Albert decides to have a go trying on Ronaldo’s Nike Pro Ultimate first-layer top and you can see the amazing results here as he outdoes Ronaldinho in the crossbar challenge. The only difference being we know that the Ronaldinho video was a complete fake…

It would be folly to start analysing yesterday’s game at the Emirates too deeply. When all is said and done, most fans, of any allegiance, should agree that this is what football should be all about. What a game.

It became an end-to-end tussle within the first 15 minutes and stayed that way well into the 96th. So many chances created, passing of the highest quality and a lack of compactness in both teams that led to a game with the abandon of an exhibition match.

Both teams looked sensational going forward and neither team seemed too keen on defending, even when (in Arsenal’s case) they were trying to hold on to a lead with ten minutes remaining. Ultimately, Arsenal came out on top but there were so many chances that if you played that match out 10 ten times you wouldn’t get the same score twice.

Many will say that this result puts Arsenal back in contention for the title and Manchester United down the pecking order for honours. But actually things could have been so different. Despite much fine play from the Gunners, their defence was cruelly exposed on several occasions and but for some woeful misses by United, the headlines would have been very different.

Two missed sitters by Rooney and one by Ronaldo only hid the cracks in the Arsenal defence. Even within the first two minutes Silvestre had executed the most ridiculous howler of a backpass, unfit even for a Sunday league match and Arsenal had to really on luck on many other occasions. The Gunners will take all the plaudits but United really should have won the game comfortably and you’d still have to place the northerners well ahead of their London rivals in terms of potential title winners come may. Arsenal look great going forward but extremely shady in defence. A 2-1 win against United isn’t going to make those foibles disappear.

If Arsenal have problems at the back, United also looked shaky in defence yesterday. I have never been one for knee jerk reactions, but it has been quite apparent to me for most of the season that it’s time for Neville and Van Der Sar to hang up their boots, at least at United.

Gary Neville has been a true great at Old Trafford but there is a maxim about going out at the top which surely applies to ‘Red Nev’ now. He was embarrassed for pace time and again by Nasri and Walcott yesterday and was clearly isolated by Wenger as a weak link in the United rearguard. Neville patently still wants to captain his lifelong club but if he looks at the tape from yesterday he will realise that he isn’t doing United justice anymore.

Rafael eventually came on for Neville made an immediate impact scoring United’s only goal. He too was caught out of position as United desperately pushed forward, but unlike Neville, he had the pace and agility to compensate for this. Surely Neville will be reserved for easily winnable home games for the rest of the season.

Equally, Van Der Sar’s game has got visibly weaker in the last six months. At the end of last season he was beginning to make unforced errors. Now you get at least two per game and sooner or later he will be punished in a crucial game. Time and again he came for crosses and missed them and he has developed a nasty penchant for punching instead of catching the ball – another sign that his prowess and confidence is on the wain.

So Arsenal and United have problems in defence. The crucial difference between the sides is that United have solutions in house, whereas Arsenal will need to go out and buy players who they hope will improve the side. But in Ben Foster and Rafael, United have ready-made replacements of equal or better quality. If Ferguson is to start making ground on his title rivals, he needs now to get rid of Van Der Sar and Neville and replace them with Foster and Rafael. As for Arsenal, they surely must spend money on their back line in January.

English clubs have traditionally harboured a deep-seated suspicion of stylish Latin stars. To the conservative coach, such players have always represented a big gamble. A gamble which many Premier League clubs, unlike their Spanish and Italian counterparts, have long been unwilling to take. After all, for every Ossie Ardiles there’s been a Mirandinha. For every Juninho; a Kléberson.

Sure, they might turn it on for glamour ties in the early-season sunshine, but what of wet, windy Wednesday nights in Hull or Wigan? They’d go missing, it was said, when the pitches muddied and the temperatures dropped (i.e. by early October). They’re over-elaborate, ‘luxury’ players, who could never adapt to the frenetic demands of our hundred-mile-an-hour football.

Yet it’s clubs such as high-flying Hull and battling Wigan which have, in fact, owed a significant chunk of their recent successes to exotic imports from as far and wide as Brazil, Honduras and Ecuador. Ex-Barcelona midfielder Geovanni has enjoyed an electrifying start to his time by the Humber; Wilson Palacios, Maynor Figueroa and, particularly, Luis Antonio Valencia have each added a dash of élan to Steve Bruce’s pragmatic side.

Elsewhere, Chilean winger Carlos Villanueva has settled well alongside Roque Santa Cruz at Blackburn; Lucas and Fábio Aurélio impress intermittently for Liverpool; and, of course, Elano and Jô were followed to Eastlands by record-breaker Robinho. Chelsea, who boast Juliano Belletti, Alex, and Brazilian-born Deco amongst their ranks, have even gone so far as to hire a South American boss, for goodness sake.

Several of these players did not even arrive at their current home via another European club; which is considered the safety-first method of filtering out those without the mentality to adapt to the unique challenges of top-flight English football.

It’s arguable of course, but the impact of one man has done much to lay the foundations for his fellow Latin imports. That man is Manchester United’s Carlos Tévez.

The arrival of Tévez at West Ham – in somewhat shady circumstances – from Brazilian club Corinthians was greeted, initially, by astonishment. When the dust had settled on his and Javier Mascherano’s bolt-from-the-blue switch to East London, the early excitement turned to scepticism. Boss Alan Pardew – clearly not enamoured with the high-profile Argentinean duo being foisted upon him – was reluctant to give Tévez a regular first team slot. Still, who needs a world-class attacking talent like ‘Carlitos’ when you’ve got Marlon Harewood working the channels?

As any Sheffield United fan will tell you, with the appointment of Alan Curbishley to the Upton Park hot-seat came a dramatic upturn in Tévez’s fortunes. Much has already been said about the issue, but there is little doubt that the stocky striker’s improved input was the critical factor in West Ham’s survival at the Blades’ expense. He’d proved entirely that – despite the cynicism which still surrounds such signings – flamboyant South American stars can adapt to life in English football.

Last year – his first at Manchester United – could hardly have gone much better for the boy from downtown Buenos Aires. Domestic and continental success came on the back of a season in which his durability, relentless work-rate and telepathic understanding with Wayne Rooney illuminated the Premier League.

But Dimitar Berbatov’s impressive integration into the United line-up has disrupted the serene progress 24-year-old Tévez has enjoyed at Old Trafford. As Sir Alex Ferguson recently said: three into two won’t go.

Ferguson added: “He (Tévez) has not started as many games as he would like but he is just as important to us as the guys who have hogged the headlines of late. I stressed to him last week that our faith in him remains absolute.”

That may be the case, but speculation persists that Tévez could be on his way to sunnier climes come the end of the season and, subsequently, the end of his two-year loan from (nominally) West Ham. The Rooney/Berba partnership is clearly now the first choice one. Can Fergie really justify a transfer fee reckoned to be in the region of £30m being lavished on a third-choice forward? If not, Tévez will, sadly, be lost to the Premier League.

Post-Tévez, the trickle of Latin players into the country has turned to a flood. Now, with a larger support network surrounding them, players from South and Central America are in a better position to make a lasting impact.

The hurdles of an alien culture, cuisine and style of football are significant ones, it’s true. But in the days of Brazilians in Uzbekistan (see Rivaldo) and Ivorians in Romania (see multi-national CFR Cluj), it’s not so hard to accept that – given the right backing – Latin stars can succeed over here.

If once they were considered a luxurious accessory; now few self-respecting Premier League clubs take to the field without one. The next generation – that of Rafael da Silva and Franco di Santo – are already making their presence felt. It’d be a shame if pioneer ‘Carlitos’ wasn’t here to enjoy their success.

Alex Ferguson intimated before the game with Aalborg on Tuesday evening that he would play his strongest available line-up for the match. That he then picked Rafael Da Silva as his first choice right back speaks volumes for the 18-year-old.

And it seems he is there largely on merit.

Whilst Gary Neville has a slight injury, most would have expected the Scot to go for the experience of Wes Brown for this potentially tricky away tie. Manchester United desperately needed three points after drawing their first game in the Champions League but Ferguson was prepared to play the relatively inexperienced but hugely talented Brazilian twin.

For my part, I’d play him every week, as I have never seen a surer thing at 18 years of age. Make no mistake, this lad is the most real of deals. In three games for United he doesn’t seem to have given the ball away once. His touch, speed and reading of the game illustrates perfectly the maxim that ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’.

Against Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup last week he did the defending part proficiently but also got forward at every opportunity, creating chance after chance in the same manner as the excellent Evra down the left.

He even had time to execute the sort of impossible back-heel that would have Eric Cantona green with envy. If he can continue at this level he will be impossible to exclude from the team. And Rafael has found the perfect manager in Ferguson – a man who has never been afraid to blood a youngster if he is of the standard required.

Age is but a number to the Scot.

Da Silva once again impressed in the match with Aalborg, offering an excellent attacking outlet as well as ensuring a clean sheet in a solid victory. His confidence was patent: he was never afraid to shoot for goal - and was close to opening his account on a couple of occasions - and came forward at any opportunity, assisting in Manchester United’s numerous forays forward.

Despite his youthfulness, it seems certain Da Silva will become another Old Trafford success. The sky is the limit for Rafael.

Despite a compact stadium that holds just 25,000 and the region holding a population of less than double that number, Villarreal have thrived in recent seasons. In 2006, they reached a Champions League semi-final after seeing off predicted challengers Manchester United in the group stages while also overcoming Rangers and the mighty Inter Milan. Yet their recent success climaxed in La Liga last season, when this minute club beat off the might of Sevilla and Barcelona to take second place, just behind Real Madrid.

In the second tier of Spanish football at the turn of the millennium, Villarreal’s rise from unknowns to title contenders is astonishing.

Though their stunning European run of three years ago affected performances domestically during that and the following season, they have now been able to balance commitments to the league with their endeavours in continental competition.

In three of the last five years, Manuel Pellegrini’s Yellow Submarine have reached at least the quarter-finals of a European competition, with the last two campaigns being the exceptions. They have not finished outside the top eight in that time and stability, accompanied by a strong and talented South American contingent, has been key to this continuing fairytale.

A third 0-0 draw with Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in three years puts Villarreal in an excellent position to progress. Manchester United will still anticipate qualification, but Celtic’s home draw with Aalborg puts Pellegrini’s side in pole position to claim one of the top two places.

In the vintage 2005/6 year, Villarreal didn’t lose at home in six European matches and the diminutive fortress that is El Madrigal will again be crucial in their lasting ambition to better a semi-final appearance.

For any other club of similar size, such an objective would be seen as ludicrous. But for Villarreal, it is a distinct possibility, especially with the likes of Matías Fernández and Giuseppe Rossi plying their trade in eastern Spain. And of course an old sage like Pellegrini is also a great assistance.

Points of contention

Italian referee Matteo Simone Trefoloni is in trouble with Uefa after dismissing the wrong Aalborg player in the goalless draw with Celtic. Beauchamp was red-carded for Jakobsen’s infringement, and it is unlikely the elite referee will be handed any further Champions League matches for this campaign and instead kept away from public view in the Uefa Cup. Yet the organisation are known for giving their top referees second chances, so Trefoloni will have opportunities to redeem himself.

Meanwhile, the Italians are on the back of top Swedish referee Peter Frojdfeldt again after Lyons claimed a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina. Frojdfeldt was the referee when the Netherlands controversially scored against Italy in the Euros and a similar situation occurred on Wednesday evening as Lyons scored when an opposition player lay stricken in the penalty area, therefore playing Karim Benzema onside. The Italians are critical of the referee, but surely it should be up to the opposition to put the ball out and respect Uefa’s message of fair play?

No-hopers Aalborg continue the minnows’ mission

Brian Laudrup commented before Celtic took on the Danish champions, now managed by old Arsenal man Bruce Rioch, that the Scottish side should encounter no problems and that even a draw was beyond Aalborg’s wildest dreams. And it should have been so - their squad has a total of 10 Champions League appearances, and an unavailable player laid claim to nine of them, while they lost their coach and some of their best players over the summer. Celtic missed a penalty and couldn’t make use of a man advantage in their easiest group game. The end to their 100% home record in Champions League group stages could also mean an end to their recent history of progressing into the last 16.

Uninspiring Real an Olimpico no-go

Real Madrid’s recent record in Europe’s premier competition is dire, and a laborious 2-0 victory over a poor BATE Borisov side from Belarus doesn’t suggest that their fortunes will be changing anytime soon. Last season they fell to AS Roma in the first knockout phase, losing both legs of the tie, after struggling through an easy-looking group. They suffered in the Stadio Olimpico back in February, but a return trip to the arena for a final appearance is not looking probable.

It was one of the most protracted transfer sagas in Premier League history.

Even the turmoil that surrounded Carlos Tevez’s move to Old Trafford last season didn’t last as long as this.

But, finally, Sir Alex Ferguson has his man. I use the term ‘his man’ strictly, because, whilst it would have been much easier to buy a Santa Cruz, Eto’o or Huntelaar, Ferguson was adamant that only the Bulgarian would suffice in his attempts to perfect his front line.

The Scot has stated many times that the higher up the ladder you go, the more difficult it is to bring in players of equal or better quality. And whilst the aforementioned strikers would surely all have scored goals for United, Ferguson was singular in his direction, to go and find one of the leading lights of world football. A player who could not only find the net but bring out the very best in others.

And what a player Berbatov is. In case you haven’t yet fully appreciated his talent, just go to any compilation of his skills on YouTube. Most of these videos could be described as works of art, and not because of the editing.

It has become cliché that United lack a centre-forward in the traditional sense of the word – a physical presence that can hold the ball up and bring others into the attack. Recent success negates this suggestion to a certain extent but in Berbatov, perhaps United have found the last number in the combination lock – the player who can finally bring the European domination that Ferguson has always craved.

The last time United won the Champions League they couldn’t sustain that level and floundered in the competition for most of the following decade. But the current squad, packed with youth, outrageous skill and Berbatov, surely compares favourably to United of ‘99.

As usual, the bookies have backed Chelsea to win the League and Champions League this season.

Indeed, the Blues have added to their already formidable squad with Deco and Bosingwa, but will this really give them the spark to go the final few yards?

Last season they ground out scores of crucial results but never really impressed as a football team. And this season they seem to have started where they left off, looking decidedly uncertain after taking the lead. Of course, it’s early days for Scolari but it usually takes a few years to develop a team that plays with fluency and apparent telepathy.

United still play more like a team and this could be decisive come the Spring. They might well be playing catch-up at the turn of the year, but with away games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool already out of the way, United’s run in will be far easier than that of their main rivals.

So, despite the assertions of the bookmakers, I firmly believe it is United who will again dominate the honours list this year. Chelsea, and perhaps Arsenal, will come close but United seem more complete in every area of the pitch compared to their peers. And in Berbatov, they have another of the few players in world football that can make an audience gasp. His debut at Anfield this weekend should be one to remember.

Murray is Mint

Regardless of whether Andy Murray beats Roger Federer in the US Open Final, the England team surely has a lot to learn from the sulky Scot. Because, at the top level of sport, skill and psychology are equally significant. Whilst players like Lampard, Rooney and all of our goalkeepers consistently succumb to the pressure to perform and the antipathy of the fans, Murray has confounded the critics by breaking into the tennis elite. Murray beats players that are regarded as better than him while England can’t even tonk Andorra, and regularly lose to seemingly poorer relations.

The main difference between Murray and the England team is that the Scot really doesn’t care if everyone hates him. He just wants to win. He beat the world number one on foreign soil in a stadium that was overwhelmingly behind Nadal. The England players need to develop this thick skin if they are going to start commanding respect on a world level.

There is something that lurks the halls of White Hart Lane that is denting my confidence in my beloved club. The story of the summer was all about where Dimitar Berbatov would go come transfer deadline day. I, along with almost every Tottenham fan, knew the Bulgarian striker would be leaving the club with Manchester United being the most likely destination. At first everything seemed civil. Tottenham had a price tag, Manchester United had a plan.

Headlines of Cristiano Ronaldo wanting to leave Old Trafford for the white lights of the Bernabeu were ever-present on the back pages of all national newspapers during the Euro 2008 tournament. The ever-increasing persistence of Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was unsettling Manchester United to the point where a public outburst between the two clubs escalated when the Red Devils reported Real to Fifa, sparking those remarkable comments, Ronaldo stating that he felt like a ‘modern slave’. His situation makes me wish I was a ‘modern slave’.

The Berbatov story is somehow similar and typically hypocritical of Man United. They have persisted with Berbatov all summer long and at the beginning all was well. Alex Ferguson never directly named Berbatov referring to him as ‘a striker we are interested in’, and Berbatov never actually said he was leaving. He constantly said he was focused on the job at hand at Spurs.

The deadline was getting closer and Daniel Levy’s stance on a £30m price tag and United’s failure to meet that prompted a slanging match where Ferguson called Levy ‘different’ and Berbatov was caught signing a United shirt just as the season had started.

An eleventh hour bid of ‘in excess of £30m’ by Manchester City was accepted by Tottenham and it seemed he may be signing for the Blue instead of the Red side of Manchester. By watching the pictures being aired on television you would have thought that Berbatov was kidnapped by United as it was reported all day that they did not have permission to speak to the Bulgarian even though he was having a medical and talks with United officials. Finally Berbatov was signed for in the region of £30.25m with promising young English striker Frazier Campbell moving to the Lane on a year-long loan period.

Once Tottenham sold Berbatov the decision to complain against United for ‘tapping up’ was dropped and in the end the whole saga doesn’t put Daniel Levy and Tottenham in a good light, the words ’egg on their face’ comes to mind. It seems Spurs’ recent dealings not only with how transfers are handled but also their ‘tapping up’ of Juande Ramos and disposal of Martin Jol last season has started to make them sound hypocritical and is tainting their once holy reputation. Damien Comolli has been the heart of all these dealings and his position is in jeopardy if Ramos or any signings do not perform as expected (we are still waiting to see what Darren Bent can really do). A top four finish is expected but can they genuinely contemplate that when things haven’t really changed?

Last season Spurs had probably the best strike-force in the league with one of the worst defences. Now the strike-force is non-existent (Pavlyuchenko and Campbell aren’t proven in the Premier League) and the defence hasn’t drastically improved (Vedran Corluka alone isn’t enough). Reports earlier in the summer hinted that the Spurs board may be willing to sell up, which is typical of the state of football today. Investors can pick up a club like toy and throw them away and I’m disappointed that this may happen to Spurs next summer. Although I do wish that Spurs had the Abu Dhabi United Group on their side…

Although the diminutive scouser has a decent goalscoring record of around one goal every 2.5 games in all competitions since joining United, he is by no means prolific for England. When compared to the goalscoring records of his England colleagues Michael Owen (40 goals in 88 games) and Peter Crouch (14 goals in 28 games) it is clear that Rooney is not England’s greatest threat in-front of goal with only 14 goals in 44 matches.

Great sides in the past have built their success around key players. Brazil’s dominance of world football between 1958 and 1970 was largely down to the abilities of the most famous number 10 of them all, Pele. Alfredo Di Stefano was another number 10 to dominate football in the late 1950’s, winning 5 European Cups and 8 La Liga titles with Real Madrid and who can forget the success of Argentina’s belligerent number 10 at the 1986 World Cup, Diego Maradona. Never before or since has a World Cup victory been a direct result of the performances of just one man.

Zinedine Zidane is the most recent number 10 to have had a similar impact for his club and country, winning every accolade in the modern game from the World Cup and European Championship with France in 1998 and 2000 to the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2002 and the World Player of the Year on 3 occasions.

The United man has some way to go before he can emulate these colossus of the modern day game and to hold Wayne Rooney in the same regard as these great players is premature, although the potential is there. The four players mentioned all played the classic role of a number 10, which in turn allowed their best skills to shine through on the pitch.

This magical role is not just a number on a team-sheet, it is a position behind a set of strikers or as a secondary withdrawn striker who can attack from deep and dictate the play. The only question surrounding Rooney’s suitability for this role is not his inclination, but his temperament.

Having missed key games for club and country through injury and indiscipline in recent seasons, there are still doubts if Rooney can achieve his full potential in an England shirt. There are also question marks around his ability to execute managerial instruction and Rooney does have a tendency to chase the ball and be dragged out of position, immediately affecting the team’s shape and effectiveness.

A free role for Rooney to prove his class in a five man midfield for England could be the answer for Capello. Only time will tell if the Italian is brave enough to make the selection.

We can be thankful that football and politics are, on the whole, kept separate. The rise of Russian football aptly corresponds to the country’s endeavours to become the new superpower, thus usurping the United States and belittling the rest of Europe. As Russia attempts to join the ruling powers on the globe, Zenit St Petersburg are aiming to challenge the stranglehold Italian, Spanish and English sides have on European football.

And it seems that the standing elite are ill-prepared to counter this surge.

As Manchester United scratch their heads at an unexpected defeat, Zenit are progressing at a frightening rate and will, undoubtedly, catch up one day soon. A composed display at the Stade Louis II gave them a deserved victory to back-up their new credentials earned after a stunning Uefa Cup campaign last season which included triumphs over Bayern Munich and then Rangers in the final.

Spending 30m euros on one player - Danny, who began his repayments with the winning goal last night - sugests new affluency and a grand ambition which, if followed through, is likely to trigger further nights of continental glory like those witnessed in Manchester in May and again in southern France at August’s death.

Dick Advocaat, in his post-match press conference, bemoaned the tough Champions League qualifying group Zenit had been handed (understandably so, with Juventus and Real Madrid also in Group H) in their first ever campaign in the competition. Yet after overcoming a virtually full-strength Man Utd side, it will surely be the two big guns who will be looking over regretfully at the other names in Pot 3. While it would be a surprise if Zenit qualified, such a feat could and would not be described as a shock. Zenit haver shown that they can play and beat the best in category (who better than to demonstrate a new level of footballing authority than against the reigning champions of Europe?) and with Real and Juventus both struggling in the summer transfer market, there is room for Advocaat’s side to progress.

Russian football is in rude health, boisterous at its recent successes (CSKA Moscow also won the Uefa Cup, back in 2005) and ready for its latest challenge: creating a side capable of winning the Champions League. It will surely be at least three years before the likes of Zenit can honestly rival the rest for the ultimate prize, but that would nonetheless represent an incredible level of progress. Three years ago, no Russian side had ever won a European competition; now, a team like Zenit has the money and organisation to win the Champions League.

Perhaps the supporters best demonstrate how Russian football has evolved. Previously, they would never travel outside of Russia to watch their side play. This was painfully obvious when CSKA triumphed and only a couple of thousand fans were there to witness it in Portugal. Yet in Manchester earlier this year, despite original fears that Zenit would not take up their full allocation, they at last came out in force and then in Monte Carlo outnumbered the Man Utd support. All these factors add to the sense that Russian football is gearing itself up for something huge, perhaps even a team that can regularly fight, and win, against the established sides in Europe.

The national side’s qualification for Euro 2008 - and the impressive displays Guus Hiddink’s men put on once in Austria and Switzerland - mirrors the development of the domestic league and is beginning to reflect fortunes in European club competition also. Russia, of course, went to the Euros instead of England and Zenit picked up the Super Cup at the expense of England’s best club. These two successes are early warning signs that Russian football is set to dominate the peninsula in the same way English football has done over the least three or four years in particular, just like Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin have consistently challenged the rest of Europe, defying the norm, and the rules, in doing so.

Few had heard of Zenit Saint Petersburg up until earlier this year, but those three words will be common football language over the next few months - and eventually even engraved onto that coveted cup with big ears.

Nothing was made of this at the time, nor in the ensuing match reports and even Arsene Wenger wasn’t alert enough to pick up that Fulham’s goal against Arsenal - Brande Hangelaand’s close-range effort - should not have stood. Jimmy Bullard was in an offside position when he crossed for the huge Norweigan to score - when Danny Murphy touched the ball to allow the ball to be crossed in, Bullard was on or even a little behind the goal line while only one Arsenal defender was level with him, with Almunia a good few yards off his line. Still, it was almost an impossible decision for the assistant referee to make, and nobody can take the blame away from William Gallas’s inept defending.

2. Spurs’s Falcao watch

Tottenham Hotspur scouts flew to Argentina to watch target Radamel Falcao in action for River Plate. The Colombian international striker has also been monitored by Manchester United but by all accounts was awful in River’s defeat to mid-table Banfield. The 22-year-old would cost around £8m, a cheap replacement for the departed Robbie Keane, and negotiations have been opened. Meanwhile, a move for Diego Forlan looks doomed but Diego Milito could still head to White Hart Lane from Zaragoza. Highly touted, a transfer for around £18-20m is being mooted as Dimitar Berbatov prepares to head to Old Trafford later this week.

3. West Ham heading down the pan

Fit for a screenplay, the plight of West Ham over the last couple of years is almost as pitiful as the relegation that preceeded the new era. From the shock and awe of Carlos Tevez’s arrival alongside Javier Mascherano and new owners threatening to bring Champions League football to Upton Park, West Ham are now little more than a selling club as manager Alan Curbishley is forced to cut the huge wage bill. Anton Ferdinand is the latest to leave, and mid-table mediocrity is seemingly as good as it can get for the Hammers over the next couple of years at least.

4. Argentina, deserved champions; Brazil, a deserved failing

At senior level, Brazil have had the upper hand in recent times against their greatest rivals but at age-restricted levels, Argentina have proved more successful. The Olympics is a case in point. Brazil have still not won the gold medal after being thrashed by their neighbours 3-0 in the semi-final - it’s still the only major medal the nation has yet to win - raising questions about the players’ attitude and the future of the Brazilian national side. While they laboured into the last four - and eventually third place - Argentina were sizzling throughout and fully merited their ultimate victory as they retained the medal earned back in 2004.

While Ronaldinho came to China in order to add to his photo collection, Lionel Messi begged Barcelona to be allowed to participate and was Argentina’s finest performer when the Spanish side finally relented. And their success came despite the height deficit of many of their players (see more here). Instead of this being a problem, however, coach Sergio Batista ensured the Argentinian side played their football almost entirely along the ground, resulting in a technically-outstanding style of football, “We wanted to play with intelligence and move the ball around and not run around so much. We wanted the ball to do the work” commented Batista after beating Nigeria in the final. The ball may have done some of the work, but his brilliant technicians orchestrated its movement throughout the Olympic tournament.

5. Super Cup magic for Manchester United?

The Super Cup, like the Club World Cup, is often sneered upon by English clubs as a meaningless tropy with little prestige attached. Liverpool squeeked past CSKA Moscow in 2005 after extra time while Manchester United lost the one-off match in 1999 to Lazio. With its strange setting - always in Monaco, always played in a tiny 18,000-seater stadium - and timing - on a Friday evening, the only Uefa game ever played on that day, the Super Cup never has the intensity of even a slightly meaningful match and losing the game is rarely regarded as a negative. Still, with Zenit St Petersburg as opponents, Man Utd will be keen to leave France without a red face.