Australia's Socceroos vs Germany, facts, stats & key German players to watch out for

The Socceroos will undoubtedly face a much more difficult opening game next Monday morning in South Africa 2010 than they did in Germany against japan in 2006.

As both a fan of the Socceroos & Germany since Australia's first qualification for Germany 1974 World Cup, I was hugely disappointed when my two beloved teams were drawn together! But I must say Germany has brought the Socceroos luck in the past as Australia's two previous qualifications to the World Cup were in 1974 & 2006 when the Cup was held in Germany in both occasions.

In the absence of their influential Captain Michael Ballack (above left) who got injured in the English FA Cup Final whilst playing for Chelsea, the new Captain & vice Captain, Philip Lahm (middle) & Bastian Schweinsteiger (right) will be two of the key experienced leaders for Germany in South Africa. Here are some of the facts & stats about Germany:

• Germany are well known as a disciplined "Tournament" team capable of lasting till the later rounds of the Cup. This is clearly the case as demonstrated by their record in the World Cup:


• Germany have reached the World Cup final a record 7 times (equal to Brazil's) and the semi finals a record 11 times.


• They have won the World Cup 3 times (Brazil have won it 5 times & Italy 4)


• They have won their opening game in the last 5 World Cups. As the SBS Football Commentator Craig Foster rightly points out, experienced World Cup teams know how important it is to win the first match, draw or win the second & rest players for the third (depending on potential draw). This was evident after Australia's win in its opening match of the 2006 World Cup against Japan.


• Their team in South Africa is their youngest since they won the World Cup in 1954. In contrast, Australia's squad's average age makes the Socceroos the second oldest team in South Africa.


• Only 7 players from Germany's 2006 team are present in South Africa. Although most players in the current squad did play in Euro 2008. Germany reached the final of that tournament for a record 6th time (another proof of their resilience in tournaments)

Germany had to deal with several injuries to key players as well as disagreements between the coach & influential players which resulted in axing of some key players. As mentioned, Ballack was ruled out 3 weeks ago. The no 1 goal keeper Rene Adler was also ruled out due to a rib injury, and holding midfielder Simon Rolfes due to an ankle injury.

The German coach Loew refused to recall the highly experienced Torsten Fringes, a veteran of 2002 & 2006 World Cups in place of Ballack. He also ruled out a return for Kevin Kuranyi, who scored 18 goals this season in the German Bundesliga. As a result, it was reported that Germany had selected 6 strikers in the final 23 squad.

Whilst this is correct in theory, English speaking commentators were as usual too simplistic in their appraisal. The German coach, like many other top coaches around the world ins a big fan of the modern 4-2-3-1 system. This means most probably two of the wingers in the 3 number will be from the 6 strikers. Here's my prediction for Germany's line up on Monday morning:

Neuer (Goal keeper)

Lahm (C) Friedrich Mertesacker Badstuber (or Jansen)

Kedira Schweinsteiger

Podolski Muller Ozil

Klose

Key players to watch out for:

• Captain Philip Lahm, a world class left & right back. Appeared as left back in the 2006 World Cup & scored the opening goal of the tournament, but appears to have settled into his preferred right back role
• Bastian Schweinsteiger: is to fill Ballack's holding midfield role, which he so successfully did for his Clubside Bayern Munich during the European season which earned him comparisons to Spain's Xavi.
• Podolaski & Klose, whilst they both had terrible seasons scoring a total of 5 goals between them, their international goal scoring record for Germany is fantastic. They scored 8 goals between them in 2006.
• Ozil, Kroos, Merin & Muller: all less than 22 years old world class attacking midfielders capable of scoring goals from seemingly impossible positions.
• Mario Gomez: Bundesliga's most expensive German player who has up to now disappointed at international level & is therefore desperate to prove his calibre & class (given the chance)

There are several young midfield players including Tony Kroos & Marco Merin, and the other three forwards Cacau, Marion Gomez & Stefan Kiessling who are hoping to feature in the starting line up, but the above line up seems to be the most likely based on most reports I have seen on the net.

Germany's weaknesses which the Socceroos may be able to exploit are:

• Absence of Michael Ballack
• Lack of goal scoring form of Klose & Podolski, although they both have enviable international goal scoring records
• unsettled central defence: for the past 6-7 years a reliable pairing has been in short supply
• Young squad: Many of the above players have had less than 10 full international caps
• Underestimating the Socceroos legendary will to fight tooth & nail

Having watched the last warm up matches for both teams, the Germans played a very well disciplined second half against Bosnia & scored three goals in the process, whilst Australia were badly exposed whilst trying to play an open attacking match against the USA& conceded 3 goals in the process.

My prediction: Germany's faster players will get the better of the aging Socceroos. However, no matter which teams finishes on top, I will be heartbroken & happy at the same time!

Germany to win by 2 goals, 3-0 or 3-1. I am still hoping for a Socceroos/Germany vs England in the second round!

Football, the team sport that fought apartheid alongside the people of South Africa will receive its reward tonight

Yes, I know I am making a very frank statement with the title of this post. But it's a historical statement of fact. Whilst Cricket & Rugby Union undoubtedly had some supporters & players who symphatised with the struggle against apartheid, football was, is & will remain the grassroot sport of people of South Africa & in fact the entire continent.

Therefore, tonight, Soccer, the football code that fought apartheid alongside the people of South Africa all the way to the end, will receive its well deserved reward.

In their great book "More than just a Game", Chuck Corr & Marvin Close have closely examined the influence of football during the struggle against apartheid.



Therefore, let's hope the fans of other footballing codes who at times ignorantly mock Football, take a moment or two during the World Cup to appreciate the true place of "The World Game" in the lives the ordinary people of the world across the globe. It is simply asthonishing>

As the legendary Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly said (paraphrasing) "some people wonder why football is a matter of life & death! They are wrong! Football is much more important than that!"

World Cup Blog: latest injury scares!

Overall, like the last few World Cups, players involved in the centre of gravity of the sport, ie the European Clubs, are falling victims to injury & fatigue as the World Cup is about to start. With stars such as Michael Ballack of Germany & Rio Ferdinand of England (both their respective countries' Captains) & Michael Essien of Ghana heading the list of top injured players missing the Cup, the list is starting to grow bigger.

Many players get injured due to their fatigued bodies whilst others' injuries suffered during the laborious European season simply flare up in training.

It may be interesting for casual fans to know that players in the top European Clubs play 50-60 matches in the space of nine months. At the height of the domestic & European competitions this may mean three matches per week. Mid May to mid July is the off season for these players. This year however, most elite players will miss this period as they headed off to national training camps to train for the World Cup.

The latest injury list:

• Holland's creative midfielder Arjen Robben limped off with a partial muscle tear after coming off the bench & scoring two goals in his team's 6-1 win vs Hungary on Saturday. Holland are counting so much on Robben that they have declared they will keep him in the squad & use him in later stages of the competition once fit! well, Holland are one of my dark horses of the tournament anyway.
• Similarly, The Italian camp is adamant all is OK with their play maker Antonio Pirlo. News from the Italy camp is that it will take between 15 and 20 days for the midfielder to recover fully after he was left to nurse a calf injury following Friday's training session.
• The Socceroos reserve keeper Brad Jones has quit the World Cup to rush back to be with his ill 4 year old son. Like many others, my thoughts are with Brad & his family. Brad Jones has been an unsung hero & great servant of the Socceroos & will be missed. On a happier note, he has one or two more World Cups ahead of him in the coming years.
• Didier Drogba, the tallismatic goal scorer of Ivory Coast has undergone an operation on his broken arm & is hoping to be fit for the World Cup
• Ghana's influential midfielder Sulley Montari (who plays for European Champions Inter Milan) is a doubt for Ghana's opening match vs Serbia (the Socceroos opponents)
• Chile's (one of my other dark horse tips) European based star striker Humberto Suazo will reportedly miss the first two group matches.
• Brazil's no 1 keeper Julio Cesar will miss Brazil's final warm up match but is reportedly on the way to recover for Brazil's opening match of the World Cup.
• The European based star of Honduras, Wilson Palacios is another player who is injured & may miss the World Cup.
• Uruguay's European based superstar Diego Forlan was injured in a warm up match but the extent of his injury has been kept under wrap by the Uruguay officials & coaching staff. Forlan (well known to Manchester United fans) is the key player for Uruguay.

Next Blog: Germany's key players in the World Cup

World Cup Blog: latest news from South Africa, & why FIFA are responsible for ruining our "Beautiful Game"!

The latest news from South Africa:

1. Rio Ferdinand, the England Captain is out of the world Cup due to a knee injury in training. This will undoubtedly throw Fabio Capello's plans into chaos.
2. Ivory Coast sweating over Drogba's broken wrist in a friendly match. It has not yet been confirmed whether Drogba will miss the World Cup as a result.
3. Worrying losses for the 2006 finalists Italy (1-2 to Mexico) & France (0-1 to China). Although, like many others, I believe the Italian squad is an aging & tactically confused team, and Demenech (& France after qualifying with Henry's cheating handball goal) do not even deserve to be in South Africa
4. Impressive 1-0 win by Australia's Socceroos vs Denmark, although the Socceroos frailties were exposed in the 1-3 defeat in warm up match vs USA tonight, highlighting the current Socceroos limited tactical capabilities.
5. Dominant second half display by the youngest ever German World Cup team in the modern era in their 3-1 win vs Bosnia
6. Dark horses Holland smashed Hungary 6-1 & South Africa had a morale boosting 1-0 victory vs Denmark

My Tip for the World Cup: favourites: Spain & Brazil
Contenders: England, Argentina, Germany & Holland
Dangerous outsiders: Chile, Portugal & Serbia

Now for some basic facts that will once again demonstrate the true worldwide popularity of football:



FIFA the world governing body of football currently has 208 members. This membership level can only be fully appreciated when compared to e.g.

a) United Nations: 196 members
b) Rugby Union Board: around 120 members
c) Rugby League (claimed) to have around 50 members although only 20-25 active members


The major difference between FIFA & its world Cup competition compared other football codes however are:


1) 204 national teams took part in 3 years of qualifications (up to 20 matches) in order to qualify for the 31 available spots (South Africa qualified as Host Nation). On the other hand, n Union & in particular League World Cups, the respective international associations struggle to put together 16 competitive teams in order to hold the tournament.


2) Most amazingly, this year's World Cup will have a cumulative viewing audience of 27 billion over the 64 matches! As a result, there are billions of dollars of sponsorship & commerce money involved.

3) Sadly however, this is the exact reason why FIFA is so stubbornly reluctant to address the few major issues plighting the game! The money has made the administrators of the game too numb & too timid! The slogan "FIFA, For the good of the game" (see above) is at times nothing more than a joke in the eyes of fans worldwide!

FIFA administrators are highly skilled executives on very fat pay cheques & nothing more! They are blinded by the huge commercial appeal of football & nothing else. As a result, like many other businesses, they allow low grade cheating & lying by their stars as long as the commercial side of the game remains intact!

Yes! The play acting, cheating & diving can & must be stopped!
Yes! Technology can & must be utilised in support referees' decisions, to make match outcomes fairer & to stop cheating players influencing refereeing decisions
Yes! More of the money can & must be channeled to grass root & youth levels of the game!
Yes, Star players bulging pay packets can & must be curbed!

The above are possible despite FIFA & its executives. Whilst the administration rules over the 208 membership nations are autocratic, the shear number of members means that that FIFA will eventually have to listen to its members or diminish in stature, influence & power. The risk is that FIFA is sadly damaging the reputation of the game alongside its own whilst it remains disinterested in addressing the major issues affecting the "Beautiful Game".

A wrap of the European Season & the start of my World Cup Blog!

Another exciting European season is over & we are heading to the World Cup in less than two weeks!

As the above photos suggest I made the 18,000 km (36,000km all up) trip to Madrid from Sydney Australia & sadly witnessed my beloved Bayern Munich lose to the tactically superior Inter Milan in the final of the Champions League at the magnificent Santiago Bernabau Stadium.

Now to a review of my pre season predictions:

1. I correctly predicted Bayern, Barcelona & Inter Milan would win their domestic leagues & they all did


2. I also passionately blogged about Perez & his second coming in building a team of "Galacticos"! I predicted (and prayed) that his mega money would not (at least this year) win Real Madrid anything! With Mourinho joining Real, their fortunes might change, but for the sake of the game let's hope not!
   

Here's a link to my post about Perez & his spending spree @ Real Madrid in the pre season:

http://ricksamimi-football.blogspot.com/2009/10/sequal-galacticos-2-has-so-far-fared-no.html

3. Somewhat in a biased but nevertheless informed way, I tipped Bayern Munich as one of the dark horses of the Champions League....and they only came short at the last hurdle :(

4. I initially predicted a Liverpool-Chelsea-Man Utd-man City finish in the EPL, but later on blogged & suggested Ancelotti was going to win the Premiership with Chelsea. However, I totally miscalculated the demise of Liverpool & Tottenham gallantly pipped Manchester City to the post & won the crucial 4th place.

Here's a link to my post on Chelsea:

http://ricksamimi-football.blogspot.com/2009/12/ancelotti-is-proving-his-genius-stroke.html

I also predicted Hull, Burnley & Wolves as relegation candidates in the EPL. Two out of three! Wolves survived the drop, somewhat more comfortably than predicted.

However, my & I imagine many other pundits' most crucial tip was Barcelona winning the champions League. But like Chelsea before them & Bayern in the final, Messi & co found the well organised Inter Milan defence almost impenetrable & lost to Mourinho's side in the semi finals.

Now to the start of my World Cup blog: I will start by quickly look at the usual suspects:

I have already mentioned in one of my earlier posts that Germany will have a very difficult World Cup ahead of them, although Germany should never be underestimated (7 times finalists & 4 times semi finalists). Injuries to Ballack, Adler, Rolfe, Tresch & Loew's stubborn refusal to recall Frings & Kuranyi will make matters even more critical for the team. Nevertheless, as he mentioned himself, Loew & his team can learn from Bayern's achievements this year.

My prediction: Quarter Finals

Amongst the other big teams, England, Italy & Argentina seemingly have easier paths to the second round:

• Italy's team is however too old & Lippi's reliance on many of the fading stars will prove fatal. France on the other hand have lacked clear tactical directions under Domenech & owe their qualification to that dubious handball by Henry.

My prediction: Round of 16s for both team

• England on the other hand have flourished under Capello & as long as they sort out the following three major issues they will go a long way
  

a) Goal keeping issues. James is well past his best & Hart & Green are unproven at any level!

b) How to tactically accommodate both Lampard & Gerrard in midfield

c) Over reliance on injury hit Rooney! He can not emulate Maradonna winning the Cup for Argentina!

My prediction: Semi Final

• Argentina have massive technical ability & with Messi & others at least on paper have one of the top teams in this year's World Cup. However, Maradona is not the right tactical coach for such talented team & most likely will make naive mistakes as he did eg in the 1-6 drubbing by Bolivia in the qualifiers. However, Argentina will probably meet Germany in the QFs & go to the semi finals.

My prediction: semi final or final

• Spain & Brazil are my tip to reach the final. On paper they, alongside Argentina have the best squads in the tournament. On top of that both Spain (in particular) & Brazil (at times) are capable of playing attractive attacking football

My prediction: Spain vs Brazil final, Spain to win

My dark horses for the tournament: As per usual Germany, and yet again Holland. In Sneijder & Robben Holland possess two of the best "match winners" (alongside Messi of Argentina) in the world & if Holland manage to avoid the infighting they are notoriously well known for, they may at last lift the Cup!

I will be posting regular posts on my blog during the World Cup.

Champions League Final: Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan

It's down to the wire, and the final on may 22nd in Madrid will be between Bayern Munich & Inter Milan. Two old friends & master tacticians in their Barcelona days, Van Gaal & Mourinho have guided their respective teams through the tricky maze of the competition into the richest final in the world.

Those of you who from time to time read my blogs may remember that at the beginning of the season I nominated Barcelona as the best team in the world and my tip to successfully defend their European crown. Having declared my interest as a life long Bayern Munich supporter, I also cautiously labeled Bayern as one of the dark horses of this year's Champions League.

And my predictions nearly came true! Bayern admittedly rode their luck with brave away leg performances & wonderful away goals by Robben (amongst others) to the final. Van Gaal has slowly but surely blended the tough German mentality with the skillful Dutch/Barcelona style possession game into one of the best Bayern teams I can remember in my 35 odd years of being a die hard fan.

And as for Inter Milan, in Mourinho they undoubtedly have the most flamboyant, arrogant & polarising master tactician in the world of football today. His chess game got them past the might of Chelsea & Barcelona. And the quality of the players in their squad speaks for itself. Any team that manages to get through battles with Chelsea & Barcelona fully deserves its place in the final.

So for me, the final will be a match of Mourinho's tactics vs the Mini Me of Barcelona!

My heart says Bayern will win, my mind knows it will be tough on the night & 50:50........and my life & work schedule are doing everything it can to stop me from dashing off to Madrid for the final......................and in my dreams I am hoping to be there when Bayern lift the trophy!

Champions League quarter final pairings: What to expect?

The Champions League final will be held in Madrid in May. Sadly however, the start studded Real Madrid will not be there to win the title at their Bernabeu Stadium! The star studded but at times misfiring Madrid side lost to the gallant Lyon side who despite going to the return leg with the narrowest of margins never lost their self belief.

Whilst I wrongly underestimated Lyon's depth & predicted Madrid would easily go through, I can still save face by referring to my several blogs at the beginning of the season when I claimed Real were a collection of great but selfish players who would not be able to deliver Mr Perez instant gratification, at least in the first year of his reign. The fact that Real have given Barcelona & the out of this world Messi a run for the Primera in fact comes as a surprise!

My other major flop for the round was Chelsea's loss to the arrogant master tactician, Jose Mourinho & his Inter Milan side. Mourinho simply rubbed salt to the Chelsea supporters' wound by reminding what they are missing out of since his departure!

Overall, this year's quarter finals amazingly are littered with surprise qualifiers. The elimination of giant former winners AC Milan, Juventus, Liverpool & Real Madrid as well as Porto & the newcomers Chelsea mean that the less fanciful CSKA Moksva, Bordeaux & Lyon have made the quarterfinals easier to predict, at least on paper!

The most exciting match up is undoubtedly Manchester United vs Bayern Munich. Manchester United comfortably disposed of a misfiring AC Milan whilst Bayern at the just scrapped past a gallant & unlucky Fiorentina side on away goals rule due to a masterful goal by Arjen Robben.

The last gasp heartbreaking final win by Manchester United in 1999 & the subsequent home & the subsequent quarter final home & away win by Bayern on their way to win the CL in 2001 means these two teams have an unbreakable history. Also, in Robben & Rooney, I believe we will witness the second & third current best players in the world going to the battlefield.

My Prediction: If Bayern's defence holds off Rooney & co in the first leg in Munich, Bayern may go on to win the tie. Otherwise, Manchester United are the favourites to go through.

Barcelona vs Arsenal: Arguably the two most skillful & entertaining club sides in the world repeating their CL Final encounter of a few years ago. With Messi in his current form speeding towards the super stardom legendary status, Barcelona are favourite to take advantage of Wenger's side's occasional lapses & go through.

Lyon vs Bordeaux: The all French tussle will produce the first French side in the semi finals of the CL since Monaco reached the final & lost to Mourinho's Porto a few years ago. Lyon have been a consistent performer in the CL League & go the battle with the confidence boosting elimination of Ronaldo & Co of Madrid. On the other hand, Laurent Blanc has built a masterful compact unit at Bordeaux capable of many surprises. I believe Bordeaux will continue their dream run to the semi finals.

Inter Milan vs CSKA Moskva: Whilst CSKA have quietly enjoyed good solid performances & slightly easier draws to get to the quarter finals, they are also a great team which fully deserve their position at this level. On the other hand, hats off to Mourinho for getting Inter Milan through the battle with Chelsea. I still feel uncomfortable about Inter & believe CSKA are capable of causing a huge upset!

No matter which team you are following, the quarter finals will be as exciting as ever. Let's just hope they do not get too tight & defensive. The away goal rule is making home teams timid & nervous & has a negative impact on the game as a spectacle.

Early signs of trouble for Joachim Löew & Germany in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa

The German national team, or Die Nationalmannschaft are known as the ultimate "Tournament" team. They usually have a slow start in World Cup tournaments & grind their way into the latter stages whilst more talented teams fall by the way side & get eliminated. Germany (including west Germany) have reached the World Cup semi final 11 times, the final 7 times & have of course been winners in 3 occasions. Outside the 1990 win & the 2006 campaign, they have always been slow starters & at times labeled boring and/or lucky. Nevertheless, Germany's performance & record in the world Cup continues to generate intense envy amongst rival fans.

Germany are currently the Under 17, Under 19 & Under 21 European Champions & the crop of young talent coming through the ranks is almost second to none in Europe. However, with less than 100 days till the start of the World Cup, most the young talented players will miss out on Loew's team selection for the World Cup. Only Ozil, Marin & Kroos have any realistic chance of being selected in the final 23 man squad for the World Cup.

The recent friendly 0-1 defeat to Madonna's hapless Argentina in Munich raised many worrying questions about Germany's prospects in South Africa. The shortcomings were clear in all areas. The following is a list:

1. Loew & his team have failed to sign a new contract with the DBF beyond the World Cup. Whilst both the German Federation & Loew have diplomatically agreed to decide to postpone negotiations to after the World Cup in order to avoid destabilisation, the fact that they have not reached an agreement will by itself cause some disharmony.

2. In the goal keeping department, Loew's stubborn insistence to allow Lehmann to be the no 1 keeper in Euro 2008, and the subsequent recent tragic death of Robert Enke has left this always reliable area of the German team well short of international experience.
Both Rene Adler of Leverkusen & Manuel Neuer of Schalke have shown promising signs of being able to emulate the feats of their legendary colleagues of the previous years. Nevertheless, the fact remains that between the two of them they only have 11 caps, and neither plays for a clubside which appears in the Champions League regularly. Therefore, both have limited international exposure.

In Central defence, where problems were evident in 2006 & Euro 2008, a reliable long term partner for Mertesacker is yet to be found. Tasci of Stuttgart & Boeteng of Hamburg as well as Westermann of Schalke are all unproven in international level.

Then there is the issue of where to play Lahm! He played so effectively as a left back in WC 2006. But Lahm has appeared as an attacking right back for Bayern all season & has stated he prefers to play in that position. He's also stated it takes him a few weeks to get used to switching from right to left. Should Loew try why he successfully experimented on with in Euro 2006 again? i.e. Use Podolski as a right midfield player & emulate the successful Lahm/Robben combination at Bayern?

Then there's the question of total loss of form by Ozil! The promising talented midfielder has had a poor run of form & the question now is whether he should be selected at all. On top of that, Ballack's relationship with Loew is still at best cordial. This can't be good for team moral.

Nevertheless, there is an abundance of talent in the likes of Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Sammy Khedira & Marco Marin who will help reduce Loew's tactical headaches (but not selection headaches). Nevertheless, they are all untested on the big stage.

Finally, there are major headaches upfront in attack. Kuryani is the in form German striker right now & he's out of favour. Both Podolski & Klose have been out of form & between the two of them scored a miserly 3 goals all season! I believe Cacau & Kiessling are not of World Cup pedigree & Patrick Helmes will take too long to reach his optimal form after a long injury lay off.

And last but least, as a Bayern & Germany fan, I am yet to understand what the big fuss about Mario Gomez is! He was a total flop in Euro 2006 & his international record is by no means impressive. Yet both Loew & Bayern insist on starting him in every game!

To top it all off, Germany are in the toughest group with Ghana, Australia & Serbia ready to Pounce on any mistake they can!

The good news however is that before every World Cup & European Championships, thousands of obituaries like mine are written about Germany, and they still make it to the latter stages & the finals!

As Gary Lineker famously said (paraphrasing) "Football is a game which 22 men run after a ball & try to score, and at the end Germany wins!"

Enjoy the World Cup & good luck to whichever team you support!

Fabio Capello has made England one of the World Cup favourites. But lack of English born coaches capable of managing England remains a major concern.

I am simply blogging what most fans of international football around the world treat as a joke! The scarcity of English born coaches in the English Premier League!

Fabio Capello is one of the greatest coaches of the modern era & seems to have at last managed to make England a solid & reliable unit as a team. But shouldn't the mother home of the beautiful game be able to manage to produce an English born coach to lead it to the World Cup?

The answer is simply no! It can't! Outside a few true & trusted old hands such as Harry Redknapp of Tottenham & Roy Hodgson of Fulham, there are very few high calibre English born coaches around these days. The late Sir Bobby Robson was probably the last of that generation.

I rest my case by listing the names of the top 10 EPL Teams Managers for those of you who are not aware of their nationalities. This is based on the league table as of 1 March 2010:

1. Chelsea: Carlo Ancelotti (Italy)

2. Manchester Utd: Sir Alex Ferguson (Scotland)

3. Arsenal: Arsen Wenger (France)

4. Manchester City: Roberto Mancini (Italy)

5. Tottenham: Harry Redknapp (England)

6. Liverpool: Rafa Benitez (Spain)

7. Aston Villa: Martin O'Neill (Northern Ireland)

8. Brrmingham: Alex McLeish (Scotland)

9. Everton: David Moyes (Scotland)

10. Fulham: Roy Hodgson (England)

As you can see, only two out of ten were born in England. Of course, as you know the English would protest saying we & the Scots & Northern Irish are all British! That's OK! My question remains the same:

Are there any coaches born in England who can claim to have the calibre to lead a major footballing national side to the World Cup?

I believe the answer remains negative. As a result the international performance of England will continue to suffer & whilst they are a very good side, I don't think they can win the FIFA World Cup in South Africa in July 2010.

Champions League knockout stage in 2010 promises to be exciting as well as intriguing

UEFA Champions League (CL) knockout stage kicks off on Tuesday 17th Feb 2010. As the world's richest and most watched annual sporting tournament, the real excitement starts in the round of 16 as the knock out stage commences.

In the absence of any form of salary cap system in Europe, the disparity amongst football teams in the CL is becoming more & more evident by the fact that most of the same usual suspects reach the quarter finals, ie teams from the powerhouse nations in Europe.

This year is no exception. The surprise casualties of the group stage were past winners Liverpool & Juventus, both of which are also having a relatively lean domestic season as well. the other surprise is the timely return to form of another former winners Bayern Munich.

Here are the round of 16 encounters & my predictions:

• Olympique Lyonnais vs Real Madrid: Whilst my pre season prediction that Real Madrid will need time to mould their star studded team to a force is still a valid point, Real are far too good for a mediocre Lyon that are a shadow of the perennial quarter finalists of the last few year. This is regardless of whether the recently back from injury Ronaldo or the out of form Kaka are present to help them.



• AC Milan vs Manchester United: This is a far more intriguing contest with the added spice of David Beckham's return to Old Trafford in Milan's colours. I am not a fan of either team this season (or any season for that matter!) & like many others believe selling Ronaldo has substantially weakened Manchester United, even though Rooney is playing the best football of his career. Milan on the other hand have dipped in form again after a mid season revival led by the resurgent Ronalidino. I think Manchester United will survive & pip Milan to the quarter finals. However, I don't think the eventual winner of this year's Cup will be either of these two teams
  
• Bayern Munich vs Fiorentina: A classic case of reversal of fortunes. Fiorentina played great football in the group stage & topped their group which included Liverpool. Since then however, Fiorentina's form in Serie A has dipped & Mutu has got suspended. On the other hand, Bayern were seemingly down & out & had to win their last match in Turin to qualify for the knockout stage. They fell 0-1 behind in the match, but in perhaps the best match of the current season ended up winning 1-4, their best ever away win against a top Italian side. Since then, they have had 12 consecutive wins in all competitions & scored 40 goals in the process. With Ribery rumoured to be starting against Fiorentina & Mutu suspended, Bayern should be win reasonably comfortably. If they can maintain their current form, they may even be an outside chance to win the CL this year! (Disclaimer: For those of you who don't know, I am a life long Bayern supporter!)



• Porto vs Arsenal: At the beginning of the season I predicted arsenal's attractive & flowing style lacked the experience factor. This is showing & I believe Porto, another former winner, whilst upstaged by Benfica in their domestic league this year, are too tricky & experienced for Arsenal & will win this close tussle.
  


• Stuttgart vs Barcelona: Barcelona will comfortably win against out an out of sorts but reviving Stuttgart & remain my tip to win the CL back to back. Pep Guardiola has done a magnificent job even if I believe Ibrahimovic is not suited to Barcelona's & Spanish football & is over rated.


• Olympiacos vs Bordeaux: Bordeaux are the refreshing surprise of the current season & disposed of Juventus & Bayern in style. Alongside Guardiola, Laurent Blanc is a rising star coach. Bordeaux should win this encounter comfortably even though their form in the French League has recently been inconsistent & Olympiacos are difficult to beat in Athens


• CSKA Moskva vs Seville: This is a hard one to predict simply because both teams can and do score goals & have proven themselves to be hard to beat. Seville have a better team on paper & should prevail.
  


• Chelsea vs Inter Milan: The last & most intriguing encounter is the return of Jose Mourinho with Inter Milan to Chelsea. I must say I am not a fan of Mourinho & believe Inter Milan would currently win the Serie A even if they don't have a coach! Both teams ae frustrated with lack of European success & are hungry. How much of a distraction John Terry's personal life & Ashley Cole's untimely injury are to Chelsea is open to speculation as they have been wobbly lately & lost to Everton this week with John Terry at fault. On the other hand, Inter Milan have a lot to prove in the european stage & this plays heavily on their players' minds. I believe Ancelotti is a better tactician than Mourinho & predict Chelsea will win the battle & in doing so will start the end of Mourinho's time at Inter Milan.

Post no 2:FFA vs AFL: FIFA World Cup is a great marketing opportunity. AFL & NRL will risk missing out!

(Please also refer to the previous blog on this topic posted on 11th December)

The FIFA World Cup will be staged in Australia regardless of short sided panic driven attempts by the likes of Andrew Demetriou to derail Australia's bid. BUT Australia's bid will be successful ONLY IF the GODS want it to be. Here are the 4 major players:

1) Major Group 1: FIFA, the not much loved powerful international body (due to its lax treatment of cheating by players on the field) wants Australia to stage the WC because:

a) FIFA is interested in the untapped markets of INDIA/CHINA in particular & the rest of Asia in general (2/3 of the world population & a fast rising living standards)

b) Its rotation policy will mean that Oceania has to be given a chance as a continent to stage the games now that Africa will be doing so in 2010.

2) Major Group 2: Frank Lowy & the Federal Government: Mr Lowy & Kevin Rudd have worked tirelessly to position Australia as the ideal location to achieve a win win situation for all interested parties & we need their tireless lobbying & support to continue for the next few years. Our bid emphasises:

a) Australia's time zone being closer to Asia's making it easier to reach the untapped Asian TV audiences compared to Europe/USA, and hence better potential advertising revenue (and higher TV rights for FIFA)

b) Australia's infrastructure/political stability (NSW Govt aside!) & track record of successful large events management

3) Major Group 3: the Media giants like News Ltd & multinational sponsors of WC: they see the World Cup in Australia as a giant opportunity for marketing & promotion to football mad Asian audiences. (2006 WC in Germany had an approximate cumulative audience of 24 billion). By 2018/2022 Asia's prosperity means millions more TV sets & potentially 100s of millions of more TV viewers per match

What has to happen is of course agreement amongst all of the above, and reasonable compensation to other codes for altering their seasons for the year when it happens.

The "Poofters, Sheilas, Wogs" strategy by "football haters" in Australia to protect their miserable market share is no longer effective because:

a) Many AFL & NRL fans are second generation Europeans/ethnics of "Soccer loving" parents. These fans would welcome & support the bid for FIFA WC Australia
b) Many younger Aussies now attend soccer matches during their travels around Europe & have been exposed to the great atmosphere of competitive football
c) Internet & Pay TV are fast educating sports fans about football and creating new fans and/or making more Australians less negative or neutral towards football!

FFA vs AFL: Andrew Demetriou's strategy to embarrass the FFA & derail Australia's bid to stage the FIFA World Cup will backfire

The AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has caused major uproar & controversy due to his myopic stance on Australia's bid to stage the FIFA Football World Cup in 2018 or 2022. trying to jealously derail Australia's bit for the FIFA WC 2018 or 2022.

There are various aspects of this controversy which have to be carefully considered:

It is fair to say that as the CEO of AFL, Andrew Demetriou's main responsibility is to make sure the AFL season is a success both on & off the field, protect & expand AFL's market share & profile& promote AFL. He's not responsible or has any moral or legal obligation to support or assist any rival code's aspirations.

At the same time, football codes & indeed other organised sports must be reasonably compensated for the potential loss of income if/when the World Cup is staged in Australia. FFA, The Federal Government & even fans acknowledge & appreciate this point.

However, the timing of Demetriou's comments (and the less publised claim by Shane Richardson of South Sydney) was clearly designed to destabilise Australia's bid because the final day for submissions was Friday 11th.

Sports administrators like Demetriou who are in charge of sports such as AFL which do not have a large international following or profile (and I mean no disrespect to the code by saying so) risk over stepping their authority with inflammatory comments which are designed to embarrass the administration of a rival code which is engaged in the complex web of international diplomacy & power play. Because in doing so, Demetriou's words may go as far as embarrassing the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who had been lobbying tirelessly to advance Australia's bid as a matter of national interest at the same time as Demetriou's comments embarrassed Australia & the FFA on an international basis. (Just check various football websites to see the adverse impact the comments had on Australia's profile) Mr Demetriou & AFL, with their small minded sport administration minds do not seem to have Australia's national interest at heart & are unwilling to acknowledge the positive aspects of staging the World Cup lest it makes fringe players like them look totally irrelevant.

Therefore Demetriou is either a trouble maker or is trapped in a world of small time sport administration & hence unable to grasp the scale & popularity of the FIFA World Cup. Demetriou's sporting world has a fan base of at best 20 million, or even smaller (assuming all of Australia & Ireland follow AFL!). The significance of Melbourne with its sporting infrastructure & passionate fans is massive. Demetriou & his backers are using this as a way of blackmailing the FFA & Australian fans for that matter. What they are forgetting is that AFL has contractual agreements with various venues but does not own Telstra Stadium & the MCG (& has a complex agreement with the privately owned Eithad Stadium). i.e. AFL can not, must not & will not hold the fans & the FFA at ransom over its use of various venues!

Staging the FIFA World Cup is the most sought after event in the world. It has shown to have significant positive cultural & financial impact. The cumulative worldwide audience of the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 is estimated to easily be more than the combined accumulative worldwide audience of Sydney 2000 Olympics and Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games! That is why Prime Ministers get personally involved in the lobbying & promoting process. The likes of Andrew Demetriou have no place in the process, not unless their ulterior motives demand they get involved.

The AFL Board & Andrew Demetriou conveniently ignore the time line of 9 to 13 years to plan for the event as well as the cultural, financial & economic significance of hosting the FIFA World Cup.

For example, the USA bid documents (rivaling Australia) claim staging the World Cup in 2018 may bring as much as $5 billion to the USA economy. (please see

http://www.gousabid.com/news/entry/study-shows-hosting-fifa-world-cup-in-2018-or-2022-could-bring-in-5-billion).

World Cup 2006 played a major role in both improving Germany's international standing & perception as a friendly nation & was credited with helping to bring the recession to an end in Germany due to its major impact on creating employment in industries from construction to tourism.

On the other hand, AFL Board knows the significance of Melbourne as the Sporting Capital of Australia, both in terms of facilities and its passionate supporters. Melbourne has an integral role in the bid & the event, but Andrew Demetriou is neither the Premier of Victoria nor the owner of the MCG & Telstra Stadium (although AFL has a contract & ownership arrangement with the privately owned stadium!) Petty rivalry & jealousy between various codes must be set aside for a national cause, in order to stage the greatest single event (sporting or otherwise) in the world, the same way Australia came together & made the Sydney Olympics & Melbourne Commonwealth Games successful events.

This is imperative because FIFA is an extremely powerful organisation (in fact too powerful). In 2006, during the last World Cup, FIFA accounts show a gross operating revenues in excess of $800 million. In non World Cup years it's revenue is around $250 million. Getting to stage a FIFA World Cup is a huge financial, marketing, lobbying & preference enticing task which at times can the world of international politics look like child play!

FIFA's power comes from 1) huge media revenue due to football's irresistible marketability around the world, and 2) its vast membership base which currently stands at 208 Federations.

In comparison, United Nations currently has 192 members! (FIFA grants membership to countries/territories which for political reasons are not granted UN membership, e.g. Taiwan & Phalestine)

Of course, neither the worldwide popularity of football nor its powerful representative body FIFA should interfere with the rightful plans of any other sport. But for a sport that runs its fixtures from March to August, Demetriou can easily start to plan to have the code ready in time to have the 2018 or 2022's Calendar altered, the same way school holidays, various sporting leagues & daylight saving were altered during the Sydney Olympics or Melbourne Commonwaelth games! If not, it simply demonstrates incompetence on the part of Demetriou & in his team if they find it impossible to plan to alter a season in 9 or 13 years time!

If Demetriou can't plan for that far ahead then he is showing his administrative incompetence & should resign!

Mr Detemriou & the AFL Board must be careful not to over estimate their code's support base & consider the adverse PR risks involved in their risky strategy. They risk alienating the supporters they need for second AFL teams to succeed, especially in Sydney.

1. AFL does not have as strong a support base base in Australia's Eastern seaboard as it does in Victoria, SA & WA. League, Union, Soccer & cricket are still more popular than AFL in Sydney & Brisbane. Western Suburbs of Sydney is a hotbed of Soccer & Rugby League. If AFL are seen to be derailing the FFA World Cup bid, the adverse PR effect may jeapordise the viability of the planned second AFL team in Sydney.

2. Many loyal AFL supporters in the stronger AFL markets are of European ethnic origins. In fact, AFL supporters of e.g. Greek, Italian, Maltese & Croatian background would like to see Australia stage the FIFA World Cup more passionately than many non AFL supporters. Derailing the bid may also have an adverse PR effect on the AFL stronger markets.

3. Let's not be so myopic! Would Andrew Demetriou have stated the same objection if Melbourne were to be granted the next Olympics which is usually held in August?

4. Andrew Demetriou's legacy will be forever tarnished if he ends up depriving the sport loving people of Melbourne from staging the FIFA World Cup final because Sydney or even Brisbane will pounce at the opportunity to take the final of the world's biggest & most popular sporting event away from Melbourne, and potentially with it Melbourne's title of the sporting capital of Australia

In conclusion, whilst it is ok to demand a reasonable compensation for potential loss of revenue, & FFA & FIFA must acknowledge this fact, various football code adminstrators must understand that blackmail tactics to protect their patch will backfire & they can no longer supress the popularity of soccer in Australia by using the "shielas, poofters & wogs" redneck strategy! Not only more of us are travelling overseas & get to witness the wonders & fantastic atmosphere of football matches in person, we also have access to the internet & pay tv & hence a much broader exposure to the popularity of football across the globe.

Soccer is here to stay & it will challenge other codes regardless of whether Andrew Demetriou & the likes manage to dent our bid to stage the "World Game!" But staging the World Cup is not just about rivalry between codes Mr Demetriou! Wake up to your conscience & acknowledge its national & international significance, and the fact that a united national effort is required if Australia's bid is to succeed.

So, Go ahead! Andrew Demetriou! Give us your best Aerial Ping Pong Shot! It will bounce back & blow in your face so fast that you won't know what hit you!

Ancelotti is proving his genius stroke at Chelsea

OK! I admit! I was amongst the doubters at the beginning of the season! I suggested that it would take Carlo Ancelotti at least one season to get familiar with the peculiarity & fast pace of the EPL! Many of us have seen it time and time again, coaches & players from continental Europe failing or taking their time to settle to the English game.

But not Ancelotti! Years of learning & experience as a player for Milan & Italy, combined with his natural ability to understand & dissect the tactical aspects of the game and his Champions League winning experience as a coach have made Ancelotti a superb coach!

And this is in a year when Chelsea have in fact been outspent by most of their domestic & mainland European rivals. Ancelotti has managed to make full use of individual and collective skills of Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Malouda & Essien. With those at his disposal & Drogba & Anelka striking a deadly understanding between them, Ancelotti has made Chelsea an attractive and lethal attacking force similiar to the Barcelona of the recent times, and much easier to enjoy than his AC Milan.

Ancelotti has continued to refine the art of "Modesty in success" at Stamford Bridge that started with the Big Phil (without success) and continued with the master Hiddink. As a result Morinho bashers who couldn't stand Morinho's arrogance (and still can't at Inter Milan, I know because I am one of them) have warmed to Ancelotti & the stylish & entertaining Chelsea side.

Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, barcelona, real Madrid and teh rest: watch out! the Tsunami of Chelsea is coming to get you, and this year it most probably will!

Chelsea fans, your time has come to concur Europe ....with your heads high.....it will be a deserving achievement.

World Cup qualifier playoffs: Ireland lose to "Hand of FIFA", whilst the "Gus Hiddink" legend is shattered by the minnows of Slovenia

Two major news items made the main football headlines across the world this morning, one full of the astonishing & simple beauty of football, "The people's game", & the other a story of the tarnished image of the stubborn, out of touch, money chasing FIFA acting like a sect trying to protect itself from criticism & investigation, and the perception that its  has sold the "Beautiful Game's soul to sponsorship money.

a. The smallest & wealthiest of the former Yoguslav regions, Slovenia made history by stunning the legendary Gus Hiddink's Russian side & qualifying for the World Cup this morning. In doing so, Slovenia achieved something even more profound, something that stunned the rest of the football world: . It exposed & shattered the legend that was Gus Hiddink!

The "Legend of Gus Hiddink" in no more! The mythical legend "Gus Hiddink"was born when he helped PSV win the European Cup in 1988. He then took Holland to the brink of WC final in 1998 and repeated the same feat with the much lesser footballing nation of South Korea in 2002. He grew even more in stature by taking Australia to the brink of a quarter final birth in WC 2006 in Germany, Russia to the semi final of the European Championships last year, and helping Chelsea back on track by winning the FA Cup final with them whilst missing out on a Champions League birth by a last gasp goal by the magical Inesta.

All the big footballing nations, coaches,clubs & players were in awe of Gus Hiddink & his magic touch, and unable to stop him. The first cracks in the legend appeared when Germany comfortably beat Hiddink's Russia 2-1 in Russia in the first leg, and then again 1-0 last month. But it took the tiny Slovenia this morning to bring joy to true football fans worldwide. They beat Russia & its legendary cooach Gus Hiddink. In the process they demonstrate the intrinsic beauty of the game & its magical moments, and the fact that much love Gus Hiddink is after all human!

b. Whilst the beautiful events above were occuring, the ugly side of the game showed its ugly head & the Republic of Ireland got eliminated, literally in the hands of Thiery Henry, who shamelessly redirected the ball by his hand and created an equaliser for william Gallas & France & its undeserving coach Demenech.

In my view, Ireland lost to the "Hand of FIFA". FIFA is starting to act like an exclusive sect. It fools the fans into accepting what it offers as all that there is, and meanwhile rolls in money & pays its undecisive vote grabbing self serving executives from Sep Blatter down millions of dollars in remuneration & fringe benefits.  FIFA is distinctly creating the perception amongst fans that it is ok for crucial matches to be decided in favour of more profitable sponsorship outcomes.

If the above comments sound too harsh, then FIFA must at start clamping down on all forms of chating on the field by threatening to reverse results and/or order a rematch in order to deter players from acting so shamefully. Thiery Henry is not the first player who acted in an unsporting fashion and won't be the last. Players cheat in all shapes & forms, from diving, to throwing themselves on the ground holding their faces when hit by a feather, to handballing & getting away with it. Just ask Maradona and his "Hand of God" in 1986 against England. Remember the shameful behaviour of AC Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida a few years ago in the Champion League?

Players do this totally shameful acts simply because they know they can get away with deceit because they are confident FIFA will not clamp down or punish them! All FIFA has to do is to order a few matches to be replayed & before too long coaches will come down hard on any player who acts in such shameful manner as the infinte examples of the last 15 years or so suggest.

If FIFA continues to hold the line that all is working in the interest of the game & its broader appeal, and it is not hostage to sponsorship money & its greedy self serving executives, then it must acknowledge the short comings of the current model & the need for  introduction of technology assisted refereeing.

Otherwise, it is only fair to accuse FIFA of selling out the game to generate sponsorship money & favouring teams/players with more sponsorship dollars appeal.

Liverpool & Bayern struggling in the absence of their creative playmakers & lack of goals against defensive teams

At the beginning of the season, I had great hopes for my two favourite football teams, Bayern Munich & Liverpool. I predicted Liverpool would win their first EPL title and their first since 1989. I had even higher hopes for my beloved Bayern predicting they would recapture the Bundesliga title and would even get to the CL final!

And what disastrous campaigns  both are having! Both are suffering from similar problems:

Injuries to Gerrard & Ribery respectively (although good to see Gerrard back in the second half against Birmingham)
Inability to score to win against packed defenses even with the lion share of possession in many crucial matches
Injury to the likes of Torres & Toni
And most crucially, players' inability to adapt to Rafa & Van Gaal's ever revolving tactical variations & player rotation systems (although Van Gaal has only been around this year whilst Rafa is notorious for doing this)

Both teams are now in serious danger of missing qualification to the second round of the CL, and losing too much ground to the leading teams in their respective domestic leagues. (both are quite a few points behind already)

Liverpool fans love Rafa & so far have stood by him, whilst Bayern fans have already started booing their team and murmurs of demands of retribution against the coach are beginning to spread.

In case of Bayern, whilst I was never a fan of Van Gaal & thought Frank Rijkaard was the best man for the job, I believe the legendary management team of Rumminegge & Hoeness got their transfer strategy badly wrong last summer and miscalculated some great opportunities in the process and as a result they should reappraise their strategy going forward.

As for Liverpool, I am not sure what the immediate solution is but Rafa has now had one win out of nine (6 losses) and surely the good will towrds him has its limitations.

And as a die hard fan of both clubs, I am still hoping for a major turn around in form & results by Christmas!

Florention Perez's Real Madrid sequal "Galacticos 2" has so far fared no better than most Hollywood sequals! Big budget & poor results compared to the original!

President Perez's sequal to "Galacticos I" is so far turning out like most sequals in the real Hollywood style! Lots of razamataz, big names, big budget......and poor quality & returns compared to the original!

Yes! I know! It's still early days & a star studded team of so called champion players needs time to mould into a champion team......like Barcelona! (sorry! couldn't help the jibe!)

Real lost 4-0 in a Cup tie to a lower division team this morning. It seems even after the arrival of the new galacticos, Real continue to suffer from the psychological inferiority complex that started during Barcelona's CL win 3 years ago & made them into the panick $400 plus shopping spree last summer after Barcelona's convincing CL final win over Manchester United.

And to makes matters even more strange, Real seems to be simply an ordinary team without Ronaldo! This in fact annoys me! Because the likes of Kaka, Benzema, Raul & co are every invh as good if not better than the pretty boy!

What is going to happen if AC Milan win the return CL match in Milan next week? Will "Berlosconi wannabe" aka PEREZ & his galacticos take the blame? Or will the coach Pellegrini be sacked as a scapegoat?..and then Perez will admit he should have listened earlier & sacked the coach much sooner???

At any case, let's hope for the good of the game Real's sequal to "Galacticos I" at least doesn't succeed on the pitch! They can have the box office in order to pay their stars!

But on the pitch, it's great team spirit, clever tactics, inspirational coaching & a combination of talent, blood, sweat & tears that surely deserve success. Afterall, they are the ingredients of what makes football the "Beautiful Game"!

What is holding Bayern Munich back from being a serious contender to win the Champions League again?

Bayern Munich are statistically amongst the Top 5 most successful football Clubs in Europe. Only Real Madrid, Liverpool & AC Milan have won the European/CL Trophy more than Bayern. Bayern are also regularly amongst the Top 5 or 10 top clubs in the world in terms of turnover as well as one of the Top 5 best supported Clubs in Europe.

However, unlike the financially reckless owners of some of the big Clubs in England, Italy & Spain who have always been willing to grab trophies & glory at any expense, and in attempting to do so have put their clubs under immense financial pressure and huge debt burden, Bayern Munich have always been too conservative & at times seem to have sacrificied trophies & glory for the sake of remaining financially sound.

This has of course at times irked their demanding supporters who at the very least expect parity with other top clubs in Europe, and made some of their highly sought after players to demand a move to the "glamour clubs" mentioned above.

Bayern have in fact in occasions splashed huge sums in recent years on the likes of Klose, Toni, Ribery and very recently Robben. But these have always been in a much more measured way compared to for e.g. Real Madrid's Galactico mark 2 by Perez & co.

This has meant that Bayern have once again finishedd the decade with only one single European final appearance to show for, the CL final win against valencia in 2001, a life time ago in footballing terms in the eyes of denmanding & passionate supporters.

But in my opinion, the conservative transfer policy has overall been for the long term good of the club and most of the decions have been sound (The poor deciosn to let Lucio & Ze Roberto leave last summer was a major exception. A few more top players and the team is as good or at least as competative as any of the top clubs in Europe.

I believe the major factor that is holding Bayern's progress is its frequent change of Managers & coaching staff & not allowing the head coaches enough time to implement their tactical vision. Just look at what Hitzfeld achieved with Bayern by having the luxury of time! I am talking about employing a world class tactician on a FIVE year contract as a minimum & giving him flexibility, time & space to develop & implement his system, i.e. emulating what the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool & Arsenal have allowed their Managers.

Magath & Klinsman did not have that luxury. Let's hope Van Gaal (although I am not a big fan & personally preferred Rijkaard)gets the support & patience from Rumminegge & Hoeness to develop & implement his ideas.

Bayern have the money, influence, players, support & prestige to be back on top. All they need is patience with their managers!

My predictions for the major European Leagues for the new Season

Well, so far, albeit at this early stage, my predictions in my extended review of the new EPL season have not worked out too well! But it's only the early days!

Here are my predictions for the winners of other major leagues in Europe for the 2009-2010 season:

Bundesliga (Germany): Bayern Munchen (who else!)but competition will be stiff

Serie A (Italy): Inter Milan
Juventus have not bought sufficient quality players, and Milan have lost Kaka on top of that, to be able to challenge Inter Milan,s supremacy of recent seasons.

Inter on the other hand, as evident by their demolition of Milan on the opening the of the season, have bought the Brazilian Captain Lucio from Bayern, and swapped the over rated Ibrahimovic for the brilliant E'to, making them even more dominant, although European glory will continue to be out of their reach.

Primera Division (Spain): barcelona: As I have stated in my previous postings, Barcelona should be able to AND will embarrass Real Madrid's Perez and his extravagant money wasting shopping spree of "Galacticos" by winning the Primera Division again!

The 4th spot and relegation places are the hardest to predict in the EPL 2009-2010 Season

The EPL season will start in mid August. It has been another eventful off season with the biggest news in England being the departure of Ronaldo to Real Madrid and arrival of Ancelotti as the new coach at the rotating doors of Chelsea. Blogs and commentary of predictions for the new season are under way. In my view, there will be a few reasonably certainties which are easy to predict. Here they are:

Liverpool & Manchester United will be the main two contenders for the title again this year. Liverpool have lost Alonso but replaced him with the talented Aquilani. Sir Alex may have lost Ronaldo and Tevez, but has the ability to get the best out of Michael Owen. However, I think it is time for Liverpool to win the Premiership for the first time, 21 years after their last league title.

Chelsea, under yet again another (albeit experienced) coach new to the English game, and with an aging squad will be hovering around and will have a chance should Manchester United or Liverpool slip. However, I would still like to see a tactical approach to accommodate a Ballack/Lampard/Deco combination. If Ancelotti manages to do this, the effect may be irresistibly powerful.

As for the rest, and notice I did not mention Arsenal above, the following are my predictions:

1. Arsen Wenger's young Arsenal side will not have enough depth and experience to fend off the Top 4 wannabees this year like they did last year with Aston Villa and later in the season Everton.

The Gunners have not signed any new quality "experienced" players. No matter how entertaining the young players will play under the guidance of the magnificent Wenger, Fabregas, Arshavin, Gallas and other senior players will not be able to fully eliminate the lack of consistency which will catch up with Arsenal this year and they will lose them their "top 4" mantle for the first time in many years.

The fact that Wenger this week made the highly unusual statement ..."qualification for Champions League is not essential to Arsenal's finances"...shows nerves are already twitching at Arsenal!

2. Everton and Aston Villa will still be competitive but Moyes and O'Neill will still need to resort to getting the best out of their limited squads and hope injuries do not wreck their season.

This year Everton will need Moyes' magic and luck to reproduce a Top 5 finish. Aston Villa meanwhile will need O'Neill's magic but to also get over the loss of influencial Gareth Barry to Manchester City.

Both teams will be in the Top 8 by the season's end but will they be able the crack Top 4?

3. Manchester City, with all their money, are only managing to sign left overs from the big European Clubs' wish lists. I am not however suggesting the likes of Barry, Tevez, Santa Cruz, Robinho, Given, Adebayor, Bellamy etc are not great players. But none are in the "Galactico" level of popularity to give the Club the worldwide exposure which the new owners of Manchester City are hoping for.

a) Whilst I respect and like Mark Hughes, I am also not sure if he is the right person for such a difficult position and doubt whether he will manage to stay in the job till the end of the season. He did a great job of making Blackburn a competitive team. But what is being ask of him here is not exactly in the same level as his achievements up to now.

b) It is no longer easy to simply become a global name overnight by throwing money around as it was when Abramovich took over Chelsea,

c) Chelsea was already a semi glamorous Club due to its location in London and the likes of Guillet, Viali and Zola, and winning the Cup Winners Cup in the late 90s by the time.

d) However, the main problem with Manchester City is that even if they overcome everything else and Hughes moulds the players into a compact unit, Manchester City will always have to deal with the huge shadow over their head in the form of Manchester United.

4. That leaves the London trio of Spurs, West Ham and the much improved and impressive Fulham to fight for the remaining Top 10 finishes.

5. The relegation battle this year will potentially be the most exciting of all time! I make this claim, because two of the main contenders for relegation last year survived the battle! This makes the field of candidates for relegation the largest in the living memory:

Hull and Stoke are still in the EPL this year but will have to count on every point to survive again. However, they have immediate EPL experience in their survival battle to count on, whilst the newly promoted Wolves are yet to survive the EPL more than one season and it remains to be seen whether Birmingham will be as gritty as they were under Steve Bruce in their last successful spell in the EPL.

Burnley are making their EPL debut and first appearance in the top flight since 1976, but are a Club with rich footballing history, one of the founding English League Clubs and one of the few who have won all four major English League Championships.

To add to the above list, it takes a bad start, a few injuries to crucial players, and a loss of confidence for the likes of Sunderland, Portsmuth and Wigan to find themselves struggling. At the end, most of the usual strugglers have a better chance of taking valuable points from their relegation rivals this year than at anytime in the past as the bottom teams are more evenly matched this year.

It is hard to predict the teams most likely to be relegated, but I think Burnley, Hull and Wolves will be the most likely, closely followed by Stoke City.

This brings me to the end of this post, and the time to predict the hardest of them all this year: Who will end up as the fourth team and get the potential lucrative entry to the Champions League:

A glance at the respective squads and level of experience of the contenders tells me that if Mark Hughes and his team get it right, Manchester City on paper has the capacity to make the leap forward into Top 4. Everton and Aston Villa simply do not have the depth in their squads to match Manchester City. However, any slip from Manchester City or any of the other pretenders, and Wenger and his young squad will steal the 4th spot again.

At any case, another exciting EPL is awaiting us. It's a league which in terms of technical and tactical ability is far from the best in Europe. That accolade goes to Spain, and then Germany in my view, especially considering that EPL laggs behind Spain and Germany in average goal per game and average attendance per game (although it sometimes beats Spain in attendance averages).

Nevertheless, EPL is the most exciting and popular football league in the world and makes compelling viewing. Enjoy! and may your team does well, as long as Liverpool wins the title this year! :)

Are other big club Managers jealous of Perez and Real? Will Real's strategy of shuting other big teams out of the transfer market work?

Question: Are the likes of Berlusconi (Milan), Beckenbauer (Bayern), Ferguson (Manchester Utd, Wenger (Arsenal) and Laporta (Barcelona) simply jealous of Perez and Real, or do they have a an important point to make in their criticism of Perez and his outlandish spending this season?

Question: In practical terms, is Perez doing anything different to what Abramovich has attempted to do at Chelsea, or the Arab owners of Manchester City are doing?

Question: Hasn't the practice of assembling the world best players in teh one club been attempted by other clubs as far back as mid 70s (eg Barcelona buying Cruyff and Neeskens in the 70s, and Maradona and many others in the 80s?, or Milan with their Dutch trio and other stars last decade?)

Question: Is all the commotion anything but professional jealousy?

The answer to the above questions is Yes & No!

Yes, this has been attempted many times before, most recently in case of Real in the early 200s with the Galacticos, Chelsea and Manchester City. But whilst professional jealousy certainly plays a part, it is not the only reason many people are worried about the reckless behaviour Perez and Real's Board.

Of course, every coach, and most fans would love to have the likes of Benzema, Kaka and Ronaldo playing for their team. But that is where the extent of the professional jealousy stops.

Perez is guilty of:
- Taking the "working man's game" to its ultimate breaking point
- If unsuccessful in "Buying" trophies, will once again take Real Madrid to the brink of bankruptcy
- Potentially shifting a huge amount of TV/Merchandising money from other leagues to Real, and starving smaller leagues even more than before of essential funds

What is the fun of watching football when a team "buys" its way to glory? How different is is it to match fixing in practical terms? How competitive are things when even Sir Alex Ferguson admits that Perez and his high spending strategy has made it difficult for the likes of Manchester Utd to stay competitive in the transfer market this season?

But football is a funny game, and coaches like Ferguson are clever tacticians! They will get more out of their players and will beat Real with fewer resources but more discipline.

I predict Real's success rate, considering the huge capital outlay, will in relative terms be no more than Abramovich's Chelsea have achieved so far. When/if my prediction comes true, Perez will go down in history as a typical Spanish "Madman" Club President.

The unfortunate thing is however, that he might take the Club and even the beautiful game down with him! Let's hope the game is stronger than money and the mad businessmen wasting it!