It’s back… after nearly 8 weeks out, finally it’s back!



Did you think I was think I was talking about the football? No sorry, I was talking about Origami with Aragami! Much like our Saturday afternoon heroes, I too had my summer holiday, and unlike them I didn’t need a pre-season to get back shape; no people I’m jumping straight from the frying pan, into the fire! Audacious into aside, the football season is back, and what an explosive weekend of action we were treated to here in England, as Leicester City fell to Hull, both the Manchester clubs got off to a winning start, and Liverpool overcame Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in what will no doubt go down as one of the games of the season. It wasn’t just in England where turf was eaten; Ligue 1 kicked off on Friday, while the Super Cups of both Spain and Germany were contested on Sunday as well. Rather than a review of the games however, I will discuss my talking points, and the things which caught my eye over this past week of action, and maybe even lay some cheeky predictions, that will never come to pass!



The Premier League is back!…



For the first time that I can ever really remember, I am actually more excited to see the Premier League this year, than any of the other main leagues on the continent this season. With so many storylines (how Leicester will cope as champions, Mourinho vs Guardiola, to name but 2), the presence of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Antonio Conte, Jurgen Klopp, Aresene Wenger, Claudio Ranieri and Mauricio Pochettino in their respective dugouts, and the injection of world class talent such as: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Leroy Sane, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Granit Xhaka, Ilkay Gundogan and Michy Batshuayi; never before has the league had so much allure. Leicester began their defence of their title with a reality check of a defeat, as newly promoted, and manager-less Hull City defeated Claudio Ranieri’s side 2-1 at the KCOM Stadium in the opening game of the campaign. While ‘the Foxes’ were defiant in defeat to Manchester United last weekend in the Community Shield, they were gutless on Saturday, as the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez; the 2 heroes of last year’s title triumph, provided little inspiration. Moreover, it appeared that ‘the Foxes’ were almost burdened by the task of being favourites, and champions, and consequently now have the label of being first side to lose their opening fixture as defending champions. While Ahmed Musa’s pace will no doubt cause many a defence a problem, Leicester are going to need to step up drastically from this level of performance, if they are make the top 10; let alone successfully defend their title. While the afternoon games didn’t really leave much to be desired, all eyes were on the Etihad Arena as the most coveted manager in the sport today: Pep Guardiola, made his Premier League managerial debut, as he met David Moyes’ Sunderland side. As expected ‘the Citizens’ took all 3 points, although they left it late to secure the win, there was plenty for the City faithful to be excited about, as the Guardiola blue print was already showing signs of flourishing, in what must surely be exciting times for the City faithful. It wasn’t until Sunday however, that we got a glimpse of what could be ahead for us this season. At the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth hosted the newly minted Community Shield winners in the form of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. Mourinho’s Chelsea infamously fell to Bournemouth last season at Stamford Bridge, during his ill-fated half season with ‘the Blues’ last year, before Eddie Howe’s men saw of Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United side the following weekend. With revenge on the agenda, ‘United’ romped to a 3-1 victory over ‘the Cherries’ with Juan Mata opening the scoring, before Wayne Rooney added a second, before the man, the myth, the legend: Zlatan Ibrahimovic added a 3rd with a laser beam strike, 5 minutes later. Adam Smith did score a fine goal of his own 5 minutes later, however the damage had been and more importantly, Manchester United and Jose Mourinho got their league campaign off the mark with 3 points away from home. The showcase fixture however emanated from the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal clashed swords with Liverpool. The narrative going into the bout would be how Arsenal would cope with their makeshift centre back pairing of Callum Chambers and Rob Holding. For 45 minutes they seemed to be doing just fine, as Theo Walcott gave Arsenal a deserved lead with a fine finish, just moments after missing a penalty. The pendulum swung firmly in Liverpool’s favour however, with the last kick of the half, as Philippe Coutinho scored a truly world class free kick to equalise proceedings. In classic Klopp fashion, ‘the Reds’ responded with a blitz, and within 20 minutes of the restart, Adam Lallana, Coutinho, and then new signing, Sadio Mane gifted Liverpool a 4-1 lead! While Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Callum Chambers ensured ‘the Gunners’ would save some face, it would be Liverpool who would leave North London with all 3 points. The action didn’t stop there, on Monday, we were treated to a London derby at Stamford Bridge as Antonio Conte’s Chelsea hosted West Ham. Much like Manchester City did 48 hours earlier, Chelsea left it late, as Diego Costa’s wonderfully taken strike in the 89th minute was enough to seal a 2-1 win for ‘the Blues’. Furthermore the celebrations that were prompted by Antonio Conte after the goal were rapturous, as he leapt into the arms of the Chelsea supporters. While the win may have been blighted by the controversy surrounding Diego Costa’s challenge on Adrian which should have really seen the Spaniard sent off, you cannot help but feel Conte is helping turn Chelsea from the ‘heel’ of English football, into a passion infused and likeable outfit; that however will tell itself during the course of the campaign. After the first match-day then, Manchester United lead the way with their superior goal difference, with a further 6 teams also locked on 3 points. United will have the opportunity to enjoy a 3 point lead over their contemporaries for at least 12 hours as they host Southampton at Old Trafford on Friday evening.

New season, same victors across the continent…

This past Tuesday, Real Madrid and Sevilla contested the UEFA Super Cup showpiece for the second time in 2 years, and for the third season running, Sevilla came up short as Daniel Carvajal’s wonderful solo goal gifted ‘Los Blancos’ the victory in extra time, in a thoroughly exhilarating 3-2 victory. Sevilla’s woes continued on Sunday as they fell 2-0 to Barcelona in the 1st leg of the Supercopa de Espana showcase. The 2 sides will meet again in the second leg tomorrow (17/08/16) at the Camp Nou, where Sevilla will look to recreate their performance in the 2-1 win that they recorded over Luis Enrique’s side in the league, last October. La Liga gets underway this weekend as Barcelona begin their pursuit of a 3rd straight title at home to Real Betis, while Real Madrid travel to Basque country to meet Real Sociedad, and Atletico Madrid host newly promoted Deportivo Alaves in the Sunday’s late kick-off.

In Germany, Carlo Ancelotti achieved in his first attempt what Pep Guardiola failed in 3 as Bayern Munich manager, and that was by winning the DFL-Supercup. Moreover, the victory was made even sweeter given that it was against their most fierce rivals Borrusia Dortmund. In a tale of 2 halves, the first half saw Thomas Tuchel’s side create more opportunities, however it was in the second stanza, where the quality of ‘Die Rotten’ began to shine, as Arturo Vidal and Thomas Muller ensured that for the first time since 2013, Bayern had the bragging rights in this show-piece bout. Lastly, in Ligue 1, Unai Emery picked up where Laurent Blanc left off for PSG, as he added to their Trophee des Champions triumph over Lyon last week with a customary 1-0 win away to Bastia. Alexander Lacazette done his prospects no harm whatsoever, as he rifled home a hat-trick away to Nancy to give Lyon the perfect start to their campaign, while both Monaco and Marseille stuttered at home; albeit Monaco recovered a 2 goal deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw with Guingamp, while Marseille once again treated their fans to same inspired level of performance they did throughout last season, as they were held to a goalless draw by Toulouse.

Meanwhile on the Italian peninsula, Serie A returns to action this weekend also as Juventus look to win their 6th Serie A crown in a row. The defending champions being their latest defence of their crown in a mouth-watering clash with rivals Fiorentina at home. Max Allegri’s side have spent big this summer, adding in world class talent such as: Dani Alves, Mehdi Benatia, Miralem Pjanic & Gonzalo Higuain to an already star studded line up, the x factor however will be how the sale of Paul Pogba will affect the midfield. When you exclude Juventus’ spree, Serie A has been surprisingly bereft of major transfers, while last season the likes of Carlos Bacca, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Stevan Jovetic, Edin Dzeko, compensated for the departures of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Carlos Tevez; this summer has seen both Paul Pobga and Alvaro Morata leave the division, while the likes of Radja Nainggolan, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mauro Icardi and Carlos Bacca still continue to be linked with moves away from their respective clubs. With that being said, in the form of Vincenzo Montella and Frank de Boer, the Milan clubs have 2 very able and young managers at the helm, with seemingly a fresh injection of funds in which to buy players (although not a lot of time), and with the likes of Arkadiusz Milik, Thomas Vermaelen, Ever Banega joining the league, and Antonio Candreva, Pjanic, Higuain all switching clubs within the league, there is still plenty to look forward to in Serie A this season.

Players of the week…

A new feature will by my players of the week and the awards this week go to:

PHILLIPE COUTINHO:

His free-kick will be amongst the goals of the season this year, much like he did last year in Liverpool’s opening league game, he rifled home a world class goal away from home. Everything positive that Liverpool did all went through the Brazilian maestro, and it was no surprise that he helped himself to a fine second goal, given the quality of his play. It will be worrying for Liverpool fans however that he hobbled off the field, and with his exit, came a significant drop in Liverpool’s creativity and intensity.

ERIC BAILLY:

Manchester United’s latest defensive acquisition could not have settled into life at Old Trafford any better as he ended the game with Bournemouth with a second successive Man of the Match award. A physical and athletic specimen, Bailly has had no difficulty adapting to rough and tumble on the division, while also displaying assuredness and confidence in his ball playing skills and distribution; no doubt honed during his time in Spain. At just 22 years of age, his decision making will only get better, especially in plying his trade next to one of either Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, while under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

LIONEL MESSI:

The evolution of Lionel Messi is an absolute joy to behold, while he will probably no longer be the swash buckling dribbler, netting 50+ goals a season, as he did between 2011-2013, the new Messi has adapted to the effect his knee injuries have had on his pace, and instead, has begun ascent into a deeper position where he can affect the play with his incredible vision and array of passing. Never before was that on display, than on Sunday against Sevilla. While his runs were not as frequent, and admittedly looked slightly off the pace with his general sharpness and finishing; his influence on the game in the latter stages of the game, when the Sevilla players began to wane, was there for all to see, and thus, it came as no surprise that he provide the clinical assist for Munir’s late goal in the 2-0 win.

My picks for the season ahead…

I have also penned some quick predictions ahead of the season…

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

LIONEL MESSI:

In addition to my comments above, Messi could have a more important role than ever for his club this season as he begins to drift further deeper down the pitch. As a player, ‘Leo’ would always drop deep to collect the ball, before twisting and turning and conjuring his way to goal. What became apparent to all, was that following his rush from injury in 2013, and follow up set back in the 2013-14 season, the blinding acceleration, change of pace and swift turn of direction was dwindling. While his goal stats in the 2013-14 season and 2014-15 campaign were still outstanding, his goal stats last season were his worst in La Liga since 2008-09, he was still had the most assists (with 16) all season for the second season running, despite only playing 33 games. Furthermore, if Andres Iniesta’s injury problems persist, it will be the Argentine maestro who will be assuming the captains armband for the much of the season.

RADAMEL FALCAO:

It is hard to believe that at the end of 2012-13 season, ‘El Tigre’ Radamel Falcao was considered arguably the hottest striker on the planet. Having just netted 34 goals in 41 games, 28 of those coming in La Liga, and having just helped guide Atletico Madrid to the Copa del Rey over Real Madrid; everyone from Chelsea, to Manchester United, to PSG, to Real Madrid themselves. The fall of the Colombian began with his ill-fated £57 million transfer to Monaco in the summer of 2013, derided by the Atleti’ faithful for leaving simply for the money, he left a shot at Champions League football, to join the newly promoted French side. Despite having issues in adapting to Claudio Ranieri’s newly forged side, he still racked a more than impressive 11 goals in 19 games in all competitions until a cruel and unfortunate ACL tear ended both his season, and World Cup hopes that year. Seemingly recovered, he moved on loan to Manchester United and then to Chelsea, however his return of 5 goals over 41 appearances, tells its own story of a man who is shot on confidence. Returning back to Monaco, he has already netted crucial goals in helping Monaco defeat Fenerbahce in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds. With Monaco now a side built around youth, rather than in the mould of PSG as they were when the signed Falcao, Falcao will be entrusted with the captains armband, and will have the ultimate platform to prove all of his doubters wrong, and establish himself once again as one of the best strikers on the planet.

ANTONIO CANDREVA (INTER MILAN):

Long heralded as one of the most underrated players on the planet, he finally became a mainstay in the public eye following a series of excellent displays at Euro 2016, most notably against Belgium. Linked with moves to Barcelona, Juventus, Napoli, Liverpool, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at numerous points in his career, the former Lazio man finally made the switch from Rome this summer, and it will be Inter Milan who will be benefitting from his considerable talents. With an attacking manager in Frank de Boer in the Inter hotseat, Candreva will have the likes of Ever Banega, Ivan Perisic, Stevan Jovetic and Mauro Icardi to work with, so no longer will he have to carry the burden as he did at Lazio. At 29 years of age, there will be no better time for the Italy #6 to express his talents on the world stage, as Inter look to re-establish themselves as a force in the Italian game.

GONZALO HIGUAIN (JUVENTUS):

In a summer dominated by the headline of Paul Pogba becoming the most expensive player in the world, it had almost become forgotten news that Juventus made Gonzalo Higuain the 5th most expensive ever player as he completed his €90 transfer from Napoli. Consistently, one of the most prolific and deadliest strikers in the game during this past decade, Higuain made history last season by becoming the joint top scorer in a single Serie A season (the record of 36 goals is shared by Gino Rossetti who achieved the feat in 1928-29). While the numbers are incredible, a deeper look into his season doesn’t make for as greater reading. Against sides in the top 4, Higuain only found the net twice, and that was against Juventus when the 2 sides met during Juve’s early season slump, and then Inter Milan in December. Furthermore, he failed to make any impact during the crunch games with Juventus in February or Roma in April, as well the 2 legs with Villarreal in the Europa League. When you throw in his showing in the Copa America Centenario final against Chile, a worrying trend of not showing up in the big games does present itself. While his talent for scoring goals cannot be denied, he has been brought in by Juventus to secure the Champions League. With a supply line consisting of Dani Alves, Miralem Pjanic & Paulo Dybala; Higuain will have no excuses if he does not provide for the ‘Bianconeri’ what his compatriot Carlos Tevez did for Juventus for 2 seasons, between the period of 2013-2015.

MARIO GOTZE (BORUSSIA DORTMUND):

Once the crown jewel of Jurgen Klopp’s exhilarating Borrusia Dortmund side, now a maligned figure looking to return on the path he was once walking; Mario Gotze returns to Dortmund with more than a point to prove. The subject of a controversial £30 million transfer to Bayern Munich in 2013, ‘Die Rotten’ made the decision to announce their capture of the German wonder-kid, just 36 hours before Dortmund’s clash with Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final in April 2013. While Dortmund successfully navigated that gargantuan task, the challenge of Bayern Munich in that year’s final would prove too much for ‘Der BVB’ and all Gotze could do was watch from the side-line, as injury ruled him out of the Wembley showpiece. Expected to be one of the many orchestra’s in Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich experiment, the young attacker instead had to deal with injury and a struggle for an identity in the Spaniard’s set up; despite his struggles, he still netted 10 league goals in 27 games, his best ever return in the Bundesliga. In July of 2014, he became a national hero, after scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final in Brazil, to gift Germany their 4th world title. Sadly for him, the momentum would halt as he became less and less of a fixture in the Bayern side, culminating in his transfer back to Dortmund this summer. Re-united with both Shinji Kagawa and Marco Reus, as well having the opportunity to link up Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang and Andre Schurlle, as well as the young talent Ousmane Dembele, Gotze may have the freedom to truly express him again, and fulfil the expectations that were asked of him back in 2012 and 2013. Moreover, Gotze’s Bayern goal record was actually stronger his Dortmund record, despite playing 2 less games. History may show that it might have been a case of the wrong timing for Gotze, as the pecking order in front of him featured the likes of Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery, Robert Lewandowski, Douglas Costa & Thomas Muller; even Toni Kroos had to move on in 2014 due to the depth at Bayern.

It’s been real people…

At near 3000 words, I think it is time to wrap up this edition of the blog. I will be penning an entry on Friday, for the forthcoming UFC 202 event which is set to take on Saturday, and in my next footy related blog, I will be noting the teams that I will be watching out for this season. Please make sure you head to www.foreverfootballshirts.co.uk to see our latest editions ahead of the new season! I hope you have enjoyed the return of Origami with Aragami, please do not hesitate to leave a comment, or find me on twitter and Instagram using @aragami9x until next time…

Good night and God bless,

Steven,

OSSSUUUU!!!