Rumours are circulating of a player-plus-cash deal for the CSKA Moscow playmaker with Dimitar Berbatov heading to Russia.

The 25-year-old shot to fame with Japan at the 2010 World Cup with the media labelling him the “Japanse Maradona” and Arsene Wenger calling him a “genius”.

He scored one of the tournament’s best goals with a stunning free-kick against Denmark and since then has continued to excel despite a string of injuries over the past year.

If the rumour becomes reality then it would add the creativity and flair where it is so desperately needed, with United short of quality players in the centre of the park and it would mean that Nani would no longer be allowed to waste a dangerous dead ball situation.

From watching him in the World Cup, last year’s Champions League and in Youtube videos, he has a left-foot that is both cultured and ferocious, coupled with a box of tricks that reminds me of Cristiano Ronaldo.

On top of his creativity he has a magnificent work ethic and will to win that will help him fit in seamlessly to the Premier League and Manchester United.

However, while it would be an exciting arrival at Old Trafford and would add a spark to a currently lacklustre side, it seems Sir Alex Ferguson is looking for the wrong type of player. Honda has a good engine (pardon the pun) but he is not geared up (and again) to help support the defence and that’s where the real problem lies.

Unlike most big teams United do not use a natural defensive midfielder and when they employ Phil Jones there you can’t help but feel that the back four is weaker without him and with the current injury problems he is even more important in that area.

Apart from Jones the only other available option at present is Michael Carrick but it doesn’t seem to be a position that he impresses in. Although he comes under fire from fans, at the moment there is a place in the team for him, but not as a holding player.

With just under a fortnight left in the transfer window it seems that Sir Alex is forgetting to fill the glaring gap in his squad.

Bringing in the Japanese playmaker would add another attacking option to the team but they are already overloaded in that area with Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez and for now, Berbatov up front, Nani, Ashley Young and Valencia on the wings and the likes of Anderson, Scholes, Park, Giggs and the returning Tom Cleverley that are all forward-thinking players.

Having been previously linked to Arsenal and Liverpool it would be a great move to bring him to Old Trafford where he would certainly thrive and he is a younger, cheaper alternative to Sneijder but it is unlikely that he would solve the midfield problem at the club and if that is still an issue when the transfer window closes, it may prove costly in the title race.

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FFC this week investigates the state of women’s football and whether significant strides have been made this summer to increase its popularity.

There have been a number of fantastic sporting events for fans across the world to get excited by this summer. The Rugby World has kicked off in New Zealand, audiences got to watch the best athletes from across the globe at this year’s World Championships whilst English cricket fans in particular enjoyed a good summer as they watched their team become the best test team in the world. But the surprise sporting event of the summer and one of the most talked about was the FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Germany.

For a sport that has often suffered from a lack of interest and investment, this year’s tournament must be seen as a resounding success across the globe. The quality of the football was of a much higher level than previous years whilst in first time winners Japan, the women’s game had a fairytale story that captured the attention of the world. But FIFA, the national teams, players and fans must not let the renewed attention drawn to the sport thanks to the World Cup drop and the success of the summer must be something that women’s football takes advantage of.

This year’s tournament began with some minor buzz surrounding the event. 16 teams arrived in Germany and whilst there was the usual mix of potential winners in Brazil, England, Germany, USA and teams there with less of a chance, each of the four groups threw up some potentially mouth-watering ties. In particular both France and Germany, and USA and Sweden were both pitted against each other in the group stages. Across the schedule there was exciting encounters worthy of the increased TV audiences and stadium attendances. Eventual runners-up USA and South American favourites Brazil clashed in the quarter-finals where the Americans eventually prevailed on penalties but the game itself included all the excitement of a men’s World Cup game. The quality may still and probably will always be well below the men’s but beyond the unrealistic comparison, the quality of football on show was of a very high standard. The final itself, which saw favourites USA and underdogs Japan clash, was again decided on penalties after a match worthy of being the showpiece game of any major tournament.

Whilst the quality of the football may have been a notable improvement, it was the attention the tournament drew across the world as the competition progressed that marks the start of potentially a new era for the women’s game. Across the 16 teams that competed there was stand out personalities as the interest in particular players as celebrities grew, in particular that of US goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose dramatic performances at the tournament stole a lot of the headlines despite her team coming up just short. The World Cup also drew record TV audiences; in host nation Germany alone 17million tuned into see Germany crash out to Japan in the quarter-finals. Despite the hosts and home favourites leaving the competition early, the interest in the tournament in Germany and around the world remained strong.

The UK’s coverage of the tournament was somewhat restricted by the BBC’s decision to limit the coverage to the red button or online but the pressure to show England’s quarter-final encounter with France live was a sign of the growing interest in the game for TV audiences in this country.

But the most impressive stat of them all was that on one of the most popular forms of communication across the globe Twitter, the Women’s World Cup final became the most tweeted event in the website’s history. No one could have anticipated the online interest in a game between players few outside the women’s footballing world would recognise.

The success of the tournament has not gone unnoticed. Last week marked the arrival of the 2011 European Women and Sport conference in London. The conference saw UEFA announce plans to invest €23.6 million (just over £20 million) between the member national associations between 2012 and 2016. This level of finance and attention that Europe alone is putting into the women’s game and over a number of nations that have varying levels of participation and interest is a good sign for the future of the women’s football. It is hard to look past the 2011 World Cup has a major selling point for UEFA and hopefully world organisations to really push the game forward.

In England alone the FA looked to capitalise on the attention of the World Cup as England’s now slightly more famous players returned to action in the Women’s Super League (WSL) after a mid-season break. Arsenal were the eventual winners of the league format and whilst the buzz surrounding the World Cup did quickly die down (partly due to England’s failure to progress past the quarter-finals in Germany), the WSL and World Cup are a much superior format to any that women’s football in England has seen in a long time.

Qualification has already started for the next major tournament on the women’s calendar, the European Championships in 2013. Whilst early big wins (including Portugal beating Armenia 8-0 and Spain’s 10-1 destruction of Turkey) indicate that problems with consistent quality still remain, all the European heavyweights including England, Germany and France are in the mix as UEFA will look to replicate the success of the World Cup in Sweden in two years time. This year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League knockout stages are also due to start soon and UEFA will be hoping the competition better promotes the club game, something that women’s football needs to do during the wait for another major international tournament.

The success of the World Cup may have been impressive but it would soon be no more than pointless if those in charge of the game around the world didn’t pay extra attention to one of the largest growing sports. The tournament in Germany not only set a benchmark for the players, FIFA and fans but also proved how good the women’s game can really be.

Do you think women’s football can build on the success of the World Cup? If you want to read more of my bite size, 140 character views and thoughts follow me on Twitter @jennyk5

The two countries will go head to head on Saturday for a spot in the final four of the confederation’s premier national soccer tournament, after Iran thrashed the United Arab Emirates 3-0 on Wednesday to seal top spot of Group D with three wins from as many games.

Ghotbi said he is prepared for an entertaining affair when he comes up against former side South Korea, who he was involved with for five years as an assistant coach (2004-2007) and match analyst (2000-2002).

“I am expecting a wonderful match and I hope the world too are ready for one of the most exciting matches in Asian football,” Ghotbi said.

“A lot of times coaches are facing a team from their country of birth while we are seeing many, many times where a coach like myself comes up against a team where they worked with.”

“But my feeling is that Iran must win. It is my job to win as head coach of Iran.”

Ghotbi’s side demoralised minnows UAE with a second-string line-up on Wednesday, and the 46-year-old manager was pleased with the way his inexperienced players proved their worth in a dead rubber.

“I am very happy with the performance of my players. There were many who played for who it was their first international match and it was great to give them their chance,” Ghotbi said.

“But no matter who we play against or whatever selection we use, the Iranian players have enough quality individually to reach our goals.”

“I believe we can hold this trophy over our heads on January 29, regardless whether it is Korea, Japan, Uzbekistan or Iraq that we have to face. I have had this belief since day one.”

Emirates manager Srecko Katanec admitted Iran were in a different class to his side, which exited the group stage with just one point from three games.

“Physically we are not in the same level as Iraq, Iran or DPR Korea players. It is normal that in the third game many players will get physical problems. Many of them were tired,” Katanec said.

“Gulf teams are not prepared well physically. They are not at the same level as others because the players play in the local area. The likes of Iran have players from in Europe and this is a big thing.”

“We were without some five percent of luck, we scored own goals so that is it. This is the reality; we played in a very strong group.”

Al-Johar lasted just eight days at the helm of the Green Falcons after replacing Jose Peseiro, who was given his marching orders following a first-up 2-1 loss to Group B rivals Syria.

But they fared no better under Al-Johar, going down 1-0 to Jordan before a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Japan sealed Saudi Arabia’s exit in the group stages.

It was a humiliating early departure for the Green Falcons, who were runners-up in 2007 and considered one of the favourites to challenge for the title this time around.

Instead, Saudi Arabia failed to make the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for only the second time in the history of the tournament.

Team manager Fahd Al-Misaibeeh and his entire staff have also reportedly resigned, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.

“The Saudi Soccer Federation has accepted the resignation of Fahd Al-Misaibeeh, manager of the Saudi national team, and his crew, and relieved Nasser Al-Johar of his post as the current team’s coach,” read a statement from Prince Nawaf Bin Faisal, president of the Saudi Football Federation (SFF).

“We vow to immediately replace them by a highly-qualified international crew and domestic aides.”

Prince Newaf was promoted to head of the SFF to replace Prince Sultan Bin Fahd, who was removed by King Abdullah following the loss to Jordan.

A Shinji Okazaki hat-trick and two goals from Ryoichi Maeda accounted for Saudi Arabia in the final Group B match-day in Al-Rayyan on Monday.

The win sets up a quarter-final with Qatar, and Zaccheroni knows his team will need to be on their guard against the much-improved host nation.

“I am very satisfied with this result,” Zaccheroni said.

“We have overcome the first obstacle of the AFC Asian Cup, which was to get through the group stage, and we are improving game by game at this tournament.”

“I was a little worried about making mistakes but we did not. The players had a great performance.”

“In any competition we like to get the good results. Both physically and mentally, if those elements are not good then normally you cannot win the matches.”

“Japan is behind others in preparation and we need to catch up to others and prove ourselves in this Asian Cup.”

Qatar were ragged in their 2-0 opening loss to Uzbekistan, but recovered to be beat Kuwait and China and may yet prove a tricky obstacle blocking Japan’s path to the last four.

“They have come back from their first-match defeat and have the momentum,” Zaccheroni said.

“At the same time Japan is in good condition as well so I expect the next game will be a great match.”

Saudi Arabia caretaker coach Nasser Al Johar, who took over from the sacked Jose Peseiro after a shock opening defeat to Syria, believes the 2007 finalists were not equipped to mount a challenge in the tournament.

“Our preparation was not as good as it could have been and we did not have the capability to face other national teams at this tournament,” Al Johar

“I am a brave man. Whenever I have the responsibility to take charge of the national team I will take it all the way. I don’t worry about other people’s comments about my work.”

“The Saudi national team is very strong. Sometimes we suffer setbacks but always we recover.”

Okazaki’s treble and two goals from Ryoichi Maeda gave Japan, who led 3-0 after 20 minutes, a comfortable victory and put them into the quarter-finals where they will meet host nation Qatar.

The result capped off a humiliating tournament for 2007 runner-up Saudi Arabia as they ended the group stage without a point and without their manager Jose Periero, who was sacked after a 2-1 loss to Syria in their opening match of Asia’s premier soccer tournament.

Alberto Zaccheroni made three changes to the Japan side who scraped past Syria, with Okazaki, Yosuke Kashiwagi and Shusaku Nishikawa replacing Keisuke Honda, the injured Daisuke Matsui and the suspended Eiji Kawashima.

Saudi Arabia boss Nasser Al Johar made just one change, with Ahmed Ateef replacing Saud Khariri.

Japan did not have to wait long before taking the lead as a long ball from Yasuhito Endo caught the Saudi Arabia defence napping and Okazaki pounced for his first of the night, chipping the ball over Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah before he tapped it in from close range.

Okazaki’s second was just as easy five minutes later when his diving header from a Kashiwagi cross proved too hot to handle for Abdullah.

If the match was not already wrapped up by then, it most certainly was when Maeda grabbed his first after 19 minutes.

Again Japan attacked down the left and again poor communication between Abdullah and his defence saw Al Johar’s side concede.

A terrific ball was hit with speed by Yuto Nagatomo and Abdullah, who charged out of goal, was beaten to the ball by Maeda.

Japan were dominant and should have gone further in front if not for Kashiwagi’s wastefulness when presented with a fine opportunity by Okazaki.

But it mattered little as Zaccheroni’s side grabbed the fourth goal just after the break.

This time the goal was created on the right side of the pitch, with Japan’s tactic of getting regular crosses into the box paying off once again.

With the Saudi Arabia defence at sea, half-time substitute Masahiko Inoha’s cross was headed home by Maeda who once again beat Abdullah to the ball.

With the result secured, Japan took the foot off the pedal but were still able to grab a fifth, as Okazaki completed his hat-trick with a terrific finish.

Maeda fed Okazaki the ball on the edge of the box and the striker showed great control to create space before lashing a shot that Abdullah could only get a hand on.

A late free-kick from Mohammad Al Shalhoub nearly provided a rare moment of joy for Saudi Arabia, but his 25-yard effort was excellently saved by Nishikawa as Japan secured a clean sheet to go with their five-goal rout.

The 38-year-old Fulham goalkeeper was a member of the Socceroos squad that struggled in their debut Asian Cup appearance in 2007.

Billed as one of the favourites to win the tournament after their successful 2006 World Cup campaign, Australia laboured through the group stages and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Japan.

Four years later, Schwarzer says the Socceroos are determined not to suffer the same fate in Qatar.

“That was something very, very much at the front of our minds,” Schwarzer told the Asian Cup’s official website.

“We made it very clear that for this tournament – especially the players that were there in 2007 and are here now – that we did not want to go through the same sort of process we did then.”

“It was important that we got off to a good start and it was important that we played some decent football as a team.”

The Socceroos have been true to their word so far, defeating India 4-0 and fighting out a 1-1 draw with South Korea to top Group C with four points.

A draw with Bahrain on Tuesday will be enough to see Australia through to the last eight, and Schwarzer says the next step will be to erase the pain of their quarter-finals loss four years ago.

“We are very united as a group and we are determined to perform better than we did four years ago,” he said.

Last week, Wenger expressed his admiration for Honda and gave the Samurai Blue attacking midfielder the ultimate compliment by hailing the 24-year-old as ‘a genius’ and also pinpointed the player as the star man in this years World Cup in South Africa. Last week, Wenger told Eurosport of his awe of Honda:

“This Japanese team is based on a solid and collective defence in which everybody knows exactly what to do. When they get the ball they can give it to Honda – and the magic starts. When they get that genius Honda playing up front, he had shown what a top class player he is. For me he’s the best performer of the competition so far.”

Without a doubt Honda was an intricate figure for Japan in South Africa this summer, where he managed to start all 4 games in the tournament and bagged 2 goals along the way as well. Honda is currently contracted to CSKA Moscow and is widely known around Europe due to his appearances in the Champions League. However, after performing extremely well in South Africa and dazzling many with his technical ability this summer, the Samurai Blus midfielder has no doubt turned many heads.

Wenger appears to be keen on the player and may make a move for Honda sometime during the summer. However, a lot of Arsenal fans will remember when Wenger brought Arsenal’s first and only Japanese player in the form of Junichi Inamoto…it didn’t bold well.

Currently playing his home country for Kawasaki Frontale, Inamoto was once an Arsenal player. Wenger obtained Inamoto’s services in 2001 but failed to make an impact at the club. The midfielder only managed to appear to 4 times (2 games in the League Cup and the other 2 in the Champion’s League). Although Inamoto did well in the 2002 World Cup, the midfielder failed miserably to find a consistent place within the Arsenal first-team which prompted a move away from North London…not an Arsenal player at all. Surely lightning couldn’t strike twice if Honda were to make a move to Arsenal, right?

Undoubtedly Honda was Japan’s star man this summer and certainly impressed me with his movement and all-round knowledge of the game in general. The midfielder is also very versatile and can play as a second striker and even a left-back if required. Honda seizes great pace, agility and a great level of technical ability which would suit Arsenal’s style of football.

Keisuke Honda has only been with CSKA Moscow for 6 months having signed for the Russian club in December 2009 on a four-year deal. Taking this into consideration and the fact that the attacking midfielder had a splendid World Cup, CSKA will only sell the Japanese star for the right price. However, the player’s agent, Kees Ploegsma has conceded that should big European clubs come knocking for his client’s services, the player would find it hard to resist. According to the Sun, Ploegsma stated:

“Keisuke plays in a beautiful city for an important club, but obviously if there are offers from big European clubs it is difficult to say ‘no’. At this time there are no bids and all in all he is happy at CSKA but we’ll see.”

So really, it all depends at what price the Russian club are willing to let the midfielder go at. CSKA spent £5 million on the Japanese international, and with 4 years left on his contract and a fine World Cup tournament under his belt, Honda maybe priced in the region of £13-16 million.

Would the value of the player be a gamble for Wenger to spend this summer? Not really, considering the fact that he has spent the same on past players. Is Inamoto the same type of player as Honda? No. Honda looks a more demanding player and has experience in Europe. Honda is also more technically gifted than Inamoto, and to label Honda as ‘a gamble’ is wrong in many fans eyes. Inamoto’s failure does not mean that the CSKA man will fall short at Arsenal. If Wenger is intrigued in the player and believes Honda is ‘a genius’ then the Frenchman should definitely pursuit his interest further, despite the past failure of one Japanese player at the club.

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Click on image below to see the ITALIAN babes at the World Cup

Honda has been in eye-catching form for Japan at the World Cup and was easily their star player at the tournament. The 24-year-old midfielder was already showing glimpses of talent for his club CSKA Moscow in the Champions League last season, but now he has come to everyone’s full attention after his performances on the world’s biggest stage. He is one of only five players in the Japan squad who ply their trade outside of their home country, and his debut for the team coincided with his first move outside of Japan when he joined Dutch side VVV-Venlo in 2008.

Despite only spending two years at Venlo, he gained a cult following from the fans and the Dutch media dubbed him ‘Kaizer Keisuke’ – Emperor Keisuke for his good performances. He was named as club captain during his time there because of his consistency and ended up scoring 24 goals in 68 games for them. He signed for CSKA in January 2010 and ended up being thrown right into the deep end at the club, making his debut against Sevilla in the second round of the Champions League. In the second leg of the game in Seville he showed his class by setting up his side’s opener and then scoring the winner with a long-range freekick.

Having spent just six months in Russia the interest in him will be great and CSKA will be trying to do all they can to keep hold of him, particularly as their other star player Milos Krasic looks very likely to leave. Honda has many attributes that would appeal to Premier League clubs, his vision is first class and his technical ability on the ball can be outstanding at times. The only doubt about him is whether or not he could withstand the physical demands of the Premiership, but other than that he has enough about him to make sides very interested in securing his services. CSKA have no doubt landed themselves a bargain as they signed him from Venlo for just £4.9m. Now Honda has had a good World Cup they could probably make a profit of five times that amount should they decide to sell.

As he hasn’t been at CSKA for too long it seems unlikely that he would leave them this summer, however come the winter transfer window then things might have changed. Whoever can secure his signature will be getting a real talent and Honda definitely has the talent to take him all the way.

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As you can guess these aren’t the words of Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung. They are the philosophical sentiments of Dong Fangzhuo, who had been offloaded in August 2008 by Manchester United after spending two years on loan to Belgian second division side Royal Antwerp and much of the following two years either in the United reserves or injured. Whilst Park Ji Sung is the resounding success, it is fair to say that the Asian market’s potential has not nearly been utilised.

The Premier League has seen the likes of Seol Ky-hyeon, Lee Young-pyo, Kim Do-heon and more make little more than a transient impression on the English game. The successes (Park Ji Sung and now Bolton’s Lee Chung-Yong) are definitely exceptions, but why is this the case? Gavin Hamilton, editor of World Soccer magazine, articulated his theory behind Asia’s unfulfilled mass potential:

“They are making a breakthrough but it doesn’t help when Asian teams get hammered at World Cups,” Hamilton told Reuters back in 2008. “It’s the only time the rest of the world sees Asian football. Commercially, clubs are not making much money from Asian players and there are work permit problems. That’s how they’re being judged.”

Despite the World Cup being co-hosted by Japan and South Korea in 2002, the success of the home nation under Guus Hiddink, and players like Park and Chung-Yong proving there is genuine talent as well as marketing goldmines in the continent, are Hamilton’s words still resonant two year on? North Korea’s 7-0 thrashing today at the hands of Portugal, South Korea’s humbling 4-1 defeat to Argentina and Japan’s relatively uninspiring two matches (despite victory against Cameroon) proves the sweeping judgments are merited on a national scale. A dangerous problem with stereotypes however is that, despite collectively being validated by results at World Cups, they certainly overshadow the individual abilities of players.

If we further the scope of the Asian market to include players of Indian and Pakistani descent we see an even more startling lack of representation in the English leagues. According to the 2001 census there were a little over 2.3 million Asian or British Asian people living in the UK, constituting some 4% of the total population. Yet only seven British Asian players earn their living in the professional game*. The Commission for Racial Equality released the results of a survey in 2004 which found only 10 British Asian players in Premier League academies – 0.8% of the total figure (in the past six years this figure has not noticeably increased). Again however, these statistics mean nothing if there are no attempts to understand the root cause of such misrepresentation. Piarra Powar, director of football’s equality and inclusion campaign Kick It Out, has some reasons to offer:

“One of the problems in football is that the Asian community is seen as one that doesn’t play football and doesn’t play football at the highest level. What’s more, the key people who are responsible for identifying talent that feed into professional clubs, I think, hold those views. Ultimately I think there is a sense [from the clubs] that getting an Asian player on board might be new – it would be untried, untested, so it may bring problems that the club or academy can’t deal with.”

Powar’s words offer a differing perspective but fail to address a chain of causation that, in reality, is merited; the Asian community really does not play football at the highest level so the stereotype is hardly unwarranted. But his argument that this prejudice hampers the futures of individual talents is, like the problems mentioned above with South Korea, North Korea and Japan at the World Cup, definitely credible. Premier League clubs have been quick to capitalise by scheduling pre season tours in Asia and Chelsea and Arsenal’s recent ventures into the subcontinent for young talent exhibits a growing interest in Asian players. Whether the basis for such ventures is in shirt sales or actual talent scouting remains to be seen at this early stage though.

From a marketing point of view the acquisition of veritable Asian talent is unbelievable. Yet the stance of commerciality and genuine talent being mutually exclusive is as dismissive as it is prejudiced; Park Ji Sung certainly warrants his place in United’s starting line up based on output instead of popularity. Though they are young nations in footballing terms there is no reason why more players from Asia can’t make the cultural and professional leap into the top flight, given a fair chance and a little bit of luck – something needed in all cases.

*as of 2009

Related article: A Small Step for Indian Football

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Click image below to see a gallery of the Italian babes at the World Cup: