Are You Ready For Some Futbol?

The English Premier League has started up once again and it’s time to see who will be the best England has to offer this year. The regular season kicked off on August 16 and so far, eight teams have come away with victories on their first fixture. The biggest upset of the weekend was Swansea City taking down Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford. It was not a good start for new United coach Louis Van Gaal. It was Gylfi Sigurdsson of Swansea who broke the hearts of United fans. After this devastating loss, we will have to see if Gaal’s team can bounce back Sunday against Sunderland.

One of the most recent transfers coming to the Premier League this year is Italian youngster Mario Balotelli. The spontaneous striker will be leaving AC Milan and joining Liverpool, a team that already has a superstar forward in Daniel Sturridge, who was second in goals last season with 21. Balotelli won’t play in the big match-up this Monday against Manchester City, but he will definitely be ready to play August 30 against Stoke City. This will be the 24-year-old’s second stint in the Premier League, after playing for Manchester City from 2010-2013, scoring 20 goals in 54 appearances. Last season, Balotelli scored 26 goals in just 43 appearances. Liverpool fans hope that he will bring even more success to a team that finished second last year in the league behind Manchester City.

Speaking of Manchester City, the former league leaders will look to continue their success on the pitch with superstars like Yaya Toure, Edin Dzeko, and Sergio Aguero. All three of those players were in the top six last year in scoring. Manager Manuel Pellegrini did a great job in his first season with the team last year and if he continues to coach them the way he has, this team will continue to find success. With most of their star players returning, this looks like the team to beat this year once again.

In his first season as manager, Manuel Pellegrini led Manchester City to the league title with a record of 27-6-5.
Credit: http://www.independent.co.uk

As for Arsenal, they could not find a way to finish out strong last season. With a chance to win the league last year, they dropped below Chelsea and Liverpool, but played well enough to move past Everton and finished fourth in the league. Now more pressure has been added on to this team with rumors of superstar midfielder Jack Wilshere being transfer listed. He is a remarkable young talent with a lot of promise. If Arsenal loses him, it will continue to tarnish their reputation as a selling club rather than a buying club, which is what you need to be in order to win in the big leagues. Arsenal will face Everton tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.

Favorites have already been picked for this season and teams are focusing in on their targets. There will be joy and there will be heartbreaks. But that’s just soccer.

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Christian Athlete of the Week: David Luiz

The 27-year-old Brazilian defender plays for Chelsea and is one of the main reasons why Chelsea has one of the best defenses in the English Premier League. David Luiz has made 15 starts and is a force down in the box. He started out at Vitoria and then went to Benfica in La Liga when he was 19. After being noticed as a star defender, Chelsea decided to pick him up in January of 2011 and ever since he has been an anchor for José Mourinho‘s club. He is now the vice-captain of the club and has a Champions League and FA Cup title under his belt.

However, this defender is not just known for making plays on defense, but is also a big defender of his Christian faith. He is a devout Christian and calls Kaká his role model (a fellow Christian soccer player). Luiz strongly believes that God has our futures all planned out and that everything will go according to His will.

“I know that God knows everything in my life so, when I don’t play, sometimes I consult,” explained Luiz. “Sometimes I think, ‘Today God doesn’t put me in to play, he takes me out, so there is an injury or something like that’. That’s how I think.” (Credit: The Telegraph)

He has the strong confidence in the One who can give him the spectacular performance he gives on a daily basis.

“My faith gives me the belief that I can go out and perform and improve as a player. It gives me strength and inspiration,” Luiz said. “Everything in life belongs to God. Our purpose has already been mapped out.” (Credit: The Independent)

Chelsea is coming off a very defensive 0-0 draw to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Semifinals. Their next match will be on April 27th against Liverpool in a crucial Premier League matchup. Luiz’s defense will be critical in that match because Liverpool has scored more goals than any other team this season with 96. Since Liverpool is on top of the standings, Chelsea will thoroughly enjoy this victory if they can pull it off. Luiz already knows that God’s will is already in place whether he succeeds or not. All that matters is that Luiz glorifies his Heavenly Father no matter what happens to him in life. We should all do the same and pray for God’s will to be done in our life and not our own.