The 2010 World Cup has a strong South American flavor. During the group-level stage, the five teams from that continent – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, have won 76 percent of the total available points, whereas the thirteen teams from Europe have posted a 47 percent record. Not surprisingly, four out of five South American teams have qualified for the quarter-final stage, whereas three out of thirteen European teams have made it to the last eight. This is the best ever world cup record, where South Americans clearly dominated the Europeans. Continue reading ‘South America 4, Europe 3′
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Almost twenty-nine years ago, I had the chance to watch the great football team of Internazionale Milano, and since then it has been my favorite Italian club. In the summer of 2006, the Nerazzurri (black and blue) team broke a seventeen-year Seria A title drought. After forty-five years of European misfortune, Inter has won the UEFA Champions League against the famous German team of Bayern Munich. This victory meant that the Inter coach Jose Mourinho completed the Continental Treble, winning the Champions League (CL), the Italian league (scudetto) and the Italian cup. This accomplishment has never been done by anyone in the 102-year-old club’s history. With no more to prove in Milan, the highly controversial Portuguese coach would very possibly start a new endeavor with another emblematic football club: Real Madrid. At the Bernabeu Stadium, Michel Platini handed the CL cup to Javier Zanetti, the captain who won the trophy in his 700th appearance for the club. Continue reading ‘The Name Of The Game’
It is no secret – most Wall Street bankers love the world of sports. It is all about the greatness of a fierce competition, the adrenaline rush, the utmost display of unique array of skills and plenty of drama. Last week I witnessed one of the most exciting sporting events ever: 2010 Masters Golf Tournament. Hosted by Augusta – Georgia, the tournament – arguably the biggest golf event of the year, has the same premiere status held by Wimbledon amongst the tennis Grand Slam events. This year, the PGA tour has started with the top two golf players facing serious but opposite personal life problems. On one side, Tiger Woods – a four-time Masters champion – has not played a minute of golf since his November famous sex scandal that made him a regular in tabloids. On the other side, Phil Mickelson – a two-time Masters champion – left the tour 11 months ago to take care of his wife, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer (shortly afterward, his mother was diagnosed as well). Continue reading ‘(Phil)ing Tigeresque’
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