Prem Picks: Gadaffi Tribute Edition
So, Muammar al-Gadaffi is dead.
Photo via Wikipedia
That means it’s time to play Did You Know?.
Did you know:
• Gadaffi was born in a Bedouin tent outside Sirte? Yep, he came from a long line of nomads.
• His hometown of Sirte has an alternate spelling of Sidra? Yep. They real and they’re SPECTACULAR!
• He set out his political philosophy in a green book appropriately titled “The Green Book”? Yep, and in 1987, a West German hockey team signed an advertising deal for the book.
• He had been subject to at least seven assassination plots?
• He had two daughters named Hana? Yep, the first one got killed and he adopted another one to replace her.
Who knew, right?
It turns out Gadaffi also had some connections to world soccer.
Did you know, Pt. Deux (world soccer corollary):
• One of Gadaffi’s sons, Al-Saadi al-Gadaffi, played professionally? Yep, here‘s his Wikipedia page, which claims he played a grand total of two league games in three Seria A (that’s the league in Italy, genius, and it’s pronounced “Sehr-ee-ay Ahh”) seasons with Perugia, Udinese and Sampdoria. Fun! He apparently failed a drug test when he was with Perguia. Woops.
Photo by Mike's wife
All I know is that his name reminds me of my wife’s dog. Her name is Sadie. That’s the dog’s name, not the wife’s, A-hole.
Here’s more from the Wiki entry:
“Libyan football was arranged to favor Saadi. One law forbade announcing the name of any football player with the exception of Saadi. Only numbers of other players were announced. Referees favored Saadi’s club and security forces were used to silence protests.”
That’s just priceless.
• Gadaffi bought a 5.3 percent stake in Italian club Juventus in 2002? Yep, he was buddy-buddy with some big-wig at Fiat, so he had the opportunity. He did the deal through the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (Lafico).
This weekend’s games
Ratings based on watchability, with 5 Gadaffis being the highest and 1 Gadaffi the lowest.
5 Gadaffis
Manchester City at Manchester United
When: Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Eastern (all times Eastern from now on)
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
TV: Fox Soccer (live)
What’s up: It’s the game of the week. The game of the year.
The game of the decade. The game of the century.
At least that’s how the hype is going to feel.
Really, though, this should be a great match. One of these teams will win the title. So, like, this match could have a huge impact on the title race.
It’s brother against brother. Big brother (United) vs. his punky, upstart little annoyance of a brother (City).
It’s the old guard (United) vs. new money (City).
Excited yet?
The pick: Score draw
4 Gadaffis
Stoke City at Arsenal
When: Sunday, 8:30 a.m.
Where: Emirates Stadium, London
TV: Fox Soccer Plus (live)
What’s up: Like I wrote last week, after that atrocious start to the season, every Arsenal game will get a four-star rating until one of two things happen:
(1) Arsenal gets relegated
(2) Arsenal gets back into the Top 4.
Until then, every game is a cup final. Every game has the potential for defensive meltdown. And every game has the potential for water-bottle shenanigans.
Arsenal did pick up a nice win last week, by the way.
The pick: High-scoring draw
3 Gadaffis
Everton at Fulham
When: Sunday, 8:30 a.m.
Where: Craven Cottage, London
TV: Fox Soccer Plus (delayed, 10:30 a.m.)
What’s up: Americans galore!
Clint Dempsey is everyone’s favorite American footballer/rapper (are there any others?). Tim Howard is everyone’s favorite camo-wearing goalie.
What’s not to like?
The pick: Fulham 2, Everton 1
Spurs at Blackburn
When: Sunday, 10 a.m.
Where: Ewood Park, Blackburn
TV: Fox Soccer Plus (delayed, 12:30 p.m.)
What’s up: Spurs definitely want to win. But they also want to do better than Arsenal.
Remember how Arsenal lost 4-3 at Blackburn earlier this season? Tottenham Hotspur, its players, coaches and fans, they all do.
Blackburn, meanwhile, is rock bottom at the bottom of the table. But they did beat Arsenal! It’s all been worth it!
The pick: Spurs 1, Blackburn 0
Wigan Athletic at Newcastle United
When: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Where: St. James’s Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
TV: Fox Soccer (live)
What’s up: Can Newcastle really qualify for Europe? I think so. But games like these, against relegation candidates, really are must-wins. Anything less than a win is a bitter disappointment for Newcastle.
The pick: Newcastle 2, Wigan 0
Sunderland at Bolton
When: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Where: Reebok Stadium, Bolton
TV: Fox Soccer (delayed, 5 p.m.)
What’s up: Wasn’t Sunderland supposed to be good this year? Then why are they sitting one spot above the relegation zone?
Wait a sec—who’s that right below Sunderland? Oh, it’s Bolton!
Hey! It’s a relegation six-pointer!
The pick: Sunderland 1, Bolton 1
2 Gadaffis
Swansea at Wolves
When: Saturday, 7:45 a.m.
Where: Molineux, Wolverhampton
TV: ESPN2
What’s up: How did ESPN2 get stuck with this one?
Midtable mediocrity at its finest. Swansea is 13th in the table, Wolves 16th. Actually, Wolves will probably slip into the relegation zone soon.
The pick: Wolves 2, Swansea 2
West Brom at Aston Villa
When: Saturday, 10 a.m.
Where: Villa Park, Birmingham
TV: Fox Soccer Plus (live)
What’s up: Actually, this is the better example of mid-table mediocrity.
Villa is eighth. West Brom is 12th. Neither will move far from those spots all season.
The pick: Aston Villa 2, West Brom 1
Norwich City at Liverpool
When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
TV: Fox Soccer (live)
What’s up: Liverpool threw away a win and two points last week against Manchester United. That’s a bad thing for Norwich.
The pick: Liverpool 3, Norwich 0
Chelsea at QPR
When: Sunday, 11 a.m.
Where: Loftus Road, London
TV: Fox Soccer (live)
What’s up: I have no desire to watch this game or even check the score after it’s over.
The pick: Chelsea 3, QPR 1
Can’t really comment on the games, but did you know there are over 100 ways to spell Gadhafi’s name in ABC letters?
Awesome!