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by FBC
"I want to go out on top.
It's the right time. I believe it's the right time."
It's the right time. I believe it's the right time."
Yeah, PAM is busy with 'serious stuff' (her words, not mine), but we can't just let this important moment in the "ballin' world" pass us by without a word just because she is busy with 'important things' (once again, her words, not mine... not that I don't believe that what she does in her 'day job' is really important. :) OK, I know, if I didn't get an 'honorable mention' in her next post here, it would be a miracle. Haha...). Therefore, yours truly just had to step up to the plate even without the Boss' request. I'm a good "lieutenant", y'see. :)
Anyway, PAM had to grab the TV's remote control last night to up the volume when CNN's Don Riddell - PAM's fave sports news presenter - came on to report that the world-famous football and pop culture
icon, David Beckham, is retiring from the ballin' world. This means that next season, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is going to have to rely on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to draw oohs and aahs from football fans around the world during their matches. Of course, as to the possible reasons for the oohs and aahs that Ibra could be drawing from the crowd in Becks' absence... well, that remains to be seen. While it will be fun to find out, I'm sure the world will understand if PSG's 'biggies' would decline to comment later regarding what other things Ibra is capable of on (and off) the pitch aside from making goals. But I digress....
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Bend it, and bend it good - like Beckham!
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Going back to Becks, even PSG's current head coach, Carlo Ancelotti, had to grope for words to make a comment on the 38-year old Beck's impending retirement. Are we sad about it? Boy, do vampires suck blood? Of course, they do! So, of course, we are - sad! In fact, I imagine PAM is just making an excuse about being busy with 'serious stuff' and all that to escape having to write about Beck's retirement. The old girl is in denial, and I'm quite sure she's bent like Beckham - in sadness - right now.
Twenty years of 'bending it', garnering League Championship trophies in four countries (with Manchester United in England, with Real Madrid in Spain, with LA Galaxy in the US,
and now, with PSG in France), a treble with his boyhood Club, Man United, and the first to earn 100 caps for England - the home of football - and serving as England's Three Lions Captain for six years, too, plus constantly in the Top 10 of biggest earners in the Sporting World. Why, his face is almost equivalent to that round leather thing! Only, no one dares kick it around - it's too beautiful of a metrosexual face! And the owner of the face is also a certified nice guy apparently, and you may go ahead and ask Prince William if you'd like. In fact, Becks is a role model for most sportsmen in that, in 1999, he married, and still is married to, a thin 'spicy woman' who doesn't smile with whom he has a picture perfect family. I bet PAM is subscribed to a site where Beck's family pictures are posted regularly. In fact, her iPad is full of Becks fam pics. :)
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Role Model: The 'Baller is a good family man.
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So, are we going to miss Becks bending it on the pitch? Hell, yeah! Good thing he has life outside football, and we'll be seeing him often enough - that's for sure.
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Hello, Pep!
Speaking of 'going out on top', here's one who knows the art involved in doing that. He is one of the winningest coaches in the history of the 'beautiful game'. He left the team he built, which was hailed by football fans and sports analysts alike as one of the best football squads ever put together, while the world was at their feet.
See, when a door closes just because someone said 'goodbye', another door opens because someone is about to say 'hello'. In this case it's 'hello again'. Yes, Pep Guardiola will be back next season. Nope, not in Barcelona, but with Bayern Munich in Germany's
Bundesliga. Of course, it would've been a perfect 'love story' if he was returning to Barcelona, but for as long as the beautiful (as PAM puts it frequently) 'Bald and Bearded One' returns to the ballin' world, especially now that there will be a deficit of talents, passion and good looks as the Becks say 'bye, bye' to us, Pep's return to the scene is most welcome! The only problem is I'm not sure how PAM's sked in her day job would be 'messed up' by Pep's return. I guess there's going to be some limit of time allotted to these 'serious stuffs' 'cause our old girl has been dedicating at least 18 hours of her time per day on her day job. While Becks and Pep are all about passion and commitment to what they do, they dislike this sort of 'enslaving dedication'. Variety - that's what Becks recommends, old girl! Pep had to stay away from football for a year to recuperate from the enslaving dedication to FC Barcelona that made him 'sick' in the end. It would be a good idea to bend it and listen to these midfielder's wisdom, old girl. :)
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Munich bound... Pep is, and we're excited!
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Anyway, yes, we are looking forward to seeing more of those Pep moves at the touchline, in his trademark suits, complete with deep worry lines on his forehead, and the coolness that he exudes during pre-match and post-match interviews. Man, I thought we won't be seeing those in a while. We're glad that he's back. Of course, we're excited to see, too, how he'd deal with Mario Gomez and his shirtlessness-related antics. Then again, Pep kept Dani Alves's penchant for drama under control back in his Camp Nou days, making the Brazilian defender actually really productive in the process, and his role vital in FC Barcelona's tremendous success under Pep's guidance. So, nope, we're not worried about the impending Pep-Mario tandem. In fact, we are looking forward to seeing it unfold among the Bavarian crowd. So, bring it!
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Video credit: Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.
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