
-> a football tragic's way of saying 'I need help' but can it wait until after July 12?
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A NIGHT WITH SANTO, SAM & ED

ROUND OF 16 ALL DONE
PRODUCTS YOU WON'T SEE ENDORSED...
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
GIVE 'IM A RIGHT THWACKING
Maradona not into tactics: Argentina National Team: News: The World Game on SBS
Maradona not into tactics
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29 June 2010-AAP
Tactics questioned ... Argentina coach Maradona gestures the shape of a football (Getty)
When it comes to charisma, not many football coaches can rival Argentina's Diego Maradona. But a deep discussion over tactics?
Not the man's style.
"Great one, you beast!" you often hear Maradona shouting affectionately at a player during training. Even when a shot balloons over the crossbar, he bubbles with the same infectious enthusiasm.
His critics, who called him a naive tactician in the run-up to the World Cup, could be made to eat their words if Argentina continues its impressive form in South Africa and wins a third title.
Argentina has won four matches in a row, scoring 10 goals - and the tally would've been far higher but for some excellent goalkeeping by its opponents.
Maradona says he himself preferred to be a free spirit as a player. As a result he intentionally won't tell Argentina's latest global superstar - Lionel Messi - what to do.
"I went to tell Messi (at Barcelona) that nobody ever told me where to play. So, I shouldn't have to tell Messi where to play either," said Maradona.
"It was up to him to decide where to play. He's a grown-up. I did it back in my era - and now it's his turn."
The former Argentine captain - for some the best player of all time - has embraced and kissed his players before all the matches in South Africa.
And it seems as though he's kicking every ball in his mind when prowling around the technical area, besuited.
The players seem to be thriving.
Martin Palermo, Argentina's 36-year-old, fifth-choice striker, is a case in point.
Many thought Maradona included him in his squad out of sentimentality - or as a lucky charm - after the Boca Juniors striker scored a last-gasp goal that more or less sealed Argentina's qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
With Argentina struggling to break down Greece in the final group game, Maradona was told by his assistants to bring on Gonzalo Higuain.
Instead, he chose Palermo, who within minutes got on the scoresheet.
The advice from Maradona as Palermo ran onto the field?
"I said, 'Get out there. Finish this match for me'."
It's a far cry from the tactically astute and results-driven approach of Carlos Bilardo, who coached Argentina to World Cup success in 1986 - not to mention the almost obsessively philosophical and romantic vision of football advocated by the chain-smoking Cesar Menotti, who led the nation to the title eight years earlier.
When Maradona got the Argentina job, Bilardo was brought in to help on tactics. But the pair immediately fell out and, even though they're both at the World Cup, it's thought that Maradona is reluctant to listen to his advice.
Whether Maradona's approach will work when Argentina comes up against tactically-savvy Germany in this weekend's quarterfinal is another matter, though.
And it's sure to be troubling the nation.
Asked by an Argentine journalist after the 3-1 defeat over Mexico Sunday (Monday morning AEST) how he would approach the Germans, Maradona snapped, "Let me enjoy this match. Why think of Germany? How about you name the players YOU want."
PAUL THE OCTOPUS

DE JA VU
Monday, June 28, 2010
(CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION
Sunday, June 27, 2010
why footballers should never act
URUGUAY, GHANA THROUGH
SPECIAL 1 TV (world cup EP04) Next The Germans
The Special 1 TV - Next, the Germans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChaLhnQ92D0&feature=youtube_gdata
Saturday, June 26, 2010
GROUP GAMES OVER
AROUSAL V PERFORMANCE
CRANKY COUSINS - BRAvPOR half time
Friday, June 25, 2010
ME LLAMAN DIEGO

ME LLAMAN DIEGO
Me llaman Diego
you know me well
78 to 94 through heaven and hell
I wanted mas, I wanted more
but off the field I kept trying to score
My body was a temple
but oh how I fell
Now I lead my nation
and it's just as well
My girls they were sick of me
staying at home
but then my country called me
I'm a dog to a bone
and when we finally made it
after months of stress
I wanted to give it back to the mother******* press
So when the game had ended
the press conference began
I waited for the moment
and my mouth it ran;
'ellos que me chupan
me chupan bien
ellos que me chupan
me chupan bien'
we made it through the group
3 wins on the trot
so wherever you're from
come show me what you got
cos' I'm Diego
I'm the man
in the tight grey suit
you wanna piece of me? you can suck my flute
GP
The Special One - World Cup Edition 1-3
better than the Special One.
Enjoy:
The Special One - World Cup Editions
Ep1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S2BB34sfH0&feature=youtube_gdata
Ep2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfJlg0UMPFQ&feature=youtube_gdata
Ep3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtjhRxzViFY&feature=youtube_gdata
The people behind this are brilliant. My hat and pants are off in
admiration...
GP
NO ITALIAN JOB

Thursday, June 24, 2010
AUS 2 SRB 1
AUS-SRB 1/2 time
SIDEBAR - A HARD SELL

Whilst surveying the French fallout to the demise of Les Bleus, I stumbled upon a curious and potentially ingenious example of marketing. Renault has chosen none other than Rocco Siffredi to promote their sixT range, with 5 online mini clips, thankfully showing a different side to the man's armoury. The titles make the Carry On series seem as complex:
- Je decharge plusieurs fois par jour (I discharge several times a day)
- Je monte souvent a plusieurs (I like to ride often)
- pas besoin d'avoir une grosse (it is not necessary to have a large one)
- le soir, je mets toujours la capote (at night I always put on my coat)
- les allemandes, je les cravache (the German, I whip him)