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Michel Platini again went on the record to air his disbelief at Real's profligate spending after the club signed Karim Benzema.

Then Arsenal's CEO, Ivan Gazidis channeling his MLS experience talked up the advantages of introducing the salary cap.

He referred admiringly to Germany's Bundesliga - "the only profitable league," he said- which has tight restrictions on the debts clubs can carry, and insists they live within their means.

Platini also revealed that salary cap restrictions were on the table. The details were yet to be worked out but it would still take two to three years to implement. With Real already forking out £180 million in transfer fees and showing no signs of letting up and City offering Samuel Eto'o £200,000 per week in wages there might be a new sense of urgency to establish some balance quickly in the football world.

Real is preparing an offer for Bayern that will pry away the twinkle toed French midfielder.

The man himself has said it is Real or no go. Chelsea and Man Utd are left by the wayside yet again.

Michael Owen is getting ready to join Man Utd. Yes, did your jaw drop?

The perennially crocked striker's contract with Newcastle is set to expire this Tuesday and he will come to Old Trafford on a free transfer. It looks like Sir Alex responded after Karim Benzema spurned the Premier League champions to join Real.

Bryan Robson is a big believer in Owen:

"Michael is a natural goal-scorer and natural goalscorers who can do the business at the highest level are few and far between," Robson told Telegraph Sport in a recent interview."

"I definitely think that he is capable of being a Champions League striker because he's only 29 and he has still plenty of good years left in him yet."

Sir Alex seems to have become Sam Allardyce, a manager with a reputation of staffing his squads with older and injured players. I am a big fan of Owen but the man has never had an injury free season in years. Even if this is a free transfer, having Owen in the club might prove to be more of a media event then the ex-Liverpool player contributing anything more meaningful.

A defender from Ham Kam ( a Norwegian club) clearly demonstrates why goalkeepers eventually end up going crazy.


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Ronaldo took some time off his busy Godzilla playing schedule to help Corinthians win the Copa do Brasil on aggregate after a 2-2 draw with Internacional in Porto Alegre on Wednesday. This is the second title won by them with Ronaldo on the squad, the first one being the Paulista State Championship.

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Emilio Butragueno and the legendary 80's teams that relied on homegrown talent

Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas might be excused if they feel a bit lonely nowadays when the national squad visits other countries. They are the only Real representation that the Spanish national team can count on to make regular appearances.

They can choose to join a bunch of Barca players like Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, and Pique to whoop it up. Or maybe they find more comfort with Joan Capdevila, Santi Cazorla, Diego Lopez, or Marcos Senna that comprise the Villareal contingent. Maybe Liverpool's duo Fernando Torres and Xabi Alonso share jokes with them about Rafa Benitez's obsession with notepads and Sir Alex. Either way they are a vanishing breed as a Real squad adds on foreign players at such an alarming rate one wonders whether it is Madrid that is now the hotbed of Spanish anti-nationalism.

When Spain lost to the USA in the Confederations Cup and halted their unstoppable reign, there were visible undercurrents on the internet that the two players who made the most visible blunders were Iker Casillas who failed to stop Jozy Altidore and Sergio Ramos who flubbed a simple clearance and handed Clint Dempsey the second goal on a platter. The national media situated in Madrid played it down for good reasons. Damage control. Real is increasingly looked on as a club that understands only one language; to win a title by all means possible, and if it means buying their way to one, so be it.

Under Miguel Munoz, Real Madrid won their 6th European cup title in 1966 beating FC Partizan with an all Spanish cast as legendary captain Francisco Gento led a team whose only foreign inspiration seems to have been derived from the Beatles " She Loves You" as they were called the Ye- Ye's from the song's chorus. Other than that there was no doubting the lineage of Jose Araquistain, Manuel Sanchis, Pachin, Pedro De Felipe, Amancio Amaro, Pirri, Zoro, Serena, Velasquez, and Grosso. Most of them made the transition to national squad representation as they became part of the all conquering Real teams of the 60s.

Fast forward to the 80s, as Miguel Munoz promoted to the national squad manages the 1984 Euro squad which ended with Spain as runners up to France. Emilio Butragueno was on the squad but never saw any playing time. He however was part of a Real squad that saw Jose Antonio Camacho, Santillana, and Ricardo Gallego do duty for a Spanish side which for the first time in decades translated all that talent into any meaningful success.

However Butragueno's ordination was but a matter of time. He bursts onto the international scene in the 1986 World Cup with his four goals leading Spain to their best finish since their fourth place finish in the 1950 World Cup. Munoz's squad aside from Butragueno, boasts six other Madrid players with almost the entire defense sporting the Merengues label.

The 1986 World Cup proved to be a springboard for Butragueno to cement his place in Madrid history as the most dominant member of a group of five players: Quinta del Buitre; the staple of Real's homegrown football talent who first cut their teeth at Real Madrid Castilla and then transitioned to the senior squad. With that nucleus Real dominated club football and provided players for national squad duty. It was an era set in motion a few years earlier by legend Alfredo Di Stefano who debuted Manuel Sanchis and Martin Vasquez against Murcia on December 4th, 1983. It ended when Manuel Sanchis retired on July 31, 2001. By that time Butragueno had appeared 341 times for Real and scored 123 goals. He had earned 69 caps for Spain, scoring 26 times. Along with him, the other four were:

Michel, the right wing back with over 400 appearances, Manuel Sanchis, taking over the center back position and leadership role from his illustrious father to record the most appearances in Real history, Martin Vasquez an attacking understudy to Hugo Sanchez, Real's most influential import at that time, and Miguel Pardeza, the forward returning as sporting director of Real, who most reminds Florentino Perez of those heady days when a group of homegrown talent were ascendant winning five championships and two UEFA titles. Their total cost probably amounts to a fraction of a fraction of what the four biggest signings have already cost Real this season.

Quinta del Buitre also saw the rise of two players outside of that group, first Fernando Hierro and then Raul Gonzalez who became national talismans with their club and international contributions. Raul, the Adonis of Spanish football with the most goals for the national team and Hierro, the defensive midfielder who partnered Manuel Sanchis and became the captain once he retired. Between the two of them they managed close to 200 national squad appearances and 73 goals. Hierro left before Florentino Perez's Galactico era transformed Real, for the relative anonymity of Bolton where he became a fan favourite in a brief but stellar career. He retired in 2005 much against public opinion.

The Euro 2008 success which finally saw Spain make good on all that talent was built around Marcos Senna, Villareal's holding midfielder, Xavi and Andres Iniesta, Barca's midfield maestros, David Silva, Valencia's quick silver left winger, Mallorca's Dani Guiza as the super sub, and Fernando Torres, Liverpool's golden haired center forward who contemptuously flicked aside Phillip Lahm on his way to scoring the winning goal for Spain against Germany in the finals. Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas were solid without being newsworthy.

Real's decline in national squad contribution continues as reserve standouts like Esteban Granero, Ruben De La Red, Javi Garcia, and Alvaro Negredo have moved on to other clubs due to the lack of starting opportunities. Some like Garcia have returned only to be frozen out by the influx of high priced foreign talent that have taken over Real's roster. The situation only promises to get worse under Florentino Perez. It is ironical to see Raul Albiol being brought in as Real capitalizes on Valencia's financial difficulties while so many of its own players struggle for playing opportunities.

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The tectonic plates that underpin global football moved and moved precipitously towards Real Madrid one again.

Another 35 million euros shelled out, this time to Lyon for the services of Karim Benzema. The French striker becomes the fourth player to sign up in the Florentino Perez era joining Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Raul Albiol. As for Man Utd, they will have to look elsewhere. Its hard to say this, as a Gunners fan, I have developed a feeling of camarederie with our nemesis. Only in relation to Real. We all should.

A monstrous travesty is unfolding in the world. We ask a simple question. We ask for shame. When does going after a title cross the bounds?

This goes for the most dyed in the wool Madrid fan. Calciopoli type of illegal match fixing is excluded. We point a finger at Chelsea as a prime example of excess but the amounts that Florentino Perez has been forking out has rendered this quaint. Real unlike Chelsea was always in the forefront of Spanish football even before Perez's first cash stuffed venture attracted worldwide attention and skyrocketed the prices of footballers in a domino effect not just in the big European leagues but everywhere else.

Man City has been gearing up to do the same. There might be a modicum of sympathy there because Man City has struggled to maintain a foothold in the premier league whereas even in Real's relatively few dark moments, this was never the problem. But such grace is short lived if the club is looked on as a high priced poacher of talent elsewhere.

More than this untrammeled lust for a title what Perez is doing has far reaching consequences in his own country's footballing traditions. It can be argued that he just proved himself the worst enemy of the cantera, the storied Spanish practice of producing homegrown talent that has enriched club and country. A talented player like Esteban "El Pirata" Granero who is desirous of coming back to his club will think twice with Kaka, Ronaldo, and Benzema on this squad. With Ribery yet to be pried away, Granero knows whatever chances he had are slowly being snuffed out. Yes, Granero's presence benefits Getafe, his present club but that is not what the canteras were supposed to do. They act as bulwarks in this crazy lopsided world that has become football. That I think is the real tragedy. It calls for a fuller article which I will try and attempt but this is when real (pun partially intended) journalism should write about the actual consequences of Perez's motives.

Sir Alex has to rebuild his Man Utd team. When players like Ronaldo and Tevez leave, rebuilding is probably an appropriate term to use.

He started that process when he signed Wigan's star Antonio Valencia. There have been immediate comparisons to Ronaldo which are natural given the circumstances but the two players have very intrinsic differences.

The Ecuadorian striker is very quick, possesses great ball control, works hard, and can lash a ball from distance. Like Ronaldo, he loves taking on defenders one to one although he lacks some of the Portugese pizazz.

Unlike Ronaldo who could cut in from either flank or operate as the sole striker, Valencia's role is more circumscribed. He operates more like a winger opening the game wide right which limits his versatility.

The greatest departure from Ronaldo however is that Valencia struggles to provide an exclamation point to all the ball possession. Seven goals in 83 Wigan appearances should put to rest Ronaldo like comparisons. At Wigan, Heskey and Amr Zaki as the centerforwards, scored far more goals than Valencia. So he is not going to give the 20+ goals that Sir Alex might be looking to per season. But that is not his strength.

Valencia's greatest gift, the amount of attention he draws when he is on the ball provides an opportunity for Sir Alex to give back Rooney his role as front line striker. Over the years the Everton prodigy who first attracted attention because of his goalscoring exploits has increasingly been marginalized to deeper areas with Ronaldo's output putting everyone else to shade. With Valencia peeling away defenders Rooney and Berbatov could be left open for goal scoring opportunities. This needs to be a tactical decision because Rooney's natural inclination seems to be where the ball is. Which is often times not the best place to be to score goals.

Match practice at Old Trafford will be very interesting this season as a new set of players join and roles get defined or in Rooney's case reclaimed. We should see a spike in his goal scoring tally.

Some of us will remember that it was either Confucius or Lao Tzu who said ,"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".Here's Ronaldo during one of those those early steps of his journey.

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Even as Blatter praised all and sundry and said that SA were 75% ready for World Cup 2010 a roadblock has reared it's ugly head....
South Africa's biggest union said on Tuesday 50,000 construction workers would launch a strike over pay from next Wednesday, halting work across the economy including on stadiums for the 2010 soccer World Cup. That doesn't sound like good news for the remaining 25%

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An international conspiracy:

John Harkes in the Brazil vs USA final said at one point that US defenders will have to be careful with their tackles given how the referees have been carding them. The Italy match got the ball rolling on that controversy. Thereafter, it was a cumulative process as the US picked up their share of yellows and reds generating a buzz that FIFA did not want to see the US succeed against the bigger teams. The Brazil match should bury that. The Seleccao were carded more often.

Here is a stat that the US should be most concerned about: It is a team with questionable ball control. Of the semi-finalists, the USA passed the ball the least and were least successful in holding onto it. The South Africans made 2389 passes completing them 76% of the times. Spain was even better with 3229 passes and an 81% success rate. Winners Brazil passed 2077 times with a 79% completion rate. The US was way below on the possession index with fewer passes, 1824 passes for a poor 60% completion rate.

In short, the passing was infrequent AND even more tellingly, ineffective. When you take a lead, you also have to hold onto the ball to make it possible to win. The US failed to do that even as they led the four teams in shot accuracy.

So before assigning any international conspiracy which has a nice emotive feel consider these stats. Bob Bradley and his training staff would be better off concentrating on this aspect of the game rather than getting distracted by some unproven plot.

The "we let one get away" theme:

This has been peddled not just by pundits but also by Bradley and Dempsey. Again it has a nice emotive tug. It gives the impression that the US team let the Brazilians back into the game when they had them on the ropes. If you take away the two scoring opportunities which the US did very well to capitalize on, Julio Cesar was otherwise work free. On the other hand Tim Howard had to deal with 31 goal attempts, 13 of them on target. Under such a torrid barrage, it was a matter of when the citadel would finally fall, not if. As mentioned above with the possession stats, the Brazilians swamped the US with superior ball control and the US coughed it up more quickly making it harder for them to maintain the lead.

The two themes muddy what clearly should be obvious. The passing game needs lots of work. You might be able to bury some teams with effective strikes but sooner or later this fundamental flaw will be exposed by superior and more resilient teams.

Fat Ronaldo has a secret identity.Usually the superpowered version has an inconspicous human identity - like Superman is Clark Kent .In this case it's the other way around.The inconspicous Godzilla is actually the super powered Ronaldo...!
Incontestable proof attached......

and see what happens when he jumps after scoring a goal.We all know he has to lose weight- but this is taking things a bit too far...!

And while we are on the subject here's Xavi bashing the other Ronaldo - saying things like "I wouldn't want him here.At Barça, we do not have room for players who fill gossip magazines. We are hard workers and sportsmen but he, on the other hand, is uncontrollable. We have a lot of desire to continue winning."
Hmmm ..maybe if he knew that the thin Ronaldo was actually - but wait - that secret is not out yet.

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2011 could be an important year for the MLS. Thierry Henry says he sees spending two more years at Barca and then he would like to move to the USA to join the Red Bulls.

"Could I play for New York at some point? It could be possible in 2011."

"You never know but the truth is it is an option that could be likely."

Yes, those Red Bulls who are plumb in last position. Surely this is the best news they have received all season. C'mon, win some matches now for the next two years. Don't leave everything for Titi.

Gilberto showed he still had some legs in the Brazil final against the US. The ex-Arsenal player is valued by Dunga for his defensive mettle and still gets regular call ups.

Now, he is attracting some attention with his plug for Felipe Melo, his Brazil team mate and Fiorentina's highly rated holding midfielder.

"We heard rumours and he asked me," Gilberto said. "I said it's a fantastic club and if he's interested, he should go without thinking."

"He is exactly what they need - a powerful player with quality. If they got him it would be great because he is a player they need at the moment."

A quality holding midfielder is amongst Wenger's priorities. Yaya Toure can be taken of the list as he has reportedly signed a contract with Barca keeping him in the club till 2012. Wenger has had a long standing interest in Melo ever since his exploits at Almeria made him a Fiorentina target which he joined in 2008.

At 6'0" and 172 lbs, Melo is a physically strong player. In Dunga's scheme he is the second function midfielder, in between the more defensive Gilberto and the attack minded Ramires. In the Confederation Cup, we saw a player adept at tackling and tracking back. A Maicon free kick which set up Melo's header against the USA in their group encounter showcased his set piece abilities. His long powerful strides eat up ground as he shows an appetite for end to end action. In his first season at Fiorentina he also collected 17 yellow cards and three reds showing that he is no soft touch.

There is evidence too of a player able to maneuver the ball in tight spaces and starting counterattacks with quick crisp passing. Plus, he brings a feature, the cracking long shot that regularly unsettled a goalie which disappeared with Patrick Vieira. I can't remember too many in recent seasons till Arshavin's explosion against Liverpool.

At 25 year of age Melo is older than the Arsenal newbie and brings in a fair bit of experience and maturity. In addition, his international career has taken off under Dunga who loves worker bee like players that seamlessly shuttle between defense and attack.

A sticking point is his price. He has a £17.9 million buy out clause, so Melo will not come cheap. With Dzeko's transfer hopes fading, Milan might target Adebayor. Budget conscious Wenger hopes that the £25 million expected from his sale to pay for Melo should he come to Arsenal.

Stuart Pearce and England enter the Euro 21 final for the first time but it was an entirely forgettable day. For goalie Scott Loach, it was a nightmare without end.

Gonzalo Castro, Mesut Ozil, and two goals by Sandro Wagner shut out England completely.

Joe Hart's presence might have limited the damage and given England a fighting chance. But he was out with suspension as were strikers Frazier Campbell and Gabby Agbanlahor which depleted their striker corps drastically. Stuart Pearce employed Walcott as the lone striker.

But the way the Germans played especially Ozil with his penetrating passes,any result other than a loss would have been highly unlikely. In contrast, James Milner was nowhere as efficient with his passes and Walcott was omnipresent without being effective. He continued his wayward shooting when he fired wide of an early chance. Whatever cohesion England possessed fell apart after Ozil's 35 yard free kick caught Loach out of position. Germany took advantage of the wide open spaces as England committed more players up front to get on the scoreboard. This set up Ozil and Wagner's subsequent brace.

In Brazil's 3-2 victory over USA at the Confederations Cup, Brazil made a spirited come-back after being 2-0 down at half time to the USA, this piece of tactical analysis aims to inform you at how the USA almost beat the brilliant Brazil.

It is granted, that in the first half, Brazil had most of the possession but failed to make any clear-cut-chances, while USA scored 2 goals out of their 2 main chances, but how did it to come to this? There were 3 main ways the USA were better than Brazil in the first 45 minutes.

1. Europe
Stat attack: 9 out of the 11 USA players that played in the Confederations Cup final against Brazil, all play in Europe. You look at USA - and you see Andre Santos, Ramires and Gilberto Silva, 2 players that have never played in Europe and one player evidently past his prime.

There is no single argument for the case against that European football is by a few levels ahead of American football (soccer), the fitness required in the Premier League or Serie A is far superior to where the league that Andre Santos plays in (Brazil), in the modern game, the physical side of the game is becoming more and more important, the USA had defenders, midfielders and strikers who all play in Europe, Carlos Bocanegra played for Fulham, Donovan played for Bayern Leverkusen and Jozy Altidore (a player that I mentioned in my previous article Top 5 Youngsters To Watch Out For In The Confederations Cup) plays for Villareal - they understand the pace of the game at the highest level. With their levels of fitness they can go deeper into a game.

2. Deadly Counter-Attack

If USA's tactics could make a claim; it would be that pragmatic, defensive football combined with deadly counter-attacks can beat any team, for 45 minutes at least, this was the case. With a 4-4-2, with 2 quick strikers (Davis and Altidore) and 2 intelligent, yet pacey wingers (Donovan, Dempsey), the USA could defend in the middle with the likes of Clarke clogging the space, and loft the ball to the left wing, where Donovan could combine with Davis for quick movements, as the Donovan goal occurred, from a Brazil free-kick, with the manager Dunga, so noted for his pragmatic style, he chose to foolishly leave 2 defenders at the back - USA ruthlessly attacked this amateurish defensive choice, this was an example of counter-attacking football at its best.

3. Terrific Tim

Brazil have always had players full of flair and even when they are misfiring as a team, they still carve out a few good chances against any opposition. Players like Robinho, Kaka and Maicon have the ability to create something out of nothing. In the first half Tim Howard had to make a few world-class saves - one of the reasons USA were 2-0 up at half time was because of having a fantastic goalkeeper.

As we wait for the curtain to close and the dust to settle and get used to the fact that we won't be hearing that 'v' word or the din it creates anymore here's a moment of comic relief.Goalkeeping madness from the Japanese J league.

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Any chance that this Confederations Cup victory was anything but business as usual for the Seleccao should be dispelled. The USA pushed them very hard. The win is being compared to some of the great all time comebacks in Brazil's storied footballing history.

1958 World Cup: Sweden lead 1-0 through Liedholm just 3 minutes into the game. The Brazilians had to wait till after halftime to score which they did through Vava. The dam burst and they ran out 5-2 champions, the largest scoreline in World Cup finals.

1962 World Cup: The last match of the first stage. Brazil faced elimination against Spain as they trailed by a goal with 26 minutes left to play. Two goals by Amarildo ensured safe passage. In the finals against Czechoslovakia, Josef Masoupust scored in the 15 minute. Brazil responded through Amarildo to tie the match before half time. In the second half goals through Vava and Zito put the result beyond doubt.

1970 World Cup: Arguably the best team in the game's history. The Seleccao did have their unnerving moments. First against Czechoslovakia in the opening match and then against old nemesis Uruguay in the semi-finals. Both times Brazil trailed before rallying and then running out eventual winners, 4-1 and 3-1 respectively.

1982 World Cup: Tele Santana's team led by Socrates, Zico, Falcao, and Aldair. The most talented Brazilian team to have not won the World Cup. They won against the USSR, 2-1 after trailing in their opening match. In the finals, they faced Italy but after overcoming a two goal deficit were unable to put away the match losing 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

2002 World Cup: The fifth title for the Seleccao. However, they faced some anxious moments in the quarterfinals against England and Michael Owen. The Newcastle striker put England up 1-0 in the 22' minute before Rivaldo equalized in the 45' minute and then Ronaldinho scored the match winner in the last five minutes of regulation time.

Barack Obama's motivational influence now extends to soccer matches.

Kaka, the player of the Confederations Cup reveals that the Seleccao took the two goal deficit to the locker room and rallied using Obama's now famous campaign slogan. "Yes, we can!" It worked as they fought back and won scoring two goals by Luis Fabiano and the match winner by Lucio in the second half.

I wonder if Obama feels so happy with the USA at the receiving end of his slogan!

Julio Cesar also praised Dunga saying that he had been critical of him in the past but this was "Dunga's moment." He also mentioned that Brazil cannot afford to write of their opponents as the US showed in the finals.

The report also mentions that Kaka did not fly back to Brazil but left for Madrid where he will be presented on Tuesday.

USA win the moral victory but Donovan naturally says it isn't nearly enough.

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I can only shake my head at what we can expect from Brazil in the 2010 World Cup. That really should be what we take back home. We know their talent but today showed a team that would not go away. Hats off to the USA for pushing them to the limits but if the meme pushed by Alexi Lalas and John Harkes is "we let one get away" then I am sorry, that really is the wrong message. It gives the impression that the US had the Brazilians by the scruff of the neck and it was an awful display in the second half that let the US down.

Nothing could be farther from the truth as Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano, Maicon, Lucio, and Dani Alves took control of the second half. In the first half, Jonathan Spector limited the damage that Robinho could do. Dempsey with a delicate touch flicked home a Spector cross and Donovan took a cross from Charlie Davis to slice a goal past Julio Cesar. The goals put the USA two up at half time. But indications that the Brazilians were moving into overdrive were already present as Bocanegra fortuitously deflected Maicon's cross past Luis Fabiano's otherwise assured goal before the half closed.

As soon as the second half began Brazil lost no time with Fabiano collecting a pass swinging around and volleying a goal home as the defense stood blindsided. The goal led to the Brazilians exerting even more pressure as they sought the equalizer pushing the US deeper into their corner. Even catching a fortuitous break when replays clearly showed Tim Howard's save off Kaka clearly came when the ball had already crossed the goal line only delayed the inevitable. The Brazilians scored again in the 74th minute with Fabiano at the right place and time to head the ball back into goal as Robinho's shot clanged of the crossbar (it looked like it had broken the line) and into his path . Brazil buried the stake 10 minutes later when Elano's corner was headed emphatically by Lucio straight past Tim Howard for the match winning goal.

What the "we let one get away" message does is that it demeans an overachieving US effort. The US lost ball possession, was overwhelmed by the huge discrepancy in shots on goals, and conceded far too many set pieces. It still served them well against Spain who ran out of ideas when they needed to score. Believe me as a long suffering Gunners fan we carry every possession stat possible when we lose to teams like Hull City. It still does not mean that those teams are better than Arsenal. However, in the final the US came across a resilient Brazilian team that had answers to the adverse half time score. Let me tell you as much as the US learned about itself, the Brazilians learned more through this match. That is why Dunga looked exultant and Lucio looked like he was about to weep. They know now what it takes to win the World Cup. True grit, baby! True grit.

The reason why I wanted the US to win has less to do with international success. It has more to do with forcing the game onto the national mainstream which only becomes animated every four years the World Cup is played. The game is given conditional love. It still lives on headlines like "USA beats world number one in soccer." Another one would have been extremely nice. But please dispense with the "we let one get away" claptrap. All it does is reinforce the same mindset that doomed us in the 2006 World Cup when FIFA gave us a ranking of number four. I mean come on.