Tuesday News Roundup

Right, Felipe is sleeping and since I got my share of rest earlier too and I'm feeling like writing...

I thought: 'Why not do a Tuesday News Roundup?' After all, a lot has happened today and there are plenty of things we can debate about.

WHO LET THE DOG OUT?



Who? Who? Who? Who? That song's been punishing me since I read the news this morning (more like since that song was ever recorded!), but I thought it would be the most suitable soundtrack to play behind this story.

Right...so they are saying MARADONA was bitten by his pet dog at home and needed minor surgery (10 stitches) on his upper lip.

Right...so I'm expected to believe that. Right...right...

Nah...I'm sorry. I'm too cynical these days. I'm going to need a few more lives to believe that (unless the attack is well documented, which of course won't be the case).

I don't want to sink your boat, tough. If you still think a dog attacked Diego, then who am I to contradict you or the media reports we are getting?

WILL LICHA's GOALS BITE DIEGO NEXT?

You know? It got me thinking. How can a player like Lisandro LOPEZ be ignored the way he is right now? Can you tell me Lisandro wouldn't crack into the World Cup squad of every one of the 32 nations competing in South Africa this summer? Give me one team that wouldn't want to have him amongst their 22/23 players. Justify your answer and then, if your point is strong enough, I'll give it to you.

Even Argentina, with a plethora of amazingly talented forwards, should count Lisandro LOPEZ as one of its 6/7 forwards.



Based on quality, form, present and the level of competitions they are playing at, our forwards shouldn't be found outside the following names: Lionel MESSI, Carlos TEVEZ, Gonzalo HIGUAIN, Diego MILITO, Sergio AGÜERO and Lisandro LOPEZ.

You can present cases for Lucas BARRIOS, Javier SAVIOLA, Ezequiel LAVEZZI, Mauro ZARATE and one of them would complete the list in my opinion.

But no. We will see Lisandro LOPEZ being left out of the World Cup squad and we will see Martín PALERMO (who can't buy a goal lately at a very weak Argentine league and is even getting replaced every now and then by the Boca Juniors manager), getting on the plane to Pretoria and using one spot that shouldn't be his.

Again. I've got nothing against PALERMO and I think his story is probably the most incredible in the history of the game. A film about him should run away with 10 Academy Awards, but this is not the ending I'd like to see for that film. I want my best players to represent me at the World Cup. And I want them to be at the best form of their lives and peaking at the right time.

Tonight Lisandro LOPEZ scored twice (one was from the penalty spot but I don't hear people -journalist- downplay penalty-shot goals when PALERMO scores them. To me, they are worth 1 goal. Just like any other goal scored in football), but just as when he scored on the first ball he touched in Moscow v. Russia, MARADONA won't care about him.



DEMI-CARELESS EARLY ON, DEMI-SOLID THE REST OF THE GAME

A big controversy that never got too public or too heated. MARADONA was fuming when he heard Bayern made Martín DEMICHELIS return from his surgery earlier than expected. What if he received another blow to his head and miss the entire World Cup because he played before he should have played?

That was MARADONA's fear and I understand him. I also think Bayern wouldn't risk an important asset to them like DEMICHELIS if they weren't sure about his capability of playing tonight against Manchester United.

If anything, I took this game as a chance for Masked-Micho to show how he could do if squared against one of the world's top forwards like Wayne ROONEY.

The initial answer to that question couldn't have been more terrifying! Only one minute into the game and Manchester United won a corner kick. As NANI sent the ball towards the box, Mark VAN BOMMEL deflected it with his head and it rained inside the area where Martín DEMICHELIS was man-marking ROONEY. And then...disaster struck. Micho fell to the floor (no contact from nobody) and ROONEY was left completely open for an easy goal.



After that early blunder, the former River Plate star recovered and played a solid game, dealing with ROONEY and keeping United at bay. In the end Bayern got their reward and they will now travel to Old Trafford having two results (a win and a draw) that will work in their favour.

Yes, DEMICHELIS will be haunted by that early mistake, which could very well prove to be the crucial away goal for United to advance to the semifinals, but that's the cruelty of playing in that position where every mistake counts and could ruin you even when you have performed at a high level.

The fact that he picked up himself so remarkably speak wonders about DEMICHELIS and that is exactly what all our players need from here on. Because they will all make mistakes, the important thing is to see who can overcome those difficulties and who will be petrified or end up in tears.