Champions League knockout draw produces a repeat of last year's final!

The draw for the first knockout phase of the 2010-2011 Champions League (CL) has once again produced some mouth watering encounters between teams with with recent past history.

The most amusing match is between the current champions Inter Milan & the team they beat in the final in May, Bayern Munich. On the other hand, Barcelona will meet Arsenal, the team they demolished last year & beat in the final a few years ago. And Real Madrid will have to get past Olympique Lyonnais, the team they were expected to beat but in fact lost to in last year's quarter finals. The following are my predictions for the quarter finals (teams in bold to win)

• Barcelona vs Arsenal: Whilst there is no doubt Arsenal are a much better team this year, so are Guardiola, Messi & this year's Barcelona team. This makes this encounter of two teams with attacking styles the most mouth watering encounter of the round.

However, Barcelona showcased their prowess in the 5-0 demolition of Mourinho's Real Madrid team in the "La Liga Clasico" two weeks ago. In fact this Barcelona team is probably one of the greatest European teams of all time. The only problem in the make of the team last year was Ibramovic. He has now moved back to Italy where Milan's style is more suitable to him & in his place, arguably the best goalscoring forward in the world, David Villa has completed the magical puzzle that is the wonderful Barcelona.

Barcelona are the overwhelming favourites to win back the Champions League.

Bayern Munchen vs Inter Milan: Last year's Champion League finalists, Bayern & Inter have both been struggling this season in their respective domestic leagues.

Inter are not the same compact counterattacking unit they were under Mourinho last year, and Benitez is not the CL winning coach he was a few years ago either & has simply lost his touch. On the other hand, Bayern have been stuttering without the influential injured Robben & with a very long injury list from 11 tired players returning from the semi final & final of the World Cup.

However, whilst Benitez seems to be incapable of filling Mourinho's big shoes, Van Gaal can look forward to revenging the May final's defeat with an injury free squad which will include Robben, Klose, Ivic & Badstuber. In fact Bayern can once again be one of the dark horses of the tournament as long as they can solve their problematic central defensive issues.

• Real Madrid vs Olympique Lyonnais: Lyon, the perennial CL quarter finalists surprised everyone by defeating Real Madrid in the quarter finals last year & reaching their first ever semi final. But the galacticos of Real Madrid, under the polarising yet brilliant Mourinho are a different proposition this year & should easily dispatch of Lyon. (although I must admit predicted the same last year too!)
• Tottenham vs AC Milan: This is the best AC Milan team since they won the CL by beating Liverpool a few years ago. Ronaldinho seems to have rediscovered his passion for the game & Ibrahimovic has settled in well. However, Spurs have won many hearts with their gallant display in both legs against Inter Milan & could be one of the surprise packs of this year.
• Manchester United vs Olympique Marseille: I think this is one of the weakest & worst Manchester United teams under the long reign of Sir Alex Ferguson. However, they are too strong for a gallant Marseille side & should go through.
• Chelsea vs Copenhagen: Chelsea were the runaway leaders of the EPL & all of a sudden they lost the influential John Terry & more importantly the irreplaceable Frank Lampard to injury, and as a result have lost their way. Copenhagen on the other hand have been one of the surprises of the season & the first Danish team to make it to the knock out stage of the CL. However, with Lampard back, I expect Chelsea to once again mount a serious challenge in both EPL & CL.
• Shaktar Donetsk vs Roma: Shaktar are simply too strong for Roma. On the other hand, except for a come from behind 3-2 win against Bayern Munich, Roma have been unispiring.
• Schalke vs Valencia: Schalke have had a shocking run in the Bundesliga but possess enough quality & in Raul one of the all time greats of the CL, to progress past Valencia.

Champions League football first knockout stage is always full of goals & surprises as well as plenty of great football & bag full of goals. This year's is no exception & we can expect many predictions turn out to be wrong! Let's wait & see!

Football magicians Guardiola, Messi & co taught "Showmen" Mourinho, Ronaldo & co a footballing lesson with their 5-0 win in the latest clasico.

If there was any doubt or debate about the following, all questions were answered after the latest 5-0 "Clasico" thrashing of Real Madrid on Monday night in Camp Nou by Barcelona

• The current Barcelona Team remains a much more cohesive unit that the expensively put together Real Madrid so called galacticos! There are several reasons why Barcelona are a better team:

a) Barca players led by Puyal at the back, & Xavi, Inesta, Messi & David Villa with the able assistance of the likes of Alvez & Bosquet know each others' game blindfolded. The Real Madrid team is on the other hand yet again an expensive selection of what money can buy & it may yet take even Mourinho more than one season to mould the team to his style.

b) Barcelona's all attacking style led by the trio of Messi, Inesta & Xavi, arguably the best three players in the world, & this year spearheaded in the attack by David Villa, arguably the best striker in the world, makes them irresistible as well as admirable. Pep Guardiola therefore is the best club coach in the world at the moment.

• Pep Guardiola is a footballing master tactician & magician whilst the ever polarising & arrogant Jose Mourinho is a showman who tries to stifle his opponents with his tactical mastery.

The fact that Mourinho failed to admit absolute humiliation after the 5-0 defeat in his first ever "Clasico" as a coach demonstrated his narcissism. Mourinho went to the Monday night game attempting to stifle Barcelona the same way he did with the much more defensively disciplined Inter Milan side in the semi final of the Champions League last year. But the current Real Madrid side does not possess the defensive qualities of Inter Milan, and Messi, Inesta, Xavi & co this time around kept 67% of the possession AND had the magical David Villa in attack, greatly assisted by Pedro. Last year they had Ibrahimovic who was totally unsuited to Barcelona's style of play.

• Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Messi was mesmerising & taunted & destroyed Real Madrid midfield & defence all the way throughout the match whilst Ronaldo stood as a lonely frustrated figure.

Messi is one of the top 5-10 greaest footballers of all time & has the potential to be another Maradona. His passing, goal scoring, dribling, ball distribution as well as individual technical ability & playmaking skills are simply superb.

Ronaldo on the other hand is tactically superb too. However, as evident in their latest encounter, he is not as good a playmaker & his ball distribution compared to Messi is poor. This is partly due to the fact that "ball hogging" remain Ronaldo's biggest weakness.

The latest Clasico once again provesd the Spanish la Liga is the best football league in the world & the English Premier League has a long way to go to match the skills & tactical ability of the Spanish League, and even the excitement of watching the likes of Ronaldo & Messi battling it out.

European season update: Mourinho is working his magic at Real Madrid whilst Barcelona continue to shine

On the eve of the "Classico" in La Liga in Spain between Guardiola & Messi & co(Barcelona) & Mourinho & Ronaldo & co (Real Madrid), the two teams:

a) are the most attractive to watch in Europe
b) have many of the best players currently playing in Europe
c) have arguably the most effective two coaches in Europe &
d) are most likely to win the 2011 Champions League

Whilst the likes of Inter Milan (current Italian & European champions), Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich & Arsenal are stuttering in one or more fronts, both Real Madrid & Barcelona are smashing their way through both the Spanish Premira & Champions League.

The much polarising Mourinho has taken his mojo with him from Inter Milan to Real Madrid & after a slow start to the season, Ronaldo & co have now become a free scoring team. Mourinho however is also enjoying the convenience of coaching this latest "Galacticos" ensemble in its second year. He has however lost none of his unprofessional arrogance as was evident in the Champions League match against Ajax last week when two Real players got themselves sent off, according to many as a result of a tactical decision by Mourinho.

Barcelona on the other hand still continue to set the benchmark standards of beautiful, attractive & attacking football & in my view will be able to yet again impose themselves on Real Madrid & win the classico on Monday morning. They are also my tip to lift the Champions League this year.

Elsewhere meanwhile, in Italy, whilst AC Milan & its aging stars are playing a more cohesive football than they have done in the past few seasons, the European Champions Inter Milan are drifting away under the now fading leadership qualities of Rafa Benitez. Rafa's career is beginning to resemble that of Goran Erikson. Erikson was a cutting edge coach in Italy's Serie A when he was lured in a big money signing to manage England. He never reached or recovered his magical Italy days & subsequently faded to obscurity. Rafa did very well in Spain & luckily managed to lift the coveted Champions League at Liverpool. But his methods are becoming less & less effective & his player transfer policy & managements leave a lot to be desired.

In England, I believe all big three, ie Manchester United, Chelsea & Arsenal will stutter from time to time & won't be able to match Barcelona or Real Madrid. Manchester City meanwhile, with all their money have been ordinary & the wonderfully exciting Tottenham team deserves to progress in Europe & win a place in the Top 4 again to do even better next year.

Amongst the rest of the big clubs, the Champion League finalists Bayern Munich are still suffering from Robben's absence & the hangover of having provided 11 players in the semi finals of the World Cup, resulting in tiredness & injuries.

However, Bundesliga is retaining its comfortable position as the League with the highest average attendance per game in the world & as the most competitive in Europe. Whilst the Spanish La Liga is in my view the most attractive football league to watch, & the English Premier League is fast & exciting, these leagues are realistically can only be won by a handful of teams, Barcelona & Real in Spain, & Manchester United & Chelsea (and Arsenal?) in England.

Bundeslia on the other hand is yet again an open ended competition this year with a multiple of teams seriously challenging, something that is unheard of in other major European Leagues

Nevertheless, the 2010-2011 European season so far seems to belong to Mourinho & his Real team, and Guardiola & his Barcelona stars. As fans & spectators, we are lucky as both play attractive attacking football.

The new European Football Season promises another exciting year ahead

It's only a few weeks since Spain won the World Cup in South Africa. Nevertheless, the Domestic Leagues in Europe are in full swings again. The qualifying matches for Euro 2012 have already started & the first matches of Champions & Europa Leagues have also been completed. Another exciting season is well on the way.

In the European scene the main question yet again is whether the free spending Real Madrid & their brilliant new coach, the annoying & arrogant yet masterful Jose Mourinho can put an end to the domination of Pepe Guardiola & his brilliant ensemble of superstars of Barcelona.

Mourinho is undoubtedly a masterful operator & as was evident in teh Champions League match vs Ajax has already done well by bringing his old general Carvallio as well as the young German World Cup stars Ozil & Khedria to Real Madrid.

On the other hand, Guardiola has cunningly replaced the ineffective Henry & Ibrahimovic with the best striker in the world David Villa. With the likes of Villa, Messi, Puyol, Alvez, Piquet, Iniesta & Xavi (in my view, overall the best player in the world by a mile) Barcelona rightly deserve to be considered the best & should overcome Real's threat once again this year.

Champions League:
Favourites: Barcelona
main Challengers: Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Real Madrid & Bayern Munich

Here are my prediction for the other 3 major leagues in Europe:

In England, Chelsea have formed a great team capable of winning the EPL & even the Champions League this year.
Manchester United are suffering from lack of funds to nuy> new players &; with Rooney out of form & in strife in his personal life, will find winning major trophies difficult once again.
Arsenla will be brilliat at times but not good enough to go all the way.
Manchester City's big spending is still hap hazard & will not dent the Chelsea/Man Utd grip.
Spurs will find the challenge of European football too demanding on their squad & will not cope in all fronts.
Liverppol will be in a transition phase for the next few years & unable to mount a serious challenge whilst under current ownership.

My prediction: 1. Chelsea 2. Man Utd 3. Arsenal 4. Manchester City
Relegation candidates: Wigan, Wolves, Blackpool & Bolton

In Italy, the European Champions Inter Milan will not find life under the former Liverpool Manager, the now hapless Rafa Benitez as easy as they did with Mourinho. However, with Juventus still in the doldrums & the rest such as Roma & AC MIlan inconsistent, Inter should once again win Serie A this year, as they have done so in the past few years. Nevertheless, the defence of their European crown will be unsuccessful. Their main threat will be their somewhat rejuvuniated city rivals AC Milan.

In Germany even with the long term injury absence of Robben & with their rivals attracting some of the Europe's superstars to the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich with their Barcelona like style of play will win the league & challenge for European honours again.

All in all, another exciting European season is under way & it should be full of thrills & unpredictable results.

South Africa should be very proud of hosting a wonderful tournament & Spain are worthy World Champions

Spain have cemented their place as the best as well as most entertaining footballing nation in the world.

They are the new football kings of the world & their team sheet reads like the "who is who" of the football world, a team of champion players playing beautiful football in a champion team

They won a spiteful final match this morning against a Dutch team which played very ugly at times but should nevertheless be commanded for trying to neutralise Spain's attractive & attacking style.

South Africa & her people should also be very proud of staging such a wonderful tournament & largely the sceptics (including myself) wrong.

Other accolades go to New Zealand for its gutsy & impressive effort, & to Germany & Argentina for playing the game in its right spirit & scoring plenty of goals (as opposed to Spain who played beautifully but were unable to capitalise on their superiority most of the time & scored a mere 8 goals, one of the lowest for a World Cup winning side).

Whilst many expected France to disappoint, having only qualified by "the hand of Henry", & considered the defending Champions Italy over the hill & out of sorts, most were surprised by the poor results of England in particular, and Portugal & Brazil to a lesser extent.

And then there was the one & only worldwide superstar of the World Cup,"Paul the Octopus"! He managed to correctly pick all of Germany's 5 wins & 2 defeats plus Spain's win in the final & in the process became a superstar. How I wish he had picked Germany to beat Spain in the semi finals!
As for me personally, this has been a great World Cup despite my beloved Socceroos poor start to the tournament & their subsequent early elimination & my life long idols Germany not reaching the final.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the kind remarks & show of support & encouragement from all of you who were following my blog. A special mention also goes to Deborah Cameron & Jennifer Lacey at ABC 702 Sydney morning show (radio station) for their enthusiasm & support.

To top it all, I even managed to inadvertently get under the skin of a rather cranky Les Murray of SBS TV, who this morning sent me a less than complimentary email belittling me for merely suggesting that despite Spain's attractive way of playing, their multiple 1-0 victories & lack of goals were not a great way to promote the beautiful game to the casual non core supporters! I hope most of you agree with my point.

I must however emphasise that SBS once again provided Australia with a world class presentation & in fact managed to show all 64 games live. We are very lucky in Australia to have such a dedicated team at SBS.

On a final note, as exciting as the annual club competitions such as the Champions League & some of the European and other leagues are, they will never be able to fully replace the World Cup as the premier football (& indeed sporting) event in the world stage. Only European Championships come close & that is because it is similar to a mini world cup!

My blog will recommence at the beginning of the European season in late August. I hope you can join me from time to time!

Viva Espana! Congratulations to Spain & its supporters for playing wonderfully entertaining football on their way to winning the World Cup. They are worthy winners & will be hard to catch in the coming years.

Spain are the best team in the world of football but will they be crowned the World Champions?

The World Cup final on Sunday will feature some of the greatest footballers around the world. Footballers whose records outshine superstars such as Ronaldo, Rooney & the stars of France & Italy who usually get all the media attention but who faded away in this World Cup.

It is broadly acknowledged that the pillars of the success of the great Barcelona side of the last few years led by Lionel Messi are in fact Inesta, Xavi (above first & second from right) & their inspirational Captain Carlos Puyol ,whose goal took Spain to the final of the World Cup.
In Casillas Spain arguably have the best goalkeeper in the world & in David Villa (no 7 above) the striker with the best average goal scoring record in the world. Add to this players such as Piquet & Sergio Ramos, & Pedro who replaced the out of form Torres against Germany & it is easy to see why Spain are such a great side. Even their lesser known players like the no 11 (above) Capdevila of Villarreal have ended up being amongst the stars of the tournament.

It is difficult not to admire Spain & the way they play. They are simply irresistible to watch & play football they way the beautiful game is meant to be played. Commentators, players, coaches, journalists & past great players are all tipping Spain to win the final on Sunday. Even Johan Cruyff, the Captain of the legendary 1974 Holland team credited for creating the concept of total football believes this great Spanish side (& no doubt they are great to watch) will be crowned World Champions on Sunday.

Nevertheless, despite all the well deserved accolades & all the media hype I believe Holland will be crowned Champions on Sunday!

Whilst Spain are superior in tactical & technical terms & have better individual players overall, most media commentators are ignoring the main worrying signs in the Spanish side & idealistically concentrating on the attractive way they play. Yes! Spain have been one of the more attractive teams of the tournament to watch, but they can not be given so much compliment when they have only crawled their way into the final by three hard fought 1-0 results, a 1-0 loss to Switzerland & only above average performances against Chile & Honduras! This is despite the fact that Germany & in particular Italy have in the past won the World Cup despite mediocre performances on the way to winning the Cup.

Nevertheless, my main reason for suggesting that Netherlands will win the final lies in the great performances of the players in the above photo (photo from Euro 2008). Wesley Sneijder & the fit again Arjen Robben have been underestimated by everyone to their benefit!

For the first time in many years (including Gus Hiddink's Holland side of the 1998 World Cup) Bert Marwijk has managed to instill a great team spirit in the notoriously fickle & egotistic Dutch camp, and a team which achieves much more than the sum of its individual players suggests on paper. ie Here's my point:

Spain as a team have produced much less than the sum of their brilliant players on paper would suggest whilst Holland, led by the magnificent four ie Sneijder, Robben, Van Bommel & Van Bronkhorst have prodced much more than their individual players would suggest.

My other reason to believe Holland can win the final is the fact that 7 of their players have scored in this World Cup whilst Spain have been wasteful, missed many goal scoring opportunities & only 3 of their star studded players have scored their miserly 7 goals in six matches. Whilst many commentators have pointed to at times some less than impressive periods by Holland against Uruguay, they have ignored the fact that they have proven they can score goals & come back from behind, whilst Spain have been struggling to score & lost the one match they fell behind as a result of their inability to score.

So my prediction is we can expect an exciting & tactically enticing world class final, perhaps the best since the 1986 final between Germany & Madonna & Argentina, with Holland to win 2-1.

As for the third place play off which is becoming more & more of a prestigious match, I would like to see Germany to cap off a great World Cup with a big margin win, and for Klose to become World Cup's all time highest goal scorer! That's the least Bastina Schweinsteiger, Philip Lahm (above) & the exciting brave German side deserve after their great displays in becoming the first team since the legendary Brazil side of 1970 to score 4 goals in three World Cup matches.

World Cup semi finals: a showcase of contrasting styles & football cultures & a historic opportunity for European teams to shine

The World Cup's knockout phase has provided plenty of drama, excitement, goals & classic footballing moments & now we are in the final phase of the tournament with only 3 crucial matches plus the third place playoff left to consider.

Having started with correctly predicting only 12 of the 16 teams which qualified for the knockout stage, I managed to predict 7 of the 8 winners & all 4 of the quarter final winners correctly.

A special mention at this stage of the tournament must go to the black stars of Ghana. They preserved the pride of African football with their entertaining displays & in the process proved me wrong in the first knockout phase & were then desperately unlucky not to qualify for the semi finals.

Many of my "non football" friends have commented on Uruguay's Suarez & his handball which earned him a red card but ultimately resulted in the heartbreaking elimination of Ghana. What Suarez did was simple: a heroic sacrifice for his country & an awful act in the eyes of his opponents & many fans. It must however not be judged as a cynical act as he did it as a mixture of reflex reaction, instinct & desperation.

Now to my prediction for the semi finals:

Uruguay vs Netherlands: Whilst my dream final is the repeat of the 1974 final between Germany & Holland, if Suarez was not suspended & the fitness of Uruguay's influential Captain Diego Lugano (familiar to the die hard Socceroos fans) was not in question, I would have tipped Uruguay to potentially beat Netherlands. However, like Argentina & Brazil in the last round, Uruguay have had reasonably easy run thus far & are yet to prove themselves against a world class opponent. On the other hand, holland have won all their games so far & have not lost for more than 24 internationals. All of these factors, & taking into account the magical display of Arjen Robben against Brazil, I tip Holland to narrowly beat Uruguay & make it to their third World Cup final.

Germany vs Spain: The ever insightful SBS football commentator Craig Foster summed it up about Germany when he said "Germany have become lovable & are great to watch!"

As the sign above suggests, Germany are the first team since the legendary World Cup winning Brazil team of 1970 that have managed to score 4 goals in at least 3 World Cup matches. Their young guns are fearless & energetic & in Bastian Schweinsteiger have the "Player of the Tournament" so far. Although both sides are playing down the comparisons to Spain's 1-0 win in the final of Euro 2008, Germany will avenge that defeat & make it to the final.

If Holland win their match & the final becomes an all European affair, a European team will win the World Cup for the first time in Southern Hemisphere/Central America. Regardless of the final outcome of the two semi finals, we are set for two exciting & thrilling football matches with 4 teams with different styles & tactical approaches. The first semi final will be a matter of trying not to lose, whilst Spain & Germany will be aiming to win in their clash.

The young German lions' path to the final overcomes another hurdle: Germany 4 Maradona's Argentina 0

Miroslav Klose equalled Gerd Muller's 14 WC goals in the 4-0 win vs Argentina & will be aiming to surpass Ronaldo's all time 15 goals in the next two matches

The young German lions did it again! For the second time ina week they scored 4 goals in a World Cup match. This time they systematically disposed of the over the top antics of Maradona & his surprisingly below par & up to now impressive Argentine side.

And in doing so Miroslav Klose equaled the legendary Gerd Muller's record of 14 World Cup goals for Germany, the last of which was scored in the 1974 final win vs Holland.

In my predictions, I have set up my approach for a potential Holland vs Germany final & I hope Klose will break Ronaldo's all time World Cup record of 15 goals in the next two matches.

Loew's faith in Klose & Podolski has fully paid off. They had scored a miserly 5 goals between the two of them in Bundesliga this year going to the World Cup & Klose had become a bit player in Bayern's run to the final of the Champions League & the German media were putting pressure on Loew to axe Klose & Podolski.

Germany, the ultimate "Tournament Team" as they are known in the world of football, have now enhanced their unbelievable record to 12 World Cup semi final appearances (7 finals) and on this form can surprise any team as long as they stay calm & do not get ahead of themselves.

The only slight blemish in tonight's result was the opening goal scorer, the young Thomas Muller will miss the semi final as a result of receiving his second yellow card. Amazingly, during the prematch friendly in March Maradona refused to attend a press conference with Muller, who was receiving his first cap at that match. Maradona called Muller a ball boy & demanded Muller be kicked out of the press conference or he would leave! (You can see this on Youtube). Muller took 3 minutes tonight to exact his revenge!

Well done to Lowe, his assistants & all German players involved, a fully deserved victory which should put an end to the controversy over Lampard's disallowed goal in the 4-1 win against England, and at the same time put the Socceroos loss to Germany in perspective.

On a final note, as I have mentioned in numerous occasions previously: The English speaking media brainwashes fans into thinking the English Premier League (EPL) players are superior superstars!

Not a SINGLE German player in the 23 man squad plays in the EPL. In fact they all play in the German Bundesliga. It is the German Youth Development system that produces such talented young players, something that the English game is suffering from as a direct result of the foreign influx to the EPL.

I have now predicted the first 3 semi finalists & look forward to seeing Germany avenge their Euro 2008 final loss to Spain in the semi final!

The World Game's beauty, drama, passion, thrill & heartache on show @ World Cup's first two quarter finals

A devastated Asamoah Gyan after Ghana's drama packed elimination this morning

This morning's two quarterfinals of the World Cup 2010 were a perfect demonstration of why football is "the beautiful game" & why it's "The World Game" & why its simplicity must be preserved.

The lionhearted display of Holland, the stunned talented Brazil, the heartache of the Black Lions of Africa, Ghana, Gyan's heartache at missing a 120th minute penalty & the resilience of the magnificent Uruguay & the personal sacrifice of their champion player Suarez!

The magnificent Wesley Sneidger was instrumental in Holland's win

All the thrills, drama, passion, heartache, tears & joys are at display in this World Cup. And at that this has so far been a strange World Cup. Unlike most previous tornaments, the group round matches were dull affairs & so far the knock out stage has been simply great with all the excitement, thrills, drama & most importantly goals! (except the Paraguay vs Japan match)

Let's hope the remaining six matches continue to thrill!

Are there a few surprises on the cards in the World Cup Quarter Final pairings?

I must start by apologising to the English fans for my choice of blog photo for this post. I just wish to remind the English FA of the money they wasted on Sven Goran Erikson & the 5 million pound a year they are paying Capello! I have news for the English FA! Erikson & Capello at very hefty sums achieved what other major footballing countries do on a regular basis, i.e. qualify for the World Cup! They were both hailed as geniuses for simply managing that! Both flopped during the tournament because they failed to get their individual stars to become a unit!

Let's hope footballing mastery & not refereeing errors & FIFA's gutless administrators decide the results of the quarter finals. Here are my picks for semi finals, having (once again) been surprised by Ghana, I picked 7 out of the 8 quarter finalists correctly. Picking the semi finalists is a much harder task though. However, I am going for the underdogs & my picks will surprise many of you:

Uruguay, Holland, Germany & Spain!

I would love to see an African country in the semi finals & Ghana have already proved me wrong twice! But I am impressed with Uruguay this year & Forlan & Suarez are leading the team very well.

I think Holland are picking at the right pace. For the first time in many years players' egos are absent. With the great arrival of Robben in the last match, Holland are capable of surprising Brazil.
I believe Brazil have so far had a relatively easy path. Portugal vs Brazil was one of the worst matches of the tournament & the entertaining Chile side came up too short against Brazil. Holland are in a different class & are performing like a great tournament team with measured wins so far.

Although Argentina are the undisputed favourites to win the World Cup, I believe like Brazil, they have not played a strong team so far. The fearless young German side would cause a huge upset if they manage to sneak through & beat Argentina. The German players know a thing or two about the weaknesses of the Argentine (& Bayern Munich's) central defender Martin Demichelis! He is prone to lapse of concentration from time to time (e.g. he gifted South Korea a goal) & speedy players can turn him easily & score goals. At any case, there will be lots of very anxious German fans during that match because Germany are the underdogs.

Spain are in the same dynamics as Holland & are peaking in a tournament style & in David Villa possess the right person to break down the stubborn & disciplined Paraguay defence!

Let's hope all four matches finish in regulation or extra time & penalty shoot outs are avoided, and let's pray referees & their assistants do not influence the results in a negative way by making mistakes!

The young Guns of Germany crushed their fierce but lacklustre rivals England 4-1

Hats off to the young fearless Germany for once again proving that the influx of foreign players to the English Premier League (EPL) has stifled the local talent development in England.

As one of my friends jokingly put it this morning: " that was shameful refereeing! England should have lost 2-4 not 1-4!"

And as the great BBC commentator Martin Fookes (not to be mistaken with the legendary Martin Tyler who called the game for ESPN & SBS) put it this morning ".....at the end the disallowed goal was not unjust simply because Germany were superior, England's defence was shambolic & Rooney was invisible!"

The sad truth however is that the English & the English media have an scapegoat again! They will concentrate on Lampard disallowed goal & not the fact that Capello & his team once again failed in the same gigantic level as Italy & France did! They were simply lucky to get through the first phase & were tactically naive, physically below par & had massive internal issues as highlighted by John Terry's foolish & unsuccessful attempt to capitalise on it last week.

Since 1966 World Cup win in their home soil, England's international record is simply embarrassing. Since the loss to England in the 1966 World Cup final, Germany has advanced 11 times to the finals of the World Cup and European Championships and won five. England meanwhile has not reached another final of a major tournament since 1966. More astonishingly, since 1966, England have only beaten Ecuador, Denmark, Belgium, Cameroon and Paraguay in the later stages of the World Cup, a clear sign of not being amongst the world elite.

Hats of to my beloved Germany & her fearless young guns for crushing the out of sorts England 4-1. Unlike England, Germany have once again overachieved in the World Cup stage beyond their appparent capability. Next is Argentina, by far the most impressive team of the World Cup so far, and a repeat of the quarter final in Germany 2006. Argentina may be the favourites to win, but this young, hugely talented & fearless German side is also capable of causing more upsets.

An overview of the group matches in South Africa 2010 & the knockout stage. Let's hope for more excitement & goals than we have got so far!

Thank you Argentina, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain & co. Not just because of your fans! But also for keeping the faint flame of exciting football in the group stages alive & for playing attacking football & trying hard to score lots of goals! Argentina's 7 goals & 30 shots on target made them the only team that averaged more than 2 goals per game & scored in all three group matches (Portugal also scored 7 goals but had two 0-0 draws & a 7-0 win against the hapless North Korea)

Only a handful of other so called footballing giants managed to show glimpses of brilliance in their group stage matches. Brazil, Portugal, Germany (against Australia), Spain, Holland & Uruguay played exciting attacking football at times but not with the consistency of Argentina. On the other hand, the 2006 finalists France & Italy were bitterly disappointing & England have looked lethargic & at times tactically lost!

This has made this World Cup, the tournament for the underdogs to a great extent. Whilst African teams largely disappointed by underachieving overall & only Ghana qualifying, the so called minnows of the rest of the world put up a brave fight & at times even thrilled with their overachievement.

Special mention should go to New Zealand for their brave unbeaten effort & Slovakia for defeating Italy & earning qualification in the process. Their group was meant to be a walk in the park for the reigning champions Italy. Instead the brave effort of New Zealand & Slovakia earned Italy the embarrassing wooden spoon in the group.

Some of the more seasoned but lower ranked World Cup campaigners such as USA, Japan, South Korea, Chile, Mexico & Paraguay also qualified with distinction whilst the likes of Australia's Socceroos, South Africa & Ivory Coast left the tournament with their heads high

As a result, so far South Africa 2010 a group stage that has produced the lowest average goals per match & many defensive & rather dull matches as weaker teams attempt to counter the "in Vogue" 4-2-3-1 style of most attacking teams.

Whilst this system can producing exciting attacking football, it is also very effective in protecting a lead once a team scores & can therefore produce overly defensive matches.

regardless of tactics, a major feature of South Africa 2010 was the European teams' poor 7 at times lethargic displays. The South Americans meanwhile have been comfortably impressive. 7 of the 13 European qualifiers, including Italy & France got eliminated.
This will undoubtedly raise calls for a reduction in Europe's quota again, specially as 4 of the 5 South American teams topped their groups & the Oceania Champions New Zealand finished ahead of the World Champions Italy.

It is well known that European teams have never won the World Cup when it has been held in the Southern Hemisphere or Central America & this year has so far been no exception. The knockout stage has produced more difficult passage for the qualifiers in the bottom half of the draw with heavyweights Germany, England, Spain, Portugal & the favourites Argentina all in that section of the draw. Europe's misery is compounded by the fact that its remaining 6 teams have been paired against each other guaranteeing Europe a mere 3 teams in the quarter finals as opposed to 6 in Germany 2006.

Here are my predictions:

Uruguay will get the better of the brave South Korea. This is the first time in many years that Uruguay have produced attractive & attacking football.

USA have been very entertaining & their die hard attitude should eliminate Africa's last remaining representative Ghana. Ghana, whilst fast on the wings, are careless in front of the goal & were lucky to draw with the 10 man Socceroos & only qualified on goal difference.

Holland will have Robben back & will account for Slovakia. Slovakia, in their first World Cup as an independent nation rewrote the history books by gallantly eliminating the reigning champions Italy & should therefore be very proud of their achievement.

Brazil would undoubtedly have preferred to face a non South American team & must be worried about the fearless Chilean side. Chile is coached by the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, one of the most attack minded coaches in the World. He has instilled self confidence in his young side & as they proved against Spain with 10 men, they are capable of beating any team on their day. The only thing that could get Brazil over the mark is their vast experience at this level

Argentina & Maradona have proven all pundits & commentators wrong. Messi & co have produced disciplined attacking performances & are now favourites to beat Mexico & even go all the way to winning the Cup.

England vs Germany penalty shootout in the semi finals of World Cup 1990 won by Germany

• Germany have overall been more solid than an out of sorts England teams with Rooney struggling to find form. However this ultimate World Cup classic will see players on both side shift up a gear for supremacy in a footballing rivalry which goes back to many decades & has previously produced the 1966 World Cup final, 1970 quarter final & 1990 semi final. This match will be no exception & I am merely picking Germany because I am a life long hard core fan of the Nationalmannschat!

• Paraguay have been solid in defence & disciplined in their attack in topping their group whilst Japan scored two world class free kicks on their way to qualification at the expense of Denmark. This is the battle of equals but the South Americans tactical superiority should prevail.

• Spain & Portugal are both capable of winning this tussle but the fact that Portugal failed to attack or score against Brazil (& Ivory Coast) is a major concern & slightly tips the match in favour of Spain & the free scoring & impressive David Villa.

Whatever the out come of the above matches, let's hope they are all free flowing with an abundance of attacking football & lots of goals! Otherwise South Africa 2010 will go down as the dullest World Cup in history with the lowest average goal per match!

Final round of group matches start tonight: Which teams are likely to make it to the round of 16 in the World Cup?

The second round of all group matches was concluded this morning with Spain's 2-0 win against Honduras.
Tonight the final round of group matches will commence. Although the first two rounds produced the lowest average goal per game of just over 2, the final group round promises to produce lots of thrilling moments as well as a few surprises. The reason for this is because almost all of the European favourites or heavy weights, i.e. Germany, England, Spain, France & Italy, must win their final matches to guarantee passage to the knockout stage of the Cup. The South American teams on the other hand, are all on the way to potentially win their respective groups. As a result, the first knock out stage promises top produce a few blockbusters (such as e.g. England vs Germany) as the favourites in many of the groups will probably finish second instead of the expected first place.

Here's a quick review of each group & my view on which teams will advance (in bold):

Group A: Uruguay & Mexico

As mentioned in my previous emails, France not only embarrassed themselves on the pitch with their inept performances, they also disgraced themselves off the pitch with publicly fought unrest in their camp. South Africa will sadly be the first host nation in the history of the Cup not to advance beyond the group stage.

Mexico & Uruguay have been the stand out teams in this group. France need to score at least 3 goals against South Africa & for either Mexico or Uruguay to win their battle in order to have any chance of advancing to the next round. If this does happen, it will be undeserved.

Group B: Argentina & South Korea

Prior to the World Cup, I predicted that Nigeria, despite having so many talented players would disappoint at the World Cup & so far they have been far from competitive with two losses.

I believe despite their heavy loss to the scintillating Lionel Messi & Argentina, South Korea have shown enough to get past the predictably boring Greece & advance to the next round.

Argentina, on the other hand, arguably have the best player in the world in Lionel Messi & are once again one of the main favourites to go all the way & are simply irresistible to watch.

Group C: USA & England

This was supposed to be one of the easiest draws for one of the pre tournament favourites England. But once again they have failed to fire & have been rather disappointing. It all started to go wrong with Robert Green's disastrous mistake in the first game against the USA. It got worse when Ledley King who had replaced the injured Captain Rio Ferdinand in the central defence injured his knee. And to top it all, John Terry, the disgraced former captain destabilised the England camp further by attempting & failing to start a rebellion against the coach Capello on Sunday. Despite all this, England have enough character & calibre to beat Slovenia & advance to the second round for a possible show down with their arch enemy Germany.

I have been very impressed with the USA's fighting spirit, their speed & energy & believe they will be able to break down Algeria's disciplined defense & advance alongside England.

Group D: Germany & Serbia

My heart wanted my favourite two teams Germany & the mighty Socceroos to advance from this group, and Australia to meet England in the knock out phase. However, red cards have dented both Australia & Germany's prospects in their previous matches.

Germany, the record 11 time semi finalist & 7 time finalist in the World Cup have never failed to go through the group stage in World Cup history & should be too strong for Ghana. On the other hand, whilst I am sure the Socceroos will put up a brave fight, I do not believe Australia, in Harry Kewell's forced absence, will have the fire power to get through the solid Serbian defence and score the minimum of 2 goals they require. :(

Group E: Netherlands & Denmark

After a slow start in their first game, Holland found their feat in the second game & will advance as an outside favourite for the World Cup. their odds improve even further if Robben ends up being fit enough to play for them at some stage.

Denmark on the other hand will be too strong for Japan & should be able to win and advance. Japan however, do have a better goal difference. They will aim for a draw ad therefore there is an outside chance that Japan will end up advancing on goal difference.

Group F: Paraguay & Italy

Group F was supposed to be a walk in the park for the defending champions Italy. But Italy's coach Lippi failed to rejuvenate the 2006 team & stuck with the likes of Canevarro who is now 37! Their slow & tired legs has seen Italy ride their luck to two draw their first two matches.

However, those of you who are keen football supporters would know or (in my case) remember how Italy won the World Cup in 1982 after having drawn all their 3 group stage matches & advancing to the knock out stage on the basis of having scored a mere one goal more than Cameron. In more recent times, having experienced their mighty sting against Australia in 2006 & aging New Zealand last week make it hard to write off Italy totally.

Paraguay have on the other hand been the dominant team in this group, and a massive show of admiration also goes to the courageous effort by the great New Zealand side. They have once again overachieved & should be congratulated.

Group G: Brazil & Portugal

After sluggish start in their first respective matches, both teams produced fantastic attacking football & great wins in their second matches making in almost impossible not to go through. The final group game clash between Portugal & Brazil promises to be one of the best matches of the entire tournament.

Group H: Spain & Switzerland

After their shock loss in their opening match against Switzerland, Spain got back on track with a win against Honduras.

I believe they need to beat Chile to guarantee passage to the next round as Switzerland will beat Honduras. This will probably eliminate the impressive Chile on goal difference. However, amazingly, if Chile draw with Spain & the Swiss beat Honduras, Spain, the favourites will be eliminated from the competition.

It must also be mentioned that Switzerland broke the record for the longest time any team has not conceded a goal in the World Cup history last night, although eventually they conceded a goal 7 lost to Chile 0-1. their record started in the 2006 world Cup where they got eliminated without conceding a single goal in open play (eliminated in a penalty shoot out) & lasted two matches into this year's second round match against Chile.

As you can see, the mouth watering excitement of the World Cup is only beginning. Enjoy & check my blog to rate my predictions!

If you wish to leave comments but are unable to click on the comment section as reported by some of my friends, you may wish to email me on ricksamimi@gmail.com & I will post your comments.

Football maybe a simple game but refereeing it is a complex task in urgent need of a complete overhaul

Harry Kewell's unintentional handball on the goal line would have probably attracted a yellow card had the referee had video footage at his disposal.

I start by expanding on the title of my post again:

FIFA (the football governing body) continue to refuse to acknowledge and address the problems plaguing the beautiful game by stating that football needs to remain a simple game with simple rules. The problem with this simplistic statement ignores the fact that "Refereeing professional football matches has become a very complex task requiring a major overhaul in its current structure"

The inconsistency in refereeing standards are ruining the World Cup in the eyes of the fans, commentators & players alike. This is mainly due FIFA's blanket refusal to provide appropriate and sufficient assistance to referees.

So, the result is nervous referees issuing card after red card in order to stamp their authority, and in the process ruining the spectacle.

The referees are dealing with professional players! Who can blame the players for dishonestly taking full advantage of the absence of any assistance to prove of their unjust actions? It would be like asking professional thieves to leave a forwarding address for blind folded policemen!

Kaka got sent off because of the Oscar winning tumble by an Ivory Coast player rolling on the ground holding his face after Kaka had for simply pushed him back with his elbow

If FIFA is not going to introduce video refereeing, then at the very least the game requires four linesmen covering the entire field of play from all angles. The following are some of the refereeing decisions which may have been overturned on the stop if the referees had access to video refereeing or at least extra linesmen to consult:

• Harry Kewell's unintentional handball on the goal line may have attracted a yellow card instead of red. as a result, Australia struggled with 10 men to hold Ghana to a 1-1 draw & in the process almost certainly got eliminated.
• The USA team's heroic comeback from two goals down was stifled as the referee disallowed a perfectly good 3rd goal depriving USA of a famous win & guaranteed passage to the knockout round
• Brazil's Fabiano handled the ball & scored against Ivory coast without the referee or his assistants noticing he handled the ball intentionally
• In the same match an Ivory Coast player caused Kaka to be red carded by play acting
• New Zealand were potentially robbed from one of the most famous wins in the World Cup history when De Rossi dived & won the reigning Champions Italy a penalty for a 1-1 draw.

Therefore the message to Sep Blatter the FIFA President & his 7 figure salaried Executive Committee is: You are supposed to be serving the fans, & the game. Your job is to act for the good of the game & to provide what your masters (ie FANS) are demanding, not to fill your pockets with your cushy jobs & greedily keep the status quo of the multi billion dollar industry that is football!

How do the teams rate as the second round of the group stage starts to shape at the World Cup 2010?

The second group matches got on the way last night in FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Before having a look at the first round, I must thank 702 ABC Sydney (radio station) for interviewing me for the last two Fridays in the morning show with Deborah Cameron about the World Cup & also for including a link to this blog on the ABC website.

I'd like to remind those of you who are casual followers of the sport not to lose too much heart! The first round of the group stage of this World Cup has been unusual in its lack of goals. Most teams have been very cautious & some like Australia have not looked settled.

As it was evident last night, we will be witnessing much more attacking football in the crucial second round matches (13 goals scored in the 4 second round matches played so far whilst the same groups only scored 5 goals in the first round). And now to a selection of teams making headlines so far:

• France: As predicted, lost & clueless under their coach Demenech
• South Africa: sadly for them & their fans, will become the first host nation in the Cup's history not to make the second round
• Argentina: Maradona, Messi & co look good both on paper & on the field, a potential winner
• England & Brazil, both looking a little bit out of sorts & in need on fine tuning, which may be too late to do! but still potential quarter finalists & in case of Brazil, a potential winner
• Germany, sublime against Australia, got stifled in midfield vs Serbia & lost 1-0 having had their star striker Klose sent off & missed a penalty. I still rate them as a good bet for semi finals, and an outside chance for the final.
• Italy, looked old, jaded & too slow! They will be out by quarter finals!
• Portugal & Ivory coast had a tough match. Overall ronaldo was yet again disappointing for Portugal. But we have to wait to see their respective second matches.
• Switzerland & USA should be congratulated for taking points out of Spain & England games respectively. Switzerland legendary coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said he learned from USA's win against Spain in the Confederation Cup last year.
• Australia were hugely disappointing against Germany. Their coach Pim Verbeek should have used the same system as USA & Switzerland did in their first matches.
• And last & not least, Spain are still my favourites to win as long as they can mentally pull themselves out of the misery of the loss to Switzerland. However, that may turn out to be easier said than done as Spain are the perennial under achievers at the World Cup level & are notorious for losing their nerves. However, they are the current european Champions & the most attratctive side to watch!

All in all, the second & third round of the group matches are sure to provide more goals, thrills & surprises like the defeat of France by Mexico & Germany by Serbia.

If you are unable to use the comment section, you canemail me at ricksamimi@gmail.com with your comments & I will post them. Thank you.

Why Australia & Pim Verbeek lost more than just the tactical battle vs Germany

Germany Coach Joachim Loew & Australia's Pim Verbeek

Loew & his team were accused of arrogance by the English speaking media! As it turned out they were doing their homework on the Socceroos!

The media in Australia did not waste a second after the Socceroos emphatic defeat by Germany! The knives were & are still out! Depending on the media outlet everyone & everything under the sun from Pim Verbeek to the players to the actual sport itself were attacked for the so called embarrassing defeat!

Channel Ten went as far as claiming today that 3 senior players had officially complained to the FFA about Pim Verbeek.

Ben Buckley & the FFA officially denied the rumours this afternoon. Of course we all know what it means when the officials resort to denial in any situation! It means that not all is well in the camp & the much envied team spirit & mateship that Australian teams in most sports are renouned for is lacking. Those of us who are dedicated World Cup followers can count dozens of teams, most notoriously several of the talented Holland teams, which performed poorly at World Cups as a direct result of disharmony in their camps.

But here's the point:

At the end of the day Pim Verbeek is the coach. Whilst he should allow players to have an input after the disaster against Germany, his position must be respected & all rebellion must be quashed at once.

True!, Pim Verbeek's tactical appraoch went horribly wrong & was very poor at best & very naive at worst. We were exposed throughout the match & our shortcomings were embarrassingly on display. He abandoned the much unloved & criticised, yet disciplined & successful system that had taken his team all the way to the World Cup, and we all paid for it! The players, the fans, the coach himself, the FFA, the (yet again) disenchanted casual non football fans & potentially our 2022 bid. But a coach's position is a revered one & must be respected until the end of the tournament.

The job at hand now is to unify & motivate the players & prepare them mentally, physically & tactically for the next two matches in order to redeem our national reputation, & indeed that of the players & the coach, and with them the midterm viability & popularity of football in Australia.

Having said all of that, I am absolutely amazed at the seemingly poor study & appreciation of the German footballing mentality prior to the game. Germans & the Dutch are bitter sporting & historical rivals. Pim, a Dutchman, has no excuse in underestimating the Germans so badly. Anyone who has followed German football over the years could have warned the team about some typical characteristics of the German national team, some of which I eluded to in my pre match blog last week. The Socceroos did not seem to go to the match with any of the following facts in their plans:

• When the former German great Paul Breitner was interviewed prior to the match, he admitted he as a commentator & most probably most of the German players knew little about Australia & its players, but he stated the staff in the team whose job was to get to know Australia were surely doing that!

• Germany have always worked on both mental as well as physical state of their players. Their successful track record in the World Cup owes as much to their physical & mental strength as it does to to their tactical prowess.

• All the English speaking media hype in Australia & UK pointed to arrogant & dismissive approach of Germany to Socceroos & lack of world class talent in the German squad.. What happened on the day was the exact opposite!

Australia , the second oldest team in the torrnament went to the match against the Youngest German side since 1954 expecting a rugby style physical game void of tactical matery! The Germans on the other hand fielded 5 tactically gifted players all younger than 22 & with a handful of caps between them in their starting line up & supplemented them with world class & tactically gifted stars such as Klose, Podolski, Lahm & Schweinsteiger!

The problem here lies with the English speaking media, and that includes all forms of media that is involved with the English Premier League & Enfglish football in general.

All we hear on TV shows & read in various English soccer magazines (& I have been doing both for more than 30 years) is how few tactically gifted footballers Germany has produced since they won the World Cup in 1990! Whilst this is correct to a certain extent, it is only relative to exceptional stars from a handful of countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland & Spain, and much less accurate in comparison with players in e.g. Italy & England & the likes!

It seems Pim Verbeek lost his Dutch instinct & started to believe in English speaking tabloid sport reporting expecting a German side void of talent or tactics! The likes of Ozil, Muller, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Kedira, Klose & Podolski are all as tactically & technically as gifted as any of the top EPL players & many other players across Europe! & that showed on the night! Australia expected a physical opponent & got little masters of the ball instead!

• Germany always conduct their final preparations prior to the World Cup by playing a so called minnow such as Luxembourg or Lichtenstein in order to allow their players to practise tactical formations & sharpen their minds by scoring lots of goals. This year they played a local side in Italy for a 25-0 win before flying to South Africa. By the time they start the tournament they are hungry for goals & their first opponent would be wise to employ tried & tested & well disciplined tactics against them. Pim abandoned his tried 7 tested & well disciplined tactics of the past two years.
• As Craig Foster states, the modus operandi of the group stage, Germany are masters of the World Cup "modus operandi", i.e. win the first match & win by as big a margin as you can! This not only takes the pressure off, it also gives (in this case) strikers such as Podolski & Klose well needed confidence for the rest of the tournament (both had poor seasons & both scored against Australia). For e.g. in 2006 Germany won their opening match 4-2 (scored 4) & in 2002 8-0 & even a 2-0 in 1998!

The point I am trying to make from the above is that a good team performance & a respectable scoreline would have easily made up for defeat in the match against Germany. It was the poor performance that was so sadly missing that hurt the most. Amateurish tactics & inferior physical conditioning showed throughout the match!

But all is not lost! as long as our leaders can unify & re motivate the team, review the tactical approach & bring back the die hard Aussie spirit, we can still make it to the second round. neither Ghana nor Serbia impressed much in their first game & the Socceroos at their most disciplined are more than capable of grinding the right results out of the next two matches & redeem themselves & their coach!