The last stop before the long journey. Because if it's true that all the championships have already started, it's equally true that the best is yet to come. The stop for the national teams therefore happens perfectly to make some reflections on the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, which, despite the few days played (in any case more than in Serie A), have already given some valuable indications.
Let's start with the English Premier, unanimously considered the most beautiful in the world. The first three days gave us a surprise leaders, Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool, who lead the standings with 9 points. Good team, but it won't last. Closely followed by Chelsea (7), Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham (6), while the reigning champions United are separated by 4. All clubs decidedly more equipped than the Reds, which also have from their history, tradition and a stadium such as Anfield Road. But, to paraphrase Antonio Conte, Liverpool is a car in the midst of many tanks. Above all, the one that appears more granite is Mourinho's Chelsea and not just for the return of the Special One.
To which Abramovich, predictably, put into his hands a real squadron, built with a real shower of pounds. To the already numerous champions present in Blue, Willian (30 million), Schurrle (22), and Eto'o have been added. Not bad and in fact Chelsea got off to a good start in the Premier League (a little less in Europe, where they had to say goodbye to the Super Cup), held back only by a calendar that has already presented them with the difficult trip to Old Trafford. If the championship were decided on the basis of expenses, however, the Blues would be second. Once again, in fact, the real Scrooge of the Premier League is Sheikh Mansour, who has once again fleshed out his City with stars to the tune of millions. The transfer campaign brought Fernandinho (40 million), Jovetic (26), Negredo (25) and Jesus Navas (20): a big leap in quality for Pellegrini, who passes from the famine in Malaga (where salaries weren't exactly punctual) to the abundance of Manchester. However, the pitch says that City are far from unbeatable, ask the little Swansea, capable of beating him 3-2, for confirmation. Arsenal and Tottenham could be the surprises, and if the Gunners exploded on the last day of the transfer market (Ozil, 50 million), the Spurs have literally remade the team thanks to the record sale of Bale. Chiriches, Paulinho, Capoue, Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli and Soldado arrived under the orders of Villas Boas. In short, not bad, but it will take time to assemble the group and there isn't much in the Premier League. David Moyes knows something about it, who has collected the granite legacy of Sir Alex. His Manchester United didn't get off to a good start, and also encountered many difficulties on the transfer market. The Red devils will recover, we are sure, but they must hurry, otherwise the first season without Ferguson could prove more difficult than expected.
Barcelona and Real Madrid don't have these problems. However you want to put it, they remain by far the strongest teams in La Liga, so much so that they play a two-way championship. However, this doesn't make it easier to excel: a false step can be fatal, and, unlike in other championships, mistakes are forbidden right from the start. Last year Mourinho's Real accumulated the gap from Barça in the first three months: La Liga, in fact, ended in November. For now, however, the big names in Spain lead hand in hand with 9 points, with the blaugrana having already overcome the treacherous away match in Valencia. Don't pay attention to Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, they will soon play another championship, the one for third place. The first two are "reserved" for eternal rivals, who have changed many things this year, starting with the coaches. Technical choice for Florentino Perez, finally able to bring Ancelotti to the Bernabeu, forced for Sandro Rosell, forced to replace the unfortunate Tito Villanova with Gerardo "Tata" Martino. The first releases seem to agree with the Casa Blanca, which, even without enchanting, is starting to show the new project. Isco is already doing wonders, Bale will do them soon, otherwise Florentino will be forced to emigrate in order not to justify the amount spent (100 million). Barça, on the other hand, is strangely struggling, partly because the insertion of Neymar is proceeding with difficulty, partly because Tata's defensive ideas do not marry well with the Catalan grandeur.
Two-way championship also in Germany, where after 4 days Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund is in the lead. Close behind, ça va sans dire, Guardiola's Bayern Munich, two lengths behind but ready to give battle to the end. The yellow and blacks, forced to cede the Goetze star to their historic enemies, will try to impress with Mkhitarian (30 million) and Aubameyang (do you remember the Milan reserve?!). The real strength, however, will once again be the organization imposed by Klopp, as well as goals from Lewandowski. The Bavarians, on the other hand, have decided to change everything, passing from Heynckess' Fussball to Guardiola's fùtbol. A choice that surprised, if only because the old Jupp simply won everything imaginable, but which confirms the greatness of Bayern, never satisfied like any self-respecting top club. So far Pep has brought Mario Goetze and Thiago Alcantara, while for the much-celebrated tiqui taca we still need a little patience. One title has already arrived (the European Super Cup against Chelsea), another hasn't (the German Super Cup lost against Dortmund), testifying that even in Munich they will have to sweat to win.
Finally, the French Ligue 1, rather anonymous until a few years ago, is in the limelight today, also, if not above all, thanks to the money of Arabs and Russians. The match is played between Paris and Monte Carlo, with lots of greetings to the opponents, unable to compete due to the enormous difference in budget. In fact, miracles (Montpellier 2012) rarely happen, and usually are not repeated. Right now he commands Monaco (10 points), a rather atypical newly promoted team. The money of the Russian tycoon Rybolovlev (combined with the power of Jorge Mendes and the decidedly friendly taxation of the Principality) has enabled a sumptuous acquisition campaign: above all Falcao (60 million), but also James Rodriguez (45), Moutinho (25) and Kondogbia (18), without forgetting Carvalho, Abidal and Toulalan. Godsend for Ranieri, someone who usually builds teams and then watches when others reap the fruits he sows. The declared objective is to qualify for the Champions League, but Sor Claudio will have to at least try to do something more. It won't be easy at all, because the French champions PSG are up against you. Needless to say, money abounds here too: Cavani (64,5 million) and Marquinhos (31,4) are the stars to add to the various Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Lucas, Lavezzi, Pastore etc… An army to which they have, however, come lack of commanders. Leonardo and Ancelotti, albeit for different reasons, have left the field and now it's up to Laurent Blanc to put back together the pieces of a very strong team, but still far from being a group. The difficult start (8 points in 4 days) can be explained like this, but the goals from Cavani (already 2) and Ibra allow for optimism.
In short, it will be fun again this year. The big names will play it to the end, in their respective countries and in Europe. And who knows, maybe one of our teams can't make a surprise entry into the tank Champions League.
