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Soccer Focus : And we await the next season

A brilliant end to an otherwise average season

Shebby Singh (The Jakarta Post)
Sat, May 19, 2012 Published on May. 19, 2012 Published on 2012-05-19T13:28:53+07:00

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A

brilliant end to an otherwise average season. The final weekend of the 2011/2012 Barclays Premier League season was right up there with amazing finales like the Champions League final of 1999.

I highly doubt that this will be the last time we see such a dramatic final day, but who knows? Soccer is a beautiful game and you can expect the unexpected when soccer is concerned.

For Manchester City, to come back in a match like that, shows truly that there is quality among its ranks. It was evident that the team had character with the quality it showed even so late into the game. It played with that same spirit throughout the season and has indeed earned that title that it has waited so long for.

So as of last weekend, a second blue team in a decade fueled by millions and millions of dollars hold the title of England’s best, but I feel that this City team will have a longer time at the top than Chelsea did those years ago. You see, Roberto Mancini has settled well in English football after two and a half years.

When he first arrived, he was very Italian in his approach, but now he has managed to marry the two cultures and has produced brilliant soccer with results. Jose Mourinho on the other hand, played very pragmatic soccer from the start. Chelsea was built to get results and had players with a very strong physical structure.

When you described Chelsea, then, you would always say a powerful team based on their physique. Manchester City though, has a combination of these big players and small mobile players. This combination has been wonderful for Manchester City and has been very pleasing on the eye as well.

An honorable mention has to go out to the captain of the Manchester City squad, Vincent Kompany. To me, he was the captain of the season. He was truly inspirational at times and appeared to somehow block out entire strike forces by himself.

He led by example and I am sure he helped bring the squad together and motivate them for matches. Most people would think Robin van Persie because he has been a great captain as well, by leading from the front, but for winning the Premier League, I would have to say that Kompany just pips it.

In a season where most people claim was the best of all time and had the biggest surprises, I would actually have to disagree on that. The teams that were goof were good and the teams that were bad were relegated.

There may have been several shocking results but you have them every season. Some say may say Newcastle was the surprise of the season, but if you look at its team, you can see that it actually is quite strong.

However, a team that perhaps slightly but pleasantly surprised me was Swansea. Never have I enjoyed a team’s soccer so much.  Swansea came into the league with a truly continental style of play and all the players have shown throughout the season that they are very confident on the ball. Its midfield pairing of Leon Britton and Joe Allen was extremely watchable and if you break it down to the nitty gritty, Swansea has truly been the most entertaining squad of the season, something which Brendan Rodgers should be really proud of.

How about best player? Well, I would have to give it to Sergio Aguero. He has really been outstanding this season and has adjusted to the English style of playing brilliantly. The little Argentinean popped up everywhere to score goals and scored probably the most important goal in his life this season. Once again, I would say that he pips Robin van Persie slightly to this title.

What can we look forward to during the off season and next season? Well, I am sorry to burst all your bubbles, but I think nothing much is going to happen. I think with the global economy, there will not be much silly money spent around during the transfer window.

Soccer will have to have a reality check so I do not see many big money transfers. Sanity should hopefully finally prevail and we will not see a US$50-60 million transfer for players.

As for predictions next season? It can only be Manchester city.

Catch Shebby Singh on Monday Night Verdict every Monday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

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