The Greed That Greed Created

One side class; I’m on a mission from god – and that mission is called… Footie 101!

As my UK peeps would say, the club season is starting to “hot up.” But perhaps the Spanish “caliente” better describes what’s been happening in the world of football.

Just since we last met, there’s been: a FIFA cash-for-World Cup-votes scandal (wake me when there’s NOT a FIFA scandal); a pantomimed player strike in Italy’s Serie A (stopped as soon the right amount of lira landed in the right accounts); a top player demanding more money because his teammates aren’t good enough (that’s Mr. Potato Head logic); and love blossoming between a national team manager and the female reporter covering his latest friendly.

Let’s start there, with US Coach Bob Bradley making goo-goo eyes at Worldwide Leader in American Sports reporter (and former US women’s world cup winner) Julie Foudy. Am I the only one who noticed old Bob casting his heavenly grey-hazel-eyed gaze in J-Fo’s direction?

Pre-game:

Post-game:

We’ll get another chance to check on whether Le Bob shoots her the “strike hither” eyes again when the US plays South African in a possibly vuvuzela-less friendly Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, FIFA is in a tizzy caused by “devils,” according to King Sepp Blatter. Two members of the committee that will choose what nations host the 2018 and 2022 world cups have been suspended while FIFA continued to investigate claims in a British newspaper that they were willing to vote for certain bidding nations in return for donations.

Nigerian Federation President Amos Adamu allegedly (and unknowingly) asked an undercover Sunday Times reporter for $800,000 to fund a personal project in exchange for his vote. Tahiti's Reynald Temarii, a FIFA vice-president, allegedly asked for a cool $2.4 million to fund a sports academy.

This of course, throws the coming Dec. 2 vote on who’ll host the cups into a whirlwind. And all this follows the withdrawal of the US’ 2018 bid and England’s 2022 bid within hours of each other. FIFA “strongly prohibits” vote trading (unless it works to the benefit of his chosen destination), so the US stepping out of 2018 to focus on 2022 – reported to The FP in a previous blog – is not being investigated.

That’s not the case with the joint Spain-Portugal bid, or the Qatar bid – both of which are being investigated on charges they’ve colluded… you know, in the same way the Anglo-Allianced US and UK likely did… but more swarthy.

Barring a FIFA palace coup, expect the Brits to host in 2018 and the Yanks to host in 2022. So it has been written… so it shall be done!

Meanwhile, Manchester United and England striker Wayne Rooney held his club to ransom

 last week to distract from the fact that his top sponsors are dropping him like a lepor with a bad cough after allegations surfaced that he had sex with a prostitute while his wife was pregnant with their child.

Acting like he was disappointed with the club’s ambitions (they’ve only won the three Premier Leagues, the Champions League, and three league cups since his arrival six years ago), Rooney said his teammates were not good enough and that the club wasn’t adding enough world class talent – so he wanted to leave. Given his value, there are realistically only a handful of clubs in the world that could afford him – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter and AC Milan, Chel$ki, and cross-town rivals Manchester City.

Flush with cash from a Middle East oil tycoon, Citeh have been buying any quality player with a pulse for nearly the past two years, and immediately emerged as odds on favorites to scoop Rooney up in the January transfer window.

The classy Manchester supporters who’ve sung his name in wave after wave of United-winning rhapsody, responded by storming his home in the night, like villagers after Dr. Frankenstein. They added protest signs…

… and life-threatening graffiti to their tasteful protests.

In the same week, supporters of Arsenal FC gave a standing ovation when former Arsenal striker Eduardo scored against them in the UEFA Champions League for Shakhtar Donetsk. They’d also sung his name all during the match. That, class, IS class.

Now, there’ve been many ghoulish supporter demonstrations (Liverpool supporters burning the American flag to protest against former owners George Gillette and Tom Hicks,

or ManUre fans burning American owner Malcolm Glazer in effigy).

But in light of United supporters’ recent actions I must tender an apology to Chelsea supporters, who I’ve taken to calling “savages.” The mantle now rests solely with supporters of Manchester United Football Club… until of course such time that Dirty Blue supporters rightfully reclaim the title.

And of course last is the Italian Strike that Never Happened. Serie A players threatened for weeks to bring the league to a halt over collective bargaining terms. Supposedly an agreement was reached on six of the eight terms being debated.

To this, The FP says phooey, and points to the fact that the Lazio-Milan derby was scheduled for the same weekend as the strike. Had the strike progressed, all that lovely television revenue for Il Duce (Senore Silvio Berlusconi) would have vanished. And we all know, Senore loves his revenue like FIFA loves the haze of foggy, murk-draped election processes.

And now, your Rooney-inspired footie anecdote: