Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/319158
23 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 28 MAY 2014 Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Partly cloudy occasionally rather cloudy VISIBILITY: Generally good WIND: Easterly force 3 to 4 locally force 4 to 5 SEA: Moderate SWELL: Low East Southeast SEA TEMP: 18 °C A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. PARTLY CLOUDY 24 º C / 17 º C UV INDEX: 8 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Qd7 Nc6 Rxc6 (Bxc6) a5 Rc8+ Ka7 Qxb7# Bxc6 Rxe1+ Rxe1 bxc6 Re8# OPINION Across 9. List of questions (13) 10. Arrest (3) 11. Continue steadily (7) 12. Immense (4) 13. 10 US cents (4) 15. Inexpensive (5) 17. Confer (7) 19. Body of honeybees (5) 21. Weep (3) 23. The telling of lies (5) 24. Bow and arrow skill (7) 25. Roof overhang (5) 27. Infant (4) 28. Make indistinct (4) 30. Packed (7) 32. French vineyard (3) 33. Officer ranking below a lieutenant (13) Down 1. Deliberately ambiguous (9) 2. Reposes (5) 3. Cease (4) 4. Removes errors (8) 5. Immature (6) 6. Grime (4) 7. Provide with fresh air (9) 8. One-edged sword (5) 14. Soft sweetmeat (5) 16. Figure out (5) 18. Small brush for cleaning fingernails (9) 20. Office of a mayor (9) 22. Largest drum (4,4) 26. Fiddle (6) 27. Cured pig meat (5) 29. Pale reddish purple (5) 30. Young bears (4) 31. Musical composition for two (4) THE managerial rollercoaster is set to continue at White Hart Lane with Mauricio Pochettino signing a five- year deal at Tottenham. It was understood that Pochettino's patience with Southampton had ran out, despite taking them into a re- spectable eight place this season. The Argentine tactician was frustrated at the fact that his current board will not be looking to keep hot prospects Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana who are both named in Roy Hodgson's England squad for the World Cup. With his frustrations aired and understood, another question must be asked: is Spurs the right club for him after their disastrous record of manager faith? Tottenham have been looking to sign a new manager since Tim Sherwood was sacked by David Levy after less than a year in charge, despite having the best managerial record at the club over the past six seasons. Alas, the chaos at the club continues and sadly for the ambitious Pochettino, it will not stop there. My fears are that if Spurs do not make some serious changes at the top end of the club, we would be seeing recent history repeat itself on an annoying loop and these constant changes do nothing to hold stability. He might have a decent first season at the club, but what will happen once they are two points off their target the season after? We all know the club is des- perate to break into the elite again, however it will certainly not happen if they chop and change managers at this incredible rate. With Southampton, Pochettino was hardly working on a shoestring budget and truth be told, his expen- sive signings flopped this season. We are still waiting to see Dani Os- valdo's worth at £15 million, while Victor Waynama at £12 million hardly fared better. At Spurs he will no doubt be given cash to spend and while its fair to say he might want to tempt Shaw and Lallana to join him further north his transfer market knowledge will once more be tested. Two weeks to go With all those amazing World Cup adverts on our telly we are now all really beginning to get excited at the return of a great summer of football. The countdown hits two weeks to- day and I for one am already drawing up a list of favorites to win the World Cup this year. Today's focus has to be on the South American clubs, particularly Argentina and hosts Brazil. In my eyes there has to be one favourite, and though Argentina do boast an incredible squad this summer, my money is on the mighty Brazil and it is not due to the fact that they are the host nation. Having taken over the job only 18 months ago, experienced Big Phil has done a remarkable job to change the mentality of his team, despite only having the Confederations Cup as a preparation. He has brought togeth- er the most disciplined and organ- ized Brazil squad we have ever seen, with an emphasis not just on going forward but also defending well. He has ditched, for the first time since I remember, the full back system and instead opted for the impressive dou- ble pivot in midfield and in this way has brought the best use of his squad together. Deploying the 4-2-3-1 will allow them to control midfields and break on the counter, with Dani Alves and Marcelo ruthlessly over- lapping the wings. Their double piv- ot will consistof the reliable Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo while Oscar will be able to roam free further forward, with Hulk and Neymar for company. Their inexperience upfront forced Scolari into making the tactical change and the unsuspecting Fred will spearpoint the attack, and in my eyes there is no one as unpredictable as him on the pitch. Coming up in second favorites are Argentina, and after Angel Di Mar- ia's incredible Champion's League final performance its obvious to see why. A team with Messi, Aguero and Higuain is bound to be a forced to be reckoned with and a tactical sound 4-3-3 approach should do well for the South Americans. Again their loca- tion is key here as they will be used to those levels of humidity and are the least travelled of our clubs, excluding the hosts. I look forward to seeing Mascher- ano hold the midfield and Di Maria buzz around the pitch setting up one on one chances for Messi and co to finish off and for me they will emerge as the team to watch this summer. With no European clubs in my top two, next week I will shift my em- phasis to other potential winners and dark horses, with Germany and Spain also due a mention. Mark Strijbosch Pochettino named Spurs boss Brazil are one of the favourites to win