About... a half-hour ago, the Scotland-Italy game ended. The score was 2-1, for Italy. I'll get right down to the point and save the details for someone else to provide. 

It was a rainy day in Glasgow, at Hampden Park, but that didn't stop Italy from scoring, via Luca Toni. The Bayern Munich man had recieved a quick pass from teammate, Antonio Di Natale and with the outside of his foot, he one-timed the ball into the back of the net. 1-0, Italy. But, right before the break, Scotland could've equalised, as a Scottish player had headed the ball, from a corner kick, and it was definintely headed gol-bound. But with Gigi Buffon out of position, an Italian defender had cleared it, well, off the line.

As we went into the second half, the rain seemed to let up a touch, but the pitch was still very slippery. Scottish and Italian players didn't really have a good grip on the grass, as they were sliping and sliding all over the field. In the 65th minute, Scotland had gotten a free-kick, just outside the area. The ball was struck with some menace from James McFadden, but the ball had deflected and went straight through the wall. Lee McCulloch gave a hard kick at it, but Gigi Buffon was able to save it... only to see the ball slip out of his grasp (mostly due to the wetness on the ball) and Barry Ferguson got the rebound. He kicked into the gol for the equaliser. 1-1, Scotland. As us TV viewers saw the replay, Ferguson looked to be off-side, but nothing was given. The ref said it was a perfectly legal gol.

As time was winding down, the game looked as if it were going to end as a tie. Scotland looked poised to celebrate, as the game was already in the 90th minute. But when the referee had called, what looked to be, an un-necessary foul, Italy had a chance to score a late, late, LATE winner. The free-kick was a few yards ahead of the corner flag, so it did look kind of like a mini-corner. With a genius like Andrea Pirlo on the field to take the kick, Scotland had to be very careful. Andrea Pirlo is not only a free-kick specialist, but is one of the best "curlers of the ball", in the entire world.

He kicked the ball. It seemed as if his free-kick was a bad one, but as the ball curled towards the back post, Christian Panucci (who had a chance to make it 2-1, a few minutes earlier) ran onto the ball and headed it home from 5 yards out. 2-1, Italy in the 90th. The whistle blew and the game was over.

With the win, Italy have now quailifed for the Euro 2008 championship. The funny thing is, with the Italian win, France have also qualified... without having to even kick a ball. They still have to finish their last 2 games, but they have already qualified, all thanks to Italy.

Meanwhile, Scotland's dream of making it to the European championship, next summer in Austria-Switzerland... are now over.

Fédération International de Footballeurs Professionels (FIFPro) have announced the results after their 57,500 members voted for their favourites from the 2006-07 season.

After Ronaldinho retained the honour last year, his compatriot Kaká has lifted the award this time and as clearly delighted.

“I am humbled to receive such an honour," the AC Milan star told the FIFPro website. "To follow my good friend and such a great player as Ronaldinho makes this a very special award for me.

"To be recognized by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing. I would like to thank my teammates and coaches and everyone involved at Milan and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support.

"Thank you also to FIFPro for this award and for your work in protecting the interests and welfare of players around the world."

While Kaká earned a place in the World XI, it was Barça that gained the most nominations with Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho being named in the side.

Gianluigi Buffon retained his place as the favourite keeper, while Fabio Cannavaro was also named in the team again along with Ronaldinho from the 2005-06 vote.

The FIFPro World XI for 2006-07: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC), John Terry (Chelsea FC), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC), Kaká (AC Milan), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC), Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona).

      Most of you won't care about this, but my question to everyone is simple. It is not a big signing, but with Ludovic Giuly's departure from FC Barcelona of Spain to AS Roma of Italy, do you think that Giuly will be a great asset for the Romans and help them win more trophies OR do you feel that some other club in Europe will still put 7 (goals) on them again?

Ludovic Giuly, when he first arrived and was presented as a Barcelona player.

AS Roma Logo

          This seaon in the UEFA Champions League, we are bound to see some great match-ups between some of the best clubs in the world. With a fully reloaded Bayern Munich squad in the UEFA Cup, we will see teams such as, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Stuttgart, Celtic, and Manchester United, all competing to be the best team in Europe. But, only 2 teams, will make it to the Champions League Final, which will be played, for the first time, in Moscow, Russia. With all the big European clubs strengthening their squads for the upcoming seasons, there is no doubt that this will be one of the best European Cup tournaments in the history of UEFA.

           To give you an example, English Premier League champions, Manchester United have added players such as, Portuguese winger, Nani and Brazilian striker Anderson, both signing from FC Porto, while EPL runners-up, Chelsea have signed the frenchman, Florent Malouda from Olympique Lyonnais. Spanish Primera champions, Real Madrid, have strengthened their team with the signing of Christoph Metzelder from Borussia Dortmund and Argentina striker, Javier Saviola, coming in from their hated rivals, Barcelona.

          Probably the biggest transfers of the off-season, were made by Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, and Barcelona. The Atleti have added Uruguayan striker, Diego Forlan and Spanish striker, Luis Garcia (formally of Liverpool), to name a few. While 5 time European champs, Liverpool, have pumped up their team, by adding Andriy Voronin of the Ukraine, Ryan Babel of the Netherlands, and "The Child", Fernando Torres of Spain.

         But, the biggest shock signing of the summer, to me, goes to Barcelona. Their signing of the French phenom, Thierry Henry, shook the foundations of the footballing world and made all Arsenal fans look twice at the newspaper they were reading. Along with Henry, comes his French team-mate, defender, Eric Abidal, Argentine defender, Gabriel Milito, and Ivorian midfielder, Yaya Toure.

        With all the big changes to Europe's biggest and best clubs, this season's UEFA Champions League, promises to be one for the ages. The draw for the Champions League group stage, will be held on August 30th. And the first Matchday of the group stages will be played on either August, the 18th or the 19th. I certainly hope, that this will be a great Champions League season and that some beautiful football wil be played throughout the tournament.

       My dream match would be Barcelona v. Manchester United. How about you? What's your favorite dream match?