El Clasico: Barcelona vs Real Madrid

The focus of the match has to be Real's new coach: Juande Ramos. The former Tottenham manager, who was sacked recently, returned to Spain with his reputation still intact, as Real look to him to save their title challenge this season.

Real is in unfamiliar territory: they are struggling in the 5th position in the La Liga, while Barca is starting to find their feet, with Messi, Henry and Eto in scoring form. But all these obvious advantages may just be the banana skin that plotted Real's victory in this game.

El Clasico, as in many other derby matches and bitter rival match-up, is an unpredictable match where form cannot be rely upon. In fact, for Real, this is a golden opportunity to turn around their disappointing season. With all their talents around, and Raul record-breaking form, Real will not be the underdogs for this tie. And with Juande Ramos at helm, the Real players will be trying even harder to impress their new boss.

As Juande Ramos said, Real have nothing to fear. If Real, with the hosts of talent they have, need to fear Barca, then the rest of the league might as well give the title to Barca. Bernd Schuster's negative statement is of no logic, and really irked the President and fans. Bernd practically talks himself out of the job, as not long ago, Real president had given him a vote of confidence.

This game may well be determined by the brilliance of the top stars of either side, be it Messi, Henry and Eto for Barca, or Raul, Gago and Sneijder.

Gunners will only aim at the Big Guns

They went into the weekend, brimming with confidence in the back of a victory against defending champion, Manchester United, but they left the weekend shattered as again, they are beaten by teams outside "The Big Four". This time, it's Aston Villa, the new "Big Four" hopefuls.

And when Arsene Wenger admitted that his team deserved to be beaten, we can tell that in this particular game, Villa really battered them, as Wenger rarely admitted his that it is his team own-doing when they are defeated.

So what is wrong with Arsenal this season? Can they win the league? As of now, they are still in it, but if you really look through their team sheet, you have doubt that they stand any chance to win the league at all. But credits must be given to them for the brand of football they play. They remain one of the most exciting teams to watch, and their free flowing passing, coupled with the young lads' great techniques, often take the breath of the fans away.

But as far as the league concern, playing beautiful football wouldn't be awarded extra points, therefore winning as many games as possible is still the only way forward. And they are unable to do so when they play teams outside the Big Four. Why?

Because, when they are playing the lesser team, their opponent is not trying to let them play their free flow football, as they know this could hurt their chances of drawing or even winning. So they do everything to break their rhythm, and at the same time, had a go at them.

As for the Big Four teams, the mentality is different. They are not inferior to Arsenal, therefore, they are not all out to break their rhythm, but instead imposed their own rhythm on Arsenal. So there is a better chance that Arsenal, at certain period of the game might be able to play to their strength.

Besides the mentality, surely there is something wrong with Arsenal, as they lose games to lesser teams. Arsenal lacked depth in squad and lacked leadership on the field. Their midfield is featherweight, and can be easily overrun by the opponents. They lacked midfielders that can win the ball back, the tough tackling type like Patrick Vieira when they lose possessions. And unless they really do something about it during the January transfer window, they will just end up with nothing again this season, and may even lost their Big Four status.

Manager of the moment: Harry "Redknapp" Potter

Although it is quite common that when a new manager takes over at a new club, the team just turn around their form and start winning. But if that turn around in form include beating the current league leader Liverpool, then this feat is not so common anymore, especially in the Barclays Premier League where we have "the big four" and the rest of the league.

But this is what Harry Redknapp did, weaving his magic for his Spurs to beat Liverpool from a goal behind, and knocking them off the top. Despite winning 2 games and drew once (great results when you consider beating Liverpool and drawing Arsenal), they are still bottom of the table. This just showed how deep shit they are in before Harry steps in.

But based on their current performance and form, there will be no doubt that they will be out of the relegation zone soon. In the game against Arsenal, they showed so much resolved that they scored 2 goals in the final 2 minutes of the normal time, forcing a draw out of their London rival.

Another positive sign is that Harry made one of the new signing to score. Roman Pavlyuchenko, who scored the last minute winner against Liverpool, will surely have his confidence boosted after scoring such a vital goal in a big game. This will lead to more goals to come from the Russian as the season progress.

Spurs do have a talented team, and with Harry now in the helm, they will be forcing their way up the table, but breaking into "the big four" seems a bit out of reach this season. They can hope for a better start next season though.

Argentina counting on "The Hand of God"

I was a little surprise when I heard from the news that Diego "the hand of God" Maradona is going to become Argentina's national team coach. Though Maradona is one of the best player of all time, credential wise, I certainly do not see him as a worthy coach. Certainly, for a big footballing nation like Argentina, there are some other candidates with better credential. But I can see where this appointment comes in.

Argentina, despite boasting some of the best talents in the world in recent years, had failed to win any significant honours, with only the Olympic Football Gold Medal to show. In the past two edition of the World Cup, they didn't progress to the latter stages of the competition, and were even knocked out in the 1st round in Korea-Japan 2002. In Copa America, they again failed to win the competition, losing to a understrength, junior Brazil team in the final.

Something is not right, something is amiss that stopped them from winning honors, despite having a team filled with talents. Perhaps, that something, they now reckoned, is inspiration and the "magic touch". And Maradona certainly fit this criteria. He is the inspiration, and almost single-handedly lead Argentina to World Cup victory, with his "hand of god" knocked England off the competition they eventually win.

Now, their Football Association is hoping that Maradona can reproduced this midas touch, inspiring and leading the national team to the top of the world again. The effect already can be seen. Key players, and also the whole nation is feeling excited about Maradona being the national team coach. If he can emulate the great Franz Beckenbaur's achievements, he can certainly have his name sealed in the history of football, and had all his negative issue swept aside.

Welcome to the fashion capital, David!

Before David Beckham decided to move to the USA, I was so convinced that Milan will be his next destination to continue his football, being a fashion capital that will surely match his celebrity status. But I guess, the language barrier and the attraction of being an icon in the USA changed his mind.

He has surely make his mark in the MLS, and more specifically, LA Galaxy, though not fully on the field. Today, most football fans will know there is a team called LA Galaxy, and we can see people wearing a LA Galaxy jersey, though the only player in the team that they know is David Beckham.

Now, Beckham is joining AC Milan for a short-term loan to keep himself fit for the national team. Well, if he can suit to the Milan play, he should just join Milan permanently, as Carlo Ancelotti, the Milan coach, had publicly declared that he would like to sign him permanently.

His job in LA Galaxy, and MLS is done. He had increase the profile of his team, and the league to a certain extent. He bucked the trend by joining MLS at 31, and not at the end of the career (35-36?). So what more he can contribute to the LA Galaxy or MLS? The most is to keep the ticket sales, and keep on to be an icon in the MLS. LA Galaxy will not rise to become the champions because of one Beckham, as football, unlike some other sports, is a team game, and one superstar wouldn't win a team the championship.

So is now the time for him to leave LA Galaxy? Certainly, if he is to continue playing for England, and ready to take on the challenge of fighting for a place in a midfield full of talents. Certainly displacing the likes of Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf, Gattuso, Ambrosini, Flamini and Emerson will not be an easy task, and he risk sitting on the bench for the rest of his career. But for a 3-month loan, certainly there will be no risk, and Milan will welcome him with an open arms, as they continue their fight to the top of the Serie A.

And for all football fans, once again we might get to see his trademark free kick during the match, and not from the news.

Can the Best League in the World win the 2010 World Cup?

Surely now when I say the best league in the world, most people will straightaway refer to none other than the Barclays Premier League (or more widely known as English Premier League). Yes, the English League. They have come a long way from European minnows (among the major football league) to ultimate conqueror of Europe's Premier Club Competition- UEFA Champions League. Last season's all English final is the ultimate evidence to cast away any doubts or doubters that- Barclays Premier League is the best league in the world right now!

To add the icing on the cake, Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was named UEFA's European Club Footballer of the Year, and also the Forward of the Year, while John Terry, Frank Lampard and Peter Cech made up the BPL dominations in the Defender, Midfielder and Goalkeeper of the Year. So, now the question is, can the best league in the world win the World Cup 2010 in South Africa?

The implication of being the best league, is the foreign influx of players. Now, players-and also investors all around the world set their sight on coming to BPL. While more big money investors in the BPL will certainly raise the standard of the league further, the group of talented English footballers for the national team has certainly become an issue.

While Theo Walcott- the lastest young prodigy to set the world alight- hattrick may have cover up the national team's attacking prowess, but any right-minded can sensed a lack of talent when the squad include Emile Heskey, who is way passed his best years.

Besides, the goalkeeping department doesn't look good as well with Paul Robinson (who is not playing at his best) sitting on the bench, while David James (not the most steady of hands) started the game.

So now we know the problem, but what is the solution, or where is the potential talents that may be able to replace them. The bigger problem is, there are none, or they are not given the chance to show them. Why?Because in the best league in the world, the players must also be the best around. So no time for nurturing! One of the example is Glen Johnson, who moved to Portsmouth from Chelsea to play first team football. Who can blame Chelsea for not giving him more chance to play, when they have other complete-article players at their disposal?

The trend now and here-to-stay is there will be more players from outside the big four to join the England squad, and these teams actually provide the only hope for Capello if he is to steer England to glory. And if the Big Four expand to Big Five, then there will be a team less to produce talents for England, as they will be too busy buying the best players in the world to the best league in the world!

And in another 1 year plus, we will see whether the best league in the world can win the World Cup!

Dramatic end to transfer window!

I was stunned when I checked out soccernet for the last minute transfer deals before the transfer window close. Robinho leaves Real, and surprise surprise, not to Chelsea, but to Manchester City! WTF?! Manchester City? I thought Thaksin is having all kinds of trouble, and Bangkok in emergency rule partly because of him, yet he can outwits the mighty Russian owned Chelsea in transfer market?! Incredible!

The 32.5 million is definitely higher than the Chelsea's reportedly offer of 28 million. Even if Real accepted the offer, why the hell Robinho will want to play in the UEFA Cup? Manchester City offer more (in terms of transfer fee) for Ronaldinho as well, yet Ronaldinho rejected them. What is he thinking?

I finally understand when I read that Thaksin is selling his stakes to Abu Dhabi United Group. With all these Arab money, City not only can afford the transfer fee, but also huge weekly salary that should be tempting to a young lad. Besides Robinho, City also bought in quite a number of reinforcement during this transfer window. They are Gláuber Berti from FC Nuremburg, Pablo Zabaleta from Espanyol, Shaun Wright-Phillips from Chelsea, Vincent Kompany from Hamburg SV, and Tal Ben Haim from Chelsea.

Though some of the signings are still unknown quantity, Manchester City should be a team to watch this season.

Tottenham also had a busy last day, with Dimitar Berbatov leaving to Manchester United for 30.75 million, while Roman Pavlyuchenko and Vedran Corluka join from Spartak Moscow and Manchester City respectively. These deals certainly solved the attacking options for both Spurs and Man Utd, as both will now have 3 strikers to sustain the whole season. Spurs won a psychological battle against Man Utd in the transfer market by not compromising the transfer fee, and also successfully completed two deals of their own in time to finally put the transfer saga behind. This is really a win-win situation where both teams get reinforcement, while Berbatov's wish to play for Manchester United is granted.

And we will be seeing the last of the tireless Andriy Voronin, who was loaned to Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga