WORLD CUP STORIES: THE SACKING OF AHN JUNG-HWAN

Not happy in your job and want out? Too complicated just to quit? Then what you need to do is clear: Give your boss the perfect reason to fire you!

When co-hosts South Korea came up against Italy in the second round of the World Cup in 2002, most people thought it would be the end of the road for the plucky Red Devils. The Koreans had surprisingly won a tough group to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time in their history. They could consider themselves unlucky to be playing Italy who had finished runners-up in a group they had been expected to win.

South Korea had in their starting line-up Ahn Jung-Hwan, the David Beckham of Korean football, who also happened to be employed at the time by Seria A side Perugia. As the dramatic evening unfolded, the emotions of Italians fans in the stadium and around the world - and in particular their feelings towards Ahn - underwent the greatest contrast imaginable.

Just four minutes into the match and Korea were awarded a penalty following the sort of "handbags" incident in the penalty area which is part-and-parcel of life in the Italian League. Not so at the World Cup, and golden boy Ahn steps up only to see his average kick saved by Buffon. Ahn becomes a temporary 'hero' for the Azzuri. Fast-forward the game to four minutes from the end of extra-time - with the score 1-1 and the 'golden goal' rule in play - and Ahn Jung-Hwan cleverly steers a header past Buffon that sends a nation into raptures and the Italians to the airport for the plane home.

Ahn Jung-Hwan had effectively just ripped up his contract. Following the game, Luciano Gaucci, president of Perugia F.C., gave him the sack, offering the following words: "That gentlemen will never set foot in Perugia again. I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football." Gaucci faced wide criticism for his actions but claimed that the decision was NOT because of the goal that Ahn had scored, but because of his post match comments which Gaucci interpreted as Ahn asserting that Korean football was superior to Italian football. Ahn denied this, and the Perugia coach Serse Cosni attempted to persuade the club president to reverse his decision, but Gaucci was having none of it and Ahn was on his way out of Italy.

FIFA - usually quick to get their nose in where it's unwanted - stayed out of this one, stating that the matter was entirely between club and player. One thing is for sure though: This sour grapes story can't detract from what was one of the great World Cup shock results of all time, and a match which formed an unforgettable part of South Korea's fairy tale run to the World Cup semi-finals on home turf.

SPAIN TOP RANKINGS AS ENGLAND CLIMB AGAIN

The announcement of the latest FIFA/Coca Cola World Rankings has seen European Champions Spain retain top spot ahead of Brazil and the Netherlands.

The top three remain unchanged for the fifth successive month, since November 2009, but the rest of the top ten saw some considerable action this month.

Former World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo has seen his Portugal side move up two places to fourth at the expense of defending World Champions Italy and three-time winners Germany who both drop a place to fifth and sixth respectively.

Meanwhile Fabio Capello's England climbed the rankings for the second successive month as they jumped one place to seventh with France dropping down to eighth.

Croatia re-entered the top ten just behind Argentina who are unmoved in ninth, while Australia have now broken into the top twenty after moving up four places to 19th.

This summer's hosts South Africa, have fallen seven places to 88th.

This month's biggest gainers were Senegal who climbed an impressive 22 places to 72nd whilst the biggest losers were Guam who fell 14 places to 196.

Full FIFA World Rankings here.

DIDIER DROGBA CAN SLEEP EASY AFTER SVEN APPOINTMENT

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba has backed new national boss Sven-Goran Eriksson to lead his country to glory this summer.

The Chelsea striker has publicly praised the appointment of the former England and Mexico manager and believes his team-mates will now be much more relaxed in the run-up to the tournament.

He told football365.com "This is like a wish come true for me and most of my colleagues.

"For weeks and months we have been pondering over going to the World Cup without a coach, but what we feared most has taken a different twist. Now I don't have to wake up every morning and think about the future of my team without a coach. Surely all things will work in line for us with Eriksson in charge."

Eriksson had been linked with a number of jobs since his departure from English League Two side Notts County, where he held a role as Director of Football. The Swede will now aim for glory with the Elephants in the first World Cup on African soil and Drogba hopes his new boss will help the team better their efforts of 2006, when they failed to progress past the group stages.

"Our performance in Germany was not up to what we set out to achieve. We have to improve and play much better if we want the other teams to take us seriously. This is not a tournament you can go and play just anyhow.

"It has to be better this time round and I hope Sven provides us with that spirit and direction. We are going to South Africa to win big. This is not something I am saying alone. It is the general feeling when you talk to the other boys in our team."

Eriksson has experience on the big stage having taken England to the quarter finals of both the 2002 and 2006 World Cup before being knocked out to Brazil and Portugal respectively.

MARCELLO LIPPI MAY QUIT ITALY AFTER WORLD CUP

Marcello Lippi hinted today that he may step down from his role as Italy manager after this summer's World Cup in South Africa.

Lippi led the Italians to their fourth crown at the previous World Cup in 2006, when the Azzuri beat France on penalties in a final that included Zinedine Zidane's infamous headbutt. After the tournament Lippi stepped down from the national team, only to return to the post in 2008.

Rumours abound that the 61-year-old is ready to return to Juventus for the start of next season and Lippi himself has hinted at an exit.

He told Italian press that Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete "already knows what I will do" after the tournament.

Lippi won five Serie A titles with Juventus during two spells at the club and made the Champions League Final three years in a row, lifting the trophy in 1996.

TICKETS FOR SOUTH AFRICA NOT SELLING

Reports from ESPN today revealed that a mammoth 650,000 tickets for this summer's World Cup in South Africa are still unsold.

FIFA are refusing to panic and planning to make a final push for sales in the remaining weeks leading up to the tournament. However the figures make for stark reading, especially in comparison to the previous World Cup.

The 2006 tournament, which was held in Germany, received an incredible 15 million applications for the 3.4 million tickets they had available but South Africa is having to work much harder to attract the fans.

Even the English fans, infamous for travelling in their numbers, have not snapped up tickets as expected with the FA sending back over 1,000 of their allocated 29,000 tickets to FIFA.

The safety of the host nation has been questioned on countless occasions since FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South Africa and it appears to be proving a real decision maker for fans.

The lack of sales has been attributed to safety fears, heavy costs of flights and accommodation and the logistical problems of getting around a vast country with a limited infrastructure. Fans cannot simply base themselves in one city as their teams are likely to be playing in varying destinations, meaning additional travel costs will incur as they travel across the country.

FIFA issued a statement in which they confirmed tickets would now be more readily available saying, "Ticketing centres in host cities will now be open for sales until July 11, the day of the final, plus the call centre. There will also be mobile sales units."

Despite the large number of unsold tickets some 2.3 million tickets have so far been sold so far with sales figures late last year showing South African's had bought more tickets than the rest of the world combined. The host fans had bought over 340,000 tickets with American fans leading the way for foreigners, buying almost 83,000 tickets. British fans rounded off the top three with 48,000 tickets bought.

COUNTRY FOCUS: GERMANY

Many people are of the opinion that, for a few years now, Germany have failed to produce a national side to compare with some of the great German teams of past years. In terms of quality of players produced there is some truth in that, but they continue to deliver when it really matters - time and time again. Germany play the role of the underdog better than anyone else in the world. No other country plays tournament football as consistently well. Methodical preparation, a team ethic, mental strength second-to-none and an imperious self-belief - these attributes are innate to 'the German national team' of any era. Why is it said that we should never write off the Germans? Because they never write themselves off. Their recent record in the major tournaments - semi-finalists four years on home soil, runners-up at the 2002 World Cup and at Euro 2008 - should leave us expecting Germany to be in the thick of it again come the latter stages of South Africa 2010.

World Cup Pedigree:

Germany first took part in the World Cup in 1934 and reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by Czechoslovakia. Four years later they were knocked out in the first round by Switzerland following a replay and during the war years no tournament took place. The Germans were banned from taking part in 1950 but landed the first of three World Titles in Switzerland in 1954. The Final against Hungary is known in Germany as "The Miracle of Bern"; an earlier match in the group stages of the tournament between the two sides had resulted in an 8-3 victory for the "Magical Magyars" and few doubted that Hungary were destined to become World Champions that year. When they scored twice in the opening eight minutes of the Final another hiding appeared to be on the cards, but in heavy rain the Germans displayed their trademark tenacious qualities to fight back for a 3-2 victory. Their bid to defend the Title four years later was ended by Sweden at the semi-final stage. In the quarter-finals they had knocked out Yugoslavia by a 1-0 scoreline, and in 1962 in Chile the two sides met again at the same stage, but this time with the reverse result. West Germany reached the Final again in 1966 in England but were beaten 4-2 after extra time in a compelling match. In 1970 they participated in what most people agree is the finest World Cup match ever played - the semi-final against Italy at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City for the right to play Brazil in the Final. The Italians prevailed 4-3, with five of the seven goals being scored in the extra time period. On home soil in 1974, despite a shock defeat in the first round group stages to neighbours East Germany, West Germany reached the Final again and faced Holland in Munich. The Dutch were widely regarded as the best team in the world at the time, and took the lead in the first minute of the match. Just as against the Hungarians 20 years earlier, the Germans came back to triumph unexpectedly and win the World Cup for the second time. In Argentina in 1978 West Germany failed to win any of their group matches in the second round, but then made history between 1982 and 1990 by becoming the first team to reach three consecutive World Cup Finals. They finished runners-up at Espana 82 and Mexico 86 to Italy and Argentina respectively, but triumphed at Italia 90 in a repeat Final against the South Americans. In winning that World Cup Franz Beckenbauer became the first European to win football's greatest prize as both a player and a manager. Surprise quarter-final defeats followed for the Germans in the next two World Cups; to Bulgaria at USA 94 and to Croatia at France 98. A interesting statistic prior to the 2002 tournament in Korea/Japan was that Germany had never faced Brazil at the World Cup. They duly met in the Final that year where two goals from Ronaldo condemned the Germans to runners-up spot for the third time in the previous six World Cups. Four years ago, as the host nation for the second time, Germany were under the leadership of legendary player-turned-coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who was seeking to emulate the Beckenbauer feat. The nation started to believe that a repeat of the 1974 triumph could be on the cards after a penalty shootout victory against tournament favourites Argentina in the quarter-finals, but - and not for the first time - German hopes were ended by the Italians in the last four.

Greatest Moment:

Defeating the inventors of "Total Football" - the Dutch - on home soil to win their second World Cup in 1974. As with their first triumph 20 years earlier, Germany proved themselves to be the most powerful of underdogs.

Biggest Heartbreak:

Missing out on a place in the Final four years ago (at home again) when two Italian goals deep into extra time wrecked a nation's dream in a semi-final of the highest quality.

At South Africa 2010 Germany will be competing in their seventeenth World Cup.

AUSTRALIA COACH TO QUIT AFTER TOURNAMENT

Australia coach Pim Verbeek has confirmed he will step down from his role as coach of the Socceroos after the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Verbeek has led Australia to 15 wins during his 27 games in charge and taken the team to their highest ever World Ranking of 14th.

However Verbeek has now revealed he will step down from his role in charge of the national team after being appointed back in 2007.

"It has been a very difficult decision for me after more than two years, but it is time for me to look for a new challenge," said Verbeek. "I have enjoyed every minute of being head coach of Australia and we achieved some fantastic results including qualifying for the World Cup and the Asian Cup."

"It is a good time to make this announcement so we can now focus completely on preparing everything perfectly for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. We will do everything right to prepare for this tournament to get the best result possible."

Verbeek will be in charge for the tournament however and his side have been drawn in Group D alongside Serbia, Ghana and three time champions Germany.