By Patrick “Rey” Reynell

It is that time again. Let’s hear from you readers. We had another week of stellar performances. Pick the ONE that stands out to you, and tell us a story.

It was quite a stellar week of dominating performances. Those performances, however, have yet to show who is best as we near the finals for Lord Stanley’s Cup and the NBA’s Larry O’Brien trophy . So for this week, I’ll go across the pond to a club that finished its domination of 2009-2010: Inter Milan.

Having just days earlier celebrated a Serie A title in Italy’s premier soccer league, Inter Milan defeated Bundesliga’s champion Bayern Munich in Madrid Saturday 2-0 to capture the UEFA Champions League trophy. Jose Mourinho’s club completed the trifecta in professional soccer by winning Italy’s FA Cup, the Serie A title, and now the most coveted of them all, to be called the champions of European football.

Mourinho became just the third manager to lead two different clubs to Champions League glory, having previously done so in 2003 with Portuguese club FC Porto. And now in what has become too commonplace in the world of professional sports, conversations have quickly shifted to whether or not Mourinho will stay with the Italian club. Some reports have him leaving for the Spanish power, Real Madrid.

So let’s hear from “The Pine.” Who gets your POTW?

Getty Images

It was a long shot, but AC Milan remained in the 2009 Serie A title hunt going into Saturday’s contest at Udinese. Those hopes were quickly dashed by a more aggressive and offensive-minded home side.

Gaetano D’Agostino scored the first goal off of a penalty kick (31′), and Christian Zapata blasted home a second half goal (49′) when AC Milan failed to clear a corner, taking the match, 2-1.

It is Undinese’s first home win against AC Milan since 2003. The victory keeps them close to a qualifying spot for the European play next season.

The game saw a juxtaposition of styles; while AC Milan controlled possession most of the game, Udinese took full advantage of its touches on offense. The home side tallied 26 shots, 9 of which were on target. AC Milan, despite their number of possessions, only managed 3 quality shots on goal.

Milan certainly fulfilled the Italian stereotype of “possession football.” Their opponents, on the other hand, provided a more entertaining brand of physical play on defense coupled with an opportunistic, insatiable desire on offense.

Udinese proved the aggressor all game. Its counter-attacks highlighted the club’s exceptional speed and often left AC Milan players trailing after an interception. Defensively, they closed down well and were not afraid of the referee’s potential reprimands.

Milan’s attempt at offside traps proved futile as a host of Udinese attackers gained clean shots on goal throughout the first half. If it hadn’t been for the timely play of Milan goalie, Dida, the Zebrette might have netted three or four more.

The Red-Blacks lone strike came too late when Massimo Ambrosini scored (90′) a header off of a superb, arching Kaka cross that placed itself perfectly at the Italian midfielder’s head.

Stoppage time did not slow down Udinese, however, as Fabio Quagliarella narrowly missed on the game’s final shot attempt, hitting the left post.

The win secures Inter Milan the Serie A title, which is their first under Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho. More importantly it is the club’s fourth overall title, which ties them for second most in Italian football history with their derby counterparts, AC Milan.

With rumors already circulating concerning the sale of Brazilian star, Kaka, it is sure to be a long summer for AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi. Only time will tell if it will be a summer of discontent or one of new, burgeoning hope going into the 2009-2010 season.

Vince Lombardi. Tom Landry. John Wooden. Joe Pa. These coaches built and molded magnificent teams. They laid the groundwork for successful players with assembly line-like precision season after season. Now-a-days more credit is given to the General Manager for a team’s short lived success. Longevity is in the coaches, though. The coaches.

I noticed the same thing happening in soccer after the 2008 European championship. It bothered me, sure, but it didn’t surprise me. I haven’t been bothered by a managerial move until my post last week on Tottenham. A manager abandoning his team mid-season to join another team? In the same league? Who, by the way, is performing worse than the team he’s currently employed with? No, can’t be true…

Harry Redknapp is apparently a great coach. He’s salvaged a few teams on the verge of relegation, which is what he’s built his reputation on. Ultimately he’s the man responsible for Portsmouth FC’s (or Pompey as their fans call them) success and even existence in the English Premier League. Pompey won the Division One title in 2003 with Redknapp at the helm, thus earning promotion to the Prem. In Portsmouth’s first premier league season, Redknapp left in November, a third into the season, to become Southampton’s manager. Unable to keep them from relegation, he stayed on for one more season and when they did not regain promotion, he left in December 2005 – again, midseason.

Portsmouth welcomed him back with open arms as they had been spending dismal seasons at the bottom of the premier league table. It took some time, but Redknapp had Pompey on the road to success, finishing in the eighth spot which qualified them for UEFA cup, the club’s first European competition in their history (they even went on to win their first game, which sent them to the group stages).

Redknapp with FA Cup

The dream season for Pompey reached its climax in the infamous Wembley Stadium where they won England’s coveted FA Cup, their first. It was doubly sweet because they defeated Manchester United along the way. So all was well in the Port City, and Redknapp and his club went into this season with some high expectations. With England’s own David James in goal, Jermain Defoe, and the addition of Peter Crouch, things were looking up. Many picked them to finish in the top half of the table again, including me.

Perhaps the fear of actually having expectations other than, “just make it so we don’t get relegated, Harry!” scared old Redknapp off. He recently took the offer to manage Tottenham. Yes – the team who spent hundreds of millions of dollars only to be in danger of relegation. Oh – and lest we forget that he once again screwed Pompey by leaving halfway into the season. What was that conversation like?

“Hey Harry, old chap? Stop fulfilling people’s dreams there in Portsmouth and come to North London where expectations are irrationally set by our fans. We’re in dead last and have no money to spend, so you have to win with what we got. And don’t worry about leaving us midseason. If you don’t get the bloody job done, we’ll run you out of here. So what’ya say?” He said yes to this offer? Talk about fear of success, Harry.

But wait – here’s the kicker: Redknapp was given an award by the city of Portsmouth two days after he resigned and took the Tottenham job – and he actually showed up! Don’t believe it? You can watch the video at Dave’s Football Blog.

I’ve read about how Portsmouth has achieved as much as possible - the pinnacle reached - and that they don’t have the money to continue to contend like they’d wish. So it is therefore unforgivable for Redknapp to go to a club that can reach a level of success that continuously qualify them for European play. But to me, it seems like another typical move by a cowardly manager who feared lofty expectations by his own creation.

So what do guys like Harry do? Find a place where there is nowhere to go but

Redknapp with his new club, Tottenham

up so everyone will revel in your brilliance. Such is the current state at White Hart Lane, as Tottenham won their first game under Redknapp’s guidance and then upset Liverpool this weekend 2-1. But don’t stay to celebrate too long, Harry, because you might be expected to actually improve and achieve something other than getting out of the basement.

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On the flip side of Redknapp we have fellow Scotsmen Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes. Ferguson, the manager at Manchester United has been there since 1986 and his accolades are unmatched. He’s apparently announced his desire to step down in 2010. Naturally United fans want to know who will replace him. One name that has recently been mentioned is Inter Milan’s manager, Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho is the thriving clubs’ version of Redknapp. He won the Champions League while at FC Porto, then went on to Chelsea and steered them to their

Enjoy this image while it lasts, Inter fans

first premier league title in over fifty years. He won another and then left after some disappointing finishes in Champions League. His departure was perhaps more due to the unrealistic expectations of the fans and owners than Redknapp’s. Now he is at Inter Milan priming them for a return to stardom, trying to solidify the club ahead of traditional Italian powers Juventus and AC Milan.

My advice to United is to keep looking. Apparently there is something with this guy that causes management and fans to turn against him after only a

Sir Alex has brought titles galore to Old Trafford

little success. Don’t make a mess just to temporarily uphold what Ferguson has established at Old Trafford. You have to look at these candidates and think long-term.

You won’t replace Sir Alex, so don’t try to. Find someone with a little thing called commitment. I hate to say it, but Everton’s David Moyes seems all too perfect for this. He is dedicated, evidenced by recently signing a new contract extension

Next Scotsman at Old Trafford?

for a club that is incessantly inept in off-season acquisitions. Despite this, Moyes praises the club and expresses his dedication to make things right at Goodison Park. I’d love to see him take over Scotland’s national team some day, but with United available, maybe Moyes will be the next Scot to manage at Old Trafford. At least you can trust that he won’t be like Redknapp or Mourinho and leave after what he achieves what he wants.

A pint for Chelsea manager Luis Scolari. In Chelsea’s 1-1 tie against Manchester United in round 4 of the Prem, he refused to blame referees even though they did not allow Chelsea one last free kick from just outside the box in stoppage time. He called them “the boss” and pointed to the masterful play of both sides. I loved the way he avoided the lure from the media. I can see why Chelsea is delighted to have him at Stamford Bridge.

A red card for Newcastle United’s Danny Guthrie. He took a frustrated swipe at Hull City’s Craig Fagan and broke his leg. The replay showed no intention to play the ball. This was truly a reprehensible display by Guthrie. View the video of the vicious kick here, with the actual play coming in at eleven seconds and the replay at thirty seconds.

A red card for the English FA who gave Guthrie a meager three game ban. This is despicable concerning the severity of the injury. FA should have grown a pair and suspended Guthrie for as long as it takes Fagan to recover and return to play. Shame on you, England FA!

A pint for Hull City and its fans. Hull City has pulled off the improbable North London sweep, beating Arsenal 2-1 and Tottenham 1-0. This is the first time in their 104-year history that Hull is competing in top-flight football. From the games I’ve watched, their fans are as passionate as any other and are enjoying the ride. They have played in all levels of English football in the past five years and now are taking on and defeating England’s best clubs. They currently hold third in the league table which means they’d qualify for the Champions League next season. And I picked them to finish in dead last.

Shunsuke Nakamura

A red card for Japan’s National Team. They have taken the authority to call up midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura for a friendly against the United Arab Emirates and a World Cup qualifying match against fellow Asian group member Uzbekistan. This may pull the magical midfielder away from his Scottish club, Celtic, as they set to take on defending champion Manchester United in the Champions League just six days after Japan’s match with Uzbekistan. Japan already holds onto second in their group and probably do not need Nakamura to beat lowly Uzbekistan who has yet to score a goal in qualifying.

Jose Mourinho

A pint for Inter Milan manager Jose Mourinho. He was criticized for giving his assistant media duties after a game. The native Portuguese lashed back stating his respect comes from the fact that he is trying to learn Italian so that he may better suit the Italian media. The assistant he hired is someone with a good past with the club and also fluent in Italian. I like this move and I like that he addressed it. He’s making a concerted effort to learn a new language while managing one of the best clubs in the world – lay off the guy and be patient.

A red card for Jose Mourinho. In the same interview, he said that the AC Milan and Inter Milan derby was just “a normal game.” Ugh… give me my pint back, Jose.

A pint for Dave’s Football Blog. I’ve made this blog a regular stop. It covers everything football, from our American version to many, many versions found in the UK and Australia. This site is the Left Field of soccer for me; I learn something new every time. His analysis and writing is both entertaining and informative. His current article, “Fiscal Responsiblity,” examines the financial state of the English Premier League. Truly great stuff on this site, no matter your football preference.

A red card for Bayern Munich manager Jürgen Klinsmann. The former German striker has Germany’s most dominant and successful club (over forty German trophies) sitting in eleventh place. I can’t say that I follow Bundesliga very closely, so I don’t know if it is his blame or not. I’m red carding him regardless because he chose to take the toughest job in Germany. He stepped down as the German National coach after a third place finish in the 2006 World Cup. Now he’s trying to lead his former club but is off to a rocky start. Be careful, Jürgen; don’t tarnish your legacy because you can’t maintain the same success as a coach.

Pints all around for the Zimbabwe National Team, The Warriors. They were recently eliminated from World Cup contention. I wrote about their hopes in possibly hosting some games and also examined the impact soccer may potentially have on a politically corrupt country. Here’s to the brave team members for playing on and continuing hope during a time of turmoil.

A red card for the Senegalese fans. After Senegal was eliminated from World Cup contention, fans stormed the FA headquarters and vandalized the building, even setting fire to a bus. They were restrained with tear gas; however, many important documents were stolen and damaged.

Pints all around for the U.S. National Team! They’re doing it with defense in World Cup qualifying, giving up their first goal in four matches against Cuba this past Saturday night. The younger players are looking primed and ready to step into the spotlight, especially (Glasgow) Rangers product DeMarcus Beasely, who scored twice against Cuba (U.S. won the match 6-1). So cheers to the American squad and godspeed in the final qualifying round and finding success in South Africa come 2010! Wait a minute – bartender? Just a Pepsi for Freddy Adu, please.