Chelsea Undone!!!!

At the start of the Premier League season of 2010-2011 there was no doubt that Chelsea were going to just waltz away with the title again due to the way they pummeled opponents into submission. But just like the previous year Chelsea's Christmas period is always a time to forget. Last year after the loss to Manchester City they dropped points at Birmingham, Everton before finally recovering against Fulham. But this season the situation has become worse. During the summer Chelsea sold experienced stalwarts like Ballack, Belletti, Deco,Carvalho and Joe Cole to make way for youngsters Kakuta, Borini, Bruma and McEachran. It initially seemed that the club was going great guns despite the loss of such influential players. The month of November changed that fact. The trip to Anfield started the win drought. A 2-0 loss thanks to a Torres brace followed by a hard fought win over Fulham that was overshadowed by the controversial sacking of Ray Wilkins, a 3-0 hammering to Sunderland at the Bridge,a loss to Birmingham, a draw against Newcastle and Everton and finally a beating at the hands of Arsenal has put Carlo Ancellotti's squad depth in the limelight. The absence of key members Terry, Lampard and Essien along with the dipping form of goal machine Drogba has resulted in Chelsea surrendering their lead at the top of the table to Manchester United and dropping to 4th, a position that has been alien to them for quite some time. The Chelsea players, once feared, are now the ones under fear of losing. There was quite some speculation that Ancellotti would sacked just like Scolari, but Abramovich has come out to say that Carlo's position is safe and also assured transfer funds to strengthen the depleted squad.

But a few points have come out that may be the reason for Chelsea's dip in form of late. Firstly the reluctance of Ancellotti to use the youth players he has at his disposal. Agreed they need experience to handle such pressure situations, but in order to gain that experience they need game time and not time on the bench. During the loss to Sunderland Paulo Ferreira played as a makeshift centre back and Sunderland tore them to shreds while Carlo had a specialist centre half in Jeffrey Bruma on the bench. It is clearly seen that Ferreira has grown old and does not possess the pace and awareness that he had when he joined Chelsea 6 years ago. Ancellotti's policy of playing him at right back and bringing on Bosingwa during the second half has not only lessened Chelsea's threat posed by their full backs but also results in a waste of a substitution which could otherwise been used for more creative purposes.
Secondly the use of players like Kalou and Ramires in the first team has not proved fruitful. Ramires is clearly struggling to get to grips with the physical demands of the Premier League and Kalou has not developed the awareness and positional sense that a striker needs. In the game against Zilina Chelsea's youth showed why they deserved a starting place with some very neat and fast football, something that has been missing with the Chelsea XI lately.When you have someone like McEachran whose creative play and vision gave Chelsea so many chances in the Zilina game, why not play him on a regular basis.
Chelsea need to spend and spend smartly on the January transfer window. It is visible that age has caught up with Drogba and they need fresher legs for the wings and the forward line and also a top centre half to cover up for the absence of Terry or Alex. Chelsea can thank their lucky stars that they drew Copenhagen in the round of 16 in the Champions League.
But as many people say...Anything can happen in football

The Special One Outdone

It was being labelled the game of the season by many a pundit....Buildup started a week back and everybody billed it as another day where Jose Mourinho would get the better of Barcelona.. How wrong they were as Barcelona put up a display that would've just mesmerized any football fan. It was like watching the Spanish national side against Real Madrid as 9 of the Barcelona starting 11 were from the national team. More than 600 completed passes..Astonishing while Real struggled to get to grips with the passing machine that was Barcelona. With a lineup boasting of Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria, and Cristiano Ronaldo they were expected to pose a stiff challenge to the World Cup winning defence of Pique and Puyol. The only stiff challenge Madrid won was when Sergio Ramos lost his head and pushed his national team mate Puyol in the face. Add to that Cristiano Ronaldo's disgusting push on Pep Guardiola which should directly rule him out of contention for the Ballan 'd' Or. Despite Ronaldo's feeble attempts to win sympathy with the referree and some atrocious challenges by Ramos Barcelona stuck to their ancient philosophy of keeping the ball which always works. Xavi, the architect of so many of Barcelona's and Spain's goals got on the scoresheet and how much does he deserve it. Supplementing Xavi's laser guided passes were his alter ego Andres Iniesta and the Flea Lionel Messi. The experienced Madrid defence of Carvalho and Pepe were torn to shreds by just these 3 and made sure that Barcelona were on top everytime. Iker Cassillas was the only one that saved Real from losing by more that 5 goals. His awareness and positioning was what kept Real in the game atleast momentarily. Madrid got so many things wrong. Firstly starting Karim Benzema when there was a perfectly clicking combo of Ronaldo, Higuain and di Maria. Benzema did nothing to trouble Puyol and Pique except run into them. Mourinho's standard 'park the bus' policy totally backfired as Khedira and Alonso had no idea how the ball just zipped past them everytime. The game ended on a very ugly note as Sergio Ramos just showed young footballers how they shouldn't behave in a football match of this intensity. Kicking at David Villa and pushing Puyol. Disgusting. He needs a ban to just show him the magnitude of his actions. Barcelona's win against Madrid proved many things. First, they issued a statement of intent to the whole world just who the best club is, second they proved that Jose Mourinho's human too and his defence can be breached, third and lastly it showed the world how football has to be played. As a team.

'Recon' games for all the teams

The first round of matches in the 2010 World Cup always provide an insight as to the form of the teams playing. Each team will analyse the others strengths and weaknesses and formulate a plan to exploit those weaknesses.

Group A saw the hosts South Africa put up a very good show for the fans and nearly grabbed the win against Mexico who looked out of sorts. If you thought Mexico was out of sorts the game that followed between France and Uruguay was even worse. France minus Thierry Henry and Florent Malouda did not trouble the Uruguayan defence save a couple of chances in the first half. Likewise the much talked about front pair of Forlan and Suarez didn't do much to trouble Gallas and Abidal. Both teams will have to improve upon their present form if they are to entertain any hopes of making it to the round of 16.

Group B saw Euro 2004 champs Greece lose to South Korea in which the usually solid Greek defence looked out of sorts against a South Korean side that played some attractive football. The match between Argentina and Nigeria was in truth a battle between Messi and Enyeama the latter denying the world's best player on 5-6 occasions. Nigeria did get a few chances of their own but to no effect. The defending during Heinze's goal was very shabby. Likewise for the Argentinian defence where Gutierras did not look at home at all on the right full back position. Both teams will have to tighten up at the defence as they will face stronger challenges during the knockout rounds.

Group C saw star studded England take on a talented US side. The English fans would've been in 7th heaven after Gerrard scored as early as the 4th minute. But the English allowed USA to get back into the game and Dempsey's low drive ended up in the goal after Robert Green showed all budding goalkeepers a mistake that they can make at some point in their footballing careers. England's defensive worries were compounded after Ledley King's injuries came to haunt him again and comeback centre-back Carragher was run ragged by Altidore and Finley. England will need to change a few things if they hope to stay as Cup contenders. . USA meanwhile need to just continue to play the way they are now and they are destined for the next round. The second match in the group featuring Slovenia and Algeria was a largely pedestrian affair with both teams trying to avoid defeat. It took a moment of madness by Ziani and another goalkeeping howler by the Algerian goalie to gift Slovenia their first ever win in a World Cup. England will be thanking their stars that they do not have any stiff challenges in this group.

Group D was kicked off by Ghana picking up 3 points against a Serbian side boasting of many talented players like Dejan Stankovic, Milan Jovanovic, Ivanovic, Vidic and Krasic. This was a very entertaining match in which both teams were looking for the win and an unfortunate handball by Kuzmanovic resulted in a Ghana penalty which Gyan gladly despatched to earn Africa's first win the tournament. The second match between Germany and Australia was arguably the most entertaining of the first round matches with the stars of a young German side thrashed an experienced Australian side 4-0. The type of football the Germans played was near flawless with the exception of a couple of chances in the second half although the game had its fair share of controversy as Cahill was sent off harshly for a foul on Schweinsteiger. This group looks very tight indeed as the next round of matches will determine who among Serbia, Ghana and Australia will finish behind Germany and all of whom have an equal chance of doing so.

Group E is another tight group which had favourites Netherlands squaring off against Martin Olsen's Denmark. Although the Netherlands played their usual attacking game it took an own goal by Simon Poulsen and Dirk Kuyt's rebound to seal the match for the Oranje Army. Both teams looked adventurous on the break and they will look to use this in the other group matches. The other match saw Takeshi Okada's Japan take on Cameroon who were one of Africa's hopes again this time. Though Cameroon attacked well Kenshuke Honda's first half goal gave the Blue Samurai their first win in a World Cup outside their continent. Cameroon will hope to put this defeat behind them and keep their heads held up high to qualify from a very difficult group. Netherlands will need to maintain the same intensity seen against Denmark against a gritty Japan and an unpredictable Cameroon. Denmark can take loads of positives from the Netherlands game and will hope to maintain the tag of favourites of qualifying from Group E.

Group F is famous because of the presence of the World Champions Italy. The first match saw a stalemate between New Zealand and Slovakia after New Zealand equalized in the dying seconds of the game. The second match featuring Italy and Paraguay had everyone betting on an Italy win. But how wrong were they when Alcaraz beat Chiellini and Cannavaro and put a header past Buffon. The absence of Andrea Pirlo was clearly shown as the Azzurri struggled to create any clear cut chances. Italy's performance improved in the second half and their pressure paid dividends as De Rossi capitalized on a mistake by the Paraguayan Goalkeeper during a Simone Pepe corner and scored from close range. Lippi threw on Cameronesi and Di Natale to replace the ineffective Marchisio and Gilardino. Suddenly the Italians began to push for the win and they were only denied by a resolute Paraguayan defence. Italy will look to bounce back from this performance and win its remaining two group games. Paraguay will no doubt gained a lot of confidence after holding off the Champions and will hope to emulate such a performance against New Zealand and Slovakia.

Group G aka the Group of Death. Each match was of prime importance in this group as they would determine which two among the 3 favourites i.e Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast would qualify. All the hype regarding whether Ivory Coast captain and talisman Didier Drogba would play or not were put to rest after Eriksson named him on the bench. Portugal started brightly and after Ronaldo struck the post in the first half Ivory Coast came to life. Gervinho made sure that the Portugese defence stayed on their toes and the Toure brothers were a reassuring presence in the defence. Drogba came on late in the second half as a huge roar filled the stadium. Drogba's presence had suddenly given Ivory Coast more confidence to attack. They nearly made Portugal pay as Drogba beat Bruno Alves but just couldn't get the finish that could've sent the fans into delirium. The draw made the next round of matches of paramount importance for all teams in the group as Brazil squeezed past a very determined North Korean side who were out to show the world just why they were here and not just to make up the numbers. In fact such was the occasion for the North Koreans that their striker Jong Tae-Se was seen crying during the national anthems. North Korea did not sit back like how many predicted they would instead they stood up to the might of Brazil and attacked. Jong Tae-Se tested Julio Cesar with a low drive and they were looking dangerous on the counter attack. Kaka's runs were nullified and Robinho's stepovers did not scare the Koreans. But now Brazil's attacks had more purpose and finally Maicon's shot near the far post found the back of the net. Later Brazil doubled the lead after Robinho's crisp through ball found Elano who beat the Korean keeper Ri with a cool right footed finish. The game looked over but Korea showed that it was not when striker Ji scored an impressive goal in the 88th minute. This game had proved one point to the world that no team could be underestimated on the basis of rankings. Brazil will look to improve on their attacking game a bit more and Portugal will look to rely a little less on Ronaldo to get the job done and Ivory Coast will need to play in a similar style like they did against Portugal. As for North Korea they can take more positives from the Brazil game and based on Portugal's and Ivory Coast's performance they just may be the dark horses in this group.

Group F had one of the tournament favourites Spain along with the Swiss, Honduras and Chile. The group had a strong Hispanic feel to it. Chile and Honduras got the group underway with Chile looking the only side capable of scoring and they did when Beausjour's goal sent the strong Chilean fan contingent into ecstacy. Honduras did threaten on a few occasions but Chile dominated the match and in Alexis Sanchez they have someone who will lead the Chilean attack for many years to come. The win put Chile on top. Spain's match with the Swiss was next. Everyone thought that the high flying Spaniards would put atleast 3 past the Swiss and top the group. Well surprise surprise....the Swiss pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament when they beat Spain 1-0 thanks to a second half goal from former Manchester City man Gelson Fernandes. Though star-studded Spain clearly dominated the match in possession and shots on goal the Swiss got what the Spaniards didn't. The Swiss could've doubled their lead after another chance struck the post and later Xabi Alonso tested the frame of the Swiss goal. The introduction of Jesus Navas and Torres brought some pace to the Spanish attack and Iniesta's injury added salt to Spain's wounds. This victory has brought life into an otherwise dull world cup so far and put Spain in 3rd place in the group. Clearly unfamiliar territory for the reigning European champions. Expect a backlash from them in the remaining games against Chile and Honduras. Chile will have to continue their good work and the Swiss have to put this victory behind them and start concentrating on their next game. And as i said before no team can be taken lightly in this tournament. Anything can happen. The Swiss just proved that.

The second round of matches start tonight.... Hopefully they'll change the complexion of this World Cup.....

The Contenders

In about 48 hours time the world's greatest tournament will be underway in South Africa and each of the 32 teams that have fought their way through qualification will have something to prove. Countries like Algeria and Honduras will hope to showcase their talents to the world and the hosts South Africa need to make sure they put up a good show on home soil. Synonomous with each World Cup is the rise of the favourites to win it. Teams like Brazil, Spain, England, France, Germany,current champions Italy,Netherlands, Argentina etc are all brilliant teams in their own regard. Lets analyze these teams a little closely

Brazil, 5 time World Champions and always a favourite during the World Cup. A new look squad and a new coach in the form of Carlos Dunga has everyone hoping that this might be Brazil's year. After the debacle during the 2006 edition, Dunga has brought about a fresh look into the squad by capping many youngsters and most importantly the ability to grind out results at the expense of free flowing football which is almost an alias for Brazil. They have one of the strongest backlines in the form of Maicon, Lucio, Juan and Michel Bastos with the reliable Julio Cesar in goal. The midfield has a totally new look with youngster Ramires, the veteran Gilberto Silva, the playmaker Kaka and the defensive midfielder cum playmaker Felipe Melo making up the numbers while the strike force has the tricky Robinho paired up with the lethal finishing skills of The Fabulous One Luis Fabiano. Looking beyond the first team the bench strength is formidable consisting Daniel Alves, Josue, Thiago Silva, Doni and Julio 'The Beast' Baptista . No doubt Brazil will always be a team to watch out for.

Spain a.k.a La Furia Roja, 2008 European Champions and one of the teams that until lately carried the chokers tag on them. The team chosen by Vicente del Bosque is overladen with talent. With the evergreen Casillas in goal with the reliable Puyol, Marchena, Capdevilla and Sergio Ramos in defence they sure are not a team that look like they might concede many goals. Spain's biggest strength come in the midfield and attacking departments. It has arguably the biggest names in football filling up each position. Barcelona playmakers Xavi and Iniesta flanked by David Silva and a defensive screen provided by Xabi Alonso all hoping to provide arguably the best strike force in world football in the form of Fernando Torres and David Villa. Spain's game is centred around crisp passing and fluid movement and sometimes telepathic understanding between the players. The bench strength is phenomenal. The quality of the squad is such that it has Liverpool's No 1 Pepe Reina and Barcelona's No 1 Victor Valdes as the backup goalkeepers, Barcelona youth prodigies Sergio Busquets and Pique, Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas, Sevilla's Jesus Navas, the blistering Juan Mata in the bench. Spain have had a near flawless buildup to the World Cup with the upset at the hands of the US in the Confederations Cup in 2009 being the only exception. Will they shed the chokers tag like in Euro 2008 and win the most coveted prize in world football is left to be seen.

England, The Three Lions, have had a very good qualifying campaign under Fabio Capello who's brought about a discipline into the England team which was earlier missing. No player is guaranteed a place in the team like before and also Capello has ensured that the players focus only on their football and nothing else. The sqaud boasts of some very familiar names like Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Frank Lampard. The English press has been quick to label this squad as the best that England have ever had with the exception of the 1966 World Cup winning squad. Many of the players in the squad may be playing their last world cup and whether this world cup is their swansong is in their hands.

No world cup roster is complete without the Germans who have a rich footballing history. They proved their critics wrong in the 2006 edition on home soil and changed everyone's opinion that the germans were a mechanical and physical team. The squad selected by Joachim Loew is a mixture of youth and experience even though the average age of the squad is only 24 years. The experience is in the form of Per Mertesacker, Lahm, Friedrich, Schweinsteiger, Klose and Podolski who all were part of the 2006 campaign and youngsters like Thomas Muller, Holger Badstuber, Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira( in place of the talismanic Ballack) have ensured that Germany are a force to reckon with as always. The bench consists of many unfamiliar names like Marko Marin, Dennis Aogo, Sergio Tasci, Kiessling and Cacau who all have a point to prove in the tournament as they were picked ahead of seasoned campaigners like Frings and Kuranyi. Loew's attack minded tactics coupled with the young squad will provide a stiff challenge to the other teams hoping to win the World Cup.

Any football fan would say that one of the most underachieving teams was the Netherlands whose players are scattered all over the globe and phenomenally talented. Ever since the Johann Cryuff era the Netherlands best performance was in France 98 when they were defeated by Brazil in the semi finals which is a shame considering the players that the nation boasts of. The 2006 campaign saw Marco Van Basten picking players based on form than experience and paying the price against Portugal. The new coach Bert van Marwijk has been cautious and brought on veterans like Phillip Cocu and Frank de Boer into his coaching staff to provide the experience any squad needs. The lineup boasts of some superstars in the form of Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Van der Vaart, van Bommel and van Persie along with the hard working Dirk Kuyt. The defence needed a bit of tweaking after the retirement of Dutch legend Edwin van Der sar. The transition has been smooth with Martin Stekelenburg in goal along with youngster Gregory van der Wiel with experienced players like Mathisjen, Ooijer and van Bronckhorst. Holland's strength is argubly in midfield and attack. The defensive screens in the form of Van Bommel and de Jong along with the playmakers Sneijder, Kuyt, Robben and van Persie. Youngsters like Elirio Elija and Ryan Babel and van der Vaart make up the bench. With the forward line the Netherlands boast it must send shivers down the spine of opposition defences but the individual talents combined into a team effort may see this World Cup belong to the Netherlands at long last.


The 2006 World Cup coincided with the Calciopoli scandal in the Italian League and the Italian national team was criticised on all fronts. However this united them and they won their 4th World Cup title. Since then Italy have struggled to recover from the retirements of Alessandro Nesta, and Francesco Totti who are proven performers on the world stage. The return of Marcello Lippi has ensured that they are not at all short of experience and Lippi's squad reflects that fact. With the ever present Buffon in goal along with defensive mainstays Cannavaro and Chiellini and fullbacks Zambrotta and Criscito the defence can hold itself under pressure even though many noises were made concerning the average age of the defence, but Lippi silenced them all stating that you cant beat experience. The Italian midfield bears a very familiar look with the aggressive Gattuso, playing his last world cup, playmaker and dead ball specialist Pirlo along with De Rossi and Cameronesi forming a formidable midfield. The forward line has come under much scrutiny and rightfully so. Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino haven't performed at club level impressively and are in no way comparable to the forward line of 2006 which boasted of Totti, Del Piero and Toni. Despite calls for Lippi to bring back Totti and Del Piero for one last campaign coupled with protests regarding why Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli weren't picked they have had no effect on Lippi. He has however made a good selection in the form of Antonio Di Natale and Giampaolo Pazzini both of whom impressed with Udinese and Sampdoria respectively. The bench strength looks weak with Claudio Marchisio and Quagliarella being the only familiar names. Leonardo Bonucci, Morgan de Sanctis and Federico Marchetti are all debutants at the world cup and will hope to prove a point as they are the future of Italian football. Marcello Lippi's squad has the experience to do what Vittorio Pozzo's team did in 1934 and 1938 but it looks a daunting task for the reigning World Champions.


12 years ago a certain Zinedine Zidane inspired France to a memorable World Cup win on home soil. 8 years later Zidane came out of retirement and almost single handedly guided France to the final before an act of sheer insanity saw him miss out on a World Cup again and sealing his place among the footballing gods for good. Since then France haven't really coped with the losses of the 'golden generation' of French footballers like Lilian Thuram, Makelele, Sagnol, and Zidane and it needed Henry's Hand for France to make it to this year's finals at the expense of the Republic Of Ireland who deserve to be here. They struggled through Euro 2008 and rightfully crashed out. Coach Raymond Domenech has come under a lot of fire and his strange tactics have shocked fans in all the wrong ways. Dropping game changers like Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa and Karim Benzema has ensured that France have a lack of creativity which the majestic Zidane single handedly once used to take care of. The goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is one of the few exceptional talents in this French side. The defence looks ageing with Gallas, Abidal, Evra and Sagna. The defensive screen provided by Jeremy Toulalan along with playmakers Malouda, Gourcuff and Govou form a reasonable midfield. The forward line has two big names in the form of Anelka and Henry but they have to bring their club form into the national team in order for France to have any chance of progressing to the knockout rounds. Though the first team looks good on paper Domenech's tactics have ensured that they dont live upto that name. At length it will be a miracle if France can repeat the feats of 2006 or 1998 this year.


Speaking of Hands playing a part in a World Cup who could ever forget Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal. Surely Peter Shilton, the England goalkeeper during the 1986 campaign, wont. This time Maradona returns as the coach of the Albacieste along with Carlos Bilardo, the coach of the 1986 World Cup winning team. They have not had the best of qualifying campaigns after getting mauled by Bolivia 6-1 and losing to Brazil which would've meant the sack for any other coach of Argentina. But because it is Maradona, the man Argentinians call God, the people of Argentina waited patiently and they were rewarded as Argentina qualified for the finals. Having tried out 78 players in the 10 qualifying games Maradona finally settled upon 23 which to the surprise of everyone did not include the veteran and defensive rock Javier Zanettti and Esteban Cambiasso both of whom were Champions League winners this year with Inter. Zanetti must be wondering what he must do to play a World Cup match at all. Maradona has got a few calls right though. Rising goalkeeping talent Sergio Romero has been made as Argentina No 1. The defence looks reasonable with Samuel, Demichelis and Heinze and Gutierras. The midfield marshalled by Javier Mascherano and veteran Juan Veron will keep the opposition on their toes. But Argentina have arguably the best forward line in the tournament. Carlos Tevez, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria, Diego Milito. Phew.....there's no lack of depth in the attacking department. Although Messi will be the marked man Maradona has to realise that building a team around Messi is what needs to be done rather than just play the ball to Messi and expect him to take care of everything else. Maradona's team may not play the flowing football that everyone expects of them but they are still a potent force and with Maradona's successor within the lineup anything is possible which includes the possibility of Maradona joining an elite list having Franz Beckenbauer of winning the World Cup both as player and coach.

Although the above teams are favourites, teams like Portugal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and USA have the firepower to cause an upset.

Portugal have within them Messi's rival to the title of the world's best player Cristiano Ronaldo within them. Along with veterans Deco, Simao and Lieidson it'll be left to be seen whether Ronaldo can inspire Portugal to a run similar to that of 2006.

Ivory Coast is arguably one of Africa's best chance this time. With the talismanic Drogba up front supplemented by Chelsea teammate Kalou and Didier Zokora and with Yaya and Kolo Toure in defence they will be a team to watch out for despite being unlucky second time round for being drawn with the big guns Brazil and Portugal

Cameroon have always been one of Africa's best teams and those who watched Roger Milla's side of 1990 will tell you why. Paul Le Guen's side is not short of experience with veterans Rigobert Song and Geremi along with Alex Song in midfield and Samuel Etoo up front they will hope to put up a good show at the first world cup on African soil.

MLB, NBA, NHL...All have one thing in common. The USA. The USA have never been associated with football or soccer as they call it, a lot. Since their upset win over England in 1950 termed as the Miracle on Grass, the US team have not done very well in the World Cup. But Bob Bradley's side have started to prove critics wrong by changing their style of play and becoming defensively very solid and thereby ensuring that no team takes them lightly. Ask the Spaniards and Brazilians. They'll tell you more about this fact when the US went on a dream run in the 2009 Confederations cup. Despite having many unknown faces in the squad Bradley has done what any team with a star player must do i.e build the team around that player, the star player in this case being Landon Donovan who is an inspirational figure in the squad. Bradley's men may not have the title of favourites but they sure can pull off an upset that can shake things up in the tournament.

Its going to be one month of absolute fun when the world becomes familiar with Vuvuzelas and the party atmosphere of the African continent. Personally i hope germany win this time.....but lets see

Cheers........

Mourinho-Best Manager in the world????

The football scene in Europe for the last 2 weeks has been about the activities of one man- Jose Mourinho- The Special One. After winning the Champions League with Inter thereby completing the historic treble he is almost on the verge of joining 9 time European Champions Real Madrid. Many pundits believe he is the best manager in the world. But is he really? Many people believe so but a FC Barcelona official pointed out a fact that Mourinho always joins clubs having huge transfer kitty's like Chelsea, Inter and maybe Real Madrid. Having such spending power enables him to buy the players he wants without any hassles.

A lot of candidates for the Title of the World's Best Manager are present. Names like Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson, Zdenek Zeman, Guus Hiddink, Arsene Wenger etc crop up most of the time. Sir Alex i believe deserves this title the most among all the candidates because of the way he has gone about business at Manchester United ever since taking over Matt Busby back in 1986. He hasn't splashed the cash a lot in the transfer market every season and instead relied on youth players to make up the ranks which has proven to be one of the main reasons behind United's domestic and European success. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Darren Fletcher are all established international players and instead of assembling a group of talented players Sir Alex has built a team capable of winning and having a never say die attitude.

Yes, Mourinho is an exceptional coach. His ability to back his players to the hilt is one of the key features of the success he has achieved. The teams he manages have strong defensive structures and get the results and dont rely on beautiful football but what Sir Alex has done with the limited resources he had and the legacy he has created at Old Trafford is what makes him rightfully the best manager in the world.

Man City: 3 football teams in 1

The city of Manchester,England is home to two of the biggest names in world football today; Manchester United and big-spenders Manchester City. While United have crippling debts reaching the 720 million dollar mark City are practically in paradise. The Abu Dhabi United group has almost assured an endless flow of cash to bring the best players in the world to Eastlands. It all started with the arrival of Brazilian wizard Robinho from Real Madrid for a record fee of 32.5 million dollars. This was followed by Vincent Kompany from HSV and Pablo Zabaleta from Sevilla. More signings followed in the form of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor,Roque Santa Cruz,Jolean Lescott( a rather much publicised transfer saga i might add),Kolo Toure, Shay Given,Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong. They were linked to a host of other world class players like World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon, Samuel Etoo, Kaka and surpisingly Lionel Messi( was offered to quote his price by the club) The arrival of such players has relegated the club's famed youth academy products to the confines of the substitutes bench. An academy that boasts of England stars like Shawn Wright-Phillips, Micheal Johnson, Steven Jordan etc have got very limited opportunities to showcase their skills. The arrival of players has been matched by the arrival of new managers as well. Mark Hughes who was controversially sacked despite boasting a good record against the traditional Big 4 of English football did not get a chance to fulfill his employer's wish. The arduos task fell to former Sampdoria star Roberto Mancini to bring home the silverware. So far he has made two signings in the form of Patrick Vieira and also Marco Motta from Roma. He has gotten off on the right foot by bringing the winning mentality back into Manchester City and they are now pushing for a place in Europe

But they are still linked to more players. Robinho's latest loan move to his former club Santos has included an exchange for Santos's 17 year old Neymar(widely regarded as the next Pele) . Adam Johnson from Middlesborough is also another to feature on the Manchester City radar along with Giampaolo Pazzini and Antonio Cassano. The club has surplus players for each position and the manager will have a huge selection headache if this transfer spree continues. FIFA's plan to place a transfer cap on each club will probably surface again due to this and also the 6+5 rule will ensure that young talent is nurtured and also that each club has a level playing field when it comes to buying and selling players.

Lambs to the Slaughter

Wolverhampton manager and former Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy is no stranger when it comes to controversy. He was at it yet again when he sent out a second string Wolves side for their match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The side that pulled off a famous win against Champions League aspirants Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane were watching their side being torn apart by Manchester United's movement and counter-attacking type of football. When asked about this strange decision Mick McCarthy replied that he had put out a second string team as he wanted to preserve his first XI for a supposedly 'winnable' match against Burnley at Molineux on 20th December 2009. It was as many pundits and fans called 'giving up before the fight'. Even though the Wolves 2nd team would've had a good experience playing against professionals like Anderson, Michael Carrick and Nemanja Vidic it sort of indicates a prejudice towards the first team on McCarthy's part.Also Burnley aren't exactly the type of team who bow down easily and that can be seen by their position in the league table as compared to Wolves. Speaking too soon is what I'd call it.
The anger of the Wolves faithful could be seen in their songs at Old TRafford. Songs like "Where is our first team?" and "40 quid to watch reserves" just showed how they supported their team.

Last season Manchester United fielded a second string side in their final league matcha against Hull City. But by then United had already won the league title and they had a Champions League final against Barcelona to prepare for. In the case of Wolves things are far from decided. In a scenario exactly opposite to this Everton who were on a bad run of form and also an ever-growing injury list did not send out a second string side to face Chelsea at their fortress Stamford Bridge but instead manager David Moyes sent out his strongest possible side who frequently troubled the Chelsea defence and even managed to get 3 goals and a draw. David Moyes has to be praised for his belief in his squad even though he had a midweek Europa League match and a weekend clash with an in-form Birmingham City side at Goodison Park.
All this has has resulted in people showering praise on Everton and Moyes while heavily criticising McCarthy. The Wolves-Burnley match will surely be a match to watch out for