July 2009 Archives

The 1978 FA Cup winning Ipswich squad featuring Mick Mills, John Wark, Kevin Beattie, David Geddis

Sir Bobby Robson will be missed by all who followed the game but never more so than fans of Ipswich Town, home of the Tractor Boys. Under Roy Keane, they are hoping to recreate the magic that Robson brought to them when he became their manager in 1969.

His exploits culminated in the Tractor Boys winning the 1981 UEFA Cup when Paul Mariner, Frans Thiessen, and John Wark, three of Robson's stalwarts shone against AZ Alkmaar winning the match on a 5-4 aggregate. It also saw a young Terry Butcher who was to become part of Robson's 1986 and 1990 World Cup squads.

Wark remembers his first match and the kindness of his manager that endeared so many generations of players to Robson.

"My debut was in the quarter-final of the FA Cup against the Leeds team of Giles and Bremner. He [Robson] said, 'I wouldn't put you in the team if I didn't think you were good enough'. He was a father figure as well because I was homesick. If it hadn't been for the boss I would have been straight back to Glasgow."

It is easy to see why he commandeered such extraordinary loyalty. Terry Butcher captures that feeling in blunter words.

"You feel like you are going to go through a brick wall for him. You want to do things beyond the normal for Bobby Robson."

Robson's devotion to developing youth players through the club ranks became a template for Ipswich's success.

Kevin Beattie was a teenager when Robson discovered the right back and his raw talent. Robson nurtured "The Diamond" as he was called and his influence on the successful Ipswich squads of the 1970s saw him being compared to Bobby Moore and Duncan Edwards before his career was cut short by injuries. In 1978, an underdog Ipswich team won the FA Cup beating Arsenal boasting the likes of Pat Jennings, Liam Brady, Frank Stapleton, and Malcolm McDonald. The Tractor Boys played attacking and fluid football which saw them overrun the Gunners. It was a move orchestrated by David Geddis just when Ipswich were wondering what was needed to win the match that led to Roger Osborne's 77' winner. In a 2006 interview, David Geddis recalls the success of Robson's youth policy.

"Most of the young players that were put through the youth programme at Ipswich were given opportunities very early in their career if they showed good progress and ability. For example, the reserve team striker would step in when the first team forward was injured. There was no shuffling of players. So you always knew if you were doing well then you'd be given a chance and that was important as a young player."

Paul Wark in his tribute also mentions Robson's role as a benefactor to the young.

"He also loved to see youth team players come through the ranks. It made him extremely proud and when we met at his home this year he rhymed off the names of all the kids he turned into proper footballers. There are a lot of us who owe him a great deal."

Robson's acumen with young players at Ipswich was a springboard to his successful stint with the national squad saw England achieve a semifinal position in the 1990 World Cup. A generation of players like Gary Lineker, Gary Stevens, Paul Parker, David Platt, Paul Gascoigne, John Barnes all flourished under him. In Europe, Robson was known as the manager who introduced O Fenômeno to the world. In 1996 a dazzling Ronaldo took Barca to the top and Robson himself was voted as European Manager of the year. Once again it was his personal touch that brought out the best in Ronaldo.

"To play for Barcelona at 20 is not easy. Winning and scoring goals bring their own pressures and Bobby Robson showed me how to deal with all of this in my career."

Ronaldo acknowledged him "as a trainer without doubt [Robson] is one of the greatest in the world".

Robson's kindness and generosity as a friend and mentor to young players was an extraordinary quality. It will be sorely missed. I think this Kevin Beattie recollection captures the essence of the man:

"The club rules were that each player had to wear a collar and tie when we travelled to a match. Mr Robson realised I had a problem and that is why he and coach Cyril Lea each gave me a shirt and a couple of ties for good measure."
Kevin Beattie on how Robson helped him out when he was a penniless youngster on his arrival at Ipswich (The Beat, published in 1998).

Sir Alex Ferguson:
"I was never too big or proud to ask him for advice which he gave freely and unconditionally. In my 23 years working in England there is not a person I would put an inch above Bobby Robson.

"I mourn the passing of a great friend; a wonderful individual; a tremendous football man and somebody with passion and knowledge of the game that was unsurpassed."

Rafael Benitez:
"The death of Sir Bobby is a sad loss to football. His record in many different countries was testament to his talents as an outstanding manager, and he clearly never lost his tremendous passion and enthusiasm for the game."

Alan Shearer:
"He will be sadly missed by everyone, not just by people in the football world but from all walks of life. It's a very sad day for everyone, especially his family, his close friends and anyone who's ever worked with him."

Harry Redknapp:
"He was a fantastic football manager, probably the most enthusiastic football man I've ever met in my life. Look at the job he did at Ipswich, and all over the world. I've never met a man with more enthusiasm and passion for football."

Fabio Capello:
"Sir Bobby was a wonderful man, a real gentleman. His spirit and courage was incredible. To fight cancer so many times really showed the strength of the man."

"We had some great times. He was just a pleasure to work with. I was with him in Portugal only a few weeks ago when I went over to play in his charity golf day which was a fantastic event.

"He was struggling with illness at the time and had been advised not to travel, but he wanted to be there. That just shows the character of the man."

"For everybody in the football world it's a very, very sad day. He's the closest we've come to winning the World Cup (since 1966) - that's how good Bobby was.

"I met up quite a few times with him when he was Newcastle manager and that passion was still there. I think that was still there to this very day. He had a genuine, refreshing love the game."

Gary Lineker:
"He had a tremendous enthusiasm and passion for football and life and continued to retain this right to the last days of his life.

"He will be deeply missed by everyone, especially those who played for him. I have the fondest memories of playing for him at two World Cups."

"It's really sad and I am really hard put to a few words together. We came across each other many times, on TV for World Cups, and we played against each other. We go back far and we had some great times. I feel now for Bobby's family."

George Burley:
"Sir Bobby was like a father to me, taking a personal interest in me right from the start, always checking whether I was happy. His support and enthusiasm was the perfect cure for homesickness and helped my career to get off the ground and thrive.

"I could not possibly get my head round how my career would have gone had it not been for Sir Bobby Robson. I owe him everything and I only hope I can be guided by the example he showed me."

Ray Wilkins:
"Everyone had the utmost respect for him. He handled people in the right fashion and I think that was his major strength. He was a joy to be around."

Getting bent out of shape. But Daniel Levy has never been a class act himself.

A note on Twitter. It was praised for its real time look into the Iran uprising against Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's tainted election.

Bent's tweeting, however, is a great example of Twitter being used for all the wrong reasons.

UPDATE: Bent apologizes.

St Etienne's Blaise Matuidi (L) maybe on his way to the Emirates

L'Equipe is reporting Arsene Wenger approached Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud inquiring about the services of Marouane Chamakh. The Bordeaux striker had his heart set for Sunderland when Laurent Blanc excluded that move saying it represented a step down and calling for him to remain in Bordeaux. However, he was open to the idea of his transfer to a bigger club where he could improve himself. Triad on Wenger:

"Wenger called me. He said he had a list of strikers and Marouane was one of them."

Chamakh's going price is 15m euros but his last year on contract is a complication with Arsenal proposing 6 million euros for a buyout. Triaud fears that it could become "a complicated soap opera. "

With Vieira's move to the Gunners gathering steam, Wenger is setting his sights on Blaise Matuidi, the hard tackling St Etienne midfielder who reminds one of a younger version of Vieira. The youngster will receive valuable mentoring from a master, adept at slowing down and disrupting attacks. As per St Etienne sporting director and former Arsenal scout, Damien Comolli, a offer from a 'top-10 European club' would be difficult to turn down.

Sir Robert William Robson CBE (18 February 1933 - 31 July 2009) RIP

It went to penalties and the winning penalty was converted by Daniel van Buyten who had a brief spell with Manchester City five years ago.That must have caused Fergie's blood pressure to go up a bit.He has not yet played Owen and Rooney together leading to speculation that "his confidence in an all-English strike partnership must either be minimal or so great that he feels they have no need to work on it. "

A chart showing the top 50 most expensive footballers of all time (adjusted for inflation) here..

OK- the moment we've all been waiting for draws nigh. We're going to randomly select the winner of our "Step into Messi's Shoes" joint campaign with adidas - after 12 midnight Pacific Time in the US.

That gives you a few more hours to sign up, if you haven't already!

Good luck!

Seeing Vieira play against Chelsea recently in a match saw a player past his prime. In a preview of what a return would look like, he got decked trying to stop John Obi Mikel. His renowned physical prowess has been undercut by age, few appearances, and frequent injuries since his move to Inter. The Premiership will be even more punishing. Compared to him, we saw a sprightly Gilberto play for Brazil in the Confederations Cup final without suffering any ill effects.

So if Wenger is throwing CW that he never invites back departed players why not go for a Gilberto return? He wanted to stay on at Arsenal until the very end and only reluctantly departed for Panathinaikos. Gilberto might want to come on the same sort of deal.

Having said all of that it would be fantastic to have Vieira back if only for his undoubted leadership skills to a very young Gunners side. His return will remind the side of the halcyon days as one of the key elements of the successful squads of the late 1990's and early 2000s. It is more attractive given that it is a one year contract with a pay for play incentive and wages drastically reduced. He will come to the Emirates for under a million. Plus, the thought of seeing him in a Spurs uniform would be enough to make any red blooded Gunner gag.

Wenger has also undoubtedly been emboldened to taking this step by the Michael Owen move to Man Utd. The Premiership has been blindsided by City and Real's over the top poaching and clubs are replenishing their squads in a variety of different ways. Very young untested talent, aging players or Bosman's. Vieira and Owen are their answers. In Wenger and Sir Alex, they find two managers who are capable of proving these grand experiments a success. In Vieira's case, he comes back to a very promising group of young players, who will look to his competitive nature and strong leadership to stem that swoon the Gunners go through inevitably as the season goes deeper.

As for spending further, Wenger has left the door open but he makes it clear that the squad has what it takes at present.

"I feel we are strong enough but if we can add then we will do it," said Wenger on Arsenal's official website. "In England people think that all the problems can be sorted out by buying players. I believe the biggest target is to work hard in training, improve what we can improve and have confidence in the players that we have.

"If we need to add then we will. We have money available so for us it is now [important] to spend it in the right way when we do it or if we do it."

Vieira's transfer is a tweaking of the intangibles that make a squad stronger.

Move over EPL. The La Liga promises to be where the action is next season....

Anderson scored his first goal in a United shirt, a free kick from the edge of the penalty area and Valencia's debut came in the form of long-range strike against Boca Juniors.The 2 -1 victory takes Man U to Thursday's Audi Cup final against Bayern Munich.Federico Insua scored one for Boca Juniors in reply.

A portend of things to come.

A 4-3-3 for Arsenal as they win against Hannover. Having Arshavin allows the luxury of that formation. Van Persie lays an exquisite pass for Fabregas who finishes off with a flourish.

The transfer rumours have begun anew with Toure's departure. Brede Hangeland and Sebastien Bassong are being mentioned as possible replacements, although the Newcastle man maybe heading to Spurs. Wenger might have brought in Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax as cover for a possible Toure transfer which had been afloat for a long time after his spat with Gallas.

Having said that, it still begs the question whether we can do with the center backs that we have at our disposal. Thomas Vermaelen is ready to start. So who will his partner be?

William Gallas: The ex-Chelsea player did not entirely convince last season and he now has knee injury concerns. He is getting on in age, and at 32 years, naturally lost a step in his vertical spring and speed on tackles. For all his experience he does not inspire with his abrasive attitude.

Johann Djorou: The tall Swiss center back has been in and out of the first squad for five years and saw the most action in 2006-2007 before being loaned out to Birmingham. Since his return he has been mostly used as a cover for Toure. Has never played an entire season.

Mikael Silvestre: The most inexplicable Wenger signing. A Man Utd reject. Slow and less than sure footed with his tackles. He was embarrassed by Didier Drogba in last season's FA semi-finals. Fans barely endured his presence when Gallas got injured in April.

Phillipe Senderos: Substantial in the air. Questionable speed and decision making. He has provided cover for both Toure and Gallas. Had a very good 2007-2008 season in both EPL and CL matches which led to a Milan loan. He is on Wenger's list of probable sales.

Alex Song: An uneasy makeshift holding midfielder last season. Did not come close to providing the sort of wall that Gilberto was famous for but picked up the rougher aspects of the game quite well. Not entirely convinced of his defensive skills.

So yes, there are options but if you look closely only the Vermaelen - Gallas pairing have both experience as well as the necessary skills to provide defensive depth. If one of them is injured, one has to consider the variable experience and competence of the rest of the center backs. We need one more tough tackling center back with experience.

A raft of expensive signings including self proclaimed Real Madrid targets Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor. Roque Santa Cruz finally arrives at Eastlands on the fifth attempt. The midfield marshaled by Gareth Barry, long coveted by Liverpool. Their defense get a boost with Kolo Toure's transfer. Joleon Lescott to possibly to follow. Even Franck Ribery is not out of the question now that Der Kaiser has set his price at £80m. The days of Giorgios Samaras and Paul Dickov seem aeons ago.

The expectations are enormous. The very least fans hope for is cracking the final four to get to a CL spot. Unlike Chelsea's transfer extravaganza which caused little heartburn being mostly overseas, City has done it with players already present in the EPL. The bitterness is real. The desire to see City fail palpable.

Mark Hughes once famously described as "A warrior you could trust with your life" by Sir Alex Ferguson has been involved in an increasingly acrimonious exchange with his former mentor as City's transfer spending has come in for blistering criticism. Hughes was forced to defend the club as Sir Alex called it "stupid and arrogant."

He has reason to worry because he was not entirely convincing in his last season and it was only Steven Ireland and a johnny come lately Robinho in the second half of the season that saw City gain some respectability. He was brought to City on the strength of his water tight Blackburn defenses. But in his first season, City's defense have proven shambolic. Micah Richards once such a highly rated prospect showed an inexplicable decline in defensive prowess.

Hughes haphazard defensive signings include Tal Ben Haim, a Chelsea reject and Pablo Zabaleta, once a right back now shunted to a midfield role. There has been no stability in the left back position with Hughes rotating with Javier Garrido, Michael Ball, and most recently Wayne Bridge. He now wants Joleon Lescott.

City have also paid lip service to their own talent. Daniel Sturridge, the high jinking forward has departed for Chelsea with the surfeit of strikers crowding him out. Nedum Onuoha, from the City reserve ranks and an outstanding prospect had made a recent comeback to first squad duty pairing up with Richard Dunne in central defense after a series of injuries forced him out for long spells in previous seasons. He is sure to find less work with Kolo Toure, most recently added from Arsenal taking up as center back.

I would say that Hughes has the first 4 months to prove himself. There are 14 matches in these four months and seven of them are against teams that finished higher than City in the 2008 including fixtures against Arsenal, Man Utd, Everton, Villa, Fulham, and West Ham coming within weeks of each other.

September is particularly crucial if City needs to make a statement. The first match that month, City host the Gunners, targeted as the most vulnerable club to fall out of the top four positions. The derby follows at Man Utd made contentious by the Tevez saga. City then return home to West Ham and then the following week travel to Villa. The performances in these matches will form a Rorschach of what Mark Hughes hopes to accomplish with the club. If he disappoints then the knives will be out early and City could be looking for a new manager to start the second half of the season.

"Liverpool have The Beatles and Manchester have Oasis. I think Manchester has the better band."

Cristiano Ronaldo showing why he is better off playing football.

"Can we play you every week?"

Shamrock Rovers fans to Real Madrid when they were holding them to a 0-0 draw.

Ronaldo scored his first goal for Real Madrid as they beat the Ecuadorean side Liga de Quito in the Peace Cup.Ronaldo did the first small bit towards earning the 94million euro transfer fee when he won and then converted a penalty in the 48th minute.

Real Madrid won the game 4 -2 and it was one of Real's less high profile signings of the close season Esteban Granero otherwise known as El Pirata or The Pirate, bought from Getafe, who stole the show with a goal and created another for German international defender Christoph Metzelder.
Maybe that's why Sir Fergie is saying that Real Madrid will have their work cut out for them balancing an unbalanced team.

A shameful display of the worst in soccer - Footballers from the Tianjin team in China while playing a match against Beijing in China's National Games disagreed with the dismissal of two of their players - one for a blatant stamp on an opponent who was lying on the ground.At the final whistle they went after the ref.The entire team was disqualified from the tournament.That's letting them off too lightly.

The military junta controls Myanmar with an iron hand which includes media and internet censorship which is why David Beckham remains that country's top sporting preoccupation. He may deliver freedom to them at their doorstep.

Simon Kuper writes about Googles powerful public opinion tool, Insights for Search and uncovers some fascinating gems.

Last year Cristiano Ronaldo became the most searched for athlete.

• The most searched-for athletes in the world since 2004 (when Google's public records begin) seem to be: Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.

80,000 fans welcome Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid became a top selling story. Real Madrid is searched even more by Salvadorians than Spaniards. Mali runs a close third.

There is a strong divide between the "true America" red states and those "commie loving European boot licking " blue states.

• There was a striking political divide between "football states" and "soccer states": eight of the 10 states that devoted the highest proportion of their searches to football voted for John McCain in last year's election, while nine of the top 10 soccer-searching states voted Obama.

American sports clubs are dwarfed by the global appeal of soccer.

• Worldwide, US sports clubs are relatively puny brands. The New York Yankees, Boston Celtics and New England Patriots - biggest in their sports in recent years - have each inspired only about a fifth as many global searches as Manchester United since 2004. Real Madrid's lead is even bigger: it has prompted almost seven times as many searches as the Yankees, the most searched-for American team.

Arsenal is most followed by Eritreans.

• And in a bit of sleuthing on my own, I discovered that Arsenal has a strong East African bias followed most strongly in Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Uganda whereas Michael Essien pulls Chelsea towards West Africa with Ghana leading the way. In general, the English Premier League is followed most strongly in Africa. Michael Owen's Man Utd transfer was the EPL's biggest story followed most avidly in England with tremendous interest also shown in Singapore, Ireland, and Malaysia.

Sepp Blatter was in town recently for the Gold Cup final and then flew down to DC, invited to the White House for a meeting with Barack Obama. The FIFA president formally invited the US president to attend the World Cup in South Africa next year. Obama also took the opportunity to make a plug for USA's bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

They also took sometime to play a bit of one on one. Blatter was impressed with Obama's soccer skills when they kicked a ball with one another. Looks like attending Malia and Sasha Obama's matches have their fringe benefits.

England is pretty much the abortive favourite for landing the 2018 World Cup if these things go strictly by rotation. The US stands a better chance with the next one.

Clear dive. Freddie was up to naughty things. I missed this gem being busy over the weekend. The referee called him out on it and he had a hissy fit which then led to his ejection. After the incident Ljungberg went after the referee Baldemero Toledo.

"I complained in the beginning and I hit my chest and then I hear his whistle and blah, blah, blah, and he gives me the red card," Ljungberg said. "I just have to rise above it, I'm not going to go down to his level and start screaming and complaining about things. But it's sad: He's destroying a beautiful game."

Ljungberg was asked if he regretted not simply walking away, thereby preserving Seattle's one-man advantage.

"No," he said. "It's an important game and he got a lot of things wrong in the game. Even players on the other team were laughing behind his back and saying, 'He's on our side today, Freddie.' It's not the way a game should be. If I would have just walked away (it would have appeared that) I wouldn't care to win the game. And that's not me. I always want for us to do well, and it's important to do well in this league."

The MLS have discovered their Rob Styles but even Styles was correct once in a while and this was the case with Ljungberg.

The Daily Mail is reporting that City has succeeded in snaring Toure with lightning speed after their John Terry overtures were rebuffed. He comes to the Eastlands with a £15m price tag and phenomenal wages of £120,000 per week. Arsenal loses their longest serving member of the current squad and part of the 2003-2004 Premiership winning squad. His crucial partnership with Sol Campbell ensured an undefeated season for the Gunners.

Last season, Toure was erratic and he had a big dustup with the abrasive William Gallas which prompted him to ask for a transfer. It appeared that the matter had died down till City came knocking. However, unlike Adebayor who had worn out his welcome with the fans, Toure was well liked and appreciated for his strong tackling skills and work rate. He will be a huge loss and frankly leaves Arsenal with a big defensive hole. Phillipe Senderos is most likely to be offloaded and Johan Djorou is still a bit green to be a full replacement. Brede Hangelend transfer rumours to begin anew?

A few things here. We can be pretty sure that Arsenal is now quite strapped for cash. We were unable to mount a serious challenge for Felipe Melo even though a quality holding midfielder is a priority and remains one. With all the news linking us to Marouane Chamakh, it came as a surprise that Arsenal had not even contacted the Bordeaux striker with Sunderland as the only club making an offer. Which means that the £40m generated from the Adebayor and Toure sale will most likely go towards reducing the £318m debt which remains a huge monkey on the back. It is therefore, unsurprising to see reports that Alisher Usmanov is once again thinking of reintroducing the rights issue and might do so at this years shareholders AGM.

Liverpool will not likely get their asking price of 41 million euros for Alonso but a smaller figure of 30 million.

Even Rafa Benitez has given a tacit go ahead as he is tiring off all the transfer speculation and has essentially said that this is Alonso's decision to make. As per the Spanish media, the Liverpool midfielder has a 48 hour deadline before becoming Real's fifth big signing. They seem pretty confident that this will go through.

Javier Aguirre almost never singles out players for praise. But he broke that rule when El Tri returned home yesterday. He called Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela the foundation of Mexico's future footballing aspirations.

"For their age, their time, for the situation they found themselves in, they performed brilliantly at such a young age. They are the bright future of Mexican soccer and form the basis for a future generation of young players and if they can fully realize their potential in both the national team and in their clubs, we can have a great generation of players."

He also said that the team's mental strength was the chief attribute to winning the Gold Cup.

"It was not easy facing an American team and carrying all those ghosts. But the team showed discipline both on and off the pitch and maturity as a group."

Both Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos are now favoured to start against the USA in the World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Azteca on August 12th.

It seems Becks was involved in getting the lifetime ban on Josh Paige rescinded. Good for him.

Meanwhile he appears to have gotten into yet another row with a Kansas City fan in Saturday's match. We can look forward to this all season long.

More fun from City fans.

This poster is so tongue in cheek. It is City's way of saying that Carlos Tevez has finally found a club that truly appreciates him. It also implies this is the real city club and United are the upstarts. City fans are crowing and Sir Alex is feeling pretty blue.

If gymnasts as young as twelve or thirteen can compete in their senior national squads what stops a 12 year old child from playing professional soccer? Probably the fact that musculoskeletal maturity sets in at age 18 and peaks at 25 to 30 years of age. Having players tackling a player so young can result in serious injuries. Soccer is after all a contact sport. That is why there are age specific leagues and championships.

Julio Cesar Baldivieso who created a sensation by debuting his 12 year old son Mauricio last week for club Aurora in the Bolivian league resigned after the club refused to play his son. Mauricio Baldivieso became the youngest South American player to play in a top flight club. There is no age limit in the Bolivian professional league.

"Sadly, a lot of people did not like my son's debut. It was then a question of my son or my club - and, of course, my son comes first. I'm not going to be told whether I play someone from my family or not.

"The country and the world need to know that in Bolivia talented youngsters get their legs cut off, to make room for foreign players or because of personal grudges."

I wonder if Baldivieso Sr. would have been so chipper if his son was carted off the field with a serious injury that could potentially not only stunt his career as a professional soccer player but his overall physical functioning. The son seems to be more mature about it than his dad.

Mauricio, who had hoped to feature again this weekend against Oriente Petrolero, said: "I'm sad but I have lots of time. It won't make any difference to my life. I'll go on working at both my football and my school studies."

This is what the various Ronaldos have been up to.One Ronaldo has broken some bones in his left wrist the other one made a flattish debut for Real Madrid at home - where he played in a pre-season friendly against Al Ittihad in the Peace Cup.The first Ronaldo might have done his wrist less injury if he had been a bit lighter and the other one's performance in his debut game has been described thus...."On he skipped, a bundle of barely restrained energy, like a Ferrari caught behind a combine-harvester on a country road. Then he was off, roaring around everywhere. " Very nicely put.Couldn't have said it better myself.The video shows the older Ronaldo falling to earth - more like a combine harvester than like a Ferrari.

Having a doomsday prophet like Alisher Usmanov who believes that only he can save Arsenal becomes a drag after a while.

He does not get that his money is unwelcome and so are his suggestions through a surrogate that David Dein was never adequately replaced. As Arseblog correctly points out Usmanov offered a rights issue; very different from direct funding. It was a transparent ploy for a takeover. The surrogate Farhad Moshiri in a BBC interview with David Davies, a former associate of Dein, also says that Adebayor should not have been sold to Man City.

"That is the most worrying thing because Manchester City with their enormous firepower are one of the challengers for the fourth spot and I would have felt much better if he had been sold to any other club than Man City."

That transfer took place because Milan lost interest and only City made a solid offer. If second guessing was what transfers were based on then no player would ever land up in City because they pose not only a threat to Arsenal but to the rest of the big clubs. It is an easy assumption that United, Liverpool, and Chelsea are safe. Which is why there is a war of words with Sir Alex and City that gives extra mustard to their derbies.

Nick Bendtner scotches rumours of an Arsenal exit.

Chelsea who won all their games in the World Football Challenge walked away with the silverware in the Round Robin tournament after they beat Club America 2 - 0.The other good news is that Terry is staying.

And 7 things that have been learned from the World Football Challenge here...

The ref meant to give Ronaldinho a yellow card but got red and yellow all mixed up leading to general hilarity.AC Milan really did not have much to laugh about till then having lost all their matches in the tournament including the one against Inter Milan that was going on when this bout of colour blindness hit the referee...

A 5-0 rout offers very little scope for rationalization. Was it an errant offside call? A rogue referee who called the fouls for Mexico? Missed opportunities? Max Bretos and Chris Sullivan might have spun harder than a 45 rpm turntable but even they failed miserably in putting a finer point to it all.

It was a US team thoroughly and unequivocally outplayed. Unlike the Brazil come from behind win, this was a non starter even though the US kept El Tri quiet for the first 45 minutes and created a few scoring chances of their own. What appeared like an inkling in the first half became a barrage in the second half as Giovanni Dos Santos and Carlos Vela combined to lead Mexico to an emphatic victory. Their first win in 11 encounters on US soil spanning over a decade and it was meted out mercilessly.

For Bob Bradley, the first redeeming thought would be that this team is a far cry from the one that was fielded in the Confederations Cup. Yes, it was a group of second and third stringers that performed yeoman duty to come all the way to the final but this was not how it should have happened. The US has gotten so used to having their way with Mexico it would appear immaterial which players were on the squad. In 2007, it was an unknown Benny Feilhaber in a brilliant moment, gave the US victory over Mexico in the Gold Cup. In this year's tournament, the US did not rely on one single player as someone always came up big. The team was stronger than any one individual. That convention was taken into this years final.

That perhaps was the problem with this squad, looking for their Feilhaber. Their serendipity ran out because unlike the previous matches they did not put the effort into creating one. It was inevitably flawed thinking. Having no set of go to players proved a big lacuna. On the other hand, Aguirre specifically introduced Carlos Vela in the second half to bolster Dos Santos, the duo that first attracted worldwide attention with their U17 magic four years ago and they did not disappoint. Both are Premiership players and will be a big part of Mexico's World Cup aspirations.

The Gold Cup has become a showcase for youthful talent so one has to credit Bradley's strategy of surprising the opposition with anonymity as partially successful. The Gold Cup threw up Stuart Holden as a valuable understudy to Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey and the one player who might merit World Cup inclusion. Beckerman, Quaranta, Pause, and Cooper had their significant moments but it is hard to see them cement a place in the first 23.

It will be counterproductive to dwell on this loss for too long as the US now have a monumental match against Mexico at the impregnable Estadio Azteca on August 12th in a World Cup qualifier with their first squad. A relief one might add, having a blank slate is the best antidote for coping with such a loss. The US has a chance of creating history of its own with a victory at the Azteca. Bradley on the loss and looking forward:

"There's no doubt that you want competitors and we are competitors," Bradley said.

"The second half for us is not what we're all about. When you have a game that feels like this at the end you don't forget it. It's something that we will always on the inside talk about, be honest about, and hopefully we can use it in a way that we're better from it today."

"Our focus now is on playing Mexico in Azteca during World Cup qualifying. We start over on that day and have a chance to do something the U.S. hasn't done before."

For those interested in keeping tabs on the cross border rivalry, the reports that Mexican soccer is on the ropes are premature. That to me is the most vital message and one that needs to be borne in mind when these two teams meet again in two weeks.

Losing at home is one thing.Losing 5 - 0 is another thing entirely.Not good.Report here..

This forms the the basis of the Gold Cup final.

The US have found ways to win through a bunch of different players with Clarence Goodson against Honduras the tenth player to score a goal in the tournament. The Mexican's have relied on the attacking instincts of Giovanni Dos Santos and Miguel Sabah to lead their team to the finals.

Giovanni Dos Santos vs Stuart Holden

The two outstanding creative forces match their wits against each other. Both come into this match with equal number of assists. Dos Santos with his speed and low center of gravity attracts opposing players like flies. The knock: For all the bustle he creates, he cuts a lone figure in the midfield with few takers for his scoring opportunities. On the other hand Stuart Holden seems to have gained strength by creating the timely assist with his vision and opportunism. The US continue to finish off scoring chances in an efficient manner with a new player, in Goodson's case, literally rising to the occasion.

Mexico's attacking right flank vs Heath Pearce

The Mexicans have Alberto Medina, the right winger who has been prolific in set pieces opportunities. Against the Ticos his overlapping play with Dos Santos set up at least three scoring opportunities with Dos Santos himself missing out on a golden opportunity when he came a hair's breadth away from heading the ball in. Robbie Rogers will have to track back to help out Heath Pearce who should have his hands full against these two.

Chad Marshall vs Sabah or Vela

Marshall's responsibility will be to isolate Sabah or Vela in Mexico's 4-5-1 scheme from Santos or Medina. Sabah has profited from his opportunism and with four goals leads the scoring table. His streak ended when he missed a penalty against the Ticos which gave Arsenal's Carlos Vela an opportunity to show of his speed and to team up with Dos Santos, both stars of the U17 squad that brought Mexico World Cup glory four years ago.

US set pieces and counterattacks

Both represent the best chances for a US win. They have an edge from corners and free kicks with Goodson, Marshall, Cooper, and Ching strong in the box. Robbie Rogers and Stuart Holden can turn on the burners to get Arnaud/ Cooper and Ching in position for a quick strike.

The US and Mexican teams shared a plane ride together for logistics and cost purposes (the recession brings strange bedfellows together). So here is Jimmy Conrad twittering on the experience.

"I hope that when passing through the aisle of the airplane, the Mexican coach is not going to trip me up or give me a kick," Conrad referring ironically to the incident between Javier Aguirre and Panamanian Ricardo Phillips in the first round of the tournament.

...not against the greatest of opponents but a great bit of combination nevertheless.This was the 5th out of 8 goals scored by Manchester United against Hangzhou Greentow. All the goals of the game here..

Here it is. The match every one wanted. Another chapter in the historiography of the fiercest rivalry in the Concacaf region.

It has sharpened so much because of the US domination of Mexico in recent years. So there are stakes a plenty for both teams. But at this stage, a Gold Cup win means much more to El Tri than it means to the US.

There is a lot of angst amongst the Mexican punditry about a league system that seems to be ineffectual in corralling talent necessary for national success. Managers have come and gone with Ricardo La Volpe, Hugo Sanchez, Sven Goran Eriksson and now Javier Aguirre but the results of all these coaching changes have remained unclear. Mexico has looked very vulnerable in its World Cup qualifying run and a Gold Cup title will provide it the momentum it needs for the rest of the South African campaign. El Tri have struggled mightily on the road and a win would end speculations that the Mexicans need the Estadio Azteca to boost their campaign.

The Mexican midfield have Giovanni Dos Santos, easily their most outstanding player with the Spurs man seemingly a step or two ahead of his compatriots creating moments of individual brilliance at the cost of team coherence. It seems that the Mexicans need to hit the reset button for this encounter to get every one back as a team. But Javier Aguirre is not ready to talk about his team's deficiencies choosing instead on focusing on his opponents playing style.

"What do I think about the United States? I think they live off opponents' errors, and stack eight in the back and use the clock in their favor. It's going to be a good test for us. It's a final we wanted and I'm assuming the fans wanted the same thing."

He has plenty to worry about including a defensive unit that looks vulnerable against stronger opposition. In a big blow, captain Gerrardo Torrado will not play against the US because of suspension which puts immense pressure on centerbacks Johny Magallon and Israel Castro to stop the US from counterattacking through Suart Holden and Kyle Beckerman.

Whatever happens today, it sets up a backdrop to a crucial meeting for both countries on August 12th at Mexico City when the two teams clash full strength in a World Cup qualifier. Giants Stadium will be rocking with Mexican fans outnumbering the US almost 2:1.

Newcastle were given a 6 - 1 humiliation by the League One club Leyton Orient. Wikipedia reveals that the last time Leyton Orient were in the top league of English Football was in the 1962 - 63 season.So it's a new low as far as lows go for Newcastle.

Talk about lightning striking twice.Another game (in the World Football Challenge) and another goal that left another goalkeeper speechless.After this opening goal for Chelsea,Clarence Seedorf equalised for AC Milan.Yuri Zhirkov then scored his first goal for Chelsea to end the game at 2 -1. (All goals here)

Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore denied Barca a winning start to their Wembley Cup campaign.The cup in question has been described as "a trophy nobody has won before and which may never be won again after the tournament ends on Sunday.".The teams involved are Celtic,Barcelona,Tottenham and Al Ahly.The Barcelona team that drew against the Spurs was not so mighty actually as most of the big names like Messi etc were not playing. Celtic hammered Al Ahly 5 - 0 in their opening game - the video of which can be seen here

Barcelona may also be heading off to sea in the new future.This is a cryptic way of saying that an architect called Emili Vidal has laid out ambitious plans to build the European champions a new arena that would stun the world of football and change the face of the Blaugrana.He proposes a 150,000-capacity stadium on an island off the coast of the Catalan capital.Pictures of the grand vision here..

..in the game against Club America the other day.While he got censure and a yellow card from the ref for that he is getting plenty of praise from Adriano Galliani for his offer to take a pay cut to be able to stay on at AC Milan for another year.

As per L'Equipe, highly rated holding midfielder Lorik Cana, L'OMs captain is heading to the Black Cats on a four year contract worth 6 million euros.

With Marouane Chamakh and Darren Bent in Steve Bruce's sights, Sunderland could be a surprise team this season.

For the record he is sorry that he beat Marcus McGee.

Mr Gerrard said it was a heated discussion with Mr McGee and explained that he wanted to "smooth things over".

Nice way to smooth things over. Gerrard was also pretty smashed. Its a potent mix: Drinks and a feeling of not getting your way.

The semi-final wins could not have come in more contrasting style. The USA won against Honduras, 2-0 in a straightforward win with very little drama and little flourish. On the other hand, the Mexico vs Costa Rica encounter had to be settled through penalty kicks. The match itself was full of strange twists and turns with some flashes of brilliance from both teams.

Stuart Holden again came up big setting up both goals. Clarence Goodson heading in a corner taken by Holden just before half time. Santino Quaranta's introduction in the second half for Robbie Rodgers and Holden's switch to the left flank made a difference in the attacking tempo. Through one of these forays, Holden managed to pass the ball to Kenny Cooper who further enhanced his reputation as a super sub by coolly finishing of the chance. The Hondurans briefly threatened through Walter Martinez, easily their best scoring threat but he was inexplicably replaced in the second half. The back four led by Chad Marshall took care of the rest. The US was competent and compact without being brilliant and it was enough to get the job done.

Mexico's Giovanni Dos Santos was easily the pick of the players. Possessing great speed and a low center of gravity he was able to whip past the Ticos at will and provided at least three opportunities for others to score. In between there were a number of free kicks that the Ticos gave up fouling him. He came closest to scoring when he narrowly failed to head a ball with Medina's cross glancing past his forehead harmlessly.

The match could have been won when Medina's speculative cross strangely hit Freddy Fernandez's hand after it appeared that the defender had lost track of the ball and the referee with no hesitation pointed to the penalty spot. Up stepped Miguel Sabah, the Cup's leading scorer. But he flubbed the PK shooting it weakly straight to Keylor Navas.

Mario Carillo, the assistant coach taking over for the suspended Javier Aguirre introduced Guillermo Franco taking of the ineffective Sabah and the rangy striker proved a serendipitous sub as he volleyed home a shot just before full time after the Ticos failed to clear a corner properly. There was a two minutes left in regulation time and it appeared Mexico was through.

But just as El Tri were celebrating prematurely, Alvaro Saborio's header fell between Ochoa and Magallon and Froylan Ledezma who had come on for Alonso quick as a flash burst through and before either one of them could react placed the ball coolly into the back of the net with his left foot. It was the 91st minute. And the match was heading to extra time but not before Arsenal's Carlos Vela was introduced in the 81st minute. He had at least one clearcut opportunity to finish of the match but was unable to time his volley well off a Dos Santos cross.

Extra time ended with both teams deadlocked and it was left to PKs. Mexico kept its cool and converted each penalty while Ledezma responsible for Costa Rica's last minute heroics muffed his chance. It was left to Carlos Vela to seal the 5-3 verdict in favour of Mexico.

Some thoughts: Mexican football is not in need of resuscitation, in fact, far from it, it appears to be the most exciting team to watch because of the brilliant form of Dos Santos. The Spurs sign up from Barca has seen little action in the Premiership and was shipped to Ipswich Town on loan. He had fallen off the radar but his creative and attacking instincts appear better than before. He will be a handful for the USA to deal with in the finals. The praise that El Tri get for playing an attacking style should be tempered with the criticism that they still remain horribly poor in finishing off their chances. That ultimately may prove to be the crucial difference between the USA and their team.

Another reason for the Gunners to fight hard for the title.

"I have friends at City and I hope they do really well - and that they finish above Arsenal," said Cole. "I think it's going to be hard for City but they could do it. They may click straight away and it's magic. I hope they do."

I wonder who his friends are. Adebayor?

Suleiman Al Fahim wants Maradona to become a 'global ambassador' to the club.

"What I think is that he should be president of a club and have the right to buy and choose players."

It appears that Maradona is interested according to his lawyer.

Moyano said: "He has got top players ready and he is even ready to leave the Argentine ­national team.

"He wants to build a strong team for which he offers his mediation for signing players of top level, who with the support of Diego will be willing to come to ­Portsmouth."

If Argentina do not qualify then Pompey and an ocean separating South America from Europe will be very attractive. Nothing is impossible with ME money. Just ask Sven and Mark Hughes.

Lewis Carroll might have posted something like this on youtube if there had been a youtube when he was around...!

Club America continue their 'upset the favourite' routine.AC Milan were on the receiving end this time losing the game 2 -1.

The Gold Cup semi-finals are almost on us. The US gets to meet Honduras, one of their most familiar opponents in recent times. This is their third meeting in less than two months so the Hondurans could be pardoned if they believe familiarity breeds contempt but in fact, this team wears an unfamiliar look.

Their group meeting which the US won, 2-0 had midfield spark Benny Feilhaber whose late second half introduction broke the stalemate by upping the attacking tempo leading to Santino Quaranta's first international goal and Brian Ching adding a second. He has departed for Europe as has Freddy Adu and Charlie Davis.

Bradley is faced with a centerback dilemma. Veteran defender Jimmy Conrad recalled to the side suffered a nasty concussion against Panama and it is extremely doubtful he will start. He was subbed by Clarence Goodson but Bradley's emergency call up for Parkhurst just days after his return to the Danish league signifies that he is his first choice should Conrad be declared unfit to play. What is missed more will be Conrad's veteran captaincy. Against Honduras it was Cherundolo providing that experience.

Santino Quaranta was overlooked in the Panama match but should be bought back for the Honduras semi-finals. Davy Arnaud had a very good game against Panama setting up Kyle Beckerman's goal.

The Catrachos are missing a lot of their stars- Carlos Pavon, David Suazo, Thomas Hendry, Amado Guevara, and Wilson Palacios. Manager Reinaldo Rueda like Bradley is using the Gold Cup to give less experienced players much needed exposure. Despite that they still have a potent Carlos Costly and Walter Martinez upfront and Roger Espinoza as a creative playmaker in midfield.

Although the US has enjoyed the upper hand in the last two matches, it took a Landon Donovan PK and a Carlos Bocanegra header for a come from behind win in a World Cup qualifier last month. In the Gold Cup group stage the US dominated the game but were unable to capitalize till very late in the second half when two quick goals by Quaranta and Ching lifted the US to victory. Benny Feilhaber proved instrumental in that win. So the third iteration will not be easy but the US has proven that they have players who rise to the occasion. So I predict a win. Plus, who is not rooting for a US - Mexico showdown.

Basically it amounts to the US fending off a more potent attack and exploiting a weaker and less experienced defense. Robbie Rogers should get back to his comfort zone after being rendered ineffective by Panama's Luis Moreno.

The line up by my book:

Troy Perkins (Goallkeeper)
Jay Heaps- Michael Parkhurst- Chad Marshall- Heath Pearce (Defenders)
Robbie Rogers- Kyle Beckerman- Stuart Holden- Santino Quaranta (Midfielders)
Brian Ching- Davy Arnaud (Forwards)

According to the Spanish media, negotiations between between striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Stuttgart have broken down just when an agreement seemed imminent. It appears that Huntelaar was dissatisfied with Stuttgart's wage offer.

Now, he is back on the market and the Gunners have been mentioned as a club that might be interested in his services. Then again these are the Spanish tabloids, so everything should be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

As per Marca, Eto'o's agent, Josep Maria Mesalles met for an hour with Inter representatives and agreed to a five year contract worth €10.5 million in wages each season for his client.

There will be an additional meeting on Thursday to finalize the contract that will see Zlatan Ibrahimovic heading the opposite direction to Barca.

I have already detailed my reservations on this deal and this appears to be the first big misstep by Pep Guardiola.

On March 29 this year before a CAF qualifier against Malawi, 22 fans died in a stampede trying to get into the stadium and another 150 were injured.

In its wake FIFA just issued measures that would ensure better crowd control reducing the seating capacity of Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan by approximately half to about 20,000 spectators. They also introduced traffic and spectator cordons to filter access of fans to the stadium.

More punitive measures includes a CHF 50,000 fine for the Ivory Coast Football Association. The stadium would be allowed to resume seating its full complement of 35,000 spectators when FIFA was sufficiently convinced that these control measures were fully adhered to in each match.

The Beckham pose for Emporio Armani in their latest underwear ad campaign. New York loses out to Milan. Chalk up one more reason that the first couple of football have not been good for the US. Lets pelt them with Fruit of the Loom.

A video clip of what transpired in the Milan match

If Becks wants to make friends with the Galaxy fans maybe he should make an appeal to the Home Depot authorities to revoke the lifetime ban on the fan who entered the pitch to confront him.

Yes, it was stupid behaviour on Josh Paige but really there should be no call for such severe punishment. I keep seeing matches in which pitches are regularly invaded by fans in the Argentinian league and they are back again for the next match.

As the You Tube clip shows Beckham also played a part in the confrontation by egging Paige yelling "Come on", who responded by jumping down onto the pitch. What else would you expect from an inebriated fan? So far there has been just an apology by Bruce Arena. But it will be a far more substantial gesture if Becks acknowledges that he too lost control and make a case for the ban to be overturned. It will be a tip of the hat to the fans that are angry at him and may go some way in making amends.

And Beckham should not expect any less indecorous behaviour when he visits other clubs. The Kansas City Star headlines, "Wizards fans get chance to kick around Beckham." Here is a sample of what Becks faces:

"He takes the money and the contract, then goes on to denigrate U.S. soccer," Szajnuk said. "He'll have a bunch of chants coming. We don't drop f-bombs and we won't direct anything at his family, but he'll know we're there."

If you follow the You Tube comments it is bewildering how Beckham is viewed through the prism of the MLS being a dinky league and Americans ignorance of the game. The man has given the league a lot of publicity of the wrong kind. This was something that the powers to be failed to foresee if the deal did not work out but it is good to see MLS fans fight back.

Just a week from his return to the Galaxy and a hair's breadth from a fan's assault, Becks is again pushing his luck. This time he wants to play Holland in a friendly. The match is awkwardly placed between important MLS encounters with New England and Seattle.

More power to him if he can pull this off and commit himself to the Galaxy but Bruce Arena is going to request him not to return for the friendly to be played in Amsterdam. It might fall on deaf years because Capello is not making any exceptions and considers participation in friendlies important for squad selection. At stake for Beckham is a place in next year's World Cup and a chance to break Peter Shilton's record of 125 national appearances.

Traveling thousands of miles at age 34 is different from appearing for internationals played hours away and when you are a decade younger. Recuperation time goes up. With Capello making a Europe return a pre-requisite and the Milan loan spell more than six months away, Becks has limited opportunities to shine. He may take a gamble and pull off an 'energy efficient' performance against the Revs to try and conserve his strength for the Holland friendly. He has to shake of fatigue and jet lag to play Seattle three days later.

England's inevitability in qualifying for the World Cup opens up more opportunities. Capello might rest some starters and give Beckham substantial minutes which means that the month of September and October will be very busy for him when England meets Croatia, Ukraine, and Belarus in the final rounds.

Looks like Steven Gerrard took some lessons from friend Ricky Hatton. Someone please page Bob Arum. The next match should be Gerrard vs the Pac-man.

"Steven Gerrard joined in the attack with a succession of well-aimed uppercut punches, delivered with the style and speed of a professional boxer, rather than professional footballer."

Chelsea met Inter at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. The game was dominated by Jose Mourinho's former club and the Special One could not hide his displeasure. Lampard, Drogba, Malouda, Sturridge and Essien kept the pressure up on the Nerrazurri. Drogba hit a speculative shot on goal which Belec was unable to get fully behind and only managed to deflect the ball into goal in the 10'. Cordoba then gave up a penalty in the 47' when he parried Daniel Sturridge's cross with his hand. Lampard made no mistake.

Inter's midfield endeavours led by Cambiasso and Zanetti were negated by Chelsea's physical midfield. One moment which captured it all was Mikel's roadblock of Vieira who crumpled to the ground under the challenge. It brought the testy undercurrent of this match to the fore as Inter players surrounded Mikel. Mourinho tried to sharpen the attack by bringing in Ibrahamovic but his surprising appearance despite all those rumours of being shipped to Barca did very little to change the course of the match. Balotelli also proved ineffective with very little supply to his feet as he kept drifting back deeper and deeper.

What must have galled Mourinho was not so much the loss to his former club and to a rival but the way Chelsea won. They retained their defensive strength made exemplary under his tenure while becoming more attractive in their attack with Drogba and Lampard, two former favourites rejuvenated under Hiddink and the talented Sturridge. After the match Mourinho made a foray into the field and got a tepid welcome from the Chelsea players. The match had its array of celebrities led by Charlize Theron and including Malcom McDowell, Will Ferrell, and Alyssa Milano.

Some additional thoughts: Inter is a bit behind the Premiership teams in preparation for the upcoming season but the pace and physicality displayed by Chelsea does not augur well for their CL aspirations with a poor record against English opponents.

Inter Milan continue a dismal run crashing to yet another defeat.They went down by 2 goals to nothing in the World Football Challenge.Drogba scored the first goal for Chelsea which prompted Jose Mourinho to say "Et tu Brute". He has got into the habit of saying things in latin of late..(the italian influence).
It was a great goal from Drogba by the way - scored from way out,beating the goalie completely.

In the wake of the record breaking moves like Ronaldo and Kaka to Real and Carlo Ancelotti's equally big move to Chelsea that cements perceptions that football is a conglomerate dictated to by a few giant clubs, it is heart warming to see a big name coach like Sven Goran Ericksson, still active in his sport turn his focus to helping a small albeit historical club like Notts County.

He joins as sporting director on a five year contract and his lofty goal with coach Ian McParland will be to pull out County from League Two all the way to the Premiership. More to the point is, is this ambitious project more to do with Eriksson than leading a club out of obscurity? Salvation of a manager often derided for his motivation putting to rest all the second guessing? Ericksson also goes back full circle to his small club roots when he managed Swedish side Degerfors more than 30 years ago.

There is a bright patch in Notts County football history he might want to read up on which might help him in the club's ambitious quest to pull out of the obscurity of League football. Jimmy Sirrel passed away last year but not before becoming a legend at County. He lifted the club from the basement to the top flight of English football in two installments as manager, guiding coach Harold Wilkinson to his pinnacle in 1981. A shining moment that lasted three seasons, in a period of relative stability for a club that has slipped up and down the rungs of League football a record 27 times. Sirrel did it the hard way, on a shoestring budget and through painstaking scouting. As this interview shows, it was a never ending task finding players:

"I knew where they were and I had people finding them. You've got to be looking all the time. Somebody once said to Kathy: 'Your Jimmy is never in,' and she said: 'Well you cannot cage a tiger!"

Sirrel did it with good grace and a sense of destiny. It started the day he joined County in 1969 when in a moment of seeming braggadocio he said, "Ask any kid what he knows about Notts County and he'll tell you they're the oldest football team in the world. By the time I've finished, he'll know a lot more." When he passed away, he was given the ultimate encomium by Sir Alex Ferguson, a close friend and fellow Glaswegian.

"I'd be confident in Jimmy Sirrel managing any team I supported, and that would be the general opinion from all the managers in the game."

Eriksson will not have a paltry budget to rebuild County which Sirrel was forced to work with. The Middle Eastern consortium that bought out the club has promised funds but it will be left to him to prove astute enough to find a constellation of players that Sirrel relied on to bring glory. Don Masson and Tony Hateley, two players proved instrumental in pushing the club to the top division after 60 years. Masson's creative playmaking and Hateley's goal scoring contribution catapulted the club from the fourth division to the second division in two years. Masson was back in time for Sirrel's second tenure with the Magpies for their 1981 triumph.

By that time Sirrel had found his most important player Raddy Avramovic, the Serbian goalkeeper now managing Singapore's national squad on one of his travels to Europe. He came to Notts for £200,000, an exorbitant sum of money for an impoverished club. Sirrel named Avramovic as the most influential player in his team along with John Cheidozie, a lightning quick winger and Iain McCulloch, a powerful but technically adroit centerforward. Brian Glanville writes, the difference in the all too easy comparison between Watford and Notts success was that Sirrel did it playing pure football whereas Watford ground out victory in dull and soulless fashion. He was privy to this brand when he saw Sirrel's players at their skillful best in a match against a strong Liverpool side which finally won but not before being forced to match the Magpies attacking flair.

The Magpies seem to be on track to reproduce some of Sirrel's attractive and attacking style with their spate of summer signings which includes West Brom striker Lee Hughes and Shrewsbury Town's, Luke Rodgers. They join Delroy Facey, the young British Grenadian talent. Ian McParland also signed up playmaker Ricky Ravenhill, a longtime Doncaster Rovers standout to the squad. The days of crippling debt, a revolving door of managers, and living in the shadow of their celebrated nemesis, Nottingham Forest might be over. Like Man City, they dare to dream.

Arsenal is reporting that the fibular fracture is a simple one and could heal in six weeks. Which means that Tomas Rosicky will have to be at full match fitness by the time the season begins.

Arsenal scored 7 goals in a friendly against SC Columbia in Austria.The bad news coming out of Austria however is that Samir Nasri has broken his leg during training.A fractured fibula will keep him out of action till October.The long line of Arsenal injury victims just got longer.

ESPN trying to make soccer boldly go where it hasn't gone before - to mainstream America.

Real Madrid played a friendly against Shamrock Rovers and Ronaldo didn't make the best of debuts.He could have made history by scoring on his first free kick but only succeeded in bouncing the ball of the wall.He got a few boos for his efforts and bowed out of the game at half time.The fact that Ronaldo's inglorious debut has coincided with the 40th anniversary of the moon landing has led to an ingenious comparision of Ronaldo with Neil Armstrong here.

Sulaiman Al Fahim is the new owner of Pompey riding out concerns raised from his connection with Sheikh Mansour Al Nahyan, owner of Man City and chairman of Hydra Properties, the real estate company which Al Fahim was CEO of till about four days ago as well as questions about where the money comes from to own the club.

He passed the EPL's proper and fit test to become the chairman of the club.

"We found no reason why Mr Al Fahim would be liable to be disqualified as a director of a Premier League club," read a statement.

"Accordingly we have advised Portsmouth FC that his appointment may proceed.

There still appears to be considerable confusion as to who funds the club. Pompey will not be privy to the sort of unlimited cash flow that City enjoys because Fahim's Asia Associates, the entity that owns the club is a PE firm that was set up primarily to acquire the club. Raising funds becomes their responsibility rather than relying on the immense coffers of UAE's royals or a single individual's wealth. Their investments remain below the 10% threshold required for disclosure. What matters is how these investors are placed in the economy and which sectors they come from that will determine cash flow for the club. Personally from Al Fahim's business model used to start real estate ventures, he is more of a money manager for other investors.

As for Al Fahim being booted out from his company, Hydra's commercial director Ahmed Khalil said that he would continue to work from a board position. He said this was a promotion and it was not linked to linked to investor complaints over Hydra's ability to deliver real-estate projects on schedule.

This is a move to shake off the negative media attention from Al Fahim, a flamboyant figure who runs his own TV show based on "The Apprentice", arising from a series of gaffes ranging from a dubious claim to a doctorate and the more serious one of running a real estate company that many investors claim is a Ponzi scheme. It is also resolves a potential conflict of interest which his CEO position brings up with the Al Nahyan family who run Hydra Properties and own City. Fahim's stepdown could also placate skittish investors who may have had serious concerns about Al Fahim's ability to run the club as well as deal with the myriad problems facing Hydra Properties.

Sir Alex is making Carlos Tevez's return to Old Trafford as a City player very challenging. This old master of mind games is psyching out the upstart team with their riches and new shiny acquisitions. The Daily Mail has an interview with plenty of digs at Tevez and City.

The Argentinian player is not worth £25m in his estimation. Plus, he reiterates that he never heard back from Tevez after attempting to contact him about his contract negotiations.

"But we never heard back. In my opinion I didn't think he was worth £25million, that's just my judgment, maybe I'm wrong. The fans quite rightly have their heroes, and I respect the fans so I was happy to go along with a deal as long as it was the right deal."

The uneasy relationship between Samuel Eto'o and Pep Guardiola seems to have come to an end with Barca's manager categorically saying that the striker's future in the club was bleak. His place will be taken by Zlatan Ibrahamovic. It is part of a swap deal with €45 million in cash and Hleb's loan as an additional sweetener.

Guardiola on the Eto'o situation. Its left to a whimsical 'feeling.'

"I am convinced that the best thing for Barca is for Eto'o to leave,'' he said. "Could I be mistaken? Maybe so."

"Without him we wouldn't have achieved what we achieved last year,'' added Guardiola. "There are no footballing or personal reasons or anything about his behaviour. It's simply a question of 'feeling', and that's how I feel."

All I can say is that Barca appear a trifle desperate. Eto'o might have scored a number of goals courtesy the passing skills of Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi but he proved to be a pretty effective exclamation point. With cash to boot and Hleb's loan, Inter must be feeling pretty good about this deal. Basically this deal fixes an approximate value of €10 million for Eto'o's whereas it is close to €60 million for Ibrahamovic. Not bad for a player challenging Diego Forlan for the Pichichi a few months ago.

The other concern is Ibra's temperament which is that of a loner. Eto'o might have had his problems dealing with Guardiola and his team mates but the Swede has also had his share of testy moments with fans and Jose Mourinho. Playing for Inter with its less lubricating midfield has molded Ibra into an individualistic striker. Inter is an impatient team with only Cambiasso and Zanetti proving that they can play a possession game. It will be a bumpy transition to a team that prides itself for its subtle and effective ball control.

At this point Barca loses a player that has been very productive for them in the CL with 16 goals in 34 appearances. Compare his tally to the more anemic output of 6 goals in 21 matches for Ibra and Barca definitely comes off at the losing end of the deal. Not the smartest move by Guardiola after he could do no wrong last season. Inter gains a player who helps them with their hitherto stunted CL aspirations even as they run rampant in the Serie.

We are also not dealing with an Adebayor situation where the fans had become disenchanted with his lack of passion and inconsistency. Eto'o has a very passionate following at the Nou Camp who look at his goal scoring exploits as key to their successful Liga and CL campaigns.

However this is far from a done deal and personal terms could be a sticking point. Even Guardiola acknowledges that there are many variables.

"I have not spoken to him (Eto'o), there are other people in charge who are used to doing so. Does he feel betrayed? I hope not. You don't know what will happen and who knows he could still be with us in training on the 27th.''

Now that we have a fair bit of money from the Adebayor sale, we should turn our attention to strengthening our defense and buy a quality holding midfielder. We missed out on Felipe Melo who signed with Juventus.

Our attention should be focused on getting Miguel Veloso from Sporting Lisbon. His agent has given the thumbs down to his joining Bolton and many reports linking him to Aston Villa as a possible replacement to Gareth Barry have proven unfounded.

Veloso has indicated his interest in making a move abroad. There have been reports that his relationship with manager Paolo Bento is frayed which the player denies. His fee will be somewhere in the range of £15-20 million range. He burst onto the international scene when he shut down Inter's attack especially Luis Figo and Patrick Vieira in the 2006 CL. Since then he has been a midfield force for Sporting along with Joao Mountinho. Following his impressive U-21 appearances, Phil Scolari inducted him to the national squad. He has earned 7 international caps. Four Four Two's scouting report on him.

Veloso is versatile with his defensive assignments and has experience at center back and left back positions. He is also comfortable coming forward and opening up the attack showing his creative instincts.

His strengths: His physical presence, great aerial ability, precise passing, and spectacular set pieces. Arsenal sorely lacks a go to player for its set pieces. We have relied on RVP previously but Veloso could provide that extra unpredictable option.

His weaknesses: A suspect work rate, a tough tackler but occasional lack of pace results in getting caught out of position or mistiming tackles. Needs to work on those areas. He also has an affinity for living the high life which has come under the spotlight. Will do well under Wenger's no nonsense approach.

Veloso could be tempted playing for a club like Arsenal with assured CL appearances and in the top echelons of Premiership football. Combining with Fabregas will recreate his successful partnership with Joao Moutinho at Sporting Lisbon, probably the most creative midfielder in the Portugese league. Fabregas has acknowledged that one of Arsenal's summer priorities should be getting a quality holding midfielder to take care of the backfield.

Video clip of some of his great bending free kicks interspersed with his passing skills >>

Fredy Montero replaces the injured Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He has struck form after a slow start and now trails Schelloto in goals scored. He also has six assists. Joining him will be fellow Colombian and Seattle Sounder team mate, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.

With their inclusion, the Seattle Sounders have four players on the All Star roster including Freddie Ljungberg and Kasey Keller. This is the first time in MLS history that an All Star team has so many players represented from an expansion team.

Despite the hostile reception (video) Becks had a significant part to play in both Galaxy's goals against AC Milan

PS: A detailed blow by blow account of the Beckham v/s the angry fan story with videos and all here..

Jose Mourinho gets on the wrong side of a shock defeat .Club America defeated Inter Milan 5-4 on penalty kicks to take the first match of the World Football Challenge.

A banner greets Beckham's LA return

Beckham's season debut at home did not get much love from the fans even though his performance was an improvement from the Red Bulls game. He contributed to both goals scored and the Galaxy was able to force a draw against Milan.

Galaxy fans in the LA Riot Squad section, an American version of the Ultras booed Beckham everytime he touched the ball. It got to him as he jumped the rail at half time and taunted the crowd by making a "come on" gesture. One of them responded by jumping down onto the pitch and attempted to run at him but was held back by security guards. Later Beckham said that he had tried shaking the hands of one of the them.

"Just towards the end of the first half there was a corner and a few of the guys were shouting some really not nice things," explained Becks.

"I just walked over at the whistle and said 'calm down' and tried to call one of them to shake my hand, he just started swearing...

I have to say that the US crowd has been very patient with Beckham. Put this mild show of displeasure in comparison to Milan's own Curva Sud crowd and their reaction to Paolo Maldini's retirement, a player who spent his entire 25 year playing career devoted to his club and led them to glory several times. Their true hero was Franco Baresi and their perception of Maldini was of a player who spurned the peasants for the rich Milanistas. It was not about a lack of commitment.

For some across the pond, the behaviour of the fans might serve as proof that the US does not understand how good Beckham is or that the MLS is too Mickey Mouse a league for his talents. But fans are fans everywhere. I remember Man Utd fans being disenchanted with Beckham when his form began to suffer from the distractions of all the tabloid gossip dating Posh. His relation with Sir Alex's deteriorated and Roy Keane, Utd's captain had words with him on his lack of commitment. This at a time when he had won the treble with Utd the previous season.

So if fans are feeling angry and disenchanted by Beckham they have every right to feel that way. And this is good. Because this should push him into not taking the situation for granted, showing up for work and becoming productive for his team in a way he was supposed to. On the other hand if he is this nonplussed at the displeasure of his fans, it is not a good sign. He obviously still does not get it. But who cares when his real base is:

Victoria Beckham and the Beckham younglings were on hand to support David, as were Gary Barlow, Kate Beckinsale, Little Britain's David Walliams and of course Becks' bit on the side - Tom Cruise.

It can induce an alternate reality when Tom Cruise takes him aside and tells him how he loathes the LA lumpen after his Oprah meltdown.

SoccerBlog.com will pick the winner of our adidas-backed "Step into Messi's Shoes" campaign at the end of this month.

If you haven't already, go ahead and sign-up. We're not sharing these names with adidas, except for the winner, that is!

What are you waiting for? Oh, and don't forget to tell your friends!

The Bayern cabal have gotten mad over Real's pestering of Franck Ribery.

Today, Karl Heinz Rummenigge said that Real had been breaking FIFA rules repeatedly by tapping Ribery's agent without seeking the club's permission.

"I will be sending Florentino Perez, the president of Real, a letter recommending that they drop their attempts to tempt Franck away from us right now."

"If this disturbance does not end right away, we will report Real to FIFA."

I have never been a big fan of the Bayern cabal who have done much to provoke good managers into leaving or getting fired but on this issue they are dead on. The Bundesliga has never been the league of irresponsible spenders and Rummenigge's taking Real to task is a reminder that you can run the business of football without selling your soul.

19 year old Daniel Sturridge scores on debut...

Will Oguchi Onyewu, Milan's latest and biggest signing of a US player start for the Galaxy today?

Have you noticed the number of pro-Chelsea comments coming out of Beckham's mouth ?

He stepped into the controversy surrounding John Terry's future at Stamford Bridge with City baiting the England captain with record weekly wages.

"JT's like that. He's passionate about football, not passionate about money. He'll decide what's best for his football career."

"I don't think JT will move because he's Chelsea through and through. But football's football."

Now, Beckham is waxing loquacious about Chelsea's chances to win the Premiership because of what ex-boss Carlo Ancelotti brings to the team.

"Chelsea are so lucky because Carlo is a great man and a great manager," the LA Galaxy player told the News of the World. "He can definitely make Chelsea champions again. No doubt about it. And I say that even though everybody knows I have Manchester United in my heart."

Becks is keeping in the good books of Chelsea's talisman who as everyone knows enjoys unvarnished support from Peter Kenyon and Roman Abramovich ( Jose Mourinho will have something to say about that in his biography) and the incumbent manager with whom he has had a long standing association and friendship. Seems like Becks after returning to MLS anonymity is trying to make himself relevant to the European leagues with his mouth if not his feet. Ancelotti whose forte is wringing every ounce from older players could probably do with Beckham's experience off the bench in the late season push off. Their pursuit of Ribery and Pirlo have stalled and Beckham would be an easier pick up.

Beckham also got a big boost for his European return when he visited his former Milan team mates who are in town to play the Galaxy. Coach Leonardo said that Beckham is welcome back anytime to the club because of his ability to fit into any system.

"He helped us so much when he wore our shirt. Moreover, he is a good person and also the very fact that he came here to see us proves how much he feels for us."

Shrewd bit of PR from Beckham.

This was a testy match. Felipe Baloy went after Benito Archundia ala Drogba style with all the pushing and shoving after the match was over and should be suspended. The Panama team also brought out the lumber to the US and should have been called on a number of fouls.

Bob Bradley continued his experimentation with Jay Heaps, Logan Pause starting and bringing back Davy Arnaud. The USA began the half with more ball control but against the run of play, Panama went ahead with a hovering Blas Perez pouncing on Stuart Holden's cough up off a corner to blast home. The US lost a lot of experience when veteran Jimmy Conrad had to be taken of after getting clocked by Torres going for a header in the 41st minute. He was subbed by Clarence Goodson.

The second half began the USA rallying the pressing the Panamanians harder. Their defense was caught napping when Arnaud laid the ball for Kyle Beckerman who powered a shot from midfield that caught Jaime Penedo off balance for the equalizer. Most of the half was a snapshot of two things: Robbie Rogers getting dispossessed by Luis Moreno time and time again and a number of fouls on the US that did not get called.

The match ended 1-1 at regulation. In extra time a hard charging Roman Torres caught Kenny Cooper in the midriff after the Dynamo striker entered the box. Archundia had no hesitation and also gave Torres a yellow card. Which really should have been a red. Cooper stepped up and had no difficulties burying the penalty.

Stuart Holden seems to have become the find of the tournament from the US perspective. He is far more crisp and attacking than Adu. Brian Ching is a physical threat. He is a bit like Mark Viduka but his finishing needs to be better. Kenny Cooper who scored the PK will have a tough time displacing Jozy Altidore. Kyle Beckerman who scored his first God Cup goal was solid. Davy Arnaud showed some nice creative touches. Jay Heaps did better than expected. Logan Pause was anonymous but committed no major blunders. The biggest disappointment was Robbie Rogers who was pushed off the ball very easily by a physical Panamanian defense.

Adebayor moves to City. A five year deal, worth £25 million to Arsenal.

I think Adebayor and Tevez hired the same PR person. It would have been refreshingly honest, if just for once they said it was all about the money. But on cue its never about that.

"People who think that I have joined City for the money are wrong," he asserted. "If I had made a move for that reason then I would have been playing for Barcelona or Milan last season. They gave me bigger offers than Arsenal did for me to stay."

"I am here because I was impressed by the way the chairman at City spoke to me about the ambition of this club. I want to be part of a club that is aiming to be one of the biggest in the world."

In other words Adebayor spurned Barca and Milan for City. Tevez also gave up Real for City. This is all tied to City becoming one of the biggest clubs in the world. How do these footballers develop such preternatural abilities?

The second statement is an outright embellishment. If that were true, Ade could have had shared the same " I want to be part of a club" that finally brings back silverware to the Emirates. That priority is far more concrete than an ill defined abstraction such as biggest club in the world. Which is why you have to respect RVP. Whatever the reasons, I am glad that Ade is gone. I also acknowledge his extra-ordinary 2007-2008 season which helped the Gunners mount a serious challenge for the Premiership title. Unmistakable talent, questionable commitment. With Tevez, its the opposite. Whatever it is, Mark Hughes has his hands full.

With a spending spree over £80 million this season, Manchester City have shown their ambition - they want to break this "Top 4" and plan to do so, with a shower of new forward players being bought. The strong, determined and talented Tevez will add to the height power of Santa Cruz and Adebayor, while the pace of Robinho and Bellamy will be crucial.

However, as you analyse Man City's first team, you notice a large fraction of the first team are strikers or forwards, admittedly Robinho, Bellamy and Bojinov can play as wingers - but that still leaves over 5 strikers to fight for that one striker position (or two, or even three, depending how City play this upcoming season).

This blog entry is aimed to inform you on the strengths and weaknesses of each Man City's forwards and how they will contribute to Mark Hughes's team this upcoming season.

Emmanuel Adebayor

Strengths: Excellent in the air, capable of scoring super goals out of nothing, very strong.

Weaknesses: Inconsistent, Lacks Commitment, Can often "go missing" in games.

Craig Bellamy

Strengths: Incredibly quick, can be used as an impact substitution and change a game.

Weaknesses: Where to begin... inconsistency, problems off the pitch, huge injury problems are just a few to name.

Roque Santa-Cruz

Strengths: Good understanding of where to be when he doesn't have the ball, great finisher, great in the air, can hold the ball up very well.

Weaknesses: Not a great dribbler, sometimes his efforts are minimized when against great defenders.

Carlos Tevez

Strengths: Very good shooter (long range or short range, it doesn't matter), extremely determined - always chasing lost balls.

Weaknesses: Incredibly hard to find a weakness in Tevez's game, due to his natural talent, great physique and excellent determination to succeed, on his day, Tevez can be trouble for anyone.

Ched Evans

Strengths: A touch of Pippo Inzaghi in Ched Evans - you don't know why he's playing at a team like Manchester City until you see him play, naturally talented and has a good pass on him, not selfish on the ball.

Weaknesses: Lacks stamina to last 90 minutes, not strong enough either.

Felipe Caicedo

Strengths: Physically (strength) he is up there with Adebayor, great in the air as well. Has a knack of scoring some beautiful goals, check out the one below - Henry-esque from Caicedo.

Weaknesses: Still growing in talent; his technique, understanding of football and his fitness all need to be improved in order for him to be a top-class striker.

Valeri Bojinov

Strengths: Bojinov has been unlucky to sustain two serious injuries (which have kept him out for more than two years since he arrived) which could potentially decrease his chance of being a top-level striker, Bojinov has an eager eye for goal - he can dribble very well and shoot with power.

Weaknesses: Injuries, very injury-prone.

Robinho

Strengths: Excellent dribbling ability, excellent passing ability too - he can be the one that is threading the passes/crosses to Adebayor or Santa Cruz to finish.

Weaknesses: Very, very weak, often when away from home. Robinho does not play very well.

Benjani

Strengths: Incredible work rate, puts 100% into all of his games, has a good finish on him.

Weaknesses: Just not enough all-round quality, he isn't a top-4 team striker - he's good, but he won't score 30 league goals a season.

Michael Owen scored a winning goal against a Malaysian side that mounted a comeback after Rooney and Nani put them through.

Van Der Saar and then his replacement Ben Foster made it interesting by giving away two goals. This set up Owen who substituted Rooney in the second half and volleyed home in his second attempt. Sir Alex was happy with his effort:

Regarding Owen, Ferguson said: 'He's different from our other players, he's always searching for space, he's always in and around the box. He reacted well for his goal.'

Owen was also pleased with his performance:

He was also delighted to grab a first goal for United, adding: 'It's a nice feeling and it's nice to play a game in the red shirt. Just to get off the mark for the season is nice, and it's probably doubly good for me as it's my first game as well.'

New kids on the Chelsea Block James Ashton,Billy Clifford,Aziz Deen-Conteh,Bobby Devyne,Rohan Ince,Billy Knott,Milan Lalkovic,Josh McEachran,Philipp Prosenik,Anton Rodgers,Ben Sampayo and George Saville participate in the traditional dance initiation ceremony.Billy Knott won by doing a wall climbing dance move that Spiderman would have found hard to pull off.

The Pharaohs perform namaz after their win against Italy

Blatter was very critical of the Seleccao for huddling together in prayer after they won the Confederations Cup final against the USA. He called their gesture "a danger" and said there was "no room for religion in soccer."

Blatter also promised he would prohibit any kind of religious expression during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He might want to pull up Egypt's team too if he wants to appear even handed. For the record as this comment points out, it would be impossible circumventing the myriad religious symbols in football without irrevocably changing its identity.

Beckham gets a fake money shower and boo - quets as MLS fans let him know what they think of him.

The Spanish media is all over this. Inter get Samuel Eto'o, Hleb on loan and €40 million in cash.

Wait! Samuel Eto'o who was running neck to neck with Diego Forlan for the Pichichi and was Barca's top scorer this season is at a conservative estimate half the value of Zlatan Ibrahamovic? Wasn't it just the other day that City was offering him £200,000 in weekly wages which would make him one of the most expensive footballers in the world?

Don't get me wrong Ibrahamovic is a great player but Eto'o is not chopped liver. A player who has never scored less than 17 goals even in an injury curtailed season. This year he scored 34 goals. Both are the same age but Samuel Eto'o has done more for his club than Ibrahamovic.

From a CL perspective, this deal is a no brainer. The Nerrazurri are desperate to make a mark in the upper echelons of European football. So far they have come up woefully short. Eto'o's CL goal scoring exploits are far superior than Ibrahimovic. In 21 appearances the Swede has scored an anemic 6 goals for Inter. In comparison, Eto'o has 34 CL appearances with a much healthier 16 goals for Barca. None bigger than the one that he scored against Man Utd in this year's CL final which helped them win the title. In actuality, it should be Inter paying money for Eto'os services rather than the other way around.

FIFA rejects calls to ban the wind instrument.

"It's been compared to a deafening swarm of wasps. Or a herd of flatulent elephants."

How about we will never have to suffer through Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan's whingeing drivel?

For all those naysayers who think SA is going to be a crime haven, the vuvuzela will be the perfect crime stopper. One blast of the vuvuzela and the robber will be gone. If not, you can whack him in the knees with one. They make fantastic drinking funnels and with some modifications would make great hookahs. Drunk and stoned. What more can one ask for?

I predict that when everything is done and over with, the tourists will have bought up every single vuvuzela there is to take back home. So get vuvuzealous!

For everything and anything vuvuzelas >>

Carlos Tevez is riding a high. He is also Napoleonic.

Tevez has been in the news lately for hitting back at Sir Alex for claiming that the Argentinian did not return his calls which were made to persuade him to remain at Old Trafford. Tevez said that his former boss never contacted him.

"I was there for two years and Sir Alex never called or sent any text messages in that time."

"It doesn't seem that this is the way to treat a player in two years at the club. it doesn't seem there is a line of communication.''

Fresh from that twisted story, here is another one. The City striker claims that Real contacted him and made an offer but there was no agreement. With Real having lined up Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema in short order and maybe more to come, it is understandable that Mr Tevez might be feeling a little left out from the center of gravity.

"There were talks about deals and agreements but in the end it was only City. They showed lots of interest in me and are intent on growing and signing big players."

So Tevez spurned Real and that is why they signed Cristiano Ronaldo. Which means Mark Hughes has to feed this man's ego. I give him two years at the Eastlands.

Sepp Blatter has irked the Vatican with his condemnation of the Seleccao huddling together for prayer after their victory over the USA in the Confederations Cup finals.

He called their gesture "a danger" and said there was "no room for religion in soccer." Blatter has also promised he would prohibit any kind of religious expression during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

I thought soccer was above religion, nay, it is religion itself. Blatter is micromanaging again. You can't police such personal expressions and it is counterproductive. You can't go after every player signing off the cross everytime he enters the pitch or kissing his crucifix. Kaka tore of his jersey to reveal "I belong to Jesus" written on his undergarment. A bit over the top but he did what he felt deeply about.

What about other modes of expression? Once you get to this sort of policing then every type of expression is subject to censure. The Iranian players who wore green armbands in their match against South Korea were expressing their solidarity with Mir Hossein Mousavi, who was defeated by Mahmoud Ahmadenijad in an election that is widely acknowledged as rigged.

How about those vuvuzelas? South Africa's way of blowing off steam. It is part of their sporting and cultural heritage. Many have written about how irritating and distracting those contraptions are. But that is the fabric of soccer, its richness in texture and hue of colour that makes it so compelling. It is like a Hereke carpet that changes colour when you look at it from a different angle. Soccer is and will always be one of the truest indicators of the cultural, religious, and political mores of a country. I may not personally care for the Iraqi team performing namaz on the pitch after winning a match but it is an action that should be celebrated not condemned.

The danger is when public money is used. FIFA should step in if the CBF is using funds to evangelize players or hold religious camps. Those are the systemic changes that FIFA should protect against.

The shorter and rounder one.However,despite being both those things,he is still keeping up with his taller and leaner namesake as far as goal scoring prowess is concerned and proving to be head and shoulders above the competition while he is at it.Both the goals came off headers."Some incredible things are happening" is what he had to say afterwards.The two goals in seven minutes in the first half helped Corinthians beat Sport 4-3.

The Man Utd Supporters Trust (MUST) have seized on Sir Alex's statement that there will be no more summer transfers to demand that the club's owners use the £80m generated from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, £25m saved on Carlos Tevez and the £3.5m for Frazier Campbell to Sunderland into slashing season ticket prices.

With more than £100m from these transfers it could translate into a hefty reduction. Man Utd was the only Premiership club to raise ticket prices by £1 more per game for an average increase of 5% in season ticket prices. Their crosstown rivals City are slashing prices by 7%.

MUST vice chair Sean Bones said:

"However, if no new player is purchased then we feel that the money not used from the sales and savings should go towards reducing season ticket prices and stadium expansion.

"By all accounts the deal to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid was agreed last year so why then have the owners seen fit to increase season ticket prices? They've increased them when all the other main clubs have frozen theirs."

Fair enough. Ronaldo was bought by Man Utd when it was a plc before Malcolm Glazer took over the club in 2005 and through their investment vehicle Red Football Ltd, de-listed it from the London Stock Exchange to transform it into a private entity. Essentially Ronaldo was bought by public money and the supporters have every right to demand how they want to spend the proceeds from his transfer. A point made by Mr Bones in his message to the Glazers.

Phil McNulty gets it right:

" As far as the Adebayor deal is concerned, the main fear among Arsenal's following is not that the deal will be completed, but that it might collapse."

Here is a worrying sign that the deal may not be going as planned.

Hearing Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan's drivel on FSC was enough to make Beckham's re-entry less painful. I could not decide between the two for a long time till I heard Sullivan's summation of Beckham's performance after he struggled to put two passes together in 70 minutes as "simple, smart, and intelligent."

Everything clicked then. These two are the most clueless commentators in the game at present anywhere in the world. I wonder what planet Sullivan was living on. Beckham could not have been more useless if he were an insensate drunk laying on the pitch with an old man prodding his gonads with his cane. In the hour and more his name was called probably a half dozen times and when it was, it was because of a series of pointless crosses and cheap giveaways. Sullivan of course called it "subtleties." At that very point Beckham gave the ball away to Nick Zimmerman and the midfielder schooled the absentee with very subtle ball skills.

The problem with all this droning and prescriptive patter, " they should do this and that" and "Miglioranzi is not going anywhere no matter who comes in" and "I know Leandro Cuffre and he is no mama's boy" is that it has no bearing on the game. What you saw was a Red Bulls team that actually maintained throughout the match, a marked edge in midfield superiority, sadly undone by three superlative strikes. But in Bretos and Sullivan's mind Donovan, Miglioranzi, and Beckham took over the field like a cheap suit. It reveals a quintessential US trope towards winning, the team that wins also dominates. Even if the game shows otherwise. When the Red Bulls went on a long spell of ball control in the second half, Sullivan after 10 minutes of it said LA was playing to plan and maintaining possession.

Chris Birchall who subbed Beckham looked much sharper and so did Mike Magee. But these two clowns would only call them luxuries that Arena could afford off the bench with Beckham as the starter. Magee has been very good and with Beckham short of match practice how about challenging that conventional wisdom? But these jokers can't get away from the voices in their heads.

Bretos was priceless when he said, "Beckham made a seamless transition". The camera panned over to a slowly exiting Beckham with a decidedly grim and disgruntled look on his face. He then sat on the bench grimacing with ice packs around his ankle. It was anything but a seamless transition. At some point of time after the Galaxy had put the result beyond doubt he called the match " a great launching pad" which got me wondering what their three prior wins were. A damp squib? Bruce Arena was called " a mad genius". Arena wears a beard and a smock with his right ear cut off and mutters to himself as he wields a paintbrush under the hot Arles sun. And yes, Don McLean wrote "Starry Starry Night" with Bruce Arena in mind.

The way the game played out brings us back to the bottom line. Do the Galaxy need Beckham to make the playoffs? None of the goals that were scored even came close to a whiff of his foot. The closest was Donovan's second goal because of Berhalter's great hustle following a New York clearance of a Beckham corner. The Galaxy are doing it with good, solid defense and stout goal keeping. On the attacking end Donovan, Lewis, and Buddle are keeping things humming.

You can share more Bretos bon mots at this FB group. Did anyone think that Todd Grisham cut a lonely figure at halftime? Where were the analysts for this big game? They could have gone for Bobby McMahon and Keith Costigan.

Nistelrooy caused a lot of heartburn to the Italian team when he scored what looked to be a clearly offside goal against them in Euro 2008.There was however an injured Italian player lying behind the line when the goal was scored.Fierce controversy then followed over whether Nistelrooy was onside because of this player or not.Several unkind and totally unnecessary equine comparisions (inevitable when Nistelrooy is the subject of the discussion) were also made.FIFA has now stepped in at last to save the day.
The old offside Law read: When an offside offence occurs the referee awards an indirect free kick to be taken from the position of the offending player when the ball was last played to him by one of his teammates.
If a defending player steps behind his own goal line in order to place an opponent in an offside position, the referee must allow play to continue and caution the defender for deliberately leaving the field of play without the referee's permission when the ball is next out of play.
The amendment to the law makes it clear that from now on, any defending player leaving the field of play without the referee's permission shall be deemed to be still in play for the purposes of determining whether an attacker can be adjudged to be in an offside position.Thus Nistelrooy like situations will be open and shut cases and there will be no more horsing around.Whoops there's the equine comparision creeping in again..

The amendment to Law 11 reads: When an offside offence occurs the referee awards an indirect free kick to be taken from the position of the offending player when the ball was last played to him by one of his teammates.
Any defending player leaving the field of play for any reason without the referee's permission shall be considered to be on his own goal line or touch line for the purposes of offside until the next stoppage in play. If the player leaves the field of play deliberately, he must be cautioned when the ball is next out of play.
Other amendments to some other laws can be viewed here..

The Red Bulls are so abject now that they really do not care if Beckham shows up today. They are desperate for a win. So this match played almost two years to the day will seem like a distant memory to Juan Pablo Angel who went toe to toe with David Beckham. His thoughts on Becks return:

"He's been here a couple of times already," Juan Pablo Angel said of Beckham. "I don't really care about what they bring, what they really do. I'm more concerned about what we do to change things around here."

The Red Bulls meet the LA Galaxy at Giants Stadium at 8PM. The game will be telecast on Fox Sports Channel.

Bruce Arena returns to his old digs.

Mike Magee, Todd Dunivant, and Dema Kovalenko all played for the Red Bulls.

There are a number of players who grew up in the New York area. Veteran defender Gregg Berhalter grew up in Tenafly, NJ and attended St Benedicts High School along with Claudio Reyna. Alecko Eskandrian is a Montvale, NJ native and was a standout at Bergen Catholic. Edson Buddle was raised in New Rochelle and also played for the Red Bulls. Stefani Miglioranzi is from Port Chester, N.Y,and won an NCAA championship at St. John's University.

As the video shows Cruzeiro was in command in most of the first half with Kleber being a handful down the left. But the Pincharratas kept absorbing the pressure and even when they went a goal down they managed to effect a turnaround in the second half as Cruzeiro seemingly ran out of gas and become disorganized and sloppy. It was the Argentinian side's fourth Libertadores title and their first after 39 years.

That is some alternate world thinking. Does this man remember that Sir Alex threw a shoe at him for giving less than his best? The breakdown in relationship led to his Real transfer. If Beckham had done what he is doing at the Galaxy, he would have had fans tear him another orifice. The European leagues are far more unforgiving.

What needs to fortify is an assumption that the Galaxy can probably work well without Beckham. They are already showing signs of doing just that. It might be the best course of action since his plans lie elsewhere.

He is pursuing another Milan spell and has not ruled out a Premiership return most likely Chelsea because of the Ancelotti connection. Fabio Capello has stated that match experience in the European leagues is a prerequisite for an England recall. There itself is the death knell of the MLS makeover promised by Alexi Lalas and Tim Leiwecke. It is a conundrum. On one hand you want to lure foreign superstars in their prime to the MLS; on the other hand the coaches of those national teams are saying that the experience is worthless when it comes time to choose the squad. The MLS has to do a better job refining its search.

More Beckham:

He said: "What I've done for the league so far has been very successful, I've had a successful effect on the game here.

"You know, there are eight new franchises coming into the league, new stadiums going up (and) attendances, wherever we've played as a team."

"If you look at the attendances we have had throughout the seasons, there's not many Premiership (teams) that get the average attendance that we've had, excluding Manchester United and Arsenal and teams like that."

Those franchise expansions were already in the works before Beckham arrived. And yes, he did drive up attendances in the beginning with the 60,000 fans that showed up at Giants stadium to see the Galaxy play the Red Bulls two years ago as a watershed moment. But missing the playoffs three times in a row proved a drag on attendances. They declined quite markedly. I can bet you that Burnley, the smallest Premiership club will exceed that average figure by far. So if Beckham is talking about a revolution, it has happened on its own and not by him proving to be a transformational figure.

Its a pressure cooker when you are a country's most recognized superstar. And Adebayor is known as the King of Arsenal in his home country of Togo. The country only sells football jerseys bearing the name Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor. Being a superstar allows you to get away with a lot.

In one example, Adebayor refused to board a plane for a World Cup qualifier against Zambia because he feared the plane would crash. He then said that he would go only if the Togo FA chief made the trip.

Adebayor said: "My life is very dear to me and, if we have to go down, we'll all go down together with the president.

"There are rumours that, if we get on, the aircraft will go down."

In the end the team left without Adebayor with the FA chief refusing to go because of a family bereavement.

The Guardian is reporting that Adebayor's Man City transfer is being delayed and that the medical exam has been postponed because the player is so concerned that he will be perceived as greedy with the lure of a £150,000 weekly wage the only reason to sign up with a lesser known club and away from a more honoured name like Milan, his first choice.

Adebayor is engaging in some PR work to find out how this move is playing out in Togo. His popularity has dipped with Arsenal fans and this has not gone unnoticed there. These perceptions can harden with incidents like the one above and portrayals of the player as arrogant and greedy can become distractions especially if you are taking on the country's football hierarchy and have become an inspirational figure to a generation of young players with similar aspirations.

However Adebayor seems to be overly sensitive to this issue as Samuel Eto'o, Michael Essien, and Didier Drogba all iconic players for their countries and with similarly high wages do not seem to be spending time worrying that their country will think less of them. Eto'o was also lured to City with an offer that would make him the highest paid player in the world but there was no talk about how that was playing out in Cameroun.

Their first Libertadores title in 39 years. It was a come from behind win as Henrique lashed a shot that took a deflection of a Estudiantes defender and beat Andujar to put Cruzeiro up by a goal in the 52' minute.

But Juan Sebastian Veron in one of his magical moments laid a perfect outlet to Rodrigo Brana who caught up to the ball running onto his right. The winger then put in a perfect cross in the 57' minute which saw a slow reacting Cruzeiro defense catch up too late to Gaston Fernandez who tapped the ball past Fabio for the equalizer. In the 72' minute, Mauro Boselli got to the ball first to head home a swinging Veron corner.

Cruzeiro looked disjointed after a bright first half as Estudiantes soaked up the pressure. La Pincharratas looked like the fresher team in the second half and controlled the ball with increasing confidence and authority. It became harder for the Brazilians to mount a coherent attack as the Estudiantes defenders like Schiavi, Desabato and Cellay closed down the gaps quickly. The absence of an actual playmaker became obvious as Kleber came up short. Alejandro Sabella seems to have taken some coaching tip from Osvaldo Piazza's Velez win over Cruzeiro in the 1996 Supercopa Sudamericana championships.

Boselli became the top scorer of the 2009 Libertadores with eight goals. Juan Sebastian Veron was the player of the match. And in one of the most satisfying moments for the team, Carlos Bilardo was at hand to see his old club win. He was part of the legendary group of players that won three Copa Libertadores titles in a row from 1968 to 1970 and put Estudiantes on the international map.

Felipe Melo passed his medical examination and will begin training on July 22. He agreed to a five year contract and his transfer cost Juventus € 25 million. From the Juventus website:

"I am very happy to have joined Juventus and can't wait to start working. I believe very much in this team that was reinforced and that can compete with anybody in an attempt to reach all the goals in Italy and in Europe."

He should be a perfect foil to the attacking instincts of fellow Brazilians, Diego and Amauri. With his move and Diego's installation Juventus should be considered a serious challenger for the Scudetto next season. I think the dismissive Zero Tituli will come to an end.

Cruzeiro's formidable Mineirão stadium: Home to 70,000 fans

Only two Argentinian teams have won in Cruzeiro's fabled stadium in the last 34 years. Boca and Velez.

Alejandro Sabella, Estudiantes manager might want to use Osvaldo Piazza's tactics that won Velez their match in the 1996 Supercopa Sudamericana. The recipe will be similar to Guus Hiddink's ploy of putting as many defenders behind the ball and clog up the passing lanes which proved so effective against Barca in the first leg of this years CL semi-finals.

Piazza put men behind the half line who patiently soaked up the Cruzeiro onslaught. This wait and watch approach paid dividends off as an exhausted Cruzeiro increasingly relinquished the ball leading to mistakes. One of them cost them the game as Omar Asad was fouled in the box and Jose Luis Chilavert stepped up to score a penalty.

Estudiantes could employ the same tactics and hold Cruzeiro at bay for 20-30 minutes and then start finding ways to attack. As Piazza said it "We must overcome the euphoria of the 60,000 fans who will not stop screaming and jumping." The Argentinian club is not obligated to win; the Cup can be decided by penalty shootout.

...that being a goalkeeper is a thankless job.A floating free kick from 40 yards out makes it into the goal because a jumpy defender didn't jump high enough.

The latest in a long series of books which include at least 16 books and counting ...

John Hartson, the former Arsenal striker who this week was diagnosed with testicular cancer with metastasis to the brain and now lungs, underwent emergency neurosurgery to relieve pressure on his brain. The Swansea hospital he was operated in released this statement:

"He is currently being cared for by the critical care team at Morriston and is receiving round-the-clock care aiming to stabilise his condition. Unfortunately, cancer has now also been diagnosed in his lungs.

"He will resume radiotherapy and chemotherapy as soon as possible."

Hartson, the Luton Town sensation joined Arsenal in 1995 on a record transfer fee of £2.5 million for a teenager. He was signed on by George Graham a month before the Arsenal manager was sacked. With his physical strength and desire to win he was fairly successful in his first season scoring 7 goals in 15 appearances. But with Bruce Rioch and then Wenger preferring to pair Bergkamp as the second striker to Ian Wright, the starting opportunities dried up and he was transferred to West Ham in 1997 with Anelka due to arrive. In all he appeared 62 times and scored 16 goals.

His greatest moment with the club came when he scored the equalizer in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners Cup final against Zaragoza. The match ended with a 2-1 loss as Zaragoza scored a last gasp winner in extra time to become CWC champions.

Hartson went onto becoming a Celtic hero with his goal scoring exploits in particular against Rangers. He was also much appreciated as a honest, plain spoken pundit for now defunct Setanta Sports. He also represented Wales and scored 15 goals in 52 appearances.

His battle against cancer rallied the sporting fraternity which includes cycling great and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong taking a moment off from the Tour De France to offer his support for Hartson. "We're all thinking about you, John."

Arsenal also released a statement:

"Everyone at Arsenal Football Club would like to take this opportunity to wish John, together with his family and friends, all the very best in the challenging times that lie ahead. Our thoughts are with you."

Patrick Vieira pumped after scoring against Spurs in the 2001 FA Semi-finals

If you are a Gunners fan then this reported move by Vieira to Spurs is effectively a stab in the back. But at age 33, the stab is more like a pinprick.

The key factor is that Vieira himself has given assurances that he would be able to weather the wrath to Hary Redknapp. Everyone knows after nine years of his leaving Spurs for Arsenal, Sol Campbell still suffers at the hands of unforgiving zealots. The saving grace is that unlike Campbell who continued his form even after moving to Arsenal, Vieira is well past that stage. He is desperate for first squad duty which have been rare under Mourinho and is willing to take a massive pay cut to make that happen even if it means going to the Spurs. However it will be difficult to displace Wilson Palacios.

The consensus appears to be that Redknapp is angling more for his leadership qualities rather than actual performance. The other factor is whether Mourinho would let him go on a free transfer. If he does then Viera will become only the 13th player to move between these two clubs.

The Daily Mail has an article on the 13 players who moved between these clubs and concludes what is obvious, Spurs to Arsenal was a better career move.

Vieira was an ardent foe of Spurs and in 17 matches against Tottenham during his 10 years with Arsenal only lost once, scoring five goals.

Arsenal transfer rumours are once again abuzz.

It has brought back Edin Dzeko and Klaas Jan Huntelaar in the picture. Marouane Chamakh has already been mentioned as a possible replacement.

Then there is Demba Ba of Hoffenheim. He was Vedad Ibisevic's hunting partner and his 14 goals in 33 appearances helped the newly promoted club to a surprising 7th place finish. His Stuttgart deal has collapsed and he might be looking for a new club. According to the Daily Mail article, Arsenal have been following his career avidly. At 6'3" he is physically imposing, very strong yet fleet of foot. This is how Ralf Ragnick, Hoffenheim's coach describes him.

The 1.90 metre, 84 kilo heavy Ba encompases everything needed for a soccer player - ease and force, bulk and quickness, physique and elegance; crowbar and creativity - almost a mix between a gazelle and a cabinet. "Demba is a rangy guy but has loads of power as well," said Rangnick.

Ragnick is a coach in the Wenger mold. He is also called the professor because of his reliance on diagrams as a TV commentator. Hoffenheim played his brand of attacking and up tempo football as players relied on few touches to drive up the pitch. He also brought in a diverse cast of fast and powerful players through extensive scouting across the world. Demba Ba should have an easier transition at Arsenal having being schooled in a similar sort of philosophy.

Ba also had a brief five month stint at Watford at age 18, so he does have a taste of English League football before moving onto second division Bundesliga club Hoffenheim in 2007 via the French and Belgian leagues.

Hoffenheim is where his career really took off and his 12 goals in his first season helped this small club located in a village with a population of little over 3000 to a historical first ever promotion to the top league. His transfer fee was 2.75 million euros. This of course must have gone up considerably with his goal scoring exploits but with the money from the Adebayor transfer we should be able to afford him leaving a substantial surplus.

His club stats >>

Examples of his creativity here and here

The big story is that Donovan and Beckham have talked things over and things appear to have been patched up. He is to make his 2009 debut against the Red Bulls on July 16th. But the irony is that the club appears to be doing quite well without him.

The Galaxy have struck a purple patch with Edson Buddle, Landon Donovan, Todd Dunivant, and Mark Magee at the forefront.

Magee, the attacking midfielder who led the Red Bulls to last years playoffs has remained healthy enough to find his form taking over as playmaker, already recording 5 assists and on pace with Beckham's 2008 assist total of ten at the halfway stage. Of those five, two have resulted in game winning goals. In comparison for all of Beckham's 2008 assist output, only one won them a match. Even Landon Donovan had more with three game winning assists.

The Galaxy have won three straight against teams that have had their way with them beating the Houston Dynamo, New England, and Super Clasico rivals Chivas. Each one of these wins came through a different player. Todd Dunivant header lead them to a win over the Dynamo, recently acquired striker Alecko Eskandrian came up big against New England, and then it was Edson Buddle's turn to shoot down Chivas.

More importantly than finding a way to score goals has been the Galaxy's new found ability to retain that lead through some stellar goal keeping by back up goalie Josh Saunders and the revamped back line led by Bundesliga player Gregg Berhalter and Todd Dunivant of Toronto FC, who returned to the club where he had a standout season in 2005 playing every minute. The two veterans join two rookies to complete the Galaxy's back four.

The Galaxy's two Terrapins in central defense Omar Gonzalez and AJ DeLaGarza acquired in the 2009 draft chosen have come into their own. Bruce Arena has been very impressed with their effort.

"I thought Omar Gonzalez was a monster. I thought he had a terrific game," said Arena, who also praised A.J. DeLaGarza. "It's good to see those young players improving. They got beat up and got their noses bloodied a little bit in the beginning of the year but I think these experiences have been positive ones for them."

The club's improved defensive performance has resulted in only 18 goals given up, the biggest turnaround from last season when the Galaxy could not hold onto any lead as the opposition racked up 62 goals. The attack is also showing signs of life with Donovan's return, Eskandrian's introduction and Edson Buddle heating up. Many more goals are likely to come. Beckham brings his undoubted crossing abilities but in this Galaxy team that finally seems to be playing team defense with every player tracking back, Beckham's equally well known defensive liabilities will be unwelcome.

Iraq beat Palestine 4 - 0 in the first game they were able to play at home after 6 long years of relentless strife.Iraq last played a home game on 22 July 2002, when they beat Syria 2-1 in Baghdad.In a symbolic celebration of this return of the game from exile,scores of white doves were released shortly before the kick off.Hope after all is the thing with feathers. The doves swirled around the stadium,unwilling to leave and finally heavily armed soldiers had to shoo them off the pitch.Parts of Iraq may now be safe enough to host a foreign team but the Palestinians' home is not. Like the Iraqi side until this game, their players have look for safer places than their homeland to play in.For those who wait for peace to return to a land long bereft of it moments like these bring hope.May there be more games - many,many more.

Sir Alex reveals that he was a chef in his formative years.

Somehow the thought of Sir Alex pacing up and down around the kitchen as you eat his steak tartare is a bit disturbing. And those sharp implements. "Shush ye gob, laddy aboo' me steak or 'fore lang I'll cut off ye pinkie."

I am glad he is on a different set of sidelines.

City fans are in full throat gloat mode.

He was receiving the MLS champions Columbus Crew at a White House reception to honour their achievements and got to show off his skills. For the record he actually seemed to know the club and its players.

He singled out Schmid for being coach of the year, Guillermo Barros Schelotto's league MVP award and three assists in the MLS Cup win against New York and praised 2008 MLS defender of the Year Chad Marshall, who along with midfielder Robbie Rogers and Evans took a day off from the U.S. national team's preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Espanyol Barca derby may prove to much more interesting with former Celtic playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura joining Espanyol. He was unveiled today in front of 6000 fans. He said he would have to be mentally and physically faster to compete in the more demanding Spanish league.

We can expect a duel between Nakamura and Iniesta although the Japanese at 31 years of age is off his peak while Iniesta continues to grow into one of the world's best attacking midfielders.

He joined the Liga side on a two year contract spurning a J- League return to his home team of Yokohama Marinos.

The much anticipated meeting between Valencia's president Manuel Llorente and Jose Luis Tamargo, David Villa's agent took place yesterday. Llorente reiterated his desire to see Villa continue playing for Valencia for another season but it appears that Villa though his agent has expressed his desire to leave the Mestalla for the Nou Camp immediately.

If Barca is interested in landing Villa then they will have to pay Valencia 50-55 million euros for his services. That is the "scandalously outrageous price" that Llorente is demanding.

Former Arsenal man Freddie Ljungberg has been selected to the MLS All Star first XI. He and Kasey Keller represent the Seattle Sounders, who continue to be the story this season with their passionate fan base and the team's display. This is their debut All Star appearance.

They will play Everton FC at Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Real Salt Lake on July 29th.

The balloting threw up some interesting numbers. The fans, the media, the players, and the coaches were allocated 25% each.

There was no doubt about Guillermo Barros Schelotto of the Crew who ran away with the votes in almost all categories, except in fans.

In Ljungberg's case it was Seattle's passionate fans and media that made the difference which offset his average numbers with coaches and players. Shalrie Joseph (Revs) and Stuart Holden (Dynamo) outscored him in these two categories substantially while losing out on an indifferent fan base. In fact, all of Seattle's nominees were beneficiaries of the media and fans voting blocs.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Fire) just got beaten out of the starting XI due to his very poor player numbers. His violent altercation last year with Clyde Simms of DC United seems to have reinforced the perception of a volatile player. On the other hand he seems to have benefited from the Spanish media who find him a hero and his controversies compelling.

2009 MLS All-Star First XI

Goalkeeper: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)*

Defenders: Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)*, Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire)*, Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)*

Midfielders: Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo)*, Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution) Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC)*, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)

Forwards: Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids)*, Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

* Denotes first selection to the MLS All-Star Team

When Cristiano Ronaldo was sold for 80m, one of the mitigating reasons was that the money would be used to buy big name players to offset the effect of his loss. Players like Franck Ribery and David Villa were mentioned as replacements.

The club then decided to change the policy and not sign any more players over 26 years as with advancing age the resale value would drop sharply at the end of a five or six year contract. That is why Man Utd was interested in Karim Benzema, as he was 21 years of age. At the end of a five year contract, Benzema would be 26 years, considered an age when football players peak and if sold, would command a substantial resale value like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Dimitar Berbatov was the last of the 'old boys' let in before the new policy was put into place this season. The Ribery offer was not true the club insisted even as Bayern Munich mentioned United as one of the clubs interested. Karim Benzema did not show up. Man Utd's Brazil relationship poaching talent has come for some stinging criticism from Carlos Alberto who hit out by saying that the club was 'raping Brazilian football.'

Now, Sir Alex says that there are to be no more summer signings. The explanation is the club already have a squad that can challenge for an unprecedented fourth Premiership in a row. Michael Owen will wear Cristiano Ronaldo's number 7.

My feeling is that Sir Alex has some 21 year olds in his squad that have disappointed in their present development and that his focus will be to make sure that their potential is realized. Nani and Anderson are the two major signings that have not gone as planned.

They were groomed to take over Scholes and Giggs. Especially Anderson, who was considered a huge talent with his attacking instincts at Gremio has been increasingly pushed to clean up duties at the back and is yet to score for Man Utd after two seasons. Nani, whose considerable talent is overshadowed by his selfishness and wastefulness has been an ineffective scoring threat. If the 26 year cut off that Man Utd has instituted has to come to fruition, then Sir Alex needs to start working on Anderson and Nani.

There is no point in adding more players if the present squad has players who have not lived up to expectations. Partly this has to do with the great distorting effect that Cristiano Ronaldo wrought on the positions and roles of other players. With his departure there might be a correction. If that is the case then Sir Alex needs no more players which seems to be his calculation.

Adebayor could be at the Eastlands next season

Adebayor maybe leaving the Emirates finally.

The Carlos Tevez transfer is in the bag but City wants to add Emmanuel Adebayor to its complement of eight strikers for more firepower. They have offered Arsenal more than £20 million and Ade £150,000 a week in wages.

A good deal and one that should give Wenger some cash to splash on a replacement in Marouane Chamakh as well as a quality holding midfielder.

Talks are progressing at a rapid pace after City failed to land Samuel Eto'o. With City's deep pockets, if Arsenal dig in they could get the full £25 million for Adebayor.

What does this mean for City? They get a striker who if he is on top of his game can score 30 goals like he did for Arsenal in the 2007-2008 season. But Adebayor's work rate and finishing touch can be frustrating to fans. He disappears against physical defenses. He does not have an overpowering outside shot, most of his goals are scored through dinks and deflections.

This season will be the acid test for Mark Hughes. If City signs John Terry and Joleon Lescott as planned then they have a squad that should immediately challenge for the Premiership. At minimum they should be able to achieve a CL spot. There are doubts that Hughes will be the most effective person to manage this amount of talent.

Those who follow Soccerblog know that we have been very critical of David Beckham's MLS move, expressing our doubts that it would work which so far have borne true.

But we also see why Landon Donovan proves now and again that he is a poor sportsman. Whether it is his comments about Giuseppe Rossi after the Italy game or this dust up with Beckham.

There is an unspoken rule followed in sports. If there is a problem with a current team mate, don't go ratting to a third party especially a reporter about it. Donovan should have communicated his concerns to Beckham directly and if that was not possible at that time, then Bruce Arena should have been taken into confidence. Especially if one cares about a team as much as Donovan claims to with regards to the Galaxy. Yes, a lot of this criticism is very valid and Beckham should be held accountable but Donovan was out of line with who he decided on to air these comments. Calling him a fierce competitor puts too much shine on what I suspect was a desire to show up Beckham than any real effort at preserving team unity.

I fully support Beckham's hitting back at Donovan calling him unprofessional. That is exactly what he is with these comments.

Lets also call it a day on Beckham's MLS career. He wants to go back to Milan again in 2010 to earn an England call up for the World Cup.

"To be involved in the World Cup and to be involved with this England squad, I have to give myself the chance to be at that top level. I'll do that personally and anything to do that. It's just saying that for the moment, this is what I need to do. It doesn't mean I'm running away from a project I believe in. I think the experiences I've had can only help this team."

No self respecting league should be in forced into such a situation. I think the Galaxy fans should make their displeasure fully known.

The goal is scored by Falcao for Brazil against Romania in the 2009 Grand Prix de Futsal.Romania lost 12-0 in their last match and this has to be one of the best goals ever scored in this version of the game.Brazil won the 16 nation tournament eventually and Falcao was named the player of the tournament.

Chelsea,AC Milan,Inter Milan and Club America are the teams taking part and the event kicks off on the 19th of July.It's been 5 years since the United States last tasted a summer football event quite like World Football Challenge.
The promo says....
Four international soccer powerhouses are coming to America this summer to compete in the inaugural World Football Challenge.
Witness soccer at its best as Chelsea's John Terry and Frank Lampard and AC Milan's Gennaro Gattuso and Ronaldinho battle it out with Inter Milan's Julio Cesar and Javier Zanetti and Club America's Pavel Pardo and Salvador Cabañas in a winner-take-all tournament!
Fixtures,venues and other info here...

Bob Bradley was a much relieved man when Holden scored a 92nd minute equaliser against Haiti.USA have extended their unbeaten streak to 25 games and are still going strong.Haiti went ahead early in the second half but Stuart Holden saved the day for USA with a truly golden goal.The fact that Holden rhymes with Golden added to the excitement among journalists who have to come up with headlines before deadlines....!

Alex Ferguson chose Denis Law and had the following to say
"Denis Law was my hero as a player. I idolized him. When I first met him I was so excited. It was at a game in Paris, he had played in the first half and we went for a cup of tea afterwards. I thought: 'This is it, I've made it, I'm having a cup of tea with Denis Law!' For me, he epitomized everything a Scotsman is about. He was daring and courageous, he had that bravado about him and he had style. He was a truly fantastic footballer."
Jonny Evans chose Roy Keane
Gary Neville chose Bryan Robson
John O'Shea chose Paul McGrath
Rio Ferdinand, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney all went for Diego Maradona.
Ryan Giggs picked Maradona but also John Barnes
Anderson chose Rivaldo and Ronaldinho
Rafael Da Silva selected Roberto Carlos
Darren Fletcher picked Fernando Redondo
Edwin van der Sar picked a fellow Dutchman, but not a goalkeeper: "I didn't really have a hero growing up but the player who stood out for me as I became older was Marco van Basten."
Ben Foster, though, chose an Old Trafford goalkeeping hero: "Peter Schmeichel
Federico Macheda named Marco van Basten and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Dimitar Berbatov named a trio of heroes: Ivan Berbatov, Marco van Basten and Alan Shearer.
Ji-sung Park said: "When I was young I looked up to Dunga, the Brazilian, as well as Korean midfielder Jung-hwan Yoon"
Danny Welbeck said: "When I was younger my hero was Thierry Henry"
Michael Carrick selected Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne and Ian Wright.
Follow up this story here.. and here

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gives President Obama a signed No 5 Jersey and the president is undoubtedly impressed.The no 5 jersey is worn by Felipe Melo, a defensive midfielder.Indian PM Manmohan Singh got the No 3 Jersey.Lucio the heart of Brazilian defence wears that shirt.Maybe that was meant to remind people that both these leaders are at the heart of the defence of their respective countries.The No.1 shirt went to President Jacob Zuma of South Africa and the No.2 shirt went to Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico.
All this action was at the meeting of the G-5 group of developing countries in Italy.Video of the presentation and President Obama's comments on USA's great game against Brazil in the Confederations Cup here..

Messi at Disney World showing Mickey Mouse the finer points of the how to balance the ball on your head trick.Mickey finds the trick a bit hard to do as his ears seem to get in the way.He finds it easier to balance the ball on his nose - something that Messi hasn't figured out how to do yet.Messi is in Disneyland as part of the preparations for the Disney Cup International Youth Soccer Tournament

Ronaldo's return to Corinthians and his success with the club has led to his popularity skyrocketing in the last three months edging out Kaka as the most popular player in Brazil.

In the last survey in March, Kaka led the table with 25.18% of the votes, topping Ronaldinho (17.50%). Ronaldo came in a distant third (6.68%).

In the present survey Ronaldo now leads the Real Madrid maestro 22.64% to 21.18%. In a sign of the times Ronaldinho's fall has been remarkable and he now has only 9.64% of the public supporting him. Kaka however is favoured by more women.

With Karim Benzema singing his praises, Ronaldo is enjoying a revival.

"Ronaldo is the greatest player in the world. He is my inspiration and every time I go on the pitch I will try to repeat what he did," said the 21-year-old French striker in tribute to the club's former star attacker.

Robinho marries long time companion Vivian after 11 years and the birth of his child Robson Jr. In attendance was manager Dunga, Brazil team mates Kaka, Julio Baptista, and Elano.

Its been 18 months since Tomas Rosicky played a match for Arsenal. That was against Newcastle in January 2008. Thereafter, he was sidelined by hamstring and knee ligament injuries.

So the good news is that the winger has rejoined the first squad in isummer training. He will compete with Theo Walcott and Samir Nasri for first squad duty if there are no additional complications.

It is almost a done deal. Felipe Melo will move to Juve as the Violas agree to a Marchionni exchange and 20 milion euros in cash. Marchionni signed a three year contract and will receive 1.3 million euros in incentives.

Arsenal missed out on a big signing. A quality holding midfielder was one of the club's priorities and Melo is undoubtedly one. They are also rare. This is a disappointing development.

The tattoo reads "Kun Aguero" in Elvish

Man Utd seems to be keen on landing Sergio "Kun" Aguero and will be willing to include Nani and Berbatov in a potential deal if the Spanish media are to be believed. He has a 60 million euros buy out clause. The latest offer for the Argentinian support striker has Nani and 40 million euros in cash for his services. The cash component goes down by half if Berbatov is included.

There are many reasons why Sir Alex would like to get one more quality striker. Berbatov so far has hardly been a powerhouse. He has 9 goals in 32 appearancesNani has been little more than a showboater.Michael Owen was the beneficiary of a free Bosman but has many questions on the fitness front. Kiki Macheda is too raw a talent.

Kun Aguero scored 17 goals this season and was 10th in a pack of heavy hitters led by Forlan, Eto'o and Villa.

If pyramids were the basis for hosting a successful World Cup then India should have been awarded the World Cup a long time ago with all that magnificent temple architecture.

Louise Taylor writes one very silly article.

It portrays a doomsday scenario for tourists travelling to SA for the World Cup. They can get robbed, raped, or murdered. Sometimes all three things happen and then to make really sure those lousy Johannesburg drivers run over you.

Taylor sings a paean to Egypt but one wonders what her reaction would have been if it was actually awarded the World Cup. Bets are that she would have brought up the stifling heat, the endless baksheesh, the nightmarish Cairo traffic and pollution, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the despotic government of Hosni Mubarak as reasons not to go. She would not have kept quiet about the hundreds of tourists who died or were left injured in a series of bombings at the Sharm El Sheikh three years ago. Then she would have wondered why FIFA had not awarded the World Cup to Australia or Spain.

Yes, crime rate is high in SA and it is one of the chief reasons that will keep more tourists from coming for the World Cup. But I am sure that SA will be a virtual police state by the time the matches begin. You take a cell phone and program the security phone numbers. Travel in a group. Bring a cricket bat. As for AIDS, it is only a problem if you as a tourist make it one. If you want to frequent a brothel make sure you bring protection or better still fly those escorts down from Amsterdam.

Look if you want European style efficiency then FIFA should spare us by not looking elsewhere otherwise these are the articles we get subjected to which peddle needless paranoia. We can write common sense articles which caution against crime and bad driving. But stop with the I wish the World Cup was going to Egypt, Morocco, Australia, or Billy Bob Thornton. SA is going to be the venue for the next World Cup whether you like it or not. . . . . .

Our hero shows up to inspire the future of US Soccer: the top 102 youth athletes selected to partcipate in the 12th Annual adidas Elite Soccer Program!

Watch Zidane fake out a defender, not once, but thrice, and score!

Nice going Z-man!

The larger and less expensive one.Ronaldo scored three times as Corinthians beat Fluminense 4-2 in a Brazilian Championship game last night.

In pristine condition.Only slightly used.The previous owner was one C Ronaldo.Unlike the Ferrari which is missing one of it's wheels - this one has all four wheels intact and they too are in pristine condition.Check here if interested.
Also going for a song is a mansion in Alderley Edge,Chesire - for a mere £4 million.
Ronaldo is also selling his Porsche 911 Carrera 2 Tiptronic S (£69,995) and Mercedes C220CDI (£10,795).Bargain prices.

Cruzeiro with goalie Fabio kept Los Pincharratas at bay and earned a crucial away draw at the Ciudad de La Plata. Juan Sebastian Veron came out strong in the first half but in a noticeable pattern ran out of steam in the second half. A Raposa came up with some very good chances in the second half to win the match through Leonardo Silva, Kleber, and Wellington but in the end they could not pull of an upset.

Match report here >>

The return leg will be played at Belo Horizonte. Cruzeiro should fancy their chances now. . .

The late introduction of Benny Feilhaber made all the difference as he began the move that led to Santino Quaranta's first international goal in the 75th minute. Four minutes later Feilhaber's quickly taken free kick found an open Steve Cherundolo. The right back swung a cross into the box and Brian Ching headed the ball in for the second goal.

The US now meet Haiti in their final group encounter and a draw will assure them of passage to the quarterfinals.

Good man. We will need him and his fervour. Just so to offset Adebayor's wishy washy commitment.

"I have been at the club for five years now and there really is a great feeling here at Arsenal," said Van Persie. "We have a top-class manager, a squad full of superb young players, a world-class stadium and brilliant supporters. Arsenal have a very bright future and I want to be part of it."

Now if he can play an injury free season, it would be awesome. Go RVP!.

Nothing can come as close to an admission of Beckham's failure to ignite US football as one of his team mates ripping him to shreds for his lack of commitment. A number of football pundits had voiced their skepticism about this move from the day he landed, including us. Yes, we have anointed ourselves as pundits. You can take it up with this blog's ombudsman.

Today, Landon Donovan who had harsh words to say of Beckham backtracked a bit in an interview with the LA Times. Not as in words came out wrong. But as in these sentiments should have been expressed to Beckham himself and not to Grant Wahl, SI's reporter who wrote The Beckham Experiment, the novel in which Donovan unloads on the superstar.

"Maybe he's not a leader, maybe he's not a captain. Fair enough. But at a minimum you should bust your ass every day. I don't think that's too much for us to expect. But that hasn't happened."

The relationship between the LA Galaxy's emotional leader and the most expensive player in MLS history began to unravel.

"At the end of the day, they didn't respect each other, they didn't like each other, they didn't talk to each other," Alexi Lalas, the Galaxy's former president and general manager, told Wahl. "And they merely tolerated each other on the field."

Donovan plans to have a man to man with Beckham and explain his side and hopefully the Englishman who went off to Milan under Carlo Ancelotti on a short term loan will patch up with him and recommit to the team on his return.

It won't happen. If it was a matter of a simple question of commitment and leadership that would be one thing but this is fundamental breach of trust because Donovan's criticism extends to Beckham making money and attracting attention which have little to do with the game. This forms the crux of the fallout.

"For people who know soccer, they know the reason he makes the money and he gets the attention is not necessarily based on soccer," he said of Beckham.

Basically Donovan is calling Beckham a fraud. He articulated what many did not want to say. A team mate saying it makes it even more damaging. A corollary to that would be, there is very little incentive for Beckham to pick up the pieces again if his raison d'etre is questionable. But Beckham is exactly that. The followers of the game know that. Not the drive bys who saw a match for the first time just to follow a media phenomenon. Beckham's desire was unmatched first at Man Utd and then at Real but his MLS relationship is an abusive one. We saw him taking advantage by disappearing to Milan. It will be hard to change that.

Arsenal seem to have fallen off the radar.

La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that Juventus is going ahead with negotiations to get the Brazilian midfielder on board and in exchange offer 20 million euros and winger Marco Marchionni to the Violas. A hitch between Juve's sports director Pantaleo Corvino and Melo's agent Bruno Carpiaggiani over Marchionni's purported value of a few hundred thousand euros needs to be sorted out.

Juventus president Cobolli Gigli said that the negotiations were going ahead but there was nothing official to report as yet. They were scheduling more meetings with the Violas. He hoped that the negotitions would prove successful in the end.

For Arsenal fans the chances of landing Melo at this stage are slim to none. Juventus seems to be in pole position. Melo has reportedly said that he likes Italy and his present club which would mean that if he had to move at all, it would be to another Italian club if the offer was good.

Its an Argentina vs Brazil final. What more can you do to stir passion?

However as Tim Vickery points out, the Copa Libertadores is looked down by many in Brazil even as the clubs fight for the final four spots in the national championships because similar to the European Championships, entry into the Copa yields big financial payoffs and a potential launching pad for players interested in an international career.

This emotionally detached mindset is a legacy left over from years of insularity bred by clubs in Brazil who considered winning state championships as paramount. This was particularly the case when Brazil was racked by hyperinflation. With monetary stability introduced with an actual currency in the mid 90s to control hyper-inflation, the clubs found that playing state championships had no financial advantage. The scramble began to qualify for the Copa Libertadores as Brazil rejoined continental football with a fervour. Clubs like Sao Paulo, Gremio, Internacional, Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro have closed the gap between them and the Argentinian clubs in the last two decades.

Today, Cruzeiro and Estudiantes meet at La Plata today in the first leg of the 2009 Copa Libertadores final. The Argentinians won three titles in a row with the last one in 1970. The present general manager of the national squad Carlos Bilardo was part of those great squads. The Brazilians achieving the same more recently in 1997.

All eyes will be on Juan Sebastian Veron, the evergreen medio who has resurrected himself a hundred times.

La Bruja or the Witch as he is called will likely start recovering from a calf injury. He was quoted as saying:

"It would change everything if we won the Libertadores. It would be huge as I grew up in this club. A win over here could make all the difference. Then we can go over there and fight."

....to avoid getting mobbed by overenthusiastic Real Madrid fans looking for autographs.

She is now Mrs Rodrigues da Silva actually.Alexandre Pato tied the knot to Brazilian actress Sthefany Brito in the church of Sao Francisco de Paulo in Rio de Janeiro.

The USA meet Honduras in their first big test in the Concacaf Gold Cup at RFK Stadium in front of a pro Honduran crowd.

Their country has been in the news lately with a military coup toppling incumbent president Manuel Zelaya and installing Roberto Micheletti, a development that President Obama condemned and the OAS threatening to sanction Honduras. These political developments overshadow a Honduran team that will be fueled by a lot of emotion.

The last match was a US 2-1 win at Soldier Field through Carlos Bocanegra's winning header. Under Reynaldo Rueda the Concacaf squad wears a new look. Only strikers Carlos Costly and Walter Martinez have substantial international experience. There is no Noel Valladares, Carlos Pavon, Amado Guevara, Ivan Guerrero, Mauricio Sabillon, Wilson Palacios, or David Suazo.

• Interestingly, Honduras was the last CONCACAF opponent to defeat the U.S. at home. Since a 3-2 loss in FIFA World Cup qualifying on Sept. 1, 2001, the U.S. is riding a 54-game unbeaten streak that includes 44 wins and 10 ties.

The US midfield looks pretty raw and untested with three players making their debut against Grenada: Stuart Holden, Brad Evans, and Logan Pause. Two others are yet to make their debut, Colin Clark and Sam Cronin. This might be one reason that Bob Bradley will start Benny Feilhaber, who was outstanding in his Confederations Cup appearances.

On why Benny Feilhaber was called into the roster for this game:

"It gives us a little bit of cover in the midfield. I think after the Confederations Cup he needed a little bit of time. And like all of these guys, we need to balance our needs with the needs of his club and the ability of the player to get back to his club at a good time so that he can earn playing time and continue to move forward. So there are a lot of different factors with all of these decisions."

In form striker Ali Gerba scores the all important goal in the 32nd minute, a deflection of Patrice Bernier shot at goal.which gave Canada a 1-0 win over El Salvador. This was Gerba's 5th goal in 4 matches for Canada.

The Canadians now only need a tie against Costa Rica to advance.to the quarterfinals..

The tough center back has joined Milan on a free Bosman transfer from his former club, Standard Liege. He was out of contract and was linked previously with Ajax.

This is the biggest move by a US player in the international arena. The news has created ripples. Here is Bob Bradley.

"It's very exciting," Bradley said of the news of Onyewu's transfer. "(Milan is) one of the great clubs in the world. Certainly, the experience that he'll get there will really be important as we move forward with our national team."

It was just a year ago and conventional wisdom had the EPL running rampant as the world's powerhouse. The challenge of playing in the world's best league would prove irresistible to players. Now, Sir Alex is turning to retreads to fill his depleted roster and Thomas Vermaelen is still proving to be the biggest signing this summer. What has forced this change?

Norman Hubbard writes a interesting article describing the reasons why the Liga has stolen a march over the Premiership. Real has obviously distorted the market with its unlimited transfer funds but that still does not fully explain why a player like Karim Benzema turned his back on Man Utd. Or why Franck Ribery's demand is Real and nothing else. Man Utd and Chelsea can come up with the cash but they are being spurned. The article focuses too much on Real but the reason lies elsewhere.

Other clubs make the Liga attractive:

It has more to do with the style that the Liga plays. Most players woke up to the promise of Spanish football with their attractive attacking style in Euro 2008. We were introduced to a whole host of players from other clubs: Marcos Senna from Villareal, who gave the Rojas the steel that they desperately lacked in previous outings. Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevila, part of the surprisingly hardy defense from Valencia and Villareal respectively. In attack, David Silva so destructive down the left and David Villa with his speed and opportunism were both from Valencia. Dani Guiza, the super sub was from Real Mallorca based in the Balearic Islands.

What began at the 2008 Euro continued when Barca turned in a scintillating performance to destroy Bayern and then Man Utd in the CL final.

In the Liga Barca had Real's number in the El Clasicos as they gutted Real, 6-2 at the Bernabeu, their worst performance in four decades. Meanwhile the Liga continued to be unpredictable with none of the top teams taking any match for granted as Valladolid, Deportivo, Osasuna, Sporting Gijon, Real Mallorca, Racing Santander and Espanyol pulled off some remarkable wins. With Barca having coasted to the title, Villareal and Valencia waged some thrillers to close out the season.

The Liga was so up tempo that relegated club Real Betis scored 51 goals. Barca topped the outscoring output with 105 goals but Real and Atletico Madrid also chipped in with 83 and 80 goals respectively.

The challenge for the superstars joining Real is that they are assured of meeting their nemesis on a regular basis. Cristiano Ronaldo is assured of going toe to toe with Lionel Messi on at least two occasions. Kaka can pit his wiles against Andres Iniesta. Karim Benzema knows he might have been a big wheel at Lyon but it will take a special something to outlast Diego Forlan, Samuel Eto'o and David Villa for the Pichichi. What player would not relish the settling of such accounts? Which other league gives you so much on the same platter? Real can splash the cash but so can Chelsea, Man Utd, and City but these players choose to come not just because of Real but because other clubs and their players make the Liga highly competitive. The stratification of the EPL is more obvious because after the first four clubs, the drop off in standards is precipitous and predictable.

Spain's tax rates are an additional inducement:

In this uncertain economic times, highly paid footballers are under pressure to keep as much as they can earn. Against the weaker pound, foreign players cost English clubs more money. These players will also be subjected in 2010 to the highest tax bracket of 50% as compared to Spain's more beneficial rate of 23% for top earning foreign players. Plus, England's higher cost of living also eats away at how much you can save.

However, the author also points out that this migration could prove a boon as the Premiership focuses on younger and unproven talent from smaller European leagues and leagues elsewhere. It needs a discerning eye but mangers like Sir Alex and Arsene Wenger have proved adept at it. A few more rejections could also force Carlo Ancelotti to look elsewhere which he seems to have done by signing Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow.

A little bit of digital sleight of hand from the Photoshop experts at Nike.
Almunia lets the ball in (despite best effort)

A little photoshopping later.
Almunia makes brilliant save.(No problem)

Today the King of Pop will be remembered at the Staples Center tribute.

The Exeter City speech took place in 2002 as he was brought on board by Uri Geller, the eccentric telekinesis guru as part of a business venture to save the troubled club. MJ served a brief tenure as a honorary director of the club's football board where it was hoped his celebrity status would put the club on the map.

El Salvador scored the biggest upset of the Gold Cup so far as they beat Costa Rica through Osael Romero's brace, 2-1. Costa Rica had previously won 6 of their last seven encounters with the one draw.

La Selecta have been on a winning streak in their last five matches with just one loss against Honduras. It also includes a 2-1 win over Mexico. Romero has been hot scoring 4 goals in 5 matches.

The Canadians will have their hands full with an El Salvadorean team that managed to win despite the Costa Ricans enjoying more possession. Romero and Eliseo Quintanilla have proved adept at converting scoring opportunities.

Greg Sutton will have to look sharp in goal with veteran Paul Staltieri and Julian De Guzman providing much needed defensive mettle. Guzman's passing abilities and link up play with Patrice Bernier and Ali Gerba are Canada's best bet to oust El Salvador. Gerba who recently signed up with Toronto FC has been in fine form with the Concacaf Gold Cup proving happy hunting grounds as his match winner against Jamaica was his fifth goal in the competition.

By now Cesc's mouth must have turned to mush issuing denials that he is leaving Arsenal.

The Sun reports that Arsenal will seriously considering selling Cesc Fabregas if they can find a club that can offer £40 million. As usual it is Real Madrid and Barca, the usual suspects who are preparing a bid. Which does not make sense at all because both clubs have players who will start ahead of Cesc. Why would he go to a club where in all probability he would sit on the bench?

If we are that desperate for transfer funds, then should'nt we be all over Alisher Usmanov's latest slimy move to underwrite a £100m rights issue to reduce the debt?

Anyways, the article regurgitates a Cesc interview last month as evidence that he wants to return to Spain which the Arsenal captain subsequently clarified and issued yet another statement that he was committed to the club. Its stale stuff.

80,000 fans greet Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium. Reminds me of Maradona’s introduction to Napoli all those years ago…

In the background: Di Stefano and Eusebio.

Will CR9 live up to expectations?  Stay tuned.

Cristiano Ronaldo will sport the number 9 at Real. He mentioned that he wants to emulate Alfredo Di Stefano, the legend who wore the same number. This is a noticeable turnaround from his timorous debut at Man Utd where he initially refused to wear the number 7 jersey as it belonged to George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, and David Beckham because it would invite unwanted comparisons to these greats. It was only on the insistence of Sir Alex that he changed his mind.

Lets see where he ends up on the list of other Real's other notable number 9's

A list that includes Pahíño, Di Stefano, Santillana, Zamorano, Morientes, Ronaldo.

Player Years Total Appearances Goals
Alfredo Di Stefano: 1953- 1964 396 307
Carlos Santillana: 1971- 1988 643 290
Pahíño: 1948- 1953 144 127
Ronaldo: 2002-2006 176 104
Ivan Zamorano: 1992-1996 173 101
Fernando Morientes: 1997- 2005 234 100

We can see that Santillana's career is remarkable for its longevity but not particularly goal scoring rate; those honours go to Pahíño. Di Stefano had both. Both Zamorano and Ronaldo have similar numbers in their briefer Real careers while Morientes stay was punctuated by injury problems but he still managed to score a century of goals.

Lets go into Cristiano Ronaldo's Man Utd numbers to get a sense of perspective: He spent six years in Man Utd which is a good length of time to extrapolate where he might be in the future. We also take into account that it took him two years to really hit goal scoring form. His total output is:

2003-2009 292 118

Without the first two years:

2005-2009 202 103

Looking at these numbers one gets the sense he will never be Di Stefano. He, In fact, might end up between Pahíño and Ronaldo at the end of his six year contract. Which might be good enough but the song and dance show at the Bernabeu to unveil their £80 million golden goose today means they expect much much more.

The other point that really leaps out is Real's number 9's have had extra-ordinary success in European competitions scoring goals. Cristiano Ronaldo's European output in 55 Man Utd appearances tallied 16 goals. If we remove his first two years, it gives us 16 goals in 42 appearances. Compare that with Di Stefano's prodigious 49 goals in 58 appearances and Santillana's 47 goals in 87 appearances. Even Ronaldo and Zamorano have better goal scoring rates with 15 goals in 36 appearances and 14 goals in 21 appearances, respectively. It is because of numbers like these that Real have managed to win nine European championships.

Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has stressed for Arsenal to make an important start in the upcoming 2009/10 season. Arsenal lost 5 of their first 14 matches of the Premier League last season - thus making the Gunners chasing 4th place let alone going for the title.

Manuel states "Overall we needed to be more focused at the start of the season," in the July edition of the official Arsenal magazine".

Arsenal's first 5 Premier League games of the following season are:

Everton vs Arsenal
Arsenal vs Portsmouth
Man Utd vs Arsenal
Man City vs Arsenal
Arsenal vs Wigan

The two tricky away games in Manchester will be vital for the Gunners.

A brooding Alex Ferguson watched Federer create history at Wimbledon yesterday.You could also call that expression disdainful.Maybe that's because he's thinking that he's got 18 titles while Federer has only managed 15 so far...!
(Or maybe he is just bugged that they didn't let him bring chewing gum into the royal box)

Angel Cappa's exciting and attack minded Huracan squad which scored 35 goals in 18 matches lost against a dour Velez Sarsfield led by Ricardo Gareca who won their seventh title and their first in four years.

The match was played at Amilfitani, Velez's homeground where they have been unbeaten. The controversial goal came in the 86th minute after Huracan's goalie Gaston Monzon went for a cross and was knocked over by substitute Joaquin Larrivey. The referee allowed play to continue on. The ball came loose to Maxi Morales who made no mistake. He was then expelled for taking off his shirt in celebration. Earlier, a header by Huracan's defender Eduardo Dominguez was disallowed for a non-existent offside infringement.

The most dramatic day in not just Real history but in the history of football as Cristiano Ronaldo is unveiled in a Merengue kit at 9 PM tomorrow. So goes the breathless Marca headline. It gets better.

Real fans will be there in the hundreds of thousands to greet their new prophet.

Marca readers also get a free giant poster of a photoshopped Ronaldo in a Madrid kit but as the publication reassures us, it is remarkably lifelike. For the obsessive, there is a blurb documenting his achievements. The back of the poster gives the story of the transfer saga. No such relief for Nereida Gallardo purveyors. There are no pictures of that hot Spanish babe.

The reason why Adebayor has decided to recommit himself to Arsenal probably has less to do with a new found fervour to set the record straight and more to do with clubs losing interest in a high priced striker with an inconsistent work ethic and output.

Last season, his renewed commitment was the equivalent of crying wolf.

Milan showed an initial interest in Adebayor. But Adriano Galliani has been spotted in Spain recently, to apparently negotiate with Sevilla for the services of Luis Fabiano whose goal scoring spree at the Confederations Cup has made him a very attractive target. Fabiano himself as said he would love to add to the Brazilian colony at Milan playing alongside Dida, Pato, Ronaldinho, and Thiago Silva.

Real is also expected to prune their bloated squad which will yield some lower priced talent. Striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar leads a Dutch exodus out of Real and Milan is looking to snare him on a loan transfer. The club's pursuit of Edin Dzeko should have been made it clear they are pursuing cheaper talent than the £25 million that Arsenal is asking for Adebayor. Other clubs have shifted focus as Chelsea seem to be concentrating their energy on retaining John Terry. Inter are hanging onto Zlatan Ibrahamovic for another year. Samuel Eto'o might stay on in Barca despite City enticing him with record breaking wages.

His agent Stephen Courbis now appears to be hedging his bets.

When pressed if Adebayor definitely wanted to stay at Arsenal, Courbis was clear. "Yes. It's the same [situation] as last week," he said, referring to comments that it was up to Wenger to declare his position regarding Adebayor. Wenger seems to be more ambivalent ,"If he does not want to stay he will leave, but I think that he will be still at Arsenal this season."

I suspect that Wenger would sell him in a flash for the right amount but clubs despite the early interest are not biting. For a handful of clubs £25 million may be chump change but for most it is serious money. Adebayor may move as a part of a more reasonable player plus money deal. But this may take place later in the transfer window as clubs become more desperate to land players after their first targets do not pan out.

This Mirror article reprises a wish that Soccerblog had written more than a month ago but it is less likely to happen as Milan is pursuing other targets. Gunner fans might have to steel themselves for some more Adebuyer's remorse this coming season.

Francesco Totti has confirmed that he will stay on in the club for five more years until 2014 and he has made himself available for national duty as well.

Just last week, all hell broke loose at AS Roma as Nicola Irti a legal advisor at the Fio Sports Group, the consortium involved in buying out Roma in a radio interview inexplicably turned his wrath on Roma's talisman saying that Francesco Totti should leave just like Raul at Real Madrid because they were part of the problem that clubs face.

"From Totti too. That's my opinion. Shoo! He is ruining you! He is ruining you! Just like Real Madrid need to do with Raul, Roma need to get rid of Totti. Is that clear?"

His words brought an emotional outpouring from owner Rossela Sensi, city officials, former players, and thousands of fans.

Sensi's words referenced Di Stefano:

"Perhaps only the story of Di Stefano to Real Madrid is equal to yours in Rome. You are the symbol of our team and of many Romans. "

The owner of the Fio Sports Group, Vinicio Fioranello distanced himself from Irti's words saying that only he, his son Jesse, and Volker Flick were authorized to speak.

My feeling is that Irti let of a trial balloon to gauge what effect his words would have. Roma's valuation has a lot to do with Francesco Totti being a continuing part of the club. Right now there is no concrete offer and the consortium and from Fioranello's words it seems that they are still feeling their way through.

The imbroglio has Totti already hiring a lawyer Franco Coppi to start legal action against Irti. The lawyer has already obtained a tape of that radio interview.

Di Stefano uses his trophies to carry water to his drought stricken village

The player most associated with Real's glittering success turned 83 years old yesterday but he has competition from the most expensive signing in football history.

Ronaldo, who was signed from Manchester United for 80 million pounds (C$152 million), was quoted as telling sports daily Marca on Sunday:

"Some day I would like to have a winning record similar to Alfredo di Stefano."

What will Ronaldo have to do to supplant the legend?

He will have to win 5 Championship titles on the trot and 8 Liga titles. The last four coming consecutively. In addition, his personal contribution will have to go up tremendously as Di Stefano scored 307 all time goals in 396 appearances which is good enough only for second place in Real's history. Di Stefano also won five Pichichi titles, four of them consecutively.

A tall order and most likely impossible to attain. He could then try and emulate others, as Real has no shortage of sporting heroes. How about the captain of the present squad? He should be an inspiration to Ronaldo.

Raul with his longevity has scored 316 goals in 712 apperances to lead Real in all time scoring as well as appearances. He has won the Pichichi twice. His prolific partnerships with Fernando Morientes and later with Ronaldo have led to six Liga titles. Raul's record 66 goals in UEFA competitions have been key to the club winning the CL three times in his stellar career. Not shabby at all.

When we talk about Real, we also talk about other great strikers like Ferenc Puskas, Pahiño, Carlos Santillana, Hugo Sanchez, Ivan Zamorano, Emilio Butragueno, and even the Brazilian Ronaldo. Puskas won the Pichichi four times as did Hugo Sanchez. The Mexican striker also holds the record for the most goals scored with 38 goals scored in a single Liga season. He formed an unbeatable striker tandem with Emilio Butragueno leading the Merengues to five consecutive Liga titles. Spanish football is littered with the contributions of Real's players.

So Ronaldo might be wiser to seek others to emulate but Di Stefano's record is probably off limits.

The personal touch never fails. It says how much Florentino Perez wanted Karim Benzema.

The Lyon striker reveals he could have gone to Man Utd but the thought of playing with Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo proved irresistible. Then Perez shows up at his doorstep to convince him that it was the right move.

"Real are a kid's dream. Florentino Perez came to my house at Bron. That was important," he continued. "He can speak French and I understood he absolutely wanted me. I could only leave for Real. It was my dream, that's all.

If only Sir Alex could speak French, it would have been a major selling point. Now, Benzema can be clearly understood when he wants a wage increase rather having a grumpy redfaced Scotsman saying, "Non comprendez. But I can say this, you have a hellhole of a chance whatever it is you want."

Still with U.S. Soccer.After the recent successes officials are confident that the time is right for the next move.They are excited about the prospect of bringing young Hispanic and African-Americans into the mainstream.
Sunil Gulati, the president of the United States Soccer Federation says....
"One of the issues we have in the United States is that elite-level soccer at a youth level is and has been for the most part pay to play.Clearly then, when you are talking about economically disadvantaged inner city, you've got a problem.The challenge of attracting Hispanics and African-Americans is vastly different. Young Latinos have already embraced soccer. The issue is bringing them into federation programs,knowing where they are and identifying them.The challenges soccer faces are not new, but perhaps more can be done at a time when football and basketball have saturated poorer neighborhoods. The question is how to persuade young athletes to make soccer their sport of choice.If we can get the star athletes when they are 13, 14, 15, 16 to stay with soccer rather than play other sports where the economic payday down the road may be greater, that would be a plus for us.If we can get the best athlete interested in soccer, that's a plus. We've got to do more in that community.""
I don't know if he managed to say all that in one breath.If he did - it's pretty impressive.In the meantime some who are already leading in this area by example - here and especially here

The Felipe Melo transfer from Fiorentina seems to be crystallizing around the club's condition that Emmanuel Eboue be part of the deal. In lieu, the Violas bring down Melo's expensive buyout clause which stands at £21 million.

This would be a great deal. Eboue has been unhappy with his lack of playing time and when he has come on the pitch, has not utilized it well. Wenger tried harnessing the Cote' d'Ivoirian attacking instincts from that of a full back to a winger when Walcott had still not broken into the first squad. This worked for a while but with Walcott's inclusion into the first squad and then Bacary Sagna's arrival found Eboue sitting on the bench a lot this lseason. Eboue has great speed and good foot skills which lead him far up field but he does not do enough to track back, has average tackling skills, and questionable judgement. I have this rorschach of Eboue as a petulant player always complaining with the referee.

Melo's arrival will bring a robust presence and a burgeoning reputation as a smart holding midfielder allowing Wenger the an opportunity to transform Thomas Vermaelen's center back role to that of second holding midfielder in an effort to resurrect the Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira midfield tandem which brought instant success with Arsenal winning the double in 1997.

There is a crimp in the horizon with the Arsenal deal and it has to do with a competing proposal that is being floated for a similar transfer arrangement for Melo to Juventus where his holding abilities is seen as a perfect foil for the creative abilities of Diego, his Brazilian team mate. In exchange, Juve is proposing the services of winger Marco Marchionni and 12 million euros. It is believed that Cesare Prandelli is keen on bringing Marchionni to the Violas and the player could be the sweetener to the Melo deal.

Update: Pantaleo Corvino, Fiorentina's sporting director has denied reports that Melo has signed with Juventus but there are indications that some sort of deal is being worked out. According to Gazzetta Calcio, Marchionni's agent Bruno Carpeggianni will meet Corvino early next week to work out details of the contract.

The USA punished Grenada 4-0 with their second stringers. Freddy Adu was the beneficiary at the end of a Robbie Rogers feed to get things going. Then it was Stuart Holden's rising high to head the ball from Rogers cross. The third goal was all Robbie Rogers as he outraced the Grenadians to slot the ball past the goalie. The last goal was was one touch as Pearce layed a pass across the path of the onrushing Charlie Davis who controlled the ball and tapped it home.

He then ran to the corner post and tried some funky MJ dance moves which were a bit painful to watch. Davis reminds me of Gabby Agbanlahor, the Villa striker, in looks as well as muscular style of play.

Brad Evans made his national debut in front of his adoring Seattle fan base who cheered every time he touched the ball.

Review....
"Many people think that the history of soccer in the United States dates back to around the time that Pele arrived in New York in 1975. This magnificent book very firmly refutes that idea, giving a full account of the sport's history in this country dating back to its 19th-century origins".
---Roger Allaway, Historian, National Soccer Hall of Fame

18 other such books recommended here - for those who want to catch on their reading...

So what if Man U have got Michael Owen.Stoke City are getting Mohammed Ali.
Muhammad Ali will travel to England this summer and he has included Stoke City's Britannia Stadium on his list of "must see" places.While there he will no doubt give the team tips on how to float like butterflies and sting like bees.Stoke city might become a force to reckon with yet.

>> SoccerBlog.com EXCLUSIVE ADIDAS offer: Step into Messi's Shoes!

Will Brad Evans get his debut in front of his home crowd?

First, will the US be able to step down after their unprecedented Confederations Cup achievement or step up after a deflating loss to the Brazilians in the finals? The hardest part for the US will be to recalibrate itself from a tournament that became much more of an emotional roller coaster ride than mere physical toll.

However, the could not have asked for a more soothing balm. The Concacaf Gold Cup has traditionally proved to be a statistical bonanza for the US team.

The US meet Grenada at 6 PM at Qwest Field.

Here are some of the gaudy numbers.

• The US are four time winners, in 1991, 2002, 2005, and 2007.

• The U.S. holds a 34-4-5 all-time record in the regional event and has outscored opponents 81-26.

• The Americans have never lost in group play at the Gold Cup, holding a 21-0-1 record. The only tie came on July 12, 2005, in a scoreless affair with Costa Rica in Foxborough, Mass.

Concacaf has given concessions to the US following their grueling schedule and permitted it to increase its roster to 30 players. The seven additional players will be added from the Confederations Cup squad and will include forwards Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey, midfielders Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber and Sacha Kljestan, defender Jonathan Bornstein and goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Not all seven players will be eligible to play in the same match and so Bob Bradley will rotate between these players to maintain 18 players who finally get to take the pitch.

We will get to see more Charlie Davis, Brian Ching, Freddy Adu, Benny Feilhaber, Santino Quaranta, Stuart Holden, Brad Evans, and Michael Parkhurst.

Grenada have their own MLS connection: Midfielder Sharlrie Joseph, who has had some outstanding seasons with the New England Revs is heart and soul of the squad. Some players like Byron Bubb (Wimbledon FC) and Ricky Charles (QPR) ply their trade in the English league. The US have won both their previous encounters.

Michael Owen becomes Sir Alex's special project. I think the signing needs to viewed in the context of a manager having won everything that needs to be won, setting up yet another challenge for himself.

On the day Sarah Palin shocked the US political establishment announcing her resignation as Alaska governor in typically rambling style, Sir Alex rocked the football world by signing a player who burst onto the scene like a supernova 13 years ago but injuries and loss of form have slowed his stellar trajectory. Michael Owen is now on his third big comeback if his Liverpool days are the yardstick to measure success by. The debate is heating up the forums: Is Owen a realistic choice or is Sir Alex whistling in the wind?

This move comes on the heels of some very big names leaving Man Utd and some equally big names touted as potential replacements snubbing the club. So what has changed all of a sudden that makes Man Utd, the epicenter of English football so unattractive to marquee players? Sir Alex did not want nor wait to find out.

In Owen's case a theme emerges. The effects of injury early in one's career are often times hidden by the resilience and remarkable recuperative powers of youth.

Owen's phenomenal productivity came despite early signs that he was less than durable. He began his Liverpool career with two great seasons but a hamstring injury bought his second season to an abrupt end. His third season was even more abbreviated as the same injury persisted. At 19 his youth proved a factor in his successful rehabilitation as he enjoyed his best year at Liverpool in 2001 as the Merseysiders won almost everything except the Premiership.

In effect we can compare the two seasons when he played injured for Liverpool and a similar number of matches when he played relatively injury free for Newcastle to find out the effect on productivity.

Liverpool Newcastle

1998-1999: 30 matches, 18 goals 2007-2008: 29 matches, 11 goals
1999-2000: 27 matches, 11 goals 2008-2009: 27 matches, 9 goals

The numbers indicate that Owen in his Liverpool days even while injured was likely to score more compared to his fuller seasons in Newcastle. With age, recuperative powers wane and it takes longer to rehabilitate. When you have the varied injuries that Owen has picked up in quick succession, these can have a cumulative effect on the speed and predatory instincts that make him such an effective striker. Owen also subjects his body to more wear and tear with his work rate. But supporters will also point out that the numbers still remain good.

Every time he is injured it becomes longer for him to achieve match fitness. A list of varied injuries and ailments that Owen has suffered: Hamstring injuries, a series of thigh injuries, metatarsal fracture, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, concussion, double hernia, mumps, and a calf strain. The ACL was particularly aggravating because Owen lost a year after the 2006 World Cup which is where he suffered the injury and the FA had to compensate Newcastle to the tune of £10 million.

It is left to Sir Alex to figure out the criteria for Owen's success. If he can score 5-10 goals in about 25+ appearances, then this would be hailed as a great move. Man Utd's speedier game might enable an instinctive player like him to flourish again. It will also be interesting to follow the dynamics between Rooney and Owen. The two players will be team mates but Owen could look at this as an opportunity to compete for the English squad which has been a shutout because Capello's first choice remains Rooney. Healthy competition could help goalscoring. A note here, this signing is being compared to Sir Alex's shrewd use of Teddy Sheringham. I think this is more a reflection of Sheringham who probably possessed one of the highest football IQs to remain relevant even while his heydays had bypassed him.

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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