On Barcelona: Holes that need to be filled.

Barca needs to sign some people. In the offseason, they've lost Yaya Toure to Manchester City (which is good, in my book) and they've lost Rafa Marquez to the New York Red Bulls. This might not be so bad if center mid and center back were the two positions that Barca will shallow at all along.

With those two guys leaving, you've basically got Busquets and Xavi at center mid, and that's really it. Sure they can call guys up, but you need production in every game, especially if you're Barca and especially if you're competing with Real this season. And Busquets is 20 years old and has, in my mind, yet to prove himself as a legitamate starter.

Barca kept a spot warm for Fabregas all offseason, but now that the preverbial cow has stayed home, Barca's a few CMs short. So what to do? Barca is apparently in the money for Mesut Ozil, even though Soccernet has said that has been "rubbished." Apparently Mascherano wants to go there too, which would be great because he could link up with fellow argentine Messi. If it's not Ozil or Mascherano, Barca needs to find somebody else to fill the gap. Someone to maybe even push Busquets onto the bench, at least until he doesn't look like a kid who can't find his mom in a crowded mall.

But there are other problems. In the back, Barca have Dani Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, and Eric Abidal. This is one of the best back fours in the world. However, Puyol is a hot head and is also getting up there in age, so he won't be available all of the time. Pique already played more than anyone else as it was and Abidal has trouble finishing games a lot of the time. Behind them, there are a bunch of nameless drones some of whom haven't even been assigned numbers they're so worthless.

This is the area where I truly fear for Barca. Quality center backs are a little hard to come by these days and they've spent so much time and so many resources trying to get Fabregas to come to the Camp Nou, that I think they may have a difficult time getting someone with quality in. I'd go for Mertesacker, even though Werder Bremen have stoutly said he isn't for sale.

Even if Barca has a laundry list of extremely talented players up top (Messi, Ibrahimovic, Pedro, Villa, Bojan, Iniesta) if they don't have the support play, they're too top heavy. They may be good for a 8-0 thrashing of Real Sporting, but if you put them in the Champions League against a team with depth like Liverpool, they will surely crash out.

These are my thoughts on Barcelona's needs going into this season. What do you think?

On Thierry Henry: What his move to the New York Red Bulls means and doesn't mean.

French hero, Arsenal legend, handballing extraordinaire, and Hunter Blair's bane of existence Thierry Henry has been confirmed as going to the New York Red Bulls. Henry came off of one of the worst seasons of his career at Barcelona where he was barely ever played and when he did truly showed his age.

In the World Cup, I think he was put into one game for like five minutes.

Let's look at what this move means:

1. America: Where soccer greats go to die. In the last two weeks, I've heard that Lampard, Giggs, and Henry wanted to go to the MLS to end their career. What this means is that some players that are getting on in age are looking to the MLS as a great way to sign out. That means basically that they have no respect for the MLS, as they think that they can just go there and be a star, even if they are in the worst shape of their soccer careers. That, to me, isn't good for the U.S. And it's not like this is a new thing, the Galaxy had Beckham in his twilight years.

2. The Red Bulls will be a contender in the MLS. The Red Bulls last year were kind of embarassingly bad. I don't watch the MLS too often, but I do know that the Bulls are kind of the worst New York franchise other than the Islanders. But, they've showed this season that they do have some value.

And for all of the shit that I kick on Henry, he's got talent. You would expect that he would be able to show that talent in a league like the MLS, where the expectations are basically nil and everyone is looking to have fun.

Now, let's look at what the MLS needs to do to be taken seriously in the footballing world, so that maybe next time we'll hear that like Messi or something has joined the Galaxy:

1. Youth programs. A lot of U.S. clubs, mainly D.C. United, have started youth programs. The first wave of those kids are coming up now, like Altidore and Torres. But the future looks even brighter, and these programs need to just keep expanding and keep getting better.

2. Champions League contender. The MLS needs to become like the Turkish Super Ligue. We need to get one club, like Fenerbache, that's good enough to contend with the great clubs around the world. The Galaxy, I guess Dallas, and maybe now the Red Bulls need to step up and make an impression in the national circuit. That means more talent coming in, more exposure abroad, and more interest from the youth at home.

These are my basic impressions about Henry's move to the Red Bulls.

On the World Cup 2010: Final thoughts and reactions

So the World Cup has drawn to a close. I don't know about you, but it's pretty depressing for me. Anyway, I want to get right down to the broad strokes of this final and what it means for the upcoming season of club play.

1. Spain's victory. In quite possibly the worst game of the tournament, Spain and Holland continually missed the chance to win the biggest sporting event of either of their country's history. I don't know about you, but I felt like I was watching some chippy Scottish Premier League game where all of the players are drunk off their asses going into the game.

This game produced by far the most yellow cards in the history of the Final, the first ever recorded live action Falcon Kick by Nigel De Jong, two of the worst moments in Arjen Robben's life, an extremely climactic goal from Andres Iniesta off a broken play, and some extremely spine-chilling tears from Spanish captain Iker Casillas.

Let's talk for a minute about Torres. I think that this is the most tragic story of the tournament. Torres went into this World Cup having endured two major knee surgeries, one of the most talked about transfer deals in soccer history, and having had to sit out for the large majority of one of the worst seasons in Liverpool's history. When he arrived on the stage, everyone shit on him non-stop, and he was pulled out of the starting line-up. This was a piss poor decision because Bosque had to change the entire formation so that Villa was a lone striker. Villa is not a lone striker. He scored all five of his goals when Torres was in the game because that meant he could start out on the left, when he's a lone striker, he gets lost amongst the central defenders and his pretty below average aerial game. The decision to pull Torres is the cause of Spain's complete lack of potency in the final. If you noticed, Spain was constantly trying to work the ball through the middle of the defense, which is exactly what Holland wanted and they defended valiantly everytime.

Then when he did finally put him in in the final, Torres tweaked his hamstring again. And that just sucks.

Let's move on now.

2. Thomas Mueller wins the Golden Boot. 20 year old Thomas Mueller won the Golden Boot this year because of a tie break with Forlan, Villa, and Sneijder. He had three assists whereas they all only had one. Mueller with this Boot has become the youngest player since Pele in 1954 to score 5 or more in a World Cup Final, is the youngest player ever to win the Boot, and he's only a few months older than me.

Now, let's talk about Mueller's future. Mueller will return to Bayern Munich next season coming off one of the most impressive displays of the entire tournament. There's a problem though, because the man who currently starts out on the right for Bayern is none other than Arjen Robben, who is probably the second best right winger in the world right now after Lionel Messi. I think Mueller needs to leave Bayern, maybe even stay in the Bundesliga. I would just really hate to see talent like that riding the bench.

3. Diego Forlan wins the Golden Ball. Forlan is my favorite player ever. He's got the field vision, the passing skills to go with it, the shot of a Barrett 50 caliber sniper rifle, the technique, and the grace. He also never dives, never gets carded, and never bitches to the refs. He just does his job, straight up.

A story about Forlan for those who don't know: He dedicates every goal he scores to his sister who was paralyzed in a car accident when they were kids. He became a professional footballer so that she'd never have to pay a medical bill in her life.

He's the last great, classy player.

4. Disapppointments. I'm just going to go through these quickly. Wayne Rooney touched the ball like six times total. Torres (sadness). Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal I could score and other than that rolled around on the pitch like a bitch. Lionel Messi broke the record for the most shots in a single tournament (30) without a goal. France just screwed everything up. England looked like a bunch of tired old men. Italy.

5. Final thoughts. I hope you all enjoyed this World Cup, I know I did. I'll start covering the transfer craziness and the club season soon. Until next time. Thanks for reading.

On Youngsters: Which players under 24 to watch for in the World Cup

This is a post dedicated to the best players under 24 that will be in their first World Cup Finals. All of these players will most likely be in the 25 man squad for their country's national team.

1. Yoann Gourcuff. Country: France. Age: 23. Position: Center attacking midfielder (CAM)


You can basically think of this guy as a French version of Cristiano Ronaldo. He's got the looks, a Howitzer cannon of a shot, and top of the line field vision. He's becoming known for being an extremely intelligent player who rarely makes mistakes and the French are going crazy over him. This guy is a dark horse for the Golden Boot, and definitely someone to watch for in this and the next three World Cups.

2. Gerard Pique. Country: Spain. Age: 23. Position: Center back (CB)


Pique is the new Puyol. The difference is, he's bigger than Puyol, faster than Puyol, more deadly with the ball at his feet than Puyol, and more reliable than Puyol. Basically, Pique is going to be the foundation of Spain's back four when Puyol gets a red card (which he will), and he can't even rent a car in the United States.

3. Lionel Messi. Country: Argentina. Age: 22. Position: Left winger (LW)



























The heralded "best player in the world." La Liga's top scorer. The man who tied Ronaldo's impossible 43 goals in a season this year. He's five feet two inches and would be asked to show some identification at any night club in the United States. Messi's left foot has become synonymous (as every club in La Liga knows by now) with defeat. "Maradona's successor" is the penultimate striker in the world. He loves chipping keepers, whirling around defenders, and basically making football look like a cake walk. You definitely won't want to miss Argentina playing at the Cup this year, if only to see this kid play.

4. Gonzalo Higuain. Country: Argentina. Age: 22. Position: Striker (ST)


Yes, they have another one. La Liga's second leading scorer, and Real Madrid's newest star, Higuain has a nose for the goal, and an aptitude for finishing. A top pick amongst a lot of analyists to win the Golden Boot, Higuain has been jostling with other Argentine strikers Carlos Tevez, Diego Milito, and Sergio Aguero to be in the starting line-up, and most think he's a shoe-in. Though those other three are also pretty great. More on one of them right now.

5. Sergio Aguero. Country: Argentina. Age: 21. Position: ST


Are you going to watch Argentina now? Aguero is a very special player, and not just because he's married to Argentine manager and former international superstar Diego Maradona's daughter. Aguero is extremely skilled on the ball, and has garnered a lot of attention starting alongside Diego Forlan at Atletico Madrid. He may come in only a few times, he may start for Argentina. Again, with this country, they have so many options up top, it's hard to pick just two or three to play.

So those are my top five young players. Do you have other ones? Comment!