And So It Begins

Normally only a few occurrences prevent posting: I'm busy, severe apathy,  I don't have anything to bitch about. I think that's an accurate list, and this time I've been busy. Also, only about ten days have gone by since the last post, that is not extremely long, but I've been preoccupied with a job and an excellent weekend. I have acquired a temporary position, in an accounting role, to gain some much needed experience. Each day that passes I pick up a little more responsibility and more independence. All the people at work are nice and I really like that they trust me despite my very short time with the company. However, I'm glad that this position is temporary because it's in a rural area and I would like to work permanently in an area that I wouldn't describe as a wasteland for young adults. I do like the area of the state where I've spent the last twelve years (wow, it has really been that long, that's the longest I have lived anywhere ever!) of my life, but I don't think it is a place to go through the prime of a young adult's life. Ideally I would like to work in or around a city and get an apartment or something with friends. That way we could work during the day and go do things and meet people at night and on weekends. Over the past three summers I have noticed the great decline in things to do in my hometown, honestly it's a boring place for people in their twenties. Recently I've been contemplating the future quite often given the events that have taken place in my life just in the past couple months. Most of these thoughts dwell on a career because that is the next step in defining my life, at least I think it is at least.

While I don't know exactly what I want to do with my career at this point, I do know how I would like to carry it out. My interest in people extends beyond individuals' idiosyncrasies, stretching to how certain groups of people act. In this case I'm looking at the world of business pertaining to my career. I realize at this point I have to start at the bottom and work my way up because I'm not a genius and I won't have any power simply handed to me. I'm at the beginning, but one day I would like a position of power. I just think it would be amazing to conduct business like Jack Donaghy, the Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming for General Electric on the fantastic television show 30 Rock. The following video sums up why I would absolutely enjoy the stature of a Jack Donaghy position.




Spoken like a true elitist businessman. I enjoy the modern portrayal of bosses in media because I think these portrayals are more accurate than most people would believe. I commend Tina Fey for creating the masterpiece that is 30 Rock, but there must have been some inspiration for the Donaghy character, and the rest of the characters on the show. Donaghy is the boss man who is all about business, who will do anything to succeed and has his sights set on the CEO position. I think aspiring business professionals can learn a lot from him, so take note.




If you haven't seen 30 Rock, then I recommend giving it a view, preferably from the beginning since the show has good continuity and builds well off the characters if you watch it in order. I just absolutely enjoy the what I will refer to as the "Jack Donaghy Approach." He's in charge, he knows it, and he gets things to work while utilizing unconventional measures. Just a side note, I think anyone making a movie with business people in it should cast Alec Baldwin as the main business man because he is superb at that role. There is no one better. Anther great portrayal of a boss in entertainment is Less Grossman in Tropic Thunder, one of my favorite movies, pure comedic genius. I don't understand why so many people say Ben Stiller's movies are terrible. Zoolander and Tropic Thunder, both Ben Stiller films, are two of my favorite movies and Meet the Parents is damn good, too. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw Tropic Thunder in the theater with my friends, probably the best movie going experience of my life. The summer of 2008 was such a good summer for moives with Tropic Thunder, The Dark Knight, and WALL-E. If you haven't seen WALL-E, then go see it now!

Back to my point, though. Less Grossman, played by Tom Cruise, in Tropic Thunder is another boss man that people in charge should aspire to. He's such a dick, but he does his job with authority and power. And trust me, a nutless monkey could not do his job. While I will probably never be a Less Grossman, maybe even for the better, or a Jack Donaghy, I'm still young so why not aspire to obtain a powerful position. But seriously, I think people can learn a lot from watching business unfold on the television through 30 Rock and in motion pictures such as Tropic Thunder. While both are comedies, the majority of what I watch, there is truth in them.

Besides attaining boss-level status, there are some jobs that would be great to have. A really cool job would be working for the CIA. The appeal of working for the CIA, or any secretive intelligence agency, is the secret nature of the work. I wouldn't have to talk to people about my job because that could jeopardize everything! The even better part is that no one would really know what I do, so I would always have this secret aura about me, no one would really know what I am up to. They should also make a new position that eliminates bad drivers, I think I would be good at that one. All you would need is James Bond's car, one with lots and lots of fire power. Then when you see a bad driver, you eliminate them. The subjectivity involved really appeals to me. Unfortunately this job will never exist because it would disturb many people...

So, yeah, this is the beginning of my career. My career isn't much of anything now, but I'll make an attempt to document my path on this blog. I haven't thought about how long I'll keep this blog going and I'm not going to think about that now. I'll blog until I don't want to anymore. Keep it nice and simple. I'm very happy with the development of the summer. Unfortunately the summer started very lame and disappointing, with the exception of the family vacation we took out west to see my sister and her boyfriend. Other than that I was unhappy for a few different reasons and I felt useless with no job and the lack of anything to do. I miss the days when people would actually do things. I'm still waiting to responses to texts from a month ago and I find it very challenging to get anyone to do anything. However, I have a job now and this past weekend was great!

I spent practically the whole weekend with some friends; Chase and I had a good race, too! We'll have to do that again when we're both in running attire, but I hope he enjoyed his head start! And while I'm writing about Chase, I still want a copy of that limerick I wrote for Quelf, buddy. Chase, one other friend, and I managed to get ourselves involved in a pickup soccer game with Hispanics on Sunday to cap off a wonderful weekend where I scored the first goal, assisted by Chase! There's something about soccer that captivates me. I don't regret my decision to not play soccer in high school, thus ending my soccer career, because I just didn't want to at the time. I lost my enjoyment for the game until I went to college and met Seanahue, who rekindled my strong liking for the sport. I've played intramural soccer and some random pickup games, but I've yet to explore my full potential in the sport. I've always been involved in the sport for fun, so I've never tried giving it my absolute all. I hope to have the chance to do that someday, just to see if any good at the game I enjoy so much.



One thing I really like about soccer is the unpredictability involved in the sport. You can do what you like with and without the ball, allowing each player to have a certain freestyle to their game. No one plays soccer the same as anyone else. That's one thing I dislike about track, the sport I'm involved in. Once the gun goes off you attempt to get to the finish line before everyone else. I'm fine with that, track is a great sport, but there's no unpredictability there. Everyone knows what you are going to do, or try to do, it doesn't always work out, cue my last high hurdle race in college. Whereas in soccer you can use your body to fake out opponents and hone your dribbling skills to avoid losing the ball. I just like unpredictability, it gives players the chance to use creativity to beat opponents (watch videos of Ronaldinho at Barcelona to see what I mean). Or you could be like Il Fenomeno and haul ass at opponents daring them to stop you. I just love the way he played.

Now that I've completely changed directions, I will digress. I'm extremely tired right now, I felt like going to sleep at the desk at work this morning. So I'm going to go to bed, and by that I mean watch 30 Rock on Netflix. Going to bed and watching Netflix are synonymous. Now there's just one more thing to settle in my life.... besides finding a sweet job that is. One last thing before I sign off: don't ever bad mouth synergy.

Life, Complaining About Barcelona, and Some More Life

I have recently moved back into school in preparation for spring semester of senior year of college. I must say I found myself pleasantly surprised by how winter break ended. Multiple times I have discussed my frustration in attempts to hang out with friends. One of the not so great things about growing up is that practically everyone you know is busy most of the time with various activities such as school, work, homework, studying, lying, avoiding, hiding, jerking it, you know, the usual stuff. However, over the last week of this winter break I actually spent a decent amount of time with friends and had a good time. I went to a couple of my friends' apartment and hung out there/went to a billiards place not too far away and played billiards! Chase and I were also able to successfully orchestrate a friends dinner before most of us left for school. Including the two of us, we had nine people at dinner! I have a hard time planning things where three of my friends can actually attend so this felt unbelievable.

I have Sports Center on right now and I just saw the top 10 plays. To my surprise number 1 and two were given to the two goals that Inter Milan scored today in its Copa Italia match. Maicon, who scored a nice goal today, was awarded the number one spot and I found it funny that the anchor was not sure how to pronounce his name. I find the stereotypical American soccer ignorance funny, but it's about time soccer got some respect in the country. I am going to post a video from YouTube of Maicon's goal, but I have no idea how long it will last because there is a good chance that it could be removed from YouTube for copyright infringement or something. Also, if you don't know, Maicon is a defender. That little bit of knowledge should be taken into account when you see this ridiculous shot. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but I am an Inter Milan fan. My support of Inter is 100% due to Ronaldo, my favorite athlete of all time. He was playing for Inter Milan when I started getting into soccer and the rest is easy to figure out.

How great is it that the next World Cup, in 2014, will be held in Brazil? What a great country to host the event simply because of the passion with which Brazilians follow and play the sport. I don't know if it will be possible, but it would be phenomenal to go back to Brazil during the World Cup. I have a few good memories of Brazil, which I have started posting (and by that I mean that there is one post so far), and I think it would be great to go back down there. And of course, there would be no better time than during the World Cup. I'll have to dedicate a post regarding the status of the country of Brazil during a World Cup. I had the privilege to experience that atmosphere during the 1998 World Cup and my dad told me some funny stories from work during this time. I'll hopefully get to those at some point.

Unfortunately my soccer enjoyment continues to be hindered by Barcelona and its group of self righteous pricks that currently makeup the team. Am I the only one who grows tired of different players from Barcelona hailing themselves as the greatest team or Messi as the greatest player practically each week? My favorite game of the past few years was definitely when Inter Milan beat Barcelona 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final tie in the Champions League in 2010. It was so satisfying to read all the Barcelona fans' bitching about how Milito's goal in that game was offside, because it wasn't. Barcelona and all it's fans were just too but hurt to acknowledge what a great team that Inter side was.

As for Barcelona's "little genius," Messi. Barcelona doesn't need Messi, Messi needs Barcelona. I am quite confident that Barcelona could win without the services of its hobbit-looking "messiah." Messi, however, definitely could not produce the way he has with Barcelona with another club. We probably will never see this because there is no reason for Messi to leave Barcelona, and I do not fault him for that. I wouldn't leave them if I were him either. I just think it would be interesting to see Messi play against Barcelona just to see if the media shit all over him for "not showing up in big games" like CR7 when it is almost impossible to get any touches on the ball because the opponent just passes it back and forth 3,299,384 times and then proclaims what great passers Xavi and Iniesta are because they completed 98.476% of their passes, of which 2% had any chance of getting intercepted or denied by opposing players.

Maybe I'm just a bitter shithead, but I really cannot stand Barcelona FC right now. The Spanish League is going to shit because of Real Madrid and Barcelona, no other team has a chance to win La Liga. I hope that some team rises to the occasion and rapes in the Champions League, like Inter did in the 2009-2010 campaign. Oh yeah, I'm also going to call this right now, Barcelona will make a big deal out of it's inevitable Copa del Rey title later this year when they win it since they have practically already knocked out Real Madrid from this tournament already, its only competition. They'll make a big deal out of it and talk about how winning the title shows the club's superiority over every other team anywhere. Yet when they lost the Copa del Rey last season to Real Madrid it didn't matter because it was only the Copa del Rey and no one really cares, but they should care if Barcelona wins it. I'm calling that right now, so everyone can tell me I was right in a few months and give me a high five or something.

Enough of this gay banter, though. I only have to take four classes this semester to graduate! I hope I don't screw anything up because I can't afford to drop any classes! I did manage to get out of Corporate Taxation, though, and that, in the words of Martha Stewart, is a good thing. This could be the last semester of classes, but there's always grad school which is quickly becoming as mandatory as attending college if you don't want to work at McDonald's for a career. I don't know which would be better: getting a job or going to grad school. Both probably suck, so I'm just going to enjoy my time at school for this semester, throw my name in for some jobs and maybe get an interview or two, and surround myself with people I like, or try to at least. This semester has potential to be great, so hopefully you'll be seeing good posts here, along with my usual rants about random things, cough Barcelona. Stay tuned for more!

Words of a Living Legend

Despite his retirement from professional soccer this past February, Ronaldo continues to amuse me off the field. Not only is Ronaldo my favorite athlete, but I absolutely love the way he carries himself. He's taken a lot of heat in his most recent years for his weight gain, but he still carries with him an extremely happy demeanor. Earlier this year Ronaldo weighed himself on television during some ceremony or gathering of some sort. The scale read that he weighed 73 kg (160 lbs.), which is 4 kg less than he weighed at the 1998 World Cup. The scale was rigged! He manages to have fun with with all the criticism.

Ronaldo no longer tears up the competition on the field, but he's still making headlines. Yesterday I found an article regarding the legend: Brazil Legend Ronaldo: Sex before matches does not affect performance. I have absolutely no idea how sex became the subject of conversation during an interview with a retired soccer player, but imagine what his life was like. He dominated in soccer and had sex. Those activities happened in the reverse order I wrote them, though. I remember hearing that Ronaldo first revealed this lifestyle during his playing days at Real Madrid. He believes that as long as he doesn't have to do all the work, then he doesn't lose energy for the game. He attributes his success to this lifestyle because it keeps him happy. Now that's an honest man.

If any other professional athlete were asked about how they prepare for games, I am willing to be that no one else would give an answer anything like R9's. They would probably speak about dedicated practice and focus to perform at top athletic levels. Ronaldo's answer: sex. The best part about the whole thing, you can't argue with him. All the goals he scored, awards he won, and scintillating play speak what words cannot. I think Ronaldo's personality is the most overlooked aspect of him as a person. He, unlike many other sports superstars in my opinion, really respects the sport of soccer. This past World Cup Miroslav Klose of Germany had a great chance to break Ronaldo's record of 15 goals scored in the competition. When Ronaldo was asked what he thought of the prospect of the German overtaking him he replied that he (Ronaldo) had his time and it would be great for Klose to set a new mark. He had no intentions of sending Klose a video of all his World Cup goals, Pele. He also never declares anyone else as his successor, Maradona. I think you get my point, who cares?

You know what this means

I first became a Ronaldo fan for his play on the soccer field, but he is much more than a soccer player. After a competition in which Ronaldo received a money bonus for, he decided to donate the extra earning to children with cancer because he did not need it. He chose cancer patients because they were bald like him. He might have got in a bad situation with some male prostitutes pretending to be women, but I'm over that. He certainly has put on weight, but I bet most people have way more body fat than he does, especially those that make fun of his weight issues.

Simply, Ronaldo will always be my favorite athlete of all time.

Thank You, EA

I know that I had absolutely nothing to do with it, but I'll take credit anyways. In my second post ever (yeah I know there are no pictures and it's boring) I bitched about how much I did not like the defending in EA Sports most recent Fifa games. The defense system annoyed me because all a person had to do was hold down the "A" button (I play on XBOX) and the defender would relentlessly pursue you until he won the ball. I refer to this as a constant ass rape. There is no way around this constant ass rape and it pissed me off. Well, it still pisses me off to this day, but thankfully in Fifa 12 the developers have gotten rid of this shitty defense system. I still suck at playing defense, but I don't get relentlessly hounded by every man on the pitch anymore. I know there is no way in hell that EA saw my article and thought "wow, this shithead is right," and then decided to reconfigure the defending system, but I'll take credit anyway. In the newest edition, or at least what I can tell from the limited time that I have actually played it, holding "A" down will help you stay near the man with the ball, but the person playing must actually get in close and press "B" to attempt stealing the ball or tug at the possessor's shirt. Tugging on shirts, another thing that is an absolute must in soccer simulations! No one plays soccer without grabbing the oppositions' garments! I applaud EA for making this change to the defense system, I think it's the best thing they've done in years, and that's saying something considering how great the Fifa franchise is.

I guess you can pull your own uniform, too

Speaking of soccer, I am still baffled that so many Americans can watch other sports and think soccer sucks. Now that I am following/watching soccer again, I can barely watch any other sports. Soccer doesn't catch on in the United States because there is no time for commercial breaks (they play continuous halves, leaving halftime as the only time for commercials) and the players don't have to wear equipment to compensate for getting drilled. Not to mention that many sports are just a rip off of soccer with a weird spin thrown on them. Instead of using feet, we'll use hands. Instead of scoring goals, we'll score baskets/touchdowns (or you will score goals if you're playing hockey).

I'll have to dedicate more time to why sports that aren't soccer suck, I have a lot of reasons. The intolerance of soccer fueled these reasons, but I can't go back now. What a coincidence, I was going on about how much I like what the creators have done with Fifa 12, and who would have guessed, I just got it in the mail today! What a coincidence. I've only played two games thus far, but the game is great. The actual soccer game play gets refined a little bit each year making each installment more realistic than the last. I guess they have to do something like that or else no one would buy the newest edition. So far the only thing I really do not like about the game has absolutely nothing to do with the game play, graphics, or anything like that. What bothers me is that the Turkish soccer league has not been included in Fifa 12. I have played extensively as the club Fenerbahce in the past two Fifas and greatly enjoyed it. Fenerbahce has a great team and an exquisite player, Alex, on it that I love to play with. Alex, a Brazilian midfielder, is in my opinion the most underrated player in all of soccer and I can no longer play as him or his team.

Alex, the most underrated and unknown

I really don't get why Alex (de Souza) doesn't get called up to the Brazilian national team either. He was a captain at one point, then suddenly he just never gets called upon. Something is fishy there. He definitely deserves more recognition and a spot in Fifa 12. He's a goal and assist machine, if he isn't scoring the goals, then he's setting his teammates up. One year when Fenerbahce were in the Champions League, Alex led the whole tournament in assists and Fenerbahce didn't even advance very far. I don't know why he doesn't play for Brazil or get interest from big market teams. I guess no one wants an explosive attacking player, teams would rather go after pieces of shit like Fernando Torres. No one should have high hopes for Torres. If he had any potential, then Barcelona would be bidding for him just like anyone else on the Spanish national team that's worth anything.


Besides the lack of inclusion of the Turkish Super Lig, I highly recommend Fifa 12. I have yet to play an online match, I'll probably get to that tonight. I'm just guessing, but I would bet that when I do play online my opponents will choose Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, or Real Madrid to play as. I don't need to explain myself. What I don't know is what team I will play as, there's no more Fenerbahce!


In the upcoming days, hours, months, years, who knows, I do plan on posting some more of my rants on social networking. I've had my edition about statuses sitting around in the draft box for far too long. I'll have to do some final editing and release that bad boy. I'm also planning on releasing some shit about "unfriending" "defriending," what ever you want to call it. I find the whole thing rather comical, so stay tuned for that. Lastly, check out Alex, the guy is insane!

We're the Best, No Exceptions

I feel that a dark fog has recently engulfed the sport that I enjoy most. Simply stated, I do not like the current installment of Barcelona. I dislike them not for their success as they are truly a wonderful soccer team, definitely one of the greatest of all time. What bothers me about them is the aura that surrounds the team. If something good is said about any other team, it must immediately be acknowledged that Barcelona is better. No exceptions are allowed, Barcelona has to be known as the best or else the players and fans will cry together as one tragic symphony.

Personally, I think that the Barcelona team of the mid 2000s was much more entertaining to watch. That was during the time when Ronaldinho was at his peak and he had the explosive Samuel Eto'o and a young, aspiring superstar in Lionel Messi. Today's Barcelona squad consists primarily of the Spanish national team with Messi, creating Spain on steroids. When you see the names on this Barcelona team you would think it is exciting to watch. However, I find their style of play quite boring. To me, it looks like they are just playing keep away from the other team, waiting for them to fall asleep so Messi can dribble by all of them and tuck the ball by a helpless goalkeeper. Now that's what I call entertainment! I know the statistics are staggering, Xavi and Iniesta pass the ball with a 99.99999% success rate, but is it really that hard when most of their passes are practically risk-free?

Now here's an exciting team

Barcelona's play style makes it incredibly difficult for the opposition to gain much possession. This is Barcelona playing to the strength of the players it has, which I have no problem with, but it does mean that they are going to have about 65-70% of possession in almost all of the games they have. I am always greatly disturbed every time Barcelona plays Real Madrid because of the ongoing argument about who is the best player in the world, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The majority of soccer fans seem to believe that Messi is currently the world's best, and with plenty of reason. However, I grow increasingly tired of using Barcelona versus Real Madrid games as a point of argument. Everyone always speaks about how Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't show up in big games, like those against Barcelona. What do you expect CR7 to do when Barcelona has the ball all the time? I guess Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make an impact on the game when he doesn't have the ball.

Did Messi score without the ball?

Don't get me wrong, Barcelona deserved all the success they had during the 2010-2011 season. They dominated La Liga and played very well in the Champions League, capping it off with a 3-1 win over Manchester United, which was a more entertaining game than I expected. Although I'm still bothered by the way everyone is on Messi's nuts (the little genius), but I'll rant about that later. With Barcelona winning it all in the domestic league and Europe's most prized soccer tournament, Barcelona's current squad is arguably the greatest of all time. But look back only as far as last year. Inter Milan's 2009-2010 campaign resulted in more trophies as the team won the treble, bringing home the domestic league title, the domestic cup title, and the Champions League trophy. I do realize that Barcelona accomplished this feat very recently, too, but the style with which Inter won the Champions League is incredible. Inter Milan knocked out Chelsea (champions of England), Barcelona (champions of Spain), and beat Bayern Munich (champions of Germany) in the final. Inter knocked out the champions of three of the best leagues in the world and won the Italian league which is high up on the rankings as well. That is one heck of a year and maybe it should go down as one of the most historic seasons in soccer history. I do realize that in the previous season Barcelona won many trophies and capped it all off with a great Champions League triumph, but Inter's run was simply magnificent, headed by my favorite coach of all time, Jose Mourinho.

I'm the greatest of all time, and I know it

Mourinho is now part of the Barcelona and Real Madrid clash, given that he is Real Madrid's current coach. I was a little sad when Barcelona still managed to win La Liga this season ahead of Real Madrid, but I still think Mourinho's first campaign at the head in Madrid was successful. I have no doubt that the Special One can give Barcelona a good run and hopefully manage to pull ahead of the defending champions this coming season, and if we're lucky, maybe Victor Valdes will try to restrain Mourinho from celebrating again.




I'm a very strange sports fan, in that I don't necessarily have a great deal of favorite teams. I am more a fan of certain players and how they play the game and carry themselves. This is why I dislike the current Barcelona team. I used to be a Barcelona supporter back when they had Rivaldo and Patrick Kluivert. I just do not enjoy watching the current installment of Barcelona play. All the passing back and forth, sometimes with very little effort to go forward, gets dull. Even when Barcelona wins games 5-0 the play is very choppy. I don't understand how Jose Mourinho's Inter team can be criticized for playing solid defense, yet Pep Guardiola's Barcelona is praised for playing keep away.

Another thing that bothers me about Barcelona is Lionel Messi. I think he is an absolutely fantastic player and is exciting to watch. I like it when he gets the ball because he usually tries to go forward and relentlessly attack the goal. What bothers me is the media around him. The media is always hyping up how the "little genius" is the greatest. I don't doubt that he is currently the greatest player in the game, but it annoys me how he's always compared to Diego Maradona. These comparisons are only made because both are Argentinian.

I'm on drugs and I use my hands!

I think the argument is taken back too many years. We only need to look back to the late nineties and we can see that Messi isn't even the best South American to play for Barcelona. Ronaldo, Il Fenomeno, was better than Messi. Ronaldo was faster, dominated keepers, and beat entire defenses on his own in his one year at Barcelona in the 96-97 season. Ronaldo also scored a great deal of goals in the ultra defensive Italian league despite many injuries. I don't understand why the debate about the greatest soccer player of all time always starts with Pele and Maradona. Ronaldo was simply better.

Greatest of all time

Barcelona is an exceptional team and I respect what the club has done. Winning countless trophies and consideration as one of the greatest teams of all time is nothing to take lightly. I just wish the media would stop representing them as a club that can do no wrong headed by its little genius. All other clubs take a seat behind Barcelona, and if Barcelona is knocked out of a tournament, they must have been wronged. When the day comes that Barcelona does not look like the Spanish national team and they open up play more, I might once again support Barcelona.

Forever a Champion

This past weekend Jose Mourinho suffered his first loss at home as a futbol manager since February 2002. Love him or hate him, that is simply absurd. This guy managed 150 futbol games in a row at home without losing and that deserves great praise.

Many people hate Mourinho, describing him as cocky and arrogant. Those are the reasons that I love him! This guy is the shit and he's not afraid to take a shit on others. Criticize Mourinho and he'll hit you back where it hurts, just ask Arsene Wenger or Rafa Benitez. Criticism and trash talk  follows this guy everywhere and he consumes it all while reveling in all his successes.

Regardless if Real Madrid can catch Barcelona in La Liga or win the Champions League this year, Mourinho is still the greatest coach in the world. Last year he lead Inter Milan to the highly coveted treble, winning the domestic league and cup in Italy as long as the prestigious Champions League where his squad knocked out the English, Spanish, and German champions from the competition. Did I mention that he won the Champions a few years earlier with FC Porto? How is Mourinho not the greatest coach?



I find it hard to decide if I love the guy more for calling himself a special one or infuriating Victor Valdes to the point where he was trying to prevent Mourinho from celebrating. Mourinho's uncanny ability to get underneath the opposition's skin (and those he's not playing against) is one of his greatest assets. I can only imagine how great it feels following a victory to know that the other team hates you for having won, that must be incredible!

I think people don't like Mourinho because they wish they could be him.While he is busy riling up what seems to be almost everyone in the futbol world, his players love him at the same time and that is more than most managers can say about their relationships with their players. Remember when Sir Alex Ferguson threw a boot at David Beckham? Any manager in the world would take the silverware that Mourinho has earned over his coaching career and it is amazing the type of success he can have at many different clubs. The man is simply a genius. Getting Eto'o and cash from Barcelona for Ibrahimabitch, pure genius.




I expect Mourinho to continue firing up the world of futbol for years to come. He truly is a champion. Long live the Special One!

The Phenomenon is Over

This past Monday, February 14, 2011 saw the closing of the career of one of the most brilliant soccer players of all time, Ronaldo. It is sad to see him go because he was such a captivating sight when he was healthy. I loved the way he would pick up the ball from anywhere on the pitch and haul ass directly into the opposing defense daring them to stop him.

In my estimation, he is the greatest player of all time because of the way he influenced games. He scored many crucial goals throughout his career at the club and international level, including the two goals in the 2002 World Cup against the great German keeper Oliver Khan and many goals in UEFA competition (including finals).

Many often speak about "what could have been" when looking back on Ronaldo's career because of all the fatal injuries he had. I don't like to think this way, especially about Ronaldo, because he had an unbelievable career regardless. Sure he did miss many years and probably played in many games when he wasn't fit, but there is no denying that he transformed as a player so he could perform at the highest of levels despite his unfortunate knee problems.

I also get extremely annoyed when he is referred to as "gordo" (fat) or fat Ronaldo because it is simply unfair to call him that. He was accused of being fat when playing for Real Madrid, but I remember Ronaldo running by people and scoring a multitude of goals in his second stint in the Spanish liga.

I believe Ronaldo played the game of soccer better than anyone because of his ability to adapt to many leagues and his insatiable desire to score goals. He took by storm the Brazilian, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian leagues with his slaloming runs and deadly finishing skills. He could finish from anywhere near the goal, set up his teammates, or weave through a defense on his own.



It is sad to see such a wonderful player exit the game, but his decision was definitely the right one. The great game of soccer will never be the same without Ronaldo, a true phenomenon.

A Misunderstood Decision

Many people disagree with FIFA's recent decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, these people clearly lack knowledge of this wonderful country that undoubtedly deserves this honor. Qatar boasts sponsorship laws described as akin to modern-day slavery and eating, drinking, and smoking outdoors is not allowed during Ramadan. The Qatar Distribution Company remains the country's only importer and retailer for alcohol which is sure to supply the hordes of World Cup travelers with their alcoholic beverages of choice. Qatar's government is even kind enough to allow women to legally drive.

Qatar is located in the Middle East, currently one of the safest places in the world, over an unfathomable 4,416 square miles. The weather conditions in Qatar are also ideal for one of the world's greatest competitions. In June and July, the months during which the World Cup takes place, the average low temperatures are 81 and 84 degrees respectively and the average high temperatures are 106 and 115 degrees respectively. What better way to take the pitch than in 100 degree weather?

Qatar also has a rich soccer history deserving of this competition. Soccer is slightly ahead of cricket as the most popular sport in the country, displaying the undying passion for the sport. The country's soccer-filled past culminates with a second place showing by Qatar's under 20 national team placing second in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship after a nail-biting 4-0 loss to the Germans.



Qatar, a thirty-nine year old country, with a population the size of Connecticut at 1.7 million people, with fifty hotels and six airports (four of which are paved), temperatures north of 100 degrees, and oppresses women is the ideal location to host a worldwide tournament.

10 Reasons why Ronaldo is an All-Time Great

10. Speed

This guy could simply outrun opponents with the ball at his feet. Ronaldo said he never timed himself over 100 meters, but he did do tests over shorter distances of 20 to 30 meters with and without the ball. Amazingly, he says he recorded faster times with the ball at his feet! Ronaldo would pick up the ball anywhere on the pitch and run fearlessly into the defense challenging them to stop his slaloming runs.





9. Step overs

Ronaldo possesses many great talents and abilities, but the step overs became a trademark for him. Unlike many other players, Ronaldo actually uses the move to beat defenders. He was able to use step overs to create space for himself to get off a shot or take off toward goal. What is truly remarkable about the Brazilian is his ability to use step overs inside the box. Despite the tight, constricting confines of the box, Ronaldo beat defenders and the goalie with perfectly executed step overs.



8. Rounding Goalkeepers

Ronaldo was a goalkeepers worst nightmare. Streaking toward the goal with blazing speed R9 made a habit of dribbling around helpless goalkeepers. Ronaldo said he "loves to score goals after passing all the defenders as well as the keeper. That is not my specialty, but my habit."



7. Goal to Game Ratio

Ronaldo is just a pure goal scorer. He has produced goals at every club he has been a part of. In his career he has played in 511 games and netted 352 goals, an astonishing .682 goal to game ratio. Any player would dream to score goals with that regularity.

Ronaldo's career statistics:

Club performance League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Brazil League Copa do Brasil South America Total 1993 Cruzeiro Série A 14 12 - - 12 10 441 441 Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total 1994-95 PSV Eredivisie 33 30 1 2 2 3 36 35 1995-96 13 12 3 1 5 6 21 19 Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total 1996-97 Barcelona La Liga 37 34 5 8 7 5 49 47 Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total 1997-98 Inter Milan Serie A 32 25 4 3 11 6 47 34 1998-99 19 14 3 0 6 1 28 15 1999-00 7 3 1 0 0 0 8 3 2000-01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2001-02 10 7 1 0 5 0 16 7 Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total 2002-03 Real Madrid La Liga 31 23 1 0 12 7 44 30 2003-04 32 24 7 3 9 4 48 31 2004-05 34 21 1 0 10 3 45 24 2005-06 23 14 2 1 2 0 27 15 2006-07 7 1 2 1 4 2 13 4 Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total 2006-07 AC Milan Serie A 14 7 0 0 0 0 14 7 2007-08 6 2 0 0 0 0 6 2 Brazil League Copa do Brasil South America Total 2009 Corinthians Série A 20 12 8 3 — — 382 232 2010 11 6 — — 7 3 273 123 Total Brazil 45 30 8 3 19 13 1094 794 Netherlands 46 42 4 3 7 9 57 54 Spain 164 117 18 13 44 21 226 151 Italy 88 58 9 3 22 7 119 68 Career total 343 247 39 22 92 50 5114 3524 1 includes 18 matches and 22 goals in Campeonato Mineiro. 2 includes 10 matches and 8 goals in Campeonato Paulista. 3 includes 9 matches and 3 goals in Campeonato Paulista. 4See123 "Cup" include domestic cups and supercups; "Continental" includes European cups, South American cups and Intercontinental Cup. Professional career totals Teams Appearances Goals Goals per game Clubs 511 352 0.689 National Team 097 062 0.639 U-23 National Team 08 06 0.750 Total 616 420 0.682

6. Awards

Ronaldo's great play was recognized everywhere he played by the tremendous amount of awards he won. Most notably Ronaldo was awarded the FIFA World Player of the year award an astounding three times including when he was twenty years old! Ronaldo and Zidane are the only two players to win the award three times. Ronaldo was also the recipient of the prestigious Ballon D'or award twice and was elected to the Brazilian National Hall of Fame in 2006. A complete list of Ronaldo's awards and accolades follows:

• Supercopa Libertadores Top Scorer: 1993-94
• Campeonato Mineiro Top Scorer: 1993-94
• Campeonato Mineiro Team of The Year: 1994
• Eredivisie Top Scorer: 1994-95
• La Liga Top Scorer: 1996-97,2003–2004
• European Golden Boot: 1996-97
• Don Balón Award La Liga Foreign Player of the Year: 1996-97
• Copa América Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
• Copa América Most Valuable Player: 1997
• Confederations Cup All-Star Team: 1997
• Cup Winners Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1997
• Cup Winners Cup Top Goal Scorer: 1996-1997
• IFFHS World's Top Goal Scorer of the Year: 1997
• UEFA Most Valuable Player: 1997-98
• Serie A Footballer of the Year: 1997-98
• Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year: 1997-98
• UEFA Best Forward: 1997-98
• Bravo Award : 1995, 1997, 1998
• FIFA World Cup Golden Ball: 1998
• UEFA Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 1998
• Copa América Top Scorer: 1999
• Copa América All-Star Team: 1997, 1999
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 1996, 1997, 2002
• Ballon D'or: 1997, 2002
• World Soccer Magazine World Player of The Year: 1996,1997.2002
• Onze d'Or: 1997, 2002
• FIFA World Cup Silver Ball: 2002
• FIFA 100
• FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1998, 2002
• FIFA World Cup Final Most Valuable Player: 2002
• FIFA World Cup Top Scorer: 2002
• Intercontinental Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002
• UEFA Team of The Year: 2002
• Laureus Comeback of the Year: 2002
• Strogaldo De Legendary Award 2002
• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality: 2002
• La Liga South American Player of the Year: 1996-97, 2002–03
• Golden Foot award: 2006
• Brazilian National Hall of Fame: Class of 2006
• Serie A Player of the Decade: 1997-2007
• France Football Magazine: Starting eleven of all-time (2007)
• FIFA World Cup: All-Time Leading Scorer
• Campeonato Paulista: Best Player, 2009
• Goal.com : Player of a decade: Winner 2000-2010^[34]

			5. Injuries
			Unfortunately, throughout Ronaldo's career he was plagued by knee problems that started in his young career while he was playing for PSV. At PSV Ronaldo had knee surgery to repair an overstretched ligament. The final of the 1998 World Cup in France marked the beginning of his very serious injuries. Ronaldo experienced some type of seizure hours before the World Cup final and was initially not in Brazil's starting lineup. However, by game time, Ronaldo was back, but it was a sad display as a ghost of Ronaldo helplessly roamed the field while Zidane and France walked away with the championship. Ronaldo played very little after the World Cup final and when he took the field in 2000 against Lazio, Ronaldo seriously injured his knee moments after subbing in. Doctor's gave the Brazilian a low chance of playing soccer again. This was a dark time for Ronaldo, spending all his time in the hospital not knowing if would be able to play the game he loved so much again. Zidane was the only player to visit Ronaldo in the hospital during this time, an act that Ronaldo greatly appreciated and has noted in interviews. Ronaldo did in fact recover from this injury and triumphed at the 2002 World Cup, helping Brazil to the title while scoring 8 goals and winning the Golden Boot. He then went on to have many solid seasons at Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid. Ronaldo would experience more injuries in his career, but his determination and will always lifted him to the top of the wonderful game of soccer. Injuries are also the reason that Ronaldo put on weight at times during his career. Some started referring to him as "gordo" and poking fun at his weight, but he put on the extra weight because his injuries prevented him from practicing and staying fit. Despite what he was called, Ronaldo continued to score goals even when he was "fat."

4. Jose Mourinho's Praise

Legendary coach Jose Mourinho has praised Ronaldo as the greatest player his "eyes have ever seen." Mourinho was a translator for Barcelona when Ronaldo played for the club and fondly remembers how the Brazilian played.



3. Preparation

Ronaldo is a very unique player possessing many skills and talents. However, I can only smile when I found out about how the guy would prepare for games, and I'm not speaking about practice. Ronaldo said the secret to his success is he has to have sex before games. Not just any sex, it has to be the right kind. He says that the female has to do all the work so that he doesn't use up all his energy before the game. Ronaldo when he was with Real Madrid:

"Sex a couple of hours before a match is the key to my success. The man has to be passive and enjoy the experience. This relaxes him and gives him a load of energy. If the player is too active during sex, then he is wasting energy which he will lack during the match."

No explanation need here, Ronaldo is the man.

2. World Cup goals

Ronaldo's 15 World Cup goals are the most in the history of the competition. Ronaldo is the best World Cup scorer for the World Cup's greatest nation, Brazil.



1. Barcelona season (1996-1997)

The one season Ronaldo spent at Barcelona was simply amazing. The way he carried the offense and flew toward the goal taking on entire defenses on his own was spectacular. He scored an unprecedented 47 goals in 49 matches across all competitions. This season was truly one of the greatest individual performances the beautiful game of futbol has ever witnessed.

Time for a Dive

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably one of the best soccer players in the world today. However, he continually gets knocked for his tendency to dive and end up on the ground after very little contact. Without a doubt CR7 does dive, but what most people don't understand is why.

CR7 is not a wimp and can take contact just like any other player. He just plays soccer at a level beyond the comprehension of many viewers. With the suggestion of a friend, I have been paying more attention to CR7's matches and watched how he plays. In games where his team is leading by a comfortable margin, you will notice that he does not spend much time on the ground. In close games, I believe the amount of time he spends on the ground exponentially increases. Why? Because this man wants to win games. I do believe that he is a showboat and wants to score as many goals as he possibly can, but the simple matter is that he does want to win. However, there is definitely a correlation between the score and the amount of time that CR7 spends diving and rolling on the ground.

Even if you don't agree with me, CR7 will always look way better in a bathing suit than you anyways.

Be Champions