2005-06 Soccer Thread

[daedalus]

If Dennis had managed to finish it off with a goal, the stand would have come down!

What a way to send off Highbury and what a way to send off Dennis.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Avoids the row that would occurred had Spurs won and Arsenal gone on to win the CL Final

THAT would have been the only funny part of us not finishing 4th. They have no ground, considering it was laid out well before the season started.

Of course, it's even better to get them on the last day and a number of Arsenal fans found a second favourite team this weekend.

The other interesting part of this weekend was what was going on with Van Nistelrooij and where he could possibly end up. In spite of playing for the Manchester United Buccaneers, he's a Hell of a player.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Avoids the row that would occurred had Spurs won and Arsenal gone on to win the CL Final

Avoids that row, but replaces it with a summer of Spurs fans claiming their team was poisoned by Arsenal special agents

If Ledley King really does follow in Sol Campbells footsteps (by signing for Arsenal, not the other stuff) then there'll be flurries of death threats from the Spurs fans before August.

[tanglewood]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Starting at about $600K US?! wow!

Pretty reasonable for London.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Critch

Avoids that row, but replaces it with a summer of Spurs fans claiming their team was poisoned by Arsenal special agents

If Ledley King really does follow in Sol Campbells footsteps (by signing for Arsenal, not the other stuff) then there'll be flurries of death threats from the Spurs fans before August.

King signing on would rock so hard. Not just for the fact that he's a darn good centreback but the whole following-Sol's-footstep thing. I'd be decidedly amused.

But I was under the impression that he signed an extension recently, no?

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

Although watching Robben flop around like a fish is fun, it becomes repetitive. With the level of talent they have, I find it embarrassing that Chelsea resorts to that kind of play, as well as bullying the ref. I think it reflects negatively on the manager.

Robben's certainly a fair target for that complaint, but I think it reflects as much on football as a whole as on Jose. We've got a few players who go down too easily (Robben, Drogba though apparently he's been improving recently, Robben . . .), but then so does everybody. And everyone swarms the ref; it's just that we're the only ones who get charged by the FA for it. I'd prefer it if the team would cut all that crap out, but the perception that we're much worse than the rest of the league is rooted more in media bias* than in reality.

*That's not necessarily a media-hates-Chelsea bias. People watch us more often than most other teams, so they see us dive more than they see other teams dive. Put that together with the usual dislike of any team that's winning too much and you get the fodder for a Chelsea Are Evil Divers story. That story then winds up being self-perpetuating as people remember the bits of cheating which fit the story and forget about what was just random players handling/diving. It's the same reason Arsenal's spell as The Worst Divers In The History of Football lasted just as long as they were at the top.

[daedalus]

We STILL have people who goes to the ground far too easily for even Arsenal fans' taste (Pires and Reyes comes specifically to mind, Vieira when he was with us). Although, I honestly think JAR gets an unfair shake on that because there are times when he's legitimately kicked around a fair bit.

That bit of annoyance aside, I understand and agree with your point (about the focus on Chelsea players and diving being due to the focus on them and their success).

[condors]

Tim Howard is joining Everton for a 12 month loan hopefully he can do well enough to be first choice there and continue to be the first choice somewhere. He was a very good shot stopper but needs games at the top level to get comfertable with game and hopefully no more mental mistakes.

[Butter]

You have to wonder if Howard's career is too far gone for this to make a difference. Keepers generally have a longer career than most other players, so you'd hope not. Maybe there's hope for Tim yet. I'll be interested in watching should he secure the #1 slot at Everton.

[ISiddiqui]

Everton, eh? He may still lose out on the starting gig by Martyn. It probably would have been better for him to go out on loan for another side.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Everton, eh? He may still lose out on the starting gig by Martyn. It probably would have been better for him to go out on loan for another side.

Eh - where else does he get a shot at being no 1 ? He probably didnt want to go to a promoted side (and Reading or Sheff Utd have no need for him), and the other options are probably the Boro's of the world (assuming Schwarzer leaves).

[ISiddiqui]

Actually, I was thinking Boro, if Schwarzer leaves, would be a decent position for Howard to be in. He has a better chance of winning the starting position. It would be the ultimate blow if he couldn't start at Everton.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Everton, eh? He may still lose out on the starting gig by Martyn. It probably would have been better for him to go out on loan for another side.

Martyn's like 39. Plus he loses a lot of athletic skill in 2006-2007 according to FM.

[SirFozzie]

*chuckles* yeah, the NY Times shoulda worded this one a littttttle differently

The 12 stadiums that will play host to World Cup games began to get new grass fields this week. Seven of the stadiums will use grass grown in the Netherlands.

[ISiddiqui]

Sweet!

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by Katon

Robben's certainly a fair target for that complaint, but I think it reflects as much on football as a whole as on Jose. We've got a few players who go down too easily (Robben, Drogba though apparently he's been improving recently, Robben . . .), but then so does everybody. And everyone swarms the ref; it's just that we're the only ones who get charged by the FA for it. I'd prefer it if the team would cut all that crap out, but the perception that we're much worse than the rest of the league is rooted more in media bias* than in reality.

*That's not necessarily a media-hates-Chelsea bias. People watch us more often than most other teams, so they see us dive more than they see other teams dive. Put that together with the usual dislike of any team that's winning too much and you get the fodder for a Chelsea Are Evil Divers story. That story then winds up being self-perpetuating as people remember the bits of cheating which fit the story and forget about what was just random players handling/diving. It's the same reason Arsenal's spell as The Worst Divers In The History of Football lasted just as long as they were at the top.

I agree diving is not restricted to Chelsea. However, Robben is an especially talented artist and is such a whiny bitch about it that he draws special attention.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I agree diving is not restricted to Chelsea. However, Robben is an especially talented artist and is such a whiny bitch about it that he draws special attention.

I'm no fan of diving, but I think it's become a bit of a self-defense system for him to avoid the nasty tackles defenders try, or to at least balance out the times the referee misses the horroble stuff defenders can do to stop a super fast player. Going to Chelsea didn't do his reputation good, but he's still one of my favorite players.

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

The 12 stadiums that will play host to World Cup games began to get new grass fields this week. Seven of the stadiums will use grass grown in the Netherlands.

There goes our reputation...

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

The 12 stadiums that will play host to World Cup games began to get new grass fields this week. Seven of the stadiums will use grass grown in the Netherlands.

Uh oh... wrong kind of grass!!!

[ISiddiqui]

Hopefully no one tosses a flare!

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I'm no fan of diving, but I think it's become a bit of a self-defense system for him to avoid the nasty tackles defenders try, or to at least balance out the times the referee misses the horroble stuff defenders can do to stop a super fast player. Going to Chelsea didn't do his reputation good, but he's still one of my favorite players.


There goes our reputation...

You know, another defense mechanism for those nasty old defenders is to dribble around them and score.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I'm no fan of diving, but I think it's become a bit of a self-defense system for him to avoid the nasty tackles defenders try, or to at least balance out the times the referee misses the horroble stuff defenders can do to stop a super fast player. Going to Chelsea didn't do his reputation good, but he's still one of my favorite players.

What about the time he threw himself to the ground holding his face to get Reina sent off?

To be honest, he's just about the worst of the divers in the English Premier at the moment, it's going to come back and haunt him, just like it has for Ronaldo. Refs are so wary of being conned by a known diver like Ronaldo that the benefit of the doubt regularly goes against him. Though alledgedly Ronaldo wasn't faking injury when Ruud got a hold of him in midweek

[KeyserSoze]

Seville has won the Uefa Cup. Great people with a nice talent.

Cheers (Olé! )

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

You know, another defense mechanism for those nasty old defenders is to dribble around them and score.

You wish. When he was younger, that's what Robben did, but the more he did that, defenders decided to go nasty and just go for the legs to stop him. So what if they get booked, taking Robben out is their mission and getting him injured is the easiest way to avoid losing. I've seen it happen too much and too often already, and he's only barely in his 20s.

I won't agree or like the diving tactic, but you've got to look from both sides of a situation to judge.

Originally Posted by Critch

What about the time he threw himself to the ground holding his face to get Reina sent off?

To be honest, he's just about the worst of the divers in the English Premier at the moment, it's going to come back and haunt him, just like it has for Ronaldo. Refs are so wary of being conned by a known diver like Ronaldo that the benefit of the doubt regularly goes against him. Though alledgedly Ronaldo wasn't faking injury when Ruud got a hold of him in midweek

Now getting someone sent off is different, that going into the extreme. But so many great players have done nasty things. In the end it will comeback to hurt him and his team in the future. Next time he'll be playing Materazzi, but despite being KOed, nobody will believe him.

[condors]

[quote=MIJB#19]You wish. When he was younger, that's what Robben did, but the more he did that, defenders decided to go nasty and just go for the legs to stop him. So what if they get booked, taking Robben out is their mission and getting him injured is the easiest way to avoid losing. I've seen it happen too much and too often already, and he's only barely in his 20s.

I won't agree or like the diving tactic, but you've got to look from both sides of a situation to judge.

QUOTE]

there aren't 2 sides, kicking out at a player is wrong, diving is wrong, 2 wrongs don't make a right

[Crapshoot]

On a different note,
a fond farewell to Alan Shearer. The man could have won everything had he taken the easy way out to go to Man Utd - instead, he went back home to the Toon Army for 10 years, that vortex of dysfunction. I'm sure Marc or Jari would have something more appropriate to say, but damn - what a player.

[ISiddiqui]

To Big Al!!

[ISiddiqui]

Thanks for the memories:





You were a prince on and off the field. Could have gone to ManU, but wanted to come back home. Pure class.

[Wolfpack]

MLS has announced a 13th team to begin play next year:

Toronto FC

MLS still intends to get up to 16 by 2010 or so. Will they add a second before next year to balance it out?

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

You wish. When he was younger, that's what Robben did, but the more he did that, defenders decided to go nasty and just go for the legs to stop him. So what if they get booked, taking Robben out is their mission and getting him injured is the easiest way to avoid losing. I've seen it happen too much and too often already, and he's only barely in his 20s.

I won't agree or like the diving tactic, but you've got to look from both sides of a situation to judge.

No I really don't. There are plenty of world class players that don't dive and cry like babies to the ref. He's not one of them.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

MLS has announced a 13th team to begin play next year:

Toronto FC

MLS still intends to get up to 16 by 2010 or so. Will they add a second before next year to balance it out?

They are hoping to, possible candidates are Cleveland and St Louis

[SirFozzie]

Dola: This isn't a black eye for Italian soccer, it's a full fledged Mike Tyson beating (missing ear and all)

Match-fixing probe rocks Serie A
Prosecutors are investigating top clubs, referees and officials for suspected match-fixing in the biggest scandal to hit Italy since the 1980s.

Two senior officials of Juventus, Italy's most successful club, are among 41 people under formal investigation.

Six-times European champions AC Milan as well as Lazio feature in the probe of 19 league games from last season.

In Rome, police searched the soccer federation's offices and those of the referees' association.

Referee Massimo De Santis, who will take part in next month's World Cup in Germany, is being investigated in the probe.

The crisis led incoming Prime Minister Romano Prodi to suggest that a political 'commisar' be put in charge of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

Franco Carraro resigned as FIGC president on Monday and is also under investigation by Naples magistrates.

Carraro responded to reports earlier this week that he was under investigation by saying: "I am absolutely calm because I know I have always acted correctly.

"Over the years I have featured in many investigations from magistrates and I have always been cleared or acquitted."

The worlds of business and politics are closely linked to Italian football - former prime minister Berlusconi is owner of AC Milan while the powerful Fiat-owning Agnelli family effectively control Juventus through a holding company.
Leading Italian businessman Diego Dalle Valle, owner of the luxury goods firm Tod's and honorary president of Florence club Fiorentina, was also named on Friday along with his brother Andrea.

Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi and CEO Antonio Giraudo are at the centre of the scandal which was triggered by the publication of telephone taps of them discussing refereeing appointments with senior federation officials.

On Thursday the board of directors of Juventus resigned en masse ahead of a shareholders' meeting on 29 June.

Turin magistrates have put Giraudo under investigation for possible false accounting relating to transfer dealings.

Magistrates in Rome are examining the operation of the GEA management company, which controls almost 200 players and coaches and is headed by Moggi's son Alessandro.

Juventus are strong favourites to win their 29th Italian title on Sunday's final day of the season, although the status of last season's win now depends on the outcome of the investigations.

If Juventus were to be found guilty of "sporting fraud", they could be stripped of their title win and face demotion to the second tier Serie B.

In the last major scandal to hit Italian football, AC Milan and Lazio were demoted to Serie B in 1980 following a match-fixing and illegal gambling investigation.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

No I really don't. There are plenty of world class players that don't dive and cry like babies to the ref. He's not one of them.

Well, most of those world class players dive occasionally. Just not to quite the same degree.

And whether or not you think it justifies what he's doing (I don't think it does, for the record) you still ought to at least think about why it happens if you're going to enter into lengthy discussions. Robben doesn't get very good protection from refs, and that's an important part of the context. There's a reason strikers and wingers dive more than centre-backs, and it's not because they're worse people.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

"Over the years I have featured in many investigations from magistrates and I have always been cleared or acquitted."

Hee, hee. Does that mean that being cleared means that you were actually innocent, while being acquitted means that you got away with something?

[ISiddiqui]

Btw, other HUGE news from Italy is that Shevchencko says he wants out of Milan. Rumors have it that he may be looking at Chelsea.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Katon

...There's a reason strikers and wingers dive more than centre-backs, and it's not because they're worse people.

Largely because if they get a free kick it's in a dangerous situation, whereas if a defender doesn;t get a free kick the defence is a man down. (As the counter argument I believe this is why the defenders' dives work better - the referee can't believe it is a dive because the risk is too great)

What I can say in defence of 'divers' is a lot of the so-called dives are evasive action: OK there may not have been contact, but if they hadn't have jumped out the way the injury could have been pretty bad. This is not a dive - there is no way in which a player should leave his leg to be snapped just to prove it was a foul.

However, the likes of Robben, Pires, Reyes (and for the sake of balance, on my team Gudjonsson) jump to the floor to win free kicks far too often just because there is no better option available at that time.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Btw, other HUGE news from Italy is that Shevchencko says he wants out of Milan. Rumors have it that he may be looking at Chelsea.

With Gallas being part of the deal - he is getting pissed at not being selected at centre back

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

On a different note,
a fond farewell to Alan Shearer. The man could have won everything had he taken the easy way out to go to Man Utd - instead, he went back home to the Toon Army for 10 years, that vortex of dysfunction. I'm sure Marc or Jari would have something more appropriate to say, but damn - what a player.

Shearer was a complete cunt if he didn't play for your team - he moaned and complained to the ref about every little foul against him, while dishing out foul play himself at every opportunity. He scored goals aplenty, and set up his fair share. He was the son of a steel metal worker didn't you know?

He was the best true centre forward I have seen in my 32 years, but not my favourite (for the record Alan Smith (Leicester/Arsenal version) and Andy Gray). I never supported Southampton, Blackburn or Newcastle, but I am an England fan, and for the fact that Shearer was English, I am grateful.

Side note - I once saw Shearer at the Dell score a hattrick against my Leicester: in my mind this was his debut (he definitely was a scrawny fella at the time) but this is subject to debate: it was definitely one of his first pro games.

He will be missed: he is the type of player you only truly love if he is on your team, but you have to have a grudging respect for regardless.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Largely because if they get a free kick it's in a dangerous situation, whereas if a defender doesn;t get a free kick the defence is a man down. (As the counter argument I believe this is why the defenders' dives work better - the referee can't believe it is a dive because the risk is too great)

What I can say in defence of 'divers' is a lot of the so-called dives are evasive action: OK there may not have been contact, but if they hadn't have jumped out the way the injury could have been pretty bad. This is not a dive - there is no way in which a player should leave his leg to be snapped just to prove it was a foul.

However, the likes of Robben, Pires, Reyes (and for the sake of balance, on my team Gudjonsson) jump to the floor to win free kicks far too often just because there is no better option available at that time.

True. I've been very qualified in my defence of Robben for exactly that reason. But there are times when he just doesn't get any protection from the refs and he has to choose between going down easily (and hopefully making the ref keep a closer eye on/book the defender) and getting repeatedly kicked into the next country. Part of that is because he has a reputation for going down easily, but not all of it.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

With Gallas being part of the deal - he is getting pissed at not being selected at centre back

This scenario has been giving me a headache - I can't figure out whether I'm happy or sad about it.

We're losing one of my favorite players, but we're getting arguably the best player in the world at a position where we're relatively weak, but we're losing one of the best defenders in the world, but he would've been leaving anyway in a year, but . . .

Cue my head exploding.

[ISiddiqui]

Just take Sheva! Man, I wish I could have the problem of my 'head exploding' if my team had the chance at Sheva!

[Critch]

You can stick your World Cup up your arse.

The real important international competition this year (The Kirin Cup) finishes tonight. It's the very cream of International soccer (Japan, Bulgaria and Scotland) playing for the cup in Japan. Bulgaria beat Japan, Scotland demolished Bulgaria 5-1 in a display of footballing beauty not matched since the Brazil team of the early 70's, so now Scotland will win the Kirin Cup (and be Mega-World Champions or something) as long as we avoid losing by more than 3 goals.

Fingers crossed.

[Katon]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Just take Sheva! Man, I wish I could have the problem of my 'head exploding' if my team had the chance at Sheva!

Oh, that's not the problem. Honestly, the only reason I'm ambivalent is that I'm equating Sheva arriving (which would be awesome) with Gallas leaving (major loss), when in reality Gallas is looking set to go whether or not we get Sheva. There's just a limit to how enthusiastic I can be about a deal with one of my favorite players heading out, you know?

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

They are hoping to, possible candidates are Cleveland and St Louis

Interesting. A couple of statewide derbys to choose from to go with Texas and the intra-stadium battle in LA. Kinda curious about the Cleveland possibility, though. One would have thought they or Cincy would have been the first Ohio franchise, though I suppose the lack of competition in C-bus during the summer (well, there is the Clippers, I suppose) gave that city the leg up to get the team.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Critch

now Scotland will win the Kirin Cup (and be Mega-World Champions or something) as long as we avoid losing by more than 3 goals.

0-0 at halftime. You can cut the tension with a knife.

(I know nobody else cares, but that's never stopped me posting in the past. )

[SirFozzie]

oh dear.. it's getting worse over in Italy.

ROME -- Italian soccer was engulfed by turmoil Saturday when a World Cup referee's accreditation was withdrawn after he was implicated in a game-fixing scandal, and star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was questioned by prosecutors for suspected illegal betting.

The scandals were denounced by the Vatican as an "offense to sports" and an "offense to the joy of childhood."

Buffon's team, Juventus, said the goalie "presented himself of his own volition to magistrates," but didn't say what he told prosecutors. Italy's World Cup team will be announced Monday, and his status is in doubt.

Italian media quoted Buffon's lawyer as saying his client had gambled only on soccer games that didn't involve Italian teams, and he had stopped when that practice was banned last year.

The Italian soccer federation said it sent letters to FIFA and European soccer authorities to rescind the accreditations of referee Massimo De Santis and linesmen Alessandro Griselli and Marco Ivaldi, plus those for Paolo Bergamo and Pierluigi Pairetto, who were to assign game officials at the monthlong World Cup in Germany, which begins June 9. De Santis won't be replaced at the tournament.

"Instead of 23 referees, there will be 22 referees," FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said.

Bergamo and Pairetto, who had also been vice chairman of UEFA's referees committee, assigned referees to Italian games last season.

Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are conducting investigations ranging from game-fixing to illegal betting.

Naples prosecutors said Friday they are investigating four Serie A clubs -- Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina -- for alleged game-fixing which could implicate "top names."

"We're absolutely confident that we are in no way involved in this affair," industrialist Diego Della Valle, whose family owns Fiorentina, said at a news conference Saturday. "We're asking the prosecutors to do really thorough work and not to leave anything untouched, and to be as fast as possible."

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, president of the Italian soccer league, also denied any involvement.

"What I care most about is reassuring our fans. It hurts to be involved, even if marginally or not at all," Galliani told the Italian news agency ANSA. "It's very sad, because we haven't done anything."

The Vatican, in its newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, described the scandals as "an offense to sports and to its values. The earthquake which is turning the world of soccer upside down is an offense to the joy of childhood."

Juventus seeks its second straight league title Sunday, the season's final round. The team's entire board resigned Thursday, including managing director Antonio Giraudo and general director Luciano Moggi, who are being investigated for allegedly trying to influence referee appointments.

Italian news organizations printed what they said were transcripts of wiretapped conversations in which Moggi brags that he once locked referees in a locker room for not assuring Juventus of victory.

"They would have to break down the door to get out,"Moggi was quoted as saying in one excerpt.

Prosecutors are investigating claims that Moggi pressured Italy coach Marcello Lippi to call up players represented by his son Alessandro's agent group. Lippi's son, Davide, also works for GEA World, which controls more than half of Italy's Serie A players.

"It's almost enough to make you ashamed of being Italian," said Bologna's former president, Giuseppe Gazzoni Frascara. "They controlled the Italian soccer season."

ANSA also reported Friday that Moggi and Giraudo also were being investigated for possible involvement in kidnapping after Reggina beat Juventus in November 2004.

The Italian soccer federation, whose president Franco Carraro resigned this week, is conducting its own investigation.

[SirFozzie]

oh dear.. it's getting worse over in Italy.

ROME -- Italian soccer was engulfed by turmoil Saturday when a World Cup referee's accreditation was withdrawn after he was implicated in a game-fixing scandal, and star goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was questioned by prosecutors for suspected illegal betting.

The scandals were denounced by the Vatican as an "offense to sports" and an "offense to the joy of childhood."

Buffon's team, Juventus, said the goalie "presented himself of his own volition to magistrates," but didn't say what he told prosecutors. Italy's World Cup team will be announced Monday, and his status is in doubt.

Italian media quoted Buffon's lawyer as saying his client had gambled only on soccer games that didn't involve Italian teams, and he had stopped when that practice was banned last year.

The Italian soccer federation said it sent letters to FIFA and European soccer authorities to rescind the accreditations of referee Massimo De Santis and linesmen Alessandro Griselli and Marco Ivaldi, plus those for Paolo Bergamo and Pierluigi Pairetto, who were to assign game officials at the monthlong World Cup in Germany, which begins June 9. De Santis won't be replaced at the tournament.

"Instead of 23 referees, there will be 22 referees," FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said.

Bergamo and Pairetto, who had also been vice chairman of UEFA's referees committee, assigned referees to Italian games last season.

Prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Parma and Turin are conducting investigations ranging from game-fixing to illegal betting.

Naples prosecutors said Friday they are investigating four Serie A clubs -- Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina -- for alleged game-fixing which could implicate "top names."

"We're absolutely confident that we are in no way involved in this affair," industrialist Diego Della Valle, whose family owns Fiorentina, said at a news conference Saturday. "We're asking the prosecutors to do really thorough work and not to leave anything untouched, and to be as fast as possible."

AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani, president of the Italian soccer league, also denied any involvement.

"What I care most about is reassuring our fans. It hurts to be involved, even if marginally or not at all," Galliani told the Italian news agency ANSA. "It's very sad, because we haven't done anything."

The Vatican, in its newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, described the scandals as "an offense to sports and to its values. The earthquake which is turning the world of soccer upside down is an offense to the joy of childhood."

Juventus seeks its second straight league title Sunday, the season's final round. The team's entire board resigned Thursday, including managing director Antonio Giraudo and general director Luciano Moggi, who are being investigated for allegedly trying to influence referee appointments.

Italian news organizations printed what they said were transcripts of wiretapped conversations in which Moggi brags that he once locked referees in a locker room for not assuring Juventus of victory.

"They would have to break down the door to get out,"Moggi was quoted as saying in one excerpt.

Prosecutors are investigating claims that Moggi pressured Italy coach Marcello Lippi to call up players represented by his son Alessandro's agent group. Lippi's son, Davide, also works for GEA World, which controls more than half of Italy's Serie A players.

"It's almost enough to make you ashamed of being Italian," said Bologna's former president, Giuseppe Gazzoni Frascara. "They controlled the Italian soccer season."

ANSA also reported Friday that Moggi and Giraudo also were being investigated for possible involvement in kidnapping after Reggina beat Juventus in November 2004.

The Italian soccer federation, whose president Franco Carraro resigned this week, is conducting its own investigation.

[Easy Mac]

at least the vatican denounced the illegal betting as an offense to childhood... now what used to happen to altar boys... well that's different.

[AlexB]

One of the better cup finals: without Gerrard, Liverpool would be distinctly average - if he plays like that in the WC, with Owen alongside him we don't actually need Rooney, although it would be nice to have Wayne as well

[Desnudo]

I've got my DVR set to record the replay of the match on Tuesday. I can't wait to see it. Would have been nice to have seen it live, but I'm excited that it was such a dramatic game. Poor West Ham.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

at least the vatican denounced the illegal betting as an offense to childhood... now what used to happen to altar boys... well that's different.

Brutal. I laughed.