Quater Final Time & still hard to predict any results in the World Cup

Following an exciting Group stage, the 8 round of 16 matches have now been completed & the quarter final pairings determined......and yet, it is still difficult to confidently predict the outcome of the quarter finals.
In an amazing round of 16:
- ALL 8 Group winners won their matches through to the quarter finals
- 5 out of 8 matches went to extra time, with only two penalty shootouts out of the 6 & the rest of the results determined in extra time.
- Only Colombia won comfortably in regulation time whilst Netherlands only scored an equaliser in the 88th minute & won their match vs Mexico with a questionable penalty in the 92nd minute & France struggled to score until 77th minute.
- Hosts Brazil struggled & were ultimately lucky to win their penalty shootout vs one of the 3 dark horses of the tournament Chile
- Netherlands, Germany, France & Argentina all struggled to beat their opponents whilst Costa Rica continued their impressive fairytale march to the quarter finals on penalties.
Colombia led by James Rodriguez comfortably continued to enjoy their pre tournament Dark Horse tag whilst Belgium found Tim Howard in the USA goals in impressive form & the USA players' courage & fitness almost impossible to stop at the end. Algeria meanwhile displayed fast attractive counter attacking football & were unlucky to fall to the formidable albeit somewhat puzzlingly fragile Germans

And hence, both commentators & fans are none the wiser as all teams displayed frailties in some areas & impressed in others:

There are however several observations that can be made following the round of 16 matches:

- First & fore mostly, as a friend pointed out to me, it is almost ridiculous for Les Murray & Craig Foster to fool heartedly praise the Socceroos after three defeats & constantly praise the South American style of the likes of Chile as a role model Australia should aspire to.

Australian players are generally less tactically gifted & as sporting culture in Australia dictates (as opposed to the football culture of South America), our players are more physical than tactically gifted. Therefore, FFA & the likes of Craig Foster should look to what Klinsman has done with the USA team. That is what the Socceroos should aspire to, and we can achieve, a highly competitive, physically fit team with a mix of tactical & technical capability.

- Brazil are almost impotent upfront with Fred & Jo & rely too much on Neymar for goals (as do Argentina with Messi). I mentioned in my pre World Cup post, I am not a fan of Big Phil Scolari & think he can be tactically naive at times. He is not using Oscar very well & there's too much gap between Oscar & Neymar. But most crucially, as the players broke down following their penalty shoot out win vs Chile, it is quite clear that the weight of hometown expectation is bearing heavily on the players. Most crucially, Luiz Gustavo, the ever present holding midfielder is suspended following a 2nd yellow card. With David Luiz as the only natural replacement in that position, Big Phil will have a major headache to deal with, one that Colombia look towards exploiting.

- This pressure represents the perfect scenario for Colombia, arguably the only consistent team in the tournament so far. James Rodriguez and co are capable of crossing the cultural barriers that rule the status quo in South American football (having only ever beaten Brazil twice).

I tip Colombia to beat Brazil 2-1.

France have no doubt been the other surprising team besides Colombia. I predicted in a post that they were a quarter final side & that is where the tournament will end for them as they fall to Germany again. As Oliver Kahn said today, if Germany cut the supply from midfield to Benzema, France are almost void of a Plan B to compensate for that. On another point, like Argentina, France have so far had a relatively easy route & will face their first serious challenge in Germany.

Germany on the other hand, have shown frailties in the defence with 4 fullbacks filling the positions whilst the best right back in the world, their Captain Philip Lahm is deployed as a holding midfielder! Germany coach seems hell bent in again using Lahm in midfield vs France even though against Algeria, once the hapless Mustafi was injured & Khedira replaced him (in Lahm's position & Lahm moved to right back in place of Mustafi). Much has been said about the slow turning Mertesacker but when paired with Hummels, Germany defence should cope with the impressive French attack.

This match will have goals & Germany will win by 1-2 goal margin

The other half of the draw sees Netherlands bring Costa Rica's gallant & at times entertaining journey to a credible end. Holland will not underestimate Costa Rica like Italy, Uruguay, England & Greece did & their 3-5-2 formation will cause Costa Rica & their brilliant goalkeeper Navas plenty of headaches. Holland will win a fast entertaining encounter.

And finally to Argentina & Belgium. Both teams have at times struggled & Argentina in particular have found it hard to breakdown teams defending with 11 men to neutralise Messi. Like France, both teams are also reached the quarter finals through a relatively easier schedule than the likes of Brazil, Germany & Netherlands. Many commentators suggest Argentina will show their real quality against a more attack minded Belgium than their previous more defensive opponents.
The surprise package may be Aguero. If he's finally fit to compliment Messi the way Higuain never can, then Argentina will win. If Aguero remains sidelined, Belgium have enough quality across the field to beat Argentina unless Messi magic strikes again!

This has been a high scoring exciting World Cup & the quarter final pairings will continue to make it one of teh best ever!

Exciting Brazil 2014 World Cup reaches the knockout stage

The FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil has so far got it all!

Attacking football with 36 more goals compared to group stage in South Africa 2010, passionate fans in the Mecca of football Brazil, unpredictability & controversy, and relatively few faking moments!

Goals in the group stages since a 32-team format was introduced
France 1998	Japan and South Korea 2002	Germany 2006	South Africa 2010	Brazil 2014
126	130	117	100	136

And this is all happening despite the tarnished image of FIFA & its slippery President Sepp Blatter, Luis Suarez's ever baffling behaviour & biting controversy, Nigeria & Ghana player payment issues and in Australia's case, less than exciting exclusive SBS coverage!

Whilst as usual, I have been tragically watching most matches live, due to work commitments I have not managed to blog as regularly as I would have liked to. Brazil 2014 has been one of the most exciting in recent memory & here are some of the more notable incidents of the group stage:

• In my opinion, the demise of Spain as a footballing force & the possession based tiki taka are both greatly exaggerated. No doubt del Bosque certainly made sentimental as well as tactical errors by taking his ageing team of champion players to the tournament. However, Spanish football has many young & upcoming stars who are more than capable of stepping up to the difficult task of replacing the likes of Xavi, Inesta, Caillas, Villa, Torres & a few other fading stars. Spain must remain loyal to tiki taka & simply refine the system based on a refreshed squad.

• Biggest flop of the World Cup is a coach! Lack of media focus on the failure of World Cup 2018 hosts Russia &  their pompous, arrogant, overpaid & overrated coach Fabio Capello has been also surprising! Capello failed with England in 2010 & blamed the players. Now he's utterly failed to lift Russia. At reportedly £10m p/a, comparing his results with the likes of Pinto of Costa Rica, Herrera of Mexico & Algeria's Halilhodzic who successfully eliminated Capello's Russia makes great reading & almost a story of a conman who has convinced his employers to part with 10s of millions of pounds for very little return.

• Whilst Russia have been simply awful, Ronaldo & Portugal were embarrassingly out of sorts. Reports of Ronaldo being dismissive of his teammates' capability are typical of self obsessed Ronaldo. Let's make it perfectly clear: Ronaldo's total failure to make any memorable mark on the World stage at any World Cup simply rules him out as one of the all time greatest of the game!  

• Italy on the other hand started well but faded too quickly & paid the price for abandoning their system whilst England, can take very little comfort despite relatively adventurous outings considering their worst ever World Cup result! (in 1958, they finished 3rd in their group, this time around, they finished last!).

• Messi & his adorable fans....Ooops!....I mean Messi & his adoring fans! on other hand must be very encouraged about his "Maradona" like singlehanded leadership of fast improving Argentina. Unlike Ronaldo, the humble Messi has simply compensated for his team's shortcomings but almost single handedly winning all three group matches for Argentina. Those of us who have watched many World Cups know how slow starting teams like Italy & Germany have in the past gone all the way. Argentina led by the incomparable Messi is a real threat to do the same as long as it continues to improve as a team.

• Asia & to a lesser extent Africa have been very poor at this World Cup. Slippery FIFA President may pride himself at nurturing third world footballing nations under his watch, yet the performances suggest otherwise & it appears the beautiful game is regressing in Asia & Africa. Asian teams between the four of them failed to win a single match, drew three (two at 0-0) &  lost nine whilst Africa were saved blushes by the unexpected qualification of a gallant Algeria at the expense of a hapless Russia. Nigeria only qualified after they were helped by refereeing errors.
• Colombia have fully earned their Dark Horse tag & Chile, Algeria & Mexico deserve commendation for their adventurous & daring displays.

• However, Costa Rica's achievement in topping the so called Group of  Death & in doing so eliminating Italy & England must go down as one of the greatest shocks in World Cup history.  Their achievement ranks alongside North Korea's 1-0 defeat of Italy in 1966, Algeria's shock defeat of Germany in 1982, Cameroon's 1986 magic & South Korea & Turkey's semi final appearance in 2002.

• Last but not least, Germany have performed as expected, with the minor hiccup vs Ghana whilst Holland & France have been much more impressive & entertaining than expected

• Finally, to get the white elephant out of the room, SBS coverage of the World Cup has been probably its least dynamic since 1990. SBS in my view, his its peak in 2006 with Simon Hill commentary of the Socceroos match. The football department has never recovered following the departure of Simon Hill & Andrew Orsatti. Whilst SBS are for the first time showing all 64 matches live (thanks to SBS2), the "Full Brazilian" is humourless & the nightly commentary from Rio is at best lacklustre. Les Murray & Craig Foster come across as timid & boring with their unwillingness to critically analyse the shortcomings of their personal favourites, ie the likes of Brazil & Spain. Foster's tactical knowledge aside, he was a poor co-commentator to David Bashir during Socceroos 3 matches. To make matters more obvious, FoxSports & even  ESPN's daily shows have been more entertaining & proving. 

The lethargy is all happening during Brazil 2014, at a time when SBS's exclusive coverage of FIFA World Cup (since 1990) will come to an end & Les Murray has announced his semi retirement. 

It might come as a shock to Les Murray, but he doesn't own football in Australia and whilst fans of the beautiful game appreciate his years of tireless work to promote football, the game itself does not owe Les Murray any favours either.......the timing of Les Murray's retirement is right, and Craig Foster is not the automatic choice to take over because there is no mantle left by Les Murray!

Excessive TV money in the EPL responsible for almost embarrassing results for England in recent World Cups

Brazil 2014 marked the worst ever result for England. The Three Lions finished bottom of their group, having lost to Italy & Uruguay & failed to beat the already group topping Costa Rica, in the of death.

Whilst the likes of Sterling, Barkley, Shaw & Lalana may be considered as a  glimmer of hope & Roy Hodgson's side were more entertaining than the overpaid Fabio Capello & his excuses after South Africa 2010, England can take little comfort from Brazil 2014.

England finished the group stage last in their group with a solitary point against the already qualified Costa Rica & without a win & only 2 goals in three games. This result surpassed their worst ever group stage performance in 1958 when they finished 3rd with 3 draws  & scored 4 goals.

The chronic plight of England at World Cup & in particular their poor results in Brazil 2014 is mainly due to excessive amount of TV & marketing money the EPL is immersed in! 

Promotion to, or survival in Premier League is worth around £100m a season to clubs. These unbelievable sums are mainly generated from TV revenues.

EPL player wages are in excess of £2b a year.

The need & almost desperation for revenue makes it absolutely essential that the media hype about EPL as the greatest league in the world is relentless & ongoing. This artificial hype results in two distinct problems:

1) Giving young homegrown talent a chance to learn, develop, adapt & shine is risky & almost out of question in case the strategy backfires & results in relegation & massive loss of TV revenue (reduced to 50% in the first year of relegation & then more & more after that), and

2) The media hype deceives the fans & players alike, who seem to fall for the artificial accolades & forget that it is the foreign imports & not English talent that gives the EPL its so called excitability.

The statistics are astonishing: According to a BBC report:

In Spain's La Liga: 57% of playing time in 2012-13 season was played by Spanish players.

In Germany's Bundesliga in the corresponding season the figure was 51%

In the EPL, the figure for English born players was a mere 33% in that season.

Yes, Spain was also eliminated but after having won Euro 2008, World Cup 2012 & Euro 2012, and with 2 Clubs in the final of 2014 Champions League!

Yes, Germany's last major win was Euro 1996. But German have been in the semi finals of WC 2006, Euro 2008, WC 2010 & Euro 2012 and can boast the all concurring Bayern Munich of 2013.

Both countries have meanwhile developed the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Casillas, Villa, Lahm, Muller, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Gotze by simply taking a chance on them from a young age!

England on the other hand, are ruined by the lure of the EPL money & remain head in the sand thanks to the EPL self grandiose!

World Cup of surprises continues to produce exciting matches

When the draw for Brazil 2014 World Cup was made, as usual there were predictions of favourites, groups of deaths, dark horses & no hopers by fans & commentators around the world.

Brazil 2014 has so far turned out to be one of the most exciting in recent memory as match after match  predictions are proven wrong!

Defending Champions Spain, the favourites alongside hosts Brazil were one of the first teams to be eliminated after only 2 matches whilst Brazil were lucky to win their opening game vs Croatia & struggled vs a resolute Mexico & unless they beat Cameroon they may not  of top the group.

Meanwhile, Costa Rica, the so called no hopers in the group D, the group of death, have beaten both England & Italy & in the process made sure England were eliminated!

At the same time Iran made Argentina struggle & only win thanks to a 92nd wonder goal by Messi. The result should read Messi 1 Iran 0. Australia's Socceroos also gave Holland a mighty scare before succumbing to a 3-2 loss whilst Ghana produced one of the performances of the tournament to hold Germany to a 2-2 draw.

France & Holland on the other hand have impressed with their fluid football whilst undoubtedly Spain, England, Portugal & Russia have been disappointing.

Spain have been found out by fast counter attacking sides. Following the lack of success by Bayern & Barcelona in the Champions League, Spain's failure will further question "Tiki Taka" as an effective system & some commentators are already predicting its total demise.

Amongst the three main picks as the so called dark horses, Chile & Colombia have reaffirmed the tag whilst Belgium look less capable of going far in the tournament.

Here are my prediction for the round of 16th encounters:

Brazil vs Chile
Columbia vs Italy

Croatia vs Holland
Costa Rica vs Ivory Coast

France vs Iran 
Germany vs algeria

Argentina vs switzerland
Belgium vs USA

The early departure of Spain, Uruguay (or Italy) , Portugal & England means there is a chance that the first half of the quarter final draw will pair 4 former World Cup winners like this:

Brazil vs Italy
France vs Germany

And the bottom quarter final pairs could be:

Holland vs Costa Rica
Argentina vs Belgium

The beautiful game thrives as the World Cup 2014 starts despite Sepp Blatter & FIFA's cover up of rampant corruption

Sepp Blatter is not listening. In fact he doesn't even care! Despite reassuring the world over in 2010 that he would not stand for FIFA Presidency in 2014, he has just announced he's standing for another term.

FIFA & Blater are tarnished by allowing system corruption by the likes of Bin Hamman & Jack Warner. Blatter's position is untenable. Yet, he is teflon like. Whilst there's no evidence or suggestion that Blatter himself has ever accepted any bribes, the fact that corruption has been systematic under his watchful eyes does not seem to bother him the slightest bit!

Last Week Tonight's John Oliver summed up the situation the best (copy the link & watch the hilarious post on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I

However, the beautiful game will have its showpiece, The FIFA World Cup, at its spiritual Brazil from tomorrow........and an accumulated worldwide audience of close to 30 billion, will make it the most watched event in the world's history, and pour close to $3 billion to FIFA's coffers.

World Cup update: Marco Reus injury blow for Germany: Yet another World Cup marred by player injuries & fatigue?

French superstar Frank Ribery, and German star Marco Reus are the latest key players to join the growing list of big names missing from the World Cup 2014 due to injury.

Like South Africa 2010, the list of injured big name players is growing by the day. Russian Captain Shirokov, Reus & Ribery are the latest names to join the growing list which already included the likes of Falcao (Colombia) Montolivo (Italy) Walcott (England) Gundogan, Bender (both brothers) & Gomez (Germany), Montes (Mexico), Holland's Strootman &  Van der Vaart &  Thiago Alcantara (Spain).

On top of that many European based players, are struggling to shake off niggling injuries after yet another big European season.

Whilst Marco Reus got injured this morning in a warm up match vs Armenia, the intensely competitive & crowded European calendar is directly responsible for the likes of Diego Costa, Ronaldo, Germany's Schweinsteiger, Lahm & Neuer who re all struggling with injury & fatigue & racing against time to be fully fit for the World Cup.

This is a shame for both fans & teams' prospects as world class players fail to appear in the game's international showcase.

Marco Reus's injury is a huge blow to Germany's prospects in Brazil. The German coach Low, has chosen only one out & out striker in final 23 & instead relies on the likes of Reus to provide the creativity & goals. Germany were hit with the injury of their Captain & playmaker Michael Ballack (in FA Cup final) just before the 2010 World Cup & missed his presence in the tight semi final vs Spain in 2010. Whilst Reus may not be of the same stature & influence, I have no doubt Germany will miss his goalscoring talents & his injury is a massive blow to the team's confidence.

Low however, in a show of defiance has called up inexperienced defender Mustafi to replace Reus therefore suggesting that he believes the likes of Muller, Ozil, Podolski, Goetze, Draxler, Schurlle & Schweinsteger are more than capable of doing the job for him. At least on paper, he may be right!

Germany coach Loew heads to the World Cup with only a single out & out striker, the 36 year old Klose

Those of us who follow football closely, are familiar with the recent tactical prominence of the so called "false 9" made fashionable by the successful coaches such as del Bosque & Guardiola in tactically brilliant & attractive to watch team such as Spain, Barcelona & Bayern Munich, and prominent players such as Totti, Messi, Rooney & Muller.

The basis of the strategy is to play the game without an out & out recognised striker (who used to wear the no 9 shirt in the old days) & instead to use a speedy goal scoring utility midfielder/striker to move around. This causes confusion amongst the two centre backs who do not have a recognised attacker to mark.

Now Germany's coach, Jogi Loew is the latest coach intending on using this system. This is the best way to list the final 23 man "Nationalmannschaft" squad for Brazil 2014:

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)

Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philip Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal)

Midfielders: Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Christoph Kramer (Borussida Mönchengladbach), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)

Forward: Miroslav Klose (Lazio)

Following multiple injuries to Mario Gomez and snubbing Stefan Kiessling of Leverkusen, Loew has decided to take the 36 year old World Cup veteran Miroslav Klose to the World Cup as his one & only recognised forward.
Instead, Loew will be relying on the speed, tactical flexibility and goal scoring abilities of Muller, Reus, Goetze & Podolski as his potential "false 9".

It must be pointed out that Klose is not just any striker:
This is his 4th World Cup
He scored 5 goals in 2002, 5 in 2006 & 4 in 2010.
He's therefore currently ranked as equal 2nd highest goal scorer in World Cup history with 14 goals & only needs 2 more goals to become the all time highest goals scorer (at the moment Ronaldo of Brazil with 15 goals holds that title)
He will also need a single goal to break Gerd Muller's legendary 68 goals & become Germany's all time highest goal scorer

BUT, Klose is 36, has suffered from niggling injuries all season at Lazio in Serie A, AND
may struggle to last the full 90 minutes in the climatic conditions of South America

So, whilst all the media attention was on goalkeeper Neuer's injury, Germany's defensive frailties & holding midfield injuries that ruled out Lars Bender & Gundegan & has restricted Schweinsteiger & Khedira, Jogi Loew sprung the biggest surprise when announcing his final 23, by including Klose as his only recognised striker.

Obviously, results will judge this major decision in the next few weeks! But at least on paper, Reus, Muller, Gotze & Podolski have the speed, tactical ability & firepower to beat any defence on their day. 

I still tip Germany to go all the way if they manage to beat Brazil in the semi finals & desperately hope Klose breaks the all time goal scoring record at the World Cup

World Cup Update: Astonishing pool of talent means many stars are overlooked in Spain's final 23 man squad!

Following consecutive victories in Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 & Euro 2012, many commentators are suggesting if Spain manage to become the first European team to successfully defend their title (since Italy in 1938) & win the World Cup in South America, they will probably go down as the best football team of all time surpassing the golden generation of Brazil from 1958 to 1970.

And whilst the affable Vicente del Bosque is at pains to reduce the pressure on his squad by avoiding any such speculation, he does have an enviable task with the seemingly never-ending talent pool at his disposal!

Spain's final 23 man squad was announced as follows:

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Napoli), David De Gea (Manchester United).

Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona).

Midfielders: Xavi (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich).

Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Pedro (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Villa (Atletico Madrid)

What is astonishing in this list is the number of starts who missed out on the final 23 due to injuries, not enough playing time or for tactical reasons, just to name a few ( and the clubs they play for)

Isco, Carvajal, Illaramendi & Arveloa (Real Madrid), Negrado & Navas (Manchester City) Llorente (Juventus) Thiago Alcantara (injured, Bayern Munich), Valdez (injured, Barcelona) & Soldado (Spurs)

With the unbelievable talent at his disposal, del Bosque is under pressure to repeat the success of the 2010 World Cup. The only concern is he has decided to stick with Torres & Villa based on their successful international track record for Spain rather than last season's form, and the fact that he has gambled on the fitness of Diego Costa, who lasted a mere 9 minutes in the Champions League final before he had to be substituted. So, if Villa & Torres misfire as they frequently have at club level, & Costa's fitness plays up, del Bosque & Spain may be in trouble for ignoring the likes of Llorente & Negrado.

Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup on home soil.

No matter which way you look at it, Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup for a record sixth time.

They have the talented world class players, tactical quality & the added advantage of home soil in "South America" where no European team has ever succeeded.

As my regular World Cup posts kick in from this week, here I will make some personal observations (rather than tactical) about some of the favourites & dark horses & what can potentially make or break it for them:

Brazil can & will most probably win the World Cup. In the Confederation Cup final, they comfortably beat the defending World & European Champions, potentially their strongest opponent, 3-0.

However, the high expectations as well as home crowd pressures can play against them. The ghost of the defeat in the 1950 tournament in home soil & the widespread discontent with the costs associated with staging the games mean the slightest hick up can turn things against Brazil, both psychologically & in terms of home crowd support.
However, in my personal opinion, Brazil's biggest worry is in fact their coach Scolari. Unlike most fans, I am not a big fan of "Big Phil" & believe if Brazil get in trouble, he may not have the tactical ingenuity to save them. 

Spain, the defending Champions, also have the players, the tactical ability and a brilliant coach in Del Bosue. The fact that they will not meet Brazil unless both teams reach the final is another advantage for them. The only thing against Spain is that their style of play is no longer an unknown factor (as demonstrated by their loss to Brazil, and Barcelona's decline in the last two European season). Also, there are lingering doubts in the quality of Spain's defence & who Del Bosque decides to use as central defenders & full backs.

However, a Brazil vs Spain Final is a the most probable outcome.

Germany are in one of the two very tough groups in the tournament & must be very careful not to get embarrassed at this World Cup by any of their more than capable opponents in the group stage.

They do have an enviable World Cup record to defend after all! They have reached the last 8 in every one of the last 15 World Cups, whilst making it to semi finals in 12 occasions & the final 7 times. However, the psychological barriers are disturbing! Germany lost their semi final matches to the eventual winners Italy & Spain in the last two World Cups in 2006 & 20010 respectively. They also lost out to Spain in the final of Euro 2008 & Italy in the semi final of Euro 2012.
The advantage for Germany is that the core of the players in those tournaments are at their prime in the current side & their experience may take Germany all the way.

Like Spain & Brazil, Germany have both the player quality & tactical capability to win the tournament. However, not only absence due to injuries of the likes of Gomez & Gundegan (and even Scheweinsteiger & Khedira's lack of fitness) will potentially play havoc to Germany's tactical plans, but also, Germany will probably meet Brazil in the semi finals where their suspect central defence and lack of a world class quality left full back can catch up with them & be their undoing. However, if they get through the current psychological barrier of being tagged as losing semifinalists, this time Germany win through to the final, I strongly believe they will win the Cup.

Argentina can only seriously challenge if they have learned from the lessons of World Cup 2010, where despite being entertaining, they relied too heavily on an underwhelming Messi & had major defensive shortcomings which were exploited in the 4-0 thrashing by Germany in the quarter finals. They are tactically better post manic Maradona period & will go a long way if Messi can reproduce his Barcelona magic. However, they cannot succeed if they try to use Messi for Plan B if things go wrong.

Italy, in my opinion, will go far in this year's tournament. Italy were thrashed in the Euro 2012 Final by Spain following their surprise 2-1 semi final win vs Germany in Euro 2012. Following that loss, they have been continuously overlooked by the media as a major contender. Since then however, Prandelli has done a magnificent job of refining the team tactically. They have massive World Cup winning (2006) experience in defence supporting the evergreen Buffon in goal, whilst another evergreen master, Pirlo, is still at the top of his game & can dictate & turn most sticky situations t Italy's favour.This year however, Italy also have a very potent attacking line up in the unpredictable Balotelli but also the likes of hugely dangerous & talented Immobile, Cerci & Insigne. This is why they must be considered one of the favourites.

England & Holland on the other hand, in my opinions will potentially fail to get past the group stage.

Holland are a very inexperienced albeit talented side which as entertaining as they may be, simply do not have the player experience at this level & are in danger of losing their spot to an impressive & dangerous Chile who will undoubtedly cause a headache or two for Spain as well. Whilst Van Gaal is a master of getting the best out of young talent, the experienced players in his squad who are on top of their game are only a handful. With the news this week of Van der Vaart injury blow Holland's prospects have got even worse. Even if Holland make it out of the group stage, they will most probably face Brazil, and unlike 2010 when they beat Brazil, this Holland team is not experienced enough to cause a huge upset this time around against the tournament favourites.

England have also finally started to produce some real quality young talent again. The likes of Shaw, Barcley, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Sturridge have the potential to shine at the world stage this year & make an impact.
However, England are in a very tough group (group of death) & must overcome Italy & Uruguay to go further. The British media's unhealthy obsession with their domestic league (EPL) as usual does not help either as it makes the English myopic. At the same time, whilst Roy Hodgeson is an excellent manager & much more suited to the job than Capello ever was, his capacity to guide a team to the world summit must be questioned.
I don't believe England can finish first in their group. However, if they manage to finish second, they will meet a hugely talented Colombia side which will probably beat them in the next round.

France meanwhile, will get through their easy group as well as round of 16th before coming unstuck at the quarter finals when their tournament will end. All that the French public are hoping for is a united team of talented players to make up for the farcical embarrassment of World Cup 2010 group stage elimination.

As for the teams with lower profiles, Colombia, Uruguay & Chile are all capable of causing huge upsets this year. Not only all three teams are tactically superb, their players will find playing in South America easier than most of their European counterparts.

Chile have only built on Bielsa's great work & their unlucky elimination in the last World Cup & if anything are even more entertaining & dangerous this year. I predict they will go through at the expense of Holland this year....and then in the elimination rounds anything is possible.

Uruguay are not doubt sweating on the fitness of their star player Luis Suarez. They have the quality to pip both Italy & England to the post in the Group of Death & have the memories of their famous World Cup triumph of 1950 in Brazil to carry them psychologically.

Columbia, like Uruguay, are also praying to have their undisputed start Falcao fit just in time for the games (although after a lengthy absence due to injury). However, there are several other talented players in the side that can carry them in Falcao's absence. Whilst it appears they may have an easy group on paper, they are in fact in a tough group as matches vs Ivory Coast & Japan will be anything but easy. However, it is in the round of 16 that Columbia's world cup plans may unravel, when they will meet one of the trio of England/Italy/Uruguay from Group D

Amongst the remaining European teams, Belgium offer the best of the rest. They have a young talented side with several stars playing across Europe's top leagues & in Champions League. They are also in a reasonably easy group on paper. However, in the round of 16, they will potentially meet Germany & Portugal. This is where their palyers' lack of World Cup experience can potentially work against them. nevertheless, this Belgium side will be a force for the next few years.

And how about the so called minnows of the game? 

There is no doubt that Australia's Socceroos have been incredibly unlucky in drawing the 2010 World Cup finalists Spain & Holland, as well as one of the dark horses of the tournament Chile. Hopefully, the Socceroos will use Brazil to prepare for Asian Championships which are held in Australia in January 2015.

As for the rest, Japan & Ivory Coast have many talented players but are unfortunately drawn in the same group! Boznia-Hertegovina on the other hand, can potentially overcome Nigeria & Iran & make it to the knockout stage in their first ever World Cup as an independent state.

The most watched event in the history begins on June 13th. All matches are live & exclusive to SBS. No doubt we will witness the full spectrum of sporting drama, good, great, not so good & ugly.......from heartache to bad luck, to time wasting, poor refereeing decisions to player cheating. No matter what THE WORLD GAME will once again entertain, enrage & thrill the fans all over the world!

To paraphrase the words of the legendary Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly: ..."...to the fans......football is not about life & death! It's much more important than that!"

Bring it on!

UCL Final: Battle of cross city rivals after Ancelotti & Simeone outfox Guardiola & Mourinho

In my last post, when the UCL semi final draw was made (scroll down if you wish to read), I made the unusual step of calling the pairings the "battle of 4 of the best master tactician coaches" in Europe as three fast counter attacking teams & the possession tiki taka of Guardiola & Bayern contested the semi finals.

And that is exactly how the semi finals turned out! Both encounters were highly complex tactical battles. The only surprise in the results were how comprehensively Ancelotti outsmarted Guardiola & how Mourinho lost the tactical battle to Simoene.

Out of the four coaches, Pep Guardiola went to the semi finals with most questions. Could his tiki taka , the preferred 4-1-4-1 formation & its slower possession based build up tactics cope with Ronaldo, Bale & co's pace? Whilst Ancelotti caught Guaardiola on counter attacks in Madrid, it was initially from set pieces & then counter attacks that Madrid annihilated Bayern for their first ever win in Munich for their record 13th final. At the end, not only Ancelotti won the battle, but he also questioned whether Guardiola's tactics had been found out & the days of his dominance were over.

Mourinho on the other hand decided on an aggressively defensive approach in Madrid for the first leg. However, like Bayern, he did not get an away goal. Therefore, Atletico Madrid, themselves a counter attacking side, went to London with Simeone hoping to win the tactical battle with away goals.
Whilst they hit a wall of 11 defending Chelsea players in the first leg, they outsmarted Mourinho in London even though initially they fell behind 1-0. Mourinho lost the game tactically after he was forced to open up Chelsea following 1-1, and was outfoxed by Simeone & his impressive team.

In the process, Mourinho lost his 4th successive Champions League final battle whilst Real won their semi final after having lost in the semis in the last three years with Mourinho!. Bayern on the other hand, lost a semi final having won their last three previous ones since 2010. Atletico Madrid meanwhile won only their 2nd ever semi final, having reached their only other final 40 years ago in 1974 where they lost to Bayern.

And now, to the first ever "inter-City" final in the history of competition & second ever all Spanish Final (Real won the last won 3-0 vs Valencia in 2000).

The final will once again be a tactical battle, with two city rivals who know each other's weaknesses & strengths better than anyone else.

The result will be tight. If Atletico manage to neutralise the inform axis of Ronaldo-Bale-Dia Maria-Benzema, they have enough quality to beat Real with shear determination. I tip the dark horses of the tournament, Atletico Madrid to cause one of the biggest sensational upsets in the history of the UCL & go all the way.

So the recovery of Spanish football after last year's hiccup is complete, with Sevilla also contesting the Europa League final vs Benfica.

On a personal note, in a year when the universally admired Befica great Eusebio passed away, I would like to see Benfica win the Europa League final.
Benfical are arguably the unluckiest of Giants of European football. Since they won their 2 European Crowns with Eusebio in 1961 & 1962, they have lost all their consequent 5 European Cup & 2 UEFA/Europa League finals. This includes last year's Europa League final in the 93rd minute with a heartbreaking Chelsea goal)

Champions League semi final draw: 4 master tacticians & their expensively assembled soldiers at war!

 Once again, this year's Champions League semi final pairings are as unpredictable as ever!

Can the defending Champions Bayern Munich repeat their astonishing heroics of last year's semi final display vs Barcelona again?...........This time vs Ronaldo & Real Madrid?

Are Atletico Madrid as good or better than last year's underdogs Borussia Dortmund?....and can they beat the wily Jose Mourinho & his unpredictable Chelsea?

The answers are yes......and no!

The reason this year's semi finals are so hard to predict is not so much because of the key players but much more to do with arguably the four most admired master tacticians in the European football are leading the four semi finalists!

Guardiola, Mourinho & Ancelotti are all double Champions League winners & Simeone is arguably the most talented up & coming coach in Europe right now. 

All four coaches are capable of reading the game well, changing tactics & are proven winners & all 4 are capable of changing the course of any game.

Having said that, not all four teams have reached the semi finals with their reputations intact:

Real Madrid were totally outplayed by Dortmund in parts of the first leg in Madrid & for most of the second leg defeat in Dortmund & can consider themselves lucky to have reached yet another semi final. And to make matters worse Ronaldo's injury may rule him out of the 1st semi final leg in Madrid.

Chelsea had to come back from a 3-1 first leg deficit & were minutes away from being eliminated by a PSG side missing their injured talisman Ibrahimovic in London.

Bayern on the other hand, whilst in control for most of both legs with their possession football, fell behind in both legs to a Manchester United side badly struggling at home & missing the injured Robin Van Persie. Bayern only managed to display their true prowess in the final 35 minutes of the 2nd leg & only after they fell behind 0-1 & were in danger of being eliminated (albeit for only 30 seconds before they equalised)

Atletico Madrid meanwhile go to the semi finals with their reputation enhanced & fully deserving their dark horse tag & a repeat of their encounter vs Bayern in a repeat of the 1974 European Cup final would be a huge sentimental final 40 years on. They are a team of very talented individuals none of whom acts as a superstar. everyone works for the team under the leadership of Simeone. In many ways Atletico deserve to be in the final.

And as for the final predictions?........

Should Atletico Madrid overcome Chelsea & make it to the final, it will be a triumph of footballing prowess over money.

Bayern would on the other hand surely welcome the chance to seek revenge for the gut wrenching penalty shootout defeat of the 2012 final vs Chelsea & to win the CL by beating all 4 EPL teams in the competition in the process.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid must believe it is time their investment on the likes of Ronaldo & Bale finally delivers them their record 10th crown!
....and as for Mourinho & Chelsea.........well you can never discount Mourinho & his teams......never!

All 8 Group winners' qualification arguably makes this year's Champions League Quarter Finals the toughest ever!

The final eight fighting for the coveted Champions League this year are perhaps in for the toughest draw in the competition's history & therefore possibly the most exciting ever.

For the first time ever, all 8 Group winners won their round of 16 encounters & reached the quarter finals.

6 of the 8 quarter finalists are past winners & 6 are amongst the 8 richest clubs in the world (yes money talks & buys trophies more than ever before)

The apparent decline of Italy's Serie A continued with no Italian teams making it to the quarter finals, whilst the exaggerated hysterical claims of German domination once again proved unsubstantiated as Schalke & Leverkusen both succumbed to heavy aggregate defeats. Germany's Bayern & Dortmund however continue to be amongst the European elite.
English teams also continued to perform below their benchmark standards suggesting a more marked shift to mainland European powers. Only Chelsea show any sign of being capable of lifting the trophy. Manchester City, meanwhile, although unlucky with the draw, showed their naivety & lack of European experience but will continue their rise in the coming years. Very little can be said about the immediate prospects of Arsenal & manchester United in Europe!

Spanish teams on the other hand continued their overall dominance with all three teams getting through the round of 16 & the money power of the French Ligue 1's PSG will also continue its ascendency in the coming years.

In my post at the time of the round of 16 draw, I tipped Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Dortmund & the Champions Bayern to beat their opponents relatively comfortably (although in case of Barcelona, Manchester City offered less resistance than I predicted & Real Madrid were more rampant than expected).
I did however suggest that Manchester United, PSG & Chelsea could struggle if their opponents did well in their respective first leg home matches. As it turned out, PSG smashed Leverkusen in Germany & Galatasaray only managed a credible but insufficient 1-1 draw at home vs Chelsea.
Olympiakos on the other hand must surely think they missed a golden opportunity against an out of sorts Manchester united side. They went to Old Trafford for the 2nd leg with a 2-0 home leg win under their belt but capitulated 3-0 on a magical Old Trafford night to Manchester United.

And now the quarter final draw, which although very tough, has amazingly kept the so called 4 favourites apart!

Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid & Chelsea did not draw each other.

At least on paper however, Chelsea seem to have the toughest draw & may yet taste the bitter taste of their own "trophy buying money" when they meet PSG. vs the mighty money power of PSG. Mourinho however, has once again build a tight united which albeit defensive at times, can break quickly & punish opponents (as witnessed in the 6-0 demolition of Arsenal in Wenger's 1000th match in charge this weekend).

Like Manchester City & their deep pockets, PSG will need a few more years of European exposure before they can reach the final of this competition, just ask Roman Abramovich & his Chelsea! It took more than a billion pounds of his money, several coaches & multiple attempts before they finally achieved European success. I therefore believe Chelsea will get past PSG.

Out of the other 3 encounters, The holders Bayern vs Manchester United is the most eagerly anticipated. Manchester United will however struggle to get past this record breaking Bayern side in particular considering their hat-trick hero vs Olympiakos, Van Persie, is injured.
Bayern on the other hand, have looked slightly shaky at the back (and Dante will be suspended for the first leg in Manchester). Nevertheless, Bayern should prevail.

Last year's semi finalists Real Madrid & Dortmund will meet at the quarter finals this year. However, Real Madrid under Angelotti this year & with Ronaldo at his goalscoring best, are a far more attacking & accomplished side than last year under Mourinho. Ronaldo & Bale have formed a lethal partnership & the Real bench has more depth than last year. Dortmund on the other hand, have not recovered from Goetze's move to Bayern, have been decimated with injuries to several key players of last year's campaign and will miss Lewandowski in the first leg through suspension.

Real Madrid, are in fact the favourites to win the Champions League this year & will comfortably account for Dortmund this year.

All three domestic encounters between Barcelona & Atletico Madrid this year have so far been very tight affairs & ended up in draws. This will therefore be a hard one to predict. However, based on signs that Messi is once again injury free & returning to his goalscoring best, and also in the context of lack of "European Experience" argument (as applied to eg PSG & Manchester City), Barcelona will account for Atletico Madrid.

No matter which teams prevail, there is no doubt this is potentially the most eagerly anticipated, thrilling & exciting quarter final in Champions League's history.

RIP Eusébio 1942-2014 a legend, role model & one of the very best

Eusébio 1942-2014

Eusebio, nicknamed the black panther for his speed & technique, was one of the greatest football players of all time. He won all there was to win as a player bar the World Cup.

He won the European Cup with Benfica & scored more than 600 goals for them in official matches. He won the European Player of the Year award in 1965 & was the top scorer at the 1966 World Cup in England where he helped Portugal to their best ever 3rd in 1966 in England.

But most of all, what Eusebio should be most remembered for is a modest, down to earth & kind gentleman. In the sometime greedy money stained world of football, he was a King amongst many lesser skillful players, and a kind & gentle one at that.

RIP Eusebio, you legend & role model.

Champions League knockout stage draw

In my last post, I mentioned most group winners in this year's Champions League would want to avoid Arsenal.........and the defending Champions, Bayern Munchen ended up drawing Arsenal again, in a rematch of last year's round of 16 clash which Bayern won on away goals rule on the way to winning the final at Wembley.

But I should have also mentioned the fast improving and free scoring Manchester City too. In perhaps the most exciting clash of the round, City have drawn Barcelona.

Whilst I believe Bayern have enough to beat Arsenal again, I can not comfortably predict that in case of Barcelona.
It is quite clear that Barcelona are simply not the same team when the axis of Xavi-Messi-Bosquets-Iniesta is misfiring & on top of this their defence which was totally humbled 7-0 on aggregate by Bayern last year is still vulnerable, specially against the free scoring City side. Manchester City on the other hand will be vulnerable in goal and away from home and would be hoping Aguero will be back in full fitness by February.

Of the other pairings, Atletico Madrid are the dark horses of the tournament & should account for a sorry looking AC Milan who were lucky to account for Ajax , Real Madrid will be too strong for a injury hit & somewhat misfiring Schalke whilst last year's finalists Borussia Dortmund should have enough time to get their injury ravaged team back to shape to beat a disappointing Zenit.

....which brings us to the last three encounters........whilst at least on paper Chelsea, PSG & Manchester United are all favourites to go to the quarter finals, I believe their respective opponents ie Galatasaray, Leverkusen & Olympiakos can all cause huge upsets, but only if they manage to do well at home ie to win their home leg with a comfortable margin.

I say this because I don't think Chelsea & Manchester United are contenders this year & in case of PSG, I believe they, like their "Trophy buying" peers before them (ie Chelsea & Manchester City) need a few more years of CL experience before they can impress beyond the early stages of the knockout phase.

Regardless of all of that, there is one thing that is clear: the eventual outcome of this round of matches will no doubt produce mouth watering quarter final pairings.

CL battle of English vs German teams: all 8 qualified for the knockout stage but EPL teams won most of the battles

One of the most highly excitable results of this season's Champions League draw was the pairing of the 4 EPL qualifiers with the 4 Bundelisga qualifiers in the same groups:

Manchester United with Bayer Leverkusen
Chelsea (2012 winners over Bayern) with Schalke
Manchester City with the defending Champions Bayern and
Arsenal with Borussia Dortmund

Chelsea famously had beaten Bayern on penalties in the 2012 final in Bayern's home in Munich whilst Bayern & Dortmund had contested the 2013 final at Wembley the home of football & in the process raised the wasteful debate over whether Bundesliga was getting the better of the EPL & Spanish La Liga.

And this morning, all 8 teams qualified for the knockout stage albeit under vastly different circumstances:

• An erratic Manchester United side struggling in mid table in the EPL comprehensively accounted for Leverkusen 4-2 & 0-5
• Chelsea also totally outgunned an injury depleted Schalke 3-0 & 0-3 
• CL Champions Bayern played scintillating football & beat City 1-3 away & then wasted an early 2-0 lead at home to succumb to a fast improving City 2-3, and 
• Dortmund just got the better of Arsenal & edged them to top the group of death by winning 1-2 in London & losing 0-1 at home

All in all, EPL clubs won the battle. At the same time, La Liga giants Barcelona & Real Madrid were complimented by the true dark horses of this year's competition, the hugely impressive Atletico Madrid.

Overall, the lesson from the knockout stage is this: 

With the exception of Bayern Munich which are again one of the favourites, whilst other German teams (and the trophy buying power of PSG) are clearly on the ascendency in Europe& catching up fast, hyped up claims of demise of English & Spanish teams are premature & exaggerated & their dominance is far from over. Serie A on the other hand is clearly in trouble although Napoli were fully deserving of qualification & missed out. Milan were lucky to edge out a young & up & coming Ajax side whilst Juventus simply flopped.

Most impressive teams of the group stage: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid & Bayern Munchen

Most dissapointing: Porto, Benfica & Marseille

Flop of the season: Juventus

Unlucky teams: Napoli & Basel both of which beat their group winners & Ajax 

Dark horses: Atletico Madrid without any doubt

The draw for the round of 16 will be interesting with most group winners wanting to avoid Arsenal.

Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup draw, the winners & the losers

The FIFA World Cup draw for Brazil 2014 was conducted on Friday night & as usual, some groups ended up being more difficult than others. This year however, South America have 6 representatives (instead of 5) & Europe have 13 instead of the usual 14.

Also, Belgium, Colombia & Switzerland were seeded due to their superior FIFA rankings in Nov 2013 & as a result powerhouses of England, Italy, Holland, Portugal were demoted to the 2nd pot.

It is too early to try to predict which teams will be successful in the first round simply because teams' forms can dip or improve between now & June next year and key players may get injured & miss out.

However, whilst playing at the World Cup is difficult regardless of the draw, there are groups which are more difficult to prove than others: Here are my early tips until I decide on my final tips by around March 2014:

Group A Hosts Brazil are the clear favourites following their mesmerising triumph at Confederation Cup. On the other hand, Mexico have had a torrid time with 4 different coaches & only qualified through the play offs by beating New Zealand. Croatia are always difficult to beat & possess enough talent to overcome Cameroon & finish second.

Group B is the first group of death & sees the two finalists of WC 2010 ie Holland & Spain paired against each other. You can't help but to feel sorry for Chile for being paired with Spain for the second WC in a row, and for the Socceroos who will no doubt have a torrid time against all of their 3 vastly superior opponents. However, Chile are a brilliant team & with a bit of luck are capable of knocking out either of their two most illustrious opponents.

Group C see hosts Columbia as a well deserved seed. Columbia are once again spoilt with talent & should win the group. Greece are on the other hand becoming an experienced tournament nation & are slight favourites to outdo Japan & Ivory Coast.

Group D, at least on paper, is THE group of death. However, reputations aside, I believe Uruguay & Italy are clearly far stronger sides than an England side which is desperately short of creative talent in the midfield & lacks depth in many positions including in defence. Costa Rica can & probably will pinch crucial points too.

Group E sees Switzerland seeded & France as the main giant in the group. If Ribery & co play the way they played against Ukraine in the 2nd leg of the play offs, they will be the clear favourites to win the group. Switzerland coach has on the other hand built a team which is extremely difficult to beat although Switzerland have in the past got eliminated unbeaten!

Group F will see Argentina as comfortable winners. Bosnia, Nigeria & even Iran, are all capable of finishing second if they take their chances & other results go their way.

Group G is a tough group for Portugal & Germany & there are no easy matches in this group. Ghana only lost to Germany 1-0 in the group stage in WC 2010 & finished 2nd, and USA in fact topped their group in WC 2010. On top of that, USA is coached by the former Germany Captain & coach Jurgen Klinsman & the USA team consisted of several German born players who play their football in the German Bundesliga. However, at least on paper, a talented Germany side & Portugal by the irreplaceable Ronaldo are favourites to go through.

Group H see the seeded Belgium side oozing with young talent. Whilst I believe Capello's Russian side are overrated, in South Korea & Algeria, they have two of the weakest teams in the tournament & both Russia & Belgium will easily qualify for the knockout round.

European Football season 2013-14 promises to produce the most exciting season yet!

The new European football season is already well on the way & the draw for the 2013-14 Champions League has also taken place.

Unlike previous years, I am running late with my pre season predictions of the major league & will be combining all my predictions in this post.

Amongst the glamour clubs of the ivy leagues in Europe, there are as usual mouth watering & puzzling transfers which will be finalised by 1st September:

Amongst the winners so far in the transfer market are:

In Germany, the record breaking defending European & Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munchen have signed the hugely talented Mario Goetze & Thiago Alcantra & of course Pep Guardiola & should win the Bundesliga again, whilst Dortmund will once again challenge both in Germany & Europe. Bundesliga will however struggle to challenge EPL & La Liga for supremacy unless other German teams manage to do well in the Champions & Europa League too. Therefore much is expected of Leverkusen & Schalke this season.

In Spain, Barcelona have captured Neymar but it is yet to be seen how the new coach will deal with Neymar & Messi whilst Real Madrid have allowed Mourinho & Higuain & a few others to leave whilst the hugely talented Isco, Carvajel & Illaramendi & Ancelotti have arrived. La Liga is once again the domain of these two & I tip Barcelona to prevail. Atletico Madrid have lost Falcao to Monaco but in David Villa as his replacement to give the big two a run for their money & alleviate the predictability of the two horse race aspect of La Liga.

In France, PSG & Monaco have taken the French League to another dimension by capturing Cavani & Falcao respectively but PSG will win Ligue 1.

Whilst I also tip Tevez to do well at Juventus, Napoli are the dark horses in Serie A & also in Champions League. Despite losing Cavani to PSG, Rafa Benitez has signed a few tactically superior players for Napoli & they may even pip Juventus to the post in Italy.

In the Premier League, Manchester City have signed the highly sought after trio of Negrado, Navas & Jovetic & in Pellegrini they have a more tempered & skilful coach than Mancini. Tottenham on the otehr hand, are a winner for buying many valued stars such as Poulinho & Eriksen & will be a winner just for selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid at a price which is simply stupid!

I just watched Mourinho's Chelsea losing the European Super Cup to Bayern. Mourinho has already begun to transform Chelsea to a force to be reckoned with albeit with his usual defensive & dirty play. The new Manchester United coach David Moyes, & Arsen Wenger at Arsenal are on the other hand seemingly having trouble attracting top talent to their teams & will struggle to challenge.

My prediction for EPL: 1. Manchester City 2. Chelsea 3. Manchester United 4. Tottenham

How Andy Murray's win at Wimbledon highlights the disappointing international record of England's National Football Team!

When England beat Australia in 2003 to win the Rugby World Cup, astonishingly it was the first time an English side had won a team sport World Cup in any sport since England won the football World Cup in 1966!

Since 2003, English & British individual athletes & teams have got better & better, all but the team representing their national sport ie Football!

England also made it to the Rugby World Cup final in 2007, England's Cricket team have dominated Australia in the Ashes series in recent times, & of course in individual sports Bradley Wiggins won Tour de France & the British team performed magnificently in last year's London Olympics.

And now, Andy Murray won Wimbledon77 years since the last British winner Fred Perry (not to mention the triumphant Lions tour of Australia & the upcoming Ashes series for which England are the favourites to win again!)

And YES! YES! YES!I know Andy Murray is Scottish! But the English tend to mix English & British when it suits them! So, I am doing the same to suit myself to write my blog to criticise England's Football Team!!)

These wonderful achievements however in some way do magnify the disappointingly poor record of England's football team & its total lack of achievement since their solitary 1966 triumph!

Whilst English teams have performed very well in the UEFA Champions League, albeit with the support of the bottomless pockets of Russian & Arab billionaires, England themselves have failed to match the usual hype around them before very World Cup & European Championships. The huge sums of money in the EPL means young English players simply do not stand a chance of playing in the Premier League on a regular basis because EPL Clubs buy the cream of the best international talent.

Let's hope Andy Murray's win, in some way piles more pressure on England's FA in order to force a major overhaul of the current system of youth development in football in UK.

Bayern Munich's treble winning triumph in 2013 was a lesson in life

Bayern Munich finished second to Dortmund in their domestic league (Bundesliga) last year & also lost the German Cup final to their bitter rival. To top it all, they hosted the Champions League Final against Chelsea in their own stadium in Munich last May & unbelievably lost that final in a penalty shoot out too.

Bayern players after the penalty shootout loss to Chelsea in the Champions League Final last May

Out of the the above three competitions none hurt more than the Champions League final. Bayern dominated the match for 88 minutes & were winning 1-0 until Chelsea scored from their first corner in the 88th minute. Then Robben missed a penalty in the extra time which would have won Bayern the match 2-1...and finally, in the penalty shoot out Bayern led 3-1 & ended up losing the shoot out 3-4!

Jupp Heynckes, the Bayern coach, & the Bayern management, promised Bayern would be back stronger & more determined this season. Only a handful of people believed they could psychologically bring the players back. Bayern nevertheless set about buying new players in order to plug the gaps that had lost them Champions League finals in 2010 & 2010.

By the end of this season last week, Bayern had won the Bundesliga in record time, were crowned European Champions after accounting for Arsenal, Juventus & barcelona in the knockout phase & beating Dortmund 2-1 at Wembley, and became the first ever German side (and only the 7th ever) to win the treble crown by also winning the German Cup final last weekend.

Robben displaying shear relief after scoring the winner in the Champions League Final vs Dortmund

And Robben, who had missed a penalty vs Dortmund to hand them the Bundesliga title last year, and a penalty vs Chelsea in last year's Champions League Final, scored the winner in the 89th minute in a Man of the Match performance in this year's 2-1 final win vs Dortmund.

A lesson in life on how shear determination & hard work (and money to invest on new players!) can overcome the most difficult mental barriers, and how the agony of a major loss can turn into triumph in life.......................and a well deserved one at that!