Recently in World Cup 2010 Category

The Premier League is introducing goal line technology from next season which will hopefully resolve the issue of those hundreds of goals that cross the line every season but are never given. And the hundreds of goals that don't but are given. It has already cost Arsenal three titles and relegated West Ham. All because of Frank Lampard's "ghost goal" in the World Cup.

Seriously, far more goals are scored from diving which goal line technology will never solve. The fallacy is to elevate this technology to Wimbledon like proportions when video review can solve everything.

"Hey Sepp, I'm going to squeeze the jelly from your eyes and have it on toast"

Sepp Blatter beefed up his group of FIFA advisers today adding the name of Shrek and Justin Bieber to the already invited Placido Domingo, Henry Kissinger, and Johan Cruyff.

Asked about Shrek, the FIFA president revealed he liked nothing better than soaking in a hot tub watching reruns of the plain spoken ogre fight the medieval forces of chicanery and corruption. It was a tough toss up between Shrek and the talking donkey but the former won because he resembled a certain footballer whose name Blatter said escaped him.

Justin Bieber was an intriguing choice but Blatter gave him the nod because anything that gets the U13 crowd shrieking is a good thing. The better to drown out Jack Warner's tsunami of secrets. Besides, Bieber's Canadian and they play ice hockey. Which Qatar does not.

All part of an image revamp of hitherto octogenarian white male privilege. It reaches out to the last two demographics not already turned off by FIFA - animated characters and prepubescent girls.

The man can be a short fused nightmare on and off the pitch but he speaks the truth. Spot on.

Stirring documentary about Jay De Merit who arrives in England with a dream of playing in the Premier League and with little money on him scraps around in a non-league club. Two years later he's playing for Watford in their Premiership promotion match against Leeds and scores in front of 65,000 people sending them to the world's top league. His Watford exploits in the following year earn him a call up to the USMNT.

Equally compelling is the story of how Ranko Tutulugdzija, the film maker, and a college buddy of De Merit came to make the film overcoming many obstacles including no prior film experience and a life threatening medical condition. In a selfless moment, De Merit learning his friend needs a kidney transplant offers his without hesitation.

As Tutulugdzija explains: " this isn't just a movie about soccer, but a human story of perseverance, hard work and belief. And for me this project was done with all heart, and with a sense of gratitude that's hard to explain, that Jay was willing to lay down his own life for a friend. That is something that the world doesn't know about Jay, but should. He is more than a soccer player, he is an awesome human."

They movie is complete but they have to pay off the licensing fees of $150,000 before it can be shown in public. If you want to help with the finances and/or distribution contact: jaydemeritstory@yahoo.com

He looks better than Septic Bladder

Mohamed Bin Hammam who has done more than anyone to put Asia and Australia on the football map announced his candidacy in opposition to Sepp Blatter.

The announcement was hardly out when Franz Beckenbauer openly worried that opposing Blatter would split FIFA into two camps. Old Franz knows something about singularity of purpose - ask Jens Lehmann as the Bayern cabal went out of the way to destroy him in order to promote Ollie Kahn as goalkeeper of the German squad in 2006 World Cup.

What would happen if Sepp Blatter does not win re-election? There is one thing to be thankful for above and beyond it all: The marginalization of the most polarizing and corrupt of his many right hand men. Jack Warner. He is the poster boy for FIFA's lip service to transparency under Sepp Blatter. Under him CONCACAF has become a dependable voting bloc for the Swiss tyro over the many election cycles. The benevolence has paid handsome dividends as FIFA has turned a blind eye to the one of many scams that Andrew Jennings has so assiduously investigated.

Old Franz's complaints of divisiveness is a bit rich when Warner in his capacity as CONACAF president and FIFA vice -president was jet setting to candidate countries bidding for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup and playing the old game of divide and conquer. He could not have telegraphed bribe me any more graphically. Under this sleaze's active intervention, the Soca Warriors would have been fobbed off with pittances from the T&T football federation's windfall after the 2006 World Cup. They rightly sued. To date his own countrymen representing T&T in a blaze of shining glory have not received a single cent.

Blatter might point to South Africa on his vitae as FIFA opening up new parts of the world capable of accommodating the global game. But his championing of Russia and Dubai comes on the heels of the western world's worst economic meltdown, a calamity bought on by a lack of transparency. The parallels are apparent to those less concerned about egalitarian ownership of the global game and wary of the smoke and mirrors of the current leadership. It is the latter being highlighted by the opposition candidate.

"I will consider ... the demands from the public to keep Fifa and football organisations above accusations and suspicion of negative practice; the demands of the public to create an absolute, ethical, democratic and transparent environment within Fifa," said Bin Hammam. "I will establish a transparency committee."

But Bin Hammam's announcement also reflects the shifting of the market place. Apart from Japan, the region with the highest rate of return for future investments lie in Asia. The biggest market for growth in football despite the paucity of player representation reflects the power of the mind boggling disparity in generating new viewership between Europe and Asia.

A skew well understood with a growing number of European clubs mounting pre-seasons in Asia. Richard Scudamore's desire for a 39th Premiership match was demonized but it will happen in some shape or form in the next few years. China, till a decade ago, a veritable shadow but with the 2008 Olympics is now mentioned as potential World Cup hosts in the near future, alternating the world's biggest spectacle with the ASEAN countries.

The old guard could look to Blatter's straddling both fences torn between natural proclivity and a new reality. Russia and Dubai might have been blips. With Hammam's presidency the shifting of power is irreversible. But the Qatari has been emboldened by one time allies, now spurned, willing to gamble on anyone but Blatter. Joao Havelange and his hand picked successor Sepp Blatter have ruled FIFA for as many years as Mohammed Gaddafi ruling Libya. An echo of the seismic forces dissatisfied with the status quo sweeping the Middle East? Hardly fanciful.

Blatter responds to the latest and most serious challenge to his presidency by seeking the most unsavoury company. No wonder the numbers eager to see the last of him are rising.

Actually, it went to Leo Messi, who in any circumstance is not an undeserving winner. But when you look at a man commanding a soccer ideology as perfectly as Xavi in Spain's greatest sporting achievement then his claim to the world's most influential player is a bit more tenuous.

Xavi's style of playing so familiar to Barcelona was unhesitatingly incorporated into Spain's national team. Because it works. No one maintains the shape of a midfield as brilliantly as Xavi. He is the one who resets, recycles, and releases players like Messi to do what they do best - make defenders look silly. Though Spain won the World Cup with the fewest goals scored they were never outplayed. With a player like Xavi it usually comes down to the matter of when they score. Messi is his best executioner but Villa, Bojan, and Pedro have been beneficiaries too.

With Maradona casting aside Juan Sebastian Veron, the only player within a whiff of Xavi's calibre - Messi became less effective having to drop deeper to link up with Javier Mascherano. The Germans just had to wait in ambush. No one more than Messi knows better the reason for the disparity between his club and national performances. He, Veron and countless others acknowledge the symphonic quality of the Barca midfield orchestrated by Xavi.

We can also make the case for Wesley Sneijder, instrumental in giving Inter the title that they craved most, the Champions League. Under Roberto Mancini, the attack was carried out by individualistic and opportunistic strikers like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Real Madrid reject brought to Inter in a master stroke by Mourinho became the club's playmaker easing the burden on Diego Milito. Sneijder also proved no slouch at scoring goals. Pushed hard by Roma, his set pieces proved decisive in winning the Serie and the Coppa Italia. And who can forget his seal on the Brazil game in the World Cup.

Sid Lowe explains why someone like Sneijder was overlooked in the run up to the final three candidates. He became a victim of FIFA's desire to amalgamate the Ballon d'Or with the Fifa World Player Award. Under the old format, the Ballon D'Or awarded by France Football would have chosen Sneijder. Messi would have finished fourth. But now the expanded pool of voters includes coaches and captains who pulled the votes for the Argentinian.

Some tabloids complained about an anti-Spanish bias after the awards. But the more obvious explanation is that Xavi and Iniesta split the vote which unfortunately did not work out well for either one of them. The increased number of voters have also diluted objectivity. Many have a political axe to grind. Some just choose their team mates in a fit of blind allegiance.

Jose Mourinho deserved the coach of the year award. So much of his success is built on a chip on the shoulder bravura that even in this august moment he did not let go of his cagey and calculating persona. He looked like someone was going to announce it as a very big mistake. But he too is notable for doing what Xavi does so well, make others give off their best. Wherever he is - Porto, Chelsea, Inter, and now at Real, his players are lifted to a different level of performance.

Marta became the world's best woman player for the fifth time. The title is an ongoing battle between the Brazilian and Birgit Prinz for the last seven years - a feat of notable durability.

The English cricket team will not look like this when they return home

This is a magnificent victory. It is cricket and as such has no place on a blog about soccer/football but for those growing up around that game like we did in India or elsewhere in the cricket playing world - the Aussies were damn near invincible for aeons. Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and their band of swashbuckling merry giants ran riot over the other troll nations.

Now, it's all over. An under hyped English team retains The Ashes. And today in Sydney won the series 3-1, their first triumph Down Under in 24 years. The mighty Aussies are a shadow of themselves. Sliding inexorably to the precipice.

Cricket in its birthplace slid to irrelevancy as its former colonies have ousted the sport. The same same topology applies to football as it left its native shores to find roots elsewhere.

The reaction to both sports by the media is spectacularly different. The English cricket team are portrayed as ne'er do well before a Test series or the Cricket World Cup and so far the results seem to bear them out. But the football team always gets over hyped and sent over with a sealed and signed verdict of virtual indestructibility. As South Africa proved, despite the proclamations a whimper would be too kind a descriptive for what happened yet again.

The difference is that along with cricket moving offshore, so has the money. A large part of England's attraction for cricketers in the developing world was county cricket. It led to an influx of players in the 70s and 80s. There was a bit of money to be earned but it was mostly exposure to playing good pace bowlers that was the main draw. But county cricket could not compete financially and thus began the reverse migration. It is India that now has the EPL's version of cricket on crack.

The Indian Premier League is the fifth most lucrative sports brand and is getting only bigger and better. There has been an inflow of upcoming talent and former national players who have found homes in the Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, or Mumbai Indians. An average salary would be in the vicinity of $4 million over a year, second only to the NBA.

In football, the economy has remained in England. The sport remains within privatized clubs and there are no county counterparts. The EPL remains highly competitive with England's players competing with top notch overseas players. The receipts from its global media and TV enterprise remains unsurpassed. It is not hard to see how this could engender a false equivalency. A similar misplaced sense has developed within the Indian media about the infallibility of the national cricket team.

English cricket seems far more real with less fatuous idolatry. But an average cricketer also appears infinitely more perceptive than his footballing counterpart. At the very least he knows it's not all about him. Here is Paul Collingwood on his last day as a Test cricketer and given the honour of leading out the victorious English team:

"My role in the side is to score runs, I'm disappointed I haven't done that. But four years ago I scored a double century and we lost 5-0 and I much prefer it this way round. We deserve it."

In contrast, English football still lives in a bubble.

But enough already. We're here to celebrate an extra-ordinary victory and yes, for many of us, an extra-ordinary demise. The English media is trumpeting the new look cricket team that will come to a heroes welcome. Congratulations England! And dare one say, better luck next time Australia?

If Edin Dzeko is by any remote chance reading this blog, I implore him not to come to City because he'll become a castaway in Roberto Mancini's grind scheme of things.

City came to the Emirates not to play but to salvage a point which they did by parking the bus. Mind numbingly formulaic and efficient. On attack, City were little more than gnats apart from some individual forays by Tevez and Yaya Toure. Boring, boring, Citeh!

A clearly frustrated Cesc Fabregas jawed with Mancini post match. It was not hard to lip read. "You call that futbol because my abuela could play better than that."

City looked absolutely ripe for the taking in the first 15 minutes as a scintillating Arsenal broke in waves. But they were helped by a team that was not ruthless enough. Jack Wilshere's effort just wide off the mark should have been finished by RVP or Walcott but both failed to attack the goal.The post also denied the Dutchman and a little later Fabregas. The Fabregas effort had Hart absolutely beaten and the City goalkeeper must have heaved a huge sigh of relief when the post kept the ball out.

In the second half, RVP's touch which seems to have gone for a long stroll sputtered back on but Joe Hart effected a fine save to deny a long range blast. In between there were some dreadful bloopers.Overall, he is distinctly a step slower and less hungry in front of goal. Walcott's beautifully placed cross was shepherded off tamely by Kolo Toure as RVP was nowhere in sight. Ditto for Fabregas's cross. The most skillful Dutchman in the Premiership without doubt is Rafael Van Der Vaart.

Arsenal also enjoyed a huge advantage in corners but settled for the short version repeatedly because lets face it, the City defense made the Gunners look Lilliputian. And when did you last see an Arsenal goal through the air? The match was now entering familiar territory - the home team camped in the opposition half moving the ball around fluidly and authoritatively but running into a roadblock.

Wenger's substitutions amounted to a big doughnut. Arshavin did little but lose the ball, chase back futilely, and then foul. Nicklas Bendtner did not even touch the ball. Why was Chamakh, a more skillful striker left on the bench?

The defense delivered on the few occasions they were called on to act. Wilshere and Song were on hand to clean up and get the ball moving up field.

The match winding down to an inevitable draw was marred by an incredulously stupid set of decisions which could prove costly to both teams. Bacary Sagna brought down by Pablo Zabaleta on the sidelines retaliated and both engaged in a mutual head massage which rated a PG-13. But referee Mike Jones saw otherwise and gave both red cards. There will be protests and a good chance that these will be rescinded.

Man Utd benefits most from this result and have a game in hand. Chelsea lost to Wolves in now what appears to be increasingly looking like Ancelotti's last days. And Spurs increased the long odds on winning the title by losing to Everton.

Trite but true - won't someone show Beckham the door?

It is interesting to note that Harry Redknapp is reconsidering David Beckham's short term loan move to Spurs fearing it could prove counter productive. He seems to indicate he prefers a longer stay.

That won't sit well with the LA Galaxy. This is a club that can make the same argument against Beckham. The overwhelming feeling is that he is on loan to the MLS while his larger ambitions and fealty to his global iconic status show up the league as doormats. It was left to fans showing a spirited dissatisfaction forcing Beckham into a megaphone of commitment but the league itself did not take concrete steps to stop this guilt free binge. It's no surprise he's doing it again.

Beckham has played just 48 out of the 106 regular season games since arriving at the Galaxy in 2007- the second season with 25 appearances accounts for more than half of that productivity. He was absconding for most of the third season when he extended his 2009 Milan move to six months and then his appearances in the fourth season was curtailed to just 10 games (7 regular season + 3 playoff matches) after rupturing his Achilles heel while on loan to Milan for his second time. Clearly, he is not even a bragging point any more when all those European super clubs come into town for the summer friendlies. More practically, his move has done nothing to end the Galaxy's trophy drought.

By now, these loan moves have become du jour. Ostensibly, it is to keep him in the hunt for a spot in the English national squad. This endeavour is beginning to look Sarah Palinesque - as capricious as her presidential ambitions. His presence makes a virtual mockery of Fabio Capello's purported change in direction towards younger and fresher blood rejuvenating an old and stale English squad. Beckham's time machine has been stuck for a while while his body ages. The more likely consequence will be yet another devastating injury and more angst for the Galaxy fans.

There is some speculation that Beckham's move is an effort on the part of Phillip Anschutz, the owner of the LA Galaxy to strengthen his association with Spurs. His company AEG is teaming up with the North London club for the Olympic Stadium tenancy. There are some rumblings that he is also planning a takeover. But if that were the case wouldn't that make Landon Donovan a more attractive alternative to Aaron Lennon? He impressed while at Everton matching the league's physicality. He can play with speed down both wings, shows deftness with set pieces, and is a proven goalscorer.

No, this is entirely Beckham's doing. He can't even be a Dennis Rodman and retire to a life of shotgun weddings and bad flicks. It's time for the MLS to sell him to Blackburn, a club that seems to be bent on becoming the laughing stock of the Premiership. The Colorado Rapids, a no name team were winners of the MLS Cup for the first time in club history reminding us when 23 regular guys come together as a team, good things happen. They didn't need no stinkin' superstars.

Harry Redknapp expects Beckham to introduce some class to this Spurs side

David Beckham is set to return to the Premiership after almost seven years. A short term loan move to Spurs is in the works. From the looks of it Harry Redknapp expects him to suit up to play in the FA Cup tie against Charlton Athletic as soon as next weekend.

Becks has availed off these short term loans before to AC Milan which he explains are necessary for him to contend for the England national team. Not withstanding Fabio Capello's dismissive comments, he still entertains fond hopes that he will add to his 115 caps. As for Redknapp, he believes that having Becks will bolster his wide game and the set pieces. This could work because his quick eye and pinpoint passes could strengthen the counterattacking strength of this pacy Spurs side. Plus, he has similar attributes to Teddy Sheringham who was hired by Redknapp whilst at Portsmouth.

"[Beckham] would be a great influence. When I took Teddy to Portsmoiuth, I said to the others 'watch him train, watch his technique and how he takes pride in everything he does. Watching how top players practice is better than all the coaching in the world. If it's doable, it's a no-brainer."

More worrying, are the real chances of re-injuring his frail ankle. He had to suffer through a torn Achilles heel which he sustained last year in March while at Milan and saw him miss out on the World Cup as well as a large part of the MLS season. Becks has rehabilitated his trust with fans and team mates like Landon Donovan but it rests on the fact that he return healthy as well as in time for the MLS season. There could be extra-ordinary pressure to make this a permanent move should he fulfill Redknapp's purpose.

A familiar sight - RVP nursing an ankle

Juventus is reportedly preparing a £20million bid for Robin Van Persie as a replacement for Alessandro Del Piero, now 36 years and close to retirement. This might be a sick twisted attempt to get Van Persie and Giorgio Chiellini reacquainted on the same side of the field.

After all it was Chiellini's tackle that blew out Van Persie's ankle ligaments which led him to miss more than 6 months of last season. It led to a bitter feud between Wenger and the Dutch football federation and a comical digression into the bizarre curative aspects of placenta therapy.

According to Daily Star (another fount of journalistic verity), the deal could be sweetened by throwing in Felipe Melo who was on Wenger's radar a few seasons ago. Instead, the Brazilian chose to move to Juve.

This is probably not going to happen. Arsenal really does not have enough depth at the striker position. Marouane Chamakh has been good but his intestinal fortitude playing that position is a work in progress. Nicklas Bendtner might start some Carling Cup fixtures but he is not consistent enough for the longer Premiership season. Carlos Vela maybe leaving on loan to get more playing experience. Van Persie leaving will deplete the striker corps unless there is a comparable player coming on board. One has seen no signs of that developing.

It is also hard to see Wenger shipping him off to the Serie with Van Persie just getting back from an injury plagued couple of years. This time he might get stuck in long enough to help the Gunners through to the end of this very tightly contested season.

The Melo part of the deal also does not work - with Song playing so well, another holding midfielder will add redundancy. And Melo will not come to the Emirates to sit on the bench.

The other part is Juventus's necessity for another striker - scoring goals has not been a problem. With 32 they top the Serie and Fabio Quagliarella has knocked in nine. So one would question their need for an additional striker.

Xavi, Iniesta, and Leo Messi are the three nominees for FIFA's Ballon D'Or award for player of the year. Thus, underlining the overwhelming quality of Barca's football.

Even with Real Madrid stuffing its ranks with high priced quality, the Catulanyan club managed to pull of another domestic league title winning both the Clasicos and also sending seven players to the World Cup. Both Xavi and Iniesta are inextricably linked with Spain's maiden win.

Wesley Sneijder maybe feel hard done by. As an individual, he was the architect of Inter's triple win as well as driving Netherlands to the World Cup final.

Still he comes up against the symbiotic relationship between Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi that drives them towards excellence. It is hard to separate out the individual contribution of each. All three are equally deserving winners. But if one had to choose, it would be Xavi. There are the critics of tiki taka but the man personifies the Barca style - he is the system. At over 90% passing accuracy, no one resets or maintains the shape of the midfield better. Those waves that lift Barca or Spain to the opposing shores have everything to do with Xavi creating those surges.

Maybe you have heard of the conspiracy theory that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was secretly replaced by a look-alike.In September 1969, American college students published articles claiming that clues to McCartney's death could be found among the lyrics and artwork of The Beatles' recordings.
A suscpiciously similar conspiracy theory about Paul the Octopus is now going to be made into a movie.
Jiang Xiao is in the process of making a film about how Paul the Octopus actually died on the 9th of July and that the Germans had secretly replaced him with an identical octopus....!

And just like the fake Paul McCartney was able to sing just like the real Paul McCartney the fake Paul the Octopus was able to predict winning teams just like the real Paul the Octopus...!
Uncanny......!
The German Aquarium people have responded to Jiang Xiao's allegations with " polite bafflement"
"It's certainly not true that Paul died in the summer," said a spokeswoman for the aquarium.We can absolutely assure you that he died last night. He was about two and a half, which is the average age for an octopus. He died a simple and straightforward death."
Don't miss the movie ...!

The stress of making so many accurate predictions in the World Cup took its toll evidently.Or maybe it was the vuvzelas
Paul the psychic octopus passed away peacefully in his sleep sometime last night.He was 2 and half years old.No he wasn't a baby. Two and a half years is a ripe old age for an octopus.The average life span is supposed to be one year.The larger ones can live upto 3 years and the mythical ones like the one you saw giving Johnny Depp a hard time in Pirates of the Carribean can live a bit longer.
Paul will probably get a well deserved state funeral and a memorial.

Roy Hodgson and Sir Alex made hot, sticky love. Slipping on kimonos, they sluiced into the jacuzzi smelling of patchouli and sweat bearing glasses of chardonnay. With lava lamps, soft emo music, and a doobie to while away the hour.

Spent, they emerged giggling, splashing each other conspiratorially one last time before taking on a befuddled press where they batted eyelids and mouthed "So happy together". Coy and cute.

Liverpool vs Man Utd used to be war. Rafa and Sir Alex could not bring on themselves to say each others names. The former Liverpool man's tirade against Sir Alex is a historically and histrionically celebrated clip as is Sam Allardyce surrogate showdown for the Man Utd coach. The tabloids used to eat this stuff up from sunrise to sundown - the run up to the match itself was a furlong.

Maybe it's the sign of the times. Maybe it's the past relationship between Hodgson and Sir Alex getting in the way of good old fashioned hubris and smash mouth. But a lot has to do with Liverpool eating humble pie and Man Utd's recent weakness closing out matches.

One misses those days when Rafa and Jose Mourinho gave these rivalries an edge with their attitude and mind games. It's one big mutual admiration society nowadays. Here is Sir Alex protesting that he ever was anti-Liverpool.

"That changed under the last regime but it's not a big issue for me."

Note the choice of words. Regime. It's code for fascism. We have no stinking fascism nowadays. It's Woy. Woy Hodgson, for god sakes. The friendly neighborhood shoe salesman. Cue The Turtles and love for all and all for love. I only hope that it is all out war on the pitch this weekend because the managers are more liable to high five each other.

A fantastic first time shot curled in by Thomas Mueller who keeps his reputation intact as one of the brightest talent in present day Germany. And Bayern adds insurance as Miroslav Klose nets another.

Roma was able to keep the Bundesliga champions at bay till the very end through some tough minded defending and a superb Júlio Sérgio. At one point Mueller applauds the Roma goalie for making a save off his shot. But the CL runners up finally prevailed.

One of the reasons for holding the World Cup was South Africa's desire to showcase its vibrant democracy - a refutation of apartheid's legacy which left it ostracized for several decades from the rest of the world.

It appears that Jacob Zuma is subverting that process. The feel good factor left from the World Cup is drying up quickly with the new and draconian media laws being put it into place which threaten press freedom.

The ANC is clamping down on journalism that questions and criticizes governmental integrity. Much of SA's press devotes itself to exposing corruption within the governmental ranks - a story of how one of Zuma's son enriched himself in a business deal with steel giants Arcelor Mittal seems to have sparked the ANC's ire.

The recent arrests of journalists under the sinister moniker of "national interest" has evoked the feeling of censorship that existed in the apartheid era. Nadine Gordimer, SA's Nobel Prize winning writer and a prominent anti apartheid activist voiced her concerns.

"This is the threat of a return to the censorship under apartheid," said Ms. Gordimer, three of whose novels were banned in that era.

The new laws have sparked fears that the government is going the same route as Zimbabwe by repressing dissenting voices. A bit of irony there.

England tightened its tentacles on the 2018 World Cup as Octopus Paul was announced as ambassador to their bid.

Paul of course gained notoriety in the recently concluded World Cup for predicting all of Germany's matches correctly including the win against England. In the final he picked Spain over Netherlands which conferred upon him honorary citizenship of that country.

The Oracle of Oberhausen has now switched his allegiance to the country of his birth. Weymouth born and raised (although there are murmurs he could be a pasta loving Italian), the switch is seen as natural.

"Paul has spent the last two years of his life in Germany, but he is definitely a proud Englishman," Weymouth Sea Life Center manager Nicola Hamilton said. "We have had a number of football approaches from around the world, but Paul was only ever going to choose his homeland."

The hiring of the most famous cephalopod in history as England's public face can only be good publicity.

"Paul the Octopus is undoubtedly one of the biggest names in football," former England winger John Barnes said. "Huge numbers of people will follow Paul's lead and back the bid."

Now which country is going to hire Mani the Parakeet, Lorenzo the parrot or even Dirty Harry, the saltwater crocodile?

As humans we have failed to bring peace to the ME. Lets give a host of animal ambassadors a chance. They can do no worse.

Rumours are that Carlos Quieroz who surprised everyone by surviving the axe after Portugal's dismal World Cup is most likely to be fired.

He has already been banned for a month by insulting anti-doping officials and is further in hot water by alleging a conspiracy by FPF vice president Amandio de Carvalho to oust him. Quieroz now faces disciplinary hearings.

The outburst against the anti-doping officials occurred in May before the Portugese team departed for the World Cup. The one month ban means that he will miss Portugal's 2012 Euro qualifiers on September 3 and 7.

Good riddance if Quieroz goes. He was on my list of five worst World Cup coaches.

1. Raymond Domenech: Maladroit. Made Inspector Clouseau look good.
2. Marcelo Lippi: The easiest group, the worst of results.
3. Fabio Capello: Overrated. Bereft of ideas. Poor communicator.
4. Carlos Quieroz: 7 goals all against N.Korea.
5. Diego Maradona: A mascot. Too much bronca.

Arsenal's search for a center back to pair up with Thomas Vermaelen has led them to French international and present Sevilla defender Sebastien Squillaci. The Spanish club confirmed that they had been approached by Arsenal but their present valuation of £8million were not met.

All sorts of speculation was set in motion as the player failed to show against Braga in the Europa Cup but the club website set the record right:

"The player asked not to play because of the offer from such a big team but, for the moment, we believe the offer is insufficient and Squillaci is still a Sevilla player," said Sevilla sporting director Ramon Rodriguez.

Wenger is keen to replenish his side before the transfer period ends so a re-bid maybe in the works. Squillaci is in his final year of a three year contract signed in 2008 with Sevilla.

At 30 years, he is a bit long in the tooth but again this move is essentially a hold so that Laurent Koscielny and Havard Nordtviet can develop further.

Squillaci spent most of his early career in Monaco so it is safe to say that Wenger has been tracking him for sometime. At Monaco he formed a notable partnership with Gael Givet and in 2004, the club reached the UEFA Champions League final beating Real Madrid and Chelsea.

He was also part of the successful Lyon sides from 2006 to 2008 establishing himself at the back with Brazilian centerback Cris. From some of the scouting reports- his team mates describe him as "combative" which from an Arsenal standpoint is an excellent quality, demonstrates astute positioning ability (can he stop Didier Drogba?), and is a threat on set pieces through his headers (Arsenal look toothless in this department).

He also brings enough international experience with 20 caps for Les Bleus and made the trip to South Africa where he played 90 minutes against SA. Squillaci also comes away untainted from the Moliere like farce that enveloped the French team.

Watch Clemens Fritz's absolute blast that beats Gianluca Curci. Then Torsten Frings converts a spot kick after defender Stefano Lucchini earned a yellow for bringing down Sebastian Prödl. Lucchini had to leave subsequently because it was his second yellow. Claudio Pizzaro completes the Werder tally.

However, Giampaolo Pazzini, a livewire in Sampdoria's attack managed to peg one back with his header. He had one goal disallowed for being barely offside and had two more opportunities as his header flashed just wide and then his sweetly struck shot found the upright as Werder escaped with fewer damages.

The Germans now travel to Genoa and the Pazzini goal could prove decisive.

Nicholas Anelka was banned for 18 months by the French Football Federation. Today he blasted back in typical fashion.

Actually he makes sense. What he did was a disgrace but what Patrice Evra, Jean Abidal, and Franck Ribery did was equally disgraceful and they too should be penalized. The FFF have found themselves a convenient scapegoat for their ineptitude in continuing with Raymond Domenech, who should be banned from coaching. For 18 months.