The soccer World Cup is one of the most popular sporting events on the planet, if not the most popular. After the prolonged qualification stages, teams from 32 countries are now located in various parts of Japan and South Korea preparing for the competition, which starts on June 1st and carries on throughout the month.

Given that sport is a form of 'battle urge' displacement, a competition like this is the equivalent of a world war from the point of view of Mars. It is of no little interest, as the troops have now gathered and are ready to enter the field of Mars, that from now until the end of the competition, there will be two lunar eclipses and one solar eclipse. The last phase of the current SA-PL opposition is exact on May 26th, the date of the first lunar eclipse.

So it is not unlikely that things will get pretty intense, and the period will not be without incident. I doubt if the favourites will win, and there should be some shock results. Already it is noticeable that several key top class players will be absent from their teams due to injuries picked up only days before they were due to leave for the Far East.

The biggest story so far concerns the captain of the Irish team, Roy Keane, who was dropped from the squad and sent packing on May 23rd. He is widely considered to be one of the best players in world football, and is undoubtedly the only world class player in the Irish side. It is a huge and crippling blow to the team, and also the fans.

The situation had been brewing for a couple of days. In media interviews, Keane voiced serious criticisms of the training facilities available at their pre-competition warm-up venue. He was also reportedly complaining that the squad were not taking their task seriously enough, which translates as "they were enjoying themselves too much". Keane's discontent exploded when the manager called a meeting to clear the air and asked players to say whatever they had to say. Keane delivered a volley of personal abuse at the manager, which could have only one outcome. By any standards he crossed the line with what he said in front of the rest of the squad. The following is from memory after hearing the offending words twice on the radio tonight. It may not be verbatim, but it is not far off.

"Who the f__k do you think you are, calling a meeting about me? You were a crap player and you are a crap manager. The only reason I interact with you is because somehow you became manager of my national team, and you're not even Irish you English c__t. You can shove it up your ass."

The extreme nature of these words directed publicly at the manager, leaving no options, no room for doubt, and no grey areas, smelled to me of the SA-PL opposition. In a nightmare scenario, the manager was forced to get rid of the one player who might have made the difference between a successful and an indifferent overall performance in the competition.

The manager Mick McCarthy called the meeting for 7:30pm May 23rd at the team base on Saipan Island, Pacific Island Trust Territory, AEST, -10hr.

At that time, the Ascendant was 13Sa58. It was applying to an alignment with the SA (16Ge14) - PL (16Sa39) opposition. The Ascendant lay opposite the SU/MA midpoint (orb 23'), which is a pretty energetic combination. The Libran Moon ("let's try and clear the air". "No, I'd rather have a fight") was on the cusp of the 11th house in the Placidus system (team \ group \ 'family' emphasis).

The moving Ascendant axis, in aligning with the PL-SA opposition, also aspected directly the ME/MA midpoint. So we have during a few minutes time frame at the start of the meeting AS=SA=PL=ME/MA. This is the key signature for the outburst. At 7:30pm, the MC was 18 Virgo, thus leading up to that time the MC formed the same midpoint picture.

For AS=ME/MA, Combinations of Stellar Influences gives:

"Turbulent or stormy proceedings."

For PL=ME/MA (orb 38'), COSI gives:

"A fanatical critic (!); an over-zealous orator; a sharp analyst; the misfortune to have to suffer heavy attacks or assaults from others."

The negative entries for SA=ME/MA (orb 57') COSI gives:

"The desire to harm others; the tendency to say bad things; the inclination to bring harm to oneself by exaggerating; separation caused through quarrelling."

For MC=ME/MA, COSI gives:

"Readiness for action; courage; determination; the ability to retaliate in the proper manner."

That pretty much says it all, with the MC=ME/MA perhaps being especially relevant for the state of the manager.

Roy Keane was undoubtedly playing out the role of Pluto (the only planet in/on Fire, ascending), while the manager is signified by Saturn, surrounded by 4 personal planets in Gemini, which I see as representing the rest of the squad. Largely young neophytes only too happy to be at the competition at all. In contrast, Roy Keane is one of the most fearsome players in the game, both for opponents and team mates. He operates in a different world from the rest of the squad and is the most highly paid footballer in the English league (Pluto).

I don't have the time, but Roy Keane was born on August 10th 1971 in Cork city, Ireland. His horoscope features the Sun (17 Leo) opposite Mars (17 Aquarius). Currently his progressed Sun is at 17 Virgo 'inconjunct' that Sun-Mars opposition. This suggests potential dissatisfaction and also ambivalence as the Sun and Mars principles find it difficult to settle into a working relationship. For now, his Sun seems to have won the inner battle, as Keane has put his self (ego?) before the rare chance (for an Irishman) to compete on soccer's global stage (Mars). Which I suppose is quite a Leonine thing to do. Whether he will be happy during the next few days about what he has engendered is unlikely, as he may in his own mind (and perversely) have won some kind of personal battle but has surely lost the war. How he would have performed with the transit Saturn-Pluto opposition aligning by sextile and trine to that natal Sun-Mars opposition will never be known, but I guess the fans have missed out on something potentially quite special.

Mick McCarthy was born February 7th 1959, Barnsley, England. Again I don't have a time. What is interesting is that McCarthy's Sun lies at 18 Aquarius, conjunct Keane's Mars and opposite his Sun. It's possible that McCarthy's Moon might be close by - it was at 14 Aquarius at midday on his date of birth. It's not surprising that the two don't get on. The fact that McCarthy's Uranus (14 Leo) lies exactly conjunct Keane's lunar south node (14 Leo) doesn't help, given Keane's somewhat explosive nature. That Uranian synastry contact for me has a flavour of awakening Keane's inner demons.

The most obvious transit McCarthy is experiencing at present is Uranus square Mars (28 - 29 Taurus). Can't argue with that as a signature for his experience. He clearly was not in the mood psychologically or astrologically for fannying around with temperamental geniuses. He acted immediately and decisively, and in doing so initiated the first great shock of the competition. He must be raging.

I think soccer fans are in for a serious roller coaster ride over the next few weeks.