Mourinho's Notebook - Sepp Travels Carefully/Jose Parks Where He Wants
Blatter Splatter
According to an investigative documentary on ESPN this week, FIFA President and universal figurehead of evil Sepp Blatter hasn’t set foot in the USA since 2011, due to some ongoing monitoring of him and his organisation by the FBI.
No surprises, the FBI probe is built around how in the actual hell Qatar (and to a lesser degree Russia) were awarded World Cup hosting rights in 2018 & 2022. FIFA have already conducted their own -no doubt completely transparent – investigation that found no wrong-doing in the voting system. The ESPN doco suggested that the FBI is working with an unnamed former top FIFA employee as an informant, who is almost certainly American Chuck Blazer (great name, btw) who numerous sources have reported flipped after the FBI threatened a separate probe against him and his taxes.
Go get ‘em, G-Men! Do something good for humanity.
In related news, Diego Maradona this week compared FIFA to the 'mafia' and also had this to say about Mr Blatter:
"We are talking about the most beautiful sport and most passionate in the world, and it's been directed by a freezer, someone who should live in a block of ice."
Chris Smalling, Too Busy Balling
Firefighters had to be called to the “plush pad on millionaires’ row” (Manchester Evening News’ words, not ours) of Man United defender Chris Smalling after his hot tub caught fire.
For real, it apparently went up in flames in his back yard while Smalling was away, an electrical fault being the cause of the blaze. Police in the area spotted smoke and investigated, finding a pretty significant fire that had already spread from the tub to some of the surrounding decking. Police called the firemen, the firemen extinguished the conflagration with a hose reel.
Meanwhile it seems Chris Smalling was out with the lads nursing a few fizzies and upping the ante with the Champions League on the telly. This from the night of the incident:
Cristiano’s Generosity
Shout out to Cristiano Ronaldo for being an absolute champion. Ok, he was crap against Juventus in the second leg but apparently he donated £5m to ‘Save The Children’, a charity organisation working in Nepal in the aftermath of that devastating earthquake. Great work by him…
… or maybe.
French football mag ‘So Foot’ first reported this story, which made sense given Ronaldo’s charitable history, his known association with Save The Children and his vastly substantial wealth. And he chose the amount based on the fact that €7m (as is the currency in Spain) matches the number 7 that he wears on his jersey.
Except that after a spokesperson for the group denied the whole thing, here came this clarifying statement from the charity themselves (translated from Spanish by google, so that explains the clunkiness):
The global ambassador for Save the Children, Cristiano Ronaldo, has used his voice and his global visibility to raise awareness of the problems that the most vulnerable children around the world, including those affected by the earthquake in Nepal face. The latest information on the donation of Cristiano Ronaldo to the emergency response of Save the Children in Nepal is false. After the second earthquake, which has brought further devastation to the country, the NGO wants to thank Cristiano Ronaldo and other influential people support to publicize the situation in which children and families in Nepal are. More information on the situation after two earthquakes and on how to help Nepal.
So… no donation, but still a top bloke. Maybe for his next public appeal he could stand up for his teammate Gareth Bale?
You Know What This Is?
It’s the logo of Bundesliga battlers FC Koln stunningly projected upon Arizona’s Hoover Dam. Yes, Arizona, USA. It broke a Guinness World Record, even.
This from the official Bundesliga website:
Covering an area of 39,000 square metres, the logo covered practically the whole surface of the infamous American landmark. Cologne-based PR agency Oliver Schrott Kommunikation (OSK) chose the Köln logo to experiment the new powerful lighting system installed, thanks in no small way to the affinity to the club of many of the firm’s employees.
So it was just a bit of a test run by a few Koln fans working in America at the moment, but still very cool. Nice to see Hennes the Goat presented so gloriously too.
Social Media Stunners
X-Factor auditions straight after the Champions League semis.
Thirsty, Louis? Note the wine flyer in his notes.
Wait 'til you figure it out... (Clue: That's a Newcastle jersey he's wearing)