Mario Balotelli would, in any other country, be seen as an exceptionally talented young footballer looking to break into the national side. In Italy, he has become the symbol of a nation that apparently refuses to accept a multi-ethnic society. The situation has been compounded as two of the most successful coaches in the footballing world, currently working in Italy, has dismissed the abuse directed at Balotelli.

Champions League-winning coach Jose Mourinho, who currently coaches Balotelli at Inter Milan along with World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi are the two esteemed men in question. Given their achievements and massive influence in the footballing world, one would assume the two would use their standing in the game to condemn this abuse and support a player who has the talent to lead Italian football for years to come. Instead, they have protected the racists and morons in the crowds by denying the abuse is racist. One explain why they have come to such conclusions through their respective characters.

Mourinho’s narcissistic and solipsistic nature means he is always likely to attempt to feed his ego by gathering the support of a greater majority rather than take the morally correct option. For a tactician renowned for his excellent man-management skills, this is exceptionally poor form. As for Lippi, one can learn a lot about his qualities through his previous assertions in the media:

“In the current climate, two national team players could never be involved in an open relationship. This is not a question of culture but is more related to the fact that such a relation would create conflicts contrary to the interests of the dynamics of the group. Imagine how a homosexual couple in football would be perceived. Even if, socially, most people would support and understand such a situation it would nonetheless become magnified and eventually would be viewed negatively.”

Having moved over from defending homophobia to racism, Lippi has defended the fans of former club Juventus, whose minority of extremist fans have taken to two chants in particular, with ‘If you jump up and down, Balotelli dies’ and ‘A negro cannot be Italian’ explaining why it is predominantly Balotelli of all the Black footballers in Serie A that is targeted for abuse. The youngster was born to Ghanaian parents in Palermo, the Italian capital, abandoned and then adopted at the age of two by the Balotelli household from Brescia.

Those who argue that the abuse directed at ‘Super Mario’ is not racist but directed at his general attitude use the examples of other black Italians in Stefano Okaka Chuka and Fabiano Santacroce, both of whom have not suffered anywhere near the level of racism that Balotelli regularly receives from opposition fans, perhaps because his career has been far more successful, pushing him into the national spotlight.

The fact remains that using the term ‘Black’ in any chant where the intent is clearly derogatory is racist, irrespective of whether the abuse is individualised or general. Balotelli’s Inter team-mate Samuel Eto’o suffered similar abuse from opposition fans in Spain, during his time at Barcelona, yet fellow Black team-mates such as Ronaldinho were not. Here is where Mourinho and Lippi’s denials break down:

“If the problem was purely racist, I don’t see why they would not have shouted something at (Inter’s Sulley) Muntari and (Patrick) Vieira, who have exactly the same skin colour as Balotelli. Evidently there are other things. Turin has never been racist. There are chants against white footballers that are much worse than other chants. I don’t think there was racist intent on the part of those who did the chants, but a desire to offend someone for various reasons created within the context of the game.”

Balotelli’s nature has always been one of a confident, bold person and perhaps this adds to the abuse, but the underlying fact is fans have used his skin colour to attack arguably unappealing, often controversial character. This was again the case on Wednesday as fans of Chievo Verona abused the Italian youngster as he scored the winner in the day’s early kick-off. Balotelli’s frustration at the racism was evident after the game as he stated: “Every time I come to Verona, the city disgusts me even more.” What was worse was Mourinho dismissing his own player’s protestations, instead choosing to dwell on his own reaction to abuse in a self-congratulatory tone:

“Let’s not get too carried away by it. I also heard a few unsavoury things about myself, but I just ignore it.”

In addition to this clear lack of support from his own coach, Balotelli was also criticized by the Mayor of Verona, Flavio Tosi, a member of the ‘Liga Veneta-Lega Nord’ political party. Tosi has taken a clear anti-immigration policy, closing the gypsy camp of Boscomantico, while being found guilty of the instigation of racism in 2004 and the promotion of a hatred campaign in 2007, although he was belatedly deemed innocent of both, with the Italian Court of Cassation stating it is acceptable to discriminate against the Roma people on the grounds that they are thieves but that Tosi is prejudiced and not racist. Yet, it is clear what sort of man Tosi is through his political career and his comments in retaliation to a frustrated Balotelli’s outburst against racism in Verona:

“Balotelli is just a little kid who is immature and presuming. He will never be a champion. The real champions are those who show humility and have good sense. Balotelli doesn’t have these qualities. Taking things out on the Chievo fans, who are among the best in Italy, is a paradox. Poor Balotelli will never be a champion.”

While a significant proportion of the Italian population is not racist, the reaction to other Black Italians making significant strides in the spotlight will reveal whether the issue is widespread or not. Italy’s immigrant total is reaching close to 7% of the population. With football so prominent in the media spotlight, it must be used as a tool for positive social change and influential figures such as Lippi and Mourinho must not cover the issue but confront it. Lippi has called up Napoli defender Fabiano Santacroce, born to an Italian father and a Brazilian mother, to the national team squad, stating:

“We live in intolerant times. If the presence of Santacroce with the national team sends a message against racism, I am happy about that.”

Now, if only, he could condemn the abuse Mario Balotelli receives and even attempt to break the taboo against homosexual relationships in team sports, rather than conform to the social norm as he has done. He, along with Mourinho and other coaches also, is in a position to do, but it depends whether he has the cojones to do so. Italian football would be better for it.

After another calendar year of football, there have been some fantastic goals and LiberoFootball is back to look back on some of the best:

Martin Palermo – Best Header (04/10/09)

Before this goal, in a 3-2 win against Velez Sarsfield, Martin Palermo was most famous for missing a trio of penalties in a 1999 Copa America first round tie against Columbia in a 3-0 loss. He never wore the Argentina shirt until a call-up this year by a desperate Diego Maradona, where his last-gasp winner against Peru gave their faltering campaign a much needed boost.

Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper German Montoya came out of his box to clear the ball, which sailed harmlessly, at head height, towards the centre circle, where Palermo was standing, 38.9 metres from goal. The rest is history. The veteran striker said afterwards, “It always happens to me. When I look for similar stories of other players there aren’t any. Things happen to me that I can’t explain”.

Juninho Pernambucano – Best Free Kick (24/02/09)

In this first leg at the Stade Gerland, Lyon were facing ‘the best team in the world’ according to their manager Claude Puel. For all of Barcelona’s class, Lyon had one player capable of matching the class of the Catalans on this February night.

Widely acknowledged as the best free-kick taker in the world, with several techniques of taking a dead ball (and far more accomplished than others like Beckham), this Brazilian playmaker took a shot when most would think a cross is most sensible.

The ball took a frightening dip at the end of its flight, rendering Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes totally helpless. We’ve seen players like Ronaldo and Drogba take some fantastic free-kicks from distance, but this one was far more to do with technique than power.

Seydou Keita – Best Passing Move (14/04/09)

Barcelona had effectively killed off the tie in the first leg, but this tie in the Allianz Arena was more to do with maintaining that aura of invincibility. Franck Ribery took the lead for Bayern, but the passing football that the Catalans are so famous for provided the perfect response.

Seydou Keita, remoulded by Pep Guardiola from a defensive shield into a more attacking midfielder, added the final touch, after striking a lethal effort from 25 yards after a fantastic 19-pass move, evoking comparisons to Cambiasso’s goal after Argentina’s fantastic passing move in 2006.

Yoann Gourcuff  – Best Fred Astaire Impression (11/01/09)

This effort against PSG in a 4-0 win was voted Goal of the Year in Ligue Un, as Yoann Gourcuff confirmed what many were suggesting, as a successor Zinedine Zidane was found. 

Zidane’s former France team-mate Christophe Dugarry said of this stunning piece of balletic magic: “That goal was no accident. It showed there was something magical about him. I felt ill when Zidane retired. Watching Gourcuff has cured me. When I see players like him, I feel like a small boy again.”

Grafite  - Best Dribble (04/04/09)

This goal was the icing on the cake as Wolfsburg stormed to the Bundesliga title, as the Brazilian Grafite scored the fifth in the 5-1 thrashing of the reigning champions Bayern Munich. Grafite was the top scorer in the league, ably assisted by Edin Dzeko and Misimovic in the most potent triumvirate in the Bundesliga.

Cristiano Ronaldo  - Best Long Range Goal (15/04/09)

This goal just won the inaugural FIFA Goal of the Year award, and such a decision is difficult to argue with. Ronaldo fired in a bullet from 40 yards to score the only goal of the game against Porto in this quarter-final second leg, clinching a semi-final against Arsenal. In what would turn out to be his final season at Old Trafford, Ronaldo led Manchester United to a third consecutive league title and another European Cup final.

Michael Essien - Best Volley (06/05/09)

On his weaker foot, Michael Essien scored the sweetest volley of his career against Barcelona. It could have been the most important goal of his career too; for Essien’s stunning effort to open the scoring in this semi-final second leg was overshadowed by a little Spaniard in the very same game.

Andres Iniesta - Best Last Gasp goal (06/05/09)

This stunning injury time equaliser sent ten-man Barcelona into the final against Manchester United, where they would eventually prevail. It was the little Spaniard who was said to have a refusal to shoot, always preferring to lay on one more pass.

Desperate times call for desperate measures as Iniesta immersed himself in the moment and into the history books. Of course, the game was far from over, as Chelsea had a penalty appeal turned down, prompting Ballack and Drogba to have massive tantrums in the direction of referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.

The most important moment in a year where Barcelona won all available (six!) trophies, scored 105 league goals, dominated the Champions League final and were a pleasure to watch in general.

Eliran Atar - Best Overhead Kick  (07/02/09)

The Bnei Yehuda player scored this fantastic acrobatic effort in an Israeli league match against Maccabi Netania. We know little about the context but this was a brilliant technical effort. Enjoy it.

Federico Macheda - Best Debut goal (05/04/09)

This young Italian kept Manchester United’s title challenge on track with a fantastic late winner against a stubborn Aston Villa side, with the game ending 3-2. Macheda was drafted into the squad as a reward for scoring a hat-trick against Newcastle in the Reserve League, as Ferguson had another fine piece of management attributed to him. He scored another winner in a subsequent game at Sunderland, as United eventually won their third consecutive title.

UEFA have had massive publicity in the past week – mainly for the wrong reasons. Wednesday night’s Champions League qualifier at the Emirates Stadium was at the centre of the controversy. Eduardo dived after minimal contact from Arthur Boruc – that much is true. What followed is ridiculous.

Firstly, a charge was administered to the Brazil-born Croatian based on Article 10, paragraph 1c of their regulations which deals with ‘acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision’. The prospect of a two-match ban is being mentioned for Eduardo, assuming he can be proven to have acted with intent and a desire to cheat and deceive the referee. While the player dived, there was minimal contact with Boruc. Can UEFA prove this clearly? It does seem unlikely.

It seems that UEFA have suddenly decided to pull out a rule barely referred to in the history of the Champions League. A cynic would argue this organisation is acting upon the media hysteria in Scotland and England. But that is exactly what is happening. The last time a player was banned for diving also involved a Scottish side. Lithuanian Saulius Mikoliunas did so against the national side. Of course the coincidence has led to Wenger claiming the Scottish influence at UEFA has led to the charge being administered. UEFA general secretary David Taylor, a Scot, said of Wenger’s comments:

“It’s our duty to apply the rules without fear or favour. We simply refer the matter to the disciplinary committee, which is independent.”

Wenger’s dismay at how UEFA informed Arsenal of the charge is understandable. A number of senior officials were in Monaco for the CL group stage draw and could have easily been informed by UEFA. Instead a fax was sent to the club, where it was only spotted by a junior worker, who informed Wenger of UEFA’s rash decision.

The retrospective ban has opened the door to a dangerous path for UEFA. When a player is caught simulating a tumble by the referee on the pitch, he is in most cases cautioned. Why the sudden increase in punishment if the action has been taken after the match? It makes little sense and lacks any consistency.

Now, every single decision by the referee could be undermined. Of course it won’t, because UEFA are only acting due to the media attention this particular dive has received. Was there an outcry when Tony Hibbert tried to buy a penalty as Everton lost to Burnley? Or when Ashley Young tumbled twice against Rapid Vienna? In fact, Sky Sports even reported the incident as legitimate when it clearly wasn’t. In fact Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard have done it also.

Except, when these England internationals do it, they are rarely called on it and their tumbles are euphemistically referred to. ‘He was light on his feet there’ is a particular favourite of commentators in Britain. It does seem that there is a media agenda to make sure the general consensus remains that English players are honest and it is only foreigners who have polluted the beautiful game with their cheating. And UEFA have fallen for it.

Perhaps it would have been different if Vienna had been eliminated due to such acts of simulation, but even then one doubts whether the voices of the Austrian side are deemed important enough for the executives at UEFA to even consider. Wenger asked for consistency and unsurprisingly he hasn’t got it. These quotes from Wenger were on Arsenal.com after the match, but subsequently edited from the match reaction article:

“UEFA you know has made the case with Eduardo. You watched the game last night. They will have to charge Messi for head butting last night or they will lose credibility. They’ve opened something there. Over the weekend, I’ll find you fifty situations where they can intervene, and if they don’t Eduardo will be singled out for being the wrong victim because Pedro of Barcelona dived as well last night. I don’t think that Eduardo’s case has any logic because you look again well at what happened; he was touched. We had clear proof from behind; he was touched on his right leg.”

Of course nothing is likely to be done because consistency is not a word Platini and co. wants to hear. A cynic might say this one incident may have been jumped on by UEFA to allow further publicity of Platini’s personal crusade to introduce more referees in each match. Of course, no-one will mention that only video technology could have been used to actually find the footage to allow them to charge Eduardo for diving.

Perhaps Platini’s blatant dislike for Wenger’s youth policy (which means that Arsenal have had a lack of home-grown youth players - although that may not be the case now) could be another reason as to why this particular incident has been targeted. Furthermore, Platini himself admitted that he has dived:

“I know why players do it - because I’ve dived myself. I did it because I knew the referee wouldn’t see me trying it on and also because there were no cameras either. If we thought we could get away with it, we would!”

After all, it was Platini’s personal intervention which led to this incident being looked into. The Scottish workers at the SFA or UEFA did not refer this case to be investigated into according to David Taylor, but Platini. While Wenger is refusing to admit his player dived, the majority of his arguments are very convincing against the laughable actions of UEFA.

He will receive one apology from the FA after being sent off for kicking a bottle in frustration after Arsenal failed to force an equaliser against Manchester United on Saturday in a 2-1 defeat. Mike Dean, under the advice of his 4^th official, sent the Arsenal manager to the stands. There was no way into the stands and Wenger ended up standing in the middle of the United fans with an expression perplexed at the farcical decision of the match officials.

Will Wenger receive another apology, this time from UEFA, for how his club have been treated in this incident? Don’t bet on it.

Group Stage draw excites

Kaka will return to the San Siro to face his former club AC Milan after a £56m move to Real Madrid earlier this summer. President Florentino Perez expects European success after such a massive transfer outlay in which Albiol, Benzema, Alonso, Granero, Arbeloa and Ronaldo were also acquired. Madrid has been knocked out in the Round of 16 for the past five years and will not want to make it six in a row, especially when the final will be held at the Bernabeu.

Meanwhile Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will face their former clubs after Inter and Barcelona were drawn in the same group. Other possibly mouth-watering ties will occur in Group A, where Bayern Munich, powered by Robben and Ribery, with face Diego’s Juventus and Gourcuff’s Bordeaux. Elsewhere, Liverpool faces a rejuvenated Lyon side, led by the fiery Lisandro Lopez, and a decent Fiorentina side.

Manchester United face long trips to Turkey and Russia but should qualify with ease. Chelsea face an always tricky Atletico Madrid but have a decent draw overall, while Arsenal should top their group, although Standard Liege represent a big threat, having troubled Liverpool and Everton in recent years. The full draw is below:

Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux , Maccabi Haifa

Group B: Manchester United, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Wolfsburg

Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich

Group D: Chelsea, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Apoel FC

Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni

Group F: Barcelona, Internazionale, Dynamo Kiev, FC Rubin Kazan

Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, VfB Stuttgart, Unirea Uriziceni

Group H: Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege.

The improvement in technology for caused the music industry to suffer for not adapting to the digital revolution. Now, after also taking newspapers, film and television in as victims, football is next. In particular, English football. The English Premier League is refusing to adapt to improvements in Broadband speeds and the increasing popularity in internet streaming and peer-to-peer streaming. By doing so, the EPL is fighting a losing battle.

By ignoring the potential of online streaming, the EPL has become vulnerable in terms of his dependence on the television deal it brokered with BSkyB. The Premiership business model, which has raked in billions over the years, has revealed its weaknesses in terms of focussing massively on a domestic market. The EPL therefore sells rights abroad at far lower prices, which makes less sense given the fact that there are a far greater number of viewers abroad than at home.

The price differences have become so vast that fans in the UK have to pay £46 a month to watch only a few games featuring their own sides, while, for example, in China, EPL games are to be broadcast on free-to-air television. The Sky monopoly means fans have to buy the standard Sky package before investing further to view Sky Sports, rather than buying the latter in a stand-alone deal.

In an attempt to stop Sky’s monopoly, the EU ruled that one company can only own 5 of the 6 packages on offer, meaning ESPN have bought the remaining two from Setanta. Their business plan seems to complement BSkyB, instead of competing with them as Setanta and ITV Digital failed to do, with Sky suscribers offered the new channels for £9 a month and others for £12 a month. This means for UK fans to legally watch as much EPL football as they can, it could cost up to £55 a month.

Excluded in this UK price are all the Saturday 3pm kick-offs, in a blackout which the EPL insist protect lower-league attendances. This logic is ridiculous given that the majority of matches in the television deal feature the bigger, more popular sides, whose attendances are generally to capacity (bar Chelsea, though that is another story). There are few lower league matches shown on Sky in general.

There is proof in the Bundesliga model that having the 3pm games available to air does not affect attendances though Germany does have the lowest ticket prices and the highest attendances in Europe, while some of the matches are also free-to-air, including Bundesliga 2 matches (unlike in England – at least until the BBC won the rights for this year onwards). Yet low ticket prices and free-to-air matches look impossible to achieve in England given the money-driven outlook of Richard Scudamore and co, so lifting this ‘blackout’ any time soon appears highly unlikely, hence increasing the popularity of streaming as ticket prices rise.

Abroad, no such black-out exists and you wonder why many UK fans turn to online streams broadcast from countries such as China, who receive such matches free-to-air. If a free alternative, which provides most of the matches of the club you support, is available and ever-increasing in quality, why would you not choose to pick it? Of course, the practise is illegal, and the EPL have taken steps to closing down such sites.

Rather than targeting individuals, the Premier League goes after the sites themselves. NetResult, the company it contracts to track down and close illegal feeds, estimates an 85% to 90% success rate in shutting them down. NetResult’s chief executive, Christopher Stokes said:

“The Premier League has taken the lead in trying to get to grips with this. There are two ways to deal with it – getting to grips with piracy, but also in making sure that more of your content is available online.”

Such talk must be taken with a pinch of salt given the fact that this initiative is going after websites and not the individuals that broadcast the streams themselves. Any site that is shut down for streaming matches is irrelevant. The harsh fact for the EPL is that thousands of streams pop up in a matter of seconds after one stream is shut down. The current method used by the EPL means they are fighting a losing battle. A Premier League spokesman said:

“Good quality content is in the interests of everybody – fans, broadcasters, ISPs as well as the technology companies which sell equipment. So, like all content providers, we are keen that both the legislators and the regulators recognise that there has to be a fair market that serves the fan whilst keeping standards high.”

Such a fair market has to surely include a reasonably priced internet streaming option, regulated by the EPL? Well, the issue with the Premier League is that ownership of the footage reverts to the participating clubs 24 hours after the event. EPL clubs have subscription-based online TV services to exploit this content, with some having their own nationally-available TV stations (Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea).

The current structure of the PL broadcast contracts in the UK and internationally means that a PL website with significant streaming services is a non-starter. With a new deal also in the offing, following the highly successful online streaming method of the NFL looks unlikely. Therefore Sky and the EPL are unable to exploit the massive potential in global online revenues, which are worth far more than the domestic market upon which extortionate prices are forced.

As for including ISPs in this attempt to stop piracy of their product, this also a difficult avenue to explore, given that ISPs do not exist to protect the commercial interests of other organisations, but to provide good quality internet access to their paying customers and not to police usage in case a third parties’ overseas commercial rights are being breached, as one commentator put it.

Fans follow teams and not leagues, so why should, for example, Sunderland fans pay over the odds to see only three or so games of their team shown through the entire season? Given the complication over rights ownership, internet streaming is not a viable option at the moment. If the regulations were altered, it is very likely that online streaming would become a massively popular and profitable option (£2 a match seems reasonable on a pay-per-view basis on a lower quality platform than television, though ticket prices for matches would have to be lowered to prevent falling attendances), with fans able to view their sides’ matches for a reasonable fee on decent, secure quality.

If not for this option, a multi-screen option would also be popular, as Sky do on Champions League nights. Yet once again, this is very unlikely, given the parameters of the current and any future broadcast deals with Sky and ESPN. One can even see, a few years from now, a desperate EPL flogging rights to a company similar to the music equivalent of Spotify (who stream free music interspersed with advertisements, or offer a premium version with no advertisements).

All football fans appreciate how the money has helped improve the English game into arguably the best league in the world (though La Liga 2009/10 edition will have something to say about that), but now it seems that exploitive prices are turning more to illegal streams.

For example, Dutch viewers have every EPL match, fed by Sky, for a measly price of £5 a week, in comparison to the massive prices we in the UK pay for only a sliver of the choice they receive. And now, La Liga will attempt to compete with the EPL for the Asian market by broadcasting at earlier hours (Saturday afternoons) under the advice of Real Madrid supremo Florentino Perez, so any advantage the EPL has must be used if it is to maintain its status as the ‘best league in the world’.

The EPL have the product and the means to do so. Currently, they are undervaluing the rights to matches abroad and overvaluing them domestically, while completely ignoring the potential of the internet. One thing is for sure though: if the EPL continue to battle online streaming instead of embracing it, their model for success will go the same way as the music industry.

Spanish football has been in mourning after the sudden death of Espanyol Captain Daniel Jarque, aged 26. The centre back passed away on Saturday night at 8pm local time after suffering heart failure at the Barcelona side’s training camp in Coverciano, Italy.

Reports suggest the Espanyol youth product was on the phone to his fiancée, who is eight months pregnant, when the tragedy occurred. He was found by his team-mates who noticed his absence at dinner. Club doctors and Italian paramedics tried to revive Jarque, but without success.

Jarque joined Espanyol at the age of 12, making his debut in 2002. He was a highly-rated defender with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur both strongly linked to him. Jarque succeeded Raul Tamudo as captain just one month ago. Under his leadership, the club were moving in a new direction, with their new stadium recently completed and celebrated with a 3-0 win over Liverpool in which Jarque played.

Tributes from several leading footballing personalities have come flooding on after this tragedy. Spain legend Raul said:

“As captain and in representation of Real Madrid I want to show all our sympathy and to be by the side of the player’s family. We want to give encouragement to all the Espanyol family at such a hard time, which has left us all filled with dismay and pain. That such a young lad, a great professional and sportsman suffered this has left us all very hurt. From here our most sincere sympathies.”

Fans have been flocking to Espanyol’s stadium since the news broke last night and have been in mourning outside gate 21 - Jarque’s squad number. Former Espanyol coach Ramon Moya, who handed Jarque his debut against Rayo Vallecano, was deeply shocked:

“I feel like I have lost a son. Jarque was a footballer, but he was also my friend. This situation is very difficult for a person. It was as if he was family. I knew him for many years. I gave him his debut when he was a very young footballer and I shared many moments with him. It’s very difficult to explain how I feel at the moment in words.”

Jarque was a very healthy player, based on the exhaustive medicals Espanyol give to all their players at the beginning of pre-season. Valencia players sported black armbands in the second half of their friendly against Arsenal in the Mestalla, while a minute’s silence was also held, after this sad news broke. Espanyol, who had been due to face Bologna in a friendly today, have suspended their pre-season tour and returned to Spain.

Jarque’s death comes two years after that of Sevilla and Spain defender Antonio Puerta, who suffered multiple organ failure in hospital, three days after a cardiac arrest during a league match against Getafe. In an awful coincidence, Puerta’s girlfriend was also expecting their first child.

Real Madrid’s Ruben De La Red has also stopped playing professional football for two seasons now on medical advice after collapsing in a match for Real. He will not take the risk until his rare heart condition can be verified. Football has been in mourning recently with the passing of managing legend Sir Bobby Robson and it is awful to see one so young pass away with his whole life ahead of him.

LiberoFootball would like to express our deepest condolences at this difficult time to the family and friends of Daniel Jarque and Espanyol football club, with whom Jarque spent his entire career with.

Exclusively written for ArsenalInsider.com

After last season, there have been several doubts over the effectiveness of Denilson, Alexandre Song and Abou Diaby. Perhaps rightly so in the case of the latter, who so frustratingly seems to randomly fluctuate between world beater and idiot. Hopefully the extra fitness training he has put in prior to pre-season will pay off this year (yes, I’m ignoring the accident that caused Nasri’s injury!). 

As for Denilson and Song, the statistics support Arsene Wenger’s insistence that one of the two is the answer to the defensive role in central midfield. While the reliance of statistics is always questioned, it is important to use them to compare the numbers of the Arsenal trio to other players who play similar roles for our rivals. Below is a table showing the statistics of our three defensive options:

Now, before looking at how these numbers compare with opposition players, we must end a number of misconceptions about Arsenal players. There is a widely held view that Denilson predominantly passes sideways and backwards in an ultra-conservative fashion, but this is not as a result of his technical limitations but his tactical discipline. To read the full article please go to ArsenalInsider, the interactive Arsenal football club blog.

Massimo Moratti and Jose Mourinho must be laughing. In fact, the latter might struggle to manage Inter next season because of it. Having pulled basically (bar a few issues here and there) off the deal of the century this week, Inter are looking strong favourites to walk to the Serie A title for a fifth consecutive triumph.

The deal in question reportedly involves Zlatan Ibrahimovic moving to Barcelona for a fee of €45m, Samuel Eto’o on a permanent transfer and Alexander Hleb on a season-long loan deal. Yes, LiberoFootball were also wondering whether Joan Laporta was feeling well when he agreed to sanction such a preposterous deal in the favour of Inter.

There have been many, many questions surrounding the wisdom of such a deal. After all, Samuel Eto’o is a proven, world class striker and Alexander Hleb is suited to Italian football. In contrast Zlatan Ibrahimovic is widely acknowledged as the most overrated striker in world football. In addition, the huge sum of money added to the players being swapped makes it seem vas if Moratti has bulled off his own ‘Italian Job’.

Guardiola is keen to avoid the sharp demise under the reign of Frank Rikjaard where players were expected to be responsible yet failed to control themselves. Eto’o is a strong character, but is often a disruptive force in the dressing room and Guardiola may be justified in removing such a headstrong character from the dressing room:

“I am convinced that the best thing for Barca is for Eto’o to leave. Could I be mistaken? Maybe so. But I am here to make these decisions. I feel that it is best for the club and the team. It’s a question of feelings.

I am not here to change anyone’s character, but I can decide on which players I want to count on for the season. After what we won, we had to change the dressing room. I took this decision from my experience as a footballer.”

Yet the replacement for such an extravagant sum of money hardly seems worth it. Eto’o epitomised the pressing game employed by Guardiola, where a team work ethic is the most important aspect of his tactics. He provided aggression, endless running and wonderful finishing that added end product to the stylish passing game run by players such as Xavi and Iniesta.

In contrast, Ibrahimovic fails to track or press the defence unlike the outgoing Eto’o. The laidback style of the Swedish hitman does not appear to fit well with Barcelona’s current set-up, with there being no requirement for height or a target man. While Eto’o has scored in both Champions League finals he has appeared in for Barcelona, as well as several other big games, Ibrahimovic has a poor record in the latter stages of the Champions League, and is often anonymous in other big games too.

Prior to Real Madrid’s signing of Kaka and Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic was the highest paid player in Europe, typifying the extent to which he has been overhyped. Sure, Ibrahimovic did score against the small sides (and credit to him for that because all goals count the same), top-scoring with 24 goals last season. But the fact is, despite all the acrobatics and pieces of skill against weak sides, he has failed to deliver when it really matters.

In terms of replacing Eto’o’s attitude with a player that is far more reserved, Barcelona have seemingly failed in this respect too. Ibrahimovic has self-confidence that borders dangerously on arrogance. His technical ability is out of question; after all, this is the man who can do kick-ups with chewing cup! Yet his work ethic, danger to team spirit and effectiveness in the big games has come under scrutiny.

Losing €45m in addition to this represents a huge gamble and trust in Ibrahimovic’s ability. The loan of Alexander Hleb, who, although he was a peripheral member of the squad last season, would do very well in Italy and the deal represents a strengthening of a rival for the European Cup. Under Mourinho, Eto’o would have a manager whose ego significantly exceeds his own.

There would be little problem for Mourinho loves mentally strong players, although Alex Hleb may find it difficult to adapt under the Portuguese tactician’s methods, despite the fact that he is better than fellow wingers Ricardo Quaresma or Mancini. While Juventus have added a Brazilian touch through the tenacious Felipe Melo and the brilliant Diego, through these additions (along with those of Motta, Milito amongst others), Inter should win the title with considerable ease.

Owner Massimo Moratti desperately wants a Champions League title at the club under his ownership and has told Mourinho there are no excuses this time. Italian sides struggle to cope with the pace and intensity of English clubs, but signing players such as Eto’o and Hleb, who are used to such a style, may the step required for Inter to win the European Cup. Joan Laporta said of the prospective transfer:

“It’s a different sort of deal, because it’s based around different financial amounts, which are fairly reasonable and because it also involved the sale and the loan deal of a player that we were working on before this deal.

It’s not an expensive deal. It’s come about from talent and hard work. As a result of a conversation that I had with Eto’o before my meeting with Moratti, we understood that it was time to look for a team for him and 24 hours later the possibility of going to Inter came up. Eto’o will go to a club where they will also treat him with respect.

We have come to an agreement with Inter about the fee and we are waiting for Inter to come to an agreement with Eto’o and us with Ibrahimovic. I talked to Eto’o after the meeting with Moratti that night and then Inter talked with his agent and (Jose) Mourinho talked to Eto’o.”

After personal terms are agreed, this transfer should add prestige to both the waning Serie A and the already star-studded La Liga. Both title races should be spectacular, with the arrival Diego and Eto’o offsetting the departures of Ibrahimovic and Kaka (to some extent at least). Whatever immoral sums Madrid may have paid for Kaka and Ronaldo, this fee for Ibrahimovic paid by Barca (factoring in the valuations of Eto’o (€40m) and Hleb €15m) along with the reported €45m fee) make this most likely the most expensive deal of the summer. Recession? What recession?

So a salary cap doesn’t seem feasible. But what about a player draft? Is it equally impossible? Once again, given the competition is spread across many countries, player drafts would have to be based on National Football Centres, like the excellent Clairefontaine academy in France. England would have to give speed up the progress of the Burton project for the option to be viable.

Yet the international transfers of U18s would have to be banned for the drafts to work in the individual countries, and quotas, such as Sepp Blatter’s highly controversial 6+5 rule, may have to be implemented. The likelihood of both these actions occurring are nigh on impossible given they also contravene EU law. In addition, clubs who have spent millions on their own academies to nurture talent may be unwilling to let a national draft occur, with the weakest/poorest side given first pick on a player, as is the case in a number of American sports. Barcelona, who have spent millions on their cantera, producing some world-class players, would vehemently disagree with any such proposal.

Yet, they would agree with lowering the age when a player can sign a professional contract, stopping sides such as Arsenal and Liverpool poaching their most promising prospects. Similarly, clubs may agree to the cessation of exploitation of players from poorer regions, although this is always difficult to regulate.

Critics may also argue that the transfer of promising players to weaker sides might affect them fulfilling their potential, by training with lower-level players and being involved in training sessions, where the ideas are less evolved, and the equipment is not as advanced.

On the whole, if a player draft were to be employed across Europe, it would reveal which countries excel at youth player development. Yet several issues arise, as they do when discussing the possible implementation of a salary cap. While a draft is a less attractive proposition, given it would affect the freedom of movement of labour laws, amongst others, a salary cap does not affect this particular law. But it does question the moral right of a footballer to earn more than a doctor.

By limiting the earning potential of massively overpaid players to a point which still allows them to make millions, fans could relate slightly better with the players, despite laws being in place to allow any one person to make massive earnings, which obviously stop this. We would see some critics unashamedly call this modern slavery, but comically bad retorts are a price worth paying.

It is difficult to see how money can be removed from the game when the product is so profitable, the current state of the game is protected by the law, and the football politicians are so hypocritical in their views concerning this issue.

Perhaps discussing video technology and the ridiculous proposal of a 39^th game is just easier for Blatter and co. I wouldn’t hold my breath for either of these American-imported proposals to be implemented in European football any time soon.

As was discussed in part one of this article, the salary cap placed upon NFL sides increased competition in American football. Yet there are many reasons as to why the monopoly of league titles across Europe will not be broken, if a salary cap is imposed (assuming Football is made exempt from normal labour laws).

For example, if a salary cap was to be implemented for the 2009/10 season, clubs in Spain would have a massive advantage over their English and Italian counterparts, given the tax legislation in each of the countries.

Real Madrid and Barcelona would be able to give a player more money, after tax, as tax for foreign nationals in the first five years of their residence is at a relatively measly 23%, while in England it would be at 50% for those earning over £150,000 a year, and a similar figure is in place in Italy. This affects the competitive nature of European competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League.

Similarly, television money (as does matchday revenue and commercial interests - shown in this Deloitte Football Money League 2009) would also affect a side’s competitiveness, with some teams in Italy and Spain negotiating broadcast deals individually instead of with the rest of the league, as is the case in the EPL. Increasing a side’s revenue in such a manner as Madrid did, signing a TV deal with MediaPro in 2006, reportedly worth €1bn, helps form a monopoly, with Madrid then able to offer better wages and higher fees than their rivals in Spain or indeed, on the continent. Thus TV deals, which are negotiated with the league as a whole, would be another obstacle for a salary cap to be effective.

Furthermore, the majority of players are likelier to join a side of prestige than one of the increasing number of the footballing nouveau riche, although there will always be the odd exception, especially if the notion of a marquee player is introduced (a player whose wages would be exempt from the salary cap). Despite some of these dilemmas to an entirely hypothetical situation, as club expenditure is reduced, the race for financial power and billionaires would slow down and one would hope that eventually debts would also fall.

A more profitable model as evident in the German Bundesliga could even be conceivable. While a by-law for sides in the EPL to be at least 51%-owned by fans/club members of the same country, instead of investors, foreign or not, may be difficult to achieve (given that some clubs like Wolfsburg are owned by companies, thus effectively evading this rule), it is less important given that great financial power is less influential in the grand scheme of things.

Although one could argue, a greater emphasis/expenditure on marketing, pre-season tours to football hotbeds, such as in the Far East and Africa, could increase income of some sides. But this would be put down to initiative of the club, with the main focus still hypothetically on the coaching and professionalism and abilities of the players. Debt is very well controlled in Germany and the sensible economics of the clubs means that ticket prices are among the lowest in Europe, with Germany having the highest match-day attendances in Europe.

If the tax issues and the broadcasting revenue-sharing problems were to be solved and a general capping figure agreed by all bodies involved for the leagues across Europe, a salary cap could work hypothetically. Although even this depends on football being exempt from the Treaty of Rome. At the moment, such a solution seems pleasing, but upon further investigation, to keep competition equal, it just isn’t remotely possible.

It is instead a mere pipe dream for the insignificant fan who is increasingly disillusioned at the amount of money and lack of player loyalty in the game. (ed -Tomorrow’s final part of the article looks at the possibility of incorporating a player draft into European football)

This summer’s transfer market has shown that football is in a world of its own. While the rest of the world struggles through the recession, Real Madrid have taken out loans reportedly adding up to €1bn to fund their excessive spending and Manchester City are throwing money at anything that moves.

Many footballing figures are called for a salary cap to be placed in football to stop the inflated figures from making the world’s most popular sport from becoming solely an expensive plaything of billionaires instead of normal, grounded fans and to increase competition. Yet, any comparisons to a salary cap and draft in the NFL are poorly researched considering the fact that, at least in Europe, extravagant spending occurs across a number of top flights.

Implementing such a cap would require agreement from a number of national football associations along with both UEFA and FIFA. As Paul Simpson, editor of Champions Magazine claims: despite UEFA’s insistence of the effectiveness of a salary cap, the European Commission has not yet recognized what Eurocrats call the “specificity” of sport:

“In other words, it hasn’t yet formally said that sport is a special field of human endeavour and, as such, is immune to the rules and regulations which govern other industries.

And until it does so, salary caps and drafts will remain in breach of the pact that lies at the heart of the European Union: the Treaty of Rome which guarantees freedom of labour.”

If such a revolutionary move were to ever be passed, the most logical proposal would be for clubs to spend a fixed percentage, say 50-60%, of their revenue on transfer fees and wages, including and deterring bonuses or massive signing-on fees. The principle, based on the American NFL, has the right idea in improving the competitive nature of the sport, through promoting the idea of teams operating within their own means. Yet, the American version takes the League’s defined gross revenue divided across all the sides competing, instead of a fixed percentage relative to each side.

Since 1994, when the NFL introduced a salary cap, over 84% of its teams have finished at least one season with a top-six record. In comparison, it has been near impossible for most sides to break the top-four stranglehold in the English Premier League, with fewer than 30% of the 20 teams competing each year managing to do so since its inception in 1992. In theory, a salary cap looks the way to go to increase competition in European football. Right?