Compiled by MARY HANNIGAN

Can Finkelstein see Obama logo on the ball? - Yes he can

THE WORLD Cup makes it on to the cover of the June edition of TIME magazine, their illustration featuring a decidedly chunky player kicking a ball. But what's that on the ball? "It's strikingly like the Obama logo," suggested Mark Finkelstein, a contributor to NewsBusters, the right-wing political website that sees pro-Obama conspiracies everywhere.

"Is it just coincidence that (they both) feature semi-circular swatches of blue and red," he asked, to which one of his readers replied: "The ball is red white and blue because Time is partial to Team USA. Just a thought."

Finkelstein wasn't alone, though, in being suspicious that this was yet more Obama-worshipping from the liberal media. "Yes, that is fawning to The One. That ain't no soccer ball," agreed "D". "BD", though, just didn't care. "It's only soccer. It's not like it's a sport for real men."

That's my boy: the man who helped make Messi

SCOUTING REPORT

GUILLERMO HOYOS

Lionel Messi's youth coach at Barcelona

'HE WAS the most similar to Maradona I had ever seen and I said as much. I chose the comparison because I wanted to make sure his name transcended – at the time no one knew Lionel. And I had played with Diego in the 1979 youth squad for Argentina, so I knew exceptional youth internationals: I remember clearly doing an interview for an Argentinian paper in 2003 and saying: "He is going to be the best player in the world".

"Leo will be the top player (at this World Cup), I'm sure. He hasn't had much exposure to football in Argentina and a whole team needs to be built – it's not just Leo alone. But football in Argentina is an industry and today the president of that industry is Lionel Messi."