OSM - Del Bosque is Spain's Quiet Man

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OSM - Germany Looking All Too Familiar

Lucas Podolski

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South Africa Spent $3B on World Cup

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South Africa spent more than $3 billion on the 2010 World Cup, and in return gained an "intangible legacy" from the first world soccer showpiece in Africa, the country's government said Friday in its final report on the tournament.

In the "2010 FIFA World Cup Country Report," released nearly 2½ years after the event, South Africa's government said it spent $1.1 billion on building and upgrading stadiums alone.

Transport was the biggest cost, with $1.3 billion dedicated to improving road, rail and air links and a further $392 million on the country's main ports of entry.

In the absence of any final definitive figures on how much South Africa earned in total from being the host, the report said the World Cup had left an intangible legacy of pride and unity among South Africans and had changed the country's image as undeveloped, crime-ridden and dangerous in the eyes of the rest of the world.

"To top it all, we didn't have lions roaming the streets and we did have ATMs," the report, published by the ministry of sport, added light-heartedly.

It did predict a $6 billion boost to South Africa's economy as a result of the month long World Cup, according to a study by risk analysis and finance company Grant Thornton, but that was a mid to long-term projection.

FIFA reported it made a $631 million profit from the 2007-10 World Cup cycle and earned income of $3.65 billion from 2010 World Cup contracts. FIFA said it spent $1.298 billion on the World Cup in South Africa and also gave $100 million to the World Cup Legacy Trust, a fund that supports grassroots soccer projects.

"The World Cup in South Africa was a huge, huge financial success for Africa, for South Africa and for FIFA," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in 2011 as the world body published its own financial report.

While critics have said that such a huge outlay on a 30-day sports event was impractical for South Africa -- and the final word on whether it was an economic success was still pending -- the government could argue that it had already earned over $400 million from the more than 300,000 tourists that visited for the World Cup.

The upgrade to much of South Africa's transport infrastructure was a long-term investment, the government said.

The expensive World Cup stadiums are still underused, however, and some are losing money. The Cape Town Stadium -- reportedly the most expensive of the seven new venues at $600 million -- is in the most trouble.

"This report will also serve as a reference guide and benchmark for planning other major sporting events," South Africa's government said in a statement to introduce the publication, which featured the 2010 World Cup logo and was embossed with shiny gold letters.

South Africa has said it is considering a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.

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OSM - Can Capello Deliver England Dream with Premier League Stars?

ARCHIVES - German History Weighs on Spain

Miguel Reina was a substitute for Spain in the summer of 1966 when they met Germany for the first time at the World Cup finals in England. It would seem his son, Pepe Reina, is destined to pretty much do the same when the two countries meet forty four years later in Durban on Wednesday – unless Vicente Del Bosque has an outer body experience and suddenly drops Iker Casillas of Real Madrid for the semi final.

As a man not driven to extremes and radical behaviour of his predecessor, Luis Aragones, it would be a fair bet that the Liverpool goalkeeper will be a bystander for his World Cup match as well.

In predicting the outcome of this encounter the Spanish press and players are naturally happy to refer all doubters to the result of the EURO 2008 Final as the best indication of the Germany’s potential footballing fallibility - given the glory and pride that came following Fernando Torres goal in Vienna. And why not?

It was an exceptional achievement for the National team by a new generation of players who fulfilled the potential that for so often failed to materialise at major footballing events. The victory lifted that weight from the national psyche and as Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso, Villa and Company approach the meeting with Germany they believer in the new status quo – where Spain don’t expect always lose against Germany.

So now the national worry is over confidence.

Undoubtedly they have reason to be confident given the group of Barcelona players that currently form the backbone of the team -following their second la Liga title this season - with Pique, Busquets, Puyol, Victor Valdes and Pedro the supporting cast to the midfield dynamos that are Iniesta and Xavi. But in this German side they face the intellect of Joachim Loew who with masterly tactics has undone the World Cup winning ambitions of Fabio Capello’s, England and then the unpredictable genius of Diego Maradona’s, Argentina.

Without doubt this game will be won on the whiteboard in the team meeting room over the coming forty eight hours as Loew sets his team up to pick apart the weaknesses of Spain in the same manner that John Terry and Matthew Upson were spread by the deft and speedy running of Miroslav Klose. So too will Sergio Ramos be punished for any marauding runs down the flanks by an ever vigilant Lukas Podolski ready to break wide any chance he gets. The agility of movement of play maker Mesut Oesil must already be giving Carlos Puyol sleepless nights as his shortness of pace will be no match for the German.

Although Cesc Fabregas made the difference for Spain when he came on against Paraguay Del Bosque is going to have to consider man marking, to some degree, Bastian Schweinsteiger in the middle of the park if normal service to the German advance division - operating on the edge of the box - is to be cut off. If Fabregas is not the choice, it may mean sacrificing the ball distribution skills of Alonso to cover that role every time the German move midfielder moves forward.

To choose not to restrict Schweinsteiger is too big a risk as he too will run at the Spanish defence posing a variety of headaches for Pique who prefers to clear high crosses than chase people down half his height with the ball at their feet.

World Cup history, which up to this year’s tournament counted as what racing pundits might call “form”, needs to be rewritten as Uruguay are not supposed to be in the semi final, Brazil should not have lost to Holland and Paraguay had no right to make it to the quarter finals out of the same group as Italy. However when it comes to Germany and the World Cup, history always seems to count, as they always beat England and have been known to undo Argentina on occasion– even with Maradona in his hey day and the same with Spain.

In the summer of ’66 the Spanish side were living through another golden era having won the 1964 European Nations Cup, as it was called, hosted in Spain by beating Russia two goals to one at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. Therefore team that played at Villa Park were capable of causing an upset even with Franciso “Paco” Gento on the substitutes bench. On the day they fell short despite going ahead early in the game.

In the end Uwe Seeler fulfilled the script adding a second goal in the 84th minute and Germany marched on to that infamous final at Wembley against England. The next meeting in the 1982 World Cup was in Round 2 where they were drawn in the same group as England and Germany playing all their matches in the favoured Bernabeu.

In July of 1982 England again failed to beat Germany with the game ending goalless and Spain arrived to play Germany burdened with the pressure despite having a competent side mostly made up John Toshack's successful Real Sociedad team that were dominating La Liga at the time - which included, Miguel “Periko” Alonso in midfield, Father of the current Real Madrid player, Xabi Alonso.

On the night Pierre Littbarski and Klaus Fischer scored the two goals that mattered and although Spain replied late in the game it was game over in favour of Germany. As the Spanish players made their way home Germany marched on towards the final in the Bernabeu – after disposing of France and Patrick Battiston in the semi final in Sevilla - ultimately losing to Italy.

In USA 1994 the meeting was at the less consequential group stage in Chicago with passage to the last 16 at stake amidst rival teams such as Switzerland and Bolivia .When both teams met at Solder Field, Germany arrived having reached the finals of EURO 1992 in Sweden, losing to Demark, and the Spanish team fielded a cluster of Barcelona players - amongst them Rafael Nadal’s Uncle, Miguel Angel, and the current Barca Manager, Pep Guardiola.

The end result was a one all draw leaving both teams to qualify for the next stage with Spain losing out in the quarter final to Italy and Germany losing to Bulgaria at the same stage.

Now in South Africa Spain have travelled beyond their previous experiences at World Cup level

In truth the Germans have what the 1974 World Cup winner Rainer Bonhof described as “a bill to settle with Spain" given that one error from Philip Lahm in Vienna was punished by the ruthless finishing of one Fernando Torres – who two years later is but a shadow of the player of 2008.

Joachim Loew’s new breed of 2010 are not unlike Luis Aragones' team as the Germans are improving with each game and have a variety of options through the team. If you add to that the tactical sophistication of the Loew, Han Dieter-Flick and Oliver Bierhoff you have a formula that might just see them overcome the open flair and passing ability that Del Bosque so passionately encourages in the teams he manages

Not withstanding the unpredictability of this World Cup and the failure of precedent to accurately dictate the outcomes of many matches, that all too familiar feeing abounds once again all around - that Germany always seem to reach the final - and win.

No reason to believe this year will any different unless Spain can recover the Fernando Torres of 2008 in time for the game on Wednesday night in the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban.

History suggests it’s unlikely.

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Copyright OSM - All rights reserved - First published May 7th 2010

ARCHIVES - Dutch Need To Play Beautiful Game

Looking back on the history of Holland and the World Cup they reached the first round of the 1934 and 1938 tournaments – having not partaken in 1930 tournament. The nation did not enter the 1950 and 1954 tournaments either and then failed to qualify for Sweden in 1958, Chile 1962, England 1966 and Mexico 1970.  Then in 1974 and 1978 tournaments, as if out of the ether, Holland then reached two consecutive finals with a group of players whose names were to become household names capturing the imagination of millions around the world with an attractive style of play.

In 1982 and 1986 Holland failed again to qualify but improved in 1986 by reaching the last 16 and then in the following tournament reached the quarter finals in 1994. Four years later Holland were fourth in France ‘98 failing to make it to Korea and Japan in 2001 after a slip up in Dublin one September afternoon in 2001. 


In Germany 2006 after qualifying from their group they lost to Portugal by one goal in Nuremberg at the easy Credit Stadion with eight players booked and four players sent off for accumulating two yellow cards; Costinha and Deco for Portugal and Khalid Boulahdrouz and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst for Holland.


All in all though it is nine qualifications from a total of 19 world cup competitions.

However the round of last sixteen has been a major World Cup hurdle for Dutch teams over recent years as they have flattered to deceive on occasions and fallen short of the pre tournament promise of many a talented squad  – often due to reasons off the pitch rather than on it. But in the 2010 tournament the team have eased their way to the quarter final in an efficient and effective way with not a hint so far of the traditional World Cup discontent that affected their camp in previous tournaments.

Up to now though the football has been more ugly than flamboyant, with the infamous total football for which they have become renowned, only visible in quick glimpses. But by reaching the quarterfinals this week they match the achievements of 1994 and 1998 where on both occasions they came up against Brazilian opposition - going no further in the competition as a result. In South Africa they are heading towards another showdown with Brazil who will be the toughest opponents yet in the World Cup and will offer more resistance than Slovakia did in the Round of Last 16.

In the group stage Holland found little match in their games with Japan, Cameroon and Denmark.

  

Of all European teams that have competed in the World Cup no country has caught the imagination of the unbiased observer more over the years than Holland given their assembly line of great players over the decades; John Cruyff; Johan Neeskens, Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit; Frank Rijkjard, Marc Overmars, Denis Bergkamp, Ronald Koeman to mention just a few names.  Going back to a previous generation the legendary squadron of Ajax players in the 1970s saw the start of the Clockwork Orange – losing in two finals to the host nation.

In terms of magic moments many are still etched in the memory and will forever grace any World Cup DVD’ with their sheer brilliance. None more so that the 65 metre ball from Frank de Boer to Denis Bergkamp in the 89th minute against Argentina which he controlled two steps from the touchline with the Dutch striker turning the defender inside out to then deftly drill the ball into the top left hand corner of the net in a sunny Marseilles Velodrome - sealing passage into the semi final.

For such a small nation they are giants in world football and the current academy of talent in South Africa would not look out of place in any Dutch Hall of Fame ether. The likes of Wesley Sneijder, who arrives laden with medals on the foot of Milan winning three titles,  the last being the Champions League which he won at the home of Real Madrid last May – where he had also won a La Liga title in 2007/2008 when he played for the Spanish champions.

This crop of players are achievers in their own right with Arjen Robben - now of Bayern - having  made his mark at Chelsea in their Premier League wins under Jose Mourinho. Although now at Bayern - where he won the Bundesliga title - he arrived there as an outcast from Real Madrid, albeit with a La Liga title under his belt. His team-mate in Munich, Mark van Bommel, may have lost the final in Madrid but already has a medal from his time at Barcelona where he had won both a La Liga Title and the Champions League under Frank Rijkjard.

So undoubtedly there is ability in this 2010 Dutch team

However the first meeting between Holland and Brazil in a World Cup was on a wet night in the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund back in 1974 and it was an ugly and unpleasant match where Brazil chose physicality as the best way to deal with the skill and flair of the Rep, Rensenbrink, Van Hanagem, Krol and company.  In the end Luis Pereira was sent off after a rugby tackle on Johan Cruyff but by then the two Johan's - Neeskens and Cruyff - had scored a goal a piece to win the game for Holland.

The Dutch then stepped forward to the final by winning their second round group - in a World Cup based on 16 teams in those days – only to lose to a German team led by Franz Beckenbauer. But the legacy of the 1974 team and indeed the 1978 team, even without Cruyff in Argentina, is still evident today.

In 2010 the Dutch nation also expects and now that it is the quarterfinal stage the nation will be looking for the latest players to deliver – even though history is probably going against them.

One of two previous meetings with Brazil was in Dallas in USA 1994 where the Dutch arrived after an easy demolition of the Republic of Ireland in the Orange Bowl in Orlando by 2-0. The  match only came alive in the second half when Romario and Bebeto scored with twenty minutes gone on the clock.  In quick reply Denis Bergkamp scored for Holland and the fight back started in the Cotton Bowl, especially when Aron Winter equalised in the 76^th minute.

But a drilled free kick by defender Branco in the 81^st minute ended the Dutch USA dream and they returned home after the quarter finals - at least losing to the eventual World Cup winners.

In France 1998 the reward for the beating Argentina in the last minute was a meeting with Brazil at the Velodrome in Marseilles once again. On this occasion Brazil came armed with serious gunslingers; Roberto Carlos, Dunga, Rivaldo, Leonardo, Bebeto and Ronaldo. In a close match the teams ended level after not only 90 minutes, but extra time as well, after Ronaldo's  46^th minute goal was cancelled out by Patrick Kluijvert three minutes from the end of normal time.

In the ensuing penalties there were some unlikely villains for Holland with stalwarts like Philip Cocu and Ronald de Boer having their penalties saved by Taffarel thus denying the Dutch World Cup dream once again -  but this time in the semi final.

Twelve years on only Andre Ooijer and Giovanni van Bronckhorst are still in the squad with Frank de Boer part of the backroom staff. So those memories of Marseille will be added motivation – if it were needed – to the latest production line of Rafael van de Vaart, Dirk Kuyt, Robin van Persie, Klaas Jan Huntelaar, John Heitinga and Ryan Babel.

In a playing style that could be more reminiscent of the 70’s these players are talented enough with capable goal scorers right across the midfield - as well as up front - to reach the 2010 final.

As a set piece and dead ball expert Sneijder offers a variety of options as well as being the main playmaker. And when the coach's son-in-law, Van Bommel,  puts his mind to it he can be deadly when he is on song. Unfortunately he tends to get involved in off the ball situations and is regularly censured by referees so Holland really need him to hold his verbal fire against Brazil to be effective.

For this match Inter Milan team mates Julio Cesar, Lucio, Maicon and Sneijder will be on different sides for the fist time this season when they meet on Friday July 2^nd at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth in the quarter final  The Dutchman will be hoping it will be third time lucky having lost the last two meetings. One thing is for sure though, it will need a bit of magic from the Oranje to stop this Brazil team. 


But they might just have that bit of magic in Wesley Sneijder if the team play the beautiful way!


World Cup Latest: Netherlands coach defends style of play.




OSM - all rights reserved [first published June 28 2010]

Spanish players write history - ARCHIVE

Spanish players write their own History

Who Will Johan Cruyff Cheer For?

Whatever about replacing one of the Netherlands best footballers as National Manager or the thought of following some of their greatest managers – Rinus Michels, Guus Hiddink, Leo Benhaaker, Leo van Gaal, Frank Rijkaard – replacing the accepted national philosophy of Total Football and the place of Johan Cruyff as a National Treasure - is surely a too huge a step. 


But for Bert van Marwijk, who only played once for Holland, none of it really seems a problem as under his guidance Holland remain unbeaten for twenty five matches in a run that has taken them to a World Cup Final for the first time in thirty two years – the last being 1978 in Buenos Aires with Rob Rensenbrink and company. The previous occasion was 1974 in Muenich when Johan Cruyff and Coach Rinus Michels reached the final playing text book Total Football in West Germany. 

On reaching the final in Soccer City in Johannesburg on Sunday July 11th Van Marwijk has equalled those feats and placing himself in the Dutch Managers Hall of Fame – even though the style of football seems to have few admirers - all longing for the stylish of the 1970’s generation. 

According to Van Marwijk though Dutch style and Brazilian flair no longer have a place at major tournaments such as the World Cup: 

"I know the Brazilian team played beautiful football...so did the Dutch but there is no more space for 'total' or 'samba' football these days," Van Marwijk told a news conference. 

"The sport has changed and everything goes faster. Players are fitter and teams better organised so you can't display that sort of football any longer at a World Cup." 

Van Marwijk is also happy to point out that Holland actually lost those two World Cup Finals. 

In his playing career Van Marwijk had a chronic knee injury and was a winger in Dutch football when they had the likes of Piet Kiezer, Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep around – so it was not easy. He earned his only cap against Yugoslavia in 1975 and was replaced after half time by Manager, George Knobel. 

A very different international career to his predecessor at the Dutch Football Federation [KNVB], Marco Van Basten, who played 58 times for the Oranje, scoring 24 goals, winning European Footballer of the Year three times (1988, '89 and '92) and also the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1992. 

But the contrast does not end there as the Van Basten era was a turbulent period with the manager in very public spats with leading stars of the time, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorff, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Denis Bergkamp - refusing to include them in his squads for the first two years of his reign. Although eventually recalling some of them for EURO 2008. 

Van Basten suffered a loss to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup in the Last 16 followed by a quarter final exit to Russia - managed by Guus Hiddink - in EURO 2008 when a stunning performance by Andrei Arshavin delivered two goals for a final score line of 3-1. Incidentally the last time Holland lost match. 

In 2004 Van Marwijk became manager of Borussia Dortmund leaving his job at Feyenoord to Ruud Gullit only to return there in 2007 when the job changes did not work out for either manager. On his return to Feyenoord he brought Giovanni van Bronckhorst back to the club establishing an ethos of team work that saw the club win the 2008 KNVB Cup. When the Dutch Federation came calling after Van Basten accepted a role at Ajax in 2008, Van Marwijk was ready to take up the job at the KNVB. 

The current Dutch team is built on team work – despite the rival personalities and ego’s - maintaining a unity that delivers consistent results that previous Dutch teams failed to do. The former winger is clearly appreciative of the skills offered by Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt - allowing them a freedom to attack at every opportunity - ably supported by the rugged defensive role of his son-in-law, Mark van Bommel and De Jong allowing the creative flair of Wesley Sneijder, a key component of the Dutch midfield, to attack or shot at speed. 

The priority of Van Marwijk is functionality, playing to defend first as opposed to allowing flair players dictate the pace of the game then losing discipline under pressure. 

The team that the Netherlands meet on Sunday is for the most part Barcelona FC with a midfield built around Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Pedro Rodriguez with a defence centred around Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. 

Like the Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola these players have all grown up familiar with the Dutch footballing philosophy fostered by Johan Cruyff who over the past thirty years has had a huge influence on the Catalan Club. Indeed Guardiola became a first team regular under Cruyff in the 1991-92 season and part of the side that won La Liga, the European Cup that year. 

The Dutch influence all started when Marinus ("Rinus") Jacobus Hendricus Michels arrived at the club in 1971 after establishing a successful Ajax side that won the national championship four times and the KNVB Cup three times, as well as reaching the European Cup final in Madrid where they were defeated by Milan. 

In the summer of 1973 Michels brought Cruyff to Barcelona and the two Dutchmen made an immediate impact winning la Liga that season. The following season they were joined by a third Dutchman midfielder Johan Neeskens and the club went on to win a Copa del Rey and in 1979 UEFA Cup Winners Cup. After leaving the club in 1978 Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona as manager a decade later. 

During his eight years he mixed Catalan players with international stars adding Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário, Gheorghe Hagi and Hristo Stoichkov to the playing roster winning La Liga four times between 1991 and 1994. In Europe Barcelona beat Sampdoria to win the 1989 European Cup Winners' Cup and then again in the 1992 European Cup final at Wembley. The team also won the Copa del Rey in 1990, the European Super Cup in 1992 and three Supercopa de España. 

Known as a player's coach with deep convictions Cruyff was considered a visionary and his presence at Barcelona changed many things and the beginning of what is known as the "Dutch influence" at Barcelona. 

Johan Cruyff still lives in Catalunya although as a result of the latest Barca Presidential elections will lose some influence at the club for the first time in three decades. Undoubtedly this weekend his loyalties are split as the Spain's Barcelona players are closer to his footballing vision than the team playing under Bert Van Marwijk. So for the moment he is uncharacteristically silent 

Should Holland win on Sunday then the 74 generation - Jongbloed, Suurbier, Van Hanegem, Jansen, Rijsbergen, Haan, Krol, Neeskens, Cruyff, Rensenbrink, Rep - may lose their place forever. Somewhat a sad thought for the neutral bystander. 

But not so if Spain win playing the Barcelona way - keeping the Johan Cruyff legacy alive.

© RMDTT

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Maradona the Greatest? Don't ask Pele !

Some of the greatest footballers in the history seem to be playing out a match of their own making through the media in the 2010 World Cup with Edson Arantes do Nascimento and Diego Armando Maradona continuing their ongoing differences which appear rooted, for the most part, in the traditional neighbourly rivalry between Brazil and Argentina. Somewhat worsened perhaps by the memory of Argentina 1978 when Brazil missed getting to the final when the host nation, surprisingly, beat a strong Peru side – that included Teofilo Cubillas, Ramon Quiroga and Juan Carlos Oblitas – by more than the required four goals needed to improve their unfavourable  goal average.

In the end Argentina won by 6 goals to nil and went on to win the ‘78 Final placing them on the world footballing stage for the first time having lived in the shadow of Brazil for many decades. Since then the two players that wore the number ten have pursued a rivalry, despite being a generation apart, which still continues today.

There is also a personal element to the row as Maradona likes to highlight that Pele was never tested himself in European club football. Pele, on the other hand, seizes every opportunity to proclaim the best player in the world as the “new Pele:”

The Brazilian legend was at it again recently declaring that Alfredo Di Stefano was in fact the world’s best and that he had once turned down the chance to play with him at Real Madrid years ago.

During that same interview he declared;

“Maradona could not kick with his right foot and did not score goals with his head,”  he explained, “The only time he scored an important goal was with his head, and it turned out he had used his hand.”

No shock then that the Argentina Manager should then suggest that Pele should be placed in a museum so as to be silenced perhaps. 

However the man who scored over a thousand goals and tops every list of best players in the world replied during the 2010 World Cup, in a bid to avoid being forgotten about, that:

"He (Maradona) is not a good coach, because he had a bizarre lifestyle which cannot go down well with his team," three-time World Cup winner Pele told German magazine 11Freunde.

The 69-year-old Pele then switched to Maradona’s next opponents saying there was much to like about the young and vibrant German side that beat England 4-1 in the Last 16 match on Sunday. As Maradona focussed his remarks toward his semi final opponents as well Germany questioning the “nerves” of midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, Pele offered his contrarians viewpoint.

"This young German team is a pleasure to watch," Pele said, “ It is clear to see that something has changed in German football, it was already beginning to happen at Euro 2008 (where they lost 1-0 to Spain in the final) and the youngsters Mesut Oezil and Thomas Mueller, they are like their predecessors Wolfgang Overath and Pierre Littbarski.

"They can dribble, deliver pinpoint passes, and produce something surprising at any moment," added Pele, who nevertheless feels that they are too young to win at this World Cup.

One just waits now for the timely reminder from Franz Anton Beckenbauer about the 1990 World Cup Final in Rome to go the way of the Argentina camp as a forewarning of perhaps a few more goals from Thomas Mueller in Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

Other legends have not escaped the wrath of Maradona either

"I always had a distant relationship with Platini," he said. "It was 'Hi' and 'Bye', never more than that. But we know how the French are and Platini is French. He believes he's better than everyone else."

One might ask what Michel Platini did to deserve such an observation? It seems he pointed out a personal views about Argentina and “El Diego”;

"He [Maradona] has very little experience, and Argentina's qualifying campaign was not good."

Maradona, of course, dismisses any criticism of his side always eager to talk up the man he believes is  natural replacement, Lionel Messi.

In the build up to the Holland and Brazil semi final Hendrik Johannes Cruijff flung some critical remarks Brazil’s way pointing out that the style of play adopted by Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri, the Manager of Brazil, saying that he would “not pay” to see them.

To which Dunga replied;

“It's up to him. Cruyff can pay to watch this game if he wants. There are many games on offer and democracy allows you to make your own choice.”

"But I am sure Cruyff is not going to pay for the ticket, so therefore he can watch it if he wants to."

In the collapse of Portugal against Spain in the Last 16 match and the failure of their captain Ronaldo to deliver yet again for his country, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira the legend of the nation, was disappointed - but more with the sport in general. When asked how the game had changed since the 1960s he responded

"Well, today, soccer is nothing else than a commercial enterprise."

But the man known in his playing days as O Pantera Negra (The Black Panther) thought that despite their exit, Carlos Queiroz’s men can be proud of their campaign and he is optimistic about the future of the national team.

Meanwhile back in England following the fallout of England's defeat in 2010, one of Esuebio’s opponents in 1966 World Cup semi final, Bobby Charlton, has been remarkably quiet as many experts and former players threw out views to anyone who would listen about the wrongs of the English game following the failure yet again to repeat the feat of forty four years ago.  What must he think as some of his contemporaries flood the airwaves given he is man of much reserve and decorum. 

Undoubtedly he would contend the he played alongside one of the greatest players ever, George Best, who is now unable to share his views with the world  given his premature death in 2005.

But with the 2010 World Cup final fast approaching and many of his former team mates now relaxing on beaches somewhere following France's ignominious departure from this World Cup, it is probably no surprise that Zinedine Zidane has remained quite throughout the tournament.

Sadly for him, he remains the last player to be sent off in a World Cup Final, a statistic that maybe changed on July 11th next, but for the moment tarnishes for some his achievements and ability in the game.

But then again Zizou always dif his talking on the pitch – like all the greatest players.