Expert Blogs

I'm a pretty low-key guy by nature.

Ask my co-workers. They'll tell you that I keep my head down at the office, barely saying a word during the course of the day and rarely looking up from computer screen.

I'm all business and don't show much emotion, to the point that I've been accused of being a snob.

But on Wednesday I was a like a little kid on Christmas Day, bouncing around the CBC Building as though I'd just ripped the wrapping off a pile of presents.

Jose Mourinho: tactical genius or footballing miser? Footballing God or footballing antichrist? That is the question.

The answer might just be a bit of both. Wednesday night's Champions League semifinal appears to have reinforced preconceptions. Everybody's right. Or thinks they are.

As for Mourinho himself, a European Cup finalist and the undisputed centre of attention as he ran onto the pitch to celebrate and cameras turned their glare from his players to the coach doing a victory dash, he must be loving every minute of it.

Lome Togo - The closer we got to the Togolese border, the bigger and deeper the potholes became, until finally the tarmac disappeared completely.

The last several kilometres of the journey were through a thick cloud of red dust. Despite the one-metre visibility, the driver expertly weaved in and out of disaster.

Thursday represented a very bright morning for Italian football, or did it?

Clearly, many Italians up and down the peninsula took huge pleasure from Inter Milan's qualification for the Champions League final, a qualification that has come at the end of a truly outstanding campaign, brilliantly masterminded by the Special One, Jose Mourinho.

Over the years, Italians have become accustomed to seeing Serie A teams in the Champions Cup/League final. When Milan won the Champions League in Athens in 2007, that represented the sixth time in the previous 18 years that an Italian side had lifted the trophy whilst on six other occasions the losing finalist had been a Serie A side.

South Africa have had six years to prepare for the upcoming World Cup, plenty of time to put plans together for the team in comparison to the squeeze of building the requisite infrastructure.

The irony is that South Africa have come out tops as far as the new stadiums, roads, airports and other facilities are concerned but made a real hash of looking after their own team.

There is now a major crisis swirling around Bafana Bafana with some 40 days left to the opening match against Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg on June 11.

One of the world's more bizarre crimes took place last week in Santo Andre, Brazil, where thieves broke in to a distribution point and made off with 135,000 packets of World Cup stickers. 

Either these packets are going to make their way to the street via the informal market, or someone was very keen to complete their collection.

Panini, the company who produce the stickers, declared themselves surprised by the strength of the demand, and based on my thoroughly unscientific methods of market research, I am inclined to agree with them.

The North Koreans have long lived in their own little bubble; the World Cup was never likely to change how they interact with those outside their hermetically sealed nation.

Phone calls, e-mails and interview requests are routinely ignored or diverted, while the task of preparing for the finals in South Africa goes on as the clock ticks towards their first appearance at the tournament in 44 years.

Lome, Togo - Officers of the continent unite! You have been redeemed (in my eyes) by a Ghanaian customs official named Nathaniel Otoo.

Shortly after my trip to Jamestown last week, I was walking down 28th February Road to Accra's Independence square (with my ball of course) and saw Otoo standing at the bus stage. As per usual, I asked if he could show me some of his moves.

When American striker Charlie Davies was involved in a horrific car accident last year, his involvement in this summer's World Cup was immediately called into question.

Such were the extent of his injuries that it was felt that Davies would be lucky to ever take the field again, let alone in time to represent his country in South Africa. 

Accra, Ghana - In a lot of African cities the divide between rich and poor is hard to miss.

Shanty towns are squished between the majestic monuments and manicured lawns. This week I ventured into one such area, Jamestown, with Ghanaian journalist Isaac Kpelle.

If Italian national team coach Marcello Lippi were to indulge in a sustained bout of "I told you so" he might have good reason. 

For much of this season, as Lippi himself puts it, he has been plagued by a series of media and fan sponsored tormentoni (pests) concerning just who he should include in his squad for this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

So Spain is going to win the World Cup right? Well, surely they will make the final in South Africa? Worst case scenario - Spain gets knocked out in the semis.

We're talking about the number one ranked team in the world here. We're also talking about a team which, in the modern era, has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals. Over the course of 76 years, Spain has precious little to show for its 12 World Cup appearances.

Afterwards, the German media couldn't help but juxtapose the contrasting fortunes of Bayern Munich's two superstar wingers on Wednesday night.

On the one hand, you had Arjen Robben, whose goal against Olympique Lyons proved yet again absolutely crucial for his side and opened the door to the final in Madrid. And where there's a hero, there's usually a villain, too. Franck Ribery left the Allianz Arena early, under the cover of darkness, after having been sent off for a violent foul on Lisandro Lopez. The red card capped off a miserable week for the Frenchman, who's mixed up in a sex scandal involving a teenage prostitute.

Vicente del Bosque didn't bring his hands to his head. He didn't kick the seat in front of him. And he didn't shout hostia at the top of his voice. In fact, he barely moved.

His moustache didn't even twitch. But on the inside, he must have been cursing his luck. Soon, it got even worse. Soon, he would be wondering what he'd done to deserve it. Jesus wept, not another one. 

It was a cold and wet Wednesday night in April and Getafe was playing Villarreal. It wasn't much of a game but the Spanish national team coach was there to see some of those players he hoped to take to the World Cup and was wedged expectantly into his seat in the main stand.

Cape Town - There are now just 50 days to go to the start of the 2010 World Cup and there is a palpable buzz here in South Africa. It has come all of a sudden, after years of muted enthusiasm.

The sudden surge for tickets, once FIFA had downscaled the complicated purchase process, was unexpected, but pleasing, evidence that the local populace is warming up for a huge party.

Accra, Ghana - "How are you?" I asked Samuel, as I clambered into his taxi, ball, camera and all.

"Small-small," he responded, using a local expression I have become very fond of. "Everything in Ghana is small-small: work small, earn small, live small," he added.

We were going through the winding lanes of Accra's Pig Farm neighbourhood in an attempt to bypass Accra's almost impenetrable afternoon traffic. Through the cracked windscreen of the taxi, I watched soccer players pass our row of stalled fuming cars; the players were on their way to local dirt fields for a daily dose of pick-up soccer.

World Cups only come round every four years. Playing in one is the highlight of many a career.  Missing one through injury is heartbreak, especially if the chance may not come again.

Perhaps Salvador Cabanas should be happy merely to be alive. He suffered much more than a sporting injury. The stocky Paraguayan striker took a bullet in the head in Mexico City nearly three months ago, and was fighting for his life.

It's not so long ago that Seol Ki-hyeon would have felt his chances of playing for South Korea at June's World Cup were far better than 50-50.

To ensure he was at the forefront of coach Huh Jung-moo's thinking, the 31-year-old took the decision to return to his homeland and play in the K-League for the first time in his professional career.

After more than decade playing overseas - principally in England - the languid striker signed on the dotted line for Pohang Steelers, one of the leading clubs in Korea and a side at which he was sure to be regularly in the spotlight.

Accra, Ghana - This week I played a lot of soccer.

I played on the streets of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, dribbling in and out of traffic. I played in the city's diverse neighbourhoods, in the pick-up games that take place every afternoon (see my photo essay for an example of street games in Abidjan's Biafra neighbourhood). I played in the port, with the women selling smoked fish and eggplant soup. And I played on the scenic bridge leading into the city's business district.

It was on the bridge that I got my first scar of the journey. I tripped over a tackle and fell chin first on the asphalt. Wham. Bloody.

So who do you reckon will be the first big name to fall at the World Cup? Which of the traditional heavyweights will be checking out after the group stages and heading home to a media mauling?

Could it be Portugal? Worryingly and reluctantly, they have been dragged into the Group of Death and are seemingly more successful when Cristiano Ronaldo is not involved.

What about Argentina? The South Americans have the world's best player but the world's best former player, Diego Maradona, cannot seem to get the best out of Lionel Messi.

The correct answer is, of course, France. Don't take my word for it. Les Bleus are in real danger of an embarrassing first round exit according to one of their own.

"Clearly I'm not the coach and I don't make these decisions, but I always err on the side of caution. And what I mean by that is you take the players that are one, playing, and who are playing the best at the time. And I always think that' s the best formula." 

Those are the words of American star Landon Donovan, and they relate to his thoughts on which players U.S. coach Bob Bradley should consider when selecting his World Cup roster. 

I have to say that I agree with him completely. 

Germany manager Joachim "Jogi" Low and his staff spent the beginning of the week in a Black Forest hotel, planning for the World Cup.

Those who expected concrete announcements about Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi's muted return to the fold or the latest on the troubling goalkeeper question - neither Leverkusen's Rene Adler nor Manuel Neuer (Schalke) have been playing consistently well of late - were, however, left severely disappointed.

The only thing that was really decided was that those contentious decisions would be made at a later stage.

The English empire is crumbling. Or is it?

For the first time since 2003, there are no English teams in the semifinals of the Champions League. Seven long years later, the Premiership is conspicuous by its absence in the final four of the continent's biggest competition. And some people are getting very excited indeed - both in England and abroad. Particularly here in Spain.

For some it's a time for wild partying; for others, it's time to reach for the razor blades and hack away at their wrists. For both sides of the divide it seems it is the end of an era.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast: This week I ventured into Abidjan's ghetto, a neighbourhood called Appecoube, to catch up with the Ivory Coast's (local) captain, Ali Badra Sangare.

When I first saw him he was leaning on the back of his car and talking on his mobile phone (it seems to be the preferred stance here - everywhere you go, people are draped over their cars). Badra was dressed in stylish jeans, a tight white tank top and a designer cap with an ostentatious green and red stripe down the front.

The retirement from international football of Emmanuel Adebayor has put a stark spotlight again on the controversial decision to ban Togo from international football for the next four years in the wake of a deadly attack on their team bus before January's African Nations Cup finals.

Adebayor's retirement comes also as a potential blow to the marketability of African football's top tournament, whose revenues have grown markedly on the back of the profile of top stars like the Togo striker.

"You know, those were great days even if, in the end, Dad opted to practically give away the club because he was fed up with certain criticisms. Mind you, today, things are a million times worse... If any of you are interested, I'd offer you a very good deal".

Inter boss Massimo Moratti is the speaker, the "great days" were the '60s when his father Angelo guided Inter Milan to two successive European Champions Cup triumphs and the fact that "things are a million times worse" today is an obvious reference to the criticisms that have dogged the reigning Italian champions for much of this spring.  

Last week my adopted city of Rio de Janeiro could feel a bond with Chile.

The rain lashed down on Brazil's former capital, killing over 200, especially in mudslides that took out houses on the hillsides. The heartbreaking pictures of lifeless bodies being pulled out of destroyed buildings were reminiscent of those from Chile just a few weeks ago, when a massive earthquake struck.

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST - When you drive through the muggy streets of Abidjan, soccer is everywhere.

In the suburbs, the roadside dirt fields are packed with teams, and in the city's shiny business centre, soccer-themed billboards line the streets. They announce variations of: "Celebrating 50 years of emotions with the Elephants [the Elephants is the name of the country's national side]."

For just a little while, after a comfortable 2-0 win over Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier that meant little to either nation, there was a thought Japan may just have turned the corner.

With CSKA Moscow's Keisuke Honda shining against the Middle Eastern nation in a more advanced role than his usual midfield berth, a sliver of optimism had appeared after too many long, dark days.

When the best player in the world sets foot on South African soil at the World Cup this summer, it is logical to assume that his team will be one of the favourites.  

Isn't it? 

In the Champions League quarter-final second leg match between Barcelona and Arsenal last week, Barcelona's Argentine star Lionel Messi single-handedly destroyed the English club. His four sublime goals led his team to a 4-1 victory and served to underline his dominance as the world's best player. 

Yet despite Messi's brilliant form for his club team, we have rarely seen him reach his full potential when pulling on the blue and white jersey of his homeland. It begs the question: how can a player perform heroics for his club team, while at the same time fail to shine for his country? 

The answer, in my opinion, is twofold. 

Sir Alex Ferguson will surely continue to collect trophies and blame officials for a few more years at Old Trafford but Wednesday night's elimination by Bayern Munich could yet mark the end of an era in a much wider sense.

For the first time since 2003, the Champions League semifinals won't feature a single team from the Premier League. It's quite a radical change, considering that three out of four teams involved at this stage in 2007, 2008 and 2009 were English. (Or, to be more precise: England-based)

It is Manna from Heaven. It is also a dilemma at a time when clear thinking and certainty of principle are paramount. Barely two months before the United States kicks off its World Cup campaign against England, Bob Bradley has a problem. A good problem - but a problem nonetheless.

Just as American fans are wondering who's going to score the goals in South Africa, a saviour is emerging right on cue. Peaking to perfection is one Herculez Gomez, who is forcing the U.S. coach to cast his eye south of the border.

NAIROBI, KENYA - The other day I went down to the soccer field at Olympic primary school in Nairobi's Kibera slum to get the ball rolling, so to speak. As soon as I jumped out of the car, a mass of children swarmed the soccer ball in my arms. 

"Can I play?"

"Give it to me!"

If the key to great comedy really is great timing, Sepp Blatter is the funniest man in football. Or its greatest clown.

A few days ago he attacked the financial set-up of English football, complaining about the debt that threatens to destroy the Premier League. He welcomed the British government's plans - or its cheap pre-election stunt, depending on your point of view - to introduce fan ownership of clubs.

We can't directly intervene because it's a financial question, he said, but it is a move in the right direction.

For those of you who did not see Barcelona beat Inter Milan 2-0 at the Camp Nou in the Group stage of the Champions League last November, let me just tell you that it was a truly "awesome" performance. 

Match stats do not always mean a lot but there was one statistic from that November 24th game that actually said something - Barca dominated possession by an astonishing 59 to 41 per cent.

NAIROBI, KENYA - This summer's World Cup in South Africa is going to be more about Africa than about football. It's going to be about the fans, the music, the dancing, the food and the fervour. It's going to be a celebration like no other. 

I've been living based in Nairobi, Kenya for the last four years and travelled the continent extensively as a journalist. 

Yet another Swede has been parachuted in to galvanize one of Africa's upcoming World Cup campaigns but how much of a difference can Sven Goran Eriksson be expected to realistically make?

The former England and Mexico manager will arrive in Ivory Coast this week to begin preparations for the World Cup but it won't be until another six to seven weeks before he finally gets to work with his new charges.

Ever since Takeshi Okada suggested his Japan team could match the best performance ever by an Asian side at the World Cup and reach the last four in South Africa, there's been a sense that both coach and players will end up with egg on their face.

For a nation that has only ever progressed to the knockout phase on one occasion - and that on home soil in 2002 - the thought Japan could not only go to South Africa and pick up their first World Cup win away from home, but make it to the semifinals seemed ludicrous.

A few years ago it was common to hear the view that international football was dead, replaced by the club game as the sport's be all and end all. World Cup fever proves that this prediction was well wide of the mark.

The analysis was based on a crude form of economic determinism. The nation state was becoming less important in world affairs, and therefore the same would inevitably happen in sports as well.

With the World Cup on the horizon, there will be plenty of discussion surrounding which players are likely to make an impact on the tournament.            

While most fans are familiar with superstars like Kaka from Brazil, Fernando Torres from Spain or Wayne Rooney from England, what about some of the lesser known players? Which of those players are likely to play a key role for their country in South Africa?         

Read my previous reviews of Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F and Group G.

Let's take a look at some of the players and strategies that might be important from the teams in Group H. 

"Bobby for England", the crowd sung on Thursday night, after another masterful performance by the Fulham striker.

Less than four months ago, they had been chanting far less salubrious things about the 29-year-old at Craven Cottage. The supporters didn't like Bobby Zamora's less than impressive scoring record - he only netted four in West-London the previous season - and they couldn't quite see what the tall but technically limited striker brought to the team.

It is said one should never go back, loosely based on the principle it is never as good the second time around. Javier Aguirre has not only gone back but he firmly believes the relationship will be stronger than before and wants his people to dream big.

The head coach of the Mexican national team is in the latter stages of planning his country's assault on the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Aguirre has been this way before. He took Mexico to South Korea/Japan in 2002 where, after a strong start, his team stumbled, disappointingly, against the U.S. in the round of 16.

Rarely has a game summed up a player so perfectly, encapsulating all the contradictions and painting him in black and white - and shades of grey.

Arsenal versus Barcelona was Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a nutshell. At half time, he was rubbish; at full time, he was a genius. Maybe he is actually both.

This was, at least, one banana skin on which Inter Milan did not slip. Inter's Champions League quarter-final (first-leg home-tie against CSKA Moscow) on Wednesday had all the ingredients of a classic Nerazzurri debacle.

For starters, Inter came into this game on the back of a painful 2-1 defeat by AS Roma who, for the third year running, have emerged as their only real opposition on the scudetto front. That defeat not only narrowed Inter's lead at the top of the Serie A table to just one point but it seemed to provide further evidence that Inter's obsession with the Champions League may indeed be taking its toll on their domestic campaign.