Good morning folks. Today should be a good one for soccer news. You’ve got SuperLiga resuming tonight, as well as the Red Bulls getting a look at their new faces in a scrimmage. There is also the on-going European transfer market, which has new twists every day.
Let’s get started with some news from this morning and Monday:
Arsenal enters Barry sweepstakes
With Juventus’ pursuit of Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso having ended, and the anticipated transfer revenue from that sale no longer coming in, Liverpool’s initial pursuit of Gareth Barry appearing to have ended. Now Arsenal has stepped in and appears ready to make a play for the former Aston Villa captain.
Talk about a priceless move if it happens. Arsenal’s most pressing need is replacing Mathieu Flamini and Gareth Barry would do just that. Yes, the Gunners still have to deal with the potential departure of Emmanuel Adebayor, but solidifying the midfield is more important at this point and Barry would do just that. Nevermind the fact that Arsenal would be swiping Barry away from Liverpool, which appeared to have him locked up a few weeks ago.
What will Liverpool do now? There’s not much the Reds can do, and let’s face it, Alonso isn’t exactly a bad consolation prize. That’s assuming he doesn’t let the fact that Rafa Benitez tried to dump him affect his play.
Is Man City’s monster bid enough for Ronaldinho?
As you probably have heard by now, Manchester City raised the stakes considerably in its quest to sign Ronaldinho, making a $51 million offer for the Brazilian star’s services. Even though the transfer bid, and contract offer for Ronaldinho, dwarf the next best offer, it may not be enough to stop Ronaldinho from joining AC Milan.
Where will he wind up? I think he’ll go to Milan but have to admit that I’m intrigued by the possibility of Ronaldinho playing for City. With Jo and Elano already in the fold, City certainly has a Brazilian flavor and just might be able to knock on the door of the Big Four if Ronaldinho showed up ready to play his best. I also have questions about how exactly Ronaldinho will fit in at Milan.
MLS Notes
Here’s a quick rundown:
The Red Bulls-Harrisburg scrimmage at Giants Stadium is NOT open to the public.
Soccer America is reporting on its website this morning that Juan Pablo Angel, Pat Onstad and Steve Ralston will get all-star calls from New England head coach Steve Nicol. Onstad and Ralston are not surprises but Angel’s inclusion is a bit of a surprise considering the Red Bulls play at San Jose the Sunday after the All-Star game and Angel has only recently returned from a hamstring injury.
The San Jose Earthquakes waived former Red Bulls midfielder Joe Vide on Monday, a disappointing turn of events for a player who showed so much promise for the Red Bulls last year. I would not be at all surprised to see Vide training with the Red Bulls shortly. One of his biggest advocates during his time with the Red Bulls was current assistant Richie Williams, and since the club is still looking for midfield help, don’t be surprised to see the Red Bulls take a look.
A source tells me that San Jose gave KC an allocation larger than $125,000 in the trade to acquire Scott Sealy. That’s more than $60,000 for each of the two goals Sealy has scored this year. That’s just a bit pricey for a forward who A) is planning to leave MLS after this season and B) is likely to miss time due to World Cup qualifying with Trinidad & Tobago.
That’s all for now. I’ll be checking back in from Giants Stadium this afternoon. Feel free to share your thoughts on these and any other stories in the comments section below.