Whoops! I made a boo boo yesterday.
I mentioned that Inter Milan striker Diego Milito, scorer of two goals in this past weekend's boring Champions League final was off Argentina's World Cup squad.
Whoops. Thanks to my friend Andrew, I am now aware Mr. Milito is indeed playing for Los Albiceleste. So sorry for calling you a drug addict, Diego Maradona.
Today's Tidbits
1 - The aforementioned Milito is eager to face Nigeria in their Group B opener on June 12th.
"After what I have achieved with my teammates at Inter Milan, my attention is now to help my country do well at the World Cup. For us to do well, we must start well and I hope to do my bit in the tournament. It is important for us to win our first match and if I get the chance to play, I would try to score because I want our fans to be happy", said Milito.
So there.
2 - Cristiano Ronaldo is NOT happy about his Vanity Fair cover shot. Why? Click here and find out.
3 - If the U.S. wants to be a soccer power on the global stage, it should take a look at how the game is played kids on the fields in Queens: with freewheeling joy, according to the New York Times.
4 - Relive 40 years of absurd, borderline racist World Cup mascots, thanks to Deadspin.
5 - With barely a fortnight to go, the sound of keepers bleating about the official tournament football has been conspicuously absent, according to England's Guardian.
What I Think I Think
Besides the 2010 World Cup, what's the biggest story of the football summer?
No, it's not the transfer of David Villa to Barcelona and the rumored one of Fernando Torres from Liverpool.
It's the impending announcement of Jose Mourinho becoming the next coach of Real Madrid.
Honestly, isn't this a match made in heaven?
A smug coach for a somewhat narcissistic football club ... you couldn't write this better.
Mourinho is a winner. He's captured titles almost everywhere he's gone.
Problem is, Madrid go through coaches like most people go through toothbrushes: once they're worn out from the pressure, time to get a new one.
Look at this list of coaches since Vicente del Bosque was canned in 2003:
- Carlos Quieroz
- Jose Antonio Camacho
- Mariano Garcia Remon
- Vanderlei Luxemburgo
- Juan Ramon Lopez Caro
- Fabio Capello
- Bernd Schuster
- Juande Ramos
- Manuel Pellegrini
That's 9 guys, one who won the league title and was STILL sacked (Capello).
So what does this club need? Stability would be nice. Consistency even better.
Imagine the pressure on the Special One should he come to the World's (Self-Proclaimed) Biggest Club? He'd need to best FC Barcelona, who have built a super team with a much different philosophy than Los Merengues, promoting more from within and buying players more for need.
Also, he'd be expected to win the club's first European Championship (the elusive Decima, the 10th in Madrid's history) sooner rather than later.
The Spanish press is notorious for chewing coaches up and spitting them out. Does Jose really want to step into that vitreous cauldron? If the newspapers in Spain are to be believed, it's a done deal.
Of course, if anyone's ready for the pressure and can take it, it's the Special One.
Should make for an interesting season should you support one of the big two clubs in the Iberian Peninsula.
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