Future Funk (America's Got Talent 2010)

From American's Idol, lets move on to America's got talent 2010. I have just witnessed one of the cutest kids around, instant melt even before they performed. Serious shit <3













So from kids, lets move on to the adults. Haspop of France auditioning for America's Got Talent 2010, absolutely incredible, mind blowing dancing.

SPAIN 1 - 0 SOUTH KOREA: Jesus Navas saves Spains blushes (Highlights)

Spain struggled for the second time in a week as 'La Roja' scraped past South Korea courtesy of a scorching goal from young Jesus Navas six minutes from time. Perhaps it's the pressure that comes with being named World Cup favourites by the bookies, but having seen the comments left by various Spanish fans across Marca and the forums, many believe the blame lies elsewhere. One thing is for sure, right now there is something lacking. Many are questioning Vicente del Bosques tactics, playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation which has served to clog up the middle of the park, stemming that natural flow of the ball so characterisitic of Spain in Euro 2008. Today they were slow, predictable and lacking that penache they had in Austria two summers ago. Leaving Marcos Senna at home could be Del Bosques biggest error as Spain coach. The unsung hero who lets Xavi, Silva and co get on with their job of terrorising defenses won't be around in South Africa. And there's no ready made replacement. Sergio Busquets simply doesnt cut it at international level in my view, and Javi Martinez has only just made the leap from club football.  

With Victor Valdes making his long-awaited debut in the second half (strangely ten years to the day since Iker Casillas made his debut), the shining lights in a drab showing were the two young guns Pedro and Jesus Navas. The Sevilla winger a constant threat down the right, and with only Cesc Fabregas' effort which smacked the crossbar to show for their efforts with 84 minutes on the clock, up stepped Navas to thump a cracking effort into the top right corner of Woon-Jaes goal. As the rest of Spain rejoiced, Florentino Perez was cursing his bad luck. That'll be another €10million euros he'll have to fork out for Sevillas electric winger.

So, another friendly win and another lacklustre outing. There's certainly no reason to panic (todays team was a second-string XI remember), but Spain will be expecting more against Poland in Murcia next week.

Spanish Government to restrict reckless spending among La Liga clubs

I'll start this post with a tricky little question. Three Spanish clubs managed to achieve an operating profit during the 2008/2009 season. Real Madrid, Barcelona and one more. Who? With the aim of increasing this number, the Spanish government is set to lay out a new set of rules which will restrict the amount La Liga clubs have to play with when it comes to forking out for players. Jaime Lissavetsky, the countrys Secretary of State for Sport, has proposed that clubs will not be allowed to spend more than 70/75% of their income on transfers and wages, with the measure pencilled in for the 2011/2012 season. It remains to be seen if the proposal will become law or not, but those already worried that Barca and Real Madrid are turning Spanish football into a posh SPL won't be best pleased with what Lissavetsky has put forward.

But something has to be done as the combined debt among Liga clubs rose to €3.5 billion, with the salaries demanded by stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pushing wages to an outrageous 85% of total operating income. Six or seven of the Liga clubs are running bankrupt or in administration, with Mallorca the most recent to enter into voluntary administration as they posted a pre-tax loss of just over €5 million, even after finishing fifth. Spain has even more reason  to act urgently, as UEFA finalise their 'Financial Fair Play' rules which are set to be implemented in 2012/2013, and will require ALL teams to be running an operating profit in order to participate in European competition. 'Florentino summers' may well be a thing of the past.

Read the whole fascinating article, and find out the answer to my initial question, in the Wall Street Journal HERE. Spanish football is in for a rough ride in the coming years, as the sport is forced to come to terms with it's own financial crisis, brought about by reckless spending and dreadful money management.