After the first few games of the season, teams have set goals for the rest of the campaign, and others are fighting just to stay in the campaign, but the big stories are not about the teams themselves, they are about the individual players who perform well. So far this season, the three big stories are all about three talented players, who often make the headlines for their scoring, and their activities off the field. The first story is about-
Christiano Ronaldo- This young star who is in search of FIFA Player of the Year has come back from both an injury, and a wanted trade to Real Madrid. When coming on as a substitute in their Champions League match, Ronaldo made his first appearance for Manchester United since he asked for a trade to Spanish giants Real Madrid, and since he had surgery on his foot. There were skeptics who believed that Ronaldo would just be a hindrance to the European Champions, since he would bring a negative attitude to the locker room, and that his performance would be effected by his recent surgery. He played well, however not to a certain Ronaldo-like quality we so often see. He will need to score and perform both on and off the field this season, to answer his critics. We will be looking for good performances from this young star this season.
Robinho- The youthful Brazilian who plays with so much flair and passion both country and his former club Real Madrid is one of our top three stories this year, because he was traded by Real Madrid to Manchester City. When traded, he smashed the previous British transfer fee record with a whopping 32.5 million pound trade, which obviously secured a spot in all the headlines. However, what made it such a big story was, he was looking headed to Chelsea for certain, when Man City just popped out of the blue with a huge deal. The young Brazilian was certainly worth the big bucks, because he’s scored two goals in two games, and added a number of assists with that tally. We’re looking for big things from the trickster over the course of this Premier League season.
Berbatov- The lanky Bulgarian, was made into a household name after last season, with a high goal ratio with a number of astounding goals for his North London club, Tottenham. With an angel’s touch and control, the man has it all. Goals, height, and power. That’s why various big name clubs took interest in him at the end of last season. With all the publicity on their striker, Tottenham put him on their bench for many games, where the Bulgarian sulked because a lack of game time. However, Manchester United emphasized their interest in the hitman, and laid out a large number with a lot of zeroes for a trade. However, Tottenham were stubborn, and froze the deal for a few weeks. Then, Manchester United won them over, and received the forward from London. In his first game with the league champions, he set up Tevez for a goal against Liverpool. A lot to come from the Bulgarian who cost a lot.
And for their various reasons, these are the top three stories of the year from the Barclays Premier League, and in my eyes, some of the top three players in the league too.
