The GHD will continue right after this post. Sorry for the delay, rough week.
(Figo's getting ready to hand that jersey over to Chivu)
Chivugate:
"Either I go to Inter or I stay at Roma," confirmed Chivu.
"We spoke to Roma director of sport Daniele Prade’ and now the Giallorossi know that Cristian doesn’t intend to join Barcelona or Real Madrid," agent Giovanni Becali stated
'If Chivu leaves as free agent next year, his future club could pay him a seven to eight million euro salary as they would not need to pay a transfer fee,' Becali added.
Get the fuck out. Get the fuck out now, Chivu.
It's reached the point that the last person I want to see in a Roma uniform next year is Chivu, and that's sad. I don't know what will happen at this point, and I don't care. Just get it over with and move on. If he's going to pull an Emerson and bring in a doctor's note to training then ship him off to Inter then bring in Ahmed Barusso to mark him in the Super Cup with explicit instructions to take him out. Red card encouraged.
And if he does spend next year with Roma without signing an extension, with the club knowing full well he will sign with Inter, I vote they bench him and don't allow him to see a minute of pitch time. It wouldn't be prudent football-wise, but I'm not sure I can stomach the thought of seeing him in a Roma kit ever again. Hopefully the other players will take some action and refuse to speak to him for the season. This club just can't win with player's demands.
You have heard me say the last thing positive thing about Christian Chivu I will ever say. For anyone who has been defending Chivu, your argument is quashed. He's effectively killed any leverage with Inter. They can now offer half-worth and there's not a damn thing Roma can do about it.
* - At this point, Roma and Massimo Cellini of Cagliari need to get together and formulate a case against Massimo Moratti due to his approaches without a club's consent. It's a dream but a heavy punishment would be nice. There will be little parity left and the gap between the rich and everybody else will continually grow into a massive chasm if this continues.
Roman Nuggets:
Atta boy!
II) Finally, something clear cut in the mercato: Francesco Modesto has a contract agreement with Roma, but Roma doesn't have any agreement with Reggina. At least we know something that's actually going on. I don't know at this point. Reggina seems to be asking for quite a bit for Modesto. I also read that Reggina wants co-ownership but Roma is looking for a full sale? Obviously bullshit. Roma would co-own Spalletti if they could.
III) In case you missed it, Barusso is official, with Simone Palermo going on loan to Rimini in exchange. Quality move both ways.
If you hadn't noticed, I'm drooling over a defensive midfield including Daniele De Rossi and Barusso at some point this season. I love ball-winning savages with booming shots. Michael Essien is high on my list of favorite playing styles. Hopefully Barusso recreates a fraction of his success. And yes, I fully expect him at some point to return the favor of that broken leg last year. He's a beast.
IV) Looks like Ricardo Faty is headed on loan to Bayer Leverkusen for a couple years. I'm fine with the loan - it's real crowded in Roma's central midfield - but two years? Hopefully they have a clause to recall him after one year.
V) Officially cross Giandomenico Mesto off those wishlists, he's up north being Pietro Leonardi's bitch. I understand alot has to do with playing time and true desire, but to be reportedly thisclose to deals with Milan, Juventus, Roma and to a degree Liverpool, and then sign with Udinese? Ouch. They aren't that bad, but they did only finish 7 points above relegation last year.
The Flapdoodle:
I) The shot of Paolo Di Canio after Aquilani's goal makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.
That's the only time you will ever hear me say Di Canio makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. Unless he obtains a Third World venereal disease from a transsexual rodeo clown, of course.
II) Blue-man group and Tiesto on the same stage. Enough said. (Any other fans of Tiesto in the house will enjoy this little mini concert with Marco Borsato in front of the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam.)
True story: Went to see the Blue Man Group in Boston with one of my buddies when I was home from college over X-Mas break one year. We had "poncho seats" and when they started rolling out the toilet paper or whatever it was over our heads, I looked over and noticed he was somehow, unbelievably asleep. I woke him up and he just said he was ridiculously exhausted. And by exhausted I mean he had smoked massive amounts of marijuana. Still, who falls asleep during BMG? Even more, how do you fall asleep during BMG unless you have a heart rate of 7?
For the record, I didn't inhale.
III) Oops. MAJOR oops.
That could be actors or completely pre-planned/fabricated, but it didn't stop me from laughing my ass off. The look on that woman's face when she's asked "Where?" is absolutely priceless.
IV) Zlatan's Corner
It looks like Zlatan and Christian Wilhelmsson are up to no good. Like they're about to buy a dime bag and they're looking around for campus police. Either that or Wilhelmsson is about to pull that doo rag down over his face and rob that store. It must be tough to be currently on a roster in the French second division.
Quote of the Week:
To Malmö FF coach Michael Andersson during practice:
"Do you think that you are my mother?"
The best part is this come from a guy who used to see him around Malmo all the time when he was relatively unknown outside of Sweden. He said he was one of the shyest guys off the field. Should we scratch those reality show plans?
Nahhhhh.
Zlatan is Zuperman. You know how everybody does stuff in training they wouldn't dare do in games? Well Zlatan is out of his mind.
You'll thank me later for singing 'Zuper Zuper Zuperman' all day.
V) Transformers is nice, but I will camp out for days to get tickets to the opening showing of a Dinosaucers movie.
And if you don't think I'm watching episode clips on Youtube over and over and over today, you're crazy.
VI) For Mike, because I need anything Swedish in my life.
VII) Searching 'Chivu' in google images brings up this sexy Romanian model. Is it me or does she look like she is the lesbian offspring of Angelina Jolie and Fiona Apple? The pouty lips and defined cheekbones of Jolie with Apple's dark eyes and that "I could cut off your penis at any moment" look on her face. Maybe I'm wrong.
Don't bother searching for the other pictures, it's not worth it. The pictures from her agencies website look like they were taken with one of those Kodak one time use cameras. You know, the one's you use when you don't want any evidence of the pictures you're about to take. Which was probably the photographer's idea in this case.
VIII) Commercial of the week. I had actually never seen this one, but I was drawn to its ridiculousness. Especially the fact that David Beckham broke the world vertical jump record by like 300%, on a surfboard no less. You can tell it's fake by Beckham taking a shot with his left at the end.