Da Shitz On Sportz

I’m sure there are not too many die-hard soccer fans outside of Brazil, who have heard of second tier soccer player Thiago da Silva, but the 25-year-old was very familiar to Brazilian soccer fans and he was a member of Brazil’s bronze winning soccer team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

His “star” was on the rise until September 18 when three hit men hired by his ex-girlfriend Alyne Padula Viana stormed on a soccer field during a practice session, handcuffed, beat, and tortured him. He was then shot 3 times when he tried to escape. Six days after the attack he died in a Rio de Janeiro hospital.

The Estacio de Sa soccer player was murdered for the lamest of reasons and as far as DSOS is concerned Alyne Viana and her aunt should suffer the same fate, though they should suffer excruciating pain before putting a bullet between their eyes.

Alyne Viana and her aunt have been taken into custody, accused of hiring the assassins that killed da Silva after he ended his relationship with a woman who can only be described now as a murderous gold-digging bitch who had it not been da Silva, she would have surely killed somebody else.

Before he died da Silva was able to tell police that he met his fate after he fell into a trap after meeting with his girlfriend to discuss the break-up. He was also able to describe is attackers.

One of the assassins is a member of the military police, and he too should have a date with the Grim Reaper, or at the very least be thrown into the general population of a Brazilian prison where inmates will undoubtedly take great pleasure in torturing and murdering a government thug.

This is not a crime of passion. It is a cold and calculating murder planned and carried out for revenge, and of all the co-conspirators involved in the heinous and brutal crime Alyne Viana should suffer the most. There is no amount of torture that the despicable woman shouldn’t have to endure, and I hope when the time comes she suffers the most painful of deaths. It’s the least she deserves.

Member of Brazil’s bronze winning Olympic soccer team tortured and murdered by ex-girlfriend’s hired assassins

When I was a kid growing up in Canada I took up the game of soccer, and at a very young age (9 I think) I was a pretty good player, good enough to always be the first picked whenever we got together at lunch time and after school hours to play a game that was barely catching on in Canada at the time. Had I known back then that soccer was going to become as big as it is now internationally (the game is still struggling for a market in Canada however), and had I had the right guidance and my mother could afford to put me into competitive soccer, who knows what I might have accomplished. While I might not have earned a massive pay check for a sport I still love to this day, I bet I would have made a comfortable living at it.

Here in Australia soccer (football to Aussies) is slowly but surely catching on, and my stepson who is just 7 years old, is beginning to take an interest in the game. While I hope his interest in the game never wanes (he is also into Australia Rules Football), and that some day he plays at a competitive level, for the time being I don’t have any expectations of him when it comes to the sports he chooses to play. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind living vicariously through him as far as the game of soccer goes, but I would never impose on his right to play whatever sport he wants to play, that is of course if he chooses to participate competitively in sports when he’s a little older.

But, that doesn’t mean I’m above influencing his decision on what sport he should take up, and I would go out of my way to point out the financial benefits he might reap should he ever be good enough to make a living out of being a professional athlete.  With that in mind, I thought today’s blog entry should end with what today’s biggest names in soccer are earning.

Here are the top 20 money makers in the world of soccer today according to Forbes:

Coming in at number 20 is Bayern Munich’s 38-year-old goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. King Kahn’s career is winding down what has been a stellar career. With endorsement deals from Burger King and Paulaner brewer, the World Cup runner up medalist from Germany’s national team earned $US10.3 million last year.

Coming in at number nineteen is 31-year-old Raul Gonzalez Blanco (Real Madrid). He signed a lifelong contract with Real Madrid earlier this year, is the club’s second leader scoring of all time despite his up and down form, and has been w itch the team for the past 12 years.  He is known for his pre- and in-match superstitions. Last year he earned $US10.9 million.

Next on the list is 21-year-old Argentinean Lionel  Messi who is currently playing for Barcelona. At 5 feet six inches he short for a top class soccer player, but certainly has the talent. He made the first team at Barcelona at just 17 years of age. He has been dubbed the new Maradonna and last year earned $US11.9 million. He is under contract with Barcelona until 2014.

Number 17 is 29-year-old Rio Ferdinand who plays for Manchester United. This year is his career best season with Manchester. In 2002 Manchester signed him to a five-year  deal the made him the most expensive British soccer player in history, and the world’s most expensive defender. He has had his problem off the field, having been nailed with a string of driving offences and failing to attend a mandatory drug test a year after signing his massive contract and it has hurt him, but  he still earned $US12.5 million last year.

30-year-old Ivory Coast native Didier Drogba comes in at number 16 having earned $13.4 million playing for Chelsea. He was the Premier League’s top goal scorer in the 2006-07 season, and was Africa’s soccer player of the year in 2006.  Despite some very expensive strikers on Chelsea, Drogba is the Blue’s first choice when it comes to that position.

Alessandro del Piero is next on the Forbes list earning $US14.3 million. The 33-year-old Italian has played for Juventus more than 400 times since 1993 and is the club’s all time leading scorer. He uses his fame and fortune to support cancer research.

Englishman Frank Lampard’s $US14.8 million puts him at number 14 on the list. The 30-year-old Chelsea Blue’s player is a regular on England’s national squad and was runner-up to Ronaldhino in 2005 as the World and European player of the year.

31-year-old Michael Ballack is next on the list, having earned $US16 million. The former midfielder with Bayern Munich was moved to Chelsea in 2006. Known for always wearing the number 13 for both club and country, and ironically he is number 13 on the Forbes list.

Making number 12 is 31-year-old Italian Francesco Totti who plays for AS Roma. He earned $US16.2 million last year. He has spent his entire career as a striker or attacking midfielder with Roma. He is Roma’s leading scorer and most capped player. Currently runs a soccer school and owns motorcycle racing team Totti Top Sport. He is married to Italian television star Ilary Blasi. He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

At number 11is one of my favourites, Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. He burst onto the scene with Everton while he was a teenager and was transferred to Manchester United in a record deal that stills stands today. He does have disciplinary problems however, but that hasn’t him from earning the big bucks and striking lucrative endorsement deals with Nike, Nokia,  Ford, Asda and Coca-Cola. Last year he earned $US16.3 million

In the middle of the list is another Englishman, 27-year-old John Terry who signed for almost a quarter of a million per week contract in 2007. It was a five-year deal. The deal will keep the “King of Shaves” a Blue for life.

Number 9 is 28-year-old Steven Gerrard who is under contract with Liverpool until 2011. He earned $US17.1 million last year.

Ukraine born Andriy Schevchenko comes in at number eight on the Forbes list, having earned $US17.5 million last year. He signed a record four-year contract offered by Chelsea in the 2006-07 season, but rumour has it that he close to a return to AC Milan where the godfather to his eldest son is Silvio Berlusconi. He owns a Armani boutique in his hometown of Kiev.

Lucky number seven on the Forbes list is 34-year-old Italian Fabio Cannavaro. The Italian national team’s captain was a member of the Real Madrid squad that won La Liga title in 2007. He snubbed a move to English Premier League club Chelsea last year and is still with Madrid. He earned $US17.5 million last year.

26-year-old Brazilian Kaka  comes in at number six, having earned $US17.8 million last year while playing for AC Milan.  He is the reigning best player in the world after receiving the 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year. He was rewarded for that accolade with a contract extension worth $US14 million a year.

Cristiano Ronaldo earned $$$US18.5 million last year while playing for Manchester United. The 23-year-old winger beat a club record for most goals in a season, having scored 32 of them to beat George Best’s record.  Rumours abound that he is about to become the highest-paid player in the Premier League with a new contract worth over $US275 thousand per week.

Number four is Brazilian Ronaldo. The 31-year-old earned $US21.2 million last year. This past February he suffered a season-ending knee injury. The all-time leading World Cup scorer’s contract expires at the end of this month, and since this is the third time The Phenomenon has suffered such an injury, his career is in jeopardy in the top-flight league. There are rumours that he will likely return to his hometown team Rio Flamengo to  finish out his illustrious career in soccer.

Thierry Henry earned $US25.1million last year, and less than a year after signing a four-year contract with Barcelona for $US9 million per year, Arsenal’s career leading scorer has a for sale sign around his neck. Seattle Sounders in the US are reportedly interested and the MLS is actively pursuing him. Like Tiger Woods and Roger  Federer, the French national has an endorsement deal with Gillette.

28-year-old Brazilian Ronaldinho earned $US32.6 million last year and only played 13 games with Barcelona this season before a  thigh injury put him out of commission for the remainder of the season.  He is accused of suffering from the egomaniacal disease called the “Brazilian superstar disease” a disease that AC Milan, Manchester City, and Major League Soccer all claim to have a cure for.  There are over 115,000 videos of Ronaldinho on You Tube, one of which is Nike’s “Touch of Gold” which has been viewed by over 22 million people.

Not to my surprise, or should it be a surprise to anybody else for that matter, the highest paid soccer player in the world is none other than 33-year-old David Beckham aka Mr. Posh.  Last year he earned $US48.9 million, which included limited appearances in Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) games due to injury, and his endorsement deals. While I think Beckham is overpaid, he might have a 4 or 5 more years of soccer left in him, though during those years I think he will spend a lot of time on the sidelines of the soccer pitch recovering from the various injuries he will legitimately suffer or make up.  Beckham’s best years are all but behind him, much like his wife singing career.