Wednesday Football11June 2008
by Jerrad Peters
A lovely pair of co-hosts.The quiet, picturesque city of Klagenfurt was thrown into chaos, Sunday, as supporters of Germany and Poland clashed in the city centre. Austria’s sixth-largest city and the capital of Carinthia, Klagenfurt is situated on the convergence of the warm, alpine lake Worthersee and Glan River. And within its historic Alter Platz, many of the day’s 157 football-related arrests were made.
According to UEFA, no injuries were reported and no property damage was incurred. The notion that local police were ill-prepared for such violence was immediately rejected by the sport’s governing body. Authorities, insisted a UEFA spokeman, have been simulating comparable disturbances in the weeks and months preceding EURO 2008.
When evaluating the status of Cristiano Ronaldo – specifically, whether he will bolt Manchester United for Real Madrid – it is best to tread lightly and cautiously through the swamps of smut which have collected since the first rumors flew immediately following United’s victory in the Champions’ League final. To that end, be sure to read the following paragraphs with at least one cynically raised eyebrow.
Here are the facts. In the buildup to Portugal’s EURO 2008 fixture against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, a series of photographs surfaced which revealed Ronaldo in conversation with Real Madrid’s fitness coach, Walter Di Salvo. The pictures were snapped in Rome on the eve of United’s Champions’ League quarterfinal first-leg against AS Roma in March. At the time, no gossip had arrisen regarding a possible move to Madrid. And, as a former employee at Old Trafford, Di Salvo and Ronaldo had been acquainted for years.
Nevertheless, the pictures have only served to oil the transfer rumor wheels. Just last week, Ronaldo was quoted as stating that he would join the Spanish giants if United agreed a fair price. Of course, that is really all he has said since the whole thing kicked off. The rest of the speculation has mainly been fueled by reports from distant friends and contacts.
Wednesday, however, produced another twist. And, if you put all of the pieces together, it rather makes sense. Currently on 120,000-pounds per-week, Ronaldo’s salary is identical to that of Chelsea duo Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko. By those criteria, he is vastly undervalued.
It is appearing more and more likely that the 23-year-old superstar is allowing the transfer buzz to percolate until he can swing a better deal for himself at United. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, already onto his prodigy’s method, is set to ask the club’s board to approve a wage increase of 30,000-pounds immediately after the European championships – and thus cut off Madrid at the pass.
Ferguson, meanwhile, has charged Madrid with tampering and has lodged an official complaint with FIFA. A statement on the Manchester United website in late May read, “On 27 May, Manchester United made clear its intention to report Real Madrid to FIFA if it continued to involve itself in the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.” The statement continued, “Unfortunately, Real Madrid has not kept its own counsel and the club feels it has no alternative but to make a formal complaint to the world governing body, which it has done today.”
Deco’s superb play at EURO 2008 has led to speculation that he is headed to Chelsea. The 30-year-old midfielder was bannished from Barcelona after a disastrous 2007-08 campaign and has approached the European championships with a point to prove. He delivered a man-of-the-match performance against Turkey on Saturday and scored Portugal’s first goal in an impressive 3-1 defeat of the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Born Anderson Luis de Souza in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, the former Porto playmayker is expected to replace Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge. Just two months his junior, Lampard is poised to exit Chelsea and will meet with Peter Kenyon to sort out his future at the end of the month. The England midfielder is keen on a reunification with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
According to UEFA, no injuries were reported and no property damage was incurred. The notion that local police were ill-prepared for such violence was immediately rejected by the sport’s governing body. Authorities, insisted a UEFA spokeman, have been simulating comparable disturbances in the weeks and months preceding EURO 2008.
When evaluating the status of Cristiano Ronaldo – specifically, whether he will bolt Manchester United for Real Madrid – it is best to tread lightly and cautiously through the swamps of smut which have collected since the first rumors flew immediately following United’s victory in the Champions’ League final. To that end, be sure to read the following paragraphs with at least one cynically raised eyebrow.
Here are the facts. In the buildup to Portugal’s EURO 2008 fixture against the Czech Republic on Wednesday, a series of photographs surfaced which revealed Ronaldo in conversation with Real Madrid’s fitness coach, Walter Di Salvo. The pictures were snapped in Rome on the eve of United’s Champions’ League quarterfinal first-leg against AS Roma in March. At the time, no gossip had arrisen regarding a possible move to Madrid. And, as a former employee at Old Trafford, Di Salvo and Ronaldo had been acquainted for years.
Nevertheless, the pictures have only served to oil the transfer rumor wheels. Just last week, Ronaldo was quoted as stating that he would join the Spanish giants if United agreed a fair price. Of course, that is really all he has said since the whole thing kicked off. The rest of the speculation has mainly been fueled by reports from distant friends and contacts.
Wednesday, however, produced another twist. And, if you put all of the pieces together, it rather makes sense. Currently on 120,000-pounds per-week, Ronaldo’s salary is identical to that of Chelsea duo Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko. By those criteria, he is vastly undervalued.
It is appearing more and more likely that the 23-year-old superstar is allowing the transfer buzz to percolate until he can swing a better deal for himself at United. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson, already onto his prodigy’s method, is set to ask the club’s board to approve a wage increase of 30,000-pounds immediately after the European championships – and thus cut off Madrid at the pass.
Ferguson, meanwhile, has charged Madrid with tampering and has lodged an official complaint with FIFA. A statement on the Manchester United website in late May read, “On 27 May, Manchester United made clear its intention to report Real Madrid to FIFA if it continued to involve itself in the future of Cristiano Ronaldo.” The statement continued, “Unfortunately, Real Madrid has not kept its own counsel and the club feels it has no alternative but to make a formal complaint to the world governing body, which it has done today.”
Deco’s superb play at EURO 2008 has led to speculation that he is headed to Chelsea. The 30-year-old midfielder was bannished from Barcelona after a disastrous 2007-08 campaign and has approached the European championships with a point to prove. He delivered a man-of-the-match performance against Turkey on Saturday and scored Portugal’s first goal in an impressive 3-1 defeat of the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Born Anderson Luis de Souza in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, the former Porto playmayker is expected to replace Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge. Just two months his junior, Lampard is poised to exit Chelsea and will meet with Peter Kenyon to sort out his future at the end of the month. The England midfielder is keen on a reunification with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan.
Have a question about football? Email your query to jerradpeters@gmail.com.
Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
Jerrad Peters covers football for the Winnipeg Free Press, Soccer Three-Sixty magazine, ESPN Soccernet, and Soccer365.com. His work has also appeared on TheMirror.co.uk, Canadian-soccer.com, Footy247.co.uk, Foot2ball.com, and Squadinfo.com.
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