Mad Brit Diary

Goodbye, Jose! We hardly even knew you.

(Friday, September 24, 2004) -- Well, that didn't last long, did it? Spanish giant Real Madrid just waved goodbye to coach Jose Antonio Camacho, 49, who took over the club four months ago, at the end of last season.

Camacho's reign lasted a little longer than when he took over the club in 1998. That spell for the former Real defender lasted for all of 28 days. Camacho's fate looked sealed after Madrid lost 3-0 at Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League (what a pathetic disaster that was) and then went down to lowly Espanyol at the weekend with David Beckham relegated to the bench (gasp!).

Camacho, who was meant to be the tough guy after the erudite Carlos Queiroz, a softy, was sent packing, says he lost control in the lockerroom. Well, why didn't he kick around a few boots around the dressing room like Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United?

So what was Camacho's crime? Out of a total six games, including three Champions League matches, his team lost two. Camacho says no one respected him any more after just three Primera Division games into the season. So he did the respectable thing and walked. You can't blame him with all those giants egos on the Real roster and chain-smoking, interfering suits in the director's box. Madrid is one of the most famous clubs in the world and the second-richest after Manchester United, so expectations are very high and the pressure is deadly.

Assistant coach Mariano Garcia Remon will now take over the reins of a squad that includes a list of world superstars -- Ronaldo, Beckham, Michael Owen, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, Raul, Zinedine Zidane and Jonathan (Really Mad Brit) Woodgate.

Poor Raul hasn't scored since January and is earning a massive paycheck. Remon already looks like a frightened man. He has to deal with a team that is going through a very difficult period. Roberto Carlos looks a little shaky at the back and Ronaldo keeps getting knocked over. Zidane is injured and Figo, at times, looks lost. At least Beckham is making the most of the free kicks he gets. But this Real team does not look balanced and the bench is not as deep as it should be.

In last Saturday's game against Espanyol, Ronaldo missed a penalty kick while Espanyol also squandered two PKs before winning 1-0. Then Real's Walter Samuel was red carded. What a fiasco! On Tuesday night, Madrid was greeted with boos as it went out to face lowly Osasuna. The team managed to win 1-0 on a Beckham free kick, but it was hardly inspiring stuff. Beckham has now scored two of the team's three goals in four league games so far this season.

But let's not lose our heads. Real (3-1) has nine points from four games, just one point behind Valencia and Barcelona.

Eccentric and legendary English coach Brian Clough, who won successive European Cups with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980, died from stomach cancer at the age of 69 this week. He also won the league title with Forest (1978) and Derby County (1972). He coached at Forest for 18 years, taking a provincial team with moderate players to become the kings of Europe for two seasons.

As a player, he scored 251 goals in just 274 games before a knee injury ruined his career. By the age of 29, he was coaching. He was a brilliant coach, but could be very stubborn. Remember the 1991 FA Cup between Forest and Tottenham Hotspur, which went to extra time? Clough didn't even come down to the field to talk to the Forest players, but remained in his seat. Tottenham went on to win as Forest's Des Walker headed into his own goal. The funny thing was Walker was a Spurs fan as a kid and always wanted to score a goal in the Cup Final for Tottenham.

Ryan Giggs, 30, celebrated his 600th game for Manchester United in Monday's 2-1 win over Liverpool. Only Bobby Charlton (759) and Bill Foulkes (688) has played more than Giggs. . . Mark Hughes won his first game as coach of Blackburn Rovers in the 1-0 decision over Portsmouth. . . American defender and Fulham star Carlos Bocanegra is out with a hamstring injury.

Football legends Pele and Franz Beckenbauer received FIFA's Centennial Order of Merit this week for their outstanding lifetime contributions to the sport. Pele played on three Brazilian World Cup championship teams, while Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a player (1974) and as a coach (1990) for Germany.

Anschutz Entertainment Group is in discussions with San Jose businessman Tony Amanpour on the sale of the of the San Jose Earthquakes. Amanpour has said his interest in the club is contingent upon finding a better stadium in the Bay Area than Spartan Stadium.

Former United States national-team coach Steve Sampson, who replaced Sigi Schmid as coach of the Los Angeles Galaxy last month, has led the team to just one victory in four games. There are rumors that players are not happy with the change and Austrian midfielder Andreas Herzog has said his first year will be his last with the Galaxy. Sampson probably doesn't care, having criticized Herzog for his aversion to playing defense.

Matthew Aberman wrote: "Hi, Mad Brit, for your information, there can be no doubt that Bayern Munich's Vahid Hashemian did not travel to Israel because the Iranian government warned him not to (but don't hold your breath for any FIFA "investigation"). Earlier in the week, Hashemian -- publicly -- insisted that he would, in fact, travel with the team and play in Tel Aviv. However, it is against Iranian law for one of its citizens to visit Israel, for any reason whatsoever. After reminding him of this law, and announcing that Iran would indeed prosecute anyone who violated it, Hashemian suddenly discovered that he was injured."

John M. Cunningham wrote: "Mad Brit, I know you know the score on Sigi Schmid. Daniel Sullivan is right in his e-mail -- there is no reason he should have been fired."

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