In the summer of 2007, there was no World Cup, no Olympics, and no European Cup. It was so dull that people quickly forgot about it.
The concluded America's Cup and Asian Cup did not make any waves on a global scale. For Europeans, only the games of the national teams of the players who need attention will pay a little attention.
For example, Kaka's Brazilian team won the championship, and Wang Xiaodong angrily attacked South Korea in the Asian Cup final.
The situation in the Premier League has changed this season, and the rise of Tottenham has made the top teams in the pyramid panic.
This summer, Manchester United replaced Chelsea as Europe's biggest spender.
The total value of Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson exceeds 50 million pounds, as well as Carlos Tevez (8 million for a two-year loan, and the total price after becoming a regular player is over 20 million).
Even Magic Bird admitted that in the past, people often said that Chelsea relied on money to win the championship. He is curious about what public opinion will say about Manchester United and Liverpool now.
Chelsea on the other side is completely different. They have changed from spending a lot of money to being prudent.
The Blues' summer transfer investments in the past three years were 89.05 million, 56.1 million and 66.32 million pounds respectively, but only 13.5 million have been spent so far this year, and at one time they only signed free agents.
However, there were signs of this change from the winter transfer last season.
This is not only due to Abramovich's tightening of finances, but also does not rule out the fact that Magic Bird predicted two years ago that the team will gradually improve the lineup. "It will not be necessary to buy people in a few years" seems to be gradually being fulfilled.
Chelsea's introduction is mainly to enhance the thickness of the lineup. The extensive injuries last season made Mourinho learn a lesson. It was difficult for Ben Haim, Pizarro and Sidwell to enter the main lineup for a while, but they were all good for the team. An excellent addition to their respective positions.
The most important transfer in the Premier League this summer came from Arsenal, but it was not an introduction.
The Gunners sold their star player, and Henry's price of 16 million pounds was indeed a bit low. In addition to the Frenchman insisting on leaving, there may be another factor that Wenger did not say: he believed that the 30-year-old Henry had shown his ability. Signs of decline. After all, Henry suffered a lot of injuries last season and his scoring efficiency was greatly reduced.
But in any case, Henry's departure is a major loss for Arsenal. Statistically, the Frenchman's vacancy of 20 to 30 goals per year in the past five years needs to be filled; psychologically, the departure of the core will inevitably have an impact on his teammates.
Among the players introduced, young Polish goalkeeper Fabianski and Norwegian defender Nordwit are reserves for the future, and it is difficult to make a difference in the short term; Sagna increased the thickness of the defense line and freed Ebou into the midfield. It provides a possibility, and it is a deal that can win multiple birds with one stone; the biggest unknown is Da Silva. If he can perform as expected and score about 10 goals like the professor, it will greatly reduce the loss of Henry's departure.
Generally speaking, Arsenal lost core players in the transfer market this summer, and its strength was obviously damaged. After purging several substitutes, they did not introduce them accordingly, and the thickness of the lineup has become much weaker.
Such changes have caused a lot of dissatisfaction among fans. In the eyes of fans, this is a sign of weakness by the Gunners.
Last year's lineup couldn't beat Tottenham. How can today's "castrated version" stand up to Tottenham's heyday?
No matter how good Professor Wenger is, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without straw, right?
The White Hart Lane next door is watching with eager eyes. Who would have thought that Arsenal, which sold its star player, would only hand over such an answer.
In the Premier League BIG4, Manchester United spends the most money, but it is Liverpool that makes the biggest change.
The Red Army, which failed in the Champions League final last season, has made major adjustments to its front line and wings. In order to win the league championship, Benitez has changed from his previous tendency of playing small games and even spent more than 48 million pounds in total investment in buying players this summer. This is the largest expenditure he has incurred in the four years since he took office.
Torres was the biggest bet, paying 21.5 million pounds for Luis Garcia, setting a record transfer fee for the Reds. Over the past few years, Benitez has been looking for a heavyweight striker, and this time he got his wish. However, Torres's reputation is important enough, but his adaptability and actual effect have yet to be tested.
Generally speaking, Benitez's transfer idea this summer is to use large-scale exchanges to transform the front line and wings, and rely on the accumulation of "quantity" to ensure "quality". Multiple new players in the same position will join the team at the same time. If one of them fails, there will be one. another.
Tottenham have also shown their ambitions in the transfer market, currently spending more than 35 million pounds in total. In terms of investment, it surpassed Chelsea and Arsenal, ranking third after Manchester United and Liverpool.
Among them, Tottenham's biggest investment was to buy their double-winner core, Luka Modric, from the Croatian giant Dinamo Zagreb.
This Croatian player has entered the vision of many wealthy clubs such as the four major European leagues many years ago. After he helped Dinamo Zagreb win two consecutive championships and also won the Croatian Footballer of the Year, the Jewish Daniel Daniele Wei finally couldn't help but choose to take action.
The price of 22.5 million pounds is enough for this young Croatian midfielder to receive the best treatment at White Hart Lane. You must know that the purchase of Wang Xiaodong and Bale last year only cost about the same amount.
Of course, there is another more important reason why other giants let Tottenham succeed, and that is that everyone is waiting and watching to see whether these players can still show their previous bravery in mainstream leagues.
Wang Xiaodong has proven himself in a season, and now many wealthy clubs are ready. If Wang Xiaodong still performs well at the end of the season, they will spend huge sums of money to "win" him.
In addition, French rookie defender Capol's 8 million and last season's best German rookie KP Boateng's 5 million also prove that Tottenham spares no expense in introducing young players.
In fact, the players introduced by Tottenham in the new season are limited to increasing the thickness of the team's lineup, and do not greatly improve the main lineup.
You must know that the core of the midfield and frontcourt consisting of Wang Xiaodong, Bell, Lennon and Berbatov has been finalized. Except for Modric, who may help Wang Xiaodong share the pressure, the others are supplements to the lineup.
...
Wang Xiaodong is still on vacation, but even though he is hiding on an Indonesian island, he is still annoyed by the paparazzi.
The little witch is going to go to the cave to promote her new movie. Not only that, but her other movie "Ballet Shoes" will also be released at the end of the year. Plus studies...
So after enjoying a short vacation with Wang Xiaodong, I got back to work again.
After Vivian was left alone to accompany Wang Xiaodong for a few days, the mixed-race woman also returned to her Middle Eastern father's company and began to use what she had learned to integrate into the company's senior management.
"Weiwei, I remember you said before that you prefer careers like modeling or football baby?" Wang Xiaodong asked confused before leaving.
"That's for a reason!" The mixed-race woman blinked, "You know, just like the cheerleading team in school, in a place like this, the most indispensable thing is women with good looks and figures. So..."
"Okay, I understand!" Wang Xiaodong shook his head, "Women who take the initiative are the scariest. No wonder my Emma fell."
"Don't be jealous Honey, you are also part of my happiness. With your joining, I experience the feeling of perfection. Believe me, I am very satisfied every time. Whether it is you or Emma, they will always be in my heart. Irreplaceable. Especially you..."
At the end, the mixed-race woman looked him up and down again: "Before I met you, I never thought that I would be so interested in men... Dong, I have to say, you are The most special one."
"Okay, the plane will take off soon. Goodbye, dear, if I have a chance in the second half of the year, I will go to England to see you and Emma."
"Bon voyage!" Smelling the fragrance on the beauty's fingertips, Wang Xiaodong watched the other party board the plane.
Without the company of a beautiful woman, Wang Xiaodong also felt bored. After staying in Indonesia for another two days, I boarded a flight directly to London.
As soon as he returned to the apartment, Wang Xiaodong got bad news from Raiola.
FIFA did not pay attention to South Korea's complaint. Instead, the AFC punished Wang Xiaodong.
Because of his brutal behavior in the Asian Cup final, Wang Xiaodong was suspended for five games and fined 10,000 pounds.
But what is ridiculous is that the games suspended for Wang Xiaodong are all events held within the scope of the AFC, and have no impact at all on Wang Xiaodong, who is about to show off his talents in the Premier League.
Even for the ten thousand yuan, Wang Xiaodong could even delay paying it.
The purpose of South Korea's move was to disgust Wang Xiaodong.
MMP!
After getting the news, Wang Xiaodong felt as sick as if he had eaten a fly.
Although Raiola advised Wang Xiaodong to be more generous, if he, the person involved, does not take this matter to heart, the South Korean Football Association will be embarrassed.
But what kind of bad temper does Wang Xiaodong have?
He even regrets not tearing up the South Korean flag directly after the game.
That’s called fun!
During the interview, Wang Xiaodong took advantage of this to complain.
"I don't think I did anything wrong. In the finals, my opponent is my enemy. Being kind to your enemy is cruelty to yourself!"
"If the opponent deserves respect, then I will respect the opponent as well."
"Please take a look at the replay of the game. Is a team like that worthy of respect?"
"Don't tell me you haven't watched the 2002 World Cup!"
"Have you forgotten what they did to Portugal, Spain and Italy?"
"I'm just a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. If they dare to fight back, I'll let them have a taste of my fists."
"I think this is what a man should do!"
When Wang Xiaodong's remarks spread back to East Asia, they naturally caused an uproar.
But he is in Europe, and the South Korean Football Association really has nothing to do with him.
Moreover, local public opinion in England is also very biased towards Wang Xiaodong. After all, Bangzi's reputation is unpopular around the world.
Just when Wang Xiaodong ordered Raiola to lodge a protest and complaint to the AFC, a phone call from Bell suddenly reminded him that tomorrow is the day for the team to assemble.
