The English national football team has never won the European Championship but Owen Hargreaves believes that they have the chance to things around. The former English footballer, Hargreaves is certain that Roy Hodgson has a squad which is good enough to compete against the top players and sides in the world.

Back in 2004, the English national side was expected to win major trophies with top players such as :Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney. This generation was even called : ‘’The Golden Generation’’

Even with all these top players, England failed to win the Euro’s of 2004 after only being able to reach the quarter-finals which was a huge dissapointment considering all the expectations from their supporters and the world class players that were at the disposal of the former England national coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

According to Owen Hargreaves, the current national football team of England have a better chance of lifting the European title and other major pieces of silverware than any of the past squads.

Hargreaves said: “I think with this England team the expectation is far less. It’s a relatively young team with some great young players. I don’t think England are heavy favourites so I think they should trust some of the younger players because sometimes they have a hunger and a desire to showcase that talent.”

Roy Hodgson is the head coach of the English national side and he is trying to find the perfect balance in his squad that can allow his team to perform better and consequently win titles which hasn’t been happening. In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, England failed to make it past the group stages and now the pressure is building around Hodgson as he has to start winning titles or his managerial position in the national side could be at risk but Owen Hargreaves is confident that positive results will start to emerge for the English side.

Manchester United are reportedly preparing an offer forInternacional star Rodrigo Dourado.

They appear to have inside knowledge on the player after one of their former name – Anderson – has spoken highly of the 21-year-old. United have not had much success comes to signing Brazilian players over the last few years. Anderson was amongst the recent arrivals, but he did not have much better after a couple of seasons of good form. Rafael Da Silva and Fabio Da Silva also have failed to shine at Old Trafford. Yet, the scouts for the Premier League team are keen on completing a deal forDourado.

It is reported that the 21-year-old will cost around £ 20 million, which would make him an expensive proposition. However, Anderson believes that he is fully with this exorbitant figure since he has shown excellent qualities in his short spell as a teammate atInternacional. After starting out his career with the Brazilian outfit, the midfielder has gone on to represent the team in 25 appearances to date. He has been extremely promising and this has earned him a call up to the Brazil under 17 team. He has not featured for the under 20 or the senior team in recent years.

“Dourado will at some time play for the national team. He’s a quick player, outstanding. He plays it simple but allows players such as myself to attack. He’s a new kid, but soon will leave Inter. He is a European player,” said Anderson, who recently completed a permanent move away from United following years of poor form. Since moving to the Brazilian club, he has been a first-team regular, although most of his appearances have come in other competitions. Anderson has featured in only four league outings forInternacional until now. The 27-year-old once cost United close to £ 20 million.

Former Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves voiced his thoughts about how realistic it is for the Premier League club to compete and make a proper challenge in the Champions League season for the upcoming season and Hargreaves believes that United just aren’t at the same level as other clubs which will be participating in the European competition.

In the first season that Louis van Gaal spent in charge of Manchester United, the Dutch coach pushed the English club to the 4th spot of the Premier League which is incredibly impressive considering the soulless and lifeless state that the team was going through after the sacking of David Moyes.

Louis van Gaal will be given a huge transfer budget to make a genuine charge for the Premier League title which is currently being held by Chelsea but the owners and fans of Manchester United also want to see the club compete in the Champions League but the former player Owen Hargreaves believes that even with this big transfer budget it just won’t happen.

When Owen Hargreaves was asked about Manchester United possibility of battling against the top European clubs, Hargreaves said that United still aren’t at the same level as the rest.

“I don’t think Manchester United is ready to compete for a Champions League title. If you look at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona realistically I don’t think they are. I’m sure the fans would love to get back to those days when they were in the Champions League semi-finals virtually every year and not only winning the league, but winning it beautifully as well.” Owen Hargreaves said.

Mats Hummels is one of the highest rated defenders in the world of football and the German has consistently been linked with Manchester United as a possible summer signing but Owen Hargreaves suggested the Premier League club on not to sign the defender because he’s too slow and Hummels has already stated that he will continue to perform with Borussia Dortmund for another season and now United will have to search around for another defender.

Owen Hargreaves believes that Manchester United should not be looking at signing Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels since the defender may struggle with the pace of the Premier League.

Hummels has been linked with an exit from Dortmund for quite a while, but it finally is set to come in the summer due to the struggles at the German club. Dortmund have been flirting with relegation for much of the season and if they are relegated, they are likely to sell players likeHummels. United have been looking at the defender for a long time.

Louis Van Gaal has also given the go-ahead to sign the player after he was first scouted by former manager David Moyes. Hargreaves, though, says that the pace ofHummelswill be a major problem for United to deal with.Hummels is not the fastest defender in the world and he will easily be found it with the current style of play at United. Since Van Gaal favours a 3-5-2 formation, the club has also been keeping a high line. The pace of players like Phil Jones and Daley Blind has meant that United have not encountered too many problems with opposition exploiting the spaces in behind the defenders.

“He’s a super, super ball-playing centre back but I don’t think he can defend, he’s too slow.I think he’s a nice football player, he’s easy on the eye, but United need somebody physical, a presence.He’s Franz Beckenbauer, the new version, a super passer but I think that if I’m Manchester United I want [Nemanja] Vidic, I want [Vincent] Kompany.He’s the captain of Borussia Dortmund, they’re last in the Bundesliga. Is that the measuring stick for Manchester United? I’m not so sure,” said Hargreaves. Hummels has featured in 13 league appearances this season and Dortmund sit one point above the relegation zone.

The head coach of England, Roy Hodgson, wants his team to copy the playing style of the World Champions Germany.

Germany has been very consistent in the last few World Cups unlike the Three Lions.

According to Hodgson, it’s possible for the English players to play the way the German players do.

Speaking in a sports programme yesterday, Hodgson said, “If the European sides are asked to emulate the style of the sides coming from South America, then, it’s a little bit difficult because there is a lot of difference in the climate of the two continents. The players over there grow differently and possess the skills that probably the European players don’t.”

“But, there is no reason why we can’t emulate Germany. They have got similar sort of players, but, still, they have been doing so well in the global tournaments and that’s because they are athletic and their speed is very, very impressive. We should try and do the same.”

“It’s just the execution in which Germany is better than us and the other European countries. Their players are temperamentally good and rarely do they drift away from their plan. And, also, their mobility is brilliant. They are swift in their movement and they always attack as a team.”

After the World Cup though, England has played better than Germany. The Three Lions have won 4 Euro qualifiers on the trot and have almost made it to the tournament proper already.
Germany, on the other hand, has found it a bit tough in their Euro qualification group i.e. Group D. They’re at the second position.

Germany is very delicately poised at the moment in Group D. One more defeat can make them slide to no. 4.

The team which is leading the Group D is Poland.

Since making his way to the Stadium of Light this summer, Jack Rodwell has been playing regularly. He even played a full match the other day for the Black Cats against Burnley FC.
According to the holding midfielder, fitness has proved to be a challenge for him as he is not used to playing much, but, the more he is playing, the stronger he is getting and he has now started feeling good about his game.
In an interview after that Burnley match, Rodwell said, “It was fun out there. I played for the full duration after a while and I enjoyed it to be honest. It would have been great to have a goal to my name. I had the opportunity and on a different day, I could have capitalized, but, it wasn’t to be today.”
“Nevertheless, I am happy with how things are going. Fitness is something that I have worked hard on and I am still doing that and the time in the middle is also helping. Match fitness comes from that only. If you are not playing, no matter how much you train, you are always a bit shaky. So, it’s good to be getting playing time.”
Rodwell hardly played at his previous club Manchester City during his 2-year stint. Just 15 Premier League matches he got to feature in. That was exasperating for him as it would have been for any player. He made a move to Sunderland at the start of August at a fee which was not revealed. Rumours say its 10 million Pounds.
Rodwell opened his scoring account for Sunderland versus Manchester United on 24th of August. That’s the only goal that he has been able to score for the Black Cats until now.

With the summer transfer window a few weeks away from concluding it has been a fairly quiet period of time for Manchester City who are well known for their willingness to offload huge amounts of cash in order to secure their targets but so far it seems to be a different story.

Bacary Sagna, Willy Caballero and the Brazilian midfielder Fernando are the players that will be joining the side of Manuel Pellegrini for the upcoming campaign as those 3 additions arrived to the Etihad Stadium with a combined transfer fee of €30 million.

Chelsea has so far played a huge role in the summer transfer window as Jose Mourinho signed Diego Costa as well as luring Cesc Fabregas to Stamford Bridge. Arsene Wenger has reinforced his own squad by signing Alexis Sanchez but Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City on the other hand remains fairly comfortable and confident about his spending spree thus far but a few changes are expected to be done.

Pellegrini said, “I don’t think the squad is complete yet but we have six weeks before the transfer window closes. Perhaps there is the option to bring one or more players in or maybe one or two will leave our squad but there is time for us to consider what is best for our team’’

Even without any major signings expected to be done or high profile players in the radar of Pellegrini, Manchester City are favorites of protecting and defending the Premier League which will be highly contested more than ever considering all the reinforcements that certain clubs have made in order to take away the trophy from the hands of Pellegrini and his players.

Manchester City continues their charge for the Premier League title along with Chelsea and Liverpool as those are the teams which have turned out to be genuine title contenders in this season.

Even if City is unable of being crowned as the champions of the English league, Manuel Pellegrini’s debut in charge of the club has already seen him lifting a trophy as they defeated Sunderland and secured the Capital One Cup silverware.
In his first season at the head of Manchester City, Pellegrini managed to secure a major trophy as well as getting a Champions League spot for the upcoming campaign and according to Owen Hargreaves, they will only get better.

“Going forward you may see them play a little different tactically and I think they can get even better. They will look to go further in the Champions League next season. They made progress this year but will look to improve as any good team does. They have to control the game more against the best teams.
“In the Premier League they are so much better than most of the teams they are never really threatened but in the Champions League, you’re playing the best in the world.” Hargreaves said as he voiced his opinion about the future of Manchester City.

Hargreaves signed with Manchester City in 2011 but after only playing 1 league match all season, his time at the Etihad Stadium was limited as he was not offered another contract by the club. This is similar to what had already happened to him previously with Manchester United as he could only make 27 league appearances for United during his 4 years stay at the Premier League club due to consistent injuries.