World Cup 2010 Blog: Radomir Antic: Football’s Most Loved Employee

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Radomir Antic: Football’s Most Loved Employee Posted: 19 Aug 2010 01:39 PM PDT Most if not all, want to be loved and appreciated. Some even require it for the most basic of life’s relationships, be it personal, professional or otherwise. Serbian coach Radomir Antic is no such man. Love him, hate him, cut his pay – it matters not. He’ll still coach your team. At least when he’s not serving a fairly lengthy suspensions. The relationship was coming to an end, with Serbia looking elsewhere after the rather disappointing showing at the World Cup, and even with an impressive qualifying campaign in Antic’s rearview mirror. The Serbian FA could not find an adequate replacement for Antic, however, and decided in the end that it was simply best to keep him on – as Plan D or whatever. Something they didn’t mind at all sharing with the world. Serbia Football Association president Tomislav Karadzic said on Thursday that keeping Antic “is not the best solution, but we have no better candidate.” I’d love to see Karadzic’s marriage vows. “You’re not quite the girl of my dreams, but you’ll do.” And to reward Antic for showing up at a job where he isn’t really wanted, he’ll have his pay cut in half. Right down the middle. Granted, €50k a month is pretty decent by real life standards (as opposed to the fake football world ones), but still – 50% is 50%. So if you see Antic out there, give him a hug and remind him that someone does actually love him. And also point him in the general direction of some sales.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Nicolas Anelka Enjoys Comedy, Cannot Be Fired” plus 1 more

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Nicolas Anelka Enjoys Comedy, Cannot Be Fired Posted: 18 Aug 2010 02:25 PM PDT Yesterday Daryl pondered whether or not Nicolas Anelka’s international is over. Nicolas has weighed in on the subject himself, apparently being banned from Disqus as well as Les Bleus, going with the well-worn but undoubtedly effective “you can’t fire me, I quit!” – but probably in French. In other words: nothing’s changed since June. Anelka’s response: “Who told them that I wanted to play in blue again?” Anelka asked. “I should not even have been mentioned by this kind of commission. For me, ever since the South Africa World Cup, the French team is part of the past.” “For me, this whole thing with the commission is an aberration, a masquerade to make sure they don’t lose face,” he said. “They have punished a void, as Nicolas Anelka never existed in this pitiful and colourful affair. I repeat: the page with les Bleus was turned on 19 June when I was evicted from Knysna.” Referring to the French football authorities, he added: “They are real clowns, these people … I am doubled up with laughter.” Last I checked, clowns that make you laugh are generally a good think, particularly those of the French variety. His agent, meanwhile, has said that he was planning to quit all along, so the halftime outburst was just one last middle finger on the way out the international door. “With Nico, we had a very clear career plan,” he said. “The idea was that he would take his leave internationally after the World Cup, whatever its result, which ended up being the one that everyone knows.” And with that from his agent, our theory is confirmed: Nicolas was planning to play at least two more years, and this ban effectively retired him. The rest is simply the continuation of this French fiasco.

The Battle For Germany’s Soul Rages On Posted: 18 Aug 2010 10:30 AM PDT There are two things Michael Ballack doesn’t do: i. Win tournament finals. ii. Give up the German captaincy without a fight. Or a half-Nelson. When Ballack went down before the World Cup, the band was handed over to that 12 year old fullback from Munich and with a good bit of success, in the process deciding he doesn’t want to give it back. This displeases Michael Ballack. The grumbling in the press has gone on for weeks and it seems the only way to settle the matter is a steel cage match to the death, with the winner getting the band and a free Wii. Michael, like any good athlete, has already declared the winner before this landmark battle occurs, predictably crowning himself the victor. “For me, the matter is clear,” Ballack told Soccernet. “I’m the captain of Germany and intend to take on the role again when I’m fit. I can’t wait to lead Germany into the Euro 2012 qualifiers and make a success of it. I believe in myself as the captain and think I’ve the personality to do it. But the German public has spoken, and in resounding fashion: they want Lahm. German sports agency SID, an AFP subsidiary, authorised a poll which saw 60.3 percent of those surveyed say Bayern Munich defender Lahm should remain captain having led Germany to third at the World Cup. Only 26.2 percent of those polled thought Ballack, who missed the 2010 World Cup with an ankle injury, should be made captain for Germany’s first Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on September 3. It means very little, but says so very much, and leads to the theory there’s only one way this will end up: in tears.

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Martin Palermo Is Not Messi’s Biggest Fan” plus 1 more

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Martin Palermo Is Not Messi’s Biggest Fan Posted: 17 Aug 2010 09:24 AM PDT Little Lionel received something of a mixed bag this summer over his performance. He was undeniably brilliant throughout much of it, overshadowed by no one heading into the quarterfinals, but then was taken out of the game against Germany, largely attributed to Jogi Loew’s tactical abilities and Diego Maradona’s lack of the very same. The critics were there, and one has emerged from inside the Argentinean camp. "Messi isn't Maradona," Palermo said Monday on America TV. "To me, Messi does not have Maradona's mentality. He's not prepared to carry the team. "He (Messi) is not one to take the role of leader. He won't do it because he's not used to this position. He grew up in another way, he's lived differently. He's been with Barcelona since he was 12." Messi is not God – not yet, anyway – but there’s something very important to remember here which Martin has seemingly forgot: The boy is 23 years old. If one’s leadership skills at 23 are the be-all and end-all to his legacy – even someone of Lionel’s ilk – then we might as well pack it up and go home. The absurdity has finally won.

Is Nicolas Anelka’s International Career Over? Posted: 17 Aug 2010 08:04 AM PDT The French Football Federation has handed down punishments to the players involved in the infamous World Cup 2010 revolt. Big loser is Monsieur Nicolas Anelka, who started the whole thing by suggesting that coach Raymond Domenech do something anatomically impossible during halftime of the 2-0 defeat to Mexico. Anelka received an 18 game ban from the FFF. That’s 18 international games. If you take a look at France’s schedule you’ll see that between now and October 2011, there are only 14 games planned. So Anelka will be suspended for the entirety of France’s Euro 2012 campaign and then some. Anelka is 31 years old right now, so he’ll almost certainly be 33 or older by the time his ban is served. In other words, we probably won’t be seeing Anelka doing his butterfly celebration in a France jersey ever again. Captain Patrice Evra received a five match ban for leading the team’s refusal to train after Anelka was sent home, Franck Ribery received a three match ban and Jeremy Toulalan just the one match. Eric Abidal was summoned by the FFF but escaped punishment. My guess is he ratted everyone out in a Ray Liotta Goodfellas style plea bargain. (Not really). The hilarious thing here is that in my opinion the FFF are to blame for everything that happened at World Cup 2010. If the FFF had replaced Domenech after his dismal failure at Euro 2008, then the disaster in South Africa almost certainly wouldn’t have happened. Can we somehow impose a 100 year ban on the FFF from making decisions about who coaches the French national team? - More about Les Bleus at the France blog.

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