Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Berba Joins Manchester United


Atlast!!! The saga is over. The question has been answered. Though Manchester United might have left it quite late, they eventually sealed the striker’s transfer to Old Trafford with minutes to go for the transfer deadline. The devils gave their fans some anxious moments but people who know Sir Alex will also realize that more often than not, he gets what he wants, be it signings or letting players go.


 


Berba’s 27 goals in 70 games might not match what Klaas Jan Huntelaar, also whom United were having an eye on, has done in Ajax (He has scored 70 goals in his 82 appearances for the club since 2005) but one thing Berba has that Huntelaar doesn’t is his experience in the Premier League. Die hard soccer fans will tell you how different the Premier League is to any other European league and it needs a lot of acclimatization to turn out your star performances. With the injury concern to Ronaldo and Louis Saha’s transfer to Everton Sir Alex needed somebody who he could play in the eleven from Day One.        A lot of articles have claimed that Berba is the missing piece in the Man U jigsaw. I am not so sure. I think Man U are going to have to play their best football in 3 years to match or even top what they did last season. Closer to home, Chelsea are not going to be easy to beat and in the Serie A the Milans are looking quite strong.


 


The next two weeks are going to be interesting. Man U play Liverpool and Chelsea and the outcomes of these matches could give us pointers which way the season is going. I am curious to see who Fergie plays. Both these are tough outings and Fergie will want his best men on the pitch. He will ofcourse have an eye on the Match Day 1 of the Champions League as well. Missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle? Only time will tell!!!