There Is Only One Sinnacle

I like that Goltv sends me press released. They also send me TV listings which I don’t update on the site anymore (took way too much of my time aka got lazy, sorry)

Below is their lateast press release.

GOLTV NETS NEW SERIES FOR WORLD CUP FEATURING EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH TOP SOCCER STARS

Soccer Legend Enzo Francescoli Goes One-on-One with the Fútbol Greats of Today & Yesterday Including Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane & Diego Forlán

MIAMI – May 26, 2010 — GolTV, the nation’s only independent bilingual channel delivering the most sought-after international fútbol, will telecast a six-episode series, The Sacred Game, on June 3 – 4 and 8 – 10 at 9 p.m. ET. The new show features international soccer legend Enzo Francescoli interviewing the top soccer stars of today and the past about the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The all-star lineup delivers interviews with players from around the globe, including Lionel Messi, Diego Forlán, Kun Agüero, Zinedine Zidane, Gonzalo Higuaín and Diego Maradona. In each 60-minute episode, Francescoli will go one-on-one with a soccer great to reveal why he became a soccer star, who he idolized in his youth, and how it feels to be recognized as one of the best players on the planet.

“We’ve brought together an unprecedented group of powerhouse players, young and old, to share their excitement for the world’s most popular sporting event and communicate with their fans on a whole new level,” said Francescoli, CEO of GolTV. “In addition to 2010 World Cup predictions, we will delve into the emotional side of these men, and give them the opportunity to talk about their transformations into soccer stars and their intense passion for the most beautiful sport in the world.”

As the World Cup kicks off on June 11, GolTV will also launch a nightly telecast of GolTV News: 2010 Report at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET. At the end of each day of World Cup action, soccer fans can tune into GolTV News: 2010 Report for a full hour of news and analysis from GolTV’s team of soccer experts. The newscast will also deliver match highlights and daily recap reports directly from South Africa.

Following the close of the 2010 World Cup, GolTV will kickoff of the international soccer seasons with the launch of GolTV HD on Aug. 1, 2010. The new GolTV HD will feature the network’s non-stop soccer action, international match coverage and in-depth news show, GolTV News, in crystal, clear high-definition. More information and programming schedules are available online at www.goltv.tv.

I’m not going to comment on the game itself because I spent last night watching the Juventus-Fiorentina friendly at the Rogers Centre. It’s heart warming to know Juventus can lose and play lifeless on both sides of the ocean.

Now back to the U.S game, granted this should be said prior to the match but why in the world did the U.S book a match against the Czech Republic? Football on the International level is about belief. The Czech Republic killed the U.S in the last World Cup sending them on a downward spinal. There are enough players from the Czech Republic who remember this and the same can be said for the U.S side.

It’s only a friendly and hopefully these type of results can be forgotten (Portugal 0 Cape friggin Verde 0 comes to mind) but giving up four goals to Czech Republic for any U.S fan is worry some as Bob Bradley is suppose to be a no-nonsense defensive minded coach. It was just sad to see Maurice Edu playing at the back. I’m thrilled he scored a goal but Edu should be watching tapes of Esteban Cambiasso and not having to learn a new position right before the World Cup.

By the way yes I know the U.S didn’t exactly field there first team out last night but that again begs the question of making a match against the Czech Republic. They should of booked a match against a weaker team, beat them soundly to gain momentum for South Africa.

Manchester United are targeting a £20m swoop for Real Madrid’s 27-year-old Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. Daily Mirror

If this rumour ever became a reality it would bug me for the simple reason as Manchester United should of had some foresight. Manchester United or any top club for that matter could of had Rafael van der Vaart for a song six months to a year ago. No one questioned his talent, it was simply a case of being behind too many big names at Real Madrid. Thanks to Kaka’s and Guti’s injury plus poor play van der Vaart got his chance and to his credit made the most of it.

Prospective new Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, who is currently boss of Inter Milan, has told the Spanish giants to launch a £50m double bid for Chelsea stars Michael Essien and Ashley Cole. Daily Express

I’d be shocked if Mourinho tried to sign ever one player from Chelsea given how tricky it would be.

Tottenham are preparing a £9m bid to sign Manchester City’s 21-year-old defender Micah Richards.
Full story: The Sun

Hope Richards doesn’t turn out to be one of those million dollar physique 10 cents between the ears type player. If Manchester City do give up on Richards there will always be a club out there for Richards willing to take a talent like his on.

Valencia’s Serbian striker Nikola Zigic – at 6ft 8in set to be the tallest player at the World Cup – flew in to Birmingham on Tuesday to complete a £6m move to the St Andrew’s club. Daily Mail

Always had a soft spot for Zigic since his Racing days. Do think he’ll be a hit if he completes his move to Birmingham.

Everton have slapped a £15m price tag on contract rebel Steven Pienaar, who has been linked to Tottenham. Daily Mirror

Would be a nice return on Pienaar considering they only spent around 2 million to sign him a couple of years ago.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle says he will not stand in defender Gary Cahill’s way if the 24-year-old wants to leave the Reebok Stadium – although he does mention a £30m asking price. The Sun

I know why Owen Coyle is doing this as to not make it seem like Bolton will sell Gary Cahill on the cheap but you only look foolish if you quote a 30 million price tag.

England striker Wayne Rooney says he will not stop his wife Coleen and son Kai going to the World Cup, despite coach Fabio Capello banning wives and girlfriends around the squad at this summer’s finals. “I’ve said many times I’m not stopping them,” said Rooney. “They’re England fans as well.”
Full story: Daily Mirror

Just figured I throw that in there.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas wants his requested transfer to Barcelona to be agreed as soon as possible but is expecting the negotiations to be arduous, according to the Spaniard’s father. “I don’t know how this is going to pan out but I believe you have to respect the decision and the wishes of the player,” Francesc Fabregas said on Spanish radio.

It’s never a wise move letting your dad talk about you to any form of media. If Arsenal are to sell Fabregas it has to be in a certain way. They can not come off as just giving in to Barcelona or Fabregas wishes.

Roberto Mancini is not tempted by a return to Italy and insists his future is at Manchester City. Reports in his homeland have linked Mancini with a return to Serie A this summer, but he said: “I miss Italy as a country but football in England is beautiful.”

If Mancini was in line for the Italy job after the World Cup he would of known about it before taking the Manchester City job. Unless Manchester City show him the door which is unlikely he’ll be staying there for another season at least.

Manchester City are preparing to offer the full €60m it will require to buy out striker Sergio Aguero’s contract at Atletico Madrid and beat both Real Madrid and Chelsea to the player’s signature.footylatest.com

Wonder what Carlos Tevez’s advice for be for Sergio Aguero if this did happen? Would Tevez tell Aguero to sign or stay far away from Manchester City?

Spanish daily Sport claims that AC Milan is the most likely destination for Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic , ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea. imscouting.com

Because Zlatan Ibrahimovic had such wondering things to say about Italian on his way out the door.

Manchester City could start another Joleon Lescott-style feud with Everton because of their planned £20m bid for Toffees playmaker Mikel Arteta. Everton were angered last summer by City’s disruptive pursuit of then Toffees defender Lescott, who eventually moved to Eastlands for £22m. Daily Mirror

I’m sure Everton really misses Lescott compared to the 22 million they got for him.

Tottenham are preparing a bid for Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar after his agent gave the Goodison club three weeks to make an improved contract offer. Daily Mail

Pienaar is another player if I was running Everton I’d be selling. His value will never be higher.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has put Aston Villa on alert by saying striker Robbie Keane and midfielder Jermaine Jenas can leave White Hart Lane. Daily Mirror

I would love to see the reaction if a paper linked Jenas back to his old club Newcastle.

Striker Fernando Torres is happy to stay at Liverpool next season, according to his agent Jose Antonio Peton. Daily Star

Would have to admire Fernando Torres loyality if he stays at Liverpool for another season.

Birmingham City have held talks with Valencia about signing 6ft 8in Serbian international striker Nikola Zigic for £5m. Daily Mail

Finally someone who can see eye to eye with Peter Crouch.

Blackburn are ready to sell Australian midfielder Vince Grella to Turkish giants Galatasaray – to raise the cash for Real Madrid midfielder Guti. Daily Mirror

Never pictured the day where I’d read Vince Grella and Guti linked in the same transfer rumour.

I’m going to try to control myself cause I don’t want to come as even more of a Jose Mourinho fan boy. With that out of the way it’s quite a feat leading this Inter side with a huge monkey on their back after not winning in Europe for so long.

I’ll get back to Mourinho in a second but what a game Diego Milito had. It would be a shame if he doesn’t get a chance to show his out of the world form during the World Cup. His first goal scored patience and class beating fellow countrymen Martín Demichelis to a header before breaking behind him. His second goal was just pure magic, to twist and turn like that and then to place that finish just inside the post even Lionel Messi should be in awe. Once Bayern Munich failed to score during the opening minute of the second half you got the sense it was going to be Inter’s long awaited day as they were worthy winners of the Champions League. Esteban Cambiasso deserved praised for all the ground he covered in midfield and Bayern’s Arjen Robben was dangerous with the ball all game long but he was the only Bayern Munich player to raise his game in the finals.

Back to Mourinho you want to know why he is the best coaching going right now? It’s because no one ever knows what angle he is going to come from when drawing up a game plan. He defeated Barcelona and then Bayern Munich because each club can only play one way. Beautiful as it is there is no plan B. Considering Mourinho’s team scored the most in Serie A and gave up the least as well it simply can’t be said he only looks to defend. People complain because it’s few and far between when Inter or any of Mourinho’s previous clubs make even the smallest mental mistake like Demichelis did on the first goal. If you go back to the second leg of the Chelsea game he came out with a 4-3-3 which worked to perfection. Against Barcelona it was a different tactic. So many coaches have a great plan A but few have a great plan B. With Mourinho you can go down the line and when it’s time to kill the game off with 20 minutes left no one does it better with annoys most neutrals as it takes most of the drama out of the game.

You can’t even rock, paper, scissors this anymore. Sir Alex Ferguson won the Champions League in 2008, Pep Guardiola torn Sir Alex Ferguson a new one in the Champions League final of 2009 even with Ronaldo in the lineup and a year later Mourinho out dueled Guardiola and his great Barcelona plus he has always matched up favorably to Sir Alex Ferguson. The man is just in a different class.

Congrats to this Inter side for winning the treble, if they weren’t following in the footsteps on the great Barcelona side of a year ago this Inter squad of gained even more applause over their triumphs of the past year.

I personally just can’t wait until this afternoon Champions League final between Bayern Munch and Inter Milan. To me it’s a breath of fresh air two non English teams are competing for the most valuable prize in club football.

It shouldn’t shock anyone that I’ll be rooting hard for Inter to win but I have a bad feeling about this one. Bayern Munich have een beating everyone in their path since the start of the year. On one hand I think what if Bayern isn’t able to find the right gear going from playing Lyon in the semi finals to Inter Milan in the finals. Then again what if Inter are emotional tired from having to hold off Roma in Serie A and having to fight tooth and nail to defeat Barcelona in the semi finals.

To his credit Louis Van Gaal has handled the press perfectly in the lead up to the Champions League final. Van Gaal won’t allow himself to enter into any head games with Jose Mourinho who has spent most of his deal having to answer questions about his future than the game at hand. Speaking of which right after the game does Florentino Pérez even wait or does he annouce the Jose Mourinho signing right there and then?

Europa Cup champions Atletico Madrid warn Manchester United off a move for striker Sergio Aguero, insisting the Argentina international is not for sale.

Two weeks ago ESPN had Sergio Aguero all but packed up for Chelsea.

Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood says Arsenal have yet to receive an official approach from Barcelona for midfielder Cesc Fabregas and says the club do not want to lose the Spain international. Goal.com

Don’t worry Peter Hill-Wood it’s coming.

Read Madrid are eyeing a move for Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez, with chairman Florentino Perez prepared to pay the Basque club 30m Euros (£26,087m) to buy out the 21-year-old’s contract. AS.com (in Spanish)

If Lass Diarra is suppose to be heading out than it makes perfect sense to replace him with Javi Martinez.

In-demand England midfielder James Milner has put potential suitors on red alert by saying he does not know if he will still be at Aston Villa next season.

That improved offer may not be enough for City, though, as Chelsea have joined the race for Milner and they believe the lure of Champions League football could prove decisive. The Sun

James Milner is good as gone one way or another.

Villa could also lose forward Ashley Young to Tottenham, who are ready to offer Robbie Keane or Jermaine Jenas as part of a deal for him. Daily Star

Aston Villa should say no thank you quickly to this offer.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is so fed up with manager Rafael Benitez he is ready to walk out if he gets the right offer.
Full story: Daily Mail

Somehow Liverpool ownership are still solely to blame.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is keen to bring 32-year old Real Madrid striker Raul to Anfield. The Daily Mail

Raul in English football would not be pretty.

I love this commercial but seriously Nike, Ronaldinho? Anyone with half a brain would know Dunga wouldn’t be calling Ronaldinho into the Brazilian squad. What a waste of film but boy do I love how this commercial ends.

Still can’t beat those great Nike Ads in the lead up to the 2002 World Cup.

Just another day in the life of Diego Maradona has he named the final 23 going to South Africa and ran over a reporters foot. Happy to see Diego Milito make the final 23 after there were rumours of Milito being cut unless there was an injury. After the season he has has at Inter it would be a shame if he didn’t at least make the bench for Argentina.

Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon).

Defenders: Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Marseille), Nicolas Burdisso (AS Roma), Ariel Garce (Colon), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes).

Midfielders: Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Javier Pastore (Palermo), Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina).

Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors).

This Spain team is just sick. It says something when Victor Valdes is the best number three goalie in the world. Says something when Euro 2008 hero Marcos Senna gets cut from the team and barely a line is written about it. (Spain still won’t win the World Cup)

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona).

Forwards: Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Barcelona).