World Cup 2010 Blog: “World Cup Moments: Diego Maradona and the Hand of God” plus 1 more

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World Cup Moments: Diego Maradona and the Hand of God Posted: 14 Apr 2010 04:10 PM PDT This may be the most controversial goal in World Cup history. It’s from the 1986 quarter-final between Argentina and England, a game Argentina won 2-1 with Maradona scoring twice. We all know about his second goal, so this post will focus on his first. The infamous “Hand of God” goal. In the 51st minute, with the score at 0-0, Maradona played a ball out wide to Jorge Valdano. England’s Steve Hodge managed to dispossess Valdano, but could only kick the ball high into the air, back into the heart of the England penalty area. This set up an aerial challenge between England goalkeeper Peter Shilton (height: 6′ 1″) and Argentine attacking mid Diego Maradona (height: 5′ 5″). Shilton’s ball, yes? No. Because Diego Maradona beat Shilton to the ball, extending his left hand and punching it past the England keeper and into the net. 1-0. Shilton and the other England players complained, as you would, but Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser had failed to spot the handball, and so the goal stood. Obviously people in England both were and are very very upset about this goal. In the interests of full disclosure, I should make clear that I’m an England fan myself, and would prefer that this had never happened. When you see an opposition player clearly cheating and somehow getting away with it, and then winning the game (a World Cup quarter-final no less) as a result, it’s perfectly reasonable to wish bad bad things on El Diego. However… it’s been 24 years since the “Hand of God” goal. Very nearly a quarter of a century. Plus, the front page of World Cup Blog is supposed to be neutral. So I think it’s worth trying to look back at this moment as dispassionately as possible. Excuse me while I attempt to compose myself. … One thing I’ve come to appreciate about this goal is the sheer ballsiness of it. I’d imagine most other players placed in Maradona’s situation of challenging a goalkeeper for a high ball, with an eight inch height difference disadvantage (and that’s before you factor in Shilton’s reach) would make a half-hearted jump for a ball they have no intention or expectation of winning. Because no one would blame them for losing that battle. But Maradona wanted it. He wanted it bad enough to cheat. Not only that, he cheated cleverly, disguising his hand with his head at the moment he made contact with the ball. The referee could always disallow it, and maybe even show Maradona a yellow card, but in terms of risk vs reward, you can’t fault the logic behind Maradona’s decision to attempt the handball. It’s also worth considering the symbolism of this moment. This is something I think I heard the BBC’s South American correspondent Tim Vickery explain. Or maybe I read it somewhere, but have forgotten the source. Or maybe I even thought this up myself, in which case well done me. But basically, Maradona is from one of the rougher parts of Buenos Aries, where kids need to use their wits to get by and to get ahead. By fair means or foul. A tiny #10 beating a gigantic goalkeeper through cunning and quick-thinking is exactly the type of street smarts needed to survive. Then there’s the historical and emotional context of this particular game to consider. England fans maybe forget this too easily when discussingh Maradona’s handball, but in 1986 the recent Falklands War (or the Malvinas War), in which Argentina suffered a militarily defeat to the United Kingdom and lost 649 lives, was still fresh in the memory of all Argentineans. Here’s what Maradona himself wrote in his autobiography, describing the build-up to the 1986 World Cup quarter-final: I say a final because for us, because of everything it represented, we were playing a final against England. More than defeating a football team it was defeating a country. Of course, before the match, we said that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas War but we knew a lot of Argentinean kids had died there, shot down like little birds. This was revenge. It was like recovering a little bit of the Malvinas. In the pre-match interviews we had all said that football and politics shouldn’t be confused, but that was a lie. We did nothing but think about that. Bollocks was it just another match! (from “El Diego” by Diego Maradona, pages 127-128) That maybe doesn’t excuse the handball, but it definitely explains some of the motivation behind it. It’s Maradona doing what the Argentinean military couldn’t do, and defeating and bigger, stronger opponent through intelligence and cunning. Let’s move on past the actual handball moment itself, because Maradona’s post-match comments are almost as famous in their own right. When asked about the goal in the post-match press conference, Maradona responded that the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”. Cheeky, but one of the all time great footballing lines. Obviously Maradona knew he’d handballed at the time. But the Hand of God quote seems to be partially about not wanting to own up at the time, and partially about enjoying sticking it to the English. Here’s another excerpt from his autobiography, comparing the handball goal to his even more famous second goal: Sometimes I think I almost enjoyed that one more, the first one. Now I feel I am able to say what I couldn’t then. At the time I called it ‘the hand of God’. Bollocks was it the hand of God, it was the hand of Diego! And it felt a little bit like pickpocketing the English… (from “El Diego” by Diego Maradona, page 130) I know opinion is strongly divided on Diego Maradona. Both love and hate are regularly sent in his direction. Though as an England fan I still feel cheated by the little man, I also recognize him as one of the all time great characters of the game. Not just for his talents with the ball, which were amply demonstrated later in the very same game (which will be a World Cup Moments post of its own soon) but because he’s one of those guys that creates incident and controversy wherever he goes, and in doing so makes the beautiful game that much more entertaining. - More World Cup Moments here.

When is the World Cup 2010 Squad (or Roster) Deadline? Posted: 14 Apr 2010 12:28 PM PDT The World Cup is getting closer every day, and so people are starting to ask the question: When is the World Cup squad deadline? Other people are asking: When is the World Cup roster deadline? Which is just the same question with different terminology. Basically we all want to know when each of the 32 World Cup teams will submit their final lists of 23 World Cup players to FIFA, mostly so we can start judging them. Also because it would make our World Cup team profiles a lot easier to write. Unfortunately it’s hard to get a straight answer on exactly when this deadline is. There’s a May 11th deadline for submitting a 30 man preliminary squad to FIFA, but no publicly available fixed deadline for cutting that 30 man squad down to 23. FIFA’s official World Cup 2010 Regulations document states only that the 23 man squad is required “prior to the kick-off of the opening match in accordance with the deadline stipulated in the relevant FIFA circular.” Presumably this circular has been sent only to football associations and such, but a recent quote from France coach Raymond Domenech would seem to suggest said deadline is June 1st: “They must be clever and forget their ego to realise that the only thing that matters is the team, not them,” Domenech told French daily L’Equipe in an interview published on Tuesday. “If they don’t understand that, I will need a gun. We’re only supposed to give our final squad on June 1.” So there you have it. Sort of. Below you’ll find the relevant section of the official FIFA document: 26. List of players, rest period, preparationphase – final competition 1. Each association that qualifi es for the fi nal competition shall send FIFA a list of 30 players (showing the full last name(s), all fi rst names, popular name, place and date of birth, passport number, club and country of the club, height, weight, number of caps won, number of goals scored) whom it has called up in accordance with the relevant provisions of Annex 1 of the FIFA Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players. The release list of 30 players must be sent to FIFA by 11 May 2010 (30 days prior to the kick-off of the opening match). 2. The release lists of 30 players will be published by the FIFA general secretariat. 3. Each association will then be required to provide FIFA with a final list of no more than 23 players (three of whom shall be goalkeepers). This final list is limited to the players on the release list. The association must send this final list to FIFA prior to the kick-off of the opening match in accordance with the deadline stipulated in the relevant FIFA circular. 4. The final list of not more than 23 players (showing the full last name(s), all first names, popular name, number on the shirt, position, place and date of birth, passport number, club and country of the club, height, weight, number of caps won, number of goals scored) shall be submitted to the FIFA general secretariat, using the official form for this purpose. Only the numbers 1 to 23 may be allocated to these players, with number 1 being reserved exclusively for one of the goalkeepers. The shirt numbers for the remaining two goalkeepers may be any of the numbers between 2 and 23. The numbers on the back of the shirts shall correspond with the numbers indicated on the final list. Only these 23 players (except in cases of force majeure recognised by the FIFA Organising Committee) will be permitted to compete in the final competition. 5. The final lists of 23 players will be published by the FIFA general secretariat. 6. A player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury up until 24 hours before the kick-off of his team's first match. The replacement players do not need to be limited to the release list of 30 players. Such replacements must be approved in writing by the FIFA Medical Committee upon receipt and acceptance of a detailed medical assessment in one of the four official FIFA languages. The FIFA Medical Committee will approve the request if the injury is suffi ciently serious to prevent the player from taking part in the competition. The participating member association shall inform FIFA accordingly of the player's full details (cf. art. 26, par. 4) at the same time as when submitting the request to replace the injured player. 7. All 23 players shall be named on the list of players for each match (11 selected players and 12 substitutes). Up to a maximum of three of the substitutes may take the place of the selected players at any time during the match. 8. Not more than 23 people (11 offi cials and 12 substitutes) shall be allowed to sit on the substitutes' bench. 9. Before the start of the final competition, all listed players must prove their identity, nationality and age by producing their legally valid individual passport with photograph (stating day, month and year of birth). Any player who fails to submit his passport will not be allowed to take part in the final competition. Every player must also sign a declaration of compliance wherein he agrees to submit to these Regulations. 10. To protect players from burn-out before the final competition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, the following dates shall apply: 16 May 2010 Final match day at club level for the 30 players nominated on the release lists for the fi nal competition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. 17-23 May 2010 Mandatory rest period for the players on the release lists. Players of the two teams involved in the UEFA Champions League Final on 22 May 2010 will be granted permission to play, by way of exception, by the FIFA Executive Committee. 24 May – 10 June 2010 The preparation phase for the participating members associations in the final competition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Source: Regulations, 2010 World Cup South Africa, pages 33 to 35, retrieved April 14th, 2010. So again, here’s how it seems to work: May 11th is the deadline for preliminary 30 man World Cup squads. If you don’t make this list of 30, you’re basically not going. Deadline for cutting this 30 man squad down to 23 is “prior to the kick-off of the opening match in accordance with the deadline stipulated in the relevant FIFA circular.” The recent quote from Raymond Domenech seems to suggest that said deadline has been circulated, and is June 1st. However, other media outlets disagree. ESPN recently claimed the deadline was June 5th. Seems this Deutsche Presse-Agentur release is where ESPN got the June 5th date from, but said release also believes the preliminary squads will be made up of 35 and not 30 players, which directly contradicts the FIFA doc. So, basically we’re not sure. But “early June” would be a good guess for the actual deadline, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of teams named their squads even earlier than that. Three other thoughts: Why does FIFA need to know every player’s weight? Will they be making a special World Cup edition of The Biggest Loser? The document clearly states that every 23 man squad must contain three goalkeepers. So anyone arguing for their squad to take only two keepers and an extra outfield player should cease and desist. FIFA should just make the final deadline date public. It’s almost as if they’re paying more attention to the coaches and federations than they are to this blog.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Portugal: Will Only Play For Hotel Rooms” plus 2 more

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• Portugal: Will Only Play For Hotel Rooms
• South Korea World Cup 2010 Profile
• Argentina World Cup 2010 Team Profile

Portugal: Will Only Play For Hotel Rooms Posted: 14 Apr 2010 03:30 AM PDT You’d think pre-tournament friendlies are a mutually beneficial concept which can be enjoyed by all. Portugal don’t see it as such. Apparently closing out World Cup preparations against them is such a treat it requires substantial compensation. Mexico weren’t willing to make such concessions, which is why we may have one of the very few cases of an international friendly being canceled because one team wouldn’t give up dirty sheets and petri dishes masquerading as remote controls. “(The match on) May 30 against Portugal won’t go ahead, we couldn’t overcome those little details which arose,” Nestor de La Torre, the Mexican federation’s director of national teams, said on Monday. “The coach (Carlos Queiroz) asked me to let them have the (Thaba Ya Batswana) hotel, of course there was a no from us, so in a chat they mentioned they were not prepared to be flexible because we didn’t leave the hotel to them,” he said. There are two sides to every story, so we’ll have to wait until the trial – which there will surely be – to learn why Portugal was so adamant about the TYB. It seems like a nice hotel, but nice hotels are a dime a dozen nowadays, and plenty have surely undergone more work than Demi Moore in preparation for World Cup 2010. Then again, maybe it’s tough to find all the amenities Portugal are looking for in an “Eco Lodge”. Can’t fault them for trying to save a buck. Now, because we’re all about problem solving, here’s a quick and easy solution: play the friendly, and unless Portugal wins by two or more goals, Mexico gets to keep the hotel. After all, if Mexico can’t keep it close, reflection in a more humble setting may serve as a necessity before embarking on the real games. And this has been reason #3,724 why we should be running this thing.

South Korea World Cup 2010 Profile Posted: 14 Apr 2010 01:00 AM PDT South Korea were one of the hottest teams entering the World Cup, enjoying a scorching undefeated run of 27 up and through qualifying, only to be knocked off their pedestal by Serbia in a November friendly. Another friendly against Zambia in Jo’burg saw another friendly tacked on the board, and then they fell to China in the 2010 East Asian Championships, finishing second. They’ll get to make another attempt at scorching form in the scrap that may become Group B, but may start off with a horrible lack of confidence after the Korean Federation scheduled their final friendly against…dramatic music, please…Spain. Teams of sports psychologists must already be at the ready to either aid in boosting confidence or tempering arrogance. Nickname: Taegeuk Jeonsa (Taegeuk Warriors) Group: B; Argentina, Greece, Nigeria FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: 49th Coach: Huh Jung-Moo Huh’s like Old Faithful: always destined to come back around again. He’s in his sixth stint with the team in some capacity, including third as head coach, and as successful as ever with the reigning Asian Coach of the Year trophy sitting at home on the mantle. (Or in his suitcase, traveling alongside.) But better yet, this time he’ll get to renew acquaintances with Diego Maradona after their meeting as players in 1986 spawned this iconic photo: Key Players: The “name” is Park Ji-Sung, Manchester United’s manmotor of an attacking mid, because, well, you already got the answer – he plays for ManU. Up top the goals start with fine wine veteran Lee Dong-Gook. The young midfield talent comes in the form of Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton) and Ki Sung-Yong (Celtic), two of Asia’s brightest bulbs at the moment. Forward Park Chu-Young was once bigger than the Beatles, so he’s still looking to jump at least as high as the hype-o-meter. Lee Young-Pyo is still going strong at leftback while enjoying the Middle Eastern sands for his club football, so he should be nice and refreshed, while Lee Woon-Jae will cut an unmistakably familiar (and short) figure in goal in his 36th year. Player with best YouTube video: It’s technically not about South Korea, but Park Ji-Sung’s birthday episode from last year must be one of the greatest things to ever grace the intertubes. Player with best name: No Bjung-Hun. The comedic possibilities for the name “No” are endless, and will surely be obnoxiously worn in these parts by the second group game should he make the squad. Player with best nickname: Ki Sung-Yong – “David” David grew up in Australia, so there – and now here, because we say so – he goes by the name David. Growing up Down Under might also explain this: (Wikipedia tells a different story, but our other version sounds better.) This kid rocks. Qualification: Asian qualification went awfully well for South Korea, going undefeated in their 14 games (7-7-0) and finishing tops of their group at both stages. Interesting: After the Guus Hiddink pandemonium of 2002, foreign coaches were all the rage in South Korea. So when Huh Jung-Moo was named head coach in 2007, he became the first South Korean to hold the post since…Huh Jung-Moo in 2000. National Anthem: "Aegukga", or "The Patriotic Song" More on the South Korean anthem here. Kit: The away kit: Get the South Korean shirts at our store. World Cup History: Expectations: Outside of their run at home in 2002, South Korea have fizzled in the groups every time. They should still be in the hunt for that second spot, particularly after their great qualifying run, but the fans will be prepped for the disappointment should it come. Squad: TBA Blog: Still looking for a captain of the South Korean ship, so if you’re interested just email daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com with why you would be all sorts of fantastic. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

Argentina World Cup 2010 Team Profile Posted: 13 Apr 2010 06:22 AM PDT By the skin of their teeth, historic giants Argentina are in the World Cup finals. It’s been a bumpy ride the last few years, one fraught with missed chances, a lack of confidence and some really expensive diamonds gone missing. But they are here. With Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona who is, if you’ve just awoken from a deep coma, the coach. Yes, that Diego Maradona, leading something else but a dollar bill down a…ah, nevermind. This is bound to be one of the most fun teams heading into the World Cup. Why? One of two things could go kaboom: Lionel Messi or the whole damn thing. Nickname: La Albiceleste (White and Sky blue) FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: 9th. Group: B; Nigeria, South Korea, Greece. Coach: El Diego – Diego Maradona. One of the best players in the history of the game with questions surrounding his coaching as big as his waist used to be. A powerhouse with the best player in the world and some of the best attacking talent in the world, yet Argentina still struggled to make it through qualifying. His greatest coaching feat thus far has been the failing to make it through a year before bombarding the press with “suck it and keep on sucking it”. This earned him a suspension, and lofty four-letter standards to which he must hold himself at the World Cup. Key Players: When it comes to a country like Argentina, there are simply too many to name. Luckily, there’s an easy one to start: Lionel Messi. Nearly universally hailed as the greatest in the world and one who is giving Pele & El Diego a run as football’s greatest ever, the knock – the only knock – on him has been his inability to replicate Barca form for the Albiceleste. In tow he’ll have Spanish-based striker buddies Kun Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain: all prolific, all 22. And though he’s only had 7 caps, Angel Di Maria, also 22, has been making waves as football’s next big thing for a couple years now, looking very much the real deal. Rounding out the talented toddlers will be Diego Milito and Carlitos Tevez, two half-decent footballers in their own right… To back up the skillful attackers up front, they want not for midfield steel: Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano are two of the best in the world at taking care of business in the center of the park. In the back it’s veteran leadership at the, err, fore, with The Ageless Sidepart, Javier Zanetti (136 caps), Walter Samuel and Gabby Heinze the likelies in front of whichever youngster earns the mitts. Player with best YouTube video: Messi gets more videos than Beyonce, making this tough; and when searching “Lionel Messi” in YouTube, it’s like stumbling into an adult video store: they’re all largely the same packaging, all tell the same story and all serve the same purpose. The pick of the front shelving: Player with best name: Angel Di Maria. There’s quite a bit of Italian heritage in Argentina, which means this half-translates as Angel of Maria. Who the hell’s Maria? Player with best nickname: Finally, an Argentine not named Lionel Messi wins something in a landslide: Sergio “Kun” Aguero. The Kun portion is derived from a youthful haircut which apparently made Kun, a strapping young man of his own, look like this: Even without evidence, there’s little argument that wasn’t the worst haircut of all-time. Kun also impregnated Maradona’s daughter Giannina, then reportedly cheated on and left her, so we can safely assume he has all sorts of wonderful nicknames behind closed doors which are not allowed into the public sphere. Qualification: They finished 4th out of four automatic qualification sports in CONMEBOL, which did not sit well as one of the continent’s two footballing superpowers. It took until the 18th and final day of qualification, when they sent Uruguay to their ultimately successful playoff with CONCACAF, to earn a ticket to South Africa. Not exactly in the Argentine football blueprints. Interesting: In his short, short reign as head coach (Dec ‘09), Diego Maradona has called up over 100 players to the national team. Yes, one hundred. National Anthem: "Himno Nacional Argentino" (National Anthem of Argentina) More on the Argentina anthem here. Kit: Home shirt: Full review here, or buy your Argentina World Cup jersey from our store. World Cup History: Expectations: There are two camps of thought here: the one that thinks Maradona will lead them to implode in the groups (as they did at times in qualifying), and the one which thinks Lionel will toss Argentina on his (not quite spacious) back to South African glory. As much as any team in the tournament, they have no expectations heading in – just questions. Squad: TBA Blog: When Maxi Lopez isn’t scoring goals for Catania, he’s busy at the Argentina WCB along with Julian D. - More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.

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