Barcelona, Arsenal Agree Hleb Deal

Aleksandr Hleb's future has been somewhat very uncertain over the past months, as he was an unsettled Arsenal player, trophyless, coming of age and wanting a new challenge.
Reports had stated that Hleb had agreed personal terms with Barcelona earlier in the transfer season, however a deal did not materialize, as the clubs had not yet agreed a transfer fee for the player. However reports today indicate that the clubs have agreed on a deal for the Beloriussian, and he will now fly to Barcelona, to perform a medical and sign for the club.
With this news Ronaldinho is more likely than not to leave, as Hleb has been tipped as his replacement on the left side of the team. There's really no replacement for Ronaldinho but the club has to take action in case he leaves.
This news also decreases the likelihood of Andrei Arshavin arriving at the Nou Camp this season, as his club has rejected two bids from Barcelona for him, stating that the offers weren't enough.
With club president, Joan Laporta pulling through the vote of no confidence by a very narrow margin, as 60% of the club members with voting rights voted against him, but 65% were needed for an election to be held, trasnfers activities were able to continue as usual and thus, a deal has been agreed for Hleb.
This will reunite two former Gunners, Henry and Hleb, and it is yet to be seen if the two can strike a successful partnership, as it is said they didn't play well together while at the Emirates.

Euro 2008

With Euro 2008 coming up on on June 7th, I just want to run through briefly who I personally believe are going to be favorites for the tournament.

Italy
Let's start with the current World Champions, Italy. With Totti out of Euro injured Italy will particularly look to Pirlo to lead the team, and I believe he is quite capable of doing so. It is quite unfortunate however that Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out as he has sustained an injury in the team's last friendly game which would probably cause some defensive woes, but Italy is a team which is known for its solid defense, and therefore there should be a suitable replacement. The players to watch in this team are Pirlo, Del Piero, Zambrotta and Luca Toni. Look for Pirlo to dictate the midfield, Zambrotta to come up big in the defense and Luca and Del Piero to bang in the goals, as they both have been the top scorers in their respective leagues this season.

Germany
People hardly consider this team when they think of big teams but Germany is a very big side. Dating back to 2002, Germany has made the World Cup final loosing out only to Brazil and they finished third at the last World Cup by beating Portugal. Ballack, Klose and Torsten Frings are the stars for this side, so look out for big performances from these players.

France
There's no more Zinedine Zidane but France continues to produce amazing talent. After loosing out to Italy at the last World Cup, France will most definitely want to crown themselves champions of Europe. Look out for the young, talented Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri, Bundesliga's best Frank Ribery and veteran striker Thierry Henry.

Spain
Finally my favorite team, Spain, the great underachievers of Europe. Yes, they do not have many trophies as they have only won just one European title in 1964 but I just love the way they play. One journalist referred to the way they play as "tika taka" which means pass and go. I just love to see nice touch football and for this reason Spain is my favorite European team. Look for hitmen El Nino, Fernando Torres and El Guaje, David Villa to come up with big performances, along with the "midfield midgets", as I like to call them Xavi and Iniesta and Arsenal talisman Cesc Fabregas. The biggest concern for Spain right now would be the defense, hopefully they can get it together before the competition starts.

Euro 2008 should be great and although these teams I have mentioned may be the favorites, this is football, and we all know what they say, anything can happen.

When will they learn?

Today my article will be about big clubs signing many big players and how this method never seems to work in the long run. I bring up this topic following the collapse of my favorite team F.C. Barcelona. Clearly they should have learned from Real Madrid with the era of the Galacticos that bringing too many renowned players to a club somehow never works out.
With Barcelona finishing third this season it is clear that their poor performances have nothing to do with the lack of talent but more of a lack of discipline and many other factors. Clearly the players have not been getting along over the past two years and it has shown on the pitch as Barca have not acquired a single trophy since their 2006 triumph in the Champions League. Deco who has now been given the green light to leave the club to play for another, recently said that in order to set up a great team and start winning again there needs to be stability in the dressing room and at the club. So obviously we can see what the problem is here. Evidently instability within the dressing room at Barca has finally come to it's peak and subsequently we shall see what I would like to call the "rebirth of Barca", with many of the stars, who I must say made their name in Barca, likely to leave.
My personal view is that somehow players tend to think of themselves more than anything else after sometime. Many renowned players such as Henry for example, are use to a team built around them and probably find it hard to share the limelight with others.When this starts to happen I guess players forget about the greater good of doing what's best for the team. I believe big stars need to return back to the fundamentals of life and learn that the most important word is "we" and and the least important is "I". I think this is the only way teams become truly successful. Barca had that mentality in the earlier years of this era but somehow lost it.