RUGBY: Preview: South Africa v England

Friday 25th May 2007

Ashwin Willemse: Only he makes Jonny Wilkinson look fortunate

If your local club had 35 of its top players grounded by injuries or prior commitments, the end-of-season jolly across the border would undoubtedly be cancelled and the stragglers would decamp to the nearest pub, and rightly so. But those who do battle in the name of England do things differently.

In ludicrous homage to Lord Cardigan's Light Brigade, Brian Ashton's motley crew of "part-timers, plumbers and decorators" are to face the might of South Africa - provider of the two Super 14 finalists - in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The tourists will then have a week to lick their wounds before they do it all over again in Pretoria. Andrew Motion, Britain's current Poet Laureate, should prepare to dip his quill.

Say what you will about the dubious merits of these half-baked tours, but we'd wager you'll still tune in on Saturday. Don't feel bad about it, it's human nature - the rubber-necker in all of us will be craning for a view of the jack-knifed chariot on the plains of the Vrystaat.

Yes, these mismatches do tend to devalue Test rugby, but Saturday's game does actually carry a small measure of importance.

England's last appointment in South Africa, way back at the turn of the century, is widely regarded as the point at which these two sides parted in the yellow wood.

After losing the first Test in Pretoria, England managed to square the series with a famous 27-22 victory in Bloemfontein, with all 27 of the visitors' points supplied by Jonny Wilkinson.

That result set England on the path to greatness. They went on to win 39 of their next 42 Tests, a tally that included a clean sweep at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

South Africa, for their part, went on to develop a psychological block when it came to the English - they lost the next seven encounters, including that crucial Rugby World Cup meeting in Western Australia.

Jake White's troops finally broke their duck at Twickenham in November when they squared a two-Test series with a well-taken 25-14 win in the second meeting.

The Boks have now come full circle, they are back in Bloemfontein for a game against the English and have the chance to exorcise their demons once and for all and emphatically.

Not only that, a handsome series win over England will allow the South Africans to take a psychological advantage to Paris where the two sides met in the crunch Pool A clash of the forthcoming Rugby World Cup.

It is for this reason that White has chosen to signal the beginning of South Africa's international season not with a starter's pistol but with a bazooka.

Whilst England's 20-odd Heineken Cup finalists get to put their feet up this Saturday, South Africa's contingent of Bulls and Sharks go straight from the cauldron of the Super 14 Final to the fires of Test rugby.

White wouldn't have it any other way. He has been planning for France 2007 ever since he assumed the green and gold reins in 2004 and has remained fiercely loyal to the men who delivered the Tri-Nations title in that very year.

Players from outside White's inner circle have raised their hands to the heavens on occasions too numerous to mention, but the Bok boss is of the belief that proven class always trumps fleeting form.

To that end, the no-nonsense side that faces England at Vodacom Park on Saturday is nothing if not experienced.

White celebrates equalling Nick Mallett's record of 38 Test matches as head coach by selecting a XV that boasts a total of 418 caps.

John Smit will lead his country for a record 39th time and will be playing in his 43rd consecutive Test match (also a record). He will also improve on his record of 61 Tests as a hooker.

Percy Montgomery - 654 points in Tests and counting - will improve his record 66 Tests at full-back; he has 80 caps in total.

Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha will improve the record they shared with Mark Andrews and Krynauw Otto with their 26th Test match as a lock pairing.

By contrast, the England XV chasing a first away win in 15 months can only muster 198 caps between them. Wilkinson, Jason Robinson and Mark Regan account for 131 of those - the other 12 players share the remaining 67 caps.

That puny tally is significantly improved by the late inclusion of Iain Balshaw (29 caps) who surely rates as the jammiest man to have ever laced a boot. After being handed a ticket to South Africa after Ben Cohen opted out of the odyssey, the mercurial Gloucester star sneaked into the XV after David Strettle was laid low by illness.

Strettle is not the only English patient - Wilkinson, Andy Farrell and James Simpson-Daniel have also partaken in extra-curricular shuttle-runs to the toilets and back, but the news on Friday is that Wilko and Farrell remain solidly in the line-up for now.

One suspects the hand of 'Suzie' in all of this. She being the shadowy assassin who, according to New Zealand lore, nobbled the All Blacks on the eve of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final.

But why waste good salmonella on a bunch of no-hopers? Besides, England doctor Simon Kemp has stressed that the virus is airborne and not caught from food. (Perhaps Dr Kemp should check Balshaw's washbag for incriminating aerosols.)

Yet despite the desperate odds, the English tourists are refusing to let their heads drop, never mind anything else. It could be the stiff upper-lip routine, or it could be that the Boks have far more to lose.

The South Africa media has made a great deal of the tourists' shortcomings - the "part-timers, plumbers and decorators" jibe comes courtesy of one of the local Sunday papers - and nothing less than a winning margin of around 40 to 50 points will cloy the local rugby public's newly-acquired taste for all-out success.

In that respect, England could lose by 20-odd points and still deny the Boks the right to flaunt the psychological advantage. Make no mistake, keeping the cream of South African rugby even partially honest will be a definite moral victory for a rag-tag bunch of old soldiers and young bucks.

Furthermore, England's overwhelming anonymity could turn out to be their one strength. Even the most clued-up Bok would be hard pressed to pick Mike Brown out of a police line-up, whereas every English tourist will be acutely aware of which way Brian Habana likes to step and when and why.

But we are picking at straws. The top dogs of South African rugby simply crave pressure, just witness the Bulls' recent encounter with the Reds. Needing to score at least 72 points to ensure a home semi-final, the eventual champions bagged a 92-3 victory.

Indeed, giving England a 30-point head-start is unlikely to make one iota of difference to Saturday's result.

Bloemfontein is known as 'the city of roses', but the red English variety will surely wither and die here on Saturday. The tourists best hope is that they inflict one or two thorn-wounds that will mutate into festering clumps of doubt ahead of that reunion in Paris.

Ones to watch:

For South Africa: Jonny Wilkinson looks to have the shatterproof physique of a terminator when compared to South Africa's right-wing. The luckless Ashwin Willemse has spent the best part of the last three years strapped to a plinth. He is now back to full fitness and gets another chance at the big time despite having failed to complete a game this year. If there is a suspect link anywhere in the Bok line-up, it is here. Elsewhere, in a vivid indication of how the Boks will approach this game, the hulking Danie Rossouw wins a place at the expense of the more dexterous Pierre Spies. This is his chance to nail down a berth in the XV - expect the big man to take it with both shovel-like hands.

For England: Most debutants shy away from confrontation on the eve of their first cap, but Dean Schofield is not your average debutant. The former builder has been billed as England's 'enforcer' and has been tasked to take the game to the fabled Bok forwards, vowing to get "stuck into them". Elsewhere, Mike Brown - a budding referee - will have his mettle tested under the high ball, Andy Farrell will be looking to answer the critics who questioned his performance in England's defeat by Ireland in Dublin in February, and all eyes will be on Jonny Wilkinson for all the usual reasons.

Head to head: Schalk Burger (South Africa) v Andy Hazell (England): The battle between the two fetchers will be one of contrasting styles. Whilst the big South African is all boundless enthusiasm and powerful limbs, the diminutive (in South African rugby terms at least) Englishman is a technician of the game, in the style of Neil Back. Burger returns to Test rugby for the first time in 11 months having made a full recovery from a severe neck injury suffered against Scotland. Hazell make his first appearance in an England jersey since the Six Nations victory over Scotland in 2005; this will be his third start.

Prediction: The Boks are determined to lay down an out-sized marker in Bloemfontein, and this England team will be unable to stop them. South Africa by 35 points.

Recent results:

2006: South Africa won 25-14 at Twickenham, London
2006: England won 23-21 at Twickenham, London
2004: England won 32-16 at Twickenham, London
2003: England won 25-6 at Subiaco Oval, Perth (RWC)
2002: England won 53-3 at Twickenham, London
2001: England won 29-9 at Twickenham, London
2000: England won 25-17 at Twickenham, London
2000: England won 27-22 at Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
2000: South Africa won 18-13 at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1999: South Africa won 44-21at Stade de France, Paris (RWC)
1998: England won 13-7 at Twickenham, London
1998: South Africa won 18-0 at Newlands, Cape Town
1997: South Africa won 29-11 at Twickenham, London

The teams:

South Africa: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Ashwin Willemse, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Deon Carstens.
Replacements: 16 Gurthro Steenkamp, 17 Gary Botha, 18 CJ van der Linde, 19 Johann Muller, 20 Pierre Spies, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Francois Steyn.

England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Iain Balshaw, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Jason Robinson (captain), 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Peter Richards, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Chris Jones, 5 Alex Brown, 4 Dean Schofield, 3 Stuart Turner, 2 Mark Regan, 1 Nick Wood
Replacements: 16 Matt Cairns, 17 Darren Crompton, 18 Roy Winters, 19 Pat Sanderson, 20 Andy Gomarsall, 21 Toby Flood, 22 A N Other.

Date: Saturday, 26 May
Venue: Vodacom Park, Bloemfontein
Kick-off: 15:00 (13:00 GMT)
Conditions: Sunny, dry, light north-easterly winds - max 17°C, min -5°C
Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Joël Jutge (France), Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Derek Bevan (Wales)
Assessor: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

By Andy Jackson - Planet Rugby

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Benítez's call for cash would raise price of failure

A big transfer kitty may not be enough to bring Liverpool success with suitable players hard to find.

Kevin McCarra

May 25, 2007 12:28 AM

Ambition comes at a cost and often it hits a manager's reputation as hard as his club's bank balance. This has turned into an era where talent is so thinly spread that no side is resoundingly dominant, even if Barcelona may recover from their careworn year. Although Rafael Benítez knows the signings he insists Liverpool must make, footballers have never come with a money-back guarantee.

Gérard Houllier, the previous manager at Anfield, squandered £14m on Djibril Cissé, and Benítez himself failed when he spent £6.3m on the seemingly sensible acquisition of Fernando Morientes. Few managers enjoy the luxury of turning their backs on the transfer market, because there is always a pressing need to plug some gap in a squad, but when elite performers are so scarce each decision comes with a high tariff of risk.

For all their economic advantages the top clubs in Italy, England and Spain struggle to enlist people who will thrive to dramatic effect in the Champions League. Chelsea were utterly mistaken in thinking that the £30m Andriy Shevchenko would be such a figure and the Premiership sides have far more to do before they are seen as undisputed masters of Europe.

Arsenal, like Chelsea, have never been Champions League winners. Manchester United, in addition, must find it galling that their actual record is out of kilter with their renown. Benítez's work, as winner and losing finalist in the space of three seasons, outdoes Sir Alex Ferguson's efforts in this particular competition during 21 years at Old Trafford.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett, the new proprietors at Anfield, may not know a great deal about football but they will appreciate that there are imponderables whenever a player switches clubs. This summer they have to safeguard their investment while also meeting the aspirations in the transfer market of Benítez, a manager they cannot afford to alienate.

It will be tough going. Milan, the victors of 2003 and 2007 who should have won the Champions League in 2005 as well, are as close as the sport has come to a commanding power of late. None the less, they are far from being in complete control. They, like Liverpool, are not quoted by the bookmakers among the favourites to lift the trophy in 2008. Their coach, Carlo Ancelotti, frankly admits that his current side is inferior to the one beaten by Liverpool in Istanbul two years ago. No one's breath will be taken away, either, by the reinforcements being mooted.

There are rumours that Milan will extract Gianluca Zambrotta from Barcelona, but a fine player whom Ancelotti previously managed at Juventus will not exactly transform Milan. Emerson, who is older, can be classed as the same type of target after a solitary season at Real Madrid. And a move for the Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon became less likely when Milan extended Dida's contract.

After Wednesday's final Silvio Berlusconi radiated a replenished power as owner of the Champions League winners and he strove to recapture the glamour of yesteryear. He spoke of buying a present for the fans and although no names were mentioned there was instant speculation that he must have been alluding to Ronaldinho or Samuel Eto'o. Ancelotti's preference would be for the latter, but it will be some undertaking to make the financial commitment to winkle either of them out of Barcelona.

Milan, with their focus on sports science, pioneer the policy that old lags with their old legs can be conditioned to function at the top level well into their 30s. This is not a high-minded commitment to help the aged; they stay loyal to the veterans when there is no one better in sight.

The arrival of Ronaldo was the cause of excitement in January, even though the forward had followed a scratchy World Cup with the sort of contribution at Real Madrid that made Fabio Capello yearn to dispense with him. Since arriving in Italy he has scored seven goals in 13 appearances, but he was looking chubby on the sidelines in Athens. When he becomes eligible to appear for Milan in the Champions League next season he may be as much of an anachronism at San Siro as he became at the Bernabéu.

If Milan have to invest their hopes in him, Liverpool likewise may find it hard to recruit the calibre of individual they crave. How Benítez and his peers must regret not wooing Dimitar Berbatov since he started to show at Tottenham that he is one of the few youngish players equipped to boost the status of a side.

The Liverpool manager has to rule now on topics such as the prospects of a player such as Valencia's David Villa coming to terms with the hurly-burly of the Premiership, assuming a deal could be cut with the Spanish club. If he had his pick of whom he might take to Merseyside, Benítez would opt for Eto'o. All the same, the forward will be standing in a blizzard of offers if he comes on to the market.

Should Gillett and Hicks recognise a general need to stump up, there will be new danger and responsibility to weigh down Benítez.

Guardian Unlimited

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Benitez's big challenge

Rafael Benitez was itching to start his summer spending after Liverpool's Champions League final defeat by AC Milan.

"We must spend big and spend now," the Reds boss told reporters following his side's 2-1 defeat in Athens.

"Our fans know what we need to do and so do I. We need to pay the price needed for each position."

The Athens defeat again highlighted Liverpool's desperate need for a world-class playmaker to create chances and a predatory striker to put them away.

Benitez will reportedly have £40m to spend this summer, courtesy of the club's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Definitely going: Robbie Fowler, Jerzy Dudek Likely to leave: Bolo Zenden, Mark Gonzalez, Sami Hyypia, Craig Bellamy Will listen to offers for: Peter Crouch, Harry Kewell, Jermaine Pennant Linked with: Samuel Eto'o, Carlos Tevez, David Villa, Aaron Lennon, Fernando Torres, Daniel Alves

But former Liverpool striker Michael Robinson, now the leading football presenter on Spanish television, says this will not guarantee success.

"This summer will be very, very interesting for Rafa Benitez and Liverpool," Robinson told BBC Sport.

"He didn't have huge spending power at Valencia and hasn't had at Liverpool either so far. This will be the first time he has had a transfer budget to match those of the European elite and it will be fascinating to see what he does with it.

"To date, tactics have always been the star of Rafa's teams. He hasn't really dealt with star players before in his managerial career, apart from Steven Gerrard.

"He doesn't care for egos or players who can't fit into his structure. For example, he has always made it very clear to Gerrard that he must fit into the structure of the team and sometimes play out of position, if that's what he believes is best."

Liverpool have often lacked the spontaneity and improvisation to turn tight games this season. Yet Benitez has been wary of 'flair' players during his career, instead preferring discipline and stability.

His refusal to always select Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar at Valencia was a cause of friction with the club's board and he has mainly signed functional players during his time at Anfield.

He could cite a lack of substantial funds as the reason for this, although Robinson wonders whether such players fit in with Benitez's nature and footballing philosophy.

"Rafa is a very educated man who sees football tactically brilliantly," he said.

"Sometimes, for my own taste, he gets over-methodical with the tactics. Sometimes it seems to me he's sat in the dug-out with a remote control.

"The times I have enjoyed watching Liverpool play are when it seems the batteries are going low on the remote and the players do what they want.

"If you want entertainment from Rafa, you might be left wanting. But if you want to win and be extremely competitive, he's your man.

"He's won a European Cup and I don't think any other manager in the world could have done that with the same players."

What is beyond question is that there will be plenty of comings and goings at Anfield this summer.

Benitez has already cited the need for a prolific goalscorer. To make way, he has released Robbie Fowler, seems certain to sell Craig Bellamy and might also listen to offers for Peter Crouch.

Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and Valencia's David Villa are rumoured to be top of Benitez's wanted list and Robinson is a firm admirer of two of La Liga's best players.

"Eto'o is an excellent all-round centre forward and a proven goalscorer," he commented. "He also makes an enormous difference to the general play of Barcelona, even forgetting his goals.

"Often we will praise Andres Iniesta, Deco or Xavi for a great pass but what we might not notice is the way Eto'o lost his marker and moved to open up the possibility of the pass.

BENITEZ'S MAJOR TITLES Extremadura: Spanish Second Division (1997) Tenerife: Spanish Second Division (2000) Valencia: La Liga (2002 & 2004), Uefa Cup (2004) Liverpool: Champions League (2005), FA Cup (2006)

"He is also fantastic at defending from the front, closing down and making it difficult for the opposition to get the ball out from the back."

Villa has emerged as one of the hottest properties in European football over the last two seasons.

"David Villa is simply a fantastic footballer," stated Robinson. "He would score goals in any league in Europe and the Spanish national team should be based around him. He's quick-witted, has a superb touch and is an instinctive goalscorer."

Benitez is also eager to sign top-class wide players after Mark Gonzalez, Bolo Zenden and Jermaine Pennant failed to grab their chances at Anfield.

He is a long-term admirer of Seville's outstanding left-sided Brazilian, Daniel Alves, and has been strongly linked with Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Whoever Benitez lands, he will be unwilling to tolerate egos and his tactical genius will remain the star of the Liverpool team.

By Simon Austin - BBC Sport

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer:Government wants answers over treatment of Liverpool fans

Andrew Culf in Athens
Thursday May 24, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

The government today demanded an explanation from the Greek authorities over the treatment of Liverpool fans who were baton-charged after being denied entry to the Champions League final in Athens last night.

The call came as thousands of disconsolate supporters headed back to the UK after seeing their dreams of European glory dashed by AC Milan's 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium.

Chaotic disturbances outside the ground soured the evening, as fans with tickets were turned away and sprayed with tear gas by riot police.

The government today demanded an explanation from the Greek authorities over the treatment of Liverpool fans who were baton-charged after being denied entry to the Champions League final in Athens last night.

The call came as thousands of disconsolate supporters headed back to the UK after seeing their dreams of European glory dashed by AC Milan's 2-1 win at the Olympic Stadium.

Chaotic disturbances outside the ground soured the evening, as fans with tickets were turned away and sprayed with tear gas by riot police.

Today, British embassy officials in Athens said they would be raising the matter with the Greek authorities.

"We have received reports from some fans that they were prevented from entering the ground despite having tickets, and were then the subject of heavy-handed treatment by the police," a spokesman said.

Police also used batons against fans who had genuine tickets for the game. Supporters were angered after being told the ground was full to its 63,800 capacity, and trouble erupted as they attempted to find a way around police cordons.

Officers at the scene told the fans it was not their fault, and it appeared that supporters with forged tickets had got into the stadium earlier.

Last night's disorder was the latest involving European police forces and supporters from English clubs.

Earlier this season, Manchester United complained their fans had come under "unprovoked attack" on the terraces in Rome, while Tottenham complained about baton charges on their supporters in Seville.

Around 2,000 people were still outside the stadium when last night's final kicked off. Pete Evans, 37, a BT worker from Dublin, said: "This is crazy. I paid € 2,000 (£1,350) to be here."

Kenny Roberts, a 19-year-old from Norris Green, Liverpool, said: "I've got no chance of using the ticket now. I've been gassed and hit on the back of the head by the police ... this is just disgraceful. It's terrible organisation."

Two Liverpool fans from Norway, who had paid €3,000 each for travel packages, headed disconsolately back into central Athens 30 minutes after kick-off.

Rune Loholt, a 35-year-old from Trondheim, said fans with forgeries had got past the authorities, meaning genuine supporters were not let in. Frode Forsdahl, 32, a student from Trondheim, said: "We've been pepper-sprayed and hit in the face with clubs. We'll have to give up."

Uefa's communications chief, William Gaillard, put the blame squarely on Liverpool supporters. "Unfortunately in Britain it is the behaviour," he said. "Liverpool fans are responsible for the problems before, during and after the game."

After the match, hundreds of Liverpool supporters gathered in the centre of the Greek capital to chant their support for the team into the small hours. Police praised the behaviour of the fans, saying there had been no trouble and no violent incidents.

More than 25,000 Liverpool fans and around 17,000 Milan fans were estimated to be in the city for the match, with 8,500 police officers on duty.

A total of 230 people who had been detained with forged tickets were released today, and no further action will be taken against them. Police said 216 of them were from the UK, and nine from Italy.

There were some hard luck stories even before the game got underway. Clifton Harrison, 33, from Liverpool, had four tickets - which he had bought for £600 each in Britain - stolen from an envelope in his pocket on the underground early yesterday.

"I am hugely disappointed - I spent all last week sourcing the tickets," Mr Harrison, who works in business development for Price Waterhouse Coopers, said. "I could have cried when it happened."

Another 150 fans were stranded at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport after one of 37 charter flights scheduled to take 8,000 people to Athens was cancelled yesterday.

The Jet Time Airways flight was unable to take off because of technical problems. Ben Whitehead, a 22-year-old computer technician from Huddersfield, who had paid £550 to travel on it, said: "I am absolutely devastated. I have been crying."

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: Liverpool tickets Q&A

By Gordon Farquhar BBC Five Live sports news correspondent

Tickets were in demand for the Champions League final

The Champions League final between Liverpool and AC Milan was marred for some fans after they failed to obtain tickets - or even entry - into the game in Athens.

Police and fans clashed in ugly scenes outside the ground before the game.

BBC Sport looks at the issues surrounding the ticketing arrangements for the game.

Q. What was the ticket allocation?
Officially, Uefa made 17,000 tickets available to each club for a stadium that had a capacity of 63,000.

Q. Why did Liverpool only allocate 11,000 to their fans?
Liverpool's explanation was that for every major event like this they have an obligation to their own sponsors, their former players and the like.

Any club would use the occasion to award tickets as a thank you to those who work for them, and Liverpool is a club with a strong sense of history and community.

It is not unusual, or unreasonable, although fans might question why so many were distributed in this way.

Q. Many of the tickets for the Champions League final are given to the Uefa family. What is meant by this?
This is a phrase often coined by the Fifa president Sepp Blatter who likes to refer to the 'football family'.

It is a conveniently loose generic definition that covers almost anyone who has anything to do with the game.

Uefa might consider that to include all their member associations and federations, clubs, officials, administrators, referees, sponsors, suppliers etc.

Q. How were the tickets allocated?
It is a bit like a big wedding: You know what the maximum number of guests is, so you start off with the ones you have to invite, then draw up a list of the ones you now want to invite and squeeze as many of them in as possible.

Some of the top-line sponsors will know as part of their deal that they will be given a certain allocation for matches.

Q. Why were there empty seats?
Lots of reasons. Security is one, to allow for proper segregation rows of seats are left unallocated to allow for the stewards, police etc to move between the fans and reduce the risk of trouble.

Some seats were lost by the inclusion of advertising stands.

When the stadium was in Olympic mode, the capacity was supposed to be 80,000. That dropped to 63,000 for the Champions League final.

Q. How did fans without tickets get in?
The great, traditional blag. There were by all accounts a pile of forged tickets doing the rounds.

High-definition scanners and perforating machines these days make forgeries easy to produce, which is why at the World Cup in Germany last year all tickets had microchips embedded in them that were read at the turnstiles.

No chip, no entry was the theory.

The Champions League tickets were less sophisticated, but still had holograms, barcodes and watermarks on them: in theory enough to put the forgers off.

But in the melee of getting into a football match, that counts for little. Police officers controlling crowds make isolated decisions based on public safety first and foremost.

There were no turnstiles in Athens, and when crushes developed at the entry points, fans were waved through with the most cursory of checks. Some said their tickets weren't checked at all.

Q. What security measures were in place?
Athens police say there were 7,500 officers on duty. They had support from the British and Italian police forces who had spotters monitoring the fans.

Around the stadiums, police in riot gear were much in evidence, assisting the stewards with ticket checks and in ushering the crowds in through the 'funnels' they created with lines of police vans etc.

There was CCTV covering the main access points.

Q. Were they adequate?
7,500 officers is a lot. Far more, for example, than the number on duty for the FA Cup final last week.

So that should have been enough. What went fundamentally wrong is the system in place for ticket checks just was not effective.

As soon as that broke down, the problems began. Stewards inside the stadium could not or would not do much about the problem of fans with forgeries sitting in the seats of genuinely ticketed fans, who in turn took someone else's seat.

In the end the gangways and access areas filled up with displaced fans, so Uefa took the decision to close the stadium, leaving fans with genuine tickets locked out - and understandably furious.

Q. What about the suitability of the stadium?
It is a cracking stadium for athletics, big enough for major football matches, albeit with the drawback of the running track between the fans and the action.

The transport system coped well with large numbers of spectators at the Olympics and Athens is a lively, bustling city well used to holding major events, with an experienced police force, so no real issues there.

Q. Did police react in the right way?
Probably. No-one seems to have been seriously hurt, and that's their main objective.

That is not to say it could not have been handled better, for the reasons above. As soon as the ticket checking process started to fail, the outcome was inevitable.

Q. Are the fans culpable?
Any fair analysis will have to conclude some responsibility rests with the fans who knowingly bought forged tickets, and ticket-less fans who tried to rush gates, or just create an incident, knowing in the end, as happens every time, not everyone's ticket will be checked.

It is dishonest and they're cheating their own mates.

Q. Who is ultimately responsible?
It is Uefa's competition. It decides where the finals are played, co-ordinates the ticketing arrangements and liaises with the hosts over how to make the game work at all levels.

It is Uefa's property to protect and it has been asked to provide answers for why things went wrong.

Uefa says it was the behaviour of the Liverpool fans that exacerbated the problem, but of course the reality is there were a combination of factors responsible.

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog

Soccer: BBC pundits on Athens final

Liverpool lost to AC Milan in the Champions League final because they did not take advantage of the spells during the match when they were on top.

If Javier Mascherano had not been substituted he would have been the first Liverpool player out at Kaka putting him under pressure, as he did all night

When you dominate possession like Liverpool did in the first half and get in situations where you put crosses in, or take shots from distance, you have to make it count.

But Liverpool did not have enough quality in attack to do that.

That is because the one thing that manager Rafa Benitez has failed to do in his three years in charge at Anfield is to bring in some proven firepower up front.

Milan had the luck when they needed it with the first goal - when Andrea Pirlo's shot deflected in off Pippo Inzaghi - and they had a bit of luck with the second goal too.

If Javier Mascherano had not been substituted he would have been the first Liverpool player out at Kaka putting him under pressure in the build-up, as he did all night.

But he was not under pressure and, for the first time in the match, that allowed Kaka to slip a little ball in behind the back four for Inzaghi to add a second. It was a great run and finish by the striker too.

When it did come, the Liverpool goal was too late.

They never really pressurised Milan in the closing stages and the Italians were always going to be capable of running down the clock.

In the end you just have to say 'well done' to Milan.

They maybe should not have been let into Europe because of the match-fixing scandal in Italy.

But they have been allowed in the competition and they have reached the final on merit.

Carlo Ancelotti's side gave us some wonderful performances - in the quarter-final away at Bayern Munich and in both legs of the semi-final against Manchester United - and here they are as winners.

Even as a Liverpool fan you have to find it somewhere in your heart to accept they have won the Champions League and that is no mean feat.

Graham Taylor Former England manager and Five Live summariser

For most of the game the team in red, Liverpool, were in charge.

But what they didn't do was create one chance inside Milan's area, other than the goal - which was right at the death.

That was a big a failing for them and they could have done a lot more.

To change that, from a personal point of view, I would have brought Peter Crouch on earlier than the 78th minute.

The changes that Rafa Benitez made were fine but I would have liked to have seen them happen 10 minutes earlier, and for Steven Gerrard to have dropped back into midfield then.

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Jan Molby and Graham Taylor were speaking on BBC Radio Five Live.

RUGBY: Henry: Leaving All Blacks may struggle to regain jersey

3:05PM Thursday May 24, 2007

New Zealand rugby players taking up lucrative contracts in Europe are harming their development and may struggle to win back their All Blacks jerseys, coach Graham Henry says.

"It's a huge problem," Henry told overseas reporters in a conference call from New Zealand.

"I don't think they'll develop as well in a club environment compared with an international environment.

"The risk they take is that they come back and somebody has established themselves as better than them because they have developed better during that time."

The trickle of New Zealanders playing for European clubs is gathering momentum.

Second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, prop Carl Hayman and lock Chris Jack, all still in their 20s, are among a group joining English clubs after the World Cup finishes in October. Others are still considering their options, most notably 23-year-old playmaker Luke McAlister.

It will leave them ineligible to represent the All Blacks under New Zealand Rugby Football regulations.

Other nations are also losing players to European clubs, particularly from the Pacific Islands.

Henry believed the trend could hamper the development of local talent in countries such as England.

"I was told there were only three No 10s playing in the Premiership who are English," Henry said.

"I just can't understand what they're doing in Europe to develop their own players with all these top players coming from around the world."

The New Zealand Herald - NZPA

*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog