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Weekend Football
28-30 March 2008
by Jerrad Peters

The ownership group of Liverpool Football Club is on the brink of collapse. In an interview with Toronto’s Fan 590 radio station, Thursday, co-owner George Gillett Jr. revealed that his relationship with fellow stakeholder Tom Hicks is “unworkable” and disintegrating by the day. At this point, the question of the divorce is when, not if, and would mark an astonishing reversal of the goodwill expressed when the pair bought the club for 218.9M-pounds last season.

For his part, Gillett has been by far the more sensible of the two over the duration of their ownership. While Hicks incurred the fury of the supporters by admitting to have secretly interviewed Jurgen Klinsmann as a possible replacement for manager Rafael Benitez in November, Gillett dispatched his son to Liverpool to oversee the operation on a day-to-day basis. And while the Texas businessman held firm against a lucrative offer from Dubai International Capital last month, his Colorado counterpart approached the matter with an open mind.

“He threatened to block me selling to Dubai,” stated the 69-year-old. “I think they would have been very responsible owners.”

As it happened, when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s DIC consortium offered upwards of 500M-pounds for the club in mid-February, Hicks remained steadfastly opposed to the transaction. In holding out for a better offer, the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers owner drew the ire of the Liverpool fans and was mocked by DIC for being “in dreamland” over his valuation of the club.

Gillett, however, offered his 50% stake to DIC before being obstructed by Hicks.

“We gave our partner a long period of time to make arrangements to buy us out,” he told the Fan. “He ultimately did not get to the finishing line.”

The Montreal Canadiens owner also conveyed his embarrassment over his partner’s behavior since assuming control of the football club.

“Because of the things he said,” remarked Gillett, “the fans’ reaction has been so negative to him that if we sold to him it has been made untenable to us.”

In fact, the Gillett family has received death threats over rumors that he may buckle to Hicks’ pressure. Rumors, Gillett would add, that are completely unfounded. Of the more than 2000-emails which flood his inbox every day, over 95% are negatively directed at Hicks, he said.

“The fans don’t want him to have even one share of my stake in the club.”

Lukas Podolski is planning a summer exit of Bayern Munich. The 22-year-old Germany international, acquired from FC Koln for 10M-euros in 2006, has started just two Bundesliga matches this season after being relegated to the club’s number-three forward position behind the lethal tandem of Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose.

“I’ve had it up to here with being on the bench,” remarked the striker in an interview with the German newspaper Bild. “I’ll think about my future at the end of the season.”

After being named the Best Young Player at the 2006 World Cup, Podolski had been expected to lead Bayern to a third consecutive championship. Instead, the club finished fourth in the Bundesliga and failed to qualify for the Champions’ League. As a result, Toni and Klose were brought in to produce the goals which Podolski had failed to score.

Given that the two are 30 and 29-year-of-age, respectively, Podolski might be inclined to remain in Bavaria and resume his starting role when either of the two retires, moves on, or gets hurt. Should he opt for a transfer, however, Bayern would likely reap upwards of 18M-pounds in exchange for his signature.

Ronaldinho is another marquee player who will be expected to swap kits after the current season. The 28-year-old Brazilian has been missing in action since early March – apparently crocked with a mysterious injury which has yet to be specifically identified by either himself or his club. And while both he and Barcelona president Joan Laporta have been quick to dismiss the reports of his impending departure, the vultures are circling. With the likes of Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic, and Giovanni Dos Santos become more and more a part of the Blaugranes’ setup by the day, it is almost inconceivable that Ronaldinho will return to the Nou Camp next term.

Should he orchestrate a transfer, each of Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Chelsea will be expected to table a bid. Chelsea, in particular, could offer both the funds and challenges that would be likely to stir the Brazilian back to his world-beating form of two years ago. Tottenham Hotspur, however, will throw their name in the hat as well. Manager Juande Ramos is a keen admirer of the former Paris Saint-Germain and Gremio maestro; and given his desire to keep the moody Dimitar Berbatov at the club, he may have an added incentive.

“Ronaldinho would fit into Spurs in every respect,” stated Ramos when questioned about the likelihood of the player’s arrival, yesterday. “Good results have helped people to trust our methods.”

Louis Van Gaal will resign as AZ Almaar manager at the end of the season. In a widely expected move, the 56-year-old reached a mutual agreement with the Dutch club and will replace current Holland manager Marco Van Basten after the EURO 2008 finals. In his first two seasons at AZ, Van Gaal bossed the club to second and third-place finishes in the Eredivisie. This term has been somewhat more disappointing, however. Through 30-rounds, the club is 12th in the standings – six-points adrift of 11th-place NEC Breda and six-points above the relegation playoffs.

The 2010 Champions’ League final will be staged in Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The 80,000-capacity, five-star venue has not hosted a European final since 1980 when Nottingham Forrest won their second of back-to-back European Cups by beating Hamburg 1-0. Berlin’s Olympiastadion was also in the running to host the most glamorous showpiece in European football.