The fall semester is here, and we are all looking forward to some fine weather and, hopefully, entertaining and informative classes. For an Englishman like myself - and indeed for people across the globe these days - fall is a very exciting time. Why? It is the start of the English soccer football, for those in England and Ireland -season. For those of us living in Korea, that means we will be seeing a lot of highlights of Park Ji Sung’s largely successful Manchester United career. He may not be Ryan Giggs, and he will never be a Ronaldo, but he has proven himself to be a sturdy, hard-working sensible player for which the Red Devils can be grateful to have.

During the summer vacation, I returned to my homeland to visit my family, and I was surrounded by constant gossip and chatter regarding the movements of various English Premier League clubs. Everyone wants to know who will be signing who and, even, what Steven Gerrard’s favourite colour is. Yes, people in England are extremely passionate about their soccer. They are so passionate, in fact, that if I dared to call the game ‘soccer’ - by accident, of course - in an English pub, I could expect the whole building to go silent and have dozens of faces looking in my direction with a sense of bemusement. I therefore made a conscious effort on the long plane ride there to prevent my mind from wandering towards American English.

For Manchester United fans, and therefore most Koreans, the new season promises to be an interesting one. Can United survive without their extremely talented, naturally gifted showman Cristiano Ronaldo? Or will, in fact, they perform just as well without him, as it could allow other players such as Nani and Anderson to shine of their own accord? What is for certain is that, since my hometown is Liverpool, everyone here will be hoping that United fall on their feet. The rivalry between Liverpool and Man Utd is intense, especially now that they are both realistic contenders for the Premier League crown this season. That is, unless Chelsea or, even, Manchester City can stop them. Many people in England even select a ‘fantasy team,’ made out of teams from different clubs, and they compete in mini-leagues to see whose team can make the most points.

Arsenal fans will have a lot to be disappointed about during pre-season. Losing Adebayor and Toure - two of their key players - to a rival club will be a major blow for them. Man City, on the other hand, will their seemingly endless cash supply, will be very optimisitc of providing a realistic challenge to the usual top four this season. Much poorer clubs, like Everton (the team I support, who are also from Liverpool) and Aston Villa, who usually punch above their weight and finish just outside the top four, should find it even more difficult to compete this season due to Man City’s newfound wealth and the improved performances of Tottenham Hotspur at the end of last season.

Personally, although I love watching soccer while having a drink of two with my friends (or ‘mates’ as we would say in England), for me there is nothing more enjoyable than going out in the lovely fall weather and kicking a ball around. It is a great form of exercise and there is no better time to play soccer than at this time of year, when the weather is still warm - but not too hot - and the skies are fairly clear and the air is clean. Many teachers here at Seongseo Campus at Keimyung play when they get a chance, and there is also a team here, called the Daegu Devils, composed mainly of Keimyung professors. If you see any of us out there, feel free to stop and chat to us and we’ll be happy to have a good talk about soccer.