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High Fives From Magic Mike

Welcome to "High Fives" the personal column of our ace Director of Football "Magic Mike".

Magic Mike's football credentials are first class. Last season he handily beat the Beeb’s expert tipster “Lawro” who never got a look in after Magic took an early lead at the start of the 2008/09 season.

A good number of our players were rescued by Magic’s tips in our Five Lives scheme which automatically gives you his tips, up to five times during the season, should you forget to enter them yourself. Magic Mike's canny inside knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of players and teams, combined with a passion for getting it right, is what you need to make an impact in this game. It also means you're going to have to be at your best to outdo him.

The Management - Score Five

And now, once again, over to Magic Mike...

See what Mike had to say in the olden days - visit his 2008/09 season archives.

previous predictions -

World Cup Semi-finals.... World Cup Quarter-Finals.... World Cup - Round of 16.... World Cup Stage 3.... FA Cup Final 2009/10.... Round 38

 The Final Countdown

Uruguay vs. Germany at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. Both teams will have to put the disappointment of failure to reach the final aside as they battle to take 3^rd place in the tournament. This is a repeat of the 1970 game for 3^rd and 4^th place which Germany won 1-0 40 years ago. Jaochim Low can be proud of his young German side’s achievements at this tournament with an exciting brand of football that swept aside fancied England and Argentina before narrowly losing to the talented Spaniards. Miroslav Klose needs 2 goals to take over the record of being the leading World Cup Finals goal scorer of all time.

This has been an exceptional World Cup for Uruguay, surprisingly being the leading South American nation at the World Cup after the quarter-final exits of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Luis Suarez will be back in the side following his red card against Ghana and will partner Diego Forlan in attack. Forlan with 4 goals in the tournament still has a chance of taking the coveted title of “leading goal-scorer” and stands 1 goal behind Spain’s David Villa and Holland’s Wesley Sneijder.  Coach Oscar Tabarez is hungry for a win.

Magic predicts: Uruguay 1 - Germany 2

 

Netherlands vs. Spain at Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg. A new winner of the Jules Rimet trophy is guaranteed as well as a European team will lift the trophy on foreign soil for the first time. 

The Netherlands have enjoyed a perfect record in their 2 year World Cup campaign which has so far yielded 14 victories. Bert Van Marwijk’s side have followed the tradition of Dutch sides and played open and attacking football and will be attempting to go one better than the teams of the seventies that lost in the ’74 and ’78 finals in what was a golden era of Dutch football. Wesley Sneijder is currently joint leading goal-scorer with Spain’s David Villa with 5 goals but both players will only care about lifting the trophy.

Vicente Del Bosque’s Spain have also enjoyed an almost perfect 2 year World Cup campaign with the only blemish being the opening game defeat in the World Cup final tournament to Switzerland. Since that defeat Spain have strung together 5 consecutive victories and their short passing game, incisive attacks and ability to hold the ball will be difficult to overcome. In the semi-final they defeated the fancied Germans, 1-0, but in truth they completely controlled the game and dominated possession. They will start the final as favourites and the Dutch will need to find the key to break up Spain’s passing game if they are to prevail. The Dutch though will take heart that they achieved just that against Brazil in quarter-final, when they looked dead and buried after the first half, trailing 1-0. 

It looks set to be an open attacking contest between 2 teams that play their football in the spirit of the game.

Magic predicts: Netherlands 0 - Spain 2