There Is Only One Sinnacle

- While highly unlikely I wonder if the Italian press will eat some crow and given Mourinho his due. Making the comparison to Scolari who the latter couldn’t make Anelka and Drogba work together, Mourinho went away from his preferred 4-3-3 (It’s really a 4-5-1 with two wide midfielders supporting the long striker) to a 4-4-2 in an effort to field Ibrahimović and Adriano at the same time with great effect. A nine point lead with 14 games left is a massive hurdle to climb. The true test will come next week against Manchester United but so far Mourinho is having his way in Serie A.

- P.S Yes I know Adriano’s goal was a hand ball but Inter were still the better team on the day.

- Goals of the year are often mentioned but Ambrosini tackle on Stanković quite simply is the best tackle I’ve seen in along time. (Shown at the 1:30 mark of the clip)

- Despite being a drunk who picks fights with his team mates, on his day there are few goalies better than Artur Boruc. The Polish international made two key reflex saves to ensure Celtic walk away with a hard earned point in yesterday’s 0-0 Old Firm match up.

- I’m sure Sporting Gijon are glad to be done with Real Madrid and Barcelona for this year. Against the rest of La Liga Gijon are comfortably mid table but boy do they sure become red headed step child for Real Madrid and Barcelona.

* Bonus Thoughts

- You can look at Barcelona’s draw vs Real Betis one of two ways. 1) Giving up a goal per game will come back to haunt them later on in the season or 2) Despite being 2-0 down Barcelona never threw in the towel and fought back to earn a point.

- How about Adrian Mutu’s hat trick yesterday with Fiorentina down 3-0 to Genoa at the time? With both teams fighting for the last Champions League spot Mutu picked the perfect time for his inspired performance.

France asks Italy to probe Argentine passports

The French League (LFP) has contacted the Italian authorities to investigate the legitimacy of the dual nationality passports held by Argentine players in Ligue 1, an LFP source said on Friday.

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How sad is this? Wonder if this has anything to do with Argentina beating France 2-0 midweek and Diego Maradona rubbing there faces in it? Just comes across as a petty move by the French league.

Cagliari Striker Robert Acquafresca Desperately Wants Inter Return

The Cagliari ace is hoping to return to Lombardy next summer, admitting that his dream is to play at San Siro on a regular basis.

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With current Inter strikers Julio Cruz and Hernán Crespo old as dirt look for Acquafresca to freshen things up next year.

Naismith predicts close finish ahead of Old Firm

Rangers forward Steven Naismith has predicted another dramatic climax to the Premier League season, regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s Old Firm derby.

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Despite this being an FA Cup weekend in England with Celtic facing Rangers and A.C Milan vs Inter Milan, there will be no shortage of interesting games to keep an eye on.

Florentino Perez To Announce Real Madrid Election Decision

The Godfather of the Galacticos is expected to unveil his decision whether or not to run for Los Blancos’ upcoming summer presidential elections.

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Perez hasn’t spent the last month playing up to the media if he wasn’t planning to become Real Madrid’s president again.

Hughes has told midfielder Elano that he can still have a big future at Manchester City but warned the Brazilian he must get used to the idea of not starting every week at Eastlands. (The Sun)

Mark Hughes wins the award for talking out of both sides of his mouth. How can a player have a bright future yet not play week after week? Do you think Hughes tells Robinho “Hey every couple of games I’m going to bench you so I can play Michael Johnson?”

Former Tottenham assistant manager Gus Poyet could be asked to perform a short-term firefighting role as Newcastle United manager. (Guardian)

Poyet is out of a job plus he was Dennis Wise number two at Millwall = Coaching rumour as Wise is still supposedly in charge of day to day affairs at Newcastle.

West Brom manager Tony Mowbray will sort out the future of unsettled defender Marek Cech during the close season. (Daily Express)

Very little to sport out. Cech didn’t play much at Porto last year, playing even less at West Brom this year. Usually that signals an exit.

Sacked Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari has said there were no special players in his Chelsea side. (Various)

You can make the claim that only Frank Lampard played up to his usually standards under Scolari. You could also lay some of the blame on Scolari himself for that fact.

Tottenham striker Darren Bent has said he will leave the club if he does not become a regular starter. (The Sun)

With Tottenham still in a regulation battle I don’t think Darren Bent’s happiness is high on the list of Harry Redknapp’s concerns.

Sometimes I like to kill time by watching old youtube clips from the NASL days. So with that out of the way below is an impressive George Best clip from 1981 when he played with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Ancelotti: I will not be joining Chelsea this summer

Guus Hiddink will manage the side until the end of the season, but Ancelotti is reportedly owner Roman Abramovich’s main candidate to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari in the long term.

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There you have it straight from the horses mouth. With A.C Milan showing loyalty towards Ancelotti last year when they could of easily fired him, it’s rewarding to see Ancelotti show the same faith towards A.C Milan. Besides let’s be honest the Chelsea job isn’t what it once was. It’s not like the next coach will have a blank chequebook to purchase any player he wants.

Garber sets deadline for Beckham deal

The ongoing transfer saga involving the Los Angeles Galaxy’s David Beckham and AC Milan is set for conclusion, one way or another, by the end of the week.

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Nice to see Garber talking tough on this transfer. MLS can’t be seen as being soft regarding David Beckham. Translation, if A.C Milan really wants Beckham they will have to over pay for him.

Ryan Giggs Signs New Manchester United Deal

Ryan Giggs has signed a one-year contract extension, much to his delight…

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This just came across as I was typing this. Good to see Giggs play for United for at least another season.

Defender Daniel Agger has threatened to quit Liverpool unless he is handed a regular starting place. (The Sun)

Daniel Agger appears to be another player who just isn’t Rafa’s cup of a tea. It wouldn’t shock me if Liverpool pull an John Arne Riise and sell Agger to fund other moves.

Midfielder Niko Kranjcar has revealed he wants to quit Portsmouth to join a bigger club. (Daily Mirror)

Was only a matter of time before Kranjcar expressed an interest in joining the ever growing list of players who want out at Portsmouth.

Liverpool are trying to sign Barcelona’s teenage winger Gerard Deulofeu, who is only 14. (Daily Mirror)

Does Deulofeu have a younger brother who Arsenal can sign? Things must be calming down when rumors of some 14 year old are popping up.

Everton manager David Moyes will attempt to keep on-loan Manchester City striker Jo at Goodison Park permanently. (The Sun)

Easy now, Jo has only played one game for Everton. Yes, he scored two goals but a career that does not make.

Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has described former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari as the “weakest link”. (Daily Star)

So says the 32 year old midfielder who has always been the bridesmaid and rarely the bride over his career.

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, who parted company with Manchester City in June 2008 and is now coach of Mexico, has hinted that he may be open to a return to the Premier League, with Portsmouth keen on the Swede. (Daily Mirror)

Sven-Goren Eriksson may be available for work in England and any place else after Mexico’s dreadful performance last night. Sven may be on borrowed time in charge of Mexico.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he would give up winning every domestic trophy this season to clinch further Champions League glory. (The Sun)

One can make that claim when you have won 10 EPL titles but “only” (still impressive just winning one never mind two) Champions League title.

Capello’s team outclassed

David Beckham entered the history books on a night England will otherwise remember for being put firmly in their place by Euro 2008 winners Spain.

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Can we now put this lavish praise regarding Fabio Capello to bed for a bit? Right now Spain are the measuring stick and even if it was an away game England were well off the mark. Capello true test will come at the 2010 World Cup so until all this talk about how great and how much Capello has changed this England team is really premature.

Coach Bob Bradley couldn’t have been prouder of his star player. After all, it was his son.

Michael Bradley scored twice to lead the United States to a 2-0 victory over Mexico in a World Cup qualifier Wednesday night, preserving the Americans’ domination in the series over the last nine years.

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Must admit I was wrong about this one. Figured despite being an odd choice for Mexico, Sven Goran Eriksson could still draw up a better game plan than U.S coach Bob Bradley. Two goals from Bradley’s son Michael was the difference as Mexico had no answers and couldn’t break down a strong United States defensive front. Interesting to see Rafa Marquez pick up another red card. A repeat of the 2002 World Cup when the United States had one of there most famous victories also beating Mexico by a 2-0 score.

Portugal 1-0 Finland

A Cristiano Ronaldo penalty 12 minutes from time finally put paid to Finland as Portugal ended a run of four games without a victory in Faro.

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It won’t ease the fears of the many people who except nothing less from perfection out of Portugal in games like theses but a win is a win. After giving up six goals to Brazil in there last game, keeping a clean sheet is a good start. Cristiano Ronaldo put away the deciding penalty after the Finnish players were tripping over themselves trying to block out Danny.