The Curtain Is Raised

Secawan Bola is back! With its new "high-journalism" look and a renewed vigour for all things football, the same lads who led you through the highs and lows of the World Cup are back to guide you through the maze of club competition. Everything from the Premiership all the way to the Copa Libertadores will be covered by our stable of indefatigable editors. And what better place to begin than this Sunday's annual curtain raiser of club football... the Community Shield.

Chelsea v Liverpool. Blue versus red. South versus north. Glamourous city versus industrial port. The powers of new versus the powers of old. John Terry jostling with Steven Gerrard for England's armband. Premiership champions versus FA Cup champions.

Tell someone in the mid 90s that ten years later, the tie to watch every season will be Chelsea v Liverpool and they would have scoffed at you. But the script seems perfectly well-written, and while Ferguson and Wenger's war is turned down to a simmer, it has been Chelsea and Liverpool who have been writing the history that matters. In the Premiership, Chelsea have had much of the upper hand, defeating Liverpool home and away for two seasons now. But in cup competitions, it been all red, beginning with that marginal Luis Garcia goal in the Champions League, followed by the tight draws in Europe last season and culminating in Liverpool's FA cup semi-final success.

But that was last season. Over the summer, much of the landscape has changed for both sides as a raft of players have left, new players brought in, and both sides even sporting swanky new adidas kits. For Chelsea, summers must be fun. The arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko (pic) and Michael Ballack represent what Chelsea is now all about: big players who come ready-made. With Shevchenko, Chelsea genuinely have a 20 goal striker who will go far in relieving the goalscoring duties of Frank Lampard. Jose Mourinho has been shrewd, even with his millions, and above all, has backed up his bucks with a policy of buying players to play, and not to sell shirts.

Up in the Mersey, it's been another hardworking summer for Rafa Benitez, whose new additions include Craig Bellamy, Jermaine Pennant and the belated arrival of Mark Gonzalez (pic). Boasting a side that has genuine pace and width, many Liverpool fans believe that they finally have a team that is close to challenging for the title. Yet, their propensity for starting seasons slowly, and their inability to see off easy opposition, has cost them in the past. Where Chelsea's preseason friendlies have shown some positive signs, Liverpool's have been woeful, and it took a Gonzalez winner two minutes from time to save Liverpool the blushes in their mid-week Champions League qualifier.

Chelsea look like the more settled team, with fewer coming in and going out, and while not everyone there is happy, there is a lot more class in their ranks now. It may be early in the season, but some of that class, which only two months ago was still on display at the World Cup, has to show. As for Liverpool, their relative lack of richess has resulted in perhaps more creative shopping - or compromised, whichever way you see it. Regardless, Liverpool won't be expected to come off the blocks so quickly as the Rafalution incorporates more young Spanish speakers into its fold. Still, all the key cogs from their last two campaigns are very much there, and they are by far an improved side.

If this was a Premiership tie, you'd have to hand it to Chelsea. Quick start. Two-goal margin. Done and dusted before one hour. Their machine-like efficiency makes them anyone's bet to come right out of preseason to beat fellow top opposition. But because it's a cup tie - or a shield tie, however stupid that sounds - you can't leave Liverpool without a shout. They have a very different setup in midfield this year, and though it seems to be taking time to gel, Rafa is an extremely canny man who knows better than anyone how to stop Jose Mourinho.

Having said that, with the kind of quality that Jose has brought to Stamford Bridge, the Community Shield looks like Chelsea's to lose. Lose it they just might. But don't bet too much on that happening.

As for the rest of the season... check back next week for a Premiership season preview! Enjoy the game this Sunday!

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