monkey business

There have been many allegations of FIFA's corruption in recent news. We at Not Your Football are here to clear up this web of confusion.

Yes, Sepp Blatter and his administration are currupt. Yes, they have been accepting bribes and showing nepotism through their "Ol' boy" network. And yes, Qatar did buy the 2022 World Cub bid.

Now that we have cleared this up for the world, we can only hope for a reconsideration from the committee to host the 2022 World Cup elsewhere, where it would be more progressive for the sport.

Any Questions?

Vermin

We're not saying Luis Suarez is a chipmunk...
We're just saying he looks like a rodent.

Tie to Barça as good as a win for Real

The first of 4 El Clasico matchups we will see within the next month was this weekend. The game was as contentious as one could have imagined. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with both Messi and Ronaldo scoring from penalty kicks. It was CR's first goal against Barcelona.

Barcelona didn't look like themselves, especially during the second half. I think a lot of that had to do with Real essentially playing with with 5 defenders with Pepe as a holding midfielder. Even after Albiol left with a red card, Barcelona was not able to put the nail in the coffin with a 1 man advantage.

Also, Ronaldo wore the newest special colorway of the Nike Mercurial Vapor Superfly III. They appeared to be a cross between the CR safari shoes and a new pattern.

The future of the Red Cross

Manchester City took a beating at the hands of Liverpool this afternoon. Andy Carroll scored 2 goals in this win. But the important question is: Why does Carroll grab Skertel's waist in a suggestive-looking manner before every corner kick?

Between Andy Carroll, Adam Johnson and Theo Walcott, England's attacking future looks bright from here. Somebody tell Fabio Capello to get these guys some caps and let the fossils quietly die.

Esteban Ochocinco

Chad Ochocinco is currently trying out for Sporting Kansas City. Some have questioned his motivation for doing so, citing publicity as his fuel. I think the guy is an athlete, entertainer and a business man. Therefore I think that he has several motivations for doing so but I don't question his love for the game.


Being a kicker does not equate to playing soccer, but he has proven time after time his love for playing. He took a trip to Spain this winter to hang out with players from Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Ochocinco with Messy the shrimp.

Iniesta the baldy

Xabi Alonso, what a beast.

RAMOS!

Visit to Spain


Below is a press conference in Kansas City


I think that in general, this is a good thing for the sum total of the sport of soccer.

El Clásico 2012

Real Madrid is staying classic for the 2011-2012 season with these Adidas jerseys.


Barcelona has sold their souls to the Qatar Foundation and Nike has rewarded them with matching nasty jerseys.


The official position of this blog is that the new Barça kits are atrocious. I can't wait to see what the alternates look like.

Buy or Sell: Goran Pandev

You're looking at the class of the Nerazzurri attacking consisting of Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder. Inter managed to come back from a 2-1 deficit to pass Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 this afternoon.

They were able to win dispite Goran Pandev. While Pandev scored in '88 to put Inter ahead, I am still very skeptical of his contributions to the team. Last week he squandered several chances against Brescia in Serie A league play, ultimately helping to cost them a win.

In my humble opinion: Sell, Sell, Sell!

Under Armour gaining ground, Nike swapping

Starting with the 2012-2013 season, Under Armour will be the brand that outfits The Tottenham Hotspur. The deal is for five years and worth $81 million.

In other news, after losing the Russia contract to Adidas 2 years ago, Nike recently picked up France (from Adidas) as shown below in the friendly game against Brazil.
I must say that Nike's new take is more tasteful than the Adidas options from the past.

Buy or Sell: Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema has scored 4 goals in his last two La Liga appearances. Before then, he had 3 goals in 22 apps. He quickly fell out of favor with narcissistic manager José Mourinho and has been benched since locker room lawyer Emanuel Adebayor was added during the January transfer window.

However, Benzema has proven to be the teams' best striker in Champions League competition. Winning Champions League is one of the major reasons Mourihno was brought on as Real Madrid's manager and Benzema seems like an integral tool in doing so. He had a hat-trick in one game and scored the only goal against dark horse Lyon.

As long as Gonzalo Higuaín is unavailable, my humble advice is to keep Benzema in. He's finally warmed up.

Word on the Street: Atlético Madrid

There is an alleged rumor going around in Madrid that winger José Antonio Reyes and second fiddle striker Sergio Agüero have a pact to not pass the ball to star striker Diego Forlán. To what can this turmoil be attributed: envy, lack of chemistry?
More info. to come