Around The World: Football: Why Yugoslav champions' owner will not dare to visit Highbury

Yugoslavia

IF Arsenal, Manchester United or Celtic meet the champions of in next season's European Champions' League, their directors could come face to face with a very unsavoury character in their opponents' boardroom.

Obilic Belgrade, formed in 1924 and named after a Serbian medieval knight, won their first Yugoslav title this season, surprisingly eclipsing the traditional footballing giants from the capital, Partizan and Red Star.

The man behind the sudden rise of Obilic is Zeljko Raznatovic - who is better known in the western world as the ruthless Serbian military commander, Arkan.

Before the Balkan conflict, Arkan lived in western Europe, where he is wanted for armed robbery and other crimes. He also led a football fan club in Belgrade, from which he later recruited his paramilitaries, known as the "Tigers".

Despite his fearsome reputation, Arkan has not been publicly indicted by the United Nations tribunal in The Hague, the Netherlands, which is investigating alleged war crimes in the former .

Two years ago, Arkan took over the then obscure and struggling Obilic club. By investing his fortune - which critics say was amassed through war-time smuggling and looting - Arkan has helped build Obilic into a top team. Their biggest rivals, Red Star, have alleged that Arkan used blackmail and other illegal methods to secure the title.

Whatever the background to their rise, Obilic will take their place in the European Cup this summer. "We can face any team and, with God's help, we will become European champions," a boastful Arkan said recently.

Because of the charges he faces in western Europe, it is unlikely that Arkan will be accompanying his club to any away ties in the European Cup. He has, therefore, this week named his wife, Svetlana (also known as the folk singer, Ceca), as his successor as club president, apparently so that Obilic can be represented abroad. At home, in Belgrade, though, it seems that this notorious warlord will still be pulling the strings.

Mexico

THE Mexican media heaped abuse on their national team on Thursday following Wednesday's humiliating 4-1 defeat by the German club side, VfL Wolfsburg.

One newspaper even called for the squad to return home and pull out of the World Cup finals in France to avoid further embarrassment. "Bring them back," blared the headline in Mexico's normally conservative Excelsior newspaper.

"Pathetic," was the judgement of another leading daily, Reforma. Mexico led Wolfsburg 1-0 before collapsing under a four-goal barrage from the Germans within the space of six minutes at the end of the first half and the start of the second.

The result, against a side which finished 14th in the German Bundesliga First Division this season, made a mockery of Mexico's fourth-placed ranking in Fifa's world list.

The coach, Manuel Lapuente, said his players had become over-confident after scoring first and had poured forward recklessly, leaving their defence exposed. "This won't happen at the World Cup," he promised.

The defeat to the German team followed a 5-2 defeat by Norway two weeks ago that was mitigated somewhat by a 6-0 win over Estonia. The team have come under increasing fire following losses to the Argentinian side Boca Juniors, Chile's Under-23 squad and the Chilean club Universidad Catolica this year. The Netherlands, Belgium and South Korea lie in wait in France.