Rafa Marquez (New York Red Bulls, MLS), Carlos Salcido (Fulham, England), Hector Moreno (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands), Francisco Javier Rodriguez (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Ricardo Osorio (Monterrey, Mexico), Edgar Duenas (Toluca, Mexico), Jorge Torres Nilo (Tigres, Mexico)

Midfielders: Andres Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna, Spain), Efrain Juarez (Celtic, Scotland), Israel Castro (UNAM, Mexico), Sinha (Toluca, Mexico), Luis Perez (Monterrey, Mexico), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul, Mexico), Angel Reyna (Club America, Mexico), Jesus Zavala (Monterrey, Mexico)

Forwards: Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (Manchester United, England)*, Giovani dos Santos (Racing de Santander, Spain), Pablo Barrera (West Ham United, England), Aldo de Nigris (Monterrey, Mexico), Elias Hernandez (Morelia, Mexico)

* - Won't make the trip to Seattle due to the UEFA Champions League final. Expected to join the national team before the start of the Gold Cup.