World Cup 2010 Blog: “2010 African Footballer of the Year Nominees” plus 1 more

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2010 African Footballer of the Year Nominees Posted: 11 Dec 2010 04:06 PM PST After having the long list leaked and the short list announced, the final list of nominees for CAF’s 2010 African Footballer of the Year have finally been announced. And the nominations for Africa’s 2010 Footballer of the Year go to… Didier Drogba (Côte D'Ivoire/Chelsea) Asamoah Gyan (Ghana/Sunderland) Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon/Inter) If you read my earlier post on the nominations, you probably aren’t surprised by the names appearing on the final list. The award’s current title holder, Drogba, enters this year’s race as the underdog. His exploits that helped Chelsea reclaim the EPL title in May slightly pale in comparison to the double domestic and European titles won by Eto’o with Inter or the achievements in the World Cup by Gyan’s Ghana. The winner is chosen by the national coaches from CAF member nations and will be announced on December 20th in Cairo.

Qatar: Revolutionizing the way we hold the World Cup Posted: 11 Dec 2010 03:02 PM PST When FIFA voted to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it was promoted as “bringing football to a new world and a new culture” as well as bringing the World Cup to the “entire Middle East.”  And now, it seems that sentiment might be taken quite literally by the game’s governing bodies as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar may very well change the way have ever held the tournament before… World Cup 2022:  Qatar & Friends With numerous media outlets focusing on the size of Qatar – and their ability to credibly host such a large event in such a small space – FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, has offered one of his famous ideas… Get the neighbors involved!  Inspired by Australia’s proposal, which suggested that some matches could be held in nearby New Zealand.  However, he failed to mention any concrete suggestions of countries who could share the burden with Qatar. Australia, in its candidacy bid, proposed to give several matches to New Zealand. I think it could be the same in Qatar and that some matches could take place in nearby countries. - Sepp Blatter, L’Equipe This suggestion, Blatter mentioned, would help fulfill FIFA’s ambition to expand access for fans across the globe. With Qatar, we are opening football to a new world and a new culture.  The Arab world, which has tried several times — with Morocco or Egypt for example — to host the World Cup, could legitimately lay claim to hosting this. - Sepp Blatter, L’Equipe Qatar 2022:  Winter Games But the size of the country isn’t the only issue that Qatar is having to defend itself against since winning the bid to host the games in 2022.  The weather – and the health dangers it potentially poses to players and fans – has also received attention in the press. Extreme temperatures? What about all those cool, high-tech plans in the Qatar proposal to air condition all the stadiums?  Well, it turns out that – in the words of Asian Football Confederation General Secretary, Peter Velappan – is “not a solution.” And the extreme heat – which tops 104 degrees – could potentially deter nations from participating.  The threat of European nations boycotting the tournament is not exactly a great way for the international football community to embrace football’s newest frontier…so now the game’s international bodies are putting on their best thinking caps to troubleshoot the issue… Franz Beckenbauer, who sits on FIFA’s executive committee, said earlier this month that making a one-time change to the European league to allow the World Cup to be played in winter in Qatar was a cheaper solution than air-conditioning all stadiums. UEFA President, Michel Platini, has suggested that he would be comfortable with a proposal to shift the 2022 World Cup to winter instead of its traditional time in the summer to avoid extreme temperatures. It’s true that if we talk about the World Cup in the Gulf in January, that would be easier than to play in June. On that I agree, and why not? It’s possible. - Michel Platini Why not?  Well, just off the top of my head there are a few reasons:  Champions League, Europa League, EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga… Oh, those minor competitions?  Those can be addressed later..after all we have 12 years! How much rest time will we give to the players after the World Cup? If we play in January, well, will it be a February off and then we start again in March? We will discuss this heavily in the months and years to come. - Michel Platini But, even if the games are held in the summer, Platini doesn’t think the criticism about weather holds much weight….especially when it comes from those arguing in favor of a US proposal! The temperature in Dallas was [113 degrees], if I’m not mistaken, in 1994 and nobody criticized the U.S. at the time. - Michel Platini Platini also indicated his support for FIFA’s decision to grant Qatar the tournament and making the international community more inclusive of nations and fans outside of football’s traditional strongholds. Maybe, it would be a World Cup for the entire Gulf - Michel Platini

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “When Zidane Met Materazzi: No One Knows What The Hell’s Happening Anymore” plus 1 more

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When Zidane Met Materazzi: No One Knows What The Hell’s Happening Anymore Posted: 09 Dec 2010 12:40 PM PST Roughly six weeks ago there was a rumor circulating that Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi actually, inexplicably, unthinkably kissed and made up. The world was stunned, trees started drifting towards Europe and suddenly the world’s female population became ever so briefly barren. It was apocalyptic type stuff. Then it was revealed to be a false positive, and the world tilted back onto its axis. But apparently there was a meeting in a car park in Milan, this from the best of sources, Materazzi, which we can only assume was mighty awkward. One of the many things Marco waxed on when he met the press today, including the revelation that he can’t quit Marco Balotelli. And that he likes vending machine snacks. "Zidane was parking his car next to mine and I took the opportunity to tell him some things, which remain between us. Let's say I was the one to talk more and when at the end he held out his hand, I gripped it and would not let go until he looked me in the face. "That was what I wanted. It was good for me; I don't know how he felt about it." Zidane must have been positively thrilled. I can only imagine this was like seeing an ex spot you from across the street. “Turn around. Just turn around. Don’t look back. Pretend like she didn’t see you. Just…don’t turn around. Is she coming over? She’s crossing the street? Shit. … Hey, I’ve got an appointment, but it’s nice to see you – call me sometime. Same number, yeah. Honest.” These two really are destined for a nursing home, a bunk bed and a reality show some day.

AFP’s World Cup Photos of the Year 2010 Posted: 09 Dec 2010 11:40 AM PST It has been impossible find any sort of source on this, but these are tagged as AFP’s Pictures of the Year for 2010 and a number of non-footy photos are flaring up elsewhere under the same award. But mostly, all six are just really, really excellent photos from the summer’s World Cup. Credits: 1. Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images 2. AFP PHOTO / FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT 3. AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE 4. AFP/Carl de Souza. 5. Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Images 6. AFP PHOTO / JEWEL SAMAD

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