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Sporno

July 26, 2010 — by Sean

Just let me readjust my ball.

I can’t believe we’re only coming across this site now. Part of the Spoiler network, Sporno is just the site you need when you want to prove to your soccer-hating friends that this really is an amazingly queer sport full of svelte Europeans rubbing their naked legs against one another.

Sport tries its best to be clean, porno is always dirty. Sport is noble and healthy. Porno is always bad and wrong. Yet for all their efforts to keep a distance, they just can’t help running into each from time to time and making sporno, without meaning to at all.

The Spoiler is a little like TMZ for footballers, though they haven’t taken such a deep swig of celebrity Kool-Aid. The opposite maybe, but only because they put themselves first. Still, it’s occasionally nice to be reminded that professional sport is only a distraction.

Commentary

Ciao, La Moviola

July 26, 2010 — by Sean — 1

Great recap of Italian football conspiracy theories over at the Independent, work done by one John Hall, who looks all of 18 years old.

For those of you who don’t know what the moviola is, its basically a hugely popular trial by slow motion where each and every aspect of the weekend’s games is replayed and replayed in glorious freeze-frame motion until the whole memory of the sporting weekend is tainted by controversy and conspiracy.

News

France suspends their entire squad

July 23, 2010 — by Sean

"Let's lose the next and crash out of 2010, yes?"

The French have a friendly against Norway in a couple of weeks, but exactly who’ll be playing is a complete mystery. From the Guardian, among others:

The 23 members of France’s World Cup squad have been suspended for the country’s next game. The decision was taken during a meeting of the French Football Federation Federal Council on the recommendation of the national side’s new coach Laurent Blanc.

This on top of the Ribery/Benezema underage prostitution scandal has been great for continuing France’s World Cup ridiculousness. Party on, Bleus.

News

Sami Khedira to Real?

July 23, 2010 — by Sean

Another German standout at the World cup has had his head turned by a glamor club. Khedira scored the winning goal in the third place game with his header against Uruguay, and has been a rock as the holding midfielder at Stuttgart. Now Mourinho is showing interest, and Sami is listening:

“I am mulling over the thought of making a move to Real Madrid, ” Khedira told Bild. “The club has confirmed that they are interested. Real Madrid is the biggest clubs in the whole world and Jose Mourinho is one of the most successful managers in the game.

It’s always a gamble to leave the small pond, especially when you’ll be fighting the likes of Madrid’s first team for a place on the pitch. Mourinho tends to like veterans who play out his tactical game, but he has shown some development skills over the years (most recently with 19 yr-old defender Davide Santon at Inter) so it’s unlikely he’s about to bring on an expensive bench warmer.

CommentaryNews

Henry on Good Day NY

July 22, 2010 — by Sean — 9

I’ve been watching Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly in the morning for…well never, but I see them a lot on the Soup, constantly upping the ante on idiocy. There are a few gems from their Thierry Henry interview, particularly when they suggest he’s just come back from winning the World Cup, and when they ask him when the MLS season starts (it’s mid-season already, people).

On his part, Henry could’ve dressed a little better. I know it’s just these two Fox drones, but a t-shirt, jeans, and high-tops? We know you want to live “downtown”, but you do know khakis are the new skinny jean, no? Anyway, here’s the clip. Welcome to America, where we like blowouts.

CommentaryNews

Werder Bremen Should Sell Mesut Ozil

July 21, 2010 — by Sean — 3

Ozil was one of the breakout stars of this summer’s World Cup, and as such the 21 yr-old is garnering interest from big clubs outside Germany. He’s in the last year of his contract with Werder Bremen, a side that finished 10th in the Bundesliga last season (though they had top 3 finishes the five season prior to last).

Bremen want to resign the playmaker, but it seems crazy considering he’d draw around €20M for a transfer fee, and if he doesn’t extend his contract with Bremen he’ll be able to take his leave next summer on a free transfer. Better to take a page from Lyon’s book, and sell the young star at a massive profit, rather than try and hold on. With the money they’d make from Ozil, they could buy 5 young promising Turks and a couple new first team players to strengthen the squad short and long term.

Somewhat tangentially: Lyon are simply the best at finding underrated (thus cheap) players, developing them, and selling them when high-paying clubs come in with their wallets open. Check out the book Soccernomics for a really nice breakdown of Lyon’s strategy in the transfer market.

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