They may not be Marco van Basten’s A-side, but “Jong Oranje” — the Dutch Under-21 team who face Serbia in the final of the European Championship on Saturday — are drumming up considerable excitement at home.

The heroics of keeper Boy Waterman, who made three fine saves during Wednesday’s epic penalty shoot-out with England as well as scoring from his own spot-kick, certainly helped.

“Boy oh Boy, we’re through!” celebrated the top selling daily Telegraaf on its front page the next day, alongside a photo of Boy’s delighted grin at his team’s 13-12 victory.

Whereas some of the crowds have been so small that testy verbal exchanges on the pitch have been audible even to those watching at home, the Dutch team, the defending champions, have managed to draw a more respectable fan base.

Some 23,500 spectators turned out to see the Netherlands play England for a place in the final, and UEFA says total attendances have already surpassed the mark seen in last year’s Under-21 finals in Portugal.

The great and the good of Dutch soccer are lining up to deliver their assessment on the young team, after Jong Oranje coach Foppe de Haan opted to abandon the traditional Dutch 4-3-3 system in favour of 4-4-2.

Johan Cruyff has warned de Haan in his column to be “more careful” and that his view of 4-3-3 as old fashioned could be “extremely damaging” for Dutch football. “4-3-3 is the lifeline of the Dutch game,” he said.

Alex Hudson is a Reuters correspondent based in Amsterdam

Just when Kaka was being talked about as the world´s best player — Cristiano Ronaldo having some way to go yet — Riquelme returns to his best form and inspires Boca Juniors to another continental title, while at the same time saying he’ll return for Argentina too.

Perhaps we will never know just how much that missed penalty against Arsenal more than a year ago affected Riquelme. Argentina´s World Cup hopes a couple of months later hung firmly from his shoulders and although he impressed European observers he never satisfied Argentines. They had seen much better, particularly in the South American context. He has to orchestrate, he also has to play high up as his goals for Boca show.

Riquelme’s return, confirmed on Thursday, is a chance for Alfio Basile to shelve his experiment with Messi in the “media punta” role. Instead, he can rely on Riquleme in the Copa America with Messi coming from deep positions on the right.* With them, plus Tevez and Crespo up front, Argentina could afford a few more of those 4-3 wins like the one against Algeria in their last friendly!

Surprisingly, Riquleme remains unwanted by Villarreal, who loaned him to Boca in February. Tevez, Kaka, Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldinho and Deco are all regularly talked about in the media as transfer targets for Europe’s biggest clubs. Riquelme is rarely if ever mentioned but after this latest virtuoso display perhaps that will now change.  

Rex Gowar, London

* There’s an early look at what the return of Messi will mean at pasion albiceleste.

In terms of television money, six-times French champions Olympique Lyon would risk relegation if they were in the Premier League.

Lyon pocketed under 45 million euros from TV rights last season, which is the equivalent of what the bottom clubs in England cashed in. Lyon’s rivals like Olympique Marseille and Girondins Bordeaux had to be content with under 35 million euros, less than any top-flight English side.

When you add to that the fact that the kind of money made by French clubs from ticketing and merchandising is nowhere near the sums generated in England, you understand why you have no big names playing in France and why Lyon, the measure of all things in France, have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

In a few months, the French Professional Football League will study offers from broadcasters for the 2008-2011 period. It is unlikely they will get more than the 600 million euros a year pay-TV channel Canal Plus are currently paying.

Now look at the transfers so far. Mathieu Bodmer and Kader Keita joining Lyon from Lille, Benoit Cheyrou leaving Auxerre for Marseille. Such signings can’t compete with the players joining clubs in England, Spain, Italy or even Germany.

If the stars aren’t there, broadcasters will be reluctant to pay fortunes to show the action. Even rights-holders Canal Plus are showing more and more English or Spanish matches because the French ones are deemed boring in comparison.

Clubs like Chelsea or AC Milan often make the front page of L’Equipe nowadays, which would have been inconceivable a few years back.

French clubs need more money to be more attractive but would need to be more attractive to make more money. It seems there is no solution. I bet that in a few weeks, several of the most exciting Ligue 1 players will have signed for English clubs.

Patrick Vignal, Paris

The prospect of former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson taking over at Manchester City looks set to divide the long-suffering Blues fans.

Eriksson has been linked in media reports with the takeover plans of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, less than a year after stepping down as England coach.

Certainly, the Swede has no shortage of credentials. His club career with the likes of Lazio and Benfica is one of league title and cup success, while his knowledge of life inside the pressure cooker of English football is pretty sound.

The problem is a lack of popularity among a big chunk of English football fans. Quarter-final exits at two World Cups and Euro 2004 are hardly calamitous, but they fell well short of the nation’s hopes for their much-hyped players. His private life also kept tabloid newspapers busy.

However, City need to replace Stuart Pearce and time is beginning to run short. The early response from City fans, according to their webchats on Wednesday, is that the Swede can expect a three-way split between those behind him, those against and a fair slice of the fan base who are willing to give him a chance, and a clean slate.

The Manchester City Supporters’ Trust confirm today that, according to what they’ve heard, both Juande Ramos and Co Adriaanse would be more popular choices. Yet given his standing in the world game, isn’t Eriksson entitled to more than just muted support?

Trevor Huggins, London

Fabio Capello, one of the greatest coaches the game has ever seen, could be facing earlier than expected retirement if he is kicked out of Real Madrid.
 
Despite delivering Real’s first title in four years in his first season back at the Bernabeu, the 61-year-old Italian has yet to receive the backing of Real president Ramon Calderon.

Italians are stunned that a man with such a superb pedigree could be facing the sack after winning the league when Real had seemed out of the race. The fact there is no big club looking for a manager at the moment makes the situation look even more bizarre.
 
His CV is outstanding: a Champions League and four Italian titles with AC Milan, two La Liga titles with Real (1996/97 and this season), a scudetto with AS Roma and two with Juventus (albeit scrapped from the record books after a match-fixing scandal he knew nothing about).  
 
Capello told Gazzetta dello Sport he might have to retire if he is shown the door at Real. “The best teams already have coaches, which means I could even quit with two years’ pay,” he said.
 
He did express an interest in coaching a national side, but again there seem to be no top vacancies now that Italy boss Roberto Donadoni has overcome some early difficulties.
 
Capello has said in the past that the England job would tempt him, and Steve McClaren will now be especially glad his stumbling side beat Estonia recently to put their Euro 2008 hopes back on track.

Mark Meadows, Milan

The Real Madrid hangovers will hardly have cleared after their league title celebrations, yet already the transfer speculation is at full tilt.

Will Fabio Capello continue as Real coach? Will president Ramon Calderon let go long-serving professionals like Michel Salgado and Ivan Helguera and launch a new Galactico era? Will the two goals score by Jose Antonio Reyes against Mallorca be enough to secure his future at the Bernabeu?

Over in Barcelona, the daily Sport is already trailing transfer bids for Thierry Henry, Cristian Chivu, Eric Abidal and Yaya Toure.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta gave his backing to coach Frank Rijkaard on Monday, while also saying that Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o are part of the planning for next season.

Capello may not be so secure in his post. History shows us that just winning the title is not necessarily going to be enough. Remember, the Italian walked out of the club after his first title-winning season in 1996-97. The following year Jupp Heynckes was sacked after guiding Real to the European Cup for the first time in 32 years and in 2003 Real ushered Vicente del Bosque out of the door after securing the league crown.

As for the transfer situation, comments from Kaka appear to suggest that even the 80 million euros Real are reportedly prepared to bid would not be enough to prise the Brazilian away from Milan. Given that Barcelona are not going to sell them either Eto’o or Ronaldinho, and Cristiano Ronaldo has just signed a new contract at Manchester United, it seems unlikely that a true Galactico will be coming.

Simon Baskett, Madrid

Kevin Fylan adds: If Real Madrid and Barcelona want to make life easier for themselves over the close-season there is one simple solution that might work for both of them. Barcelona could do with a bit more discipline next season, as Joan Laporta recognised on Monday, while Real fans, though grateful for the success, have consistently demanded a more attractive style of play.

Frank Rijkaard had Barca playing the best football in Europe last season, and when it comes to discipline Capello is the master. So the question is, should Barcelona and Real just swap coaches?

It all worked out fortuitously in the end for both Mahamadou Diarra and Mali on Sunday night after an acrimonious week.

Diarra played a leading role and got the decisive second goal as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu to clinch the Spanish league title by the narrowest of margins.

It was not a game he was due to play in, but FIFA earlier in the week ordered Diarra back to Madrid from his preparations with Mali for their vital African Nations Cup qualifier against Sierra Leone.

Diarra and compatriot Frederic Kanoute, who plays for Sevilla, had both been ready to play for their country ahead of their Spanish employers in an unusual clash of fixtures.

Mali needed to win their tie in Bamako to keep alive hopes of qualifying for next years Nations Cup finals in Ghana and after a spluttering campaign were keen for the services of both Diarra and Kanoute.

FIFAs ruling on the side of the Spanish clubs drew heavy criticism, notably from Jean-François Jodar, Malis coach, who claimed world footballs governing body was siding with powerful club interests rather than the concerns of its own member associations.

It looked like he might have had a point given that while the two Spanish clubs got their players back, bids by two Algerian teams to have their Malian imports back for weekend cup semi-finals were waved away by the Zurich bureaucrats.

But Mali in the end did not miss either Diarra or Kanoute, romping to a 6-0 win over Sierra Leone in the biggest win of the current Nations Cup qualifying campaign.

The one-sided triumph catapulted Mali to the top of their group and leaves them needing to avoid defeat away into in their last game to go to the Nations Cup in Ghana.

Diarra would have been delighted to hear the news of the result from Bamako, a match that finished an hour or so after the drama in Madrid was completed. Diarra, no stranger to championship success during his time at Frances Olympique Lyon, celebrated at the Bernabeu with the Mali flag draped over his shoulders, paying tribute to the country he did not want to disappoint at the weekend.

Mark Gleeson covers African soccer for Reuters from South Africa

The United States v Canada doesn’t sound like a fixture to excite too many international fans but Thursday’s Gold Cup semi-final between the two nations, in Chicago, promises to be a fascinating encounter.

There are still some in Europe and South America who look down their noses at soccer in North America but they should start to get used to the fact that the U.S. in particular are now well established in the elite of the world game. With Canada doing a pretty good job at playing catch-up, there is plenty to look forward to on Thursday.

After reaching the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, the U.S. went out in the group stage in Germany last year which hid the progress that Bruce Arena’s side had made in the previous four years. The improvement has continued – and possibly accelerated – under Bob Bradley’s guidance.

At the Gold Cup, the hosts have won every game and conceded just one goal, and that came in the final minutes of a comfortable 2-1 win over Panama in Saturday’s quarter-final. Not everyone is convinced — The Other Football says this team is not yet ready for prime time and My Soccer Blog finds a lot to criticise — but under Bradley they seem to have found the sparkle in midfield and sharpness in attack lacking in the Arena era.

Striker Landon Donovan, who will be a team-mate of David Beckham’s at LA Galaxy, is enjoying greater freedom to roam the frontline and is benefiting from the creativity from PSV Eindhoven’s DaMarcus Beasley and Fulham’s Clint Dempsey.

Canada have long been overshadowed by their neighbours but look to be finally delivering on their potential. Striker Ali Gerba and attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario should pose some questions of a U.S. defence that has looked very solid so far.

It’s hardly England v Germany or Argentina v Brazil but if you get a chance to view this week’s ‘North American derby’ you might be pleasantly surprised.

Simon Evans is a Reuters sports correspondent based in Miami

Real Madrid left it late once again before claiming their 30th league title on Sunday with another great comeback win over Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu. As Simon Baskett writes, it was a fitting way to end the most exciting title race in Spain in over a decade.

We’ll take another look at this on Monday but for now here are a couple of thoughts after watching the final day of action.

The big question is whether Fabio Capello will continue as Real coach. If he doesn’t, he will go out with a curious record of having guided Real to two league titles in two separate spells only to leave after a single season each time. Would Real be right to let him go? Or does his achievement in ending the club’s four-year title drought mean he deserves to continue?

Barcelona finished level on points with Real, scored more goals and conceded fewer, yet lose the title because of the head-to-head record between the two old rivals. I suspect there’ll be a lot of debate over the next week (at least in Catalunya) about whether that’s the fairest way to decide the title. Let us know what you think about these and any other points about Real’s title win, and check back for more analysis.

The Spanish title race has gone down to the wire with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Sevilla all in with a chance of taking the championship in the season’s final game. But rather than focus on the merits of the three challengers, the Spanish media has been full of talk of maletines and primas — incentive payments from third-party clubs that some say are commonplace in Spain.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi said this week he would have no hesitation in paying Real Mallorca a “prima” to do well against Real Madrid in the final game if he were club president. Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas said he thought there was nothing wrong with them as long as they were only given to win games. Former Real forward Davor Suker claims he was paid a “prima” while playing for Sevilla.

But it should be noted that Mallorca players have denied that they will receive any bonuses for a win or a draw at the Bernabéu on Sunday, while Barcelona president Joan Laporta has said his club would never make such a payment.

When people write and say something they should know what they are talking about and if they have proof they should provide it,” said Mallorca defender Sergio Ballesteros. Im against ‘primas’ first because they are illegal and second because they cast doubt over the professionalism of the players.

Is he right?

Simon Baskett, Madrid