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.”

I was born early in the morning on the 9th July 1982, the morning after the epic 3-3 semi final between France and West Germany, which saw the infamous Harald Schumacher ‘attack’ on Patrick Battiston after a glorious Michel Platini pass. I always credit this match as one of the reasons as to why football runs through my veins, considering I was born a few hours after the final whistle. However, looking at the whole 1982 tournament, Platini nor France nor West Germany were the stars of the show.

On the 5th July 1982, Brazil lost 3-2 to Italy in the quarter final of the World Cup. This Brazilian side is often credited as the greatest football side not to lift the World Cup (probably along with the 1974 Dutch side), which is no doubt a massive compliment to Paulo Rossi’s Italy – led by legendary manager Enzo Bearzot.

Enzo Bearzot was the second Italian to lift the World Cup trophy after Vittorio Pozzo who guided the Azzurri to victory in the 1934 and 1938 tournaments. Bearzot unfortunately passed away last month in Milan, aged 83 years old. Only Marcello Lippi has matched his great feat, ironically under the same type of controversial circumstances surrounding Calcio. The most well documented case is that of Paulo Rossi, who when at Perugia was involved in the infamous scandal known as ‘Totonero‘ in 1980, which saw the future Juventus star banned from football for three years, later reduced to two years. His inclusion in the 1982 World Cup squad sparked controversy and his performance against Poland and Peru did nothing to but infuriate his doubters even more.

A 2-1 victory over Argentina followed, which saw Claudio Gentile get to grips very early on with twenty two year old Diego Maradona, but the victory over Brazil was a massive surprise to the world of football. The then three times World Cup winners had scored thirteen goals in four matches and dispatched South American rivals Argentina in the process, beating the 1978 winners 3-1. The Brazilians had a number of superbly creative players in their side, including Sócrates, Zico, and Roma’s Falcão.

Brazil were stunned by Paulo Rossi’s hattrick, even though both Sócrates and Falcão hit back after Rossi’s first and second respectfully – however, destiny shone on the Azzurri, who no doubt felt that their 1970 defeat was now avenged. Bearzot, who was slated for the performance of his side in the first three games, was now only a single match away from the final. The ‘silenzio stampa’ looked like it was beginning to work.

Next up were Poland, who Italy easily beat 2-0 before facing West Germany in the final. Italy had played West Germany three times prior to the game in 1982, with the epic 4-3 victory in 1970 in favour of the Azzurri being the most memorable. Germany and Italy were both level on two World Cup wins, with Germany’s triumphs coming in 1954 and 1974, and the winner would join the Brazilians on three world cup victories. The Italians smashed three past the Germans in the final, with the second goal by Marco Tardelli remaining an iconic image even today. The ‘Tardelli cry’ is now down in World Cup folklore, as the Juventus man ran to the bench, shaking fists shouting ‘Goal! Goal!’. The midfielder’s war like cry highlighted the defiance of Bearzot’s side following extreme criticism prior to the tournament and in the early matches. The man born in the North East of Italy and who won a single cap for Italy was the champion of the world.

Italy lineup vs. West Germany 1982 World Cup Final Madrid

As mentioned at the start of this post, I was a mere two days old when Enzo Bearzot held the World Cup trophy aloft in Madrid on July 11th 1982. He retired as a manager in 1986 after the World Cup following a disappointing campaign where Italy were eliminated by France in the last sixteen. Bearzot was criticized for keeping a vast amount of the 1982 squad, who were deemed too old for the finals. Like any manager who has touched greatness, Bearzot was slated by the media and public in the early days, much like Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough were. Both Ferguson and Clough were strong believers in their own footballing philosophy and had strict principles that they believed they needed to adhere to that may be against what was perceived as ‘normal’ – Bearzot was from the same school.

John Foot described in the excellent “Calcio: A History of Italian Football” that Italians by nature are defensive cautious people, which is why they make excellent defenders – often cynical at times. However, Bearzot was a fan of the interchanging total football philosophy of the great Dutch team of 1974 and Ajax before that, rather than the traditional ‘Catenaccio’approach adopted by legendary Internazionale manager Helenio Herrera. A quote by Bearzot sums up my respect for the manager who didn’t subscribe to the defensive pragmatic style that some of his countrymen adopted: “I select my players and then I let them play the game, without trying to impose tactical plans on them. You can’t tell Maradona, ‘Play the way I tell you’. You have to leave him free to express himself.” He later went on to add: “Coaching Italy was a vocation which has become a profession. Football has become a science, but for me it’s still first and foremost a game.”

Enzo Bearzot: Born 26 September 1927 Died: 21 December 2010 World Cup Winner: 1982

USA coach Bob Bradley has agreed to stay on as national team coach for another four years, which includes the 2014 World Cup, U.S. Soccer said this week. The 52-year-old, who steered the U.S. to the last sixteen at this year’s World Cup finals in South Africa where they were eliminated by Ghana, will retain the job until the end of 2014 after agreeing to a four-year contract extension. This announcement puts an end to the widespread rumours linking Bradley with the vacant position at Aston Villa.

Bradley said he would love the challenge of coaching in Europe but also said leading the U.S towards the 2014 World Cup would be a challenge. He released these comments prior to Brazil’s 2-0 win over the U.S in a friendly earlier this month. Bradley has a decent record as USA coach and over the last four years, the U.S. have won 38 games and lost 20 out of a total of 66, whose current contract was to expire at the end of December.

Once again, the result of Germany vs. Argentina has sided with modern history. I eluded briefly to the history behind this fixture in a preview to the quarter finals and like in 1990 and 2006 it’s the Germans who have emerged victorious. Germany continued their superb form through to the quarter final match and won 4-0 with goals from Muller, Klose (x2) and Friedrich. Germany seem to have the game one in every area of the pitch.

In defence, Germany were disciplined. At no point were silly challenges made in the box on any of the technically brilliant Argentinean players. A couple of free kicks were conceded but they were all far enough out that Neuer was never troubled.

In midfield, Schweinsteiger and Khedira were able to control the game. In particular, Schweinsteiger set the tempo and was able to spring attacks with a few swift passing moves. It shouldn’t be overlooked that the midfield were helped by Muller, Podolski and Klose all getting back to help defensively. Ozil had his quietest game of the tournament but still showed glimpses of his talent.

In attack, the German forwards had too much pace out wide. Argentina could not handle the runs that were being made and their defence was made to look very average and clumsy. Germany will miss Muller in the semi-final due to suspension. Klose’s second goal equalled the German record set by Gerd Muller for goals in World Cup competitions – 14.

As soon as Germany went two goals up the game became very stretched and open. As witnessed against England, Germany’s counter-attacking ability is frightening.

For Argentina and Maradona it’s the end of the road. They were totally outplayed. Personally, I felt Lionel Messi was incredibly disappointing. He failed to score in the tournament and in my opinion failed to make his mark. He was playing in a team that provided him with consummate freedom to express himself but he failed to take advantage of it. No one to date has had more shots on goal than him. As the best player in the world – I was expecting to see more from him.

The real let down with Argentina was in defence though. The four defenders in Otamendi, Burdisso, Demichelis and Heinze were too slow and not good enough. Maradona was unable to react to the fact that Germany pressed Argentina all over the pitch and didn’t allow any freedom for any of their players.

Germany are going to take some beating and will fancy themselves against Uruguay for a place in the final.

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This assessment comes in three parts: vs. Germany; the tournament as a whole; and the future. As with my last post, I am very keen to get a discussion going at the bottom of the article. As I have experienced this afternoon, everyone has an opinion on what has happened and where to go – there is no right answer, so have a read of what I think and then I want to see what the World Cup Statistic’s readers think. We’ve been accustomed to England Football Jokes over the years, now we want to know what you think!

Vs. Germany:

It’s very simple, England were not good enough. Both individually and as a team, England did nothing to suggest they should have advanced instead of Germany.

Frank Lampard did hit the bar and have a goal wrongly not given, but by the time Lampard’s shot crossed the line England should have been four goals behind anyway.

Fabio Capello picked the same team that got so much praise for their performance against Slovenia but yet the team couldn’t gel today. To criticise the starting XI would be hypocritical after the lavish praise of the press for picking Milner and Defoe post-Slovenia. England lost chasing the game, most of Capello’s substitutions were irrelevant, the game was already lost.

I believe the Germans were spot on with their tactics. They pressed England on the ball and targeted in particular the English centre backs, forcing them to play long balls. They identified a lack of pace in the middle and hit England hard on the counter attack, playing some excellent football. Schweinsteiger, Ozil and Muller stood out. In particular it is refreshing to see so many attacking players given the freedom to play their natural game and express themselves.

England suffered from too many individual errors whilst not looking like a team. They were outplayed and outclassed.

The tournament:

The biggest problem with England at a major tournament is the press. The press are excellent at influencing the mood of a country. The press are outstanding at defining England’s chances and identifying players who should perform, whilst crashing down and destroying the players who didn’t perform.

Going into this World Cup once again England had a ‘golden generation’ with one of the world’s best players – Wayne Rooney. The expectation on England to deliver was immense. Quite true however was the fact that England had some fantastic individual players, a top coach and had qualified for the tournament with relative ease. The ‘Golden Generation’ tag never helped England but fuelled the expectations of the fans. As Frank Lampard said post-match today, “The golden generation tag was stupid, it was something that we never believed, it was something the media came up with”.

As it played out, England couldn’t have performed worse and having sneaked through to the knockout stages they were outplayed by Germany.

England’s preparations were hampered before the World Cup with the injury to Rio Ferdinand. As it played out, with the defence looking shaky at times I think the injury to Rio was more important than first thought. England lost a very very good defender as well as their leader and captain.

England’s qualification to the World Cup arguably was part of the downfall. England qualified with such ease that the formation and personnel became the clear way forward for Capello. After the draw with Algeria I questioned why England don’t play a different way – upon reflection I understand that the time to try a new formation is not in the middle of a World Cup but with the players at his disposal it does seem strange Capello never tried a change of formation in any friendlies.

As I’ve said, individually England are brilliant. However, there are so many egos in the side. The noises coming from the camp suggested something wasn’t quite right. The atmosphere amongst the team didn’t appear that relaxed and I think that was reflected by the team’s lack of coherence and togetherness on the pitch.

Too many players did not deliver individually. It is hard to know why. The system may be the reason but it had worked before. I have previously suggested that Rooney is the most feared England player and therefore it was important to play to his strengths which England did not do. Of course it is impossible for me to defend Rooney or the other players for poor touches or for not being able to string passes together. I can’t explain that or get my head round it.

I feel that fatigue was a huge factor for England. The players looked drained. I warned against this before the World Cup when so many players were getting injured. I would stress again that I believe that the Premier League has become the elite form of football. Players have to be so conditioned and fine tuned for it that when it comes to international football, it is a step down and is hard for the players to adjust to it.

I feel that the FA must consider what the World Cup means to them and where it ranks in their priorities. I feel the answer is that it ranks highly, in which case, it baffles me that the FA have not tried to create an environment for the best possible achievements at the World Cup. By that, I mean they have not adopted the proven ‘winter break’ and they did not start the season early enough so that the players would have a suitable rest before the World Cup. It meant, Rooney for example was thrust straight in to training with England after the season had ended. I choose Rooney as my example because he in particular could have done with the break having been injured at the back end of the season when he was thrust back into the Manchester United side whilst not fully fit. More drastic still, the FA could scrap the League Cup – a competition which many of the top sides in the country don’t take that seriously.

The set-up of England as a whole seemed good. There were leaders, experienced players, younger players, good coaches, a fantastic role model (Beckham) but one thing left me confused – the press. I know the press had been kept further from the players than ever before but I wish there had been a gag on them. Sometimes you just want the coach to be left alone with his players to get on with it. The press are much more real and approachable these days due to Twitter. There are so many journalists and ex-professionals offering their own ‘expert’ opinions that footballing journalism just became saturated – it must be so hard to avoid it entirely for the players and the coaches. I have to admit I am intrigued to see the tone the journalists adopt tomorrow – pretty much all of them were so confident of an England win today.

Confidence is an interesting thing. Typically, England fans get overconfident. I think English expectations really need to be re-aligned a bit. England are a good footballing nation but there are a lot of teams who play better, are better and critically, have the experience or ‘know-how’ of how to win on the biggest stage. England play with fear at times, it’s not healthy. This can and should be addressed by throwing in some of the new generation.

The tournament was a disaster. Players played badly, the tactics were strange at times, the team didn’t appear to be playing together, and England in my opinion got what their performances deserved. I don’t believe in scapegoats, you win and lose as a team – every player and member of staff is culpable for what has happened.

The future:

Firstly, importantly, for me, Capello must stay in charge. This isn’t truly his side. Scars still exist from McClaren and Eriksson. Capello has the same core to his team that they had. Continuity is great but coaches are too scared of messing with the core. Capello’s experience and qualities mean he is still the right man for the job. I don’t think he’s scared of egos or change.

Capello must sort out the Lampard/Gerrard mess and plump for one or neither. There are older players in this team who should now be exiled. As Gary Neville has always suggested, players should not retire from international football but accept when they are no longer having a positive effect – they should always be available for consideration.

Capello must start to bring through the next generation of England players properly. There needs to be a total overhaul. Capello should keep Beckham close as he is the ultimate role model. Capello must be given the freedom to do it all his own way. Capello must pick a team, he must not be afraid of leaving players out, the South American heavyweights are showing the world that route.

The English youth teams have had enough success lately, playing good football, using technically gifted players and that won’t have been missed by Capello. It’s time to make Joe Hart the clear number one whilst I would like to see a lot of the younger players thrust in to the squads and at the deep end. I’m thinking along the lines of: Gosling, Micah Richards, Gibbs, Rodwell, Wilshere, Agbonlahor, (more of) Milner, Shawcross, Lennon, Walcott, Adam Johnson, Huddlestone, Ashley Young, Cattermole, Sturridge etc. These players can come in and play with no fear – England need that. The England squad and starting XI should not be chosen based on ‘names’, sometimes you need players who are good at performing a certain role, such as what Gilberto Silva still does so well for Brazil.

Importantly, Capello must not be scared of realising that it wouldn’t necessarily be a mistake to build a team around Rooney (who will turn only 25 later this year). Rooney can be vital to the future success of the England team. Capello must also however consider life without Rooney. There is no one else really who can come in and play like we know he can up front. Hence Capello needs a good Plan B. England are in what should be a straightforward group for Euro 2012 (Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro). If England qualify with games to spare it may be important for Capello to try his Plan B in a real game.

Just as a final thought, I wonder if the FA have distanced themselves and the team too far from the fans. I feel like the FA are a little out of touch with what the national side means to the supporters. The FA have to repair some bridges and build some new ones over the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

The future of the England national team can be a bright one. Capello must first make some bold calls and then really focus on a squad that works together and plays as a team. The English brought the game to Brazil, but now might be the time to learn from them.

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That weekend felt draining. I don’t think I’ve experienced so much footballing information in such a short space of time. Saturday started with the England hangover. Everyone has their own opinion as to why England continued their poor form with another failure. England fans weren’t the only ones feeling angry. The USA’s fans awoke to their own frustrations. They felt, quite rightly, that their side had been denied a 3-2 victory against Slovenia which would have capped an excellent turnaround having been two goals behind. Maurice Edu’s late goal was harshly ruled out by the referee.

Having had 5 goals on Friday, Saturday went one better and delivered 6. The opening game of the weekend saw the Dutch beat Japan 1-0 thanks to a Wesley Sneijder goal. The Dutch were impressive without seemingly getting out of first gear. Dutch fans might be concerned that they couldn’t add to their goal tally but the performance of Dirk Kuyt and an impressive substitute cameo from Ibrahim Affelay will keep morale high.

The second game saw an African heavyweight, Ghana meet the Socceroos, Australia. As in their first game, Australia harshly went down to ten men when Harry Kewell was sent off. This happened when Australia were already a goal up thanks to Brett Holman poking home after Wigan’s Richard Kingson spilled a shot. The game’s key moment happened on 25 minutes when Kewell handled on the line. It seemed a combination of arm and chest that could not be avoided. Kewell was shown red and Asamoah Gyan confidently scored the penalty as he did in Ghana’s first game. It proved to make for an exciting game. Australia worked very hard and had some excellent chances to get a second goal. Ghana were the more dominant side and had more chances than Australia but few were particularly good. The game ended with Ghana topping group D and Australia bottom.

Saturday ended with Denmark beating Cameroon 2-1 in an exciting game. Cameroon took the lead through Eto’o but that was pegged back by Bendtner. Rommedahl got the winning goal. The result was significant as Cameroon became the first country to be knocked out of the World Cup.

Along came Sunday…the England debate still rolling on with no sign of ending or answers. Then the French decided the World Cup needed drama.

The French Football Federation announced Nicolas Anelka had been sent home from the World Cup after a bust up with coach Raymond Domenech. Anelka has always liked an argument and a sulk, at least he can now finally say he’s played at a World Cup. That news broke on Saturday. The French took it up a notch on the Sunday. Domenech was in the middle of doing a live interview on TF1 whilst into the studio in flip-flops and shorts strolls Frank Ribery. Ribery, on the verge of tears wanted to deny any suggestions of a bust up with teammate Gourcuff that was alleged to have happened on board a flight.

The host of the interview was Bixente Lizarazu, the former French full back. He then engaged in an argument with Domenech after the French coach insisted the French players boycotted the press in 2000. Lizarazu accused him of being a liar (true – only Deschamps boycotted the press then).

As if the French had ended their drama for the day!? A rumour emerged that the entire French squad had pulled out of training and walked onto their bus. News filtered through that French captain, Patrice Evra had clashed with fitness coach Robert Duverne. Domenech had to separate the pair as Duverne stormed off and the players went onto their coach. Within twenty minutes, Jean-Louis Valentin, a French official quit his role citing that it was all getting ridiculous and was too much for him.

Another thirty minutes passed and a brief statement from the French players said they refused to train as they opposed Anelka’s exclusion from the squad. The French players were annoyed the Anelka-Domenech row had become so public and believed there was a traitor amongst the squad. Evra confirmed the squad don’t believe Duverne is the traitor and Duverne confirmed Evra was not rude or abusive but that he was merely trying to convince Evra to train.

The day began with Ribery’s unexpected apology to the French nation live on TV and ended with President Sarkozy calling the entire French squad to account.

England don’t like living in the shadow of the French and so John Terry’s press conference pulled England into the headlines alongside the French. John Terry gave an honest and frank press conference. He admitted England were not good enough. He admitted England were bored due to Capello’s strict rules. He admitted players’ would be speaking out at the team meeting on Sunday evening. John Terry suggested that the some of the player’s suggestions at the meeting that evening might upset Capello and that if that was the case it wouldn’t bother the players. This meeting that was to review the Algerian nightmare soon got spun by the press into a ‘crisis’ meeting. Terry suggested that the players may hint that they’d like a change of shape and personnel in the England starting XI.

Terry acted as if he was still England captain. He acted like a leader. It was probably what England needed – someone to give them direction. Terry was rash, he said some clumsy things, he contradicted himself a few times but the emotion he showed will have gone a long way to convince fans that the players care and want to fix the situation.

The question of player power must also be asked. Some of the world’s top managers would not have accepted some of the things Terry said. Terry openly said that he didn’t care if Capello would be upset by some of the things the squad would say to him later that evening. At a time when Terry emerged as a leader, Capello must stamp his foot down to remind the squad that he is in charge.

(I should point out that having suggested Terry was a hero yesterday, the press today seem to be suggesting that Terry has made a complete mess of the situation and have taken a very negative slant on it).

(Additionally, Lampard is speaking live now and suggesting that the meeting didn’t quite follow the path Terry suggested it might. Lampard is desperately trying to save Terry’s blushes after admitting the meeting was almost entirely about the Algeria game and that what Terry said was wrong and didn’t happen).

There was also some football played on Sunday!

I enjoyed Slovakia vs. Paraguay. The South American side won 2-0 and played some good football. It was refreshing to see an actual 4-3-3 formation with three clear forwards. Slovakia were surprisingly negative and were outplayed. Both of Paraguay’s goals were good finishes, from Vera and Riveros (who is to join Sunderland after the World Cup).

The second game saw Italy take on New Zealand. Unbelievably New Zealand took the lead through Shane Smeltz – a player who has played non-league football in England. Arguably Smeltz was offside but I’m not sure that anyone bar Italian fans cared. We had ourselves an amazing story. It took just over 20 minutes for Italy to equalise. Tommy Smith pulled down Daniele De Rossi, a soft penalty given and Vincenzo Iaquinta scored. That’s how it remained. Italy dominated the game but like England failed to excite or create good chances. The European curse continued. Do European players play too many games?

The final game saw Brazil take on Ivory Coast in a potential corker of a game. Brazil won 3-1. They played well and showed flashes of brilliance but the Ivory Coast were poor. They looked too reliant on an unfit Drogba and had no clear plan b. Luis Fabiano scored two very good goals and a third was rounded off by Elano after a good move. Drogba did get a late conciliation goal for Brazil. The game however was marred by the sending off of the under-performing Kaka for two bookable offences. Both offences were yellow cards but the second yellow card was for an elbow to Keita in the stomach, yet the Ivorian went down holding his face. Cheating from the Rivaldo school of ‘going-down’.

So the weekend closed with the South American teams doing well. Italy making England’s position look not so bad. The French and the English in ridiculous situations but for once not involving each other. The former best player in the World had been sent off. And a European had actually won a Major Golf tournament (well done Graeme McDowell).

The new week starts with sunshine in London for the beginning of Wimbledon and the prospect of two more big upsets today as Portugal play North Korea (looking to emulate 1966) and Spain play Honduras…bring it on!

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As the World Cup started I agreed on a (slightly bold and rushed) statement with my housemate: ‘if England don’t win the World Cup it’ll be down to the players and not the coach’ – that statement doesn’t stand so true anymore. After the USA game I attacked the England players individually with some player ratings. Post-Algeria I don’t see any point to individual assessment. Everyone was poor. The team must be examined as just that – a team.

Where to begin?!?

The strangest thing for me is that players are not playing in their preferred or their best positions/roles. Five of the front six are more effective in a different role:

Rooney – amongst the world’s best at playing alone having scored 34 goals this past season playing usually unsupported

Gerrard – is not a wide left player, but plays in a central midfield three where he consistently scores between 10 and 20 goals a season

Lampard – has scored 20 or more goals for the past five years playing centrally in a midfield three

Barry – anchors a midfield three

Lennon – is used to playing in a system where he is furthest forward hugging the wide right, he is not used to having a full back ahead of him so often

The Lennon point is fairly minor but the other four players deserve consideration – all of them would prefer to slot into a 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1 system. These are four very important players for England who are under performing in the current system.

Fair enough – Capello chose to play a 4-4-2 with Heskey supporting Rooney as he had done so often in the qualifiers with great success, but this time it was all a bit bizarre. Barry sat deep which in a two man central midfield is risky as it exposes space. This space was however frequently filled…by the ‘wingers’. Gerrard and Lennon both floated into the middle looking to open space for the full backs but also caused a problem. With Barry sitting deep and Lampard also relatively deep, there was often very little for Lennon or Gerrard to do other than to pass backwards in what became a congested central area.

England seemed to have very little shape. Johnson and Cole are great at pushing forward but when they do so and England have all four midfielders in the middle the last thing anyone wanted to see was Heskey peeling off wide. Too many times Heskey was popping up alongside Johnson on the right where it should have been Lennon. Why Heskey was in a position to cross a ball beats me.

Rooney cut a frustrated figure all evening. I think I can safely suggest that I can’t ever remember him having such a bad game. Regardless of his touch and his passing being so diabolical, as a striker, he had no service. England’s now congested central area was even more congested by the number of Algerian players back, meaning no ball could be intricately thread through the middle; and out wide the wingers had gone missing into the middle so there was rarely anyone to cross the ball in. England just could not create chances.

I find it weird that Capello had tinkered with the team so much. Bar Lennon this was the front six that helped England qualify for the World Cup with such consummate ease. One can argue that Capello changed player roles as a result of watching Algeria previously. However I might argue that he failed to notice some key aspects of the Algerian game and this was reflected in his substitutions.

The Algerian’s must be credited for their work rate, their speed, their ability to get men back quickly, their happiness to sit deep but also pressure the England players and their tackling (they gave very few fouls away in dangerous positions but gave lots of clever fouls away around the halfway line when England tried to break).

With Algeria sitting deep and not susceptible to pace – Capello’s substitutions were odd. Shaun Wright-Phillips on for Lennon was a like-for-like swap and saw no obvious tactical change. Defoe on for Heskey suggested England would try and keep the ball down and work it around but that failed to materialise and with Algeria sitting so deep, Defoe’s pace became irrelevant. Crouch on for Barry came too late for any impact and with no one on the pitch who could cross a ball.

Capello didn’t try to change the formation. He didn’t think his substitutions through. When Heskey and/or Crouch are on the pitch you need someone who can cross a ball on too. I believe the person who would have been suited to that would have been James Milner. Milner could have sat in a fairly deep wide role, finding space as the Algerian fullbacks had dropped so much and he could have put crosses in for Heskey/Crouch to attack. I found myself amazed Capello didn’t even try the Joe Cole option – one of the few technically creative players in the squad who can make things happen in flat games.

England played in such a way whereby the formation almost seemed irrelevant. It was as if because of the names in the England starting XI they should be able to beat Algeria regardless. To a point, this is true but this is also a World Cup, one off matches where anything can happen. Algeria were clearly happy with a draw whilst England didn’t look hungry for the win.

This is an international tournament so naturally a Manchester United player must follow in the footsteps of Beckham, P. Neville and Ronaldo in being the scapegoat (I joke…a little) – but Rooney will get the majority of the criticism, most of it fair, aimed in his direction. He’s the player everyone looks to for inspiration. He’s the player the media have hyped up after an incredible season. He’s also the player who does not look fully fit; who’s not playing in the formation that he likes; who’s not playing in a role that gets the most from him; who’s not getting any service; and who has the weight of a nation’s expectations on his shoulders. Rather than boo Rooney, I hope as I have suggested before, that Capello plays to his strengths and focuses on him.

The defence yesterday did ok. Terry was surprisingly shaky but there were few moments to concern England. Johnson and Cole are often England’s best attacking threats. Due to this, Capello must consider Joe Cole and James Milner for the wide positions – two players who would be happy to have a full back overlap and who are both adept at cutting inside. Having backed Lennon before, I am concerned that he seems to be struggling with nerves and forming an understanding with Johnson.

As a result I would move to a five man midfield of (from right to left) Milner, Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, Joe Cole; and have Rooney up front alone. The brief to Rooney would be simple – do what you do for Manchester United – hold the line, play on the shoulder of the defenders and find space in the box. With Joe Cole and Milner wide, the delivery in to Rooney would be better and with three in the middle both Gerrard and Lampard would be able to make forward runs more often knowing Barry is anchoring deep. Gerrard in particular would be able to push on and support Rooney.

The England performance was one to forget yesterday. England must move on quick and Capello must fix this quickly. He is a fantastic coach who showed signs of insanity yesterday. I always felt HE would get things right at this World Cup and if England failed it would be down to the players and not him. However, England failed to win as a team yesterday, as a result of tactics and as a result of non-reactionary substitutions. When the players are playing poorly it is down to the coach to be able to change it around – Capello did not do this. Capello must now select players in the positions/roles that they play best in. Capello must make some big decisions otherwise he may be to blame for a very disappointing England World Cup performance.

The task now is simple. Beat Slovenia and the last 16 awaits. If England can do that then Algeria can become a distant memory and we can all love Capello, Rooney and Co again.

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Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuaín scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup as Diego Maradona’s Argentina overcame South Korea in Soccer City today. Argentina went 2-0 with goals through Higuaín and an own goal from Park, CY. However Argentina notched their first goal from open play as Higuaín scored his second and third from moves inspired by Ballon D’Or winner Lionel Messi and Maradona’s son in law Sergio Agüero.

Argentina are all but though to the last 16 after an impressive attacking display today, with Lionel Messi shining. Korea worked hard and got back into the game after a horrendous mistake from Bayern Munich’s Demichelis – who nonchalantly tried to move the ball across to Gutierrez but was tackled by Lee Cheung-Yong who went on to score. Argentina will be through to the next round if Greece fail to beat Nigeria in the second game today, which is just about to kick off. The two times World Champions have had some criticism over the past few months, mostly aimed at their legendary head coach, however two wins out of two will shut a few of those critics up.

Earlier Maradona, who inspired Argentina to their second World Cup win in 1986, had slammed Pele and UEFA president Michel Platini after comments about Maradona’s ability to coach at the highest level. He was angered in a press conference yesterday in the build up to the match against Korea and said that Pele should “go back to the museum” and that UEFA president Platini thinks he “is better than all the rest”. He went onto add about Platini “Platini? I’m not surprised, I’ve always had a very distant relationship with him, it’s always just hello and goodbye, nothing more than that. We all know how the French are, and Platini is French, and he believes he is better than the rest”. He then was asked questions about the controversial ball before deflecting his answer back onto the Brazilian and the 1984 European Championships winner: “I would ask Pele and Platini to play with the ball and take a closer look to see if it’s a good one or bad one, and to stop talking rubbish about me.”

World cup winner and Brazilian coach Dunga believes his side are capable of so much more after a nervy 2-1 victory of minnows North Korea. The five times World Champions found it tough going against a side that have only qualified for one finals before, over forty years ago. Korea lined up in a 5-4-1 formation, although did counter attack well at times in the first half.

Ji Yun-Nam scored North Korea’s first goal since July 23rd 1966, when they lost 5-3 to a Eusebio inspired Portugal. Dunga believes that Brazil will have to have greater penetration in the next two games against Ivory Coast and Portugal – who both drew earlier in the day. Dunga was quoted as saying “The start is the most difficult match, you have a long wait for this and the anxiety builds up. I’m satisfied with the win, but I want more, I want us to score more goals.”

Robinho, who set up the vital second goal for former teammate Elano, believed that Brazil earned a well deserved victory considering how defensive the North Korea’s were. Robinho was speaking to Brazilian TV after the game: “They played very defensively and in this kind of game you have to have patience and when you don’t get a goal, it gets difficult. But we won deservedly. Now we can lift our heads and look to qualify in the next game.”