The Truly Global Game
Football returns from intl break with matches of worldwide interest
Football is not just back after the international break, it’s back with a bang. The biggest games in Europe’s top four leagues will see the resumption of great rivalries between teams that have historically challenged each other for titles. That might not be the case this season but that doesn’t mean that there is any less to play for – or any less interest in these matches. With players, owners and fans of these teams coming from around the world there is a truly global interest in these fixtures, and they will be beamed live and watched in large numbers from Shanghai to Seattle.
Manchester United vs Arsenal
In the lunchtime kickoff at Old Trafford on Saturday, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger will resume their long-standing feud with the Portuguese facing the Frenchman for the first time as Manchester United manager. Mourinho’s United team may be struggling for both goals and consistency this season but his record against Wenger is reason for optimism. Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in 13 competitive outings – 11 in the Premier League – with his sole victory coming in the Community Shield. The Arsenal manager will desperately want to end his run and the return of Alexis Sanchez will add to the confidence of a team who are unbeaten since their opening-day loss at home to Liverpool. Sixth-placed United are struggling for a side, however. Injuries to Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia means that Mourinho is once again without his first-choice back line. Further forward, Wayne Rooney leaving the England camp with an injury means he is unlikely to replace the suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic – a man who also harbors a grudge against Wenger. That will perhaps allow Marcus Rashford the rare opportunity to lead the line. Rashford scored twice against Arsenal on his Premier League debut last season and would surely love to continue where he left off in February. While the teams have not been head-to-head for the league title for a decade or more, Manchester United vs Arsenal is a fixture that has provided its fair share of blood and thunder over the years, and there is no reason for the viewing public to expect anything different this time – especially with a pair of managers who have previously come to blows in charge.
Inter Milan vs AC Milan
Two of the best supported and most successful teams in Italy, the Milan sides are both far from their prime – even if Inter did win the treble under Mourninho in 2010. The Nerazzurri have had nine managers since he left and Stefano Pioli is the second of the season after replacing Ronald de Boer. The Derby della Madonnina this weekend will be the first time that the former Lazio manager is in the Inter dugout, so it will be intriguing to see how he stops the rot that sees Inter lagging 13 points behind Serie A leaders Juventus and eight points behind their city rivals, especially as he arrives in a dressing room where he finds the captain Mauro Icardi involved in a civil war with the team’s own fans following comments in his recent autobiography. Pioli also has to lift the confidence of Brazilian teenager Gabigol who fell from favor under De Boer despite only joining the club in the summer. AC Milan are in a similar period of transition but have put their faith in youth in the form of teenage keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and midfielder Manuel Locatelli, both of whom were instrumental in the Rossoneri’s shock win over Juventus last month.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid
The highest profile of the weekend’s big games is the Madrid derby and not least because the teams have met in the Champions League final twice during the last three years – Real Madrid winning on both occasions. While Los Blancos have had the best of those showpiece encounters, the same can’t be said of their meetings in La Liga, especially in the fury of Atletico Madrid’s home. The fans will have plenty of football reasons to create an atmosphere against their city rivals, but the fact that this is the last derby in the Vicente Calderon before Atleti head to a new stadium means emotions may run higher on and off the pitch. Zinedine Zidane’s Real are the only unbeaten team in La Liga and sit atop the table, and their crosstown rivals are six points behind in fourth place, so both teams have plenty to play for in a game that pits the biggest club in the world against a team that continues to punch well above its weight both domestically and in Europe under Diego Simeone. The Argentine coach will be delighted that his talismanic forward Antoine Griezmann has not broken his foot on France duty, despite reports to the contrary, as he looks to edge a game that could go either way.
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayern Munich
Der Klassiker, as Germany’s version of El Clasico has come to be known, will play out between teams that have been the strongest in Germany over the last couple of decades. Dortmund welcome last season’s double winners to the Signal Iduna Park in a game that will be broadcast to over 200 countries and regions and will see plenty of international teammates and former clubmates reunite on the field – in fact the match may feature 12 World Cup winners. That’s a sign of the internecine recent history of these teams: Mario Goetze moved back to Dortmund from Bayern this summer, while Mats Hummels went the other way and former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski will line up for Bayern. It was under Pep Guardiola that Bayern beat Dortmund in the DFB Pokal to secure their double last season, but new boss Carlo Ancelotti has already beaten Dortmund for his first trophy, winning the German Super Cup 2-0 at the start of this campaign. The Dortmund coach will want to end this recent run and he will be helped by the returning Marco Reus, fit again after getting injured in last season’s cup final, as he chases a win that will allow fifth-placed Dortmund to cut the gap with table-topping Bayern to just three points.