Sounds Familiar? The Mourinho Talk

Jose Mourinho has gone through all this speculation before.

You know the whole 'is he going to leave after the Champions League finals' speculation. It happened six years ago when he was with Porto and Chelsea were after him. Now he is with Inter Milan and Real Madrid are said to be after the Portuguese Tactician. The Special One is said that he does not want to discuss his decision until after the Champions League Final is over.

All signs says that he'll be at the Bernabeau next season. It is speculated that Rafa Benitez could potentially be a successor to Mourinho at Inter. And with Mourinho's disdain for those in and around Italian Football, the Summer skies of Spain is probably an offer he simply cannot refuse.

I understand where Real is coming from. You would want a manager who is closing in on a second Champions League trophy. The CL prize is the only award that those in the capital will accept. Mourinho also beat Los Galácticos rivals, Barcelona, over a two-leg Semifinal affair with two masterful performances to hold off the current Champions League holders. I am sure the feeling around the Bernabeau is that Mourinho would be the kryponite that would get rid of Barcelona's stranglehold on the Spanish Game.

Mourinho would be the most high profile managerial appointment since Fabio Capello in 2006. The ego of Jose would help in a lockerroom that has many superstars in it especially with the likelihood that more players will come in. Mourinho's ability to deflect attention from players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka would be effective. He could get the best out of Kaka who had a terrible season due to his lofty standards. Also with the main "politicians' in the club finally leaving (Raul and Guti), the Portuguese manager can have free reign to instill his tactics in the club.

For Real, Mourinho would be a thumbs up.


On Mourinho's side of things, He tells of his love for Inter Milan and their supporters but he has found it troublesome being in Italy with all the conservative thinkers in the game often being upset with him. If Inter were in England, there would not be much of the problems that he is dealing with now but he has slowly grown tired of the Serie A and feels as if the new challenge would be great for him.

He still has an love affair with the English media and the Premiership. Unfortunately for him there aren't any desirable jobs at the moment. The top four (this year's top four) managers are established in their clubs. Liverpool are probably going to lose many of their top players and Manchester City have maintained that Roberto Mancini is the man for the job in the Eastlands. So England looks as if it is a far memory for him unless he wants to risk dealing with life without Champions League football for a season. That would be uncharacteristic for him to do.

For Mourinho, this would be his only option unless he wants to honor his contract with Inter. Who honors contracts anymore???


When I begin to think about the possible marriage between Mourinho and Los Blancos I wonder how it would work. A team that is strictly built on offense having a manager who is known for his counter-attacking style. Would this work especially with figureheads in Madrid loving attractive football? I think they would make the sacrifice if it would guarantee them a couple of Champions League trophies because even though besting Barcelona for the La Liga title is a great accomplish. They only eye Champions League silver. With Mourinho's pedigree and ability of making Champions League finals, it would be a mistake for Real to not consider Mourinho right for the job.

This will come to a head within the next couple of weeks. The speculations will come fast and furious. Knowing Mourinho, he loves it when people talk about him...

Leave the "Boy" Alone?

Everyone has had their say about Mario Balotelli, the Inter Milan striker who has heap of talent. However he is somewhat of a hothead and he gets in trouble almost every other week because of his on-field antics. His abilities are undeniable however he play acts and he also doesn't try his hardest when he's on the field sometimes. I remember earlier in the year when he got fouled for a penalty kick and he just stood over the ball even though Eto'o was suppose to take the pk himself and there was basically a 25 second stand-off until Dejan Stankovic had to pull Balotelli out of the box so Eto'o could take the pk.

I'm the first person to hate on someone when they act cocky on the pitch or show that they are better than the game. However I read an article today that made me realize something about the kid (Football-Italia) And he still is a kid.

When we see footballers on the tube, we except them to handle themselves in a professional manner, they should be respectful to the game and to other people. But we are talking about a 19 year old kid, who probably all his life has been one of the best players in his age group and also is starting games for a great club too. I've met people who played footy while they were 19 that were as cocky as this kid, the only thing is that Super Mario is on tv every weekend on Fox Soccer Channel so his actions are super magnified. Some people have to realize that the kid isn't even of the age of 20 and he is still learning things about himself that he doesn't even know. He has to deal with racist chants that even he shouldn't deal with in a young age. I don't support racist chants of any kind obvious because I've been a part of it but when you're 17, 18, or 19 I don't think that things like that should happen, no matter how bad he acts on the field.

Jose Mourinho has tried to motivate this kid by telling him when he plays bad and says at times he is uncoachable. I'm sure he knows more about the game than me but he has to realize that the youngster won't be consistent every week. He'll have his days and he'll have his off days he's not going to be great every week. Was Messi great every week when he was 18 or 19? Even Kaka? Being that age you'll have your days where you're great. Even a kid as cocky as Balotelli will over think things and he'll do what he can to win. You can question his commitment but I don't think that he never wants to lose. You can't be that good otherwise.

I might have been rambling on but the moral to my story is that give this kid some time. He's cocky and he even said that he's a bit impulsive at times. But being 19 years of age with lots of money, I'm sure women (Italian women at that ;) ) , and endless talent, why wouldn't you be cocky about yourself. I'm sure that if I had that then I would be as cocky as he is. If we are having this same discussion about four years time then I'll say that the kid is lost but when you see LeBron James doing river-dancing on the side-lines while beating a team, I think that some of Mario's antics are pretty tame. However the kid will need to learn from some of his mistakes before he'll get the respect from the fans. It's undeniable about his skills but he is going to need to do some growing up...