Weekend Roundup

I didn't watch any football over the last few days as it was Memorial Day weekend here in the USA. BBQs, bro-downs, etc. And also with the big races decided there was very little important footballing going on. Still, looking over the papers this morning here is some stuff I found interesting:

Nicolas Anelka scored on the last day of the season, edging CR7 for top scorer in the Prem. Haha.

In other top scorer news Diego Forlan's hat trick against Athletic put him at 31, 2 goals ahead of Samuel Eto'o in the race for the Pichichi (!) with only one leauge game left. Given what we know about Eto'o I would say there is a good chance he forces his way (phsyically if necessary) into the Barca team sheet next Sunday regardless of the outcome of the CL final. He will be a total blackhole and very likely set the record for shots in a single game. Interesting tidbit: Forlan would be the first Atletico Madrid player to win the honor. He has also played less games than Eto'o.

After being eliminated from the Copa Liberatdores at home it was announced Carlos Ischia will leave Boca Juniors at the end of the season. So one of the most coveted jobs in the Americas is now open. On the other side there is an experienced and manager that could take a team to the next level on the market. This would be funnier to me if River hadn't gone out in the group stage.

Either Bologna or Torino will be relegated in Italy, depending on how the final matchday plays out. Both teams have strikers who could be a missing piece for another team. If they go down I think it is likely we see Di Vaio or Bianchi remain in Serie A with a new team.

Speaking of... Newcastle were relegated. I know they were horrible all year (well in retrospect they looked pretty good with Kevin K. at the very beginning...weird) but it was hard to really picture it until it happened. This team's roster truly looks "too good to go down" on paper. Will there be a massive sell off in the summer? Where will guys like Owen, Martins, Viduka, and Gutierrez be playing next season? An astute manager could boost his club from mid-table to a European place by picking the Newcastle carcass.

Juninho played his final game with Lyon and scored his 100th goal for the club. His departure coincides with the end of the longest current dynasty. Even though I am not a huge fan of the French game watching Juninho was always fun. The "who is best" discussion is always a subjective one but to me no one was better on freekicks. Also French games have the best cinematography of any league in the world, which is weird.

Wolfsburg, Rangers, Leige all won their leagues.