WE know Club chairmen can do and undo when it comes to transfers, if they like they can sell a player that just unveiled for their club the next minute.. but what is hard to imagine is a chairman deciding the future of a professional footballer from the prison cell.
That is exactly what eccentric Steaua Bucharest owner Gigi Becali has done, ordering his underlings to pull the plug on Tottenham’s approach for highly-rated Steaua centre-half Vlad Chiriches from the 6′x8′ Honeymoon Suite at the Rahova jail.
According to Steaua manager Mihai Stoica, Becali used his daily phone call to get in touch with the club and demand that no-one sell Chiriches, especially before Steaua’s Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Tbilisi.
Stoica gave a verbatim run-through of Becali’s message to a local newspaper:
“[Becali said:] “Who are Tottenham?! Do not do any transfer, my name is Gigi Becali! I’m not a slave to anybody! We have an important game in the Champions League, why can’t they wait?
“Until winter he will not leave under any circumstances. This could be a blow to Chiriches, but he should understand. He owes a lot to Steaua. Things are good, we are in qualifying for the Champions League. We are in good shape.”
Already serving four years after being caught out in a dodgy land sale, Becali - a former gypsy shepherd – has a long rap-sheet of racist, xenophobic, homophobic (he once banned all Queen records from playing at Steaua’s stadium because of Freddie Mercury’s sexual orientation) , anti-semetic and violent outbursts while serving in political office as well as several moments of lunacy in his capacity as football chairman – e.g, once cancelling the loan of Polish midfielder Rafal Grzelak and sending him back to his parent club back in 2010 because he was follically challenged.
"Did you ever see a bald player to wear the No.10? Tell me, did you? It's impossible! There aren't any great bald football players. Tell me if I'm not right! Name just one!"
If you needed any more convincing that Becali is a bit of an eccentric fellow, then please note that the man has these two paintings of himself hanging in his front room…
If you needed any more convincing that Becali is a bit of an eccentric fellow, then please note that the man has these two paintings of himself hanging in his front room…
I rest my case.
Sir, zizou was bald and he won the number 10
ReplyDeleteOmo wait o.. Is that his cell in the pic?
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