Urawa Reds' bold declaration at the start of the season that they would become "the first Japanese team to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals" raised a few eyebrows in Japan. To begin with, it overlooked the fact that fellow J-League outfit Kawasaki Frontale were also competing for that honour. More importantly, it ignored the success of Jubilo Iwata, who reached three continental finals in a row between 1999 and 2001, before the old "Asian Club Cup" was rebadged and revamped.

Ultimately it was Kawasaki, and not Urawa, who became the first Japanese team since 2003 to book their progress beyond the knock-out stage of the AFC Champions League, as Urawa learned that deeds on the pitch and not words in the media, were the key ingredient in getting out of their group. Urawa did get out of their group - just, and not surprisingly they've kept the preparations for their quarter-final clash with defending champions Jeonbuk Motors FC fairly quiet, as have Kawasaki, who face a tough task against Iranian side Sepahan.

Yet Urawa's bombastic rhetoric marked a growing trend in world football. Arrogance, it seems, is the new black.

When Uruguay came to Sydney for their knock-out FIFA World Cup qualifying clash in 2005, Uruguayan striker Alvaro Recoba incurred the wrath of the locals by declaring that Uruguay would win the tie because they had a "divine right" to play at the World Cup. Sadly for Recoba, his inference that Uruguay's rich football history was enough to get his team over the line proved incorrect, as Australia ultimately booked their place at the World Cup finals.

The late Australian legend Johnny Warren had hoped to live long enough to say to the world "I told you so" when it came to Australia rejoining the footballing élite. Yet Socceroos fans didn't have to wait long before the clichés kicked into overdrive, as first Brazil and then eventual champions Italy fell over themselves to declare that they would be easy winners against the supposed minnows from Down Under, before a ball had even been kicked.

How ironic, then, that Australia's maiden Asian Cup campaign should come undone partly as a result of their arrogance. After declaring that they could beat any team because they possessed a "tougher mental attitude," the suggestion that perhaps Iraq might also possess a tough mental attitude - given that their country had just been bombed into submission and was now being torn apart by civil war, sent the Australian camp into a spin - and eventually lead to the suggestion that any media outlet who questioned Australia's attitude was obviously conspiring against them.

Of course there is no greater arena for arrogance than the UEFA Champions League. Today English giants Manchester United and Liverpool announced their opposition to new UEFA President Michel Platini's plan to include domestic cup winners in upcoming editions of the Champions League. For Liverpool - who last won a league title some seventeen seasons ago, and United, who like the Anfield club were recently bought by a consortium of North American investors, nothing is more important than their own self-interest.

Tradition-laden teams from countries outside of the big three of England, Spain and Italy are routinely portrayed as easy-beats by both managers and fans alike, and with a level playing field having long since disappeared from European football, triumphs by clubs like Steaua Bucharest and Red Star Belgrade seem more like historical anomalies than distinct possibilities nowadays.

With fans in the modern era possessing greater access to information and video footage than ever before, perhaps the most telling aspect of this facade of grandeur can be found on message boards and forums across the internet. In many cases the majority of fans spend more time belittling their opponents, than worrying about the fortunes of their own team.

Modern football is seemingly at a crossroad. There may come a time when money - and the churlish attitudes that seem to come with it, no longer rules the game. But with the likes of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho snarling his contempt for referees, FC Bayern commercial manager Uli Hoeness implying that the Bundesliga is a one-horse race, and Urawa Reds conveniently forgetting both their opponents and contemporaries on a regular basis... I wouldn't bet on it.

Sitting here in a lonely Bangkok Hotel, not far from Rajamangala Stadium where two nights ago I saw my national team Australia turn in arguably the worst performance I've seen in fifteen years of following their fortunes, I've been quietly pondering the content of my latest piece.

There were of course League Cup quarter-finals taking place in Japan last weekend - where Holger Osieck predictably fielded an ultra-conservative starting eleven, and then watched as Urawa gave up a one goal lead to draw 1-1 at home with Gamba Osaka. A couple of other teams recorded impressive victories - particularly Ventforet Kofu over Kawasaki Frontale, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima over Kashima Antlers, while FC Tokyo were the only team to win away from home, in front of a full house at Mitsuzawa against Yokohama F. Marinos.

Yet it was the announcement from a close friend of mine in Prague last week that ultimately fuelled my inspiration; FC Bohemians are back, and if Hollywood has lead me to believe anything, they're out for revenge.

When I was eighteen I suffered several traumas. I experienced my first true love, and then watched it slip away to the tyranny of distance. Much as I love German football, it was my German femme fatale who taught me several lessons. One was to cherish the things you love, because in an instant they could be gone. Tell that to the fans of SC Fortuna Köln - of which I was one, on the day they smashed local rivals 1.FC Köln 4-1 in the Müngersdorferstadion in March of 2000. There were 42,000 fans in the crumbling Müngersdorfer to witness that highly charged 2.Bundesliga clash - and only 1,000 were supporting the unfashionable club from the south side of Cologne.

These days SC Fortuna Köln exist in name only. They went bankrupt in 2005 - mainly thanks to the fact that the pockets of benefactor Jean Löring had finally run dry - but not until he had personally overseen the club's twenty-six year stay in the Second Division - the longest of any current German club. Löring died shortly after the team had been declared insolvent.

Not even Löring had been able to stave off the drop out of professional football anyway. I was in the Südstadion the day that Borussia Mönchengladbach's Michael Frontzeck thumped home a header that consigned Fortuna to the Third Division, and I doubt I'll ever forget the bitterness as I walked the streets of Zollstock on that cold afternoon.

That's why when my friend from Prague recently told me that Bohemians were back in the big time, I couldn't help but crack a wry smile. In fact, I was originally stunned. Like many, I had assumed that when the Traditionsverein dropped out of the Czech top flight in 2003, that would be the end of them. Indeed it was the end of them. FC Bohemians Praha, one of the most famous clubs in Czech football, went bankrupt.

But something happened in Vršovice. The fans got angry. They got so angry that their beloved team was about to disappear because of the workings of shady businessmen - the club at one stage had five dubious owners in just one year, that they raised the funds to keep Bohemians afloat. Not only were the club forced to tread water in the Second Division, they had to legally change their name just to do so.

And in 2007, on the back of an incredible eighteen match unbeaten streak, FC Bohemians achieved the unthinkable. They hauled themselves back from the brink. They booked a return to the big time. For the 2007-08 season, one of Czech football's most famous clubs will once again ply their trade in the Gambrinus Liga.

Of course no return from obscurity would be complete without some meddling from league officials. Bohemians have been informed that their beloved Ďolíček Stadion does not meet top flight requirements. No longer are fans allowed to stand behind the goals - apparently this causes a safety concern, although fans could travel a short distance across the border to German club Energie Cottbus and stand to their heart's content. Now Bohemians face costly ground renovations which will not only severely reduce the stadium's capacity, but which will no doubt take something away from the spirit of the ground.

But nothing can take away from the spirit of Bohemians fans. They saved this club. And in doing so, they should have struck fear into the hearts of all the Roman Abramovich's and Thaksin Shinawatra's in the world. Football is something that can not be bought and sold. It may be big business these days, but at the heart of the game remain the fans. And if the game continues to be supported by fans as loyal as Bohemians', then nothing can destroy it.

http://www.fc-bohemians.cz/default_en.asp