It’s only a slight exaggeration to say the only people in the United States who want Juergen Klinsmann’s autograph are the waiters seeking his signature on their credit card receipts.

The former Germany coach and striker might be virtually overrun in his home country by autograph seekers and could probably not walk down a street anywhere in Germany even in the middle of the night without causing a stir.

But in California, it’s Juergen Who?

“It’s great that we can lead a normal life here,” Klinsmann told me when there was only one autograph request during the course of a two-hour interview in his adopted California home - from a friendly waiter who brought the check for lunch.

“It’s just a completely different world. That would change overnight if we (he and his family) ever went back to Europe.”

I’ve had three interviews in California with Klinsmann over the past few years, all of them in very public coffee shops, bars and restaurants, and there was only one soccer fan who recognised him and asked for an autograph, and he was from Europe.

Even then he stood shyly a few metres off in the distance for a moment — perhaps to make sure it really was Klinsmann — before sending his uninformed yet infinitely more courageous American girlfriend up to our table at an outdoor cafe to ask on his behalf.

Klinsmann, who had just been explaining to me that no one in America knew who he was,  laughed at the irony before happily signing his name: “That almost never happens here, really. It’s only the occasional tourist from Europe or South America.”

Klinsmann savours his nearly anonymous life in America. He once even played in a local California soccer league under an assumed name, until some started wondering who this guy was named “Jay” — as in “J” — who was scoring all these goals. He believes that even though David Beckham has sparked a wave of interest in soccer in the United States he will still be able to remain just another face in the crowd.

“Even with Beckham being here now soccer doesn’t have the mass appeal that other sports do,” he said. “Soccer isn’t part of the culture and that’s why nothing has changed for me, even after the World Cup. I can still go shopping or out to eat without anyone noticing — just like before.”

Erik Kirschbaum, Huntington Beach, California

Ten minutes to go in the Belo Horizonte derby between Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro, who share one of the fiercest rivalries in South America. Having led 2-0 and then trailed 3-2, Cruzeiro are leading 4-3 and are on the attack.
 
The ball falls to 19-year-old striker Kerlon on edge of the Atletico area and he decides it is time to perform his trademark “Seal” dribble.
 
Kerlon nonchalently flicks the ball up, and bounces it three times on his head while still running to send the Cruzeiro fans wild (and provide plenty of ammunition for headline writers — see here, for example). 
 
But the show is rudely interrupted by a crunching tackle from Atletico defender Coelho, who is sent off, and a brawl ensues. After the game, Atletico players and coach Emerson Leao furiously accuse Kerlon of trying to belittle their team.
 
“There’s a code of ethics between the players, which is not written into the rules. A player takes this sort of thing to be a lack of respect,”said Leao. “If I were the boy’s coach, I’d give him some advice.”
 
Cruzeiro were having none of it. “Kerlon will not be intimidated by threats on and off the field, by players pointing their fingers at him, telling him not to do it,” said director Valdir Barbosa. “He’s going to be inventive. He doesn’t treat this as a joke, he’s going for goal.”
 
This is not the first controversy of its type in Brazil. In 1999, a Corinthians-Palmeiras derby was abandoned in the second half when Corinthians midfielder Edilson played keepy-uppy in the centre circle (his team were three goals to the good at the time) and was chased off the field by the opposition. The following day, Edilson was kicked out of Brazil’s squad for the Copa America.
 
Cruzeiro claim that Kerlon was practicising the type of artistry for which Brazil has become famous. Atletico Mineiro said he was clowning around and making them look stupid.
 
Who’s right here? Perhaps the giveaway with this type of move is that, rather like Ronaldinho’s grin, it tends to disappear when the player’s team are losing.

As former World Cup referee Jose Roberto Wright said in his newspaper column: “The rules don’t stipulate any type of punishment for a player who uses his technique to play. The only thing I would like to know is whether he would have done the same thing earlier, when Atletico were winning. I doubt it.”

Brian Homewood

If you were a neutral soccer fan, there was nowhere better to be than London this week.

The capital might well battle with all the problems inherent in big cities: it’s expensive, there are too many people, too many cars — but for the football fan there are few places to match it.

If you had the time, the money, the inclination and the stamina, you could have watched Champions League matches and a UEFA Cup game at Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs on three successive nights.

You would have seen a total of 12 goals.

You’d have witnessed an outstanding display by Arsenal in their 3-0 demolition of Sevilla in their Champions League opener at the Emirates and a revitalised Spurs team demolish Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus 6-1 at White Hart Lane.

You wouldn’t have seen a great match at Chelsea, who drew 1-1 with Rosenborg Trondheim in their Champions League opener, but at least you would have been witness to the final drama that brought the curtain down on Jose Mourinho’s time at the club.

If you didn’t fancy going to see Chelsea on Tuesday — and clearly with 17,000 empty seats at the Bridge not too many did — you had a choice of watching Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace or Queens Park Rangers in the Championship.

The numbers speak for themselves. Although Chelsea had a disappointingly low crowd of just 25,000 at Stamford Bridge, almost 75,000 spectators watched the four matches in the capital on Tuesday.

On Wednesday there was a near-capacity crowd of 60,000 at the Emirates while on Thursday, Spurs had a near-capacity crowd of almost 36,000 for their game at the Lane.

Last week England’s two Euro 2008 qualifiers at Wembley attracted two 90,000 sell-out crowds.

Organised soccer, of course, began in London in October 1863 when the Football Association was formed in a pub in Lincoln’s Inn Fields near Covent Garden.

With a total of 14 League clubs including five in the Premier League, the city remains one of Europe’s most vibrant soccer cities.

Ironical then, perhaps, that no London team has ever won the European Cup or Champions League.

Judging by the events of this week, Arsenal have a far more realistic chance of doing that than Chelsea. What an even more amazing irony it would be if they won this season’s final in Moscow, the old home of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich whose billions have not yet brought him the Chelsea success he craves the most.

Mike Collett, Reuters Soccer Correspondent, London

The Chelsea job is Avram Grants to lose, according to reports, with the Israeli handed the brief of matching his Portuguese predecessors success while adding the style their Russian owner demands. First stop Old Trafford on Sunday.

Events at another stadium resonate here. For Stamford Bridge, September 2007 see the Bernabeu summer 2007, or just about any summer for that matter.

Its proof of just how far Chelsea have been transformed in three years that now Galactico styled success, and not laboured achievement, is now required. Revisiting Simon Basketts analysis of Fabio Capellos exit from Real in June, parallels are impossible to ignore.

“The problem for Capello’s successor is that he will have to match the Italian’s effectiveness in terms of winning titles and do it by playing the sort of crowd-pleasing football demanded by the Bernabeu.”

Or as Chelsea Pies put it on a frantic day of blogging: ”Abramovich wanted fantasy football, but Jose was never going to fit into that mould. Trophies weren’t enough for the big boss”

When Bernd Schuster took to his task, Reals players were still dizzy from seven managerial changes in four years. Grant must attempt to bring attractive football to the Bridge by deploying players who remain fiercely loyal to the previous regime.

Such a conundrum has been the undoing of other clubs (think of the problems after Louis van Gaal was sacked at Barcelona, or after Arrigo Sacchi was shown the door at Atletico) and already there are rumblings of discontent. The Sun say Didier Drogbas off, while the Daily Mirror believe Michael Essien and Florent Malouda and Ricardo Carvalho could follow.

So Chelsea fans, is the remainder of the season just a disaster waiting to happen? Does mediocrity beckon? Or can Abramovichs vision of fantasy football begin in earnest with a 5-3 victory on Sunday?

Padraic Halpin, London

* This post was edited at 1256 GMT to correct a couple of spelling mistakes

Jose Mourinho gets a rough send-off from some of Britain’s newspapers. Martin Samuel in the Times says his Chelsea team lacked the charisma of the man himself, while Kevin McCarra in the Guardian highlights the lack of adventure on the pitch during his time in charge.

Bloggers seem too surprised to have had much considered reaction yet.

“I’m still shocked that he’s gone,” write Who Ate All The Pies. “Who knows where he’ll end up now? I hope that he stays in the Premier League, but wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him go to Spain or Italy.”

Chelseablog were also thinking about the future in their overnight timeline: ”01:23 - First mention of Sven-Goran Erikssons name in the Sun newspaper. God help us.”!

In an interesting piece at  Soccerlens, Ahmed Bilal speculates about a possible Mourinho move to Tottenham. More on that later.

For Reuters, soccer correspondent Mike Collett writes admiringly about the Mourinho effect on Chelsea:

“From the day Mourinho arrived at Chelsea from Porto in June 2004 the charismatic Portuguese infused his club with a sense of self-belief it had never truly possessed in almost 100 years of a fairly mundane and under-achieving existence.”

We’d like your views on Mourinho’s time at Chelsea. Did the coach do enough with the almost unlimited resources he had at his disposal (at least early on)? Do you agree that he could have been more adventurous? And does his departure, and the news that Avram Grant is taking over, spell bad news for the club? Let us know via the comments.

Kevin Fylan

Scorelines can sometimes be very deceptive. Holders AC Milan beat Benfica 2-1 on Tuesday in their opening Champions League Group D clash but in truth they should have netted five at least.

Andrea Pirlo, majestic all game, curled in a trademark free kick early on and then Filippo Inzaghi grabbed his 43rd Champions League goal and 60th in European club football. The 34-year-old is now just two behind Gerd Mueller’s record of 62, which he would have shattered against the Portuguese but for some good keeping from Quim and two wayward finishes.

Benfica were not shocking, even if their pink away shirts were, but even former Milan midfielder Rui Costa had no way of stopping Carlo Ancelotti’s side, who have drawn their last two Serie A games 1-1 but save their best form for Europe.

Milan’s side was the same which beat Liverpool in last May’s final except for injured captain Paolo Maldini. Brazilian Kaka also showed with two amazing bursts down the touchline that his decision to rest and skip July’s Copa America has helped him add some extra pace to go with his tricks.

On this evidence it would take a brave man to bet against Milan defending their Champions League title, especially after Chelsea limped to a 1-1 home draw with Rosenborg and Liverpool were held at Porto.

“It is lamentable how poor Liverpool were last night,” was the view of Red Cauldron. Of the Londoners, Chelseablog said: “A dominating performance with no end product – story of our season so far.”

Elsewhere, Real Madrid beat Werder Bremen 2-1 but when it comes to the business end of the season their failure to tempt Kaka to the Bernabeu this summer may prove more costly than the 80 million euros they offered.
 
Mark Meadows, Milan

A few years ago at a news conference in Madrid I heard Alex Ferguson describe the Champions League as the world’s greatest football competition.

“If you look at the stats for the last World Cup it doesn’t come close to the Champions League in terms of entertainment, goals or excitement,” Ferguson said in comments that raised a few eyebrows at the time. ”I think the European Champions Cup is now bigger than the World Cup. All the best players are in Europe now.”

That was in April, 2003 and a couple of weeks later at Old Trafford, United and Real did their best to prove him right in a match that saw Ronaldo given a standing ovation as he walked from the pitch after scoring a hat-trick and sealing the Spanish club’s place in the semi-finals.

There have been plenty of magical moments since, as rivalries like Barcelona v Chelsea and Liverpool v AC Milan have grown and grown.

But is it now time for a change? Do you find it getting a little predictable seeing so many teams from the most powerful nations, England, Spain and Italy dominate the final stages so regularly?

Michel Platini certainly thinks so, and despite opposition to his Cup idea from the G-14 it seems inevitable that there will be more champions from what you might call middle-ranking nations from Scandinavia and eastern Europe getting involved at the latest from the 2009-10 season.

For those of you eager for something new, the first round of matches this week will see Sevilla, UEFA Cup winners for the last two years, take on Arsenal in a meeting of two of the most attractive sides in Europe. We can also look forward to ties like Porto v Liverpool, Barcelona v Olympique Lyon and Milan against Benfica, while an expensively assembled Shakhtar Donetsk take on Celtic.*

Does all that whet your appetite? Or are you struggling to get excited by a competition that has been one by a team form outside the top four nations just once in the last 12 editions?

Give us your thoughts in our comments section, and don’t forget to add a tip for this year’s winner. My heart says an outsider with a rich history like Steaua Bucharest or Benfica, but my head says a team from Spain, and probably Real Madrid. What do you reckon?

Kevin Fylan, Gelsenkirchen

* As always, Reuters will be providing full coverage of the Champions League throughout the long season, with reporters at all the big games. Check out our dedicated football site here.

Inter Milan are one of the richest and biggest clubs in Europe but they start their Champions League campaign without a defence.

They visit Fenerbahce in Group G on Wednesday without injured centre backs Marco Materazzi and Cristian Chivu while Walter Samuel is also struggling with a knock. Meanwhile, Nicolas Burdisso, Maicon and Ivan Cordoba all have long term Champions League suspensions following the mass brawl in the game with Valencia last season.

That leaves the Italian champions with just Brazilian left back Maxwell, a converted midfielder, and largely untried Colombian central defender Nelson Rivas.

Captain Javier Zanetti may have to return to right back from midfield and left winger Cesar, who scored a cracking goal in the 2-0 league win over Catania on Sunday, could play at left back but it is doubtful Maxwell could shift across.

Midfielder Patrick Vieira could have dropped back to central defence as a stop gap measure but he is doubtful for the trip to Istanbul after playing twice for France despite a hamstring injury, which greatly annoyed Inter coach Roberto Mancini.

Inter fans may wonder why they let flexible full back Fabio Grosso join Lyon in August. The ripping up of defender Francesco Coco’s contract to allow him to become an actor may also have backfired (see “Coco from Inter to Hollywood” at Soccerphile if you missed the story)..

The decision to leave troubled striker Adriano out of their Champions League squad is another talking point. If Mancini was looking for a makeshift defender the big, powerful Brazilian would fit the mould, especially as his current lack of form in the box means he would be unlikely to score any own goals.

Mark Meadows, Milan

We all have our favourite teams, but how many support a club just for the name?

Creativity in Africa knows no bounds when it comes to baptising football teams and within the continent, the tiny kingdom of Swaziland has no equal. My favourites were always Ten and One Young Dribblers, who had a brief sojourn in top flight football in the southern African country.

Then there are Eleven Men in Flight, a much more successful club who even got to play in the African Cup Winners Cup. They finished runners-up in the Swazi league a decade ago but sadly have since been relegated.

Sadly, Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs lost their premier league status in Ghana last year although Hearts of Oak are one of the continents giants. Not only are they among the oldest clubs, they have had Sir Stanley Matthews play for them and also won the African Champions League in 2000.

In Botswana, Mosquito Selibe-Phikwe just dropped down to the third tier of their league, showing little bite in a season in which they won just five of their 22 matches. But Naughty Boys just missed out on promotion to the top flight.

Two season ago, Touch and Go took the uncertainty out of the game and finished last in Namibias premier league standings to disappear back to the anonymity of the northern town of Otavi.

Elsewhere, I also look out for the results of Surinams Robin Hood and Joe Public in nearby Trinidad and Tobago. But they don’t come close to Ten and One Young Dribblers, who I am determined to watch live if I can find what happened to them.

Mark Gleeson, Johannesburg

Spurs fans can be forgiven for being a little apprehensive ahead of Saturday’s clash with Arsenal, despite the return of whiz kid Aaron Lennon from a knee injury, and a pumped-up Darren Bent. 
 
Before the season kicked off, every man and his dog had Martin Jol’s young side down as likely fourth place finishers ahead of their North London rivals. A lot of people have changed their opinions sharply, with Arsenal in second and Tottenham down in 14th with just one win in their opening five.

For Arsenal, the departure of Thierry Henry seems to have helped liberate young talents like Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and the superb Tomas Rosicky.

So will Arsenal bury Spurs heads further into the sand at White Hart Lane on Saturday? On current form they will be favourites but derby games are hard to predict, and in any case, have Spurs been playing as badly as their league position suggests?

Push and Run have a piece bristling with optimism, arguing that it’s “through bad luck more than design” that they’re so far down the table, while Jim Duggan at Hotspurs agrees it’s not time for doom and gloom. He writes:

“Before you dust off the old Leonard Cohen albums and reach for absinthe, its at times like these when character is needed to be blended to the skill to produce something special.”

Do Spurs have that character? We’ll see on Saturday…

Tom Spaven, London