Number 18 at United?

The midfield maestro, who Zidane once described as the best midfielder of his generation, retired post the Champions League final defeat against Barcelona. This brought end to a glittering 20 year career at United.

However, this has left a gaping hole in United’s midfield which is now looking for a creative and ball playing midfielder. Although Sir Alex has himself admitted that it is impossible to replace Scholes, but he is looking for possible suitors.

There have been loads of rumours over the summer but none have yet arrived at Old Trafford. One name which has been ever present is that of the Dutch Playmaker, Wesley Sneijder. Although no official bid has been placed as yet but a move is highly touted in Italy.

Sir Alex just came out with the statement that he is not buying anyone for United’s midfield. This could mean tough times for Sir Alex’s men for the 2011-2012 campaign. With Carrick, who never ticks in big matches, Anderson who still has to prove his consistency, Fletcher who is struggling for fitness, United’s midfield will find it difficult to cope with the likes of Gerrard, Fabregas, Lampard, Xavi, Messi and others.

Although United do have good young talent coming up in Cleverley and Pogba it remains to be seen how many chances they would be given at United, given the inexperience. Also, the signing of Ashley Young might just prove another gem by Sir Alex, as did Chicharito’s. He might chose to deploy Young, who is apparently the new Number 18 at United, in the “hole”. Scholes was a master of playing in the “hole” during his young days when he used to make those trademark darting runs from midfield to the box.

Traditionally a winger, Young showed potential of playing in the “hole” during his time at Aston Villa. However it is too early to say whether he would be able to fit in at United, leave alone be the new number 18!

La Masia - Football academy of FC Barcelona

"La Masia de Can Planes" or simply La Masia, was built in 1702 and has been dwarfed since the 1950s by Barcelona's massive Nou Camp stadium next door. It has been home to some of the best players that have graced football and Barcelona, including current coach Pep Guardiola, midfielders Xavi, Andres Iniesta, captain Carles Puyol and goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Players who pass through La Masia are known in Spain as the "Cantera" (quarry). They have with them Barcelona's special brand of stylish, creative, attacking and possession football. This was quite evident for the whole world to witness in the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley, where they dismantled Sir Alex Ferguson's English champions, Manchester United 3-1.

"Recruits", the ones who win a place at the "Masia" undergo an intense program of education. These "recruits" are some 60 at a time, from Spain and beyond. It is claimed that the whole program is aimed at producing more rounded individuals, who have a better chance in life if they fail to make it as a professional athlete.

The current philosophy of the academy was proposed by Johan Cruyff in 1979, who himself was a Barcelona legend. His aim was to establish a copy of the Ajax Academy in Barcelona. The aim was to instill a footballing style in the Barcelona blood. The team played to Cruyff's tiki-taka philosophy mixed with total football.

Josep Guardiola, the current Barcelona manager, was one of the first few who graduated from the academy and went on to be inspirational to later generations of La Masia graduates including Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas.

Another aspect to La Masia is regional nationalism. They focus more on developing local talent. Their academy consists of mostly Catalans. This is something which is unique to their philosophy.

All this is paying FC Barcelona huge dividends now. They are the current European Champions. They have the best squad of players. They have the best style of play in football, globally. They are the club that every other team aspires to beat. They are FC Barcelona!

Who is Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas?

Born on 17th October 1977, André Villas Boas has become the new manager at Chelsea football club at a young age of 33.

His first encounter with football management was as a 16 year old when Sir Bobby Robson, then Manager of FC Porto, moved into the same Apartment block. After questioning Sir Bobby’s team selection a couple of times, he backed his argument with facts and data. Sir Bobby was so impressed by the 16 year old that he offered him the role of a trainee youth team coach, which he accepted!

Next, he was sent to England by Sir Bobby to get his coaching badges and was the youngest student at the school. After becoming the youngest to receive UEFA C licence at age 17, he was sent to Ipswich Town by Sir Bobby Robson to gain some learning experience. It is here that he learnt English from his English grandmother and became fluent, which also helped him to communicate on a wider scale.

Next, André  undertook his first coaching job at British Virgin Islands Football Association and after 18 months he moved to FC Porto as the coach of the under 19 side. This job was offered by none other than Jose Mourinho! Soon thereafter, Mourinho promoted André  to the position of Opposition Scout. An opposition scout basically scouts upcoming opponents and provides dossiers. He thrived in this role and his attention to detail allowed Mourinho to make tactics around the provided opposition intelligence.

The Jose-André  partnership enjoyed significant success at Porto and also won the UEFA Champions League in 2002. When Mourinho left Porto for Chelsea, he took André  with him and then again when he moved from Chelsea to Internazionale.

However, in October 2009, he left Inter and became the manager of Academica in Portugal’s top division. After finishing 11^th in the league, he was appointed as the manager of FC Porto. He guided Porto to a treble, winning the League, the League Cup and the Europa League. In addition, Porto ended the season unbeaten with 27 wins in 30 matches, becoming only the second club in Portugal to finish a league unbeaten since Benfica in 1972-73.