Francesco Totti has dropped off the soccer map, a bit, the past few years. He has had injuries, with AS Roma, and he said he was finished playing for the national team after Italy won the 2006 World Cup.
But Totti now says he is interested in coming back. In time to play for Italy at South Africa 2010.
Whether Italy wants him back, at age 33, after he did nothing to help the Azurri qualify ... we don't know.
But it could be fun to have the onetime Golden Boy of Italian soccer back ... if only for the jokes.
In the early years of his career, Totti earned a reputation as a great scorer, a fine-looking fellow and a very dim bulb. People made up "he's so dumb that" jokes about the guy, and they were easy to believe.
He was smart enough, however, to turn the gibes around. They were collected into a book (and then another), which sold very well and helped popularize him further -- as well as make money for charities.
Here is a story about the first book, as well as several of the more popular Totti jokes.
And here are a few more jokes.
If you didn't follow the links, my favorite joke probably is the one about Totti's girlfriend asking him, "Francesco, do you love me? Huh, do you love me? Huh, do you love me?" And Totti says, "Hey, one question at a time."
Ultimately, the issue won't be if he can make anyone laugh ... but if he can help Italy score.
Read more!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
SA President: Five Weddings, Three Wives
Another installment of "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore" ... World Cup edition.
Far be it from us to condemn someone's cultural traditions.
If Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa, has the cash and the patience and bravery to be married five times -- but, most interestingly, to three women at once -- well, more power to him. A better man than I. (Though perhaps not as good as Brigham Young, or some of the early Mormon polygamists of truly epic marital proclivites.)
I didn't know that polygamy was going strong in some precincts of South Africa. We get that straightened out in this story from the Johannesburg Times, which plays this as straight as it would a couple of college kids getting hitched.
Note that Zuma apparently is considering wife No. 6 -- which would be four at once. And the man is 68? You go, bro!
The other issue with polygamy ... if a couple of guys marry 4-5 times ... what does that mean for 7-8 men whose female counterparts (assuming a 50-50 split between genders) have been snapped up by two guys?
Seems as if we have the beginning of trouble within that society. Women without marital prospects is often a sad thing. Men without marital prospects often is a dangerous thing.
I believe the one-at-a-time thing that most of the world is working with is to encourage more stable societies. Sometimes it has religious sanction. But it just seems to make sense.
Anyway, if you go to South Africa, and you meet a major player ... the women with him may be his wives. All of them. Just to avoid some faux pas, etc.
If you didn't follow the link, here is the bit about the polygamy issue:
"The 68-year-old president is a proud Zulu and has repeatedly defended polygamy despite those who sneer at the practice as outdated, especially in the age of Aids.
"Though this was Zuma's fifth wedding, Mabhija is his third current wife. One of his wives, Kate Mantsho, reportedly committed suicide in 2000, and Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma divorced him in 1998.
"The president is still married to his first wife, Sizakele Khumalo, whom he met in 1959. She has no children by Zuma because the president was arrested shortly after their marriage and had to spend many years in exile.
"Zuma married Nompumelelo Ntuli, his fourth wife, three years ago in a traditional wedding at his home.
"He is now said to be preparing to take yet another wife and was last week traditionally engaged to Durban's Gloria Bongi Ngema. The Zuma family, however, will say nothing about the date of his next wedding.
Many of those attending the ceremony yesterday saw nothing wrong with Zuma taking more than one wife.
Ntombi Masinga, a 40-year-old cleaner at a local lodge, defended Zuma's polygamy.
"Unlike in the West, Zulu culture does not limit how many wives a man can have," said Masinga. "The president is well within his rights to marry as many women as he wants.
"Who am I to object to a cultural practice spanning decades and accepted by our ancestors?"
S'bu Mdlalose, a local businessman, said he was happy to be at Zuma's wedding.
"He is proud to be Zulu. It is a good thing and I think some people frown on it because they don't understand it." Read more!
Far be it from us to condemn someone's cultural traditions.
If Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa, has the cash and the patience and bravery to be married five times -- but, most interestingly, to three women at once -- well, more power to him. A better man than I. (Though perhaps not as good as Brigham Young, or some of the early Mormon polygamists of truly epic marital proclivites.)
I didn't know that polygamy was going strong in some precincts of South Africa. We get that straightened out in this story from the Johannesburg Times, which plays this as straight as it would a couple of college kids getting hitched.
Note that Zuma apparently is considering wife No. 6 -- which would be four at once. And the man is 68? You go, bro!
The other issue with polygamy ... if a couple of guys marry 4-5 times ... what does that mean for 7-8 men whose female counterparts (assuming a 50-50 split between genders) have been snapped up by two guys?
Seems as if we have the beginning of trouble within that society. Women without marital prospects is often a sad thing. Men without marital prospects often is a dangerous thing.
I believe the one-at-a-time thing that most of the world is working with is to encourage more stable societies. Sometimes it has religious sanction. But it just seems to make sense.
Anyway, if you go to South Africa, and you meet a major player ... the women with him may be his wives. All of them. Just to avoid some faux pas, etc.
If you didn't follow the link, here is the bit about the polygamy issue:
"The 68-year-old president is a proud Zulu and has repeatedly defended polygamy despite those who sneer at the practice as outdated, especially in the age of Aids.
"Though this was Zuma's fifth wedding, Mabhija is his third current wife. One of his wives, Kate Mantsho, reportedly committed suicide in 2000, and Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma divorced him in 1998.
"The president is still married to his first wife, Sizakele Khumalo, whom he met in 1959. She has no children by Zuma because the president was arrested shortly after their marriage and had to spend many years in exile.
"Zuma married Nompumelelo Ntuli, his fourth wife, three years ago in a traditional wedding at his home.
"He is now said to be preparing to take yet another wife and was last week traditionally engaged to Durban's Gloria Bongi Ngema. The Zuma family, however, will say nothing about the date of his next wedding.
Many of those attending the ceremony yesterday saw nothing wrong with Zuma taking more than one wife.
Ntombi Masinga, a 40-year-old cleaner at a local lodge, defended Zuma's polygamy.
"Unlike in the West, Zulu culture does not limit how many wives a man can have," said Masinga. "The president is well within his rights to marry as many women as he wants.
"Who am I to object to a cultural practice spanning decades and accepted by our ancestors?"
S'bu Mdlalose, a local businessman, said he was happy to be at Zuma's wedding.
"He is proud to be Zulu. It is a good thing and I think some people frown on it because they don't understand it." Read more!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Becks Media Tour Continues
What's with English players? They can go a year without generating a paragraph of printable quotes, on the record. Then when they feel like turning it on ... they're all over the place.
Remember that lengthy David Beckham piece from yesterday? Well, you ought to. It just appeared.
But now here's another Becks interview. One that he gave to fifa.com.
Fifa.com chose to lead with "Becks fears Messi." Which is curious, because Messi has never done much for the Argentine national team, and especially not since Diego Maradona took over as coach.
To sum up, if you didn't follow the link ...
Asked whom England has who can compare to Messi, Beckham was diplomatic and named half the first XI. When, of course, England has no one like Messi.
He stroked coach Fabio Capello a bit more. He's really getting good at it.
And he said his best and worst World Cup memories both came with Argentina on the pitch. In 1998, in an infamous match at St. Etienne, Becks stepped on the head of, who was it, Diego Simeone? And got red-carded, and England finally went down, after playing a man short for an hour or so. That was the worst memory. And the best, he said, was at the 2002 World Cup, when he scored on a penalty in a victory over the Argentines.
Maybe tomorrow we can hear from someone who isn't the CEO of Team Beckham.
Read more!
Remember that lengthy David Beckham piece from yesterday? Well, you ought to. It just appeared.
But now here's another Becks interview. One that he gave to fifa.com.
Fifa.com chose to lead with "Becks fears Messi." Which is curious, because Messi has never done much for the Argentine national team, and especially not since Diego Maradona took over as coach.
To sum up, if you didn't follow the link ...
Asked whom England has who can compare to Messi, Beckham was diplomatic and named half the first XI. When, of course, England has no one like Messi.
He stroked coach Fabio Capello a bit more. He's really getting good at it.
And he said his best and worst World Cup memories both came with Argentina on the pitch. In 1998, in an infamous match at St. Etienne, Becks stepped on the head of, who was it, Diego Simeone? And got red-carded, and England finally went down, after playing a man short for an hour or so. That was the worst memory. And the best, he said, was at the 2002 World Cup, when he scored on a penalty in a victory over the Argentines.
Maybe tomorrow we can hear from someone who isn't the CEO of Team Beckham.
Read more!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Becks Speaks at Length
No, we don't get enough news about England or its most famous soccer lad, David Beckham.
Becks did an extended interview with BBC radio and, actually, extended interviews are a rarity in British journalism. British papers will run a 72-point headline (that's big) over a five paragraph story based on one half-sentence of utterance that may have been overheard before a player boarded a bus. There just isn't much access to players, in Britain.
So, this story is fairly meaty.
What has Becks got to say?
For one, he credits Fabio Capello with giving English football some swagger and attitude.
He says he will play anywhere on the field for AC Milan, which he is joining this week on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy.
He will do anything to make the World Cup team. Up to and including BBC stroking of the coach. (See above.)
He looks forward to trying to sell England's bid for the 2018 World Cup. Which seems to be a factor in Capello's willingness to put him on the South Africa 2010 team.
And he remains a Manchester United fan and wants ManU to win every time out -- except when it plays AC Milan later this year in the Champions League. Read more!
Becks did an extended interview with BBC radio and, actually, extended interviews are a rarity in British journalism. British papers will run a 72-point headline (that's big) over a five paragraph story based on one half-sentence of utterance that may have been overheard before a player boarded a bus. There just isn't much access to players, in Britain.
So, this story is fairly meaty.
What has Becks got to say?
For one, he credits Fabio Capello with giving English football some swagger and attitude.
He says he will play anywhere on the field for AC Milan, which he is joining this week on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy.
He will do anything to make the World Cup team. Up to and including BBC stroking of the coach. (See above.)
He looks forward to trying to sell England's bid for the 2018 World Cup. Which seems to be a factor in Capello's willingness to put him on the South Africa 2010 team.
And he remains a Manchester United fan and wants ManU to win every time out -- except when it plays AC Milan later this year in the Champions League. Read more!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Van Persie Out: Dutch Odds Go Up?
Robin van Persie, perhaps the most talented striker the Netherlands can field at this moment in history, is hurt. Seriously hurt. To the point that he may not be back in time for the World Cup and almost certainly won't be fully healthy and match-fit.
So, should we add a couple of points to those 14-1 odds put on the Netherlands' chances of winning the tournament, barely a month ago?
In this story, Arsene Wenger, Van Persie's coach at Arsenal, suggests that Dutch fans (and Arsenal supporters) can be optimistic and suggest van Persie will be back from ankle surgery in April ... or they can be "a bit cautious" and say "May."
So ...
Shall we adjust the odds posted on this site last month? Want to make the Netherlands 16-1? 18-1?
Or is Holland deep enough to cover up for the loss of a guy who was such a big part of the Arsenal attack -- with eight goals in 11 Arsenal matches, before he got hurt?
If we check the calendar, it doesn't look good for van Persie making it back.
Let's say the May return comes in. If that means only that he can return to training ... do you think he will be sprinting and pivoting on that ankle the first day? The first week? Does he get in one or two matches before the Premier League season ends?
Figure that Holland's national team camp will open no later than the start of June, and probably more like May 23-24. Which gives him about three weeks to be ready to go with Netherlands for its opening match at South Africa 2010 -- June 14, against Denmark.
Or do the Dutch go forward with some attacking combination of Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Klaus-Jan Huntelaar ... or even Ruud van Nistleroy (coming out of age-related exile)?
The Netherlands may have no choice but to do just that.
Injuries are sort of the invisible men of the World Cup. Lots of fans don't take into account who is missing when they watch a couple of teams play. Presumably, Dutch fans will be keenly aware of who's not there. Read more!
So, should we add a couple of points to those 14-1 odds put on the Netherlands' chances of winning the tournament, barely a month ago?
In this story, Arsene Wenger, Van Persie's coach at Arsenal, suggests that Dutch fans (and Arsenal supporters) can be optimistic and suggest van Persie will be back from ankle surgery in April ... or they can be "a bit cautious" and say "May."
So ...
Shall we adjust the odds posted on this site last month? Want to make the Netherlands 16-1? 18-1?
Or is Holland deep enough to cover up for the loss of a guy who was such a big part of the Arsenal attack -- with eight goals in 11 Arsenal matches, before he got hurt?
If we check the calendar, it doesn't look good for van Persie making it back.
Let's say the May return comes in. If that means only that he can return to training ... do you think he will be sprinting and pivoting on that ankle the first day? The first week? Does he get in one or two matches before the Premier League season ends?
Figure that Holland's national team camp will open no later than the start of June, and probably more like May 23-24. Which gives him about three weeks to be ready to go with Netherlands for its opening match at South Africa 2010 -- June 14, against Denmark.
Or do the Dutch go forward with some attacking combination of Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, Klaus-Jan Huntelaar ... or even Ruud van Nistleroy (coming out of age-related exile)?
The Netherlands may have no choice but to do just that.
Injuries are sort of the invisible men of the World Cup. Lots of fans don't take into account who is missing when they watch a couple of teams play. Presumably, Dutch fans will be keenly aware of who's not there. Read more!
Friday, January 1, 2010
New Zealand Taking Advantage of Opportunity
So, your national team makes the World Cup every 28 years, like clockwork.
That is to say, you're not very good in soccer.
So, how should you approach the tournament? What level of comfort should your players expect?
In New Zealand's case, as this story outlines, the answer is "the highest level" of comfort.
Interesting way to approach things.
Realistically, if you're going home after two weeks, why not live it up? Spend some money. Put the lads in a "seven-star" hotel. (And what makes a seven-star hotel? Does someone comb your hair for you?)
Anyway, New Zealand is a 1000-to-1 shot to win the World Cup. Most people will be surprised if they score a goal in three group matches (against Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay). A victory would be an enormous shock.
But while the All Whites are there, they should be happy with their accommodations and grateful that their federation has set up things as nicely as possible.
I remember the 1990 World Cup in Italy, when the United States was appearing for the first time in 30 years ... and the U.S. was based in Florence -- only the city that invented tourism. But the U.S. camp was in a little seaside town more than an hour away. They players were stuck inside a camp, and couldn't get out, and had zero fun. And then there was the 1998 U.S. team that was in France, but you'd hardly know it from the old mansion they stayed at way out in the countryside north of Lyon.
And those two U.S. teams each lost three straight.
May as well enjoy yourself. If you go three-and-out, at least you can go home and talk about the great resort you stayed at, and the way the federation took care of you. Makes for some fond memories until New Zealand makes another World Cup. Along about 2036. Read more!
That is to say, you're not very good in soccer.
So, how should you approach the tournament? What level of comfort should your players expect?
In New Zealand's case, as this story outlines, the answer is "the highest level" of comfort.
Interesting way to approach things.
Realistically, if you're going home after two weeks, why not live it up? Spend some money. Put the lads in a "seven-star" hotel. (And what makes a seven-star hotel? Does someone comb your hair for you?)
Anyway, New Zealand is a 1000-to-1 shot to win the World Cup. Most people will be surprised if they score a goal in three group matches (against Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay). A victory would be an enormous shock.
But while the All Whites are there, they should be happy with their accommodations and grateful that their federation has set up things as nicely as possible.
I remember the 1990 World Cup in Italy, when the United States was appearing for the first time in 30 years ... and the U.S. was based in Florence -- only the city that invented tourism. But the U.S. camp was in a little seaside town more than an hour away. They players were stuck inside a camp, and couldn't get out, and had zero fun. And then there was the 1998 U.S. team that was in France, but you'd hardly know it from the old mansion they stayed at way out in the countryside north of Lyon.
And those two U.S. teams each lost three straight.
May as well enjoy yourself. If you go three-and-out, at least you can go home and talk about the great resort you stayed at, and the way the federation took care of you. Makes for some fond memories until New Zealand makes another World Cup. Along about 2036. Read more!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Story Lines for the 2010 World Cup
It's already 2010 where I am, in the Gulf. So I can look ahead, not back.
And here are five story lines I think will be pertinent in the 2010 (we're here now) World Cup.
1. Can England, Masters of the Game and all (blah blah blah), win a World Cup for the first time since 1966? Everyone on the left side of the Pas del Calais is thinking "yes, yes, yes!" and the rest of the world is thinking, "uh, probably not."
2. Can a European team finally win a World Cup outside its own familiar and teeny continent? They haven't managed it yet, (as in 0-for-9), but they have the advantage, this time round, of getting a non-Euro World Cup that is 1) only an hour or two off their home body clocks and 2) cold and wintry, just like the conditions of their pro leagues. So, could happen. But don't bank on it.
3. Can an African team go deep in the tournament? Cameroon made the quarterfinals of Italia 1990, but that is the high water mark of African soccer, so far. Africa has six teams in the 32 at SA 2010, including the host, and I think the answer to the previous question is "yes." I see someone in the semifinals. Cameroon, or Nigeria or Ghana.
4. Is Diego Maradona such a colossal idiot that he can, single-handedly, manage to keep Argentina out of the second round? I think, yes, he can. That is the level of my faith in him. I see some combination of Nigeria/Greece/South Korea moving on at Argentina's expense. And maybe that will finally free Argentinaville from its ridiculous need to have Diego "Hand of God: Maradona coach their side. The man can't coach. At all.
5. Will South Africa become the first host nation to fail to make the second round? All the vuvuzelas and home fans aside, yes, it can. South Africa isn't very good. Not at all.
Those are my five questions, and if they make sense, then maybe I should write more often while over the legal limit in California of .08 blood-alchohol content, because that's where I'm at,
two hours after our New Year's Eve party in (officially) dry Abu Dhabi ended.
Happy New Year, y'all.
Read more!
And here are five story lines I think will be pertinent in the 2010 (we're here now) World Cup.
1. Can England, Masters of the Game and all (blah blah blah), win a World Cup for the first time since 1966? Everyone on the left side of the Pas del Calais is thinking "yes, yes, yes!" and the rest of the world is thinking, "uh, probably not."
2. Can a European team finally win a World Cup outside its own familiar and teeny continent? They haven't managed it yet, (as in 0-for-9), but they have the advantage, this time round, of getting a non-Euro World Cup that is 1) only an hour or two off their home body clocks and 2) cold and wintry, just like the conditions of their pro leagues. So, could happen. But don't bank on it.
3. Can an African team go deep in the tournament? Cameroon made the quarterfinals of Italia 1990, but that is the high water mark of African soccer, so far. Africa has six teams in the 32 at SA 2010, including the host, and I think the answer to the previous question is "yes." I see someone in the semifinals. Cameroon, or Nigeria or Ghana.
4. Is Diego Maradona such a colossal idiot that he can, single-handedly, manage to keep Argentina out of the second round? I think, yes, he can. That is the level of my faith in him. I see some combination of Nigeria/Greece/South Korea moving on at Argentina's expense. And maybe that will finally free Argentinaville from its ridiculous need to have Diego "Hand of God: Maradona coach their side. The man can't coach. At all.
5. Will South Africa become the first host nation to fail to make the second round? All the vuvuzelas and home fans aside, yes, it can. South Africa isn't very good. Not at all.
Those are my five questions, and if they make sense, then maybe I should write more often while over the legal limit in California of .08 blood-alchohol content, because that's where I'm at,
two hours after our New Year's Eve party in (officially) dry Abu Dhabi ended.
Happy New Year, y'all.
Read more!
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