The Lead
This morning reports are floating around that Shanghai Shenhua are considering signing Didier Drogba in the January transfer window. Quoth the BBC:
The 33-year-old rejected a one-year contract extension at Chelseaand has been linked with a move to China.
“Everything is going well so far, though there have been a few obstacles,” said Shenhua board member Zhou Jun.
Chinese football is of course a ridiculous, amateurish and corrupt circus, in which nouveau riche money men like Zhou throw cash around even as they give the press cracking press quotes. That hasn’t stopped some from attempting to write straight-laced reports on what this means for the “state of football” in the world’s most populated country.
Yesterday in the Guardian, Jonathan Watts wrote on Nicolas Anelka’s arrival in Shanghai at the same club:
For most of the past 10 years, Chinese football has been a national joke. Sardonic aphorisms – like the one above – fill the comment sections of soccer websites. The national team is the subject of ridicule, referees are reviled for match-fixing and the sport’s managing body is derided for incompetence and corruption. But that image is in the midst of a dramatic overhaul as the French superstar Nicolas Anelka becomes the biggest name yet to play for a Chinese club and the local Football Association attempts to purge itself with arguably the widest match-rigging trial in world history.
Note the “has been,” not “is.” We’re meant toe believe Le Sulk”s arrival in China is a sign of a “dramatic overhaul” in football. Meanwhile David Beckham’s arrival in MLS five years ago (he just signed a deal that will keep him there through 2013) was a sign that Americans did not take soccer seriously, despite the fact few overseas outlets bothered reporting the league had already been around for a decade prior and has since then produced a steady-if-not-spectacular stream of top flight European players.
One story fits the “China’s economy is rising” media mold, and the other fits the “America is a decadent post-cultural wasteland” trope, so this is the way it’s gotta be…
Canada
Ben Knight analyzes Dominique Maestracci’s candidacy for CSA president.
Great profile on Toronto FC academy head Thomas Rongen by Kurtis Larson.
Red Nation Online interviews the Canadian women and coach John Herdman ahead of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.
Waking the Red thinks the tournament is a dry run for Canada hosting the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
England
QPR agree to fee for Man City defender Nedum Onuoha.
Adidas quit Liverpool partnership, claiming they didn’t get value for money. Ouch.
Blackburn close to nabbing striker Anthony Modeste on loan from Bordeaux.
The amazing story of Darlington’s temporary reprieve.
Several Bright & Hove Albion players accused of sexual assault.
And the depressing story of Blackburn’s current state of woe.
Nigel de Jong likely on his way out of Man City in the summer.
Italy
PSG elbow in on Inter in the race for Carlos Tevez.
Someone at AC Milan doesn’t want Paolo Maldini coming back to help out. Will PSG take him?
De Laurentiis wants Napoli to beat Chelsea, in his dreams.
Spain
Player ratings from El Clasico.
And Pepe’s stamp, of course.
Sid Lowe slams a “regressing” Real Madrid under Mourinho.
Germany
Bayern head into the second half of the season confident.
Bits and bobs
Big club cast-offs are doing just fine, writes Bobby McMahon.
Chris Coleman will build on Gary Speed’s legacy as the new Wales manager.
Could cutting costs lead to a return of plastic pitches in England?
West Bromwich Albion: profitable.
And, give or take, that’s the story so far…
Ramos and Pepe are such kunts. I’d like to like watching Real play but man they are a bunch of arrogant infantile pukes. The Pepe dive where he was clutching his face after an arm went across his chest is just priceless. They need to change the rules to be able to penalize that shite no matter what the ref saw/reported during the game.
And how about Messi flopping like a shot seal after Coentrao touched his face near the end? Does he get penalized too?
Pepe’s dirty, but he’s far from the only one in the game, and I’m pretty sure he has never seriously hurt anybody, even when he basically assaulted that player from Getafe. All in all, BOTH sides of this derby have been guilty of play-acting in every single match they’ve played against each other since the beginning of last season. But in the end, Real Madrid are just a rougher team, and Barcelona more likely to flop for a card, regardless of the fact that they would still beat RM every time just staying on their feet.
for flopping absolutely. but messi can get a pass every now and then for the number of times he does stay on his feet while getting hacked by hackers (read Ramos). Many on Barca do not. I almost never believe a Busquets complaint.
having never hurt anyone seriously does not excuse being a dirty bastard though.