Israeli Football and another creepy dude

Who knew Mike Piazza's big brother was a bodyguard?

Getting geared up for Israel v. England? Israel are more than just another opportunity for Steve McClaren to look foolish. Well, I guess you don't need the other team to do that, and there's certainly a lot of gloom, a natural companion to Macca, surrounding the upcoming showdown.

Check out Glenn Moore's excellent piece on the state of Israeli football, which delves a bit into the murky life of Arcadi Gaydamak (above), the father of Pompey owner Alexandre. The Israeli billionaire travels as a representative of Angola in order to avoid warrents for his arrest (he's wanted in France for tax evasion and arms dealing), and he also owns Beitar Jerusalem, who currently lead Ligat ha'Al. To round out his resume, he's also started a political party, in support of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shades of Silvio Berlusconi and Forza Italia or the typical machinations a nefarious man behind the scenes?

[Times Online, Independent, Haaretz]

-bl