Cabaye Sign To PSG; Major Blow For Newcastle?

It's official! French midfielder Yohan Cabaye signed for the 2013 Ligue1 champions Paris St. Germain. The club was interested in Newcastle's player for a while and after one £17 million offer that Newcastle turned down, PSG got what they were looking for with a second offer around £20 million pound.

English press are still late tonight, saying that Cabaye is simply "on brink" of joining PSG. However, French newspaper L'Equipe made it official, saying "Cabaye in Paris, it's done!"

Cabaye joins PSG and reconnects with his former coach with France, Laurent Blanc. One question remains: Whose player is going to lose his spot to allow Cabaye to play?

PSG midfield is becoming one of the bests in Europe with Matuidi, Veratti and Motta. If you doubt it, just watch PSG play in the Champions League. So what is going to happen when you add a star player like Cabaye in the mix? It's a chinese puzzle that Laurent Blanc will have to fix!

This transfer could be a major blow for Newcastle when you know the impact Cabaye has on the field for the Magpies. The French player has been outstanding so far this season, helping his team staying in eighth place, only seven points behind Liverpool, fourth.

Will the Magpies survive Cabaye's departure? Will the other French players feel lonely without their leader? Newcastle coach Alan Pardew did admit that it would be really hard to keep Cabaye at the club. He was right!

The coach loses there one of his star players, one of his "captains" and leaders. Pardew knew that he did not have a saying in Cabaye's transfer and had to simply accept the outcome, good or bad.

But Magpies fans should not worry! The club is already looking for a replacement. Indeed, the club is on the verge of signing, on loan, Borussia Munchengladbach rising star Luuk de Jong. The 23-year is traveling to Newcastle for a medical exam and a possible loan deal today.

Another target is France and Lyon midfielder Clement Grenier. The 23-year old is one of the best players in Ligue1 and could be consider as the future Cabaye. Same profile, same style, Grenier would be a perfect fit to replace Cabaye.

Let's hope Newcastle finds a new player before the end of the transfer window. And who knows? Maybe a new Frenchie will join the Premier League!

Will Monaco Survive Without Falcao?

Falcao injured himself on this challenge. He suffers
from a torn ACL and could miss the World Cup.

It was a bitter-sweet night for Monaco on Tuesday, Jan. 21,  as they easily defeated Chasselay, a fourth division team, 3-0, in the French Cup and suffered the loss of their striker, Radamel Falcao for many months! 

The Colombian striker suffers from an ACL injury and could miss the 2014 World Cup! If it is a huge loss for Colombia, it could also be a terrible thing for Monaco. Indeed, the club had a lot of expectations from their expensive striker, but unfortunately Falcao has not been at his top so far this season. He just came back from a thigh injury a week ago, after being kept off the field for more than three weeks. And now, an torn ACL! 

Monaco might have trouble to qualify for the Champions League next season without their striker, especially against the unstoppable PSG and the impressive Lille, Lyon and Marseille this season.

Many players could leave if the club fails to qualify for the major European competition.

However, Monaco showed that they could play without Falcao, thanks to French striker Emmanuel Riviere who really stepped up and scored crucial goals for the club. And Monaco is--a little bit--lucky that Falcao injured himself during the transfer window! With its huge budget, Monaco is already targeting replacements for the Colombian. 

Among targets are Brazilian Hulk and Juventus striker Mirko Vucinic. The Brazilian was already on Monaco's radar last summer, but decided to stay at Zenith. Will he change his mind now? As for Vucinic, he does not play as often as he was last year with Juventus since the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente. Maybe he will be attracted by some playing time on the French Riviera! 

Let's hope Monaco finds a way to fix the problem and let's hope that Falcao will be fit before the start of the World Cup! No one wants to see Colombia without their main offensive threat! 

   

Is Mata The Right Fit For Man Utd?

This is the question everybody is asking amid the possible transfer of the Spanish player from Chelsea FC to Manchester United for $40 million Euros. Juan Mata, 25, has been looking for a way out of the London club where he struggled to get a starting spot since the beginning of the season. So if this deal works out, let's hope everyone will be happy! But I doubt it...

Is Manchester making the right choice by signing Juan Mata? Mata is a technically gifted player, winner of the World Cup and the Euro with Spain. He is a player many teams would like to have. However, many experts are saying that Mata won't fit in the system and the philosophy of Man Utd. Former Manchester player Gary Neville has expressed his doubts regarding Mata's ability to help Manchester getting better.

"Does he fit in with what I would call the typical Manchester United philosophy? I would say no!" 

However, Neville also said that Mata was a fantastic player who knows the Premier League and could bring some creativity to the Red Devils' game. That is something they greatly need! Manchester is struggling so far, stuck in eighth place, far away from the top four. The injuries of Rooney and Van Persie have hurt the club and the substitutes are having a hard time grabbing wins.

But will Mata play when Rooney and Van Persie will be back? How is Moyes going to manage so many players playing in similar positions? With Rooney, Young, Januszaj, Giggs, Nani, Welbeck and Valencia, Mata will have a tough time to earn--and keep--a spot! Mata played 17 games, scoring once and giving three assists with Chelsea this season.

So, will Moyes change his system to include the Spanish player? Maybe he should when you look at how bad his team is this season! One thing is sure, the young Spanish player is hungry; Hungry for playing time! He wants to touch the ball and to score goals! He also wants to play the World Cup in Brazil and this would only happen if he is effective on the field! No pressure... 

There could be one, and only one, big winner after this deal: Chelsea!  

    

Ballon d'Or: When Winning Trophies Really Doesn't Matter!

After months of speculations, the 2013 France Football Ballon d'Or was awarded to Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo in Zurich, Switzerland, on Monday, January 13. The Real Madrid player wins the trophy for the second time (27,99%), beating Barcelona Lionel Messi (24,72%) and Bayern Munich Franck Ribery (23,36%). 

Ronaldo wins a controversial Ballon d'Or for many reason! The first one would be FIFA's decision to postpone the deadline of the votes, allowing two extra weeks to vote. At the time, Ribery was, according to observers, the great favorite for the title. However, those extra days gave Ronaldo the opportunity to score four goals in two games with Portugal and self handedly qualifying his country for the World Cup! A way to show the world that he is an incredible player. 

At the same time, Ribery didn't shine with France, despite a qualification for the competition in Brazil. He played well, but did not have the same impact as Ronaldo did. 

But should that matter? Surely not! 

How can a player who has won every trophy imaginable in a year (Bundesliga, German Cup, Champions League, European Super Cup, Club World Cup), a player who has been elected best player of the Bundesliga and of Europe could lose the Ballon d'Or to players who did not win a single thing (For the exception of the Spanish Liga for Messi)? Maybe if there is a conspiracy?

It seems that voters had a different point of view! Indeed, despite all his trophies Ribery only finished third! THIRD!!

All right, I can accept that Ronaldo's impressive goal scoring record (69 goals in 69 games) and his major role in sending Real Madrid to the Knock-out stage of the Champions League (nine goals in six games) and Portugal to the World Cup makes his victory legitimate, but to award Messi the second place is a proof that some people lost their minds! The guy has been injured for the past two months! He had one of his worst season last year and Barcelona won the Liga because the team is one of the best ever to play the game and Messi did not really play a major role in that! 

Sure, Messi and Ronaldo scored an incredible number of goals this year! So what? The Ballon d'Or is awarded to players who score tons of goals or to players who make their team win and are still entertaining on the field?

Speaking of entertainment, Ribery is the player who dribbled the most this season and by far! More than a thousand dribbles for only 300 for Messi and 250 for Ronaldo! 

But most of all, Ribery is a team player, always making the extra effort to help his teammates on both sides of the field. The French made 49 tackles, almost as twice as Messi, winning 89,8% of them! 

So tell me! What are the true criteria to be elected? 

If the winner of the trophy deserves it because he scores more goals than other players, is entertaining and has a major impact on the game, why a player like Thierry Henry never had it? 

Or if being a team player, winning trophies and being an example on the field is not a criteria either than why Pavel Nedved, Fabio Cannavaro or even Zinedine Zidane ever received the trophy? 

The Ballon d'Or is obviously an individual trophy, awarded to a player who achieved an individual's outstanding year. However, football is and always will be a team game and when you win trophy as a team, you still win them individually! 

Unfortunately for Ribery, it seems that voters do not get the ultimate goal of playing the game, which is winning! And if he thought he was going to win easily, he should have talked to Wesley Sneyder... 

The Falcao Enigma

What is Falcao playing at? The Colombian striker has been injured for almost three weeks, but other than the injury it is the lack of information about it that raises suspicion. Rumors of a transfer in January are already growing...

The 27 year-old player has not been on the field since Monaco manager Claudio Ranieri pulled it out of the Nantes-Monaco game at the 63rd minute. A substitution for no apparent reason as Falcao did not seem to be injured and was even surprised--not to say astonished--to have to leave the field. 

After the game, Ranieri told journalists that Falcao was suffering from a little injury and he did not want to take a risk and aggravate the injury. Well, it apparently did not work! How can a supposedly minor injury turned out to keep Falcao away from the field for four weeks? Especially when there has not been any official injury report from the club itself. Nobody knows what kind of injury Falcao suffers from, assuming he has one. 

Could it be that Falcao is simply showing his displeasure toward his coach? Does he not want to play and is planing a move away from Monaco in January? A transfer that would cost over 60 million Euros for any interested clubs as Monaco fixed the asking price. Falcao's contract expires in 2018 and he joined Monaco for 60 million Euros this summer.  

As the transfer rumor rises, Falcao told the press that he was happy at Monaco.

"I am very happy here at Monaco. I don't have a problem with the coach but with my thigh. I feel better and I will play soon."

Chelsea are interested in signing the Colombian in January, but the main club remains Real Madrid with a real conspiracy behind the transfer. Indeed, when Falcao played at Athletico Madrid, he was forbidden to sign for Real Madrid in his contract, forcing him to leave for another club. Many observers believe that he simply signed for Monaco to be able to go back to Madrid as soon as possible, this time wearing a Real madrid jersey!

Could this be? Could Falcao had used Monaco as a way out to open a window to Real madrid? Falcao's teammate at Monaco, Eric Abidal, ensures that the striker is injured and has the desire to remain at the French club.

"He told me personally that he wanted to stay here. I can assure you that he is injured and he is taking care of it."  

Everything seems fishy around the injury. An injury that, according to Falcao, appeared during a game with his country. However, the Colombian medical staff never heard of it, according to Colombia manager Mauricio Correa. After that, Falcao said that it was reminiscence of an old injury from his time at Madrid...A little bit confused and overwhelmed, Falcao? Maybe... 

I believe that Falcao simply misses the Champions League and top level football it can offer. As Monaco should qualify for next year's edition, Radamel Falcao's thirst of excitement should be fulfilled...As long as he is patient enough to wait at Monaco. The striker played 14 games in Ligue 1, scoring nine goals.