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      in Soccer

      Karren Brady: VAR has been bad enough, but the government’s new do-gooder regulator will really hamper elite football

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      FOOTBALL is falling foul of so much over-regulation it reminds you of the old workers’ axiom, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.As if VAR hasn’t been controversial enough, the imminent government-appointed football regulator looks set to be another busybody do-gooder that will end up hampering the sport at its highest level.
      King Charles announced plans for a new football regulatorCredit: AP
      VAR has angered fans, players, managers and pundits alikeCredit: PA
      Let’s start with VAR, the sport’s unpredictable instrument of judgment.
      Mikel Arteta’s outburst last week was aimed at the VAR operators who agreed with the referee that Anthony Gordon’s winning goal for Arsenal after an aerial scramble should stand.
      Even though the human microscopes in the VAR hub eventually voted against Arsenal, the length of the delay was an indication of doubt rather than certainty.
      Which says two things to me. First, in many cases, intent is near-impossible to ascertain.
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      Second, VAR operators are regularly asking for an interruption themselves rather than accepting that the ref’s decision should be final.
      Little wonder VAR is now so disliked.
      It is also impersonal — based somewhere in West London — while fans, players, managers, and TV pundits all know their equipment is fairly basic… a generation or two short of AI.
      Two-dimensional TV is Putin-esque — sometimes we can’t believe what we think we see.
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      Because of this, no verdict can ever be relied on as unimpeachable.
      Whatever the angry Arteta thought last Saturday at St James’ Park, had the decisions gone the other way Newcastle manager Eddie Howe would have complained — albeit not so noisily.
      Simply, it was impossible in the few minutes available for VAR to undo the tangle of limbs that made up the full incident.
      The truth is that ref Stuart Attwell had a better view of the incident than a whole crew of spotters checking angles on flat screens.
      Overall it was the half-blind with pictures half-leading the half-blind with a whistle. Yes, half-equipped.
      This technical interference didn’t impress Wolves who have claimed at least four incorrect referee-VAR decisions so far this season — two of them so poor that the refs were dropped to the Championship for a match.
      Wolves manager Gary O’Neil calculates those errors have cost his team SIX points.
      I’m sure the decision to have a regulator will end up as one we regret.Karren Brady
      A more excitable man would have reacted with some colourful vocabulary.
      Ange Postecoglou, too, is measured in his post-match assessments.
      Many people will wonder whether his Spurs team’s 4-1 home defeat by Chelsea was a sign of things to come with NINE incidents having been checked by VAR.
      Postecoglou said: “That utopia where there are no wrong decisions in the game will never exist. It’s our own fault as we complain about decisions every week.”
      Just as referees’ authority is being undermined, the introduction of a football regulator begs the question as to what has happened to the alleged authority of the FA?
      Football’s governing body is being stripped to lesser duties by our politicians and we know what happens when ministers appoint an overseer-cum-bureaucrat-cum-pal to such responsibility.
      The power, success and wealth of the Premier League is envied by our lesser leagues and — more to the point — around the world.
      Stuart Attwell was the referee for Newcastle’s controversial win over ArsenalCredit: Getty
      Gary O’Neil and Wolves have been screwed over by major refereeing clangersCredit: AFP
      While it is right that we should spread some of our money to the EFL and deeper, the Prem is a success story.
      The big question for the EFL is a pretty straightforward one.
      If the regulator — as read out by the King last week — is said to “safeguard the future of football clubs for the benefit of communities and fans” why are there no restrictions on what the EFL clubs can do with the money that flows down to ensure it benefits communities and fans?
      The implication of the need for a regulator is that football and the FA are in a mess, when in fact the opposite is true.
      They say, no pain is unbearable — except that of regret.
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      I’m sure the decision to have a regulator will end up as one we regret.
      It is such a short word and yet it stretches forever. More

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      in Soccer

      Dave Kidd: From nightclubs to nightmares… Marcus Rashford’s Copenhagen red card sums up Man Utd star’s horror season

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      THERE was a wistful smile on Marcus Rashford’s face when ref Donatus Rumsas brandished the red card.It was the look of a man convinced that everything which can go wrong, is going wrong.
      Rashford had a wistful smile as the referee brandished a red cardCredit: Getty
      Back in Manchester United’s team after a “minor knock” and a visit to a nightclub described as “unacceptable” by boss Erik ten Hag, Rashford was sent off for the first time in five years and  for only the  second time in his professional career.
      And this as his United goal drought stretched to 11 appearances while Ten Hag’s side plunged to the bottom of their Champions League group, facing the ignominy of an early exit from Europe’s elite club competition.
      As United’s players slunk away from FC Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium — having twice  conceded two goals in quick succession and been defeated 4-3 by the Danish champions — news emerged that Rashford’s brother and agent, Dane, had been arrested in the United States on a domestic violence charge.
      Rashford, 26, looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and his individual struggles are symbolic of a wider malaise at  Old Trafford.
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      He is a man of substance — a social justice crusader  and an MBE, as well as an outstanding footballer. And as the local hero of this side, Rashford carries extra responsibility, especially in a squad so short on leadership qualities.
      Last season, the England  forward netted 30 times for United — sharp, direct, confident and often unplayable.
      This term, he has lacked conviction and self-belief in a team bereft of attacking  identity.
      He will now be suspended for United’s Group A trip to Istanbul, where they face Galatasaray in 19 days’ time.
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      The England forward looks a far cry from the man that bagged 30 goals last seasonCredit: Getty
      Lose there and the Red  Devils will be eliminated from the Champions League.
      Draw and they will need to defeat Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in their final group match on December 12 to stand any chance of advancing.
      After United’s episode of Nordic noir in Copenhagen, Ten Hag, in his trademark roll-neck sweater, resembled a lighthouse keeper battered by one too many storms, desperately clinging to the hope  of a change in the shipping forecast.
      The Dutchman bemoaned his team’s ill fortune, in having conceded four penalties in as many Champions League matches this season — three of them, he claimed, undeserved.
      He said: “We are in a season where we have to deal with many decisions against us but a season is long and at one point it will turn in our favour.”
      Yet while Ten Hag was  correct to complain that VAR’s slow-mo replays and freeze framing had made Rashford’s challenge on Elias Jelert look worse than it was, the tyranny of technology is the age in which he is operating.
      Rashford looks like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and his individual struggles are symbolic of a wider malaise at  Old Trafford.Dave Kidd
      Under current interpretations of the laws, Rashford’s dismissal was almost certainly correct.
      And when Ten Hag  praised his team’s “spirit” and “resilience”, it felt as if he had   forgotten those two quickfire doubles at the end of either half which condemned United to defeat.
      Truly spirited and resilient teams do not concede in such a manner, even when reduced to ten men.
      And plenty of United’s  opponents — not least  Wolves, Nottingham Forest  and Brentford, all edged out at Old Trafford — will disagree with Ten Hag’s assessment  that the Red Devils have been bedevilled by extreme misfortune.
      You make your own luck and United — beaten nine times in 17 matches this season — are too often the manufacturers of their own downfall.
      Their forwards do not score in the Premier League and their defenders keep conceding poor goals in the Champions League.
      Rashford’s strike in September’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal is the only league goal scored by a United forward this season.
      His best performance of the campaign came in England’s impressive 3-1 Euro 2024  qualifying win over champions Italy last month — where he netted with a thumping finish and played with far greater freedom in a confident side.
      There, Rashford looked like a man happy for some respite from his club’s miserable plight.
      At United, it is unlikely that there is a united front behind Ten Hag, with some players believed to be unhappy at the handling of the ostracised Jadon Sancho, as well as Harry Maguire, who had been largely frozen out until recently.
      Sancho still finds himself ostracised by Manchester UnitedCredit: Alamy
      Long-term injuries to Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Luke Shaw have hindered United, for sure, but Ten Hag’s is a lavishly expensive squad.
      Three of his own  major  signings — Antony, Mason Mount and Sofyan Amrabat — started on the bench in  Copenhagen.
      This is no skeleton staff.
      Too many of Ten Hag’s  players are underperforming, especially in that misfiring  forward line.
      That the Dutchman’s job is probably safe, even if United are dumped out in the group stage, owes much to the uncertainty at boardroom level and an impending regime change.
      Ineos chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to take control of football operations after  purchasing a 25 per cent stake in United.
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      Ratcliffe, like Rashford, is a local lad made good.
      If and when he takes over, he will need his fellow Mancunian to rediscover his mojo. More

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      in Soccer

      Harry Redknapp: I tipped Man Utd to win the title… but NONE of their players would get in the Man City team

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      THERE are fewer than five miles between the two Manchester clubs — but in terms of quality, they are 100 miles apart right now.And if that wasn’t worrying enough for United, the way they are going it is a gap I can see getting even wider.
      Manchester United were the dominant force in Manchester for several decadesCredit: PA
      But the balance of power has well and truly shifted in City’s favourCredit: REX
      The Red Devils have had to painfully watch on as their neighbours have dominated all competitionsCredit: GETTY
      I know I tipped them to give the title a real go this season but you can forget it.
      They will be lucky to finish within shouting distance of the top four . . . and even that is a hell of a long shot.
      So when City go to Old Trafford this afternoon, there is only one result I can see, for sure.
      An away win — and a comfortable one as well. Whether Pep Guardiola’s City team are as good as last year or not, they are a heck of a lot better than United, who I don’t think have progressed at all.
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      In fact, I would go so far as to say they are no further forward than when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager . . . and how many millions have they spent since then?
      United were starting to become bang average when Ole was in charge and, for me, nothing has changed.
      If City had the pick of anyone in a red shirt, how many would they take?
      Maybe Marcus Rashford in top form — which he has not been this season.
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      Marcus Rashford, on his day, is the only United star capable of getting into City’s teamCredit: ALAMY
      Beyond that? No one. Bruno Fernandes might get on the bench, but he certainly wouldn’t make the starting XI, and the rest wouldn’t even get close.
      I look at United and think, “What’s the plan?” They are a very, very pale shadow of some of the teams they have had over the years . . . and they were always exciting.
      I still have a scrapbook from ten years old, full of stuff about Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton, Eddie Colman and Roger Byrne, all the Busby Babes.
      They had great teams under Fergie as well. Ryan Giggs and David Beckham flying at you, Andy Cole or Eric Cantona scoring for fun.
      Even when they weren’t mopping up trophies, they would still be great to watch.
      And they always had a couple of players you would have loved in your side, like a Bryan Robson or Norman Whiteside.
      I took teams to Old Trafford for 20 years and, if you went one down after ten minutes, you knew it was going to be a long day.But look at them now and they are just very, very ordinary.
      They are not producing players like they used to and you have to say the recruitment has been poor.
      This is very much Erik ten Hag’s side, not one full of players he inherited. But I struggle to see any star quality — and that’s something United have never lacked.
      A manager of any side in the Premier League now — and I mean ANY — would fancy his chances of getting something from United.
      You know your players will always be up for it, because of the club they are up against, but in truth they would be taking on an average team.
      They are 100 miles apart right nowHarry Redknapp on Manchester City and Manchester United
      I know they are at home this afternoon but, for me, United’s best chance is to treat it as though they are underdogs in a cup tie.
      They are not on the same level as City, so the only way is to work their socks off and hang in through sheer endeavour.
      Like when I was managing Bournemouth against them in the cup.
      It is at Old Trafford, so if they do that, then the crowd will lift them and United could feed off it.
      Ten Hag has to fire them up to run, chase, work hard for the whole 90 minutes and hope the fans carry them along.
      But just to say that about a United side at home is unreal.
      In terms of a contest . . . well it really isn’t one. There is no comparison between them.
      I keep hearing that Erling Haaland isn’t at the same level as last year — but he still has nine in nine in the Premier League. Imagine when he finds a bit of form!
      Then there is Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, the new lad Jeremy Doku, Julian Alvarez . . . top quality everywhere you look.
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      For me, Rashford is the only United player who can compare and he will be up against Kyle Walker, so will be chasing both ways.
      I would love to see a close game with loads of goals but in reality, there’s only one side I can see scoring them — and they won’t be wearing red.
      Manchester City are favourites to run riot in the Manchester DerbyCredit: GETTY More

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      in Motorsport

      This weekend’s US Grand Prix will reveal whether Lewis Hamilton can challenge Verstappen for next year’s F1 title

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      THE United States Grand Prix will give us our best chance yet to see if Lewis Hamilton could catch Max Verstappen next season.Verstappen wrapped up the title last time out in Qatar with his 14th win in this season’s 17 grands prix in a crushing display of domination.
      Lewis Hamilton will trial a host of new parts at the United States Grand PrixCredit: Getty
      Mercedes have been playing catch up to the Dutchman’s Red Bull team since Hamilton lost his grip on the title in 2021.
      A combination of poor car design and questionable leadership meant the team followed the wrong design philosophy, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff deciding to start from scratch.
      Wolff also recalled James Allison in the role of technical director, who was charged with plotting the team’s route back to the top of the podium.
      Allison has had to make-do-and-mend with the previous incarnation designed by chief technical officer Mike Elliott in order to hit the ground running in 2024.
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      However at this weekend’s race, Mercedes are expected to bring a host of new parts to trial in preparation for next season.
      The Silver Arrows are desperate to snatch second-place in the constructors’ championship from Ferrari to signal some minor progress —   and currently lead the Maranello-based team by 28 points.
      If the parts which come to the table in Austin, Texas on Sunday is a new floor — arguably the most crucial aspect to this generation of F1 car — that works, then it could provide a timely boost.
      Hamilton had praised the work the team have done behind the scenes and this weekend will offer us the chance to get to see it for ourselves — but more crucially, whether it works.
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      Max Verstappen won again in Qatar having already been crowned F1 World ChampionsCredit: AFP
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      LANCE STROLL was given a written warning by the FIA after his Qatar GP strop.
      The Aston Martin driver threw his steering wheel and shoved his trainer following an early exit in qualifying.
      The 24-year-old has been “reminded of his responsibilities”.
      GO FERR IT
      BRIT driver Oliver Bearman completed his first test for Ferrari.
      The Chelmsford ace, 18, drove 400km around their Fiorano test track.
      He will also drive the Ferrari-powered Haas VF-23 in the first free practice session for the Mexico City Grand Prix. More

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      I played for Chelsea legend who was just like Pochettino – he challenged us at free-kicks and went 18 MONTHS unbeaten

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      MYKHAILO MUDRYK looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders at Chelsea.So it was nice to hear that his boss Mauricio Pochettino has spotted this and is working on changing that, by challenging him to a friendly game of crossbar challenge in training.
      Mykhailo Mudryk is struggling to hit form on the pitchCredit: Alamy
      Mauricio Pochettino has resorted to a crossbar challenge against the UkrainianCredit: Getty
      What Poch is trying to do is loosen a player up who right now is so tense and rigid in everything he does on and off the pitch.
      He clearly feels Mudryk is trying too hard, putting too much pressure on himself and is being too serious with his own game and his own failings or mistakes.
      He wants to succeed so bad that he probably wants it too much. The tension builds and he isn’t free, mentally or physically, and that is showing in lacklustre performances.
      I have no doubt Poch will have seen things in training, like his pace, his close control, his finishing, and think: ‘Why isn’t he doing this in games?’
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      So, he is trying to be a bit more personable.
      If he is beating him, that’s fine. Mudryk is losing to a legend, not some random guy off the street. It can only do him good.
      I remember Gianfranco Zola, during the 18 months he was in charge at Watford, challenged us to beat him at scoring free-kicks.
      You would get five chances to see who could score the most from 25 yards over a set of mannequins acting as a wall.
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      The winner would get £50. During those 18 months, he went unbeaten. I never saw anyone even come close.
      He would score at least three out of five.
      He would take two steps and slap it up and over the wall, a bit like a backhand in table tennis.
      So that may be Poch’s thinking. He is trying to build a relationship with the guy, build some camaraderie. Get him to enjoy competing, even if he beats him most of the time.
      During his playing career, Poch probably did that at the end of every training session, smack a ball onto the bar, so he knows his range.
      Above all else, Poch is a great man-manager. He gets the best out of the players he has, and this could be the start of yet another example of that.
      Nicolas Jackson needs some of that man-management gold dust as well.
      There is so much ego around a player joining a new club, particularly if there is a ‘curse’ to be broken. You want to be the one who breaks it.
      Nicolas Jackson needs to start impressing Poch soonTroy Deeney
      Jackson would have turned up at Chelsea with incredible confidence.
      His agent would have turned to him at some point and said: ‘You do know the last few strikers here have struggled? Romelu Lukaku, Fernando Torres, Alvaro Morata, Andriy Shevchenko’.
      Jackson would have replied: ‘Yeah but they’re not me’. Yet it has been a few months and he hasn’t pulled up any trees.
      It has got to be difficult for him, and Mudryk, especially because this squad — one of high energy and high talent — is struggling, and the club is a bit of a mess.
      Jackson is a bit wild with his finishing, but other than that, he looks like he has a real appetite to score goals. Though he needs to start impressing Poch soon.
      Just consider the names of the strikers he has managed recently: Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Lionel Messi. All world-class individuals and finishers.
      Troy Deeney worked with Gianfranco Zola at WatfordCredit: Alamy
      Zola took on the Hornets players at free-kicks in trainingCredit: Action Images – Reuters
      So, whoever leads the line for Chelsea, they have to raise their standards.
      Pochettino is used to working with elites.
      What won’t help Jackson’s cause is getting booked for protesting at referees, which has resulted in him serving a suspension for the game at Fulham on Monday.
      I can sympathise.
      I have played six games for Forest Green in League Two and I got warned on Monday that I am one booking away from a suspension.
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      For what? I haven’t even made a tackle, but it is for arguing with referees and one for rolling the ball away five yards.
      Someone needs to have a word with Jackson. Stop arguing, and focus on getting the goals his side desperately needs.
      Poch is sticking with his No10Credit: Getty
      It has not quite clicked for Nicolas Jackson yetCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More

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      Troy Deeney: Nobody has ever called Jadon Sancho a bad trainer… is Erik ten Hag’s man-management style the real problem?

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      I HAVE never heard anyone from Watford, Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund say Jadon Sancho was a bad trainer.So I appreciate why he came out and said what he did on social media in response to Erik ten Hag.
      Jadon Sancho has fallen out with boss Erik ten HagCredit: Getty
      The winger has been banished from the Man United squadCredit: Getty
      As a manager now, you have to be extremely careful with what you say about players.
      Sancho has just under ten million followers on Instagram.
      All it takes is one message and he can reach every commercial outlet and millions of fans around the globe, and now it is a big thing.
      And they will be supporting Sancho’s side of the argument.
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      So, Ten Hag is now going to feel some heat.
      Is it his style of man-management that has caused this?
      The easy thing is to blame the player, so I can see why Sancho has responded.
      Can you imagine the number of messages he is getting on social media on every single post, questioning his commitment or desire because of what Ten Hag said.
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      In my mind, if someone questions that, they may as well be spitting on you.
      At some point, as a player, you think: Hold on, this cannot be my fault, and you end up saying something.
      In hindsight, would he take that message back? Probably. He just needs to ride it out now. What I will say is that Sancho probably needs to develop some thicker skin.
      If someone goes and questions your desire, go and prove him otherwise but he needs to know the specifics.
      Does he need to run more? Does he need to gym more? Does he need to listen more in meetings? More

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      in Soccer

      Paul Pogba is a huge talent but never learnt to live with the fame… now his career could be over

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      LIVING with fame is hard for some footballers. With Paul Pogba it is a revolving ordeal.Now just as we thought the Frenchman was settled with Juventus, that headline writers here could stop trying to find rhyming nouns with the Frenchman’s strange (to us, anyway) surname, up he pops again.
      Paul Pogba has tested positive for testosterone and his career could be overCredit: Rex
      This time with an alleged offence that could end his football career.
      The World Cup winner is reported to have had a positive test for testosterone, a drug that has been taken illegally for years in helping build muscle and bone mass.
      Sylvester Stallone uses it and look where it took him. Maybe Stallone and many other testosterone replacement therapy users also rather liked the idea of its association with increased aggression, violence and sex drive.
      For Pogba, if correct, it would appear to have been aimed at extra zip.
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      Whether the Italian authorities noticed a difference in his performances in matches for Juventus is doubtful but someone discovered evidence for a possible long-term red card.
      Pogba’s second time at Old Trafford was a mockery of his then-world-record transfer of £89million, paid in 2016.  His agent, the late ingrate Mino Raiola, was paid at least £27m by Juventus for his part.
      I’m reasonably sure he wasn’t from Mars but sometimes his colourful haircuts made me wonder what David Bowie would dream up for him.
      There were times when he could rule a match and on £15m a year so he should.
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      Pogba could be banned for up to four yearsCredit: EPA
      Karren Brady says Pogba has struggled to deal with fame and notorietyCredit: Getty
      United fans will judge whether he was good value. He did play three times for them as a lad in 2010-11 and 236 games with 39 goals in the six seasons after he returned from Juventus.
      United were rewarded with two trophies and a variety of upsets in and out of the dressing room.
      Because, by then, Pogba, such an independent spirit that in various times he fell out with Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho could be named alongside the world stars of football.
      He had been directed towards that target by his mother whose marriage split up soon after the family moved from Guinea to east Paris.
      Young Paul was a huge talent and the temptations to move from Le Havre boys’ team to one of the biggest clubs in the world were sufficient for him to sign at 16. Le Havre contested it but eventually went away.
      I suspect Pogba is not as self-confident as he appears. Karren Brady
      I suspect Pogba is not as self-confident as he appears. Surrounded no doubt by hangers-on and chancers, threatened with extortion by one of his twin brothers, kidnapped, often injured and derided, it would be surprising if he did not feel cornered by his notoriety.
      It says a good deal that he has never branched out from the only two clubs for which he has ever played.
      Fame is no protection, nor are yes-men as other stars discovered… from Paul Gascoigne to George Best to Diego Maradona.
      The glamorous lifestyle did not hide the weaknesses, controversy chasing them through the post-football years. Will Pogba go the same way? Now 30, he could be banned from playing for two to four years.
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      This is how he feels: “Sometimes I was just by myself thinking: ‘I don’t want to have money anymore. I just don’t want to play anymore. I just want to be with normal people, so they will love me for me — not for the fame, not for the money’.”
      It’s heart-breaking. More

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      in Boxing

      Oscar De la Hoya’s life outside ring is a disaster, from Olympic lie and mum beating him to failed relationships

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      OSCAR DE LA HOYA has finally come clean and admitted he blatantly lied about one of boxing’s most heart-wrenching stories.Two years before going to the 1992 Olympics, the Golden Boy told the American media in a tear-jerking interview that his his 38-year-old mother Cecilia, who was dying of cancer, made him promise to return from Barcelona with the gold medal.
      Oscar De la Hoya celebrates at the 1992 OlympicsCredit: Getty
      De la Hoya with his world middleweight belt in 2004Credit: AP:Associated Press
      And when the handsome 19-year-old fulfilled that dream and arrived back in the US with the gong hanging from his neck, millions fell in love with him.
      De la Hoya became an instant celebrity and President George H Bush gushed: “He has not only brought home the gold medal, he has brought honour to his mom’s memory.”
      Sadly, it turns out Oscar made up that highly emotional conversation between mother and son.
      That will come as a great shock to all those who idolised him and embraced that touching tale.
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      In fact his Mexican mother used to physically abuse him – she constantly beat him as he grew up in the tough neighbourhoods of  East Los Angeles.
      De la Hoya made it clear he wasn’t going to sugar-coat anything as he bared his soul in a three-hour HBO documentary of his life shown on Sky.
      He was obviously relieved to take the opportunity to unburden himself of a 30-year secret  by telling the truth about his mother.
      Biting his lip to stop himself breaking down the Golden Boy admitted: “I was driven by a lie. It happened – emotion took over and it just caught fire.
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      “The world fell in love with my story – I embraced it and just held on to it. When you are lying you are caught up in this web.
      “My first thoughts of my childhood? Being afraid, pain. crying, anger. I hated it when she hit me – it was the worst. I never had the courage to tell my mother I loved her – I wish I did.”
      De la Hoya, was one of the greatest fighters of his generation  winning 11 world titles in six weight divisions – from super-featherweight to middleweight.
      He was the most popular fighter since Muhammad Ali, who generated $750 million in PPV revenue yet he said: “I didn’t live up to my potential in the ring  – I could have given a lot more.” 
      Early in his career I went to see him at his Big Bear altitude training camp in California’s San Bernardino mountains and like everyone else I was captivated by the bi-lingual young man’s charm and electrifying charisma.
      Unfortunately his brilliance in the ring wasn’t matched by his lifestyle outside the ropes, which was an unmitigated disaster.
      Oscar said “I was 24 years old, making $15-20 million a fight – I was living the American dream. You start to separate yourself from the world. But I ruined good things all my life.”
      My first thoughts of my childhood? Being afraid, pain. crying, anger. I hated it when she hit me – it was the worstOscar De la Hoya
      Beautiful women threw themselves at him – a former Miss USA  was one of several partners who bore him six children. 
      He didn’t meet one of his sons until the boy was sixteen and Oscar admitted: “I didn’t know how to be a parent.”
      Inevitably he became addicted to alcohol and cocaine and he spent time in rehab on several occasions.
      But perhaps his  biggest shock moment came when he was photographed cross-dressing – wearing make-up, high heels a wig and a fishnet body stocking – in a picture which appeared on the front page of the New York Post.
      Men like De la Hoya are envied for their wealth and fame but the reality is so many who come from the world’s back streets haven’t a clue how to handle it.
      Oscar ended  with a moving but telling  appraisal of the time when he was America’s darling.
      He said “The Golden Boy – it’s all f******   bull****, that’s all it is. Nobody really loves me – I am just a commodity. It’s time to live in reality.”  
      De La Hoya was married to Puerta Rican singer Millie CorretjerCredit: Getty
      Golden Boy is now married to Holly SondersCredit: Getty
      For the record, the other outrageous boxing porkie was Muhammad Ali ‘s revelation that he threw his Olympic gold medal in the Ohio river in disgust when he was refused service in a restaurant in segregated Louisville when he returned home from  Rome in 1960.
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      Years later Bundini Brown, Ali’s cornerman laughingly said “Oh yeah – the white honkies really fell for that one.”
      The medal was actually lost in a house move. More