CZECHO’S SOCCER CORNER

Barack Obama-West Ham United

Premier League club West Ham can count the 44th president of United States among it’s fans. According to British media president Obama became a West Ham fan after seeing them play five years ago. He also watches Premier League matches on TV. One of the many good things people are expecting will come with his administration is for the US to have a successful bid for the right to host the 2018 World Cup. Obama is an extremely popular choice among many people around the world and that could only help in landing the 2018 World Cup.

Ribery-150 mil euros

Despite the world wide financial crisis, the bids for soccer players are skyrocketing. Manchester City started the trend with buying Robinho for 55 million dollars and offering an astonishing 150 million dollars for Kaka. The latest insane number is coming from Bayern Munich’s general manager Uli Hoeness who has put 190 million dollars price tag on midfielder Franck Ribery. The French international has a contract with Bayern till 2011 but has said he would enjoy playing for one of the big Europeans super-clubs. One has to ask where all this is going and what this will do to soccer? Oil rich countries are on way to destroy the game of soccer as we know it.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Player of the Year

The Swedish international and Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was named 2008 Player of the Year on Monday night. Ibrahimovic was also named the best foreign player. He scored 17 goals last season and won his second Serie A Championship title with Inter. Ibrahimovic whose parents are from the former Yugoslavia joined Inter in 2006 from Juventus. The Inter striker appeared in 72 matches for the club, scoring 44 goals. His coach Jose Mourinho called him “the best player in the world, ahead of Ronaldo”.

Craig Bellamy-Manchester City

The 29-year-old striker Bellamy is moving to Manchester instead of Tottenham. Bellamy will be reunited with coach Mark Hughes who was in charge of Blackburn when Bellamy played there. Manchester will be the 7th club that Bellamy has played for since joining Norwich City back in 1997. The captain of the Welsh national team is known for his rather explosive character and he is not a stranger to controversy. We wish him all the best with his new club.

World Cup 2018-Portugal and Spain

Portugal and Spain will jointly bid for the 2018 or 2020 World Cup. In today’s economy it’s a wise decision. Portugal has 10 new stadiums which were built for the Euro 2004. Spain is one of the World’s soccer superpowers. Together they will create a very strong candidate according to FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The United States along with Russia, China, Mexico and Australia are also considered possible candidacies. The next World Cup is in 2010 in South Africa.

Carling Cup-Manchester United

Man Utd beat Derby County 4-2(4-3 agg) and reached the final of the Carling Cup. But it wasn’t an easy win and they payed the price by losing Evans, Rafael and Anderson to injuries. Manchester opened the score in the 16th minute by Nani. O’Shea and Tevez made it 3-0 before the half time. In the second half we saw Derby step up the tempo and after Evans’ foul, Barnes scored a penalty kick. Then Cristiano Ronaldo who came on as a substitute scored one from a penalty of his own. Barnes had the last say when he made it 4-2 from a free kick in injury time. Tottenham will likely be the other finalist since they are leading Burnley 4-1going into Wednesday’s match.