Reuters Soccer Blog

You know football’s gone mad when…

Italians haven’t quite cottoned on yet to Jose Mourinho’s sense of humour.

Inter Milan have put out a statement pointing out that their new coach was joking when he told a journalist he earned 14 million euros a year.

The excesses of soccer have reached the point where any amount of money sounds plausible to some. (more…)

Friday afternoon question: Which is the best derby?

Families will be divided and bars will be filled with talk of nothing else this weekend when Everton host Liverpool on Saturday and the Milan derby takes place a day later.

Despite the plethora of foreign players on show at Goodison and the San Siro, as well as Spanish, Scottish and Portuguese managers, the two derbies will still sum up what is great about being a football fan.

Two packed stadiums will have fans singing their hearts out and every tackle will mean so much more. (more…)

Mourinho up to his old tricks at Inter Milan

When Jose Mourinho first arrived at Inter Milan, I was expecting fireworks.

His sharp wit and tongue while at Chelsea won him fans and enemies in equal measure but no one could say the ’Special One’ was dull. 

However, in his first couple of months at the Italian champions, the Portuguese seemed somewhat withdrawn. Was this a new, more measured Mourinho? Would he just do the day job and then hide away in his new surroundings?

Not a chance. Mourinho was just sussing out Italian soccer and the media. Once he felt comfortable, his ego and cheeky character blew a hole in Serie A.

Last week he said Inter deserved to beat Catania 5-1 despite only winning 2-1 with two own goals. Catania’s chief executive Pietro Lo Monaco replied by saying Mourinho had insulted the whole of the Sicilian city and that he risked ‘having his teeth smashed in”.

Lo Monaco, who has been charged by the soccer federation for inciting violence, quickly apologised and said the comment was “a Sicilian turn of phrase”. Mourinho laughed off the whole episode, saying the only Monaco he had heard of was the Monaco Grand Prix.

Why don’t Englishmen like Lampard want to play abroad?

Frank Lampard’s decision to sign a new contract with Chelsea and shun the advances of Inter Milan was hardly a surprise.

The midfielder made a wise choice if he based the decision on the previous experiences of English players in Italy.

Only David Platt at Sampdoria was really a success. Ian “it’s like living in a foreign country” Rush lasted just a season at Juventus while the likes of Luther Blissett, Lee Sharpe, Ray Wilkins, Des Walker, Paul Ince and Jay Bothroyd hardly set Serie A alight.

Paul Gascoigne was injured for much of his time at Lazio. Rather than his stunning play, he is best remembered here in Italy for shocking the nation by burping into a microphone.

In recent years only David Beckham at Real Madrid can claim to have done well away from English shores. That’s largely because he was one of the few who dared to try something new.

I actually think Lampard would have been a success at Inter, especially playing under former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. The Italian champions, and Serie A in general, are crying out for a goalscoring central midfielder.

Instead Lampard will start another English season this weekend, admittedly with packed stadiums and bags of money in his pocket. Stuttering Serie A can’t quite compete with that. 

Eto’o proves transfer talk is not always tittle-tattle

Very few people believed the story that Samuel Eto’o was considering a move to Uzbekistan’s Kuruvchi.

All of sudden it turned out to be true with Barcelona’s Cameroon striker speaking at a news conference in the country’s capital. Despite mega money being thrown in his direction, Eto’o will probably not end up there but at least they got him to go out and talk. Even if it was just a publicity stunt, it worked.

San Marino champions Murata also tried to coax Romario out of retirement to play in their Champions League first qualifying round first leg. He turned them down but with former Brazil team mate Aldair already on Murata’s books, they almost managed to convince the striker to pull on the boots again.

Tales of unknown clubs bidding for household names make a refreshing change from what has been a turgid transfer window.

It took AC Milan three months to sign Ronaldinho while Inter Milan are still chasing Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Liverpool seem to be no closer to taking Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. I haven’t even mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo…

Every day the papers have said there will be crucial developments in the next 48 hours and yet we are still left waiting. Why do close season transfers drag on so much? Should a cut off point of ‘three bids and you’re out’ be introduced?

More radically, should soccer take on America’s draft system? Then Eto’o and Romario really could end up in Uzbekistan and San Marino. 

A special mission for Mourinho – saving Serie A

Jose Mourinho, who hopes to sign Frank Lampard this week, sees winning trophies as just part of his job as the new coach of Inter Milan.

The former Chelsea and Porto boss also aims to help stuttering Serie A rule the roost like it did in the 1980s and 90s by serving up entertaining soccer and burying the troubled recent past.

Some English fans might question whether Mourinho has the credentials to preach the virtues of champagne soccer, given that his Chelsea side were not adverse to the odd ugly win.

Nevertheless, the arrival of one of sport’s most charismatic and successful personalities has already enabled the Italian top flight to regain some of the ground lost to the Premier League and Spain’s La Liga.

If the Portuguese makes a fraction of the big signings the media expect of him and Inter’s rivals splash out to keep up, so much the better for Serie A. A footballing renaissance could be on the cards.

Mourinho is also keen to do his bit in fighting hooliganism in Italy, speaking of the need to make “the fans more responsible and change their relationship with the police”.

Mourinho finally arrives at Inter, but will Lampard follow?

The worst kept secret in football has finally been made public – Jose Mourinho is Inter Milan’s new coach.

Rumours the former Chelsea coach would take over at the San Siro have been rampant for months and they intensified when Roberto Mancini was sacked last week despite leading the side to a third straight Serie A title.

The newspapers were so confident Mourinho would be appointed that they had already started guessing who he might buy.

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard remain close to their former boss and reports say they are on his target list.

Mourinho also managed Deco in Porto’s 2004 Champions League-winning side so the Barcelona midfielder is being tipped to come to Italy.

But do Inter need improving after three scudettos in a row? Luis Figo was poised for retirement but the arrival of compatriot Mourinho may spell another season. 

Zlatan reminds Europe of his worth as Inter win scudetto

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been out injured for a month and a half, about the time Inter Milan had managed to flitter away an 11-point lead in Serie A.

On Sunday the Swede climbed off the bench to bag both goals in a 2-0 win at Parma which relegated the hosts and gave Inter their 16th scudetto and third in a row on the last day of the season.

A few months ago we asked why Ibrahimovic did not have the kudos of some of Europe’s other top strikers. With Euro 2008 to come, maybe the Swede is beginning to change opinions.

Inter coach Roberto Mancini did not talk to reporters after Inter’s triumph, sparking fresh speculation he would not be continuing at the San Siro. Is Zlatan Jose Mourinho’s sort of player?

Mark Meadows, Milan

Inter threaten to throw away the scudetto

Having won the previous two championships, you wouldn’t have expected Inter Milan to succumb to nerves in this season’s Italian title race.

Roberto Mancini’s side are doing their very best to throw the scudetto away. In February they were 11 points clear of AS Roma but after Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Siena the gap is down to a point with one game to play.

Two weekends ago Inter could have wrapped up the championship against AC Milan. A 2-1 defeat by their city rivals was a nuisance, but Mancini said he always thought they’d be crowned against Siena.

Not so. Siena, who had nothing to play for, fought back from a goal down twice while Marco Materazzi then missed a penalty having argued with Julio Cruz about who should take it.

Inter were so desperate to grab a winner that team mates were getting in the way of each others shots and they nearly conceded at the other end. A group of angry fans waited for the team coach after the match and shouted “Get to work” at the stunned players.

But aren’t the supporters being a little hard on Inter? A closer analysis shows that this is the first proper title race this group of players have been in. Everyone remembers when Inter lost the title in 2002, but the team has changed quite a bit since then.

Friday afternoon question: Should Maldini, Figo and Cafu quit?

It is hard to know when to say goodbye. 

A footballer’s career is short and it can be tempting to play on as long as possible. But soccer is cruel and past achievements mean nothing when clubs plan for the future.

AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini, 39, will soon decide if he will retire at the end of the season following 23 years at the San Siro. The defender had been due to quit in May but is having second thoughts. It may all hinge on whether Milan snatch a Champions League place.

Team mate Cafu, 37, says he wants to play on as he is still motivated. The problem is Milan need fresh blood in defence and might not want him to stick around. Sometimes it is best to decide before the club have to.

Luis Figo, 35, is also pondering the future. He was given a one-year deal by Inter Milan last season after he pulled out of a move to Saudia Arabia. Injuries have robbed the Portuguese of his drive and he now looks a spent force. Inter coach Roberto Mancini has hinted this, but owner Massimo Moratti wants to keep Figo on.

Go out at the top, they always say, but if football is all you have known it can be a huge wrench to suddenly stop. Look at what has happened to poor Paul Gascoigne and others.

So what should this great trio do? Hang up those famous boots or plough on in search of even more success?