The battle for domination of England is about to kick off.
While the nation is still gripped in Olympics fever, the focus shifts to the Premier League in short order with Sunday’s Community Shield (FOX Soccer, 8:30 AM ET) matchup, the traditional curtain raiser featuring the previous year’s champions (Manchester City) and winners of the FA Cup (Chelsea).
But with a new season dawning, those labels for City and Chelsea are in the past, and now the focus is on not only defending what they have, but also claiming what the other holds – City’s title and the other silverware Chelsea got to hoist last season, the Champions League trophy.
It has not always been this way for these clubs, as both went decades between adding championship trophies to their display rooms. But similarly, both got to this point thanks to rich owners—Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea in 2003 and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi United Group took over at Manchester in 2008. They have each spent what was necessary and beyond to end long droughts, albeit with the expectation that the rewards keep rolling in.
The Community Shield is labeled a friendly, but it can help set the tone for the real competitions, which begin in earnest just one week later.
For Chelsea, they may hold the title as the Kings of Europe thanks to their Champions League final win over Bayern Munich last May, but the 2011-12 season offered mixed results. A poor Premier League campaign led to the dismissal of first-year coach Andre Villas-Boas. Interim manager Roberto di Matteo energized the team to triumph in the FA Cup (their ticket to Sunday’s game) and the Champions League, but could not help boost the team to above sixth in the Premier League.
To that end, Abramovich opened up the coffers and performed an overhaul to the team. Gone are familiar faces like Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Instead, this weekend’s matchup will help introduce the new stars of the team, including highly sought-after playmaker Eden Hazard and Marko Marin. Another offseason buy, Oscar, will show off his skills in Saturday’s Olympics soccer final at Wembley for Brazil, so he will be unavailable for the Community Shield contest. And that’s not all; a greater influx of talent is hinted to be on the way before the close of the transfer market window at the end of the month.
In the preseason buildup, results have not been good – Chelsea have dropped their last three matches, including to lower division side Brighton 3-1 earlier this week - so Sunday’s tilt could be the opportunity the Blues need to show what they can achieve, even if the team is not fully assembled.
Over at Manchester City, this summer has been quiet with big rumors but no action – a change from recent years where they have gone out to purchase big name stars like Carlos Tevez, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli. And while that has frustrated manager Roberto Mancini (he’s been quoted widely in English newspapers as saying "I am not happy - but I don't know what to say."), he cannot be too frustrated, given that he hasn’t lost any of his big name stars.
Last year the manager had a bust-up with Carlos Tevez that led to his exodus for many months and the striker was widely expected to leave in the offseason, while Balotelli’s wild antics were also set to see him out the door – yet both vital team members remain with the Community Shield looming.
“My thoughts are now with the game against Chelsea. Now I have to think about the game,” Mancini said in a press conference this week according to the team’s website.
“I am confident with my players because we won the league and also because last year we beat a fantastic team like [Manchester] United. But you do need to improve at every level. We are a young team and we need to get better, every month, every year.”
Mancini and the rest of the team are quick to downplay their expectations – tipping rivals Manchester United as the championship favorites and saying they are still many years from achieving glory in the Champions League as Chelsea had last year – but a stacked roster from years of big purchases demands high expectations.
The same is true over at Chelsea, and the only way to live up to them is by bringing back trophies.
Be ready: The battle for domination begins Sunday.
Jorge Andres Mondaca is a senior editor for FOXSports.com.
