HAMBURG, Germany -- Rumor, gossip and half-truths fly around the stadium media centers where the journalists at the World Cup do their work. Here's some of the juiciest tittle-tattle regarding players and coaches I've heard in the past couple of weeks:
Real Madrid is giving Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari the glad eye and wants the big man to be the club's next boss. The man he beat in the quarterfinals, soon-to-be departing England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, also is in the running for the job.
Real Madrid presidential candidate Juan Palacios says he's on a promise with Spanish internationals Joaquin, Jose Antonio Reyes and Pablo Ibanez and that they will sign for the club if he wins the election on Sunday, but that one could be in trouble with Ramon Calderon claiming victory in the election.
Manchester United wants England's Michael Carrick and is willing to shell out £15 million for the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.
Real Madrid presidential candidate Lorenzo Sanz has promised to sign Carrick if he gets elected. Again, fun, but maybe for naught.
Manchester United manager is desperate to sign Spain's Fernando Torres from Atletico Madrid, but he will not go for less than £40 million, says the club.
Tunisia's Hatem Trabelsi and Holland's Dirk Kuyt have taken the fancy of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, and he is considering making offers for both to their respective clubs, Ajax and Feyenoord.
"Der Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer is tipped to stand for the UEFA presidency next year.
Cote d'Ivoire midfield powerhouse Didier Zokora is on his way to Tottenham Hotspur.
Brilliant midfielder Sulley Muntari, one Ghana player who shone at the World Cup, says Premier League side Bolton is giving him come-hither looks.
The U.S. wants California resident and German boss Juergen Klinsmann as the next boss of the national team. Obviously once the World Cup is over.