Hello all! Quick blog today. The world cup is coming to a fantastic climax after the elimination of the Latin American superpowers both of whom I thought would be the finalists. In good news, Yossi Benayoun signs for Chelsea for which you don’t see Chelsea fans doing a song and dance about. In bad news, David Silva signs for Man City after waxing lyrical about Chelsea. In other news,

The world champion is among Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Uruguay. The quarter final matches have produced some great performances and dramatic moments of this world cup. Brazil were beaten by Netherlands which even for the Dutch, must be a surprise. Brazil dominated the first half and went to the half time with a lead that could have doubled with some luck. Even though Netherlands won the match, they did not outplay Brazil but outperformed them with their desire and determination.

As per Robinho’s comments after the match, it appears that Brazil became a bit complacent and were thinking about the margin than the result. That, for me, is one half of the explanation of what happened in the second half. The other half is explained by Sneijder’s post match comments. Netherlands had decided that they would give it all and be ready to die on the pitch. Add up Brazil’s complacency and Netherlands’ super-determination, you get a rejuvenated second half performance that turned the match. Melo’s needless red card only worsened the situation for Brazil. It’s clear to all that Brazil is a better team than Netherlands but on those 90+ minutes, Netherlands came out as deserving winners.

The Uruguay vs Ghana match is the match of this world cup, undoubtedly. Both teams having the ability to create history for their respective nations, and with somewhat evenly matched up, it was always going to be a tight affair. The football on show was brilliant. As I was watching the extra time, I felt sad there’s going to be a loser in this match. The stoppage time handball by Suarez has come under a lot of criticism. My view is this: He did what I would have done at that time. See, in such times in football, the pressure is so intense and the emotions run so high that we may not even know what it means to live that moment by ourselves. It’s not the same as Henry’s handball – that one was very intentional while this one by Suarez was instinctive. Anyway, he was punished with a red card and his team was punished with a penalty. It was there for Ghana to create history. Gyan hit a poor penalty under the circumstances. Ghana should not complain about Suarez’ handball. Having said that, I can’t feel more sorry for Ghana.

The result of the Argentina vs Germany match was probably the biggest surprise of this world cup so far. I had said that Brazil will notch an easy win against Netherlands and I was wrong. Had I said that Germany would score an easy and big win over Argentina, I would have laughed at. But see what happened. That’s football. Make predictions but don’t claim to know of what would happen though. Don’t laugh at predictions too. None of us expected Germany to play like how they are playing at the moment. Surprises, not miracles, do happen. At least I was right about Argentina not being such a good team as they’re made out to be and Messi not scoring even one goal in the world cup. One thing is sure – with this win, Germany are firmly the top favourites to be champions.

Spain beat Paraguay. I have been saying that I find Spain very boring. Their kind of football doesn’t excite or interest me at all. There is no adventure, no innovation, no cutting edge. So many goals through rebounds, lucky flicks, off sides – just like Argentina. You know what happened to Argentina – they were found out by a top German performance. Paraguay played well and should have taken the lead but I always thought Spain would go through with a moment like the one that actually happened for David Villa. I’m not impressed with David Villa’s finishing as much as I’m impressed with his intelligence to be at the right place and time. That’s it on the world cup. Blog on the semi-finals late, probably!

Let’s get the bad news out. David Silva signs for Man City. I expected him to sign for us. Now, don’t even think we were never in the race. We wouldn’t know that. Don’t think that we would not spend too much because we would. It is so clear that we need one or two good replacements for Joe Cole, Deco and Ballack. This brings us to the good news – Yossi Benayoun has joined Chelsea FC.

Yippee! I found a Benayoun pic where he’s not in a Liverpool jersey! Sadly for him, he’s not gonna get his favourite shirt number of 15. He knows, he should go with the Flo!

My view about the Yossi signing is this – great! Yossi is a player that I have always respected. Regular readers would know that whenever we face Liverpool, it is Yossi that concerns me more than a Gerrard or Torres. Yossi has a great dribble and a good shot. Plus, he can never be doubted for his dedication and effort. Also, he can be the impact sub that we always wanted to have in our bench. I think he is a highly under-rated player. He has produced some blinders in his stint with Liverpool while Stevie Me walked away with the man of the match awards because he can run faster in a straight line and fall right inside the penalty box as soon as a defender moves in.

So what if Yossi is 30? Zola was 30 when he joined Chelsea. Age is never a factor if that has no impact or influence in the outcome. He is anyway on a 3-year contract, which is pretty decent. It neither too long nor too short. He has a very useful premier league experience and a wide range of experience/exposure than Joe Cole. He is an incomparably better goal scorer than Joe Cole and I think he is a better dribbler too. If Benayoun can play as well as he has with not-so-top teams such as Maccabi Haifa, Racing Santander and Liverpool, imagine what he can do with his Chelsea colleagues. Finally, we can have a set up where Flo and Yossi can interchange and play like Robben and Duff used to. So, if Yossi comes in at £6m as a replacement for Joe Cole, I would take him without blinking my eye. Shoot me now because I’m gonna say it – Yossi Benayoun is a better footballer than Joe Cole.

The good thing about this world cup is, the prices of the popular targets such as Aguero should have fallen. None of the popular targets have made their name in this world cup. If anything, it is the German crop that should have their prices spiraling up with every match. I think we are not done with our transfers. In the next few weeks, I truly expect, not just hope, that Chelsea would make a couple of good signings. I’m not referring to the stars, suns and moons, just the good players that can become great at Chelsea.

World cup is beautifully poised, isn’t it? My predictions have been fairly decent. I’ve got quite a few things right – France got eliminated in group league stage, Japan got to the second round ahead of Denmark & Cameroon (one of you said you’ll eat your hat if this happened), Chile made it to the second round, Brazil and Argentina are going strong. I’ve got 5 out the final 8 teams right. The teams that failed me were England, Mexico and Italy. But in this topsy-turvy world cup, I thought my predictions have been pretty decent.

I had said that Brazil would beat Netherlands in the quarterfinals and it would be a fairly easy win for Brazil. Also, I had said that Argentina would beat Germany in the quarterfinals. I’m still holding on to those predictions. Anyway, let’s look at all those four quarterfinal matches to make some quick crystal balling:

Brazil vs Netherlands

Nothing’s changed. I still think Brazil would overwhelm Netherlands. Brazil are having a brilliant world cup. They have been nothing short of brilliant. There’s a widespread feeling that this Brazilian does not have flair etc. I don’t buy into that. The way I see it, they are playing brilliant football with some devastating moves. So far, in this world, they have played the best football. What makes them a very strong favourite is the fact that they have a very good and pacy defenders and a top class goal keeper at the back. Also look how they peaking at the right time in this world cup.

Netherlands have done reasonably well but they really have not been tested so far. I have my doubts about this Dutch defence coping with the quality of Brazilian attack. I don’t see them holding the Brazilian attack goalless for 90 minutes. On the other hand, the Brazilian defence can hold the Dutch attack. Arjen Robben certainly would do good to retain his respect for Lucio and Julio Cesar after the champions league final. As far as this quarterfinal match goes, I think this would be an easy win for Brazil. The joy of Brazilian football is back!

Uruguay vs Ghana

This is anybody’s match. Whoever could hold the nerves better could win it. I have a feeling that Uruguay could edge this contest. All through this tournament, I’ve seen that the African teams are bit mentally and psychologically weaker. They seem to drop their shoulders bit too early, become too desperate and deviate from their tactics. Ghana’s goals and chances have come primarily due to individual efforts rather than team work and smart open play. If Uruguay had keep the Ghana striker quiet, that would mean Uruguay winning half the battle.

Diego Forlan is the key. I can’t see him not scoring in this match. It’s for this man, Diego Forlan, I want Uruguay to win this match. He’s given it all for his team. He and Suarez together are very difficult to contain. I would be happy for Michael Essien if Ghana wins but Uruguay do have the edge on an overall basis.

Germany vs Argentina

Germany have been attacking very well. Their midfield and forwards seem to play like they all play for the same club all these years. They can test any defence and Argentina’s defence have been a bit suspect. Germany are certainly finding the net, twice or more. Probably, this is the match where Maradona would repent for not having brought Zanetti and Cambiasso along with him. On the other hand, even Germany’s defence is equally suspect. Look at the Matthew Upson goal to see how poorly Germany can defend in a world cup match.

This Argentina team has been lauded for how their ‘scintillating’ performances and they keep cutting down on the odds after every match. Honestly, I’ve not been too impressed with them. I’m yet to see one brilliant goal from team play from this Argentina team. All their goals have been from set pieces, individual efforts, off sides etc. If they can win the world cup this way, good for them. But I think the way they have played so far indicate that they aren’t so special and they are a bit overrated in this world cup. The way they have played until now, there is not enough width in their style of play and Messi is playing a bit deeper than usual. I think Germany would find this comfortable to negotiate.

Germany may not attack Argentina as freely as they did against the other teams. The Argentina forwards have got pace, skill and power in abundance. This is a cracker of a match. This would be the toughest prediction of this world cup. All said, I do think Argentina would nick this one.

Paraguay vs Spain

As per my original predictions, I expected Spain to get knocked out in the quarterfinal stage. That’s because I thought they would face Italy here. Do I still think Spain would get knocked out to Paraguay? Not really but this is not a walk over for Spain. I know that, like Argentina, Spain are being hailed as a top favourites because of the football they have played in this world cup. That puzzles me. Yes, they have made a billion passes and had a million shots but despite having David Villa and Torres, I think they lack the cutting edge. They cannot forever depend on David Villa. Even that goal against Portugal was an offside goal. No one wants to talk about that because Spain are a critics favourite.

While Spain do have lots of possession, their conversion ratio from possession to goal threats is low. When I say goal threat, I’m talking about real goal threats and not just shots on goal. Paraguay are not rabbits. I’m sure they will give it their best shot but I think Spain would still go through. But I won’t surprised if Paraguay completes the fourth South American slot in the semi finals in this world cup.

So, predictions aside, what do I want to see? I want all South American teams to progress and a classic Brazil vs Argentina final and Brazil as deserving world champions. Enjoy your world cup, it’s not gonna last too long!

Great news! David Silva wants to be a bluechampion! And he absolutely means it. In this cryptic world of transfer interviews, he’s come out so openly and clearly that he wants to join Chelsea. In fact, it’s hard to be more clear than this. This is out on every football website so I hope there is some truth in this. I tend to believe stories that have a quote than the ones that don’t. While non-English players are bigger victims of ‘sensational misquoting’ by British tabloids, this one from David Silva cannot just be a misquote. This is too much and too clear to be a misquote. We can expect this to catch some momentum and become the hot news in the next few days. Read this now:

Chelsea have established themselves as one of the best clubs in Europe over the last five years. They might not have the history of Real Madrid or AC Milan but they are creating their own history now. There is no reason why in the future Chelsea can’t be as decorated as Real Madrid. Chelsea probably have, along with Barcelona, the best squad in football and if any player joins Chelsea he knows he is going to win things. In players like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, they have players who would get into any team in the world and it would be a pleasure to play with them. There is no doubt in my mind that Chelsea would be a great club to play for – and a club where I could fulfill my ambition of league titles and the European Cup. The Premier League is still the place to be. No other league in the world has six or seven Champions League-quality teams.

Whoops! That’s quite a lot on a club that’s not your own isn’t it? About 75% of that text is Silva talking about Chelsea as if he’s already a Chelsea player. He talks about the club’s status, ambition, squad and players in a very crisp few lines. I like the part where he says Chelsea are creating their own history. Now, one might ask ‘isn’t this the same Silva who wanted to join Man Utd about a month or so back?’. Well, Silva’s contract is expiring at Valencia this month. He doesn’t want to stay at Valencia. He is not getting a chance in either Real Madrid or Barcelona. Any other club in Spain does not match his ambitions. He wants to play in the premier league because it is more challenging and competitive. In this backdrop, when he was asked if he would join Man Utd if there’s an offer, you’d expect him to say ‘yes’. That’s natural isn’t it? Or do you expect him to say, ‘No, I won’t join the stinking manure. I want to win the league by playing good football on the pitch with no help from the referees and authorities’. No, he just responded like any player in his position would do.

By the way, here is what he had said about him ‘joining’ manure.

When you hear a club like Manchester United is interested in you it is an honor. I am very aware of the Premier League, and in recent years it has been the stand-out league in the world. If it came calling, especially if it was a club like Manchester United, it would be very hard to resist. I am happy at Valencia but every player has his price and if they get an offer they think is good business anything is possible.

Now you see the difference between how he’s taken to Chelsea and Man Utd. What he has said about him joining Chelsea makes me feel that he has almost signed up for Chelsea already. It’s very obvious that Chelsea wants to keep their transfers very low key. And probably, David Silva has spilt the beans?! I hope so. David Silva was not one of the players in my ‘wishful thinking’ list because I was kind of sure that he’d join one of the Spanish giants. There were also rumours that JM wants Silva. Now that Silva’s come out and said this I can’t wait to see him in a Chelsea shirt.

David Silva would be the perfect replacement for Joe Cole. In fact, he would much much better than having a Joe Cole on the pitch. He is younger, hungrier, more effective and less injury prone. Silva can play either in the right wing or the left wing – both with consummate ease. He can also play as an attacking midfielder or the support striker. In short, he is exactly what we need now. I had written earlier about strengthening our right hand side. He could just be that. Remember, Bosingwa would return as the right back plus one of Essien or Lampard could play as the right midfielder. Now if David Silva is the right winger, this can make a big difference and can have a telling effect in our defence of the league title.

Some could say that he is a bit lightweight and could be muscled away by the big bullying defenders of the premier league but then you could say that for most pacy, nifty wingers. You don’t see any burly, heavyweight winger who is also lightning quick, do you? These players are of the light mould but they make it up with their skill.

Ok I’ll stop now. There’s no word from Silva’s agent or from Chelsea FC. It’s just Silva talking about Chelsea being a great club and a club where he could fulfill his ambitions. I really hope that there is something that’s happening behind the scenes and one day morning I wake to the news in the official website that David Silva has joined Chelsea. Please let that day be tomorrow!