Manchester City; Maicon set for Real Madrid, Alves staying at Barcelona

IBWM's mailbox has received word that Brazillian international, and rather good player Maicon will most definitely be following Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid in the next week, for a fee in the region of £30 million.   Most of the English tabloids had Maicon on Manchester City's shopping list.....but then they had everyone else on that list as well.

Spanish tittle tattle merchant's Marca have gone a little further this morning though and suggested that City will now target Maicon's Brazilian understudy, Dani Alves.  Alves has already turned down an initial contract offer from Barcelona and Citeh's name has sprang up.  Now there's a surprise.

With the Catalan club securing the services of most of it's top players on long term contracts, as well as adding David Villa to it's roster, it's highly unlikely that 27-year old Alves will be leaving the Camp Nou for Eastlands.  Bit of a non-story then.  Sorry about that.......

Forgotten man Vittek issues a reminder

Robert Vittek, once courted by the great and good of Europe has issued a timely reminder at South Africa 2010 that he's still around.

While the gaze of Europe's leading clubs watching Slovakia at their first world cup has been clearly trained on Napoli's Marek Hamsik, it is Vittek who has come to the fore.  Scoring Slovakia's first ever goal at a World Cup finals in their opening 1-1 draw with New Zealand, Vittek repeated the trick, and then again, in the 3-2 victory over defending champions Italy last week.

While most of us look and wonder whether we should indeed have had Vittek in our respective fantasy football sides, there will still have been plenty of coaches and managers across Europe tuned in to Vittek's exploits.

But it certainly isn't the first time that Vittek has caught the eye.  He moved from hometown club Slovan Bratislava to Nuremberg in 2003, at a time when when the German side were playing outside of the top division.  Having averaged almost a goal every game by the age of 21 with Bratislava, Vittek was starting to attract attention.  While others stalled, Nuremberg pounced.

Helping his team gain promotion back to the Bundesliga's top division in 2004, Vittek was an in and out sort of player, struggling to adapt to top flight football.  Some reasonable appearances came and went for the muscular forward but by the start of 2006 everything fell into place.  

If only Robert could reach the ball.......

Just after the Bundesliga's winter break, Vittek netted an astounding 17 goals in the last 15 games of the season for Nuremberg, including 3 separate hat-tricks.  This little display got Vittek noticed and bids from other clubs prevailed.  Courted by several Bundesliga sides, and with others from outside of Germany's borders making ultimately fruitless enquiries, Vittek remained at Nuremberg.  And stagnated.

Hampered by a severe loss of form following a couple of minor niggles, Vittek eventually moved on to French club Lille in 2008, with little success, and then onto Turkish side Ankaragucu, his current home. 

Tucked away in Turkey, Vittek has shown signs of past glories, but his current World Cup form might just get the forward another chance in a big league.

England fans - you need IBWM!

How's the conversation right now?  Linesmen?  or something deeper?

Just for the record, I suspect that you, like plenty of others, are in knee jerk territory right now.  I thought that this England side was on the slide, I just didn't expect it to collapse so quickly. 

These are still good players, although quite a few will probably call it a day internationally, and up until two weeks back, we all thought that Capello was great.  Reasons?  Could be one or a mix of several.  It's a strange one.

And before you get dragged into how we don't teach our kids properly, that's an argument that's only half true.  We lack top coaches nationally, but for every local set of kids rigidly sticking to a long ball game with 9 year olds on a full size pitch, there are other local sides brimming with tricky players, comfortable on the ball, often attached to clubs who are teaching youngsters the way that the Germans and Dutch do.  There will be stars again, there's just a dearth in the current 20-30 year old age group.  Platini's home grown plans will help as well. It'll all be fine again. Honestly.

Feeling better?  Don't give up on football just yet, or England; just visit this site every day so that you can enjoy the world game with odds and ends from everywhere, right across the globe.

IBWM can't fix the English climate, or guarantee English success, but at least you'll know who these Johnny Foreigners are before they tear England apart next time!!.......Mesut Ozil anyone?

World Cup 2010 - French Lessons

Headers and volleys in the park.  That's my level.  I played for the odd team along the way, but just your local pub sides etc and these days all that is a bit of a distant memory.  

The only recollection I have of my days creating havoc as a speedy left winger are in my head.......but then, being a speedy left winger creating havoc was pretty much all in my head as well.  The seizing pain in my knees, that stops me from vaulting out of bed each morning like Dick Fosbury, also acts a reminder that what never was, never will be.  Tragic.  Best have another of those glucosamine tablets.  Sniff.

Plenty of blokes my age (that's mid....ok, becoming late thirties) will still turn out to play 5-a-side, or maybe 11-a-side, where they can.  In their heads, it's still there, they've still got it....perhaps if Capello gets really desperate.....perhaps, but no.  

But just one shot, just one chance to make it, right to the top.  To turn out for Rochdale must be one thing, to play a couple of times for Manchester United must be another.  And for your country?  Wow.  And at a World Cup?  Unbelievable.  What an honour, what a privilege, tell me where to go, I'll crawl over broken glass and hot coals for that......what's the catch?  I have to take instructions from Raymond Domenech?  Forget it.....

I find it completely bewildering that anyone could contemplate effectively throwing away  a chance of a lifetime just because they don't agree with their boss.  Surely you do things to spite him, after all, the only reason you are here is because he picked you.....and you cheated your way past the Irish.

The dye for the French World Cup meltdown was cast long before 2010 though.  Domenech was never a popular choice when originally selected in 2004, and qualification for the World Cup Finals in Germany in 2006 was only secured once Zidane, Thuram and Makalele had returned to the national side following retirement.  Even then, Domenech was no stranger to controversy, Robert Pires, Vikash Dhorasoo and Gregory Coupet all finding an axe to grind with their national coach.

As it turned out, France only just missed out on a second world cup win and it's perhaps due to this to more than anything that the French FA decided to stick with Domenech following his team's dreadful showing in Euro 2008, where they finished last in Group C.

"you can't land the chopper here, T.C."

A stuttering qualification campaign for World Cup 2010 was sealed after that game against Ireland, when Thierry Henry's handball gifted the French a route to South Africa.  Facing a backlash from pretty much everywhere, including their country, it didn't take long for things to unravel for France at South Africa.  

I can only pick up from what's been reported over the last few weeks, the full inquest may never be made public, but Nicolas Anelka's tirade at Domenech following France's 0-0 draw with Uruguay seemed to be the lighting of le bleu touch paper; the French players looking particularly uneasy from the start in that game.

Subsequent player strikes, resignations, arguments and then Domenech's dreadful final act, failing to shake Carlos Alberto Parreira's hand following France's defeat to South Africa, are how France will be remembered for many years following this World Cup.  Far more damning than Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi in 2006.

Too much player power, or too much stubbornness on the part of the French FA for persisting with, or perhaps even selecting in the first place, the hapless Domenech.

Evidence growing for Torres Liverpool stay

With reports suggesting that 'cuddly' Roy Hodgson (we're all entitled to an opinion, now) is at this very moment taking planes, trains and automobiles to Anfield, there is, potentially at least, further good news for Liverpool fans.

Nothing concrete on this one, but having recently stepped into the barbers for a nice new World Cup haircut, Fernando Torres is looking more likely to remain at Anfield by the day.

Something for the weekend, sonny?

IBWM's reasoning for this, like most things on this site, is simple; the number of clubs likely to move for Torres is dwindling daily.  

Reports from Italy state that Diego Milito has signed a contract extension with Inter Milan, and there is a growing likelihood that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in line for a return there, closing that door.

Of course Ibrahimovic would need to be replaced at Barcelona, another long term Torres suitor, but that situation has also developed, with Pep Guardiola on the verge of completing a £20m move (I'll not bother converting to Euros) for Juan Mata, having already secured the services of David Villa.  With the rest of Barca's cash targeted directly at Cesc Fabregas, that would leave only the richest of English clubs, Chelsea and Citeh, in the frame.

Money talks, as ever, and the loss of Champions League football will hit Liverpool hard, but Torres is clearly a very principled young lad.  He's already been on record denouncing all things Real Madrid, having grew up with Atletico, and doesn't seem the type to jump ship to another English club.  

Whether Liverpool's owners or bank managers see it that way is another matter.

David Silva; City in, Chelsea poised, Manchester United on standby

Transfer merry-go-round now beginning to step up a gear, and at the top of all the speculation at present is David Silva, the fleet footed winger from Valencia....or 'the canary' if you go in for that side of things.  One thing seems sure though, and that's a move to England.

Silva has long been courted by a number of sides, with both Manchester clubs registering an interest.  Indeed City looked to have stolen a march on their rivals with Valencia confirming that they have given the Spanish international permission to speak with the Eastlands outfit, without a final fee being agreed, despite reports to the contrary.

Silva;"Tweet"

City obviously have the financial muscle to satisfy both Silva and his agent, and keep some of Valencia's long list of creditors at bay, however without Champions League football being secured for this season at least, it's likely that Silva will bide his time.  Chelsea are also ready to put some numbers on the table for a player that Carlo Ancelotti views as pivotal to his future plans.

Throughout all this, Manchester United have remained lurking in the shadows, but Silva is a player that has long been targeted by Sir Alex Ferguson.  Whether United actually have the financial muscle to compete on this one - reports suggest a fee in the region of £30m - is by no means a given though.

World Cup 2010 - Slovakia, an apology

Rather than do as the tabloids do and hide it's grovelling apologies on page 23, IBWM is putting it's apology right here, on the front page, at the front door.  For the world to see.  Are you listening, world?  Pay attention.

Slovakia.  May I apologise for despatching you back home earlier today, when it was clearly Slovenia that should have been packing their bags.  Having got so worked up watching the England v Slovenia game, IBWM decided, in it's wisdom to get a summary report out quickly and, not for the first time, forgot to check it's facts......like who was playing.  Schoolboy's don't even go that far wrong.

So apologies to you, Slovakia; may your stay in Mexico be long and fruitful.