Ex-Palace flop to play for Ecuador

He was known as 'Ivan the Terrible' by Palace fans during his brief stay in Norwood, but Ivan Kaviedes has featured in all of Ecuador's World Cup games so far and is expected to play against England. When he scored in the 3-0 win over Costa Rica he donned a Spiderman mask in honour of a teammate who lost his life in a car crash.

Kaviedes was signed for £2m in a Palace master stroke on 18th August 2004, but by the following January he was on his way again, having made one league start and two appearances from the bench for the Glaziers. He is now playing for Argentinos Juniors and is desperate to put his time at Palace behind him.

Kaviedes is as famous for his bad behaviour as his talent and escaped a booking for an agricultural tackle in the group stages. Four Four Two comment, 'he brings a touch of unpredictabilty that the other front men lack, so expect to see him used as a wild card.' In more ways than one.

In a prediction competition with friends, we were asked to make one very specific prediction and mine was that Kaviedes would be red carded. I did not then expect Ecuador to meet England so now I hope even more that my forecast will come true.