A Sweet Reunion

For the past couple of weeks, we've been graced with 2 major comeback stories, and everyone loves a comeback. Whether it be the return of a reigning king that gave up his kingdom to venture a new foreign land, or of an aging guard who just thought it was time to lay his weaponry down, it's always a generally welcomed surprise. 

THE ONES THAT HAVE COME BACK

The King
The return of the driving force of old Arsenal when their club was The Invincibles during his reign as captain is definitely seen as terrible news to the other Premier teams. Although Thierry Henry isn't planning on making this return permanent, he's already sketched a hopeful mark on every Gooner's brain during Arsenal's last match against Leeds United weeks ago, contributing the only goal of the match and gaining a win for his team. Henry's always been open about his deep-rooted affection with Arsenal even after his departure and the feeling was obviously mutual. Let's face it, Grandpa Wenger can't always rely on Robin Van Persie to save his team from the pits. As good-looking and amazing as RVP is, he's only human. And what with effective players like Gervinho, Thomas Vermaelen, and Jack Wilshere out for reasons of National duty or over-due injury, Wenger needs someone to help carry the load. Who's betting on Grandpa Wenger trying to make this deal more than just a poor 2 month-loan? Wager, anyone?

The Guardian

It would probably be more appropriate to call the other comeback a "paused retirement" since Paul Scholes had already decided to retire from the pitch before running back again. This certain comeback was understandably interpreted by everyone as desperation. Could it have something to do with Manchester United's ever-dominant neighbor? Not to mention Fergie's luck has the club losing players such as Nemanja Vidic, Tom Cleverly, and Ashley Young to a sudden curse of injuries. It didn't help things also that their young goalie, De Gea, kept messing up when it mattered most. So Fergie beckoned and Scholes answered immediately (I'm not even sure how the deal went down? What are papers when football honor is at stake!). But maybe he should have let the phone ring instead of answering because the man's comeback went from a warm welcome to second thoughts of retirement when during his return debut Scholes made a blatant mistake that cost his team a goal - and during their latest derby against Manchester City, nonetheless. They eventually won 3-2, but City made a marvelous strike back after initially being down 3-0. Fergie claims he has no regrets at all calling back the 37-year-old and says the redhead will be good for the team. Let's just hope he's wrong.

Now let's talk about the 'what if's. Here are the players I'd like to see make a second run at their old club.

THE ONES I'D LIKE TO SEE COME BACK

Xabi Alonso

 i did not choose this pic for its compromising position and allure.
honest.

where is he : Real Madrid FC

come back to : is this question really necessary?

The relentless twitter replies and Anfield hype whenever Xabi gets online or makes the time to watch our game urging him to come back to Liverpool has yet to be fruitful. Emotionally, this come back would be a good thing because, well, everyone loves and misses him okay. Strategically, though, this would also be a very good thing. Our midfield is tight now with Captain Fantastic Stevie G back, but what if in the (likely) event he gets another one of those groin injuries and is benched again for months? We could rely on Lucas, of course - if he wasn't injured himself. We have to be real, Xabi is one of the best in midfield, we need more help to stabilize that area and he obviously is still in love with the club. Heaven couldn't even make a better match than Xabi Alonso and a red jersey (no, not those hideous LFC-copied away kits Real Madrid forces him to wear on occasion ugh). Wishful thinking or not I will never stop wanting him to come back home.

Andriy Shevchenko

where is he : Dynamo Kiev

come back to : AC Milan

I've hinted quite a bit about my past fling with Serie A and AC Milan when I was younger which was mostly caused by Sheva. Brilliant, to say the least. His relationship with Milan was like spaghetti and bolognaise : you could evidently have them separately but they wouldn't be as good as if they were together. True to football karma, his spectacular shining run he had with teammates like Filippo Inzaghi and Kaka at Milan faded into obscurity after he signed a huge deal with Chelsea FC (of course). They eventually let him go back to Milan on loan but that comeback1 was nothing, the damage had already been done. Which is why I would like it if he had the chance to have another comeback to the Italian club - comeback2 - but with all his swag fully intact. Impossible but dream-worthy, even though they don't even need him at the moment.

Miroslav Klose

where is he : S.S. Lazio

come back to : Bayern Munich

If anyone can prove that age ain't nothin' but a numba' then it would be this guy. Most likely one of the best players in Bundesliga history and on the world stage (the only player ever to score more than 4 goals in three different tournaments), wouldn't it be amazing if he reunited with his old club and teamed up with its strong youngens? Not sure why Bayern was dumb enough to let a player like him walk away in the first place but apparently he's been making his mark at S.S. Lazio in Italy. Hopefully he's experienced some home sickness there because it's a bit weird seeing him in the middle of all those Italians being so tall and danty. It would be such a treat to football fans to see Klose link up with the bunch that Bayern Munich is currently holding, although I'm thinking it would pretty much look something like the German NT of the 2010 World Cup.

Ronaldo 

where is he : somewhere being awesome in his retired glory

come back to : anywhere, just coming back to the footy arena would be so nice

Remember joga bonito? It was Brazil's hakuna matata and Ronaldo was their Timon and Pumba. He spread his Latin American magic like nobody's business alongside some of the most dangerous teammates on a national stage, such as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, and Roberto Carlos (am I the only one seeing an 'R' trend here?). Brazil was unstoppable in the world, and any club Ronaldo was perched at was the best. The only footballer as of current to have a talent anywhere near the Original Ronaldo would be Messi, which is probably why they are two out of the only three men in existence to win the FIFA Player of the Year award three times (the third man being the great Zinedine Zidane). He made his last appearance for the national team in June last year, 5 years after his last ever match for national duty.  Arguably one of the best footballers in history and appropriately named "El Fenomeno", it would be amazing to have that kind of genius active on the pitch again. It would also be exciting to see Ronaldo and Messi go head to head in a game. Not to mention being able to see him instead as a search result whenever I type 'Ronaldo' rather than the Portuguese Cristiano. I know this is an impossible one reminded his age and health, but I wasn't able to keep myself from mentioning him. Legend.

x Natasha