Free Kicks - 13 May 2006

Thriller in Cardiff
The English season came to an official close today with Liverpool winning the FA Cup final over West Ham United on penalties. The game was an absolute thriller - perhaps one of the best in FA Cup history - with Liverpool coming back from a two goal deficit, and then coming back again to tie the match in the 91st minute with a spectacular long range strike from Steven Gerrard. Games like this remind us why we love the English game. Congrats to both teams for great seasons and putting on a great show. Both will be rewarded with trips to Europe next term. Check out the stunning strike from Stevie G.:



When A Dirty Little Secret Is Revealed
For decades, many Italians have speculated that the big clubs - namely Juventus and AC Milan - have bought, coerced, extorted, and manipulated their way to Serie A titles. There have been far too many incidents, from dodgy penalites being awarded in the dying minutes of games to questionable red cards from seemingly innocent challenges, to go unnoticed. This week, a smoking gun emerged when transcripts of wiretapped phone conversations from Juventus general director Luciano Moggi came to light which details a number of possible infractions:

• In the most serious charge, Moggi allegedly influenced which referees were picked for games and had cozy relationships with those in charge of selecting referees both in Italy and at UEFA.
  
• He allegedly locked a referee and his assistants in a dressing room after Moggi blamed the referee for a Juventus loss
• He allegedly pressured current Italian national team and former Juve boss Marcello Lippi into selecting players represented by a sports agency run by Moggi's son.
• Moggi's name is also came up in a possible kidnapping plot following a Juve-Reggina game in 2004.

The "G" word - gambling - is also being thrown around in the midst of the scandal. AC Milan, Lazio, and Fiorentina are also being investigated. And there were two key developments today. Juve goalie Gianluigi Buffon was brought in for questioning. And, referee Massimo De Santis, widely regarded as Italy's finest referee now that Collina is retired and a World Cup referee, was removed from duty in this June's tournament while the investigation continues. This scandal will get more interesting in the days and weeks ahead, that's for certain. What will be interesting to see is if the corruption that has run rampant in the Italian game for decades can finally be eradicated.

Ciao Sheva!
Big rumors this week floating around AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko. Milan owner (and Italian political crybaby) Silvio Berlusconi stated this week that Sheva would be leaving the club for England this summer. Rumors have been emanating from London all season that Chelsea (of course) was throwing big dollars to land the talismanic Ukrainian forward. Chelsea is desperate to add a big name forward to their attack, and Argentine Carlos Tevez has also been one of their targets. Should Sheva become available, expect Manchester Utd and possibly Arsenal to get involved. But neither can compete with Cheslea's rubles, of course.

Will We See Him After All?
Positive medical reports out of Manchester this week have the English excited about the prospects of Wayne Rooney being healthy for the World Cup. Rooney has been spotted riding a bicycle around around the Man Utd ground and doctors are pleased with his progress. Still, it remains a serious longshot that Rooney will see action at the World Cup. The tournament kicks off in just 26 days.

Speaking of Which...
We here at Bookable Offense will soon get set to begin our World Cup coverage in earnest. We'll be previewing each of the groups, profiling key players, taking an in-depth look at the contenders, and of course, providing our expert picks and analysis. While we still haven't made our final predictions, I will go as far to state this: "Goleo" is the lamest mascot on record. Stay tuned for more!

Totti Makes His Return
AS Roma ace Francesco Totti made his return last week from a broken ankle in AS Roma's loss to Internazionale in the Coppa Italia final second leg. Totti rehabbed vigorously after suffering from a broken ankle three months ago, and wanted to get game action prior to the start of the World Cup. "A lot of people said that I wouldn't make it," Totti told the Associate Press. "I wanted to show what type of character Romans have." Totti will be vital to the Italians, playing arguably in the toughest group with the Czech Republic, United States, and Ghana. Italy has based its lineup around Totti's rare skills, sometimes to a fault, and they will be counting on him to set up and score goals this summer.

And Finally...
It seems like we found one German who can't handle his beer. After wrapping up the Bundesliga title, the Bayern Munich team celebrated their championship on a Rhine River pleasure cruise. Unfortunately, Bayern coach Felix Magath wasn't able to partake in the festivities. It seems that Magath got a bit too tipsy on the bus ride over to the cruise. "The three glasses of champagne and the beer had a devastating effect," a club representative told Reuters. "He had quite a bit to drink." I'll go on record and say that Magath is an embarrassment for Germans everywhere.

Video courtesy youtube.com. Photos courtesy yahoo.com and eurolloyd.com. Let us know what you think at bookableoffense@gmail.com.