Argentina coach Diego Maradona will appear in person before a disciplinary hearing at FIFA headquarters on Sunday to explain his foul-mouthed outbursts (plural) following the win over Uruguay in Montevideo last month.

The result, at the very end of an 18-match campaign, finally clinched Argentina's place at the 2010 World Cup after they had looked in serious danger of missing out for the first time since 1970. Maradona "celebrated" with an expletive-laden tirade at the hapless touchline reporter who went to interview him.

If he had left it at that, he could perhaps have passed it off as a heat of the moment incident. Instead, he spewed out more obscenities -- which he says were aimed at the media -- at the post-match press conference, broadcast live on a number of networks in several countries.

FIFA quickly caught on and opened disciplinary proceedings for his unruly behaviour. These could result in a stadium ban which, if applied only to competitive games, would effectively rule him out of part or possibly all of Argentina's World Cup campaign.

Maradona would basically be restricted to organising training sessions (which so far under his leadership have resembled playground kickabouts) and giving motivational speeches at the team hotel to his players.

Maradona said he was angry at non-stop criticism of his coaching and team selections, reports that he has fallen out with his coaching staff and suggestions that he is not up to the job.

The criticism came after he used more than 70 players and lost World Cup qualifiers to Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil and Ecuador.

The Clarin newspaper also pointed out that when he was on the sidelines, Maradona was perfectly happy to publicly slag off his predecessors Marcelo Bielsa, Jose Pekerman and Alfio Basile.

Some media say they are tired of Maradona giving exclusive interviews to a few hand-picked chums and ignoring the rest, with the added insult that, when he does give a press conference, it is invariably cancelled or delayed.

What should FIFA do? And, if he is banned, should Argentina look for someone else who could actually coach the team from the dugout?

PHOTO: Argentina coach Diego Maradona celebrates after his team won its 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay in Montevideo October 14, 2009. REUTERS/Andres Stapff

Usually, deciding the worst runners-up would be a simple case of comparing the respective team records. But there is one small snag -- namely Group Nine, which has only five teams while all the others have six sides.

Somebody in FIFA then had a brainwave: in the groups with six teams, the results against the last-placed team will not count when it comes to deciding the eight best runners-up.

This little gem means we have to wait to find out who is going to finish bottom of Groups One to Eight before we can even think about who might be the worst runner up. It also means that losing a match to the bottom team could ultimately benefit a side finishing in second place, as they would not have so many points lopped off their final tally.

Group Nine, which is the group of five, has already finished with Norway taking second spot with only 10 points. For what it is worth, we at the Reuters Soccer Blog believe they could be the unlucky ones. It looks as if, whoever finishes second in the other groups, all will have at least 11 points, regardless of who finishes bottom. Here's why:

Group One: Second-placed Sweden already have 15 points (they will lose six from their two wins over Malta, who are almost certain to finish bottom) and should pick up three more at home to Albania in their last game. Leaders Denmark have 18 points. (Portugal or Hungary could also reach 19 points in this group).

Group Two: Greece, currently second with 14 points, should reach 17 points by beating Luxemburg at home. Even if they lose six points, that will mean they will still be better off than Norway (as will any team who overtakes them).

Group Three: Slovakia have won the group. Slovenia are currently second with 14 points and are almost certain to win their last match in San Marino.

Group Four: Germany and Russia, the only teams who can finish second, already have 22 and 21 points respectively.

Group Five: Spain have qualifed. Second-placed Bosnia already have 16 points and a relatively easy home game against Estonia still to play. That would leave them with 19 points.

Group Six: Second-placed Croatia already have 17 points. (Ukraine are two points behind them with a game in hand).

Group Seven: Serbia lead with 19 followed by France with 15. Victory at home to the Faroe Islands would guarantee France second spot and enough points to overhaul Norway. The 2006 runners-up also have a home game with Austria to play.

Group Eight: Ireland are second with 16 points and still have two home games to play, one of them against rank outsiders Montenegro. Leaders Italy, who need to draw in Ireland on Saturday, have 20 points.

PHOTO: Norway's John Arne Riise (L) points to the foot he scored with beside his brother Bjorn Helge Riise during their World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match against Macedonia at Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo September 9, 2009. REUTERS/Heiko Junge/Scanpix

Having spent 250 million euros on reinforcements and with the final due to be staged at their own Bernabeu stadium, winning the Champions League is seen almost as an obligation for Real Madrid this season, at least by much of the Spanish media.

Kicking off their campaign, perhaps appropriately, in one of Europe's most expensive cities, Real showed flashes of what may be to come, both in terms of attacking inspiration and defensive vulnerability, as they beat Swiss champions FC Zurich 5-2.

Cristiano Ronaldo was his old self, firing in two free kicks at decisive stages of the game, performing a few trademark shimmies and stepovers and remonstrating with the referee every time he was tackled by an opponent.

There were tantalising glimpses of the potential offered by his parternship with Raul and former World Player of the Year Kaka, although Real often gave the impression that they are still finding their feet with so many newcomers.

The unsung Gonzalo Higuain was just as influential as the Portuguese, setting up the second goal for Raul and scoring a superb third himself as he burst past a defender and then scored with a low shot into the far corner. It remains a mystery as to why Higuain has not been given a look-in by Argentina coach Diego Maradona.

Their defensive problems, however, show no sign of letting up. Having led 3-0 at halftime, Real had to sweat through the last 20 minutes after the unrated hosts scored twice in two minutes to bring it back to 3-2. Iker Casillas upended Alexander Alphonse to give away a penalty, they Silvio Aegerter was allowed to head in another at the near post.

Two late goals, including Ronaldo's second free kick, gave the visitors a somewhat flattering win.

To put it into perspective, Grasshoppers, who may be forced to drop into the Swiss third division next season because of chronic financial problems, managed to put three past Zurich last Saturday and had a further goal controversially disallowed, although they conceded four in the progress.

One thing which money cannot buy is passionate support. The large contingent on Real fans sat silently through Tuesday's match, stirring only with a few cries of Madrid after their team scored and a half-hearted version of Viva Espana late in the first half. Zurich's South Curve never stopped singing, even when their team were 3-0 down.

Brian Homewood, Zurich

PHOTO: Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring during their Champions League soccer match against FC Zurich (FCZ) at the Letzigrund Stadium in Zurich September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Miro Kuzmanovic

There's only one small problem: everyone was saying the same about Carlos Alberto Parreira's team four years ago after they won the Confederations Cup with a 4-1 win over Argentina in the final. Like Dunga's team, they were Copa America champions at the time and their so-called Magic Quarter of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Adriano looked unstoppable.

Instead, Brazil relaxed. They took the Confederations Cup too seriously, forgetting that the Argentine side they had beaten was a second-string line-up. Their pre-World Cup training camp in the small Swiss village of Weggis had a carnival atmosphere. Five thousand paying spectators packed a specially constructed arena to watch every single training session. A subdued World Cup campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat to France in the quarter-finals. 

This time, the Brazilian confederation has vowed not to repeat the mistakes. Dunga, who shuns celebrity status for both himself and his players, is probably the last coach in the world who would accept such a set-up. But there are other things which could go wrong.

Brazil are heavily dependant on striker Luis Fabiano and goalkeeper Julio Cesar and a loss of form for either player would seriously weaken them.

Luis Fabiano has scored five goals at the Confederations Cup and nine in the World Cup qualifiers despite playing in only nine of their 15 games. They have looked fairly toothless when he has been absent .Julio Cesar has been in inspired form and has often made the difference.

Luck also comes into it and Brazil have been getting all the breaks recently. Their match away to Ecuador in March last June was an extraordinarily one-sided affair in which the hosts should have been several goals to the good by halftime. Instead, Brazil somehow sneaked a 1-1 draw.

Brazil again found themselves under the cosh in Uruguay, yet managed to go in 2-0 ahead at halftime thanks to some more heroics from Julio Cesar and a blunder from his opposite number Sebastian Viera. It was a similar story on Saturday when Argentina did all the attacking but Brazil led 2-0 at halftime. And we must not forget the farcical penalty which gave them a 4-3 win over Egypt at the Confederations Cup.

Brazil's World Cup opponents are less likely to play into their hands than their South American neighbours.

Dunga has turned Brazil into a counter-attacking outfit who are at their most comfortable away from home against teams who come out and take the initiative.

Argentina, who have descended into chaos under the leadership of Diego Maradona, played straight into Dunga's hands as they poured forward in Rosario and left gaping holes at the back.

World Cup opponents are likely to be play more like Colombia and Bolivia, who both held on for goalless draws in Rio de Janeiro as they exposed Brazil's lack of ideas when faced with packed defences.

PHOTO: Brazil players salute their supporters at the end of the World Cup qualifying win over Argentina in Rosario, September 5, 2009 REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian

Premier League club Chelsea have been banned from registering any new players for the next two transfer windows, FIFA said on Thursday.

"Chelsea are banned from registering any new players, either nationally or internationally, for the two next entire and consecutive registration periods following the notification of the present decision," a FIFA statement said.

The decision effectively means the English club cannot register any new players until January 2011. The next transfer window is in January followed by another in 2010.

The punishment was handed out by FIFA following a contractual dispute involving the transfer of Gael Kakuta from French club Racing Lens in 2007.

Following a complaint from Lens, FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber ruled that Kakuta had breached his contract with the French club and that Chelsea had induced him to do so.

Chile 's 4-0 win over Bolivia

Their progress through the tortuous South American qualifying campaign -- which has included a memorable home win over Argentina -- has been almost exclusively credited to the work one of the world's most reclusive and enigmatic coaches Marcelo Bielsa.

While the Chilean media were in a frenzy after Wednesday's win, Bielsa walked into the media conference with his usual tortured, glazed expression and launched into a style of rhetoric which was a world apart from the usual clichés.

Here are a few highlights:

-- "Football is so full of the unexpected that it is never convenient to pre-announce something which has not yet happened."

-- "The reality is that numerically we have not obtained a sufficient number of points to decide our qualification. So, what appears to be just a posture on our part, is simply a case of coming to terms with reality and a reading of what football historically offers in terms of unexpected situations, something which makes one more prudent."

--"This is a cycle where things have resulted favourably and, around the triumphs, we can consolidate aspects related to collective maturity. It seems that in this sense, the team is progressing."

--"Happiness related to football is another component, but Chile has other things to feel satisfied about, such as the evolution of the intellectual coefficient of the population in the last 30 years... This, indeed, is a very strong indicator."

--"(Coaching Chile ) appeared to me to be a valid option and I believe that I have not made a mistake. Not because things are better or worse than the results, but because the conditions which I proposed, which I imagined, and the football reality which I revised before coming there have coincided with the projection which I made at that moment."

Known as Loco (The Madman), the mysterious and obsessive Bielsa was born into a family of well-known lawyers and his brother Rafael is a former Argentine Foreign Minister.

He refuses to give exclusive interviews -- something which infuriated Argentine television networks during six years as coach of his own country's national team -- and never talks about the referee.

He broke the latter taboo only once, after he had been dismissed from the touchline for arguing with the match official.

Bielsa said: "I never, ever comment on the referee but I have to say that on this occasion he was absolutely right to send me off."

PHOTO: Chile's Marcelo Bielsa looks at players before their friendly against Belgium in Chiba, east of Tokyo May 29, 2009. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Sao Paulo have won the Brazilian championship for the last three years but their style of play is far removed from their country's fine footballing traditions.

Defensive, physical, brutally efficient in attack and often destructive, Muricy Ramalho's team have made few friends outside their own fan base.

Their 3-0 win over Cruzeiro on Sunday caused an outcry after they committed 14 fouls -- against the same player. 

The victim was striker Kleber, who said: "The fouls were not violent, they didn't injure me. But how can anyone play football if they receive 14 fouls in a game."

His club added in a statement: "Nobody has witnessed so much cowardice in a football match in the recent history of Brazilian football. We demand that the authorities take action to stop this persecution..."

Sao Paulo, who committed a total of 30 fouls on Sunday, are not the only culprits in this depressing scenario. Many other teams use similar tactics.

Brazilian domestic football bears almost no resemblance to the version played by the national side or by the big-name players in Europe.  Sixty-foul games are common and the tactic of taking it in turns to foul the opposition's best player is widely used.

This is what veteran Brazilian columnist, Fernando Calazans of O Globo, had to say on the matter.

"So this is where Brazilian football is heading? Not even Pele nor Garrincha could have played if they suffered 14 fouls. It's the so-called rotation of fouls, prohibited under the rules but permitted by weak referees.

"It's put into practice by the majority of Brazilian coaches, among them the widely-admired and widely-praised Professor Doctor Muricy Ramalho.

"If Sao Paulo can commit 30 fouls in a game and their opponents also commit 30 fouls, that makes 60 fouls. And what sort of spectacle do you get when a game is paralysed 60 times by fouls?

"The violence against those who want and know how to play football, and against those who go onto the pitch to do this, is increasing every year.

“The football pitch, today, is the land of the bullyboys.”

Dagoberto (R) of Brazil's Sao Paulo battles for the ball with Royer Canas (C) of Colombia's Independiente Medellin during their Copa Libertadores soccer match in Medellin April 15, 2009. REUTERS/Fredy Amariles

"The game is over for us," said Justino Compean, president of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF).

Mexican authorities threw their toys out of the pram after Brazilian champions Sao Paulo and Uruguay's Nacional declined to travel to the country to face Guadalajara and San Luis respectively in the Libertadores Cup second round.

Yet, the weekend's league matches in both Guadalajara and San Luis were played behind closed doors under the orders of the FMF itself because both are considered to be in regions where there is thought to be a higher risk of the virus.

Given the circumstances, it seemed premature, to say the least, to claim that either city would make an appropriate venue for an international sporting fixture.

Some commentators, notably David Faitelson writing for the Mexican edition of ESPN's Web site, have questioned whether any football at all should be played in Mexico in the present circumstances.

"Has anyone asked the players what they think?" he asked.

Most media have reported matches as if almost nothing unusual was going on - either this weekend, when clubs in some regions were allowed to admit fans under strict conditions, or the previous one, when all games were played behind closed doors.

There is also the matter of Mexico's uncomfortable relationship with the South American confederation.

Mexican clubs have been taking part in the Libertadores, the regions's equivalent of the Champions League, for more than a decade under a special agreement.

They also play in the Copa Sudamericana, a sort of UEFA Cup-type contest, and the national team has been a guest at the Copa America since 1993. But it has never been the happiest of relationships.

Mexican officials and media often complain that their teams have received second class treatment at the hands of referees and disciplinary commissions, yet there is also the feeling that the Mexicans only take the Libertadores seriously when it suits them.

The Mexicans have repeatedly failed to send their top clubs to the Libertadores, instead organising an "Interliga" tournament, involving eight teams and played in the United States, to decide who qualifies.

This frequently results in midtable teams representing the country, making a mockery of the Libertadores.

Two years ago, Mexican club America fielded a reserve team in their quarter-final tie against Brazil's Santos because of a clash with local matches, which the FMF refused to re-scheduled.

A greater insult to their hosts would have been harder to imagine. Perhaps Mexico’s withdrawal will be cheered by much of the continent.

PHOTO: A security guard wears a surgical mask as he sits in the empty Azul stadium during a Mexican League Championship soccer match between Indios and Cruz Azul in Mexico City May 2, 2009.REUTERS/Henry Romero

The official name for the tournament is the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. But its real motive seems to be to cram 10,000 people into a covered a arena and then subject them to over two hours of Euro-rock crowd pleasers.

Imagine a soccer match being interrupted at every free kick, corner, throw-in and goal by a burst of music, usually of questionable taste, and you start to get the picture.

At the world ice-hockey championship, each of the three 20-minute periods will typically be halted between 20 and 30 times.

As Funky Town, La Bamba, Leader of the Gang or, heaven forbid, the Final Countdown blare out for the umpteenth time, the scoreboard will order the spectators to stamp their feet, clap or make some noise (fleeing outside apparently is not an option). Occasionally, the tournament mascot, a smiling Swiss cow call Coolly, will attempt to whip up the fans or entice them to do a Mexico wave.

Just as a sample, here's the playlist for the second period of the Canada v Latvia quarter-final. Somewhere in the middle of all this, an ice hockey match tried to break out.

0:48 - Hound dog (Elvis Presley)

1:48 - Sounded suspiciously like Adam and the Ants but not sure

3:30 - Hooray, hooray it's a holiday (Boney M)

3:36 - Unidentifiable song which goes "La lala lala, la lala"

4:36 - Scandinavian-sounding thing

4:53 - Minnie the Moocher (Cab Calloway)

5:39 - Here we go, here we go (Unidentified)

6:37 - I like to move it (Reel 2 Real)

7:00 - Kiss (Prince)

7:00 - The Heat is On (Glenn Frey)

7:08 - Funky town (Lipps Inc)

7:38 - Some dodgy-sounding thing with an organ

8:33 - YMCA (Village people)

11:00 - Rivers of Babylon (Boney M)

11:44 - I will survive '08 version

12:07 - Hot in the city (Billy Idol)

13:36 - La Bamba (Ritchie Valens)

15:06 - We will rock you (Queen)

15:16 - Are you ready (AC/DC)

15:35 - The Twist (Chubby Checker)

16:01 - Zombie (Fela Kuti)....no, only joking, it was Funky Town again

16:38 - The unidentifiable organ thing again

17:04 - Tequila (The Champs)

17:30 - Couldn't make this one out at all. Some sort of guitar solo

17:47 - Meet the Flintsones (B52s)

18:06 - Upside down (Cover version)

19:16 - Might have been my imagination but it sounded vaguely sambaish.

19:16 - We're not going to take it (Twisted sister)

MAMA MIA: Sweden's supporters during a game against Czech Republic in Bern May 7, 2009. REUTERS/Michael Buholzer

Ronaldo's performances for Corinthians have already started talk of a Brazil recall -- he has not played for his country since the 2006 World Cup -- and national team coach Dunga was in the crowd when Corinthians held Santos 1-1 to win the Paulista championship on Sunday.

But what exactly is the Paulista championship? The format of the Brazilian season often baffles outsiders and maybe this is a chance to put it into context.

For the last few years, the country has run a conventional league -- usually known simply enough as the Brasileirao (literally the Big Brazilian) featuring 20 teams who play each other home and away in the conventional style.

It is preceded, however, by the regional championships, one for each of Brazils 27 states. These tournaments are based on politics rather than any footballing logic.

They have been around since early 1900s when a national championship was inviable but have survived the advent of air travel and all attempts to remove them.

Each state has its own federation who in turn choose the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). Therefore, abolishing these tournaments would be electoral suicide for Ricardo Teixeiro, who has held the post since 1989.

Taking the Paulista as an example, only six of the 20 teams -- Corinthians, Santos, Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Santo Andre and Barueri -- play in the Brazilian first division. The rest are from the second and third divisions and some are barely professional.

This means that for four months, most of Corinthians' matches have been against lower division sides.

Given that Palmeiras and Sao Paulo have been more interested in the Libertadores Cup -- South America's equivalent of the Champions League -- and that Santo Andre and Barueri are themselves small teams, Santos were probably their only real rivals for the title.

For Ronaldo, the real test starts next week with the Brazilian championship.

PHOTO: Corinthians' Ronaldo receives a pass during their Paulista (Sao Paulo State) Championship final  match against Santos FC in Pacaembu stadium in Sao Paulo, May 3, 2009. REUTERS/Junior Lago