Sir Alex Ferguson. Just the mention of his name conjures up so many memories for any Manchester United fan. There are all the last-gasp winners, the iconic signings, the phenomenal games and the trophies, oh the trophies.

Never before has a manager made a club their own quite like Sir Alex, except maybe the late, great Bill Shankly at Liverpool. Apart from these two majestic Scotsmen, no other manager in history has quite managed to embody the spirit of a club. There may be the argument that Arsene Wenger has managed it at Arsenal but the teams he has built have been so contrasting that you would struggle to compare him to either Fergie or Shankly.

The fact is this: Manchester United is Alex Ferguson and Alex Ferguson is Manchester United.

The  sight of him striding up and down the touchline, chewing on his gum with the intensity and purpose of a mastiff gnawing a bone, and the accounts of his terrible clubhouse tirades and alternative use for cosmetological equipment have made him a living legend.

It almost didn’t happen.  When he came from Aberdeen, replacing Ron Atkinson in mid-campaign, the club finished eleventh.  He led them to second place the following year but then they dropped back to eleventh.  Only the first of a long string of memorable victories, an FA Cup replay defeat of Crystal Palace saved him from the axe.  It wouldn’t be long before the suggestion of sacking Fergie would be greeted with laughter.  United’s dominance in the Premier League years soon made him untouchable.

His fighting spirit is United to a tee. Not once have I ever seen a Manchester United team roll over in my seventeen years of support. Not once. There may have been a couple of shambolic performances down the years, the 6-1 mauling at the hands of City being the latest, but there is also the 0-0 draw against Burton Albion and the 6-3 loss to Southampton. Yet, even when you look back at the embarrassments, you have to say, United always played the United way.

Even better for each of those few humiliations, there have been any number of defining triumphs. Look at the recent 8-2 battering of Arsenal, the recent 6-1 win over those same Gunners, that wonderful penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the Champions League, the 5-3 comeback against Spurs, the 2-1 win in the Nou Camp over Bayern Munich and the 7-1 humbling of Roma. There have been so many that I could write an article just on the subject of United fans’best memories and I think I’d take a 6-1 defeat if it meant 10 more nights like the one in 1999, or 2008.

That is the testament to Sir Alex Ferguson’s management; every loss is answered by a run of victories and every departing star makes way for a brilliant replacement.

That is, again, a testament to his management. Look at David Beckham. A loyal servant to United since he joined as a schoolboy but when he left for Real Madrid in 2003, United pocketed £25 million. As a replacement they signed a rather precocious teenager for £12 million. That teenager was Cristiano Ronaldo, and what a player he is now. When the Portuguese followed Golden Balls to the Spanish capital, for a tidy £80 million this time, Wayne Rooney stepped to the fore.  When Paul Scholes retired, the manager remained calm while all around him panicked, calling for a major signing, be it Wesley Sneijder, Samir Nasri or Luka Modric.  Instead, Sir Alex gave young Tom Cleverley an opportunity.  Before his unfortunate injury, Cleverley stepped seamlessly into the creative midfield role and led United to that Community Shield fight back over City.  For me, that is Fergie’s greatest attribute – the ability to spot a diamond in the rough.

Chicharito is his most recent, signed for £7 million from Chivas and already an established name on the United team sheet. And there have been so many more on down the years. Nemanja Vidic was plucked from obscurity, so was Patrice Evra along with Peter Schmeichel and Denis Irwin. Of course, that hasn’t stopped the gaffer from making a few mistakes. Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba spring to mind, along with Massimo Taibi and Bebe (who Fergie admitted to signing sight unseen) but the old prospector has yielded far more nuggets than dirt in his time.

In fact, so many great players have passed through Old Trafford in my lifetime, that it’s difficult to name the greatest match the club has played under Ferguson.  After thinking on it, my choice may surprise a number of people, as it is not a final, nor a deciding game in the title race. Instead it’s the 1-0 win over Barcelona at Old Trafford in 2008.

Part of the magic of that victory was that it was one of those rare matches where United were not expected to win.  They’d held Barcelona at the Nou Camp with Ronaldo missing a penalty, but the Catalans had looked stronger, more decisive. The rematch at Old Trafford will forever be etched into my memory and that of thousands of other United fans.

It wasn’t just that we won, it was the way it was accomplished. A screamer from Paul Scholes in the early stages was coupled with the most outstanding defensive display I have ever seen. Barcelona threw everything at United — absolutely everything — and the defence was magnificent. Owen Hargreaves played at right back, with Wes Brown and Rio Ferdinand the centre back partnership and it was Patrice Evra at left back. Looking at that defensive line up, you’d struggle to believe they kept a clean sheet against the likes of Messi and Henry but they did it through sheer force of will. They believed they were going to get through the game unscathed, they believed they were going to make it into the Champions League final.

And who is that down to?  Sir Alex Ferguson of course. Very few manager can claim to have tactically outclassed a Barcelona side in the past ten years. Sir Alex did, although Barça would exact their revenge.

Not many managers can claim to have won two European Cups, either. Or to have lost another two.  Not many managers can claim to have built not one, not two, but nigh on five title winning sides, to have averaged at least one major trophy per year over a quarter of a century or to have defied the BBC and the FA for seven years and remain employed.  Sir Alex Ferguson can.

Whenever a new power has risen to threaten United’s supremacy, be it Gerrard Houllier and Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool sides, Arsenal’s Invincibles or Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, Fergie has always bounced back, defying belief, with a new stronger squad.  For those who think city’s ascendance will finally put him on the sidelines, they’d best think again.  They’ve only given him a reason to stick around.  Sir Alex loves nothing more than a challenge.

And that is why it’s going to be so hard to replace him. Names like Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola always pop up when the discussion is revisited.  While either of that duo would be wonderful, when the Scot finally abdicates his throne, United fans had best be prepared for a difficult time.  There is simply no one on the planet who can walk in and immediately top twenty-five years of glory.

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As Fred Rutten took his seat, memories of his last visit to De Grolsch Veste reverberated. It was here that PSV’s title charge came to an end last season. For more than twenty years, he had called Enschede home.  Yet, on that evening it was anything but.

This time around, the result brought mixed emotions.  In a game his side should have won, they didn’t and it was clear to him who was responsible.

Rutten’s finger was squarely pointed at Kevin Blom, a name Scottish football fans won’t forget in a hurry.  Blom was the offending figure in the recent international at Hampden Park between the Scots and the Czech Republic, wherein he gifted the Czechs an added time penalty and then denied one to the home side.

His decision to show Kevin Strootman a straight red left the midfielder, his teammates and Rutten incensed, with the manager refusing to shake hands after the game.

“I think the referee got it catastrophically wrong when he sent him off.  I respect colleagues, referees and I feel that everyone is allowed to make a mistake. But this is the kind of mistake he should never have made.” – Rutten offers to make a donation to the Eredivisie Respect campaign.

The gaffer just might have a point. PSV was, to Rutten’s surprise, in control for large parts of the match against one of their strongest title rivals. The only times they weren’t were the first ten minutes and the final twenty, after Strootman was sent off. The midfielder was his usual metronomic self, collecting the ball and circulating it with impeccable timing and rhythm.  Moreover, when he changed pace and made the odd deep run, he forced Twente onto their back foot.

His rapid assimilation has greatly benefited PSV, who for much of last year were criticised for being too passive. Cautiousness was formerly the mantra in Eindhoven. These days, the byword is attack. After their damp squib ending to the ’10-11 campaign, the prevailing opinion was that Rutten’s reign was up but he was given a reprieve by the PSV board; one more season to get things right. After a financial crisis was averted in the summer, things went smoothly, and the manager largely has Strootman to thank for the upswing.

During their hour of dominance, PSV played as they have done all season:  with verve and control, often relying on the counterattack, which they’ve used to devastating effect. Conversely, Twente were the architects of their own problems.  Co Adriaanse, known for his attacking mentality, indirectly allowed his side to concede possession and, as a result, further galvanised Rutten’s men.

Adriaanse began with an attacking line-up which included Nacer Chadli, the winger recently returning from a spell on the sidelines.  This was his first league start of the season. Even if he was off the pace, it wouldn’t trouble his manager greatly, as the boss had announced that he wished to build his new Twente side around the Belgian and the since departed Bryan Ruiz. There were moments last season when Chadli demonstrated his full capability, with football that made many sit up and take notice.  In this match, Adriaanse was just glad to see him back in a red shirt and getting his feet wet.

Both sides went into the game with identical records including one defeat; PSV on the opening day at AZ and FC Twente, surprisingly, away to Roda JC. Psychologically, Twente held the upper hand, unbeaten in the pair’s previous seven meetings and not having lost at home since October, 2005.

Preservation of that record couldn’t have begun any better, when Brazilian-born Douglas – who recently acquired Dutch citizenship – gave FC Twente the lead ten minutes in on a fortunate goal; the defender’s shin managing to connect with the ball as he was falling down after attacking a corner.  On the balance of play to that point, though, it was a deserved marker, with it evident that Adriaanse’s plan was to get out of the traps quickly.  The manager, looking at his watch as the goal went in, might have tipped his opposite number as to his future intent, however.

Another winger in the headlines immediately equalised for De Boeren.  The 18-year-old, Zakaria Labyad, latched onto a Georginio Wijnaldum pass and finished perfectly, continuing on from his imperious performance in the Cup midweek.  Labyad, who has been linked with Sevilla, might be better advised to commit his foreseeable future with PSV. While he’s often compared with his idol and former club captain Ibrahim Afellay, he’s till too green to be wandering far from home. Like the Barcelona player he possesses great pace, agility and dribbling technique all in abundance, and, utilising them all, he proved a constant thorn in the Twente full-backs’sides.  Rutten has gushed that the youngster is a “few levels above his peers” and it wasn’t difficult to see why on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Strootman is not the only summer signing paying early dividends for PSV.  His former FC Utrecht teammate Dries Mertens has also settled in superbly. One of the early candidates for the player of the season, he’s chipped in with thirteen goals from midfield — ten in his last eleven games — and countless assists. His latest helper restored PSV’s lead.  Following up on his own corner, Mertens floated in a sumptuous ball that Marcelo, the Brazilian defender, headed past Nikolay Mihaylov. It was the first time PSV had managed to score twice at De Grolsch Veste since April 2005, and they looked on course for their first victory at the stadium in six years.

The other shoe dropped minutes after taking the lead.  Strootman engaged in a 50-50 challenge with national teammate Luuk de Jong, and was adjudged to have gone over the top. On second viewing, a yellow might have been best and that was what Strootman was expecting. However, the referee only gets one look and it appeared to be a much more dangerous play in his eyes.

Once the red was shown, Rutten’s expression revealed his fear that the game might just have slipped through their hands. And, as though to prove him right, the newly inserted Leroy Fer quickly scored his second goal for The Tukkers in as many games.

The source of many a ruffled feather, Referee Blom flew the coop via a side exit, attempting to avoid the waiting press.   Yet, with some journalists camped by his car, he did offer his perspective.  While conceding the right for all concerned to debate the colour of the card, as far as he was concerned it was the right decision, as Strootman’s challenge endangered De Jong. A despondent Rutten went home ruing the result; his side having played the better football and deserving of all three points.   Before departing Enschede, he attempted to put a positive spin on the outcome.

 “The season is still long; we can repair this error made by the referee.”

Is Michel Platini fighting a losing battle or is 2011-12 merely the final, frantic, spasming death throe of the way it’s always been done?  After a cautious 2010-11, when spending was tempered by the reality of a global recession and the perceived threat of Financial Fair Play, 2011-12 has erupted into the Year of Money, making one wonder just how seriously the big clubs are taking UEFA’s attack on excessive spending.

Look at the defending champions in Ligue 1, the Bundesliga, Serie A and even the Premier League.  Lille and Borussia Dortmund each won their competitions with young, mostly homegrown squads.  Both sides emerged from a condensed pack in the second half of the season, taking control of their leagues while the traditional powers, such as Bayern, Bremen, Leverkusen, Marseille and Lyon, struggled to come to grips with the fact that age and experience were no longer sufficient to overcome youth and speed.

It was the same elsewhere.  AC Milan traveled a more beaten path, acquiring thoroughbreds Robinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano, albeit at cut-rate prices, as the Rossoneri also emerged from a jumbled pack in the winter months to claim their first Scudetto in seven years.  In England, Manchester United belied their status as the most valuable sporting club in the world, weathering Chelsea’s early dominance, Arsenal’s enthusiasm and City’s persistence and pacing themselves to their record nineteenth championship, without any noticeable spending.

Barcelona was the only champion who won by spending big, bringing in David Villa and Javier Mascherano in a bid to stay ahead of Real Madrid, now led by their Champions League nemesis, Jose Mourinho.

This season, the shoe is on the other foot.  The Achilles heel of Arsenal’s youth policy — that loyalty to club is trumped by big money offers — was cruel exposed this summer, with both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri jumping ship.  The same has occurred at Lille and Dortmund, with players such as Yohan Cabaye, Gervinho and André Schürrle lured away by clubs willing to pay more than the title holders can afford to keep their talent.   Milan, who made only small changes in the summer, are chasing a completely revamped Juventus.  United, who spent big but focused on youth, were blown out of the water by their ‘noisy neighbours’, who again lavished tens of millions on big name stars while casting away last year’s investments like outdated fashions.

A week after their 6-1 thrashing of United at Old Trafford, which put them five points and twelve goals clear at the top of the Premier League, City widened the gap by beating Wolves 3-1 while United held off Everton 1-0.   All that oil money is beginning to pay off.

In Paris, another Qatari contingent has invested millions in that city’s lone major club, signing Palermo’s Javier Pastore out from under the noses of Chelsea and complementing his talents with those of Kevin Gameiro, Jeremy Menez and a host of others.  After a short but bumpy bedding in, during which nearly everyone other than new Sporting Director Leonardo was ready to panic, PSG are now three points ahead of Montpellier in first place.

Bayern, whose reputation as big spenders may colour perceptions somewhat, largely stood pat in the off-season.  Their one major purchase was secured before the window opened, agreeing to terms with Schalke for the services of German number one Manuel Neuer, after a heated negotiation.  Still, the line-up which is now leaving the rest of the Bundesliga behind is comprised of highly sought after and dearly bought talent.  The key differences are that Franck Ribery is finally in the full bloom of health and form, and that new old coach Jupp Heynckes has placed complete trust in Mario Gomez, whereas had his predecessor Louis van Gaal had his druthers, the twelve goal man would have been offloaded two summers ago.

Ironically, the lone exception of money talking and bullshit walking this year in the major competitions is Barcelona.  Despite finally prying Cesc Fabregas from the Gunners and paying through the nose for the now injured Alexis Sánchez, the Catalans are chasing Real Madrid, who turned down opportunities to purchase Neymar and Emmanuel Adebayor.  To be fair, the Castilians did match Barça euro for euro during their summer shopper spree, but other than Fabio Coentrao, most of Madrid’s investment has been earmarked for the future, while Cesc and Sánchez were very much intended to be plug and play.  In that light, Real’s early lead seems an example of doing more with less.  Of course, as the former American wrestler Nature Boy Rick Flair was fond of saying, “To be the man, you have to beat the man.”  So, one can’t put too much weight on the Meringues’early lead until they meet  the Blaugrana in the opening leg of this season’s Clasico in December.   When the season ends, it won’t be a shock if Barcelona’s €55 million outlay brings them yet another championship.

The lure of the big buck works both ways, however.  United Arab Emirates club Al Ain forced a loan from Premier League side Sunderland by turning the head of Ghanaian World Cup hero Asamoah Gyan with the promise of outlandish wages and let’s not even get into what Russian Premier League minnows Anzhi Makhachkala paid to sign Samuel Eto’o.  So, it’s not just the top sides who flash the cash.

In any event, it does not appear that clubs are taking UEFA’s proposals seriously.  All told, UEFA clubs paid out over half a billion euros for players in the summer.  That’s a mind-boggling figure, even if top sides weren’t facing the prospect of losing their license to play in the Champions or Europa Leagues should they fail to balance the books.  That they are makes their lack of restraint even more puzzling.

On the other hand, the top clubs’continued dissatisfaction with international scheduling and compensation for injured players has led European Club Association chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to suggest that the organisation’s contract with UEFA, which obligates major clubs to compete in the Champions and Europa Leagues and to allow their stars to compete when summoned by their national teams, should not be renewed when it expires in 2014.

If that occurs, ECA members could break away from their national federations and form an elite European league, possibly patterned after the American franchise system, which does not employ promotion and relegation.  While the concept may seem completely alien and even impossible to the average European fan, it has been so profitable that the Forbes list of the fifty most valuable sports teams is dominated by American franchises.  Most notably, all thirty-two NFL clubs are on the list, although they are joined by six baseball and two basketball squads.  F1 teams Ferrari and McLaren also make the cut, leaving just eight places (less than twenty percent) to be split between the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga, UEFA’s so-called Big Four.  ECA big wigs can’t be happy with those numbers.

Further research into dealings across the pond reveals that baseball and basketball both support lower league programs which the universally profitable NFL has chosen to abandon.

An ECA break from UEFA, in order to follow gridiron’s ‘look out for number one’example, would naturally have a drastic effect on the footballing landscape.  An elite competition without promotion and relegation would likely consign lower divisions and non league football to the rubbish heap.  Big clubs with the power to deny national federations access to their best players would also threaten the existence of the Euros, Copa Libertadores, African Cup of Nations and, of course, the World Cup.  Yet, with the amazing success of the NFL, can ECA chairmen be blamed for wanting to be rid of the ‘dead weight’of the lower leagues in exchange for a much bigger slice of the pie?

Michel Platini doesn’t believe that the threats of the ECA are anything more than posturing. He points out that big clubs are just as much to blame for the crowded fixture list when they schedule extended summer tours to the far corners of the globe, regardless of the fact that these lucrative junkets help to promote UEFA as a whole.  But when he asks why the ECA doesn’t consider smaller clubs when lobbying for independent television rights, he loses his audience.  The big clubs know that they can make more money if they don’t have to prop up the lower tiers.  Threatening to “throw them out” before they leave of their own accord, as Platini did in July, may not be the best position to take.

Abandoning the century and a half old club system may seem inconceivable to UEFA, but both sides have been pushing hard to rake in every available penny and pound, filling the fixture list with competitions, friendlies and tours to the point of bursting, with neither group satisfied with their share of the spoils.  Platini needs to pay more heed to the clubs’argument that it is they who invest the money in players, assuming the greater financial risk.

Should he not, the question bears asking again.  Is Financial Fair Play necessary and just legislation which will corral irresponsible spending and preserve the UEFA club system or a draconian measure that will drive the big clubs right off the reservation?

The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

It’s amazing how much can change in a week.  Seven days ago, Manchester United and City were running away from the rest of the Premier League — from the world, to hear some talk — with no one to challenge them.  Two clubs from either side of the Alps changed that thinking during the week.  Bayern Munich put City in their place –as upstarts — with a 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena, which once again threw the lid off the contentious atmosphere in the City clubhouse.  Meanwhile Swiss side FC Basle nearly upended United at Old Trafford, with Ashley Young’s late effort rescuing a point for the English champions.  It took a bit of time for the two clubs to shake off the effects of those poor outings, both leaving it late to polish off their respective opponents, Norwich and Blackburn.

Yet, Sunday brought more disturbing news for the Mancunians, as Chelsea finally put in a complete performance, knocking off woeful Bolton, 5-1, at the Reebok.  It mattered not that the newly in-form Fernando Torres was suspended, as Frank Lampard proved that he is not nearly ready for the scrap heap, notching a hat trick.  Young Daniel Sturridge also quieted any worries that Torres might slip back into the doldrums after his ban ends, by supplying a brace himself.  After a moment of initial joy upon scoring his first, Sturridge also quieted his celebration, respectful of his recent spell with the Trotters.

There’s been a great deal of talk regarding the tenuous job security of the Steves, Bruce and Kean, at Sunderland and Blackburn, but the Wanderers’brain trust must be considering their options, too.  While his side has faced all the big guns in the first two months of the season, with points unsurprisingly difficult to come by, the club has capitulated far too easily in recent games.  Owen Coyle‘s open attacking style is pleasing to the eye and has high paid dividends on low investment, but with confidence at an all-time low, it may be time for the club to get down and dirty to rediscover their swagger.  The question is whether the Scot is prepared to do that.

Speaking of job security, the knives may be out again for Arsene Wenger, after the Gunners went down to defeat in the North London Derby against Spurs at White Hart Lane.  Yet, this was a match which promised to be a tough test, even in the best of circumstances.  These two played to a 6-5 aggregate in their league tie last season, when Arsenal were still in the title picture.  Given the vast amount of changes and key personnel missing on Sunday, a 2-1 setback was neither an unexpected nor unacceptable result for the Gunners.

Another runaway race tightened up in Germany, this weekend.  Bayern’s joy at handling the Manchester City Billionaire’s Club with such aplomb was tempered when they were held to a goalless draw by Hoffenheim.  However, the second and third place sides, Werder Bremen and Borussia Mönchengladbach failed to take advantage, both taking it on the chin.

The flat performances from the top clubs allowed two dangerous sides to make up ground.  Bayer Leverkusen, after two rough outings, bounced back to dump Wolfsburg 3-1.  The win kept them level on thirteen points with Hoffenheim, Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund.

BvB romped to a 4-0 victory over still winless Augsburg, thanks to a Robert Lewandowski three-bagger.  Mario Götze added the fourth and Jürgen Klopp’s defending champions are back in the Bundesliga frame, six points off hitherto rampant Bayern’s pace but holding down a European spot on goal difference.

Like the Mancunians, Jupp Heyncke’s Bavarians may be about to learn that nothing is ever easy.

Ajax?  Nope.  PSV, Twente or Feyenoord?  Pffft!  Suddenly the dominant side in Dutch football is AZ Alkmaar, back from the brink of financial ruin to wreak havoc on the big boys.  Their 3-1 victory over VVV Venlo was powered by goals from Robert ‘Dutch’Elm, Adam Maher and Simon Poulsen.  

Meanwhile, Theo Janssen, Kolbein Sigthorsson and Siem de Jong were powerless to stop FC Groningen from claiming a 1-0 victory over the Eredivisie champions.  Feyenoord were handed a worse defeat, 3-0 at De Kuip against ADO Den Haag.  The Verhoeks, Wesley and John, as well as Tjaronn Chery, did the damage.  Darren Maatsen popped in a deuce for doormats Excelsior, leaving Luuk de Jong to steal a point for FC Twente in added time.  Only PSV Eindhoven matched AZ’s success; a 2-0 triumph over NEC Nijmegen at the Philips Stadion rocketing them into second place.

Frank de Boer’s struggling side, now in fourth, will have the first crack at breaking into AZ’s four point lead, when the two face off next Saturday at the Amsterdam ArenA.

If you thought Paris in springtime was pleasant, autumn is suddenly not too shabby, either.  Forget fashion, Roland Garros, and the Tour.  All one needs is a little Arab oil money and a few Serie A stars looking for new frontiers.  Thanks to Paris Saint-Germain, football is suddenly the trend across the City of Light.

For most of the first decade of the new millenium, Lyon was the standard-bearer in Ligue 1, but on Sunday, Les Parisiens reminded Les Gones who was from France’s first city and who from the second, cruising to a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes.  Javier Pastore continued to return dividends on the Qatari Investment Authority’s €43 million roll of the dice, by scoring the opener just after the hour.  Then, Christophe Jallet killed off the match in added time, after coming on for Kevin Gameiro in the eighty-sixth minute.  PSG is now top of the table, with a three-point cushion on the three nearest clubs.

Montpellier‘s 2-2 Saturday draw at Bordeaux moved them ahead of Lyon and Toulouse, who lost badly at Sochaux, on goal difference.  Elsewhere, champions Lille continued to climb back into the race with a 2-0 victory over Stade Rennes at the Metropole, while Marseille slipped, held to a 1-1 draw in the Velodrome by Brest.

It’s not quite business as usual, yet, in La Liga.  Sure, Real Madrid are rolling again, after a 4-0 dismantling of Barcelona side Espanyol.  Not quite the real deal, but satisfying nonetheless, with Gonzalo Higuain picking up a hat trick on the road.  On the other hand, the real deal had their hands full with the club on the bottom rung of the ladder.  To be fair, Barcelona didn’t field their strongest eleven but were forced to rely upon Adriano’s twelfth minute goal, as host Sporting Gijon stubbornly held on to the match, hoping to find some chink in the champions armour.

However, the table still looks a little wonky, with Levante unbeaten in second place, possibly proving that self-hypnosis is effective, as they’ve apparently convinced themselves that they really are wearing Barcelona kits.  Malaga, the third tine in the Qatari trident which also includes PSG and Man City, is also changing the status quo, sitting in fourth, while the third unbeaten side in the La Primera Liga, Sevilla, lay sixth.

Give it time; it will all sort itself out.

The early campaign is as plain as black and white in Serie A.  The Bianconeri, not just Juventus, but Udinese, as well, top the table.  The Old Lady has scored two more goals but the Friuli have been exceptionally stingy, conceding just once in their opening five matches.  When you play that well defensively, it’s turns out to be Barcelona who miss Alexis Sánchez more.  Antonio di Natale seems unconcerned about who provides his service, having notched his fourth league goal and fifth in all competitions in a 2-0 victory over Bologna.  Likewise, Andrea Pirlo didn’t fret over putting the sword to his old side, Milan, forcing a big save out of Christian Abbiati as Juventus took a similar 2-0 decision, thanks to a Claudio Marchisio brace in the dying moments.

Despite the best efforts of Dagestan, the Russian Premier League has settled into its usual pattern:  the big city clubs at the top and the outlying sides chasing for scraps.  Prior to Anzhi Makhachkala‘s outrageous deal with Inter to acquire the services of Samuel Eto’o, the club was a cohesive unit capable of defeating anyone on any given day.  Since agreeing to pay the Cameroonian €350,000/week, the squad has come to rely almost exclusively upon him for goals.  He has produced regularly but it has become a case of as Samuel goes, so go Anzhi.  Of course, that’s a natural reaction when someone is paid such a disproportionate salary in comparison with his peers.

Regardless, Anzhi are well off the pace, twelve points behind Zenit St. Petersburg and five away from a European qualification, with CSKA, Dinamo, Lokomotiv and Spartak Moscow each claiming one of the remaining money slots.  For the big-spending outsiders, the balance sheet is beginning to turn an alarming shade of red.

After both Gamba Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol went down to defeat last week, the pair still managed to open a four and three-point gap, respectively, on the rest of the field, in the closing weeks of the J-League campaign — with a little help from lower standing sides.

Albirex Niigata moved away from the danger zone with a desperate performance, defeating fourth place Yokohama F Marinos 4-2.  Meanwhile, Shimizu S-Pulse consolidated their mid-table position by doubling up on third ranked Nagoya Grampus Eight, 2-1.

Neither Gamba nor Kashiwa were very stylish in returning to winning ways, grinding out 1-0 results against Urawa Diamonds and Kashima Antlers.  Kashiwa held on despite going down to ten men just before the break, when Park Dung-Hyuk was sent off for a second bookable offence shortly after Masatao Kudo had earned — shall we say plaudits? — for his game-winner on the half-hour.

What is wrong with Real Salt Lake?  The 2009 MLS Cup winners have dropped their last three in the midst of the stretch run; a period wherein they have become known for raising their game a notch.  The third defeat came at the hands of runaway league leaders LA Galaxy, with David Beckham – who has pointedly not cultivated that same reputation during his MLS tenure — playing a part in both goals.

After falling behind to Fab Espindola’s first half strike, the Galaxy rallied in front of the home crowd in the second frame.  Golden Balls fed Chad Barrett in the box as the hour mark approached, to level terms; a result visiting RSL would have been happy to accept and which they deserved until defender Nat Borchers knocked an errant ball into his own goal, from a Beckham set-piece on seventy-two minutes.

The former England captain then turned on the charm, noting that he “honestly enjoys the assists more than scoring.”  Aw, shucks.

On the other coast, or near enough, NY Red Bull continued to straddle the fence, settling for their sixteenth draw in thirty-one matches.  Thierry Henry salvaged the point with two minutes on the clock at Toronto FC’s BMO field, scoring his thirteenth goal of the season.  With three games remaining, Red Bull are clinging to the final play-off spot on goal-difference over expansion side Portland Timbers and two points over DC United, who are being led by erstwhile Red Bull Dwayne De Rosario‘s league leading fourteen goals.

No, a revival of Cats isn’t playing South of the Border.  But Pumas, Jaguares and Tigres are, in fact, topping the table two-thirds of the way through the Apertura mini-season.  All three are clawing to stay near the top, as well.

Pumas 1-0 victory over struggling América, on Saturday, lifted them top thanks to Jaguares Friday night 1-1 draw with Atlas, and Sunday’s like result against Tijuana’s Aztec Dogs for Tigres, the three opponents being the bottom squads in the top flight.  The tight competition in the Primera Division is further exemplified by the crowded play-off picture, with the clubs from third to thirteenth all within a single result of falling below or climbing above the cut line between the eighth and ninth rungs on the ladder.

In the battle of the week, in Brazil, Vasco de Gama clung desperately to first place as visiting Corinthians attempted to reclaim the top spot which they had held for most of the early doors in the National Championship.  Strangely, both Vasco goals came from defenders, with Dede’s header opening the scoring on the quarter-hour and Fagner’s first-half added time strike restoring the lead that Alex had cancelled out.  Danilo’s noggin-shot on sixty-six minutes split the points and kept the Paulistas two points adrift of the Rio giants.

On Saturday, Neymar‘s goal on the half-hour was wasted as Santos allowed Marcio Rosario to head home in added time for ten-man Fluminense.  The Copa Libertadores champions continue to struggle to get into the domestic race.

Boca Juniors consolidated their position at the top of the Primera Division de Argentina Apertura table with a 1-0 victory over surprising Tigre.  The fifth placed side might have split the points at La Bombonera had it not been for Diego Castaño’s own goal fourteen minutes into the match.  It was a hard-fought affair, with the official handing out eight cautions, split evenly between the sides.

Newly promoted Atletico Rafaella continued to lead the chasing pack, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Lanús.  Fabricio Fontanini and Federico Gonzalez scored less than five minutes apart, early in the second half, to overturn Mario Regueiro’s first half goal.  Regueiro was sent off shortly after Fontanini had leveled, and when Gonzalez put Rafaella in front, El Granate imploded, going down to nine men when Carlos Izquierdos was issued a second yellow.

The result will keep Juan Roman Riquelme and company on their toes, despite their comfortable margin, but Boca seem intent on making up some ground in the championship category, while rivals River languish in the second tier.

See you next Monday! 

The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

Unlike last week, this Premier League Sunday was hardly an afterthought.  Instead, it rose up and smacked fans of Liverpool and Manchester City right between the eyes.  Then it delivered a blow to the mid-section of an unsuspecting Stoke City, and, for good measure, kicked Chelsea in the butt.

Spurs hammered Liverpool 4-0, while Kenny Dalglish fumed and referee Mike Jones did his best to keep a straight face as he sent off both Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel, who will be having nightmares about Gareth Bale for weeks to come.  Dalglish at least has learnt to keep his remarks regarding officiating between himself and the men in black.  He had plenty to say to Jones in the tunnel at the half but absolutely nothing to the press after the match.  Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp was feeling like the Prince of the City, after Ex-Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor hit for a brace and Chelsea wannabe Luka Modric swallowed his pride and contributed the opener at White Hart Lane.

Stoke, who stole three points against the Reds, last week, learnt that there is no easy match in the Premier League, as Sunderland came off the bottom of the table to hit them up for another 4-0 shellacking.  The legendarily prolific trio of Titus Bramble, Craig Gardner and Sebastian Larsson were aided by an own goal from Jonathan Woodgate.  While Tony Pulis was tearing his hat to pieces in frustration, punters across the Northeast were doing the same with betting slips touting Steve Bruce to be the first manager sacked in 2010-11.

Manchester City failed to heed the lesson of the Blackburn/Arsenal match, wasting Sergio Kun Aguero‘s seventh and eighth goals for the club and letting struggling Fulham back into the match.  Goals from Bobby Zamora and captain Danny Murphy split the points and dropped the Billionaire’s Club further behind United’s Boys Club.

Fergie’s Fledglings made the most of their toughest test thus far.  Although Chelsea had their fair share of ascendancy, they did little with it.  Fernando Torres did score his second goal in six months for the club but then refused to increase his rate of production, circling a helpless David de Gea and sliding his shot wide of an unprotected goal.  Other than that, however, De Gea was the reason that United led 3-0 at the half, through Chris Smalling, Nani and Wayne Rooney, rather than trailing by the same score.  He had to rescue his teammates in the second half, as well, when Rooney pulled a John Terry, slipping as he struck a penalty kick which would have killed off the match.

The one worry to come out of the match, as United moved clear at the top of the table, was Ashley Cole’s nasty tackle on Javier Hernandez, who limped off under duress and may now become Tom Cleverley’s FIFA ’11 partner for the near future.

The question in Germany, this week, is has the country fallen in love with Ashton Kutcher and That ’70s Show in the same manner as they did with der Hasselhoff?  It seems as though they may have, with the table beginning to look much as it did in the Polyester Decade. Last year’s relegation survivors, Borussia Mönchengladbach, are suddenly flashing back to the days when they challenged Bayern for Bundesliga honours on a yearly basis.

Igor Camargo got his kick in minute sixty-six, to give M’gladbach a win over Hamburg and solidify their grip on third place, level on points but a goal behind Werder Bremen, whose application for three points was denied at the EasyCredit Stadion, leaving them with a 1-1 draw with hosts Nurnberg.  Both Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund continued their inconsistent starts, suffering defeats, 4-1 at home to Cologne and 2-1 away to Hannover, respectively.  Lukas Podolski picked up a double for Cologne.  Hoffenheim and Stuttgart also stayed near the top, with wins over Wolfsburg and Freiburg.  Hoffenheim’s 3-1 cruise over Felix Magath’s side, has the embattled boss considering petitioning the league to play Schalke every week.

The Royal Blues, who took it on the chin to their former manager, last week, were kicked by Bayern while they were down.  The league leaders opened some space on the chasing pack with a 2-0 victory in Gelsenkirchen.  Manuel Neuer had all the time in the world to count the ‘Judas’signs sported by Schalke fans, as his new mates didn’t let his former ones anywhere near the goal.

If you’ve read David Winner’s Brilliant Orange, you know that Total Football was born out of the Dutch knack for coping with a lack of space.  No surprise then, that the Eredivisie table is gridlocked after week six.  Four clubs are grouped within a point of each other at the top, and the season is just getting warmed up.  

The key match was at the Philips Stadion, where PSV pushed Ajax to the limit but failed to close ground.  Neither did they give any away, so, on the whole, they won’t be complaining too much.  The 2-2 draw saw the Eindhoven side on the front foot for most of the match, with Tim Matavz’s second minute strike and Giorgio Wijnaldum’s penalty just before the hour eventually pegged back, in turn, by Kolburnn Sigthorsson’s leveller before the half-time whistle and Dmitry Bulykin’s point-splitter on seventy-nine minutes.

FC Twente and AZ Alkmaar each took advantage of the stalemate, moving into the top two slots, on fifteen points.  AZ had to work hard to get by new boys RKC 2-1, but Twente reclaimed the league lead with a resounding 5-2 win over ADO Den Haag.  Luuk de Jong was on the board twice in the Enschede romp.  Feyenoord‘s 4-0 pasting of de Graafschap, put them fourth.  Ironically, the Rotterdam giants, along with Ajax, are the only two unbeaten sides in the Eredivisie but are both looking up at the Champions League places.  Don’t you just love the early doors?

Elsewhere, disciplinarian John van den Brom may have finally driven the message home to his young charges at Vitesse.  After back-to-back 4-0 embarrassments, the Arnhem club drilled five past Roda JC, who had no answer.

Okay, here it comes:  my first official Evian pun.  I’m sure it’s been said elsewhere and more than once, but PSG, will tell you that whatever the newly promoted club have, they ought to bottle it.  The club is stubbornly hanging onto a place in the top half of the table, this week jumping out to an early two goal lead against the well-heeled Parisiens.  Javier Pastore paid off another installment in his €43 million price tag, by pegging a goal back, appropriately in the forty-third minute.  It was left to Mathieu Bodmer, who had come on with a quarter-hour remaining, to salvage a point for the Qatari-backed club.  It took him six minutes, but the job was done and PSG remain within shouting distance of the leaders.

That is no longer Montpellier, however.  The unlikely table topper could only manage a 2-2 draw at Brest, allowing Lyon to move top, after a battle of Olympian proportions with Marseille, won 2-0 at the Stade Gerland on goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and Michel Bastos.  The defeat won’t sit well with Didier Deschamps, who, less than two years removed from a championship is parked at the bottom of the table.

Were you beginning to think that Barcelona was mortal and that Real Madrid finally had the answer to the Catalans’mastery?  Foolish human.  The Blaugrana got their feet under them in the third week of the Primera Liga campaign and dropped an eight spot on a ridiculously optimistic Osasuna.  Lionel Messi had a hat trick, David Villa a double, with Cesc Fabregas and Xavi also helping out.  Osasuna defender Roversio apparently thought the second letter in his name was an ‘e’, rather than an ‘o’, as he put the remaining tally into his own net.

Conversely, Real Madrid were reduced to ten men and fell to Levante 1-0, after Sami Khedira was sent off in the first half and Arouna Kone scored the only goal of the match in the sixty-eighth minute.  Given that the start of the season was delayed a week, and Levante’s kit is remarkably similar to Barça, I suppose it’s possible Los Blancos thought they were playing a much tougher match.

Meanwhile, there are two teams with perfect records but strange shirts at the top of the table.  Real Betis went into San Mames and, impressively, came away with a 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao.  Likewise, Valencia won away at Sporting Gijon, albeit by a more subdued 1-0 score.

Although it’s only two matches into the Serie A season, and the table has yet to settle, there is a hint that the scoring race, at least, will be a repeat of last year’s heated competition.  Udinese and Napoli are two of the four teams with two victories in as many tries, and they are being led by their talismans, Antonio di Natale and Edinson Cavani.

Cavani hit a treble as the Neapolitans did away with Scudetto holders AC Milan.  Alberto Aquilani’s first goal for the Rossoneri went for nought, once the uruguayan cranked up his game.  For his part, Di Natale has now scored in both of his club’s 2-0 victories.  Even without Alexis Sanchez to feed him the ball, the veteran appears intent on keeping his golden boot for a third Serie A consecutive year.

Competition continues to be fierce in the Russian Premier League.  CSKA Moscow‘s 1-1 draw away to FK Rostov, languishing near the drop zone, was costly for the capital giants.  Zenit St. Petersburg refused to let up, themselves, away to the much tougher Rubin Kazan, and outlasted the recent champs 3-2, with Roman Shirokov’s opener and Danny’s brace providing maximum points.

Dinamo also took advantage of their neighbours recent slide.  After toppling CSKA 4-0, a week ago, Dinamo made Amkar Perm’their third victim on the trot, with former Liverpool benchwarmer again sparking the victory.

Zenit now have a clear lead in the table, but Dinamo lay two back and CSKA three.  The weather may be cooling on the Steppes, but the race in the RPL is definitely heating up.

Last week, I wrote that Kashiwa Reysol have their groove back.  This week, they emphasised that fact in a major way, knocking off Vitesse Kobe, 4-0, to leapfrog Yokohama F Marinos and close to within a point of Gamba Osaka.

Rafinha continued his good run for the current leaders, as Gamba drew with Marinos, affording Reysol the opportunity to edge within reach of the top.  With eight matches left in the campaign, the J-League race is providing fans, who have been through a tragic 2011, a pleasant diversion from their daily travails.  Unfortunately, however, tragedy is refusing to take any time off in the Land of the Rising Sun.  Former Shimizu S-Pulse keeper Masanori Sanada, just forty-three, passed away from a heart attack early in the week.  He is the second Japanese footballer to be stricken by a coronary siezure this year, following defender Naoki Matsuda, who died in August.

With half a dozen matches left on the schedule, New York Red Bull have begun to be something other than indifferent about the MLS season.  A hard fought 1-0 victory on the road, against Western power FC Dallas has lifted the Red Bull, who have drawn half their matches, back into the play-off picture.  Former Notts County bad boy Luke Rodgers, making his first start after mising ten weeks with an injured heel, provided the only goal of the match.

Another side lagging behind their usual pace, Real Salt Lake, also notched a big win by halting the progress of Sporting KC.  Nat Borchers potted the lone strike, as RSL stayed ten points behind LA Galaxy, with two games in hand.

The thing about a split season is that a sudden run of form, good or bad, can quickly change a club’s fortunes.  Take Jaguares, for instance.  They were one of the worst teams in the recently completed Clausura, and when the Apertura opened, they didn’t seem much better.  However, a string of three victories, including an electric 5-3 triumph, on Saturday, against the suddenly hapless America.  Edgar Andrade‘s brace cancelled out Daniel Montenegro‘s and Christian Valdez’s tally did the same to Christian Benitez.  That left the two late goals, one in each half, from Franco Arizala and Jackson Martinez, respectlively to claw out the victory.

Puebla‘s stunning 4-1 victory away at the Estadio OmniLife against Chivas knocked the Goats from the top of the hill, with Cruz Azul also leapfrogging the Guadalajara side, after a road win of their own, 2-1 over Monterrey.  Tigres reversal to Atlante leaves them one point behind the three pacesetters.

Corinthians have slipped into a dangerous funk, dropping their last two matches and three of their last five.  Sunday’s hammering at the hands of Paulista rivals Santos, who won the match 3-1 despite Paolo Henrique Ganso seeing red, has cost them their place atop the National Championship table.  In fact, it has dropped them all the way to third, with the slide seeming more severe for the performances of the two clubs which overtook them.

Both Vasco de Gama and Sao Paolo recorded comprehensive 4-0 victories over Gremio and Ceara, respectively.  The two clubs each featured four different goal scorers, but it was pleasing to see old warhorse Rivaldo on the score sheet for the Paulistas.  Vasco now sit top, ahead of Sao Paolo by a single point.

Boca Juniors managed to stay a step ahead of giant killers Atletico Rafaella for a second week, with a 2-1 victory over Lanus.  Defender Juan Insurralde made the match closer than it was with an own goal just after the restart, but Walter Erviti’s strike, after the hour, restored the lead.

The Genovese will be looking nervously over their shoulder to see what Rafaella are up to next.  The upstarts took the lead with twenty minutes remaining against San Lorenzo, only to endure a mad frenzy at the end of the match.  Sebastian Gonzalez leveled a minute from time and then, in added time, Federico Gonzalez put Rafaella back in front.  Moments later, Nicolas Castro put the game to bed from the spot, after Bernardo Romeo saw red for the hosts.

With both clubs winning on the road and putting some distance between themselves and the pack, Argentina may be in for an unusual two-horse race in this year’s Apertura.  Circle Sunday October 30th on your calendar.  That’s when these two meet, at La Bombonera, perhaps to decide the title race once and for all.

See you next Monday! 

Manchester United have begun their 2011-12 domestic campaign in almost flawless fashion. Domestically, the Red Devils have played four, won four and scored eighteen goals along the way, while conceding only three.  Barcelona, on the other hand, have begun their La Liga season unsteadily. An impressive 5-0 win over Villareal was followed up by a disappointing 2-2 draw with Real Sociedad.

Outside of league play, the Blaugrana have already won the Spanish Super Cup, following a 5-4 aggregate win over Real Madrid, but they were beaten 3-0 by Espanyol in the Catalonia Cup final.  It is hardly the most important trophy, I know, but a 3-0 loss is a 3-0 loss regardless of competition.  So, does that bode well for United?

Well, by contrast, the Mancunians defeated Manchester City, 3-2, in a pulsating derby match, transplanted to Wembley and labeled the Community Shield, which, again, is hardly the most important trophy in English football.

In their opening Champions League matches the tables were turned.  It was United, fielding several bench players — although not Dimitar Berbatov — who looked lacklustre against Portuguese side Benfica, with Ryan Giggs, horribly exposed by the Catalans at Wembley, saving the Premier League title-holder’s bacon.  Meanwhile, Barça were robbed of three points at the death in a thrilling match against Serie A champion AC Milan.

Perhaps, then, early doors is not really a great indicator of what is to come in May and June.  On the other hand, it’s all we have to go on, isn’t it?

Barcelona were brilliant against Villareal at the Camp Nou.  They moved the ball with their patented elegance and grace.  Messi scored twice.  The new signings, Alexis Sánchez and Cesc Fabregas added a goal apiece and Thiago Alacantara, the young hotshot, opened the scoring.  Barcelona kept the ball for three-quarters of the match, earned twelve corners and took eighteen goal attempts, of which half were on target. In contrast Villareal, had absolutely zero corners and managed just five shots, only one on target. Such domination is more than brilliant actually; it’s phenomenal.

Against Sociedad, Barça again had seventy-five percent possession, yet only drew. Why?  Simply put, they made uncharacteristic mistakes. Sociedad were 2-0 down at half time and seemingly lambs to the proverbial slaughter, yet on 59 minutes Agirretxe pulled one back to give them hope. One minute later, Griezmann popped up with an equaliser, after capitalising on a lack of concentration in Barca’s back line.

Are they beatable then, or is it just a case of early season hiccups?

Well, Arsenal proved last season, that it is possible to defeat Barcelona. The Gunners ran out 2-1 winners after frustrating Barça for seventy-seven minutes, until Robin Van Persie equalised. Then, smelling blood, Andrey Arshavin smashed them into the lead late on.

Nor was this win a case of Barcelona beating themselves. Arsenal had a line-up capable of giving the Catalans a taste of their own medicine, limiting Barça to just fifty-three percent possession when they average 60%. Facing a side nearly their equal in terms of precision ball movement, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, et al, weren’t able to win back the ball as quickly as they are accustomed. That night, there was less opportunity to do that, as they learnt how it felt for other sides to chase shadows.

The question is, can United do the same?  If drawn with Barcelona in the latter stages of the Champions League, could they dictate the flow of the match against such an accomplished midfield,with their new young stars?

On the basis of the first four games the answer is a definite maybe. United have based their approach on quick passing and direct, pacy wingers, similar, in fact, to their Spanish nemesis.  If United packed their midfield with players able to run for ninety minutes straight, such as Park Ji-Sung, Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley, then maybe they could keep the ball for long enough to fashion a goal scoring opportunity or two.

Yet, if they did, the onus would then be on the back four to make it stand up. With tall, angular center backs Phil Jones and Chris Smalling as the spearheads, that seems unlikely.  Barcelona’s attack is filled with quick, tricky wingers with dazzling dribbling skills. Smalling and Jones are poorly built to cope with that. They are good defenders there is no doubt about it, but facing Lionel Messi, David Villa and Alexis Sánchez is a different kettle of fish than dealing with Kevin Davies, Ivan Klasnic and Chris Eagles. The defence needs to be full of experienced defenders who are going to be switched on for ninety minutes straight. Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand, if healthy, would provide that.That trio have faced Barcelona twice before, though, and been beaten on both occasions. So, at best, Slim may still be in town.

The key, to my mind, is two players: Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher. Both are Energiser Bunnies who keep going and going, and then, if extra time is required, will keep going and going some more.

Fletcher was missing for the 2009 final, and only just made the bench for the 2011 showpiece, as an unused substitute. The Scot is typically the vital piece of the jigsaw when United play big teams. Barcelona are a big team and when Fletcher isn’t there, as shown before, they tend not to do well.  in their first four games, United haven’t had a major test — Arsenal in their current state hardly count –

Park Ji-Sung played in both finals.  In 2009, he largely went missing. In 2011, though, he was one of the best players in a United shirt. Unfortunately, the Korean is not the type to carry the club, but if his nine companions on the pitch followed his example, developing third lungs, the Premier League champion might be in with a shout.

So, to recap:  if all the most experienced players were available, if every player in a United shirt ran themselves into the ground over the full ninety and if every pass and shot was on target, United would have a chance.  Otherwise, if they meat Barcelona again in the Champions league, they can expect to have a long evening.

The Monday Morning Drip grinds up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  

Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.

Here’s this week’s Drip…

If your Sunday Morning Hangover extended all the way through the train ride to work this morning, don’t worry, Premier League fans.  You didn’t miss much.  Less, in fact, than James Vaughn, who was caught looking the wrong way by Gabriel Tamas’elbow in Norwich’s 0-1 loss to West Brom.  Safe to say that the nasty blow, which naturally went unseen by the official, left Vaughn gaping at the pretty yellow canaries flying about his head in full song.  Unfortunately, it also left him with a gash that may require plastic surgery.  Oh well, can’t let the WAGs have all the fun, can we?

Nor will Vaughn have run into Tom Cleverley, as the United starlet received the comparatively good news that his foot injury, courtesy of Bolton captain Kevin Davies was ligament damage rather than a bone break.  As such, he’ll only miss three-four weeks, instead of the dreaded three-four months.

West Brom’s result, coupled with Fulham and Blackburn’s one-goal draw, meanwhile, had little effect on the table beyond pulling scoreless Swansea into the drop zone.

To wrap up the week’s matches, QPR will hand Joey Barton his Technicolor debut tonight, after several years of pulling on the black and white shirt at Newcastle.  Of course, he might still be at the head of the Toon Army if matters behind the scenes were as plain as the kit.  With Asamoah Gyan fleeing the Northeast as well, for the cash happy UAE, one has to wonder what the problem is on Wear and Tyneside?  Maybe it’s all the French players coming in.

The NFL season kicked off this weekend, so confused fans may be wondering who the quarterback is at Bayern Munich.  The Rekordmeister won by a touchdown over SC Freiburg on Saturday, with Mario Gomez hitting four in the 7-0 rout.  The Bundesliga giants have a record comparable to Man United, with twelve points and a plus fifteen goal difference.  However, they have conceded just the one goal, heading into their Champions League clash with Villareal at El Madrigal on Wednesday, whereas the Mancunians have permitted three.  Parity, it would seem, is out the window, this year, in the two leagues most famous for it.

Behind Bayern, Mainz’s fine early start was cut off abruptly by Hoffenheim, who overran the Coface Arena for a stunning 0-4 reversal.  Immediately after the match, Twitter suffered a nearly overwhelming rush themselves, as it was Ryan Babel‘s brace which killed off the match.  Elsewhere, Vfb Stuttgart cruised to a 3-0 home win over Hannover 96 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena and Werder Bremen consolidated their recently resumed place as official Bayern chasers, with Claudio Pizzaro taking two bites out of Hamburg.  Eat now, groan later.

It wasn’t as luxurious a ride at the Volkswagen arena, but after Raul put Schalke ahead before the quarter-hour, Mario Mandzukic took the wheel and delivered a double for Wolfsburg, driving home a little satisfaction for coach Felix Magath in a grudge match against his high-flying former side.

Roda JC delivered the upset of the week in Round 5 of the Eredivisie campaign.  The Kerkrade side upended the erstwhile table toppers 2-1.  Marc Janko’s thirty-fifth minute goal started Twente on the right foot but Ruud Vormer replied for Roda, just a minute later.  Then Mitchell Donald converted a cross just after the break.

The result tumbled the Enschede side all the way to third, as AZ Alkmaar continued to impress with a 4-0 first half romp over Vitesse.  Pontus Vernbloom had two before the half-hour and the match was killed off when Rasmus Elm converted a penalty just prior to the break.  With Wilfred Bony then being sent off with twenty minutes remaining, John van den Brom will not be happy with his club’s performance.

AZ hold an edge in goal difference over Twente but still trail champion Ajax by a point, as the Amsterdammers outwrestled Heracles on the strength of Siem de Jong‘s two goals.  Unlike Bayern, it looks to be a rough road ahead for Ajax, seeking to retain their title.

PSV failed to keep pace with the leaders, escaping with a 3-3 draw away to VVV Venlo, but Feyenoord, after consecutive draws of their own, moved ahead of the Eindhoven side, into fourth, with a solid 3-1 triumph over NAC Breda.

The money machine is starting to run smoothly at the Parc des Princes.  Five minutes after the hour, PSG gained a slight edge in the match, when Diego Lugano’s caution put the Parisiens in the book three times compared to just two for visiting Brest.  Three minutes after that, a little known player in Antoine Kombouare’s side, Argentine Javier Pastore, made good with fellow Serie A product, Jeremy Menez’s pass to score the only goal of the match.

The win was a positive step but probably didn’t seem so, with Lille, Lyon and Montpellier ahead of them, and Toulouse and Stade Rennes on their heels all collecting three points, themselves.

The one squad missing from the equation, Didier Deschamps’Marseille, suffered their second consecutive loss, after opening the competition with three draws.  Their setback before the international break, in the battle of the last two champions carried over to Sunday, when Rennes, so good defensively until the end of last season, returned to their former stingy form, stealing a 1-0 victory at the Velodrome.  With PSG beginning to flex their financial muscle, this might not be the season to get off to a sluggish start.

Well, La Primera Liga is off to another typical start.  Real Betis and Valencia are keeping pace with Real Madrid, Barcelona is struggling along in fourth place and Villareal are hovering just above the drop zone.

Pardon?  What do you mean that’s not typical, at all? How do you expect Barcelona to hold down the top spot if they concede two goals to Real Sociedad, on the road or not?  The Catalans began Saturday in style, with Cesc Fabregas, Alexis Sánchez and Xavi combining on a tenth minute goal so pretty that they tried it again a moment later.  Sociedad were a bit wiser on the redux, but couldn’t prevent the former Gunner from applying the coup de grâce.   From there, it all went wrong.  Sánchez was carted off at the half hour and the home side scored two goals within sixty seconds, themselves, on the hour.  Pep Guardiola, who had hoped to rest Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, threw them into the fray to no avail, as Sociedad hung on for a memorable point.

While Barça were taking Arsenal lessons from Cesc — dropping points needlessly — Jose Mourinho‘s Real Madrid were grinding out another of his patented 4-2 snoozers against a lightweight side.  Capital rivals Getafe gave Los Blancos a match, with Miku leveling Karim Benzema‘s opener, then pegging one back after Cristiano Ronaldo converted from the spot and Benzema contributed a second.  Then, Mourinho proved his tactical superiority over Guardiola by inserting Gonzalo Higuain with three minutes remaining and coolly examining his fingernails as the Argentine ran down the field and finished off the match.

In Serie A, powerhouses AC Milan and Lazio cranked up the star power in Friday’s opening match at San Siro.  The 2-2 draw saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano reply to the questions asked by Miroslav Klose and Djibril ‘It’s Tuesday So It Must Be Orange’Cisse.  Napoli then took over the show, on Saturday, knocking off Cesena, with Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi on the sheet.

But, it was Inter who struggled at the outset of their season.  Giampiero Gasperini may  love his options in attack but its madness to expect to come away from a shootout in Sicily with fewer holes in your scoresheet than the home side.  Fabricio Miccoli and Abel Hernandez had offset Diego Milito‘s brace in the first hour, before both sides dug in until a last furious exchange in the final five minutes.  Miccoli then connected for his second and Mauricio Ferreira Pinilla made Diego Forlan’s goal in added time cosmetic.

In Roma, new boss Luis Enrique started disgruntled captain Francesco Totti but the result was still negative.  Visiting Cagliari came away with a 2-1 victory made easier by Jose Angel’s devilish behaviour drawing a red card.

Thus it was Juventus, who stole the Sunday limelight, using an attack by committee to overwhelm Parma, although Antonio di Natale led Udinese to victory, as well, with some help from Dusan Basta, who must really love to hear opponents mutter his name after he bulges the twine.

The top of the Russian Premier League table became much more crowded over the weekend.  Joint leaders Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA went down hard against Lokomotiv and Dinamo Moscow, respectively.  Dinamo’s comprehensive 0-4 victory at the Luzhniki Stadium was accomplished with significant help from players imported from points west.  Liverpool afterthought Andriy Voronin began the rout and Kevin Kuranyi and Brazilian Leandro also took a hand.   Lokomotiv adopted a similar strategy with Victor Obinna, Felipe Caicedo and Manuel da Costa, with two, leading the underdogs to a 4-2 triumph over Luciano Spaletti’s side.

Anzhi Makhachkala took advantage of the double team to move within six points of the leaders, and, yes, Samuel Eto’o got things started in the Dagestani club’s victory over stragglers Volga Novgorod.  With all the Western capitalist influence permeating the league, Lenin must be spinning in his tomb.

Kashiwa Reysol have their groove back.  After a prolonged hiccup which saw them slide well down the table from their perch atop the J-League, the club is finding its stride again.  Matched against defending champion Nagoya Grampus Eight, Kashiwa fell behind when Leandro had to take treatment on the sidelines after colliding with Marcus Tulio Tanaka.  Yet Kashiwa had a Tanaka up their sleeves, as well, with Janya leveling for the former league leaders.  Finally, Masakatsu Sawa capitalised on a moment of Grampus confusion to put his team ahead in the match and, with the final whistle,  in the standings, assuming the third position which the holders had been occupying.

The two squads in front of them aren’t making a recovery easy, however.  Leaders Gamba Osaka made short work of Omiya Ardija and Yokohama F Marinos squeezed past relegation bound Avispa Fukuoka.

Sporting KC continued their improbable run to the top of the Eastern Conference table, with a 3-0 victory over Houston Dynamo.  Teal Bunbury‘s brace did most of the damage, with CJ Sapong finishing off the scoring.  After struggling out of the gate, with ten consecutive away matches, as the finishing touches on their new LiveStrong Stadium, SKC have made the wait worthwhile, as they enjoy a healthy eight goal difference over Columbus Crew, although the Ohioans do have a game in hand.

Elsewhere, Juan Agudelo rescued ten man New York, at Red Bull Arena, leveling on sixty-nine minutes after Jan Gunnar Solli had been sent off just before the half.  The draw, Red Bull’s fifteenth in twenty-seven matches wasn’t enough to keep them on the playoff bubble, as Charlie Davies ended his summer slump in style, with a hat trick against Chivas USA that lifted the inaugural league champions, DC United into the post-season picture.

Humberto Suazo’s tenth minute strike had Monterrey in front away to Puebla, on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the Rayados didn’t find a second goal and the home side woke up in the final half hour.  Isaac Romo and Roberto Juarez both hit doubles for La Franja, which would have been more impressive and earned maximum points had one of Juarez’s tallies not been into his own net.  The gaffe allowed Luis Perez to save Monterrey’s blushes with an added time spot kick.  The dropped points were accompanied by a slide to fifth place for the defending Apertura champion.

Elsewhere, Monarcas got their floundering Apertura campaign into calmer waters with a 0-1 upset at Cruz Azul and Tigres‘ 5-0 thumping of hapless Pachuca moved them within a point of leaders Chivas, who drew away at Santos Laguna.  Hector Mancilla doubled his goal total in the competition with a treble in the rout of Pachuca, with the best defensive side in the just concluded Clausura suddenly an offensive juggernaut.

Flamengo did not have a good week.  In their Thursday match against table topper Corinthians, the Paulista side’s young prodigy, Liedson outdueled the Rio sensation Deivid, 2-1.  They followed that up with an identical scoreline against Athletico Paranaense.  This time Welington had the lone goal, with Heracles and Guerron doing the damage for the lower half club.  The upshot, to be oxymoronic, is that Flamengo have dropped down to fifth after nipping at the leader’s heels since early doors.

Okay, it’s only round six of the Argentine Apertura, but I just can’t get enough of Atletico Rafaella.  The side who knocked River Plate out of the top flight have actually made that a notable accomplishment, rather than an act of spite, by hovering near the top of the table since their Primera Division adventure began.  A scoreless draw against Newell’s Old Boys on Friday allowed Boca Juniors to slip past them into the top spot, by defeating another promoted side, San Martin de San Juan.  It’s somehow fitting that Rafaella take the deposed River’s place as Boca’s nearest rival, isn’t it?

If you’re a cynic and only want to hear about goals, well, Godoy Cruz will be more to your liking.  They romped to a 6-1 victory over All Boys, on Saturday, helped along by Ruben Ramirez‘s double.  For all that, they’re still four points off the pace set by Boca, in seventh.  So there.  One-nil or six-one, it’s always going to be three points.

See you next Monday! 

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Next season is the first under UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play system, wherein clubs will not be eligible to compete in continental tournaments if they are losing money.  Of course, the new regulations are to be grandfathered in over several seasons, with losses of approximately €40 million permissible entering 2012-13.  

While it’s admirable that UEFA president Michel Platini wishes to level the playing field by preventing clubs from spending beyond their means, and that, even if these austerity measures don’t achieve that aim, they may at least save many jobs behind the scenes, at irresponsible clubs, the big boys seem to be ignoring the warning and throwing about their cash as wildly as ever, if not more so.  

The major clubs all say, in one form or another, that they welcome the measures wholeheartedly, but actions speak louder than words.  The six clubs below have all spent upwards of €60 million on players in this transfer window alone.  Alright, Anzhi Makhachkala’s transactions are listed at a miserly €41 million, but when you factor in the €20 million in wages guaranteed to a certain player, you’ve shot well over the bar.  One has to wonder, in a poor, conflict ridden region, populated mostly by conservative Muslims, where Anzhi is going to generate the funds to stay out of the red?  

But, I’m getting ahead of myself, as one has to wonder how any of them can do it, regardless of the circumstances, and why?  After all, they are each chasing after championships won by playing a child’s game.  Yes, it’s compelling entertainment, but is it really so important as to lose billions of pounds and euros over?  The sensible answer is no, it isn’t.  

Therefore, one reasons, there must be some ridiculous answers at the heart of the matter, explaining why all that money is frittered away.  And after some intensive research, involving caffeine, pastries and chat with a few friends, here are the top five reasons which I discovered reveal why clubs spend big money in the transfer window…

1.  What else are you going to do when half a billion pounds is just pocket change? — Some people have all the luck.  Any of the lesser clubs in the Premier League’s lower reaches would love to have Roberto Mancini for a coach, as famous as he is for parking the bus in crucial matches.  Instead, he has an owner, in Sheikh Mansour, who is willing to throw ridiculous amounts of money at any and every attacking player that may or may not be available on the market.

Despite having Welsh firebrand Craig Bellamy, Togolese ex-Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor, Paraguayan pin-up model Roque Santa Cruz — ha! you thought that I was going to say Larissa Riquelme, didn’t you? — Italian rebel without a clue Mario Balotelli, Carlos ‘I Wanna Go Home’Tevez, last year’s signings, Edin Dzeko, David Silva, James Milner, Adam Johnson and forgotten souls Alex Nimely, Nedum Onuoha and Vladimir Weiss, all on the payroll, Mancini dipped into the market to the tune of £67 million for Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri and Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Kun Aguero — with Atletico Madrid immediately turning over their €40 million from the deal to FC Porto for striker Radamel Falcao.

With his two new players inserted into the lineup, Mancini, turned the crank, the bus engine roared to life, and, pedal to the metal, the Citizens ran over Spurs in a 5-1 rout.  On either side of that goalfest, the Italian offloaded Adebayor to Spurs, Santa Cruz to Real Betis, Weiss to Espanyol — all on loan — and Bellamy on a free transfer to Liverpool.  With the players he wants on board, the ones he doesn’t out of sight and mind, and a Premier League title the stated destination, don’t expect Mancini to park again anytime soon, or, with plenty of talent still in reserve, to run out of gas.

2.  Because running up debt isn’t important — all that matters is perfect football! — In 2009, Barcelona’s reported losses were in the €80 million range, but in 2010, that figure was cut down to €13.5 million.  The club, after keeping its overspending under wraps for years, were loud and proud over their significant step in the right direction.

In reality, however, half of the earlier loss could be put down to the Samuel Eto’o-plus- €43.6 million for Zlatan Ibrahimovic deal.  Then, when Ibra didn’t fit into Pep Guardiola’s thinking, he was sold off to AC Milan for €24 million, payable in 2011, which led the club to suggest that they would have shown a profit, had that money been paid up front.  Never mind that the Swede was sold at half price or that Ibrahim Affelay (€3 million) and David Villa (€40 million) were added to the squad in the wake of his departure.

As this summer approached, club president Sandro Rosell announced that the Blaugrana had set aside yet another €40 million war chest to ‘improve’the squad and that, with UEFA’s new financial restrictions on the horizon, they would not exceed it.  One might wonder why a club which has just won their second Champions League in three years, with only two of the preferred starting eleven over thirty years old, would need to spend that amount for the third year running, especially when said club is owned by the supporters, rather than a Qatari billionaire.  However, if one did, then one would obviously be a Real Madrid fan and should mind their own business.

After a lengthy negotiation process, the club landed Alexis Sánchez, from Udinese, for €26 million.  Rosell gushed about what a wonderful player the winger was, but failed to mention how they would recoup their investment, with Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Pedro, Sergio Busquets, Thiago and Afellay already in the squad.  He did confess, though, that hard bargaining Udinese had extracted such a good price for the Chilean that the club would be unable to fit the much desired Cesc Fabregas into the budget.

Then, the board huddled together and said, “What if we dip into next year’s budget?”  Who needs financial responsibility?  This is Cesc we’re talking about — he’s like a son to us!”  And so, with only €14 million left in their 2011 budget, the club paid Arsenal just over twice that for Fabregas.  So, Barcelona fans, Michel Platini will see you next year.

3a.  Because our players aren’t getting any younger! — Manchester United’s season was the exact opposite of Chelsea’s, in ’10-11.  Sir Alex Ferguson’s side began sluggishly, not losing but, away from home at any rate, not winning, either.  They hit their stride in the middle of the campaign, but then tailed off again at the end of the season.

Still, the aging legs of Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs and the aching back of Rio Ferdinand had enough strength remaining to hold off a hard charging Blues squad, which had roared out of the gate but stumbled in mid season, to deliver the championship which finally put Liverpool in the rearview mirror.  Unfortunately, Gary Neville only lasted half the season, hanging up his boots in January.  Owen Hargreaves, who at the last minute in this window has found a seat at the back of the City bus, lasted just five minutes before heading back to the trainer’s table.  Then, at season’s end, Giggs was caught up in a sex scandal and exposed on the Wembley pitch by Barcelona in the Champions League final.

With that vast wealth of experience either departed or unable to make a consistent contribution in the coming season, the United faithful began calling for Sir Alex to spend all that money that the Glazers had been hoarding from the Cristiano Ronaldo sale to buy a creative midfielder who might put the Red Devils on a par with Barcelona.  The first name on everyone’s list was Dutchman Wesley Sneijder, rumoured to be available for around £35 million.  Also mentioned were Samir Nasri and Luka Modric.

Fergie broke the bank, alright, but he did it with much different targets in mind.  Instead of a midfielder to cancel out Xavi, in one match that may or may not even happen, the Scot picked up David de Gea from Atletico Madrid to replace the also retired Edwin van der Sar; Phil Jones from Blackburn, to join Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and the Da Silva twins as the future is now defensive corps; and Ashley Young from Aston Villa, to provide some depth on the flanks, with Nani and Antonio Valencia.  Total price:  just under £58 million.

As well, Danny Welbeck was called back on loan to spell the concussed Javier Hernandez.

But what about a midfielder, critics asked?  The manager Cleverley replied by handing the job to an unheralded fellow who answers to Tom.  The youngster has stepped into the starting eleven after learning his trade in the Carrington academy, much as Scholes did.  He has shown confidence, poise and nerve in helping United to a perfect start, after three matches, and first place on goal difference, impeding the progress of the billionaire’s bus from across town.  Although the media and fans remained a bit nervous, Fabio Capello was sufficiently impressed to hand Cleverley a call-up for England’s upcoming Euro qualifiers.

Yet, despite the effort which earned him the respect of his country, the rumours regarding Sneijder did not die down until the window closed and the Inter player was still at San Siro.

Whether Fergie’s new fledglings can maintain their momentum throughout the long campaign, with it well known that young squads — can you say Arsenal? — tend to fade late in the year, remains to be seen.  However, unlike the Gunners, if these kids can carry the team into the spring, there is a strong cadre of experienced veterans ready to take on the load in the final weeks.

3b.  Second verse, same as the first — Coming into the summer, Liverpool FC’s brain trust, consisting of owner John Henry, Technical Director Damien Comolli and manager Kenny Dalglish, freshly unseated as all time English club champions by Manchester United, came to a consensus regarding the areas within the squad which needed strengthening.  The roster was beginning to age, with Steven Gerrard chronically injured, Joe Cole ineffective, Christian Poulsen unwanted and Jamie Carragher slower than a post office line just before Christmas.  The defence needed to be shored up, the central midfield reinvigorated and the flanks upgraded.   In short, an agenda very similar to that of Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill at United.

It was no surprise, then, that their first two targets in the summer window, Blackburn defender Phil Jones and Aston Villa winger Ashley Young were snatched up by their deep-pocketed Mancunian rivals.   However, John Henry has more than lint in his trouser compartments, as well.  Thus, the club did not go into a snit or push the panic button.  They stuck to their plan and soon landed Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson (£22 million), Blackpool’s Charlie Adam (£8.3 million) and Villa’s Stewart Downing (£22.8 million), restructuring their entire midfield in the process.  To reinforce the defence, they added Newcastle’s Jose Enrique (£8 million) and Uruguayan Sebastian Coates (£7 million), the latter on deadline day.  Also at the last minute, the club added another forward, stunningly scooping up former Red and Man City malcontent Craig Bellamy on a free transfer.

Following the other Manchester club, City’s, example, the Reds then jettisoned their spare parts as the window was closing.  Phillip Degen was released; Joe Cole went to Lille OSC and Alberto Aquilani — actually a few days earlier — to AC Milan, on loan; and David Ngog (Bolton), Christian Poulsen (Evian) and, surprisingly, Raul Mereiles (Chelsea) were sold.

Mereiles departure was something of a shock, as the player did a Torres, handing in a late transfer request.   Yet, for the Portuguese, the writing may have been on the wall.  A similar player to Aquilani, for whom Dalglish apparently had no place, Mereiles faced a season of substitute appearances and, possibly, the odd cup match.  At Chelsea, he will be reunited with André Villas-Boas, and, as the Blues could not land the much desired Luka Modric, even for a rumoured €40 million, Mereiles is almost certain to see more action.

His departure leaves Liverpool without a trequartista in the squad, but like United, that doesn’t seem to be a concern.

4.  Because Paris is for football lovers, too! — One undermanaged top flight club, twelve million people.  You have to wonder why someone hasn’t stepped into this void before the Qatari Investment Authority?  Then again, the oil-rich Arab royals haven’t exactly stepped in, themselves.  Even describing it as jumping in with both feet is short of the mark.  What they’ve done is cannonball into Paris Saint-Germain, making the biggest splash of cash Ligue 1 has ever seen.  Overnight the French top flight has transformed from being a feeding ground for UEFA’s big four to making the world consider that it might now be a big five.

With Leonardo stepping in as Sporting Director, after a near two-year stint managing both Milan clubs, it’s Serie A which has felt the brunt of the QIA’s spending power.  Leonardo charmed AS Roma out of Jeremy Menez for €8 million, took Mohamed Sissoko off Juventus’hands for €7 million and nibbled at Palermo goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu for €3.5 million.  Then came the big bite, snapping off the Rosanero’s star midfielder Javier Pastore for €43 million.

The Brazilian proved that his contacts weren’t limited to Calcio, however, raiding St. Etienne for €10 million man Blaise Matuidi, paying Valenciennes €3.5 million for Milan Bisevac and charming Kevin Gameiro away from Lorient for €11 million.  Then, on deadline day, Leonardo ensured that no one could criticise him for spending half his budget on one player by swooping for veteran Uruguayan defender Diego Lugano, of Fenerbahce, with the €3 million purchase price continuing the exodus of players from the Turkish Super Lig, tainted as it is by allegations of pervasive match fixing.

PSG, still under construction at the time, limped out of the gate, with speculation that the club’s biggest move might actually be to replace outspoken coach Antoine Kombouare with the more mild-mannered but highly accomplished Carlo Ancelotti.  The club, with Gameiro in fine form, has begun to warm to its task, though, winning its last three matches, including a victory over Luxembourg side Differdange 03, which put Les Parisiens through to the Europa League group stages.  The spectre of Ancelotti will likely hang over the less regarded Kombouare all season, but for the moment, the club, and QAI’s €89 million, is his to lose.

5.  Because it’s cold in Russia and football warms the soul! — Eighteen months ago, Dagestan, in the Caucasus region of Russia, was a little known, war ravaged fiefdom of the Russian Federation, overshadowed even in that by Moscow’s recent conflict with neighbouring Chechnya.  Then Anzhi, the local club began to spend money.

Focusing on offering players outlandish wages rather than ridiculous transfer fees to clubs, Anzhi began by signing unhappy Corinthians star Roberto Carlos on a free transfer and pushed up the standings in the Russian Premier League.  With the Brazil and Real Madrid legend acting as a goodwill ambassador, the club then went after the newest Selecao wunderkind, Neymar.  That didn’t work out so well, but Jucilei did move from Corinthians for €10 million and Joao Carlos from Belgian side Genk for €3.5 million.  As well, the Dagestanis followed in the now time-honoured tradition of the new oligarchs, salvaging four players from relegated, debt-ridden and dissolved State operated club FC Saturn Oblast.

The big move came when the club courted Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto’o of Inter.  The Milan side had been rumoured to be desperate to trim its wage bill, and with Anzhi eager to fatten theirs, a bit of Jack Sprat seemed ideal.  Eto’o, sent to Inter, along with €43.6 million in the aforementioned swap with Barcelona for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is now back in town with AC Milan, has now netted Nerazzurri chairman Massimo Moratti another €27 million, making it obvious who the winner in that famous trade was.

The talented African is also famous for the quote, “I will run like a black man to live like a white man.”

Well, with Russia still to deal with its endemic racial problems at matches, ahead of the 2018 World Cup, and €20 million in wages, or €3335,000 per week, coming his way, Eto’o will finally get to live his chosen lifestyle in more ways than one.   Good luck to him.

The Monday Morning Drip is a new column at WFC, grinding up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.  So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!  Meanwhile, open your laptop wide and say Ahhh.  Here’s this week’s Drip…

Best league in the world?  More competitive than La Liga?  More physical than the Bundesliga?  More ruthless than Serie A?  More French than Ligue 1?  The early Premier League season is not living up to that reputation.

After three weeks, the English top flight has been distilled down to a Mancunian blend of Blue and Red.  Roberto Mancini has the team he wants: Samir Nasri and David Silva pulling the strings, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Kun Aguero and (soon) Carlos Tevez finishing off the plays; Yaya Toure and Nigel de Jong finishing off any resistance and a back line marshaled by England number one Joe Hart minding the store.  Who stands a chance against the best side money can buy?

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Fledgling v.2, that’s who.  Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic may be injured; Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes retired; John O’Shea and Wes Brown sold to Sunderland; Ryan Giggs suddenly too slow to avoid the paparazzi and Dimitar Berbatov unhappily taking lessons in obsolescence from Michael Owen, but there’s a crop of youngsters surrounding Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney, Nani and Anderson (?) who just reacted to City pounding Tottenham 5-1 at White Hart Lane by annihilating Arsenal 8-2.

The good news?  The Gunners scored their first two goals of the season and looked pretty decent offensively.  The fact that they had eight players missing from midfield and defence meant any points from this match were unlikely, but 8-2?  Holy shit is all that comes to mind.

The bad news?  United and City have a perfect record and a goal difference that matches or betters their point total, making Chelsea and Liverpool look like Toronto FC and River Plate (they’re relegated, don’t you know?).  Arsenal, meanwhile, are already seven points and eighteen goals behind.  But never fear, Arsene Wenger isn’t quitting!

Can you say Papiss Demba Cisse?  Wolfsburg players were repeating his name throughout their Sunday encounter, becoming so focused on the four-goal man that they allowed Oliver Barth, Erik Jendrisek and Cedric Makiadi to run up three goals against them.

Felix Magath’s second tenure at the Volkswagen Arena is not working out quite the same as the first, with a good deal of that down to the fact that Edin Dzeko is otherwise occupied — on Sunday he was busy knocking four goals into the Tottenham goal, in London.

If the stern tactician doesn’t right the ship quickly, he’ll be heading out of town.  A return to Schalke is out of the question, too.  Never mind that the Bundesliga isn’t a fancy version of Pong,  where a manager can bounce back and forth between clubs — that’s Serie A — Ralf Rangnick has the Gelsenkirchen side level on points with table topper Bayern Munich, thanks to an hour mark goal from the man who said no to Blackburn, Raul, which gave the Königsblauen a 1-0 victory over another fast starting squad, Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Bayern held on to first place thanks to a hat trick from Mario Gomez, which included a penalty miss, in a three-goal win over Kaiserslautern.  After the match, third time the charm coach Jupp Heynckes held forth that the Rekordmeister “would only get better.”  He’s obviously been dipping into the same sauce as Fergie and Mancini.

Gomez’Saturday romp was overshadowed, though, by the collective efforts of Hamburg and Köln, with the visitors winning a 4-3 shootout.  Lukas Podolski came on at the half to break the 1-1 deadlock, setting up Milivoje Novakovic less than five minutes after the restart.  Hamburg jumped back out in front, scoring on either side of the hour, only for Köln to rise up in the final ten minutes, stealing all the points on goals from Christian Clemens and Kevin McKenna.

Either Heerenveen have gotten their act together or Feyenoord aren’t quite back to the level of Ajax and Twente.  After Ron Jans’side dropped consecutive 5-1 decisions to the top pair, they escaped De Kuip with a 2-2 draw against Ronald Koeman’s young charges.  Bas Dost and Oussama Assaidi had the goals for the erstwhile bottom feeders.

Meanwhile, the yellow and black were put on their back both in Amsterdam and Enschede, as Ajax maintained pace with Twente, each running out 4-1 winners against Vitesse and VVV Venlo respectively.

PSV woke up, at last, after sleeping through their opening rounds.  A 6-1 mauling of new cellar dwellers Excelsior announced the Eindhoven club’s arrival in the title chase.  AZ Alkmaar are also still in the hunt, after a 3-0 victory over FC Groningen.

The madness may be coming to an end in France.  Seriously, Montpellier and Toulouse leading the pack?  It’s like Gordon Brown and George Bush in charge of Great Britain and the US; only bad things can happen.

Lyon took care of first place Montpellier, with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, bringing La Paillade back to the pack.  Miralem ‘No Need To’Pjanic and Jeremy ‘Murdoch Got’Pied put Les Gones in the driver’s seat, although Henri Bedimo pegged one back in added time, suggesting that the early league leaders still have some fight in them.

On Sunday, new money PSG toured the baronies, informing previously unbeaten Toulouse that it was time to take their name literally.  Kevin Gameiro had pegged back Etienne Capoue’s first half goal with a fifty-third minute tally, and the clubs seemed destined to split the points, only for Mevlut Erding and Jeremy Menez to both strike in time added on.  That’s the type of result that €100 million or so will buy you.

Apparently, Zaragoza is Spanish for ‘Madrid will kick our ass’.  Real took advantage of the fact that Barcelona were otherwise occupied in Monaco, knocking off Porto in the UEFA Super Cup, with Lionel Messi and Cesc Fabregas on the scoresheet, to open up a healthy lead in the table.  Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick but that was only half the story, as Marcelo, Xabi Alonso and Kaka also joined in the fun.

Five other sides also won in the opening matches, after a one-week wildcat strike over unpaid wages postponed the original opening week of the competition.  All of those results were of the one-goal variety, however, lending credence to the new theory that La Liga is just a poor imitation of the Premier League:  a two team competition without any tackling.

Speaking of poor imitations, Serie A players elected to strike, themselves, this week, over Lega Calcio’s attempt to force transfers upon players in the final year of their contracts and to ban them from training with the first team when they prefer to seek pastures new.

Of course, Samuel Eto’o wasn’t feeling any solidarity with his Italian brethren, as he negotiated a tidy arrangement for himself with Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.  When you’re making €335,000 per week, the rest of your comrades can eat tiramisu.

Anzhi were muddling through a scoreless draw with FK Rostov on Saturday, when coach Ghadzi Ghadziev summoned Eto’o from his pitch side jacuzzi, on the hour mark.  While the Cameroonian was still towelling off, Timofey Kalachev put the hosts ahead.  Eto’o found his stride, though, and equalised with ten minutes remaining.  That’s one week’s pay in the bank.  Imagine what he might have done if Anzhi were paying him a cool half mil.

On Sunday, Zenit St. Petersburg blasted five goals past an impotent Kuban Krasnodar squad to put some distance between themselves and CSKA, who survived a heated 2-2 Moscow derby with Spartak.  Alexander Kerzhakov joined the weekend hat trick club, powering the rout, with Roman Shirokov and Danny also smoking the Kubans.

Dinamo’s 2-0 home victory over Spartak Nalchik kept them in the title chase, as well, six points off the pace.

Two weeks ago I ended the J-League section of the Drip by asking selfish European players to take note of the tireless efforts of Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, who played matches for their European clubs on either side of a midweek commute to Sapporo for an international friendly against South Korea.  I’m not sure what to think about the possibility that Freddie Ljungberg was the only player who took heed.

The ex-Gunner, Seattle Sounder, Chicago Fire and Celtic winger will be plying his trade with mid-table side Shimizu S-Pulse.

“I am so excited about playing in Japan.  I was inspired by the way the Japanese people dealt with the tragedy of March 11 earthquake and I really want to show support for them by playing football in Japan and for S-Pulse in particular.”

The diabetically sugar-coated statement, while par for the course in the game, and especially in the endlessly courteous Land of the Rising Sun, likely has Sounders’fans choking on their Starbucks double latte ventes, given the Swede’s me-first attitude while in America.  It’s pleasant to think of how soon he’ll be heading back to the west if he tries that in Japan.

Meanwhile, season long leaders Kashiwa Reysol slipped to fourth after dropping a 2-0 decision to new table topper Gamba Osaka, in mid-week.  Champion Nagoya Grampus Eight are a point off the pace after picking up two wins during the week, as the J-League crams the matches in after a delayed start to the season caused by the tragic events in March.  Lundberg’s unsuspecting new teammates, S-Pulse, maintained their mid-table status by picking up a pair of draws.

Has Hell frozen over?  Major League Soccer wrapped up matches on Saturday, this weekend, permitting those players on international duty to get a jump on their European counterparts, as they jet out to link up with their national squads.  As well, the usually indifferent American league will only be playing two matches over the break.  Seriously, when did MLS start caring about international play?  I didn’t get the memo.

There were two matches of note over the weekend.  Jeff Cunningham converted a penalty as the hour approached in Seattle, making him the all-time MLS goal scorer, with one hundred and thirty-four tallies, surpassing Jaime Moreno.  Unfortunately, it was a bittersweet moment, as his Columbus Crew were already down four goals, at the time.  The final score was 6-2, and, yes, there was a hat trick, Lamar Neagle doing the honours.

In Kansas City, FC Dallas cooled off the hot Sporting KC, with a 3-2 road killing.  The home side was enjoying a two goal lead with twenty minutes remaining, when Ugo Ihemelu, Maicon Santos and Bobby Warshaw turned the match on its head.  As they have all season, the Hoops proved that losing a key player, such as the man who said yes to Blackburn, George John, is something they are prepared to handle.†

FCD and Sounders moved within range of the rampant but idle LA Galaxy with the wins.

†So, naturally, having written that, it is announced that Blackburn Rovers and John apparently cannot agree on terms, nixing the deal.  He’ll go back to an exciting FC Dallas club and Rovers will continue to lose.

Clausura champion UNAM Pumas continued their precipitous dip in form, with a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of crosstown rivals Cruz Azul.  Previously, the club had been stunned by mid-table Puebla and, in the CONCACAF Champions League, were held to a bore draw by Panamanians FC Tauro.  The slump sees Pumas in fifth place, still within the eight team playoff picture but hardly comfortable.

As Chivas also slipped to defeat at San Luis, on Saturday, the victory pushed Cruz Azul into the top spot in the league.  Monterrey corrected their own slide, with a 2-0 triumph over Santos, thanks to strikes from Luis Perez and bullet headed Chilean assassin Humberto Suarez.

In Brazil, there was a major upset, with Campeonato leaders Corinthians falling at Palmeiras, 2-1.  Emerson put the visitors up after eighteen minutes but Luan leveled ten minutes before the break and Fernandao put the hosts ahead just afterwards.

The damage wasn’t too severe, however, as closest rivals Flamengo, with Deivid and Ronaldhino both in the eleven, were held to a surprising goalless draw at home by Vasco de Gama.  Neymar, Ganso and their Santos teammates continued in their morass, falling in a Paulista derby, 0-1, to Sao Paolo.

River is dead, long live the new River!  Atletico Rafaella, the country bumpkins who consigned once mighty River Plate to the second division for the first time in their history, are now sitting atop the table in the Primera Division de Argentina. Leaving more pedigreed clubs, such as Boca Juniors, Racing Club and Velez Sarsfield in the blocks, the new boys have run off three victories in their first four matches to set the early pace.

The latest victim was a stunned Olimpo, who fell 3-1 on goals from Alexis Nicolas Castro, Dario Gaudin and Walter Omar Serrano.  Massive clubs with money to spare might have been the cream of this week’s Drip, but it’s a good feeling when the final sip at the bottom of the cup is just as sweet as the first, dregs or no.

See you next Monday! 

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As has been the case for the past few years, the 2011-12 La Liga season promises to be won, when it starts, by either Barcelona or Real Madrid. The two sides have dominated for so long that it seems near on impossible for one of the other 18 teams in the division to genuinely compete for the title. Instead, the likes of Villareal, Atletico Madrid and a rejuvenated Valencia will fight it out for the remaining Champions League spots.

When you think of the superstars who grace the stadiums of Spain, with their wonderful passing and unbelievable shooting, it’s typically Barcelona‘s midfield maestro Xavi or all-round superstar, Lionel Messi, who come to mind first. Stellar performances from these two, coupled with the quality Barça have all over the pitch, means the defending champions are once again the team to beat. It’s difficult to spot a weakness in their squad, especially considering they’ve added the promising Alexis Sánchez to the ranks and, at long last, welcomed prodigal son Cesc Fabregas home.  Pep Guardiola’s side must be considered the favourites.

Real Madrid, desperate to reclaim the mantle of Spain’s top side, have spent big over the summer in an attempt to dethrone their Catalan rivals. Fabio Coentrao, Nuri Sahin, and Raphael Varane have been brought in, alongside other decent signings which promise to strengthen the Copa Del Rey champion’s starting line-up. Jose Mourinho must find some sort of success in either the league or Champions League or his time in the capital may be coming to an end. This is a make or break season for the Portuguese manager.

That pressure may not have been better exemplified by the (not so) Special One’s churlish behaviour at the conclusion of the second leg of a fantastic Super Copa on Wednesday evening. The first leg was deadlocked at 2-2 after ninety compelling minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu, and the return fixture was knotted at the same score, with an even more intense atmosphere, until the dying moments when who else but Lionel Messi provided the winner.  With tensions high, especially after Marcelo had welcomed Cesc Fabregas to El Clasico with a bit of Edward Scissorhands, Mourinho circled the mêlée and then reached in to poke a Barcelona assistant coach in the eye.

At the writing, there is no word as to how or whether, Mourinho will be disciplined.  The league, at the moment, is more concerned with coming to an agreement with the players over the enforcement of existing contracts.  After talks broke down on Thursday, both sides in the dispute indicated that serious proposals were tabled on Friday.  Without an agreement in place, however, the players made good on their threat to strike at the beginning of the season.  Thus, this week’s opening matches will be rescheduled.

The issue of debt at many clubs, and their inability to pay players is a serious one but both sides believe that a satisfactory agreement can be reached (hopefully) without more games being postponed.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the eighteen clubs whose continual, desperate chase of the big two (who are no strangers to financial issues themselves) has many among them in hot water.

Valencia, who, in recent years, have sold off stars such as David Villa and David Silva to combat their financial woes, seem the most likely to snag third place, as they did last season. The club, which looked headed for financial ruin recently, are now back and have a strong side. The highly rated Pablo Piatti and Dani Parejo have joined the Estadio Mestalla outfit, bringing renewed hope to supporters.  The big snag for boss Unai Emery is that he seems likely to lose winger Juan Manuel Mata to Chelsea this weekend.  A £27 million deal is said to be awaiting the finishing touches.

Villareal will also contend for a spot in Europe’s premier competition. With Giuseppe Rossi somehow set to stay, despite interest from Barcelona and Juventus, the club is prepared to consolidate their fourth place finish last season.

The top four appears certain to remain unchanged, although the likes of Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Athletic Bilbao and a cash-loaded Malaga all have the potential and talent to compete.

Atleti, with a new manager (Gregorio Manzano) and without superstar striker, Sergio Aguero, were stuck hoping that new signings Arda Turan, Adrian and Miranda hit the ground running.  That is, until the club swooped for Porto’s Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on Thursday evening.  Rumours before the deal came to fruition claimed that the club would sell Diego Forlan to meet the €40 million fee.  At the moment, the Uruguayan is still at the Vicente Calderon.  If there turns out to be enough room in the budget for both Europa League heroes, Valencia and Villareal may find themselves being shouldered aside by the Rojiblancos.

While most La Liga fans know Sevilla and Athletic will be in the top half of the table, it is Malaga who will be the great unknown. Having recently been taken over by new owners with deep pockets, the club has been active in the transfer market with the signings of Ruud van Nistelrooy and Santi Cazorla, the most notable.  Achieving success straight away may be unrealistic, unless you’re talking to manager Manuel Pellegrini, but give them some time and surely a trophy or two will be headed to los Boquerones. After all, as has been the case with FA Cup winning Manchester City, money is a big factor in success.

Moving down the table, newly promoted Granada and Rayo Vallecano, and last year’s strugglers Levante are the favourites to be relegated. Real Betis, another new club, following two years in the second division, should have enough quality to avoid the drop. Mallorca, who narrowly escaped relegation last season will look to have a much more enjoyable season this time around or look for a replacement for manager Michael Laudrup.

Real Sociedad, Espanyol, Zaragoza and Gijon will contend for European places but don’t be surprised if one, two, or all three of these end up in a relegation scrap due to the current mid-table congestion in the league. Last season, just six points (or two wins) separated Espanyol, the side that finished just outside the European places in eighth, and Deportivo, who were relegated in eighteenth spot. In contrast, there was a twenty-one point difference between second-placed Real Madrid and third-placed Villareal. Real Sociedad, Getafe, Osasuna and Santander will also be involved in the mid-table shenanigans.

So, if you enjoy watching a league in which five, six or seven clubs can contend for the title, turn your attention towards the English Premier League, as La Liga will be too frustrating. If however, you prefer watching quality football with plenty of twists, turns and unpredictability, Spain’s Primera Liga may be just what you need.

Just don’t expect any upsets at the top.

Welcome to the Monday Morning Drip.  This is a new column at WFC, grinding up the footy fare from the weekend into a blend of the choicest bits from leagues all over the world.  It’s also a weekly opportunity to appeal to footy bloggers out there, who are looking for a new forum in which to display their wares.

So, if you enjoy blogging, want to reach new readers and are available to cover your favourite league or team, then just click Write For WFC!

Meantime, here’s the drip for this week:

It’s the beginning of the season, so Mainz, under Thomas Tuchel, are again leading the Bundesliga pack.  Their win this week came over SC Freiburg, with goals from Marcel Risse (64′) and Maxim Choupo-Moting (79′).  Coincidentally, the pair also picked up the only two bookings in the match.  Papiss Demba Cisse pegged one back a minute into extra time, but Mainz remain perfect in the early going.  You’ll forgive Tuchel, though, if he is more concerned about what happens on the other side of the holidays.

Still in the Bundesliga, Luis Gustavo gave Bayern their first win with another ninety-first minute goal, after an hour and a half of scoreless action.  Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund slipped up at Hoffenheim, by the same score, putting the two foremost title contenders off the early pace.

Finally, over in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke romped over Cologne, with Klaas Jan Huntelaar netting a hat trick (42′, 47′, 84′) after Lukas Podolski (12′) had given the visitors the lead.  After a disappointing 3-0 loss at Stuttgart to open the season, Ralf Rangnick’s Champions League semi-finalists found their top gear.  Huntelaar’s haul will have probably pushed his value to the club beyond what Russian suitors Rubin Kazan can afford.  Anzhi, anyone?

The Dutch league has reverted to form.  By that, I mean thirty-time champion Ajax have shouted from the rooftops their intent to immediately claim number thirty-one.  A 4-1 romp over De Graafschap at De Vijverberg a week ago was outdone by a 5-1 trouncing of Heerenveen at the Amsterdam ArenA.  Five different players joined in the fun for the hosts:  Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (37′), Toby Alderweireld (42′), Derk Boerrigter (51′), Miralem Sulejmani (75′) and Gregory van der Wiel (90′).  It might just have been better had Bas Dost not equalised two minutes after the opener for the visitors; sleeping dogs and all that.

Feyenoord and Twente, both also perfect, have done something that Ajax hasn’t:  keeping clean sheets in both matches.  For all that, they are still two and four goals behind the Amsterdammers respectively.  It’s very early but with the confidence the players and board have in manager Frank de Boer, and his tutelage at the hands of Johan Cruijff at Barcelona, Eredivisie fans might want to begin dusting off the word juggernaut.

In Ligue 1, newfound money isn’t translating into newfound success at Paris Saint-Germain.  After losing to Lorient in front of the home support at the Parc de Princes last week, PSG saw three valuable road points diluted into one when Jonathan Pitroipa hit back on eighty-eight minutes for Stade Rennes, canceling out Kevin Gameiro‘s first goal for his new club.  It was more disappointment for the former Lorient striker, who failed to impress on opening day against his former side.  One point from two matches sees the Qatari Investment Authority’s newest asset five points behind the unlikely quartet of Toulouse, Montpellier, St. Etienne and Caen.  New Sporting Director Leonardo has a fortnight of transfer window activity remaining to come up with an inventive solution to his new club’s malaise.  If he can’t, it will be interesting to see whether he throws inherited coach Antoine Koumbouare under the bus and whether his employers demand a big name replacement — Rafa Benitez for instance?

It isn’t really a serious competition.  It’s only the first leg.  Those are the likely excuses which will be heard from both Real Madrid and Barcelona after the opening contest in the Spanish Super Cup.  The match at the Santiago Bernabeu was wide open, with Los Blancos surprisingly the more fluid side for long stretches and Barça hitting on the counter in the 2-2 draw.  The scorers were mostly the usual suspects with Mesut Özil (RM 13′), David Villa (FCB 36′) and Lionel Messi (FCB 45′) all getting on the board in the first half.  Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t the one to claim the equaliser, however.  that was left to (surprise) Xabi Alonso in the fifty-fourth minute.  The return leg is Wednesday evening at the Camp Nou.

The Serie A doesn’t begin for a fortnight but that hasn’t stopped the Italian managerial merry-go-round from jumping the gun.  After a public spat with chairman Massimo Cellino over the sale of striker David Suazo to rivals Catania, former Azzurri manager Roberto Donadoni and his entire staff were axed by Cagliari on Sunday.  Word is that former Cesena boss Massimo Ficcadenti will be named as Donadoni’s successor early in the week.

As Anzi Makhachkala continue to try to become the domestic version of Chelski, with their pursuit of Inter‘s Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroonian has backed off on any commitment to the club, claiming that he could just as easily stay in Milan or even go to England, presumably if Man City boss Roberto Mancini hasn’t lost interest.  Perhaps one of his entourage tipped him off to the fact that the Russian Premier League is switching to a winter schedule for the 2012-13 season, a definite selling point when one is trying to cajole a World Cup from Sepp Blatter and company but not when one is seducing a gifted footballer who has spent the majority of his life within shouting distance of the Equator.

This should have been the place in my meandering where I mentioned the goings on in the Turkish Super Lig but there aren’t any, are there?  Concerned by the pervasiveness of the match-fixing scandal currently gripping not just the football league, but several sports in the country, those in charge have wisely put off the season until 9 September.  Good on ‘em!  Make sure the weeds are out before you plant new seeds.  – No word whether Guti took advantage of the unexpected holiday to be at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday to take in the Super Cup.

It’s understandable why Anzhi are chasing after Samuel Eto’o.  After a powerful start, partially fueled by the capture of new captain, Real Madrid and Brazil legend Roberto Carlos, the nouveau riche club’s fortunes have tailed off drastically.  As they’ve sunk in the standings, the big clubs have risen to their accustomed heights.  Champions Zenit St. Petersburg are once again top, with CSKA (-1) and Dinamo Moscow (-3) both within striking distance.  Spartak and Rubin Kazan — also looking for a boost in the market — head up the chasing pack, seven off the pace and one ahead of Anzhi.  The ambitious upstarts learned just how far they need to progress on the weekend, as Spartak‘s Ari, Dmitri Kombarov and Alexandr Kozlov combined to bury them in a 3-0 rout.

Lokomotiv, who played out a bore draw against Volga Nihzny, are the only one of the big city clubs not in the hunt.  At least they are not as awful as Chechens Terek Grozny, who, despite disposing of Ruud Gullit, are still suffering results like Saturday’s 6-2 drubbing at the hands of Dinamo.

Late of Sao Paolo, Rodrigo Souto opened his J-League account in style on Sunday, with a brace during Jubilo Isawa‘s 6-1 dismantling of erstwhile table toppers Kashiwa Reysol.  The second half double killed off the match and, coupled with Nagoya Grampus Eight’s 3-0 win at Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Saturday, saw the defending champions reclaim the top place in the league early in the second half of the tournament.  Meanwhile, Jubilo’s triumph keeps them in the top half of the table but still a dozen points off the pace.

On the national front, both CSKA Moscow’s Keisuke Honda and BvB’s Shinji Kagawa put in a lot of miles over the week.  After featuring in their respective clubs’matches a week ago, the pair jetted off to Sapporo and paid tribute to fallen comrade Naoki Matsuda, just thirty-four, who recently suffered a fatal heart attack while training with club Matsumoto Yagama.  In a 3-0 victory over South Korea, Kagawa hit for a brace and Honda notched the other.  Then the duo returned to club duty, both starting their matches on the weekend, despite logging over thirty-one thousand kilometres combined.  Okay, spoiled Western footballers, repeat this mantra:  It’s not about me, it’s not about me….

In North America, Toronto FC is finally beginning to come together under Ajax acolyte Aron Winter.  Moving players in and out as though MLS were a fantasy league — watch it, now! — the side from the Great White North is beginning to put some distance between themselves and the bottom clubs.  Their 1-0 victory over powerhouse Real Salt Lake on Saturday may be a benchmark match for the new regime.  Meanwhile, the league’s other Canadian team Vancouver Whitecaps stayed rooted to the bottom of the standings after a 4-0 pasting at the hands of DC United.

Yet, given expectations, it’s New York Red Bull who are suffering the most.  Thierry Henry‘s opening goal was wasted again, as the club fell behind to Eastern Conference cellar dwellers Chicago Fire and had to rely on Joel Lindpere’s late strike to salvage their thirteenth draw in twenty-five matches.  Having only won half of the remainder, the big money franchise finds itself six points behind Columbus Crew in the East and seventeen behind league leaders LA Galaxy.

Just to clear something up quickly for those of you who might have seen the Robbie Keane to LA rumours:  ignore them.  The simple fact is that MLS has a salary cap under which only three exceptions are allowed.  In the Galaxy’s case, those are currently being taken up by Landon Donovan, David Beckham and former Aston Villa standout Juan Pablo Angel.  Keane’s wage demands would certainly require the club to make him a Designated Player, but with the Galaxy comfortably leading the league, the club would have absolutely no reason to release one of the trio and every reason to not.  So, it would seem that you’re stuck with the Irishman a little while longer, Spurs fans.  (Okay, Okay! So, I was wrong, see the comments…)

In Mexico, Chivas is back.  The Guadalajara side, which had gone into a funk after their contentious Copa Libertadores loss to Brazilians Internacional, in 2010, are suddenly sitting second in the Apertura table, behind 2011 Clausura champions UNAM Pumas.  The Goats claimed a massive away victory, 2-1, over Clausura runners-up Monarcas Morelia on Saturday.  Yasser Corona’s own goal had gifted Chivas a lead on fifty minutes, only for Monarcas’Damian Manso to hit back two minutes later.  But, with ten minutes to go, Antonio Gallardo struck for the Jalisco State side, allowing the visitors to move within a point of the Primera Division de Mexico leaders, who drew their weekend match with Santos Laguna.

As the Campeonato Brasileiro approaches the midway point of the campaign, Corinthians remain ahead of Ronaldhino’s Flamengo on goal difference and a point ahead of Rodrigo Souto’s former side, Sao Paolo.  All three squads claimed 2-2 draws on the weekend, against Ceara, Figueirense and Atletico Paranaense respectively.  Old trickster Ronaldhino, who has contributed nine goals in fourteen matches for his new club, ceded the glory on Sunday to young sensation Deivid, who notched a brace.

Nearer the other end of the table, Santos continues to struggle after their Copa Libertadores triumph.  A hard-fought scoreless draw against rivals Corinthians on Wednesday was followed by a disappointing 2-0 reversal at Goianiense.  With two more weeks of the transfer window to sweat, as speculation continues to swirl around youngsters Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso, despite repeated denials, it may be a while before the side settles and begins what should be an inexorable climb up the table.

The first season in an Argentine Primera Division without River Plate began this weekend.  Fellow big clubs Boca Juniors and Estudiantes observed the moment in silence, both scratching out nil-nil draws.  Defending Clausura champions Velez Sarsfield also split points in a 1-1 tilt at Godoy Cruz.  Newcomers Atletico de Rafaella, who dispatched River in a two-legged relegation playoff just over a month ago, announced their top flight presence with a 2-0 road win at Banfield.  Dario Gandin (10′, 12′) hit both tallies for Rafaella.

If the club from the countryside continues putting on performances such as their first, River may soon be forgotten!

See you next Monday! 

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On Thursday, the United States once again proved how little it knows (or cares) about the rest of the world.  In the nation’s capital for a friendly rematch with Champions League foes Manchester United, FC Barcelona decided to do a little sightseeing.  Their tour bus, replete with an FC Barcelona sign emblazoned above the front windshield, spied a large empty swath of grass across the street from the White House.  We call it the National Mall, but Pep Guardiola saw an empty pitch and dragged everyone off the coach for a bit of a kick about.

The blissfully ignorant Park Police were having none of it, however, and quickly herded these strange foreigners, in their dark blue and bright yellow FCB shirts, with the funny badge on the chest, back onto their bus before they could harm the President.  Admittedly, Lionel Messi wasn’t there, nor Xavi or Carles Puyol but David Villa and Gerard Pique, not to mention several other first-teamers and one of the most well known coaches in the game, were.   Yet, the Park Police were adamant that no group of more than ten could gather on the lawn.

European Champions?  What’s that?  Superstar athletes?  Don’t try and fool us.  Almost all of these guys are under six feet tall and none of them weigh two hundred pounds.  There’s no that way they could be football players.  Nice try.  Now move along before we call the Border Patrol!

Pep looked decidedly pissed as he reboarded the tour bus.

It was shades of Gran Torino.

On Saturday, Guardiola had even more to anger him, as United gained a measure of revenge for their Wembley defeat two months ago.  They jumped out front on a Nani goal and, after Thiago equalised for the Blaugrana, put the game to bed when Tom Cleverley lived up to his name, reading a squared pass and intercepting.  Quickly heading in the opposite direction, he fed a waiting Michael Owen, the controversially selected and unused CL final substitute, who calmly sent the ball over the onrushing Victor Valdes’left shoulder, from a nice touch off the outside of his right foot.

It was hardly an important match, yet it will leave United and Sir Alex Ferguson feeling good about themselves and their B-list midfield.  The ESPN announcers, American John Harkes and Englishman Adrian Healey, spent much of the match talking about USMNT coach Bob Bradley’s sacking and the subsequent hiring of Jürgen Klinsmann.  I’ve already had my say on that, but I couldn’t help but notice an interesting parallel between this match and Klinsmann’s upcoming bow on 10 August, which Thursday in the Park With Pep only brings more into focus.

Klinsmann’s opening match, like Saturday’s affair, will be an early revisit to a recent title tilt.  Having blown a two goal lead to lose the Gold Cup crown to Mexico at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, in Bradley’s last match in charge, the Americans will get a chance at revenge in Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, one week from Wednesday evening, in Klinsmann’s first.

Of course, it’s a friendly and it’s unlikely that Javier Hernandez will play for Mexico, as he is recovering from a mild concussion suffered in training with United.  Nor is it clear just yet, which of three routes Klinsmann will take regarding his own squad selection:

1. He could upset European managers by recalling his UEFA-based stars, who are in various stages of pre-season training or, in the case of those playing for Scandinavian clubs, in the early doors of their campaign.
2. He could anger already testy MLS coaches, by summoning his US-based players, who have already lost too many man hours to the Gold Cup and have probably seen enough of energy-sapping but financially lucrative promotional friendlies in the middle of their regular season.
3. He could call up a full-strength squad and piss everyone off.

Now, because I’ve been baying at the moon for a year, hoping that the USSF would finally do what they should have done in 2006, and hire Klinsmann to push the US out of its cultural nest of ignorance and let the team learn to fly the friendly FIFA skies, I’m backing my man to choose door number three.

That’s right, piss them all off, especially the MLS coaches.  Why?  Because playing for your country is supposed to be the ultimate experience in football; it should be the player’s top priority; it should be his dream.  MLS clubs and their fans just don’t get that and, thanks to the poor relations with Sepp Blatter and FIFA, top European clubs, who admittedly pay the players’wages, are developing the same attitude.

I can understand the backlash in Europe.  The World Cup, despite its expansion into new cultures and continents, is as much about the almighty dollar, if not more so, than any competition.  On top of that, they’ve been squeezing in more and more international dates, while rejecting financial responsibility when they return players to their clubs in damaged condition.  That’s an entirely different rant, however.

The point is, true football supporters the world over – including in the good ole USA – want to see the best players face off, country v country, for bragging rights.  They want their nation to win the World Cup.  If Klinsmann is to transform the US from a determined, athletic side with huge potential (but lacking footballing DNA) into the real deal, there can be no pussyfooting around.  He needs to state his intentions and mark his territory immediately.

Klinsmann needs to call the players on the carpet, explain the changes that will be made and what will be expected under him and it will be best to address everyone at once, to make it clear that all the power lays with him.  He needs to let MLS and UEFA coaches know that the USMNT will take priority, just as the Three Lions, die Mannschaft, the Azzurri, the Selecao, the Albiceleste and La Furia Roja all do.  If the US is to realise the potential of its population base and economic resources to become a world power, Klinsmann shouldn’t be concerned about stepping on toes; he needs to make others worry about stepping on his.

In the long run, a strong US program will only generate fan interest, which, if MLS plays ball, will only trickle down to them.

By the way, if you’re still wondering how Barcelona’s eviction from the National Mall brings all that more into focus, it’s simple.  If America were already a nation with a footballing consciousness, the Catalans would have been recognised on their little outing and would have been treated like the role models and champions they are.  If that had happened, there would be no need for the USSF to hire a foreign coach with International credentials, would there?   They’d have already developed their own.

(Regarding that, I’m not quite sure what England’s excuse is.)

The MLS table is so uneven that there aren’t enough matchbooks in the world to level it.  Of the league’s eighteen clubs, one, Real Salt Lake, has played only eighteen matches, two have played twenty and three each have played nineteen, twenty-two and twenty-three.  The remaining six have played twenty-one.  In a league which avoids the harsh American winter by playing a summer schedule, why would there be such disparity?

In the case of Real Salt Lake, who answered the call when MLS Commissioner Don Garber challenged the league to take continental play seriously, it is because the league postponed several of their matches to aid their run in the CONCACAF Champions League.  Ultimately, the help wasn’t enough, as RSL lost the final to Monterrey of Mexico but it is at least heartening to see a league executive from any competition do more than talk.

Otherwise, however, the whole mess comes down to money.  Sporting KC did open the season with an elongated double-digit road trip arranged so that they might make full use of their new LiveStrong Stadium this season.  Whilst that might have taken some creative thinking on the league’s part and knocked the fixture list slightly awry, Sporting, has interpreted full use to mean scheduling lucrative midseason friendlies against high-profile European clubs.  Not that they’re the only ones.

In KC’s defence, they at least won their match against Juventus.  Most of the visitors, including Real Madrid, Man City and, of course, Man United, have been shredding the American sides.  United’s 7-0 victory over Seattle Sounders could have been mistaken for a low scoring NFL game rather than a footy rout.  They did calm down somewhat against New England Revolution and again versus Chicago Fire, actually conceding first before Wayne Rooney led an assault which quickly smothered the uprising.

Now, I’m not suggesting that the league should abandon the summer friendlies, despite the havoc they play with the schedule.  Not only are they lucrative, it’s a yearly opportunity to convert a portion of the multitudinous US fans who spend most of their time following foreign leagues.  Obviously I’m right in the middle of that herd but there’s a reason that there are so many of us.  Whilst MLS is improving, it is still light years away from being a top league.  The overwhelming dominance of European clubs basically out for a lark, playing their stars for just half a match as they work their way back to match fitness, proves that.

In fact, it has to be tempting for touring clubs to think that they’re actually much better than they are.  If Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t the man who has been averaging a major trophy annually for a quarter-century, I might think he had fallen under that spell himself.  After the victory over the Fire, the Scot announced that United had finished shopping for the season and any midfielder who might step into Paul Scholes imposing boots would have to come from within the current squad.

It’s fair to say that you won’t find anyone on this tour capable of replacing the ginger-haired field general.  Ryan Giggs is on his last legs and some supporters’last nerve, Anderson hasn’t shown the maturity, Michael Carrick’s skill is not nearly so subtle and Park Ji-Sung’s even less, although the Korean’s work rate is unrivaled.   Darren Fletcher, still in the UK, recovering from his mystery illness, is the closest player on the books in both quality and character to Scholes but he has been away for so long that it is speculation whether he will even return.  Perhaps Fergie knows something we don’t?

Some journalist or other along the way even suggested that Wayne Rooney might drop back into the middle.  Ferguson had a chuckle at the idea, noting that Scholes had a patience and vision that brought the game to him, whereas Rooney simply doesn’t have the nature to stand still and allow space to open for him.

Some United fans are panic-stricken, then, that their manager is suddenly pulling a Wenger, refusing to spend big money for a premium star, such as Inter’s Wesley Sneijder.  Others will surely trod out the tired opinion that the Glazer’s debt is holding him back, ignoring the fact that he’s already spent around £60 million on Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David de Gea.  Yet, the defeat in the Champions League final has some believing that there is a large hole in the center of the pitch at Old Trafford.

The loss to Barcelona revealed what was already well-known:  United’s midfield is not as good as the Catalan’s.  No one’s is.  In fact, there won’t be another group as fluid Xavi, Iniesta et al for quite some time.  Such understanding between players takes years to develop and therein lies the problem.  Spending £35 million or more on Sneijder will bring the club a talented player but he will still need time to gel with the squad.  A United midfield including the Dutchman will be an improvement but will remain outclassed by the Barça crew.

Remember, too, that as valuable as he was, Scholes did not cost United a penny.  Like Xavi and Iniesta, he came up through the club.  No, Fergie is not pulling a Wenger; he simply knows that no player on the market can replace Scholes, so why spend?  A significant part of the Englishman’s value was that he was a club man and that simply can’t be bought.  To try or to shape your squad just to win one match that may never come off, when there is the Premier League, League and FA Cups and the rest of Europe, beyond Barcelona, to consider, would be the height of foolishness.

In the meantime, the steamroller that Manchester United have rode across the US, will be tested against an MLS side including Landon Donovan, Thierry Henry and David Beckham.  Afterwards, Fergie will introduce his new squad to the enemy in a ‘non-title bout’against Barça, in Washington.

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You would think that the old saying once burned, twice shy applies to the relationship between Arsenal and Barcelona but apparently it doesn’t translate well into Catalan.  Admittedly, it’s been almost a decade since Arsene Wenger swooped into La Masia and flew off with sixteen-year-old Cesc Fabregas under his wing.  But now it seems that he may have taken heed of another oft-used homily; the criminal always returns to the scene of the crime.

A year ago, Wenger held the line and refused to let Fabregas return to Barcelona despite an alleged £40 million offer from Blaugrana President Sandro Rosell.  This summer, the harsh effects of the economy have made Rosell reluctant to part with so much cash.  Still, pride has led him to put a different face on matters; in the face of the Catalans’well publicised debt, he is alleging that Fabregas is no longer worth that amount.  I’m not sure which Premier League the Barça boss was watching, but the one I saw contained an Arsenal captain who, when healthy, displayed leadership, poise and a completely polished game.  If you can’t afford him anymore, Señor Rosell, just hold up your hands and admit it.

So, despite the Gunners remaining unwilling to sell Cesc and Barcelona seemingly too skint to buy him, Wenger decided to hedge his bets by raiding the Catalan chicken coop again, this time absconding with sixteen-year-old fullback Hector Bellerin and like aged midfielder Jon Toral.

Bellerin has signed for the same reasons that Fabregas did.

“When you want to be a professional, you have to look to make your way. And I believe the right path for me was to choose Arsenal…When there is a team that guarantees you can play in the first team and, above all, in the Premier League, then it is very difficult to say no.”

No kidding.  It also helps that Arsenal’s system is very similar to Barcelona’s.  For the young player, it was obviously an easy decision to make.  He has moved to a club that is not much less talented than his own but also faces much stronger opposition week in and week out, offering him an easier path to the senior squad and an opportunity to continue improving rapidly in a very competitive environment once he arrives.

The question is was the deal truly a coup on the level of the Fabregas deal, as a tabloid press starved for hard news in the dog days of summer would have us believe?

From a Barcelona perspective, even nine years later, the sting of letting Cesc go and then lacking the funds to reacquire him has to be so frustrating that they’d hesitate to make the same mistake with not just one but two other youngsters.  As well, the acrimony from this season’s Champions League quarter-final second leg should have made both clubs wary of the other in any dealings so soon afterwards.

When signed, Toral, who is of Spanish and English parentage, did not cause such a clamour because of his size.  He is 6′ 3″ and his more physical approach to the game does not fit into Barça’s tick-a-tack system.

Bellerin, though, was a different story.  Very much in the mode of Dani Alves, he loves to venture forward and poach in the opponent’s box.  The effect of his decision to move to Arsenal became apparent  when he was immediately made persona non grata at the Blaugrana training grounds.  Arsenal best be warned, however.  Like Fabregas before him, Bellerin has stated that he would like to return to the Camp Nou in the future.

In the interim, an unhappy Barcelona will only realise the bare minimum £350,000 for each player, as required by FIFA regulations.  Consequently, they are now demanding that Arsenal knock the players’true value off the asking price for Fabregas.  As Wenger hits the replay button on the ridiculous sending off of Robin van Persie in the Champions League for the umpteenth time, wondering what might have been, he must be chuckling at the mere thought of such a discount and thinking of a third proverb.

There is no honour amongst thieves.

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Would you invest €45 million in a skinny little kid, barely twenty years old, who, if he shaved off his ridiculously large mohawk would probably drop ten percent of his total body weight?   Would you want to sign someone already so spoilt and self-centered that he argued on the pitch at a critical juncture in a match, with a well-respected coach, because that coach had designated another player to take a penalty kick?  Would you happily fork out that much cash after this self-promoting teenager expressed no remorse that said coach was sacked soon after?

If that kid is Neymar, and you watched him completely dominate Scotland in an impressive exhibition of footballing skill at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, you’d begin to think about it.  And after he has just led his side to the Copa Libertadores title, scoring the winning goal in the second half of the second leg, after Santos and Peñarol had played out one hundred and thirty-six minutes of scoreless football, you’d be thinking that you’d sell that private island in the Caribbean you use to get away from it all to bring the future of the game to Europe and make him so wealthy that Prince Harry would become his personal helicopter pilot.

Of course, now you’d have to get in line behind Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and Anzi Makhachkala.  That’s right, no less than five clubs have agreed to meet Santos’valuation of their prime asset, should they be the fortunate ones able to sweet-talk the young prodigy into coming to Europe ahead of the 2014 World Cup.  That won’t be an easy task.  Neymar’s agent, Wagner Ribeiro has let it be known it isn’t necessarily a given that his client will sign with any of the quintet of suitors.

“These clubs can come and make their offers, but if he wants to stay at Santos then he’ll say no and stay at Santos. It’s not a good time for him to leave.  The 2014 World Cup is coming and the eyes of the world will be on Brazil. If he stays, and wins the Club World Cup, the Olympics and maybe the World Cup, he will become an idol and can go to Europe having done it all.  Right now, he lives close to his family and friends in the city he loves and is at a club that is right for him. There’s no reason for him to go now. I think he’ll stay.”

For those of you who play poker, this is what is known as a tough call.   Every fibre of your being tells you that Ribeiro is bluffing.  Not only will all of the interested parties match and exceed any wage packet Santos could offer to keep him, they’ll eclipse it.   As well, Europe is where the action is.  All the best players are there.  The Premier League and La Liga are extensively covered in every corner of the globe.   Santos just can’t offer the attention, adoration and prestige that Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Man City can.  Ribeiro’s client may be idolised in his homeland, respected and revered across all of South America, in fact, but his past actions suggest that the worship of an entire continent isn’t enough to assuage his massive ego; for Neymar, the world may not even be sufficient.  How could he refuse to sign for at least one of these sides?

Yet, he has already been persuaded once, only a year ago, by erstwhile Real and City star Robinho and the immortal Pele, to stay in Sao Paolo State and continue to develop his game.  Maybe the kid does have the patience to completely conquer his homeland, adding Olympic Gold and a World Cup victory replete with Golden Ball to his Libertadores crown, before challenging new frontiers.  That seed of doubt is what makes it a good bluff, because in order to see his hand, one of these clubs is going to have to throw a lot more than the €45 million ante into the pot.

Who will win?  It’s difficult to say but I think it’s a fair guess that two of the players will fold early.

The first will be Barcelona.  My gut tells me that they’re not really interested in the Brazilian.  Their financial woes are well publicised now and the price just to be in the hand matches their announced transfer budget for the year.  As well, they have already committed a healthy chunk of that budget to Udinese winger Alexis Sánchez.

Barça president Sandro Rosell has wavered between acknowledging a respect for the imminent UEFA Financial Fair Play rules and suggesting that a few player sales and a borrowing against next season’s budget might be possible.  With regard to the former, newly arrived David Villa has been shouting from the rooftops that he doesn’t wish to emulate Zlatan Ibrahimovic and reluctantly exit the Camp Nou after only one season.   Yet, that is the Barcelona method.  Outsiders are treated as family while at the club but in the end they are merely guests; with rare exception, it is only graduates of La Masia who know they will always have a home in Catalonia.

Neymar isn’t likely to be such an exception,  with past antics reminiscent of another Brazilian, Ronaldhino, who quickly wore out his welcome with the Blaugrana.   No, Barcelona’s interest is merely a feint to drive up the price for rivals Real Madrid.

Anzi Makhachkala will also throw in their cards quickly.  They are newcomers to the high stakes table and Neymar is simply out of their league.  Their billionaire owner, Suleiman Kerimov, may have the funds to make it happen but the club doesn’t have the infrastructure to recoup the investment.  It’s back to FFP again.  If they go into the red to sign the Selecáo wunderkind, they likely won’t be granted a UEFA license, keeping them out of the lucrative Champions League.

From Neymar’s perspective, Anzi would, at best, be a lateral move.  A frigidly cold lateral move, at that.  Just as Brazil hopes that their brightest star stays within their constellation until the 2014 World Cup, Russia is looking to heighten its profile ahead of the 2018 edition.  Much has been made of Roberto Carlos’presence at Anzi, with some speculation that the club captain may influence the youngster into joining him.  Yet, considering that the legendary left back has already been the target of racial abuse on at least two occasions during his short stay in the Motherland, the second time causing him to abandon the pitch, he would have to possess very little self-respect to convince a rich and talented but still naïve young man to endure the same treatment.

So, in the late stages of the hand, it will come down to three players:  Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea.  All three will be attractive to the youngster.

Madrid are a legendary club, especially in Latin America.  They are on the ascendance under one of the greatest coaches in the game, rising to challenge Barcelona.  The Meringue’s style may not be as open as Barcelona’s but if Neymar signs to play at the Santiago Bernabeu, he will be heralded as the final piece in the puzzle.  The challenge of restoring Europe’s greatest champions to their former glory would surely appeal to him, as would the accolades he would receive for bringing it to pass.  The other players in this game would have to go all in to distract the ambitious Brazilian from that temptation.

City haven’t been in the big game much longer than Anzi but it’s been long enough to accumulate a huge chip stack.  If it weren’t for the fact that Michel Platini is the pit boss at the UEFA Grand, money would be no object.  Still, thanks to Sheikh Mansour, Roberto Mancini has been able to stockpile so much talent that he can afford to lose a few hands in order to win the big one.  Players like Roque Santa Cruz and Emmanuel Adebayor, who would be leading the line at all but the most elite of clubs, are just throw-away chips at the Eastlands.  All in is a possibility for the Citizens but there are two pressing questions when the subject is Neymar donning sky blue:

1. Will the conservative Italian manager be willing to put up with what is essentially Mario Balotelli.v2 when v1 is still in-house and
2. Will the young Brazilian be concerned that all that star power in the City clubhouse will dim his own wattage?

Then there’s Chelsea.  They went in for the youngster last season, only for Pele and Robinho to outdraw them on the river.  As well, Santos club president Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, was unhappy that the Blues contacted Neymar’s representatives directly in their failed negotiation.  This time, however, they have respected the club and asked permission from the outset, somewhat mollifying the aggrieved chairman.

The Stamford Bridge outfit thus have the advantage of already knowing the player and his people.  As well, their current situation may be the most attractive to the youngster.  The club is looking to rebuild on the fly, with veterans like Frank Lampard and John Terry in the sunset of their careers and familiar faces such as David Luiz, Ramires and Alex waiting to welcome him.  Even better, new manager Andres Villas-Boas is already talking up a more open style for the club.  With rumours that Didier Drogba may be headed for a reunion with Jose Mourinho at the Santiago Bernabeu, Neymar may be a perfect fit for the next generation of Chelsea Blues.

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This is the Yearbook section where we will likely be accused of being Man United fans.  For Dale OD, who won’t appear in this chapter, and Jude Ellery, who will, that is unashamedly the case.  As for the rest of us, not so much.

The truth behind the façade is simply that United have a history of either developing their own or raiding other clubs for young talent and developing them into, except when it comes to Barcelona, world beaters.  The recent list of such players is headed by Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham but also includes Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Neville Brothers (Gary & Phil, not Aaron et al) from Carrington and Nani, Antonio Valencia, Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique from elsewhere.

The next class is already beginning to reach full enrollment.  Chris Smalling and Phil Jones now look set to inherit the center back pairing from Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.  That won’t  happen for another season or two, so they won’t earn more than passing mention here.  Still, there are one or two notables who are being touted to turn heads at Old Trafford in the coming year.  Those we will run the rule over, although we promise to add a few players from other clubs, just to keep up appearances.

Enjoy.

David de Gea @ Manchester United — We might as well delve into all the Man United speculation right off the bat, as there has been plenty of it since the Champions League defeat.  Ryan Giggs, exposed for tired legs in that game, his alleged philandering, rather than mere age, a possible explanation, has gone into hiding.  Paul Scholes has retired.  Darren Fletcher has a mysterious virus.  Michael Carrick and Anderson haven’t stepped into the void with any authority and Park Ji-Sung doesn’t have the necessary communications skills to lead by anything other than example, at which, to be fair, he has excelled.  Yet, the need for some fresh blood in the middle of the pitch remains a secondary concern for Sir Alex Ferguson until he secures the successor to Edwin van der Sar between the sticks.

The allegedly £20 million purchase of Phil Jones from Blackburn will yield no fruit if the right man is not behind the nineteen-year-old when he takes his first turn in a red strip.  As well, while Jones and Smalling continue to develop their skills, Ferdinand and, to a lesser degree, Vidic’s will erode.  It’s crucial to United’s continued dominance in the Premier League that someone is there to bar the door when the inevitable slip-ups occur.

The deal hasn’t been finalised as yet but, by all accounts, de Gea is Fergie’s preferred choice.   He, too, is young, at just twenty, but the Atletico Madrid keeper is already a medalist, with his Europa League title of two seasons ago.  It can also be argued that, in a horrible season for the Rojiblancos, his play at the back was as important, if not more-so, to the success they did have than the contributions at the opposite end from Sergio Kun Aguero.  De Gea has continued to impress, with a stellar performance against England in the ongoing U21 Euros, robbed of victory with two minutes remaining by a Danny Welbeck desperation goal.

Welbeck is, like Jones and Smalling, another whose time to make an impact has not yet come, although he will likely be the second option off the bench if he is not loaned out for another season, to reap the benefits of steady playing time.

De Gea, however, once signed will be thrown into the deep end and, as ends go, the Stretford is nearly bottomless.  The young Spaniard will have to prove that he can take charge immediately and marshal a title defence in the toughest league there is. If de Gea cannot stay afloat from the outset, it could very well sink a promising career.  So then, the question is, will the impact of David de Gea’s signing by Man United be felt more acutely by the fans or by the man himself?

Pedro @ Barcelona — With Lionel Messi and David Villa ahead of him in the Blaugrana pecking order, just how is young Pedro supposed to make an impact at the Nou Camp?  Well, he’s not going to supplant Little Leo, that’s for certain.  Villa might be another matter, though.  The World Cup hero did put in eighteen goals as Lego-Man’s new sidekick last season.  Yet in even more of a supporting role, Pedro added thirteen and made his intent for 2011-12 clear by opening the scoring in the Champions League final at Wembley.

Another telling factor is that when Messi took a few knocks in the spring, Villa’s form dried up.  He was making a living from the freedom created by Messi’s distracting presence.  When Villa became the focal point for defences, it suddenly wasn’t so easy to find the target.  Much the same occurred in the World Cup, where Fernando Torres’reputation afforded the ex-Valencia threat some extra time and space.

If you think I’m disparaging Villa’s talent, I’m not.  He is a very capable striker and fits into Pep Guardiola’s scheme better than his predecessor, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. You have to ask why, though, is Pep so keen on signing Giuseppe Rossi, who won’t be happy on the bench, if Villa is all he’s cracked up to be?

Should Rossi arrive, it will put a dent in Pedro’s hopes for more playing time; yet, it’s far from a done deal.  On the other hand, if Rossi does sign and manages to supplant Villa in the first half of the season, it wouldn’t be surprising, with the imminent onset of Financial Fair play, to see Villa moved in the winter window, perhaps even re-uniting with former Valencia partner David Silva at Man City.

After all, at Barcelona, mercenaries are welcomed, typically for short visits, but loyalty and accommodation is reserved for La Masia graduates.  After six years of toiling in the reserves, Pedro’s contributions in 2010-11 should have him next in line for a permanent place in the world’s best starting eleven.

Steven Defour @ Man United (Jude Ellery) – Steven Defour to United, for £22m. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.  If you’re a United supporter or secretly wish you were, you’ve heard the tale of how Fergie sent Defour get well wishes when he broke his foot in 2009.  The foot has healed and the twenty-three-year-old has continued on as captain of Standard Liege.   Now, with rumours of him coming to Old Trafford having been replaced by blockbuster innuendo regarding Wesley Sneijder, it is time for Sir Alex to consummate the courtship.

Defour is younger than the Dutchman, less expensive and well-known but is every bit his match as a leader.  Fergie is not looking for short-term fixes.  He is building the next great Manchester dynasty and the Belgian, à la Eric Cantona, will be at the heart of it.

I think I might have even spied an ‘AF 4 SD’ mural chalked on the sidewalk outside Old Trafford yesterday.  yesterday. What’s that?  No, it wasn‘t AF has STDs’.  Haters!

Jamie Ness @ Rangers (Scott Johnston) — The coming SPL season could be a really big one for Jamie Ness at Rangers. At twenty, he has been unlucky with injuries, true, but with a full pre-season under his belt, he could be ready to become a first team regular at Ibrox.

Ness made his debut last season, displaying composure beyond his years.  He keeps the ball in a way that reminds me of a young Barry Ferguson. As well, he can close opponents down and play the holding role to great effect, putting Maurice Edu’s position in the Gers squad under threat. Even better, he has a cannon for a left foot, a rarity in any league. If you have any doubts regarding his ability, I refer you to his wonderful goal against Celtic in the Scottish Cup on the 6th of February!

If Ness can escape from the looming injury cloud which has darkened his early career, there is no reason he cannot also become a first choice Scottish International. He recently made his under-21 debut and will only develop a better chemistry, with some familiar faces in the new Ibrox senior dressing room, namely Kyle Hutton, Gregg Wylde and John Fleck, also ready to cement their places in the top team.

New Rangers boss Ally McCoist has already identified Jamie’s potential and, hoping to transform the youngster into an integral member of his squad, he rewarded the midfielder a new two year contract extension, keeping the Ayrshire lad at Ibrox until 2015. There will be many new faces wearing blue this season but the young Jamie Ness will hope to stay fit and remain in the fore of his new boss’first team plans.

Romelu Lukaku @ Chelsea (Tapesh Patel – At Anderlecht, Lukaku has developed a healthy rivalry with Standard Liege and Steven Defour.  While the midfielder has quietly slipped off the continental radar, the big striker has emerged as a rising stock in a class of talented Belgian international players.  He has been linked with just about every club conceivable and dubbed as the second coming of Didier Drogba.  Over time, the 6′ 3″ teenager will only flesh out his long frame which, with his already dangerous movement and pace, doesn’t bode well for Premier League defenders.

Although he has played down the gossip without exactly quashing it altogether, by announcing that his current priorities are his final exams and getting back to training with Anderlecht, his most likely move is to Stamford Bridge, where Drogba himself might offer a few pointers on how to properly dismantle defenders.  But who would he replace? Drogba? Torres? Anelka? All of them? This is the conundrum facing the incoming Chelsea manager.

Having now dominated the Belgian league with 31 goals in two seasons, Blues fans are hoping that he has set his sights on a move to England. His stats suggest that he would make an excellent partner for Daniel Sturridge, with the young pair hastening the departure of the expensive, aging stars blocking their way.

Whether it’s Guus Hiddink, Andres Villas-Boas or a complete dark horse who assumes the reins at Chelsea, they’d be a fool not to want this young talent in their squad.

Libor Kozak @ Lazio ( Shaun Best) – No-one will argue that Lazio have managed to pull off a coup with the signing of 33-year-old front man Miroslav Klose.  It’s the kind of high-profile signing that Eagles fans were used to seeing in the ’90s, during the Sergio Cragnotti era.  With Klose now added to a frontline that includes Mauro Zarate, Giuseppe Sculli, Sergio Floccari and Tommaso Rocchi, what will become of young Czech prodigy Libor Kozak?

The 22 year-old, 6”4 inch target man was signed in 2008 from minnows SFC Opava and, after a failed loan spell at Brescia, his Serie A future looked bleak.

However, while Zarate was having his latest temper tantrum at the turn of the year, sitting out three matches for an end-of-game tirade against Bologna which concluded with the diminutive Argentine hurling the ball at an opponent, Kozak took his chance and enjoyed a purple patch.

A fortnight after contributing the winning goal against Sampdoria, Kozak bagged a brace to defeat Fiorentina. Coincidentally, the Viola just happened to be the club against which Kozak opened his Lazio account back in September.  Despite contributing just two more goals, Kozak has still shown enough to prove he belongs on the big stage. While Eagles coach Edy Reja adopted the “Chicharito” approach, calling on the big man from the bench, Czech Republic manager Michal Bilek was impressed enough to make a personal scouting trip, which in turn led to a maiden international call-up.

Due to his build and aerial threat, comparisons have already been made with former Czech legends Jan Koller and Tomas Skuhravy, along with Tottenham’s Peter Crouch. Spurs coach Harry Redknapp has reportedly has already sent scouts to watch Kozak.

While Kozak has some large shoes to fill, the bigger question now remains whether he is happy to remain a bit part player?  If his ambitions can match his size, then the sky could be the limit for Libor Kozak.

Raphael Varane @ Man United (Andrew Gibney) – The 18-year-old defender, who spent the season with now relegated French club RC Lens, will likely move to Manchester United, followed by a possible loan deal to a Ligue 1 side.  He’s another strapping lad, also 6′ 3″, and of Martiniquais descent.

While he isn’t prepared to break into United’s senior squad quite yet, write down his name on a bit a paper.  By the time he’s 20, everyone will know who he is. If you can’t wait a couple of years, here is something I wrote on the Gib Football Show back in April.

You might wonder why we haven’t nominated your favourite young star, be it Aaron Ramsey, who might be ready to tread the path blazed by Gareth Bale – and wouldn’t that be something:  a Gunner following the lead of a Tottenham man? – Michael Mancienne, starting anew again at Hamburg with the full confidence of former Chelsea youth supervisor Frank Arnesen, yet another United prospect in Tom Cleverly or someone else entirely.  The simple answer is that this post is already long enough to be nominated for a Nibbie.  The truth is that we probably never considered them.

Then again, that’s what the comments section is for!

On Thursday, keep an eye out for the ninth installment in WFC’s 2010-11 UEFA Year Book:  High-Profile Boss Most Likely To Remain Unemployed At Season’s Start.

In the meantime, you can read the previous chapters in the UEFA Yearbook by clicking on the links below.

1. Most Memorable Moments
2. Most Forgettable Moments
3. Player Not Named Messi Or Ronaldo Most Likely To Win Ballon d’Or
4. Club Most Likely to Win the 2012 Champions League
5. Club Most Likely To Spend Big Over The Summer
6. Player Most Likely To Make A Big Splash In The Summer Window
7. Manager Most Likely To Accept A High Profile Position

Enjoy!

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Big Ro and Manny may be the last of the Big Time Spenders, when it comes to player transfers.  That’s because Mickey Blue Eyes has laid down the law.  Okay, okay, so Michel Platini has brown eyes. Geez, you can’t get away with anything, anymore.

That is the point behind this chapter of the UEFA Yearbook, however.  UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules will likely kill off the mega-transfer deal and this is the last window where teams will be able to spend big.  So, expect the summer to be full of big name transfers.

At the writing, Liverpool had already coughed up £20 million plus David Ngog for Sunderland’s Jordan Henderson, Manchester United were strongly linked to Blackburn’s Phil Jones, allegedly for £16 million and Bayern Munich spent most of the spring negotiating an €18 million deal with Schalke for Manuel Neuer.  As well, Miroslav Klose has moved to Lazio on a free transfer and Swiss midfielder Gokhan Inler will be heading from Udinese to Napoli, after a €20 million fee was agreed by the clubs.

Why will this be the last free-spending window?  After all, UEFA has no say in the business of individual leagues.  Technically, teams can invest as they see fit.

The catch is that, beginning in the 2013-14 season, a club’s balance sheet will have to virtually free of loss in order to receive a license to play in Europe.  In 2018, no team with a negative profit will be permitted to play in the Champions or Europa Leagues.  Up until now, as Real Mallorca discovered to their regret, administration was the only thing that could keep you out of Europe.  Eligibility for 2013-14, though, will be determined by a club’s 2011-12 and 2012-13 balance sheets and a losing record won’t do.  So, if any manager is desperate for a player, this is the last chance to get him before the long arm of the law bars the way.

Extravagant Chairmen are going to have to find something else to throw at their problems.

The idea behind the initiative is not only to promote fiscal responsibility but to close the gap between big and small clubs, making the continental competitions all the more difficult and unpredictable.  If a Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour want a marquee player in the future, they’ll have to carefully consider how much they’re willing to spend.  If they bid too high, they might not earn the revenues to cover the cost and, thus, would be denied a license to compete in the Champions or Europa League for the coming season.  Meanwhile, if a smaller club, such as Palermo, would like to hold on to an eagerly sought after player, say Javier Pastore, they can set a price which will truly discourage any interested buyers.   Of course, Maurizio Zamparini has been doing that, loudly, every week for the entire 2010-11 season, so maybe the Rosanero were a poor example.

Critics of Platini’s legislation complain that the big clubs, with larger stadiums and far more lucrative sponsorships will still be able to outspend their lesser cousins and subsequently be permanently locked into the top spots.  As well, there is the Bosman rule to consider.  If a player wants to move, he can refuse to play and the club may be forced to accept the best offer they can get.   The rich will get richer and the poor will rue the day they supported Mickey Brown Eyes’candidacy.

So, which clubs will be getting in their last licks this summer?  The cracked WFC staff is here with a short list of the most likely suspects.

Internazionale

Simply put, Massimo Moratti will not be happy with finishing eight points behind his noisy neighbours AC Milan.  After struggling for decades to get the upper hand on the Rossoneri and Juventus, a five-year run at the top of Serie A, replete with a Champions League title, actually seems too short a time to the proud Inter President.

I predict millions of Euros being handed to the manager, who it appears will be Leonardo – the Coppa d’Italia seemingly enough to warrant his being given a full season in charge.   Nothing less than a Scudetto will be acceptable in 2011-12, however.

As with Chelsea, Inter’s Mourinho leftovers are getting older, especially on the back line, although thirty-seven-year-old Javier Zanetti looks fit enough to outlast Ryan Giggs.  Maicon, while just 29, was badly exposed by Gareth Bale, and then Robinho and Antonio Cassano in the past campaign.  The health of Lucio and Walter Samuel, both thirty-three, are question marks and Marco Materazzi, thirty-seven, will surely not be sitting at the end of the bench, dreaming up new pranks, for yet another season.

There is also the question of whether they’ll be able to keep mid-field wizard Wesley Sneijder from Manchester United’s clutches.  If they don’t, the attack-minded Leonardo will be desperate to fill the gap immediately.

Knowing the shenanigans that go on in Italy, Inter will find a way around the Fair Play rules, but to be ‘fair’does anyone actually understand them? That will be Moratti’s excuse anyway. – Andrew Gibney

Olympique Lyonnais

Looking at the Ligue 1 table, Lyon haven’t had that bad a season. However, another campaign devoid of trophies has definitely annoyed chairman Jean-Michel Aulas, even if he won’t openly admit it.  If you think Massimo Moratti is greedy for not being satisfied by a five-year run, Les Gones’seven-year French dynasty positively spoilt their chairman.  This means that departures (and arrivals) this summer are all but certain.

Manager Claude Puel, who has already stated that he may move, could be the first to go, after a poor three-year record with the former champions. If he is sacked, he may be followed through the exit door by some of his unhappy stars, such as Michel Bastos, who is linked with a move to Serie A.

This may add to the existing holes in the squad but, luckily for OL supporters, Aulas’deep pockets don’t seem to have any. Lisandro Lopez, Yoann Gourcuff and Bastos himself have all commanded sizeable fees in recent years, so I’d back a similar, likely more intense, raid of opposing Ligue 1 clubs by Aulas in the coming weeks. – Tapesh Patel

I’ll start by admitting I don’t really know what the FIFA Fair Play Initiative is, or whether that’s even its proper title. Nor do I have any desire to find out. As me mum’s Labi Siffre record bleats out, ‘The more you take our spending rights away/ the more loopholes we shall seek’. Or something along those lines.

What I can do is list the clubs who definitely won’t break the rules:

Manchester United – Whether they are £700m in debt and still scraping by with the Ronaldo money, let’s call them ‘Cristieuros’, is a moot point.  What’s clearer, and less controversial, is that they don’t need to spend big, with Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling, Anderson, the da Silva boys and Jonny Evans (yes, Jonny Evans) all still getting better.  Although Evans may have some competition from Phil Jones, this summer.

So, expect only two important purchases from Sir Alex Ferguson this summer.  One will be a keeper, probably David de Gea, although he seems to have a bug up his arse about coming to Old Trafford.  Then, in spite of all the hullabaloo surrounding Wesley Sneijder as a replacement for the dinosaurs currently roaming the center of the Old Trafford pitch, Fergie will continue to think young and sign Steven Defour, from Standard Liege.  I know, I know.  A twenty-three-year-old from the Belgian League hardly seems the player to be found at the heart of the United attack but Defour is capable; he has been the captain of Les Rouches since he was nineteen.  Trust me on this.  I’m only pretending to be adolescent.

Manchester City – Am I the only one smart enough to realise the blue half of Manchester only need a couple of new faces? Apparently not: I just logged into Twitter to check out what Rio’s having for supper and to indulge in some of the Neville brothers’ brilliant banter, and there’s some poncy journalist out there, by the name of Iain Macintosh, and he’s spouting out something about City having ‘holstered their scattergun’. Fancy way of copying my thoughts, although how he knew what I was thinking escapes me.  Have to pay more attention to who’s on the stool next to me, I suppose.  Anyway, like United, City have improving youngsters in Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards.  Roberto Mancini will make one or two signings at most, Carlos Tevez or no Carlos Tevez.

Chelsea – Like Jermaine and Bret from Flight of the Conchords – sick show, that – Chelsea have parted with all their pocket-money in one go and on an ill-fitting purchase. There will be no more spending until they’ve worn out Nando completely (about another six months, then). That is, unless they can find a bargain down the local Christian Aid charity shop. [Hint, hint.]

Liverpool – Sure, they’ve reinvested Torres’ money on two, younger, better models. Wise move. Their new owners seem too boring sensible to keep spending like this, but with Damien Comolli in charge of transfers I think they’ll be OK.  I’ll stick my neck out and wager that they’ll manage to finish ahead of the Frenchman’s old team next year.  What’s that?  Comolli splurged on Jordan Henderson to the tune of twenty mil?  Oh.  Never mind, then.

Arsenal – Despite having more leeway now that his hands are no longer tied by the costly construction of the Emirates, Arsene Wenger won’t splurge this year. Because he’s une tête de mule.

So who will spend big? Well, it looks like Liverpool, doesn’t it?  But, since I followed Alan Shearer’s example and refused to do any proper research, I say we’ll just have to wait and see.  I learnt this laissez-faire, plans are for pussies approach from watching The Apprentice’s Edward Hunter. Missed the end, anyone know how he’s getting on? — Jude Ellery

Barcelona – What?  Am I crazy?  Barcelona is perfect.  They’d never overspend or stretch the rules.  Not even an inch.  Not with that UNICEF brand across their chests.  Oh, wait.  They’re moving on from that, aren’t they? In 2011-12, they’ll happily to accept €150 million from the Qatari Foundation to push the children to the side.

What’s more, they’ll need the money if they keep agreeing €40+ million deals for players that they only keep for a season, mostly on the bench yet, while throwing strikers who have notched Champions League winning goals into the bargain.  According to published reports, the club has lost €83 and €21 million, respectively, in the last two seasons.

To be fair, that shows that Barça is moving towards compliance with Financial Fair Play but not exactly at a hurried pace.  The Catalans have just announced a €45 million transfer budget for the summer.  As well, they have been strongly linked to both Alexis Sánchez and Giuseppe Rossi, after also adding Ibrahim Afellay in the January window.  All of this despite the incredible success of their academy, La Masia, and the fact that, other than captain Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez, none of their key starters is even thirty years of age.

So, why are they spending at all?  If any club should be doing an Arsene Wenger and sitting on their cash, it’s the European champions.  It would seem that the pressure of Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid coming up fast in the rear-view may be causing a bit of a panic. – Martin Palazzotto

On Saturday, keep an eye out for the sixth instalment in WFC’s 2010-11 UEFA Year Book:  Player Most Likely To Make A Big Splash In The Summer Transfer Window.

In the meantime, you can read the previous chapters in the UEFA Yearbook by clicking on the links below.

1. Most Memorable Moments
2. Most Forgettable Moments
3. Player Not Named Messi Or Ronaldo Most Likely To Win Ballon d’Or
4. Club Most Likely to Win the 2012 Champions League

Enjoy!

The Champions League Final was played just a fortnight ago.  In its wake, it is difficult to criticise the popular opinion that Barcelona are going to become the first club to defend that title since AC Milan did the deed at the end of the ’80s, with a squad that included a young Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi, on the cusp of thirty, at the back, future managers Carlo Ancelotti and Roberto Donadoni in the midfield and, providing the flair, the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.  That no one has repeated the feat in over two decades indicates just how great that squad was and how competitive UEFA has since become.

So can Barcelona manage the near impossible?

Well, unlike previous champions, Inter, Barça’s coach is going nowhere.  Pep Guardiola may feel the need to prove that he can build another dynasty from something other than the Blaugrana blueprint.  That is why he insists on rolling one-year contract extensions.  Yet, at every season’s end, he rediscovers that there is no other place he’d rather be. Pep came up through La Masia.  He knows the strength of that academy, none better.  He matured on Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team and could step into the current line-up and distribute the ball blindfolded.  Camp Nou, simply put, is home and for Guardiola, ruby slippers or not, there is no place like home.

Nor should there be any important departures from within the squad.  In fact, there might be a couple of significant additions, if the rumours regarding Alexis Sánchez and Giuseppe Rossi hold any water. If the Catalans actually improve, it might actually be impossible for any club to catch them.

However, our cracked staff of WFC bloggers have identified three clubs who have the potential to trip up the world’s undisputed heavyweight – figuratively, not literally – side.  Want to know who they are and how they might manage it?  Read on, MacDuff…

Manchester United

Truthfully, I can’t see beyond Barcelona.  However, if Sir Alex Ferguson can identify and recruit the proper reinforcements this summer, Manchester United may go one better than the past season. Rightfully, they are currently the second best side in Europe, although Real Madrid may want to say something about that.

But as the Scot has pointed out, his side has, in recent years, worked out the right formula to compete in Europe. In this just finished campaign, they won all their away games without conceding. In fact only Barcelona and Bayern Munich can say they have beaten the English side in Europe over the past two campaigns.

The one conundrum Sir Alex must solve is how to beat Barcelona when they’re in at their irresistible best. In a game that matters, notably in the knockout rounds, luck can be a factor but one that is minute.  What Fergie needs is the talent to compete with Barça in midfield, presuming the sides do meet again.  With Paul Scholes retiring and one and two other question marks – Ryan Giggs, anyone? – This may be the summer in which United finally address their weakest area, central midfield. – Tapesh Patel

- Editor’s note – Well, that was logical, considered and well thought out.  Here’s Jude Ellery, still in character, to present the same argument without all that unnecessary stuff. - 

Come on, give me something difficult! Manchester United is going to blow the field away.  Why?  Because I support them and can’t imagine anyone else winning anything.  Ever. It’s that simple.  We dominate football and we will do forever, because that’s how it works.

Huh? What do you mean, Fergie will retire soon and then where will we be?  Who said that?  Whoever you are, you don’t know anything!  Fergie is going to live forever, if only to stop Arsene Wenger from ever winning another trophy.  You probably like some French team that thinks it’s actually Spanish, like Valenciennes or somebody. What do they ever do in Europe?

Look, it’s really simple, so I’ll spell it out for you.  The better your club, the more you know about football and the more obnoxious you can be. It’s kind of like Rule One of being a casual fan.  And, if I’m anything, I’m a casual fan! – Jude Ellery

Chelsea 

There is every chance that this summer could see a bit of a rebuilding process at Stamford Bridge. Of course without knowing who they will or won’t sign makes it difficult to predict but I can’t imagine Guus Hiddink, or whoever the new manager turns out to be, not demanding funds to build a team in their own image.

And, if Roman Abramovich gets the ideal man, I can’t see him refusing.  Frank Lampard is slowing down, John Terry is becoming all bark and no bite and Fernando Torres is becoming quite the embarrassment.  It’s time for the next generation.   Bring on Daniel Sturridge.  Bring on Neymar.  Bring on a winning side.

Especially if the man in charge is Hiddink, a busy summer of buying and selling will likely be in the offing.   Don’t be surprised if Chelsea come out smelling of roses come September the 1st and go on to finally lift the Champions League Trophy.
 — Andrew Gibney

Real Madrid 

There is a reason that Barcelona are going after more than one big name this summer.  It’s not that they’re weak in any area or getting old.  Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and the rest are all still in their mid-to-late twenties.  The problem is Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid.

Xavi, who rarely makes any public criticism, recently came out and said that he much preferred Man United’s approach to the Meringues’.   He said, as most proponents of tick-a-tack do, that the English side “played” football.  Read into that  the insinuation that the Special One’s charges don’t.  Negative tactics, to the positive mind, do not belong.  It’s almost as if they cannot comprehend anything beyond their own existence.  That is understandable but it is also blinding oneself to reality.

Ultimately, we live in a binary world.  For every positive, there is a negative.  Up down, in, out, man, woman - I won’t say which is which on that count! – winners, losers, Barcelona, Real Madrid.  The aspect of proper negative tactics which particularly perturbs Xavi is that they naturally cancel out the positive variety, creating a neutrality.  Nobody likes to be neutered.  Just ask Fido.

And the Prince of Darkness shall walk the touch line again!

This season under Mourinho, Los Blancos went from being blanked 5-0 at the Nou Camp, to drawing 1-1 in the return match.  Then they actually won the Copa del Rey.  They had also effectively neutralised the Catalans for much of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, at the Santiago Bernabeu, until the entire match disintegrated and Pepe was sent off.  An argument can be made that the Nou Camp reprise might have gone very differently, had certain calls gone the other way.

This is not to say that Madrid are already better than their rivals.  I’m very fond of quoting the famous wrestler Nature Boy Rick Flair, who, when he wasn’t tilting his head back to let out a big “Wooooo!”, was fond of saying that “To be the man, you have to beat the man!”  For Real, the Copa del Rey victory is nullified by a 1-2-2 record and 3-9 aggregate score on the year against their Clasico sparring partners.  They aren’t the man, yet, but they’re getting there.

The additions of Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop add players to the squad who have flair in possession and grit and determination out of it.  Add to that the anticipated arrival of left back Fabio Coentrao and a yet-to-be-named front man and you can expect Real to not only ask questions of the Blaugrana but to give them the fifth degree.  Mourinho is perfecting his anti-football but also adding some punch to an already dangerous line-up.  Close examination says that it is inevitable that the Portuguese’s third Champions League title and the Madridista’s tenth is not far off.

No wonder, Barcelona is stockpiling talent. – Martin Palazzotto

On Thursday, keep an eye out for the fifth instalment in WFC’s 2010-11 UEFA Year Book:  Club Most Likely To Spend Big & Run Afoul Of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Rules.

In the meantime, you can read the previous chapters in the UEFA Yearbook by clicking on the links below.

1. Most Memorable Moments
2. Most Forgettable Moments
3. Player Not Named Messi Or Ronaldo Most Likely To Win Ballon d’Or

Enjoy!

A disastrous stretch late in the season saw Arsenal wiped out of four competitions faster than you can say Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  As his brittle squad once again crumbled before his very eyes, Arsene Wenger, being French, proudly and stubbornly refused to concede that there was any flaw in his grand Arsenal design.  He denied the need to sign one or two tough, gritty, determined types, who weren’t afraid to go into a tackle with both feet.  Given Jack Wilshere’s challenge, early in the season, on Birmingham’s Nikola Zigic, Arsene may have had a point on that score.

Despite the lip service offered by the manager, it looked like Arsenal would be standing pat in the transfer window.

Yet, behind the scenes, a change had taken place that may have forced Wenger’s hand.  American Stan Kroenke had finally crossed the Maginot Line, purchasing enough shares to become majority owner of the club.  Kroenke also owns the NFL’s St. Louis Rams and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, amongst many other sports franchises.  Both have won championships and his Colorado Rapids are MLS Cup holders.  Thus Kroenke understands both how winning can improve and losing damage the bottom line.

With Kroenke consolidating his position at the Emirates, Arsene Wenger suddenly changed his tune last week.  But rather than beef up, the Gunners boss declared his intent to go after tall players, citing the club’s poor record on set pieces.  He stated that the club will sign some vertically gifted footballers but that their presence will not change Arsenal’s commitment to smooth, attractive football.

If the Frenchman can pull that off he truly is a genius.

His club has often been portrayed as a poor man’s Barcelona, yet the Catalans are even more lacking when it comes to height in the box than Arsenal.  Barça do have a pair of comparative redwoods in Gerard Pique (6′ 3″) and Sergio Busquets (6′ 2″).  As well there is defensive specialist Seydou Keita (6′ 0″), who typically comes on late in matches to help protect the lead built up by ground troops Leo Messi (5′ 7″), Xavi Hernandez (5′ 7″), Andres Iniesta (5′ 7″), Dani Alves (5′ 7″), Pedro (5′ 7″) – are you detecting a pattern yet? – and David “Stretch” Villa (5′ 9″).   Heck, they even rid themselves of 6′ 3″ striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, because his game wasn’t on the same level as the rest of the squad.  No kidding!  It was two or three feet higher.

"Yes, tall players would be good. I am tired of Arshavin and Nasri giggling about my nose hairs."

Simply put, Barcelona win by keeping the ball on the turf.  They accept that they lack the requisite genealogy to excel at set pieces, so when the free kick is not in range of goal, they simply play it short and go back to what works for them – possession through precise passing.  On defence, they simply don’t concede very many corners or foul in dangerous areas.

Arsenal have just one player who doesn’t clear 5′ 7″.  You’re probably guessing that it’s Andrei Arshavin but the only player on Arsenal who can get down to the Barça squad’s level is Theo Walcott.  Arshavin, Jack Wilshere and Gaël Clichy all stand 5′ 8″.  Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou, Sebastian Squillaci, Robin van Persie, Marouane Chamakh and Abou Diaby, among the players who made double-digit starts, range from 6′ 0″ to 6′ 3″.  If you are regularly starting up to a half-dozen beanpoles, perhaps height isn’t the problem on set-pieces.

The question begs asking, then.  If shorter players are better suited to tick-a-tack, how does Arsene Wenger expect to make his squad taller while maintaining, let alone improving, their fluid attack?  With Kroenke adding his weight to that of the fans, the Frenchman is going to have to figure that out quickly or, as unthinkable as it may seem, he may need to find the door.

So, Arsene Wenger will seek salvation in the heavens.  He will look high but not low to find the players who can turn Arsenal back into champions.  Who will he find?

Peter Crouch is 6′ 7″ but, currently at White Hart Lane.  It’s unlikely he’ll do a William Gallas and make the move across town.  Nikola Zigic can stare Crouchy in the eyes without standing on his toes but after the Wilshere episode and his cheek in putting Birmingham in front on the half-hour in the League Cup, he may not exactly be welcome at the Emirates.  And then there’s….

umm, well there’s…

Geez, it’s not as though there are legions of footballers out there who not only play top shelf football but can actually reach that high.

I enjoy watching Arsenal play, though and as over the top as I think Wenger’s tall concept is, I wouldn’t begrudge them an end to their torment.  To that end, I’ve done a bit of thinking, outside the box, to find players who might help the Gunners when they’re inside it.

Here’s a couple of suggestions for Arsene to mull over:

LeBron James

I'm sorry, Arshavin, I didn't see you down there.

Now we’re talking tall!  At 6′ 8″ and 250 lbs, King James can bring it.  He has excellent vision and can see over the crowd to find open teammates.  With the Miami Heat this season, he averaged seven assists per game.  So, he can pass and it goes without saying that he can finish, too!  Twenty-six plus points per game is nothing to sneeze at.  Even better, he’s a force in front of goal.

Okay, so he does all that with his hands.  Picky, picky.  Switching to his feet may be a tough transition but he’s got all the right instincts.  As well, he owns a stake in Liverpool FC, so apparently there is some interest.  If he finally wins an NBA ring with the Heat, he may be looking for a new project.

Zdeno Chara

Here’s another big man who makes Crouchy and Zigic look like Javier Mascherano and he’s good on his feet!  The  Boston Bruins captain is, before lacing on his skates, 6′ 9″ of mean and nasty who, when he isn’t stuffing opponents into the boards is stuffing in critical goals for the Beantowners.  The Bruins are struggling at the moment in the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals but Chara has been his typically bruising menace and isn’t that what Gunners faithful are calling for?

Chara is Czech, by the way, and European NHLers are well-known for playing games of keepy uppy just before heading out onto the ice.  Who knows, Chara may already have mad skills!

Okay, okay, so maybe I’m reaching if I expect athletes from other sports to make the transition to football.  Arsenal has a very high standard of play and Wenger probably doesn’t have time to teach the fundamentals to a bunch of newbies, no matter how many times they bump their head coming in and out of the clubhouse.

Speaking of the clubhouse, there’s one place where a legitimate international footballer, standing 6’3″, skilled and eager to play can be found.  Who am I talking about?

Nicklas Bendtner

Who would have thunk it?  Wenger is searching all over creation for some talented players who can latch onto or clear a threatening cross into the box and here’s the supremely confident, not to mention TALL, Dane sitting right there on the end of the substitute’s bench!  Will wonders never cease?

What?

He’s unhappy and wants to leave the club?

Mon Dieu!

Nani has stated that he believes United can beat Barcelona next year and I agree with him. In fact, I think United could have beaten Barcelona this year, although it would have been a one-in-ten type of result. Nani’s faith in next year might fall under the same category but forecasting the next 12 months is a pointless exercise. More interesting is what Sir Alex Ferguson could have done to give his team a better chance to win Saturday’s game.

To my mind, since Fergie is regarded as one of the best 2 or 3 managers in the world, the fact that he made a huge mistake in the lead up to the Champions League Final is being overlooked or brushed to the side. That mistake is simple – leaving Dimitar Berbatov off the squad completely.

Can you imagine any other manager leaving the (joint) Golden Boot Winner off of the squad for the biggest game of the year? Admittedly, Berbatov’s replacement in the line-up, Javier Hernandez, has been playing excellently and has more than justified his inclusion in the line-up. I don’t blame Sir Alex for not starting Berbatov but leaving him off the squad completely is inexcusable.

Berbatov’s approach to football is viewed by many in England as lazy and disinterested, his style flying in the face of the dedicated work rate that is so valued in the UK. In contrast, Hernandez’s frenetic pace and constant running epitomize what the typical English punter looks for in his football hero. With such an attitude, United fans would be making a complete flip to call out Ferguson for not subbing Berbatov in for Chicharito.

As well, we’re talking about Sir Alex Bloody Ferguson here.  Twenty-three seasons.  Twenty-three trophies.  Calling him out for screwing up is simply unheard of. Ferguson is too respected. Too feared. He doesn’t screw up.

As I said above, I understand why Ferguson began playing Chicharito more and more towards the end of the season, as well as why he started him in the final. He’s young, energetic, popular and successful. But leaving Berbatov off the squad was simply an error and betrayed a bit of Sir Alex’s usually well-hidden megalomania.

There is no other way to describe it. When United was struggling (by their standards), early in the season, Berbatov became an unlikely savior and netted 20 goals by the end of the season, good enough to earn him a share of the EPL’s Golden Boot Award, as previously noted. What makes this number even more impressive is that his season was essentially ended early, when Hernandez was worked into the squad and began to thrive.

His tally of 13 goals in 27 appearances is also very impressive, especially considering it was his first year in the notoriously ruthless EPL. Because of this success, I don’t fault Fergie for sticking with Hernandez and starting him in the CL Final. The problem was the lack of options on the bench in case things went south for United in the Final.

Ferguson stated after the match that he decided to load his bench with midfielders so as to have more options to combat Barcelona’s midfield.  Not a bad idea, although this left him with only one spot each for a defender and a forward, leaving him to choose between Berbatov and Owen.

"As one Fergie speaking for another, I would have picked Owen over Berbatov, too. I mean, they're both sexy but Michael has such great hair!"

After the match, the manager claimed that he chose Owen because “if you are looking for someone to nick a goal in the last few minutes you want Owen’s experience.” Now, since United being down and having trouble creating chances towards the end of the game was not exactly a surprising turn of events, experience is a good criteria on which to choose your substitutes.

Someone who could go in for Hernandez, knowing how to cause problems for the Barcelona defense might have altered the outcome of the game tremendously. However, there is a big flaw in Ferguson’s choice, Owen’s “experience” at United has come almost entirely against weaker sides in comparatively meaningless matches, rather than against the best sides on the continent.

When examined closely, it becomes clear that Berbatov was left out simply due to the fact that he had fallen out of favor with Ferguson and the Scot had closed his mind on the matter.  That is surprising from such an accomplished manager, especially as the two players’careers are traveling in diametrically opposed directions.

Owen burst onto the scene in 1997 for Liverpool and spent the next 7 years cementing his status as an Anfield legend. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2001 but then moved on to Real Madrid in 2004. He spent one year on the Bernabeu bench before joining Newcastle, who basically paid him to be injured for 4 years.  Finally, last year he came to United and has shown himself to be exactly what he is – an aged striker who has lost the skills that were the keys to his early success. He scored just 5 goals this year, none of which were in European competition.

On the other hand, Berbatov has worked his way up, playing for CSKA Sofia, Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur before signing with United. Berbatov struggled somewhat in his first two years at Old Trafford before exploding this year. In addition to that more upward trend, he was used as a substitute two years ago in Rome when Manchester United faced Barcelona in the Champions League Final.  If you ask me, having played in the Champions League Final against Barcelona once already seems like pretty good experience if you are preparing to do it again.

Barcelona’s second half was an absolute masterpiece, but if Berbatov had been subbed in for Hernandez (who was absent aside from a few offsides early on), he might have made an impact. Hernandez is an energetic, youthful poacher whose success is thus far largely a product of his ability to get to capitalize on chances very close to the goal.  The Catalan’s defence by possession rendered Hernandez invisible by not allowing United to get the ball far enough up the field to get him properly involved. Aside from Rooney’s goal, their deepest penetration was on the two occasions when Victor Valdes punched the ball away at the edge of his area.

Had Owen come on, he would have been an older slower version of Chicharito.  How would that have helped?

Berbatov is a much different player. His experience and high football IQ would have provided Barcelona with a different problem to solve. he is also capable of coming back and holding the ball very well under pressure.  Odds are that it wouldn’t have mattered but if you are looking for an ace-in-the-hole who could score a goal to change the game, an experienced player who won the Premier League’s Golden Boot isn’t a bad option.

Instead of this, Sir Alex Ferguson opted to select an aged veteran who he know wouldn’t play because he couldn’t be effective. My CV wouldn’t get me hired as a manager in a five-a-side community housing league, yet I can’t help thinking that United would have been better served by Berbatov’s presence on the bench.  At the least, it would have been interesting to find out.

It’s been a long, hard season in Europe.  The campaign began in the shadow of the South African World Cup, where Les Bleus paid tribute to that old TV comedy, On The Buses, and the Netherlands introduced a new fighting style, Dutch Fu, to little avail in the final against Spain.  When the club season began, the mixture of MMA and football continued in the Premier League, where Dutch Fu master Nigel de Jong oversees the Eastlands dojo at Manchester City.  As well, Wayne Rooney fought off rumours of an illicit affair with a prostitute and held out for more cash from Man United.  In Germany, Louis van Gaal tussled with Uli Hoeness and in Italy, Rafa Benitez pulled an inside job on Jose Mourinho’s treble winning Inter.  Those are all forgettable moments, however, and we’ll deal with them in the next segment.

Today is reserved for remembering the good times.  At WFC, sadly, more writers have gone through our revolving door than managers in Serie A, but it has always been enjoyable.  We’ll miss the likes of Chris Mann, Matt Dalton, Geoff Edwards, Eliot Rothwell and Kristian Anker-Möller.  Still, those of us who remain behind have come together to bring you the best moments from the 2010-11 season.  So, without further adieu, let’s get cracking.

It’s been emotional. I’ll miss you guys – even old Paleface Palazzotto with his screeching, virtual chalk stick and strict deadlines. I might even pop back now and again to help out (not that I was actually there very often, eh Gib?).

I’d like to point out that at this time I’m playing a highly impressionable 16-year-old.  It’s called method acting.  To get in the proper mindset for a year book contribution, I thought I’d enjoy the freedom of being an obnoxious teenager again.  You can get away with so much more than an obnoxious adult.  So, I’m scribbling all this down on the back of my planner, during break time, behind the bike sheds with the cool kids (I actually don’t like smoking – tickles the lungs – but I pretend to take the occasional drag).

My older, more learned self will realise the folly of his ways in about seven years’ time – and go on to learn such mature facts as there being no such team as Inter Milan (just Inter or Internazionale) and their ground is the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, in San Siro (not the San Siro).

Bale may not have deserved the PFA Player of the Year Award but his play against Inter is one of the highlights of the Champions league season

But for now, I’m a spotty, horny teenager, as I will be for the remainder of this piece. Miss Anistonne, the drama teacher, has told me I’ll never make it to Hollywood if I can’t learn to stay in character. And I’ll take the advice of anyone with breasts like those!

Best moment then? Well, apart from Bestie and the chewing gum incident, it’s gotta be Gareth Bale’s hat-trick against Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League. Crucial, crucial goals in a massive game, scored by the best player in England, if not the world. He’s been doing it consistently all season, has Balo, and quite rightly won the Premier League’s Player of the Year award. – Jude Ellery

Editor’s note:  The rest of us will be our normal selves throughout the series but we have respect for Jude’s thespian efforts.  Therefore to help him stay in part, we’ll be spending as much time as necessary behind the bike shed, having removed the chains from a few of it’s inhabitants, to use for alternate purposes. –Paleface

For Berba, it's quality, not quantity.

Being a fan of Man United, you’d think it would be easy for me to come up with a highlight for the season.  They did just hoist their nineteenth league trophy, one more than hated Liverpool but the clinching match against Blackburn wasn’t their best effort of the year.  What, then, along the way was the most memorable happening?

After a good deal of thought, and ‘Paleface’breathing down my neck to get it done, I’ve settled on Dimitar Berbatov’s hat trick against, who else but Liverpool.  Despite his seemingly laissez-faire attitude, the Bulgarian is a player I’ve always stood by.  He’s a classy footballer, big and strong, a real number nine in  my opinion.  It hurt to see him left out of the Champions League Final at Wembley.

The pièce de résistance of the three-bagger against the Reds at Old Trafford was the overhead kick.  My eyes popped open and the drool rolled down my chin as I watched him control the ball with his knee, teeing it up and then leaping backwards to drive it over a helpless Pepe Reina.  As they say on Soccer AM, you don’t save those! – Dale OD

Hi all.  Hang on a mo’, while I get this bike grease off my hands.  Oh, and just ignore the moans coming from behind the shed.  Jude will be fine, although all those screams of “Not in the face! Not in the face!” were rather pathetic.

Next time I see Steve, we're going to have words.

So, where are we now?  Right, the Championship.  Well, it was obviously QPR’s year, even if the FA did make them sweat it at season’s end.  Congratulations to Neil Warnock and his crew.   For me, however, the highlight of the Championship season was David “Calamity” James joining Bristol City.  Obviously, not much came of it, as the Robins finished in fifteenth place, roughly halfway between relegation and the playoffs.  Worse, manager Steve Coppell did a Martin O’Neill and left the club just two games into the season.

What makes me think of James first, though, when asked what I remember best about the campaign, is the manner of his signing.  The morning after his bachelor party, a groggy James answered the annoying buzz of his cell phone, something he rarely does when his wits are about him.  On the other end was Coppell, who said, “if you’re not doing much this year, why not come down to Bristol.  We’ll have a few laughs.”  And that was that.  No Premier League, no England, no coach and no choice but to ride it out.

Lesson One:  Never sign a professional football contract while hung over.

Lesson Two:  Always have a fall back plan if you’re on for drinks with Steve Coppell. – Martin “Paleface” Palazzotto

It really has not been a memorable SPL season, to be honest. We have had death threats, managers attacked, player brawls, referee strikes, club sales and a lot of postponement. So there have been too many bad highlights for me this season.

But since my arm is being twisted, I’m picking the final match of the season between Rangers and Kilmarnock as my most memorable moment.   Call me cynical but as well as bringing an end to a miserable season, the match was entertaining and it crowned the league champion.

Always leave them wanting more!

With Rangers needing to win to secure the SPL title, they were three-nil up within the first seven minutes from a trio of superbly taken goals. It was refreshing to see a team finishing so clinically in such a big game! There was also a hat-trick for the usually woeful Kyle Lafferty and Croat Nikica Jelavic struck a lovely free kick to make it four for Rangers. The game finished 5-1.

Most importantly, Walter Smith won his last game as Rangers boss, departing with three titles on the trot.  Smith deserved such a send off but with a month to go it didn’t look as though it would happen.  Celtic were the front-runners but they slipped and Rangers passed them by, never looking back.

I hope for more memorable moments next season, and less forgettable ones, as Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist go head to head as managers.  Hopefully Hearts can challenge the Old Firm for the full season and won’t it be nice to see all the new signings and welcome Dunfermline back to the SPL? – Scott Johnston

The Bundesliga is one of the most competitive leagues in Europe and while Bayern Munich are always a factor, they don’t dominate in quite the same way as Barcelona has in Spain or Inter and Lyon had done recently in Italy and France.  Their fans do expect them to always be on top, however, which sets up an ideal love/hate relationship with the Rekordmeister throughout Germany.

This season, it was the haters’turn to celebrate, as Juergen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund overcame an early surge from Mainz 05 to take the Bundesliga by storm.  An aging Bayern side languished in the mid-table, while Louis van Gaal fought off criticism from within, without, above and below.  Still, the set-upon Dutchman had the Bavarians within shouting distance in February, with a match at the Allianz Arena against BVB set to define the 2010-11 campaign.

"We won, we won! but everything is so blurry.... Mats, Mario, was that crunching sound?"

The first quarter-hour was a Latin American affair, with Paraguayan Lucas Barrios putting Dortmund in front and Brazilian Luis Gustavo leveling for Bayern.  Yet, two minutes after the equaliser, Klopp found some Turkish delight as Nuri Sahin put BVB back in the lead.  On the hour, the not so tiny figure of Mats Hummels sealed the deal for the visitors, who dominated most of the match.  A pair of shattered specs, crushed in the victory celebration were a small price for Klopp to pay for a championship.

In the aftermath, a supremely confident Dortmund would open such a wide margin on the field that a late season malaise never truly threatened their championship.  Meanwhile, van Gaal failed to last the season and the Munich side had to settle for third place and Champions League qualifying over the summer. – Martin Palazzotto

For me, two games stick out in the Eredivisie session, for different reasons, with one taking place in the early stages of the campaign and the other on the final day. Despite Ajax clinching the league at home against FC Twente in round thirty-four, their first league title in seven seasons, my memorable moment had to be watching PSV v Feyenoord in October.

It was one of the most surreal games I’ve witnessed in a long time and I couldn’t get my head around the full-time score, which read PSV 10-0 Feyenoord.  It was like playing FIFA XI on easy mode.  Games like these come few and far between in a competitive top flight, especially in the last few decades.

Ay, Caramba!

What also amazed me was the ruthless aggression shown by the PSV players, in particular Balázs Dzsudzsák, Jeremain Lens and Jonathan Reis, with Reis scoring the only hat-trick of the game. If that wasn’t sufficiently impressive, even with more than five goals on the board, PSV gave the impression, charging forward with their onslaught, that they were the team trailing desperately.

It was a watershed moment for Mario Been; although Feyenoord came into the game without the best of forms no one could predict the afternoon they would endure. Been even speculated, prior to the match, that he could be rewarded with a new contract at the full-time whistle.  Famous last words.

In the end, he stayed and despite a few more bumpy rides, culminating in what could have been Feyenoord facing a relegation battle, he managed to galvanise the side through the introduction of Japanese youngster Ryo Miyaichi.  The club began to ascend the table, finishing just shy of a Europa League playoff spot.  They also all but ended PSV’s title hopes when they gained revenge in late April, with two of Holland’s brightest talents Georginio Wijnaldum and Luc Castaignos on the score sheet. – Mohamed Moallim

Oops, wrong Brainiac. Apologies.

In France, a country still recovering from their World Cup embarrassment and now coming to grips with the Dominique Strauss-Kahn scandal, tiny Chambery sounded a positive note by making a stunning run in the Coupe de la Ligue, skewering Monaco, Brest and Sochaux, three top flight sides, before finally succumbing to Ligue 2 club Angers.

Personally, however, nothing could have been more heartwarming than to see an end to Lille’s fifity-six year wait for a trophy. The Stade de France was close to capacity, when, in the 90th minute, Polish midfielder Ludovic Obraniak curled in a high free-kick to the back post. Gregory Coupet, in goal for PSG, misjudged it and the net bulged.  Forty thousand fans in Paris (and one in Leeds) went nuts.  It was by miles the best moment I’ve experienced in following Lille for seven years. — Andrew Gibney

For many, Barcelona’s third league title and second Champions League crown under Pep Guardiola were the re-affirmation of the greatness of Spanish football, which was hinted at in the 2008 Euros and first confirmed in the World Cup.  Yet, Barça and Real Madrid have perched atop La Liga for so long that they must go a long way to impress.

Valdez is Sub-Lime!

Hercules, on the other hand, came into the La Liga season with their garish kit far brighter than their expectations.  Even with Royston Drenthe and David Trezeguet added to the line-up, the Alicante side were not expected to do much.  So, a 2-0 victory at the Nou Camp in the season’s second week had the world sitting up and taking notice.  The hero was Paraguayan World Cup star Nelson Valdes who pumped in both goals, just before the half-hour and hour marks respectively.

Unfortunately, the next surprise from the club, over the Christmas holidays, revealed that they were struggling desperately to pay their new stars.  Drenthe, in fact, threatened to go back to his parent club, Real Madrid, loan agreement or no.  At season’s end, Hercules found themselves headed back to the Segunda Division but at least they offered one dazzlingly bright moment in their short, troubled stay in the top flight. — Martin Palazzotto

Serie A has certainly had its fair share of memorable moments this season.  From Kevin Prince-Boateng’s scudetto moonwalk, in full Michael Jackson garb, to the many outbursts from eccentric Palermo chairman Maurizio Zamparini, there’s never been a dull weekend in pizza land.  On the pitch, we’ve seen many great individual goals, but in terms of all-round entertainment, no-one can trump Udinese.

The free-scoring Friuli club has been to Serie A what Blackpool has to the Premiership – albeit with a better ability to defend – and that is great entertainment to watch.  In addition to the enthralling 4-4 draw with champions Milan at San Siro, Udinese walloped Palermo 7-0 in Sicily to briefly knock Delio Rossi off the Palermo managerial merry-go-round.

Love of the game transcends all language.

Champions League football was rubber-stamped on the final day of the season and top marksman Antonio di Natale retained the goalscorer’s crown with an impressive twenty-eight strikes, one short of his previous season’s tally.

Fifty-seven goals in two seasons of Catenaccio, especially when you’re well over thirty years of age makes one wonder how the Bianconeri captain fails to figure in Cesare Prandelli’s Azzurri plans, youth movement or no.

Udinese’s Chilean #7, Alexis Sánchez, deserves special mention too, enjoying his finest season to date in pulling the strings behind the Friuli forward line. Amazingly, he found a way to communicate with di Natale, despite being unable to speak a word of Italian. Mama Mia!

Sánchez’s four goals in the infamous Palermo match have put him in the shop window at a cool €35 million. The tally in that match may have been more, had coach Francesco Guidolin not taken mercy on his former club and subbed Sanchez after 52 minutes! – Shaun Best

Falcao stepped into Diego Forlan's 2010 Europa League boots with his four goal masterpiece.

If you want to play Europa League word association, you’ll get pretty much the same response from everyone.  If you say 2010, the answer will almost surely be Diego Forlan, who scored goals in both legs of the semi-final tie versus Liverpool and then the lone goal in the Hamburg Final against Roy Hodgson’s Fulham.  If 2011 then spills from your lips, the virtually unanimous response will be Falcao.

Porto’s fiery Colombian went on a mad spree in the final rounds of the tournament, including a four-goal rampage through a very strong Villareal side in the semi-final first leg.  Then, he delivered Andres Villas-Boas the second of what would become a treble haul of trophies, when they went on to win the Portuguese Cup, by scoring the lone goal against Braga at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the Europa League Final.

One just hopes that he doesn’t continue to outdo Forlan, by fading from the scene even more spectacularly than the Uruguayan. — Martin Palazzotto

So nice, we had to show it twice!

Gareth Bale’s one man demolition of Inter was breathtaking indeed but, for me, the moment that will stick in my memory was Eric Abidal hoisting Barcelona’s Champions League trophy. The entire ceremony demonstrated the unity of this extraordinary La Masia-based family.  That a foreigner became the symbol of its success in that moment only further strengthened its image.

Moreover, the very fact that Abidal had appeared in the final, having suffered the removal of a liver tumour just 3 months before, was miraculous. It turned out that his lack of match fitness wasn’t truly tested by Manchester United, but no matter. Abidal is a changed man after the experience, having auctioned off his collection of sports cars to aid research into the condition which afflicted him. Mes que un club, y mes que un juego: at Barcelona, football truly reaches beyond the 22 men plus ball that take to the pitch for 90 minutes, twice a week. — Tapesh Patel

On Saturday, keep an eye out for the second instalment in WFC’s 2010-11 UEFA Year Book:  Most Forgettable Moments.

See you then!

The dust has finally settled on another Champions League campaign, many fans and experts alike will be happy to see Barcelona lift the trophy after playing the best football throughout most of the competition. It may have soured a little with the antics against Real Madrid but the best of the Blaugrana was displayed on the Wembley stage and they thoroughly deserved to be crowned champions of Europe.

Questions remain over the future of the club. Will Pep Guardiola continue for another year? In the joy of the moment, he says yes (!) but the contract remains to be signed.

Will the players have the desire to again climb the highest mountain of continued success? How long can they maintain their dominance over Spain and Europe? The rapturous media believes that no one can stop them in the foreseeable future but, when it really comes down to it, who knows what is going to happen when they walk out the door to work in the morning?  Certainly, Jose Mourinho and a busily improving Real Madrid are eager for another crack at their old rivals.

It is easy to talk about how good Barcelona were, and we will but let’s look at their opponents on the night,Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson said in the lead up that he had learnt his lesson from the 2-0 defeat in Rome. Looking at the 3-1 score line from Saturday instantly puts doubt to his observations.

After most defeats, the first thing to do is question the tactic and line-up so let’s.  Playing what was a 4-4-1-1 Ferguson left Giggs and Carrick 2 v 3 against Iniesta, Busquets and Xavi, instant suicide. Usually against Arsenal – who are probably the closest to Barça in the PL – Ferguson will start in a 4-5-1 and pack the midfield so it was surprising not to see this sort of set up. Perhaps with Park, Giggs and Carrick in the middle they could have limited the time the Barça midfield had on the ball.

Obviously the pressure was on for Javier Hernandez to start after his great form of late but to sacrifice the midfield to play two upfront was the move that gave United no chance in the final. United started the game very well, pressuring Barcelona all over the pitch and for 10 minutes, as in Rome, it worked to great effect and Barça failed to settle.

Eventually, the Spanish champions took control and limited the amount of the ball United saw. Rooney became a figure of frustration and Hernandez basically disappeared. No disgrace to the young Mexican but this wasn’t going to be his night.

The pre-match decision to leave Dimitar Berbatov out of the squad seemed to come back to haunt Sir Alex. Hernandez and Rooney worked well at the start but once the team had gone in level for me it was time to change the tactic. Sir Alex simply moved Park inside and Giggs outside; ultimately this led to Barça’s second, with Giggs not there to close down Messi.

Perhaps there was a case for Berbatov to come on at half time and get his foot on the ball. Although he is not a typical number 9 he does do a very good job holding onto the ball and creating some chances. Rooney could have played off the Bulgarian and perhaps cause the Catalan defence some problems. Instead, United’s second half was spent chasing shadows.

Back to the worthy winners. It was a superb performance from Pep Guardiola’s side. After the scores were brought level through Rooney’s excellent strike, Barcelona took control and United never looked like threatening again. Busquets controlled the midfield and started the majority of their moves. Xavi and Iniesta were majestic – the little tiki-taka passes were in full flow – and Pedro and Messi continued to find space around the defence to operate.

Two superb goals from Messi and Villa were enough to separate the sides and in the end it was an impressive win for the Spanish champions. United did give a better account of themselves over the 90 minutes, the second time around but remain light-years away from Barça’s level.

Messi’s goal has led to a revival of the “Best Ever” conversations which surround the Lego master.  Winning a World Cup does not come into the discussion anymore, if it ever should have, given that Johan Cruyff is often brought up in this debate.  Regardless, the Champions League is now football’s elite tournament, the opponents are tougher and form has to stretch over a whole season. For Messi to have two winners’ medals in his pocket at the age of 23 means he should now be included in the Maradona/Pele conversation. He may not win it yet but he is certainly in the race.  One has to wonder, though, if the lucky fellow below was aware of what would occur on a balmy May evening not too far from Hackney Marshes in just eight and a half months?

So that’s it for another year of European nights.  Whoever is last off the pitch, turn off the flood-lights, will you?

If Manchester United were going to win the Champions League Final against Barcelona, even at Wembley, they needed to be at the top of their game.  Unfortunately for them, it was the Blaugrana who were perfectly in tune.  United were more determined, playing much stronger than in the 2-0 loss in Rome, two years ago.  Still, Barça, who cruised to victory at the Stadio Olimpico, put it into overdrive in the second half in London, pulling away for a 3-1 confirmation of their superiority.

There can be no criticising the Catalan’s approach to the match, either.  Despite Man U’s early pressure, with Park Ji-Sung picking Dani Alves’pocket almost immediately, Pep Guardiola’s side remained calm and did not revert to the antics which, in tandem with Real Madrid, disgraced their semi-final opening leg.  Sergio Busquets did cover his face early on, a trademark routine from him, but this time he had the valid excuse of being mashed in the puss by an errant ball.

The visitors soaked up the opening onslaught and, by the ten minute mark, were beginning to settle into their typical control of possession.  Lionel Messi and David Villa were both able to penetrate the box and it was United’s captain, Nemanja Vidic, whose precisely timed tackling kept the first of many probings from drawing blood.

In fact, with no play acting from Barcelona and little extracurricular contact from the Red Devils, the quality on offer in this final was heaven-sent.  The only player struggling with his interventions was Antonio Valencia, who, more than once in the first half could have been booked for taking down Messi.  The Ecuadorian just wasn’t up to his recent form in this match, on either side of the ball.  Of course, when you’re assigned to man-mark the FIFA World Player of the Year, a struggle is not unexpected.

Pedro trumps Chicharito

One of the anticipated advantages for United, coming into the match, was the big-goal prowess of young Mexican forward Javier Hernandez.  Yet, he and Wayne Rooney, who have partnered well throughout the season, couldn’t seem to synchronise their thoughts on this night.

Instead, it was Barcelona’s young scoring sensation Pedro, who found the target, opening the scoring just before the half-hour, finding open space in the box and accepting Xavi’s pass after the midfielder had worked his way deep.

With two key players, in Chicharito and Valencia, misfiring, being a goal down did not bode well for Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad.  Rooney, though, wasn’t going down easily.  If the youngsters were nervous, he’d turn to the veterans.  Working a pair of give-and-goes with first Michael Carrick and then Ryan Giggs, Rooney maneuvered into the box and slotted past Victor Valdes to equalise less than ten minutes after Barça had gone in front.

Rooney leveler

In the second half, Barcelona tightened their grip on possession.  Ten minutes after the restart, Messi slipped past Patrice Evra and curled a twenty yard shot past Edwin van der Sar, one talisman cancelling out the effort of the other.

Behind again, United began to exhibit frustration with their inability to win back the ball.  Rather than begin movements of their own, they began to hit more long balls before the mid field could move up the pitch in support of Rooney and Hernandez.

Fergie moved to make his first change of the match, bringing on Nani for Fabio and shifting an ineffective Valencia to the full back position.  Unfortunately, the Portuguese let him down, quickly coughing up the ball to Xavi and then which resulted in a goal for David Villa.

Messi reveler

Now down two goals, Rooney tried to break through the Blaugrana defence again.  This time, though, he did not enjoy the support he had in the first half.  Giggs seemingly ran out of gas, after trying to match the pace of Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta for an hour and Carrick was labouring.  Park moved into the middle for Giggs but the home side couldn’t fashion another fight back like the memorable victory over Bayern Munich.

With the match in the books, Barcelona will celebrate but both sides will look ahead to next year.

Fergie will almost certainly be looking to improve his midfield.  Paul Scholes will be leaving, Ryan Giggs is finally beginning to show signs of age, Darren Fletcher is still a doubt after being stricken by an undiagnosed virus and Nani’s gaffe may have shaken the marginal confidence the Scot has in him.  Worse, Owen Hargreaves was never able to overcome his injuries, managing only to qualify as a home-grown player under the Premier League’s new squad rules.

In the end and despite appearances, it's Fergie who's seething and Pep who can relax.

The overhaul in the middle of the pitch will only put more pressure on the club’s new goalkeeper, whether or not it turns out to be the young and relatively inexperienced David de Gea.  On top of all that, both Fergie and Dimitar Berbatov will have to come to terms, or part ways, after the Bulgarian allegedly left Wembley after being left entirely out of the squad for the Final.

The forecast sounds grim for United but it is best remembered that the club was largely written off after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, just when Liverpool had pushed them to the brink.  Instead the Red Devils finished a point behind Chelsea for the league and claimed the Carling Cup, while it was the Anfield outfit who crumbled.  It may finally be time to spend some of that Ronaldo swag, this summer, but don’t expect United to be anywhere else than in the thick of it, next season.

For Barcelona, ironically, there is nowhere to go but down.  Just as in 2009, the Catalans are already being hailed to repeat their Champions League glory in the next campaign.  Other than the possibility of the thirty-three-year-old and increasingly brittle Carles Puyol yielding more and more minutes to Javier Mascherano, the squad is unlikely to change significantly.

What will be different is that Jorge Valdano is no longer Sporting Director at Real Madrid, with Jose Mourinho assuming control over player recruitment and movement.  In 2011-12, the Special One will no longer have one hand tied behind his back at the Santiago Bernabeu.  He can now go after another striker, should he feel the need, without interference and mocking from the boardroom.  Can you say Carlos Tevez?  Or perhaps a midfield enforcer along the lines of Esteban Cambiasso.

Whatever choices Mourinho makes, however, his opposite number at the Nou Camp is no one’s fool.  He knows that the challenges are only going to get tougher and the road harder.  That is the test of greatness.  Already, many are nominating this Barcelona dynasty as one of the greatest sides ever but Pep Guardiola has already admitted that such determinations are best left to future generations.

Barcelona is certainly putting forth a strong case, however.

The Champions League Final casts a huge shadow over the weekend fixtures, so we’ll lead off with the match of matches, but there are some other important tilts lurking in the darkness.  Have a look!

Champions League Final – Manchester United v Barcelona (Saturday) – If this match doesn’t usher the new Wembley into the pantheon of legendary football venues, no contest ever will.  Last year, Barcelona came up short in their quest to defend their Champions League title in the stadium of bitter rivals Real Madrid.  On Saturday they must instead defeat the most prolific club in English history on the Three Lions home ground.

The Catalans certainly have a squad capable of pulling it off.  Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta will look to impose their typical control on the match and feed the ball to FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Spanish World Cup hero David Villa.

Manchester United, however, are steeped in both ability and pride.   They will look to defend England’s honour and have the horses to do it.  With Rooney playing a very deep second striker, similarly to Messi, both tracking back and moving the ball forward, the opportunistic Javier Hernandez may prove a danger to a Blaugrana back four, all of whom enjoy pushing forward.  As well, Antonio Valencia’s service has been impeccable since his return from a broken ankle suffered against Glasgow Rangers in the autumn.

At the back, look for Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs to help close off the front of the box in tandem with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.  Should Messi, Villa or the big game goal hunter, Iniesta, sneak through, Edwin van der Sar will be manning the pipes as though it was the last match he will ever play.

Both clubs love to attack but United are the more flexible club tactically.  Having had their egos deflated by Barça, two years ago in Rome, the Red Devils will be hell-bent on producing a better performance this time around.  Even if Barcelona get on the board first, don’t expect the Premier League Champions to go quietly.  This group wants nothing more than to watch their long serving keeper hoist one more trophy before he rides into the sunset.  – Martin Palazzotto

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EPL Promotion Final – Reading v Swansea @ Wembley (Monday) – It’s the so-called hundred million bazillion pound game – if you listen to Sky Sports.  Yet, money talks and this playoff final offers one side the opportunity to step up significantly in pay grade.  Even if the winner proves unable to hold their own with the best clubs in England, the parachute payments received, even for going straight back down, can offer financial stability for any club, if properly used.

Swansea are the “Barcelona” of the 2nd tier according to the latest hype.  They play the game the right way, featuring nice, expansive football.  Ex-Reading boss Brendan Rogers has certainly received much deserved praise for his team’s style but  the problem with cup finals is that they are not about aesthetics; winning is what matters.

Reading might not have the same style of play but they know how to win. In the last 20 games they have only lost twice and in Shane Long they will always have a potential match winner.  So, one goes up…one stays down.  Who will do what? – Andrew Gibney

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Valenciennes v Nice (Sunday) – It’s survival Sunday in France, as five teams can still be relegated to Ligue 2. OGC Nice travel north to the atmospheric Stade Nungesser and know that defeat away at Valenciennes could spell disaster. Defeat coupled with points for Caen, Nancy and a Monaco win would see Ligue 2 football at the Stade du Ray next season. Of course on the flip side a point for Nice would see them safe and drop Valenciennes right into the mire. In any event, they will both survive if Monaco can’t get past Lyon. However, that will not stop the nerves coursing through the fans of both sides. Valenciennes are unbeaten in four games, three of them draws. Nice only have two wins in their last seven and haven’t won away since the end of February. Still, it would be a great shame to the league to lose either side. Both clubs have excellent support and would be well missed in the division. — Andrew Gibney

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Coppa d’Italia – Inter v Palermo (Sunday) — Last year, Inter and Roma engaged in a vicious match, with the Nerazzurri taking what passed for honours on the strength of a beautiful Diego Milito strike late in the first half.  That goal may have convinced Diego Maradona, now coaching Dubai side Al Wasl, to include the youngster in his World Cup squad.  The goal was the lone bright spot in a cynical match capped off when Francesco Totti delivered a vicious charlie horse to Mario Balotelli.  This year, the club looks to Samuel Eto’o and Giampaolo Pazzini to lead the line but Milito, who has been a viable third option might be just the player to make the difference again.  Playmaker Wesley Sneijder will be grateful to last more than the five minutes he managed in the previous final, after injuring his leg before the match could even settle in.

For Palermo, coach Delio Rossi has the rare opportunity to lead a club to a championship later in the same season during which they sacked him.  He has irrational chairman Maurizio Zamparini to thank for that but on the pitch, Javier Pastore will have his first stellar opportunity to match the insane valuations that Zamparini has been announcing like a weekly stock ticker for most of the season.   As well, captain Fabrizio Miccoli will have to bull his way through a strong but erratic Inter defence.

The smart money says bet on Inter’s quality but Palermo may be up for giving their manager, who will be leaving permanently after this match, a proper sending off. – Martin Palazzotto

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Argentine Clausura – Round 16

Olimpo v River Plate (Sunday) – A turmoil has swept up the Millionarios.  The last couple of games have gone wasting and the team has fallen off the pace set by Velez Sarsfield and Godoy Cruz. After a loss in the derby against Boca Juniors, River drew at home versus San Lorenzo, thanks to a major error from netminder Juan Pablo Carrizo. The error led the goalie coach to resign and dropped the club much closer to an historic relegation. Olimpo from Bahia Blanca is an opponent in a similar situation; they need a win to remain in the first division. With only four matches remaining, both sides need every point on offer.  However, the minnows are having a much more consistent season than River and if they manage to keep their momentum in the battle between fourth and fifth placed sides, they will earn their deserved prize. – Fab Presilli

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Campeonato Brasileiro - Round 2

Cruzeiro v Palmeiras (Sunday) – The first few rounds here in Brazil are always a little empty. Some clubs don’t show the proper interest in the championship and others are attempting to keep their squad together in the middle of the transfer window. Palmeiras and Cruzeiro are two clubs that should start the championship well, not distracted after having made no major acquisitions and losses. Cruzeiro’s coach, Cuca, has three of the best players available in Brazil, Walter Montillo, Roger and Wallysson, the last a new and very good forward. Palmeiras have a strong, physical team, lacking in technique but always up for a fight.  The contrast between the two clubs should make for an entertaining match. – Fab Presilli

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Copa Libertadores - Semifinals

Cerro Porteño v Santos (Wednesday) & Velez Sarsfield v Peñarol (Thursday) – It’s a Mercosur finish for the Libertadores.

In Paraguay, visiting Brazilians Santos have the upper hand after their win in the first game. But Stadio Defensores del Chaco, one of the main arenas of South America, will be overflowing with Cerro’s fans to cheer on Fabbro and his mates. Neymar is a sure starter for Santos. The kid is playing so well that he seems one of the candidates to submit to FIFA for year-end awards.

In Argentina, Clausura leaders Velez will host the surprise side of the tournament, Peñarol. The Uruguayans won the first leg but Velez are heavy favorites at the Jose Amalfitani, with a good team and solid players who can overcome. Both contests have the key ingredients of a Libertadores battle: fanatical crowds and players prepared for a strong, hard and skilful game.

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Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC (Saturday) – The opening third of the MLS season has been all over the map with various clubs playing anywhere from eight (RSL and Sporting KC) games to fourteen (LA Galaxy).  The Galaxy’s heavy workload hasn’t interfered with David Beckham jetting off to London twice in a month, once for the Royal Wedding and, this week, for Gary Neville’s testimonial match at Old Trafford against Juventus.  If the Galaxy weren’t in New England to play the Revolution on Saturday, it wouldn’t have been a shock to see Golden Balls in the crowd at Wembley for the Champions League Final.

The key match of the weekend in MLS, though, features two clubs in the cluster of six sitting on seventeen points, for third best in the league.  Salt Lake need to get back into the groove after their Champions league final loss to Monterrey.  Perfect in the league before the setback, they have been a mediocre 1-2-1 in the four matches since.  Seattle have been equally inconsistent, with just a single victory in their last five.  South American connection Freddy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez have combined for a tepid five goals in the clubs thirteen matches but midfielder Brad Evans has already exceeded his best total as a Sounder and is just two off his career best (with Columbus), in leading the club with four goals.  Having a third option may be handy for Seattle, as RSL have surrendered just two goals in the campaign.  – Martin Palazzotto

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See you next week!

Of the four major leagues, the title has already been decided in three, with Borussia Dortmund running away with the Bundesliga, AC Milan the Scudetto and Barcelona La Liga.  If Man United, who just employed a second choice side to dismantle Schalke 4-1 (6-1 on aggregate), can win out over Chelsea on the weekend, that will make it a less than perfect four for four.

Even the second tier leagues have, for the most part, been less than thrilling. Porto has absolutely demolished all Portuguese competition, QPR, pending FA disciplinary consequences, have wrapped up the Championship and, even though Celtic and Rangers are battling down to the wire, seven Old Firm encounters have drained most of the enthusiasm from supporters.  Only in France and the Netherlands are there anything close to compelling climaxes in store for season’s end.  Yet, although Ajax and FC Twente are set for a final round showdown for the title at the Amsterdam ArenA in a fortnight, both the Eredivisie and Ligue 1 remain undecided largely because every suitor who has had the chance has failed to separate themselves from the pack when presented with the opportunity.

The ennui of the domestic competitions quickly spread to the Champions League, as well.  Critics often complain that the group stages are merely a cash cow for UEFA and don’t offer sufficient bang for the buck.  This year, however, it’s a close call as to which has been more boring, the knockout stages or group play.

Of the ninety-six group matches, a grand total of three were played with sufficient quality and competitive drama to live up to Champions League billing.  Those, of course, were the two Tottenham/Inter encounters dominated by Gareth Bale and the San Siro leg of the Milan/Real Madrid tie.  Shakhtar Donetsk did earn a memorable victory over Arsenal and went on to win the group but circumstances saw the Gunners playing a significantly weakened side.  Both FC Basel and Copenhagen earned results which made it appear that they were playing above their station.  When looking at the collective seasons of their opponents, though, it would be more accurate to say that their foes were well below their best.

Bale may not have deserved the PFA Player of the Year Award but his play against Inter easily remains the highlight of this Champions League season.

In the twenty-eight elimination clashes, there was a similar dearth of thrill.  Roma’s season was at such a deep nadir in January that Shakhtar’s rout of the Lupi was almost predictable and, if anyone held out hope that a new power was rising in the east, the Ukrainians showed a startling lack of self-belief in their tie with Barcelona.  Inter did offer up a stunning fight-back in Munich to oust Bayern, in a rematch of the 2010 final, but they followed that up with a woeful performance against Schalke which encapsulated their bi-polar season under Rafa Benitez and Leonardo.  Real Madrid finally exorcised both their quarterfinal and Lyon demons to reach the semis but their promising battle with Barça degenerated into an unpopularity contest of finger-pointing, diving and ref-baiting.

As unsavoury as both sides conduct was, Real Madrid’s complaints were at least supported by events.  The Catalans have come through to the final with far more luck than a side of such alleged quality should require.  Arsenal, with most of Arsene Wenger’s preferred starting eleven healthy pushed them hard at the Emirates and, despite being a goal down at the Camp Nou, were looking like getting back in it when the referee inexplicably sent Robin van Persie off for kicking a ball less than a second after the whistle had been blown.  Obviously, it’s uncertain that the Gunners would have triumphed but all doubt was conveniently nipped in the bud.  That was followed by Shakhtar’s unconditional surrender, which their coach offered in pre-tie media interviews.

Then came the disturbing El Clasico debacle.  When Real drew Barça in the league, with offsetting penalties from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and then defeated them in the Copa del Rey, Barcelona had the cheek to claim that their diving and referee intimidation in the first leg of the semi-final was down to Jose Mourinho’s negative tactics.  Suddenly, it seems to be a crime to play any other style of football than the one at which the Spanish champions excel.

Yet, it remains that their on-pitch theatrics and politicking resulted in Pepe being sent off and suddenly freeing a hitherto well-contained Messi to score two goals which virtually sealed their place at Wembley.  If that wasn’t enough, when Madrid began to prove difficult in the second half of the return match, it was the referee who again rescued Barcelona, disrupting and disallowing Gonzalo Higuain’s strike, which would have blown the contest wide open.

Barcelona certainly have enough talent to be considered as one of the greatest sides of all time but, to my mind, they need to earn the appellation.  This year, they have yet to overcome any serious challenge on their own.  Whenever their supremacy has been legitimately challenged, they’ve had outside help in overcoming it.   While it may be better to be lucky than good, luck does not confer greatness.

Throughout all of this, Man United weathered the Wayne Rooney storm, Rio Ferdinand’s continuing injury woes and Sir Alex Ferguson’s own outspokenness regarding questionable officiating, to book their place at Wembley.  United have been neither great nor dominant over the course of the season.  Chelsea’s brief run in August and early September, in which they outscored their opponents 25-2, was the closest thing to greatness the Premier League has seen this footballing year.  United, even during their extended unbeaten run, have just been good and more consistent than anyone else in Europe.

The problem is that consistency goes out the window in a one-off match, as Fergie knows from last weekend’s loss at the Emirates.  The luck of the draw, however, has put them in the position to pull out all the stops at Old Trafford on Sunday.  If the Red Devils can produce the spirit and drive necessary to put down Chelsea’s resurgent challenge, then it may set the stage for a Champions League Final at Wembley which might make fans forget the overwhelming mediocrity which has preceded it.

Pep Guardiola, at the Theatre of Dreams, felt like he was watching a Broadway show just after the first run cast had been replaced.

Pep Guardiola hopped a flight to Manchester immediately after his sides qualification on Tuesday and was in the crowd to watch United dispatch Schalke.  Broadcasters wondered what he hoped to see, considering that none of Sir Alex Ferguson’s key men, other than Edwin van der Sar, were involved.  What the Blaugrana boss saw, however, was that United are a much more flexible side than his own.  Guardiola prefers to do one thing and do it well, while his Scottish counterpart likes to have tools in his belt suitable for any eventuality.  Meetings between opponents of contrasting styles are often the most contentious and unpredictable.

United can sit back and counter, they can attack, come at you from the flanks and bulldoze down the middle of the pitch.  The fact that Cristiano Ronaldo is gone is actually more of a dilemma than a relief.  United have lost some of the predictably that such a talented talisman accumulates.  That is the one weakness of Lionel Messi.  He may have over fifty goals in all competitions and eleven in the Champions League but Real Madrid proved that all things being equal – especially the number of men on the pitch – Barça are much more ineffective when the Argentine is shut down.  In that respect, the tables may be turned from the 2009 final.

Xavi Hernandez, who, when he isn’t shouting in an official’s face or lobbying for Cesc Fabregas to leave Arsenal, is one of the more rational and thoughtful players in the game, has claimed that United should be considered favourites in the contest.  Naturally, they won’t be but you can see why Xavi might say such a thing.  First of all, it’s an obvious warning to teammates against complacency.  Yet, there are also the facts that United have been very consistent throughout a much tougher schedule than the Catalans could imagine and that the match is taking place at Wembley.

The Spaniard knows that defending their national ground will add an emotional element to United’s game that will be difficult to overcome.  If the two sides are evenly matched going in, that added incentive will need to be countered.  Let’s just hope that the counterweight doesn’t prove to be a controversial call from the match official, as fitting to the rest of the campaign as that may be.  If the referee can remain invisible throughout the match and United then claim victory, the venue will also provide a handy excuse for Barça, beyond the simple fact that they may not be as good as everyone seems to think.

Yet, if this short series has shown us anything about football, it’s that, to those in charge, the game is nothing more than an elaborate dog and pony show designed to extract the maximum amount of money from the paying customer.  Whether the governing body has a four letter appellation which begins with UE or FI or simply sticks to the final two letters, when it comes to the sport’s integrity, none of them could care sweet FA.

Pep Guardiola has the evil scientist cackle perfected.

Jose Mourinho’s rant with regard to UNICEF went completely over most people’s heads and those in the media who did understand him chose to interpret his statement in the most flagrant and controversial manner possible.  Barcelona did not take on the shirt sponsorship with the UN organisation as part of a premeditated conspiracy to hoodwink the entire world, just so they could win a few trophies.  They did so out of a genuine interest in children’s welfare.  Mourinho was never suggesting otherwise. However, once they had risen to the top of the food chain, Barça soon found that their sociopolitical philosophy and pacifist style of play brought with them an unexpected line of credit in a world obsessed with political correctness.   All the Portuguese was saying was that, like most humans, the Catalans are not above taking advantage of people’s misconceptions and are willing to step outside the rules to get what they desire.

What irked UEFA, and will surely lead to a large fine and a lengthy match ban for the Special One, was his accusation that Michel Platini and company are complicit with the Blaugrana through their tolerance.  The truth hurts and when you hurt the establishment, they don’t throw up their hands and say, “My, God you’re right!  How could we have been so foolish?”  They do what every power does: circle the wagons and put down any uprising.

Football, however, is very much like professional wrestling.  Both ‘sports’identify the most talented and marketable entity of the moment, which for now is Barcelona, and grease the wheels of the machine to keep their new moneymaker in the public eye for as long as possible.  I don’t believe that UEFA goes to its referees and orders them to protect Barça in any way they can.  The comparison between footy and the squared circle becomes a contrast when it comes to competition.  The outcome in the beautiful game is not predetermined.

Yet, when Michel Platini or any other UEFA football speak publicly about the game, they gush about the technical prowess and artistry of today’s best players.  Such talents are often labeled virtues.  Conversely, they find no redeeming qualities in resolute defenders or strong, physically imposing types.  Methods and tactics of that ilk are looked upon as villainy in most circles.  So, if you believe that UEFA looks at the Catalans as just another child, whom they love equally, you are naïve.  Barcelona, plainly put, enjoy UEFA’s protection and will until someone more attractive and lucrative comes along to bolster the organisation’s coffers.

What is Spanish for "Again? You have got to be kidding me!"

At one time, remember, Real Madrid were the flavour of the moment.    They enjoyed a very long run in the limelight, too.  But, like Hulk Hogan, their star finally began to fade and they were re-cast as the bad guy.  In turn, they have filled that role with aplomb.  Yet, whether it is ultimate villain Mourinho’s maniacal diatribes, Cristiano Ronaldo’s antics or Xabi Alonso’s somewhat hypocritical but entirely truthful assessment of the Meringue’s fortunes, Real suffer from the same condition which afflicts every blackguard; deep down, all they want is to be as beloved as the hero.

For my part, I have a soft spot for a good villain and supposedly pure of heart heroes bore me.  Perfection is overrated.  So, when Gerard Pique knocks Ronaldo into Javier Mascherano and the referee waves off the goal that puts Barcelona’s mastery in doubt, I commiserate with the hard done by miscreants and wonder, momentarily, if there truly is a conspiracy against them.

Whether you love your football petite and pretty or prefer a bit of the rough stuff, though, this series did not re-confirm Barcelona’s clear superiority, as some would have you believe.  Over the four matches, the Blaugrana came out ahead by a single goal (with Frank deBleeckere’s help), Real Madrid won the Copa del Rey and, by suddenly posing a real threat to Barça’s three-year run of dominance, revealed the Catalans for what they are:  just another group of eleven flawed, very human footballers, capable of tapping into their dark side when frightened.

I take heart in knowing that their fall from grace will not be too long in coming but am utterly frightened at what manner of laurel wreathed and blindly worshipped golden boys will replace them.

United played what could be considered their best performance of the season. Schalke hampered with an injury to Benedict Howedes had to reshuffle the defence and it proved very telling. The Mancunians cut through them like a hot knife through butter. Luckily for Sch