The Not So Special One - What Caused The Fall Of Portugal's Favourite Son?

"Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one." During his first interview with the English media, Jose Mourinho went from a newly established young Portuguese man looking to cement his legacy, to a must see commodity of the English game. When Jose, who still to this day is dubbed as the special one, won the Champions League with FC Porto, he caught the eye of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, which led to Mourinho being appointed by the Russian as the new manager of London club Chelsea in 2004. What followed was Chelsea’s first league title in fifty years, capped off with records for the least goal conceded in history for the English top flight and the most points ever recorded in a thirty eight game season. When you pair these records with a Carling Cup victory and an impressive run in the UEFA Champions League, the football fans of England and around the world, where instantly in awe of the special one. His tenure at Chelsea lasted until 2007 when he departed the club, under mutual consent with the owner. 

However this did not harm his stance as perhaps the best manager in the world and before long was the new boss of Italian giants Inter Milan. Here he continued his eye catching personality, in Italian! Speaking the language fluently in his first interview, claiming to have learnt it in less than three weeks. It was acts like this which kept the world media attracted, and it didn’t take long for the Italians to fall for Jose just as the English media had in the years prior. By the end of 2010 Jose had won all there was to with the Italians, securing a historic treble in his final game! His players had truly came to love their boss, with long standing Inter defender Marco Materazzi sobbing on camera when told of Mourinho’s departure to perhaps the biggest club side in the world. Real Madrid.

Real Madrid, Los Blancos, the galacticos, the team from the Spanish capital are perhaps the biggest in the world, but over the years there is one position where they have struggled to fill with a name deserving of the title, the manager of Real Madrid. During his first season at the Santiago Bernebeau (Real Madrid’s home stadium) Jose led his new side to a points record for the club, however despite this he could only manage his side to second place, with Catalan giants Barcelona winning the Spanish Premier Division title. For the first time in his career, the media did not instantly swoon to the special one upon his arrival in Spain, and instead they questioned his methods. However those methods next season led to Los Blancos secured the league title, finishing 9 points clear of last season’s winners Barcelona. This results led to the Madrid players actually bowing to Jose in the celebrations, showing just how strong Jose’s bond is with his players! Just as much as a group of his players adored him, the media in Spain came to hate the Portuguese manager. In the following season, the relationship between Jose and his captain Iker Casillas soured, which caused major backlash in the media.  "I am loved by some clubs, especially one. In Spain it is different; some people hate me, many of you in this (press) room." This quote was not long before Mourinho said how this season, which turned out to be his last with the club, was the worst of his career!

In the summer of 2013, Mourinho returned to Chelsea, the move the world of football had been expecting since his departure 6 years prior.  He returned to where he was adored by both the fans and the media, and all of the controversial language he had used in his first tenor came with him upon his return to the Premier League.  In his first season back in London, he moulded the current team into one which appeared to be as will to play for him as any before, and by the end of his second year back, his Chelsea team had effectively walked to the title, losing only three games all season and winning manager of the year in the process. Mourinho was as indestructible as ever, which is why what happened next makes no sense.

Just seven months after Chelsea secured the title in impressive fashion, they were placed 16^th and in the midst of a potential relegation battle! This incredible decline lead to Jose Mourinho being released from his contract, the question is what caused this?

Many miniature incidents during the beginning of their season could be the fault of Chelsea’s downfall, the poor form of star men Eden Hazard, Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas? The spine of José’s title winning team looked a shadow of their former selves. The Portuguese manager has always been controversial but the many derogatory comments made about FA representatives during his final season point to a man under pressure, and lacking support. This backlash from the English media can be pointed to something other than Chelsea’s form. The handling of Eva Carnerio, the former Chelsea physio who has since been fired.  Carnerio rushed onto the pitch during the first game of Jose’s final season at Chelsea to attend to an injury for Eden Hazard after twice being summoned by the referee. Mourinho slammed her actions as unprofessional and banned her from the dugout for the remainder of his tenor as manager.

The actions of the manager appeared to be the actions of a man trying to make an example, and this opinion of his actions where broadcast in the media, meaning for the first time since his first interview in England, Jose did not have the backing of the media.  The backlash was extraordinary and even the players, who has spent the last 24 months falling in love with their boss, had appeared to turn their back on his.  This lead to a side of Mourinho we haven’t seen before in England, a nervous, under pressure man trying to shift the attention from himself. This side of Mourinho drove his players further away from him and before long they players did not appear to want to play for the man. A combination of a barrage from the media and his own players turning a cold shoulder led to Mourinho losing his job in December of 2015.

 If you ask me, it wasn’t Chelsea’s form which led to the changing attitude of the special one. It was the changing attitude of Mourinho, the insistence on shifting the blame, the determination to make himself seem indestructible which eventually led to his destruction and to Chelsea’s incredible fall from grace. 

Chinese Super league - What Just Happened?

It's been threatening to for a while, but it appears the Chinese Super league is finally making its claim to become a new power house of world football. As another rather uneventful January transfer window in England has drawn to a close, the window in China is still open, and the incredible list of player who have taken the journey to China is continuing to grow. After Didier Drogba signed for Shanghai Shenhua in 2012, the Chinese league appeared to calm down for a period, with only a few top name players moving to the country, and much like the MLS, these players where heading towards the back end on their career, which makes this January's transfer spectacular even more incredible!

With still two weeks to go in their winter transfer window, the top tier of Chinese football has seen a staggering £105,445,598.18 spend on incoming players so far, comfortably topping the English Premier Leagues spending for this window and making it the highest spending league in the world for the winter window. As well as this, four of the top five spending individual clubs in this window have been Chinese, with only Norwich City bucking the trend. Now, we have seen obscure leagues spend incredible money on a lot of big name players in the past, the most recent examples being the MLS, bringing in the likes of Kaka, David Villa, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo all in a short space of time, the reason why this Chinese spending spree is so different and is making the whole football world take note is that, these players are not only big names, but still in the prime of their career and could force their way into some of the top teams in world football. Former Arsenal winger Gervinho made the jump this window, as did Colombian midfielder Fredy Guarin and the ever present, now former Chelsea deep lying midfielder Ramires. However, the two biggest deal of the window both broke the record transfer fee for Chinese football, and both 100% made the world of football stand back and watch, especially those in England!

The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil saw a lot of players showcase their talents on the biggest stage of them all, and one striker who certainly took advantage of this was Jackson Martinez, despite stiff competition from team mates restricting his time on the pitch, when he started the group game against Japan, Martinez scored a very impressive brace, and showed the world what he could do! Alongside an incredible goal scoring record of 67 goal in 89 games for FC Porto in Portugal, in the summer of 2015 Jackson made a 35 million Euro move to Atletico Madrid, turning down long term suitors Arsenal in the process. Martinez has been on the radar for the London based club for quite a while, so when things failed to click at Atletico for Jackson, it was widely rumored that Arsenal would make another attempt to sign the front man. However, almost out of no where, 3rd February 2016 saw a Asian transfer record fee of 42 Million Euros agreed to bring Jackson to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. This deal shook the world of football, seeing such a big name, coming from one of the worlds elite in Athletico, moving to China, however this wasn't the biggest deal of the window. 

Liverpool Football Club, the five time champions of Europe, 18 times champions of England, one of the world recognised super powers of the beautiful game, so who'd of thought they'd ever lose out in signing their number one target to a side from China? Well that's what happened. Brazilian attacking midfielder Alex Teixeria has spend the last few seasons letting the world of football know about his ability! With 46 goals in 62 games over the last two season for Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine, it appeared the Brazilian was to follow in the footsteps of fellow former Shakhtar stars such as Douglas Costa, Willian and Fernandiniho to make a big money move away from the club. When Liverpool approached the Donetsk based side about signing Teixeira in January of this year, they where turned down, and told they would have to offer upwards of 50 Million Euros to sign the Brazilian, despite trying to lower the price for most on the month, the English transfer window closed with the deal dead in the water. Alex Teixeira came out and said he wished for the deal to go threw to increase his chances of representing his national team. When the deal didn't happen, it appeared as if Teixeira was very disappointing with this decision and his comments hinted at a move to the club the following summer. However, no more then three days later, the 50 Million Euro price tag set on the Brazilian by Shakhtar had been met, not by Liverpool, but by Jiangsu Suning for a record Chinese transfer fee, meaning the record fee had been broken twice in two days! This deal ran riot in the English media, and made many people who has tried to ignore the Chinese Super League's spending stand up and take notice! A player with such high potential, has moved to the league, after failing to secure a deal to a traditional giant of the game! 

The back to back record transfers saw the Chinese Super League burst into the spot light, with many people questioning how and why this had happened! And then, days later it was revealed that Chelsea had declined a 60 Million Euro bid for Brazilian midfielder Oscar, which would have made him the third most expensive transfer in English football history (After Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and Fernando Torres to Chelsea). When this offer came to light, you certainly have to wonder what has caused this sudden influx of talent and this, almost obsession with the game which hasn't been seen before from the Chinese league. Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a goal to create a domestic sport economy worth $850bn by 2025. At the heart of this goal and the accompanying plan is the aim of hosting and winning the World Cup. The influx of money being pumped into Chinese football is of course going to attract many players to get involved in this country wide push, as well as top players coming to China, former England and Manchester City boss Sven Goran-Eriksson, and World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari have started managing in the top tier of Chinese football. The increase in both playing and managing staff will see the standard of the league grow drastically, now the overall goal of the Chinese national side winning the World Cup may be very, very, very far in the future but the increase in talent in their top flight can only lead to good things for Chinese football. 


Well the Leicester City owner said he would invest to ensure a top five finish for the foxes, and now they're six points clear at the top of the table, so you never know, in 2026 we may be seeing China win their first ever World Cup! 

The next generation - Which teenage stars will set the world alight.

Lionel Messi replaced Ronaldinho. Cristiano Ronaldo replaced Luis Figo. Garath Bale replaced Ryan Giggs. Neymar replaced Ronaldo. Paul Pogba replaced Patrick Viera. Manuel Neuer replaced Oliver Kahn. Over the last decade we have seen some of the world best players hang up their boots, and standing in wait was the next batch of players ready to set the world of football alight! Whether the batch of talent showed promise from a young age, or worked harder then everyone in the club day in day out, the current crop of world beaters could compete with any that has graced a football pitch. No one thought Barcelona could follow Ronaldinho's success, and then a young Argentine forward came and revolutionized modern football. No one though Portugal would ever produce a better player the Figo, and the Cristiano Ronaldo followed in his footsteps and because one of the greatest players of this generation, surpassing Figo and inheriting the captains armband and the iconic number seven shirt. Ryan Giggs looked to be a once in a lifetime player produced on the British Isles, then Garath Bale showed the world what he could do before a world record transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu. When a top player passes their prime there is always a young talent itching to call themselves the best, but the question is. Who's next?

One of the most talked about talents in world football now is Martin Ødegaard, so it only seems fitting to start with him. In January of 2015 the Norwegian international signed for Real Madrid, less than a month after his SIXTEENTH BIRTHDAY! Yes, this wonder kid is 17, turning 17 on the 17th December last year. At the age of 15 Ødegaard made his international debut, becoming the youngest player to play for Norway at senior level, at 15 years and 253 days. This is just one of the incredible records the youngster set before his move to Madrid. Martin became both the youngest player ever to feature in the Tippeligaen, the Norwegian top tier, and then just over a month later became the youngest goal scorer in the leagues history. These remarkable accomplishments have lead to the young midfielder attracting the interest of some of Europe's top teams, which lead to Ødegaard training with Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Manchester United and the Norwegian also visited Arsenal, this was all before he eventually signed with Los Blancos. Upon arrival the 16 year old was moved into the second team, managed by Zinadine Zidane, to continue his development by gaining more game time. However Ødegaard trained with the first team, and top stars such as Ronaldo and Bale have commented on how impressed they are with the youngster! On 23 May, in the final fixture of the first teams season, he made his debut for Real Madrid, coming-on as a 58th-minute substitute for hat-trick scorer Cristiano Ronaldo in an eventual 7–3 home win over Getafe CF. He became the youngest debutant in the history of the club at 16 years and 157 days old. Martin Ødegaard has showed during his time at Madrid that he has what it takes to be a big star in the future, if he continue to sky rocket to the top at the speed he has so far, it’s almost inevitable that he will be seen as one of the best in the world in the coming years. 

The second player I back to be a future world beater is one who has came in and out of popular media in the last few years, due to some of the incredible goals he scored during youth teams games for AC Milan and Italy. Hachim Mastour. Much less is known about the 17 year old compared to Martin Ødegaard, but this could be a good thing, as it could avoid over confidence and arrogance developing which tends to be common in young super stars. Mastour signed for AC Milan for £400,000 at the young age of 14 after showing incredible potential. Hachim appeared for Italy under 16's 6 times, scoring one goal, making his debut in 2013 at the age of 15. He has since decided to play his full international football with Morrocco after being eligable for both nations. He made his full international debut in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group F match against Libya at the Stade Adrar in Agadir, replacing Nordin Amrabat for the final two minutes of the 1–0 victory. In doing so, he became Morocco's youngest ever senior international player, aged 16 years old and 363 days. Mastour has appeared for AC Milan's first team only in friendly matches, and is currently on loan to Spanish side Malaga, where he made his first team professional debut on the 7th November 2015 against Real Betis. Hachim's style of play has earned him early comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo, which is big praise for such a raw talent. Unlike Martin Ødegaard, not much is known of Mastour, which makes him a much more interesting prospect for the future. One thing that is certain is that Mastour has bags of potential and if handled correctly, we could be witnesses of the development of a future star in the making. 


The third and final player I will be looking at as the future of world football has caused a lot of debate recently, a player with obvious talent and potential, but the question is if he can handle it. Im talking about the Belgian, Adnan Januzaj. Adnan is the eldest out of the three players I have looked at today, after turning 20 last year, however the young winger has been performing to a very high standard in the Premier League since the age of 18. Januzaj made his competitive debut for Manchester United against Wigan Athletic on 11 August 2013 in the Community Shield, he then made his Premier League debut a month later, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute in a 2–0 home win over Crystal Palace on 14 September. On 5 October 2013, in what was his first start for the club, Januzaj scored twice as United came from behind to claim a 2–1 victory away to Sunderland. Despite showing signs of class in every performance up into this point, Adnan's brace against Sunderland really did shot the young Belgian into the spot light, particularly the technique shown in the volley he scored for his second. Januzaj continued to show class throughout the season but also started to receive some criticism regarding simulation, and he picked up several yellow cards throughout the rest of the campaign which hindered the growth he made that season in the eyes of the media and the footballing world. As well as diving, Adnan Januzaj has had his personal life questioned, with suggestions that he has been letting his success get to his head, something which has stopped the growth of so many top young players. In the following season at United the winger struggled under Van Gaal and despite several top performances, has been loaded out the German giants Borissia Dortmund where he has struggled for starts behind German star Marco Reus. Unlike Mastour and Odergaard, Januzaj has showed his class on the big stage and now has to prove to the world that he has the ability to get to the top and stay there! 

The currently generation of footballing giants will be a tough one to top, with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ruling the football world you have to wonder if the newest bacth of young stars can ever reach those levels. Odergaard, Mastour and Januzaj may be the best chance football has to continue to level of quality at the top, and despite all three players having their weaknesses, they all have the potential to do it. 

England - When is the real 'golden generation' going to begin?

As qualifying for thist years European Championship draws to a close, England boast the only perfect record in qualifying, with 10 wins from 10. A strong qualifying campaign is, for most teams, a sign of intent for the major tournament, however for England, its been quite the opposite on more occasions then most. The best example of this in recent years is perhaps the 2010 World Cup in south Africa, despite a very strong qualifying campaign and a new manager in Fabio Capello who had appeared to rejuvenate the three lions. However, just one win in the tournament and a 4-1 humbling by the Germans showed how far behind we appear to be compared to the rest of the top sides and that our strong qualifying counted for nothing! This underachievement at major tournaments has because a far too common occurrence for the nation which invented the sport, and is even worse when you consider the players who have pulled on the famous white shirt in the last 20+ years!

Since the turn of the millennium, the national team haven't progressed past the quarter finals in a single major competition, with many of those eliminations coming against side which we Englishmen compare ourselves to, but seems to be years ahead of England in terms of ability and progression.  One other thing that happened at the start of the 2000's was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to the current crop of talent, that certain English side was declared as the 'golden generation' this put much unneeded pressure on the players, and made the poor performances at major tournaments an even more bitter pill to swallow. Players such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Michael Owen, John Terry and many many more players where tipped to lead the 1966 World Champions to glory, but under performed when it mattered most!

With countries such as Germany, Spain and France in the last 2 decades taking advantage of a generation of amazing talent to push themselves to the top of the footballing world, you have to wonder if the three lions are capable of achieving a similar task. When you consider the caliber of players to have played at Wembley and failed to deliver on the big stage in recent years, you have to wonder if our current crop of talent, who are seen as being not even half the side we had 10 years ago, have the slightest chance at competing next year in France or in future tournaments.

Lets not rule out the current squad without taking a look at the key members. Of course the highest goal scorer in the history of the national side is the current captain, Wayne Rooney, with 50 international goals. With Daniel Sturridge (when he's fit), Harry Kane and inform Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy adding more options to the England attack, the three lions certainly still have their bite! When you add in the attacking threat from the wings, with Raheem Sterling and Theo Walcott being the stand outs for those roles, England have got pace in abundance. The worry for this English side comes from the back, I would personally not put a single midfielder in the current England squad, into the side we fielded ten years ago, with the stand out player on form at the moment being Ross Barkley, who has been incredibly inconsistent in the past few seasons. With defenders such as Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne, Roy Hodgson can field a strong back four, but one which pales in comparison to English defenses of the past! One final positive is the strength between the sticks, Joe Hart has been a stand our goal keeper in the Premier League for years, and number two Jack Butland looks destined for greatness.

Despite not losing a single competitive game in 2015, I can't see our current crop of talent getting anywhere near the top spots in world football. In the future, a new generation may come along and push England towards greater heights but right now... It looks like we might be waiting a while for the true 'Golden Generation'.

Brazil - Whats next for the five time champions of the world?

Football may have been invented in England, but it was given a soul on the sunny shores of Brazil. The Brazilian people changed the way everyone on the planet looks at the beautiful game, and it developed into the most successful national side in the world. 1958, 1962,1970,1994 and 2002, these dates are the five times Canarinho 'the little canary' have been crowned world champions, more then any other side in history. From Pele to Ronaldo, from Zico to Ronaldinho, from Garincha to Rivaldo, from Carlos Alberto to Cafu, the five time world champions have always produced some of the very best the world of football can offer, which has lead to the unmatched success the Brazilians have had over the years. The team from 1970, lead by the genius Pele, is seen as perhaps the best football team in history, club or national side, considering the time period and how much the game has developed since those years, the fact the side is still seen in the same light today only begins to explain how far ahead of their time the national team was. The selecao is also the most successful national team in the FIFA confederations cup, with four titles, 1997, 2005, 2009 and 2013. They are also the holders of the current title. Brazil have won a total of 62 official international titles from professional to grassroots level, which is an unparalleled world record. 

However, since their last title in 2002, the worlds most successful side seems to have struggled on the world stage, which includes being humbled on their own turf by Germany in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, losing 7-1, the biggest defeat in Brazil's history.
So the question is... what's next for the five time champions of the world? Will we see a Brazilian resurrection, or will the most successful side on the planet plummet into almost insignificance on the big stage.


Heading into last summers World Cup, the hosts Brazil where strong favorites to end their drought on home soil. And despite mainly average performances, they topped their group and overcame Chile in the second round on penalties. The home side then took on another fellow South American side in Columbia, a team many had backed to be the dark horses for the tournament, and with the eventual golden boot winner James Rodriguez, it was possible Columbia could surprise Brazil. However for the first time in the tournament we appeared to be seeing the side many backed to win a sixth world title, with goal from David Luiz and Thiago Silva, the hosts overcame Columbia. However this performance did not come without its prices. Thiago Silva earned a suspension, meaning Brazil would be without their captain for the semi-finals. And even worse, the star of the show, Neymar was stretchered off late on and would miss the rest of the tournament. These absences played a big part in the Brazilians collapse in the semi-final, without their captain or top scorer, they looked out of sync at the back and no threat in attack, eventually being turned over with an incredible 7-1 score line! The aftermath of the crushing at the hands of the eventual champions Germany shows that the five time champions rely far to heavily on a select group of players, and no longer have to depth of class like we're use to seeing come from the country. A loss of just two players had an evidently massive effect on the side, and the Brazilian players did not look capable of competing with the Germans. This correlation continued into the third place play off, still without top scorer Neymar, the hosts had no creativity and no threat, eventually falling out 3-0 losers, ending their tournament by conceding 10 goals in two games, and ending the competition with the worst defensive record out of all 32 nations that competed.

The famous Brazilian teams of old make this newest crop of players seem mediocre, and despite a few stand out stars, such as Neymar and Thiago Silva, it is getting much more evident that this side needs a drastic change if it is to return to where it should be, at the summit of world football.

However it isn't all doom and gloom for the natives of the most successful side in world football history.One player in particular looks set to become one of the most iconic players in Brazilian football history, and perhaps one of the best in the world. This is the man currently holding the famous Brazil number 10, their current highest goal scorer, and a player who has the chance to become the national sides all time leading goal scorer. he may just be 23, but he's been turning heads for years and he could be the player they need to help push the five time champions back to the very top. I'm talking of course about Barcelona striker Neymar! The Barcelona star has really showed the world what he can do, but he has been a prospect on the shores of Brazil for years! Between 2009 - 2013, while playing for Santos in the Liga do Brazil, Neymar scorer 54 goals in 103 games, averaging 0.52 goals a game, an incredible record for someone who started at the age of 16. Neymar also had brilliant success at youth level, especially for the national side. Working his way from the under 17's side to the first team in the space of a year! And his success internationally hasn't stopped in the first team, the current number 10 has scored 46 goals in 67 games which is 0.67 goals a game, another incredible record especially on the national stage. This record makes Neymar the fifth all time goal scorer in the countries history, and gives him the fourth best goal to game ratio, an incredible feat considering the Barcelona front man could have up to 10 years left representing the national side. Neymar is also currently setting the world alight for Barcelona, with 34 goals in 64 games, a amazing record considering he plays out wide, mainly providing for Lionel Messi. There is no doubt that Neymar is a world beater, a future Brazilian footballing legend, and the man to help save the national side.

For the last decade, the Brazilian national side have mainly been relying on the same group of players who, despite their class, have ages and became unable to perform at the level needed for the South American's to compete with the world's elite at the level they should be. However recently the new manager, former player Dunga, has started to integrate a handful of new players into the squad, players who have the potential to help grow the national side and possibly see the Brazilian squad get back to the  pool of exceptional talent we have became accustom to in the last 70 years. Liverpool midfielder Philipe Coutinho is a player who has really gained a lot of attention in the football world recently. With a combination of incredible goals, amazing assists, jaw dropping pieces of skill and an exceptional show of passion, the Liverpool number 10 has earned the majority of his 13 international caps in the last couple of seasons, and the increase in attention has even earned him a nomination for the European golden boy award (eventually won by Paul Pogba). Throughout his career, Coutinho has earned much acclaim from top figures in Brazilian football and has been spotlighted as a future world beater, and at the young age of 23 the Liverpool play maker looks set to represent his country for many years and perhaps help get Brazil back to the glory days in a big way!

One thing Brazil have always had is a ball playing defender, you can go as far back as world cup winning captain Carlos Alberto, scoring one of the best goals in world cup history in 1970 to show how Brazilian defenders play a big part in the sides offence! The most recent member of the squad to adapt this role is David Luiz, but although the PSG defender is loved in his homeland, to fans who aren't natives of Brazil can see he really doesn't fit the bill. One up and coming defender who could fill those shoes is another PSG man, Marquinhos. The former Roma centre back was the most expensive teenager in the world until this summer just gone, and it is easy to see why. He looks incredibly comfortable on the ball, and is able to put in a very strong challenge and fill certain old fashioned defender responsibilities. Marquinhos is a player with tons of potential, and former Brazil captain Thiago captain has taken him under his wing, saying he may be the national teams future captain. This young defender could go a long way to helping the current Brazil side get back to the top.

Recent history makes mostly grim reading for fans of Brazilian football. With their sides consistently struggling to compete with the worlds elite it looked like Brazil could be right in the middle of a baron period for the five time champions. But signs of improvement have started to show recently, Barcelona star Neymar is improving every day and is looking like a possible future Balon D'or is on the cards. The squad is finally getting an injection of life that its needed for years, with players such as Philipe Coutinho leading the new look national team. And the famous ball playing Brazilian centre back looks to have finally returned in younger Marquinhos. Now no one can tell for sure if we will see the same sort of side that Pele lead to immortality in the 1950's,60's and 70's ever again, but one thing we do know is the potential is certainly there. The five time world champions are on their way back to the top table of world football!

Messi or Ronaldo? - The most common question in football

"I was the last winner of the Ballon D'or to be born on earth." - Kaka. When the Brazilian won the world player of the year award in 2007, no one could imagine what would happen next. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi would take over the world of football. Lets put it into perspective for anyone who doesn't understand the Ballon D'or, the winner is officially the best player in the world, up until Kaka's win in 2007 no one had dominated the award since the days of Michel Platini, winning three Ballon D'ors back in 1983, 84 and 85. No one would imagine this award of footballing excellence would be dominated in that fashion ever again. Here is how the Ballon D'or has gone since 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo - 2008, Lionel Messi - 2009, Lionel Messi - 2010, Lionel Messi - 2011, Lionel Messi - 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo - 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo 2014. The dominance by these two men is one we have never seen before, in the last seven seasons these two players have broken every record in the history of the Ballon D'r, with Messi becoming the only player ever to win four in a row which evidently lead to him becoming the player with the most awards in history. Cristiano Ronaldo joined a very elite group when he won his third Ballon D'or, and in doing so he answered a lot of critics, many people though he would never win the famous golden trophy again after Messi retained it for four straight years but he did win it again, and he went one better the next year, and retained it! So as 2015 draws to a close the question will once again be asked. Messi or Ronaldo? Will Ronaldo draw level with Messi? or will the Argentine pull away from the pack? I will compare both players 2015, both individual and team success, before i make my judgement on who should win the 2015 Ballon D'or.

I suppose it would only be right to start with the holder, Portugal captain, Cristiano Ronaldo. The man who is currently in possession on three Ballon D'or awards is looking to equal Lionel Messi for the most wins in history, and this is something Ronaldo has been doing a lot in previous years, standing toe to toe with the Argentine. Since his first win in 2008, Cristiano has had to continue to grow his game and improve year after year to try and stay at the top, and after four years without a win, it appeared he may no longer be good enough to win the big one. However, in the wake of form he said was the 'best of his life' Cristiano ended his baron run and won the 2013 Ballon D'or, beating Lionel Messi and Frank Ribery, and for the first time in years, Ronaldo was seen in the same light as Lionel Messi. Ronaldo recently scored his 500th career goal, an incredible achievement for any player, and even more impressive when you realise he has scored the goals in a fraction of the games that any other who have reached the tally had done. The Portuguese international has came a long way since his days back in Portugal at Sporting Lisbon, where he was labled as 'too lightweight', now at Real Madrid he is seen as one of the most all round players in the game. 'The perfect blueprint' is a way Ronaldo has been described over the years, as he has continued to improve his game, and with a combination of pace, strength, technical ability, incredible dribbling, finishing of a world class striker as well as impressive endurance and cardio, Ronaldo is capable of player at full capacity, in almost any role, 100% of the time. Over the years perhaps the main criticism of the Real Madrid record goal scorer is that he is not very likable, seen as being very cocky and arrogant, as well as having a history of diving (especially at his time at Manchester United.) However since moving to the Spanish capital, Ronaldo seems to have really matured as a player and it seems to have had a positive effect on his form, finally now allowing him to be judged purely on his footballing ability.

Looking at the Portugal skipper's 2015, in terms of goal scoring Ronaldo just seems to keep improving! After a relatively slow start to the calendar year, he recovered his form very quickly and has carried it in to this season, with currently ten goals in nine games, including five goals in one game against Espanyol. Madrid's failure to compete with rivals Barcelona in terms of silverware could have a big effect on Cristiano's chance of winning his first Ballon D'or, but his incredible goal tally, hitting his 500th career goal and all round very impressive year means he is going into the ceremony with a big chance of retaining his title.

Now to look at the Ballon D'or record holder, the man with more victories then any other. Lionel Messi. The Argentine has shot to stardom over the last decade and is considered by many as the best player ever to play the game. His record with the World Player of the Year award indicates that well, with four silver awards, and of course four gold awards. Lionel Messi has spend particularly the last six years of his career breaking almost every record put in front of him. The Barcelona front man is currently the La Liga all time leading goal scorer, Barcelona's all time leading goal scorer, his tally of 91 goals in 2012 is the most by any player in history in a calendar year, Only player to score consecutively against all teams in a professional league, Only player to both score and assist in all 6 club competitions in a calendar year, most assists in La Liga history, top goal scorer in El Clasico history, the list goes on and on, with Messi holding a total of 76 FIFA recognised official records to his name, an unprecedented total which will likely never be matched. You'd think with the career he has had that Lionel's greatness was guaranteed from a young age, however, despite his talent being evident from the earliest footage of the Barcelona number 10, Messi was born with a serious medical condition, stunting his growth, an illness which if left untreated, would have made it almost impossible for Lionel to grow to a healthy height. However, the Argentine's obvious gift saved him, while representing the youth side for Neville's Old Boys, Messi was spotted by Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his treatment, as long as he moved to Spain and continued his development in the famous Barcelona youth set up of La Masia. throughout his time in the youth set up, the first teams big stars all noticed the obvious talent of Lionel, and it showed when, at the young age of 16, he made his first team debut which was quickly followed by his first team official debut at 17. Messi also became the clubs youngest all time goal scorer later in the season, scoring a sublime lob against Albacete from an assist by the then number 10, Ronaldinho. From that day on, Messi was a star in Catalonia and he has more then lived up to expectation.

2015 has been a historic year for Barcelona, which will increase and strengthen Messi's case to win back the Ballon D'or. Mainly down to perhaps the best attacking trio we have seen in world football, Neymar, Suarez and of course Messi. With 58 goals from Messi, the trio scored a total of 122 goals in all competitions that season, a record in Spanish football. Towards the end of the campaign, Messi scored the only goal in a 1–0 win over Atlético Madrid on 17 May, securing the La Liga title. Among his 43 league goals that season was a hat-trick scored in 11 minutes against Rayo Vallecano on 8 March, the fastest of his senior career; it was his thirty-second hat-trick overall for Barcelona, allowing him to overtake Telmo Zarra as the player with the most hat-tricks ever in Spanish football. Additionally, as the season's top assist provider with 18 assists, he surpassed Luís Figo as the player with the most assists in La Liga,  he had made his record 106th assist in a fixture against Levante on 15 February, in which he also scored a hat-trick. Messi then scored twice as Barcelona defeated Athletic Bilbao 3–1 in the Copa del Rey final on 30 May, achieving the sixth double in their history. His opening goal was hailed as one of the greatest in his career; he collected the ball near the halfway line and beat four opposing players, before feinting the goalkeeper to score in a tight space by the near post. Lionel and Barcelona dominated continentally as well as domestically during the 2015 Champions League season, winning their 5th title, allowing them to keep the famous trophy. On the way to their title Barcelona made light work of Bayern Munich, winning 3-0 in the first leg, with Messi scoring twice and assisted the other. His sublime performances led to him winning the best player in Europe award after winning the European super cup against Sevilla. A historic treble, with the added baggage of a super cup victory and with the World club cup in japan still to come, Messi has had one of the best calendar years in his career in terms of silverware.

While Cristiano Ronaldo's real Madrid will end 2015 trophy less, Lionel Messi's Barcelona will end the calendar year with  four, maybe five trophies, which is going to go a big way to deciding the winner of the 2015 Ballon D'or. So far in 2015, Lionel Messi has scored three more goals and provided thirteen more assists then Cristiano Ronaldo for club and country, with the added bonus of the amount of silverware he has won in this calendar year, I personally this the Argentine deserves to win his fifth Ballon D'or this year. However with Ronaldo having a better start to the new season, and with Messi set to spend a period out injured, the race is certainly not over yet.

The new boys - How the newest members of the Premier League are coping.

As the 2015/2016 Premier League season pushes towards the busy Christmas period, now seems like an appropriate time to see how the newly promoted sides are competing in the top flight of English football. Many newly promoted teams over the past decade have struggled in their first season, and have in some cases suffered relegation back down to the championship at the first time of asking. With the bottom of the Premier League famously being very tight, with many sides struggling to push into the top half, teams coming up from the championship now have as good a shot as any side to stay in the division. The tight competition, along side the apparent decline in quality from many lower Premier League outfits means that newly promoted sides are no longer the targets for the big guns as they used to be. With Watford, Bournemouth and Norwich City the newest sides to join the top tier of English football, I will compare each of their starts to the season, and give my prediction on whether or not they will stay up.

Many followers of English football describe the Championship as the hardest league to get out of in Europe. And with the title race, more often then not, going to the final day, and the battle for the play offs captivating the nation season after season, this claim is one which holds particular merit. So to win the championship is an incredibly difficult task, and one which requires a side to stand above the rest. AFC Bournemouth's performances throughout the season drew many compliments as they where being noted as the best footballing side in the league, and this led to them winning the title. When you consider that Bournemouth where the smallest side in the division and have a capacity of only just 12,000 in their home ground of Dean Court, winning the championship becomes even more impressive. For a side of this size, you have to wonder whether they could handle the Premier League, against some of the biggest and richest sides in the world and prior to the kick off of the 2015-2016 season, this factor had many people picking Bournemouth as their faviourites for relegation.

However, the performances from the cherries caught a lot of fans by surprise, despite defeats in their opening two games, the bravery shown in the performances, particularly away at Anfield showed the fans that they could fight to stay up! The following week AFC recorded their first win, a 4-3 victory over West Ham, with Callum Wilson firing in a hat-trick and instantly pushing him into stardom in the league. A steady run of results following the win looked to be showing signs of improvement for Bournemouth, however an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury has ruled out top goalscorer Wilson for the remainder of the season, which will have many fans of the side worried. In the last two game weeks the winners of the 2014/2015 Championship title where reminded of the quality of the Premier League elite, losing two back to back games 5-1 to Manchester City and Spurs respectively. After 10 games the Cherries sit just outside of the relegation places, a position anyone involved with the club would surely accept right now. The question is, without their star man Callum Wilson can Bournemouth survive in the Premier League?

The play offs are always entertaining to watch and perhaps throw up the best action in the championship season. The winners of this mini-tournament earn promotion to the premier league, and the teams placed 3rd-6th get the chance to fight for a place in the final at Wembley, with the winner being the third and final side to join England's elite that season. Norwich City are the side who claimed this sort after spot in the 2014/2015 season and earned their place in the top tier of English football. Out of the three promoted sides, Norwich are the team with the most recent premier league experience, after only being relegated to the championship at the end of the 2013/2014 season. This could possibly give an advantage to the canaries ahead of this season as they know what it is like in the premier league, unlike the other to promoted sides who boast very little experience between them.

Norwich where perhaps the faviourites out of the newly promoted sides to stay up at the start of the season, with a combination of top flight experience and having perhaps the strongest squad out of the three, Norwich looked in a good position to survive. In their first four games, Norwich managed only one victory, but the performances where there and improving, as it looked like the players where getting used to the standard of the Premier League. City then went unbeaten through September, with two wins and two draws in the league, as the team appeared to be jelling and picking up very important early points. However, the key to survival in the Premier League is consistency, and despite a very good September, Norwich have failed to pick up a single point in the month of October this season and with their last fixture of the month away at Manchester City, it appears like that trend will continue. Norwich are currently sat in 16th position, and will almost certainly have to improve their consistency if they will to survive in the top flight.

The final sides out of the newly promoted that I will take a look at is Watford. Quique Flores's side finished just one point behind Bournemouth in the championship and earned the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship. Watford spent a single season in the Premier League in the 2006/2007 season and despite playing entertaining football where relegated straight back to the Championship. Since then the Hornets have flirted with the possibility of promotion, with many play-off appearances, but they have always fell just short. Having finally secured promotion last term, Quique Flores has brought in a few big names to help strengthen his team and to increase the chance of survival. Perhaps the biggest being former Spurs midfielder Etienne Capoue, the Frenchman had produced solid performances for Spurs, which earned his much acclaim throughout England. This addition, a long side a few others, had left Watford in a strong state to start the season.

Despite taking longer then any other promoted side to register their first win, Watford where also the only promoted side not to lose their opening league game, not being defeated until 29th August away at Man City. After that result, the Hornets went on the collect back to back victories, and the points started to come in on a consistent basis. One win, One draw and One defeat in the month of October is a steady run of form for a newly promoted team, which sees them currently sat in 13th position, the highest of any newly promoted team. This early position will impress anyone involved with the club, and it is a sign of content for the side early in the season.

10 games into the season, the new boys in the Premier League have all shown relatively good accounts of themselves. With all three sides turning in some strong performances, they all have a chance to stay up if they can get a consistent run of results together between not and May. My Prediction: Bournemouth - Relegated (sadly) Norwich - Safe (but only just!) Watford - Safe (The top performers of the new sides in the league).