World Cup 2010 Blog: “Burning Diego With “Messi’s Better”” plus 1 more

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Burning Diego With “Messi’s Better” Posted: 30 Dec 2010 01:01 PM PST No matter how high the years climb, one never gets too old for pettiness. Julio Grondona is the president of the Argentine FA and a man of 79 years. He’s also the man responsible for canning Maradona’s ass after his all sizzle, no steak World Cup showing in the summer, among other things, and they’re beefing, as you’d expect with Diego – the man’s ribeye is never far from the grill. And Julio, who presided over the AFA during Maradona’s career, is throwing his own barbs. Like the fact that Messi’s better. This is very much a case of the older sibling and younger sibling getting into a fight of equal blame, but the older sibling getting into more trouble because he should be acting the part. Maradona, second best: Grondona's comments are a dig at Maradona and part of a feud. Last week Maradona said he was taking Grondona to court, accusing him of spreading false information about his problems with drugs and alcohol. Maradona says he has been clean for six years and Grondona has suggested otherwise. "Messi is the best No. 10 in the history of Argentine football," Grondona told Radio 10. "Messi, Maradona, Riquelme and Veron are from another planet." In an interview last week, Maradona accused the 79-year-old Grondona of being senile—calling him "gaga" in Spanish—and suggested he was receiving treatments several times a year at an expensive Swiss clinic. Which just isn’t true…yet.

Australia The Latest To Be Outed In A World Cup Probe Posted: 30 Dec 2010 11:30 AM PST There’s no question things at FIFA are less than kosher – it’s the dietary law equivalent of McDonald’s dipped in Burger King. However, even those loosely involved are likely on the gray-ish side of things, including those up in arms over the World Cup 2018 & 2022 bids. Take Australia, which reportedly spent $8m-per-vote on their bid for World Cup 2022. It failed, which is the bad news, but on the other hand, they only spent $8m. (Australian dollars, which are very close to its American cousin; €6m euros or thereabouts.) Continuing with its proud patriotic tradition of outing crap related to FIFA, the British media strikes again. The Oceania region official is allegedly taped claiming Australia’s soccer chief, Frank Lowy, got Canberra officials to do his bidding – and claiming Canberra gave AusAid to Oceania in return for its support at the ballot in Geneva, reported the Herald Sun. The tapes were recorded by a reporter from Britain’s Sunday Times who was sent to New Zealand posing as a lobbyist. The official allegedly says the Rudd government splurged $8 million on soccer in the Pacific to secure Oceania’s support. He allegedly says: “Australia (FFA) have never given us anything. What they did was they pushed the Rudd government because Frank Lowy won’t ever spend a dime. He gets other people to do his spending for him. “That’s how Lowy (Australia’s bid leader) was able to get us $8 million through the Australian government. It’s direct assistance to football in Oceania. “They are playing dirty tricks as much as any other person is. In FIFA it’s a dirty game altogether. “The Rudd government signed a three-year assistance to regional football deal with $8 million through AusAID.” So they went through alternative channels to achieve their goals of not keeping things on the up-and-up. The rumored number via the gospel that is Twitter is that it cost Qatar $10m per vote for their successful World Cup coup. Thus we can deduce that everyone else for 2022 bid something less than $10m – with the US bidding $8,000,001m, just to be assholes. With the next bid not until closer to 2020 and inflation to consider, the prospective bidders best starting saving their change – $25m might not get it done the next time ’round.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “2011 Asian Cup Squads” plus 1 more

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2011 Asian Cup Squads Posted: 29 Dec 2010 07:47 PM PST The following squad lists have been announced for the upcoming 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. Squads will be added as they are announced: Group A: Qatar, Kuwait, China, Uzbekistan Group B: Saudi Arabia, Japan, Jordan, Syria Group C: South Korea, Australia, India, Bahrain Group D: Iraq, North Korea, United Arab Emirates, Iran Australia Squad Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Brad Jones (Liverpool), Nathan Coe (SønderjyskE) Defenders: Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), David Carney (Blackpool), Saša Ognenovski (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Jonathan McKain (Al-Nassr), Jade North (Wellington Phoenix), Matthew Špiranović (Urawa Red Diamonds) Midfielders: Tim Cahill (Everton), Jason Čulina (Gold Coast United), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Mile Jedinak (Gençlerbirliği), Carl Valeri (Sassuolo), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Neil Kilkenny (Leeds United) Forwards: Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough), Robbie Kruse (Melbourne Victory), Nathan Burns (AEK Athens) Bahrain Squad Not yet announced China Squad Goalkeepers: Yang Zhi (Beijing Guoan), Guan Zhen (Jiangsu Sainty), Zeng Cheng (Henan Construction) Defenders: Wang Qiang (Changsha Ginde), Zhao Peng (Henan Construction), Du Wei (Hangzhou Greentown), Liu Jianye (Changsha Ginde), Zhang Linpeng (Guangzhou Evergrande), Rong Hao (Hangahou Greentown), Li Jianbin (Chengdu Blades) Midfielders: Zhou Haibin (Shandong Luneng), Zhao Xuri (Shaanxi Zhongjian), Hao Junmin (Schalke 04), Deng Zhuoxiang (Shandong Luneng), Wang Song (Hangzhou Greentown), Yu Tao (Shanghai Shenhua), Huang Bowen (Beijing Guoan), Yang Hao (Beijing Guoan), Yu Hai (Shaanxi Zhongjian) Forwards: Yang Xu (Liaoning Whowin), Qu Bo (Shaanxi Zhongjian), Gao Lin (Guangzhou Evergrande) India Squad Goalkeepers: Subrata Pal (Pune FC), Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (Dempo SC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (AIFF XI) Defenders: Anwar Ali (Dempo SC), Deepak Kumar Mondal (Mohun Bagan), Mahesh Gawli (Dempo SC), Irungbam Surkumar Singh (Mohun Bagan), Gouramangi Singh (Churchill Brothers), Rakesh Masih (Mohun Bagan), Moirangthem Govin Singh (East Bengal), Manju (Mohun Bagan) Midfielders: Naduparambil Pappachan Pradeep (No club), P. Renedy Singh (No club), Clifford Miranda (Dempo SC), Syed Rahim Nabi (East Bengal), Steven Dias (Churchill Brothers), Mehrajuddin Wadoo (East Bengal), Climax Lawrence (Dempo SC), Baldeep Singh Junior (JCT) Forwards: Sunil Chhetri (Sporting Kansas City), Baichung Bhutia (East Bengal), Abhishek Yadav (Mumbai FC), Sushil Kumar Singh (East Bengal) Iran Squad Goalkeepers: Ebrahim Mirzapour (Paykan), Mehdi Rahmati (Sepahan), Alireza Haghighi (Persepolis), Shahab Gordan (Zob Ahan) Defenders: Mohammad Nosrati (Tractor Sazi), Jalal Hosseini (Sepahan), Hadi Aghili (Sepahan), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan), Khosro Heydari (Sepahan), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal), Farshid Talebi (Zob Ahan), Abouzar Rahimi (Rah Ahan) Midfielders: Javad Nekounam (Osasuna), Iman Mobali (Esteghlal), Andranik Teymourian (Tractor Sazi), Masoud Shojaei (Osasuna), Pejman Nouri (Malavan), Mohammad Nouri (Persepolis), Ghasem Hadadifar (Zob Ahan), Mehdi Kiani (Tractor Sazi) Forwards: Gholamreza Rezaei (Persepolis), Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Zob Ahan), Karim Ansarifard (Saipa), Mohammad Gholami (Steel Azin), Hadi Norouzi (Persepolis), Reza Norouzi (Foolad), Arash Afshin (Foolad) Iraq Squad Not yet announced Japan Squad Japan Squad Analysis Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Lierse S.K.), Shusaku Nishikawa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Shuichi Gonda (F.C. Tokyo) Defenders: Masahiko Inoha (Kashima Antlers), Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers), Yasuyuki Konno (F.C. Tokyo), Yuto Nagatomo (A.C. Cesena), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Gotoku Sakai (Albirex Niigata), Tomoaki Makino (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Maya Yoshida (VVV-Venlo) Midfielders: Yasuhito Endō (Gamba Osaka), Daisuke Matsui (Tom Tomsk), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hajime Hosogai (Augsburg), Jungo Fujimoto (Shimizu S-Pulse), Takuya Honda (Shimizu S-Pulse), Yosuke Kashiwagi (Urawa Red Diamonds), Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg), Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow) Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse), Ryoichi Maeda (Júbilo Iwata), Tadanari Lee (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) Jordan Squad Not yet announced Kuwait Squad Not yet announced North Korea Squad Not yet announced Saudi Arabia Squad Goalkeepers: Abdullah Al-Anzi (Al-Nassr), Waleed Abdullah (Al-Shabab), Hussain Shae’an (Al-Shabab), Mabrouk Zayed (Al-Ittihad) Defenders: Kamel Al-Mousa (Al-Ahli), Abdullah Shuhail (Al-Shabab), Mohamed Al-Bishi (Al-Nassr), Mishal Al-Said (Al-Ittihad), Osama Al-Muwallad (Al-Ittihad), Hamad Al-Montashari (Al-Ittihad), Osama Hawsawi (Al-Hilal), Hassan Mouath (Al-Shabab) Midfielders: Mohammed Massad (Al-Ahli), Moataz Al-Musa (Al-Ahli), Mohammad Al-Shalhoub (Al-Hilal), Abdoh Otaif (Al-Shabab), Taisir Al-Jassim (Al-Ahli), Ahmed Al-Fraidi (Al-Hilal), Nawaf Al Abed (Al-Hilal), Abdullaziz Al-Dosari (Al-Hilal), Saud Khariri (Al-Ittihad), Sultan Al-Nemri (Al-Ittihad), Manaf Abushgeer (Al-Ittihad), Ibrahim Ghaleb (Al-Nassr), Ahmed Otaif (Al-Shabab) Forwards: Nasser Al-Shamrani (Al-Shabab), Naif Hazazi (Al-Ittihad), Mohannad Asseri (Al-Wahda), Mohammad Al-Sahlawi (Al-Nassr), Yasser Al-Qahtani (Al Hilal) South Korea Squad Goalkeepers: Jung Sung-Ryong (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), Kim Yong-Dae (FC Seoul), Kim Jin-Hyeon (Cerezo Osaka) Defenders: Choi Hyo-Jin (Sangju Sangmu), Hwang Jae-Won (Suwon Bluewings), Cho Yong-Hyung (Al-Rayyan), Kwak Tae-Hwi (Kyoto Sanga), Lee Yong-Rae (Suwon Bluewings), Lee Young-Pyo (Al-Hilal), Lee Jung-Soo (Al-Sadd), Cha Du-Ri (Celtic) Midfielders: Park Ji-Sung (Manchester United), Yoon Bit-Garam (Gyeongnam FC), Son Heung-Min (Hamburg), Koo Ja-Cheol (Jeju United), Ki Sung-Yueng (Celtic), Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton), Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinita), Yeom Ki-Hun (Suwon Bluewings) Forwards: Yoo Byung-Soo (Incheon United), Ji Dong-Won (Chunnam Dragons), Kim Shin-Wook (Ulsan Hyundai) Syria Squad Goalkeepers: Mosab Balhous (Al-Karamah), Radwan Al Azhar (Al-Majd), Adnan Al Hafez (Al-Wahda) Defenders: Belal Abduldaim (Al-Karamah), Ali Diab (Al-Shorta), Jehad Al Baour (Al-Jaish), Nadim Sabagh (Al-Jaish), Ahmad Al Salih (Al-Jaish), Abdulkader Dakka (Al-Ittihad), Bwrhan Sahiwni (Al-Jaish) Midfielders: Feras Esmaeel (Al-Jaish), Jehad Al Hussain (Al-Qadsia), Abdelrazaq Al Hussain (Al-Karamah), Taha Dyab (Al-Ittihad), Qusay Habib (Al-Shorta), Adel Abdullah (Al-Karamah), Wael Ayan (Al-Faisaly), Louay Chanko (Aalborg) Forwards: Firas Al Khatib (Al-Qadsia), Mohamed Al Zeno (Al-Karamah), Abdul Fattah Al Agha (Wadi Degla), Senharib Malki (Lokeren) Qatar Squad Not yet announced United Arab Emirates Squad Not yet announced Uzbekistan Squad Goalkeepers: Ignatiy Nesterov (Bunyodkor), Temur Juraev (FC Pakhtakor Tashkent), Murod Zukhurov (Nasaf Qarshi) Defenders: Anzur Ismailov (Bunyodkor), Sakhob Juraev (Bunyodkor), Shavkat Mullajanov (Olmaliq), Yaroslav Krushelnitskiy (Shurtan Guzar), Farrukh Nurliboev (Olmaliq FK) Midfielders: Aziz Ibrohimov (Bohemians 1905), Timur Kapadze (Bunyodkor), Server Djeparov (FC Seoul), Odil Ahmedov (FC Pakhtakor Tashkent), Aziz Haydarov (Bunyodkor), Marat Bikmaev (FC Alania Vladikavkaz), Jasur Hasanov (Lekhwiya), Stanislav Andreev (Pakhtakor Tashkent), Vagiz Galiullin (FC Sibir Novosibirsk), Sanjar Tursunov (FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod) Forwards: Shavkat Salomov (Nasaf Qarshi), Alexander Geynrikh (Pakhtakor Tashkent), Maksim Shatskikh (FC Arsenal Kyiv), Olim Navkarov (Qizilqum Zarafshon)

Asian Cup Fixtures Posted: 29 Dec 2010 10:19 AM PST The Asian Cup begins on January 7th, and the best international sides in Asia are descending on Qatar for the tournament. In store is not only a continental cup, with all the passion that goes along, but also a preview (sans their promised bid technology) of Qatar as a hosting nation. We have some tasty matchups in the group stage, both in terms of the football and cultures. Iraq vs. Iran is guaranteed to be a bitter one in Group D and India vs. Australia in Group C gives a chance for old cricket rivals to meet in football. Here are the fixtures for the 2011 Asian Cup: Group A 7 Jan 2011: Qatar vs. Uzbekistan 8 Jan 2011: Kuwait vs. China 12 Jan 2011: Uzbekistan vs. Kuwait 12 Jan 2011: China vs. Qatar 16 Jan 2011: Qatar vs. Kuwait 16 Jan 2011: China vs. Uzbekistan Group B 9 Jan 2011: Japan vs. Jordan 9 Jan 2011: Saudi Arabia vs. Syria 13 Jan 2011: Jordan vs. Saudi Arabia 13 Jan 2011: Syria vs. Japan 17 Jan 2011: Saudi Arabia vs. Japan 17 Jan 2011: Jordan vs. Syria Group C 10 Jan 2011: India vs. Australia 10 Jan 2011: South Korea vs. Bahrain 14 Jan 2011: Australia vs. South Korea 14 Jan 2011: Bahrain vs. India 18 Jan 2011: South Korea vs. India 18 Jan 2011: Australia vs. Bahrain Group D 11 Jan 2011: North Korea vs. United Arab Emirates 11 Jan 2011: Iraq vs. Iran 15 Jan 2011: Iran vs. North Korea 15 Jan 2011: United Arab Emirates vs. Iraq 19 Jan 2011: Iraq vs. North Korea 19 Jan 2011: United Arab Emirates vs. Iran The top two teams from each group move on to the quarterfinal round. From then on, it is a single-elimination tournament. Knockout Rounds 21 Jan 2011: Quarterfinal 1: A1 vs. B2 21 Jan 2011: Quarterfinal 3: B1 vs. A2 22 Jan 2011: Quarterfinal 2: C1 vs. D2 22 Jan 2011: Quarterfinal 4: D1 vs. C2 25 Jan 2011: Semifinal 1: QF1 vs. QF3 25 Jan 2011: Semifinal 2: QF2 vs. QF4 28 Jan 2011: Third place match 29 Jan 2011: Asian Cup Final Match

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World Cup 2010 Blog: Maradona to Sue Head of Argentina Football

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Maradona to Sue Head of Argentina Football Posted: 26 Dec 2010 11:38 AM PST Oh, Diego. It’s been weeks, maybe even a month, since your last outburst. We were starting to think you forgot about us, the football writers and bloggers who thrive on controversy and quotes. Welcome back, sir. Diego Maradona is suing Argentine Football Association president Julio Grondola for defamation of character. Because no one gets to defame Diego Maradona’s character but Diego Maradona. The event that seems to have caused all the fuss was a quote from Grondola last week, which Maradona says implied that he was back using drugs and alcohol. The quote: “There are reasons for what happens with Maradona, and everybody knows them.” Diego claims to be clean for six years, and if that’s true, then two things follow from that fact. One – he is as unstable off of drugs as he ever was on (see for example Argentina squad selections), and two – he has reason to be upset. For someone with as long and sordid a relationship with chemicals as Diego has, six years sober is a major accomplishment, and I can certainly understand him being defensive about it. But I’m not sure it should go so far as a legal battle. For one thing, Grondola could be talking about more than just drugs. It’s a very vague statement, and proving that it was meant as a derogatory reference to drugs is going to be a tough sell for a judge. On the other hand, Maradona might just be able to sign an Albiceleste jersey for the judge and get some sympathy – it’s hard not to side with a national legend. On the other side of things, Diego’s time with Argentina has certainly tarnished his legend a bit. If he would have led the team to victory in South Africa, or even to a semifinal, he would have gained a new level of godhood. But he very much didn’t. His Argentina side were comprehensively taken apart by Germany in the quarterfinals, and that was the end of a reign that no one argues to have been all that successful. Considering his job performance, maybe he’d be best to just leave this one be, and call it a draw.

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