Off the field, there is little in common between Antonio Cassano and Alessandro Del Piero. The former is young and unruly while the latter is battle-hardened and a model professional.

But yet Cassano and Del Piero also have much in common. Though at different stages of their respective careers, they are similar players- creative forwards with a penchant for dazzle and the deftest of touches.

Not for nothing has the Italian press unanimously named Cassano the natural heir to Del Piero at Juventus. Cassano’s current contract wrangle at Roma has only added to speculation that Del Piero is perhaps on his way out to make way for the 23-year-old hot-head.

Juventus coach Fabio Capello has done little to stem the tide of rumours. Over the weekend, as Juventus were plowing through Chievo with customary grit, Del Piero cut a somber figure on the bench. The message was clear: Del Piero’s time as Juventus’ standard bearer was coming to an end. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Trezeguet seem to be Capello’s first choice in attack and with Adrian Mutu and Fabrizio Miccoli in reserve, Del Piero might spend many nights gazing longingly at the fray.

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On Luis Figo’s departure from Real Madrid

When Luis Figo once returned to the Camp Nou, he was greeted with insults, bottles and, remarkably, a pig’s head. The Portuguese winger had been  braced for a hellish reception from the Barcelona crowd but even he must have been caught off guard by the vast assortment of objects.

Lest there was any chance of cooler heads prevailing, Barcelona’s president at the time, Joan Gaspart, grunted: “We’re not the villains here. I don’t like it when people come to our house and provoke us."

Figo’s crime? Taking his time on corners and, as most know, leaving Barcelona for Real Madrid. Anyone who even dispassionately follows Spanish football knows what Real and Barca mean to each other: the world, but not in the romantic sense.

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Why is Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea being welcomed and Glazer’s being scorned?

It is no secret that everyone loves to hate Manchester United in England. It is also a well known fact that United fans love to be hated.

Never ones to shy away from controversy, they even privilege their club over their nation, singing: “We all agree, United are better than England.” You can just imagine how much contempt their other songs hold for rival clubs. Oh, by the way, ‘rival’ here implies gross pluralism - United find enemies in all corners.

American poet Emily Dickinson once wrote: “Success is counted sweetest, by those who ne’er succeed.” Again, regrettably, ‘success’ here is perhaps more far-reaching than even Dickinson intended.

Were United’s good fortunes just confined to the pitch they would perhaps be met with veneration but United are also rich. They are not a penniless success story and how could they be? Everyone has heard of Manchester United and while David Beckham might be making his name with Real Madrid now, he spent perhaps his prettiest years of pageant under the patriarchal tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson- why they did not part sooner is beyond your correspondent.

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Zidane’s return from retirement will not truly solve French problems

The words ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man’ could not apply more, even if the ‘man’ is an old hand. Nothing has changed really- France need Zinedine Zidane as much today as they did during that famous World Cup final victory over Brazil in 1998. So when the maestro said “I have got my motivation back for France,” the country breathed a huge sigh of relief. And bought more tickets for the friendly against Ivory Coast on August 17th.

That Zidane announced his retirement after Euro2004 seems almost insignificant in a time when France are in real danger of not making it to next summer’s World Cup. After a qualifying campaign thus far riddled with coach Raymond Domenech’s feud with Robert Pires, a drought of goals despite David Trezeguet and Thierry Henry and a lack of vision in midfield, France lie in fourth position in their group. Though they have a game in hand, many expected them to stroll through a group containing Ireland, Israel, Cyprus, Switzerland and the Faroe Islands.

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