In one of the least unpredictable transfers of this summer Liverpool’s troubled (and troubling – the guy clearly needs help) star striker Luis Suarez has moved to Barcelona, no doubt to the benefit of his bank balance. The only question was over his destination. As he made no secret he wished to play in Spain the other option would have been Real Madrid.

Barcelona’s motto, emblazoned on the seats in their stadium, the Camp Nou, is “més que un club” (more than a club.) Such a claim to moral high ground is somewhat undermined by their acquisition of a serial perpetrator of assaults; assaults which if carried out in any other walk of life might have seen their author up before a magistrate.

Suarez’s gifts as a footballer clearly outweigh any consideration of propriety (or indeed of the player’s inner well-being: he is not going to change his behaviour when it is rewarded like this.)

It seems Barcelona is sólo otro club (just another club) after all.

World Cup Semi-Final: Green Point Stadium, Cape Town, 6/7/10

Despite the scoreline this wasn’t a classic. Semi-finals rarely are.

I thought Uruguay were shading it till van Bronckhorst hit his wonder strike. Holland took control for a while but the kerfuffle before the double booking seemed to benefit Uruguay who had much the better of the remainder of the half. Forlan’s goal was also well hit but yet another of this tournament’s goalkeeping misjudgements.

Uruguay were looking more menacing in the second half too; until the Dutch goal – at which van Persie was quite definitely offside. However I suspect that after Suarez’s handball in the last game Uruguay were never going to get the benefit of any close decisions in this one. They were then hit with a sucker punch via Robben’s head and suddenly Holland began to look a team. The game was effectively over.

The well worked free kick for Uruguay’s second came too late but showed Holland can be panicked at the back. A few minutes earlier and who knows…?