Football 1- Money 0

The Super League lasted only two days, as nine of the twelve clubs involved (except Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus) decided to withdraw after the massive outcry amongst so many people. Since then, some club owners have tried to apologize, while most notably Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez has continued to try to defend the idea with nonsense such as "we will save football". 

Thank God and Fans that the idea has been shelved (for now...).

But one has to wonder: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

These people are hugely rich businessmen, who own football clubs, and say that they want to save football; that they are interested in "dialogue" about how to save the game. But in everything they did with this league-idea is contradictory to this: no dialogue (not even their teams knew about the initiative) and no understanding of the traditions and culture that their business is built on. The total proof that a top 0.1% of the richest and most powerful men (always men) in the world, who think that they are the sole owners of the truth.

Truth=Money.

Florentino Perez has been talking about the money they have lost during COVID. I am no businessman; no economist; but I do know that sometimes times are hard, so I have an advise to any football clubs: spend what you have!!!! That is what all us normal people do. But you wouldn't know that.

I am happy it is over for now. But I hardly believe it is over. Money has been sneaking into the world of football for decades. Prices to go to a match are eye-watering (and I am one of the people who can afford it, so I won't be a hypocrite and say I haven't) and it seems impossible to find decent prices or unique TV packages where one can follow matches. 

If we want to save football, that is the dialogue one must have. That said, we must also admit that nothing lasts forever. Football has existed and grown to become a global sport for some 150 years. Maybe it has reached its pinnacle; maybe in 150 years from now football will be a funny quirk amongst historical nerds. Nothing lasts forever, but we are many who don't want to see its early demise.

Ronaldo to Real Madrid

The Spanish newspaper Marca, has reported that Manchester United has accepted Real Madrid's offer for Cristiano Ronaldo for the dazzling sum of 94 million Euros. After Kaká was just confirmed a few days ago as well, Florentino Perez has really come in with storm to make true his election commitment to make Real Madrid "galactic" again!

Real Madrid's renewal

In an attempt to be the best team in the galaxy yet again, Florentino Perez has again become president of Real Madrid and has initiated sweeping changes already. New coach for the team is the renowned Chilean Manuel Pellegrini who has been Villarreal coach with great success, leading the Valencians to two Champions League semifinals. Without hesitation he has already said that Real Madrid must win by playing entertaining football and aim at winning the Treble, just like FC Barcelona has just done.

At the same time, the rumours have greatly intensified about possible players: AC Milans' Kaká is to be announced as Real Madrid player next week, while Cristiano Ronaldo has again been linked to the club. At the same time Valencia's David Villa and David Silva are both being coveted by the Madridistas.

It will surely be interesting what the result of these major changes will be; but truth is that for a club with Real Madrids' ambition it is not satisfactory to have a season as this, and even less so when their main rivals from Barcelona have won it all!

David Beckham as Real Madrid coach?

As Florentino Perez is fighting to regain the presidency of Real Madrid, new credible rumours have come out that he has offered the position as head coach of Real Madrid to none other than David Beckham. Although Mr. Beckham has no coaching experience, he could potentially provide a lot to the team where he played as one of the "galácticos". Mr. Beckham is nevertheless not going to run away from his existing contracts with AC Milan and LA Galaxy; instead, Mr. Perez has made an agreement where Mr. Beckham will be acting as player in those two clubs, at the same time as he will be coaching Real Madrid!
It will surely be busy for Mr. Beckham, but if anyone can do it, it is surely Spice Boy!

Top 10 Football turds of 2004

The football year 2004 has had many good and bad things. As I am on a Christmas break, I will spend the next days giving my TOP-10s of the football year 2004.

As every year, there have been stars, heroes, as well as villains and plain idiots. The last category is what I would charmingly call "turds": And so, I have made my personal list of top-10 football turds of 2004:
10) David Beckham: He is still a great player on the pitch, but the image he constantly gets in the media, makes him an obvious choice for this list. This year it was stories about his extramarital affairs, as well as his bragging about his own 'intelligence' when forcing a yellow card upon himself on an England World Cup qualifier.
9) Ferencvaros fans: Otherwise fans of a great team, they did show their worst side in an UEFA cup qualifier against Milwall.
8) Florentino Perez: Symbolizes all the arrogance of Real Madrid. In the 2003/2004 season he got his "galactic" team together, just to have one of the worst seasons in Real Madrid's history. Then there was the whole soap opera with Camacho as coach for a couple of weeks.
7) Adrian Mutu: a young talented and succesful player in one of the best teams this season, but he ruined himself going for the cocaine.
6) Portuguese stadion security: in a time of terrorism, it was pretty pathetic that a Barcelona man managed to run through the whole security perimeter and across the pitch to Luis Figo, in the EURO 2004 final in Portugal.
5) Stig Tøfting: The former Hamburger SV and Bolton player was having a good season with Danish team AGF, just until a recent Christmas dinner with the whole team, where he again got into a mayor fight, got him fired. So he just made it to this list at the last moment!
4) Christian Andersen and Flemming Østergaard: You have to be Danish to know these two clowns. But when you do, you understand the low level insults of people with small brains.
3) Spanish fans: There has been a grave problem of racism for many years in Spanish football. It came to a head in the November friendly between Spain and England in Madrid, where Spanish fans repeatedly harassed the coloured players. A sick symptom of pathetic Spanish fans.
2) Francesco Totti: Deserves to be high up on the list. He could be a good player, but he prefers to be an unapologetic spitter, kicker and defender of violence against referees. Most idiotic comment this season must have been when questioned about the images of spitting at Christian Poulsen in the Euro 2004, he said "I do not recognize Totti there." I surely did.
1) Luis Aragones: the Spanish national coach, had to defeat Totti by being the most obvious exponent of the unapologetic Spanish racism in football. First his comment on Thierry Henry, and then his defence of Spanish fans attack on coloured players, makes him the nummer one turd of 2004.

Michael Owen to Real Madrid - top-10 reasons

The Real Madrid circus of Florentino Perez has done it again: gotten a new star player for the already star-packed team.
I thought that it was over with this kind of purchases after the arrival of a more serious Camacho as coach, and with him more seriousness to the team: the purchase of star defenders Walter Samuel from Roma, and now Jonathan Woodgate from Newcastle.
With the incorporation of the super-striker Fernando Morientes, and already having Ronaldo and Raul, I just want to ask what the hell Michael Owen is good for (than replace a Portillo ceded to Fiorentina)?
I used to admire Mr. Owen a lot. I cannot see what good this is for him. But here are my top-ten reasons for Michael Owen changing to Real Madrid:

1) Posh spice was feeling lonely
2) David Beckham was feeling lonely
3) Set up an English course on the Real Madrid bench.
4) "I always wanted to get to know Italy..."
5) It was the only English name Florentino Perez and Jorge Valdano could pronounce without taking a course.
6) Michael Owen, David Beckham and Jonathan Woodgate are the prologue of a hooligan invasion.
7) If everyone is going to be speaking Spanish in Liverpool, he might as well learn it in Spain.
8) He is a really nice guy, who might make the whole waiting on the bench less boring for everyone.
9) "I am tired of Svennie getting all the women. I need to get away"
10) Food can only get better in Spain.