Alan's World Soccer Blog

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has said that Chelsea have made an "astronomical bid" for Brazilian World Player of the Year Kaka and there is also interest in their Italian midfield star Andrea Pirlo. The previously unthinkable idea of Milan selling both stars looks to be becoming a little more real now that they have missed out on UEFA Champion's League football for next season and Galliani has admitted that the shortfall in income could be made up in one swoop by selling Kaka and Pirlo.

It would b a sore blow for AC Milan to lose two of world soccer's finest ball players in one summer but these days the top clubs know that it is Champion's League or (literally) bust in a financial sense and may find that their hand will be forced if they want to bring in Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal for £30m and Ronaldinho on a big money deal from Barcelona. Read more...

We've become accustomed to strange, off-the-wall outbursts from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger over the past few years but today's news from the Frenchman that the club will have to sell it's star players every season for the next two decades just beggars belief.

Arsenal have suckled at the Champion's League teat for many years as one of the prime examples of a club in the right place at the right time and now can boast the highest matchday gate receipts in the English game after moving to the Emirates Stadium a couple of seasons ago. The club have always seemed to be well run financially with Wenger particularly astute at spotting before other clubs when one of his star men had went on a season too long and securing a high transfer fee for them while not overspending to the degree that Manchester United and Chelsea have done. Read more...

From a basic point of view it seems that Galatasaray have done rather well in signing a 29 year old European Cup winning international star with a decade's experience of playing at the top level in one of Europe's toughest leagues. Add in the fact that Harry Kewell was available on a free transfer from Liverpool and the Turks look to have really bagged themselves a bargain. Dig a deeper and the truth isn't quite as rosy however.

Liverpool fans will hardly mourn the loss of the "Wizard of Oz" even on a free transfer after being treated to only sporadic glimpses of Kewell in their famous red shirt since he signed under controversial circumstances in 2005. Having taken advantage of Leeds United's perilous financial situation to make a cut price switch to Anfield while he and his agent pocketed a large signing on fee, Kewell didn't exactly endear himself to the Elland Road faithful and now, having signed for Galatasaray, he has defecated in the Leeds nest to an even larger degree. Read more...

Spain have been crowned European champions after beating Germany 1 - 0 in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna, Austria. Liverpool striker Fernando Torres scored the decisive strike in the first half to ultimately bring the trophy back to Madrid after a 44 year wait from their last European Championships victory back in 1964.

The Spanish were worthy winners both on the night and over the duration of the tournament. Their style of skilful attacking football will have won them many neutral fans and players such as Torres, Xavi, Iniesta and David Silva will all have increased their own personal standing after several outstanding performances.

Germany's warriors looked rather bereft of ideas tonight and only a few brief spells of German possession showed anything of their willingness to actually engage Spain in a game of top-level football. The Spanish midfield simply passed and moved them out of the game and with a figurehead such as Torres in full flow, Spain were always most likely to score.

The final was actually an enjoyable, end to end game of football with defensive frailties on both sides giving each coach no end of heart flutters. In the end the talent of the Spanish was enough to see off the dogged determination of the Germans and captain Iker Casillas lifted the trophy from UEFA president Michel Platini, the man who, 24 years previously, had denied Spain victory in their last major final appearance.

What special talent does Russian coach Guus Hiddink have when it comes to international coaching at the world's biggest tournaments that so many of his contemporaries seem to be lacking? Having taken South Korea to the World Cup semi-finals in 2002 and Australia to their first World Cup in 32 years in 2006, not to mention his native Holland to their won World Cup semi-finals in 1998, Hiddink has now raised the bar once again by taking Russia to the Euro 2008 semi-finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Defeating his native Holland doesn't seem to have been a problem for the profoundly professional Hiddink and rightly so, the Russians pay his (very comfortable) wages and he has helped mould their raw talent into an exciting side completely worthy of their growing success at this year's European Championships.

Having such enigmatic talents as Arshavin and Pavyluchenko hasn't hurt the Russian cause in any way of course but, for me, there isn't another coach in European football who could have taken Russia this far, other than Guus Hiddink, and with Italy or Spain to face in the semis next week, there may be even more glory yet to come.

Hardly a shock after the not so subtle press leaks from Cristiano Ronaldo's advisors over the past few weeks but now Portugal have dropped out of Euro 2008 the player has finally came out and admitted that he wants to leave European champions Manchester United for Real Madrid. So much for FIFA and UEFA clearing Real Madrid of making an illegal approach then.

As soon as the rumours started a few weeks ago it became all too apparent that Real Madrid were using some of Sir Alex Ferguson's own unsettling techniques (I point I made in this very blog) by leaking stories to the press while officially denying any interest. The outcome is now perfectly clear and I would be completely shocked to still see Ronaldo in a Manchester United shirt for the start of the 2008/2009 season. Read more...

I think all football writers had been lining up to write the Euro 2008 obituaries of both Italy and France this evening but when it came down to it the World champions managed to step up a gear and the beaten World Cup finalists didn't meaning Italy live to fight another day and France are out.

The French can point to Franck Ribery's early withdrawal from the game through injury and Eric Abidal's sending off as the turning points but in reality Raymond Domenech's men never looked interested enough in trying to fight for the right to progress from Group C and ultimately paid the price with bottom spot in the group. Read more...

I've just watched the comeback of the year in the Turkey v Czech Republic game at Euro 2008 and will be surprised if there is a more eventful 45 minutes of football left in the whole tournament. The Czechs took a two goal lead and were looking really good value for their win which would have seen them through to the quarter finals at Turkey's expense before Faith Terim's men decided to make a fight for the game and turned up the pressure.

Turkey really pushed hard for the last 20/25 minutes and once they go their first goal really looked capable of going on and getting the equaliser they needed to take the game to a landmark penalty shootout. Ultimately Petr Cech's slippery hands and defender Galasek's inability to hold the defensive line contributed to the Czech's conceding two more goals in the last few minutes to see Turkey and their goalscoring hero Nihat progress.

In injury time the Turkish goalkeeper Volkan got sent off for a push on giant Czech striker Jan Koller who went down like he'd been shot which is extremely embarrassing for a man who stands around 6' 7" tall. Both benches had their moments of hair pulling and fourth official baiting and in the end I think everyone watching was completely exhausted by the finale. What a great game - more of the same please Europe!

It's been a rough week or so for Italian football fans and with only a grudge match against old foes France between them and immediate early exit from Euro 2008 there can be little to ease the minds of Roberto Donadoni and co. and their crazy army of followers.

Last week's spanking by a Holland side devastating on the counter attack may never have happened if Ruud Van Nistelrooy's first goal had been disallowed. The frantic cover up "explanations" from UEFA that the poleaxed Christian Panucci lying injured off the pitch was playing Van Nistelrooy onside are ridiculous in the extreme, a convenient bluff to evade the prospect of a major storm of controversy from the passionate World champions. Read more...

I have to admit to not being too surprised at Chelsea's appointment of Luiz Felipe "Big Phil" Scolari as their new manager but I think it's the conspiracy theorist in me that helped arrive at the certainty before it happened.

For starters, Chelsea have a few Portuguese international players already in their first team squad, namely Carvalho and Ferreira, who know all too well what a talented man Scolari is. Secondly, they've already agreed the transfer of Portuguese national right back Jose Bosingwa for the start of the new season and wouldn't it be nice to think that the new coach would appreciate the talents of a £16m new player before he started? Of course it would. Read more...