On Monday morning on the 23rd of August the rossoneri and their faithful were a perfect example of mimic tranquillity. Far from a position as bad as that which Juventus are in but nowhere near the good one their city rivals Internazionale enjoy the club and the fans had assumed a middle position, they were the medium, the epitome of mediocrity and of it, they were, surprisingly, quite acceptant. The supposed protests against the owner of the club Silvio Berlusconi and his recent meagre ways never actually materialised. The hottest summer temperatures Italy have seen for years appeared to have quelled the proposed unrest. Instead of acting as the catalyst for demonstrations and protest the stifling summer heat had made the rossoneri fans somnolent. The consensus was ‘yes, times are bad...

I am a very pro-wildlife sort of chap. I’m all for listening to the birds chirp chirping and is there anything more joyful than watching rabbits and their on-steroids cousins, the hare, frolicking about in distant fields? And what sort of world would it be if we didn’t have lions and tigers and badgers and scousers and mountain gorillas complete with nerdy types tracking them all over the place? It would be a duller place let me tell you. But one has to draw the line somewhere. I mean we can’t allow the place to be overrun with hedge dwelling critters now can we. But still, there is a time and a place. Sunday evening and we were all in a happy and quieter place following the forced expulsion of the darling kiddies and their apologist parents. I had just dropped some...

So it’s come to this, a once-great European side reduced to selling their best players and bringing in a crocked creative midfielder? This isn’t going to be Inter Milan’s best year. Wait, that was last year, it’s Liverpool this time. When it comes to Liverpool you’re guaranteed two things; Drama and impassioned fans. Impassioned often about complete polar opposites (“Benitez out” Vs “In Rafa we trust”, “Joe Cole is the key” Vs “Joe Cole is a crock”) and football is about these divisive issues. The thing about the beautiful game is that you never know what’s going to happen, however I’m still going to try to predict it. That opening aside can sum up the positives for Liverpool’s most optimistic supporters, with a new manager and fresh blood could Liverpool...

Hit F5 or use the auto-refresh gizmo; email scott.murray@guardian.co.uk; kick back and enjoy the biggest football match on the planetWhat neither team should need to have on, what with this being the World Cup final and all: The battle fever.The stadium: Soccer City, Jo'burg.Kick off: 7.30pm.2010: Holland v Spain. Classic, please!2006: Italy 1-1 France. It wasn't very good, this, although you have to hand it to Marco Materazzi, who enjoyed the sort of emotional rollercoaster Brazil's Felipe Melo went on this year against the Dutch, only Marco's had more than one up. Great closing montage by ITV, though, and it's not often you can say that.2002: Brazil 2-0 Germany. England beat Germany 5-1 in the qualifiers. Germany responded by reaching the final despite being hilariously useless. You...

A quiet Arsenal morning, the excitement of Laurent Koscielny’s sudden transfer to the club has barely subsided before Arsène raised the anticipation levels further with a Dickensian plea for more money to spend. Medical assistance was no doubt administered to the Board on hearing that such frivolous spending is planned. The target according to the manager is focussing on the defence: We identified Koscielny as a very, very strong centre half. He can be an outstanding addition to our team. But it is not over, we are still open to buy. We are still on the market for another defensive player because we have the need for one more How that calculation was arrived at is open to interpretation. The obvious suggestion is centre back but defensive player is a broad brush term and ranges...

Germany and Spain progressed with an almost reverse comfort level to a semi-final clash on Wednesday which will see the winning credentials of both tested. Germany are in-form, Spain in-luck; both characteristics will be needed by the eventual champions. Argentina’s demolition by a four-goal margin should serve as a warning to the Spaniards, whose passing game has been too easily neutered by the opponents. The Italians almost made a virtue out of scraping through to the knockout stages and beyond, Spain are following that route albeit without the defensive assuredness of Azzurri gone by. Spain were livelier once Torres was withdrawn and Fabregas entered the fray but collectively they are a shadow of the team that triumphed two years ago. Paraguay should have won last night. A...

The World Cup sprang back into life yesterday with two absorbing matches. Everyone’s Favourite Football Nation (© the media) exited as a porous defence failed dismally against a solid Dutch team who underlined their credentials as one of the pre-tournament favourites whilst Uruguay proved cheats do prosper but at some cost, defeating Ghana as last minute nerves sent a penalty onto the crossbar and broke a nation’s hearts. Brazil were a pale shadow of their more flamboyant predecessors. Robinho scored a simple goal, highlighting the Dutch weaknesses at the back whilst the midfield and attack of their European opponents were stifled for the opening quarter of the game. After that, it was the limitations of the Brazilians which were exposed, culminating in a Felipe Melo own...

Now that Brazil is out of the 2010 World Cup after a underwhelming performance against a very strong Dutch team, the favorites no longer have a chance to win the tournament. But who do you think will now win the World Cup? Before we get to the poll below, I would like to add that I thought Brazil’s performance today was dire. For a team with so much talent, why did they spend so much time arguing with the referee and trying to convince the official to award yellow cards against the Dutch? Yes, the Dutch are a physical side and Arjen Robben has a penchant for diving. But those antics by Brazil completely got them focused on the wrong aspects of the game. Felipe Melo must feel a lot like David Beckham did in the 1998 World Cup. In a game that Brazil had the advantage, they quickly threw...

Hit the auto-update button, look back at day 18 here and email barry.glendenning@guardian.co.uk with your finest banterSome match pointers with which to bore your friends• This will be the 66th meeting between these sides – Chile have won seven of the encounters• Brazil have finished top of their group in the first stage of the World Cup eight times in succession• Chile committed more fouls (62) than any other side in the group stage• Brazil have not lost since they were beaten by Bolivia in La Paz during qualifying – 29 matches ago• Chile's Alexis Sánchez has attempted more dribbles (20) than any other playerGood evening everybody and welcome to tonight's Guardian minute-by-minute coverage of what could be an absolute humdinger of a contest, between the teams that finished...

The final group phase matches passed without much incident last night, no surprise that Spain beat Chile nor that Switzerland failed to score the goal which would have taken them into a Round of 16 encounter with Brazil. Cesc once more had a substitute appearance for the Spaniards as they weathered a Chilean storm to win 2 – 1. Villa and Iniesta both provided finishing lessons, the former opportunistic and well-executed, the latter passing the ball into the net. Cesc arrived with Spain determined to play ‘keep ball’ and he duly delivered. Chile’s ten men gave them a fright at the start of the second half with a deserved goal but the last twenty minutes was reminiscent of Germany v Austria in 1982, no meaningful attacks, lots of passes with the sole intention of...

…if they are going to be as dull and functional as everyone else? Oh the World Cup starts now, we were told, all because the five time winners were finally making their first appearance of the tournament. Things will pick up now after a less than riveting start of bore draws and one nillers. Yeah but this is the Brazil of Dunga the very epitome of the dullest Brazilian side to win the thing. I mean what do you remember from that tournament in the States in ‘94? Not much of it has a samba beat does it. Only thing Brazilian that comes to mind is Leonardo’s elbow contacting Tab Ramos’ face and Bebeto’s swinging baby goal celebration – would have probably seen the kids being taken off him by social services here. Nah the things you remember from US...

You knew it was coming, simply a case of when not if. Cesc to Barcelona, wow, what a shock, I never thought I’d hear that story. Still, there is an interesting side to this in that there must be an element of truth, and follow the (skewed) logic here. For reasons best known to themselves, probably related to copious quantities of alcohol, the official site has started to (half-heartedly) report on transfer rumours. Now, Arsenal has a policy not to comment on deals until they are completed, albeit usually a week after everyone else has confirmed that it has happened. So, anything that is on there would be the club officially commenting and therefore cannot be happening because that would be a breach of their policy. Which means that Buffon, Arteta, Wright-Phillips and Yaya Toure will...

Fulham arrive at The Emirates this afternoon, the efforts of nine months coming to an end at the final whistle. No end of season fayre this afternoon though; the outcome decides whether qualification to the Group Phase of the Champions League is automatic or what has been a customary trawl through the final qualifying round in recent seasons, is repeated. Not quite the decision that we hoped for a month ago. The visitors minds will be elsewhere, Hamburg to be precise. With injury concerns for Wednesday’s Europa League final against Atletico de Madrid, the expectation is that Roy Hodgson will tinker with his side. The avuncular manager has form in this department and one hopes he stays true to that. Not through fear of their strongest XI, a decent, hardworking side but more to make...

When things go quiet in the club, you know that the PR people are actually doing their job properly. Of course that means that the media are starved of stories and therefore some daft tales take centre stage. It seems that Juventus are looking to do what Barcelona and Real Madrid have failed to in the past and take the club en masse to Turin with Robin van Persie and Bacary Sagna just the start of a trickle to the Europa League next season. Failing to win the title will apparently mean that Melo and Buffon will make their Arsenal debuts ten years after being first linked with a possible transfer to the club. Of course, what could the players actually have said this week? What could they have offered following the consecutive Premier League defeats that would have made the situation any...

Indigenous leader says men are preparing their bows and arrows to prevent construction of the Belo Monte damIndigenous leaders in Brazil are warning of imminent violence after a successful tender for the rights to construct a giant hydro-electric plant in the Brazilian Amazon which opponents claim will wreak havoc on the rainforest and its inhabitants.The tender for the Belo Monte dam, on the Xingu river in the state of Pará, was won by a consortium of Brazilian companies on Tuesday, taking the government one step closer towards the construction of the £7bn dam, which would reputedly be the third biggest of its kind, with the capacity to produce some 11,000MW of power.One Brazilian minister told reporters that the president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was pleased with the result. But...

Turn on our automatic doohickey for the latest updates and email simon.burnton@guardian.co.uk to make idle chit-chat. Juventus won the first leg 3-1, by the way5mins: It was quite a good move, if truth be told, but with quite a scrappy ending. Weirdly, the day's other 6pm kick-off, at Werder Bremen, has also seen a second-minute goal from the away team's main striker, in that case Valencia's David Villa. GOAL! Fulham 0 Juventus 1 (Trezeguet, 2) A hopeful ball into the box towards Salihamidzic rolls loose as two defenders flap about trying to get in the way and ends up at the feet of Trezeguet, 10 yards out, who passes the ball with his left foot across the goal and in at the far post. A disaster.1min: And they're off!5.58pm: I don't know that it's lamé, really. I don't know what lamé...

Juventus’ crash in the Champions League, that is to say the biggest failure in history of their playing in Europe is the result of many things; the club lost its identity in the last few years and the thing that best depicts the big fall are the Brazilians in the team. It was no coincidence that the players from Brazil avoid coming to one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is cold in Torino, you see the see only on pictures and the wind from the Alps destroys your will to samba. Football is seen as hard work and having fun on the pitch is illegal. The only thing that matters is a win, the lower the score- the better. Juventus’ philosophy (Juventus news) and the winning mentality were often breaking the clubs with objectively stronger squads. Precisely this self-confidence helped...

The window has shut and once again Arsenal fans are left scratching their heads.  Where has our team re-building gone, were we really that close to success last season that we did not need to add to our squad? Arsene said, after the purchase of Vermaelen that he would like two more players in before pre-season training starts.  He then intimated that once Adebayor leaves, then Chamakh is a target.  Rumours and stories had us link with Hangeland, Chamakh, Melo, van der Vaart and Matuidi.  In the end we did not buy anyone.  Some stories state we were not prepared to pay the extra £7million to secure both Chamakh and Matuidi.  We had offered £5million for Chamakh and £6million for Matuidi, their clubs wanted £10million and £8million respectively.    If this is true this is very...

The title race will be solved by Inter or Juventus this season. Milan will have nothing to do with it and seven days before the start of the season soccerpie gives you the comparison of three biggest Italian clubs. Inter – life without Ibrahimovic Inter are certainly starting the new season as favourites for lo scudetto, however the difference in the quality is not so big anymore, as Juventus are reinforced and much stronger. Mourinho lost Ibrahimovic, who never excelled in big matches, but he was the decisive factor against smaller clubs. Etoo is not the same kind of player; Italian champion lost a lot with Swede’s departure. They are still looking for the offensive midfielder and the first target is Sneider but he is too expensive. They are also thinking about Van der Vaart or...

This season promises to be a pivotal one in the reign of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. Wenger has been one of the most influential managers in Arsenal’s history but for the first time last year there were rumblings of discontent from the fans. In the build up to the new Premier League season the Arsenal manager has again been bullish about his side’s prospects. Speaking in the Guardian today Wenger said: “I have the project here that I started four years ago and I wanted to reach the end of it… The team we have now gets there, and by that I mean it wins the Championship. At 22 or 23 I think a team is mature enough to deliver and it is a massively important year for our club. I am conscious of that.” Bold stuff from the Gunners boss, but following a summer...

It seems that the wandering time, transition period after relegation to the second league and breaking legs on Italian countryside is finally over. Over the last two years, after returning to Serie A, the biggest Italian club were searching for their identity. Delusions like Claudio Ranieri or bad moves on the market cost them dearly, but they have learnt the lesson. Juve are back to their principles, which is bad news for other Italian clubs. The most obvious signal that things are falling into place is their purchase in the transfer window. Together with Real Madrid and Manchester City, Juventus have spent the most money on the market but unlike mentioned clubs they bought what they lacked in the club. Felipe Melo and Diego arrived, which solved the biggest problem-the lack of...

A guest post from Aaditya Gupta this morning: Over the 2008/09 season, no player has been more controversial in terms of popular opinion as Denilson. Everybody, from bloggers, to the press, to my neighbour’s dog, to the tramp outside Stamford Bridge, to the fish in the Thames, has an opinion about him. There are people who put him at the level of a headless chicken and there are others who call him the new DM legend at Arsenal. Let us examine from both sides. Denilson is too small to be a defensive midfielder in such a physical league. He gets muscled away by opponents. Most of the time, he stands and watches as the man he was supposed to be marking beats him for pace and strength. He loses the ball far too often and he only knows how to pass sideways. Hold on a sec there! Sure,...

Ciro Ferrara had big gaps to fill after taking over the reigns at Juventus but it seems that he has managed to build a very good team. The Old Lady have secured the services of Barcelona defender Martin Caceres and the Uruguayan defender will be club’s last signing of the transfer window. Even though the player had been expected to arrive on loan deal, Juventus had to buy his contract of Barcelona for €12 million. The 22-year-old defender arrived to Barcelona from Villarreal for a fee of €16 million but he wasn’t given a real chance to prove his qualities and transfer to Juventus will be a great career move for one of the hottest prospects in European football. Caceres is essentially a centre-back but he can also play in any other position in defence and this versatility will earn...

Are Arsenal about to say goodbye to another of their enfant terribles?  Reports in to Il Corriere dello Sport claim that Arsenal have agreed a fee of €9million for Eboue with Fiorentina. Eboue was rumoured to be part of the deal to sign Felippe Melo but that deal did not materialize, instead Fiorentina have returned to offer Arsenal a cash offer for the Ivorian right-back. Eboue did not have the best of times last season and with the acquisition of Arshavin and return of Rosicky, he will be restricted to a bench role at best. Eboué’s agent, Pascal Boisseau says it is just a matter of time. “In the next few days we will speak with Arsenal about Emmanuel’s future. He is fine in London, but we will see,” Boisseau told fiorentina.it. “Fiorentina are not the only team who...

After losing the race for Filipe Melo to Juventus, Arsenal turned their attention to Blaise Matuidi, or as the French call him, ‘next Makelele’. The 22-year-old player came to prominence thanks to impressive displays for Saint Etienne and considering that he rejected the offer to extend his contract, which runs out in 2011, Matuidi is likely to join Arsenal very soon. His father has Angolan origin, whereas his mother was born in France. Matuidi started playing football in a private football academy and he played for Creteil in Ligue 2 at just 16 years of age. Good performances earned him a transfer to Troyes, where he made a lot of progress under coach Jean-Marc Furlan. After a couple of years in Troyes, he joined more ambitious Saint Etienne, where he managed to earn a starting berth...

So where to begin, where to begin. First up, I picked up a small brochure…Just joshing… Robin van Persie has signed a new contract – HUZZAH! Well, OK, so it was leaked over the weekend but we never heard from the man himself so he made up for lost time: I’m so happy to have signed a new long term contract. I’ve been at the Club for five years now and there really is a great feeling here at Arsenal. We have a top class manager, a squad full of superb young players, a world class stadium and brilliant supporters. Arsenal Football Club has a very bright future and I want to be part of it. My heart is with Arsenal and I just can’t picture myself in a different shirt. I just can’t see it now because I love this Club so much. If you look at the last five years, look at...

Sky Sports have been reporting that not only that Arsenal are interested in signing St. Etienne’s midfielder Blaise Matuidi, but that the player is in England at the moment.  They go on to day that the play is in England with his agent and has been shown around Arsenal, and I do not think they meant a stadium tour!  For a player to be shown around another club’s stadium and training facility unless that club is Manchester United to whom taping up is second nature, it can only meant that the clubs have agreed a fee.  St Etienne would have given the player permission to speak to Arsenal. Terms must have been discussed and a medical cannot be far away. Matuidi is a 22 year central midfielder standing at 5ft 9in, no giant.  He has expressed an interest and desire in joining Arsenal...

• Dutch striker Van Persie signs long-term contract• 'Arsenal have a bright future and I want to be part of it'Robin van Persie has agreed a new long-term deal with Arsenal, the club has confirmed. The 25-year-old Dutchman was the Gunners' leading scorer last season with 20 goals from 44 appearances.While the terms of the new contract for Van Persie, who joined Arsenal from Feyenoord in 2004, have not been disclosed, it is believed to be worth around £80,000 a week, which would make the Holland international one of the highest-paid players at the Emirates."I have been at the club for five years now and there really is a great feeling here at Arsenal," said Van Persie. "We have a top-class manager, a squad full of superb young players, a world-class stadium and brilliant supporters....

You know that Football is coming home when pre-season training begins and very reassuring it was too that Rosicky and Eduardo were amongst those participating. The official site has the photos here but then you knew that anyway, didn’t you. It might help with a wider screen in some instances which begs the question as to which of our ’stars’ has been fiddling with their scales at home. Still the fines for returning overweight will no doubt be beneficial to whichever charity receives such largesse. Away from the business end of football, the sweet smell of the countryside surrounds the latest transfer talk. At least the rich farmyard aromas anyway. The cries for a defensive midfielder have gone unheeded since Felipe Melo signed for Juventus which is nice for him....

After the disappointing last season, Juventus officials have been very busy during this transfer window and they managed to sign a couple of great players. After Diego and Cannavaro, Old Lady won the race with Arsenal to sign excellent Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo, who will join the club in exchange for €20 million and Marco Marchionni. Juventus have produced a real coup by signing 26-year-old Felipe Melo, who largely impressed playing for Fiorentina last season. Great performances in Serie A have earned him the starting place in Dunga’s Brazil and a lucrative transfer to one of the biggest Italian clubs. Arsenal were thought to be winning the race when they offered cash (around €20 million) plus Emanuel Eboue to Fiorentina, but it seems that Juventus were quicker and they...