I believe that in football, while a comeback is but a return to the game, a resurgence is when you return and show the world the way it used to be, and the way it ought to be. After many weeks of kicking around without purpose, we have had a resurgence.
Real Madrid coming back from two goals down to beat Roma, Manchester United with a pretty-as-a-poodle Rio Ferdinand back to dominant winning ways, Wayne Rooney recovering from a broken foot to answer doubting critics with a "My Foot!" hat-trick debut, Roy Makaay coming from a relatively quiet few months to silence his 18.75 million price tag critics with a thunderous treble for Bayern Munich, indeed it seems all is back to normal with European football. The winners are starting to win again.
Perhaps I wouldn't have felt so strongly about this resurgence if it weren't for the return of the Real Madrid of old, but such is the influence of a return to form of the world's best team, as they are commonly referred to, that it makes me turn to the performances of other major teams struggling and look for a trend. And truly, how eye-opening it was to watch Real Madrid responding it was almost like the giants were fooling around for a few weeks and suddenly found themselves minutes away from hurtling down a cliff a Champions League exit. Sleep-infested eyes suddenly darted around for the true situation, Raul single-handedly seemed to smack the entire team across the back of their collective heads, and what resulted made the heart beat faster.
Raul's fierceness of body language was reminiscent of Eusebio and that famous fightback from three goals down against the Koreans. Within minutes the passing bordered on exquisite, and one knew there was something special in store. And for this one solitary reason, not for the four very good goals they scored, not for the resurgence of Raul and Zidane and Beckham, but for this thing that they have started to do again this inexplicable quickening of the pulse that they cause, this feeling of joy that they give when they play like the Real Madrid of a year ago is why you must not miss their next game. They take on Deportivo La Coruna late on Sunday night 0025 hrs on Monday, live on Star Sports.
A fortnight ago, 'just a page out of the football story' told us about Real Madrid and Manchester United struggling without wins... and some of you went on to say how none of the 'Galacticos' would win a title this year. I say, let's be patient. United stormed back with consecutive wins to fifth in the EPL, and then their 6-2 win in the Champions League reaffirmed our resurgence theory. Although Real is just one win out of the rut, I told you what I saw and that's enough for me!
Look at Chelsea as well. A mouth-watering mix of local and foreign players that is, in Jose Mourinho's words, held tightly together with intense team spirit. Arsenal, I admit, are struggling on the European stage. But Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United are impossible to rule out. They might miss out on titles, but I assure you they will go far enough and do more than enough to delight football fans. Anybody betting against Real Madrid this season? You're on!
One team that has success written all over it is Barcelona. Creative, classy, and very effective, they will slaughter Numancia this weekend, but we cannot watch. What we can watch, however, is Real Sociedad Vs Atletico Madrid at 0130 on Sunday, live on ESPN.
But with a sigh, we move on to the huff-puff, the small ground, feverish-paced, beautifully manicured turf of the English Premier League.
The biggest draw undoubtedly will be Wayne Rooney's debut for Manchester United. There is a lot of mirth to be derived from watching the Man U people protecting Rooney like a golden goose. "He's a young boy, he shouldn't have too much media exposure", "He will burn out unless we allow him to play like a regular guy", etc etc. Yes he is sharp, very sharp. So watch Old Trafford go mad this Sunday when they take on Middlesbrough at 19:24 on Sunday, live on Star Sports.
And while the momentum is now clearly with Man U, the ones running out of steam seem to be Arsenal. If Charlton Athletic were hoping for a shock result, they couldn't have asked for a better time to do it. Watch No 1 take on No 7 at 19:25 on Saturday, live on ESPN.
Easy to recollect the scepticism surrounding Roman Abramovich's expensive buys for Chelsea not so long ago, isn't it? Well, like I have been telling you, it's a mix that is becoming more explosive by the match. Drogba and Eto, Lampard and Gudjohnsen, Terry and Smertin. Indeed, Mourinho has got himself a momentum going that will take a lot to stop. Like I was telling you, it's the resurgence of the Galacticos. And you will be delighted.
And watching the Arsenal-Charlton game very closely will be Chelsea, just a win away from a leap-frog to the top spot. They will most probably beat Liverpool, who find themselves in a rough patch for the past couple of weeks. Very sad to see Steven Gerrard limp off for a couple of months with a broken foot, just when he looked like carrying the team single-handedly, but his loss is having more than the effect it ought to on Liverpool. Do watch at 2030 on Sunday, live on ESPN.
Everton, with a quiet, solid run this season, will be unchallenged for some time in third place, although you can expect a very close and physical game against Tottenham Hotspur, live on Star Sports this Saturday, at 1924 hours.
How I would have loved to talk about my cowboys of the EPL, Newcastle, but they don't play this weekend. They have galloped to sixth in the table, and along with Man U, will breathe down the necks of Arsenal and Chelsea in the weeks to come.
Clearly, it seems that all is right once again with European football. It would be wrong for you to miss this weekend. Enjoy the resurgence.
