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Confederations Cup Preview

Many people would be looking to Brazil for fun and entertainment at the Confederations Cup but recent events will see an even stronger media focus placed on the side this summer.

The players’ future has come under the spotlight this year but given the way he talked in the aftermath of Manchester City’s move for him in January,there was never a real chance that Kaka was going to make a move to the Eastlands stadium but Gareth Barry has shown that money talks for certain players. AC Milan may not best pleased given that the fee from Real Madrid is considerably lower than what City offered but the player will undoubtedly be happier with his move to the capital of Spain.

Tax Laws in Britain Impact on Football
Real Madrid are clearly a bigger football team than Manchester City but the tax laws in Spain for foreign high earners is far more attractive than it is in the UK, which is set to see Kaka even happier with his time in Spain. The tax laws in Spain are more attractive than the UK, who are soon to see high earners pay 50p in every pound they have earned. This money may be useful for the UK government, who are badly in need of help at the moment but it will not be such an incentive for foreign footballers to move to Britain. Andrei Arshavin has already voiced his displeasure at the increase in his tax bill but Kaka will not have to worry about that. This means he should be able to focus on the task ahead which will be to ensure Brazil clinch their third Confederations Cup.

Brazil have won the Confederations Cup twice before, an honour they share with France and as the French are not involved this summer, there is an opportunity for Brazil to forge ahead in the roll of honour. It won’t be a simple task though as there is a number of top quality teams on show during this tournament.

The Confederations Cup is intended to be run as a dress rehearsal for next years World Cup and this means that the event will be staged in South Africa. A number of the stadiums that will be used next summer are not yet complete but those that are ready will get a proper trial with big crowds expected to turn up to see some of the world’s greatest players. There are eight teams taking part in the Confederations Cup with the major champions of each continent on show. Spain, the European Championship winners and Italy, the current World Cup holders will be representing Europe whilst Brazil and the USA are on show for the American continents. Host nation South Africa are naturally involved as are New Zealand, who are representing Oceania. The other two spots are filled by Iraq and Egypt.

Standard tournament layout
The layout of the Confederations Cup is a group stage followed by knockout matches. The teams are divided into two groups of four teams with the top two teams from both groups progressing to the knock out rounds and out of the groups, where they will meet in the semi final. The opening game sees South Africa take on Iraq but the first match that will catch the attention of the watching world will be New Zealand versus Spain.

Spain have already been served a severe warning of what New Zealand could do in their latest match against Italy. Okay, Italy eventually managed to overcome the Kiwi stars by a score of 4-3. Friendly matches can sometimes be a false judgement on the true merits of teams but the scoring exploits of Chris Killen will certainly have raised a few eyebrows.

Killen Shows Some Killer Form
Killen has been at Celtic Park for the past two seasons but has struggled to make an impact but he managed to score twice against the World champions. This is quite the feat for a player who has scored an only goal in the past two seasons. Even then, Killen’s solitary strike came against Gretna, a team who are no longer in business. From a single strike against a defunct team to a brace against the World champions, football never stops reminding you of how it is a funny old game.

This should see Killen brimming with confidence to face Spain, although there is every chance that injury will rule him out if his past two years are any indicator but if there is any nation that is full of confidence at the moment, it is Spain.

Spain Live Up to Hype
After decades of promise, Spain finally lived up to the promise and hype being worthy winners of the Euro 2008 tournament and will be hoping to lay down a marker before the 2010 World Cup. The qualification process appears to be going very smoothly so far for Spain and there doesn’t appear to be any great risk of them missing out on the major event next summer.

The US and Italy Collide
The Monday sees Brazil and Madrid’s new star come into play but it also features an intriguing match-up between Italy and the USA. There is a strong link between both countries with a huge number of Italian ex-pats and descendants being found in America. This has led to the Italians having a huge level of support in the USA, so it may be interesting to see who some fans support in this match. It may not be the most important match of all time but the United States team will be looking to cause an upset and perhaps earn them a move to one of the more fashionable leagues. The run of American and Italian football have been intertwined in the past few months due to David Beckhams’ dalliances with LA Galaxy and AC Milan so perhaps the Americans will have something to prove in their tie on Monday.

Any top class football tournament is worth watching and with some of the biggest stars in the world on show; the Confederations Cup could be the cure for the summertime blues that all football fans feel.

by Andrew Reilly

for The Silver Circle at www.footballtip.co.uk

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