I think that all, if not the major of football supporters were a little sceptical going into the World Cup. If we take out all the issues that surround Qatar and this isn’t me turning a blind eye, I am simply trying to keep this focused on football, a mid-season World Cup just didn’t sit right for the majority of us.
Twenty-eight days and sixty-four games later, Argentina was crowned champions following arguably one of the best football matches in history as the South Americans beat France in a penalty shoot-out following a 3-3 draw.
Believe it or not, I actually tipped Argentina to win the whole thing from the off purely because of their form going into the competition but following their opening defeat to Sauda Arabia I wasn’t so sure.
Emiliano Martínez
Would we even be an Aston Villa blog if we did mention our very own World Cup Winner? Emiliano Martínez.
Emi played every game during Argentina’s run to success at the World Cup saving two penalties against the Netherlands in the quarter-final.
Not only did he go on to save Kingsley Coman’s penalty helping the La Albiceleste, his save in the last minute of extra time probably proved just as important, if not more!
Along with his winner’s medal, Martínez was also awarded the Golden Glove award for his performances in the tournament.
Congratulations Emi, we are all proud of you!
Domestic football is back!
One positive to a Winter World Cup is that the Premier League is back next weekend. Villa will take on Liverpool at Villa Park on boxing day and I can’t wait.
Villa have a new manager with new ideas and I am sure I am not alone when I say I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Not only is the domestic game back, but the transfer window also opens in a couple of weeks so the crazy transfer rumour season is about to return.
Who will survive under Unai Emery’s new regime? And who will come in? I must admit, I don’t expect wholesale changes in January but more of a few weeks here and there. I expect bigger changes to take play in the summer when more players will be available at prices that aren’t considered inflated. One thing you need to be careful of is not believing everything you read. A small percentage of rumours will have any truth in them!
We will have ups and downs under Emery but it’s vitally important we play our part and get behind both the manager and the team on a matchday.
Roll on Boxing Day! See you all back at Villa Park!