FOOTBALL: FRENCH COLLAPSE

Well, my first ever two matches. Unfortunately, the Dutch were playing with nine new faces from the previous two matches which they scored in big amounts. Still, the managed to have a 2-0 victory over Romania with goals from Huntelaar and Van Persie. Huntelaar is one of the players who is highly talked about in the transfer market. This chance given to him will surely benefit his transfer prospects for the new season.

I was switching between the France-Italy and Netherlands-Romania matches back and forth. I believe most fans were doing the same thing. Whenever there was time wasted for the goalie to pick up the ball after a wild shot to execute a kick back to the match, that's the best period to switch.

As for France, it all started to go wrong when Ribery got injured. Nasri was given a chance to show his stuff but Eric Abidal's red card forced him to be substituted for Boumsong to come in. The decision to choose Abidal over Thuram was a big mistake. Well, I know Boumsong from his Newcastle United days and I can tell you he is not a reliable defender. Nasri really was not given much time to show off his skills during the EURO2008 so I guess his transfer to Arsenal could fail. Luca Toni had so many chances to score but he blew all of them. I could not stand the misses. I had wished that Cassano score a goal or two since he was given a chance too for the match.

Now, I think I can still wear the blue Italian previous World Cup t-shirt out and not get disapproval from the public. Hehe!

Italy will face Spain next without Pirlo and Gattuso because of suspension. Holland will play either Sweden or Russia for the next match. The Italy-Spain match will be the biggest test for the Spaniards to prove their worth to be among the potential winners of this tournament. A victory will more or less shake off their underachievers tag.

As for Barcelona, Guardiola had revealed that they are ready to offload Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o - the three most crucial players who helped them to the latest Double before. He said though they are willing to keep Ronaldinho if he recaptures his form. That means for sure Deco and Samuel Eto'o will leave. Let's see how will Barcelona be rebuilt and how far the young coach, Guardiola, can go.