Batista is out! Who is next?

After a dismal Copa America at home, Sergio Batista has been shown the door by AFA. Frankly there was no other option. Who do you think will replace them?
Chris (@Chris_Elastico) from theelastico.com and Rob (@santapelota) of santapelota.wordpress.com give their opinions and discuss with Ravi (@aupasubmarino).

There is also some bonus material on the dying breed of play-makers like Riquelme and how Ganso could one of the few hopes to keep the breed going. Plus a lot of interesting tidbits you would expect from these two football romantics.

It is not too long about 41 minutes, enjoy. This is our last pod covering the Copa America. We hope you enjoyed it and your feedback is always welcome.

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Find us on iTunes "Forza futbol podcast"
Listen to us from a mobile phone at http://forzafutbol.podbean.com/mobile

Copa America - 2011 Awards & Brickbats

The Copa America 2011 concluded. Congratulations to the champions Uruguay. The pre-tournament expectations where very high. But the two biggest pre-tournament favourites Brasil and Argentina failed spectacularly. The lack of goals early on meant there were a lot of draws damped the enthusiasm even further. However the tournament did have its high points. Here is a list of the bests & worsts of the Copa America 2011. Our experts Chris (@Chris_Elastico) & Rob (@Santapelota) have talked to Ravi (@aupasubmarino) to give their opinions in the podcast.

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Overall Tournament

1. Best player (outfield)
1. Luis Suarez (Ravi)
   
2. Alvaro Pereira
3. Nestor Ortigoza
4. Estegarribia
5. Cichero
6. Vizcarrondo (All)
   
7. Guarin, armero
8. Cesar Gonzalez
9. Guerrero (Chris, Rob)
   
10. Messi
11. Valdivia
12. Alexis
13. Acasiete
14. Diego Lugano

2. Best coach
1. Cesar Farias - Venezuela (Chris)
   
2. Tata Martino - Paraguay (Rob)
3. Sergio Markarian - Peru (Ravi)
   
4. Washington Tabares - Uruguay

3. Biggest overachiever
1. Peru (all)
   
2. Paraguay
3. venezuela

4. Biggest underachiever
1. Argentina (Chris, Ravi)
   
2. Brazil (Rob)
   
3. Chile
4. Ecuador

5. Most disappointing star
1. Tevez (Chris)
   
2. Mascherano (Ravi, Rob)
   
3. Alves
4. Ganso
5. Neymar, Messi

6. Most entertaining game
1. Venezuela - Paraguay 3-3
2. Chile - Peru 2-1
3. Chile - Venezuela 2-1 QF (Ravi)
   
4. Argentina - Uruguay QF 1-1 penalties (Chris, Rob)
   
5. Brazil - Ecuador - 4-2

7. Who among the suprises will more likely carry this form into WC qualifying
1. Venezuela(all)
2. Peru

What do you think of our selections? Please give yours thoughts in the comments.

Thanks a lot for following us for the Copa America 2011.

Copa America Final - Preview

Ravi(@aupasubmarino) from Forzafutbol sat down with the usual suspects Chris(@chris_elastico) from theelastico.com and Rob (@santapelota) from santapelota.wordpress.com to discuss the semifinals of the Copa America and preview the final between Uruguay and Paraguay.

The final between Uruguay and Paraguay is 9PM CET 3PM ET 12 PT Sunday July 24.

Relax and snack on this short and lively podcast

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In the 2nd part of our podcast to be posted later, we discuss the best and worst of the Copa America 2011

Copa America Quarterfinal Review

Ravi discussed Copa America with Chris (@chris_elastico) co-editor of theelastico.com and Robert (@santapelota) from santapelota.wordpress.com.
We broke down the 4 Quarterfinals results and delved deep into the problems of Argentina and Brasil as well as paid tribute to the 4 semifinalists Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay and Parguay who were underdogs in their respective quarter final games

Sit back and enjoy this epic upset-special podcast.

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Menotti Reminisces about Barcelona

If you´re a long-term reader here on Forza Futbol you know that of the topics that I return to frequently is the topic of the great Argentine coach Cesar ¨El Flaco¨ Menotti is one of the closest ones I hold to heart. I had heard of football before Menotti, but until I saw his Argentina squad play it just hadn´t registered. I´m Cuban, born in La Habana and I live in the United States. Baseball is in my blood from birth and was fostered in exile. Soccer was just not talked about unless you were recently arrived, but at night we saw news in Spanish on SIN in Los Ángeles and we saw highlights and we saw matches. That´s where, during Argentina 78, I was watching the sight of a tall, lanky, chain-smoking Argentine, in a dapper blue suit with wide lapels and flaired pants. He beat Holland, and while I knew no Argentines at the time, I rooted his team on because of some implied cultural brotherhood. I followed his career. I knew he had coached Maradona at Barcelona and Jorge Valdano with Argentina. I also knew that he had never regained the heights that he had. His career, seen by some as a sort of brilliant failure, his tactics, somewhat quaint and outmoded in this day and age. He´s a footballing romantic left behind in this cynically corporate brand of modern football. Which is why I find him interesting. Recently, Luis Martin, in an excellent article in El Pais, interviewed him from his home in Buenos Aires. Let me give you some highlights.

He lives in the center of Buenos Aires in a cold flat with no heat, and suffering the pangs of a life-time of smoking after his doctors had made him quit. His cigarettes are like a friend who has died. Life cannot ever be normal and so he thinks constantly of football foremost of all the things that have been taken away.

On Football: Football is three things: time, space and deception. But there are times these days where spaces are not searched and I am never deceived. I get bored in such a way that I have this feeling that what they call football today is something else entirely. I say that 99.9% of the coaches live envying the Barcelona game. Everyone would like to be Guardiola. But most do not know how.

On Guardiola: his (success) is the product of training, with clear ideas, to make himself be understood and win his players over. It is clear that Guardiola is more important than his players. He says the opposite, of course what is he going to say! Am I the best? He doesn´t believe it. But let's review, who was Piqué before Guardiola, who was Pedro, who was Busquets? Iniesta was not even starting, his place up for debate. Now they are a phenomenon.

On the players: it is a lie that Guardiola is Guardiola because of the players he has. He has had Eto'o, Henry, Ibra, and now Villa up front and on the left he´s used four or five players. He´s used Mascherano as a central defender. Guardiola is very serious and it gives me a tremendous envy, too.

On Cruyff: I am not in agreement that it was Cruyff who started it all. The first who tried to play like Guardiola´s Barcelona was Menotti. And it killed me. They whistled at us because we made too many passes! I do not know if there was another one before me, but I played with Maradona as a 9, similar to Messi nowadays, Carrasco and Marcos on the wings, Schuster where Xavi plays, and we would go into the locker room in a scoreless draw, and the players would be in such a mood! "We can not play this way," they would say.

On why he left Barcelona: My mom died and democracy returned to Argentina and I felt I should be there. I had lunch with (President) Núñez and he put a blank check and asked me what players I wanted to make me stay. And I told him I did not want any, that what I wanted was to sell the big players and that they were hindering the rise of the youth teamers.

On returning to coaching: I would return, but not here (in Argentina). I see a pitch and I am as a musician who sees a guitar. But not here, not at all. Sometimes I see the Barcelona youth team, I see them on television and I think: "I could assemble a team like that and win here, but the players would last me six months, the president would sell half the team under 16 years of age. It is a shame.

On an Argentine Guardiola: No they wouldn´t let him exist. What we have here are Mourinhos or people like him, those that only think of winning and when they lose it isn´t their fault. Recently a friend went to Spain and attended on of Mou´s trainings. He also went to see Pep. He said they do not train so different, but in the field, in the hour of truth they have nothing to do with each other.

On Messi: I think there were four kings and the fifth has not appeared. Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona. We are now awaiting the fifth, which may be Messi, so far he is the closest, but you're not going to give the crown to him after five years.

In the end it is sad. A old man left to count his bitterness. A wounded romantic left to his cynicism. Much of what Menotti says you need to take with a grain of salt, but he is certainly not someone you can ignore. He is probably still too touched by Núñez and Cruyff to admit that he might have been over his head at Barça. He also forgets Rinus Michels and the influence that entire Ajax/Clockwork Orange school of Total Football had on developing the style of football at Barça. But he's right about a lot of things. The key to playing like Pep Guardiola's side isn't just finding the right players. You need the right coach. It takes a certain kind of courage to play on attack and coaches today have lost it. Messi might have bought into it, but it's Checho Batista that needs to internalize it and own it and he hasn't or can't.

Without Menotti, best friend of Pele, World Cup winner and idealogue, you don't have the Barcelona we see today. We might only be stuck listening to people who think that there is only one way, that the ends justify the means, and that winning is everything and while that may be important, it isn't the only thing.

Barcelona in Buenos Aires

It´s a much bandied about term. We´ll have them playing like FC Barcelona. It´s not so easy to implement though. Checho Batista, the much beleaguered Argentine coach, said that the best way to take advantage of the skills of their best player was to have him comfortable in a system he is familiar with. He hand picked his side, surrounding him with players that he said were analogues for Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Pedro. Well, we´re all aware of the massive failure that the Barcelona experiment has become. We are also aware that in an attempt to save his job let alone his reputation, Batista will turn to Messi the playmaker and entrust the rest of the Copa America to his forward line of Higuain, Di Maria and Aguero. It´s an admission at fault and it places Messi in a position finally that he certainly can´t fill. He is no playmaker. He´s a modern false-9. El Diez does not exist anymore. He is not Diego, but to win he has to become Diego?

The sad fact is that if there were any country capable of turning to that style where possession means more than athleticism, and where smallish players have a place it is Argentina. They have a long history of producing the sorts of players that fit the Xavi and Iniesta role. The problem is, does anyone coaching today have the guts to put Messi and a guy like Pablo Aimar together in the same attack? Is Saviola that much worse in attack than Lavezzi? Forget players that haven´t featured in years for the albiceleste. What does it mean that the best playmaker they have is sitting on the bench and hasn´t featured at all? You don´t think Pastore would link up better with Messi than the workmanlike pair, the static wonders of Esteban Cambiasso and Ever Banega? I understand one holding central midfielder in that Barca role, Javier Mascherano is already familiar with it, but three? It´s no wonder they aren´t effective. They have no width and no movement off the ball, two key components to Barcelona´s attack.

People complained of Maradona´s experiment in the World Cup with essentially four central defenders at one time, but this is worse. The onus of their entire Copa Ámerica campaign falls to Messi and as good of a player as he is, he cannot be three distinct players at once. He cannot be himself, while also taking on the characteristics of Xavi and Iniesta. And so he fails and people in his homeland question his dedication, his respect and desire for his country. Is it that he doesn´t have ¨the fire or spirit or the cojones that Maradona played with?¨ There´s your problem really. They compare him with Diego because he has a similar skill set, but in today´s game Diego would be playing on the wing. He would be looking for combinations with his team-mates. In today´s tactical game, with two holding mid-fielders in play geared to stopping those forward runs centrally in front of goal, Diego Maradona wouldn´t be El Diez either. So why should Lio?

You see, the failure of the Barcelona experiment is such that Argentina will just entrench themselves in their staid, traditional game, looking for the next Maradona, when the solution is not to become less like Barcelona but more.

Sex, Alcohol and Cumbia: Lionel Messi?

Sprinkle this liberally with a grain of salt, but there are some tabloids in Argentina that are linking Lionel Messi of all people with an influx of botineras or what we call Wags into his very exclusive luxury hotel room over-looking the Rio La Plata. The boy is wealthy, single and on vacation, so I make no value judgements over his choices, but you have to question this timing (if it's true I add) with the Copa America being held in Argentina next month.

That said, would you trade your day-job for nights of clubbing debauchery, and a parade of these hot, nubile babes as they are reporting? Amongst the conquests in the Pulga-partment apparently are Xoana González, a 23 year old former mechanic and contestant on Soñando por Bailar (Dreaming of Dancing), reality television and Playboy model Claudia Ciardone who traded up from Carlos Tevez it seems, underwear model Andrea Rincón, pseudo-Mexican footballer Nery Cardozo's ex-girlfriend Sabrina Ravelli and model/actress Luli Salazar who famously said she would go naked in the Obelisk of Buenos Aires alongside Diego Maradona, if Argentina won the 2010 FIFA World Cup. See below for more info.

It's a hilarious mix of bad television, greed and plastic surgery fueled by sex, alcohol and some mad cumbia beats. It seems highly unlikely considering both the source and the player who has constructed a media profile that accentuates his boyish almost nerdy charm, but before you dismiss this totally though, just remember that he did learn to have fun at the feet of famous party-animals Ronaldinho and Deco...

Sex, Alcohol and cumbia?
Xoana González Claudia Ciardone Andrea Rincón Sabrina Ravelli Luli Salazar

Forza Futbol on La Lambretta Radio - Spanish Football Bilingual Podcast no 2

Today, Edu from La Lambretta Radio and yours truly Elisa talk about the following topics:

o USA v Argentina friendly
o Spain v Czech Republic Euro Qualifier
o Second Division in Spain - La Liga Adelante
o Edu's trip to Madrid to watch Real Madrid v Sporting Gijon
o La Liga
o Upcoming friendly USA v Spain in Boston

and much more.

A great way to learn Spanish or English on the topics we love!


You can find it here, on ivoox, itunes or www.lalambrettaradio.com

Ir a descargar

Cesar Menotti hospitalized

This weekend Atletico Madrid forward Kun Aguero took time out of his busy schedule to send a twitter message of all things. "Fuerza César! Mis deseos de recuperación para el Flaco Menotti." Strength to you Cesar, wishes for your recovery, for el Flaco (The Thin Man) Menotti. It was a strange interaction until you realize that the young striker, son-in-law to Diego Armando Maradona played for the legendary coach in 2005 while at Independiente de Avellaneda.

Menotti had gone into the hospital on Friday complaining of respiratory problems and was admitted in grave-condition, immediately taken to surgery, and operated on with an undisclosed respiratory ailment. The latest results are that he is out of intensive care and resting in a common room, but that a nodule was biopsied from his right lung for further tests.

The 72 year old chain-smoking Menotti is best known for leading Argentina to the 1978 World Cup, but his legacy is mixed both on-and-off the field. He played for Boca Juniors and with his friend Pele at Santos of Brasil. He coached Barcelona with Diego Maradona and Atletico de Madrid with Hugo Sanchez, but he never became the sort of coach that such an early promise foretold. He muddled through years in his native Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Uruguay, and even Italy. He won his share of domestic silverware, but it seems he carried the 1978 World Cup around his neck like an albatross and there are some who feel that he could have done more, symbol of the leftist intelligentsia that he was, to resist the military junta as thousands of his fellow countrymen disappeared.

And yet, he has still left a legacy far greater than his own. He believed in attacking football first and foremost and that there was a higher purpose to a footballer's life. "Our football belongs to the working class and has the size, nobility and generosity to allow everyone to enjoy it as a spectacle. " If he sounds like Jorge Valdano, it's because Valdano is one of his most devoted pupils. "To be a  footballer", Menotti once said, " means being a privileged interpreter of the feelings and dreams of thousands of people."

In the Machiavellian world that we live in, that cares more for the result and the silverware, over style and panache, there are sadly few coaches that bear the banner of Menotti. Talented footballers spend so much of their time keeping other footballers from playing the game, denying their attacking instincts, denying their affinity with the ball even, that in comparison, Menotti's football seems quaint or naive, from another time.

It might well be, but I'm old too, and I get nostalgic for the world I grew up in and the football I remember. I was 12 years old when Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and the thin gentleman with the long hair and the cigarette in his mouth was imminently cool. Their football was electric. The mustaches, the mullets, and the short-shorts, there are somethings that were better in my time, even if the cigarettes weren't.

All the best to one of my footballing heroes: "Fuerza César! Mis deseos de recuperación para el Flaco Menotti."

The Top 50 Most Influential people in World Football for 2010

Don Balon has come out with their 50 Most Influential People in World Football of 2010. Please note that this is a Spanish paper/magazine/media source and is very Spanish and Latin centric. Well here are the powers that be, the movers and shakers in the beautiful game. They were selected for their ability to influence the present and future of the sport, as well as their global, regional, and local reach.



1 Joseph Blatter (president FIFA)
2 Michel Platini (president UEFA)
3 Ángel María Villar (president RFEF Spanish Football Federation)
4 Ricardo Teixeira (president CBF Brasil Football Federation)
5 Julio Grondona (president AFA Argentina Football Federation)
6 Nicolás Leoz (president CONMEBOL)
7 Issa Hayatou (president CAF)
8 Jack Austin Warner (president CONCACAF)
9 Chung Mong-Joon (vicepresident FIFA executive committee)
10 Geoff Thompson (vicepresident FIFA executive committee)
11 Jaques Rogge (president IOC Olympic committee)
12 Mohamed Bin Hamman (president AFC)
13 Vitaly Mutko (president Russia 2018)
14 Mohammed Bin Hamad (president Qatar 2022)
15 Giancarlo Abete (president Italian Football Federation)
16 Theo Zwanziger (president DFB, German Football Federation)
17 Herbert Hainer (president Adidas Group)
18 Mark Parker (executive president Nike)
19 Richard Scudamore (CEO Premier League)
20 Jaume Roures (president Mediapro)
21 Marcus Agius (president & chairman Barclays)
22 Sandro Rosell (president Barcelona)
23 Florentino Pérez (president Real Madrid)
24 Joel & Avram Glazer (presidents Manchester United)
25 Franz Beckenbauer (member of FIFA executive committee)
26 Peter Hill-Wood (president Arsenal)
27 Roman Abramovich (Chelsea majority shareholder)
28 J. Henry & T. Werner (Liverpool majority shareholder)
29 Andrea Agnelli (president & chairman Juventus)
30 Massimo Moratti (president Inter)
31 Silvio Berlusconi (Milan majority shareholder)
32 Nicolas Ericson (TV division director FIFA)
33 Joseph V. Tripodi (executive vicepresident Coca-Cola)
34 Steve Easterbrook (president McDonald's Europe)
35 Vicente del Bosque (España national team manager)
36 José Mourinho (Real Madrid manager)
37 Pep Guardiola (Barcelona manager)
38 Alex Ferguson (Manchester United manager)
39 Mano Menezes (Brasil national team manager)
40 Sergio Batista (Argentina national team manager)
41 Arsene Wenger (Arsenal manager)
42 Leo Messi (Barcelona player)
43 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid player)
44 Xavi Hernández (Barcelona player)
45 Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona player)
46 Jorge Mendes (Agent)
47 Giovanni Branchini (Agent)
48 Rainer Holzschuh (president ESM European Sports Magazine Germany)
49 Andrea Monti (director La Gazzetta dello Sport)
50 Françoise Morinière (chief executive L'Equipe group)


What do you think of the list? My personal opinion, is that the list is pretty much spot on. It is really interesting to see the power and influence of the big national teams, clubs, leagues, and confederations on the footballing world. One might call this group the iluminati of the footballing world or just the business footballing elite. Big responsibility as we entrust them with the keys to the beautiful game.

Higuaín and The World Cup!

Lavezzi Leaves For Argentina His Agent Speaks

Ezequiel Lavezzi has gone home to Argentina for a vacation. Meanwhile, his Agent Alejandro Mazzoni continues to cause controversy with his statements about the way Pierpaolo Marino has ignored both his and Lavezzi's telephone calls.
Mazzoni has tried to reach Marino to speak about a renegotiation of Lavezzi's salary, up from 1 million Euro to the same 2 Million as the newly acquired Quagliarella.
Mazzoni is angry at Marino for supposedly not answering his calls. Also for not even speaking to Liverpool about a possible transfer of Lavezzi to England where he would make 3.5 million Euro per year.
Liverpool has offered Napoli 20 million Euro for Lavezzi, but Napoli refuses to even talk about it. According to Mazzoni, he does not believe that President De Laurentis is even aware of how Marino is conducting himself with regards to this matter. Which is why I believe this is just an agent trying to stir the pot. Napoli is willing to up Lavezzi's salary to a comprable level to Quagliarella. Hence I believe this situation will be resolved Why is this just agent speak? Because what President wouldn't be aware of every step his people make. That's why I laugh when I hear all this.

The Olympics Effect on La Liga

The Olympics have started and will continue until the end of August, assuming that the particular national team advances all the way to the final games. The recent complaints by the big teams and in light of the recent decision by CAS in favor of the clubs, I thought I would take a look at the Olympics and the affect on La Liga.

Here's the list of players:

SERBIA

Midfielder: Milan Smiljanic (21) (Espanyol, Spain)

ARGENTINA

Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari (Getafe)

Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid, on loan to Racing Santander), Federico Fazio (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Ever Banega (Valencia),

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona) (OR Marco Ruben, Villareal), Lautaro Acosta (Sevilla).

NETHERLANDS

Midfielder: Hedwiges Maduro (Valencia), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid)

NIGERIA

Forward: Ikechukwu Uche (Getafe)

UNITED STATES

Forward: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal)

BELGIUM

Striker: Tom De Mul (22) (Sevilla, Spain)

BRAZIL

Goalkeepers: Diego Alves (23) (Almeira, Spain)

Defenders: Marcelo (20) (Real Madrid, Spain)

Strikers: Rafael Sobis (23) (Real Betis, Spain)

ITALY

Strikers: Giuseppe Rossi (21) (Villareal, Spain)
The latest rulings have probably ruined future Olympics, friendlies and national team tournaments. Especially in regards to European big teams. But if we look at the statistics. Here is the impact on a team by team basis, which in my opinion is not insurmountable.

Real Madrid, Sevilla, and Villarreal - each have allowed 3 players. In fact, should Madrid decide to call back Ezekiel Garay from Racing Santander, Real Madrid will lead with 4 players released.

Espanyol, Getafe, and Valencia - each have allowed 2 players to play at the Olympics.

Almeria, Atletico Madrid, Barçelona, Racing Santander, and Real Betis each have released 1 player to the Olympic games.

What these statistics demonstrate to me, is that the majority of the richer or top teams have been quite generous in releasing players to the Olympics and have not brought matters to the Spanish press. Several smaller teams have been extremely understanding IE Getafe and Espanyol, and have taken a cosmopolitan attitude toward player and national team commitment. This is a global world and it is a shame that some teams are more concerned with money, insurance and club results, rather than a once in a lifetime opportunity for their players.

Batten Down the Hatches

This won't be a long post for the week, we've closed up shop at Forza Futbol and we're moving to Champions Soccer Radio Network. The leagues have grown dark for midweek games, Italy dominated Portugal in a friendly and Spain did enough to win against France as well, Fabio Capello has swept away the last vestiges of the entitlement culture in the England squad and 9,000 miles away little old me was watching the Argentinian B-team pummel an over matched Guatemalan side that was clearly missing captain and L.A. Galaxy forward Carlos Ruiz.

I know, a completely different class of player. What I did get to see was some of the most exciting Argentinian players playing in what is essentially their U-23 youth side.

The most recognizable name on the pitch was of course ex-Villareal general Juan Roman Riquelme who was his usual, efficient self, setting up Napoli dynamo Ezequiel Lavezzi for their second goal, which was obviously a complete howler by the Guatemalan keeper who barely touched the ball at all despite it being a fairly weak shot point blank.  Playing just in front of Lavezzi, was Real Madrid winger Gonzalo Higuain, who looked tentative early on, but scored the first goal in tight quarters in front of goal.

Argentina soon got in a rhythm, a dominant display not only by Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano, but by Valencia youngster Ever Banega who was by far the class player on the pitch. He was incisive in his passes, passed well especially over 30 yards, and directed traffic at the back in a role similar to Pirlo's role for AC Milan. Of course, Mascherano can make anyone look good because of his skills in front of the back line, but the next generation of Argentinian players is in good hands with Higuain, Banega, Lavezzi and Mascherano.

While the final score said 5-0 to the Argentinians, it was exciting nontheless, less a contest than a training session of course, but a very interesting window into the future of the Argentinean squad. Weird that not everyone got the same out of it as me.

I was sitting in the Guatemala section at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the opposite end to the famous peristyle and the Olympic torch, and at times there was a tangible sense of danger, with dozens of fights going on all around me. The crowd was lively and sarcastic at first, but became the more frustrated as the Chapines made the match more and more difficult for themselves. Inexplicably, the fans around me insisted that their players had been "bought" and were tanking the game on purpose against a bunch of "nameless Argies" and a "useless Riquelme".  Just shows you how delusional you can get with a bit of liquid courage in your system.

Boca Juniors Blowup

Diego Armando Maradona is mad. Yes, he wants to meet the President of Iraq and plans on getting a tattoo of Venezuelan supremo Hugo Chavez, but that's not the form of the word I'm talking about. He's angry because the guy he helped bring in to coach his beloved Buenos Aires club, Boca Juniors, Miguel Angel Russo, stepped down recently, when just days after losing the FIFA World Club Cup, Russo walked out of a meeting with Boca chief Pedro Pompilio refusing to fire his top two assistants.

The first names bandied around as his replacement were Gabriel Batistuta and Guillermo Barros Scheloto, who had both talked about getting into club management, but Boca have apparently settled on Carlos Ischia of Rosario Central, a former assistant to Carlos Bianchi when he coached at Boca Juniors. When asked about Ischia, by the Argentinean news agency Telam, Maradona responded, "I don't like Ischia as coach. I don't believe he would be the ideal choice for the team." Why the problem? Both Ischia and Bianchi are close associates of Guillermo Coppolla, who was an advisor to Diego's during his playing days and are both still bitter about their acrimonious split. Some in the Argentinian media are forecasting this as the first of many changes to the xeineixes, which may mean selling players, replacing the entire coaching staff, trainers, shifting tactics, and will more than likely signal the end of Diego Maradona's influence at the club; but the key maybe the changing of the guard on the pitch.

Before the appointment there was some talk of Clemente Rodriguez of Espanyol coming back from Spain to help Riquelme, but it looks like a return to three at the back like Ricardo LaVolpe, and it might mean some of the problems that LaVolpe had with (amongst others) captain Martin Palermo in the dressing room. The experienced players have had a relaxed time at the club under Russo, Riquelme returning was a notch on their belt, but this is not what the player leadership expected or wanted. But the board believe that someone needs to pay for the loss to AC Milan, and if Russo wouldn't fire his assistants, regardless of his winning the Copa Libertadores, then everyone under him and around him would be blamed.

All I can think of, if this marks a new turn to Boca Juniors, with the return of Bianchi as the kingmaker and the departure of Diego, will this lead to the selling of young players like Ever Banega and what of the field generals like Martin Palermo? Defender Juan Angel Krupoviesa has already been sold to Marseilles, the board has already mandated the selling of experienced players, and what then of temperamental genius Riquelme? A return to Spain, a move to Italy or England?

Forza Futbol Interviews - Marcela Mora y Araujo

Forza Futbol’s Mando talks to Marcela Mora y Araujo. Marcela has been working as a multimedia content facilitator since way back in the last millennium. She specialises in South American and Argentinian football. Recent adventures include translating Diego Maradona’s autobiography, Maradona: The Autobiography of Soccer’s Greatest and Most Controversial Star, and providing the expertise for the BBC World Cup Stories - Argentina programme, which won the RTS Sport Documentary of the year award for 2006. Even more recently she has worked on two feature films - one big budget Hollywood and one low budget indie.

Listen Here: 

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