Wesley Sneijder decided to let his mouth do the talking, which is much more interesting than when players let their feet do the talking. Sneijder claimed that Dutch teammate Rafael Van der Vaart desperately wants to join Real Madrid. The Bernabeu is starting to look quite Oranje with Sneijder, Drenthe, Robben and Van Nistelrooy all on the books. Sneijder also played with Van der Vaart at Ajax and they seem to make a great midfield duo. Publicly Van der Vaart remains committed to Hamburg, but Sneijder is confident that they will link up this year or next. This is definitely not Martin Jol's(coach of Hamburg) best week ever, as he is also trying to keep hold of Nigel de Jong who has been linked with Newcastle. Jol is a great coach who was one bad fryup(British breakfast) from pipping Arsenal for a Champions League, but without his two Dutch stars Hamburg doesn't have a chance. Sneijder continued by saying Ronaldo would be a great addition, but paying him higher wages than the other players could cause some acrimony. He also doesn't feel the move is necessary because in Sneijder's eyes Robinho is just as good. Maybe he should see an opthamologist. This follows Cannavaro's comments that Ronaldo should honor his contract at Man U. Coming off consecutive La Liga titles, it seems a poor time for Madrid to be messing with their team chemistry. During the Galacticos(very famous and very expensive players) era they had great individuals, but the team didn't perform well. Calderon might want to heed the advice of his players and not disrupt the dressing room. Then again Calderon feels Robinho would be a steal at £47.4 million, so we can assume he's not in touch with reality.
There was big news on the other side of the Atlantic as former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna retired from football(soccer). Reyna was part of what I call the first generation of U.S. soccer players(I know America has been playing in the World Cup since 1930, but hosting the World Cup in 1994 ushered in the MLS and rebirth of soccer in America. I use rebirth loosely). He missed out on the 1994 World Cup due to injury, but played in the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He retired from the national team after the U.S. was eliminated in 2006 with 112 caps, 8 goals and 12 assists. Anyone who watched him at that World Cup could see he was a step behind. He should also be remembered for his long career in Europe, he was a pioneer for other American players, where he played in the Champions League and UEFA Cup, and was affectionately known as Captain America. When Fifa decided America would host the World Cup it was very controversial as they hadn't qualified since 1950. Players from that first generation like Reyna, Friedel and Jones turned qualifying into a certainty, and made the U.S. a competitive team. They'll be remembered for leading America to the quarterfinals in 2002, and a hand ball call could have put them in the semi-finals. They are being followed by a second generation that watched that 1994 World Cup on tv and have helped America win back to back Gold Cups. Hopefully players like Altidore, Johnson and Dempsey can push America even further. Reyna will be missed, and he should be remembered as a leader on and off the pitch.
One quick note about Hleb and Ronaldinho. Hleb was unveiled at Barcelona today, and the fee is reported to be £11.9 million. With Ronaldinho's move to Milan nearly tied up, I am imposing a moratorium on the mention of their names. Lets see how long it lasts.
One Liners
- Bruce's crossed fingers pays off as Kapo becomes a Latic, does anybody know what a Latic is?
- Mourinho still pining for Lamps, doesn't he know that playing hard to get always works better?
- Drogba sets 10 day deadline on future, Abramovich stand there with two briefcases full of cash saying Deal or No Deal?
- Benfica to sign Aimar, he must have seen how thin Time Out Newcastle was
- Wenger interested in signing Alonso, Rafa stops looking under coach cushions for pence
