Ruud Departure

As expected, Real has completed the signing of Ruud VanNistelrooy from ManUtd after agreeing to a deal worth just more than 10 million pounds. It's a pity that Ruud's wonderful career at ManUtd has to end this way.

Watch some of Ruud's greatest goals here...

Thanks for all the memories, Ruud....we'll miss you in the EPL!

Goal Record at ManUtd...
EPL - 150 goals in 219 appearances
Europe - 38 goals

The Spanish Saga

It was a great last season for Spain with Barcelona and Sevilla being crowned the Champions League and UEFA Cup winners respectively. Being a Barcelona fan, I couldn't be more happy but I would not lie if I say that I look forward to the next season with a bit of apprehension. It's never easy for a club to be motivated especially after a great season conquering Spain and Europe as well.

But Barcelona have made some good buys already this season. Though Gudjohnsen is no Larsson, he was one of the most impressive playmakers for Chelsea whenever he featured for the Blues - surprising given the fact that he is a striker! Luring Thuram and World Cup winner Zambrotta from relegated Juventus means Barcelona have strengthened their Achilles' heel - their defence. At 34, Thuram still looks amazingly fit.

In addition, the Spanish players, Ronaldinho, Messi et al would be fired up to make up for their failure in the World Cup. Barcelona still have one of the greatest squads around and it would definitely not mean success if they do not conquer Spain and Europe again this season.

Real Madrid have been busy too in the transfer market, raiding Juventus and signing on Italian World Cup-winning captain Cannavaro and Emerson. Kaka, Cesc, and Robben seem to be out of Real's grasp as their respective clubs have warned these players aren't for sale. Real need a good striker and signing them Ruud and re-uniting him with Becks would do both these players and the club a world of good. I feel Real are being really stingy here by bidding just 10 million pounds for a striker who guarantees a bucketload of goals every season. They risk losing him to Bayern if they don't up their offer meeting the 15 million evaluation of ManUtd.

Real need to replace Zidane who has retired, get a left winger, and a striker if they have to challenge Barca this season for the title. Now that Perez is no more the President of the club, his galacticos-policy is gone, I guess the club will start to do better. Fabio Capello, the new manager will see to that.

Valencia have under-achieved the last 2 seasons after winning the title in 2003-2004. I expect a lot from them every season, with some great players in their team - Ayala, Vicente, Albelda, and Villa. Aimar has moved on to Zaragoza. Villa has to fire away this season just as he did last season and Vicente has to recover from his injuries and recapture his sizzling form from the Euro'04 if Valencia hope to challenge Barca and Real for the title.

Athletico Madrid is a team to watch out for. They have made so many signings this season and Torres has also opted to remain at the club, giving a boost to their small hopes to challenge the other big teams this season.

Being a great fan if La Liga, I am very much eager for the new season to start!

The Color of Money

Sir Alex is in a dilemma. Given the scarce funds thanks to the Glazers, he has no scope of buying some of the hottest prospects in Europe. Thanks to Russian mafia-money, Chelsea has emerged as a top destination for world-class players and other greedy ones who look to make a killing just by warming their benches. Difficult times lie ahead for Fergie as he struggles to keep hold of his top players. Adding to his dilemma is the fact that Juventus players are available for cheap after their demotion but this would be just a short term strategy as most of them are in the last stages of their career. As I write this, I hear Thuram and Zambrotta have joined Barcelona...finally some good news, but that's entirely different matter.

Sir Alex has seen a host of talented players snub United and moved on to Chelsea just because they get larger pieces of the pie that is the Russian mafia-money. Adding to Fergie's woes is that ManUtd from a profit-making plc, has become a club riddled with debts thanks to the Glazers' takeover.

The transfer market scene has changed entirely after the arrival of Roman Abramovich who is willing to shell out obscene amounts of money for overrated players. 25 million pounds for Essien and 20 million for SWPhilipps - Bull shit! Fergie points out to Chelsea spending 30 million for Shevchenko, while arguing his case for more money for Ruud Van Nistelrooy whose position as Europe's top goal scorer is very similar to that of the former AC Milan striker. 12 milion pounds for Ruud is peanuts for a guy who guarantees 20 goals a season and a few in the Champions League as well.

Torres might be an upcoming player but he is still unproved at the elite level in Europe and he might even struggle to adapt in the EPL. 25 million for him? No way! Diarra preferred a move to Real than to ManUtd but Real have signed on Emerson, which opens the way for a move to OT...but the transfer fee demanded by Lyon - 25 million! Absolute crap!

Some of the players recently bought were extremely high-priced. No guesses for which club bought them. Given below are the actual money paid/demanded and the real worth according to me.

Player - Demanded/Paid Fee - Real Worth
Essien - 25 million - not more than 14 million
SWP - 20 million - maximum 15 million
Horno - 8 million - 3 million
Drogba - 24 million - 15 million
Shevchenko - 30 million - 22 million ( he is 30, for goodness sake!)
M.Diarra - 25 million demanded - not more than 17 million
F.Torres - 43 million (buy-out clause)...at least 26 million demanded - 22 million max!

I have to agree with Arsene Wenger for once...the price of players just inflate when clubs know Chelsea are also interested. Some clubs allege Chelsea are looking to buy their player just to increase the fee. It's definitely not a good trend and is sure to affect the EPL as the gap between them and the rest of the teams would widen to such high levels that ultimately one team will dominate, resulting in serious lack of interest.

Vultures will Swoop Down

Following the match-fixing scandal, Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have been relegated to Serie B, but AC Milan will remain in the top flight, although they have penalized 15 points for next season.

The outcome...

Juventus
Relegated to Serie B
stripped of the last two Serie A titles
Fine of £50,000
30-point deduction for next season

Lazio
Relegated to Serie B
penalized 7 points for next season

Fiorentina
Relegated to Serie B
penalized 12 points for next season

AC Milan
Docked 44 points from last season's total
Out of Champions League
15-point deduction for next season

Juventus could lose the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and without European football, Milan could lose Pirlo, Gattuso, and Kaka. The vultures have been hovering around these clubs already. Real, Barca, ManUtd, Arsenal and many other clubs are looking at the situation. We can expect a lot more transfers in the next few weeks.

I pity these clubs and I feel bad that this might make the Champions League less interesting next season. But justice has been served.

England - Revelling in Mediocrity?

English football, no doubt, has some of the biggest superstars in the world. In Gerrard, Lampard, Terry, Rio, Owen, and of course, Rooney, England can pride itself of a individuals par excellence. But then, why do they suffer in almost all major championships? Is it the absence of a strong coach, or the failure to play as a team?

Analyzing England's performance at this World Cup would shed some light on the problems plaguing the England national team. Firstly, they have as their coach a man of questionable integrity - a person who seeks out to potentially financially better opportunities when he holds the apparently the highest managerial position in world football.

After 6 years in charge and 3 quarterfinal appearances in major championships, England for all its world-class players, are nowhere near the top rung of teams. Sven has never had the guts to make critical decisions and his insistence to continue with a lackluster Beckham apparently had other players revolting. Sven never had a system in place and used the system that suited the players, so that he could accommodate his stars in the lineup.

Lampard and Beckham were among the worst performers. At least, Beckham had a hand in most of the goals England scored, even if only a few. But Lampard, coming after a title-winning season with Chelsea, never found form. Sven never had the guts to replace Lampard. And why the hell did he take Jermaine Jenas if his job was just to warm the bench. Perhaps, Defoe would have been a much better choice, given the shortage of strikers with all the injuries.

I applauded Sven for picking Walcott but then, Sven's gamble has turned out to be one of his worst ever mistakes. If he wasn't fully convinced, why did he ever take him to Germany? Walcott could have been given a run-out at least in the group stages. Sadly for Walcott, it may have even damaged his confidence, going into the new season.

England is among the best supported nations in any major championships and I look at them in awe for the tenacious support they provide. But then, booing at Owen Hargreaves, their own player was disgusting. It was a wonderful sight to see Owen prove them wrong with a terrific man-of-match performance during the loss to Portugal. It is also ironic that he was the only person to score his penalty when the big guns such as Lampard and Gerrard failed at it miserably.

Sven's win-at-all-costs stand may have led to another quarterfinal appearance but their game was repelling to say the least. Even teams like Germany and Italy, who aren't exactly renowned for their beautiful or attacking game played some great football.

The endless wait for a major title will continue to torment the English supporters until the English FA appoint a manager who is strong enough to take tough decisions that might even hurt some of the superstars in the team. Is the new coach Steve McLaren capable of that? I do not know but we will have to wait and watch.

As they say, you can plot the passage to the quarters with your mind. But after that, it is all heart. And, it is in the heart and mind that Sven was found wanting.

Italy - World Champions

We are the Champions!

Italy beat France in penalties to win the most coveted trophy in sports, after the game finished 1-1 after extra time. Italians are no doubt deserved winners for they have shown the spirit and commitment in all their games.

Meanwhile, Zidane's exit from football was ugly as his headbutt on Matterazzi had him sent off in extra time.

Zizou off for good!

The ghosts of penalties are buried for the Italians as they won their first ever penalty shoot-out! And what a stage to do that?!!! Simply awesome! One of the moments to remember in world football....I know I will :) Grazie l'Italia!

Ultimate Glory Beckons

Italy and France are set to fight it out for the World Cup in the final at Berlin on Sunday. Italy overcame a fighting Germany while the French needed a penalty to kill off Portugal's challenge.

Azzuris' fiery spirit

The Italians, rocked by the match-fixing scandal back home, have showed tremendous spirit and will-power to progress into the final. After a tremendous display in their opening game against Ghana, they were rocked by the red card to Rossi and were held by a determined 9-men USA. Italy overcame Czech Republic and Nedved's one-man show, thanks to Buffon's excellent saves.

In the knock-out round, a last-second penalty helped a tiring 10-men Italy to overcome the resolute Aussies. In the quarters, Ukraine were brushed aside thanks to Toni's brace and even though injury kept out defender Nesta, Italy still had an inspiring defender and captain in Cannavaro who has by far been the best defender in this World Cup.

Beating the Germans proved tough as the Italians were held goalless until the last minute of extra-time when they attacked with full vigour, partially out of fear for penalty shootouts in which their record is as poor as England's. Italy deservingly won the game as Grosso and Del Piero scored right at the end of extra-time.

Strengths

Italians as always have been tremendous at defending and have not conceded a goal apart from an own-goal against USA. Buffon has been the best goalkeeper in this tournament, Cannavaro - the best defender, and Pirlo and Gattuso are among the best players in midfield.

Weaknesses

The strikers haven't scored many and Totti though has been very important, has not been at his very best, mainly due to his recovery from injury. Italians are known to not play attacking football but just defend, especially after they score a goal. Coach Marcello Lippi has however seen to it that Italy play attacking football even after scoring.

Les Blues march on

France started on a low-note after draws against the Swiss and S.Korea but regained confidence with a win against Togo. Zidane, after a disastrous season at Real Madrid, has improved as France progressed. The win against Spain and Brazil gave them self-belief and a penalty against Portugal has given them a place in the finals.

Strengths

Peaking at the right time has been their advantage, starting with the win against Spain. Zidane has inspired them in the knockout rounds and has been ably supported by the old warhorses such as Makelele and Viera, and rising stars such as Ribery. Henry has also played his part by scoring vital goals. Thuram and Gallas have let in just a couple of goals in this tournament.

Weaknesses

Barthez in goal still looks shaky. The oldies - Zidane, Maka, Thuram were expected to tire out as the tournament progressed but they have been able to keep their strength and have played important roles in taking France to the final. The French manager Ray Domenech, still opts for one-man up-front and this might not help the French trying to break down the stubborn Italian defence.

Two deserving teams have made it to the final. Past records against each other will make no difference to the teams' fate. The players will fight it out and give their all. It might just be a solitary goal that might separate the victors from the losers. Just 90 more minutes (or perhaps, extra-time...no penalties please!) to achieve ultimate glory!

My Nominees for Player of the Tournament

Goalkeeper - Buffon

Golden Ball - Buffon, Cannavaro, Zidane, Pirlo, Gattuso, Klose

Coach - Marcello Lippi

Best XI

Buffon
Zambrotta Cannavaro Gallas Lahm
Ronaldo Gattuso Pirlo Zidane
Klose Podolski

Bench: Ricardo, Riquelme, Makelele, Viera, Figo, Miguel, Rodriguez

Worst Players
Lampard, Ibrahimovic, Brazil!

Best Moments
Argentina's 24-pass goal
Australia's comeback win over Japan
10-men Trinidad holding Sweden to a draw

Worst Moments
The card melee in the Portugal-Holland match
England's penalties disaster
De Rossi's red card for elbowing McBride
Swiss crashing out without conceding a goal and without scoring a penalty
The players' brawl after the Germany-Argentina game

Top 3 goals

1. 24-pass goal by Argentina
2. Maxi Rodriguez's stunner against Mexico in extra time
3. Joe Cole's stunning volley against Sweden