THE REAL IDENTITY?
by Clinton Ooi

There is no other club which encapsulates and embodies the world game other than Real Madrid. Voted FIFA Club of Century having 42.35% of the total votes, everything they do in the country is covered by fanatic Marca. Internationally if you ask a non-football follower to name one football club, it is more than likely Madrid would be that club.

So comes the time for the most important period for the 'World's Club'. A vital decision to be made in the next few days will decide the future of the Real Madrid.

No it's not the announcement of Madrid's next big signing...

...It's the election of the next Real Madrid President.

The election will appoint a replacement for Fernando Martin, who was ousted in April, two months after replacing his predecessor, Florentino Perez. Perez, who was at the helm for 5 years, quit in February due to Madrid's failure to win a trophy since 2003.

The five candidates (armed with a slogan) in the running to bring a the glory days back to the Bernebau are:

• Juan Miguel Villar Mir - Fighting spirit and hunger for victory - A vice-president under Ramon Mendoza, Villa Mir plans to appoint Carlos Sainz, former rally champion, as his vice-president and Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) as General Manager/Coach. He has also spoken about signing Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd), Cesc Fabregas & Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal).



• Arturo Baldasano - Bring back the excitement - An independent candidate who last stood unsuccessfully against Florentino Perez in 2004. Baldasano says he has an agreement with outgoing England coach, Sven Goran Eriksson to fill the coaching position while appointing former manager, Vicente Del Bosque as sports director and former Real player Uli Stielike to support him. He has hinted to bring in Joaquin (Real Betis), Mahamadou Diarra (Lyon), Reyes & Fabregas (Arsenal).


• Ramon Calderon - Follow your instincts - The 55-year-old lawyer is the youngest candidate and has been a board member for the last four years. He has vitally promised not to interfere not to interfere with the signing of players. Calderon wants to Bring back Fabio Capello as coach and former player Pedrag Mijatovic as Sporting Director. Arjen Robben (Chelsea) and Kaka (AC Milan) have been penned as possible arrivals.


• Lorenzo Sanz - And now let's talk about football - Former president for five years where Madrid won two Champion League titles and a La Liga title, Sanz was defeated by Perez in 2004. He promises to make success on the field his main objective and to bring a stable financial state to the club. He has an agreement to bring back Vicente del Bosque to coach and possibly sign Gianluca Zambrotta and Emerton (Juventus), Khalid Boulahrouz (Hamburg), Franck Ribery (Marseille) and Michael Carrick (Tottenham Hotspurs).


• Juan Palacios - What would you like to win? - Vice-president under Sanz he plans to bring back Jose Antonio Camacho as sports director and Del Bosque as coach. He has the novel but contreversial idea of sponsoring Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso. Palacios plans to sign Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic & Zambrotta (Juventus).

The Real Madrid Presidential Election seems to garner more interest from the international public than the appointment of the head of the white house.

Based on the facts above, Sanz seems to have the best plan for success. Focusing on bringing stability of the club and concentrating on success on the field instead of big name signings could be just what Real need. However, his bad history late in his last term in charge could work against him.

Palacios creative approach involving Madrid fan Alonso is counterproductive and even more detracting from the club's much needed on field concentration. Baldasano's mention of Eriksson would not do him much good with England's underperformance during his tenure so that leaves Calderon and Villa Mir who seem to have best mix of potential management and playing staff. Policy-wise though, Calderon did vitally say he will not

So only time will tell how won over the 80,000 Madrid supporters are and it is their vital decision which will determine the next chapter of this illustrious club. More Galacticos or rore trophies? What will be the Real identity?

COMETH THE HOUR, COMETH THE MEN!
by Clinton Ooi

Throughout the World Cup the microscope has been focused on three groups of players - new emerging stars, secondly stars in the prime of their career and thirdly aging world class stars on their swansong. It is inevitable that players in the latter categories are almost demanded to light up games almost single handedly everytime they touch the ball. But is this fair, after what for most has been a long, long domestic season?

Beckham, Zidane, Ronaldo amongst others would definitely fit into this group. Failing to perform to their usual standards early in the group stages have earned criticism from all camps. Yes, it is non-coincidental that all three play for the mighty Real Madrid (but that's another story, for another day).

But just as the saying goes, form is temporal but class is permanent, all three have come good in the knockout stages so far. All three were instrumental in their teams' wins and all three managed to get on the scoresheet.

So let's wait and see, who will prevail in this cup of many twists and turns and unending surprises! For better for worse this I am certain these three will be in the headlines.

WHERE'D ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE GO?
by Clinton Ooi
Even as the World Cup approaches its crucial point a separate realm of world football is at its critical stages. In recent months the match-fixing scandal in Italy has been escalating and is now approaching its boiling point.

26 football officials have been charged so far including Serie A club officials, Italian Football Federation (FIGC) officials, referees and linesmen who will appear before a Sports Tribunal in Rome.

While Juventus FC have been at the forefront of the accusations, AC Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina are in the mix of the contreversy as well. Let us inspect the parties involved and their charges.

Luciano Moggi - Former Juventus General Manager
Moggi was at the centre of the scandal from the very beginning when taped telephone conversations between him and senior Italian football officials discussing refereeing appointments for games in the 2004/2005 season were intercepted and published.

Antonio Giraudo - Former Juventus Chief Exectuive

Giraudo is under investigation on suspision of 'false accounting' in Juventus's transfer dealings.

Adriano Galliani - AC Milan Vice-president and former president of the Italian Football League

Galliani's dual role has led to accusations of conflict of interests.

Leonardo Meani - Member of AC Milan management

Phone taps caught Meani speaking to an official assigning linesmen in April 2005, complaining about a linesman he selected after Milan lost to Siena.

Claudio Lotito - Lazio President

Phone taps caught Lotito telling former FIGC vice-president Innocenzo Mazzini that Deigo Della Valle (Fiorentina owner) made him an offer in relation to their game against Fiorentina at the end of 2004-05 season. He is also under investigation for suspicion of market-rigging involving Lazio shares.

Diego Della Valle & Andrea Della Valle - Fiorentina owner & president

Phone taps caught them complaining about refereeing decisions to Moggi and FIGC official Paolo Bergamo during the 2004-05 season.

Sandro Mencucci - Fiorentina Director General

Phone taps caught him telling Bergamo and former FIGC vice-president, Innocenzo Mazzini that Diego Della Valle will continue to promote the interests of Serie A's smaller clubs in return for favours from referees.

Franco Carraro - Former FIGC president

Being questioned for suspicion of being aware of manipulation of refereeing appointments and not taking any action to stop it.


Innocenzo Mazzini - Former FIGC vice-president

Phone tapped conversations with Moggi sees Mazzini discussing which Juventus delegate will be attending a meeting on refereeing appointments and making references to Carraro.

Cosimo Maria Ferri - A member of FIGC commission for economic disputes

Ferri is charged with knowing about the manipulation of refereeing appointments in Lazio matches and not taking any action to stop it.

Pierluigi Pairetto - FIGC official in charge of assigning referees in 2004-05 season and former member of UEFA's refereeing commission

Phone taps reveal Pairetto disclosing to Moggi the referee for the Champions League game between Juventus and Ajax Amsterdam in September 2004 two weeks before the game.

*UEFA rules state that the identity of a referee is to be communicated only 48 hours before the match.

Paolo Bergamo - Former FIGC official

Bergamo worked with Pairetto during the 2004-05 season, assigning referees to Serie A games.

Tullio Lanese - Former president of the Italian Referees Association

Lanese is suspected of knowing about the manipulation of refereeing appointments and doing nothing to stop it.

Gennaro Mazzei - Former FIGC official in charge of assigning linesmen to Serie A matches

Pietro Ingargiola - Former observer for the Italian Referees Association

Ingargiola claims in phone taps he was present when Moggi and Giraudo locked referee Gianluca Paparesta in his dressing room after Juventus's 2-1 defeat by Reggina in November 2004. Yet he did not report the incident.

Massimo De Santis - FIGC's proposed referee for the World Cup - withdrawn because of involvement in match-fixing investigation

Seria A referees:

• Paolo Bertini
• Pasquale Rodomonti
• Domenico Messina
• Gianluca Paparesta
• Paolo Dondarini
• Gianluca Rocchi
• Paolo Tagliavento

Claudio Puglisi and Frabrizio Babini - Linesmen - specifically assigned to Milan's match against Chievo Verona in April 2005. Puglisi is a noted Milan fan. Milan beat Chievo 1-0.

With UEFA's dateline for registering clubs for European coming on 27 June, in the coming weeks we will see where this all leads. Will Serie A giants be Serie B favourites? Will there be an exodus of players and managers of the clubs involved? Whatever happens, the damage has been done and the fans will suffer most as the Italian football begins its resurrection from the dead.

I know you are innocent until proven guilty, but as Jack Johnson croons, "Where'd all the good people go?"

FIX ENGLAND, SHE’S BROKEN
by Clinton Ooi

Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay once indicated in an interview that his band were a bunch of lads who were not at their best individually, but each brought an element to make them the champion band that they are.

Well, who would have thought at the completion of the second round of the 2006 World Cup, we would see England, one of the pre-tournament favourites, scrape through with a poor team performance saved by a moment of individual brilliance that has echoed their entire Group B campaign.

If not for David Beckham’s superb free kick, the Ecuadorians could and just might have run down Sven Goran Eriksson’s men and nick a goal in the looming extra time. Beckham himself had a dour game(apart from the goal) and would likely be one of those who would not survive extra time in the energy sapping conditions in Stuttgart.

This has the story of the three lions - playing badly and owing their progress to individual moments of solo brilliance.

· v Ecuador: Beckham’s mercurial free kick
· v Sweden: Joe Cole’s audacious strike & Steven Gerrard’s super sub strike
· v Trinidad & Tobago: Peter Crouch’s bullet header & Gerrard’s scorcher
· v Paraguay: Carlos Gamarra - albeit he scored at the wrong end

After the Ecuador game a defiant Eriksson said, 'You try to play good football but the most important thing is to win. I am sure we are going to play better because in every game we have taken a little step in the right direction. Point is England and Sven won’t be in Berlin come July 9th if he does not see the light. England are not playing improving, they are not playing to their strength and their personnel and formation like their manager are both bullish and ineffective.

A brave manager would make some drastic but necessary changes.

All of England if not the world would realize that Gerrard and Frank Lampard have and will not function together in the current formations, not during this tournament at least. To form a good partnership you need time – a commodity that is currently not in England’s disposal. Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick have been effective in their cameos in the Claude Makelele role, enough to warrant further starts perhaps.

Beckham is not going to make runs to the byline and swing in as many crosses as he used to because he just does not have the pace in him anymore. The only things keeping him in the first team right now are his deadly free kick ability (or England’s lack of another capable free kick taker), the armband and that he is married to Sven. Aaron Lennon has shown the threat he poses every time he has come on so far.

Wayne Rooney though not fully fit has done extremely well in his gradual return into the first team while Peter Crouch has England’s first goal of the competition and has been causing opposition players an uncomfortable time in his appearances. Arguably neither has excelled until the presence of a partner in attack.

The center backs have not brought much certainty in the back as well. Ironically before the competition began, it seemed to be the department where England had an abundance of resources. Rio Ferdinand has not been assuring, Gary Neville is recovering from injury while his deputies Jamie Carragher has been deemed too defensive and Hargreaves did not fare much better. John Terry has easily been the stand out in defence.

The issue is who should be in and who should be left out. Millions of armchair managers around the globe will already have their own view but this is my two pence worth.

Paul Robinson’s position in goal is a certainty, so is Terry’s and Ashley Cole’s. Ferdinand should start, but I would like to see the no nonsense Carragher get the nod in his favoured position and make sure those opportunities against Sweden would not exist in the first place. Neville should start if fit because of his good understanding with Beckham and overlapping runs down the right flank. If not fit, Hargreaves would be an able replacement.

In midfield Joe Cole should get the green light, even though he cuts in too much, with Carrick in the holding role in front of the defenders and Beckham will start no matter what is said or written. In that case Lennon should come on earlier that usual, if England continue to be ineffective down the right, shifting Beckham to right back as he did against T & T.

Lampard and Gerrard are both revered at club level but have yet to fully convince for England. On form, Lampard has at least over ten chances so far and failed to score while Gerrard is England’s top scorer. On skill, the versatile Gerrard can play on the left, right, defensive midfield, second striker as well as just behind the strikers to drive the team as we saw in the FA Cup Final for Liverpool to devastating effect. Lampard will always only be able to play in that position only.

Up front Rooney to partner Crouch should see Crouch drawing the extra defender to create space for Rooney to make his marauding runs and menacing strikes outside the box. If things still do not work out, maybe we will finally see Theo Walcott appear in his first World Cup game.

As I said, it will take a brave manager to make these changes. So the burning question will be: Is Sven that man? Will he select on form and stop relying on luck that might just about to be ready run out?

As the Coldplay song ends ‘I will try to fix you’, let’s hope Sven’s got the CD…

MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

by Clinton Ooi

The signing of Michael Ballack before the world cup have more implications than meets the eye. The implications to Ballack's switch to the Premiership ring well and truly even before the commencement of the 2006/2007 English Premier League season.

As Germany's captain, most recognisable player and arguably best talent, the spotlight come June 9th should have been Ballack leading off Germany on their world cup journey on his club, Bayern Munich's new turf the magnificent Allianz Arena.

These headlines however will have to be scraped by journalists with similar foresight.

Instead, the focus will shift to Ballack and his big money move (for him a reported £130,000 a week wages and nothing for the Bayern) to English champions Chelsea.

This move has more implications off the field more so than on it. Bayern have always and will continue to produce and poach the best stars in the Bundesliga, so on the pitch their status is lesser affected by the timing of Ballack's move.

So let us analyse what possible after effects would it have off the field:

• Advertising - Any ad campaigns T-Com, Bayern's sponsor, had in mind for Ballack, especially since the World Cup is going to be held in Germany would be binned. I would not be surprised to see media of Ballack in Chelsea colours during the tournament.
  
• Association - Undoubtedly throughout the tournament the probability that the world 'Ballack' is mentioned in the same sentence with the word 'Chelsea' would be beyond the number of fingers and toes I have.
  
• Access - By signing Ballack before the World Cup, Chelsea have not only gained widespread publicity into the German market but possibly Ballack's personal fanbase.
  
• Affirmative - Great World Cups performances tend to see club transfer fee demands soar and player pay packet expectations rise. Signing the player before the 'hoo-hah' of the World Cup is a definite stroke of genius.

The cases are similar for a number of other players about to light up the stage in Germany.

Andrei Shevchenko, Ballack's soon to be new clubmate just joined from AC Milan for a Premiership record £30.8m while talented Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky has left Borussia Dortmund after 5 years to ply his trade at Arsenal for a reported £7m. Their new clubs will certainly fully exploit the market potential of their players especially if their nations progress and their players shine. Undoubtedly, these prices would inflate considerably after a successful campaign.

Therefore, instead of doing an El-Halji Diouf, the way to go is to sign before the show.