MLS seems content to get nothing and like it. Well, they'll get Becks, but for a shorter time and then he'll probably walk.
Milan claims it is currently negotiating an extension of the loan, through June 30. At that point he'll rejoin the Galaxy. Then at the end of the MLS season, Becks will walk for free, as he has the option to opt out of his contract in November. Then he'll rejoin Milan in January when the transfer window opens up.
The Galaxy however are maintaining that Beckham will be back shilling for Herbalife come March 9.
(Oh, and Spectator wants to point out that he called this correctly when nobody else did... Does that mean I have to go dig up the post where we all guessed what would happen?)
[Update after the jump]
Update: As TFA points out below, it is indeed a buy-out clause (although it doesn't seem that there is a figure attached to it in the article). Also, the LA Times is reporting his return date to the Galaxy as July 15. Finally, talk about buying the lead; check out the second-to-last paragraph where it says Becks' next match with Milan is tomorrow in Doha, Qatar. How much more are these friendlies and testimonials worth with Becks in the line-up? Beckham gives Milan even more star power.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
UF Quick Throw: Some Beckham Deal Close to Being Dzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz [Updated]
Behold The Power of Democracy!
Voting rules. Ahh... see what I did there?
Anyway, this was mentioned in Backpasses (see post below) but The Offside is asking for your input. They want to know which is the most exciting league in Europe.
We're mostly EPL over here, with a smattering of France and the Scots but we're actively trying to consume more Italy and Spain (Mmmmm... Spain).
And frankly we all should. Why? Because Spain has been awesome this season. Easily the two most exciting matches I've seen this season were the 3-3 Valencia v. Villarreal tilt, and this past weekend's 4-3 win by Atlético over a suddenly shaken Barcelona side.
On top of that, having less emotional attachment seems to make watching, uhm... what's the word? Enjoyable. That's it. Watching Spanish football is kind of fun. They score even (fucking Arsenal).
We're not big believers in the "scoring = excitement" premise, but the EPL does lag behind Spain by about a half goal per match.
More interesting, the EPL is barely ahead of Italy, which gets abused for its supposed boring and defensive football. That link above takes some going through, but if you scroll down you'll see the current scoring hierarchy goes: Germany > Spain > England > Italy > France.
Our cursory theory on the low EPL output is threefold: A) The relegation battle is so tight with so many teams, they they are playing to not concede anything to anyone. A 0-0 draw is a fantastic result for a bottom-table team. B) Arsenal alone is responsible for this low average scoring. C) There is no need to explain, this season's average is pretty much in line with the scoring averages for the last 3-4 EPL seasons.
Anyway, go vote (*cough* Spain *cough*), it's your duty as a Netizen. And if you don't, the terrorists win.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday Backpasses: Dude, she's One
Do not mess with El Hadji Diouf. It's not in your kid's best interest [Off the Post]
The Offside has a question for you. Sorry NY Kid, everyone knows Ligue 1 is teh suxxors [The Offside]
Dirty Tackle may have been a month or so behind on Eva Roob, but they posted this fine video, so all is forgiven [Dirty Tackle]
UF favorite Cassano (I'm cutting him down to one name) scores a controversial goal versus Milan [101GG]
Blackburn need to vet their kitmen better [Off The Post]
South African club tries to bribe its way out of relegation. Since only the two refs came forward, though, there will be no investigation [The Witness]
The reason Voronin is doing so well at Hertha? His wife and ex-wife are getting along. BTW--Wife=Tracy Flick; Ex-Wife=The Nanny [Bild] (use Google Translate)
Rafa blame Liverpool's loss on not having Torres. Maybe keeping a second striker would have been a good idea [Guardian]
Finally:
Theo Walcott's GF to be in Harry Potter movie. With useful pic of how she would best be used in said movie [The Spoiler]
Quick Throw: Thanks for the Mammaries.
It appears that the blog traffic driving Chantelle Houghton has spurned her romance with noted ladies-man Jermain Defoe. No word yet if Chantelle's endowments have helped his foot rehab.
Read more on "Quick Throw: Thanks for the Mammaries."...Now It Just Needs a Huge Breasted Sorceress Riding A Winged Tiger
Manchster United defender Rio Ferdinand, who must be just the classiest guy ever, is getting married.
That's not that interesting because he's been with his wife-to-be for seven years and they already have two kids together.
Okay, the kind of cool part is that the kids are named Lorenz and Tate, and going by the filmogrpahy and the length of his relationship with his bride, we can only guess Rio was deeply affected by either Dead Presidents or Why Do Fools Fall in Love. I guess it depends on how gangsta Rio fancies himself to be.
And judging by this next bit, we're going with "not very."
Sorry to bury the lead so far down but at his wedding ceremony, Ferdinand is going to have the rings delivered by an owl carrying a velvet pouch.
Is Rebecca aware that her hubby-to-be gets his romantic inspirations from things he sees painted in airbrush art on the sides of vans? Really, being a footballer must totally rule. You can want the dumbest shit in the world and nobody is going to call you on it.
Anyway, from the Daily Record: "A barn owl called Ollie is being trained to swoop down the aisle carrying the rings in a velvet pouch. The best man will wear a falconer's glove for the bird to perch on."
Says Mike Roberts, the head falconer at the wedding venue "It's never gone wrong yet but one never knows."
Please God if someone could release a small barn mouse or shrew at the exact moment that the falcon is supposed to deliver the rings the world would be forever in your debt.
It's worth noting that for gangsta street cred, Rio did invite 50 Cent (isn't he investing in a movie with him? Or was that EBJT? I can't keep the personal lives of English defenders straight) and Mickey Rourke to the wedding.
Footballing Nightmares
News Of The World has it out for Gordon Ramsay. They were the ones to first report on Ramsay's affair(s), now they have dug a little deeper into the past. Apparently not content to take a philanderer at his word, they started digging into his footballing past. And guess what--they found some inconsistencies.
Wait. That's not the right term. They found bald-faced lies, and a lot of them.
This is the famous picture that Ramsay built his fib around. As News Of The World deftly points out, it's not of the level that Ramsay says it is. It's not of a first-team appearance for the Huns. In fact, it's from a testimonial against a Junior side.
But at least he got his name on the team sheet, right? No. This is the team line up from the day, helpfully spotlighted by the London newspaper.
"Trialist". No more, no less.
Ramsay's lies about his career with Rangers don't end there. Going back through interviews given over the last 15 years, since Ramsay started to push the idea that he was with Rangers before an injury ended his career, Ramsay had stated that he had played at least three first-team matches for Rangers. Unfortunately for him, such claims are verifiable. Ramsay never played in any of the matches he mentioned and, even worse for Rangers fans, he got the results incorrect, often making the team out worse than they were.
Curiously, Ramsay's lies about his career go back even further than these. He claims that he was spotted by a Rangers scout while playing for Oxford United in a FA Youth Cup match against Arsenal when he was 16. The problem with this is that Oxford United and Arsenal have never met in that competition. Oops.
The article linked above has even more wonderful lies debunked within, and includes the nickname given to Ramsay while at talking to fellow cooks about his time at Rangers: Billy Bullshit. Ramsay has always had a knack for stretching the truth, as well as self-promotion, it would seem. But, and I stand by this, all of these lies don't make Kitchen Nightmares any less entertaining. That show is awesome.
Barca Is Super, Thanks for Asking
Well F.C. Barca might be in a bit of a slide on the pitch as the race for La Liga tightens, but a certain group of supporters thinks that the Blaugrana still look fabulous.
The first gay and lesbian football supporters' group to be officially accepted by a Spanish club has pinned its shield to the wall of Barcelona's stadium and vowed to fight prejudice in one of the world's most homophobic sports.To celebrate, the fans then pinned each other. Hey-O!
Anyway, Barcelona has gay supporters. They're official. And they're pissed.
Continues the Guardian: "When England's football players took on Spain in Seville a fortnight ago, journalists were watching home fans so hard for racist abuse that they failed to notice how Beckham was subjected to a barrage of homophobic insults. 'They spent more than a minute chanting "Beckham maricón" ("Beckham faggot"), said the peña's spokesman, Josep Ribes. 'We lodged a complaint about that.'"
Ooh, I bet that complaint was strongly worded, but on just the loveliest stationery you've ever seen.
Anyway, if you check the video above, Ribes is right. You can clearly hear the chant, and it's far more musical that any of us would have thought.
We're pretty tolerant around these parts. If two guys want to do each other up the pooper, God love them for it. We're also a little surprised because we'd think that mere homophobia is a step in the right direction from abject racism. It's almost as if Spain is maturing before our ears.
Also, why the hell are Barca supporters, even gay ones, upset about this? A) You're Spanish. Becks is English. That's your opponent, you're supposed to hurl insults at him. B) You're a Barca fan. Becks played for Real Madrid, your rival, you're supposed to hurl insults at him. Finally, "Beckham, tus zapatos son feos" doesn't have the same catchy simplicity as "Beckham maricón."
Spain already has some of the most progressive same-sex marriage laws in Europe (or the world or that matter), not that that makes up for a stadium-wide chant, but on balance, they gays in Spain are probably already ahead in the game. Oh, and Becks is kind of gay. So there's that too.
Read more on "Barca Is Super, Thanks for Asking"...
Ligue 1 Weekend Review
This week saw reduced goal-scoring (and fewer yellow cards, leading to the "Goal-scorer to get carded" award being handed out by default) except in 1 match. And it is the winning club in that match, Paris Saint-Germain, who get the result of the week as they destroyed Nancy 4-1 to move into 2nd place and within 4 points of Ligue 1 leaders Lyon.
Saturday, February 28th:
Le Mans 2-0 Le Havre - An early corner from Helstad troubled Le Havre GK Revault, but after that the first half was dominated by Le Havre. Dieuze forced a good save from Le Mans GK Pele, followed by Lesage being stopped by Pele as well. The second half was a different story, as Mathieu called Revault into action in the 62nd minute. Just 1 minute later a cross was diverted directly to Maiga, who finished cooly for a 1-0 lead. Le Havre should have equalized in the 65th minute, but Pele stopped Alassane 1-on-1. Gervinho sealed the 3 points in the 77th minute when he sent home a cross from Corchia.
Nantes 1-1 Grenoble - Grenoble dominated the possession (61% to 39%) but needed a goal at the death to manage the draw. In the 1st minute Babovic was stopped by Grenoble GK Wimbee, and his counterpart, Nantes GK Alonzo, stopped a header from Boya just minutes later. Grenoble thought they had taken the lead in the 30th minute, but Grandin's free-kick wound up in the side netting. Nantes then struck in the 39th minute when Wimbee was only able to parry a shot from N'Daw as far as Klasnic, who finished easily. In the second half Alonzo was called upon to make successive saves against Batlles and Courtois. Unfortunately for the keeper, he was let down by his defense in the 94th minute with a poor clearance of a corner which was headed back in by Batlles for Paillot to finish.
Sochaux 1-0 Nice - In the 4th minute Nice GK Ospina stopped Isabey, and that would be the first of many shots that he faced. He was called into action again for saves on Sverkos (25th minute) and Erdinq (26th minute), but was up to the task. Sochaux almost scored at the half when Sverkos volleyed home a corner, but his shot was cleared off the line by defender Onyekachi. Nice had their best chance of the match in the 64th, but Sable put his shot over the bar when he was alone in the box. Sochaux finally got their goal in the 69th minute when Sverkos finished off a cross from Erdinq for his 4th goal in 7 matches since joining the club in the January transfer window. Nice had 1 final chance in the 76th minute, but Remy had his header saved by Sochaux GK Dreyer.
Valenciennes 2-0 Lille - Valenciennes emerged from this derby match undefeated in their last 8, allowing them to move up out of the relegation zone. In the 10th minute Danic hit the crossbar for Valenciennes, while Bastos sent a free-kick just wide on the other end of the pitch just 2 minutes later. In the 25th minute Darcheville had his header well-saved by Lille GK Malicki, but Valenciennes broke through in the 30th minute when Mater sent in a nice ball for Danic to finish. Mater provided the assist for the 2nd goal as well, crossing the ball for Darcheville to finish in the 35th minute. Fauvergue provided late pressure for Lille, forcing a save from Valenciennes GK Penneteau in the 46th minute and hitting the crossbar near the end of the match, but they were unable to break through.
Auxerre 1-1 Toulouse - Toulouse leapt into 2nd place on the strength of this draw, but they would rue only taking 1 point as the results from Sunday saw them go down to 5th in the table. Gignac, the profilic Toulouse striker, had several early chances but was unable to break through. Auxerre got their goal in the 26th minute when Oliech sent a pass through for Jelen, who beat the offside trap. The rest of the first half saw almost no offensive opportunities, but the second half started with Fofana sending a header smashing into the crossbar. The 72nd minute saw a mad scramble in the box as Mansare was saved by Auxerre GK Sorin and the rebound came directly to Gignac, who in turn had his shot cleared off the line by defender Hengbart. However, the ball was only cleared as far as Gignac, whose second shot was tipped by Sorin and eventually headed off the line by midfielder Chafni (starts around 6:30 in the video). Toulouse got their equalizer in the 80th minute, as Bergougnoux sent home a vicious volley from a Bonnet cross.
Sunday, March 1st:
Bordeaux 1-0 Lorient - Bordeaux had to survive some early pressure to get their 1st win in 5 matches, as Vahirua and Saifi both hit the post for Lorient in the first 20 minutes. Bordeaux began to push back in the 35th minute when Gourcuff saw his free-kick saved by Lorient GK Audard. Just after the restart Cavenaghi had a volley stopped by Audard, but he turned provider in the 49th minute for Chamakh to put Bordeaux ahead 1-0. The damage could have been worse, but Audard made nice saves on Tremoulinas and Cavenaghi late in the match.
Caen 0-1 Marseille - Marseille dominated this match but could only manage 1 goal, although that was enough for the 3 points. In the 15th minute Cheyrou hit the bar, and Caen GK Plante was under siege for the rest of the match. Plante was well-positioned to stop Wiltord in the 30th minute, but he needed to be saved by a clearance off the line from midfielder Leca in the 36th minute after a Wiltord header. Caen didn't get their first chance until the 55th minute, when a vicious volley from Savidan was brilliantly saved by Marseille GK Mandanda. The goal came in the 67th minute when January transfer Brandao finished off a well-weighted pass from Ziani. He should have had a brace, but was stopped by Plante in the 81st minute.
Monaco 2-2 Saint-Etienne - Saint-Etienne fell to 19th in the table with the draw and are in a dire situation. The club looked good early, as their GK Janot did well to stop Adriano and they pressured through Ilan and Gomis. But Monaco broke through in the 20th minute when Park sent in a through-ball for an easy finish from Nimani. Saint-Etienne struck back just 5 minutes later when Payet sent home a pass from Ilan, and the rest of the first half was relatively listless. Saint-Etienne took the lead in the 61st minute when Matsui stole a poor clearance from Adriano for the finish (earning himself the GSTGC award for the week, although he was the only candidate). They wound up completely deflated when Mollo and Park displayed some excellent passing for Mollo to score the equalizer in the 92nd minute. Freddy Adu watch: Who is Freddy Adu?
Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 Nancy - The club from the capital put on an impressive display, destroying relegation-threatened Nancy. PSG struck in the 11th minute when Hoarau headed home a Rothen free-kick, and again in the 14th minute when Sessegnon dribbled much of the defense and set up Giuly for an easy finish. Nancy pulled a goal back in the 30th minute against the run of play as Feret beat PSG GK Landreau to a cross and lobbed him for the finish. But PSG struck again just before the half as Hoarau was left unmarked on a free-kick for a simple strike. Nancy should have had a 2nd goal in the 48th minute after a poor clearance from Sakho, but N'Guemo hit the crossbar. PSG put things completely out of reach in the 63rd minute when Makelele sent through a nice pass for Sessegnon to finish after some 1-touch passing with Hoarau. The damage could have been even more extensive, as Rothen hit the post and Sessegnon had his bicycle kick attempt saved by Nancy GK Bracigliano.
Lyon 1-1 Rennes - Having seen all of their rivals for the title win earlier in the day, Lyon failed to keep pace by allowing an equalizer at the death. Rennes actually scored first when Bocanegra headed home a goal, but it was disallowed for a foul. They kept up the pressure with a volley from Danze, but it was straight at Lyon GK Lloris. Keita then poured forward for Lyon, but his shot was over the bar. The second half started with an enormous amount of energy from Rennes, particularly in the form of Briand who had his shot cleared off the line by defender Mensah in the 49th minute. Ederson responded for Lyon, but put his shot over the bar in the 55th minute, and Hansson matched that for Rennes a few minutes later. In the 62nd minute Briand forced a save from Lloris, and Lyon finally broke through in the 66th minute when Benzema sent a through ball to Pjanic who fed Kallstrom for the finish. Briand had a chance to equalize soon after as he was 1-on-1 with Lloris, but the GK was up to the task. The striker got his revenge, and the equalizer, in injury time as he collected a ball flicked on by Pagis and lobbed Lloris. Note: Benzema came off on a stretcher, but so far it only appears to be a hip pointer.
So, after Matchday 26, the top of the table looks like this: (1) Lyon, with 53 points on a 15-8-3 record and a +19 goal differential; (2) Paris Saint-Germain, with 49 points on a 15-4-7 record and a +13 goal differential; (3) Marseille, with 48 points on a 13-9-4 record and a +15 goal differential; and (4) Bordeaux, with 47 points on a 13-8-5 record and a +17 goal differential.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Go and vote
Your participation in the UF Power Poll is requested. Just go to the UF Facebook page and put your Top 10 in the correct discussion board topic. Voting will close at 2000 GMT (3PM EST; 12 Noon PDT) Thanks!
Read more on "Go and vote"...Bangers and Mash With UF: Weekend Open Thread
Yesterday wasn't a good day for most of UF, Autoglass excepted of course. Arsenal failed to score again and Liverpool is playing like Arsenal of last year. Lead the league until January and then fall apart. Every day Manchester United get a tighter grip on the title without doing a damn thing.
However, despite losses of personal wealth of anywhere from $14B to $31B, Roman Abramovich must be smiling today. On a last gasp Frank Lampard goal, the Blues vaulted to second in the table on goal differential. The change in managers seems to be working--for now. Plus, Roman's girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova (pictured above), was named editor of a fashion magazine. Wonder if she will use this picture for the cover, Roman bought it for her for 17M pounds.
Maybe Sunday will be better. Maybe not. But, at least there's footie on and there's Silverware on the line at Wembley as Spurs take on Manchester United for the Carling Cup. Bigus and LB are there for the game - I am guessing there hasn't been too much time where a cup filled with beer hasn't been attached to their hands.
Also, help us name this weekend open thread feature for UF.
Here's an update from Wembley.
It's still scoreless and the Norwichomon crew are still drunk. Here's a grainy picture proving they are actually there.
And here's what they are all wearing today:
That's the Norwichomon credo and pastime.
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