Brazilian Serie A Midway Review - Part II - Figueirense to Vasco

The 2011 Brasilerio Mid-Season Wrap continues with Part II as we review the nine remaining teams. At the end we make bold predictions and summarise the outlook for the second half of the league campaign.

Part I can be found here.

Figueirense - A - As a promoted side, Figueirense's rise up the table is a shot in the arm for the underdogs, excellent material for the headline writers and further proof of the volatile parity that exists in Serie A. USA '94 World Cup winning defender Jorginho has forged a handy side who are hard to beat at home and more than competent on their travels. The odd defeat at heavyweight aside, their season has been bright, encouraging and ripe for an extended stay. Only a catastrophic loss of form would see them go down at season's end.

Edson Silva

The Good - Home wins over Santos and Botafogo along with an away 2-0 win at Corinthians.

The Bad - A 3-2 loss in the Florianopolis derby to Avai at home.

Notable Players - Edson Silva, the 25 year old pillar at the back, ever present and leading scorer with three goals.

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Flamengo - A - Almost impossible to defeat, Flamengo are irrepressible in attack and dogged in defence. Having started the season slowly with four straight draws, they quickly emerged as the most consistent team in the league and one which competes at every game. Despite being second best on occasion they only lost one game all season. A league leading nine draws may be a cause for concern, but in a manic league like Serie A where anyone can lose on any given day, they bring a welcome change of consistent endurance. Arguably, Corinthians' only real competition for the title.

Flamengo - Robust and Potent

The Good - Just one loss in their opening 19 games. The stupendous 5-4 win at Santos. A League leading 33 goals scored.

The Bad - 9 draws, with five of them at home. A ridiculous 4-1 defeat at home to At Go.

Notable Players - 31 year old pair Ronaldinho and Deivid have led from the front with 10 and eight goals respectively. 

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Brazilian Serie A Week 19 - Derby Week

With Round 19 complete, the 2011 Brazilian Serie A reaches its halfway stage.

All teams have completed half their schedule of 38 games with the exception of Santos and Gremio, who have a makeup game to play.

Overall, Corinthians and Flamengo are out in front and look to be the two main contenders for the title. However Sao Paulo are still at large while Rio rivals Vasco Da Gama and Botafogo lurk in the background.  Further afield Palmeiras is on the outside looking in as only five points separate the top six. All in all the first half has been hecttic with tow games a week, Copa Do Brasil, Copa Sudamericana qualifiers and Copa Libertadores matches all thrown in, as well as the Copa America which loomed large in July.

An engrossing second half awaits. The full table can be seen here.

Week 19, coincidentally was Derby Week with no less than eight derbies taking place. As usual it was much ado about nothing as most of the games fizzled out and there were few memorable moments. Among the big winners were Botafogo, Avai and Palmeiras, with most of the other crosstown contests ending in draws.

Brazilian Serie A Midway Review - Part I - Avai to Cruzeiro

Team by Team Report Cards:

With 19 games of the 38 match season having been played, The Brazilian Serie A has reached its halfway stage. We take some time to rate and slate the Serie A's 20 teams.

The current table is found here.

Corinthians Celebrate

America Mineiro - D - An ironic coincidence that the team which comes first alphabetically is the last one in the table. Truth is, they been overwhelmed by the pace, depth and clinical performances of opponents in the top division. Having been promoted from Serie B last season, a swift return beckons. Overmatched and outgunned, they are way out of their depth.

Alessandro

The Good - A 3-0 home win over defending Champions Fluminense at the start of August.

The Bad - Home defeats to At Go and fellow promoted side Coritiba. An away 4-0 drubbing at Ceara.

Notable Players - Alessandro Nunes, one of the few players who bring some class to the pitch, has scored seven times so far. 22 year old centreback Marcos Rocha has been a standout in defence.

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Atletico Goianiense - B - After a nightmare start the ship has been righted and at time of writing four straight wins have been reeled off to escape the drop zone with a fury not seen since James Dean peeled out of a car park. 11th place is a healthy springboard for the second half and despite a stop start offence (22 goals in 19 games), Atletico have a positive difference.

Anselmo

The Good - Successive wins over Santos and at the time league leaders Flamengo, away during a current four game winning streak.

The Bad - A ten game stretch over June and July that saw just one win.

Notable Players - Veteran striker Anselmo whose six strikes are almost a third of the team haul. 20 year old forward and super sub Diogo Campos has netted three times in less than a full game's worth on the pitch in five sub appearances.

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Atletico Mineiro - D - For a club that has been so consistent for so long and still retains plenty of talent, their abject performances this season are equal parts gutless and unprofessional.  After a great start, a midweek loss to Sao Paulo sent them into a tail spin that has seen them plummet. Complete shambles from a club that promises so much more.

Leonardo Silva

The Good - A three game win streak to start the season, but in retrospects all their wins have come against teams who have spent plenty of time in the relegation zone.

The Bad - A current five game losing streak, part of 12 losses all season, the most in the division. Ouch.

Notable Players - No one has impressed or made much a difference but instead a corps containing Amantino Mancini, Daniel Carvalho, Dudu Cearense, Richarlyson and league veteran Leonardo Silva have been notably bad.

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode Three

The latest week of Euro action saw some crushing results for four title favourites, while several other top teams registered solid wins. A couple of thrilling games as well with Valencia, Cologne and a pair of teams in Scotland trading goals aplenty.


But abject misery and heartache for a pair of 1991 FA Cup semifinalists. However a great weekend for United, City, Real and Barcelona fans. We may also have seen the last of one of Europe's greatest managers, who is now at a personal nadir.

Wenger's last days ?

Step this way for Episode Three of the Euro League Wrap.


Weekend of August 27:

France:

Three of the title contenders all won with two of them putting in strong performances, winning away at teams that started well.

PSG turned the screw on Toulouse with an away victory that saw them surge up the table. With fellow contenders Olympique Lyon also winning at nascent league leaders Montpellier, and Lyon beating Olympique Marseille at home, all three protagonists used round 4 to throw down the gauntlet to the rest of the league. As impressive as PSG And Lyon's wins were however, Lille's home triumph over Marseille, arguably the fourth title chaser, was the most newsworthy. They also draw first blood in the first match between the big four.

Jeremy Menez

New star Kevin Gameiro, Turkish forward Mevlut Erdinc and winger Jeremy Menez, all got on the scoresheet against Toulouse, for whom Etienne Capoue, put into the early lead. Toulouse had seven points from their first three games and finally lose their first one. Miralem Pjanic and Jeremy Pied put Lyon into an unassailable lead before Henri Bedimo pulled on back for Montpellier, who still lead the table with nine points from four games, but dropped their first points of the season.


Sochaux made up for their Europa League elimination at the hands of Metalist Kharkhiv, by edging St. Etienne at home. Ryad Boudebouz scored a double, either side of a striker from Pierre Aubemeyang. Fellow Europa League hopefuls Rennes, who fared far better, beating 1991 European Cup Champions Red Star Belgrade, also won, beating Caen at home 3-2. Razak Boukari, Jeris Ekoko and Abou-Kader Mangane putting Stade into a 3-0 lead before goals from Thomas Heurtaux and Younes Belhanda made it interesting at the death.

2011-12 Spanish La Liga Preview

Two mini leagues with a two horse race.

The 2011-12 Spanish La Liga, like the previous five editions, is essentially two divisions that run simultaneously - the first with two teams and the other with the remaining 18. One division, in essence, sits above the other but its exclusivity is such that it might as well be a separate entity altogether. So, in practice Real Madrid and Barcelona will be fighting for the top spot, among themselves, while everyone else in the league fights for third place.

Yup, They'll win the big eared jug again.

That's not to say there isn't any talent in the league - far from it. At least six other teams in Spain could finish in the top half of every league in Europe. But the gap in quality between the top two is just that massive. the last time someone other than Real and Barca won the title was Valencia in 2004. These days the best the Mestella outfit can hope for is third place. Successive Galactico eras and unprecedented spending of exhorbitant amounts of money at Real, combined with a bumper harvest of youth at Barca and similar, if somewhat more modest, purchases at Barcelona, have put them in a different league altogether.

They will be champions. Finally.

Real Madrid will win this year's title, by a whisker, for the following reasons:

2011 Summer's Most Crucial Transfers

Arjblog covers the most biggest transfers this summer - not just the ones with the highest transfer fees but those that made the biggest impact both negative and positive, at new club and old. These are the ten players who either greatly weaken their old side, strengthen their new one, or in some cases, do both.


Any difference is assumed to measure negative impact at the club being left and positive impact at new outfit.


Alexis Sanchez - Udinese to Barcelona


Sanchez is a rampaging bull on either flank who can play wide and drift in or start centrally and move wide. One of the game's premier wingers, his loss reduces the potency of Udinese's attack significantly. Without him the Zebra's lacked a killer punch while Antonio Di Natale had minimal service. Now at Barcelona, he adds yet another dimension to the Blaugrana, where he will play as a robust winger who cuts both in with the ball or goes wide without it. Udinese will drop several places due to his exit alone.

Difference - Massive at old club, significant at new club.

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Francesc Fabregas - Arsenal to Barcelona


Essentially, Arsenal's key player and the best creative midfielder, statistically, in Europe's top five leagues over the last five seasons, Cesc was more than just a captain at Arsenal. Mesmerising yet controlled with the ball, hard-working and dogged without it, Fabregas'  retention is equal parts consistent and prolific, with a tidy ability to finish as well. Scorer of the winning penalty in the quarterfinal shootout over Italy at Euro 2008 and supplier of the winning pass in the final at World Cup 2010, Fabregas, was arguably the best player in the Premiership, when fit. Barcelona are already great but Fab allows them to get even better while securing their midfield for another generation.

Difference - Tectonic at old club, significant at new club.

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Arturo Vidal - Bayer Leverkusen to Juventus


The creator-in-chief at Bayer, the Chilean maestro was crucial to a workmanlike squad, bereft of its top scorer post Christmas; making the runners-up spot in the Bundesliga last season. His vision and awareness are layered on top of solid technique and his craft comes with no small dose of typical Latin flair. At Juventus he is the creative energy that has gone missing for so long and will be tasked with generating the service that allows the Bianconeri's stable of strikers to prosper. Vidal alone will take Juventus back into the top four in Italy.

Difference - Massive at old club, absolutely crucial at new club.

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Brazilian Serie A Week 19 Preview - Derby Madness

Midweek:

Santos beat Fluminense on Wednesday night, easing to a 2-1 win at home on the back of a double from league leading scorer Borges.  Rafael Moura pulled one back for Fluminense, the defending champions. Santos has now won two games on the trot for the first time all season and have given themselves some temporary respite from the the drop zone. After edging Bahia in Salvador on Sunday, this home win is three points of welcome relief for one of Serie A's most talented, yet underachieving teams. Santos improve slightly to 14th spot and 21 points. Their remaining game in hand is against Gremio. Fluminense remain ninth.

2011-12 English Premiership Preview

Previewing the big one - The English Premiership.

The World's most televised league is also the richest and most lucrative, with fans from all over the world - some would argue, especially fans from other parts of the world. The 2011-12 Premiership kicked off two weeks ago and barring Tottenham and Everton, at time of writing, has seen everyone play once at home and once away. A league table exists but is mostly cosmetic at this stage. The large bulk of the season lies ahead with the long haul still to come. The season has arrived and one wonders who will be on top of the pile come May 2012.

Europhiles Notebook - Presenting PSG

Malaga was looked at here. Today we focus on PSG, the latest financially doped club in Europe and the only one in France.

Paris St.Germain:

"PSG has an enormous potential - they are the only big football club in a city of 12 million inhabitants! That's unique in Europe. Our aim is to qualify for the Champions League every year as of 2012. Then, from 2015, we want to play a major role in Le Championnat. We don't want to sign Lionel Messi, but we want to invest in the big stars of tomorrow from all over the world, including France."

Ownership:

Wise words from Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the new chairman of the Paris St. Germain board, on behalf of the Qatar Investment Authority, who own a controlling stake in the club. PSG, like Malaga, have big plans for the future but seem to want to do it in a reasonable way, one step at a time. Ironically, dominating the French League may come first and easier than  making much of an impression in Europe, just ask Olympique Lyon, but the sentiment is sound - consistency first, contention later.

Europhiles Notebook - Meet Malaga

Malaga and Paris St. Germain are the latest additions to the Jetset, clubs which are owned by either billionaires and or billionaires posing as consortiums, and expected to compete.  This is in marked contrast to clubs like Aston Villa, Blackburn and Roma, who although owned by rich foreigners are not as financially powerful or not expected to compete. And in the case of Rovers, are neither.

So, like with two kindergarten kids kicking up a stormy tantrum, we pause to look further in depth at the two aforementioned clubs, newly rich and full of newsworthy signings ... and Ruud Van Nistelrooy; to see what the hype is all about. Who are on their squads, what are the managers like, can they actually make good on their pre-season ambition ? Arjblog runs the eye over them, starting with the Spanish side.

Malaga CF:


Background:

The club used to once be the reserve team of similarly named Malaga CD. Once the latter folded in 1992, the current club changed its name from CA Malagueno, expanded into the fanbase and acquired the traditions that existed for its one time senior club. A bit like Barnet or Arsenal Reserves taking over Arsenal's premiership credentials. But wait, Arsenal has premiership credentials ? Oh. Malaga CF is now the official successor to Malaga CD and even has a crest that is very similar to that of its former senior team, replete with brown leather ball.

Brazilian Serie A Week 18

Flamengo miss a trick.

By drawing 2-2 at Internacional on Sunday, Ronaldinho's side missed the chance to take back the lead after Corinthians were defeated at home by Figueirense on Saturday. Tite's side remain two points clear with both having played 18 games. Santos also finally won an away game, beating Bahia 2-1 and get some breathing space at the bottom of the table while Palmeiras, Vasco, and Sao Paulo all dropped points in the chasing pack.

We're almost at the half way stage and the this looks like the title that no one wants to win. The moment someone gets into the lead, they either lose or start dropping points.  Also, with Brazil's U-20 side winning the world title, to follow up on the South American U-20 title they won earlier this year, morale is high and several clubs shall be bolstered by the return of their U-20 starlets, notably Internacional with Oscar (ha-trick in the final), Sao Paulo with Casemiro and Henrique and Santos with right back Danilo. Provided none of them get picked up by a European club first.

2011-12 European Football Wrap - Episode Two

Week 2 was a little bit less exciting than expected with all the games in La Liga's opening weekend called off due to an ongoing player strike. Nevertheless, we had plenty of games with plenty of goals from around the continent.

With Serie A still to come but everyone else moving through the gears and picking up pace, the new season is off and running. Italy's Serie A joins the fray on August 27th.

Arjblog will be bringing you a weekly round up all the action in all the big leagues along with snippets from around the continent. Football is back. Soccer hath returneth !

With the transfer window still open till the end of August, continuing Previews (England and Spain) and Meet and Greet features (The Big Five) will follow over the course of the coming fortnight. Champions' League and Europa League previews will appear after the draw for the group stages at the end of the month.

Weekend of August 20:

France

The weekend saw round three in France as defending Champions Lille picked up their first win of the season, beating Caen, 2-1 away, on Saturday. Nicholas Debouchy and summer arrival Benoit Pedretti (formerly of Auxerre) scored the early goals before Benjy Nivet pulled one back, from the spot, for Caen. Elsewhere, there were a flurry of draws around the league as only two of the six matches on Saturday, recorded results.

2011 Summer Wrap

Summer 2011 was a hectic period with several international tournaments happening around the world. Here at Soccer360 we recap the results and relive the action.

2011 Women’s World Cup:

The current edition took place in Germany.  It was an engrossing tournament that displayed how far the women's game has come. Entertaining, for the most part, on the pitch and somewhat salacious off of it, Women's football emerged some more from the shadow of the Men's game.  Despite not having the sponsorship, monetary structure or following that the Men's game takes for granted, all the teams played with enthusiasm and pride.  Moreover, several upsets made for an engaging tournament as home side and favourites Germany were dumped out at the quarter final stage, where they were joined by co-favourites Brazil and fancied England.

Japan was the pick of the teams as it upset the odds and went on to defeat heavily favoured USA, the one favourite that did make it through the quarterfinals, in the final.  France was another standout performer as it made it all the way to the semi-finals. In a year in which a tragic earthquake destroyed parts of Japan, the World Cup win was a welcome boost to Japanese morale and belief. Canada, had a poor campaign and was unable to make it out of the group stages, with coach Caroline Morace resigning after the tournament.

Europhiles Notebook - 15 European Managers to Watch

Europe's Most Interesting Managers in 2011-12 and beyond.

Most of the names on this list are the next generation of managers, with former players and several unknowns having risen to the top through repeated demonstration of aptitude and hard work. The compilation is mostly off the beaten track and introduces several of the names who will be helming clubs despite not getting much screen time or column inches in the mainstream press. These are some of Europe's best managers, and most will be around for the better part of the next two decades.

Unai Emery - Valencia, La Liga

The fresh faced young manager leads the Bat, once again, out of Mes(tell)a as it seeks to get a little closer to the big two of Barca and Real. Extremely popular with the ladies, Emery is the latest in young managerial talent in La Liga. Successfully led his club to third place in the league and a decent showing in Europe despite the notorious boardroom machinations and mountain of debt at the club, Emery can handle the pressure while delivering an eye-catching, successful product on the pitch. Valencia are the third most successful club in Spain and many neutrals' choice but with Bilbao, Villarreal, Atletico, Sevilla and now, Malaga all at large, the 39 year old has his work cut out to retain Los Ches position in the league.

Andres Villas-Boas - Chelsea, Premiership

Having swept all before him in a treble winning season with Porto, where the Portuguese giants won the league, cup and Europa League title in 2011, he was scouted by and moved to Chelsea. Charged with taking back to the summit in England as well as finally scaling the peak of the UEFA Champions' League, the former protege of Bobby Robson has to prove himself all over again in the most televised and popular league in the world. A football fanatic with a keen attention to detail, his methods owe more to his understanding and passion of the sport than to any actual playing experience.  The youngest top flight manager in the big leagues, at just 33, Villas-Boas is living the dream that many an armchair fan has every day.  His move from Porto to Chelsea set a record for managerial transfers at 15 million euros.

Robin Dutt - Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga

The near namesake of this author is a keen student of the game and one of the latest prodigies from the German Coaching Academy. Having made his name with Freiburg, whom he took to sixth for the better part of the 2010-11 Bundesliga season, Dutta was offered a place at Bayer Leverkusen before the season ran out. Now at the helm of one of Germany's biggest clubs and also in the Champions' League, Dutta will be working in the big time, under scrutiny from both foreign and domestic press. Extremely highly regarded as a shrewd manager, his motivational and tactical skills, will get further hones in the cauldron of expectation and continental competition. Dutta has a bright future ahead of him and will be one of the foremost managers of his generation.

Walter Mazzarri - Napoli, Serie A

Mazzarri is the latest managerial wizard at Napoli, haven taken San Paolo team through the glass ceiling that separates Champions' League football from upper midtable. His Napoli teams are fluid, irrepressible and exciting, with the awareness and control to attack on either flank, hold the ball up or break at will. In the Champions' League this season. After a successful sting with Sampdoria where he made the Cup finalists as well reach continental competition after a sixth place finish, his last two seasons witb Napoli has seen them finish sixth and third. The spiritual successor of Marcelo Lippi, Fabio Capello and Arrigo Sacchi but with a far more expansive style and attacking philosophy. One day Mazzarri will lead Italy to an international final in the next decade. You read it here first.

Rudi Garcia - Lille, Ligue 1

Essentially, according to Garcia, football is simple. Take a team with a couple of talented players, add in some combative defenders and robust midfielders, preach an up-tempo style while regularly drilling them to be the fittest, strongest and most enduring team and you will win all before you. Last season Lille was regarded with a degree of respect, but Garcia made them into double winners. His team are the fastest team in the league, never tires and he added sparkle with the elevation of Eden Hazard from talented youngster to world class winger. Despite losing some of his best players over the break, Garcia will ensure his team are hard to beat, a threat on the road and still the pacy juggernaut that comes at your from all sides. Probably the fittest manager on this list, and arguably, Europe, he regularly leads his charges on runs while putting them through their paces in training.

Brazilian Serie A Week 17

Then there was none - Flamengo finally loses.

Ronaldinho's side, on the even of his call up to the national team for upcoming friendlies, have finally lost their first game of the season. And just as they seemed to be settling in at the top, Flamengo have surrendered the lead and initiative back to Corinthians, who promptly produced a strong performance to win away.

Tite's side lead the table outright again, opening up a three point lead over Flamengo.

At the other end, Santos have slid into the relegation spots.  It all went down in round 17 of the 2011 Brazilian Serie A.

Arsenal v Liverpool Preview

Week 2 of the Premiership season is underway tomorrow and one of the biggest games of the season happens at The Emirates Stadium in Asburton Grove, with Arsenal hosting Liverpool at 12:30 GMT on Saturday, August 19, 2011.

I predict a 3-0 mauling of Arsenal by Liverpool.

- Assuming it's Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, up front, for Liverpool versus Thomas Vermaelen and Lorient Koscielny, in defence, for Arsenal; it follows that Vermaelen, being more robust with a great vertical, takes Carroll. Which means Suarez will be able to attack Koscielny at will. While this pairing is a colossal mismatch, it is rather less daunting for Arsenal than the reverse.  if Vermaelen, being a better defender, marks the better forward, Suarez, it's Carroll on Koscielny - the ramification of which should make any Gunner fan shudder shudder.  Either way, Liverpool's forwards will wreak havoc against Arsenal, despie the fact that Koscielny is a handy tackler and generally plays well against the bigger teams (see, United, Barcelona, Chelsea in 2010-11). +1 Liverpool goal.

- Suarez likes to drift, both in and wide. With no Alex Song and no established DM to speak of, the wily Uruguayan will run amok just in front of the Arsenal area. Expect plenty of free kicks and players pulled out of position. With plenty of set piece chances for Liverpool to score from. +1 Liverpool goal.

- Stewart Downing's crosses on the left flank for Liverpool, will be crucial for Carroll but Bacary Sagna, Arsenal's first choice right back, may be able to keep him in his pocket if he tracks him higher up the pitch. Even.

- Charlie Adam, if deployed on the right again, will murder whatever Arsenal pass off as a Left-Back these days. More so now that Kieran Gibbs is injured, again. More so now that Carl Jenkinson is the choice to start.  Also see point three above about crosses, something Adam deals well in as well. +1 Liverpool goal.

- Theo Walcott may well destroy the Liverpool Right Back if its Jack Flanagan.  Less so if its Glen Johnson.  Either way, he's a threat from/on/down the right. +0.5 Arsenal goal.

- A late appearance for Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, perhaps even in tandem with Walcott may make things interesting, especially if either or both take advantage of tired 'Pool legs to wreak some havoc with their pace. +0.5 Arsenal goal.

- Robin Van Persie can ruin a Centre-half's night, but he seems out of it so far this season, just a yard to slow so far (To be fair it's only been two games in anger). However without Gervinho to pull the other CB out of position, RVP will be nullified. Even.

- Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey, in space, can cause significant damage while opening up the Lucas Leiva led defensive unit. But with no third peg, so to speak, and a Liverpool team that will close down and harry them, their efforts may be muted and if anything they might spend the afternoon tracking back or on the back foot altogether. Even.


An interesting match awaits.

Europhiles Notebook - World Cup Qualifying Reaction

The World Cup Qualifying Draw threw out some interesting combinations.

53 nations face off in nine groups with the aforementioned group of Spain and France being the only one with five countries.  As has been the recent case with Eurozone qualifying, the (nine) group winners and best second placed team go through to the final.  The eight remaining nations square off in four two legged playoffs to make up the remaining four berths.  In total 14 European countries contest the finals.

Spain and France being drawn together in Group I of the 2014 European World Cup qualifying campaign is the most notable and newsworthy emergence from the draw.  The 1998 winners and powerhouses will face off against the current champions twice as they look to take the automatic spot from the group.  Belarus, who are currently locked with France in the same Euro 2012 qualifying group, Finland and Georgia make up the numbers.

Among the other big nations, England are reacquainted with Montenegro in Group H while Poland, who reached the finals in 2002 and 2006, and Ukraine, 2006 participants, are the other pedigreed teams.  Moldova and San Marino wil do no better than target practice.

Group G will provide plenty of twists and turns with any of Greece, Slovakia or Bosnia capable of going through as group winners with Latvia, Lithuania and Liechtenstein filling out the table.

Portugal and Russia make the headlines in Group F with Israel, who beat Russia in Euro 2008 qualifying, at large.  Northern Ireland, so plucky at home, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan round out the group.

Group E looks to be another open group with Switzerland the nominal favourites but Slovenia, who featured in South Africa last year, and Norway will provide stiff opposition.  Other teams are less of a threat, namely Albania, Cyprus and Iceland.

Group D is a straight fight between perennial powerhouses Holland and talented Turkey, the only team that can stop the Dutch from another perfect qualifying campaign.  Hungary and Romania are much improved and will give the Turks plenty of competition for second.  Estonia and Andorra are the two paperweights.

Germany and Ireland go head to head in Group C with Austria, always dangerous and Sweden, who always qualify, making the fight for second an interesting one.  Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan make this the most geographically disparate qualifying section.

Group B sees Italy and Czech Republic contest a close race that has Denmark on the outside looking in.  Bulgaria's latest generation of players are hardly awe-inspiring and they may just make up the numbers, along with Malta and Armenia.

Finally, Group A is the closest one with all six teams essentially in contention for the top two spots.  Serbia and Croatia (please, no fighting in the stands) renew their rivalry while Scotland and Wales engage in their own battle of Britain. Belgium and Macedonia have little past history but will fancy their chances against all the others. Interestingly three of the countries here were once part of Yugoslavia – Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia.