A Golden Guus for Diego?

As shocking as some managerial rumours can be, you have to admit that more often than not, there’s usually a grain of truth in them. Sven to North Korea? Seems the Koreans did make an approach. Lothar Matthaus to coach Racing Club in Argentina? It would’ve happened if it wasn’t for his girlfriend. And now it seems Guus Hiddink is in the sights of the Argentine FA. So, whither Diego?

All Whites should look to take the initiative against Bahrain

Right now, the only thought in your head, if you’re an All White, is that you’re going to put your heart and soul on display this Saturday to get New Zealand to the World Cup. But, if you’re a fan, what should you expect to see on the pitch this Saturday?

Read the rest of my column on www.skysport.co.nz/football

Maradona vs. Bilardo

Diego was back in the headlines today in Argentina, and it looks like the honeymoon with Carlos Bilardo is over.

A little history lesson for Diego

Since we’re on the topic of footballl criticism in Argentina (otherwise known as “sucking it”), let’s review a few criticisms, and, just for fun, I’m going to remove the names.

Argentina: In

If you see Argentines celebrating today, it’s more from relief than elation. This should’ve happened already. It really shouldn’t have been this hard. And if you’re looking for a culprit for the late qualification, look no further from the man at the top. Diego was a Rolls-Royce of a player, but he’s a beat-up, rusted-out AMC Pacer of a football coach.

The Swedish Mercenary goes East

What possible crazy decision could Sven-Goran Eriksson make next? Surely nothing could top Notts County? Nothing would surprise us now. At this point, he’d have to take the job managing North Korea in the World Cup to shock me … and so he has.

One step away for New Zealand

At the start of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, I had a small wish which I felt would probably go ungranted. I wanted my country of birth (Argentina) and my country of residence (New Zealand) to make the trip to South Africa. Little did I know that it wouldn’t be the All Whites, but rather the Albicelestes who would make this wish an unlikely one indeed.

Go Palermo! … and take Diego with you

Argentina’s current plight has posed a very difficult question for me. What’s worse: for Argentina to miss the World Cup Finals in South Africa; or for them to qualify — thanks to Diego Maradona and Martin Palermo — and then fail miserably at the Finals?

Who’s out and who’s not in?

OK, let’s for a second skip past Argentina’s miraculous rescue from the list that follows. A quick look at who’s been eliminated so far offers few surprises, but the lists of potential eliminations includes a more than a few surprising names.

Three myths of Week 1

The Premier League kicked off this week, and despite a sense of general excitement, you have to feel a little bit bad for fans of Liverpool, Aston Villa and especially Everton, whose weekend was probably ruined by bad results. You’ll often hear football pundits talk about preseason matches and how you can’t take them too seriously as predictors of a team’s chances. Well, I think the same could be said for the first game of the season. Here are three reasons why I think we should take the results of Week 1 with a grain of salt.

Premier League 09-10 Predictions

OK. Here are my, admittedly amateurish, predictions for this season of the Premier League. Feel free to comment and call me crazy, or pronounce my genius. At the end of the season, I’ll do another column and we’ll see just how wrong I was. 2009-10 Champions? Chelsea.

Messi, Mascherano, Jonás .. and 8 more

Fresh from Argentina’s 3-2 friendly victory over Russia in Moscow, Diego Maradona confirmed a third member in what he considers his untouchables, players who are destined to start in the World Cup (should Argentina make it, which is looking increasingly less sure). Was it one of the players who impressed in the match? Nope, it’s a winger from Newcastle United.

Take my manager, please

Diego Maradona’s lawyer has claimed that the Argentina manager is in talks with Portsmouth to take up a position as a “global ambassador”. Forgetting the Portsmouth point-of-view for the moment … I love this idea. Thank you Sulaiman al-Fahim. Please, take him.

A bear market for transfers

The transfer activity by Real Madrid and Manchester City has created the false impression that the transfer market has been quite active. Actually, the opposite may be true.

Why Michael Owen is good for Manchester United

…or should that be, why Manchester United is good for Michael Owen? There are several reasons why signing the former England striker makes sense for the defending Premier League champions, who should have a very different look to them next season.