Barcelona fans are coming to terms with the arrival of Louis van Gaal and the departure of Rivaldo. Strangely, says Phil Ball, they might see it as a fair swap

As in the Middle Ages, when physical ugliness was considered to be a sign of a dysfunctional soul, the Spanish cannot bring themselves to say anything nice about Louis van Gaal – El Enano Veneno (the poisoned dwarf) as they dubbed him during his first mandate with Barcelona from 1997 to 2000. Laurent Blanc, after his brief sojourn at the Camp Nou, called him “inhuman”, and Win­ston Bogarde said he found him “heartless. He has no compassion – like a robot.”

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Craig Branch reveals why, despite their World Cup heroics, the expected exodus of South Korea's stars from the domestic K-League hasn't come to fruition

South Korea gained worldwide plaudits for both their team and their fans during the World Cup. An estimated seven million sup­porters took to the streets up and down the peninsula for the semi-final against Germany, and it’s thought that over 22 million people con­gre­gated over the course of their six games.

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Paul Hutton reflects on a sordid affair north of the border

It’s enough to make even Marti Pellow weep – on July 9 Clydebank, the club whose shirts were once sponsored by Wet Wet Wet, ceased to exist as a Scottish League club. Having sur­vived more traumas in the last few years than anyone deserves, Clydebank were finally sold by the administrators to a Glasgow-based ac­countant and Airdrie fan, Jim Ballantyne. They will play next season’s fixtures as tenants in the ground left vacant by Airdrie’s liquidation, in Airdrie’s colours, under the name Airdrie United.

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On the brink of triumph, little São Caetano are not so little anymore, and they have a lesson for Brazil's big boys. Cassiano Gobbet explains

Two years ago, when they reached the finals of the Brazilian championship, AD São Caet­ano and their supporters used to sing: “We’re on our way to Tokyo.” This was a joke about the yearly Toyota Cup match between the club champions of South America and Europe. It’s no longer a joke. Outperforming the big names of South America, many of whom are drowning in debt, the Azulão (Big Blue) have reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, the equivalent of the Champions League. At the time of going to press, they hold a one-goal lead from the away leg of the final against Olimpia of Paraguay and so are in with a great chance of travelling to Japan in December to compete with Real Madrid for the crown of world champions.

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The implications of the transfer window and the Bosman ruling are forcing radical changes in the exchange of players, to the great cost of clubs lacking the resources for multi-million pound bids here and there

There were instant repercussions in Ju­ly when a Sunday newspaper quoted a lifelong Spurs fan who was up in arms about his team’s alleged lack of ambition. “We’re a million miles away from win­ning the championship,” he moaned, “because no money has been made available to buy the top stars that you need to become genuine challengers.”

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