Their coach Guus Hiddink who worked wonders in leading South Korea to the semi-finals of the last World Cup has never
Their coach, Guus Hiddink, who worked wonders in leading South Korea to the semi-finals of the last World Cup, has never been one to accept the time-honoured Dutch tradition of players publicly questioning the coach’s decisions and if his charges do not keep up to standards they end up on the sidelines. Their tall, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has the touch and awareness to be a great player, the playmaker Rafael van der Vaart is maturing fast, as are precocious midfielders Wesley Sneijder, Nigel de Jong and the South African Steven Pienaar. The coach Ronald Koeman is adamant his squad is stronger this season. It is an opinion shared by many.Normally, champions tend to let their guard slip the following season But do not expect PSV Eindhoven to be complacent. The Belgian striker Wesley Sonck, signed from Genk, will bring his trademark effervescence and explosive goalscoring; the Czech full-back Zdenek Grygera (Sparta Prague) has a growing reputation as both a no-nonsense defender and attacking threat; while the highly-rated young Frenchman Julien Escude, once a transfer target for Manchester United, should be an excellent replacement at sweeper for the Romanian Cristian Chivu, who has moved to Roma.No doubt Ajax will miss the wing-play of the fast-improving Andy van der Meyde now that he has gone to Internazionale. However, they still have more than enough talent to claim what will be their 29th league title.
A playmaker in a class of his own who was one of the key reasons why Sociedad went from one end of the league in 2001 to the other in 2002. A 22-year-old Basque brought up in the side’s apprentice squads, whose father Perico Alonso played in Barcelona, and the envy of the bigger clubs, particularly Barca. Currently, though, they are too strapped for cash to buy him out.. It is something of a myth that Ajax exclusively owe their success at home and abroad to the extravagantly-gifted products of their celebrated youth system. Tristan has a reputation for party-going, but his goal-scoring ability has kept the international an integral part of the Galicians’ European line-up.SAMUEL ETO’O (REAL MALLORCA)Masterminded Mallorca’s stinging 5-0 defeat of Real Madrid en route to victory in last year’s Copa del Rey – and the Cameroon player’s apprenticeship with the Real junior clubs made that particular feat all the more painful for the capital’s No 1 side. Quiet revolutions in Spain’s football basement there may be, but several floors higher up, everything continues to hinge around Real and their international obsessions – already announcing their next pre-season tour will be in Africa and India.Their objectives until then, based on easing the Spanish inferiority complex vis-?is things European, can, it seems, be taken for granted.THREE TO WATCH IN LA LIGADIEGO TRISTAN (DEPORTIVO LA CORU?)Following Roy Makaay’s departure to Bayern, the Seville-born forward should have a few more chances to strut his stuff in the Deportivo squad, despite trainer Javier Irureta’s embarrassment of forward riches.
Accusations of foul play in Deportivo’s sale of leading striker Roy Makaay to Bayern Munich continue to rumble on, even as the Galicians faced their first obstacle en route to the Champions’ League, Rosenberg last Wednesday night.What long-term salvation there is for Spanish clubs’ financial woes may come from highly unexpected sources, such as second division Leganes’ new owner Daniel Grinbank. Even the Real Madrid accounts are £10.5m out of kilter at the moment – hence their doubts on purchasing a defender – and Athletic Bilbao players have just accepted a 15 per cent pay cut.Not all sales have gone smoothly either. Purely in terms of trainers, let alone players, this relationship stretches back through Louis Van Gaal and Johan Cruyff to Renus Michaels in the 1970s.Symbolic of this return to old values is new signing Ronaldinho. Having just scraped a place in the Uefa Cup at the last minute last season – had they failed it would have been the first time Barcelona had not made it into any European competition – the Catalans are desperate to resume their traditional duopoly with Real.For all Barca’s new president, Joan Laporta, is determined to revolutionise the club’s finances, his choice of 41-year-old trainer Frank Rijkaard to spearhead their projected comeback is completely in keeping with Barcelona’s long-standing fascination with the elegance and open-ended strategies of Dutch football. Zidane, for one, has already argued that he would like see the Copa del Rey – Spain’s FA Cup equivalent – return to the club’s dressing rooms “because it’s a title I haven’t won yet”.Top of the list of those keen to take advantage of any self-doubt in Real’s ambitions are Barcelona. “David is a fast thinker and he has a vision of the game that few others can attain.” But Real’s constant need to see itself at the head of the Euro-pack means that even as Beckham searches for a new home on one of the plusher housing estates west of the capital, Real are feeling the pace in areas outside Beckham’s midfield domain.Queiroz’s demands for a new defender have, so far, been poleaxed by economics: five Real players, amongst them Fernando Morientes and Steve McManaman are up for sale, but in a near-stagnant market, their price tags are unhelpfully high.
