Todays big news was Jose Mourinho, the current coach of Real Madrid F.C., was asked to coach Portugal in the qualifiers of the European Cup. Portugal dismissed their last coach, Carlos Queiroz, and now need a new one. Portugal is really in need of some victories. They have not been playing at all recently. I got the chance to see them play Brazil in the world cup and although they have real talent in the back and in the midfield, they lack a striker who scores goals. In Portugal’s First two qualifiers they had very poor results, tying the tiny island of Cyprus 4-4 and then losing to Norway 1-0. For a country with as much talent and history as Portugal, this is unbelievable. But is “The Chosen One” the answer? Jose Mourinho has won every place he has been however, being thrown into the coaching position of a team which is in total disarray, that might ruin his track record. I believe he could do well with the team but it is not in his best interest to potentially ruin his outstanding track record. None of this matters though because ultimately Real Madrid holds his contract and with the season in full swing and Barcelona playing so well, they wont let him go anywhere.
Go to http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=823713&sec=euro2012&cc=5901 for more.
In other news, Liverpool beat Steaua Bucharest 4-1 at home. This was expected but it will be worrisome to Manchester United fans like myself that Liverpool have some momentum. This weekends clash looks to be a classic. Both teams now have 18 league titles and Alex Ferguson wants that last one before he hangs up his coaches jacket. As always there will be plenty of drama and hard tackles. Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher said today that the rivalry with Liverpool in still the biggest of the season. This will be the first time United face a Liverpool side managed by Roy Hodgson. I have a feeling that whoever wins this game will finish above the other come the end of the season. With that being said, my money is on United. Rooney should be energized and the team will be looking to prove that they still have the spark after a disappointing tie with Rangers on Tuesday.
For the upset of the day I will turn to the shocking defeat of the reigning UEFA League Champions Athletico Madrid at the hands of Aris Salonika. This will be a wake-up call to the European Super Cup trophy holders. If they are going to lose to a relatively small team from Greece, they will be in for a long season. If they want to have any chance of a repeat they need to get Sergio Aguero healthy fast so they can start scoring some goals.
For the full game report go to http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=307645&cc=5901