World Soccer News for week of 7/19 Ozren Podnar reports... Manchester United cancel a friendly game due to Jakarta bombings The English champions Manchester United cancelled a friendly in Indonesia to be played on Monday due to two bombing attacks last Friday in Jakarta. Suspected Islamic terrorists carried out suicide bombings in two luxury hotels and a commercial centre of the capital city. One of the stricken hotels was the Ritz-Carlton, where the United squad planned to reside during their sojourn in Jakarta. At least two people died in the explosion in Ritz-Carlton with a further seven casualties at the Marriott and a commercial centre in the north of the city. The attacks were attributed to the radical Islamic group Jemaa Islamiya, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in South East Asia.

World Soccer News for week of 6/14 Ozren Podnar reports... Jermaine Jones switches from Germany to the US team The German-American midfielder Jermaine Jones has become one of the first soccer players to take advantage of the new FIFA's rule on changing national teams. FIFA recently adopted Algerian FA's motion to suppress the age limit of 21 years for the change of national teams in case of players who have only taken part in international friendlies. Jones has played three friendlies for Germany and has transferred to the US team as soon as the change became available under the new regulations. No doubt, he will find more playing options in his father's country's team.

So Manchester United and Real Madrid hatched the Ronaldo snatch a year ago, if ex-President Ramon Calderon is to be believed. "Last season, Manchester United decided not to do it because they thought it was too early," Calderon told BBC Radio. "Everyone involved in the operation agreed to do it this season. That is what I can say." Real boss Juande Ramos corroborated this amazing claim: "We already knew that Real Madrid had a pre -contract agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo and that it was only a matter of time," he confirmed. So the transfer was done and dusted a year ago and it was only its timing which had to be mutually decided, it appears. There was no mention of the £80 million fee, which presumably was pencilled in by the two clubs after Euro 2008.

Bleary-eyed and weary, a legion of football fans shuffles through the night in their warmest of slippers and clutching at coffee cups.  Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere, where watching live European football requires the stamina of Paul Scholes and the fancy-footwork of Lionel Messi - if only to avoid tripping over the cat slumbering peacefully on the living room floor. Making sure the volume is turned way down for the start of the broadcast - waking the entire household is a rookie mistake - fans in the southern half of the globe are well accustomed to 4am starts and less than productive morning meetings at work.

World Soccer News For the week of 12/19 Ferguson labels Real Madrid as "the mob" It's more than rivalry. It's enmity. It's been simmering some time now and it has escalated this week over Cristiano Ronaldo. After learning of reports in the Spanish press that Manchester United had agreed to sell Cristian Ronaldo next summer, Sir Alex Ferguson slammed Real Madrid, saying he would never do another deal with "that mob". Spanish daily El Mundo reported that United and Madrid had reached a gentleman's agreement for Ronaldo's transfer to Santiago Bernabeu next summer. The agreement was supposed to be kept secret, but at least three Real's directors could not resist chatting about that with their acquaintances. Now Ferguson says there is no chance he will sell Europe's top player to the Spanish club because of Real's ungentlemanly conduct. "Do you think I would get into a contract with that mob. Jesus Christ, no chance. I wouldn't sell them a virus," he said in a press conference in Japan where his team reached FIFA's Club World Cup finals against Liga de Quito. "There is absolutely no agreement at all between the clubs." Still, could Manchester United's hierarchy have made a deal with Real's Ramón Calderón behind Sir Alex's back? Why not, since Ronaldo is eager to join one of the few clubs more glamorous than United themselves and the closer his contract due to run until 2012 nears the end the lower his price-tag will be. As early as next July, the Portuguese will be able to buy off his own contract at the price of his remaining salary of 120,000 pounds per week which must be less than what Real are ready to pay for a regular transfer fee. Beckenbauer calls Rensing an amateur for Stuttgart blunder Bayern Munich club president Franz Beckenbauer fiercely criticised keeper Michael Rensing for an error that led to the two point loss last Saturday against Stuttgart. Bayern were 2-1 ahead until the last minute but then conceded a goal because Rensing, according to Beckenbauer, failed to intervene in time and seize the ball. "When a keeper runs out from the goal, he has to catch the ball. The way in which he attempted to fist the ball away was amateurish," said the "Kaiser" after the match. "His criticism is a heap of nonsense. At least three or four players were straight ahead of me. I could not simply push them away. Furthermore, I was fouled and Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart's goalie) confirmed that with me that afterwards," replied Rensing, who succeeded the legendary Oliver Kahn at the start of this season. "Earlier I was a bit irritated by being criticised, but not any more. Everybody is trying to be clever after the game. In fact my goal is to be Germany's first choice keeper one day," admitted Rensing, brave for standing up to the authoritative Beckenbauer. Another Eto'os sweet revenge on Real Madrid The biggest club match in the world, the Spanish el clásico, allowed Barcelona to open a 12-point gap over Real Madrid and cost Bernd Schuster his job at the Bernabeu. Scoring the opener in the 2-0 win for the Catalan side, Samuel Eto'o showed he had not forgotten Real Madrid's debt for having disowned him on three occasions. In 1999, Madrid loaned him to Espanyol, in 2000 to Mallorca and then in 2004 refused to pay 11 million euros to the same club to buy out the other half of the player's contract. Barcelona paid the full transfer and carried the big prize, as Eto'o went on to score 94 goals in only 122 Primera división appearances and the equalizer in the 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal. Since arriving from Mallorca, Eto'o has scored four goals against Real, the first in 2004 at Nou Camp in a 3-0 win, the second the next year at the Bernabeu in a 4-2 loss and the third in late 2005 as Barcelona smashed Real by 3-0 in Madrid. Three years have passed since that night and Eto'o failed time and time again to add the fourth against his archrivals. It seemed that the drought would continue when the Cameroonian missed a penalty with 20 minutes remaining, but in the 83rd minute he made up for the miss beating Íker Casillas with a marvellously predatory strike. Ironically, new coach Josep Guardiola last summer thought of getting rid of the sometimes overly temperamental Eto'o, but changed his mind just in time when noticing the striker's commitment in the pre-season. And the African has repaid him with 15 goals so far in the Spanish league alone. And it's not even Christmas. Mourinho and Mihajlovic, forever friends Inter's coach José Mourinho has found an equally sharp-tongued rival in Sinisa Mihajlovic, new boss at Bologna. Their conflict flared up over Inter's player Adriano Leite, of whom Mihajlovic said he should not be allowed to practice with the first team on account of his frequent disciplinary breaches. Mourinho promptly replied to Mihajlovic, former assistant coach at Inter during Roberto Mancini's reign. "Everybody deserves a second chance. If Inter once allowed their player to practice with the first team even though he had spat at an opponent in the face, why shouldn't Adriano get a new chance?" The man alluded at by Mourinho was none other than Mihajlovic, who on one occasion spat on Adrian Mutu. The Serb coach responded vehemently to the Portuguese. "I cannot discuss soccer with Mourinho because he never played and he does not understand certain things. I did all sorts of stuff in my career which could not be justified and for which I got punished," said Mihajlovic. "By the way, his remark had nothing to do with what I said of Adriano." Now it was Mourinho's turn to make fun of Mihajlovic for not working at Inter anymore. "My assistant today is (Giuseppe) Baresi but Mihajlovic is speaking of Inter as if he was still working here." Mihajlovic left San Siro last summer alongside his friend, head coach Mancini, to make room for - Mourinho. Brazilian President happy: Ronaldo, welcome to my Corinthians Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, is thrilled that Ronaldo Nazario Lima has signed for Corinthians, the club that Lula has supported since childhood. "I was greatly pleased by the news. First, because he is a good chap and second, because he has done Brazil great service," said Lula to tv channel Bandeirantes. "It is true that he has reached the veteran stage (32), so he is likely to score fewer goals than before, but he can still be useful at the club level. I appeal to the fans to be patient with him if he does not start playing great right away." Somewhat less thrilled are Flamengo fans, who expected Ronaldo to join their team instead of their Sao Paulo "enemies". Some of the Rio team's ultras have even hired a witchdoctor whose job it is to conjure some black magic and prevent Ronaldo from triumphing at Corinthians. Some fans have even expressed desire to see the "traitor" break his leg so he could not make his debut for his new club! Riquelme on target for inciting violence Although an idol for millions of Argentinians, Juan Román Riquelme has been summoned to court to answer charges over inciting violence. Riquelme appeared this week at a misdemeanor court in Buenos Aires under charges of inciting disorder during a league game last November. The cause for the trial seems trivial indeed. During the Boca vs Rácing game (2-1), a spectator had shouted abuse and made rude gestures towards Boca's players. After volleying the winning goal, Riquelme ran 50 meters towards the stand where the abusive fan was sitting and showed him the finger. The public prosecutor claims Boca's midfielder "violated two rules, one concerning inciting disorder and other related to the progress of the match." If sentenced, Riquelme could be fined up to 300 euros or jailed for ten days. "The fan persistently insulted me and other players. One has no right to grab one's testicles and shout abuse to everybody coming close to the touchline," said Riquelme. His solicitor believes his client will be acquitted and next to appear in court will be the disorderly fan, a certain Agustín Pozzetti. Copyright Ozren Podnar&Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

YOKOHAMA—A day before Manchester United’s Club World Cup semifinal showdown with Japan’s Gamba Osaka, Sir Alex Ferguson was playing his cards close to his chest regarding his starting XI. He did say, however, that he intended to rely on three of his most experienced players—Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville—to see his club into the final. Following are excerpts from a press conference prior to training at Yokohama Stadium on Wednesday: Q: Who will you play against Gamba? A: Well, it's a complex situation. No one's asked me for that information yet, all they've asked me is what I think about the tournament. I will say this: Berbatov won't play tomorrow. He's been in bed since we arrived. He's picked up a virus. He's not very well at the moment. Wayne Rooney was injured in training yesterday but hopefully he'll be OK tomorrow. Other than that, everyone is fit. I can say that we will play some of our really experienced players like Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. It's a big-game situation and I think their experience will be important tomorrow. Other than that, I've got to decide the rest of the team. But it will be a strong team. Q: Scholes has recently come back from injury. How important is it for you to have him back in the squad? A: I think he brings an order to our game at times. We saw that in the second half against Aalborg (in the Champions League last week). He helped us get us back in the match and to gain control of the match. He's been a fantastic player for us, it's hard to measure it other than to say he's always been good for us. When he was a younger player he used to get us 12 to 15 goals a season, but he can't do that now. And we don't ask him to. But he brings other things to our team-his experience, his ability to keep possession, to control a match. It's a fundamental part of our game. His intelligence on the football field is tremendous. Over the years when Paul has had injury problems, and he's had a few, he has come back very well. And we've seen in training that he's back to normal. He showed that against Aalborg and we're confident of that. He hasn't lost anything. Q: Will Ronaldo play tomorrow? A: Ronaldo will play tomorrow. Q: What do you think of the timing of this tournament? A: In football you don't get a choice. The dates are there and we accept that. There has been some cynicism back home abut this tournament, with some saying we're doing it only for the money (the winner pockets 5 million USD) to play here, which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. We're here because we've been invited here as winners of the European Cup. It's a FIFA-recognized tournament and there's no way we can get out of it. So the criticism is unfortunate. The most important thing about being here is that it's a chance to win something in December. To be world champions in December is a fantastic middle-of-the season boost to everyone and that's the way we look at it. Q: Do you think you'll ever see players in the vein of Scholes, Giggs and Neville play for a club at such a high level for as long as they have? A: I think it's unlikely. I think we're a very fortunate club. We're the only club who can do that. Ryan has done 21 years, Gary 19 and Paul Scholes 19 years. And that is exceptional, absolutely exceptional. We hope we can get players who can do that for us on a regular basis but in modern terms and through contracts, I think it's unlikely. Q: Do you think you've ever had such depth in a squad during your 22 years managing United? A: No, I think this is our best squad in my time. We've got 23 players here and the only one who lacks any experience at all is our backup goalkeeper Ben Amos, but he's replacing our other goalkeeper Ben Foster who’s broken a finger in training. All the rest are of a high quality and most are internationals. I think it’s only Rafael Da Silva who is not an international. And there is difficulty in that, of course, because it’s difficult to manage such players. And it becomes a disappointment because you can't play everyone. Here we can have 12 players on the bench but in England it’s only improved this season to seven substitutes. You have no idea how much that helps the coach. I don’t know why, perhaps the structure of the benches and dugouts in England limit the number of subs but to have as many subs as you want at your disposal … You know, to put an international in the stands is in some ways an insult to him. And it’s a problem for me because you feel embarrassed to ask a top player to not be involved in an actual game. They expect to play; they all want to play. I have the best squad I’ve had since I came to the club, but it does create certain management issues. Q: If Gamba were playing in England, would you say they would be in the Premiership, Championship or some other division? A: I can answer that tomorrow. Football is that kind of game. I would say Gamba ... the improvement in Japanese football is there for everybody to see. The great advantage is the facilities. The facilities are very good. And there is a genuine enthusiasm among the people, which generates fervor in the country and I think that is the strongest part of the game here. Watching the video, they have some talented players, there's no question about it. And if you look at Shunsuke Nakamura at Celtic—we’ve played him three times now in the last two or three years—he is proof of the overall quality of Japanese football. Q: How long can Scholes continue playing at the level he has been? A: He's not going to improve much now, is he? He's 34 and had some injuries over the years. We hope he can maintain the level he’s been at, a great level, for another year or two. It's tough for players who get injured in their 30s. For Paul, he'll continue to do what he does. I don't see any negatives about his game, so hopefully he can keep it going for a long time. Q: Do you have any message to the fans who have made the expensive trip here from Manchester? A: It's something that always amazes me about this club, especially at this time of year. As everyone knows, some families are not in the best financial situation back home but they make the sacrifice. I have great admiration for them. To come this far to watch a football team shows you how much they regard us. And it also tells you something about our football club. I hope they think it's worthwhile. Q: Do you think Neville has what it takes to regain his spot on the national team? Q: I think he and Wes Brown are the best right fullbacks. Wes is out at the moment. Gary and Wes both have the problem now that Da Silva has just taken off. But all the players, Gary included, think he is fantastic. In my experience at this club, for a right back to come in and make such an impact is incredible. Gary did the same when he was a youngster, he was part of a group who came in and they were sort of a band of brothers. Da Silva has come in from Brazil, doesn’t speak the language that well, but understands football very well. So Gary and Wes have a similar problem. If they're not getting regular games from me it makes it difficult for (England manager) Fabio Capello to pick them. I would. I have no problem with it, but Fabio doesn’t know them as well as I do. Q: Are you looking ahead to the final at the expense of Gamba? A: We want to win it and I hope I play the right team tomorrow. Sometimes you have to look a game ahead. I want to play a team that can beat Gamba Osaka, and then Sunday, if we’re in the final, I have different ideas. Q: The No. 7 jersey has been a significant number at United over the years. What was the thought process behind giving it to Cristiano after the departure of David Beckham? A: Well, No. 7 has been a special number at our club for many years. When Cristiano joined us, Beckham had just joined Madrid. There was an issue of who should get the No. 7 jersey, but I thought a young kid should get it, given that Beckham was a youngster who came through our system. We thought it would be more comfortable for a younger player to take the No. 7 jersey. But I don’t think Cristiano would have considered it an advantage when he joined us. But over the five years he’s been with us, I’ve seen him develop into the player he is today. But he’s always had certain attributes that have pointed him towards greatness--his amazing skill factor, his speed and his courage. And in the time he’s been with us, he’s developed what he needed to develop most: his decision-making. He used to play center forward. And people in Portugal used to tell us he was a great goal scorer. When he first came to us we couldn’t see that. And all of a sudden he just blossomed. In the first season with us I think he scored 9 goals, the next season it was 13 or 14 and the next season it was 20. Then last year it was 42. And that is a testament to a young person who wants to do well. He improves himself by his own determination and ambition and by practicing all the time. Copyright © C.G. Williams & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

World Soccer News for week of 12/9 Stamford Bridge curse for Chelsea Chelsea may have a magnificent away record with eight wins out of eight games, but their pathetic home form has allowed Liverpool to overtake them on top. Last weekend saw another away game and another easy 2-0 win at Bolton, which stretched Chelsea's victorous away run to eight this season. The goals difference is breathtaking: 21-1 for Luis Felipe Scolari's team. Adding the three last season's away matches, Chelsea's winning series is 11 games long with 26 goals in favour and one against. The last host to have avoided defeat against the Blues were Tottenham last March. The London derby ended in a dramatic 4-4 draw. But, at the one-time unconquerable Stamford Bridge Chelsea has been having hard time to collect points: only a meager 11 points have been won on the home turf, compared to the maximum 24 from their eight trips. What's worse, bitter rivals Manchester United and Liverpool snatched wins at the Bridge. Unless Chelsea spread the winning habit to the home ground, the title may remain out of their reach for the third season in the row. Still, some teams struggle at home even harder then Chelsea: Everton, a UEFA Cup candidate, has collected but six points out of 24 at Goodison. Luckily, no less than five away wins keep them on the European course. A fan attempts suicide as Vasco go down The famous Vasco da Gama have finally been relegated as they lost 0-2 to Vitoria on the last day of the Brazilian league, but the night in Rio may have been darker, as a desperate fan considered jumping from the terrace. No doubt all the ten million Vasco's fans are sad but none like a man named by the press simply as Fernando, who at the end of the match stepped to the edge of a terrace, shouting he would jump to the depth of 20 meteres. The dramatic scene was followed by the multitude until the firemen managed to prevent Fernando in his intentions. In the last moment, as the man was preparing the drop, a fireman grabbed one of his arms and tugged him to safety. - "He said his life had no sense now that Vasco went down," informed a Rio de Janeiro Fire brigade spokesman as Fernando was flown to a nearby hospital, presumably to the psychiatric ward. Vasco have become yet another big Brazilian club to be relegated, continuing the tradition maintained over the last decade by Fluminense, Botafogo, Gremio and finally Corinthians. In fact, Vasco will be the one to replace Corinthians in the second flight, as their Sao Paulo rivals were promoted back two weeks ago. Elsewhere in Brazil, Sao Paulo captured their third consecutive title, the sixth overall, after beating Goiás 2-0 away and keeping the three-point advantage over Grémio. Vedad Ibisevic seeking to outbomb Müller Vedad Ibisevic, the Bosnian international at the tiny Hoffenheim, has been enthralling the Bundesliga audiences week in week out with his goalscoring exploits. In the first 16 matches of the current season the 24-year old scored an amazing 18 goals and is topping the scorers charts as his team lead the Bundesliga level on points with the giants of Bayern. Although he is bound to attract interest from an array of the continent's big guns, Ibisevic has promised to remain faithful to Hoffenheim for another 18 months. "I am plesed the big clubs are after me, but I plan to stay at Hoffenheim even after the end of this season," said Ibisevic to the German electronic media after nearly helping his team hold Bayern at Allianz Arena last Friday. In the end Bayern won 2-1 thanks to Luca Toni's goal in injury time, but Ibisevic's prowess has been praised by the greatest gunner of them all, Gerd Műller. "I believe Ibisevic can break my 1972 record. He has an uncanny nose for goal in the penalty area and such gift cannot be learnt," said the Bundesliga's all-time top scorer, who netted 40 goals in 1971/72. Should he beat my mark, I'll be the first to congratulate him." Who on Earth is Marc Janko? Could anybody be more prolific than Ibisevic? Much more prolific? Well, you just have to look south of the German-Austrian border. Salzburg's Marc Janko has notched an astonishing 29 goals in no more than 19 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga! Already in the first half of the season Janko (25) significantly improved his team's individual scoring record, held until now by Oliver Bierhoff, who scored 23 goals in the whole of the 1990/91 season. Janko has been particularly impressive since October 19th, when he netted 19 goals in eight games, about 2.2 per appearance. Curiously, he was never so efficient in front of goal, having scored just 18 goals in three full seasons with Salzburg before the current campaign. As late as last spring his form was so mediocre that he was not even picked for Austria's mediocre Euro squad. Nowadays, Janko's guns are blazing and there is no way of telling where his limits may be. Ronaldo Europe's best, Quaresma Italy's worst While Cristiano Ronaldo is celebrating an overwhelming win in the France Football's Golden Ball contest with 446 points ahead of Lionel Messi with 281 and Fernando Torres with 179, his fellow countryman Ricardo Quaresma received a different, slightly less influential award: the Golden Thrash Bin for the worst player in the Italian Serie A. The winger, whose transfer from Porto to Inter was one of the most eagerly awaited last summer, was given only nine caps by José Mourinho, incidentally his most fervent advocate until a few months ago. And he did not do much in those few matches either. The listeners to the Catersport program knew how to reward Quaresma for his displays, showering him with votes: 17,11% out of the 17,544 cast. The Silver Bin and the Bronze Bin went to the previous winners of the contest, Christian Vieri and Adriano, respectively. The rest of the top-ten include other illustrious names like Shevchenko, Dida and Tiago – all expensive and ultimately not all that useful for their current teams. Internacional suffer to win the Copa Sudamericana The Brazilians of Internacional conquered the Copa Sudamericana by beating Estudiantes La Plata by a 2-1 aggregate in a dramatic two-legged finals. Although the team from Porto Alegre carried a solid 1-0 advantage from the away match, the return game in Brazil turned out to be more emotional than expected. The Argentinians dominated and took a 1-0 lead through Alayes in the 65th minute, after which there was no more goals until the 90th minute. Since Internacional had Agenor sent off just before the end of the normal time, Estudiantes entered the extra-time as favourites, but the old adage saying that the outnumbered team fight harder turned out to be true one more time. The all-out offensive payed off to the Brazilians when Nilmar smashed the ball home from close range after it rebounded from the post. This was the first Brazilian win in the Copa Sudamericana, the Latin-american version of the UEFA Cup, after the competition was dominated by the Argentinians including last year's winner Arsenal of Sarandí. Copyright Ozren Podnar & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

World Soccer News for week of 06/13 European Championships: What does a good start mean? What's a thousand lawyers chained at the bottom of the sea? A good start, says a joke. At the Euros, a good start is essential for the ultimate win, says the history. The Netherlands, Spain and Portugal shone in their initial games, beating Italy, Russia and Turkey by an aggregate 9-1. Before 1980, only four teams played in the final stage under the cup system, so the champions necessarily had to win in the semifinals to reach the finals at all. Starting with Italy 1980, we notice that five out of seven champions won their first games, whereas only the Dutch lost 20 years ago and still went on to collect the ultimate prize. Germany and France on two occasions each plus Greece at the last Championship all won on their debut and kept the good form until the final moment. The Netherlands had a hard time qualifying for the semifinals after an initial loss to the Soviet Union in 1988, but two weeks later defeated the same rival in the finals to win their only big gold medal to date. Of all the winners, only Denmark achieved a draw in their first match in 1992. That was a goalless draw against England when no-one alive dreamt that the Danes could go all the way. Well, they did and that was the year of the Danish Dinamite. How the winners started 2004. GREECE vs Portugal 2-1 2000. FRANCE vs Denmark 3-0 1996. GERMANY vs Czechia 2-0 1992. DENMARK vs England 0-0 1988. NETHERLANDS vs USSR 0-1 1984. FRANCE vs DENMARK 1-0 1980. (W) GERMANY vs Czechoslovakia 1-0 Ian Wright duly slams greedy Ronaldo Former Arsenal's superstar Ian Wright was a speedy, cool finisher. And in his column for The Sun , he clinically finished off Cristiano Ronaldo over his irreverence showed towards Manchester United fans, teammates and coaches. "As a player, there’s no doubt what you’re capable of. As a man, you’re not showing any class whatsoever," Wrightie told the spoiled Ronaldo, who is still toying with the nerves of Alex Ferguson and United's millions of fans. The ex-Gunner reminds the Portuguese that Ferguson stuck with him in the first three seasons when he did not always play so amazingly, with all the diving and selfish dribbling instead of passing to an open team-mate: "I understand if it’s your dream to play for Real but you owe it to United to be patient — and that’s why you should stay. Doesn’t the affection of United’s fans and your team-mates mean anything to you?" Wright also touches upon the role of the "advisors", the obscure selfish individuals who thrive on displacing players just so that they could collect the commission, and the FIFA's leniency towards the clubs who so blatantly disregard contracts and regulations. And Real Madrid fits the profile better than any other club in the world. "It seems Real have again shown they have a disregard for other clubs and the rules of football. But they’ll continue to act like this, as long as they’re allowed to get away with it," concluded Wright his dissection of the "cesspit" today's football has come to be. Eto'o: Tottenham not good enough for me The Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o, recently involved in an incident with hitting a journalist, pointed a finger at the core problem that cost Barcelona trophies over the past two years: lack of physical fitness. "Technically, we have been really strong, but physically only average. In today's football, whoever does not run is lost. We were not prepared to run and that's why we suffered so many defeats in the last two seasons," said Eto'o to the Cameroonian television station, CRTV. In the same interview, Eto'o spoke of his future and the offer received by Tottenham. "May the English forgive me, but Tottenham is a midtable team, while I need more. I have a contract with Barcelona until 2010 and I feel well at the club. I cannot rule out the option with Inter, but I insist that I'm a Barca player." Maybe Eto'o will change his mind if the Spurs, now led by Luka Modric, climb among the top four in the Premier League? River Plate champs four years later One of the most famous American clubs, River Plate of Buenos Aires, returned to the Argentinian throne by winning the Clausura 2008, one of the two six-month championships played in this country. The "Millonarios" made sure of the trophy by beating Olimpo 2-1 on the penultimate day of the competition thanks to two goals by Diego Buonanotte, one in each half. River featured the unfortunate Ariel Ortega, the Argentinian Gazza, who alternates good displays with visits to alcoholism clinics. The decisive match was played at the Monumental Stadion before 58,000 fans, who cheered their players and the coach Diego Simeone. The former 100-cap international, famous for provoking David Beckham into getting sent off at the 1998 World Cup, already has two titles at his name. Since retiring as a player 27 months ago, Simeone led Estudiantes to the Apertura 2006, before repeating the success at River. With 90 minutes to go, River are four points ahead of their perennial rivals, Boca Juniors. Pelé against playing at high altitudes During his recent visit to Chile, the legendary Pelé confirmed he was against FIFA's decision to again allow playing of soccer games above 2750 meters, which it had banned last year because of the possible threat it poses to players' health. The Brazilian hero claims that playing at such heights is a factor of inequality, because it favours only those who live high above sea level. "Considering the equality and protection of players, I believe that each country should organize the teams in places at lower altitudes. That is more favourable for players' health," said the three-time World Cup Winner. When FIFA initially introduced the high-altitude ban, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia raised their voices crying "discrimination", although all of these countries have stadia far below the danger zone. "Although I played in La Paz, I would much prefer Bolivia choosing other cities for staging games," concluded Pelé. Copyright Ozren Podnar&Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

EURO 2008: Portugal 3:1 Czech Republic (Deco 8', Sionko 16', Ronaldo 63', Quaresma 90'), Stade de Suisse, Geneva Portugal are in pole position in Group A after ousting the Czech Republic 3-1 in Geneva. Cristiano Ronaldo, widely touted to be the start of the tournament, was instrumental in all three goals. His dribble in the eight minute allowed Deco to hand Portugal the lead. He then followed it up with a solo strike in the 63rd and then turned provider for Ricardo Quaresma to seal the game with seconds remaining. The Czechs had drawn level through Libor Sionko, the first equalising goal of the tournament, but in the end, quality won through over hard graft. Following a quiet opening, Portugal sprinted into an 8th-minute lead through Deco. Cristiano Ronaldo on the left wing was the instigator, slipping between two defenders before playing a 1-2 with Nuno Gomes and almost rounding Petr Cech to score himself. Deco scooped up the loose ball and netted courtesy of a deflection off Marek Jankulovski. It took until the 16th minute for the Czechs to find some fluency, Zdenek Greygera finding Milan Baros with a curling centre, but the Portsmouth striker's header was too high. A minute later they were level with stunning simplicity: A whipped in corner from Jaroslav Plasil on the right and a textbook bullet header on the run from winger Libor Sionko. Italian ref Roberto Rosetti made few friends in the 30,000 arena, with both sets of fans whistling several of his calls at ear-splitting volume. Ronaldo played a quiet first half in cruise control. But his snap contributions were telling. It was his dribble which led to Deco scoring and in the 42nd minute, an impromptu missile from 25 yards was only kept out by an airborne Petr Cech, who also blocked his dipping free kick at the end of the first 45. The second half began slowly but eight minutes in, Nuno Gomes came to life with a pair of efforts saved by Cech. Portugal again threatened when Deco slipped Simao into the box in the 58th and Cech had to save with his legs. Three minutes after the hour their persistence paid off as Ronaldo ghosted in to meet Deco's precise cross on the edge of the box and rifled a grasscutter into the net. Portugal looked to be cantering to a win but almost conceded again when Milan Baros evaded marking for a free header in the 78th minute, directed agonisingly wide. With the 35 year-old giant Jan Koller also now stomping around up frontld, it was no time to count chickens, Portugal's national symbol. Five minutes later it was Sionko who exposed the Portuguese's slackening marking with another unmarked header, tipped over by an alert Ricardo in goal. But despite a couple of Ricardo interventions in the closing minutes and a couple of scares in the box, the Czechs failed to land a second killer punch and with their red shirts pushed upfield, Portugal added a killer third with seconds remaining. Ronaldo broke free and squared for Quaresma to slot home into an empty net. Portugal play Switzerland on Sunday almost assured of a place in the last eight, while the Czechs must look for three points in their final game against Turkey. Four years ago, the Czech Republic were the strongest team in Europe. But today in sunny Geneva, the game belonged to the scarf-spinning red and green thousands, who happen to be Switzerland's largest expat community to boot. Dreaming of more Ronaldo magic, Portugal steam on. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

Results 10th June: Spain 4:1 Russia (Villa 20' 45' 75', Pavluchenko 86', Fabregas 90'), Innsbruck Sweden 2:0 Greece (Ibrahimovic 67', Hansson 73'), Salzburg Now we have seen all the teams, what have we learnt so far? Ibrahimovic's golazo against Greece was the most spectacular goal, Spain's 4-1 torching of Russia the most alluring and the Dutch's 3-0 thumping of Italy the stand-out result of the first slew of games. Fears that the Oranje would miss Arjen Robben proved groundless as they trounced the World Champions, defeating the Azzurri for the first time since Nottingham Forest were last crowned English champions. Italy has been awash with soul-searching today after such a clamorous capitulation. Italian back fours are supposed to be as compact as ranks of Roman legionary, not crumble like old Garibaldi biscuits left in the tin for too long. In midfield and attack too, the azure blues were decidedly off-colour as the Dutch sailed past them time and again, bagging three goals when it could have been more. All of a sudden, the in-vogue formation of 4-1-4-1 looked rather ropey. How fortunes change. Marco Van Basten is once again the Netherlands' poster boy after serious doubts were raised following his team's heavy weather in qualifying, while the blissful memory of the World Cup triumph in Germany has begun to fade. My suspicion is the Dutch are yet to prove they can be consistent so let us not get carried away. Remember how the Dutch steamrollered Yugoslavia 6-1 in the Euro 2000 quarter-final before grinding to a 0-0 draw and defeat on penalties against Italy in the semi-final. More recently, they began the 2006 World Cup at a canter, dispatching Serbia 6-0 in the first round before succumbing dismally 1-0 to Portugal in an ill-tempered game that produced four red cards and eight yellow cards. It was a Dutchman who coined the phrase 'sexy football' but it wasn't his countrymen playing the hottest soccer so far in the Alps. That award goes to Spain, who followed a stop-start 1-0 win over the USA in their final preparation match with a 4-1 mutilation of Russia and Guus Hiddink. How much should we read into Spain's deliciously simple pass and move soccer I am not sure. Russia were rubber in defence and, here comes my two cents, I could not imagine England being so outplayed had they qualified in place of them. Russia, let us not forget, were woeful 3-0 losers at Wembley in qualifying and also lost away to Israel, only scraping into the finals courtesy of England's self-destruction at home to Croatia in their final game. Guus Hiddink may be one of the world's top coaches, but his CV looked creased after Spain had finished with his latest team. Other sidesvmaking up the numbers are Poland and Turkey, who were utterly insipid losing to Portugal. And Greece, you might say, but I shall defend Otto Rehagel's team for providing some welcome entertainment. The sight of the Salzburg arena booing and whistling the Greeks for their negative play was wonderful theatre. Yes, we all want to be entertained and God forbid every team played like Greece, but I have a sneaking admiration for a team who managed to win Euro 2004 without any flair and who have the gall to turn up four years later with the same coach and same tactics! Plus we like to boo the baddie. The Czechs and French have yet to convince me while Sweden and Croatia's victories confirmed they will be tough nuts for any team to crack. Romania have yet to show what they are about, if anything while of the twin hosts, Switzerland could yet make it to the second round if results go their way. After, Holland, Portugal and Spain, the fourth and last team in the A-League thus far is of course Germany, who looked a much improved and more confident team than two years ago. That the Germans could be on the road to another final is demoralising on the one hand, but only to be expected on the other. There will be tougher tests than Poland ahead for Joachim Low's side, but there was an inescapable feeling during that game that we have been down this familiar road many times before. (c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting