Dutch FA: What happened doc? He was doing so well. He seemed fit, strong and there was an air of confidence about him. 

Doctor: He suffered from a case of peaking too soon, I’m sorry for your loss.  

Dutch FA (KNVB): I don’t understand. peaking too soon? 

Doctor: Yes, its case normally suffered by New-Zealanders when entering a Rugby competition. They do extremely well before the tournament by brushing teams aside and producing outstanding performances. The problem comes from the pressure of the fans, media and coaches to maintain this high standard, that when there is a chance they might lose…they start to panic. 

Dutch FA (KNVB): oh, I see. Maybe next time 

Fair play to Russia who completely deserved there win, at times during the match they completely took control of the match. The defense was well-aware at back and contained them for long periods of time, causing the Dutch to become frustrated and to take there chances from long distances. However, I was bit surprised that the Dutch looked slightly tired and sluggish during extra time compared to the Russians, even though most of there star players got to rest during the third Match day.  

Well done to Guus Hiddink for leading Russia to the semi-finals, which is a fantastic achievement. However, I was annoyed with his antics and celebrations at the end. It is one thing to knock-out your home country but to celebrate in his manner was disrespectful to all the Dutch fans. He could have taken an example from much younger professionals such as Podolski on how to act when you defeat your home nation. 

Club News: James McFadden is reported to have told his agent he wants to leave Birmingham after they were relegated to the Championships. This is understandable, McFadden is in the prime of his career and would want to push his abilities at the highest level. With Celtic reported interested in him and I’m sure a number of Premiership clubs will inquire about his availability.

Bastian Schweinsteiger speaks about his desire to one day play in the Premiership. With his contract at Bayern almost expiring, the move might materialize this summer. He spoke to Sunday Mail: 

"England does have a good appeal as it is one of the world's best leagues. "I've always wanted to play there and we'll see if it happens this year."

If he does move to the English Premiership, I am sure he will be looking to move to one of the big four. I see him as a good addition to the Liverpool squad, who need more goals and supply from the midfield.  

Lots of news about Adebayor but since writing anything down about this will only be repeating what a million other blogs and news articles have said about him. So I move on   To Roma who have signed the other half of Mirko Vucini for a reported 12 million euros from Lecce. I think he was over priced purchase of a striker who only returned 9 goals last season. If Roma do really want to push Inter for the title especially with the appointment of Mourinho, they must make more inspirational signings than Riise and Vucinic. 

To end with Wolfsburg are looking to add to there impressive signings of Barzagli and Zaccardo with an attempt purchase the small-town boy Alexander Hleb. I think the lovely and quite scenery of Wolfsburg and the calmness of Uefa Cup football is exactly what Alex Hleb needs.

Congratulations must go to the German national team for producing a stunning performance to knock-out the Portuguese. To contain the talent of Portugal was never going to be easy but the midfield performance of the Germans must be a testament of their grit and desire to win this competition. Some eye-brows were obviously raised at the poor defending and Ricardo’s hesitancy will surely cost him his number one jersey. Controversy came in the form of Michael Ballack giving a slight push to the Portuguese defender before heading in the ball. Scolari claims it may have made the difference between winning and losing but to be honest Germany were the superior side and fully deserved their win. Let’s all just hope that Croatia vs. Turkey will be as entertaining!

That was Scolari last game in charge of Portugal before he takes over the reign at Stamford Bridge. I’m sure with the Portuguese campaign over more will be said about Ronaldo’s future and Big Phil’s plans for Chelsea. Ronaldo after the game gave an interview and claimed he would make a decision in a couple of days about his future, but it is evident with his latest comments that he favors a move to Madrid

"It is a dream, a step forward, you can call it what you want. For me it is a great opportunity, and as Scolari says, that train passes by only once, and we have to take advantage of it.”

I think this has been a problem in football for long now. It’s rare that you see the type of loyalty that Giggs, Maldini and Shearer had for there clubs. Players these days are quick to jump at a move to one of the so called “elite” clubs. As clubs spend time nurturing and developing there players and patiently waiting for them to reach there potential, clubs such as Real and Barca step-in and persuade the players to switch clubs once they are in there prime. It rarely works out, players such as Anelka, Reyes, Gravesen and Emerson are just some of the examples of players who get wide-eyed at the prospect of joining Real. A move to Real for Ronaldo would be a step backwards for him, playing in a league like the Premiership and under the guidance of United can only ensure he will become one of the greatest of his generation. I honestly feel disappointed for Sir Alex who invested a lot of energy into Ronaldo to change him from the over flamboyant winger he was a few seasons ago. It comes as surprise that Ronaldo would take advice to move to Real from Scolari as it seems he is just driven by money and would see this as a great financial opportunity.

Club News: The former Danish international Michael Laudrup is interested in taking over at Blackburn. In my previous post I wrote that Paul Ince would be the correct appointment but now with Laudrup in the frame I have changed my stance. I have always been a favorite of Laudrup, I think he would be great Manager and quite possibly be better than Mark Hughes. He was won numerous Danish trophies and awards but he did a fantastic job of replacing Shuster at Getafe. His most notable achievement with Getafe was their Uefa Cup run which saw them reach the Quarter Finals. They were able to breach the Bayern defense four-times but lost on away goals. Laudrup brings attacking football and can push Blackburn to Europe.

Tottenham have purchased the Argentinean right-winger Santana for a reported £4 million form Fiorentina. I’m a big fan of Fiorentina and Santana was one of my favorite players. He has great dribbling and crossing capabilities but I think he might be to weak for the Premiership, I think he will struggle to adapted in his first season. He has struggled though to make first-team in his last season with the Florence club and it seems that Ramos took advantage of this to make him part of his new revolution.

FC Twente has appointed Steve McClaren as there new manager and let us hope that they can stay in the First Division next season….fingers crossed