Then again, this is the same man who declared Spanish football as “objectively the best league in the world” and La Liga “superior to England” after Spain won the European Championship in 2008. Yes, I know, its his job to promote La Liga. But, as a Ligue 1 fan (who didn’t even get a mention!), you can already imagine my opinion of the man after hearing those bold statements…
Even if I put aside those very strong biases – I find it hard to follow the logic in his statements. First of all in 2008, several of Spain’s players – including the final goalscorer, Fernando Torres played in England, along with – Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Pepe Reina and Cesc Fabregas.
And even though many of those players have now returned to Spain – I still find it hard to stomach some of these claims. Yes, it is impressive how many of the national team’s players choose to play in Spain. But can a national team that only has players from 6 of its domestic league’s teams really be credit to the league? Even looking at it that way is pretty generous. Because in reality, 50% of the Spain national team is composed of two teams- Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The club breakdown of the Spain national team at the 2010 World Cup was as follows…
Real Madrid (5): Casillas, Albiol, Alonso, Ramos and Arbeloa
Barcelona (7): Pique, Iniesta, Puyol, Xavi, Valdes, Busquets, Pedro
Valencia (4): Villa, Silva, Marchena, Mata
Villareal (1): Capdevilla
Sevilla (1): Navas
Athletic Bilbao (2): Llorente, Martinez
Plus the three players who still play in England: Fabregas (Arsenal), Reina (Liverpool) and Torres (Liverpool). (Please note, some of these players club affiliations have changed since the World Cup….)
So if the league’s job is to promote a two-horse race year and year- I think they are doing a swell job. But, if they are claiming to promote competitive football among all of the league’s teams to strengthen the league overall- I’d say they still have their work cut out for them. Sid Lowe put it best in his article on the subject (which I recommend you all read!) when he said…
It is tempting to conclude that all it does do is organize a league in which the best players play — and organize it badly. A league in which you don’t even know what day games are on until a week before.
2006 World Cup attendees like this one may be at risk after their information was (allegedly) illegally sold on the black market…
According to The Guardian, an investigation is underway regarding the leak and sale of personal information and details provided by thousands of football fans who purchased World Cup tickets directly from FIFA and their official sponsor, Match Hospitality. I suggest you read the whole article on The Guardian for all the details, but in a nutshell …
As many as 35,689 English fans who attended the 2006 World Cup in Germany may have had their personal details/information sold for up to half a million Euros.
Information sold includes passport information as well as dates of births – and perhaps more sensitive information for “high profile” guests such as dignitaries.
Dagbladet, a Norwegian newspaper, broke a story last month alleging that they had been able to obtain a list of 250,000 fans personal details they submitted while purchasing tickets through the official, legally provided channels. The newspaper claims they were given these records through several email conversations with a Match Hospitality employee.
Until confronted with the details of Dagbladet’s investigation, Match Hospitality had no idea they even had a breach in security. The firm maintains they’ve done everything possible to keep the data of ticket holders secure.
This leak is considered the work of one employee who gained access to the data.
THE REAL KICKER: Match Hospitality is the same firm that is owned in part by Sepp Blatter’s nephew, Phillipe. It’s the same firm that rather controversially won the bid to exclusively provide ticket hospitality at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.
First, I’m shocked this hasn’t received more ink today in the papers. I consider this to be a pretty serious issue. Fans who have had their information (allegedly) stolen followed the protocol stipulated by FIFA to ensure they were safely and securely purchasing their tickets. This is something you may expect from fans who are duped into purchasing tickets from the black market, not from the agency that deals with providing tickets/hospitality to the Swedish Prime Minister (who, yes, had his information stolen). The stolen information was collected in 2006 – and wasn’t sold until the database (which is thought to have been created by FIFA) was in the hands of FIFA’s new official provider of World Cup Hospitality. Which begs the question of what type of investigation FIFA performed to ensure the firm was able to adequately secure the data.
After the initial wave of shock, I’m trying to be fair. Security breaches happen. They shouldn’t, but they do. Instead of damning the company that fans will inevitably have to deal with in 2014 for Brazil (they already won the bid to provide the tournament hospitality)- I’m more interested in learning how they intend to deal with this leak and prevent it in the future. For now, they appear to be cooperating with the authorities and it is good news that this seems to be the work of only one person in the firm instead of a chronic epidemic of corruption within the company itself (though I’m sure Andrew Jennings would disagree with me there…).
So, football fans, how do you feel about this? Are you as outraged as me – or are you more concerned about the state of Rooney’s marriage? If its the latter, please don’t tell me.
Sometimes, life just isn’t fair. Imagine for a moment that you are Liechtenstein. You’re all revved up for your first Euro 2012 qualifying match, and feeling confident. Sure, you’ve taken some beatings, but remember – in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, you beat both Latvia and Iceland. Not too shabby for a little guy. Then you look at your first opponent, and it’s World Cup champions Spain. That has to take a little wind out of your sails.
Or imagine for a moment you are the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. Due to your tiny size and ridiculously non-threatening name, you have been a UEFA punching bag for as long as anyone can remember. Your opponent, the first day out at qualifying? World Cup runners up Netherlands.
Video of the carnage below, including a hat trick from one Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and a record-tying strike from David Villa:
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain. Two from Torres and a goal from Villa that brings him even with Raul for Spain’s all-time top scorer:
San Marino 0-5 Netherlands, featuring three from the Hunter, and a cherry on top from Ruud van Nistelrooy:
France had a number of big problems in their camp during the World Cup, paramount among them the post-Anelka fallout which was soon followed by France falling out of the World Cup.
It was reported to L’Equipe by a mysterious rat that Anelka had told coach Raymond Domenech to do unpleasant things, which one doesn’t do with an authority. That mysterious being has now been reportedly outed as…..Raymond Domench.
To put this in words football lovers of all ages can understand: Rayray tattled.
On Thursday, the French weekly le Point reported that it had obtained a copy of an undisclosed report by the French Football Federation (FFF) on the incident, in which three players name coach Raymond Domenech as the "locker-room mole".
According to le Point, the FFF investigation auditioned 18 players, three federation members and three team staff. Among those interviewed, three players said they thought it was Domenech himself who had leaked the incident to l'Equipe.
There’s no shortage of players on that team with a dislike for Domenech, so throwing him under the bus would seem convenient and self-serving. However, there’s not a sane person alive who doubts Raymond torpedoed his own player – this is the type of stellar reputation he’s built for himself.
But from now on, it matters not because the FFF and Rayray have come to terms on a mutual rescission of his contract, which effectively ends his association with French football. What do you think they’ll give him as a parting gift? A watch that doesn’t work? A swift kick in the pants? An aggressive cancer? Try €2m.
Euro 2012 qualifying is back upon us, with Yossi Benayoun protesting the move to Israel’s holy Sabbath with an aggressive hat-trick against Malta. This comes after qualifying was initially kicked off back in August as any major tournament should: with Estonia and the Faroe Islands. (The Faroes sadly fell.)
Tomorrow, however, is the big opening and we have the scoop below.
Five Games To Watch
Liechtenstein v Spain: The defending world and European champions are getting proper world and European defending champion treatment.
Pray for Liechtenstein.
Belgium v Germany: The Belgians form one of the most intriguing teams in 2012 qualifying. They’re young, gifted, brimming with promise and entirely dysfunctional – a powerkeg waiting to explode for good or bad. Their foils are well-documented and Dick Advocaat up and left town for the money and the simple fact he wouldn’t have to deal with a bunch of cliques and spoiled children.
Germany, on the other hand, are young, gifted, brimming with promise and close to functioning like a machin. Jogi’s boys are the clear favorites, but Belgium could turn it around and switch from clique to click; if not, they’ll at least get a lesson in how its done. France v Belarus: No one needs a fresh start more than France, but perhaps what’s more is that everyone’s expecting a fresh start. Not necessarily a win, but the nature of the performances by the new and old faces highlighting the missing serving to inspire faith SA2010 is a complete bygone.
No one should have much pressure on the first day of qualifying after a World Cup, but France have a great deal piggybacking along for the short ride to Paris. Latvia v Croatia: Well, maybe Croatia has more pressure? If you remember, they were one of Europe’s up and coming young national teams with the results to back it up. You could also say they were the best European team, if not the best team period, not to get a ticket to South Africa. Just an enormous disappointment.
This game smells of vengeance and reclaiming their place climbing the ladder. All while Slaven smokes three packs on the sidelines.
(Yes, it’s the return of Slaven Bilic.) Sweden v Hungary: Part of the difficulty when perusing qualifying schedules for a good watch, particularly in Europe, is finding games which are both evenly matched and intriguing. Spain versus Liechtenstein is intriguing because we want to see if the champs can crack 100, but it’s not quite balanced. Conversely, Montenegro versus Wales is probably evenly balanced, but it’s not going to break rating records in the coldest circle of hell.
This game seems both balanced and intriguing enough, since Hungary made strides during World Cup qualifying in reclaiming some footballing legitimacy while there’s every chance a blubbering Zlatan unveils a t-shirt reading Why Don’t You Love Me, Pep? whilst celebrating someone else’s goal. (It’s Sweden, ergo…) Streams:MyP2P.eu; atdhe. World Time Clock:Because we care. Schedule:
The year 2010 has certainly not been a favorite of Carlos Quieroz. Even if some had higher hopes, the World Cup run was met with the expected outcome for many – Spain and then done – but the rest has seemingly been one mess after another.
There was the shoving match with a journalist at an airport in February, shortly followed by the major saga in which he said mean things to anti-doping officials, who are seemingly the most fragile people on earth. This initially cost him one month via the Portuguese federation, and now the big boys have suspended him a further six months.
Might be time to dust off the ol’ resume.
The institute’s 31-page report said that after hearing evidence from all those involved in the incident it concluded that Queiroz’s intimidating behaviour had unsettled the anti-doping team and that, consequently, one of the inspectors failed to correctly carry out a test at the training camp.
None of the players tested positive.
Queiroz has said he was angry that the unannounced early morning tests had disturbed the players and admitted that he used inappropriate language.
It would seem that if yelling at people were a punishable crime and Quieroz is being punished, his mentor, Sir Alex, should be hit with at least a two-month sentence based on influence. Something like a child’s faux pas – the kid is at fault, but the real culprit is bad parenting. That and television. (Six of one…)
On the plus side, I’ve got a feeling Carlos will be able to fill his months following the Black Eyed Peas on tour. Silver lining.
FIFA has released its World Cup 2010 Technical Report in the form of a 9.28 megabyte pdf document. Which might sound impressive, but only if you haven’t read it. Because this thing is 289 pages of fluff, in four different languages.
The document basically contains a lot of pictures, a lot of over-simplifications, and a lot of glossing over hard truths. In the “Story of the Tournament” section for example, Frank Lampard’s inexplicably unawarded goal for England vs Germany in the Second Round is related thusly: “They thought they had equalised but the goal was not given.” I know small children who could give a more detailed retelling of that event. No wonder FIFA have snuck this out the day before Euro qualifying begins, when we’re all focused on the next tournament and no longer care as much about the last one.
At least FIFA’s famed Technical Study Group were able to offer some valuable insights in the “Technical and Tactical Analysis” section though, right? Wrong. Instead we get gems like “The most successful teams also boasted fast, tricky attackers who were dangerous in front of goal.” Imagine that.
But by far the most worrying thing in the document is FIFA’s penchant for self-glorification. The first thing pointed out in the “Trends” chapter is:
Thanks to FIFA's development programmes, which were launched by then FIFA Technical Director Joseph S. Blatter in 1975 before being expanded upon by the confederations and associations, there are no longer any "small" or "weak" national teams.
The adidas Jabulani matchball is not mentioned, despite being an obvious contributory factor to several events, including about half of Diego Forlan’s goals, and the “Refereeing Report” basically praises the physical conditioning and training that FIFA gave the referees. It does contain one paragraph acknowledging that refereeing errors were made, but seemingly only so FIFA can make excuses and reassure us that solutions are being worked on:
It is clear that errors – some of them serious – did occur in the hundreds of often very difficult decisions taken over the 64 matches. These errors are neither covered up nor justified but are meticulously analysed to learn from them and improve future training plans. The challenge is to work towards improvements.
The most disappointing this is that this report is basically a sales brochure. As if FIFA are trying to sell us a timeshare in Brazil for 2014. FIFA needs to realize that it’s OK. That we don’t need any convincing. That despite their multiple errors we still want them to arrange future World Cups, if only because no one else is capable of doing so.
The German captaincy saga, threatening to derail a nation if simply through the wrath of Michael Ballack, will not be allowed its due end, though Jogi may be trying.
Jogi has declared that Michael Ballack is very much Germany’s captain, which would normally put the kibosh on matters. However, he hasn’t been called up and has declared that if he is called up in the future, his place on the pitch will be occupied by someone else. So Ballack’s the captain, but Lahm’s the captain.
Sounds about right.
“I have decided that Michael Ballack will continue being the captain of our team,” the Germany coach, Joachim Löw, said ahead of their first Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on Friday.
“But I told him that as things stand today I do not see him being able to help the team [after his recent injury].”
Löw said Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira had secured their starting spots in midfield after a superb World Cup and that Ballack would have to return to top form to win a place in the team.
“We will see what the situation is in the coming weeks. I will monitor his development and in October I will decide whether I will boost the squad with him,” said Löw, adding that Lahm would remain captain when Ballack was not on the pitch.
Philipp Lahm is said to have “brushed off” the snub, but what snub is it really? He’s captain and he knows it, with Khedira and Schweini going in one direction (the right one) and Michael Ballack going in the other (the one which has a player going from Chelsea to shipping six goals to Borussia Mochengladback over the span of three months). This isn’t exactly the normal situation of “Player X is returning from injury” – Germany showed no need for Ballack in the near or distant future this summer.
The whole thing has a sense that Jogi has just delayed the inevitable, amounting to a nuclear World War III with Ballack’s two-fer wrath coming in October.
My name is Mamudu Nurudeen popularly known as Alhaji Righteous De Ambitious born on 25 Feb. 1985, to Mr Mamudu and Hajia Safura at Bawku Central in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
I am currently a student of Sunyani Polytechnic offering HND General Agriculture.
I am also a freelance Journalist, a motivational speaker and the founder of PERSONALITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS (PHR)
PLEASE THIS WEBSITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Sometimes, life just isn’t fair. Imagine for a moment that you are Liechtenstein. You’re all revved up for your first 
FIFA has released its 
The German captaincy saga, threatening to derail a nation if simply through the wrath of Michael Ballack, will not be allowed its due end, though Jogi may be trying.
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