Neymar to Barcelona

It has been rumored for months that Neymar will be joining Barcelona from Santos. His arrival was scheduled for after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It has also been reported Barcelona already made an initial payment to Santos for €10 million to secure the transfer, as stated in a document provided to club members during their annual assembly.

It now appears Neymar's transfer will be happening this Summer, with an announcement expected very soon. Barcelona and Santos have been in negotiations for a transfer, with Neymar joining Barcelona after the Confederations Cup. The Brazilian stage in no longer big enough for Neymar, and many around him believe a move to Europe needs to happen as soon as possible.

Neymar's contract with Santos expires in June of 2014, allow him to start negotiations with other clubs 6 months prior to the end of his contract. As much as Santos would like to keep the player as long as possible, they run the risk he would leave the club for free when his contract is up. Barcelona wants Neymar, and Neymar wants Barcelona, so because of this, Barcelona is attempting to force Santos to accept a lower transfer fee than the €65 million buyout, or even the €40 million fee already negotiated per the document mentioned previously. Barcelona's initial offers of €18 million, €20 million plus 2 friendly games in Brazil, and the latest €22 million have all been rejected by Santos. A last offer of €25 million has been reported, but denied by Barcelona. Negotiations are currently at a standstill. All 3 sides have been extremely secretive in these negotiations, for however long they have been going on, so I am positive there is a lot more happening behind the scenes that no one is aware of.

At the end of it all, I believe this move will happen this Summer, and relatively soon for that matter. My guess is the deal will be close to the €40 million that has always been assumed any transfer for Neymar would cost. Neymar will give Messi much needed help when teams decide to pile up defenders on him. The 2 best individual players in the world playing side by side will definitely be fun to watch.

SPAIN!!! 2010 World Cup Winners!!!

Spain has won the 2010 World Cup for the first time!!!

They were considered one of the favorites before the tournament started, and unlike Brazil, they were able to get the job done. Spain didn't play the best soccer in the tournament, that would have to be Germany, but they were the most efficient. After winning the Euro in 2008, and because they have so many great players on the same squad, I would have to say the Spanish deserved to win.

Spain played a tightly contested game against a Dutch side that clearly didn't care about playing the game. They wanted to intimidate Spain physically, and they were able to do that for the most part. English referee Howard Webb let the Dutch off the hook easy by not giving red cards to Mark van Bommel (the dirtiest player I've ever seen) for "flying" slide tackle to the back of Andres Iniesta's knees, and Nigel de Jong for kicking Xabi Alonso in the chest. It was a bit early in the game, so I understand Webb might not have wanted to jeopardize the final game by sending off 2 Dutch players, but this showed the Dutch didn't want to win the game with the ball on their feet.

Both teams had clear chances with Iker Casillas saving Spain on one side, and the Spanish players taking too long pull the trigger on the other side. But at the 116th minute mark of extra time, Iniesta comes through to save the day just like he did against Chelsea in the Champions League a little over a year ago.

This was a well deserved Cup for Spain and I still think they have another Euro win in 2012. But for 2014, everyone better watch out because I doubt anyone will be able to go to Brazil and beat them on their turf!

And then there were 4!

The Semi-finals of the World Cup are set! Uruguay will play The Netherlands while Germany will face Spain.

If you ask me, I don't see anything wrong with these 4 nations reaching the semis.

Spain hasn't played up to their potential, but they keep improving with each game. Uruguay was very lucky against Ghana, but they've been playing well. The Netherlands upset Brazil on the pitch, and they absolutely crushed Brazil's composure, something I've never seen before from Brazil. And last, but certainly not least, Germany...the best team in this year's tournament. They've dismantled every team they faced, with the exception of the loss to Serbia. They keep getting better and right now, there's no telling how good they can really be.

If I were to bet on who's going to win it all at this point, my money would be on Germany!

Anelka sent home...Players protest!

 Things just keeps getting worse for France.

The team isn't playing well at all and they need a win by at least 4 goals against South Africa and a loss from Mexico in order to advance to the next round. Given the situation they're in, I'm pretty sure French players have already packed for a return home.

Much of the problem is because of coach Raymond Domenech, who doesn't know how to manage the team. He criticized Anelka for his performance during the first half against Mexico, but Anelka didn't agree with his coach and told him "Go f*** yourself, you dirty son of a b****!" The coach then told Anelka he was out for the second half. After a quick review of the situation, the French Football Federation decided to kick Anelka off the team for disciplinary reasons.

All the players are against Domenech, and they also didn't agree with the decision by the French Federation. In order to protest Anelka's exclusion from the squad, the players have decided not train today, making a bad situation even more chaotic. This has led to the resignation of team director Jean-Louis Valentin. Not only that, there was also a heated argument between team captain Patrice Evra and fitness coach Robert Duverne, who walked off the field after throwing his badge on the ground.

I've never been a fan of Anelka, and even though he's wrong, why didn't the French Federation replace Domenech when all of the players were clearly against him even before the World Cup started? You can blame this whole situation on them, that's it.

2010 World Cup Recap - Group Stage Round 1

() - My predictions

South Africa 1 x 1 Mexico (1x1)
Opening game of the tournament and both teams were a bit timid. South Africa scored first on a counter-attack, but Mexico tied the game on a defensive mistake by South Africa. Neither team showed they're a threat.

France 0 x 0 Uruguay (1x1)
Embarrasing game for both teams. France looks old and very individualistic, while Uruguay showed why they needed a final playoff game to qualify for the tournament. Both teams have a lot of talent, but they can't put it all together.

South Korea 2 x 0 Greece (1x1)
South Korea has been playing well since the 2002 World Cup. They're composed and surprisingly skillful, so their win didn't surprise me. Greece is old and they've never scored in a World Cup tournament. They looked old and very sloppy, but tried very hard.

Argentina 1 x 0 Nigeria (3x0)
Credit Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for not allowing this game to be a blowout. Argentina tried, but were shut down for the most part. Nigeria can be dangerous, but they have to be firing on all cylinders and this seldom happens. Looks like Messi is starting to play like he does for Barcelona. If he keeps it up, Argentina will go far and you can give Messi his 2nd FIFA World Player Award.

England 1 x 1 USA (2x1)
England's goalkeeper Robert Green had the first big "oops" of the tournament. What looked like an easy shot to grab, turned into a nightmare when Green let the ball slip away from his hands. The USA didn't show much in this game, but thanks to Green's mistake, they're in as good of a shape as England, so I think it'll all work out at the end, but I don't see them going past the Round of 16.

Algeria 0 x 1 Slovenia (1x3)
Slovenia is this year's surprise team in most people's opinion. I didn't see much from them and they only scored after Algeria was down to 10 players. They also got a little help from Algeria's goalkeeper, who misjudged the bounce of the ball in front of him.

Ghana 1 x 0 Serbia (0x2)
A hand ball by Serbia's Zdravko Kuzmanovic allows for Ghana to be the 1st African nation to win a match in the tournament. I expected a lot more from Serbia as I thought they would be the team that surprised everyone. I never thought they could actually win the tournament, but I thought they would put up a good fight. Ghana is very young and are without Essien, but they held their own against Serbia and are now in a good position to advance to the next round.

Germany 4 x 0 Australia (2x0)
Official start of the World Cup! Finally a team scoring more than 1 or 2 goals. Germany looks very scary right
now. They don't have some of the big names from 2006, but they're playing well together and they can definitely score. For me, Australia always plays dirty and they don't deserve to be in the tournament. If things don't go their way, they will hurt you.

Netherlands 2 x 0 Denmark (3x1)
The Dutch played without Robben, a game changing player in my opinion. As it has always been for the Netherlands, they're loaded with talent, but they always fall short. Still, they showed they can go far in this tournament, but I don't think they can win it all. Denmark played solid, but they won't threaten any of the favorites.

Japan 1 x 0 Cameroon (0x2)
Japan is organized, but are not very talented. They also have a hard time scoring. Everyone expected more from Cameroon, but it looks as if they will fall short of the knockout stage and will have a very disappointing tournament.

Italy 1 x 1 Paraguay (1x1)
Just like France, Italy is old, they don't have enough playmakers, and I think they might be in trouble this tournament. Pirlo didn't play, Buffon got hurt, but Italy's tradition alone will intimidate opponents. Paraguay is a solid team and I think they might be able to pull off 1st place in Group F, but as of this game, it doesn't look like they're too much of a threat.

New Zealand 1 x 1 Slovakia (0x2)
Ugly game between 2 weak teams. Slovakia had this game won until the last minute of injury time. Nothing else exciting to talk about this one.

Portugal 0 x 0 Ivory Coast (2x0)
Drogba was cleared to play with a cast on his broken arm, but he only came in as a sub in the second half. This wasn't enough time to get him warmed up. In my opinion, whoever scores more goals against North Korea between these 2 teams will advance. I think only Big Phil was able to get Portugal to play to their pontential and once again, Cristiano Roanldo came up small in a big game. Sorry Ronaldo, but you're going to see Messi win many more FIFA World Player Awards in the years to come.

Brazil 2 x 1 North Korea (4x0)
The only team that plays "down" to the competition. North Korea is mainly made up of Soldiers from the North Korean Army and no one really knows anything else about them. They defend with all 11 players. Brazil could've sent a message with this game, but they decided to play around and try to be fancy. They did show some precision passing and shooting in their 2 goals, but a defensive lapse let the North Korean's score at the end of the game. Still, Brazil will be taking things a lot more serious in the next 2 games.

Honduras 0 x 1 Chile (1x2)
Much like Paraguay, Chile played a solid game and were very impressive. Chile will be a tough opponent to Spain and Switzerland, so Group H will be very tight in my opinion. Honduras gave a good effort and like many of the less favored teams, they showed there aren't any easy games in the World Cup.

Spain 0 x 1 Switzerland (3x0)
The first big upset of the tournament! I don't think anyone would've predicted this. Switzerland isn't really a soccer powerhouse. They do play well, but no way would I've thought the would beat arguably the favorites to win the cup. I have been saying for a long time that Spain has the talent, but they still lack chemistry. Spain will still advance, but if they end up second and Brazil end up 1st place in group H, one of the 2 most favored teams to win the tournament will be going home early.

Summary:
Not the most exciting start to a World Cup. A lot of complaining about the Jabulani ball and not a lot of scoring. Only Germany was able to score more than 2 goals in a game, but the Germans have been using the Jabulani in the Bundesliga for the past 4 months, so they're already used to the  With the exception of a handful of referees, refereeing so far in the tournament has been horrible. Let's hope things pick up in the next round of games.

Mourinho to coach Real Madrid!!!

They finally get a coach that might be able to turn things around!!!

Real Madrid signed Jose Mourinho to coach the club for the next 4 years at 10 million Euros per season. Many names were thrown out as a possible replacement to Manuel Pellegrini, but only Mourinho was able to go in the Nou Camp and shut down Barcelona.

In my opinion, Mourinho is the best man for the job and the only coach that would actually put his foot down against all the front office directors who think they can run the club, but so far have been driving one of the greatest European teams into the ground.

Even before signing with Madrid, Mourinho has said Guti will not be part of the team and that he would need to speak to Raul before making a decision. Guti is rumored to have a deal in place to play for Turkey's Galatasaray, while Raul has his sights on playing for the New York Red Bulls of the MLS. There are also rumors for possible reinforcements requested by Mourinho: right back Maicon (Inter), left back Kolarov (Lazio), winger Di Maria (Benfica), and a midfielder to play alongside Xabi Alonso. Sounds promising, but there's still work to be done. Let's wait and see.

David Villa to Barcelona!!!

 I knew there was a reason no one took the #7 jersey. Something tells me this transfer was a done deal since last year.

Once again, Barcelona beat Real Madrid. It was said last year that David Villa was very close to signing with Madrid, but as it turns out, Barcelona was the club Villa wanted to play for all along.

Villa's transfer from Valencia was finalized this past Wednesday for a transfer fee of 40 million Euros. Valencia was forced to deal Villa due to their financial troubles and they might not be done dealing as Spanish media reports many clubs are after David Silva, with Real Madrid and Barcelona as the front runners. It has been said that if Barcelona can't reach a deal with Arsenal for Cesc Fabregas, they'll be going after Silva, but I believe Madrid might have the upper hand on this deal.

With Villa coming to Barcelona, there's a good chance Ibrahimovic will be moving on. He didn't really live up to his potential and Barcelona's style of play doesn't suit him all that well. Juventus, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, and even Real Madrid are interested in the Swedish striker and the transfer fee is speculated to be anywhere from 30 to 50 million Euros.

Sad ending to a great career

If you haven't seen this play yet, take a look at what Francesco Totti did to Mario Balotelli on the Italian Cup Final.

Totally unacceptable for any player, and this looks even worse coming from a player of Totti's caliber. He was given a much deserved red card and he should also be suspended for a few games in my opinion.

After Balotelli's agent called Totti a racist, Balotelli himself says Totti called him a "Black Piece of Shit." There is no place for racism anywhere, and if this is indeed true, Totti should be suspended for a long time.

Real Madrid can rest in peace!

Inter Milan knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League, so Real Madrid's rivals won't have a chance to celebrate another Champions League win at the Bernabeu.

Franck de Bleeckere has got to be the worst referee I've ever seen in my live! FIFA should revoke his FIFA Referee badge immediately!

He gave Thiago Motta a direct red card for "caressing" Sergio Busquets face, and even with a yellow card already to his name, the play was a questionable second yellow for Motta. I have no idea what kind of fouls he was seen with every corner or every ball that was crossed inside the area. Apparently, he was the only one that was seeing the infractions, but the one foul, the one that almost entirely ripped Ibrahimovic's jersey, he didn't see it. And to make matters even worse, he saw an "intentional handle ball from Yaya Toure in a split second play that overturned Barcelona's second goal that would've sent them through to the final.

With that said, I have to tip my hat to Mourinho. This guy is now officially Barcelona's #1 enemy! This is why I've been saying all along that he should be Real Madrid's coach. He went into Barcelona's house, and simply challenged them to try to break his defense. He started playing on just his half of the field, but after Motta's red card, he basically put every single player inside the box, and Barcelona just couldn't get through. This is why I don't like him. He is probably the only coach I know that uses the anti-football tactic. Either way, his clubs always win, and that's what matters at the end for most people.

I rather lose playing good soccer, than win as Inter did. They'll most likely win the tournament and get the monkey that has been on Mourinho's back since he last won the Champions League with Porto. But in this game, Barcelona just didn't seem to ever get comfortable in the game. Xavi was hesitating a lot and holding on to the ball too long, Dani Alves and Maxwell couldn't get a single cross right, Ibrahimovic was a non factor, and Messi always had 3 defenders on him. Not a good day for Barcelona's fans, myself included, but we can't always win every one. I hope they can bounce back from this and win the Spanish league, just so Real Madrid has another year without any Cups!

Joga Bonito!!!

He still got it!!!

Roberto Carlos scored this goal with Corithians against Santo Andre from a pass by Ronaldo (the real one!)

Beat that Cristiano Ronaldo...hahaha!!!

Also, watch this goal from Baiano, currently playing for Paulista



If you don't have GolTV or Fox Sports en Español, I highly recommend you get it so you don't miss out on all the Joga Bonito from the Brazilian Leagues!