Why Man City still have much work to do...

Following on from their last two matches, both goalless draws, it has struck me that Roberto Mancini is going about building a trophy-winning team at Manchester City in completely the wrong way. By playing three defensive midfielders, in the form of Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Yaya Toure, the Italian manager is leaving far too much for his front three to do and it is simply not happening. There was a period during the disappointing Manchester derby last week where de Jong, Barry and Toure indulged in about two minutes of square passing, resulting in absolutely nothing. Have you ever seen a team win trophies with three defensive midfielders? I don’t think so.

Chelsea claimed their Premier League titles of 2005 and 2006 with Claude Makelele doing the defensive job and other players like Frank Lampard, Tiago and Michael Essien attacking around him. Last season Jon Obi Mikel did the job while the evergreen Lampard, Michael Ballack and Essien, when fit, did the attacking. At Manchester United, Darren Fletcher is seen as the defensive midfielder, and has been crucial in their recent successes, but he shares his duties with Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick, both of whom can get forward or sit and cover when Fletcher attacks. With this in mind, it is hard to fathom why Mancini feels playing three midfielders with little attacking ambition will lead to success.

With the money at his disposal, and an already well rounded squad, Mancini should be building a brand of winning football which involves attack as much as defence. Surely a better formation, certainly for the easier home games would be a 4-4-2. Emmanuel Adebayor, Mario Balotelli or Roque Santa Cruz could share Carlos Tevez’s workload up front, while both Adam Johnson and David Silva could start on the wings with James Milner moved into central midfield with just one of the defensive trio alongside him. For away games against tougher opposition, they could certainly revert to the 4-3-3 which has been a proven recipe for success in recent years, but should keep Milner as a central midfielder because there is no situation in modern football where a team would need three defensive midfielders!

Furthermore, City seem to have problems in choosing who to sign. Perhaps it is inevitable with the temptation of the big bucks, but an awful amount of egos and troublemaking players have arrived at Eastlands. Robinho and Craig Bellamy have already been through the door and back out and Emmanuel Adebayor is currently kicking up a fuss being sat on the bench. But the reason he is sat on the bench is because of Mancini’s insistence on playing one centre forward. Captain Carlos Tevez is clearly the in-form player of the past year or so but even he seems to be unhappy at City. Given the captain’s armband this summer to show how much the club value him, Tevez hasn’t stopped talking to the media about how he doesn’t enjoy his football and is contemplating retirement, despite only being 26 and arguably at his peak. There have been reports he is suffering from depression, which he has denied, but he has certainly had several heated disputes with Mancini and his influence on the dressing room is questionable.

As for the third choice striker, Mario Balotelli has talent in abundance but again seems to be an accident waiting to happen. The Italian was at the centre of many controversies when at Inter Milan, not least being caught on camera wearing an AC Milan shirt. Imagine if a City player was caught wearing a Manchester United shirt? The upset that would be caused at the club doesn’t bear thinking about. As Sir Alex Ferguson said today in his press conference, ‘You can buy success, but only if the structure and the spirit is right’. At Manchester City, until they play a more suitable formation and remove several egos from the dressing room, their wait for trophies will go on for a while yet.

Rafa's Lucky Escape

Rafael Benitez has got to be one of the luckiest men in football. Having escaped his sinking Liverpool ship with a hefty multi-million pound pay-off in the summer, he has somehow found himself in the plush position of Internazionale coach. After leaving Liverpool with a disillusioned squad lacking in cover across the entire pitch and without a Champions League place for the first time since 2003, he was given the generally unenviable task of replacing Jose Mourinho at the European Champions. Yet for Rafa, it represented a golden chance to remain at a massive club. Massimo Moratti, the Inter President, went with the opinion of the masses on the continent who remember Rafa’s achievements in winning the Spanish league twice with Valencia and claiming the UEFA Champions League title with Liverpool in 2005. What they tend to ignore is the way Rafa ultimately flopped at Liverpool and had to be shown the door.

Benitez’s case is unusual. Having inherited a squad from Gerard Houllier, a few (mainly short-lived) Spanish additions such as Luis Garcia, Xabi Alonso, Josemi and Antonio Nunez , saw the Reds claim the European Cup for a fifth time in incredulous circumstances. Garcia’s ghost goal against Chelsea in the semi-finals, Steven Gerrard’s late face-saver against Olympiakos in the group and the miracle of Istanbul itself were all remarkable aspects of a season where the Anfield outfit finished in 5^th place in the Premier League, more than 30 points behind Jose Mourinho’s champions Chelsea and level on points with Bolton Wanderers. Benitez continued to live off this glory for the rest of his reign at Anfield, with a win over West Ham in the FA Cup Final the following year proving to be his only other piece of major silverware in six years at the helm.

The Premier League was Liverpool’s real desire, with no league title since 1990, and in that respect Rafa’s reign was an abject failure. After not even coming close in his first four seasons on Merseyside, he finally built a team strong enough to challenge for the 2008/09 title. But in the aftermath of his infamous rant at ‘Mr Ferguson’ his team wavered and dropped points with a series of draws. Eventually the lack of depth in the squad saw Manchester United edge out the Anfield challenge and it was at this point that Liverpool really began to fall apart. With the peeved (due to Rafa’s advances on Gareth Barry the previous year) Xabi Alonso replaced by the injury-plagued Alberto Aquilani, a failure to significantly strengthen the squad proved terminal but at the start of the season nobody could quite have predicted the scouse team’s sudden decline. With the likes of Jamie Carragher, Gerrard, Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres failing to perform as regularly as before, the frailties of Liverpool’s squad were revealed during a truly dismal campaign. The likes of Emiliano Insua, David Ngog and Maxi Rodriguez failed to cut the mustard while Ryan Babel, Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera were just three of the many who have fallen foul of Benitez’s poor man management skills. Eliminated from the Champions League group stage, out early in both domestic cups and slipping as low as seventh in the league, Rafa had truly left Liverpool in a mess.

And while the loveable but seemingly hapless Roy Hodgson has so far failed to turn things around, with the ownership-based off-field turmoil not helping , Benitez is living the high life in Milan. Inheriting a outstanding treble-winning squad including World Player of the Year elect Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Milito, Julio Cesar, Maicon and Cristian Chivu all in their peak, surely even Rafa can’t fail to at least win Serie A this season. But he has already dropped key points against Roma and a far from flying Juventus this season. Benitez’s ineptness was blatant for all to see in the Super Cup defeat to Atletico Madrid in Monaco where the same team who had claimed the Champions League trophy under Mourinho looked tactically confused and were deservedly beaten by their Spanish opposition. A 2-2 draw away at Dutch side Twente on the opening day of the Champions League also seemed unconvincing. Yet Rafa’s luck should continue as he has a squad of excellent players at his disposal. The likes of Sneijder, Milito and particularly the on-form Eto’o can all win games on their own. This was clear during the Cameroonian-inspired thrashing of Werder Bremen on matchday two and the same player grabbed the winner at Cagliari this weekend. Surely Benitez’s poor man-management and bizarre manner in public will prove to be his downfall in Italy, a country not known for much patience with managers. But unless Massimiliano Allegri can gel his Brazilian trio of Ronaldinho, Robinho and Pato with ex-Inter star Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Claudio Ranieri gets the best out of veterans Francesco Totti and Adriano at Roma, the man from Madrid may well achieve Serie A success with the brilliant squad that he has undeservedly inherited.

Could Big Kev lead the line for the Three Lions next week?

Kevin Davies is no spring chicken. A key member of the Chesterfield F.C team that reached the 1997 FA Cup semi-final and with nearly 400 Premier League appearances to his name, the Bolton Wanderers captain has certainly been around the block. Yet it is only now, at the age of 33, that the Yorkshireman has made a breakthrough into the England squad. So why has Fabio Capello, or any of his predecessors for that matter, failed to move before?

Davies has a penchant for grabbing goals in big matches. At Bolton he has scored in the 2004 League Cup Final, netted against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup and got a winner against Manchester United back in his Southampton days. But he is by no means prolific, having only reached double figures for goals in five of his seventeen senior seasons, and never surpassed the 12-goal mark.

Where he shines however, is in ruffling the opposition’s feathers and creating chances for the other attacking players. The man can hold up the ball better than most other players in the Premier League and has more Premier League assists to his name than the last forward who filled this role for England, the much-maligned Emile Heskey. But I hear many people asking, what can Davies bring to the role that Heskey didn’t? After all, the Villa man, despite some high points, wasn’t exactly an England success.

Well the Bolton number 14 comes across with more confidence than Heskey ever has. He isn’t shy to cross a referee and has committed 200 more fouls than anyone else in Premier League history. While this wouldn’t normally be viewed as a positive, the physical prowess and pro-active attitude of Davies could be just what the England forward line needs, with a lacklustre Wayne Rooney failing to provide his usual energy in recent months. Partnered with a goal-crazy Darren Bent, Davies could be a good short term option for the Three Lions in a 4-4-2 at home to a Montenegro team who, despite having 6 points from 6 in the group, shouldn’t prove too hard a test at Wembley.

Whether Davies even gets a chance to shine is still up in the air though. Capello has called up players and left them uncapped in the past. Just ask a certain Jimmy Bullard. With Peter Crouch’s England record and his good recent form for Tottenham, and Rooney still a Capello favourite despite fitness and form concerns, Big Kev will have his work cut out in training to break past the established order.

Elsewhere in the England team, with Theo Walcott, James Milner and Frank Lampard all unavailable, there are some choices to be made regarding the midfield. Steven Gerrard, despite his Liverpool woes is still a shoo-in along with Gareth Barry who has been playing well for Manchester City. His team-mate Adam Johnson looks a dead-cert for one of the wide berths, but Aaron Lennon, Ashley Young and Joe Cole will all be doing their best to stop Shaun Wright-Phillips from making it a Sky Blues trio in the midfield. Rio Ferdinand looks set to resume his centre-back partnership with John Terry which restores the back four to ‘full-health’ although with Ferdinand’s lack of match practice this is debatable.

With or without Davies, Capello and the England fans will be confident of England taking the three points from their Eastern European opposition. What is for sure is that the consequences of failing to do so do not bare thinking about for the Three Lions.

Will Marseille Ever Reign in Europe Again?

France has had a major impact on the history of football. Jules Rimet, founder of the World Cup, Henri Delaunay, founder of the European Championships and Gabriel Hanot, instigator of the Ballon D’or award and European Cup all hail from the country. Yet only Marseille have ever won the Champions League, defeating Fabio Capello’s AC Milan 1-0 in Munich. Since that monumental victory in 1993, l’OM have failed to even get out of the group stage. Denied the opportunity to defend their trophy in 1994 because of a domestic match-fixing scandal involving then president Bernard Tapie, the club were relegated and stripped of their domestic title. After two years out of Ligue 1, Marseille won promotion under new owner Robert Louis-Dreyfus but struggled to return to their former power.

Louis-Dreyfus oversaw Marseille’s inconsistent challenges over the course of a decade and a half as Lyon became the dominant force in French football. But one of the last things he did at Marseille before passing away in summer 2009 turned out to be the most influential. By giving the go-ahead for Didier Deschamps to manage the club, he ushered in a new era at the Stade Velodrome. Deschamps, who became the youngest ever European Cup-winning captain back in that 1992/93 season, brought in experience in the form of Edouard Cisse and Fernando Morientes which sparked instant success. A first league title since 1992 as well as a first ever league cup triumph saw Deschamps cement his legendary status at the club and there were high hopes for the 2010/11 season in Europe.

Over the summer, Morientes retired and top scorer Mamadou Niang was sold to Turkish club Fenerbahce but in came national team strikers Andre-Pierre Gignac and Loic Remy, who had been coveted by many Premier League clubs. The addition of young Spanish full-back Cesar Azpilicueta, and return from loan of Ghanaian World Cup star Andre Ayew also pointed to a step in the right direction. Added to the solid foundations of Gabriel Heinze , Souleymane Diawara, Cisse, Lucho Gonzalez and Brandao, all the ingredients for further success seemed in place. Yet the south coast giants have faltered again. Languishing in eighth after eight rounds of games in Ligue 1, the team seems to have lost all momentum.

Favourites to progress behind Chelsea in their Champions League group, two defeats in the first two group games have put pressure on the squad to deliver. Unlucky to lose at home to Spartak Moscow who failed to register a single shot on target, and only scored from an Azpilicueta own goal, the French were easily outclassed at Stamford Bridge by a Chelsea side who didn’t get out of second gear. Deschamps will be hoping for a favour from his old London club, as l’OM’s best chance of qualifying now would be if the Blues did the double over the Russian club. It is not over yet for Deschamps’ men but he will need a full six points against group F makeweights MSK Zilina and at least three points from the return game at Spartak and Chelsea’s visit to the Velodrome. Even if they do scrape through, there is a lot of work to do before Marseille, or their compatriots Lyon earn France their second European Cup success.

The Change in Fortunes of Luis Nani

In November 2009, Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, aka Manchester United’s Nani looked to be at the end of his Old Trafford career. The Portuguese winger, much maligned for being inconsistent and a show-pony, hit out at Sir Alex Ferguson in an interview with a Portuguese newspaper and was subsequently dropped for around six weeks.

During this period it was largely expected that the ex-Sporting Lisbon player was going to be on his way to either Juventus or AC Milan in the January transfer window. He had been at Old Trafford for two and a half years and despite high points, such as wonder goals against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, these were overshadowed by low points such as his sending off against West Ham when he feigned injury when he himself had headbutted Lucas Neill. Berated by his own manager who agreed with Arsene Wenger’s anger when he had incited Arsenal players in an FA Cup tie by playing keepy-uppy in the middle of the pitch, many felt the boy from Cape Verde would never cut it as a Red Devil.

But something changed.

A heart-to-heart chat with Ferguson in January 2010 saw Nani given another chance and this time he grasped it. Impressive performances in a 4-0 league victory over Hull City and the Carling Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City saw the wide-man back in the United fans’ good books and a fixture in the starting XI. In his next match, an outrageous piece of skill on the right wing saw him leave Arsenal’s Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Denilson for dead at the Emirates Stadium and force an own goal out of Manuel Almunia.

The tide had turned and Nani was rewarded with a four year contract extension in March, something which seemed unthinkable just three months earlier. Further impressive goals against Bayern Munich, Tottenham and Sunderland saw Nani finish the 2009-10 season on a high, even if United were pipped to the title by Chelsea and knocked out in the Champions League quarter-finals. The winger had finally added consistency to his game and at last was racking up the plaudits. Alas, he was ruled out of the World Cup when, in typical Nani fashion, he injured his collarbone attempting an acrobatic overhead kick in training.

Devastated to miss out, Portugal boss Carlos Queiroz even claimed Nani had threatened suicide if he was left out of the squad as he felt he would recover soon enough to participate. But he put that behind him at the start of the 2010-11 season and along with Dimitar Berbatov has become key to United’s plans. The previously under-performing duo have either assisted or scored three quarters of the Red Devil’s 16 league goals. Nani is the top assist maker in the premier league both in the 2010-11 season and the calendar year 2010, and with Antonio Valencia ruled out for several months, looks to be making United’s right wing position his own.

Finally starting to fill the boots of his friend and Portugal team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the rejuvenated number 17 finds himself in the running for the end of season gongs. Still just 23, it finally looks like he could be a key player for both Portugal and Manchester United for many years to come.

Playing In The Hole Is Where Rooney Shines For England

Two games, seven goals and six points see England sat atop of Group G in the qualifiers for Euro 2012. So what was so different about these two games compared to the debacle of the World Cup? Seven of the players who started the 4-1 defeat to Germany were also present in the line-ups at both Wembley and St Jakob Park but the whole demeanour of the team was different. To get the obvious out of the way, yes Germany are far superior opposition to either Bulgaria or Switzerland, but Algeria certainly weren't superior opposition at the World Cup and the USA are probably on a par with Switzerland. So how did England perform so much better in these games? People say the pressure was much less but if anything it was almost equal as the negative media attention given to the squad since the World Cup failure has been off the scale. The key factor for me was the improved performances from the wings, where two players who missed out on South Africa - Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson - did exceptionally well sharing their time on the right hand side and James Milner was impressive both going forward and back on the left. This allowed Steven Gerrard licence to do what he does best and boss the midfield, his perfectly weighted pass for Johnson's goal last night summing up what his game is all about.

Much has been made of England's formation since the World Cup, where 4-2-3-1 was in vogue and England stuck with a 4-4-2. The difference between the two formations is less than many seem to think as by dropping Wayne Rooney deep in these two qualifiers, it has essentially become a 4-2-3-1 when the wingers push forward (although many newspapers have reported it as a 4-4-1-1). Essentially, 4-3-3, 4-5-1 and 4-2-3-1 all work with 1 striker, 2 wingers and 3 central midfielders and at various times in the game can all look exactly the same. By dropping Rooney off Defoe into the position occupied by Wesley Sneijder, Xavi Hernandez and Mesut Oezil at the World Cup, England have effectively caught up with the rest. Rooney has the vision and passing ability to do the job. But it's not the first time. In Fabio Capello's landmark victory, the 4-1 away to Croatia two years ago, Rooney played in the hole behind Emile Heskey with Joe Cole and Walcott either side of him. The team was in a 4-2-3-1 formation then as it was in several of the other qualifiers with Rooney the only constant while Gerrard, Aaron Lennon, Walcott, Cole, Heskey and Peter Crouch intermittently occupied the other forward positions. Why Capello decided to play Rooney alongside Heskey or Jermain Defoe at the World Cup finals themselves baffles me. Perhaps it is because in the 2009/10 Premier League season Sir Alex Ferguson made a point of insisting Rooney played as Manchester United's furthest man forward. This resulted in Rooney's most prolific season to date with 34 goals in 44 appearances but for England it appears he works better deployed deeper, and by reverting to this role for him, Capello appears to have accepted this fact. With Defoe getting a hat-trick and Darren Bent getting off the mark for his country there are certainly good options for who to play ahead of Rooney. Where all of this leaves Frank Lampard remains to be seen. The midfielder, a real superstar for Chelsea in both the Champions League and Premier League over the past decade, doesn't seem to be able to co-exist with both Rooney and Gerrard in such a formation. With Gerrard excelling as captain in a deep central role, and Gareth Barry required to cover for the skipper's forward-thinking moves, the Premier League's all-time highest scoring midfielder may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Elsewhere in the qualification group, England's main rivals could well turn out to be Montenegro. Overlooked by many largely because they only recently separated from Serbia (who together had previously been a part of Yugoslavia) and therefore are competing in qualifiers for the Euro's for the first time ever. Consecutive 1-0 wins at home to Wales and more impressively away to Bulgaria sees them level on points with England and they are due to visit Wembley on the 12th October. They have achieved this without the injured Stevan Jovetic,the young forward who Liverpool fans may remember for scoring twice against them for Fiorentina in last season's Champions League. Captain Mirko Vucinic, the speedy Roma forward,was present though and the Eastern European side will be more of a match than many would expect from the group's 5th seed. However, this could be balanced out by the fact 3rd and 4th seeds Bulgaria and Wales are well below par. Without Dimitar Berbatov, who despite his form at Manchester United remained prolific(48 goals in 77 games) up until his international retirement, Bulgaria looked toothless at Wembley on Friday night and the resignation of their manager after the Montenegro defeat is unlikely to see an instant improvement. This generation of Bulgarians do not have anyone of Hristo Stoichkov's ilk who galvanized the Bulgaria team that reached the 1994 World Cup semi-finals. They may even finish bottom of the group, although Wales also have to avoid that ignominy. Gareth Bale, James Collins and Craig Bellamy aside, the current crop are distinctly lacking in quality or top level experience. John Toshack's successor will certainly have a job on his hands. As for Switzerland, despite being so solid at the World Cup where they incredibly beat Spain, they have a real problem scoring goals with just 5 scored in their last 11 games in all competitions. With the two Johnsons, Ashley Cole, Rooney and Gerrard all easily opening up their defence last night, it seems Ottmar Hitzfeld's team now have problems at both ends of the pitch. When put like that, it seems like England should have the group for the taking. Now as they say, it's time to "keep calm and carry on."

Capello's New Beginning, But How Much Has Changed?

Last night Fabio Capello announced his 24-man England squad for the upcoming Euro qualifiers with Bulgaria and Switzerland. These are the first competitive matches since England's disastrous World Cup campaign but how much has he really changed? At first glance it seems a lot, eleven of the players who were named in the initial 23-man squad for the World Cup are missing. But on closer inspection, how much has the Italian manager really done differently? With John Terry, Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand (who was in the initial World Cup squad for the World Cup before his injury saw Michael Dawson replace him) all injured, Jamie Carragher and Emile Heskey retiring from international football, and David James being 40 years old and in the Championship, those decision's were already made for Capello. In fact he has only really dropped five players. Leaving out keeper Rob Green after his howler in Rustenburg and injury liability Ledley King were again quite straight forward decisions and ditching reserve left-back Stephen Warnock is hardly a shock move. Joe Cole's yet to impact at Liverpool which leaves the overlooking of Spurs winger Aaron Lennon as the only real 'surprise' exclusion.

As for what has come into the squad, who is going to make that much difference? Up front, Carlton Cole has been tested before and had little success. His form for West Ham hasn't exactly been electrifying lately, but Darren Bent is surely deserving of more of a chance at international level after his exploits with Sunderland. With Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe both injury doubts despite inclusion, he may just get that chance. In central defence some much-needed quality alternatives for the increasingly less reliable Terry and Ferdinand have been called up in the form of Dawson, Gary Cahill, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott . The latter two having recovered from their own recent injury set-backs have been impressive for their clubs and it will be interesting to see which two make the starting line-up. In goal, with Joe Hart getting off to an incredible start to the season for Manchester City and Ben Foster doing similarly well as Hart's successor at Birmingham, the recent worries for that position already seem long gone. It is somewhat surprising to see Scott Carson recalled as third-choice keeper given his history with England but he has done well at West Brom and deserves to be given another chance in the squad, if not as first choice keeper. 20-year old Kieran Gibbs is called up as cover for Ashley Cole despite not featuring for Arsenal yet this season, but he impressed in the second half of the recent Hungary friendly and with the other English left-backs vying for the position all distinctly mediocre ( think Warnock, Leighton Baines, Paul Konchesky) Capello is probably right to go with youth in this position.

Leaving Theo Walcott out of the World Cup squad was one of Capello's most controversial calls and it is unsurprising to see him back in the fold after a blistering start to the season with Arsenal, where he has already equalled his goals tally for last season just three games in. With Adam Johnson preferred to £25m David Silva at Manchester City in their last two games, it is refreshing to see England having two wingers in good form, and Ashley Young from Aston Villa is a very good alternative who has been unfortunate to be overlooked by Capello in the past. Shaun Wright-Phillips' return is perhaps the most surprising but he has scored goals for England in the past and could still do a good job for his country. Overall it seems like Capello has a good squad to take on the upcoming qualifiers. Despite calls from some for a complete overhaul, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry all remain, which I believe is the correct thing to do. Creating a successful team is not an overnight process as can be seen by the Spain team who had largely been playing together for many years before their recent Euros and World Cup success. The first test for this post-World Cup team will be stern, Bulgaria and Switzerland are no walkovers, but it will have to be successful for the Three Lions to renew a nation's hope of making an impact in Poland and Ukraine two years from now.

Battle of the Behemoths: Can Real Turn The Corner?

With only a week to go before the Spanish League kicks off and Barcelona resume their tussle with Real Madrid, it is los Merengues who are still making the headlines with their latest star signing: the German World Cup star Mesut Oezil. The attacking midfielder, who was reportedly wanted by Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona themselves, is a massive coup for Jose Mourinho, who convinced the German that the move to Madrid was the right thing to do. Added to the acquisition of Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho, Argentine winger Angel Di Maria and Oezil's Germany team-mate Sami Khedira, it is clear that Real have been very busy this summer, even if the fees aren't quite as stratospheric as those required a year ago to bring Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu. This contrasts starkly with rivals Barcelona. The Blaugrana have made only two moves this summer, bringing in Sevilla defender Adriano as a replacement for Ukrainian flop Dmytro Chygrynskiy and more notably Spain hero and goalscorer extraordinaire David Villa.

But it is the make up of the overall squads that show the real difference between the two clubs, who last season dominated La Liga so effectively that 3rd placed Valencia were 25 points behind Real in second place. The catalan club are full of homegrown players, brought through at the club's fabled La Masia complex whereas almost every player at los Blancos has been bought from elsewhere. Even homegrown legends Raul and Guti have been offloaded this summer to make way for more transfers. Only three of Real's current squad came through their own youth system, and of those, Esteban Granero and Alvaro Arbeloa both left for periods before being re-signed. Only captain Iker Casillas has been with the club for his whole career. Whereas Barca aren't shy of making big money transfers such as Villa and last year's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the core of their team have been developed at home. Carles Puyol, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Victor Valdes, Pedro Rodriguez, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets were all local boys who came through the youth system and even Leo Messi has been with the club from the age of 12.

The philosophy continues at managerial level, Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola was a product of the club's youth system. He spent the majority of his playing career with them, winning the European Cup under Johan Cruyff and eventually returned to manage the B team. After only a year, he stepped up to manage the first team, fearlessly offloading Ronaldinho and Deco, and remarkably won the treble in his first season in charge. As if that wasn't enough, Barca went on to claim the Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup and World Club Cup, becoming the first team in history to win all six available trophies in one year. When Barcelona are doing so well, Real are invariably unhappy and even when Barca lost their grip on the Champions League last season they still outshone Real, beating them to the title despite Real achieving their record tally for most points in a season. The reason Mourinho has been hauled into the Bernabeu is that he is seen as the one man who can stop the Catalans: his Inter team were the ones to knock them out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage back in April. Mourinho is effectively the first superstar managerial signing at Real, and perhaps the only man who can control a squad full of Prima Donnas.

Having recently visited both cities, the difference in football culture is very clear. In Barcelona, it feels as if the city revolves around the club, you can't walk 100 metres without spotting someone in a Barca shirt, and no matter where you look there is almost no sign of Real's existence. Camp Nou is an incredible venue and really feels like it belongs to the people. Barca's local rivals Espanyol are practically invisible. In Madrid, you'd do well to spot more than the odd fan wearing the famed white shirt in the city centre, and in shops Barcelona shirts sit comfortably alongside Real's and local rivals Atletico's. With most shops aimed at the tourists, the footballing passions and rivalries seem to play second fiddle to the lust for money. Much how Real themselves work. When Real Madrid lust after a player, they invariably get him. With his recent work Florentino Perez has emulated Santiago Bernabeu, the man who pipped Barcelona to the signing of Alfredo Di Stefano back in Real's original glory days of the 1950s. While undoubtedly glorious and visually impressive, there is a somewhat artificial and commercial feel to the stadium which is named after Bernabeu. It is clear all the club cares about is success at all costs - and that means winning the European Cup.

This season, it appears to be the Mourinho factor which has balanced out the two behemoth's chances of silverware. With his achievements in the last seven years the Portuguese tactician is almost certainly the best manager in the world. Yet in Barcelona, who once employed him as a translator, he has a nemesis like no other. If Villa settles alongside Messi and either Ibrahimovic or Pedro in Barca's established 4-3-3 formation then they could wreak havoc like no other team in the world. But with Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain in imperious form last season, the additions of Carvalho and Khedira which will shore up the defensive side of the team could see Real run them every step of the way. Expected to play the 4-2-3-1 formation with which Inter won the Champions League it will be interesting to see how star player Ronaldo fits in to the front four, and if Kaka can resume fitness and become an integral part of the team. With Karim Benzema challenging Higuain for the role of centre forward and Oezil, Di Maria, Pedro Leon and Rafael Van der Vaart all pushing for attacking positions, Mourinho certainly has a challenge on his hands. The two defeats at the hands of Barca effectively sealed Real's fate last year. Unless Mourinho can rally his team to overcome Guardiola's all-conquering Barcelona then even the Special One may struggle to keep his boss Perez happy. While the Spanish league has effectively turned into a Scotlandesque duopoly, the drama between these two is like no other rivalry in the world. Let the battle commence.

Egos, Goals and Paul Scholes: It's only the return of the Premier League!

What a relief it is to have the Premier League back, which after a somewhat pedestrian World Cup seems faster and more exciting than it even did before. And the opening weekend certainly didn't disappoint with some sterling performances from individuals and teams alike: Joe Hart, Blackpool, Chelsea and Paul Scholes to mention a few. Hart, the new England number one goalkeeper pipped the vastly more experienced Shay Given to the starting line-up of Manchester City's opening game away to Spurs and single-handedly kept them in the game, justifying his selection and surely signifying the end of Given's time at Eastlands. It is good news for the national team that Hart won this particular battle as it isn't since the days of David Seaman at Arsenal that there has been an English number one keeper at a club at the right end of the Premier League table. As for City themselves they still look a fair way from winning the title but with James Milner, David Silva and Yaya Toure aboard, surely have the personnel to push on and claim a top four place this season. Egos may prove a problem though, and although Craig Bellamy has been strangely offloaded to the Championship, between Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and new boy Mario Balotelli (and Robinho if he stays) there is more than enough potential for Roberto Mancini's men to implode.

Blackpool meanwhile defied the odds with a 4-0 opening day away victory at Wigan. With newly promoted teams in the past often going months without success on the road, this early victory could be pivotal to Ian Holloway's team's morale. Yes, Wigan were abysmal but they have been in the Premier League long enough now to be considered a decent scalp and the Tangerines will be buzzing about a trip the Emirates this coming weekend. The Arsenal side they will face are one that again seem short of title-winning quality. Laurent Koscielny seems like a solid signing in central defence, but having lost Gallas, Silvestre, Campbell and Senderos this summer he is effectively replacing four players, leaving the Gunners worryingly short of cover in the position. With Koscielny suspended it will be interesting to see how they fare on Saturday. Question marks remain over the fitness of Robin Van Persie, who was only a substitute at Anfield on Sunday and Marouane Chamakh is certainly not an out-and-out goalscorer, averaging less than a goal every four games when at Bordeaux. As for captain Cesc Fabregas, he may stay for another season but whether he can play at his best when his heart is clearly with Barcelona will be interesting.

Chelsea on the other hand looked imperious as they cruised to a 6-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion. But if they can play like that against stronger opposition is not certain, as their defence certainly looked breachable in the Community Shield defeat to Manchester United little over a week ago. John Terry's form is questionable and Ricardo Carvalho will be missed, so much will depend on the form and fitness of Alex and Branislav Ivanovic, two admittedly more-than capable defenders. At the other end of the pitch, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda and Frank Lampard slotted straight back into goal-scoring form on the opening day and this is where Chelsea are strongest. Another injury to Michael Essien could prove disastrous though with Michael Ballack, Deco and Juliano Belletti all gone and Ramires unproven in the Premier League. The Blues remain title favourites and as usual only Manchester United look like serious contenders. Paul Scholes was the star of the 3-0 victory over Newcastle United, displaying a full array of passes and attacking prowess, but the Red Devils certainly looked good all round. Nani is my early tip for player of the season as he seems to be continuing from where he left off before the summer and Dimitar Berbatov, after two dismal seasons, looks like he may finally have turned the corner at Old Trafford with a stunning lob at Wembley last week before a clinical finish to open the scoring on Monday night. Wayne Rooney still seemed somewhat off the pace but with pacy new Mexican signing Javier Hernandez, who impressed in South Africa, available from the bench, some of the pressure to score goals may be relieved from the England forward. Sir Alex Ferguson's men will take some stopping this year.

Elsewhere Liverpool, having finally escaped the shackles of Rafael Benitez, looked rejuvenated under Roy Hodgson, and played remarkably well with ten men in the second half against Arsenal. If Fernando Torres finally regains full fitness then they will surely be in with a strong chance of breaking back into the top four. Tottenham, with little movement in the transfer market were impressive against Manchester City but may struggle to repeat the feat of last season, and their defence looked suspect in their Champions League qualifier in Switzerland last night. Aston Villa, without Martin O'Neill may struggle to maintain their sixth position of the last three seasons, but with the right managerial appointment could do well, their squad is certainly still healthy, even with Stephen Ireland swapped for Milner, a deal which could turn out better for the Villans than for City. As for the other end of the table, it's anyone's shout at the moment, with only ultimate yo-yo team West Brom starting the season looking awful and even they had the excuse of playing away to the champions. Wolves started well and West Ham started badly but with little difference in the quality of many of the squads, it should be a much tighter battle than seen last year where Hull City and Burnley were disastrous and Portsmouth pretty much destroying their chances of survival with financial mismanagement. Let's hope not to see any more of that this season.

Success, Failure and Referees...

Well it's finally over, and what did we learn? That the favourites with all the best players really can win the World Cup, that global superstars can flop miserably at finals tournaments, and that refereeing mistakes are just as prominent as ever.

Firstly, the Spanish were worthy winners despite never getting into their full stride, only scoring eight goals in their seven games. There's not a lot left to say about them that hasn't already been said but their entire squad oozed quality. When the likes of David Silva are left on the bench, Fernando Llorente makes one impressive substitute appearance then doesn't get another look in and Fernando Torres gets forced out of the starting line-up, it is clear that the team was more than special. If they go on to claim the 2012 Euros as well, La Furia Roja may well go down as THE best international team of all time. A compelling final was somewhat ruined by Holland's appalling discipline and their cheek at criticising Howard Webb, claiming his refereeing cost them the Final is plain ridiculous as if anything, he should have reduced them to at least nine men in the first half. More on refereeing later.

As for the superstars, Wayne Rooney flopped harder than most, but it is incredible to think that between the England striker, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Torres, Franck Ribery and Kaka - six of the most marketable sportsmen in the world, they only managed one goal. That being from Ronaldo who contributed a sixth goal in Portugal's 7-0 rout of North Korea, hardly a strike of importance. The reasons behind these poor performances are not completely clear, a lack of fitness seemed to afflict Rooney, Torres and to an extent Kaka, and Ribery was perhaps unfortunate to be involved in the absolute farce that was the French team. Yet where these big stars flopped, others flourished. David Villa surely muscling past Rooney, Torres and Didier Drogba for the title of world's best centre forward, and Uruguay's talisman Diego Forlan continuing his Europa League form of the past season and putting in performances that earnt him the coveted Golden Ball prize. Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben both excelled in the Dutch team and Sneijder particularly should be in contention for FIFA's world player of the year award come December. Key player in Inter's treble winning season and crucial to his team's run to a World Cup final, few could claim to have matched his achievements this year.

As for the refereeing, Frank Lampard's goal that never was obviously sticks in the mind, as do several contentious offside and handball decisions. Not to mention Webb's leniency in the final. Should technology be introduced? I think so but only for clear decisions, more precisely, whether the ball crossed the line or not, and offsides. Fouls are usually debatable even after several replays so this could slow down the game too much, but for a fourth official to observe whether the ball crossed the line or if players were offside on a monitor is perfectly feasible for top level football and this would hardly delay the game, if at all. Whether FIFA give it the go ahead remains unlikely as Sepp Blatter has always insisted the game remains the same from grass roots up, even though quite clearly an amateur game in the park is quite different from a UEFA Champions League final at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans and a worldwide TV audience while each player earns six figure sums per week. Perhaps better training for the referees, who are almost all part-time could be an option. There's enough money in the game to have full-time paid referees and if they were given serious training each week, mistakes might be minimalized. But it looks like the experiment carried out last year in the Europa league with extra officials next to the goals will persist, which of course means more officials are needed and always leaves room for human error. Some things will never change I guess...

Other World Cup mentions should go to New Zealand, who did incredibly well to leave the tournament unbeaten, after three draws in the group stage. They were still knocked out, but for a team that were expected by most to be on the wrong end of cricket scores, they did their nation proud, finishing ahead of 2006 world champions Italy. The Italians, like the French and the English have to seriously reconsider their teams, formations and philosophies...rebuilding is definitely on the agenda if these are to challenge in Brazil 2014. The Germans also deserve praise for excelling with some direct, attacking football, a blend of youth and experience, and that hard-faced German attitude that just seems to drag them through tournament after tournament. Mesut Oezil, Thomas Mueller and Sami Khedira are all going to be ones to watch over the coming seasons and will surely again feature prominently at Euro 2012.

All in all, a successful first World Cup in Africa, with less crime and transport issues than anticipated, and eventually plenty of entertainment despite some of the dull football which marred the early group games. The 4-2-3-1 formation took prominence and some of the latter stages produced scintillating football, particularly Holland's thriller with Uruguay and Germany's rout of the defensively-disastrous Argentina. Now it's over, what to do? Well, a month today and the Premier League season will be recommencing. Excellent.