Like many a footballer I’ve been on the move this summer.
Despite pining for a move away from the dreariness of Portugal to glamorous England, fate and the recession combined to boot my travel-wary ass into eastern Europe’s most westernised country: Poland.
The new season may only be six fixtures old, but the 2009-10 Eredivisie is already taking shape and is promising to produce a highly competitive campaign. Judging by how the season has gone so far, last season's champions and runners-up (AZ Alkmaar and FC Twente) will face sterner opposition this time around, and not just from Ajax. Both Feyenoord and PSV have had flying starts and the early signs are that both clubs have the potential to reclaim past glories.
Feyenoord, although classed as one of the big three teams in the Netherlands, are now in their 11th season since they last claimed the title. Recent years have been blighted by financial worries and the selling-off of their star players, as well as being disciplined by Uefa over hooliganism.
Most of the domestic leagues around the World may be taking a break but that only means that international football has taken centre stage. Yesterday produced a round of international friendly fixtures and much more significantly, World Cup qualifiers to whet the appetite.
Several nations have already secured their spot in South Africa next summer. The nature of World Cup qualifying in Asia, where there are two groups of five competing for four automatic spots with relatively weaker nations, produces the first countries confirmed at each World Cup. Aside from the host nation of course, who have the benefit of foregoing the stress of qualifying.
Thankfully by around 5pm this evening the circus will be over with, and by that I mean the constant speculation and counter speculation that permeates the modern day transfer window. I realise that to some fans the whole day represents a reason to get excited about potential last minute transfer deals. On the other hand there is usually as much substance to it all as there is in a plate of chilli without any chilli or spices.
The fanfare that has built up around it has become a ridiculous sideshow, and often a source of conversation in the media outlets when there is nothing at all to talk about. Sky Sports News is the worst criminal, every half an hour they reveal a ticking digital clock and yes, it really is counting down to the end of the transfer window- just in case you needed a reminder!
The new Europe League is many things.
It’s Europe’s second best club competition. It’s the UEFA Cup. It’s the refuge of the damned, (ie, Celtic) and it’s now the proud owner of a wanky anthem.
The piece by Yohann Zveig and the Paris Opera was premiered at Friday’s Europa League draw and is “distinctive” according to the UEFA website, “giving a sense of the atmosphere that will be felt immediately before a UEFA Europa League game”.