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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Monday 1 Airdrie United acquire the rights to Clydebank’s name and seem set to replace them in the Scottish Second Division. “If this takeover goes ahead, a franchise system for Scottish football will have been validated,” says a spokesman for the Clydebank supporters group, who had been hoping to take control of the club themselves. Mick Wadsworth, who left Oldham during last season, is Huddersfield’s new manager.

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Gillingham will have to persevere without their leading light in attack, as Haydn Parry reports

Gillingham will be spending the season with­out their leading scorer Marlon King, after the striker’s appeal against a conviction for hand­ling stolen goods, namely a BMW convertible, was rejected in July. King’s sentence of 18 mon­ths, initially handed down at the Inner Lon­don Crown Court on May 10, will now be­gin from the date of the appeal.

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Football and the rising sun simply don't mix, says Al Needham. The 2002 World Cup was all well and good, but it should never be allowed to take place at that time of the morning again

Once upon a time, the World Cup was like a dog. A big, fluffy, waggy-tailed dog who would wait for us to come pegging it out of the school gates. It would wait patiently for us. We would make time for it. All our friends loved it, and would talk about it incessantly. It was heartbreaking when the dog went away, but we knew it would be back another day, wagging its tail and licking our faces.

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