On Clubs: The three most villanous clubs in the world.

This is my list of the top three most villanous clubs in the world. Allow me to explain: some clubs are just absolute villains on the world stage. These clubs are hated the world over and most of them with good reason. It could be for any number of reasons, but these three have a lot in common.

These are the clubs that you love to hate, but in a sense that isn't bad. In fact, it's what makes world football so great and fun to watch, that you can have these clubs that you absolutely despise. And so, without further ado, here is my list of the top three most villanous clubs in world football, starting with number three:

3. Internazionale Milano.



Inter are the most successful club in Italian football. It's difficult to argue otherwise. Last season, the club took home the treble (UEFA Champions League, Seria A title, Coppa Italia) under Jose Mourinho.

But, that greatness comes at a steep price. Inter's starting eleven under Mourinho, and even in the years before he got there, field no Italian national players. Not one. This is a club literally made up by absolute stars. Samuel Eto'o, Javier Zanetti, Julio Cesar, Maicon, Lucio, Wesley Sneijder. This is not the kind of roster that any old team can field.

And then the Italian players that are actually on the roster are guys like Materazzi, who will dive at the slightest touch and roll around on the ground like a baby. This is the man who incited the Zidane headbutt by calling Zidane's recently hospitalized mother a terrorist whore. These are not classy players.

And that's a point you can make about the style that Inter has played throughout their history. It's defend defend defend, and then get some bullshit goal on a counterattack that happens to roll past the keeper. These are wins in the smallest of margins and in the least impressive of ways, and it's the way Inter has played for years. I'm sorry, I just don't want to see a team whose entire eleven plays defense behind the ball and makes no attempt to challenge the ball until it gets to the final third and then counterattacks. It's not beautiful football. And that wouldn't be so frustrating if this team didn't field guys like Eto'o and Sneijder, who are capable of the most beautiful of passes, shows of skill, and arcing runs across the field. On an Inter side, they're just a body to stand in the way of the opposition, and then run aimlessly down the field when the ball comes to them.

This is what makes Inter a villanous squad, they're complete lack of respect for the sportsmanship of even attempting to play an open game of football coupled with a star-studded cast of players that you kick yourself everyday to see playing for them.

But there is a silver lining. Hatred of Inter means more passion for Seria A sides that challenge them. My personal favorite is AC Milan, who are city rivals with Inter. Milan are famous for getting great players in their final twilight years, like Clarence Seedorf, Ronaldhino, Andrea Pirlo or Gianluca Zambrotta.

Or maybe you like Roma, who played Inter in the Coppa Italia. Roma has Italian greats like Francisco Totti, or Luca Toni. And then they have underrated greats like Rodrigo Taddei.

Or even still you could like Juventus, who have a great history of fabulous players like Zinedine Zidane and continue that tradition with some of the best players in the world, like Gianluigi Buffon.

All of that to say, hating Inter does have it's bright spots.

2. Manchester City.



Manchester City are one of those clubs, like Everton, Tottenham, and Aston Villa, that have been consistently bubbling just under the cusp of Premier League greatness. They have never won the Premiership, and have generally struggled in major tournaments as well. And the reason for that is in the way they manage their team.

It's really kind of shameful the way Manchester City approaches the business side of their team. They have a turnover rate of about ten to fifteen players each year, which means that literally almost a third of their squad is entirely new each year. What that means is that their teams have no chemistry or footballing abilities, meaning that they have to rely on the efforts of one man, like Carlos Tevez.

The principle of "throwing money at a problem until it goes away," applies to how City manages their squad in the Premier League. They will literally buy whoever is good and seems to be reasonably unhappy.

THe best evidence of this is their relentless pursuit of Inter's Mario Balotelli. Other clubs turned away when they observed his horrible attitude (Balotelli refused to play defense in the Champions League semi-final and could be seen arguing with his manager Mourinho, who evenutally got fed up and walked away). Balotelli is not a team player, but City could care less as long as he can do a rainbow flick and shoot a ball at 30 kilometers an hour.

City will never be able to challenge Manchester United, Chelsea, or Arsenal (or Liverpool, for that matter) if they continue dealing with their squad the way that they do. But the fact that they do this and the fact that they have the wads of cash that they do puts unnecessary pressure on recent transfers, inflates the transfer fee in the market, and wastes the talent of players like Aleksander Kolorav and Jerome Boateng, who may ride the bench during their time at City.

1. Real Madrid.



It's really ironic that Real Madrid have to be the undisputed number one biggest villain in world football. It's ironic because world football as we know it would not exist without Real Madrid. They were the first real honest to God football club and for a long time they were the only good one. The tradition of this club alone is a staggering achievement.

But, with all of that said, this is a club that has fallen prey to it's own tradition of success.

At the end of practically every season now, if Madrid didn't win the treble or at least La Liga, the manager is fired. That's just the way they operate. They gut the entire system and start over.

But when you look at Real Madrid, you can't talk about hating them without talking about the players they field nowadays. Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Gonzalo Higuain, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Arjen Robben, David Beckham, Sergio Ramos, Xabi Alonso. The list goes on. A lot of these guys are very professional, and are great players. But others, like Ronaldo, have come to typify the Madrid attitude of superiority.

As the former manager Pellegrini said, Madrid are a team of guitarists. If you asked them to play piano, they couldn't do it. They all just play lead guitar. And for that reason, their game is about high powered attack with a lot of holes in the back. Now, those holes are plugged by Iker Casillas, but before quite possibly the greatest keeper in history was in front of goal, Madrid scored 5 and let in 4 every game.

The silver lining of hating Real Madrid is, that you get to love Barcelona. This rivalry known as El Clasico is probably the biggest rivalry in the world.

This is my list of the three biggest villains on the world football club stage. Do you have others/think these clubs are heros? Let's talk.

On Nemanja Vidic: Why he can't go to Real Madrid

Since the end of last season, Vidic has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid with new manager Jose Mourinho claiming he was extremely interested in the player, and had reportedly made him one of his priorities.

Vidic was quick to come out and say that he had no intention of leaving United, as long as a new contract was in the works. This was an intentional "wink-wink" at United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to draft a new, perhaps better contract for the Serbian central defender.

So, United fans and Vidic waited and waited and waited, but no new contract came. And the issue sort of died away, but then new speculation arose when a reporter asked Sir Alex after Man U's friendly against the Philadelphia Union what the history of Vidic was. Fergie sort of murmured that he couldn't confirm.

However, today, the news came out that a new contract has been penned for Vidic for 90k a week, an upgrade from his 70k a week contract that would expire in two years' time.

Now, there was no indication of an actual offer from Real Madrid, but perhaps this was a situation where the two clubs were staring each other down, waiting for the other to tip their hand. And it may be that headlines which read "Vidic open for sale, Fergie says" after Sir Alex's comment on Thursday tipped Man U's hand.

The issue with penning a new contract for Vidic is that the American Glazer family who owns the team has a strict policy about waiting until the final year of a player's contract to renew it. However, it seems they have made an exception in the case of Vidic. And with good reason.

Vidic could be the single most important player to this United team next year. The other desired first team center defender Rio Ferdinand, has once again shown how injury prone he is and could be unavailable for large portions of the season at a time. Vidic should be the rock of a back four that, other than Frenchman Patrice Evra on the left side, is very much in question. Back-ups Chris Smalling and Johnny Evans have shown that they are relatively capable of a starting position, but having an experienced leader like Vidic who is quite capable of both clearing his lines and making a stand in the final third would go an extremely long way. It will be important for a United team, that could have trouble scoring this season with Rooney out of form and Berbatov's ability to score still in question, to keep a clean sheet.

The battle of wallets between Sir Alex and Mourinho must be won for the good of Manchester United's well being in the Premier League and in international tournaments. Hopefully Vidic will stay at Old Trafford next season.

On German Youngsters: Loyal, or just naive?

Germany fielded it's youngest team ever for the World Cup this year and featured some extremely impressive young talent that blossomed wonderfully throughout the tournament. All of that flare and ingenuity amongst these new players got a lot of people wondering if any of these guys were going to make big moves during the transfer season. Here's a breakdown of what's happened so far:

1. Mesut Ozil (pictured above, playing his air turntables): Staying at Werder Bremen. I really love Werder Bremen. They've got the German keeper Wiese, German legendary center back Per Mertesacker, and now they have recent standout Mesut Ozil. Ozil (whom I have given the nickname: The Turkish Ninja, because of his ability to open up into space in the blink of an eye and strike when you least expect it) had been linked with a move to Real Madrid since the World Cup was over.

But Ozil was quick to come out and say he was interested, and then quickly say he wasn't a day later. Maybe he had a think, maybe his agent was in his ear, but whatever it was, Ozil has been adamant about his decision to stay at Bremen and has stayed away from the media. So that, as they say, is that.

2. Sami Khedira: Staying at Stuttgart. Khedira was another young standout in the World Cup who was playing for Germany (though he was also born in Turkey). Khedira made heads turn for his solid defensive work, his field vision, and his uncanny ability to string together the perfect combination of passes on the way to the goal. He's like a giant, slower, less good version of Xavi. But he can also shoot, so that's an advantage on Xavi. But here I am comparing Xavi and Khedira and forgetting what I'm talking about. Oh yeah! Real Madrid also wanted Khedira, but this move was linked before the World Cup even started.

Khedira, though, went a step further than Ozil and is reportedly "laughing off" these claims. Oh, to be young and laugh off a move to Real Madrid.

3. Lukas Podolski: Staying at Cologne. Podolski is still another player that came out of the woodwork to play for Germany (born in Poland). His pace, ability to deliver the ball in from the final third, ability to cut in from out wide, and his scoring ability made him a target for a number of major clubs, reportedly.

But Podolski has also come out and firmly stated that he is not leaving his Italian club Cologne.

These guys from Germany are aged 21, 23, and 25 respectively. They are some of the hottest players in football and are recieving offers from some of the biggest clubs in the world. Quite frankly, I hope they all stay. I do respect Madrid for trying to at least acquire two players with some chemistry together, but come on, you've got Kaka and Ronaldo, just deal.

And yet still, the speculation continues about their departure from their beloved clubs. It's being said now that Ozil could even be bound for Manchester United. Which I wouldn't necessarily mind either, we're kind of running thin on the midfield. No shot at Fletcher, Scholes, or Carrick. But they're all getting up there, we could use Ozil.

So when the dust settles, I guess we'll have to see where these youngsters end up. But for right now, whether it's belligerent teen angst left over from days not so far gone by, or an agent telling them to hold out, the kids are alright right where they are.

On Cristiano Ronaldo: Profiling the biggest football celebrity since Beckham

^That is Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2003, when his first club Sporting FC of Portugal played Manchester United in a friendly match, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a revelation. By halftime, he decided: "I have to sign this boy. He is sensational." Two years later, Ronaldo would be recognized consistently as one of the three best players in the world and was absolutely tearing apart the competition alongside Wayne Rooney. He set a record that was tied this year by Lionel Messi of 43 goals across all competitions when he was at United. His performance inspired this video, and quite a few like it, that became a youtube phenomenon and sky rocketted his international celebrity.

United won three Premier League titles in a row, due in most part in most minds to Ronaldo's efforts.

However, Ronaldo's antics on and off the field soon won him a "love 'em or hate 'em" following. Those who hate him, think he is the scourge of football and represents all that is wrong with the sport. Those who love him, think he is the greatest player to ever walk the field. Much of your clout as a football enthusiast depends on what you think of Ronaldo, and that's saying a lot for any player.

He became one of the most recognizable faces in the world and was highly exposed in the media. This would only intensify the hatred of those who hate him, and would lead to massive increases in the sales of whatever sports drink or atheletic company he was representing for those who loved him.

Ronaldo was also quite vocal about his desire to go play for his childhood favorite team, Real Madrid. Soon enough, in 2009, because of the crippling debt saddled on the United Red Devils by new owners the Glazer family, Ronaldo was sold off to play for Real.

This is where my opinion of Ronaldo comes in, because this has been my first experience with him. Frankly, he's still a goal scorer, but other than a windmill of step-overs every once in a while, he doesn't flaunt all of the "wrap around crosses" and other patented moves that made him such a stupendous phenom to watch at United. Some people say that this is because he has matured as a player, and that may be so, but I have a different theory. I think he's achieved every thing he wants. It's almost like his stint as United was just him showing off to Real, which in itself is pretty impressive. Also, from watching him play, I don't detect his attitude anymore. He puts in a cross, and if his teammate can't convert it, he puts his hand in the air and says he'll do better next time, even if the cross was perfect.

I'm not sure I like the new Ronaldo though. I think I prefer him when he was screaming at refs for not calling fouls after he did 80 stepovers in a row and was cut low by a defender. I prefer when he nails a free kick from 43 yards away at an extreme angle and just puts his hands up in the air and smirks like it's not big deal. He had fire back then, attitude, personality. That was what ignited him on the field.

Now, he barely celebrates when he scores, doesn't say a word to refs, and does underwear modelling on his days off. He seems...well...bored. But this is where the World Cup comes in.

Quieroz, the Portuguese coach, has been laying the pressure on his team from day one, and continually tells his players that he expects them to win it all. Ronaldo has been the most vocal about how much pressure this puts on the players. And being in a brutal group with Brazil, Ivory Coast (now weakened with the absence of Drogba), and North Korea (who prove to be more of a fearless force week in and week out) Ronaldo and the rest of the squad are going to have to be in top form.

But Ronaldo is capable of anything, and he can take his country all the way. All he has to do is ignore all of the hype about him, ignore all of the Nike ads, ignore all of the bloodthirsty defenders who will be hacking away at him, and just shrug it off, smirk, and realize it's no big deal.

And maybe a few of those incredible juggling runs, knock-on nutmegs, spins, and fearless shots from 33 feet out will help, please.

On Jose Mourinho: What his arrival at Real Madrid means for the club and himself

No manager in football today is as hated, loved, feared, acclaimed, or successful as Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese two-time Champions League winner was ushered into Real Madrid yesterday, and he already has high hopes for the club. Mourinho has said publicly that he wants to become the first manager to win three different league titles in three different countries, and to become the first manager to win the Champions League three times with three different clubs.

Most people would think that's pretty damn cocky, but let's look at what it is about Mourinho that makes these claims legitimate, especially in the context of Real Madrid. There are three aspects of Mourinho's coaching style to examine in this respect:

1. Discipline. This is the first and foremost priority of the teams of Jose Mourinho. Everyone on the team knows their place, and everyone works together as a team. This goes double for Real Madrid, who have a star-studded roster.

It's brightest star is, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho is going to be able to "reign in" Ronaldo quite effectively, for a number of reasons. One of them being the reason listed above, that Mourinho is a manager that won't put up with Ronaldo's antics on and off the field. The other reason that this won't be a difficult task for Mourinho is the intense relationship that the two men already have before he has even arrived. Ronaldo made statements three months ago that he would love to be coached by Mourinho, and that was actually when the buzz started about Mourinho's move there. In addition to that, both men are from Portugal, and have seemingly similar personalities.

2. Personality. This is true of both Mourinho and Mourinho's teams. A large part of Mourinho's goal when coming to a club is to establish one distinct identity about that team. When he was at Chelsea, it was blazing pace and unforgiving score lines. At Inter, it was all about defense and then a razor sharp counter attack led by Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito. It will be important for Mourinho to establish this identity at Real too, as it is a club full of a lot of great players from a lot of different places.

This is also true of the man himself. Mourinho is a different kind of manager because he's always on the sidelines. He can be extremely animated during matches, screaming at players, refs, or anyone who will listen to him. This is sort of a welcomed sight for me, because usually when they show the manager they are just sitting up in a press box, and it really doesn't even look like they are watching the match.

During one match I was watching, Milito was called offsides. Mourinho immediately walked over to one of the assistants on the sidelines and leaned on the table, trying to get a peek at the camera on instant replay to see if the call was legitimate. The assistant slowly turned the monitor away from Mourinho, and Mourinho frowned and walked away. I have to admit, I laughed. He's definitely a character.

3. Merciless signing of new players. Mourinho likes to have the players he wants, particularly those that are in their early 30s so that he can get two or three more great years out of them. This will especially be true at Real, who are known as, as one of my friends told me: "The Yankees of soccer."

Mourinho already has a wish-list, which he announced two days ago. He wants Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Ashley Cole. Wow, wow, and wow. I know that when you first read that list, it seems impossible that any of those players would leave, but it's actually just the opposite. Ashley Cole has just undergone an extremely messy divorce from his wife in England, and Mourinho is convinced that he'll want to leave the island. Furthermore, Mourinho was the one who first signed Cole at Chelsea, and they had a great relationship there. As for Lampard, he was basically Mourinho's go-to guy at Chelsea for three years. Even Gerrard almost joined Chelsea in 2004 but at the last moment decided to stay at Liverpool. What this proves is that Mourinho can basically get anyone he wants, especially now that he's at Real. Can you blame any player who joins his side though? It's basically a golden ticket to the Champions League, as history as shown.

Now, this is what we know we can expect from Mourinho. But what does he need to do to get Real Madrid to win the Champions League? Here's what I think:

1. Benzema has to not suck. Karim Benzema last year was the big signing of the year. United, Real, Barca, you name the club, they wanted this young Frenchman to play for them. When Real got him, it was a really big deal. But then Benzema couldn't really deliver, and never got better throughout the season. In fact, his campaign was so disappointing that he wasn't capped for the World Cup this year. Mourinho needs to give this kid some confidence, he needs to devise a game plan that will suit his needs. Benzema could be the best striker of the next decade, and Mourinho has him sitting on his bench right now.

2. He needs to get Casillas on his side. Iker Casillas is Real Madrid. He's been at the club since he was 7 years old, in fact, he's been basically the only constant at Real for the past decade. He's the revered best goalkeeper in the world. He has signed a contract for life with the club, with the buyout clause saying it all: 182 million dollars. He's the captain, he's the fan favorite, and he's Mourinho's key to getting this team to the Champions League. Mourinho needs to have a strong following amongst these star players, and they're going to be looking at Casillas to judge him.

3. Solidify the defense. Real's back four, other than Sergio Ramos, has been a cavalcade of players with no real connection to the fans or to the club itself. Mourinho needs to get a solid back four going, as that is the key to success in any major tournament. He's already making strides there though, as apparently Maicon wants to come with Mourinho from Inter. We've already seen how good Mourinho can make clubs defensively at Inter, but he's got work to do at Real.

This is my profile of what Jose Mourinho means to Real and what it means to him. Like this/have questions/think I'm wrong? Comment!