Ghana v Brazil final a dress rehearsal for S.Africa next year?
We here at thespoiler have a hunch. It is a well-known fact that Brazil are the only nation to have won the World Cup outside of their own continent, which makes a Samba triumph next summer a strong possibility. In a related stat, there is also the adage that home nations always travel further than expected. The flaw in the upcoming World Cup however, is that South Africa are dreadful.
Another African side though, may take advantage of the waves of enthusiasm that should sweep the continent in June. Ghana, with Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Kwadwo Asamoah to name but three, could well be that nation.
So tonight’s U20 World Cup Final (7pm Eurosport) may be viewed as a sign of things to come - we’re tipping a Ghana vs Brazil World Cup final next summer. And if that isn’t enough incentive to watch, it’s a chance to check out tournament top scorer, Dominic Adiyiah, coming to a Premier League club near you soon.
For those who can’t find the remote control, the 3rd/4th place play-off between Costa Rica and Hungary is on earlier at 4pm.
Which division would triumph in an MLS All-Stars style match?
———————————————————————————————————————-
The Spoiler was surprised by the results of yesterday’s poll, where 76% of you disagreed with Cristiano Ronaldo’s claim that La Liga was stronger than the Premier League.
That poll took into account a number of factors: for example the difference between the best and worst teams, entertainment value and European success. Today, we want to focus on which is the better league in terms of galacticos.
Let us know which of the two teams we’ve created to represent each league is stronger - and if you disagree with our line-ups tell us who you would pick instead - with a vote and comment below:
Chelsea’s recent freebies haven’t had much success at the Bridge
Chelsea’s decision to bring in Ross Turnbull on a free transfer makes sense: they get to fill the squad place vacated last January by Carlo Cudicini on the cheap and if a year or two down the line they want to upgrade, he’s young enough for them to make a profit on him.
But is the former Middlesbrough keeper going to stay the duration of his four-year contract and prove a shrewd acquisition or will he be swiftly written of as a failure? Chelsea’s recent record at signing out-of-contract players suggest that the latter is more likely.
The last four players that the Blues have picked up for nothing - Steve Sidwell, Tal Ben Haim, Claudio Pizarro and Mineiro - started a combined 21 league
The bookmakers expect the Blues to miss out on Carlos Tevez
This is a huge transfer window for Chelsea - their chance to build on a strong end to the season by bringing in players who can freshen up the squad and thrust them back into title contention - but it hasn’t gone to plan so far.
With Manchester United losing two of their “Fab Four”, the Blues have a real chance to close the gap but they have already been snubbed by Glen Johnson, while Ricardo Carvalho wants to leave and Michael Essien’s agent has made noises about his client moving to Spain.
Whereas a few weeks ago they were linked with Franck Ribery, Sergio Aguero and David Villa, this morning it’s Charlton youngster Jonjo Shelvey and Ross
Chelsea 1/ Barcelona 1 (Aggregate 1-1, Barcelona progress on away goals rule)
After 90 minutes of utter domination* over the supposed best team in the world, Chelsea may have felt confident of a second successive Champions League final. However, in the 93rd, Andres Iniesta cancelled out Michael Essien’s superb opener with Barcelona’s first shot on target of the game.
The real star of the show, of course, was Norwegian referee Tom Henning Øvrebø. His laughably shite performance included a completely unnecessary sending off and the refusal of four penalty claims, at least three of which were definite fouls.
While the result is devastating for Chelsea fans, at least the neutrals can now look forward to the prospect of a vaguely interesting final.
*As some commenters pointed out, this clearly isn’t right. Read “utter domination over” as “resilient defending against”
Chelsea/Everton, Premier League, 8pm, Sky Sports 1
Chelsea are determined not to give up on the title and a win tonight will leave them just a point behind Liverpool. The Blues have drawn their last two home league games against Everton but we think this team could take three points:
The Spoiler would rest Michael Ballack for the upcoming away games with West Ham, who he destroyed at the Boleyn last season, and Barcelona. We would replace him with birthday boy Mikel and give Michael Essien more freedom going forward. Let us know who you would start with a comment.
Chelsea dent ‘Pool’s Euro dream, Barca makes Bayern look rubbish
Liverpool 1/ Chelsea 3
Whoa! Who saw this scoreline coming? When Nando put the Reds ahead after six minutes, it looked as if Liverpool were on course for another famous Champions league evening. However, Michael Essien kept Steven Gerrard locked in a cage all night, and Guus Hiddink’s tactical nous prevailed.
Barcelona 4/ Bayern Munich 0
Well, that lucky sausage didn’t do the German’s much good, did it? Last night’s game at the Nou Camp was virtually over after fifteen minutes, leaving gaffer Jurgen Klinsmann in an uncharacteristically humble mood: “It shows that we’ve still got a lot of work to do to be in Europe’s top four.”
Italians may sell Ibracadabra for outrageously inflated price
As we told you yesterday, Inter Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a Chelsea summer transfer target. However the Swede - who plays brilliantly in every single game except the ones The Spoiler watches - will be very costly if press reports are to believed.
According to Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Internazionale will demand £80m for the man whom Martin O’Neill called “the most overrated player in the world” during the World Cup.
That kind of cash is likely to exceed the Blues’ summer budget, but Inter may accept some players in return. The Italian paper believes the Serie A leaders are interested in Ricardo Carvalho, Michael Essien and Jose’s former lover, Didier Drogba.
We can’t see all three players heading to the Serie A leaders, but there’s a decent chance of Drogba heading to the fashion capital if Guus Hiddink departs in the summer.
Loading ...