It’s a Pkvwar for four, send in the Gunners

A psychic once predicted that I’d marry a small, blonde, beautiful woman, which proved to be wrong, wrong, wrong and the jury’s out. As a result of that experience, I’m a confirmed eyebrow raiser whenever the subject of the paranormal is raised, but even i can appreciate the sense of déjà vu emanating from the greatest competition in World football, the Premiership.

Cast your minds back a year; Chelsea had the title in Pkvthe bag, the 2nd and 3rd finishing positions were pretty much sewn up, and the battle for the final Champions League spot was fought by a team flying high in the Champions League and their local rivals. Unfortunately for Indiansatta Tottenham, the similarity ends there. The Gunners have all the momentum in ‘The War for four’, and should be backed at 4/7 to finish above their North London rivals; Spurs fans and the viewers of ‘most haunted’ will be obliged at 5/4.

Arsenal have been linked with a summer move for David Beckham, which is surprising as Becks couldn’t lace Ljungberg’s boots. He’s a far better player than Freddie, he just struggles with laces. Ljungberg is doubtful for the Charlton match, an Arsenal victory is not. The Gunners are nap bet material at 4/11.

Last season he was a right lemon, now the Arsenal goalkeeper is being rightly lauded by all and sundry. The Addicks have drew a blank in three of their last four games; you can foresee an Arsenal clean sheet, a pleasing 4/5 shot.

Mick McCarthy has taken a bit of stick for steering Sunderland towards the title of ‘Worst Premiership football team ever’, but in defence of big Mick, he managed to get this awful side promoted from the Championship last season, and with more points than Wigan and West Ham to boot, a spectacular accomplishment. Sunderland are losing at the Reebok this week, 4/11 is on the table for Bolton.

It’s been reported that Tottenham have made a £7 million bid for Ruud Van Nistelrooy, although Martin Jol’s unusual policy of leaving his best striker on the bench could well be a stumbling block. Steve Bruce has complained that relegation worries are affecting his sleep, he’ll kip like a hedgehog in winter when Birmingham take all three points at home to Spurs. It’s 9/4 that Brucey gets his eight hours on Saturday night.

West Brom host an in form Manchester United, their flirtation with the drop is about to move into Paris Hilton territory. Man U were sublime last weekend against Newcastle, a convincing win is on the cards at the Hawthorns; the 1/2 on offer should appeal.

The British press should hold it’s collective head in shame. Wayne Rooney floated the ball over the Newcastle keeper’s head to score a wonder goal last week, yet the headline, ‘Rooney, chips a Given’ was nowhere to be seen. The Roonatic was unlucky not to get a hat-trick then, one shot nearly took Gary Neville’s head off; let’s hope his luck improves against West Brom. It’s 20/1 for the big lad to net three times.

Who’d have thunk it – a million column inches, hundreds of hours of airtime, 45m anguished fans and all for one young man’s broken foot. No ordinary foot of course but a foot nonetheless. In the seven weeks since Wayne Rooney fractured his fourth metatarsal, collapsing in agony on the Stamford Bridge turf, World War III would not have remove Rooney from both the front and back pages of the nation’s newspapers.

The foot has healed, the machinations have finally come to an end (baring a refracture or related injury) and Rooney finally stepped out for his first start since the April 29th last night. His return to fitness so soon may be something of a surprise but the true miracle has nothing to do with physical rehabilitation at all. Indeed, the agonizing and debate over Rooney has been not just about any player but a Manchester United player no less. No, the real surprise in all this comes because of the traditionally strained relationship between United and England supporters in recent times.

In the not too distant past United players have been roundly jeered by England supporters, when playing for the national team – at Wembley in particular. In return Manchester United fans have held a long-standing antipathy towards England. The perceived unfair treatment of United players by the FA and the media has intensified this divide from Satta kingReds’ supporters point of view. Think about Cantona’s ban in 1995, when the FA went back on a promise to honour United‚’s self-imposed sanction. Then there was Keane’s suspension in 2004, when the FA punished the Irishman twice for his tackle on Leeds’ Alfe Inge Haarland . Think also of the length of Ferdinand’s sanction for missing a drug test when so many other players had simply been fined for the same offence. Then there was the treatment given to David Beckham by the England-supporting public in the wake of his red card against Argentina at the 1998 tournament.

Paranoia it may be, but United fans – led by the manager Sir Alex – have long held the governing body in contempt, with the England play bazaar team as their principal puppets tarred with the same brush. Many England fans, in the meantime, would be happy to see a United-free national side.

Yet, last night Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and many other traditionally anti-United fans cheered more loudly for a United player than any other on the pitch. A nation, United? Now that’s the real wonder of Roo!

Japan football team … not as great as its goalkeeper’s ego

“I made some saves but it didn’t appear to help us change the tide of the match and I don’t think we were able to get over giving up the equalizer at the end of the first half. On a personal level I feel I have done everything that has been asked of me but I can’t do everything on my own.”

So said Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, Japan’s goalkeeper in the World Cup. This quote really bothered me. Kawaguchi really bothers me, and has done since he first set foot on the Japanese football scene.

In the early days he was all hair flicks and gel (anyone spot the jealousy of a bald man, here?). Always the last man off the pitch, so that he got significant camera time. His gestures were exaggerated. The trademark wince of pain to show just how much he cared. The concentrated stare to show just how much he … well, concentrated. Everything he did was designed for the cameras, like the ekiden relay runners who insist on falling over in exhaustion after they’ve run their leg, just to make sure everyone knows they have given their all. Kawaguchi made everyone know that he had given his all. Every wince. Every stare. Every flick of the hair. It was designed to tell a story. The story of a man with an incredible ego.

Unfortunately he hasn’t grown up in the intervening years.

“… I can’t do everything on my own.”

Now who would you normally hear saying that? A harried mother at the end of her tether berating a family of World Cup watching couch potatoes? A boss snarling at incompetent underlings in the office? Or a person with an inflated ego belittling his comrades?

What Kawaguchi is basically saying here is that he is wonderful and the rest of the Japan team are just not up to scratch. He might have something with the latter half of that assessment – Japan were clearly outclassed in Germany. But he is by no means wonderful. A wonderful goalkeeper would not have been third choice for Portsmouth when they were a second-tier club. Nor would a wonderful goalkeeper have been released by them. A wonderful goalkeeper wouldn’t have flapped awfully at the cross that led to Australia’s equalizing goal, the goal that led directly to the change in Japan’s fortunes in this World Cup.

Yes, he did make some fine saves, including a penalty save against Croatia. But he also screwed up on a number of occasions. He, like the rest of his teammates, just weren’t up to the job. Simple as that. He was quite right about not being able to do everything on his own. He contributed significantly to Japan’s World Cup demise with help from the rest of his teammates.

Pricing up a football match is a lot like baking a pie. Get all the ingredients right and you have a sweet smelling pastry that will attract interest from afar; get the ingredients wrong, and you’re left with a concoction so inedible, even Brazilian waddler Ronaldo would refuse to eat it all.

If a full strength England were to meet a full strength Portugal, the majority of handsome, highly intelligent, sexually potent odds compilers would make England slight favourites. Decimate the Portuguese team with suspensions and injuries, and England’s odds must fall like Arjen Robben in a penalty area.

A couple of bookmakers appear to have left the ‘team news’ ingredient out of their respective pies, they’re offering England at a huge 6/5 against a Portugal side riddled with reserves. If you don’t take advantage of this oversight, you’re basically condoning their behaviour. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s a bad pastry.

Big Phil may have got the better of Sven in the last two Satta king tournaments, one more win for Scolari would allow him to take Sven home for keeps, but thanks to a card happy refereeing maniac, Portuguese dreams ended the moment Deco saw red. Take advantage by backing England to be winning at half time and full time at 13/5.

Historically, England have been the better team. The 1966 World Cup winners used Portugal as a stepping stone, and Tom Finney and Stanley Matthews once inspired the Lions to a 10-0 win in Lisbon. The more cynical amongst you may feel the need to question the relevance of form from the 1940’s, but it all adds to a feeling of genuine optimism. A 10-0 win for England can be safely ruled out, but a 2-0 victory looks bang on the money, 8/1 is available.

England have a goalkeeper of genuine quality in Paul Robinson, but his recent performances have left a question mark hanging in the air. (If it was David James, he would have flapped at it before philosophically pondering the complexities of life while Pauleta rolled it into an empty net.) An England clean sheet has been priced up at 6/4, and that’s a Peter Crouch price, it’s too big and it shouldn’t really be there.

John Terry has been lined up to deliver a motivational speech in the dressing room before the match, I’m guessing he’ll be holding a razor while declaring that bouncers don’t like it up ‘em. Terry looked wobbly against Ecuador, it’s 9/1 that he makes amends by scoring with a header.

Sven’s bold decision to play a 4-5-1 against Ecuador freed up Lampard and Gerrard as expected, but Frank hardly covered himself in glory. Lampard had such a disappointing match, at the end of the game he tried play bazaar to shake hands with the ref and missed by a good five yards. Frank scoring from outside the area has been priced up at 11/2, he’s due.

I refuse to shy away from asking the tough questions. Is it true that Victoria Beckham was the inspiration for the Robert De Niro film ‘WAG the dog’? Sorry, that’s a trifle harsh, on the poor pooch. Vicky did jump up like an excited Chihuahua when Becks curled in the winner against Ecuador, hopefully, I’ll get to see her excited again. Becks threw up after scoring, a scenario I’m more than familiar with; Golden Balls is an 8/1 shot to score direct from a free-kick for the second match running.

Brazil face France on Saturday night, and the Samba Boys have to be opposed. Ronaldo may be the greatest World Cup goal scorer of all-time, but his lack of mobility will prove to be a hindrance now they finally face quality opposition. How can Brazil play with a striker who has to stay five yards in front of the last French defender, in order to keep his stomach from drifting into an offside position? He can’t use his body weight to challenge a defender, as it could lead to a charge of attempted murder. The French are the call at 4/1.

Thierry Henry was a little bit naughty against the Spanish, rolling on the floor clutching his face like he was Phil Neville in a house of mirrors. It could be that his: “Next time i’ll learn to dive maybe, but i am not a woman,” outburst after the Champions League final was actually a statement of intent. Henry glides like a ballerina and even when he scores, he has the facial expression of a lady who has ‘the decorators in’. Teri can still play though; take 7/1 about Henry opening the scoring.

I’m not going to waste your time by going into too much detail on Friday’s quarter finals, as the Argies and the Italians are such nailed on, in the bag, already past the post, absolutely raging certainties. The Friday double pays out at a healthy 10/3.

Italy sit on the verge of a remarkable triumph amid the most explosive scandal to hit European football for decades.

In only a few days Juventus could be relegated to Serie C and Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina to Serie B for their roles in trying to arrange referees for Serie A matches.

The board of the Italian F.A. have all resigned, the national manager has been questioned and former Italy midifielder and still Juve employee Gianluca Pessotto has attempted suicide. Stirring stuff on the eve of the World Cup Final.

Against this backdrop it seems almost satta king ordained that gli azzurri will lift the trophy, a pyrrhic victory given the domestic game is in shambles.

The fact the police are banging on the door back home has conversely not upset but inspired Marcello Lippi’s men to perform superbly, no less than in their expert derailing of the host nation in the semi finals with two killer strikes of sublime quality.

”I think the scandal will affect the Italy players,” Italian soccer journalist and co-author of Gianluca Vialli’s latest ‘The Italian Job’ Gabriele Marcotti told Soccerphile before the tournament, “but perhaps not in the way you think. First and foremost, the vast majority of them seem to view this as good news, a cleansing of the system, if you will. None of them liked Moggi and even fewer liked GEA, even some GEA clients (the principal player agency implicated).” Italians live amid corruption on a daily basis, so this came as no surprise.

Paolo Rossi cam back from a ban imposed for match-fixing to be the star of the 1982 World Cup, an important omen for Italy, for whom Fabio Cannavaro and goalie Gianluigi Buffon have performed heroics.

“With regard to Buffon it’s quite simple,” says Marcotti: “He either did bet AFTER it became illegal to do so (November 2005) or he did not. If he did, it will come out and, I think, he knows that, in which case it will unsettle him. If he did not, and his conscience is clear, he knows he has nothing to fear.

Cannavaro’s name comes up time and again. The transcripts I saw don’t suggest he did anything wrong, but he seems uncomfortably close to Moggi and I think it could tarnish his image. Certainly, knowing the kind of guy he is, I don’t think he is enjoying the scrutiny: he has done a lot to cultivate a well-deserved reputation as a nice guy.”

But there are different perceptions at play here and the mega-scandal that was broken by Gazzetta dello Sport may not be viewed back in Italy as badly as it is here. As Marcotti explains:

The way it will affect Italy is at a political level. It’s the kind of thing some countries (like England) never worry about, but which others (Brazil and Spain first and foremost) are very concerned over.

With a very weakened federation and no credible people on FIFA’s important committees, there is a fear that Italy will be an after-thought when it comes to assigning referees. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re stronger than you’re opponent, you want one of the better refs, if you’re weaker, you’d rather have a poor ref (who might make a mistake in your favor).

In 2002, the Italian FA was blamed as much as anyone after we got Byron Moreno in the knockout game against Korea. It was felt they should have done more to get an established official, one who would not make the kind of mistakes that Moreno made.”

Paul Foot, author of “Calcio – a history of Italian football” rated the azzurri as “favourites or second favourites” before the tournament and I for one doubted him.

But as he explained, “Italy already has the best defense and goalkeeper in the world and they tend to get stronger as tournaments go on. Totti needs to be fit too as he is crucial but I don’t see any weaknesses in them apart from maybe at right back.”

When I analysed the draw and the permutations in early June I came up with a final of Brazil v Italy although I would not have said Italy were the second best team in the tournament before the start. If one suspected they had had a favourable draw to begun with and then advanced courtesy of some old style histrionics and an inept referee against Australia, the Italians certainly earned their stripes in the semi final beyond any doubt.

As Marcotti concluded, “All things said, our record in World Cups is actually very good.” Tonight should see Lippi’s men achieve more stunning glory against a backdrop of criminal disgrace and complete an amazing tableau of the Italian game.

Italy’s tragic triumph Bandarqqinvevitable?

Italy sit on the verge of a remarkable triumph amid the most explosive scandal to hit European football for decades.

In only a few days Juventus could be relegated to Serie C and Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina to Serie B for their roles in trying to arrange referees for Serie A matches.Indian Matka

The board of the Italian F.A. have all resigned, the national manager has been questioned and former Italy midifielder and still Juve employee Gianluca Pessotto has attempted suicide. Stirring stuff on the eve of the World Cup Final.

Against this backdrop it seems almost Bandarqqordained that gli azzurri will lift the trophy, a pyrrhic victory given the domestic game is in shambles.

The fact the police are banging on the door back home has conversely not upset but inspired Marcello Lippi’s men to perform superbly, no less than in their expert derailing of the host nation in the semi finals with two killer strikes of sublime quality.

”I think the scandal will affect the Italy players,” Italian soccer journalist and co-author of Gianluca Vialli’s latest ‘The Italian Job’ Gabriele Marcotti told Soccerphile before the tournament, “but perhaps not in the way you think. First and foremost, the vast majority of them seem to view this as good news, a cleansing of the system, if you will. None of them liked Moggi and even fewer liked GEA, even some GEA clients (the principal player agency implicated).” Italians live amid corruption on a daily basis, so this came as no surprise.

Paolo Rossi cam back from a ban imposed for match-fixing to be the star of the 1982 World Cup, an important omen for Italy, for whom Fabio Cannavaro and goalie Gianluigi Buffon have performed heroics.

“With regard to Buffon it’s quite simple,” says Marcotti: “He either did bet AFTER it became illegal to do so (November 2005) or he did not. If he did, it will come out and, I think, he knows that, in which case it will unsettle him. If he did not, and his conscience is clear, he knows he has nothing to fear.

Cannavaro’s name comes up time and again. The transcripts I saw don’t suggest he did anything wrong, but he seems uncomfortably close to Moggi and I think it could tarnish his image. Certainly, knowing the kind of guy he is, I don’t think he is enjoying the scrutiny: he has done a lot to cultivate a well-deserved reputation as a nice guy.”

But there are different perceptions at play here and the mega-scandal that was broken by Gazzetta dello Sport may not be viewed back in Italy as badly as it is here. As Marcotti explains:

The way it will affect Italy is at a political level. It’s the kind of thing some countries (like England) never worry about, but which others (Brazil and Spain first and foremost) are very concerned over.

With a very weakened federation and no credible people on FIFA’s important committees, there is a fear that Italy will be an after-thought when it comes to assigning referees. As a general rule of thumb, if you’re stronger than you’re opponent, you want one of the better refs, if you’re weaker, you’d rather have a poor ref (who might make a mistake in your favor).

In 2002, the Italian FA was blamed as much as anyone after we got Byron Moreno in the knockout game against Korea. It was felt they should have done more to get an established official, one who would not make the kind of mistakes that Moreno made.”

Paul Foot, author of “Calcio – a history of Italian football” rated the azzurri as “favourites or second favourites” before the tournament and I for one doubted him.

But as he explained, “Italy already has the best defense and goalkeeper in the world and they tend to get stronger as tournaments go on. Totti needs to be fit too as he is crucial but I don’t see any weaknesses in them apart from maybe at right back.”

When I analysed the draw and the permutations in early June I came up with a final of Brazil v Italy although I would not have said Italy were the second best team in the tournament before the start. If one suspected they had had a favourable draw to begun with and then advanced courtesy of some old style histrionics and an inept referee against Australia, the Italians certainly earned their stripes in the semi final beyond any doubt.

As Marcotti concluded, “All things said, our record in World Cups is actually very good.” Tonight should see Lippi’s men achieve more stunning glory against a backdrop of criminal disgrace and complete an amazing tableau of the Italian game.

Fast forward twenty years and the designs have stagnated and fallen below the quality of those in England, Germany and Spain.

Now with a slew of new grounds in France Madhur matka on the way in the build-up to Euro 2016, Italy is having to question its model of municipally-owned arena (also the norm in the USA), while other nations let their clubs own theirs.

“It’s like theatres and restaurants,” said AC Milan’s vice-president Adriano Galliani told Gazzetta dello Sport. “There are beautiful theatres and ugly ones, there are luxury restaurants and pizzerias. But without stadiums we can’t do anything and without a new law we can’t construct new stadiums.”

* Brazilian legend Zico, who has coached Japan and Kashima Antlers amongst others, is set to ink a deal to coach Iraq.

*Former US coach Bob Bradley is in talks to become the national team coach of Egypt.

*Carlos Tevez is back in Manchester having failed to tie-up a transfer elsewhere and will be training with his supposed replacement and compatriot Sergio Aguero.

*Barcelona B starlet Thiago Alcantara, who shone in this summer’s Euro U21 Championship in Denmark, is in Spain’s senior squad for their friendly with Italy in Bari on Wednesday.

*”We are not touching now the Qatar World Cup” was Sepp Blatter’s enigmatic response to a question about the timing of the 2022 competition. As it stands, it will take place in June in arenas air-conditioned to avoid the 40C heat.

*Tottenham Hotspur’s ticket office was trashed in the violence which has engulfed parts of London for the past two nights. The trouble began with a police shooting of an armed man in Tottenham. The club is asking fans to use the internet instead.

The London 2012 Olympic football will be called ‘The Albert’ after the Cockney rhyming slang for ball – ‘Albert Hall’.

*The UEFA Champions League playoff draw has been made: Arsenal v Udinese, Bayern Munich v Zurich, Lyon v Rubin Kazan, Villareal v Odense.

World Cup Fever Brings Togel SingaporeFestival Of Football To South Korean Theatres

You know that the World Cup must be around the corner when a number of football-related movies hit the theatres. No less than four are in the pipeline in South Korea, giving fans who find three games a day broadcast from South Africa not quite enough a chance to satisfy their football cravings.

The two most high-profile of the quartet are Indian Matka already out and these are ‘Dreams Come True’ and ‘The Second Coming: The Moken Tribe’s World Cup’.

‘Dreams Come True’ is a movie in which 2000 hit Joint Security Area (JSA) meets the 2002 World Cup. It follows how soldiers from both sides of the Togel SingaporeDe-Militarised Zone, that divides the peninsula, attempt to get together and watch South Korea’s famous run to the semi-finals eight years ago.

“There are many great movies about football, “director Kye Yoon-shik when I asked him why he made the film. “’Dreams come True’ is a movie that deals with the Inter-Korean relations through the prism of football and that makes us question what the problem between South and North Korea truly is.”

Korea.

With North and South Korea both heading to the World Cup for the first time ever, there couldn’t be a better time to release the film – and at least that was how it looked until recently.

“It is not good timing to be releasing the movie due to the current tensions between the North and the South right now,” admitted Kye and added, “but in 2009 when I started making this movie, we were planning to release it before the 2010. I had no choice but to follow the schedule for the movie distribution.”

The film’s message is not hard to guess and it is a positive one.

2012 European Togel SingaporeChampionships Sept 3 Matches

In an exiting round of Euro 2012 qualifying games, the shock of the evening’s games was France’s 1-0 home loss to Belarus in Group D.

The most exciting match was play bazaar Portugal’s 4-4 draw with Cyprus in Guimaraes, where the visitors came back to gain a last-gasp point.

The big teams, with the exception of France, all had comfortable wins: world champions Spain cruised to a 4-0 win in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands won 5-0 away in San Marino, England defeated Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley behind a Jermaine Togel SingaporeDefoe hat-trick, and Italy came from behind to beat Estonia 1-2.

Scotland were held 0-0 by Lithuania in Group I, Ireland defeated Armenia away 1-0 in Group B, Wales lost 1-0 to Montenegro in Group G and Northern Ireland won on the road against Slovenia 1-0 in Group C.

Trautmann’s Journey Free Giveaway

Bert Trautmann’s incredible life story is covered in the book Trautmann’s Journey: From Hitler Youth to FA Cup Legend by Catrine Clay (published by Yellow Jersey Press). The book can be purchased through Amazon, costing £16.99.

Al Sadd start with a bang!

QSL.

Al Sadd are desperate for silverware after two years without a single title at the domestic and international levels. The team signed three players who competed in the recently-concluded World Cup in South Africa — Ivorian Abdul Kader Keita, Algerian Nadir Belhadj and South Korean Lee Jung-Soo.

The club’s campaign got off to a roaring start play bazaar when they defeated last season’s Emir’s Cup winners and arch-rivals Al Rayyan 1-0 in front of packed audiences and FIFA’s inspectors for the Qatar 2022 Bid.

The game lived up to expectations as Qatar’s derby-event. Both teams employed an open-ended and heavily attacking style of football. Keita, always dangerous, did not disappoint his new employers. Although he missed some opportunities early on, he made no mistakes in heading in the ball just before the end of first half. Although it looked like an off-side, and Al Rayyan players protested, the referee let it stand.

Al Rayyan players too offered glimpses of their Togel Online attacking depth. They are a formidable side and along with holder Al Gharafa and Umm Salal will make the Qatar Stars League much more exciting than in previous seasons.

Qatar Stars League newcomers Lakhwiya left fans stunned with a clinical 4-0 dismantling of minnows Al Sailiya. The club has invested heavily in local and overseas players. Striker Mohammed Razzaq scored all four goals (56th, 59th, 62nd and 89th). Al Saililiya looked tough nuts to crack in the first half, but were rendered useless in the second. They seemed to have given up after conceding the first goal.

on hibernal hiatus, 32,000 turned out at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium tonight to watch Catalonia hammer Honduras, a representative in last summer’s World Cup Finals, 4-0, with a brace from Barça’s Bojan Krkic.

The Catalan eleven also boasted blaugrana stalwart Carles Puyol and teammate Sergio Busquets, who both lifted the World Cup in Spanish colours in South Africa this year. Barça heavy though the team was, the Catalonia squad actually contained more players from the city’s other team, Español.

The Catalan national team remains of course unrecognised by FIFA or UEFA, as are a handful of European ‘countries’ like Corsica, Gibraltar, Jersey, Kosovo, Monaco and the Vatican City. FIFA now demand full United Nations recognition before they rubber-stamp anything, but in their quest for acceptance, the ‘forgotten nations’ point to the footballing status of not entirely sovereign states such as Andorra, the Faroe Togel Online Islands, Liechtenstein and San Marino, as Delhi Bazaar Satta King well as the four nations which make up the United Kingdom, which has only one seat at the UN.

The Spanish close season or mid-winter break are the only times the Catalan national team can realistically assemble, but on the evidence of recent outings, their side, now coached by Barcelona idol Johan Cruyff, would be a force in European football were it playing regularly: Last year they downed Diego Maradona’s Argentina 4-2 at the Camp Nou, beat Colombia 2-1 the year before that and in 2003 thrashed Ecuador 4-0, five years after a memorable 5-0 walloping of Nigeria. And absent from their ranks tonight were Catalan aces Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique and Xavi, World Soccer’s Player of the Year for 2010.

Indeed, Spain won the World Cup playing the Barcelona style and with far more Catalans (five) than any other regional nationality, although the skipper who hoisted the golden prize aloft in Soweto was Madrid-born and 100% Real man Iker Casillas.

That magical night in the Rainbow Nation shone a brighter than ever spotlight upon Spain’s fractured footballing loyalties, which were last probed in depth following their Euro 2008 victory. Claim and counter-claim surrounded the extent to which the triumph of ‘La Roja’ (‘The Red’) was cheered in its less than ardently patriotic regions, and the apparently obvious semantics of the chant ‘Yo soy español, español, español’ (‘I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish’) which echoed around the country this summer, were equally dissected at length.