Cricket World cup-Final thoughts

India is still in a state of euphoria following their World Cup win. It was the prefect end to a tournament for both the fans and the organisers, mindful of the TV ratings disaster that accompanied India's early exit from the tournament in 2007 at the group stage.

This time around, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his men followed the script to the letter, meaning sales of widescreen televisions went through the roof, Indian TV ratings soared and the games governing body, the ICC, rubbed its hands at the prospect of a bumper pay day.

The cricket wasn't bad either.The best final since 1992 was preceded by the organisers dream semifinal of India v Pakistan, and three exciting quarterfinals (sorry, Pakistan v West indies wasn't a match, it was a joke).

Even the much-maligned group stages had their moments - mainly thanks to England, who recorded a tie against India beat South Africa and the Windies yet managed to lose to Ireland and Bangladesh and scrape through against the Netherlands.

There were some black marks: the chaotic ticketing system led to angry and frustrated fans experiencing the Indian police's idea of crowd control. The lead up to India's games against England and Pakistan were both marred by clashes. The fact that most ordinary cricket fans didn't get a chance to watch either game left a bad taste.

The cult of the VIP and VVIP was another feature of the World Cup. I spoke to several fans during the final at the Wankehede stadium in Mumbai. All of them had either got free tickets because a relative had connections or they were rich enough to buy a black market ticket at an exorbitant price.

I know its rich coming from a journalist who got to watch the final from the comfort of the press box for free, but still.

As for the players, Tilakeratne Dilshan and Shahid Afridi topped the batting and bowling charts respectively. But special mention must go to Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who despite smacking the quickest hundred in World Cup history probably will never appear in another tournament.

The ICC confirmed that the next two World Cups will be 10-team affairs, meaning the likes of Ireland and the Netherlands will miss out. I find it hard to believe that either side are less deserving of a World Cup place than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. But the ICC say that T20 is the best format for those countries, and as a result the World Twenty20 has been expanded to 16 teams, giving six Associate or Affliate members the chance to play in a major event.

But as for the 50-over game, the World Cup has given it a timely boost. The next edition is due to be held in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, if its half as good as this one, I, for one, can hardly wait.

Mourinho prepares Barca battleground

It's the business end of the European football season as the first leg of the European Champions League semifinals takes place this week.

On Tuesday, Manchester United visit Schalke 04, and on Wednesday in the third of four clashes in 18 days, Real Madrid host Barcelona in an all-Spanish semifinal.

Jose Mourinho's Real have the psychological edge, having beaten a Pep Guardiola-coached Barcelona side for the first time to earn their first domestic cup in 18 years, the Copa del Rey, last week.

The final went down to the wire with a header from Ronaldo giving Real an extra-time victory. But the pressure is on for Mourinho to repeat last year's achievement when his Inter Milan knocked out the Catalans to reach the Champions League final, which they went on to win.

The question is, can Mourinho steer the power-shift in Spanish football away from Catalunya and back to Madrid or are Guardiola's Barcelona too strong?

Lucky three

The King's Cup was Jose Mourinho's first trophy as Madrid manager and now the Portuguese coach has his eye on delivering a 10th European Cup to Real as he bids to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs.

The Portuguese coach is no stranger to playing against Barca, where he spent some of his formative years as an assistant to Bobby Robson in the 1990s. Mourinho also met Barca three times during his spell at English side Chelsea, twice bettering them over a 'two-match series'.

His ability to rile the Catalan team knows no end and he has outwitted them so far in the 'four-match series' between the world's two richest and highest-profile clubs.

Mourinho was humiliated in a 5-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the league back in November, but Real are now on the up with a recent 1-1 league home draw against Barca followed by the Cup win.

"We can take them on over two games; we have just done that," said Mourinho."There is no reason we can't beat them in the Champions League because we have just drawn once against them and then beaten them."

History is on Madrid's side with Real getting the better of Barcelona in their two previous semifinal meetings in the 1960 European Cup and most recently the last four of the 2002 Champions League with Real going on to be crowned champions on both occasions.

Barcelona have reached the Champions League semifinals for four successive seasons and coach Pep Guardiola will hope to fare better than last season when he was outfoxed by Mourinho's Inter Milan.

Eyes on the prize

The Primera Division league title is all but wrapped up for Barcelona after a 2-0 win against Osasuna on Saturday put them eight points clear at the top of the table, but the real prize is European glory.

Barca defender Gerard Pique refused to be drawn on the hot topics of debate after the first two 'Clasicos' such as the quality of the refereeing, the length of the grass at the Bernabeu and Real's aggressive, 'negative' approach.

"The grass is long but I'm not going to cry about it," the Spanish World Cup winner told daily El Pais of the pitch at Wednesday's Bernabeu venue.

"It's normal for them to take particular care over their defence and that they try to stop our passing game. Mourinho will use everything available to him.

"At the end of the day they are a powerful team with very good forwards," added Pique.

Messi form

Lionel Messi notched his 50th goal of the season in the Osasuna win and has scored on each of his last three visits to the Bernabeu.The form of Messi and David Villa's goal at the weekend, ending an 11-game drought in all competitions, is a boon for Barca but an injury to Brazilian Adriano is their latest defensive concern.

Full back Adriano could miss the rest of the season with a thigh injury so Guardiola is stretched at the back with captain Carles Puyol struggling with muscular problems and Frenchman Eric Abidal recovering from surgery on a liver tumour.

Real have packed the centre of the pitch with three holding players led by centre-back turned midfield-enforcer Pepe, denying Barca's playmakers time and space while looking to break quickly.

Sami Khedira's injury means Lassana Diarra will probably replace him in midfield while Mourinho may opt to play without a recognised number nine again as he did in the King's Cup final.

At the back Ricardo Carvalho is suspended. Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain and Brazilian playmaker Kaka are back to their best after long lay-offs.

Higuain scored a hat-trick and Kaka grabbed a brace in Real's 6-3 win at Valencia on Saturday to throw their hats into the ring for a starting place against Barca.

"He (Kaka) had a fantastic game in a position I like a lot," said Mourinho.

"It is fantastic for his confidence."

The two clubs are the competition's top scorers with 24 goals each but the previous two 'Clasicos' have been tense tussles with few sights of goal.

Any change in Barca's standard 4-3-3 formation would probably be read as an acknowledgement that Real have worked out the way to play against Guardiola's three magicians - Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.