Pep Guardiola secured the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men’s Football award - (http://soccer.ru/gallery/17520 - photo) BARCELONA DUO TAKE TOP AWARDS

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson took time to build the dynasty and reputation he has earned as being the greatest football manager of all time - FvS photo

Sean Combs aka P. Diddy is the father of five children is seen here with sons Christian and Justin then 14 years of age at the Spider-Man 3 premiere in 2007 - David Shankbone photo

Then Cambodian national football team manager Joachim Fickert and the Cambodian Football Federation's Tola May in 2002 at the Old Stadium in Phnom Penh - www.nationalradio.com - photo

SPORTS NOTES - IS IT ABOUT THE MONEY? - WORLDS APART

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

As they say money talks and bullshit walks. That may apply to the masses but Pep Guardiola chose to walk away from money due to failing the grind of the stress test. The question is… Is He The Best? - UCLA gives scholarships to P. Diddy's son creating outrage that since Diddy is worth over a half billion dollars some think it's unfair - ASEAN Basketball League seeking to have a team in Cambodia? - Cambodia National team seeks another manager as South Korean manager walks citing teams poor work ethic

Thursday May 31, 2012

WHAT'S THE DEAL?

Last month we asked the question who is the best manager in football. Those included in the review were Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. That story was the only column that made it into our NR Top 10 rankings that was not about American idol. At that time we factored into our opinion that Ferguson would be the choice since he has put in more time has won the greater number of titles and he did it all with the same club Manchester United.

What stands out about Ferguson is he never wavered when the club was sold to the Glazier family from America. United fans were up in arms about selling the club to foreigners. That mattered not to the now 70 year-old Sir Alex has guided the squad to more titles making wise decisions all the way.

The 41 year-old Pep Guardiola has had the greatest impact in such a short period of time. On January 9, 2012, Guardiola received the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football award, with 42% of the votes, ahead of Ferguson, who received 16%, and Mourinho, coach of Real Madrid, who had 12%. This season Guardiola proved that he is the best although he failed to win the La Liga title.

On 27 April 2012, Guardiola announced he would quit as Barcelona manager on 30 June, after achieving 14 titles in four years in charge of the club. He continued to lead Barcelona to wins in the remaining La Liga games of the season, followed by a 3-0 win in the Copa del Rey final. His record of 14 trophies in 4 seasons has made him the most successful coach in Barcelona's history.

Guardiola had been on a rolling contract that was renewed annually during his tenure as manager. Stating tiredness as the main reason for his decision, he also commented that four years at a club like Barça felt like an eternity. In this instance Ferguson wins as being the best in passing the stress test that big time football managers must endure.

The question is since Guardiola hinted that he is available if a team courts him properly what would factor into his decision to take on his next project? He's good but would he take a chance of dealing with the stress that a Roman Abramovich would present?

Mourinho continues to build his resume as he bested Guardiola for the first time since he took over Real Madrid last season in winning the league title. Real lost only two games this season and reached the 100 point total in the standings to Barcelona's 91.

Barcelona each won a game against each other this season in La Liga but Guardiola's side won four of their five meetings this season. Barcelona also lost to Ferguson's Man U 2-1 in the World Football Challenge July 30th in 2011.

Who's the best will take time but at this juncture Ferguson longevity and success place him at the top of our list. Who is your choice?

The heat is on UCLA University in the USA since it gave a scholarship to recording artist and businessman P. Diddy's aka Puff Daddy son Justin to play football next year. The argument is why give a $54,000 athletic scholarship to a player that comes from a wealthy family as Diddy's worth is said to be $550 million according to Forbes magazine?.

Justin now 19 is Combs' first child who was born December 1993, from a relationship with Diddy's high-school sweetheart, designer Misa Hylton-Brim. In January 2010 Combs presented Justin with a $360,000 Maybach car, complete with chauffeur, as a sixteenth birthday present.

In a sport where size matters Justin is only 5'9" weighing 175 lbs. He plays (defensive) cornerback and (offensive) quarterback). Given the size of defensive linemen who are usually tall a cornerback role would most likely be his position. He chose UCLA over three other offers from the universities of Iowa, Virginia and Illinois.

UCLA defends its decision citing that it is not public money that funds athletic scholarships. It was pointed out that funds are obtained from ticket sales, media relationships, private donors and sponsorships.

In a go figure world we followed up on the three Cambodian basketball players that were on the Cambodian national team for the 2011 SEA Games. The players were of Khmer heritage and living in the United States and Sweden. One of the players Sophoeun Oeun from Fresno, California was signed by the Saigon Heat of the ASEAN Basketball League.

We tracked his progress but he was released early in the season after five games along with former NBA played Julius Hodge who at the time was the leagues leading scorer with a 25.4 point average.

An ABL spokesperson said that the league was interested in having a team in Cambodia. When asked who would be responsible and honest enough organization or individual to pay the players salaries we failed to receive an answer. Does that mean that no one is qualified?

The turbulent Cambodian football scene that has been mired in controversy continues as their current manager South Korean Lee Tae Hoon will depart after his contract expires at the end of July. A Cambodia English language paper wrongly described that the manager will be fired. That is incorrect since it should be properly written that he will depart after his contract expires which is not a firing. One can only be fired when UNDER CONTRACT.

The same poor editorial treatment was given to Joachim Fickert by the Cambodia Daily when his contract expired in January 2003 and was not renewed. At that time Fickert was furious that they didn't get their facts straight and showed me the report when he, Tola May (the current Football federation of Cambodia spokesperson) and me were on our way to a friendly match against a club team in the provinces.

The departing Lee has been noted as saying that he is disappointed with some players for lack of dedication to practice and some playing selfishly. This is the same problem that Fickert had with some of his players.

Cambodia now is interested in finding a Khmer national to do the job from its 10 A licensed managers. Strange as it may seem it was Fickert that started the program to train managers. The country that failed to see the quality of his work is now seeking to reap the fruits of his labors.