Ghana's Black Stars shone brightly at South Africa 2010, and their valiant journey to the quarter-finals has seen them shoot up global standings.

Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he is staying at the Catalan club despite mounting speculation he could be moving on this summer.

The final group stage of the CAF Champions League continues this weekend as three previous champions all look to build on away wins in the previous round.

Nigeria became the first African team to reach the FIFA U-20 Women?s World Cup final as they overcame Columbia with a 2nd-minute goal in Bielefeld.

European giants Liverpool and Juventus began life under new coaches with victories in the first legs of their UEFA Europa League third qualifying round ties.

? The former Manchester City boss replaces Roy Hodgson
? 'I am confident we can move this club forward'

Mark Hughes was tonight confirmed as Fulham's new manager after agreeing a two-year deal. Fulham had been seeking a replacement for Roy Hodgson since he swapped Craven Cottage for Anfield last month.

The former Manchester City boss emerged as the frontrunner after a failed bid to prise Martin Jol from Ajax and he will begin work at the club immediately, taking charge of his first match in the friendly meeting with Werder Bremen on August 7.

Hughes acknowledged the success Hodgson enjoyed at the club ? most notably taking them to the Europa League final last season ? but has already set out his own blueprint for taking them forward.

Hughes said on the club's website: "I have discussed my aspirations with both the chairman and [chief executive] Alistair Mackintosh and believe that we are aligned in our aims for what can realistically be achieved here.

"I am joining on the back of two of the most successful seasons in the club's history and that in itself brings with it the challenges of expectation and ambition.

"I am confident that with some additions to the squad, hard work and commitment, we can move this club forward in the right direction.

"I hope the Fulham fans will enjoy some special times during this season's campaign and we will work hard to achieve that. I'm looking forward to working with the squad as soon as possible, and in making sure the on-pitch preparations are complete before the first competitive ball is kicked in August."

? City refuse to extend £32.5m striker's loan deal with Santos
? Brazilian faces collecting £160k-per-week salary from stands

Manchester City's talks with Santos about the future of Robinho have broken down and the player is preparing to return to England and the deeply unsatisfactory prospect of beginning the season at a club where he knows he is not wanted and is profoundly unhappy.

The man whose £32.5m signing from Real Madrid on the day of the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover was supposed to symbolise the club's new ambitions has been unable to secure a deal elsewhere, with City informing Santos they will not entertain the idea of extending his loan, which expires next Wednesday.

That has left Robinho in a state of limbo, with buyers put off by the high valuation City have attached to the 26-year-old after his illuminating performances for Brazil in the World Cup. Robinho has come to be regarded as a huge letdown by the men in power at Eastlands but they are determined not to lose face by allowing him to leave on the cheap and want in excess of £20m. As Robinho is discovering, that immediately rules out Santos, whereas the clubs in Europe with that spending power appear to have other targets.

Robinho may now have little option but to return to Manchester, a city he never embraced, and set about trying to rebuild his relationship with Roberto Mancini, someone he has accused of managing with a "lack of ability".

Whether the damage can be repaired remains to be seen and, if no buyer is found, it cannot be discounted that Mancini will exclude him when he submits his 25-man Premier League squad on 1 September, throwing up the extraordinary possibility of the most expensive player in English football collecting his £160,000-a-week salary from the stands, only a few months after establishing himself as one of the stars of the World Cup.

The situation is not ideal for either party and Robinho did not attempt to conceal his regret after his final match at Santos's Vila Belmiro stadium ? a 2-0 win in the first leg of the Brazilian cup final against Vitória ? ended with him being given a standing ovation.

"This display of affection from the fans really touches me because this is my home," he said. "I hope I can stay but it depends on Manchester City. I hope this is not my last game here but, for now, what I have been told is that they [the negotiations] are at a standstill and I have to go back to Manchester."

Santos claim City have asked for ?40m (£33.5m), which seems to be an exaggeration, but the Brazilians would not be in a position to pay even half that amount.

Luis Alvaro de Oliveira Ribeiro, the club's president, said: "We are negotiating and we are hopeful, but Manchester City have made it clear to us they are not going to loan him again and that they just want to sell him. We can try a new loan in January. I think it would be easier then."

Evandro de Souza, Robinho's agent, said: "Unfortunately, this will probably be Robinho's last game at Vila Belmiro. Manchester City have already told me and Santos they want him back after the end of the [loan] contract."

Robinho's thoughts about returning to Manchester can be gauged by the fact that when he moved to Santos in January he arranged for all his belongings to be shipped to Brazil, put his UK-registered Lamborghini up for sale and informed his landlord he would not be returning to the house he had rented since the previous summer. The forward had strategically chosen to rent after moving out of his first house because of a dispute with neighbours about the noise level at which he was playing music.

As it stands, Robinho will be under orders to fly to England after Brazil's friendly against the USA on 10 August and could, in theory, be involved in City's opening league game at Tottenham Hotspur four days later. Mancini, however, has been planning without him, with David Silva signed from Valencia for £25m and Mario Balotelli on his way from Internazionale for a similar fee, both of whom can play in Robinho's preferred position on the left of attack.

"The situation is that Robinho will finish his contract with Santos," Mancini said. "He will stay in Brazil for another week, play for the national team and, after that, he will return to Manchester City."

Asked if he had any issues taking him back, Mancini said: "At this moment, no. But it depends on him."

Europa League qualifier: David Ngog scored twice for Liverpool as they comfortably beat Rabotnicki

MLS All Stars 2-5 Manchester United

Javier Hernández offered a glimpse of the talent that made him the poster-boy for Mexican football and a £7m summer signing for Manchester United with a superb goal on his debut for Sir Alex Ferguson's team, as they beat the MLS All-Stars 5-2. El Chicharito ? the Little Pea, as he is known ? was on the pitch in Houston for only 28 minutes but displayed an intelligence, understanding and accuracy that augur well for a season that will demand an immediate return from the 22-year-old.

The magnificent 71,000-capacity Reliant Stadium (think the Camp Nou with a roof on) witnessed the finest display of United's pre-season tour thus far from the most recognisable side Ferguson has fielded. The side contained several of the young players the United manager has championed at every turn in North America but did not lack for experience, with Federico Macheda seizing the opportunity to recapture the imagination and to show Hernández is not the only young United striker with rich potential.

Macheda's career has stalled since he exploded on to the scene with that crucial, title-defining goal against Aston Villa in April 2009. The 18-year-old made only five Premier League appearances last season due to a succession of injury problems but, unlike Danny Welbeck, is not being considered for a loan spell away from Old Trafford this coming season. His finishing in the opening moments in Houston explained why.

Only 22 seconds had elapsed when Macheda seized on a careless pass across the MLS defence from the right-back, Kevin Alston, and beat the exposed goalkeeper, Donovan Ricketts, with a clinical finish into the bottom corner. In the 12th minute the Italian striker doubled United's lead when, from Nani's corner, he was left unmarked on the six-yard line and sent a glancing header beyond the All-Stars keeper.

With Darren Fletcher dominant in central midfield ? and striking the crossbar after a neat one-two with Tom Cleverley ? United produced a fluid, intelligent display although, and without wishing to introduce a killjoy to proceedings, it should be noted the All-Stars starting line-up was cobbled together from eight different clubs. Several players, including the Landon Donovan, the USA captain who was on the bench, had played in the Concacaf Champions League only 24 hours earlier.

MLS substitute Brian Ching reduced the arrears in the 63rd minute when he lost Rafael easily at the near post and headed David Ferreira's free-kick past Edwin Van der Sar. United responded with two exquisite goals.

After a foul on the lively Hernández, afforded a rapturous reception when introduced as a 62nd-minute substitute, Darren Gibson swept a glorious free-kick in off the underside of the crossbar from 25 yards. Cleverley then latched on to Fletcher's flick into the penalty area, lifted the ball over the defender Wilman Conde with his left foot and volleyed past Nick Rimando in the MLS goal with his right.

The 70,728 crowd, a record for a "soccer" fixture at the Reliant Stadium and the fourth highest for an All-Stars game, got the moment the majority craved seven minutes from time when Hernández marked his debut with a fine finish. Peeling off the shoulder of the last defender, the Mexico striker read Fletcher's ball over the top superbly and, with Rimando advancing, lofted his finish over the goalkeeper. The MLS substitute Dwayne De Rosario reduced the arrears in the 90th minute.

Manchester United (4-1-4-1): Van der Sar; Rafael, Brown, J Evans, Fábio (Scholes, 72); O'Shea; Obertan (Cleverley, 23), Fletcher, Giggs (Gibson, 52), Nani (Hernández, 62); Macheda (Welbeck, 62).

MLS All-Stars (4-1-4-1): Ricketts (Rimando, ht); Alston (De Rosario, ht), Olave (Gonzalez, ht), Marshall (Conde, 63), Pearce (Donovan, 74); Joseph (Davis, 74); Le Toux (Convey, ht), Morales (Moreno, 63), Schelotto (Ferreira, ht), Pappa (Larentowicz, ht); Angel (Ching, ht).

This week's round-up also features a baseball in the swingers, an angry boxer and a fishing-based goal celebration

1) Alex Higgins passed away last weekend, here's an excellent documentary on the man's extraordinary life and career. He could also trot out a nice line in country-inspired snooker ditties. And here he is 59-0 and 15-14 down in the 1982 world snooker semi-final. His opponent, Jimmy White, is on the verge of victory. The Hurricane will need something special from here ...

2) Is this the greatest penalty ever taken? It's certainly one of the most inventive (it's worth watching a few times to see exactly how the crafty blighter scores). As England subsequently found out - it wasn't the only crafty set-piece Spain had up their sleeve. And set-pieces aren't the only thing they do well, either.

3) Is this the greatest goal celebration ever? It's certainly one of the most inventive. Turns out they have previous too.

4) If you're going to get a baseball to the swingers, pray it isn't a pitcher than delivers the throw.

5) Albert Riera is quite a good footballer and all, but surely he isn't worthy of this greeting at Athens airport by fans of his new club, Olympiakos. Or maybe he is. The man's got feelings after all.

6) One perfectly formed hat-trick. With thanks to the keeper's laughable efforts at the corner.

Our favourites from last week's blog

1) Danny Green takes on Paul Briggs for the IBO cruiserweight title and Briggs goes down a tad easily. It's worth hanging around until five minutes or so into this clip, to see Green's post-fight interview, it's safe to say he isn't happy.

2) Did you know soccer is taking America down the path to socialism? We suspect this man may be a comedian but he makes some excellent points.

3) How to rile your opponents with pointless showboating, part one and part two.

4) While Miguel Angel Jiménez pulls off some showboating of his own at this year's Open.

5) New Zealanders doing what they do best: pointless extreme sports.

6) And let's finish the week's round-up with this fascinating documentary on Martin Hansson, the man who didn't spot that handball.

Spotters' badges: bocajunior, HumpInTokyo, clearhop, pastafari, radar, rowingrob, stilton, spotty

If the legal defense of ?but it?s not fair!? was a valid argument then La Liga Loca would never have had to flee England so swiftly after that Waitrose cheese-rage incident. The blog may even have gotten its yacht back. Stupid judges.

And Mallorca would have been taking part in this year?s Europa League competition instead of being turfed out personally by UEFA boss Michel Platini - if you were to believe some aspects of the Spanish press anyway - for going into administration over the summer.

For a fair few seasons now the Balearic club had been teetering on the edge of financial oblivion like Cristiano Ronaldo contemplating an ill-advised fling (of the edge-of-the-box variety, of course), but they finally hurled themselves into the pit of doom at the end of the last campaign - a campaign that was one of the club?s best ever with Mallorca finishing the year in fifth, but so very nearly in the Champions League places.

However, UEFA?s Control and Disciplinary Body has said that rules are rules and decreed that Mallorca do not fit their admissions criteria due to the whole administration issue. As a statute it is a completely fair one that has the aim of persuading clubs to attempt to live within their means - a half-hearted attempt anyway - and to not let them gain an advantage over other clubs by purchasing that striker they can?t really afford or flipping the bird to everyone they owe money to (Athletic Bilbao and Aritz Aduriz, in Mallorca's case).

Ironically, Mallorca managed their fifth-placed finish having barely spent a penny and owed their success due to astonishing home form, the brilliance of former manager Gregorio Manzano and the general incompetence of nearly every other side in la Primera last season. Instead, Mallorca has been appallingly run for years now, suffering boardroom change after boardroom change.

Despite the UEFA regulations being fairly clear, Mallorca are spitting mad about the decision and have launched a formal appeal to UEFA, organised a march by supporters to the HQ of the Balearic FA with a big banner - not that they have anything to do with the matter, really - as well as penned a letter to Platini asking that UEFA change their decision, something that?s never going to happen in a billion years.

Mallorca?s only defense is that the decision isn?t fair and it fundamentally reflects how seriously UEFA take clubs going into administration, especially compared to the laissez-faire ?What?s a bankruptcy between friends?? attitude in Spanish football, which doesn't have a penalty points system to punish the naughtiest of teams and merrily allows clubs to screw each other over by failing to keep up with transfer payments.

The island club?s other ?waffer-thin? argument is that Mallorca is now under different management after a recent buy-out lead by Mallorca-born former Barça coach, Serra Ferrer, and should be treated differently. However the side are still going through Spain?s equivalent of an administration process and are currently unable to sign any players despite money having been received from the sale of Aduriz to Valencia.

Marca have joined big-armed Mallorca fan Rafa Nadal - nephew of Miguel Angel, a member of the new consortium - to complain about UEFA?s stance, with the paper?s editorial crying that ?it?s like denying help to someone who is about to drown.? Which it isn?t. At all.

The campaign continues Spanish football?s feeling that UEFA - and by extension the interchangeable FIFA - are out to get the game in Spain by handing Atlético Madrid a one-match closed-doors stadium ban two years ago in the Champions League and by failing to award the national side enough penalties during the World Cup.

This attitude happily ignores UEFA constantly turning a blind eye to outrageous tapping-up attempts by certain sides in la Primera, not to mention allowing the financial basket case of Valencia into this season's Champions League.

However, La Liga Loca applauds UEFA?s decision - but in a sympathetic way. The blog is not totally without heart.

Someone has had to put at least one of this irresponsible band of Spanish clubs, populated by the likes of Deportivo, over their knee to warn others that acting like economic buffoons has consequences. UEFA have shown Mallorca that whilst they can do whatever the heck they want in their own backyard, if they want to go play with everyone else, then they need to learn how to behave properly.

More from La Liga Loca

It?s a fairly testing task for the folks at Marca to hold just one coherent thought in their tiny little minds at any one time, never mind two. But that?s the contorting conundrum in the complex realm of Raúl that has been on the paper?s journalistic agenda ever since Florentino Pérez came back to the club last summer.

The default position for the newspaper has always been that Raúl is a magnificent man-god and anyone who suggests otherwise deserves having their still-beating heart being ripped out, Temple of Doom style.

But all that changed with the return of Pérez and the arrival of the troublesome trio of Kaká, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo - three players whose smooth passages were always going to be interfered with by Raúl?s goalscoring... er... abilities. So for a year now the paper has had to walk tippy-toe through of minefield of doom by both praising a footballer still immensely popular with the fans and fulfilling the wishes of the Bernabeu big cheeses by gentling nudging Raúl out of the club?s main gates. 

Then on Friday, with the news through that the club captain was finally going to leave, the tone of the paper could not have been perkier with the headline that CR9 was to become CR7, even though the current holder of that shirt number had still to depart. Although Marca grumbled that the ideal plan was for the Portuguese poser to wear that number on his back last season, the paper reassured its readers that ?CR7 becoming CR9 did not affect his shirt sales? - something very, very important in the Real Madrid world.

But now Raúl has signed up with Schalke 04 and after a suitably sycophantic edition on Tuesday where the paper?s editorial discussed the former captain?s place in the club's history - ?some shone with their talent, some with their intelligence [probably not referring to Guti - LLL], some with their character [again, not Guti - LLL], others for the love of the shirt...the number seven unites all of these virtues in one footballer? - Wednesday?s Marca was in full ?the King is dead, long live the King' mode with the headline that Ronaldo?s premature return to training means that ?Mourinho now has his CR7?.

The paper also reports that Mourinho is about to get Kaká back again and will try and get some sort of use out of him before casting him off to the knackers' yard to be turned into glue. ?The coach is going to explain what he wants from him, his role on the pitch and how he has to play. He is going to give him all of his support and affection,? enthuses Marca on Mourinho doing exactly what he is being paid to do.

BARÇA: WHERE'S THE MONEY?
In Barcelona, culés are have been suffering an attack of the vapors ever since a press conference on Tuesday given by the club?s finance boss Javier Faus revealed that a supposed profit for the last season of ?11.1m was actually a ?77.1 million loss according to an audit performed by Deloitte. The same study also reported the club?s debt at a very footbally ?442m.

?The first question that ?socios? must ask is clear: what is the truth? Fraud, deception, bad management or intoxication?? queries Josep María Casanovas in Sport calling for a full investigation into what the heck has been going on in the bean-counter department at the Camp Nou.

?A loss of ?77m in just one year, and an accumulated debt of ?500m, needs better explanations than what we?ve had so far,? agrees Xavier Rosch in Mundo Deportivo. Wonder if we'll get that explanation?

AND FINALLY...
It seems that Atlético Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has grown tired of a summer constantly on the hunt for Fanni. After pursuing the Rennes full-back for a number of months now, the Rojiblancos haven't pushed hard enough for to the French club's satisfaction, and so have got their hands instead on the rather splendid ?10m Deportivo defender Filipe Luis to plug the Fanni-shaped hole.

More from La Liga Loca

He claimed the Argentina national team was a Rolls Royce in need of a service. He told journalists to suck it and keep sucking it. He said that if Obama was allowed to choose his backroom staff then so should he. He called up 108 players. He lost 6-1 to Bolivia. He told Pele to go back to the museum. He said that Pele ?made his debut? with a boy.

He took Ariel Garcé and Martín Palermo to the World Cup. He said the first three names on his teamsheet were Mascherano, Messi and Jonás Guttierez. He refused to train in the morning. He brought about the second international retirement of Juan Román Riquelme. He wound up FIFA, his bosses, the media, ex- and not-so-ex-players...

Say what you will about Maradona ? and everybody is saying lots ? but beyond it being utter mayhem from start to finish, there is one simple inescapable fact: neither Basile, nor Passarella, nor Bielsa, nor Pekerman performed better at a World Cup. None went further than the quarter-finals. Perhaps the problem with Argentine football is not just to do with the coaches...

Maradona opened himself up for criticism, he created several previously non-existent battles and his eccentric decisions were laughed at outside Argentina, making the blood-letting - now that AFA have chosen not to renew his contract as Argentina coach - all the easier.

NEWS Maradona dropped as Argentina coach

The initial rumours seemed to suggest that Maradona would stay on despite the embarrassing result with Germany in South Africa, but in Argentine football realpolitik it was just another manoeuvre.

It's convenient and easy to say with absolute certainty that with a more experienced coach Argentina would have reached, at least, the final four in South Africa. That may well be, but it gives whoever replaces Maradona the job of proving all those Diego critics right. The core of Maradona?s side is young enough to remain for a number of years to come.

For now the two front-runners - according to the decision-makers at the AFA - are Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella and Racing coach Miguel Angel Russo.

Amongst fans, the Boca contingent still want the Viceroy, Carlos Bianchi, to be given a chance. Ramón Díaz features high up in the surveys, thanks to his success at River. Diego Simeone?s name has also been mentioned, perhaps more by virtue of being unemployed right now, and then come the rest.

Whoever comes in could follow a similar route paved by Mano Menezes this week. The new Brazil boss axed all but four players from the South Africa group in his first squad. Such wholesale change perhaps isn?t needed for Argentina. The likes of Sergio Romero, Nicolás Otamendi (the Germany result wasn't his fault), Mascherano, Di María, Pastore, Tevez, Higuaín, Agüero and Messi will all be key players for the coming years.

NEWS Menezes makes big changes for first game

With the immediate task being winning next year?s Copa America on home turf, and then mounting a serious challenge for the 2014 World Cup next door in Brazil, whoever comes in should invest confidence in a new crop of players that will be of age in four years time.

For Argentina?s next outing, against Ireland in Dublin on August 11, we?ll have a side chosen by Maradona ? naming the squad was his last act in charge ? and coached by Under-20 boss Sergio Batista.

It?s only after that when perhaps we will start to see the new-look Argentina. Perhaps it will be more competitive. Perhaps it will play better football. Perhaps it will play worse. Perhaps they will challenge for honours. Perhaps they will end up returning home after the first phase of the 2014 World Cup. Perhaps they will return with the trophy.

Whatever happens over the coming weeks and months, it won?t be the same round here anymore. Chau Diego.

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OK folks, the Portugeezer is back from his off-season duties and ready to start looking forward to 2010/11. And while teams are still trying to identify the last pieces of their jigsaw, the first pre-season matches have already given us a hint of what we can expect.

Regardless of whether Benfica can claim another championship, Braga go one better than last year or Sporting or Porto make a triumphant return to the top, there is one thing we do know for certain: the league?s official name is now Liga ZON Sagres. Kudos to the marketing geniuses who pulled out this brilliant name from God knows where...

Anyway, let?s start this pre-season discussion buffet (the plates are to your right) with Benfica, current title holders and perennial contenders.

The Eagles enjoyed a tremendous 2009/2010 season, playing some of the finest football their supporters have seen in the last 20 years. However, the title win means two things: 1) they?re now the team to beat, and 2) they?ll have to handle more pressure to match both their domestic and European ambitions.

In the six matches they?ve played so far Benfica continue to show an above average goalscoring prowess, but are leaking more goals than last year.

Granted, ?it?s just pre-season?, but questions are already emerging about Spanish goalkeeper Roberto Jiménez. One would expect a real asset for ?8.5M, but worse than not being one is the fact he may become a liability. See for yourself his pre-season ?greeting card?...

Strengths

So far, and baring in mind we're still some way off the start of the 2010/2011 season, the Eagles have managed to keep their most prized assets with the exception of Ángel Di Maria. They?ve acquired Nicolás Gaitán and Franco Jara, who look capable of becoming useful squad members. Moreover, players such as Ruben Amorim, Javi Garcia, Airton and Coentrão, arguably Portugal?s best player in the World Cup, are now more mature and experienced, and can offer more to the team.

Weaknesses

Even with their immense attacking ability, Benfica lack width. Gaitán is not a pure winger and lacks the raw pace and dribbling ability of Di Maria, now at Real Madrid.  Surprisingly, they have loaned out Urretavizcaya, who could have been the one to take up the mantle of Di Maria. Apart from the wings, the aforementioned Roberto must be giving manager Jorge Jesus a migraine: the decision to splash that amount of money on Atletico?s third choice ?keeper is something that may come back to haunt him.

Who should they buy?

Simão. The former Benfica captain is capable of playing on either wing and is not an invaluable piece at Atletico. With the Spanish club rumoured to be interested in Santi Cazorla, Simão may become available for a cut-price fee which would interest everyone involved. Not a Di Maria type of player, but would add experience, versatility and danger from set-pieces.

Who can they afford to lose?

Cardozo. While Benfica would like to retain the core of last season?s squad, they are neither immune to the financial crisis nor stubborn to the point of not selling a player if a ridiculous offer comes in. Losing David Luiz, Fábio Coentrão or Ramires right now would be a huge blow ? except for the coffers obviously ? but can the same be said about Óscar Cardozo? The Paraguayan striker was at his sharpshooting best last season with a total of 38 goals, but his limited pace and technique has made some people question whether another striker couldn?t have done more. With Jara in the squad and Kardec more settled, shouldn?t the ?25 million offer from Shakhtar have been accepted (if it was ever submitted)?

The verdict

It has been a while ? 1983/1984 to be precise ? since Benfica last won back-to-back championships. Can they produce the same kind of free-flowing football that dazzled their opponents last season? Yes, but they have to keep the core of last season?s squad to be seen as front-runners...

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For a wee while, La Liga Loca was concerned that incoming Barcelona president Sandro Rosell was going to be a tad bland.

The blog felt in its stagnant waters that he would be the type to spend hours talking about synergies and delivering speeches on business strategies, like a Harvard-trained suit receiving rapturous applause for suggesting that his company should try doing things "cheaper, better and faster" - thus controversially banishing the "expensive, crap and slow" policy of the ancient regime, perhaps. 

Fortunately, Rosell looks like being just as entertaining and unhinged as Joan Laporta, with the power of being the Camp Nou King having gone to his head within 6.4 seconds of winning July's presidential election.

With the football situation at the club being in a fairly rosy condition despite the return of Alexander Hleb, Rosell's strategy in the opening weeks of his tenure has instead focused on smearing other aspects of his predecessor's legacy with donkey-doo. Oh, and failing to sign Cesc Fabregas - although that is Laporta's fault too, apparently: "Arsenal told us that they did not want to negotiate with us for Cesc because of how they were treated by the previous board," complained Rosell in AS.

One of Sandro's first mean-spirited acts was to remove Johan Cruyff's title of President of Honour, given to him in the final months of Laporta's reign, and force the Dutchman to hand over his special pin at the club's reception desk. "No-one wants a title that doesn't exist," explained Rosell.

The Barcelona bigwig then claimed that Laporta had left the club without a pot to do anything in, with the very, very, very public announcement that it would be looking for a ?155m loan from Big Tony to cover June's salaries and buy Sevilla full-back Adriano. "There weren't ?11m in profits, nor ?100m to spend," grumbled Rosell.

With LLL always enjoying a good groundless conspiracy theory, the blog now suspects that Rosell is setting up the narrative that the club is dangerously broke, and thus will need to ditch UNICEF and the longstanding policy of intense smugness by allowing advertising on the players' shirts. Considering the Barça president's background in sports marketing, finding the right candidate shouldn't be too much of a stretch, LLL imagines.

Meanwhile, at Castle Greyskull?
In Marca's very peculiar world it seems that things have not changed at the Santiago Bernabeu since LLL fled the country for a while to dodge the World Cup clean-up operation. José Mourinho remains some kind of deity for the simple reason that he turns up for work, talks to his players and has proven his outstanding professionalism by starting training 20 minutes earlier at 9.10 every morning.

At the same time, former manager Manuel Pellegrini continues to be Satan's sorriest spawn after an interview given in the Chilean press where he defended his year in charge at Castle Greyskull. Pellegrini confirmed what pretty much everyone knew already by revealing that construction king Florentino Pérez still harbours the same love and affection for managers as he does for undeveloped land.

The Third-Choice Chilean claimed that he had neither "a vote nor a voice" at Madrid and that there was "a difference of opinion" over the sales of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder shortly before the start of last season. "It doesn't help anyone to have an orchestra with the 10 best guitarists if it doesn't have a pianist," noted Pellegrini, who has clearly never been to a Mogwai concert.

The Great Leader's honour having been smutted, Marca was forced to come out on the attack with a tremendously rude editorial rather harshly calling Pellegrini's words "cowardly and treacherous."

In other news?
LLL was planning to end this round-up with something on the demise of Darth Manuel de Lopera's reign as overlord of Real Betis. Failure to win promotion from the second division saw fan pressure finally forcing the club's spooky owner to opt for a quiet life and sell a controlling 51% portion of the club's shareholding to a consortium lead by Luis Oliver.

A new manager was duly appointed and all seemed well ? right up until a judge blocked the sale, with the suspicion that pretty much anything to do with "Betis" and "finance" was highly dodgy and worthy of a thorough probing.

"Is there anything guaranteed at Betis?" sighed Oliver. "I was the owner yesterday and look where I am now." He had obviously failed to heed the signing-in-blood aspect of the handover...

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Is Raul Heading For Germany or England? is a post from: SoccerOverload.com

European Soccer Teams Tour the USA is a post from: SoccerOverload.com

THE “UGLY FINAL” GOES The SPANISH WAY is a post from: SoccerOverload.com

The Samba Stops… is a post from: SoccerOverload.com

Can Spain Go All The Way? is a post from: SoccerOverload.com