There Is Only One Sinnacle

Parma in the Champions League? Pretty good for a club in Serie B this time last year. Parma have been a great story all year long and I should of touched upon it sooner. With coming from behind to defeat Bologna they now sit in 4th spot with 28 points, 4 points ahead of another good story Bari who are in 5th.

In Alberto Paloschi up front they have a striker that they hopefully can build around as he is also co-owned by A.C Milan but Parma has made all the right moves since jumping back into the top flight. Bringing back former Italian international Cristian Zaccardo back to Italy after a one year stint at Wolfsburg has also proven to be a wise move and then you have Christian Panucci. While Panucci may of lost a step, he is a winner and his experience and leadership showing through with Parma fine form this season.

Atalanta 1-1 Inter: Ten-Man Visitors Held By Orobici

A ten-man Inter gave up the lead against Atalanta, but still extended their advantage at the top of Serie A.

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After a key Champions League victory mid week a trip to face Atalanta isn’t exactly a match you circle on the calender. Atalanta have always reminded me of Blackburn in that when the weather start to turn down it’s one tough place to play in. At the very least you know a psychical battle is in store. Once Wesley Sneijder was sent off in the 65th minute it gave Atalanta the motivation to try and get something out of the game. Thanks to Simone Tiribocchi’s goal in the 81st minute they did just that.

Milan 0-2 Palermo: Brilliant Fabrizio Miccoli Stuns Rossoneri

The star of the show was Fabrizio Miccoi, who scored a stunning first and set up the second for Mark Bresciano as Milan’s Scudetto hopes took a blow.

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After a good run in the league A.C Milan ran into a Palermo team who just seem to be a bogey team for the Rossoneri and walked away with nothing after a 2-0 defeat. I’m always happy to see Fabrizio Miccoi in the headlines who always seem to save his best against the top teams and today was no different as he was the difference between the two sides. With Inter dropping points and Juventus losing yesterday not all is lost for A.C Milan who will now need to dust themselves off.

Woke up to bad news this morning with word of Pepe sidelined for the next six months because of knee ligament damage. A player who Real Madrid general director Jorge Valdano described as “irreplaceable.” Of course this news hits home with his chances of making the World Cup now in jeopardy but really just feel bad for the player first and foremost.

Many people when thinking about Pepe will point to his red card for kicking Javier Casquero when he was down but he is a World Class defender. Pepe always reminded me of Rio Ferdinand who were just built of playing at the back line. It’s like each were molded for the position with their size and speed.

Hopefully I’ll get to see him play again this summer.

Valencia 2-3 Real Madrid: Higuain Double Helps Merengues To Exciting Win

Two goals from Gonzalo Higuain were canceled out by David Villa and Joaquin, but Ezequiel Garay scored the crucial winner at the Mestalla.

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You can easily make the case Gonzalo Higuain is the second most important player on this current Real Madrid sqaud, even ahead of the injured Kaka. All year it seems like every time Real Madrid needs a goal Higuain is the one to bury it. On a national level even with all the depth up front in Argentina, a a player with the flare for important goals like Higuain has to be in the starting mix next summer. Back to the game after a scoreless first half Real Madrid and Valencia played back and forth with the league until Ezequiel Garay who came on as a substitute for the injured Pepe made the most of his chance with his goal to give Real Madrid the 3-2 win.

La Liga: Ibrahimovic penalty seals Barcelona derby

Zlatan Ibrahimovic smashed in a penalty to move joint top of the La Liga scoring charts and give leaders Barcelona a 1-0 win over struggling city rivals Espanyol on Saturday.

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Unless you are into having bragging rights living in Barcelona this game isn’t going to go down when thinking about Barcelona’s 2009-2010 season is. It is these 1-0 victories which are the true hallmark for a good team. No Messi, No excuses as Barcelona went out there in a derby which will always be heavily contested and got the job done thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty kick in the 39th minute.

Below are the figures what each coach in the World Cup will be making next year not including bonuses. Also shows what a ship of fools the English FA are paying Capello over twice as much as the second highest coach Marcelo Lippi of Italy. It’s like trying to bid over the buy now price when bidding on ebay. Seriously would have Capello turned down the England job if they offered him “only” 5 million for example?

Couple more points Raymond Domenech needs a new agent cause his deal is awful compared to other top European coaches. Bob Bradley could use a few more dollars too. Does Kim Jong Hun salary make him the riches man in North Korea outside of that little man who starred in Team America World Police?

Coach Annual Salary

1 Fabio Capello ENG 8,800,000 €                  17 Marcelo Bielsa CHI 575.000 €
2 Marcelo Lippi ITA 3,000,000 €                   18 Raymond Domenech FR 560.000 €
3 Joachim Low GER 2,500,000 €                     19 Vahdi Halilhodzic IC 505.000 €
4 Berter Van Marwijk NED 1.800.000 €         20 Hun Jung Moo SK 405.000 €
5 Ottmar Hitzfeld SWI 1.750.000 €                 21 Morten Olsen DEN 390.000 €
6 Vicente Del Bosque SPA 1.500.000 €          22 Milovan Rajevac GAN 365.000 €
7 Carlos Queiroz POR 1.350.000 €                   23 Radomir Antic SER 305.000 €
8 Pim Verbeek AUS 1.200.000 €                       24 Bob Bradley USA 275.000 €
9 Carlos Parreira SA 1.200.000 €                      25 Majtaz Kek SLO 245.000 €
10 Javier Aguirre MEX 1.200.000 €                26 Gerardo Martino PAR 245.000 €
11 Carlos Dunga BRA 800.000 €                        27 Rabah Saadane ALG 245.000 €
12 Diego Maradona ARG 800.000 €                 28 Reinaldo Rueda HON 240.000 €
13 Takeshi Okada JPN 800.000 €                       29 Vladimir Weiss SLK 215.000 €
14 Ricki Herbert NZL 800.000 €                        30 Oscar Tabarez URU 205.000 €
15 Otto Rehhagel GRE 750.000 €                       31 Kim Jong Hun NK 170.000 €
16 Paul Le Guen CAM 650.000 €                         32 Shaibu Amodu NIG 125.000 €

Credit to PSNL.blogspots.com for the figures.

*SORRY about the format.

Bari 3-1 Juventus: Bianconeri Grounded By Gallant Galletti

The Galletti took another top scalp as they bowled over the Old Lady in front of a pack San Nicola…

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It was only a week ago Juventus won their biggest game of the season beating Inter 2-1. Since then Juventus suffered there biggest ever European home defeat to Bayern Munich and followed it with a 3-1 defeat to Bari. To add insult to injury 9 million euro Juventus flop Sergio Almiron who they still own the rights too scored the 3rd and final goal for Bari.

Just an extra point I wanted to make but hopefully Italy gets awarded a European championship at some point as a bunch of stadiums in Italy need a major overhaul. It looked like an oil slick was in front of goal at the Stadio San Nicola. Plus the fans like in a lot of Italian stadiums are so far back. Who cares about track and field? When was the last time an Italian won a track meet anyway? Go play in the schoolyard is what I would stay to anyone looking to run laps at the stadium.

Bochum 1-5 Bayern Munich: Five-Star Bayern Move Second

Bayern built on their momentum with a stunning performance in Bochum on Saturday…

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All smiles at the moment for Bayern Munich with their dismantling of Juventus in the Champions League mid week and today’s 5-1 trashing of normally defensive minded Bochum.

Part of the reason for Bayern Munich recent upswing in form is due to players finally getting Louis Van Gaal system but I also believing handing Luca Toni a first class ticket out of town also has an effect. When you are a new coach of a club lets face it, the reason you are now at the club is because the previous coach failed more often than not. As such any new coach needs to shake up the team and put his mark on it. This is not done by bringing in players but shipping a key player out to send the message to everyone else to get with the program or get going. Once Van Gaal realized Toni’s time has come also coincided with Bayern Munich starting to fulfill the expectations of them.

Well done my friend, well done. Even Xabi Alonso would be proud of that strike.