Landing The Big Fish : Juan Mata

           
              It was all turning out to be so familiar. Trying to somehow scrape past a minnow, with that straight-line passing and the slow and mundane build-up play, that seemed to have become a characteristic. Ever since that infamous collapse against Sunderland last season, Chelsea fans had been craving for something exciting. And then, he arrived. In just the 26 minutes of his debut, Juan Mata showed the Blues what they had been missing. It was that finesse, that trickery, that magic that hadn't been seen at Stamford Bridge, perhaps since the days of legendary Gianfranco Zola. It might be precocious to say this, but Mata could just turn out to be the missing piece in Chelsea's jigsaw.
              It's been no secret that Roman Abramovic wants Chelsea to play with flair. As fortunes had it, Zola had left Chelsea for his native Caligari just a week before Roman bought the club. Abramovich did his best to get him back to London. Legends even say, Roman tried to buy the entire Caligari club to facilitate Zola's transfer back to Chelsea, but Zola would not budge on his promise given to his home club. Whatever might be the truth, Zola didn't return, and Chelsea have never had such an artist to thrill the crowds ever since.

Juan Mata has had an instant impact at Cheslea!

                Not that Chelsea's game has been boring and dull. When on song, they play football to mechanical perfection. But, organisation has always been prioritized to a free-roaming approach. Yes, they are a joy to watch when on fire. Didier Drogba bulldozing through the entire defenses, the famed long-rangers from Lamps or Essien, the relentless runs by Ashley Cole. But when the opposition decides to  park their bus  in front of goal, Chelsea don't have a Special player, who can pick the locks, or at least they didn't have one till now. Scolari moaned about his failure in pursuit of Robinho, or not having retained Arjen Robben, precisely for the same reason.

             Let's face it, almost every big club has one. Barcelona have Messi. Period. Real have Ronaldo, Manchester City have David Silva. Manchester United may not have one such in particular, but their ever-revolving front-line of Young, Rooney, Chicharito and Nani more than compensates for it, as some EPL clubs have already witnessed to their own peril. Chelsea didn't even need one till two seasons back, when Drogba was literally bullying every defense into submission, and Lampard was popping up from anywhere to slot in goal-after-goal. But cracks appeared in the Armour last season, when Drogba was hit by  malaria, and Lampard was lost to injuries. Both haven't yet looked the same, even after returning. Villas Boas had spotted the over-dependence on the few personnel, which has been the downfall of so many Chelsea managers. And, it's been evident in his transfer policy. Apart from Mata, Romelu Lukaku, Oriol Romeu and Thiabaut Courtois, all regarded to be  the best of upcoming talents were signed. Best part was, Romeu and Lukaku weren't loaned out straightaway to some un-pronounceable foreign clubs, a fate incurred by so many  of Chelsea's young signings.

Mata has already impressed the Blues faithfuls, with some classy football..

           
         Focusing on Mata, the diminutive Spaniard looked to pretty-much home right from the start. He ran, he dribbled, he chipped, he crossed, he tricked and Stamford Bridge was on it's feet in no time. Chelsea have got a real superstar in the making. Even David Silva, arguably the play-maker in the league at the moment, took almost half-a-season to adjust to the English game. It might not be widely known, but Juan Mata was a product of Real Madrid's youth setup (Yes, they Do have a youth system! ) . But, after shining for their B team, Mata and his parents demanded a contract with the senior team. Real refused, choosing to sign Royston Drenthe (yeah, the same one who was struggling to find a club few days ago!) instead. Valencia were waiting in the wings to pounce, and Mata hasn't disappointed since. He was the sole reason Valencia weren't plunged into an unknown darkness of failure, even after departures of two majestic Davids to Barcelona and Manchester City. It was a writing on the wall that he'd follow them to bigger clubs. Within days of signing for Chelsea, he looks to have upstaged Malouda, the French veteran, for the role on the left flank.

               If given proper time to gel, Mata could just be the man to unlock Fernando Torres's 50-million-pounds-worth potential. El Nino is still craving for the defence-splitting through balls that Gerrard and Benayoun could provide him, as Chelsea try to break from their routine of launching the ball to Drogba and let him do the rest. Early signs suggest AVB will stick to the 4-3-3 formation, which means Mata will be playing out wide on the left, rather than centrally, although a prospect of a super-fast Mata-Torres-Sturridge forward-line is fascinating for the Blue supporters.


                     The era appears to be changing at Chelsea. The veterans like Drogba, Malouda and Anelka are no longer guaranteed starters, and with the emergence of McEachran and Romeu, Frank Lampard could find himself added to that list soon.And Juan Mata promises to be the star of Chelsea's attempt at a revolution. Even with a huge clash against a rampant-looking defending Champions looming large, times have hardly been more exciting to be a Chelsea fan !

Why Messi's Argentina Never Win...

                    It's almost becoming a cliche now..."Miracle Messi" fails to lead his National team to victory again... World's best Footballer fails to display the same form for his nation, etc etc. And the comments are pretty obvious and simplistic. Just blame Messi for not being proud of his country, or where the Messi-worshipers are concerned, find faults with rest of the team or just blame the head-coach (In case of Maradona, I do agree with them, yeah!). But, I would hardly think the reasoning behind Argentina's failure is that simple. You just can't throw together some of the world's finest talents, and expect them to conquer everything, as Real Madrid keep finding out again and again.
             
                         Argentina have some incredible talents, alongside Messi, be it Tevez, Kun Aguero, Di Maria or Higuain. But, the major issue is Compatibility.Let Messi put any number of inch-perfect through-balls, the fact is Higuain and Tevez are simply not used to just wait on the shoulders of the last defender for such passes.Higuain plays an out and out Target Man for Real Madrid under Mourinho, in a role which lets him fight with the defenders. Carlos Tevez was the joint-top goalscorer in EPL last season, without a world-class play-maker in his team (David Silva returned to form pretty late in the season). Even Messi built his reputation as the world's Best, not only on his sleek passing, but also deadly finishing which saw him score an incredible 53 goals last season. But then, there's not a single play-maker in Argentine team, who can offer Messi the service that Xavi and Iniesta provide him at Camp Nou. Juan Roman Riquelme, the only one who could've done the duty, left the team after differences with the then-coach Maradona. His loss is huge to the Argentines, because it forces Messi to go even deeper to create chances for his team-mates, which deprives Argentina of one of the most brilliant finishers of the game.

Of Arsenal's "Mission Impossible" and Spurs' Italian Adventures

Who would get to lay his hands on the Europe's most coveted Trophy,this year?

        
  So,finally the Draws for The Champions League knockout stages are out,and although some of the biggest teams in World Football are involved,there isn't really a Adrenaline-raising,Mouth-watering clash at least in the Last 16s. Manchester United and Chelsea got comparatively easy draws,while Arsenal managed to find the worst draw possible in Barcelona,Real Madrid face Olympique Lyon,the team that knocked them out last year,so that would be an interesting clash too.Here are the 3 best fixtures I thought,came out Yesterday's draw:


3. Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich

with the "Special One" gone,and Diego Millito not emulating his last season's goalscoring heroics,Inter will find the goings hard in Europe's elite competition this year

It's the clash between last year's Finalists,but this doesn't look as exciting as last year.Both teams are struggling in the Domestic Leagues,especially Inter,who have really found it tough to cope with the loss of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid.Struggling with so many injuries,Inter languish at the sixth place in Serie A ,and if their form doesn't improve soon,we could have a different man from Rafa Benitez in the Dugout by the time they face the German Giants.Although,Bayern themselves are not in the best of forms,the Bavarian Giants would be my pick in this tie.




2. AC Milan vs Tottenham Hotspur


This one promises to be a cracking tie,the Defensive Strength of Milan versus the free flowing Spurs.Although AC Milan would be a different opposition altogether from their neighbours Inter for Spurs,who were impressive against the Defending Champions in the Group Stages,the Londoners do have the talent to compete with the very best of Europe.One thing that could go against them is their inexperience at this stage,although they score goals for fun,keeping clean sheets is so vital in Champions League,especially in the latter stages,and Spurs look like they can concede anytime.Milan are in very good form domestically,on top of the Serie A,and with Ibrahimovic finding his goalscoring form,they would be my favourites in what promises to be a Roller-Coaster ride of a game,but then which game involving Spurs isn't??




1. Arsenal vs Barcelona

Will Fabregas and co. be able to match the Catalans,or will it be a repeat of last year's Messi mania??

This was the fate everyone wanted to avoid,and Arsenal have gone and found it again! Points dropped against Braga and Shakhtar look so costly now,as they find themselves in a tie,which ,at the moment,seems to have only one possible outcome.The Catalan Giants have re-discovered their devastating form,and since Destroying Real Madrid in the "Classico",they haven't bothered to look back.While their dazzling scoring records catch every one's eye,they have silently turned into a Rock-Solid Defensive Unit.6 straight clean sheets in all competitions in a row,and the number only looks set to increase as La Liga action continues.Arsenal haven't been that impressive,although they sit 2nd in the Premier League,they have already lost at home to the likes of West Brom and Newcastle,and unless Someone can produce a Miraculous performance for the Gunners (and of course,there is a condition that no one does it from the Spanish side,which looks unlikely,remember what Messi did last year to them,don't you?) ,This looks a tie heavily tilted towards the "La Blagurana"