Tottenham Hotspur: A Rising Star in the UEFA Champions League 2010 - 2011

In the last couple of years, Tottenham Hotspur were just a mediocre team in the English Premier League. They always finished at the mid of the table. Last year became the turning point of their history when they finished 4th at the table and qualified for a place in the UEFA Champions League.

Their performance in the European competition is excellent. They beat, FC Twente, the Dutch Champion by 4 - 1. They were held 2 - 2 by Werder Bremen in Bremen after leading 2 - 0. They were beaten by Inter Milan in San Siro by 4 - 3 but they could score three goals in the second half to reduce the deposit. They could beat Inter by 3 - 1 when they played home at White Hart Lane which automatically put them through to the next round of the UEFA Champions League.

I think their marvelous achievement in Europe is enhanced by some factors. First, They have great players in every department. Upfront, They have twin towers in the shapes of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Peter Crouch. They can also play Jermain Defoe as an alternative player. Just behind the two strikers, there is Luka Modric. The Croatian midfielder is in his top performance this season. Together with Rafael Van Der Vaart, he orchestrates all the Spurs' attacks from midfield. In the left flank, they have Gareth Bale, a talented young man who has amazing speed and in the right flank, they have Aaron Lenon, a tiny player that has quick feet. At the back, they have William Gallas, a veteran player and a central figure in defense. Next factor is their coach, Harry Redknapp. He is a brilliant coach who can turn a "usual" team like Spurs into a special team.

So, I must say that Spurs have become a rising star in the UEFA Champions League this season. I think many football lovers would love to see their remarkable performance in the next round of the UEFA Champions League 2010 - 2011.

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Manchester City can be the next Chelsea.

Do you like watching English Premier League? If you do, you will notice a team that can break the tradition in the Premiership. The team that I am trying to tell you is Manchester City Football Club. In the last five years, there was nothing special about this club. The old Manchester City was a just a mediocre club that had never reached the top position in the Premiership. Now Manchester City is totally a different club. Just like Chelsea 5 or 6 years ago, Manchester City has changed into a stronger club. I think there are three factors that trigger the change.

First of all, this club has a huge amount of budget to buy some new great players. Eversince Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan took over the club from the previous owner, he has bought several top-class players, such as Carlos Tevez and David Silva, to build a new Manchester City. He also built a new stadium, City of Manchester, that can seat more supporters than the old stadium. He has ambition that his club can be on the top flight like Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea.

Next, this club has bought some really quality players. Supported by a huge amount of budget from the new owner, this club has signed some great players, such as Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and some others are still on the list to be brought to the City of Manchester stadium. With the new squad, the team's performance on the field is really boosted. Those new players' contributions are undoubtedly equal to their expensive prices.

Finally, The club has Roberto Mancini, a new manager behind the team. We cannot argue his quality as a coach. With his managerial skill, he brought Inter Milan to win Serie A championship title a few season ago. He has already shown what his team can do by winning several matches including some wins against big clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea.

In conclusion, supported by those three factors, Manchester City could be one of the teams in the top flight of the Premiership. They have just started what Chelsea did 5 or 6 years ago. Let's just wait and see what this team can do in the future.

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