Paul the psychic octopus has predicted Spain will beat Holland and win World Cup 2010 while Germany shall be triumphant in the third and fourth place play-off.

The news will come as a boost to Spain ahead of the World Cup final against Holland at Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg on Sunday.

The psychic octopus has not made a mistake when predicting the outcome of a football match for two years. On that occassion Paul said Germany would beat Spain in the Euro 2008 final but Luis Aragones‘ team came out on top, winning 1-0.

At this World Cup Paul has predicted all of Germany’s results correctly even including the defeats against Serbia in the group stages and Spain in the semi-finals.

Since correctly predicting Spain’s victory over Joachim Löw’s team Paul has been on the recieving end of a backlash from Germany fans.

However the octoped has got in support in the unlikely form of Sanish Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero who has joked he will provide Paul with a team of boduguards.

Zapatero said: “I am concerned for the octopus. I am thinking of sending him a protective team.”

Spanish environment and fisheries minister Elena Espinosa has also sworn to protect the octopus.

“On Monday, I shall be at the European Council of Ministers and I shall be asking for a [fishing] ban on Paul the octopus so the Germans do not eat him,” Espinosa said.

The octopus had already made it’s prediction for the third and fourth place play-off opting for the mussel in the Germany box. It took Paul just a couple of minutes to decide its adopted nation will beat Uruguay to take third place in the tournament.
Sourced via telegraph.co.uk

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There is no doubt that Germany deserved their 4-1 victory over England in the soccer World Cup on Sunday.

Argentina, who later that evening crushed Mexico by three goals to one, also merited their win.

The Germans and the Argentinians were far superior to their opponents.

It’s a pity that these two great victories have been overshadowed by controversies emanating from two crucial mistakes made by match officials.

England’s star midfielder, Frank Lampard, thought he had scored a brilliant goal in the first half before referee Jorge Larrionda incorrectly ruled that the ball had not crossed the goal line.

The English were trailing 1-2 at the time, and its players and supporters believe that, if the goal been allowed, the outcome of the game could have been different.

In the Argentinian game, referee Roberto Rosetti – one of the best in the business – allowed Carlos Tevez’s first goal to stand despite the striker clearly being off-side.

The two incidents have revived calls for goal-line technology to be introduced in soccer.

The world football governing body, Fifa, and its the board of its International Football Association, refuse to allow the use of such technology despite clear evidence that it would enhance the game and assist match officials in their duties.

Fifa says technology would slow the game because officials would be forced to stop matches while they reviewed video replays.

But the reality is that introducing limited technology, especially around the goal post, would delay a match by only a few seconds and would not interfere with the rhythm of the game.

It is time Fifa followed other sporting codes and embraced modern technology.
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Inter Milan’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona cemented its transformation from Champions League underachiever to title contender, coach Jose Mourinho said.

The Italian team came from behind last night to beat defending champion Barcelona in their semifinal opener in Milan and secure its fifth straight win in the knockout stages.

“Inter have made their mark in Europe,” Mourinho said in comments on UEFA’s Web site. “We have gone from a small team in the Champions League to a team that now knows how to win.”

Until this year, Inter hadn’t won in the knockout phases of European soccer’s elite club competition since March 2006. Victory in the two-game series would send Inter to its first European Cup final since 1972. It last won the trophy in 1965.

Wesley Sneijder, Maicon and Diego Milito scored at the San Siro last night to inflict Barcelona’s fourth loss of the season in all competitions, denting its chances of becoming the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to repeat as European champion.

Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola said his team had given away “simple balls” and allowed the home side, which had one-third of the possession, to hit on the counterattack. Barca will seek to move the ball around quicker at the Nou Camp in the return game on April 28, he added.

“We will make those 90 minutes last a long time for Inter,” Guardiola said in comments on Barca’s Web site.

The teams also met in the group stage of this year’s competition, playing a scoreless draw in Italy before Barca won 2-0 at home on goals by Pedro Rodriguez and Gerard Pique.

Far From Final

“We are far from reaching the final,” Mourinho said. “We still have a lot to do. Barcelona are the best team in the world when they play at home.”

Inter almost took the lead last night after 17 minutes when a long shot by Samuel Eto’o drew a save from Victor Valdes and the ball fell to Milito, who sent an angled drive across the front of the goal. Barcelona scored two minutes later when Pedro beat Julio Cesar with a low shot from Maxwell’s cutback pass.

After Lucio and Milito sent opportunities wide, Sneijder fired past Valdes to tie the game in the 30th minute. Inter took the lead on a counterattack three minutes into the second half as Milito sent a cross from the right, which Maicon put by Valdes.

Mourinho’s team made it 3-1 in the 61st minute. Eto’o lofted a cross to Sneijder, who headed the ball straight to the ground and into the path of Milito, who nodded it past Valdes.

Penalty Claim

FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi forced Cesar into a diving save in the 78th minute and Inter defender Lucio made a leaping clearance. Barcelona had a penalty claim rejected after Sneijder appeared to take down Dani Alves, who was instead shown a yellow card for diving by the referee.

Lucio then blocked an attempt by Pique at the near post after a scramble in front of the Inter goal and Cesar caught Pedro’s overhead shot as Barcelona pressed for a second goal.

“We have no excuses,” Guardiola said. “They were always looking to get in behind us and they have very quick attackers. They played in their style, while we weren’t as effective as we have been in other games.”

Mourinho said his team will need to “fight hard” in the return game to seal a spot in the May 22 final in Madrid. The other semifinal begins today when Bayern Munich hosts Lyon.

“We have two choices for the game in Barcelona: get to the final in Madrid or leave Europe with our heads held high,” Mourinho said. “If we don’t win the Champions League this year I’m sure we’ll win it in the near future.”
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Paul Scholes kept Manchester United’s Premier League title challenge alive with just 17 seconds to spare at a tense Eastlands.

Veteran Scholes, who signed a new contract to stay at Old Trafford on Friday, celebrated with fellow 30-something Gary Neville after his 93rd-minute header provided more derby-day heartbreak for bitter rivals Manchester City.

Incredibly, it was the third time United have beaten their ‘noisy neighbours’ with an injurytime goal this season after previous strikes from Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, chasing a record fourth successive Premier League title, highlighted afterwards the club’s tradition of never giving up – something 35-year-old Scholes knows better than most. Ecstatic Ferguson said: ‘It’s a fantastic quality we have – to keep on going to the end. It’s part of the club’s history and we’ve done it again.

‘Without the late goal, it would have been very difficult to have stayed in the title race.

‘We deserved to win but it was one of those games when it looked as if we wouldn’t score. I’d almost given up hope but we’ve done it so many times before, you always think there might be a slight chance.

‘We’ve scored three last-minute goals against City now and deserve it. Scholes was man of the match and it was an amazing finish.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini

Late blow: Roberto Mancini was left reeling in defeat

‘It became more open in the last 10 minutes, giving us a chance to get men forward, and nobody is better at that than Scholes.’

Despite the influx of young stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in recent years, Ferguson still has great regard for his golden generation of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and Scholes, who was thinking about retirement earlier in the season.

Assistant boss Mike Phelan said: ‘That’s why Scholes has a new one-year contract – he can still do the business. He’s the old maestro, it was like he was conducting the orchestra.’

Scholes said: ‘I hope it will prove to be an important goal but we’ll only know how important at the end of the season.’

Defeat was a blow to City’s bid for a place in the top four. Former United star Carlos Tevez was kept quiet and Vincent Kompany’s attempts to test the fragile ankle of Rooney only led to the City man being booked.
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Have the best of work and play during the World Cup, writes Margaret Harris

Earlier this month, an office e-mail did the rounds saying that the South African government had decided that we could all have the five days off work during the World Cup when Bafana Bafana were playing the first-round matches.

Office chatter was soon focusing on the effects on productivity as a result of these extra days off.

The e-mail turned out to be an April Fool’s joke. But if South Africans were to get extra public holidays in honour of the World Cup, how would productivity be affected?

According to financial advisory services firm Deloitte, the tournament could have a beneficial effect, depending on how companies approach it.

An international research report in 2006 – The Impact of Sport on the Workplace – shows that big sporting events boost employee morale, making them more productive.

A study conducted before the 2006 World Cup in Germany shows that most employers and employees believed that they could make use of sport to boost morale and productivity.

In fact, 50% of men and 40% of women felt that encouraging staff to watch sport together would boost morale.

According to Gert de Beer, director of human capital at Deloitte: “Employers need to ensure that positive morale is built up around the World Cup; South African employers should take employees’ comments seriously and put appropriate measures in place to ensure that employees remain productive and still show up to work.”

A recent UK study found that 47% of women and 40% of men believed that sporting success lifted their mood and made them more productive.

A survey conducted among more than 500 Deloitte employees in South Africa reached similar conclusions: respondents viewed this year’s World Cup tournament as a constructive nation-building exercise.

The employees indicated that they would work longer hours and wake up earlier to ensure they completed their work on time and were able to watch the games for which they had bought tickets.

“The enthusiasm and excitement for the games can be seen in the statements made by employees in the survey,” De Beer said.

“They are willing to be diligent during the 2010 World Cup, so as not to miss what may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

He added that it was important that companies found a way to balance employees’ desire to watch matches with the needs of the organisation.

“Not doing so might result in a negative working environment, with employees taking extended sick leave and high levels of absenteeism.”

However, companies should not confuse people’s presence in the office with productivity.

The Hudson report found that during a big sporting event in the UK, employees who felt that their companies were too rigid, became indifferent to work and would try to find ways to watch sporting events covertly while at work.

De Beer suggested that employers should consider “tweaking” their policies to create an environment that boosted morale among employees.

“It is important to remember that your employees are people with needs and interests that extend beyond their jobs,” he said.

“It is therefore crucial that this is taken into account, especially when our country will be staging a major international sporting event.”

He suggested that some temporary adjustments to policies could include a policy for flexible working hours, staff rotation programmes, a World Cup leave policy and a “screening room” where employees could invite clients to watch the games.

Lesley Holm, divisional manager at recruitment firm Professional Career Services, said the World Cup would bring “enormous possibilities, unique challenges and a chance to kick-start our economy”.

An example of one of the challenges resulting from the tournament could be the effect on skilled employees in South Africa.

“With the attention on maximised productivity from fewer workers, employers may be faced with a new dilemma,” Holm said.

”With workers already under enormous pressure, there is a danger in employees ’shopping’ for new opportunities when the recession finally turns and growth steadies again on an upward trend.

“The negative impact of this for employees is the resultant drain on skills sets as the economy recovers and skilled workers become more demanding on matters relating to their environment and workplace conditions.”

But many companies are making an effort to meet these challenges head-on.

Liza van Wyk, the chief executive of services company AstroTech, said companies were showing increased interest in staff training in the run-up to the World Cup, “especially in-house training”.

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Bayern Munich showed Manchester United what it’s like to lose a crucial Champions League match in injury time with a 2-1 victory Tuesday, while Lyon beat Bordeaux 3-1 in another quarter-final match.

United, which scored twice in added time to shock Bayern 2-1 in the 1999 final, had not long conceded a 77th-minute equalizer to France winger Franck Ribery when Ivica Olic stole the ball from Patrice Evra in the United area and shot low into the bottom corner.

And United’s bad night got worse seconds later when star striker Wayne Rooney, who had opened the scoring with his 34th club goal of the season, limped off the field late with what appeared to be a right ankle injury only 10 weeks before England opens its World Cup campaign against the United States on June 12.

Olic dispossessed Patrice Evra in the area and feinted to beat goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar with a side-footed shot for the come-from-behind win. Franck Ribery had equalized in the 77th minute for Bayern with a free kick that deflected off Rooney.

“Manchester has a very good chance to advance because they scored away — 2-1 is not the best result but we’ve scored a lot of away goals, so we can have some confidence,” Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. “In the second half, we played excellently and we pressed on until the very end.”

United can still advance to the semifinals for a fourth straight year with as little as a 1-0 win in the return match on April 7, but veteran midfielder Paul Scholes is the only fit player in United’s squad to have scored more than one goal in the club’s nine Champions League matches.

“We won’t be giving the ball away like we did tonight,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “We have the away goal and that’s an advantage. We’re good enough to win.

“We kept giving the ball away. We caused our own defeat really. It was a disappointing performance, possession-wise. To give them credit, they pressed the ball everywhere but we should have played better. We kept giving it away and it causes your own downfall.”

Rooney was hurt while competing for the ball with Mario Gomez and the England striker immediately signalled to the United bench that he had to come off the field. United will assess the injury Wednesday but Rooney could miss Saturday’s Premier League meeting with title rival Chelsea.

Rooney was helped off the field to complete United’s misery against Bayern but Ferguson tried to stay upbeat.

“He’s got a kick in the ankle,” Ferguson said. “We’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow. Hopefully it’s not too serious.”

Rooney got United off to a flying start, connecting with a free kick from Nani in the second minute after being left all alone to score his 34th goal of the season for the English club.

But it was not a lack of cutting edge that cost United victory on Tuesday at Allianz Arena.

“Bayern were the better team, we can’t complain about that,” Ferguson said. “But we’re better than that in possession. We kept giving it away and it causes your own downfall.”

Bayern was without winger Arjen Robben, who failed to recover from a calf injury, so it was left to the team’s other main star in Ribery to make his presence felt by forcing Van der Sar to make a diving save in the 20th.

United appeared to be cruising after Rooney’s 11th goal in nine matches, but Ribery equalized with a free kick that deflected off Rooney and beat goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

Lyon ends Bordeux’s unbeaten run

Lyon secured victory over Bordeaux through two goals from Lisandro Lopez, a string of saves by goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and defensive blunders from its French rival.

Lopez put Lyon ahead in the 10th minute before Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh equalized four minutes later with a header.

Brazilian winger Michel Bastos made it 2-1 from a tight angle in the 32nd and Lopez sealed the victory in the 77th with a penalty, sending goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso the wrong way.

“Bordeaux came to score an away goal,” Lyon coach Claude Puel told Canal Plus. “The equalizer affected us a bit. But we remained lucid and focused to keep playing and go forward.”

But Lloris made an amazing reflex save with the score at 2-1 in the 61st, blocking a volley from five metres by Chamakh.

Seven minutes later, the France goalkeeper stopped Yoann Gourcuff’s free kick that was headed toward the top corner.

“We’re unhappy that they scored,” Lyon midfielder Kim Kallstrom said. “But overall we’re pretty pleased with our performance.”

The result ended Bordeaux’s unbeaten run in the Champions League this season, but Lyon will miss Lopez and France winger Sidney Govou to suspension in the April 7 second leg after both picked up yellow cards.

Bordeaux nearly conceded a fourth in the last minute but Tremoulinas cleared Cameroon midfielder Jean Makoun’s header off the line.

The first-leg matches of the remaining quarter-finals are scheduled for Wednesday, when defending champion Barcelona is at Arsenal and Inter Milan hosts CSKA Moscow.

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FORMER National First Division side Vasco Da Gama are aware of the huge challenges of playing in the Premier Soccer League.

That’s according to Vasco da Gama coach Carlos das Neves, who is well aware of the difference in standards compared to the First Division, after the Cape side sailed into soccer’s big-time in South Africa following a 2-1 (3-2 aggregate) win over Black Leopards at Parow Park on Sunday.

Vasco therefore became the overall First Division champions and will now play in the Premier Soccer League next season. Vasco also took home R300 000 prize for winning the First Division title.

Although he trusts his players can stand their own against some of the best in the PSL, Das Neves reckoned that he would have to strengthen his side.

“It was a huge challenge for us and I’m very happy that we have made it to the PSL. I have to admit that playing in the PSL is going to be yet another challenge. It will be different to playing in the First Division.

“We are definitely going to strengthen the team, but we will have to do that in a clever way. We must get players for different positions,” he said. Vasco is now the third side from the Mother City after Ajax Cape Town and Santos, to have a team in the PSL. Meanwhile, PSL CEO Kjetil Siem has welcomed the side’s promotion.

“Vasco’s promotion is richly deserved. They have shown during the last two seasons that they have a sound administrative unit and have proven that professionalism off the field has its rewards on it. I’m satisfied that they will adapt to life in the top league especially coming to terms with our various manuals,” Siem said.

He has informed the club’s bosses to look for another venue as Parow Park did not meet PSL requirements. “There is nothing we can do about the situation, but we will try and engage the PSL in an effort to let us play against the small teams at Parow Park,” Das Neves said.
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Two goals from Didier Drogba helped Chelsea to dominate Arsenal 2-0 Sunday and take the championship lead in English football.

The Blues have two lengths ahead of Manchester United who thrashed bottom club Portsmouth (5-0) Saturday, including a goal from Wayne Rooney, still tops the scoring charts with 21 achievements.

Chelsea has 58 points against 56 for MU.

The Ivorian striker struck twice in the eighth and 23rd minutes to seal the defeat of the Gunners are third with seven points in the Red Devils.
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Manchester United manager stunned as side knocked out of third round for first time in his reign and Leeds earn tie with Tottenham

A shocked Sir Alex Ferguson launched a scathing attack on his players after Manchester United were sent crashing out of the FA Cup by Leeds United on Sunday.

Jermaine Beckford’s nineteenth-minute goal secured his club’s first win at Old Trafford for almost 29 years on an unforgettable afternoon for the fallen giants and Ferguson promised to wield the axe before United make the short trip to Manchester City in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Yesterday’s 1-0 defeat means that United have failed to reach the fourth round of the Cup for the first time during Ferguson’s 23-year reign. The last time they were knocked out in the third round was in the 1983-84 season, when Ron Atkinson’s side were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth.

Ferguson was also furious at the failure to play more than the allocated five minutes of stoppage time at the end and risked a rebuke from the Football Association by claiming that the time added on was “an insult to the game and the players out there”.

The United manager has a two-match suspended touchline ban hanging over him for describing Alan Wiley as “unfit to referee” in October.

The reward for Leeds is another trip to the kind of venue to which their supporters used to be accustomed as the Coca-Cola League One club visit Tottenham Hotspur in the outstanding tie of the fourth-round draw.

Ferguson took the defeat hard. “I didn’t expect that,” he said. “The preparation was very good. I was shocked at the performance. We didn’t start right and Leeds did start right. They fought like tigers, but you expect that from any team coming to Old Trafford. They had a far bigger appetite than us for the game.

“We have to get it out of our system — that’s exactly what you have to do. But we have a semi-final on Wednesday and a lot of these players today won’t be playing. You have to view that performance in the right light, but we have to get ready for Wednesday now. I had the team in mind but there may be one or two changes now.

“It’s a disappointment. Human beings can always surprise you but we didn’t expect that. I don’t think any of them can say they had a good day.”

Wes Brown replaced Nemanja Vidic in the starting line-up after the Serbia defender pulled up in the warm-up. “I couldn’t tell you, I couldn’t tell you at all,” Ferguson said when asked to explain what was wrong with Vidic. His replacement was caught out by Jonathan Howson’s fine pass and Beckford, despite a heavy first touch, finished with aplomb.

“We spoke about it [Beckford’s pace] before the game,” Ferguson said. “They were caught napping. It was a bad goal for us to lose.”

Simon Grayson, the Leeds manager, said: “It’s another fantastic draw for us against another top Premier League club. We are looking forward to it.” Leeds have beaten Tottenham only once in the competition, in 1972 — the year of their only FA Cup success.

Grayson paid tribute to their 9,000-strong army of travelling supporters and said the result was their reward for sticking by the club after a calamitous five years. “It was a fantastic achievement,” he said. “It is stages like these that make you want to perform and I want to be back here as a Premier League manager.”

Chelsea, who crushed Watford 5-0, are firm favourites to win the Cup. They will travel to Preston North End in the fourth round. The only guaranteed top-flight meeting is Arsenal’s trip to Stoke City, where Arsène Wenger’s team — 2-1 winners over on Sunday — lost in acrimonious circumstances in the Premier League last season.
Sourced via timesonline.co.uk