Football news
Top 5 Premier League strikers to look out for this season
From Ronaldo to Haaland, every striker to look out for this season.
By Utkarsh Tripathi
With August 6 heralding a new Premier League season, the fortunes of the 20 teams in the League will rest on their players, to be precise, their strikers. Here are the boots to look out for this season:
1. Erling Haaland
The prodigal wonderkid, who has already made his mark in the Bundesliga by averaging a goal per game in the 2021 Bundesliga season, is expected to be an eyecatcher for Manchester City fans as well as for Premier League fans.
Haaland signed for 51 million Euros for a 5-year contract with Manchester City. This was surprisingly quite a low bargain for someone with his potential and talent. However, the 22-year-old had followed the footsteps of his father Alf-ine Haaland, a former City player, by signing this deal.
The Norwegian striker has maintained a streak of breaking records in his career. In his former stint in Borussia Dortmund, he beat the record of being the fastest as well as being the youngest player to reach the 50 goals mark in the Bundesliga.
The striker is already being compared to the greats, since he became the fastest player to reach 100 career goals beating fellow Phenomenon, Kylian Mbappe. What took Kylian 180 games to achieve; Haaland did it in only 146.
The only doubt that should haunt City fans is how he will fit in with Pep Guardiola’s system, considering his former team.
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2. Darwin Nunez
Darvin Nunez is a well-built striker, who will pose a problem for defenders in the Premier League. The new Liverpool signing had caught the attention of Klopp when he played and scored against Liverpool in the Champions League quarter final, scoring against them in both legs.
The Benfica star was signed for a whopping 85 million Euros for a six-year deal. The Uruguayan is anticipated to be worth the price the club has signed him for. He has shown in his career that he is a man of character and hardwork considering his humble beginnings.
In the 2021 season with Benfica, Nunez had a slow start in which he was only able to score 14 goals in 44 appearances. After picking up an injury in May, he underwent surgery. However, after his comeback, Nunez managed to score a total 26 goals and 4 assists in just 24 appearances.
Nunez left his mark in the Portuguese Primera Liga with his performance in the 2021 season and was awarded the golden boot. The 23-year-old Liverpool star is expected to be the missing piece in Klopp’s system after Sadio Mane’s exit to Bayern Munich. He is already impressing the manager and his fans with his sharpness inside the box in pre-season games.
3. Gabriel Jesus
At 25, Gabriel Jesus, the former Manchester city striker, is one of the most unpredictable strikers in the competition. At City, he adapted and flourished under Pep Guardiola’s complex system, scoring 13 goals and providing 11 assists in his previous season.
The Brazilian signed a long-term $ 54 million deal with the Gunners. Coach Mikel Arteta hopes Jesus’s presence could get Arsenal higher up the table.
Jesus has turned heads with his performance in the pre-season tour and the fans high hopes’ will be another pressure factor.
4. Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling, former Manchester City star, has consistently tallied up double figures, crossing the 20 goal mark every season from 2017 to 2020. He has scored 131 goals for Manchester City, finding place on the team’s all-time top scorer’s list.
The 27-year-old veteran signed a five-year deal for 45 million Euros with Chelsea this year. The English striker and winger was on the Blues’ top priority list as the transfer window opened. He is going to be part of the Chelsea attacking trio, making him a significant part of the team’s plan. With Thomas Tuchel as the manager, it is imagined it won’t be an issue for Sterling to settle.
5. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo’s future was uncertain after the lacklustre Manchester United performance the previous season, which made Ronaldo want to leave. Despite the unsatisfactory performance by the club, Ronaldo still managed to find the net 24 times in 34 appearances which made him the recipient of Manchester United’s player of the year award.
The five-time men’s Ballon d’Or award winner shouldn’t be counted out just yet. He is still amongst the top strikers in the world. His return to Manchester United last season made headlines across the world, inspiring fans to attend more matches to support United and also to watch one of the greatest play.
After the Ronaldo’s decision to stay at United was finalized, it is quite possible that he and Erik ten Hag can bring United back to its prime. Ten Hag has time and again told the press how vital Ronaldo is for the system he has planned.
With players coming back from loan such as Antony Martial and Van De Beek and Christian Eriksen as a new signing, it is fitting to say Manchester United are on the right track to atone for their past season. Ronaldo’s stay will compliment the team but “will he press” will continue to plague the Portuguese star.
Football news
FIFA Awards 2022: World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Alexia Putellas win Best Player titles
Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men’s Player award for the second time.
Lionel Messi has added another achievement to his account. Messi was voted FIFA’s best male player for the year 2022. Messi made Argentina the World Cup champion, ending a 36-year drought. He scored seven goals in this tournament.
On the other hand, Alexia Putellas won the female best player award at the FIFA football awards 2022.
Lionel Messi’s compatriot and coach Lionel Scaloni was named the best male coach. Scaloni guided the South Americans to the World Cup title. Messi, 35, left behind French forward Kylin Mbappe and Karim Benzema for this award. Apart from making Argentina the World Cup champion, Messi scored 27 goals in a total of 49 matches for the country and club in 2021-22.
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What did Messi say on receiving the award?
Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men’s Player award for the second time. He said, ‘This is wonderful. It has been an amazing year and it is an honour for me to be here to receive the award. I wouldn’t be here without my teammates. I have achieved my long held dream. Only a few people achieve this and I feel fortunate to have done so.’
Lionel Scaloni, the coach who won Argentina the World Cup title, beat Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti at the ceremony in Paris. Guardiola led Manchester City to their sixth Premier League title. At the same time, Ancelotti had given Real Madrid the Champions League title.
England manager Sarina Wigman was voted the best women’s coach of the year. He guided England to the European Championship title last year. It was the team’s first major trophy. Aston Villa and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez won the best goalkeeper award while England’s Mary Earps won the women’s award. Barcelona’s Alexia Putelas was voted the best female player of the year.
Football news
Cristiano Ronaldo shares picture with rival Lionel Messi, says nice to see some old friends
Only recently the news of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer took the footballing world by surprise as he announced that he will be taking his talents to Saudi Arabia’s league club Al-Nassr. The news of Ronaldo transferring to Al-Nasar left many fans heartbroken as the 37 year-old striker’s move to Saudi Arabia was speculated as him turning toward the phase of retirement and stepping away from playing football in big leagues.
What many predict to be the last face-off between the two of the greatest players, lived up to its name as Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo went head-to-head with Argentinian striker Lionel Messi on January 19. The friendly match between Al-Nassr and Paris Saint Germain saw the two GOATs playing against each other.
After the match, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo shared a series of photos on Instagram in which he was seen doing the iconic celebration, as well as scoring the penalty during the match. Aside from the goals, the infamous number 7 also shared the photo of him hugging his arch rival and one of the greatest football players, Lionel Messi, during the match. Ronaldo also shared the picture of him being awarded the Man Of The Match trophy following the clash.
The post was shared by Ronaldo with a caption that stated that he was so happy to be back on the football field. The Portuguese star also added that he is happy to be on the score sheet as well. The 37-year-old also shared that he was happy to see some old friends, implying that it was great to see Messi and a few other former teammates from his stint in Real Madrid.
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The match concluded in a 5-4 win for PSG, however, the match became a riveting clash for the fans to watch as Messi found himself in the scoresheet in the opening minutes of the match, however, Ronaldo answered back with a penalty goal. Ronaldo also scored another goal before coming off. Subsequently after Ronaldo’s substitution, Messi was also taken off the field.
Ronaldo’s Transfer
Only recently the news of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer took the footballing world by surprise as he announced that he will be taking his talents to Saudi Arabia’s league club Al-Nassr. The news of Ronaldo transferring to Al-Nasar left many fans heartbroken as the 37 year-old striker’s move to Saudi Arabia was speculated as him turning toward the phase of retirement and stepping away from playing football in big leagues such as Champions league, Premier League and what not.
Ronaldo signed a 2 and a Half year contract till 2025 with Al-Nassr on a free transfer following the number seven’s fallout with Manchester United. The portuguese star is set to earn an unprecedented amount of wages as he will earn 1800 crore rupees a year.
Football news
Football suffers another great loss, former Italy striker Gianluca Vialli dies at 58
The Italian striker became the inspiring change for the Blues as he came as the player-manager in to lead Chelsea to victory in League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA super cup.
Football world suffers another huge loss after Pele as former Italy striker Gianluca Vialli has died due to pancreatic cancer. The heartbreaking news of the former Sampdoria striker’s death came to the fore after his former club announced it on social media.
According to reports, in 2017 Vialli was diagnosed with cancer due to which he also took a temporary leave from his role with the national team in December owing to his health.
Gianluca Vialli Career
Vialli, joined the old lady in Italy after completing his iconic stint at Sampdoria in 1992 with a record transfer signing money at the time for 16.5 million euros. Luca continued to shine in Juventus as well as he successfully led the team to win the Champions league.
In 1996, Vialli took his talent to England to showcase it for the blues as he joined Chelsea in 1996. Subsequently after, the Italian transitioned to become a player-manager in 1998 after the sacking of Ruud Gullit. The Italian striker became the inspiring change for the Blues as he came as the player-manager in to lead Chelsea to victory in League Cup, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA super cup.
Gianluca was in the coaching staff assisting his former teammate in the Italy team which went on to win Euro 2022.
Twitter Reaction
After the news of the Italian striker’s death surfaced, the fans on twitter joined hands to pay regards to the player’s legacy and what he achieved. One user wrote and highlighted that The Italian phenom had a penchant for bicycle kick back in his days. He further deemed Luca to be a player that knew no bounds when it came to exciting the crowd.
One user wrote rest in peace to the late Italian footballer, Gianluca Vialli. The user further added that the former Juventus player was one of his favorite Italian soccer players. The user also added that the Images of Vialli with Roberto Mancini after Italy won Euro 2020 at Wembley will always remain a really special moment for him.
Not only the fans, but more people from football fraternity paid tribute to the late striker as Former Chelsea striker and current AS Roma manager paid tribute to Luca along with the Roma team.
