Maradona invited to a Holocaust museum
Diego Armando Maradona has been invited to a Holocaust museum in Buenos Aires to learn of Nazi atrocities. The invitation has been extended by the head of the Argentinian Jewish community Aldo Donzis, due to Maradona's repeated praise of Iran and its president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known for his denial of the Holocaust and calls for the destruction of Israel.
"We do not mind Maradona's support of the Iranian people, because the Jews are not against the Iranians. We object to his sympathies for Ahmadinejad, who is not an ordinary person," said Donzis in his invitation to the famous player.
The Argentinian government has long suspected the Iranian leaders of having orchestrated in 1994 a slaughter of 85 local Jews in Buenos Aires and protecting the perpetrators.
Maradona said he would like to meet the Iranian president, in his opinion the third "giant" of today's politics, alongside Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. He even sent a replica of his number 10 national team shirt to Ahmadinejad by diplomatic mail.
Zlatan reaches a hundred...
Inter's Zlatan Ibrahimovic has completed his first century of League goals. With two hits against Sienna he raised his tally to 49 in Italy alone, after having scored 16 times for Malmő Ff, 35 for Ajax and 23 for Juventus. In the past 18 months in Inter the Swede of Bosnian and Croatian origins has been going at 0.6 goals per game, having netted 26 times in 43 appearances.
...Totti a hundred more
While taking Roma to the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup, Francesco Totti performed an extraordinary feat. With two goals in his team's 4-0 win over Torino, Totti reached 200 goals in all competitive games for Roma.
"Scoring the 200th goal was one of my dreams and I wanted to realize it at this stadium, my stadium," said Totti, whose next objective is to become the most capped Roma player of all time.
With 386 appearances, the legendary defender Giacomo Losi is just four games ahead of Il Capitano.
Going strong at 31, Totti is allowed to glimpse another milestone:
"I hope to score my 300th goal before I retire."
Since he plans to play until the summer of 2012, this particular goal is not beyond his reach.
* Since his debut in 1993, Totti has scored 161 goal in Serie A, 17 in the Italian Cup and Supercup and 22 in the European Cups. His best season was 2006/07 with 32 goals on all fronts.
Iker Casillas plans to be Real's chairman
Real Madrid's Iker Casillas, currently the world's top goalkeeper, is looking far into the future. Although only 26, he already has it clear he would like to be his club's chairman, perhaps in 20 years' time.
"My dream is to be Real Madrid's chairman, in which case I would try to bring back Santiago Bernabeu's old style," said Iker, not concerned what the current club's boss Ramón Calderón will think may be wrong with his own style of governing.
Still, Casillas does not intend to take over just yet. First he's going to coach.
"I'd like to be like Camacho, Del Bosque or Irureta. I'll work with youth players, then with seniors. All of this will not happen so soon. I believe I'll be good in goal until I'm 35, maybe even 38. I hope to play at Real Madrid until the end, I don't want to move."
Cukaricki's coach orders his players to sing
There's going be music in Cukaricki Belgrade's dressing rooms. The coach Dragoslav Stepanovic has come up with a brilliant idea for improving his players' mood: they're going to sing at the end of every practice or game.
The former Yugoslav international and Eintracht Frankfurt's coach considers the boys too serious and obedient, even though they are performing decently on the pitch (all-time best fourth in the League).
"When the spring season starts, my players will have a special daily task. Football must be enjoyed and a good atmosphere is essential for success," said Stepanovic to Kurir daily.
The Serb has apparently been inspired by José Mourinho, who requested of each new player to perform before his teammates for bonding purposes.
In Cukaricki they'll all sing.
"I'm fed up with coming to the dressing rooms and finding the guys silent, with their heads down. The player I select will have to mount a chair in the center of the room and sing something of his choice. Let them choose what they will, but I'd prefer Serb folk music. First they'll be a bit shy, but later on they'll beg me to perform."
Munúa to be tried for punching Aouate
The Spanish District Attorney has instituted criminal proceedings against the Uruguayan goalkeeper Gustavo Munúa for punching in the face and injuring Dudu Aouate, his colleague at Deportivo La Coruna.
Although the Israeli, who received eight stitches for a cut on his left cheek, did not press charges personally, the Attorney is prosecuting Munúa ex officio.
The South American snapped simply because Aouate had expressed his surprise at having been relegated to the bench in Munúa's favour.
On the other hand, Deportivo's coach Miguel Angel Lotina has also reacted unreasonably by suspending indefinitely both the aggressor and his victim.
Copyright: Soccerphile & Ozren Podnar