As a reminder, one of the main issues of this whole standstill is the AIC’s demand to block a cause proposed by the clubs, where a player will be forced to accept a transfer to another club of equal status when he has less than a year on his contract remaining. The AIC see this as an unforgivable breach of their rights, as apparently even one avenue which would allow the club some power over the employees it pays for would be too much. The players feel that they are being treated as “slaves”, though most people with an averages income can appreciate just how insanely ridiculous such a comment really is.

I do believe the clubs will meet their demands, however, as the reality is the players do hold a lot of power. It would be a momentous occasion if they did not back down, and maybe spark a change in the levels of power in football, but with the threat of boycotting and canceling the games, they probably won’t take it that far. Still, we’ll find out the end results soon enough.

Some fans of AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic may not know that his skills extend beyond the football field into martial arts, but the Swedish starman has a black belt in taekwondo. He has been working on this accomplishment for years, and is well-renown amongst him teammates as the man not to mess with.

Despite this, reports say that his teammate, US defender Oguchi Onyewu got into a fight with him during a practice match. It was apparently a big fight that needed their Milan teammates to separate the two, but there were no major injuries. The incident has long since been forgotten, but if one were to guess, Zlatan probably would have won the fight.

In a related incident, you can see the striker hitting a teammate of his with a kick during training session. It appears to be a slight incident, or at least not made with an intention to harm. One wonders if Zlatan does this often, and how funny his teammates find his martial arts antics to be, but it’s clear he has the confidence to do much of what he wants.

Milan fans will also hope he continues his decent form for the Italian giants, which has not been characterized by a many goals, but he has done his part since coming on loan from Barcelona. Super-kicking them into the Champions League knockout round will be an added bonus too.

Apparently, all this started when Cassano refused to go to an awards presentation, which is said to have insulted the president of Sampodria. Cassano was told to hand in a written apology, but refused, and no talks between the club and the player have since been enough to amend the situation. Rumors are Cassano stayed at home to take care of his pregnant wife, which would be an entirely understandable excuse. And yet, president Garrone does not want to let this go, and Cassano has been frozen out of the squad, awaiting his contract terminated.

Surely there must be something else going on behind the scenes. Otherwise, it would be absurd to fire anyone, let alone your star player, because he missed a ceremony to take care of his wife. Tempers can get out of control, but it’d be hard to believe the club have so little regard for their own players that they would act in this way.

In any case, if/when Cassano does end up leaving the club, many of Europe’s top teams will be more than happy to take him in board.

As we saw in the past week how much power modern footballers have, it’s nice to see them using it in a positive way every once in a while. Rising Argentinean superstar Javier Pastore , who plays for Serie A side Palermo, has rejected interest from the top European clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, saying that he’s found his “perfect place” and sees no reason to leave.

Most other players would cite “personal ambition” and a need for trophies as their reason for leaving for those big teams, but Palermo have said that not even 60 million euros would be enough for their young star. Pastore has agreed with that, citing that he has the “environment to grow here and the experiences players to help me.”

It has almost become a distant dream for a middle-of the-road club to get to hold on to its star players when the richer clubs come knocking, but Palermo have managed that, and were rewarded with an excellent 5th-placed finish in he Serie A last year, just missing out on the Champions League. They are also doing pretty well in the Europa League this season, and are looking to aim even higher.

The only thing extra they can hope for now is that these promises don’t suddenly change when January comes along. It has certainly happened before in the past. It’s up to Pastore to keep his word.

With the way modern football is today, it’s always nice to read such stories. Reports say that AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has given a trial at the Italian giants to the son of a builder working on his house in Sweden, after the 16 year-old kid impressed him in a kick-about.

Erik Kristjansson is the lucky boy who is getting the chance, something which he admits himself is a “fairytale” and has trouble believing. He says that football is his life, and though he plays in the youth setup of Malmo IF’s Limhamn Bunkeflo, he couldn’t have imagined such a chance would come out of nowhere. He now gets to travel to Italy and see how well he can do in Milan’s setup – something which he admits is nervous for, but is hoping to prove his name at. His father, speaking to a local newspaper, sounded equally as thrilled.

So it’s nice that such stories are still possible today, and football is not all about finding the proper agents or playing in games where scouts are present. Sometimes just impressing a top football star will do, even though that’s easier said that done. In any case, if he does manage to break through and one day become a first team player for Milan, he sure will have a great story to tell the young ones. Not to mention how often commentators will refer to that on their “interesting facts” sheet.

That is, until now. Juventus have handed in new phone calls to restart the investigation, and in them they claim is evidence that should have Inter stripped from the 2006 title as well. Their president, Andrea Agnelli, has claimed that Inter have “a lot to be nervous about”, and has said he is confident that that title will not be assigned to anyone either.

To be honest, I was a bit suspicious when so many big clubs were named in the investigation, and yet Inter somehow escaped all punishment and were even rewarded with a title. This is such a disgraceful period for Italian football, that awarding those titles to no one really is the right thing to do. The question remains how severe will this evidence prove to be, and can the current Champions League holders expect to face a points-deduction, or worse? It’s curious also to see what the fans will find worse – losing a title from a previous season they never really won, or being put in a difficult position to retain their championship this year?

The phrase “they brought them to tears” is often used in soccer within the context of one team scoring a late goal or something, but for Roma goalkeeper Julio Sergio, the tears were quite literal – and painful.

After going in for a challenge near the end of his side’s 2-1 loss to Brescia, he was forced to continue on playing, because his side were already down to 10 men. He got booked for that incident, but that was the least of his problems. The pain in his ankle was so bad, that he couldn’t stop crying throughout the last minutes of the game.

It’s a rare sight that a player in such a bad condition is forced to continue, but Claudio Ranieri’s side had little choice. They were pushing for an equalizer, and the only way Sergio could have come off was if another outfield player was sacrificed in his place, which would have reduced Roma to 9 men. The whole gamble didn’t really pay off, though, as they couldn’t get the equalizer anyway.

The reaction to Sergio’s tears seems to be split. Some, (like the makers of the video) seem to be poking a bit of fun at him, but he really does seem to be in a great deal of pain. He stuck it out there and did his job, and for me that’s what really counts. Roma could benefit with more players showing such determination (albeit with a bit less crying) to turn their season around, which at the moment is going far from good.

It’s a move that not too many clubs have the guts to do. Leaving out one of your star players for whatever reason may not seem wise to some, but as the GK position is so important, you feel you need someone back there who is fully committed to your club and doesn’t have his head elsewhere. The 27-year old still has a good chance of being sold in January, which will restart his career, but I’m sure right now he’s regretting the things he said. You need to have a bit more respect for the fans and consideration for the club that pays your wages, after all.

As Massimo Cellino, Cagliari’s president said: “he’s a great guy, but he’ll have to pay for his nonsense”. True words indeed.

There are loyal people in football, and then there is Pavel Nedved. The former Czech Republic player became a legend at Juventus after he spent eight years at the club, stuck with them when they got demoted to Serie B, and helped them get back into the top flight. He retired a year and a half ago, but now he is back. Not as a player this time, but as a director.

The left winger, who in my view was once the best in his position in the world, wanted to take a break from football after he retired to focus on his family, but that exile lasted only up until now. Nedved has cited Juventus’ poor season last time around as one of the main factors that compelled him to come back to football sooner, and he will once again try to help the Italian giants reclaim their place at the top.

Originally, it was thought that he would have a role to play in the youth side, but it looks like he will be given bigger responsibilities and appointed as team manager and direct advisor to head coach Agnelli. It’s possible that this is the first step towards taking over Juventus one day, and I’m sure many fans would love him to lead the team once he has enough experience.

One thing for sure is that Juventus will need all the help they can get this season if they want to get back into the Champions League spots and challenge for the title again, as a gap seems to be developing between them and the other top teams in Italy.

The official ruling that they are protesting reads: “The clubs’ proposal stipulates that when a player has a year remaining on his contract, he must accept a transfer to another, equally competitive club that guarantees the same financial treatment. If the player doesn’t accept the transfer, he must come to a mutual contract resolution with the club, according to the proposal.”

That’s right – all this is about making a player switch clubs when his contract is running out and in which he will get paid the same (absurdly high) salary. Apparently, the players feel this is a violation of their “rights”, and that they shouldn’t be treated like “objects” just because they get highly paid.

In theory that complaint may hold some water, but the average working man will wonder how in the world does that ruling mean they are “being treated as objects”? The players, and I’m talking about many professionals in general, not just in Serie A, feel like they are what makes a club run and that every club must be eternally grateful that they are blessed with their services. While in my opinion, it should be the other way around. These players would not have a penny to their name if it wasn’t for the clubs and the fans that pay their wages.

This is just another example of how out-of-touch footballers have become with the rest of the world these days.