World Cup Statistics can exclusively reveal that Barcelona FC have been declared the winners of football. The Catalan giants added to their already obscenely impressive recent trophy haul by defeating Portuguese side Porto FC 2-0 in the UEFA Super Cup. The competition, which pits the winner of the previous year’s UEFA Champions League against the winner of the previous year’s UEFA Europa League, formally the UEFA Cup, in a France-based friendly with extras. The victorious side are claimed Ultimate Champions of Europe by football’s European Lord and Master, Michel Platini.

Porto put up more than a good fight, and an almost literal one as the game came to a close by having two players sent off. The game proved an entertaining spectacle but it was Barcelona’s skill that claimed the victory in the end after the opening goal, scored by Lionel Messi following a defensive blunder, saw new-boy Cesc Fabregas make it 2-0 in the dying minutes.

On a trip to Wales recently, this writer opened the jousting field by starting a game of ‘I, Spy’. A ‘P’ was thrown out to the eager mass of 3 competitors and the game began. The answers came slow and muddy and the interest in discovering just lay behind the ‘P’ seemed to wane until one young man in the back of the car started officially broke the game. He broke ‘I, Spy’. His answer to the question of ‘P?’ was something to monumental it is now the case that to entertain the arena of journey-based games will hold only cold memories of confusion and mild peril. This is what Barcelona have done to football. They have broken football and ultimately, they have won it.

Barcelona didn’t need fixing, but they have added Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas to their already pointlessly depressing squad. Given that they have been crowned champions La Liga for consecutive years and the Champions League three times in 6 years you’d think that there would be no point in adding players to a side that already paste the floor with everyone else. They have, and as a result, WCS has declared them the CHAMPIONS OF FOOTBALL FOREVER. This more than honorary title bestows upon Pep Guardiola’s team of magicians the opportunity to save all our souls and fall upon their sword for the good of the game and many marriages in and around Europe.

It has been proposed here at WCS towers, which are a deep, dark and murderous series of walkways and corridors, all surrounding The Plaza of Detestable Individuals, that Barcelona should be disbanded forcefully and made to start again. This tactic, often employed in the game Mouse Trap when someone decides to build the rollercoasters and mazes before the first roll of a dice is one we feel is fair to absolutely to everyone. It is true that those in the know laud upon the European Champions, every compliment possible, but the rest of the football fans’ fraternity lie awake at night fearing the Catalan side’s arrival at their stadium.

So, in the name of sanity we have decided what players should go to what team in what league in order to redress the balance of ‘what’s the point in turning up?’ Here is our final list and let it be known that this was not a list assembled without complaint, struggle, strife and the odd death. Our parrot will never be the same either.

WCS Barcelona Player Redistribution Roster 2011

GK – Victor Valdes. Valdes, a player often suspected of not really being a goalkeeper but just someone’s mate the club put in goal because they have because footballing law says they should, should go to AC Milan. The Milano giants have been long served by Christian Abbiati but it has been said that his quality isn’t that of a top side. He’s certainly a good keeper but by no means is he in the top 5 in the world. Valdes’ experience would be just the right quality someone in between the sticks would need to strengthen the red and black’s side.

LB – Eric Abidal. The Frenchman has recently recovered from a rather serious case of cancer. You wouldn’t think it given the lanky full-back’s defensive and attacking play is just as potent as ever. His bombing runs up and down the left wing form one of the main focuses of Barcelona’s play and after consulting the runes we decided that he should play for, Arsenal. With Gael Clichy getting lost on the way to Edinburgh on a family holiday, only to find himself at the Manchester City training ground completely by accident, Arsene Wenger’s side could do with a consistent and powerful fullback. Abidal fills that role.

CB – Gerard Pique. The ex-Barcelona, ex-Manchester United, now Barcelona player’s performances in his first season surprised everyone. His composure, awareness and positional nous made him look like a player way in advance of his still early years. He is also giving it to Shakira. Such qualities would be best served at a side that are in need of stabilising and leading by the scruff of the neck. This is no coincidence and certainly no love-in, but he too should play for Arsenal.

CB – Carlos Puyol. Captain Caveman can stay where he is. We don’t talk about his right-back performance in the Champions League final in 2009 either.

RB – Daniel Alves. Alves is one of those players what can immediately polarise. He’s beyond brilliant on his day and an absolute ******* the rest of the time, but you need that. He brings the type of play that can see your team chasing his shadows but if you catch him, you’ll be chasing the referee to tell him that the Brazilian dived. Alves would best suit a side such as Liverpool. His interplay with the likes of Luis Suarez, Raul Meireles and Steven Gerrard would bamboozle opposition sides and no doubt up the ante for the Mersy…side.

CM – Xavi Hernandez. The second coming of every son of whatever God you believe in simply has it all. Passing, pressing, a brain, nice skin and clean boots. What more could you want? This player would best suit a side that is in need of creativity in the midfield; someone who would make the front player’s job a hell of a lot easier. With Wesley Sneider still, as it stands, playing for Internazionale, their main competitors would best be served with a player who could unlock the attacking prowess of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho. With Andrea Pirlo deciding to move on to Juventus, A.C Milan are in need of a locksmith.

CM – Sergio Busquets. Sloppy Biscuits should go to Tottenham Hotspur. Why? Because with Rafael Van Der Vaart and Luka Modric in a side soon to be fronted by Emmanuel Adebayor, a man in the middle who can quite simply close play down and hold the fort would allow those two creative players to run as much havoc as they wish. With Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon erupting beside him he could be a player that helps Ol’ Arry’s side get back to the top of the Barclay’s Premier League.

CM – Andrés Iniesta. The third coming of the son of whatever God you believe in ALSO has it all, much like Xavi. He also looks like he could to with some red meat. But that’s another story. Little Andrés would work a treat in a side like Bayern Munich. The Germans have a wealth of talent in their side but without a world-class striker – Miroslav Klose should be five years younger – they could do with adding an extra brain to their Bastian Schweinsteiger led midfield. Toni Kroos and Anatoliy Tymoshcuk aside, Thomas Müller is key in the advanced position for the Germans, so with Iniesta in behind him, helping the play flow, the wide men Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery would prosper greatly. It’s something I’d want to see anyway.

LW/ST – David Villa. Bloody hell. David Villa. Where could the mountain of attack go? Any team would benefit from this man’s inclusion, much like any team would benefit from any of the Barcelona player’s inclusion but with this chap, like the upcoming selections, you have to be a little more tactical in choice. Villa brings power, pace, accuracy, drive, guile, skill and energy to your side, so who could do with a bit of that to raise their game on the top level? With Ashley Young proving his worth at Manchester United, David Silva running the show at Manchester City, Juan Mata and Florent Malouda pulling the wing strings at Chelsea, the only place David Villa should go to is, wait for it…Udinese. I know, I know what you’re thinking but Udinese are only a few signings from being such a good side. They are already wonderful to watch but with the likes of Villa replacing Sanchez in the black and white of the team from Udine.

RW/ST – Alexis Sanchez. Alexis Sanchez should go to Inter Milan. If Sneijder leaves and with Eto’o already gone to some Russian side for billions of gold coins, the one thing this side will lack if pace, both in play and in legs. Forming a front three of Diego Milito, Giampaolo Pazzini and Sanchez, with Esteban Cambiasso holding the midfield for Javier Zanetti and Ricardo Alvarez/Thiago Motta, Inter’s side would boat a mixture of power and speed.

ST/LW/RW – Lionel Messi. Right. Him, then. No, I’m not going to say Manchester United simply because I happen to, y’know, look at their matches more than occasionally. Let me just say in deciding this, the Consult of WCS – a shady, brooding  meandering cult of loonies and pirates – looked not only at the rune stones, the constellations, attended many open psychic nights at the local pub ‘The Bitch and Bender’ but also looked at something modern people call science. In doing so it was suggested that Lionel Messi be given to no one team but given to medical science for humanitarian purposes. We judged that was totally sensible and decided to make another plan instead.

Lionel Messi…should be kept in cryogenic stasis, deconstructed molecule by molecule, studied, cloned and eventually have his DNA fused into every embryo in every test tube lad in the land. We have to make a legion of Messi’s in order to keep football from collapsing. This lad is so good, it’s pointless to even breath next to him, because he will no doubt be doing the same, although if he didn’t it wouldn’t affect him, and he’d be doing it better anyway. Lionel should be given to everyone.

Oh, the answer that broke ‘I Spy’? Hmm. Well, here it is…

I asked: “I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with P.”

My friend, sat in the back, answers: “…….planet.”

BROKEN.

Scene One: A hotel room in Barcelona, 17 August, 01:45: A man lies in bed, his shadow cast against the closed curtains of the main window that overlooks a dreary car park – in situ, a coach bound for Madrid. The phone rings and the man picks up the receiver.

“Hello, this is The Special One. Who is this?”

A voice rumbles over the crackle of the poor reception. “Hello, this is Perez.”

The man places the receiver on his knee and reaches beside the bed. He dips his hand into an ice bucket and he raises his arm while clasping a bound towel full of cold cubes which he wipes over his sweating brow.

“Yes,” says the man in the bed. “It’s late, what can I do for you?”

“Tonight…” the voice says, obviously emotional.

There comes a tentative reply: “Yes, what of it?”

“Explain. I want you to explain to me right now, just what happened there. We have people in places so high your nose would bleed when thinking about it and they want to know, now. What was that debacle?”

The man in the open shirt and tight trousers lets the towel fall and the ice clinks and clacks as it drops back into the bucket. He shifts his weight on to his right side and curls into a comforting position. He knows of whom the man speaks and the man on the phone wants to know what they want to know. There’s no getting out of this, not now. He takes a moment to catch his breath before answering: “I, I don’t know. I cannot answer. It’s them, they, the ones who run everything. The ruin everything. They are favourtising them. Is that a word?”

“No.”

“It’s them. They make me do it,” he begins. “They make Barcelona do what they want. They can dive and cheat all the time. And that little b*stard, Messi. He does it every time. They insult us at all times. We need help. I cannot lose. I am champion of three countries and Iberia will not beat me. Never. We must win.”

“You do know how this looks don’t you? You know what the world is saying about you, about me, about us. They all look at us and say we are not white, we are not royal. They say we are black of heart and that you poison us and our memory.” There is a low hum in the background as the man says this. Something is beginning to chime and its noise is like no other. The man on the phone pauses and he in the room can hear the long, slow stroke of someone taking a large inhale of a cigarette. No doubt it’s 89% tar like all Spanish cigarettes.

The manager replies. “I know, I know! I had to do it, don’t you see? His eye was just there, I had to poke it, I had to poke them!”

“We are a joke, Mr. Mourinho. The world’s joke. Spain’s joke. Not only do those Catalan s*its run a spear through our backs like we are a lame bull, our own have lost faith.”

“B…but, we have made great strides. We have fantastic new players and our old are combining beautifully. We are closer than ever…ever! I have even managed to get Ronaldo to stop bathing in moisturiser three times a day. Now it’s just once. Pepe no longer keeps live dogs to practise tackling on and Ozil has stopped dressing like an octopus to match his weird eyes. The boys are good now.”

“No, Mr. Mourinho. No.” The hum elevates its resonance to a cry and a light flashes before the window of Mourinho’s room. Sweat trails from his brow and it seems as if pools are formulating around his bare feet. He takes time to think of his wife and children; his dog.

Jose Mourinho sits up rapidly and rushes to his room window. He peers behind the curtain and looks down on the car park below. The bus is parked, as always, but now it has a spoiler on the front and it seems sportier somehow. That is not the focus of his attention though. He is looking to see if he is being watched. He is. He spies a large figure lurking behind the strategically places trees that are to keep the local press from taking pictures of the Real Madrid squad. He recognises this man and it is now he knows he can never fear for himself. He spins back round and reaches under the bed for his suitcase. He flops in on the bed and begins hastily packing his clothes without care or consideration for the creases such recklessness will produce. He begins to speak again.

“Listen, Perez, I finished off Valdano and I’ll finish off you. I am the only Galactico you need. I am the Réal man this club needs. You just shut your mouth and front the Euros.”

“How dare you!” says Perez, flustered and exacerbated. “How dare you speak to me like that. My people will hear of this.”

“Your people? Ha. Your people, are my people now, Perez. My people.”

With that, Mourinho runs from his room only half-dressed, clutching his mobile phone and half-packed case and finds himself in the lobby of the hotel. The figure has come to meet him and the two men smile and shake hands quickly. It’s not long before they are whisking down the East coast of Spain, laughing and drinking sangria like wild men of the country.

“I did not think you would come, old friend,” says Jose. “I thought I was lost.”

“Dan’t warry, me ol’ muckka, is oright innit. Aw’ll always av yer back, ya know dat! Remember da good ol’ dayz wiv Franky and Diddy? It’s on mayte, it’s on.”

“I know,” Mourinho finally says. “You were always my captain, John Terry.”

Welcome back!

Okay, so that is a little dramatic, or maybe not dramatic enough but we can safely say we’re back in silly season or rather, football is back. Are you happy about that? Are you looking forward to the excitement, the heartache, the desperation, the money, the blanket coverage, the transfer lies, the gossip, the goals, the glam, the endless games, the wags, the banter, the tears and tantrums, the tabloids, the Champions League being won by Barcelona again…World Cup Statistics is! We shall strive to bring you the main news from Europe’s top leagues, and possibly further afield too.

So, what are the main talking points from summer 2011?

1. Madrid V Barcelona and Spain’s top two. Yes, it’s Scotland with a giant sunbed in the sky. Who of these two – Barcelona – will take the league crown and get the furthest in Europe? Madrid seem to have improved vastly but with ‘Howling Mad’ Mourinho in charge it seems as if Spain’s La Liga is getting the best of The Special One. I know if I had to lead a team into battle against a Barcelona team that are possibly the greatest footballing outfit in HISTORY, I would feel a bit perturbed.

2. Wesley Sneijder. Go to Manchester United, will you? We all know you’re leaving Inter, as has Samuel Eto’o in the continent’s most peculiar move, so let’s cut the protracted contract negotiations and get the thing signed so we no longer have to go through a Fabregasian maze.

3. Arsenal are missing a few bullets to their magazine after losing Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Eboue (sigh) and seemingly Samir Nasri. What will Wenger’s men of mystery achieve this year and will the British press hound the man out of the job as they seem intent upon doing?

4. Are Inter a selling club? It’s supposed they are given their transfer negotiations of Eto’o and *dear Lord* Sneijder. To align their books with the Fair Play rules initiative, they have to offload a few men of black and blue to help keep afloat. Is the Mourinho empire now finally decayed and how will that affect their performances this year in what should be another fantastic season in Serie A? Milan are champions and Antonio Cassano has lost more weight; Europe, prepare yourself.

5. How will Adre Villa-Boas’ defection to Terry FC, oh, sorry, Chelsea alter Porto’s footballing mandate and style and can Sporting Lisbon look any more like walking billboards for boiled sweets?

6. How will ‘The Ever Fantastic To Watch’ Udinese fare in the Champions League should they overturn their 1-0 deficit against Arsenal? Not that WCS wishes to go off the journalistic wall and align with anyone in particular (we’re not biased here, honest….Champ19ns, ahem) but wouldn’t it be wonderful to see Europe’s 2nd most entertaining side have a crack at the best of the rest?

7. Manchester City. Well, nothing more to say there really other than…you best watch out for this lot as they’re going to make waves over the next two years and many think it will be even less than that with the wealth of talent they have.

8. Lionel Messi: is it time to make him play with one leg to make life more fair?

9. Galatasaray: will Emmanuel Eboue make them all they can be? He had Barcelona shaking in their boots last year, and that was from the bench, so how will he measure up in Turkey? We’ll be keeping an eye on him in a special feature – Eboue’s Odyssey.

Get Ready…

So, sit back, grab your beer, your wife/girlfriend, and hold on for your life because Season 2011-2012 has begun and it promises to be roughly the same as last year. We can’t wait!

Football fans around the world have been taken a stronger-than-usual interest in the King’s Cup in Spain this season as the first El Clasico final in 21 years has been a real possibility and thanks to Real Madrid’s defeat of Sevilla in the semi-final, Los Merengues will finally have a chance to exact revenge on their rivals for their 2-0 defeat back in 1990.

Barcelona completed an 8-0 aggregate victory over Almeria, as a second XI completed a 3-0 away victory in the second-leg. Real Madrid struggled to break down the holders in their second-leg, but late goals from Mesut Ozil and Emmanuel Adebayor completed a 3-0 aggregate success.

It sets up a mouth-watering clash as the two rivals clash for just the third time that will have both sets of players salivating at the prospect of beating each other.But it is football fans who are the real winners as, not only do we get a third Clasico to watch this campaign, we will be treated to two in the space of four days. The return match in the league is scheduled for the weekend 16^th/17^th April, with the Copa Del Rey final set for the 20^th. And there’s always the possibility the two could be squaring off the following week once more in a Champions League semi-final.

While playing a possible five times in one season would be overkill for many, this wouldn’t be the case with Clasico. The atmosphere in the Old Firm is as strong as ever, despite the fact they play at least four times a season (it’ll be six this time around). And if any one ever gets bored of seeing 22 of the finest players in the world on the pitch at the same time, not to mention arguably the two best coaches in the game, then it is a very sad day for football indeed.

The person who will be the most excited at having extra matches between the two giants will be Jose Mourinho. It has been said that Barca is the first battle he has no chance of winning – unless you count his stand off with Roman Abramovich of course. But Mourinho has a habit of winning battles people said he can’t. This is the man who got the better of Sir Alex Ferguson on numerous occasions, who ended Chelsea’s 50-year wait for a title and who led unfancied Porto and Internazionale to the Champions League title, the latter in which he overcame Barcelona in the semi-finals after losing to them in the group stages.

The ‘Special One’ will have been concocting a plan to ensure the 5-0 drubbing is forgotten about when the sides clash again, but with an extra fixture he is able to not only beat Barca, but get a piece of silverware out of it. Real are unlikely to cost Barca the league title, with the gap now standing at seven points. It would take either a dramatic loss of form from Blaugrana – very unlikely – or a severe injury crisis at Camp Nou – though Barca’s second string aren’t exactly pushovers.

So it is the King’s Cup that gives Mourinho his best chance at beating Pep Guardiola and putting some silverware in the trophy cabinet at the Bernabéu. This said, managers have lost their job at Real for winning the league, so adding a first Copa Del Rey since 1993 may not be enough to save the already under-pressure manager. He may need to add the Champions League at Wembley in May to bring back harmony between himself and president Florentino Perez or, knowing Mourinho, a chance to stick two fingers up at his critics and leave the club with his reputation higher than it was before he joined.

The ideal way for him to do that would be beating Barcelona along the way. And every fan should be ecstatic that we would get to witness yet another El Clasico.

Lionel Messi has won the 2010 Ballon d’or award, beating team mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta. The last player to win two awards was Brazilian Ronaldo in 1997 and 2002, but you have to go as far back as the late 80′s when Marco Van Basten won back to back awards (he actually won three all in all). Messi scored a remarkable 60 goals for club and country in 2010 and is widely regarded as a genius and one of the most gifted footballers of his generation.

Messi was clearly overjoyed to win the award on the back of his 2010 success and added “To win it makes it even more special. I want to share it with all of my friends, my family, all the Barcelonistas and the Argentinians”. Other awards included Hamit Altintop, who won the Puskas Award for Goal of the Year for his superb volley when Turkey played Kazakhstan, Germany’s Silvia Neid won the Women’s Coach of the Year and Brazilian striker Marta won the Women’s Player of the Year for a fifth consecutive time. Lionel Messi has featured in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals.

Former Porto, Chelsea and Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho won coach of the year for a third time in a row, however the Portuguese and self proclaimed ‘special one’ believes that it is all about a team effort. Mourinho spoke of his award afterwards: “The most important things for me are the collective titles, not the individual ones.”

The build up to this World Cup has been as much about who may not be there as to who will be there. Players have been ruling themselves out of matches or getting serious injury scares. It seems that a high proportion of these players, often influential players, are based in England and play in the Premier League.

Consider five groups international players can slot into: PL players who are fit and have been selected; PL players who are selected but have picked up big concerns; PL players whose injury status meant selection was impossible; PL players who have been selected unfit; and non-PL players who were selected but have picked up injuries. Straight up one can point out that any argument I make is flawed in that my focus is on quite clearly Premier League players. I’m sure it is possible to do a similar experiment with many of the world leagues. However, the Premier League is the world’s biggest league with the world’s best players – a very high proportion of players selected to play at the World Cup come from the Premier League.

Into those groups we can add names. The Premier League players who are fit and have been selected I will ignore as there are many. Into Premier League players who are selected but have picked up big concerns goes: Cahill (Everton, Australia), Altidore (Hull (loan), USA), Behrami (West Ham, Switzerland), Skrtel (Liverpool, Slovakia), Palacios (Tottenham, Honduras), Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast), Ferdinand (Man Utd, England), Bendtner (Arsenal, Denmark), Ballack (Chelsea, Germany), Heitinga (Everton, Holland), Gerrard (Liverpool, England), Nani (Man Utd, Portugal). Without going into individual cases all of those players are either out of the World Cup through injury having been selected or are very big doubts.

Into Premier League players whose injury status meant selection was impossible I will only give a few examples: Brown (Man Utd, England), Hargreaves (Man Utd, England), Zamora (Fulham, England), Anderson (Man Utd, Brazil), Bosingwa (Chelsea, Portugal), Woodgate (Tottenham, England).

Into Premier League players who have been selected unfit can go: Torres (Liverpool, Spain), Rooney (Man Utd, England), Barry (Man City, England), Fabregas (Arsenal, Spain), Essien (Chelsea, Ghana), Mikel Obi (Chelsea, Nigeria).

Finally, into non-Premier League players who were selected but have picked up injuries can go: Pirlo (AC Milan, Italy), Robben (FC Bayern, Holland), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan, Brazil), Forlan (Atletico Madrid, Uruguay), Karhan (Mainz, Slovakia), Streller (FC Basel, Switzerland), Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain) – Iniesta was selected unfit.

Too many Premier League based players are included in these lists. It begs thinking about whether Premier League players play too much.

The structure of football in England means that a player can play 38 league games, 14 domestic cup games (excluding replays), and between 15-19 European games – totalling a potential 67-71 games in a season. That is a very heavy schedule.

In a World Cup year, the number of games a player plays is even more crucial. To the clubs it is the same as usual, the season is no different. To the governing bodies, in England – the FA, their motives are split. They want a competitive domestic system but they also want the national side to progress.

What can be done about the amount of football played in a World Cup year to try and stop these injuries from occurring? The two most common suggestions are to start the season earlier and incorporate a winter break. This would not change the number of games played but would allow for the players to have time off either at the end of the season or mid-season to recuperate. La Liga has adopted a full-time winter break. Such an idea has been advocated by club managers here. Sir Alex Ferguson said in January of this year:

“My experience tells me that when you get to December, it is draining for players to continuously play matches every Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday. It is difficult to play football through heavier grounds in cold weather. By December, everybody needs a break. With a break in January you can repair the small injuries the players pick up. Even the coaches need a mental break. Why don’t we use the whole of May to make up for the loss of matches that are held in January?”

Of course, Ferguson has the progress of Manchester United at heart when he made those comments but they become applicable to the national sides too.

One other suggestion I have heard is to cut the number of teams in the Premier League to 18 and have only one domestic cup. I don’t advocate this idea – other countries have leagues with 20 teams in, the Premier League should be no different.

When clubs do try and rest players in the Premier League, even if the motive is not for the sake of the national team, the idea is not supported by the FA. Wolves were fined £25,000 for fielding a changed line-up at Old Trafford which included all 10 outfield players being switched. Mick McCarthy believed Wolves would not win the game with his strongest team out so wanted to save them for the next, more important game against Burnley.

The Premier League clubs will be concerned by how many of their players will come back from the World Cup and find a season starting in the very near future. Many will not have a proper break from football and be thrust into pre-season training soon after returning. Such is the concern that Manchester United have admitted that all their players at the World Cup will be given a month off and the club have accepted that they will be forced to start the new season without some important players.

This all makes for nice reading – in hindsight we can make suggestions to counter all these injuries that are happening to players associated with the Premier League. However the reality is a little bit different.

Premier League based players are professionals. They are monitored, primed and shaped to play a lot of football at an intense level. Players in Europe’s other top leagues will be playing as much football as Premier League players. There are more Premier League based players at the World Cup than from other leagues therefore the proportion of players injured who play Premier League football is higher.

The biggest factor I believe is conditioning and the nature of the Premier League. English domestic football has become frantic, quick, strong and very competitive. Players who want to play in England at the top level must be at the top of their game. There is more chance of a player being injured in the Premier League than other leagues for this reason.

When a Premier League player now goes on international duty he will find the standard of football and the speed of the football fall from what he is used to. Premier League players are conditioned to play at a high tempo. At a World Cup, the training sessions are so controlled that the players are finding they are have to hold back. The matches are so different from what they play week in week out that the body has to make an adjustment. No longer are tackles flying around. The players find they have a tiny bit more time on the ball. These conditions lead to injuries.

I would argue that the Premier League has become too strong. No longer is international football the ultimate form of the game. Injuries will occur at international football – because of the strict conditioning a Premier League player is used to; their bodies are so in tune to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League that when it stops, the body can’t handle it.

I find it amazing that the FA do not try and support a more drastic type of break in the season, especially in a World Cup year. The Premier League may be the strongest league in the world but it may also be prohibiting some of its biggest stars from appearing on the biggest stage in football.

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Arsenal captain and Spanish international, Cesc Fabregas has been the subject of a lot of transfer speculation linking him with a return to his home-club, Barcelona. Today, Barcelona have confirmed that despite the imminent World Cup, they have made a formal written offer to Arsenal for the transfer of Fabregas.

A statement on the club’s website had this quote from Club Director General, Joan Oliver:

“Everybody knows that Cesc wants to sign for Barca and that we also want him to come here, but there is also a third party involved –Arsenal. Any agreement has to be with them. The official window for transfer negotiations opened on June 1st and although we’d had unofficial conversations with them before yesterday, we’ve now made a formal written offer, which we presented to Arsenal yesterday afternoon.”

A second quote from Club Vice-President, Rafael Yuste reads:

“I’m optimistic that he’ll be able to sign for Barca as soon as possible and it’s clear that everybody here will give him a warm welcome. We’ll do nothing that might make it more difficult for him to come here and we won’t rush things – but we won’t stop either!”

This deal may even be concluded before or during the World Cup as Txiki Beguiristain and Raül Sanllehí lead the negotiations for Barcelona. Spain, one of the favourites for the competition, will be hoping that it will not affect the performances of Fabregas during the competition. Barcelona are renowned for trying to conclude transfer dealings as quickly as possible once a target is identified and the first bid has been made – with that in mind, there may be more news to report soon.

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Spanish forward David Villa has signed for Spanish Champions Barcelona from Valencia in a £34Million transfer, which will see him link up with international team mates Xavi, Iniesta and possibly Cesc Fabregas. Villa has played for Valencia for five seasons now, scoring 108 goals in 164 appearances. However, his scoring record for Spain is even more impressive, with the striker finding the back of the net 36 times in just 55 appearances. Villa is closing in on Raul’s 44 goals – which is currently the highest in Spain’s history.

Villa notched up seven goals in World Cup qualifying, just three behind top goalscorer Theofanis Gekas of Greece. Valencia’s president Manuel Llorente said they had accepted Barca’s bid for the prized striker, who scored 21 league goals last season. He stating that there were some big money offers for the player from England- “There was a big offer from England that was not from Chelsea but Barcelona’s was the best for us and the footballer. Villa has delivered a lot (to Valencia) and he deserves this chance.”

The player also released a statement, highlighting his love for the club and the difficulty in the decision to leave Valnecia. Villa released the following statment: “This is without doubt the most difficult and emotive moment of my entire career. After five marvellous seasons I take away many feelings and leave behind many friends but also knowing that it is a good thing for the club. I have given my all for Valencia football club, which I will always have in my heart, of which I am a shareholder and which I wish all the luck in the world.”

Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi shone in Barcelona’s 1-0 victory over arch rivals Real Madrid, which was settled eleven minutes after half time with a Zlatan Ibraminovic goal. The Swede might not be going to South Africa next summer, but the talented forward volleyed home a left footed shot after good work down the right by Daniel Alves.

The greatest derby in the world saw a superb strike, two dismissals and an epic performance from Barcelona’s number 10 – Lionel Messi. His close control, acceleration and innovation were all on display. The potential Ballon D’or winner outshone both Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka and should have got on the score sheet himself. Brazilian flying fullback Daniel Alves put in a superb low through ball from the right hand side for Messi to latch onto. Spanish number one Iker Casillas made a superb stop from Messi to deny Barcelona a second.

Barcelona leap frog Real Madrid to top the La liga table with thirty points, whilst the nine times European Champions Madrid are on twenty eight points. Elsewhere in La Liga – Sevilla salvaged a 2-2 draw against Malaga after being two goals down. Valencia close the gap on Sevilla to just a single point after a 3-1 victory over Osasuna – with potential Manchester United and Chelsea target David Villa getting on the score sheet.

Real Madrid have closed the gap on European and La Liga Champions Barcelona after a 2-0 victory over city rivals Getafe – whilst Barcelona drew 1-1 with Osasuna after a very late Gerard Pique own goal. Elsewhere Villareal, who had got off to an awful start, thumped Tenerife 5-0.

Real Madrid, who are still without World Player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, looked to the Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín to bag a brace as the nine times European Champions look to bounce back following their embarrassing mid-week Kings Cup defeat. Real Madrid also had centre half Raul Abidol, rather harshly, sent off for a tug on Soldado. Elsewhere, Barcelona drew 1-1 with mid table Osasuna. Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimović scored for the away side – before a terrible mistake from Mexican Marquez which led to a own goal from Pique.

Other La Liga Results:

Sunday November 1st

Málaga CF 0 – 1Valencia CF

RCD Mallorca 1 – 0Racing Santander

RCD Espanyol 1 – 1Real Valladolid

Real Zaragoza 2 – 1UD Almería

Villarreal CF 5 – 0CD Tenerife

Saturday October 31st

Athletic Bilbao 1 – 0 Atlético Madrid

Xerez CD 0 – 2 Sevilla FC

Osasuna 1 – 1 FC Barcelona

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Getafe CF

French International forward Franck Ribery looks like he will be staying at Bayern Munich as both European Cup final managers reveal their interest has cooled over the past few weeks. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that his club ‘explored’ the idea of signing the player, whilst Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola believes that the signing would be ‘impossible’.

The United boss was upfront about the potential transfer in a recent press conference “We didn’t try to buy Ribery, we explored it in a nice, quiet way when David Gill was at one of his meetings with Bayern in March. They told him, ‘absolutely no chance’ and the one thing you can say about Bayern is that, when they say something, they mean it. When we negotiated with them over Hargreaves, at the beginning they said ‘no’, but they also said that, if it ever changed, their minds, we’d be the first to know. It was exactly the same this time. There is no way that they will sell Ribery.”

Barcelona are currently in talks with Internazionale regarding a potential swap deal with Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o and Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic – however believe that adding Ribery to their already impressive front line is now impossible. Pep Guardiola was quoted as saying “It seems impossible to me. I think he will not come. First of all because Bayern does not want to let him go. And then because his agent prefers that he go elsewhere.”