Game Summary: I am most pleased with the end result.  As I said this would be a good game.  No team had a clear advantage over the other which makes it an exciting game.  The penalties are always the best and that’s when I was on my feet. 

Russia and Netherlands Tomorrow: The power of Holland will be seen tomorrow as they face a talented but young goalkeeper in Igor Akinfeev.  I have probably “worn-out” my like for him by now but I have high hopes.

Other News:

• Barcelona: I recently reported that Barca made an opening transfer offer on Juventus’ striker David Trezequet.  They were told to “back off” and “he is not for sale.”  I guess they will have to look else where for a forward as he and Valencia’s David Villa have been placed on the untouchables list.  Barca had been interested in Villa before the Valencia statement. 
• Liverpool has offered 20 million pounds for the services of David Silva who plays for Valencia.

Germany beat Portugal today.  While the Portugese side did very well in taking the champions title for their group, Germany snapped up their hopes for 08.  The game got very exciting in the last minutes as Portugal scored a goal to make the final score 3-2.

Future Fixtures:

Tomorrow- Croatia vs. Turkey: I like this game.  The heroics of Turkey in their win against Petr Cech and the Czech Republic proved to the world that they are here to play.  However, they did trail in that game which is a weakness.  At the same time, Croatia did win all of their group games defeating Germany in the process.  Once again, I like this game. 

Saturday- Holland vs. Russia: In short, miracles may happen, but Holland hasn’t shown very many weaknesses.  I like the competition and level of play Igor Akinfeev will be up against but I don’t like his chances.  The power of the Oranje will prove to be too much for Russia on this day.

Sunday- Spain vs. Italy: This will be another good game.  Power vs. Power.  Class vs. Class. What better game than this that pits two top class keepers against one another(Casillas v. Buffon).  The defensive corps each possess.  The midfield so chalked full of talent.  And the strikers to finish.  This is truly the game that I will watch.

 Transfer Rumors:

• Barcelona put out an opening bid on David Trezeguet.

As some of you may know, I put out an article myself about one of his National Team Teammates, Ronaldinho. It seems both ‘Inhos, have fallen out of favor with their respective clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid-how ironic. Both rivals, are sure to be losing key players if they so choose to let go both guys.

Furthermore, the Robinho situation is quite interesting. He has been benched by Bernd Schuster, the Madrid boss. Supposedly Robinho has ditched training sessions rather sneakingly which has not impressed his coach either. He has taken a rather nice liking to jumping out of a dressing room window during training sessions while avoiding the team, the press, and of course Schuster himself.

The general consensus is that Manchester City, who has been in the market for sometime for a big name, is interested. Also, Manchester City has been included in the discussion for Ronaldinho’s services if they become available.

We shall watch these situations very closely to see what ends up happening. By the way, Robinho was the proposed front-runner for the FIFA World Player of the Year award but has fallen out of this race due to these occurrences.

With seasoned players with as much experience and talent as Drogba himself, who does he remove from the lineup as even a possible substitute? Barca already has the likes of Henry and Eto’o not to mention Lionel Messi in this role as well.

Also, the youth forwards in the Barca system should also have plenty to object about as well as another will only take away time from their development. Victor Vazquez, Bojan, and young Mexican future star Giovanni Dos Santos will surely wonder how much playing time they will all get with the addition of Drogba plus themselves.

However a counter argument to summarize and finalize this argument should be considered: If in-fact Ronaldinho is transferred away from The Nou, and even Eto’o. Then we probably will see a Drogba addition to the Barca side. Time will only tell.

ESPN is also reporting that the deal will be finalized sometime tomorrow, Tuesday January 29.

Best of Luck Woody!