Mourinho’s Notebook – January 24
The Norwegian Boy Wonder
Martin Odegaard. Heard of him? You have now.
The Norwegian international has just signed a massive deal with Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee, that’ll see him earning (including possible bonuses) up to £80,000 a week. Here’s the kicker… he’s only just turned 16.
Odegaard first caught the attention when he became the youngest player to ever play in the Norwegian Premier League at the age of 15. He went on to score 5 goals that season in 15 games and debuted for the Norway national team just 136 days later. Now he’s a Real Madrid player.
It sounds like he’ll train with the first team as well as Zinedine Zidane’s reserves, but play for the seconds for now. Definitely keep an eye out for the kid in the future (he has two months to score in La Liga to become the youngest ever scorer – though he probably won’t get the chance), and try not to feel like you’ve wasted your life so far in comparison. After all, could you do this in your mid-teens?
It’s Not That Cold, Honest
A recent survey has discovered that Newcastle United players are the most weather-hardened in the Premier League, more likely to underdress for the cold in short sleeves and the like. By a long margin too, with nearly 50% of them willing to brave the frost in footy jerseys or whatever. Local rivals Sunderland were second on the list and Manchester United and Liverpool fans following. The general trend was that northern fans handle the cold better while the southerners tend to dress to the brim with jackets and scarves. Newcastle fans are also the most likely to go shirtless regardless of the weather. So they definitely picked up something from their pre-season match against the Wellington Phoenix.
The Piano
“Scholes and Carrick together was peaceful. It was like going into a bar and hearing a piano playing. It’s relaxing. Listening to some good rock is good and you like that too but sometimes it’s nice to listen to a piano. Carrick’s a piano. There you go, there’s your line.” – Gary Neville
Rocky VI: Goodison’s Glory
Aside from many other things (such as a former soft-core pornstar – google it), Sylvester Stallone is also a noted Everton fan. So when he needed a crowd bit for his new film (which is actually called ‘Creed’ and will probably be terrible), he popped on over the Atlantic to Goodison Park.
At half time in the game with West Brom this week fans were asked to stay in their seats and make heaps of noise as a Hollywood camera crew rolled onto the park and set themselves up and Sylvester Stallone appeared on the big screen with instructions.
It wasn’t actually Stallone that organised it, it was boxer and life-long Toffee Tony Bellew, who has landed a starring role in the film. Bellew plays ‘Pretty Boy Porter’, believed the best pound for pound fighter in the world, and upcoming opponent for young Adonis Creed, son of the late Apollo Creed (you know, the guy from the first film). Stallone’s Rocky plays trainer to the son of his old nemesis.
Schmeichel and Kahn Re-Watch the 1999 Champions League Final
In which they both played, yet Schmeichs got the last laugh. Possibly the two best keepers of their generation. Both notorious tempers too.
