England 5/ Croatia 1
We probably weren’t the only ones who cracked open a bottle of Santana DVX last night as England secured their place at the 2010 World Cup finals in emphatic style. Admittedly, Croatia didn’t put up a particularly strong fight - they were a shadow of the side who embarrassed England in 2007 - but Aaron Lennon was in rude health, Glen Johnson dealt with the pressure well and Emile Heskey even got a little bit close to scoring a goal.
Has the little guy earned a place in the starting XI?
With nothing of particular interest arising from England’s friendly victory over Slovenia at the weekend, the papers are awash with the debate surrounding the England frontline.
In-form Jermain Defoe has bagged eight goals in ten appearances under Fabio Capello, which is twice as good as Wayne Rooney’s rate of return in the same period, and better than the tally that Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey has managed in the past ten years.
Under Capello’s maxim of ‘form wins places’, the Tottenham star is a shoe-in for a starting role. However, the obvious counter argument is that Wayne Rooney needs a strike partner with Heskey’s strength, height and ability to hold up the ball in order to operate at his best. And considering how Croatia tried to kick seven shades out of their opponents the last time they visited Wembley, such a physical presence from the outset could prove crucial.
So, should the serial WAG boffer retain his highly successful ’supersub’ status, or should he get to wear number 9 at Wembley on Wednesday? Votes and comments below, please…
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England/Andorra, World Cup Qualifier, 8.15pm, ITV1
The Three Lions are ever-so-slight 1/200 favourites to make it seven wins out of seven in the World Cup qualifiers against an Andorra side who have never won away from home. This is how The Spoiler would line up.
We disagree with the idea of playing Gary Neville ahead of Glen Johnson, who is a yellow card away from suspension. Fabio Capello wants everyone available to face Croatia at home but we feel having players ruled out for the game after that away to Ukraine could prove just as dangerous.
The biggest talking point is who will partner Frank Lampard in midfield with Gareth Barry suspended and Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves and Scott
Croatia boss wants Premier League job now that his stock is falling
Slaven Bilic’s agent Rudi Vata has claimed that the prospect of managing nouveau-riche Portsmouth “would excite” the former Everton defender:
“Slaven is open to offers and there is interest from Portsmouth. There are different clubs who want him but he is very interested.
“Portsmouth have tried to get in touch, but there is no concrete offer at this stage. But the idea of working with and building the club would excite him.”
The Croatia boss was linked with numerous Premier League posts last year but
Croatian singer, model, socialite and writer Nives Celzijus has gained a huge following in Germany since her husband Dino Drpić joined Karlsruher SC. Her fame has arisen from a combination of steamy photoshoots, sexy claims (such as her claim that she boffed her husband on the pitch where England lost a vital Euro 2008 qualifier), and her regular column for newspaper Bild.
Nives usually uses her column inches in Europe’s biggest newspaper to single out the most attractive players in the Bundesliga, and her most recent is no expception.
Firstly, she calls attention to players with long hair: apparently, the likes of Andriy Voronin cannot get away with a long mane, but handsome devils like Nesta or Nuno Gomes can pull it off.
Schalke’s Ivan Rakitić is a talented attacking midfielder, but also a damn fool if the latest WAG rumours are to believed. According to Bild, the Croat has split up with Tatjana Batinić, also known as Miss Austria 2006:
“I ended my relationship with Tatjana. It was short, but beautiful. We both had too many obligations. Simply, it did not work.”
The Croatian blonde (who somehow qualifies for Miss Austria) is devastated, because Rakitić failed to tell her they had split up. “Where did you get that Ivan Rakitic and I broke up? I know nothing about that. I hope that in the future you will only publish the truth,” she told Javno shortly after her ex-boyfriend’s comments were recorded.
Don’t let the man bottom in the video grab put you off
Nives Celzijus is the Playboy model who done it with her husband Dino Drpić in the middle of the pitch, and apparently she is some kind of popstar in Croatia. Here’s what we learn from this video:
1. Europop rocks, ja! 2. Continental Europeans are more than happy to see simulated sex acts in mainstream music videos. 3. If you are ever in a Croatian hotel and two policemen arrive at your door, they will probably want to engage in overt homoerotic acts, go swimming, or both.
Playboy model who enjoys a spot of love making on the pitch
Defender Dino Drpić has spent his entire career at Dinamo Zagreb, and is generally well-loved. His ability to focus on the pitch however, has been affected by arguments with team mates, scuffles with police men and a gambling addiction that he deems “incurable.”
One of his biggest distractions, though, is his wife Nives Celzijus, a Playboy model whose penchant for ill-fitting bikini tops is only matched by her penchant for outdoor boffing.
The 27-year-old is currently promoting her book Gola Istina (’The Naked Truth’), where she admits she had relations with Drpić on the pitch at the Maksimir Stadium - the same place England lost their vital Euro 2008 qualifier with Croatia:
“Dino had arranged that people should turn on the stadium lights for us and he finally fulfilled his dream of having sex in the middle of a football pitch. It was very naughty.”
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